Reincarnation of the Blood Demon - Chapter 22

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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 Reincarnation
Chapter 22
Know Enemy, Know Self, Never Lose in Hundred Battles
“……!”
In that instant, Yuk Jangro’s eyes widened to a degree that seemed impossible for human eyes to achieve.
His pupils contracted sharply at the same moment, transforming his gaze into something far closer to a ghost’s than a man’s.
Aaaaaahhh──.
The moment he revealed his true nature, a bone-chilling wail erupted from nowhere.
Black spectral energy coiled across his entire frame and billowed outward like a waterfall made of smoke.
‘……Utterly repulsive.’
The ghostly aura was so potent that even the cautious Ju Igyeom found himself swallowing hard.
It was proof of why he held the rank of Elder in the Blood Sect.
No matter how tempered a martial master might be, the sight of this would summon nightmares.
Thunk.
Yuk Jangro’s abnormally long arm settled onto Jeok Unhwi’s shoulder, his neck bending at a grotesque angle to meet his gaze.
“You…….”
In those eyes swirled a torrent of ghostly energy—a gaze that could steal the soul merely by meeting it, now fixed upon the young master.
Even as Yuk Jangro spoke, his aura continued to pour forth, pressing down on all around him, and strange phantom voices howled through the space.
“You truly believe you can manage this?”
As he spoke, Yuk Jangro’s pupils split vertically.
The Ghost Eye Demon Heart Technique.
A vicious Soul-Seizing Art that inflicted inner demons upon those whose eyes met his own.
Whether he could not tear his gaze away, or simply chose not to, remained unclear.
Jeok Unhwi met his stare without so much as a blink.
Crunch…….
The grip on his shoulder tightened further, and Yuk Jangro’s ghostly eyes gleamed as they discharged spectral force.
‘……This has gone far enough.’
Just as Ju Igyeom, who had been watching, began to draw his blade.
Snap.
With surprising ease, Jeok Unhwi twisted Yuk Jangro’s wrist free, and with equal ease, tore his hand away while laughing.
“I told you.”
Crack──
Interrupted mid-technique, the Ghost Eye Demon Heart Technique shattered instantly.
His vertically split pupils returned to those of an ordinary man.
“……!!”
Startled, even the aura he had been releasing scattered into disarray.
Yuk Jangro stared down at his own right hand with wide eyes.
As the backlash sent spectral energy cascading chaotically around them, Jeok Unhwi met Yuk Jangro’s gaze directly and repeated himself.
“I can manage it.”
That very moment.
──Snap.
The aura that had been suffocating the space vanished as if it had never been.
“I think this will do.”
As though he had never pressed Jeok Unhwi at all, Yuk Jangro stepped back in one fluid motion and flashed a wide grin, baring his teeth.
“My apologies. I fear my dullness prevented me from following our conversation with full comprehension.”
“Is that so?”
“The Elder Council will be waiting, so I shall take my leave. Forgive my many rudnesses.”
Yuk Jangro bowed pointedly and strode past Jeok Unhwi with long, decisive steps.
Calling after his departing back, Jeok Unhwi spoke with deliberate courtesy.
“Do take care of yourself.”
…….
He paused for a moment, but then continued on as if he hadn’t heard.
His legs were long enough that his stride was proportionally vast, and Yuk Jangro disappeared into the distance in moments.
Though Jeok Unhwi could not see it, having turned away, Yuk Jangro’s face was terribly contorted.
.
.
.
After Yuk Jangro vanished.
“……You said you understood. So why speak to him that way?”
Ju Igyeom opened his eyes wide, his expression worn and weary.
It was quite a comical expression, though Jeok Unhwi, exercising restraint, suppressed his laughter and answered.
“I know what’s happening, so I stopped at this.”
“……What?”
Ju Igyeom furrowed his brow as if confused.
He’d just made one of the Blood Sect’s true powers into a definite enemy—surely that wasn’t what this meant.
“I didn’t actually clash blades with him or anything like that, did I?”
“True, your swords never crossed. But the principle seems much the same.”
“It’s different.”
“Different, you say?”
To Ju Igyeom’s unenthusiastic question, Jeok Unhwi nodded as if it were obvious.
“He won’t be able to do anything for a while—he’ll be watching the Sect Leader’s mood.”
!
Jeok Unhwi had even invoked the Sect Leader’s name to pressure Yuk Jangro.
‘Yuk Jangro doesn’t know if the report was actually sent to the Sect Leader or not.’
If the Third Son died in this situation, there was only one person who could be blamed for it.
Even if it were merely Yuk Jangro’s own misunderstanding, the mere possibility that the Sect Leader knew would paralyze him from acting rashly.
Ju Igyeom looked at Jeok Unhwi with fresh appreciation.
“……You were considering all of that when you spoke?”
“What’s so hard about it?”
“Even mentioning the Elder Council specifically?”
“It’s much the same principle.”
Jeok Unhwi shrugged as though it were nothing, but Ju Igyeom understood that this was far from trivial.
