Bloodline is Everything - Chapter 204
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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 204】
204. The Absolute (3)
“Kwon Han-ul, you bastard!”
Kwon Myung-woo’s eyes snapped open as he bellowed, his voice raw with fury. The moment consciousness returned, he scanned his surroundings desperately for Han-ul, but found nothing.
“Captain!”
“Are you alright?”
Instead, the faces of the Heukcheon Team surrounded him. Kwon Myung-woo grabbed Vice-Captain Kwon Jun-yeol and demanded answers.
“Where is Han-ul? What about Mei Xiao? What happened to the Dragon Slayer?”
“Please, calm down first. If you don’t, your wounds will tear open again!”
At those words, Kwon Myung-woo looked down at his own chest. Thick bandages were wrapped tightly around it.
“Ugh.”
Only then did the pain he’d forgotten come rushing back.
The agony of a pierced heart was beyond imagination—utterly excruciating. The deep, crushing pain radiating through his chest made his body tremble.
But such suffering meant nothing to Kwon Myung-woo right now.
“I asked what happened to Han-ul!”
“That is…”
Kwon Jun-yeol laid out everything honestly. The Dragon Slayer’s pupils dilated with intensity as he listened.
“Han-ul is facing both of them simultaneously? And you all just left him there?”
“Captain, if you had witnessed that scene yourself, you would understand. The Dragon Slayer was defeated in a single strike…”
“Silence! I must go there at once!”
Though they didn’t match Kwon Myung-woo’s power, Mei Xiao and the Dragon Slayer held the position of Absolutes.
Han-ul had to be saved before he fell to them. Or perhaps he’d already lost his life.
“What are you all doing! Come with me—”
Suddenly, Kwon Myung-woo clutched his chest and collapsed. Blood began seeping slowly from the bandages wrapped around it.
“I told you to stay still…”
“Medic! The Captain’s wound has reopened!”
The medic rushed over in panic, but Kwon Myung-woo shoved him away.
“No… I have to get to Han-ul.”
As the family’s elder, he had not only failed to help—he’d received aid from Han-ul instead.
He could not allow Han-ul to die like this. His pride, his honor, would not permit it.
“Don’t stop me! Even if it costs me my life, I will save Han-ul and then die!”
As Kwon Myung-woo shouted those words,
a heavy aura pressed down upon him.
“…What?”
It wasn’t just Kwon Myung-woo. Every hunter present—the Heukcheon Team and the Gangtaedae—felt the oppressive weight.
The sensation of an enormous hand engulfing them entirely.
Even drawing upon magical power, it was an overwhelming force that wouldn’t be easy to resist.
“Who is it? Who exactly…”
But it didn’t end there. Another aura came rushing in right after.
The pressure from moments before seemed like child’s play compared to the colossal aura that crushed down upon the entire Treasure Vault.
Boom.
With a thunderous roar, the entire Treasure Vault shook. The tremor rattled the whole world. Dust cascaded down from the ceiling.
Boom.
With the second deafening crash, the walls cracked. Fissures spread across the ceiling.
A power so vast that even the legendary Kwon Myung-woo felt fear.
Kwon Myung-woo, drenched in cold sweat from that immense force, muttered under his breath.
“What in the world is happening?”
* * *
Crimson scales began to engulf my body.
Except for the scales changing from black to dark crimson, it was identical to before. But the result was different.
Unlike the densely packed scales reminiscent of a serpent from moments ago, now there was no order, no pattern. The haphazardly sprouting scales were dizzying, as if glimpsing exposed veins.
The transformation was most pronounced on my face.
Unlike the smooth, mask-like appearance at first, it had twisted into something grotesque and vicious, like wearing an inverted demon’s mask.
As my transformation completed, I spread both arms wide. In that instant, crimson smoke erupted in a violent torrent.
The red smoke intertwined with itself, forming the arms of a giant.
Three pairs of arms unfurled symmetrically behind my back. It was as if witnessing radiant light itself.
“….”
This cannot be.
The moment Mei Xiao saw me, she thought.
This should not exist.
This is not a being that should exist in this world.
Her instinct, her reason, something fundamental to her existence as a living being screamed warnings like a mind consumed by madness.
“Kuhahahaha!”
In that moment, a burst of laughter erupted. Mei Xiao snapped back to awareness and turned to look at the Dragon Slayer.
“I don’t know what you did, but… thanks to you, I can become even stronger!”
The Dragon Slayer’s magical power began intensifying further. The crimson aura transformed into a blazing, molten red.
Watching this, Mei Xiao recalled something.
The Dragon Slayer grows stronger as dragon power grows stronger. If Kwon Han-ul becomes stronger, the Dragon Slayer becomes proportionally stronger as well.
“Let’s test this out!”
The Dragon Slayer moved. In a single stride, he reached right before my face and brought both Demon-Slaying Blades down simultaneously.
I took no action. Because of that, the blades drove deep into both my shoulders without any resistance.
