What the hell is that grotesque thing?
I had already suspected that the Black Cloud Faction had so strange elixirs.
The ones who still had a shred of reason left confessed everything to after their leader died.
Of course, these were only the lower-ranking mbers, so their knowledge wasn’t exactly reliable. But at the very least, I learned that consuming these pills could turn a person into a beast.
However, I had never heard of a transformation like this.
This wasn’t just so ordinary beast.
The bizarre mix of blue and red fur was unsettling in a way that defied explanation.
Just looking at it made feel as though I was being crushed under an invisible force.
My instincts recoiled from it.
It wasn’t human, yet it tried to mimic human movents.
It wasn’t a beast, yet it had the form of one.
CRACKLE—!
Two ice dragons soared toward the monster.
“Hui! Run, now!”
…Run?
There were two Hwagyeong-level martial artists here, yet she was telling to run?
“Gehk.”
But I’d long since learned that ignoring Seolhwa’s warnings would lead to choking on my own pride.
I scooped her onto my back and took off.
BOOOOM!
At the sa ti, the ice dragons created a massive frozen barrier.
Buying us just enough ti to escape.
“…Thanks for listening. That thing isn’t the kind of enemy you can just charge into blindly.”
Hummm…
Seolhwa adjusted the balance of her freezing and yin energy as she leaned slightly against .
Did she know sothing about that creature?
“Hui, don’t freak out, but listen carefully. That thing just now….”
Just now, what?
“…It’s sothing suspicious beyond suspicion.”
…I an, I could tell that just by looking at it.
“Don’t give that look! I’m telling you, it’s suspicious beyond suspicion! Of course, it’s only mimicking that form temporarily, but—it's an ancient existence.”
An ancient existence?
“It was said to have appeared when the Heavenly Demon was active. Though now, we should call it a calamitous beast.”
So “Suspicious Beyond Suspicion” is an actual na?
I guess it makes sense. After all, Gomodo was once called the “Tailed Manifestation of Ancient Death.”
And now that I think about it, their active periods overlap.
Could this thing truly be an ancient being?
If I were to rank them, it’d be on the sa level as the previous Gomodo or the True Dragon.
The fact that Seolhwa recognized it imdiately ant that even after all these years, it had never been forgotten.
That alone proved how powerful it was.
WHOOOSH!
I pushed my speed to the limit.
For now, creating so distance and figuring out how to deal with it seed like the best course of action.
“To think that just a few elixirs could summon a being like that… We shouldn’t have underestimated the Black Cloud Faction. The power radiating from that thing far surpasses the mid-tier of Hwagyeong.”
Surpasses Hwagyeong mid-tier.
Since Seolhwa’s level was likely at the mid-tier of Hwagyeong, that ant this thing was stronger than her.
“We need to stall for ti. If its power increased this drastically in such a short period, the consequences will be obvious.”
There was no need to face sothing that dangerous head-on.
The power it forced upon itself would eventually devour it from within.
If Docheol were here, she would have charged in laughing, calling it fun, but luckily, she was absent this ti.
…Where the hell was she, anyway?
She should’ve shown up by now.
BOOOOM!
The sound of sothing hamring against the ice barrier echoed.
“…It’s not going to hold much longer. Even if we retreat, that thing will be able to catch up instantly.”
It can keep up with my speed?
One of my greatest strengths was my absurd speed, which didn’t match my size at all.
Especially when using So-ryong Deungcheonbo, my movent speed beca nearly unparalleled.
The idea that it could match my speed seed unbelievable—but there was no harm in being cautious.
“That’s what ‘Suspicious Beyond Suspicion’ is. It can quite literally do anything.”
What the hell was this thing that she kept talking about like so kind of nightmare?
“…As frustrating as it is to admit, the word ‘omnipotent’ might actually suit its abilities. According to historical records, it was said to be able to manipulate anything. Of course, there’s always a price. The Black Cloud Faction’s leader has only barely grazed that power, so his abilities should be extrely limited.”
Seolhwa’s expression darkened.
CRACK!
The ice barrier shattered.
Even though we had covered quite so distance, the sound reached us.
The reason was simple.
Seolhwa had been continuously creating barriers behind us as we fled.
Which ant—there had been an ice wall right behind , too.
CLANG!
And that, too, was destroyed.
“Kehkeh… Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Demon Cult. And you, the naless lizard.”
His eerie voice crawled into my ears.
“Earlier, I hated you both with every fiber of my being. But now… now, I’ve never been more grateful.”
This was ridiculous.
How the hell had he bulldozed through all those barriers and still reached us in an instant?
“…Suspicious Beyond Suspicion doesn’t have limits. The only thing it lacked was internal energy. That’s why it rampaged across battlefields, endlessly hungering for more.”
No limits?
That sounded like a cheat ability if I’d ever heard one.
No—even if it was true, the thing in front of us wasn’t actually Suspicious Beyond Suspicion itself.
It was just a human borrowing its power.
If I worked together with Seolhwa, we could take it down.
“…No, don’t even think about it. Focus on buying ti.”
…Right. Buying ti was our best bet.
With Seolhwa’s Ice Arts and my Wood Affinity, we could hold out long enough.
CRACKLE—!
SHRIEEEEK!
