Reincarnation of the Blood Demon - Chapter 18

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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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Blood Demon’s Rebirth
Chapter 18
At the Sect Leader’s Summons
The Blood Heaven Palace, the Blood Demon Hall.
Ju Igyeom knelt respectfully on one knee against the black granite floor, carpeted in crimson like fresh blood.
“I pay my respects to the Blood Lord.”
“It’s been a while.”
The voice echoed from deeper within the hall.
At the far end of the long carpet, a middle-aged man with brilliant scarlet eyes sat upon the oppressive Crimson Jade Throne, regarding him with an air of ennui.
There were numerous rituals a sect member ought to observe when meeting the Blood Demon, but the current sect leader despised empty ceremony above all else.
Ju Igyeom, already aware of this, proceeded straight to the matter at hand.
“I heard you summoned me.”
In truth, there was only one reason the sect leader would call upon him at this moment.
As expected, the sect leader posed his question.
“How long has it been since you became the Third Young Lord’s guard?”
“I first met the young lord when he was ten years old. It has been slightly more than five years now.”
“Do you harbor resentment toward me?”
The abruptness of the question caused Ju Igyeom’s mouth to close.
As he deliberated his answer, the sect leader gestured toward the floor of the Blood Demon Hall and continued.
“Had it not been for the Third, your place might well have been here.”
At those words, Ju Igyeom’s expression darkened.
‘…The Blood Heaven Guard.’
A name he had deliberately avoided dwelling upon.
While the Precious Blood Corps commanded both internal and external operations and bore a fearsome reputation, the Blood Heaven Guard existed solely to protect the Blood Demon himself—the sect’s finest elite.
Though the Precious Blood Corps was far more renowned in name, the martial experts of the sect held the Blood Heaven Guard as the true pinnacle.
Such was its prestige that admission into its ranks was considered the highest honor a sect member could achieve.
And therein lay the reason he had avoided thinking of it.
‘The youngest Blood Heaven Guard member in history.’
That was the epithet once attached to him.
Though his appointment had never been formally announced, everyone believed it would come to pass—and so did he.
Until five years ago, when he was suddenly appointed as the Third Young Lord’s personal guard.
‘…It was all meaningless.’
After collecting his thoughts, Ju Igyeom replied in an even tone.
“Whether it concerns the Third Young Lord or you, sect leader, how could I presume to harbor resentment? Moreover, I consider the duty of serving the Third Young Lord to be an honor no less than the Blood Heaven Guard itself.”
A textbook answer. Yet the sect leader’s eyes remained unchanged.
“Do you mean that truly?”
“…”
No matter how silver-tongued Ju Igyeom might be, he could not dissemble before the sect leader.
At length, Ju Igyeom released a quiet sigh and conceded.
“To be honest, I cannot claim such thoughts never crossed my mind.”
After all, it was undeniable that he had spent years dwelling in regret, playing the part of an idler.
“But.”
As Ju Igyeom raised his gaze to meet the sect leader’s, his eyes gleamed with sudden brilliance.
“What I can say with certainty is that, at least now, I harbor no discontent whatsoever.”
Without any particular catalyst, his superior’s demeanor had shifted abruptly.
The change was so complete that he might as well be a different person entirely, his every movement steeped in tyrannical grandeur and audacious ingenuity.
“These past few days, the young lord’s conduct has been utterly unstoppable. He has swept away those festering in Namhwa County in a single stroke, and rescued the sect members they had driven to the brink of ruin.”
A rare fervor flickered across Ju Igyeom’s eyes.
By nature gifted, he had stood on the threshold of joining the Blood Heaven Guard.
Over the past five years, serving under a sickly lord, he had felt profound doubt about his blade—rusting away, useless—and wondered if he was merely wasting away.
“To speak candidly, I have been exceedingly busy of late. So occupied with attending to the young lord’s aftermath that I scarcely find time to sleep…”
Though his superior chided him for consuming only rice without earning his keep, Ju Igyeom performed his duties as a guard with the utmost diligence.
Soon a faint smile graced his lips.
“Yet all of it has proven quite fulfilling. For the first time, I have thought that becoming a guard was the right choice.”
Watching over him, Ju Igyeom felt as though his corroded blade and Martial Will had rediscovered their radiance.
Having spoken thus far, Ju Igyeom bowed respectfully.
“I have spoken at length. In summary, I can say that I now harbor no resentment or discontent in my life.”
“…I see.”
Upon hearing this answer, the sect leader fell silent for a moment, studying Ju Igyeom intently before asking once more.
“In your assessment, what manner of person is the Third?”
The question was not about his martial skill or movements.
Such reports would long since have been brought by spies scattered throughout the sect.
Ju Igyeom, who had been contemplating briefly, answered while sorting through his memory.
“It cannot be said that his martial prowess merely grew stronger. There was not the slightest hesitation or awkwardness in how he crushes others beneath him and commands them. As if…….”
Ju Igyeom paused to choose his words, then concluded with a grave expression.
“As if he had held all of it from the beginning and commanded it all along.”
“Command.”
A strange light flickered across the Sect Master’s crimson eyes.
It was a word that could never have emerged from a son who had been confined to the Separate Palace after receiving a death sentence.
“……So blood does not wander far, then.”
Yet in truth, he had merely hoped for quiet.
The Sect Master, tapping the armrest of the Crimson Jade Throne as he gathered his thoughts, issued a quiet command.
“You are to remain at his side and watch his every move.”
“How far should we permit, sir? The Third Son’s actions are severely shaking the sect’s established order. Should he collide with the other successor candidates…….”