‘The scheme itself is one thing, but his level of thinking is on a different plane entirely.’
What kind of Blood Sect member would sell out even the Sect Leader to pull off a trick like this?
Ju Igyeom asked, just to be sure.
“Did you really discuss this with the Sect Leader and Yuk Jangro?”
“Of course it’s a lie. You were there with me, weren’t you?”
Jeok Unhwi’s expression was one of mild exasperation.
Ju Igyeom reluctantly nodded.
“Yes. I was…….”
Jeok Unhwi watched the direction Yuk Jangro had disappeared and let out a low chuckle.
“Mark my words—he’ll be beside himself with suspicion.”
He’d left those words about the Elder Council for him to dwell on; wouldn’t he suspect every possibility now?
He’d grow suspicious of every glimmer in the Sect Leader’s eyes, every word carrying hidden intent.
After that, he’d begin to doubt whether the Third Son’s words were truth or lies.
“He already looked gloomy, but he’ll look even more so now.”
Ju Igyeom stared blankly at the snickering Jeok Unhwi.
‘I knew the Young Master wasn’t ordinary, but……’
Yet he faced one of the Blood Sect’s seven elders without even a hint of tension.
“How did you even endure Yuk Jangro’s Soul-Seizing Art? It clearly wasn’t something ordinary.”
“If a Blood Sect member can’t withstand the tricks of a gloomy sorcerer, then he’s no Blood Sect member at all.”
The greatest factor determining success or failure of the Soul-Seizing Art was willpower.
Just as those with weak vital energy fall prey to spirits, the more unstable one’s mind, the more effectively the Soul-Seizing Art manifests.
In that sense, Yuk Jangro had been unlucky.
If one were to name the five strongest minds under heaven, Jeok Unhwi would certainly be among them.
‘And that’s not even counting the shock of witnessing the Sect Leader’s heart technique.’
Having just watched the Sword Mountain Blood Sea unfold before him, Yuk Jangro’s sorcery seemed like child’s play.
“Hmph…….”
Ju Igyeom, who had been regarding him with tired eyes for a moment, now spoke with grave seriousness.
“But Young Master, this method ultimately has its limits.”
“I know. Eventually he’ll catch on that I was lying. Or else he’ll crack under the pressure and try to eliminate me outright.”
“What do you intend to do then?”
“It’s simple.”
Jeok Unhwi met Ju Igyeom’s gaze and spoke with utter seriousness.
“Become strong enough that he can’t even touch me.”
……!
“By that time, Yuk Jangro won’t even be a threat. Though of course I’ll still exact punishment.”
A fifteen-year-old boy declaring he would become stronger than a Blood Sect elder.
Ju Igyeom was left speechless.
‘To speak like that, knowing Yuk Jangro could turn at any moment……?’
It was certain it wouldn’t take long.
Ju Igyeom was not the sort of man to leave a rival unattended when that rival held his weaknesses in hand.
But what was even more absurd was that his words didn’t sound the least bit fantastical.
‘……I’ve been corrupted by it too.’
Already things had come to this; if more time passed, what would become of him then?
A sudden vertigo seized him, and Ju Igyeom shook his head slowly.
“I understand perfectly. Then, what will you do right now?”
The matter that had remained unresolved before Yuk Jangro’s arrival.
Jeok Unhwi answered to complete it.
“Study.”
* * *
Namhwa County, Jeok Myeong Palace.
Books lay scattered haphazardly across the desk.
Mostly historical texts and doctrinal treatises, though several martial arts manuals caught the eye here and there.
Jeok Unhwi, examining them, exhaled a shallow breath.
‘I was arrogant.’
This was the thought that struck him after meeting with the Sect Leader directly.
His realm certainly stood among the Absolute Beings, but the fundamental architecture composing that absolute martial power was utterly unlike his own.
‘Five hundred years have passed—it couldn’t have remained unchanged.’
The Blood Sect’s reputation, its internal structure, and even the Exclusive Martial Arts of the Eight Blood Demons.
He had assumed he knew them naturally because he had witnessed them directly after his rebirth, but it seemed he had not truly accepted them in his heart.
‘Know Enemy, Know Self, Never Lose in Hundred Battles, as they say.’
If one knows one’s enemy and knows oneself, one will never lose even in a hundred battles.
He had resolved to transform the Blood Sect, yet he had arrogantly refused to truly examine the Blood Sect itself.
These materials had been gathered for precisely that reason.
“Let me study this properly—the Blood Sect.”
For the founder of the Blood Sect to say such a thing was rather absurd, but it was the best course of action.
‘That descendant knows so little of true substance.’
The Third Son had studied the sect’s affairs only until the age of ten, and even then had not applied himself properly, consumed as he was with despair over his station.
Even plumbing the Third Son’s memories, Jeok Unhwi found only murky or uncertain information, and so it seemed best to simply relearn everything from the beginning himself.
“Hm…….”
Having thought this, Jeok Unhwi began tapping the spine of the foremost book with a troubled expression.
