novelraw Chapter 127 : Heavenly Martial Festival (2)
Chapter 127 : Heavenly Martial Festival (2)
Chapter 127: Heavenly Martial Festival (2)
‘……What in the world?’
Beast King Umun Geol could not hide the confusion on his face after witnessing the results of Group 1's melee.
An unimaginable outcome had unfolded.
Originally, this Heavenly Martial Festival was supposed to be merely the first step for the Blood Cult to establish its foundation for seizing control of the Beast Palace.
The plan was for the Wolf Tribe forces, led by Meng Yung, to injure or kill warriors loyal to Umun Geol, thereby weakening any future resistance when they revealed their ambitions.
That was why, before the Festival began, Umun Geol tried everything he could to convince the other tribe chiefs to reduce the number of warriors sent out to fight.
— “If you do something foolish, your brother will experience a pain worse than hell itself.”
Threatened by Meng Yung, who had sensed something was off, he ultimately couldn’t take any action.
Heavenly Ancestors, please watch over us. Please, protect our warriors.
That was the only prayer he held in his heart.
‘……All twenty Wolf Tribe warriors chosen for Group 1 are dead.’
Instead, the outcome was the complete opposite—Meng Yung’s subordinates had all been slaughtered.
And by just one man.
Umun Geol’s gaze fell upon Pa Taeyun, who had finished the battle and now leaned leisurely against the wall.
Despite having unleashed a devastating fury, the man wore a calm expression, as if nothing had happened.
The external martial arts he displayed—
No, could it even be called that?
It was a brutal, simplistic brawling technique reminiscent of street thugs from the dark alleys, and yet it possessed a destructive power Umun Geol had never witnessed in his life.
Slide—
“……!”
At that moment, the man turned his head and looked at him.
A cold, emotionless gaze devoid of any feeling.
Yet for some reason, Umun Geol’s eyes trembled violently, as though struck by an earthquake.
The warrior had only been a member of the Beast Palace for two days, and yet Umun Geol found himself unconsciously hoping that this man would aid the Beast Palace.
He wanted to send him a telepathic message right then—but he couldn't.
‘……My brother, Umun Tak.’
In that moment, the image of his younger brother, tormented by the Male and Female Gu Poison, surfaced in his mind.
As he let out a deep sigh—
“Group 2 melee! Meng Yung advances!”
Uwaaaah!
Boom! Boom!
The crowd erupted with cheers that rivaled those during Pa Taeyun’s battle.
Just like Group 1, the Group 2 melee had ended as well.
Fwoooosh!
Releasing a chilling aura, Meng Yung had mercilessly crushed the warriors, securing his advancement to the second round.
---
Second Round of the Heavenly Martial Festival.
The winner’s battle was being prepared swiftly.
Originally, five warriors were to be selected from each of the two groups—making ten in total—to compete in duels, two at a time, to determine the final winner.
However, only eight warriors were being prepared.
This was because Sewoon had defeated two warriors' worth of opponents in Group 1, resulting in only four being selected.
Almost as if to match that feat—
Meng Yung had also defeated all twenty in Group 2, again leaving only four survivors.
It was an unprecedented occurrence in the history of the Heavenly Martial Festival, and the spectators were roaring in excitement.
But what made them even more ecstatic was the first match-up of the second round.
Pa Taeyun and Meng Yung, the two who had created whirlwinds in Group 1 and 2 respectively, were now set to face each other.
And of course, this was no coincidence.
Pa Taeyun, eager to kill Sewoon right away, had pressured the Palace Head to rig the brackets.
But for Sewoon, this was a blessing.
‘I didn’t expect him to set the stage so nicely for me.’
He couldn’t help but feel delighted.
The man had offered to die early on his own.
Moreover, if Meng Yung were to die a brutal death in this match…
‘The Prayer Demon hiding among the remaining six will surely show some reaction.’
With a side glance at Sewoon, he scanned the other six warriors besides himself and Meng Yung.
The warriors selected from the five tribes showed no signs of disguise or concealment in their appearances.
But Sewoon was certain. Among them, the Prayer Demon was hiding.
There was no way that despicable and evil being had entrusted everything to Meng Yung alone.
Even before regression, that bastard had enjoyed this kind of twisted spectacle.
Sewoon wanted nothing more than to snap the Prayer Demon’s neck right this moment, but barely held himself back.
‘By now, those two must have started the operation. They need to succeed within the time limit.’
Until Nameless and Umun Tak, who had been sent elsewhere before the festival began, completed their mission—he had to be patient.
So for now…
“Second round of the Heavenly Martial Festival! The first winner’s match begins now! Pa Taeyun and Meng Yung, come up to the Heavenly Martial Stage!”
He would settle for smashing that bloated pig.
As Sewoon stepped onto the stage first, Meng Yung followed with his massive frame wobbling behind him.
The size difference between the two was overwhelming.
Meng Yung was so tall that Sewoon had to look up to meet his gaze. The wolf pelts wrapped around his upper and lower body looked about to burst. His body was swollen sideways as well.
One side of the Heavenly Martial Stage looked entirely filled.
As they stood apart, facing off, Meng Yung smirked and spoke.
“Khuh, kneel before me and swear loyalty now. Then I might just settle for breaking one of your limbs.”
“……”
Meng Yung provoked his opponent.
He knew how to handle these fresh-faced youngsters.
But the other man offered no response.
Meng Yung glanced over to assess his opponent—and his eyes gleamed.
Heh heh, as expected.
Perhaps overwhelmed by the immense pressure he emitted, the youth’s face had turned deathly pale.
So loud when fighting low-level subordinates earlier, and now that he’s facing a real opponent like himself, he didn’t know what to do.
“Heh heh, up close, you look even more pathetic. That skinny body of yours doesn’t even have a single decent muscle.”
