Bloodline is Everything - Chapter 196

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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【Bloodline is a Thug Chapter 196】

196. One-on-One Combat (2)

“Ah… a blank draw.”
After falling through the floor, Kwon Hu-don and Gael Garsian, who had been wandering through the Treasure Vault, encountered a group of swordsmen from the Mei Family.
One of them, a young man with a small frame, scratched the back of his head and grumbled.
“Why did it have to be you two? I wanted to fight that guy called Kwon Han-ul or whatever.”
Despite his unconventional pink-dyed hair, the young man wore an ornate Chinese-style robe embroidered with plum blossoms.
In his hands were a pair of remarkably long and thick dual swords.
“Um… who are you?”
Kwon Hu-don asked cautiously. The young man pointed at himself with his finger.
“Me? I’m called Mei Ryo, the Hundred Blossom Swordsman.”
“…The Hundred Blossom Swordsman?”
Kwon Hu-don’s face went blank. As he mulled over the title, he cried out.
“The, the Seven Plum Blossom Swordsmen!”
“Hm… so you do recognize me.”
Mei Ryo’s expression became satisfied as Kwon Hu-don reacted.
“The youngest ever Seven Plum Blossom Swordsman! A genius swordmaster who became one before even reaching adulthood!”
“Oh? You knew that much?”
“The executioner who severed the head of the S-rank monster Raishin with a single stroke of his dual swords!”
“Wow, you really do know a lot about me.”
“A guardian who has protected the Guangdong Province region of China alone for over a decade without any incidents!”
“…Wait, weren’t you part of the Heukcheon Bloodline? How do you know so much detail?”
Mei Ryo made a face as if displeased.
“Ah, now I don’t feel like killing you. But I can’t disobey what Mei Xiao said.”
Mei Ryo raised his hand. The ten swordsmen behind him drew their blades.
“Kill them cleanly so they don’t suffer.”
The swordsmen rushed at the two men.
Mei Ryo pulled out a cigarette from his pocket to pass the time. He tapped the pack and drew out a single stick, placing it between his lips when—
Someone whooshed past the side of his face and crashed into the ground.
Mei Ryo jumped in shock and turned to look. A swordsman lay there with his spine broken, coughing up blood.
“What?”
Mei Ryo turned his gaze forward. Then he saw it.
All of the Mei Family swordsmen were sprawled on the ground.
“Ugh… ugghhh…”
“Ahhhhh…”
The swordsmen lay half-buried in the earth or collapsed with their jaws crushed.
Meanwhile, Kwon Hu-don and Gael Garsian stood without a scratch.
“G-good grief. That was close—we almost had a disaster on our hands.”
“Your movements just now were exceptionally fluid.”
“G-Gael responded perfectly. I couldn’t have done it without him.”
Kwon Hu-don replied with an embarrassed expression.
Watching the two of them converse so casually, Mei Ryo’s jaw fell slack.
The swordsmen those two had faced were his own subordinates—warriors of exceptional skill.
His trusted blades, who had never once disappointed him until now, had been defeated by these mere youngsters.
“…I made a grave miscalculation. A tiger cub is still a tiger, even in youth. I underestimated two purebloods far too much.”
Mei Ryo gripped his twin blades. In that instant, the entire space became saturated with his aura.
“I shall end you with my own hands.”
Tension flashed across the faces of Kwon Hu-don and Gael Garsian.
Their opponent was among the Mei Family’s greatest masters. There were still many gaps in their combined strength.
Yet retreat was not an option.
Kwon Hu-don manifested his Black Scale Armor. An enormous cascade of scales layered themselves across his body.
Kwon Hu-don vanished, replaced by a towering colossus of steel.
“Baal.”
Gael Garsian likewise unleashed his most formidable trump card.
Demonic power flooded through his interior. Yet even that was insufficient—his very exterior began to transform.
“Hrrgh….”
Mei Ryo’s eyes gleamed as he regarded them both.
“This might actually prove entertaining.”
Mei Ryo lunged toward the two, his twin blades flashing through the air.
It was in that instant.
A brilliant flash of light struck Mei Ryo with devastating force. He was hurled backward, crashing hard into the wall.
“Ugh…ahhh….”
A groan escaped his lips before his head fell limp.
Kwon Hu-don and Gael Garsian stood frozen in bewilderment.
“Phew….”
Where Mei Ryo had been standing.
A woman there withdrew her extended leg.
Kwon Hu-don spoke in a dazed voice as he beheld her.
“G-Guardian Lysin?”