Four characters were written in neat script on its elegant leather cover.
Blood Heaven Divine Scripture.
‘I never thought I’d actually lay eyes on this wretched thing.’
And to have found it with his own hands, no less.
But it was undeniably a necessary choice—after all, the Blood Heaven Divine Scripture was currently the most vital principle constituting the Blood Sect.
If he claimed to study the Blood Sect, he absolutely had to read through it at least once.
That said, his mood being anything but pleasant was only natural.
“Hm.”
Jeok Unhwi exhaled with grim resolution, and promptly opened the Blood Heaven Divine Scripture.
—Thus spoke the Blood Heaven: the weak are destined to perish, therefore all believers must assiduously cultivate themselves.
A familiar passage that appeared at once.
“……Damn it.”
His expression contorted into a grimace, and Jeok Unhwi proceeded to read through the Blood Heaven Divine Scripture and the other texts.
Thus, several hours later.
Crackle, snap.
Having turned the final page of the final book, Jeok Unhwi closed it with an audible thud before leaning his body back.
His expression had grown heavy and dark.
“Hm…….”
The actual reading had not taken terribly long.
Both his exceptional talent and concentration were considerable, and treating it as fiction rather than history made the reading itself rather enjoyable.
‘Even I felt a chill when my own deeds appeared in the text for the first time.’
In any case, his impression after finishing all the prepared books was…….
“Strange.”
He did not notice the peculiarities at once—the doctrinal treatises possessed a certain internal logic, and the historical accounts maintained a consistent narrative.
What seized Jeok Unhwi’s attention was singular.
‘It’s all……twisted somehow.’
His own words and deeds had not vanished entirely.
Yet all of them had been subtly, maliciously distorted.
His words were distorted like the doctrine of the strong preying on the weak, and his accomplishments were remembered only as infamy.
And more than that.
‘There is no middle of history.’
How exactly the Blood Heaven Divine Sect that he had founded as a righteous organization had transformed into the Demonic Path Sect it was now remained utterly unclear.
Not merely unclear—there was simply nothing there at all.
As if it had been a Demonic Path Sect from the very beginning.
‘And likewise…….’
Jeok Unhwi’s gaze turned toward a single point.
Books scattered carelessly beside the historical records, describing the sect’s martial arts heritage.
“There’s no trace of the Demonic Heaven Blood Sea Technique either.”
The Demonic Heaven Blood Sea Technique.
Five hundred years ago, the supreme blood art that had elevated Jeok Sahyeok to the ranks of the Greatest Martial Artist Under Heaven, and the very foundation upon which the Blood Heaven Divine Sect was built.
The records of that martial art—which any who ascended to Sect Leader should naturally master—had vanished entirely, as if they had never existed in the first place.
‘It’s not a matter of loss.’
If by some chance the secret manual had burned away, at minimum some record should remain, and it was not as though his successors who had inherited his teachings were nowhere to be found.
Yet nowhere in any texts dealing with the lineage of martial arts was the name Demonic Heaven Blood Sea Technique written, not even a single line.
‘There was said to be an Exclusive Martial Art of the Blood Heaven sect, though its details were not clearly known.’
In the present age, its place had been taken by the Reverse Heaven True Blood Function.
The Exclusive Martial Art of Hyeol Shin, it was a demonic art regarded as the most vicious blood technique of all ages.
‘Hyeol Shin? Who in the world is this man?’
One of the Eight Blood Demons.
Hyeol Shin, also known as Jeok Domyeong.
Living as one of the age’s transcendent masters, befitting that formidable epithet.
In terms of infamy, he was a match for Jeok Sahyeok, the founder of the Blood Sect.
‘……Quite a specimen.’
Considering that most of his own infamous reputation was fabricated, it meant Jeok Domyeong was truly a madman beyond reason.
Of course, there was a possibility he too had been distorted, but judging by the Reverse Heaven True Blood Function that the man had left behind, it seemed unlikely.
It was something far closer to sorcery than it was to a martial art.
“Ha.”
A bitter laugh escaped through Jeok Unhwi’s lips.
‘No wonder the Sect Leader chose the sword instead of blood arts.’
The foundation to continue had vanished, and something sinister had taken its place.
Having seen the Sect Leader directly, he appeared to possess the qualities of a Founder of an Age—so rather than inherit this worthless legacy of old, the choice to forge his own path made sense.
An excellent decision. He would have done the same.
“…….”
Gradually, the light in Jeok Unhwi’s eyes turned cold and settled.
After his return to life, it was something he had dimly suspected.
Then it had been mere conjecture, but now it was certainty.
‘Time did not bring this change.’
Someone had twisted both the history and martial arts he had left behind, transforming the Blood Heaven Divine Sect itself into a vicious demonic power.
All other emotions vanished, and only Killing Intent remained in Jeok Unhwi’s eyes, which blazed with fierce light.
Even as rage surged to his head, the corners of Jeok Unhwi’s mouth slowly curled upward.
“Interesting. Very much so.”

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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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