“Fool! My Dragon-Slaying Star will annihilate all of your powers…”
With a sharp sound, the Demon-Slaying Blades shattered into pieces.
The Dragon Slayer stared at me with an expression of utter disbelief.
The Demon-Slaying Blade shattered into pieces, yet Kwon Han-ul’s body remained unscathed. Not even a scratch marred his surface.
“This… this bastard!”
In the moment Dragon Slayer faltered, Kwon Han-ul raised his hand. The giant’s arm that had been hovering behind him dissipated into smoke and vanished.
Kwon Han-ul brought his palm down against the empty air.
Immediately after, Dragon Slayer’s body was driven into the ground.
Like a frog sprawled flat, Dragon Slayer was surrounded by an enormous, clearly defined handprint.
“Guuuaaahhh!”
Pinned beneath the ground, Dragon Slayer coughed up blood—evidence of the tremendous impact absorbed in that brief instant.
“No… impossible… I possess… the power of… dragon slaying…!”
Dragon Slayer’s magical power surged again. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to his feet.
Then another of the giant’s hands vanished. Soon after, Kwon Han-ul drove his fist through the empty air.
In that moment, something detonated. It exploded.
The ground where Dragon Slayer stood was obliterated. Simultaneously, a massive hole large enough for a ship to pass through was torn through the wall behind him.
“…Dragon Slayer?”
Mei Xiao murmured in a daze. But Dragon Slayer was nowhere to be seen.
Kwon Han-ul slowly turned his head to regard Mei Xiao. The moment their eyes met, she felt a surge of primal terror.
Mei Xiao bit down hard on her tongue. The taste of blood that flooded her mouth helped her reclaim her reason.
“Ptui.”
Spitting out the remaining blood, Mei Xiao moved.
Her body vanished, reappearing behind Kwon Han-ul.
Without a sound or hint of presence, she swung her blade toward his throat.
But Mei Xiao’s sword strike halted before it could sever his neck.
Something had blocked its path.
A blade that burned like living flame stood between Mei Xiao’s longsword and its target.
Yet something was strange about it.
There was no hand gripping the hilt.
The sword simply floated in mid-air, suspended by nothing.
The moment Mei Xiao saw it, she whispered.
“A spirit blade…?”
No, that wasn’t all.
“Spectral blades…?”
Then Kwon Han-ul turned to face Mei Xiao. The number of spectral blades began to multiply.
What had been one or two became ten, then twenty.
Countless blades converged on Mei Xiao. When Kwon Han-ul pointed his finger at her, they rained down.
Mei Xiao parried the spectral blades with her sword. But she could only block the first one or two.
The spectral blades pierced through her openings, penetrating her body in multiple places. Soon, spectral blades had run through her from all directions.
“Aaaahhh!”
With a scream, Mei Xiao collapsed to the ground. Blood seeped from countless wounds across her body.
The spectral blades circled around her. Then they turned their points toward her once more.
“Ha…”
At the moment of death, Mei Xiao let out a hollow laugh—a sound mingled with bewilderment and bitter resentment.
Then it happened.
Just as the Sword of Dominion fell, someone threw themselves toward Mei Xiao.
Cradling her in their arms, they created distance between her and the descending blade.
“…Dragon Slayer?”
Held in those arms, Mei Xiao spoke with shock in her voice. Dragon Slayer, drenched in blood, replied tersely.
“Damn it, if you die, how am I supposed to face that monster alone?”
Just one strike.
That single blow rendered Dragon Slayer—now several times stronger than usual—completely incapacitated.
Just one exchange.
That alone drove Mei Xiao to the brink of death.
Both of them understood the truth: Kwon Han-ul had transcended all reason—he was a monster beyond comprehension.
“Listen, do you have another strategy?”
At Dragon Slayer’s question, Mei Xiao nodded.
“I do. But you’ll need to buy me time.”
“Damn it, having to match wits with this brat….”
An absolute being receives challenges; they do not issue them.
But against such a monstrous opponent, there was no luxury for such considerations.
“Then I’m placing my faith in you alone.”
Dragon Slayer set Mei Xiao down. He was clapping his palms together and stepping forward when—
A long blade pierced through his chest and erupted from the other side.
Dragon Slayer turned slowly. He saw Mei Xiao gripping the hilt.
“…Why?”
Mei Xiao did not answer. Instead, she withdrew the blade from his chest and severed his neck with a single stroke.
“I’m sorry. This was the only way to win.”
From Dragon Slayer’s corpse, something like black powder rose into the air. All of it was drawn into the long blade Mei Xiao held in her hand.
“By making you a Spirit Blade, a possibility emerges.”
Spirit Blade—a technique of the Asura Bloodline that enslaves the soul of the slain and converts their power into one’s own.
Mei Xiao’s mana began to resonate with the essence of Dragon Slaying.
“Ahh… this is exquisite. Your power is amplifying the Dragon Slaying essence within me.”
Just as Dragon Slayer had been, Mei Xiao’s mana began to surge with terrible strength.