The Sect Master cut him off sharply.
“Leave him be.”
“……I beg your pardon?”
“Whatever manner in which the boy stirs up our sect, you are to offer no interference whatsoever.”
“But…….”
“He has already waded in.”
The Third Son, who had spent his life shut away in the Separate Palace, had stepped out into the world.
And in doing so, he had subjugated Namhwa County.
Whatever his intention, by that very act the Third Son had become a figure drawing everyone’s gaze.
“Had he remained silent, it might be different — but now that he has walked his own path, he must bear the consequences it brings.”
Survival of the Fittest.
The absolute law of the Blood Heaven Divine Sect, to which even Sect Master Jeok Wiguk himself was no exception.
“……And so he steps forward into this quagmire of his own accord.”
The Sect Master clicked his tongue softly — a murmur tinged less with displeasure than with a bitter melancholy.
“I should see it for myself, at least once.”
Shortly after, the Sect Master, who had been resting against the throne, slowly raised his upper body.
“Ju Igyeom.”
“Yes, Sect Master.”
“Go and bring the Third Son to me.”
“……!”
Ju Igyeom’s eyes widened slightly.
Five years ago — after the Third Son turned ten and left the main sect, remaining in Namhwa County which was his domain — never once had there been a private audience between father and son.
In the Sect Master’s voice as he issued the command lay not a trace of personal feeling.
Refusal was not an option.
Ju Igyeom bowed deeply and answered.
“I shall obey your command.”
* * *
Jeok Myeong Palace, Namhwa County — the Martial Arts Training Hall.
Jeok Unchui, sitting in cross-legged meditation, slowly cracked open his eyes.
‘As expected.’
His expressionless face turned to regard his fists.
The body appeared to show no abnormality on the surface, but now, with Qi vision turned inward, he could see the truth.
‘The Toxic Qi in my body has increased markedly.’
It was far more than the accumulation that would occur with mere passage of time.
It had been roughly two days since he subjugated the lords of Namhwa County.
In that brief span, the Toxic Qi infesting Jeok Unchui’s body had swelled considerably.
At this rate, it was the sort of quantity that would normally require five years of cultivation sitting idle to amass.
There could be only one reason for such acceleration.
‘The Absorption Grand Method.’
The true essence of the Flowing Pearl he had absorbed through the Absorption Grand Method had been devoured by the Toxic Qi, which fed on it and swelled in turn.
Jeok Unchui furrowed his brow and clenched his fists tightly.
‘This is not good.’
The Absorption Grand Method was undoubtedly a superior technique.
The drawn-in life essence circulated through his entire body, awakening his latent potential.
This time, he had intended a Momentum Suppression, and it had ended before he could fully verify its power — yet for a moment, he would be able to contend with an opponent several levels above him.
But even accounting for that, the side effects were far too severe.
‘I can expel it using the Reverse True Scripture, but…….’
After using the Reverse True Scripture, he himself required some period of recovery.
Besides, this time he’d only absorbed a single Flowing Pearl.
‘If I were to absorb a master of higher caliber, or multiple at once…….’
The accumulation of Toxic Qi would be incomparably greater than it was now.
In that case, the body he’d managed to restore would become useless again in an instant.
‘A chicken rib.’
This being the case, what became crucial was how to make use of the Toxic Qi.
He needed a way to properly utilize this Toxic Qi that continued to accumulate without end.
For now, though, there was simply no means available.
“Tsk.”
It was as frustration rarely welled up that Jeok Unchui’s brow furrowed.
His gaze turned toward the door. A familiar presence made itself known.
“What are you doing out there, Ju Igyeom? Come in instead of standing about.”
At Jeok Unchui’s words, Ju Igyeom—his expression unusually stern—stepped into the chamber.
It had been days since he’d left on some errand to the main sect, and this was the first time Jeok Unchui had seen him since. Yet something was different.
“How did you know it was me?”
“I wasn’t trying to hide it.”
“Ah.”
Ordinarily he might have grumbled further, but Ju Igyeom kept silent, his expression darkened.
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Jeok Unchui gave a slight laugh and asked.
“Why the long face? Did the main sect order you to kill me?”
“……It may be something close to that.”
Ju Igyeom exhaled softly before continuing in a grave tone.
“The Patriarch summons you.”
As he spoke, Ju Igyeom studied Jeok Unchui intently, but his reaction was not what he’d expected.
“The Patriarch… I mean, His Excellency the Patriarch?”
For a moment he seemed taken aback, but Jeok Unchui soon nodded. It was nothing he hadn’t foreseen.
‘I conquered Namhwa County, after all. It would be strange if he said nothing.’
He’d always known a summons would come eventually. He simply hadn’t anticipated it would be today.
He then nodded and rose from his cross-legged position.
“Convenient timing.”
“……Pardon?”
“I had been meaning to visit the main sect one of these days.”
If he were to plan his next moves, he needed to assess the situation at the main sect with his own eyes.
‘Even apart from that, I was curious.’
Five hundred years had surely transformed the Blood Heaven Divine Sect from what it had been when he’d founded it.
There was a vast difference between what he knew through the Third Young Master’s memories and what he could verify himself.
“Lead the way.”
At the sight of Jeok Unchui rising without hesitation, Ju Igyeom’s eyes glimmered quietly.
‘I cannot fathom him.’
What confidence possessed him, standing before the Patriarch himself?
Though he had observed the Third Young Master for five years, the man remained an endless puzzle.
And precisely because of that, he was captivating.
Ju Igyeom then bowed his head quietly and led the way.
“Follow me, sir.”

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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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