Chapter 190 – Demon vs. Chaos (2)

The Heavenly Demon’s arm was mangled from piercing through Yu-jin’s Mind Sword, but it was steadily regenerating even as he moved it.

Once again, the Heavenly Demon threw a punch at Yu-jin. Not to be outdone, Yu-jin swung his sword, and the fist and blade collided at a single point.

*CRASH!*

The Mind Sword possessed the power to cut through almost any attack. But it couldn’t seem to cleave the Heavenly Demon’s fist. This meant only one thing.

“No way!”

If the sword had the Mind Sword, then the fist had the Divine Fist. Yu-jin frowned deeply, having believed that Great Master Gak-won was the only person to have ever reached the realm of the Divine Fist.

The Heavenly Demon laughed at Yu-jin’s reaction and threw a powerful punch. The terrifying barrage of fists began to destroy all the avatars of the Mind Sword.

Yu-jin also swung his sword and cut the Heavenly Demon’s body, but the Heavenly Demon paid it no mind.

*Vwooom!*

The Heavenly Demon displayed truly terrifying regenerative power, healing endlessly.

Faced with the Heavenly Demon’s absurd physical prowess, Yu-jin began to be pushed back.

In the end, Yu-jin’s face was struck by another of the Heavenly Demon’s blows. The impact was so powerful that his neck twisted violently, and his body was slammed hard into the ground.

An impact equivalent to a massive meteor strike shook the earth, forming a huge crater.

“Lord!”

“Waaaaaah!”

Joy and sorrow intersected.

The warriors of the Demonic Cult roared in celebration, while the warriors of the Central Plains despaired. No one other than Yu-jin could have survived such an attack.

But as if determined to completely crush the hopes of the Central Plains warriors, the Heavenly Demon did not stop his assault. A black tsunami of energy relentlessly battered the earth, carving the ground deeper and deeper until its depth was unknowable.

*Rumble, rumble, rumble!*

The moment the Heavenly Demon paused his offensive, the rocky hill began to tremble violently.

“Could it be?”

The demonic beings of the cult watched with horrified eyes, while the warriors of the Central Plains gazed at the hill with hope. In that instant, the rocky hill shattered, and Yu-jin, wrapped in wings of light, soared into the air.

Though his forehead was split and bleeding, and his clothes were torn in several places, he couldn’t escape his disheveled appearance.

He had taken a blow strong enough to twist his neck, but for him, who could regenerate like the Heavenly Demon, it wasn’t much of a problem.

“I never dreamed I’d get beaten up like this.”

As Yu-jin grumbled, the Heavenly Demon laughed cheerfully. Though they were mortal enemies, the existence of Yu-jin was truly fascinating to him.

One reason was that no one had ever spoken to him in such a way.

“The world never goes as you think it will. By the way, to think you withstood that assault. Have you also achieved an immortal body?”

“How could that be? I have no intention of living forever. It’s just simple regeneration.”

Of course, it was a regeneration so immense that it couldn’t be compared to that of ordinary demonic beings.

A moment later, Yu-jin’s eyes flashed, and his thirteen wings of light extended like spears, piercing the Heavenly Demon’s body.

They were imbued with the power of light that destroys darkness and demonic energy, but the Heavenly Demon looked at Yu-jin with an unfazed expression. Then, he grabbed the light that had pierced him.

*Sizzle!*

The light, which strongly repelled darkness, burned the Heavenly Demon’s hand, but he smiled and gripped it tighter. Soon, the light began to be stained with darkness.

Startled by the sight, Yu-jin tried to withdraw his wings of light, but a powerful suction force flowing from the Heavenly Demon’s entire body prevented it. In the end, the light was instantly corrupted by darkness, and that energy bound Yu-jin.

“Kugh!”

Yu-jin felt a sense of displeasure at being caught by his own attack and broke free from the darkness.

But by then, the Heavenly Demon had already rushed him, driving a powerful fist into his abdomen.

“Gah!”

Coughing up crimson blood, Yu-jin shot high into the sky. The Heavenly Demon ascended even faster and slammed down on Yu-jin’s back, forcing him to crash into the ground once more.

*KABOOM!*

A deep crater formed in the earth. But Yu-jin struggled to his feet and reappeared.

“Is this your true power? Incredible.”

The power of a being who had reigned as the strongest for hundreds of years could only be described as formidable.

It was understandable. No matter how much Yu-jin had reached a level equal to the Heavenly Demon, the amount of experience they had was different. Overwhelmingly so.

But Yu-jin could no longer afford to think about other things.

*Vwoooosh!*

A sword had already formed in the Heavenly Demon’s hand. It was the ultimate demonic sword, ‘Asura,’ made of jet-black demonic energy.

Yu-jin focused not on the sword itself, but on the powerful energy gathering within it, and hurriedly infused his own sword with internal energy.

In the brief moment of opening he had given, the Heavenly Demon was already preparing to unleash ‘Asura’s Dance of Heavenly Destruction’. It was uncertain if he could block it with the Profound Heaven Ink Phosphorus Sword, but he had no other choice.

“Devour your true enemy, Asura!”

No sooner had the Heavenly Demon’s declaration ended than darkness erupted from Asura’s blade, engulfing heaven and earth.

*KRAKOOOOM!*

The black tidal wave created by Asura’s Dance of Heavenly Destruction destroyed everything in its path. Yu-jin was in the sky, but the attack targeted not only the heavens but the earth as well, causing countless warriors of the Central Plains to vanish without a trace.