Seolhwa’s Ice Arts rged with the power of the storm.
A freezing blizzard, infused with a biting chill, surged forward and engulfed the approaching Black Cloud Faction leader.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
“Hmm… I see. The Ice-White Divine Arts are certainly annoying.”
Yet, he was unhard.
The blue-and-red-furred abomination was too resistant to be frozen solid.
Still, even if he couldn’t be completely frozen, he couldn’t push through the storm either.
Every ti he tried, he was frozen and pushed back—over and over again.
At this rate, we could stall him for long enough, just like Seolhwa said.
“For now… I should get rid of the most troubleso one first.”
Flash!
The Black Cloud Faction leader locked his eerie eyes onto Seolhwa.
“KYAAAAH!”
At that mont, Seolhwa let out a shrill scream, and her Ice Arts abruptly ceased.
What the hell just happened?
She was on my back, so there was no way she had been struck by an external attack.
“Kekekeke… You don’t understand, do you?”
I had no choice but to dispel the storm to check on her condition.
Her body was cold as ice.
She was still breathing, but her face contorted in unbearable pain.
He just looked at her—so how the hell did this happen?
“You locked eyes with . Naturally, she has succumbed to Shimma.”
She’s fallen into Shimma?
…So he really does possess sothing close to omnipotence?
How the hell did he take down the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Demon Cult in a single glance?
“Now that you’ve stopped your storm, I’d love to test this power even more. But unfortunately, I don’t have much ti….”
Flash!
I could feel him focusing his gaze again.
He was going to use that technique—whatever it was—on next.
I didn’t know exactly how it worked, but if it required eye contact, I could counter it by closing my eyes.
Hummm…
“Urgh… KRAAAH!”
Even with my eyes closed, the pain surged through .
Sothing indescribable forcefully invaded my mind.
My legs wobbled, and my knee nearly buckled under the pressure.
So this was the true nature of that ability.
No wonder Seolhwa lost consciousness instantly.
She had already been exhausted from repeatedly using Ice Arts, so seeing sothing like that must have been overwhelming.
A grotesque vision spread before .
A blue-furred entity bounded freely across vast plains, while a red-furred one swam effortlessly through endless seas.
Mountains were covered in fur. Valleys were covered in fur.
Red fur, blue fur, yellow fur, black fur, white fur.
Fur of all colors scattered across the world.
There wasn’t a single place untouched by fur.
Countless bizarre creatures gathered together, performing equally bizarre acts, endlessly tossing and shaking their fur.
“…Ghhhk…”
“KHAHAHA! I love that reaction! Yes, no matter who they are, once they lock eyes with , they all end up like this!”
I heard the sound of slow, deliberate footsteps.
“…Once again, I must thank you. Thanks to you, I now understand the full extent of this overwhelming power!”
He was getting closer.
“If I offer you to the True Dragon, this overwhelming power will beco fully mine.”
So he wasn’t going to kill right away.
Not that he needed to.
In this state, I wouldn’t be able to escape unless he allowed it. I had been completely overpowered.
“These black scales… I see now why they’re called ‘dragon scales.’ Well, since the True Dragon will need your Neidan, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if I just take a few scales for myself—”
Just as his hand was about to touch —
BOOOOOM!
—I grabbed his skull and slamd it down.
“GAAAAAH!”
CRUNCH!
His skull fractured, and hot blood gushed from the wound.
“W-what… how…?!”
Even as he scread in agony, the Black Cloud Faction leader managed to blurt out a question.
His ability was undoubtedly terrifying.
He had shown visions so nightmarish that even soone as strong as Seolhwa had instantly collapsed.
“Ghhhk… how can you still move…? GAAAAH!”
Ordinarily, no one should be able to resist Shimma.
Except for , of course.
Because I live with sothing far, far worse than whatever he just showed .
KHAHAHAHAHA! Calling that pathetic thing an ‘ancient existence’? Now that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in ages!
“W-wait! Just… waaaaait! GAAAH! W-what are you showing …? UGH… S-scales? AAAAH! THE SCALES! THE SCALES! THE SCAAAAAALES!”
If you wanted to capture , you should’ve at least brought a Spinosaurus in a maid outfit.
TL Note: Hwagyeong – Flower's Boundary
In the context of martial arts novels, Hwagyeong refers to one of the highest realms of martial cultivation. It represents a level where a martial artist has achieved a near-perfect understanding of their techniques, internal energy, and combat instincts.
Fighters at this level can manipulate the environnt with their qi, perform near-supernatural feats, and overpower most ordinary martial artists with ease.
In many martial arts hierarchies, Hwagyeong is above the Sangwon level (which signifies great discipline and mastery) and is often considered the pinnacle of martial enlightennt.
So-ryong Deungcheonbo – Little Dragon Ascends to Heaven Steps
This is a specific movent technique that enhances speed and agility. The na suggests an imagery of a young dragon soaring into the sky, implying rapid movent, agility, and sudden bursts of acceleration.
This technique allows the user to traverse vast distances in short monts, evade attacks with extre speed, and possibly even move in unpredictable patterns.
Since Ko Hui has a lizard-dragon-like evolution, it suits his combat style by allowing him to move much faster than his size would suggest.
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