* * *

Han-ul walked aimlessly through the Treasure Vault.
Though the place was as labyrinthine as a maze, he had no fear of getting lost. His Genius Bloodline naturally painted a map within his mind.
Occasionally, Hunters corrupted by the Demon Blade attacked, but he subdued them without difficulty. Beyond that, no other problems arose.
“It seems to be that way.”
At some point, a familiar aura began to manifest.
Unfortunately, it was obscured by the Treasure Vault’s inexplicable power, making it impossible to discern clearly.
Han-ul moved toward the source of the aura. As he drew closer, the aura grew slightly more concentrated.
That very instant.
Suddenly, the wall to his left shattered. Han-ul reflexively raised his forearms to shield his face.
A fist burst through the destroyed wall and struck Han-ul’s forearm with tremendous force. His body was sent flying backward.
“Finally found you!”
The man who burst through the wall shouted with unbridled joy.
“I’ve combed through this vast place like a madman searching for you!”
The man approached Han-ul with long, purposeful strides. Han-ul brushed off his struck forearm and spoke.
“Bae Cheol-min. It seems much has transpired in our time apart.”
Bae Cheol-min grinned wickedly. It was a savage smile.
“That’s right! Much has happened. I’ve finally been freed from this cursed restriction!”
“If you’ve broken the restriction, you should flee at once. Why did you come looking for me?”
“Flee? Why would I run? I didn’t break free from the restriction because I wanted to escape.”
The malice radiating from Bae Cheol-min transmitted through the air.
“I wanted to be liberated so I could take revenge on Heukcheon!”
Joy and fury simultaneously appeared on Bae Cheol-min’s face. The two emotions intertwined, contorting his expression grotesquely.
“First, I’ll kill you! I must exact payment for your father’s sins—the sins that dragged our family into ruin!”
“I understand your resentment, but…”
Han-ul added with a tone of contempt.
“Do you truly believe you’re capable of that?”
“Gaining a bit of notoriety has made you blind to reality, it seems.”
The muscles covering Bae Cheol-min’s body began to writhe.
Every muscle in his entire frame contracted and relaxed in perfect synchronization.
“Everyone dismisses me. They say ‘how can you fight with a Health Bloodline?’ And I’ve crushed every single one of those fools with my own hands until they died.”
The muscles that had been swelling and contracting suddenly compressed entirely. Bae Cheol-min’s already diminutive frame became even smaller.
“I’ll show you. I’ll demonstrate exactly what kind of bloodline the Health Bloodline is. When the Bae Family’s resentment and rage reach their peak, I’ll show you precisely what kind of being is born!”
Bae Cheol-min lowered his head and bent at the waist. His body began to coil forward.
At that grotesque sight, Han-ul faltered. He couldn’t comprehend how a human body could contort in such a manner.
Immediately after, Bae Cheol-min’s body launched forward like a compressed spring.
There was no time to evade. Han-ul reflexively crossed his forearms.
Simultaneously, the Dragon Scale Armor materialized on his arms. It was not a conscious action. The Black Dragon’s instinct had summoned the Dragon Scale Armor.
Why?
The moment that question formed, Bae Cheol-min’s fist struck Han-ul’s forearm with devastating force.
Han-ul’s body was driven backward in a long skid. His feet tore through the ground, carving two deep furrows.
I uncrossed my arms, and pain shot through my forearms.
That wasn’t all.
The Dragon Scale Demon Armor wrapping around my forearms shattered into fragments and fell away.
The Dragon Scale Demon Armor, which had remained intact against ordinary attacks, was completely destroyed in a single blow—and nothing more than a simple punch.
If I hadn’t been wearing the Dragon Scale Demon Armor, both my arms would have been pulverized.
