Chapter 94: Blood Shadows Shake the Heavens
There was certainly darkness covering the Island of Restless Souls.
And yet, an ominously vivid red energy was spreading across the entire world.
Blood Shadows Shake the Heavens.
An extreme blood art that shakes the world and heavens with blood.
That red energy was all being emitted from Jin Yeongryeong.
It pulsed explosively, like the beating of a heart, expanding and contracting over and over again.
Saweol swiftly retreated to avoid it, stepping in front of Sado Hwan to shield him.
“Ahh... This is no fun at all, Head of the Sado Clan.”
The way Jin Yeongryeong spoke had changed—no more crude speech, now full, coherent sentences.
Her voice was eerie and cloying.
Just the sound of it alone carried such a thick stench of blood it stung the nose.
“My lord, are you alright?”
“I'm fine.”
“I’ll handle this.”
Sado Hwan nodded. Saweol tightened her grip on her dagger.
You called me here deliberately... to give me a chance.
Saweol thought to herself.
Sado Hwan stood at a level far above her, one she couldn’t even begin to reach.
Even facing the head of the Jin Clan, she was certain he could win easily.
And yet, he had summoned her through Tak Horak.
I’ve never fought someone at the Transcendent Peak level.
Experience was a greater asset than anything for a martial artist. Sado Hwan was giving her that experience now. If it wasn’t to help her, this whole setup made no sense.
Even within Transcendent Peak, not all are equal.
Saweol had felt that painfully after her audience with the Heavenly Demon.
"Transcendent Peak" was merely a broad classification—it didn’t tell the whole story.
“Makes me want to cry. You two don’t look like just a master and subordinate, huh? There’s something…weird about your vibe.”
Jin Yeongryeong smirked slyly. Saweol answered respectfully.
“Further attacks will be considered a declaration of war against the Sado Clan, Head Jin Yeongryeong.”
“What? War? Ahahahaha!”
She clutched her stomach laughing, then suddenly turned serious.
“And what are you gonna do if it is war? What can your little Sado Clan possibly do?”
“Saweol, right? I heard you've been acting up since reaching Transcendent Peak. So, you're going to fight me? Me, Jin Yeongryeong, ranked 14th in the Divine Sect hierarchy?”
As she activated her martial art, Jin Yeongryeong's demeanor shifted as if she were a different person.
“If you threaten my lord...”
“Thought so. You’re not just some servant. Sado Hwan. Is that why you rejected me?”
“If this is meant to provoke me, I’ll hear no more.”
“Hmph. Fine, then.”
Jin Yeongryeong narrowed her eyes.
“Come at me, brat.”
Saweol bit her lip and observed her opponent.
The living mist of Blood Shadows Shake the Heavens now wrapped around Jin Yeongryeong like armor.
Though she had already overcome the mental pressure of the mist, the problem was not knowing what might emerge from it.
Measure the distance.
Just as Saweol steadied her breath, her form vanished like it had been washed away. She reappeared instantly behind Jin Yeongryeong.
Shhwaek!
Saweol's arm swung like a whip, her reverse-gripped dagger driving down toward Jin Yeongryeong’s nape.
“Too slow.”
But the attack never connected.
The red mist fluttered like tentacles, blocking the dagger. Jin Yeongryeong hadn’t even turned around.
So even this much isn’t enough.
Saweol raised her leg and kicked away the tentacle. Freed, she advanced once again. Her figure appeared and disappeared repeatedly, as if time itself was fragmenting.
Ghostly Phantom Steps.
Gu Yuyu Spirit Step.
Executed to its utmost, even Jin Yeongryeong briefly lost sight of Saweol’s movement. Yet she showed no concern.
“No matter where you hide…”
Kwadeuk!
Saweol’s dagger, aiming for her midsection, was caught by another tentacle.
“I can still see you.”
The tentacle gripping the dagger flung sideways, hurling Saweol away. She flipped midair and landed lightly, regaining balance.
“Enough playing around... How about we get serious?”
Jin Yeongryeong stomped the ground.
An invisible shockwave burst out, and the mist surrounding her began to take shape.
Blood Shadows Shake the Heavens—Jin Yeongryeong’s Style:
Blood Bat Shake.
A massive bat emerged.
Its wings weren’t membranes—they were made of hundreds of writhing tentacles, revolting just to look at.
A Transcendent Peak master was now fully manifesting their mental domain.
“Hup—!”
Saweol didn’t remain idle.
A burning orb rose behind her head like a sun, resembling a halo.
“Mental interference? What a shame. Judging by the dimness, it’s still not in full bloom. If it had fully blossomed, it’d be something beyond mere interference.”
At Jin Yeongryeong's words, Saweol bit her lip.
She was right.
Saweol’s mental domain worked overwhelmingly well against weaker opponents. But against fellow Transcendent Peak masters, it had almost no effect.