“……”
“Now then, just like your father who already went to the heavens—soon you too—!”
But then—
“Damn it! I can’t take this anymore!!”
“?!”
Suddenly, the other man roared.
The spectators who were watching the situation closely were startled, their attention snapped toward the stage.
…What was going on?
But something felt strange.
Pa Taeyun had one hand tightly pinching his nose, his face twisted in a deep grimace.
Just like the audience, Meng Yung stood dazed, confused—until Sewoon shouted aloud.
“Ugh, your breath is so god-awful it makes me want to puke!!”
“……!”
“Do you eat dung instead of food, you bastard?!”
“?!”
“Shut that latrine-smelling mouth and get the hell away from me!!”
“!!”
Hiss—
A storm of profanities poured out, and silence blanketed the surroundings for a moment.
But only for a moment.
“Pfft!”
“Khahaha!!”
Laughter loud enough to shake the Heavenly Martial Stage exploded around them.
More and more people struggled to stifle their chuckles, hiccupping with amusement.
The dumbfounded Meng Yung’s face flushed beet red in utter shame.
“Y-You damn bastard! How dare you mock me!!”
“We haven’t even started—!!”
Thudududud!
Before Pa Tamun could intervene, Meng Yung charged straight at Sewoon.
Despite his massive frame, his movement wasn’t sluggish in the slightest.
“Ooooh!!”
“That’s our Wolf Tribe Chief! Incredible speed!!”
The force and speed were nearly on par with Umun Geol, the Beast King.
Gasps of admiration burst from all directions, but Sewoon scoffed.
‘That’s just a flashy trick.’
Unlike Umun Geol, the bastard hadn’t even come close to mastering external arts to the extreme where one could fortify their soul.
To the untrained eye, it might look impressive, but as Sewoon said—it was nothing more than a hollow illusion.
“I’ll pierce through your body as it is!!”
Boom!
In that moment, Meng Yung descended like a bolt of lightning, driving his right fist down toward Sewoon.
Whoosh!
Instinctively, Sewoon threw himself to the side to evade the strike.
BOOOM!!
Meng Yung’s fist landed squarely where Sewoon had just been.
With a thunderous boom, the stone floor of the Heavenly Martial Stage—carved from the solid rock of Mount Ailao—shattered into pieces under his blow.
“Let’s see how long you can scurry around like a rat!!”
Thudududu!
Meng Yung didn’t stop and continued his relentless assault.
His eyes crazed with fury like a starving bear, he launched a barrage of indiscriminate attacks toward Sewoon.
BOOM!
CRACK!
Everything caught in the path of his fists and elbows was pulverized.
The sheer ferocity of the onslaught made it seem like Sewoon was being hunted, and even Pa Tamun let out a helpless sigh.
But—
‘He’s using the same martial art as before, just as I expected.’
Sewoon, with half-lidded eyes, had already seen through all of his opponent’s movements.
It was exactly the same martial art Sewoon had seen in his previous life.
Fwoosh!
At some point, an odd gleam appeared in Sewoon’s eyes—visible only to himself.
The Gwansek-an, the Eye of Spectral Perception, had activated—an ability to read all qi by their color.
To the outside, Meng Yung appeared to be using only pure external arts.
But—
‘I see it—the pitch-black aura……!’
He was secretly using demonic arts bestowed by the Blood Cult.
It was the secret technique of the Jiangshi Sect—Nine Springs Corpse Armor Technique.
“Armor thy flesh with the qi of the wandering dead and corpses of the Nine Springs.”
The Nine Springs Corpse Armor Technique, imbued with grotesque meaning, was originally the defensive qi cultivation art of the Prayer Demon.
By wrapping one’s meridians with the energy drawn from corpses and the dead, it turned the body as hard as diamond.
Its strength lay in its stealth—when projected outward, no demonic energy could be detected.
It was a perfect martial art for the Prayer Demon to disguise himself among his enemies.
“I am invincible!!”
Despite using such demonic arts, Meng Yung screamed without a hint of shame.
It was disgusting. A repulsive display.
‘Time to slice his throat.’
Screech—!
While fleeing, Sewoon suddenly stopped in place.
Seeing this, Meng Yung burst into laughter.
“Kehaha! Finally tired already?! I’ll crush you to pieces!!”
BOOM!
He stomped down and leapt high into the air.
With both hands clasped together like a hammer, he came crashing down.
Whooooom!
Right then—
Sewoon’s Gwansek-an began to morph into a new form.
Swish!
In the blink of an eye, unnoticed by anyone—
Both of Sewoon’s pupils turned ashen gray.
‘W-What? What’s—?!’
At the same time, Meng Yung, mid-fall, couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
He sensed something wrong with his own body.
‘The Nine Springs Corpse Armor Technique has vanished……!!’
The energy that had coated his entire meridians had suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Yes—evaporated or dissolved would be the right words.
Naturally, all of this was due to Sewoon’s new power based on Mokhyeol.
‘How does it feel to have your color stolen, pig?’
Color-Stripping Eye.
A new form evolved from the Gwansek-an, the Color-Stripping Eye momentarily steals the color from its target.
And colorlessness means defenselessness.
As the massive prey plummeted—
Swaaaat!
Sewoon pulled his arm back like a slingshot.
Screeech!
And like a battering ram smashing down a fortress wall, he drove his fist into the bastard’s face.
“-Grrk!!”
Letting out a squeal like a pig having its throat slit by a butcher, Meng Yung’s left cheek crumpled like soft clay.
BOOOOOM!!
A massive explosion rang out like a cannon shell detonating.
CRASH!
Without even being able to scream properly, Meng Yung flew through the air, bouncing and rolling across the Heavenly Martial Stage with a thunderous clatter.