Episode 195: Return to the Demon Sect
Boom! Crash!
Clang! Clang!
The valley echoed with the relentless roar of thunder.
Lightning flashed, and the sky seemed to split with a deafening sound.
Sometimes it was real thunder, but other times it was the effect created by Sabikang and Seolbaek’s fierce battle.
Their fight had surpassed the level of ordinary martial artists.
The turbulent waters rushed down with a wild force.
In less than a moment, the water in the valley had nearly tripled in volume.
The rocks that had been visible in the middle of the valley were now nowhere to be seen.
Yet, neither of them left the area.
As a result, Sabikang and Seolbaek had to continuously perform their water-walking techniques throughout the battle.
Seolbaek was confident in his internal energy.
He was waiting for Sabikang to tire out and fall.
No matter how skilled one was, without sufficient internal energy, they would eventually be swept away by the rapids.
Fighting on such a torrent, unlike a still lake, was not something that could be managed with ordinary internal energy.
Yet, both of them had endured for quite some time.
‘This guy keeps surprising me.’
Seolbaek poured out a relentless barrage of sword strikes at Sabikang, his vigilance heightened.
Strangely, Sabikang seemed on the verge of exhaustion, yet he continued to hold on.
According to Seolbaek’s initial assessment, Sabikang should have been swept away by the fierce current by now.
But instead of being carried away, he was dodging Seolbaek’s attacks with precision.
In fact, it seemed as if Sabikang’s internal energy was increasing over time.
Of course, that couldn’t be true.
‘But I just can’t understand it.’
Seolbaek frowned deeply.
In the moment he was lost in thought,
Whoosh!
A sudden attack pierced through the rain, heading straight for his face.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Seolbaek quickly retreated, extending his palm to block.
Bang!
He skidded backward across the rushing water.
Even this was a water-walking technique, causing a continuous spray of water.
Momentarily losing his balance, he leaped onto a tree branch by the valley.
Meanwhile, Sabikang, who had been pushed back by the force, landed in the middle of the valley.
As he deployed a shield, the pouring rain bounced off the translucent barrier.
Whoosh!
The rushing water split around Sabikang.
The rock he stood on became visible.
Seolbaek narrowed his eyes.
‘Is he using a protective energy to block the current?’
If so, it was truly astonishing.
Using a protective energy, which consumes a lot of power, just to block water?
This was a tactic to deceive the opponent.
But such deception would stem from arrogance.
Without an ocean-like depth of internal energy, it would be impossible to sustain such a feat for long.
Of course, Seolbaek was unaware of his grave misunderstanding.
What Sabikang was using wasn’t a protective energy but a shield.
The shield consumed far less mana than a protective energy.
Thus, Sabikang wasn’t expending as much power as Seolbaek thought.
However, not all of Seolbaek’s assumptions were incorrect.
The notion that Sabikang’s internal energy was increasing was not a misconception.
Sabikang had initially converted a significant amount of his internal energy into mana and was gradually converting it back, which was why Seolbaek found it puzzling.
As the fight dragged on longer than expected, Seolbaek decided he couldn’t afford to waste any more time.
“I’ve heard you’re an unpredictable man, but I didn’t expect your martial arts to be the same.”
“If you’re going to compliment me, try to be more straightforward.”
“Hahaha. Your arrogance ends here. It’s time to wrap this up.”
With those words, Seolbaek pulled something from his robe.
Sabikang frowned slightly.
Unexpectedly, Seolbaek had taken out a piece of paper.
Though it was hard to see in the dark, the yellow paper was densely covered with tiny writing.
In the next moment, Seolbaek tore the paper in half.
Then, an astonishing phenomenon occurred.
The yellow paper turned blue and scattered like burning embers.
Of course, it wasn’t actually burning.
With the rain pouring down, there was no way the paper could catch fire.
Yet, the paper disintegrated into blue smoke and was absorbed into Seolbaek’s nostrils.
“Inhale!”
Seolbaek took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
In the next moment, his forehead glowed brightly, and blue characters appeared and then vanished.
‘A scroll!’
A magic scroll.
A pre-cast magic item.
Even someone who couldn’t use magic could activate the spell contained within by tearing the scroll.
At first, Sabikang thought Seolbaek was using a powerful technique.
But seeing the demonic script etched on his forehead confirmed it.
‘Where did he get that?’
As Sabikang pondered,
“Hahaha! Now, let’s truly begin!”
Crack!
The branch snapped as Seolbaek leaped like a leopard.
Whoosh!
With a sharp sound, his sword aimed for Sabikang’s throat.
Clang!
With a clear metallic ring, Sabikang leaped back.
Splash!
Water sprayed as he performed his water-walking technique.
Then, an astonishing phenomenon followed.
Crack!
Seolbaek’s sword seemed to freeze, and even the raindrops around him turned to ice.
Sharp ice shards, infused with powerful energy, flew relentlessly at Sabikang.
Bang!