“Heh, how’s that? Stings a bit, doesn’t it?”
I heard Bae Cheol-min’s laughter and turned my gaze toward him, only to be left in shock.
Bae Cheol-min’s previously diminutive frame had swollen to three times its original size, his entire body’s musculature inflated like balloons filled with air.
“The power of the Healthy Bloodline is adaptation. No matter how extreme the situation, no matter how hard you push your body, the Healthy Bloodline endures.”
Bae Cheol-min extended his fist. From the impact of striking the Dragon Scale Demon Armor head-on, his knuckles were mangled and twisted out of shape.
“Truly, the power of the True Bloodline is impressive. Remarkably durable.”
Steam began rising from his fist, and in an instant, it returned to its original form.
Recovery power that was almost unbelievable—the power of the Healthy Bloodline.
“Well then, shall we try again?”
The swollen muscles began contracting once more, and Bae Cheol-min returned to his original physique.
“…No, wait. That previous form must be his true appearance.”
Bae Cheol-min had elevated his physical abilities through the Healthy Bloodline.
As a result, his muscles had become hypertrophied, transcending human limits.
And by contracting those enlarged muscles and then releasing them, he obtained even greater power.
“An ability that even humans—or rather, even Hunters—cannot obtain.”
To artificially contract muscles and then release them.
I had never heard of such a skill or trait before. It was likely a technique only obtainable through a body that had grown solely through the Healthy Bloodline.
“Correct. Well then, shall we begin again?”
Bae Cheol-min’s muscles contracted once more, his already diminutive frame becoming even smaller.
It was an unimpressive appearance, yet I couldn’t help but tense.
This form was undoubtedly Bae Cheol-min at his strongest.
“Very well. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
The Dragon Scale Demon Armor enveloped my body, and Dragon Demon Qi blazed across it.
Looking as though I had wrapped black flames around myself, Bae Cheol-min whistled.
“So that’s the combat form of the True Bloodline?”
We locked eyes with each other. A moment of silence passed, and without either of us moving first, we simultaneously kicked off the ground.
I thrust my fist forward, and Bae Cheol-min blocked it with his shoulder while simultaneously driving his knee upward toward my abdomen.
I brought my forearm down to block the knee strike, then drove my palm upward to strike Bae Cheol-min’s jaw.
“Trading blows with me on equal footing! Truly worthy of the True Bloodline!”
Bae Cheol-min roared and brought his hand down in a knife strike. I deflected it while driving my fist into his abdomen.
“But it’s tepid! This is nowhere near enough!”
Despite landing a direct hit to his abdomen, Bae Cheol-min paid no mind and countered.
“Harder! Put more force into it!”
Finally, Bae Cheol-min abandoned defense entirely, allowing all my attacks through while focusing solely on his own offense.
“Give me more! The power of the True Bloodline can’t possibly be just this much!”
In contrast, Bae Cheol-min’s attacks were devastating to me. It wasn’t just a matter of blocking with my forearms—whenever I allowed strikes to land on other parts of my body, my entire skeleton resonated with pain.
Even with the Dragon Scale Armor defending me, the damage was this severe.
“Surely you don’t have anything else to show me!”
Bae Cheol-min spread both arms wide, clearly intending to grapple me.
I clicked my tongue. Much as I hated to admit it, Bae Cheol-min surpassed me in raw physical ability. Getting caught in close quarters would be dangerous.
I drew every ounce of Dragon Horse Qi into myself. Black aura coiled around my fists.
Mysterious Dragon Ascension Technique, Superior Form
Qi Strike Style Rising Dragon Fist
I drove my fist forward. The Dragon Horse Qi transformed into a dragon’s head, its jaws gaping wide.