But despite taking such a tremendous blow, Yu-jin was still alive. Though he was a complete mess.

“Amazing. To think you’re still alive after taking Asura’s Dance of Heavenly Destruction.”

The Heavenly Demon’s admiration was natural. Until now, no martial artist had ever survived that technique.

The true Asura’s Dance of Heavenly Destruction was powerful enough to annihilate a thousand warriors in an instant. And Yu-jin had taken it head-on and survived.

“*Cough.* To think I couldn’t nullify all its power even after giving it my all… How truly dreadful.”

Yu-jin said, feeling his body recover. The effort he had put into blocking the attack had been truly immense.

First, he blocked the rushing attack with his Profound Heaven Ink Phosphorus Sword, then spread his wings of light to protect his body.

Next, he infused his wings with the counter-technique of the Absorption Arts to try and deflect the diminished power of the attack.

But despite all his efforts, the remaining force of Asura’s Dance of Heavenly Destruction had torn his body to shreds.

“I commend you for surviving. But if you take that blow one more time, not even you will be able to withstand it.”

“You don’t seriously think I’ll let you unleash that again, do you!”

The wings of light enveloping Yu-jin’s body turned black, then began to twist and merge. And when all thirteen blackened wings had combined, a single, massive Ink Dragon appeared.

*Kuuuuuooooo!*

As the colossal divine beast, capable of subjugating all creation, roared, the sky and earth began to shake. The roaring Ink Dragon flew toward the Heavenly Demon, opened its massive jaws, and bit down hard.

*CRUNCH!*

Despite the Ink Dragon’s attack, which could destroy any substance in the world, the Heavenly Demon was not bitten. This was because the form of a black Demonic God had already enveloped his entire body, protecting him.

But Yu-jin was not disappointed. Just forcing the Heavenly Demon to manifest the Demonic God made summoning the Ink Dragon worthwhile. While summoning the Demonic God, the Heavenly Demon couldn’t use Asura’s Dance of Heavenly Destruction, a technique that required his full power to unleash.

*Screeeech!*

The Ink Dragon wrapped its long body around the Demonic God protecting the Heavenly Demon and bit down. In response, the Demonic God slammed its fist into the Ink Dragon’s face.

But such an attack couldn’t harm the Ink Dragon. It only tightened its grip on the Demonic God. Confirming that the Demonic God was immobilized, Yu-jin smiled and raised his hand high.

“Heavenly Demon, I will take Asura from you so you can no longer use your technique.”

No sooner had Yu-jin finished speaking than a flash of light erupted from the ground, and something shot into the sky. It was a total of five weapons. All of them were incredible weapons possessing great strength and divinity.

Crimson Blood Dagger.

Heaven-Shaking Sword.

Soul-Shattering Spear.

Ice-White Water Dragon Sword.

Fire Dragon Saber.

The divine treasures known as the Twelve Treasures of the Martial World. A full five of these artifacts, each said to be capable of making its owner the strongest under heaven, had appeared.

This was what Yu-jin had ordered Ju Yun-hui and Na Ye-jin to prepare. Including the Ink Dragon Sword Yu-jin currently held and the Asura wielded by the Heavenly Demon, a total of seven divine treasures were now present.

Never before in the history of the martial world had so many divine treasures been gathered in one place. It was no exaggeration to say that an unprecedented event was unfolding.

*Grip.*

Yu-jin gripped the Fire Dragon Saber in his left hand. The other divine treasures floated around him as if to guard him. It was, of course, the technique of Sword Control.

“Here I come!”

Yu-jin entered the form of the Demonic God and swung two swords at the Heavenly Demon. Simultaneously, the four other divine treasures stabbed toward the Heavenly Demon’s body. The Heavenly Demon hurriedly swung Asura to block, but he couldn’t deflect all of Yu-jin’s attacks.

“Kugh!”

“Just as I expected!”

Yu-jin shouted with a smile and continued his relentless assault. His divine treasures steadily inflicted wounds on the Heavenly Demon’s body.

Until now, the Heavenly Demon had only ever wielded Asura to perform his ultimate technique. In truth, he didn’t even need to swing it properly. Anyone hit by the technique would lose their life without exception.

Because of this history, the Heavenly Demon had never once learned swordsmanship. Of course, with hundreds of years of experience, he was more skilled than most swordsmen.

But compared to Yu-jin, who had reached the ultimate realm of the Mind Sword, the Heavenly Demon’s swordsmanship was lacking.

*CRASH!*

The Demonic God that had been striking the Ink Dragon now threw a punch at Yu-jin. But Yu-jin used his Sword Control to move the four swords and block the attack. Then he retreated again.

“Doing this might turn the tide of the battle, but it won’t be enough to grant you your rest.”

Just as Yu-jin said, all of the Heavenly Demon’s wounds were steadily regenerating. But the Heavenly Demon, his pride wounded, glared at Yu-jin with a frown.

His frown vanished at Yu-jin’s next declaration.

“Heavenly Demon, I’m taking Asura! You must know it too, don’t you? The phenomenon that occurs when the Twelve Treasures are gathered! And what happens when that phenomenon is amplified!”

“N-No way! You!”

A look of horror appeared on the Heavenly Demon’s face. He had realized what Yu-jin was about to do. He hurriedly tried to send Asura back to the other world, but it was already too late.

*Vwoooooom!*

The Fire Dragon Saber and the four other divine treasures that Yu-jin had released began to tremble. And so did the Asura held in the Heavenly Demon’s hand.