Sabikang deflected the incoming energy and ice chunks with his sword, leaving afterimages in the air.
Splash!
He leaped back onto a tree branch.
The situation had reversed once more.
Sabikang’s eyes glinted with interest.
‘Was it a scroll with ice attributes?’
An intense chill emanated from Seolbaek, who stood on the rock in the middle of the valley.
The water around him was already freezing.
Even the heavy rain turned to hail before reaching his body.
There was no doubt.
The scroll he activated must have granted him ice-attributed aura.
The energy that had flown at Sabikang earlier was undoubtedly closer to an aura.
With Seolbaek’s internal energy combined with the aura from the scroll, he had become much stronger.
Since the scroll was designed for those who couldn’t use magic, Seolbaek could wield the overflowing ice-attributed aura freely.
Especially since his original martial arts were already aligned with extreme cold, it was easier for him to adapt.
But that wasn’t the end.
“Heh heh. Impressive! But how long do you think you can last?”
With a sinister smile, Seolbaek pulled out more paper from his robe.
This time, it was two sheets.
‘Tsk… as expected.’
Sabikang clicked his tongue inwardly.
If he had one scroll, it was likely he had several of the same kind.
Magic scrolls were often stored in bundles due to their one-time use nature.
Rip!
He tore the two scrolls together.
Just like before, the paper turned blue and transformed into smoke, which seeped into Seolbaek’s nostrils.
“Haaah!”
Feeling the surge of power, Seolbaek took a deep, euphoric breath.
Characters appeared on his forehead, and blue light swirled in his eyes.
“Ha ha ha! Die in despair!”
Boom!
With just a stomp, the frozen rock shattered into pieces.
Simultaneously, he appeared before Sabikang and swung his sword.
Sabikang quickly extended his own sword.
Clang!
The clash of their swords echoed like thunder.
Ice shards scattered in all directions.
Crash!
Nearby trees were struck by the ice shards and fell helplessly.
Crack, thud!
Sabikang felt a numbing sensation in his right arm as he stepped back.
He had definitely grown stronger.
At this rate, it would be difficult to handle him.
But there was a way.
It might be risky, but there was a method.
Sabikang fixed his gaze on the heavily breathing Seolbaek.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
“Hahaha. Of course. I finally get to kill the brat who’s been a thorn in my side.”
“That’s not it. You’ve gone mad with power you can’t handle.”
“Haha. If you’re trying to provoke me, it’s not working!”
“It’s not provocation, just facing the facts!”
Whoosh!
Both of them leaped into the air simultaneously.
At that moment,
Whoosh!
Sabikang’s sword, infused with energy, left his hand.
Caught off guard, Seolbaek quickly raised his sword to defend.
Clang!
The impact sent him reeling backward.
‘Now’s my chance!’
Taking advantage of the opening, Sabikang cast a blink spell, moving behind Seolbaek.
Flash!
“You think such a cheap trick will work on me…!”
Seolbaek roared, swiftly turning around.
The blade’s edge grazed Sabigang’s shoulder as it sliced through the air.
Sssht!
“Ugh!”
But Sabigang didn’t flinch.
At this moment, a cut on the shoulder was the least of his worries.
What mattered more was…
Wham!
Sabigang thrust both palms forward, pressing them against Seolbaek’s chest.
He didn’t strike with force, nor did he unleash a blast of energy.
He simply placed his hands there.
In the next instant, icy mana began to flow from his palms into Seolbaek.
“What the…!”
Seolbaek recoiled in shock, trying to pull away,
Crack!
But his chest and Sabigang’s hands froze together, locking them in place like a statue.
“You scoundrel! What are you doing?”
“Heh. You seem to have a fondness for power beyond your control.”
“What?”
“But they say too much is as bad as too little.”
Sabigang chuckled, continuing to channel the icy mana.
Infusing someone with mana was akin to sharing one’s inner strength.
Yet, too much of anything can be worse than too little.
Seolbaek had already absorbed more ice-attributed aura than he could handle.
Even with a completed magic item, using multiple body-enhancing scrolls without understanding magic was bound to have side effects.
The only reason Seolbaek endured after using three scrolls in succession was his profound inner strength.
But if more mana were to be forced into him?
The cure would become poison.
As if to prove this, Seolbaek’s body began to freeze rapidly.
Crack! Crack!
“Argh…! What’s happening…!”
“Let me ask you something. Where did you get that artifact?”
“Shut up! Like I’d tell you…! Ugh!”
Seolbaek felt his body growing numb.
Sabigang’s eyes turned cold.
“Not willing to talk? Then you must die.”
There was no hesitation.
After all, it was mere curiosity, not of real importance.
Just as Sabigang was about to finish him off,
Whoosh!
A streak of energy sliced through the rain, heading straight for them.
Sabigang quickly stepped back as two shadowy figures appeared, swiftly sealing Seolbaek’s pressure points and supporting him.
Sabigang frowned at the masked duo.
“And who might you be?”