The dragon’s head swallowed Bae Cheol-min whole.
“Haaah…!”
In that moment, I retreated backward. I harbored no illusions that the Rising Dragon Fist alone could fell Bae Cheol-min.
But it would buy me time. In that interval, I could reset my stance…
“Kuhehehe! How entertaining!”
The instant that thought crossed my mind, Bae Cheol-min tore through the dragon’s head and burst forth.
Astoundingly, despite taking a direct hit from the Rising Dragon Fist, Bae Cheol-min’s body remained unscathed. Not even his skin was singed.
“But that’s nowhere near enough to bring this body down!”
Bae Cheol-min drove his fist into my abdomen. In that instant, the muscles he’d been contracting released their stored power.
“…!”
At close range, the impact was like a bomb detonating against my body. The Dragon Scale Armor shattered as I was sent flying.
“Cough!”
I crashed to the ground and coughed up blood. A single blow had ruptured my entire internal organs.
“Cough, cough!”
In that moment, I understood my own delusion. Bae Cheol-min’s level couldn’t be summed up by the word “strong.”
An absolute being.
That descriptor was entirely fitting for his existence.
“You’re already down from just one hit?”
Bae Cheol-min raised his fist. From the previous attack, his knuckles weren’t merely damaged—they were pulverized.
Yet it couldn’t be called an injury. The crushed fist was swiftly restored by the power of his Healthy Blood lineage.
“You know why you went down so easily? You let your guard down.”
Bae Cheol-min took a step forward, closing the distance between us.
“Everyone thinks the same way as you. Healthy Blood? You’d dare fight me with that bloodline? You pathetic bastard.”
A sneer spread across Bae Cheol-min’s face.
“Want to know why I’m this strong? Because I was raised in Hell.”
The Bae Family, having betrayed the Kwon Family, was punished with the entire clan being forced into a dungeon with a harsh environment to labor as their sentence.
“The Lava Zone, the Acidic Lake, the Poison Swamp—and more. I grew up in those godforsaken places.”
An ordinary hunter couldn’t survive even a single day in such a location.
But Bae Cheol-min possessed the Healthy Blood lineage. He endured through sheer reliance on its power.
“Of course, I put in effort too. I did everything imaginable to enhance my physical abilities. Once, I dropped a boulder on myself and crushed my entire spine.”
Yet Bae Cheol-min persevered. The Healthy Blood within his body restored him.
And thus, a prodigy was born.
A monster of the ages—Bae Cheol-min.
“…I have no choice but to acknowledge it.”
Kwon Han-ul pushed himself to his feet. Blood still trickled from his lips. His internal injuries had not yet healed.
“I was careless. I thought my strength would be more than sufficient to handle you.”
Bae Cheol-min tilted his head in confusion.
“Why did you suddenly switch to informal speech?”
“I got beaten up. I’m in a foul mood. I can’t be polite right now.”
Kwon Han-ul rubbed the back of his neck. The blood had stopped flowing from his mouth. His pallid complexion had grown serene.
Bae Cheol-min tilted his head at the change.
“Something’s off. Why did you suddenly recover?”
Kwon Han-ul simply smiled without answering.
【’Vitality Blood’ detects danger to the body!】
Bae Cheol-min was not the only one who possessed Vitality Blood.
In fact, by bloodline rank alone, Kwon Han-ul surpassed Bae Cheol-min.
“It seems I’ll have difficulty defeating you as things stand.”
“You speak as though you have a way to beat me.”
“I do.”
Kwon Han-ul gathered his magical power. Then he spoke quietly.
“Pangu.”

【’Guardian Blood’ manifests its power!】
【’Superhuman Blood’ and ‘Guardian Blood’ resonate with each other!】
【’Guardian Blood’ power transforms!】
【The power of ‘Pangu’ materializes in this place!】
【A half-incarnate form takes shape!】

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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