“Did you know? The Asura Bloodline’s power is intimately connected to weapons. That’s why it harmonizes so well with blade aura and blade force.”
Mei Xiao bit her thumb, drawing blood. Then she traced a crimson line across the blade with her thumb.
“So what do you think happens when the Spirit Blade—a power of the Asura Bloodline—merges with blade force?”
The blade gleamed crimson. The blade force erupted in scarlet light.
Spirit Blade – Shared Roots, Connected Branches.
From the blade’s edge, the blade force extended outward.
With Dragon Slayer transformed into a Spirit Blade, there was no shortage of mana.
The blade force coiled around Mei Xiao, and that was not enough—it consumed the floor and ceiling alike.
Black energy engulfed Mei Xiao and even covered the floor and ceiling.
It was as if tree branches and roots were spreading outward.
“Both its power and range have become incomparably stronger.”
Sword energy had already surrounded Han-ul from all directions. From every angle, it unleashed its aura toward him.
“No matter who you are, you cannot block sword energy with your bare body.”
Sword energy could only be stopped by sword energy.
But blocking this much sword energy was impossible.
“Now let us end this.”
The sword energy began to move. It tightened slowly, pressuring Han-ul from all sides.
Han-ul swung his fist experimentally. The giant’s arm materialized and struck down at the bundle of sword energy.
But the moment his fist touched the sword energy, it shattered into fragments and dissipated.
—Impressive.
For the first time since taking this form, Han-ul spoke.
—Even in this state, I cannot surpass the sword that Mei Xiao has perfected throughout her lifetime.
This has nothing to do with bloodline or magical power.
Mei Xiao’s sword energy, honed and refined through countless years, simply surpassed my fist strike.
—Then I have no choice but to meet it with a secret technique worthy of this.
Han-ul brought his hands together before his chest. Three pairs of giant hands mirrored the same motion.
As Han-ul drew forth his magical power, the entire world began to tremble.
An immense magical force, almost too vast to comprehend, gathered within the space created by his hands.
Drawing from the giant’s hands.
Channeling all dragon magic.
And transforming it through the Asura King.
The dragon magic, which had initially resembled a ball of flame, converged into a single point and formed a smooth sphere, polished like obsidian.
Witnessing this spectacle through the gaps in the sword energy, Mei Xiao murmured softly.
“Surely not… that’s impossible… no… that’s….”
Fist Aura.
A transcendent technique that only the absolute could wield.
“This can’t be… that… anything but that….”
Fist Aura could only be obtained through long cultivation and profound enlightenment, regardless of bloodline.
For someone of Han-ul’s age to master Fist Aura was impossible.
“It won’t matter… when identical auras clash, I will prevail.”
Her words held truth. There was a fundamental difference between Mei Xiao’s sword aura, honed through genuine enlightenment, and Han-ul’s fist aura, forged through the Asura King.
But Han-ul’s true aim lay not in a clash of auras.
—Whoooosh.
Han-ul drew in a deep breath. White smoke began rising from the fist aura that gleamed like obsidian.
—Let me warn you beforehand.
The volume of smoke continued to swell. From within it, Han-ul spoke.
—This is a technique directly created by the Heukcheon First Fist Master.
Before he could finish, Mei Xiao swung her blade. A torrent of sword aura poured toward Han-ul.
—It is called Ink Flame.
All of Han-ul’s gathered fist aura vanished entirely.
In that instant, something invisible detonated. Tremendous force radiated in all directions.
The torrents of sword aura surrounding Han-ul dissolved in a heartbeat. That alone was not enough—the ground and the debris scattered across it all vanished without a trace.
“…What?”
Faced with a phenomenon her mind could not comprehend, Mei Xiao’s mouth fell open involuntarily.
She had to escape.
That thought consumed her mind. But before she could act, a colorless explosion engulfed her.
The magical power shielding her body dissipated. Her clothes vanished. Her skin and muscle followed the same fate.
“…Ahhh.”
Mei Xiao uttered a wordless cry and was consumed by the explosion, dissolving into nothingness.
* * *
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, Mei Xiao’s consciousness returned to her.
Even as awareness flooded back, her mind remained sluggish for a moment. She couldn’t recall what she’d been doing mere moments before.
“What on earth happened…
Mei Xiao attempted to push herself upright. But her body refused to obey.
She lowered her gaze to examine herself, and a long sigh escaped her lips.
“It’s over.”
Her body was so devastated that it was a miracle she remained alive at all.
There were far more missing pieces than intact ones.
Then a shadow fell across her face. Kwon Han-ul had drawn near without her noticing.
“You won.”
No response came. Mei Xiao let out a hollow laugh.
“How disappointing. If you defeated two Absolutes, shouldn’t you be celebrating a bit more?”
Suddenly, all strength drained from her body in a violent rush.
The life barely clinging to her flesh was preparing to depart.
“…Congratulations.”
Mei Xiao uttered one final word.
“On becoming a new Absolute.”
With those words, the light faded from Mei Xiao’s eyes.
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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
—————