“Here’s a tip. Name your domain. Until then, it’s not truly yours.”
“I appreciate the advice.”
“Now then…”
Jin Yeongryeong grinned, extending her right hand.
“A brat like you ought to pay the price for your insolence.”
She flicked her hand.
The red mist of Blood Shadows Shake the Heavens transformed into hundreds of spike-like drills and rained down toward Saweol.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!
Each red spike held terrifying destructive force. The ones Saweol dodged tore up the ground of Janhondo, altering the terrain.
Faced with this natural disaster of destruction, Saweol had no choice but to rely on her footwork to evade.
“Ahahaha! Running around like a rat... Huh?”
But at some point—Saweol, who had only been dodging, began parrying the spikes.
Her dagger now shimmered with radiant sword energy. Each spike that clashed with it burst apart into red liquid.
She deflected that??
Blood Spike—a technique Jin Yeongryeong favored.
Each spike was imbued with energy, and launched irregularly in both spacing and timing.
To the target, it felt like being attacked by hundreds of Transcendent Peak experts at once.
To counter Blood Spike, you either stay far outside its range or carve out an escape by deflecting the spikes. Otherwise, you’ll get swept up like being caught in a swamp.
If she figured that out...
Jin Yeongryeong's lips twisted.
She’s a genius—just like that damn woman.
One genius who climbed over her was already enough. She couldn’t tolerate another.
If she can endure this much... let’s change the variation.
Her gaze turned to Sado Hwan, who stood with arms crossed, simply observing.
The one Saweol had stepped forward to protect.
She still couldn’t figure out who he really was. His movements seemed low-level, and he emitted none of the mental presence of someone capable of manifesting a domain.
But he had defeated Gwak Riyeon, and uncovered the secret behind the hidden wall of Martial Soul sealed for decades.
Above all—
He smells delicious.
The scent of his blood was maddeningly sweet, beyond any earthly delicacy.
Maybe just one bite…
Jin Yeongryeong shifted the direction of the spikes—from Saweol to Sado Hwan.
Saweol bit her lip and tried to deflect them, but it was too much.
Like trying to redirect a raging river, the Blood Spikes poured down on Sado Hwan.
But he simply extended his hand. That familiar, massive barrier rose and began blocking the spikes.
Pababababak!
Though the spikes could pierce stone, the Guardian Armring absorbed them all.
Like bursting blood-filled mosquitoes, the wall was splattered red.
Puddles of blood formed at its base.
Yet the Guardian Armring remained entirely undamaged.
Saweol stared in a daze, then turned to where Jin Yeongryeong had stood.
No one was there.
“So, it was Cheol Muguk’s work? What a pain.”
From the blood puddle formed by the broken Blood Spikes, Jin Yeongryeong's upper body emerged.
It was barely even martial art at that point—But this bizarre trait was exactly what defined the blood arts of the Shadow Blood Jin Clan.
With a relaxed expression, she crawled out of the puddle. The red liquid slithered up her body and vanished.
“What, are you frozen? Not even moving?”
Jin Yeongryeong stepped right up to Sado Hwan’s face. Due to their height difference, she naturally had to look up at him. He remained utterly still, expressionless.
“Head Jin!”
“What is the meaning of this?!”
Finally, other members of the Six Demon Families arrived, drawn by the commotion.
It would’ve been odd if they hadn’t come, given the explosive use of Blood Spikes and Guardian Armring.
Jin Yeongryeong flashed her grin again and said to the other clan heads:
“I was just trying to do what the Six Families Summit was meant for—have a friendly bout. Didn’t expect you’d all be so scared, though.”
Then she grabbed Sado Hwan’s hand. Having used Guardian Armring, his palm bore a clear wound, blood trickling from it.
“Looks like I won. So I’ll be claiming my victor’s rights.”
And she licked his palm.
“Haa… it’s truly... sweet…”
Her face was ecstatic.
Then—her expression suddenly froze.
She staggered backward.
“W-what... what the hell!? What did you... GAAAH!”
Clutching her head, Jin Yeongryeong let out a scream—horrifying enough to make others wince.
Guhk!
Blood gushed from her mouth—not spurting, but pouring like a waterfall.
The amount was so great, it defied belief that it came from one body.
Because it wasn’t ordinary blood.
It was Blood Essence she had absorbed through Blood Shadows Shake the Heavens.
The technique was one that accumulated blood essence to raise one’s level.
In other words—
Her entire cultivation was crumbling.
“Please, please! Forgive me! Forgive me! Get out of my head, PLEASE!”
Drenched in blood, Jin Yeongryeong collapsed to her knees and begged.
Her plea was directed, of course—To Sado Hwan, wearing an aloof expression.
“Victor’s rights, was it?”
“What an amusing trick.”
And that Sado Hwan—
What the hell just happened!?
—was doing everything he could to hide his utter panic.