CHAPTER 485: THE END POINT (4)

“Ughhh!”

Shin Bi-rang’s movements gradually came to a halt.

At first, his muscles seemed to stiffen slightly, as if hardening, and occasionally, small groans escaped.

After a moment, a light tremor ran through his body, and a bit of drool trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Shiver, shiver.

A body trembling gently.

The technique of inhalation has the characteristic of subtly permeating the body and causing delicate changes.

This induces slight muscle tension, a hazy mind, and occasionally leads to experiences different from the ordinary.

Moreover, inhalation is a product of advanced demonic nature, allowing these effects with minimal internal qi.

“Guh.”

As the qi of Shin B–rang seeped into Seol-Hwi’s body, his condition began to change gradually.

As time passed, Shin Bi-rang’s face lost all vitality, and finally, he lay quietly on the ground.

Seol-Hwi watched the entire process, wearing a contemplative expression.

‘The absorption isn’t very effective.’

Even without the status window floating before his eyes, he could feel that the qi itself hadn’t strengthened much.

[State]

Seol-Hwi [Subordinate Squad Leader]

Body Normal

[Value]

Stamina 631/640(520↑)

Internal qi 2150/2300(↑2050)

It was inevitable.

First of all, his level was inherently low, so the qi to operate the technique was weak.

It was fortunate enough that inhalation worked on Shin Bi-rang.

If it had been an opponent at their peak, they might have shaken it off or counterattacked during the inhalation.

[You have passed the 2nd trial.]

Fortunately, the result was his victory.

But the problem was what came next.

[The 3rd trial is opening.]

Clang.

Shin Bi-rang’s figure disappeared, and the sound of a door opening came from afar.

‘Who will it be this time?’

A look of tension crossed Seol-Hwi’s face.

He sensed that a much stronger opponent than Shin Bi-rang would appear this time.

How to overcome this crisis, a feeling of helplessness overwhelmed him.

Step, step.

With the sound of footsteps slowly approaching, a new opponent entered Seol-Hwi’s view.

This time, it was a familiar woman.

‘As expected.’

Seol-Hwi understood the situation as soon as he saw her.

An opponent of a higher dimension had appeared.

[State Summary]

Heuk Bi [Supreme Pavilion Lord’s guard]

Health 5 million/7 million

Internal qi 7 million/7 million

Realm Super Master

Combat Power 8.7 million

There was an overwhelming difference compared to his current abilities.

For Seol-Hwi, who had overcome crises with the Heavenly Demon Absorption Technique, this was undoubtedly a significant threat.

Clack.

There was no conversation.

Seeing Heuk Bi draw her sword and charge directly, Seo Hwi composed himself.

‘Although the numbers are overwhelming, they alone don’t decide the outcome of a fight.’

Health is important.

It allows for the use of powerful strength and quick recovery even after taking a hit.

Above all, one can focus on the fight without wavering, even against most opponents’ attacks.

And internal qi is even more crucial.

It enables the use of high-level martial arts, and if utilized well, one can overpower opponents many times stronger.

But those alone don’t fully determine combat ability.

Of course, movements become several times faster, and the power of a single strike becomes unimaginably strong.

However, no matter how powerful the attack, it’s useless if it doesn’t hit.

Whoosh.

A sharp strike aimed at the opponent’s neck sliced through the air.

Because Seol-Hwi evaded her attack as smoothly as flowing water.

“How…….”

Heuk Bi’s eyes wavered in surprise.

Unlike the old world, now even she could see the numbers.

“Having high health doesn’t make you move faster. The higher your internal qi, the stronger you become, but that doesn’t necessarily mean combat ability.”

Seol-Hwi said, gently spreading her hands.

“Perhaps the difference in combat ability between you and me… is over tenfold. Numbers aren’t everything.”

“Ugh!”

Heuk Bi charged again.

This time, it wasn’t a simple attack but a strike infused with internal qi.

‘It’s the Flame Demon Divine Arts!’

Seol-Hwi saw the flames forming in Heuk Bi’s hand.

Heuk Bi, who was once the bodyguard of the Supreme Pavillion Lord. It wasn’t strange for her to use Flame Demon Divine Arts.

‘Even a graze from this is dangerous.’

Seol-Hwi, lacking stamina and internal qi, was wary of that qi itself.

His health was so low that even a handful of the demonic qi in the air could cause damage to his body.

‘I have to redirect the qi completely.’

It couldn’t be countered with just the Wudang Sect’s Suppress Great Force with Small Force.

It was a technique that involved redirecting the flow, and without sufficient stamina and internal qi, it could backfire.

However, Seol-Hwi had the martial arts to overcome this situation.

“Haat!”

The extreme heat was about to touch Seol-Hwi’s face when Heuk Bi’s movement stopped.

“What?!”

The flames that had formed in her hand suddenly surged into the air.

Surprised by the strange sight, she looked at Seol-Hwi.

“This must be your first time experiencing this. It’s a martial art of Ilwonsomagong. It’s a martial art containing the five elements of the orthodox sect, which you don’t know.”

The subtlety of Linear Attack Demonic Art’s qi flow.

It was one of the Justice Faction martial arts bestowed by Earth Demon, usable without being bound by stamina and internal qi.

“Ugh! Stop! Kraaah!”

Thud!

The uncontrollable Flame Demon Divine Arts ultimately fell upon Heuk Bi.

She was struck directly and fell with a scream.

That was the end of it.

“Haa… haa…”

Seol-Hwi exhaled heavily. The trembling in his body did not subside easily.

‘It’s a martial art that barely uses internal energy…’

[State]

Seol-Hwi [Subordinate Unit Leader]

Body: Normal

[Value]

Health: 211/640 (420↓)

Internal qi: 145/2300 (↓2005)

The values had dropped significantly.

Handling strong demonic qi seemed to have made it difficult to avoid severe qi consumption.

‘Next is…’

[You have passed the third trial.]

He knew the ordeal wasn’t over yet.

The fourth trial promised an even more dangerous opponent, as the previous trials had indicated.

[The fourth trial is opening.]

And unfortunately, here.

He had to face him.

“It’s been a while.”

It was none other than the Supreme Pavilion Lord.

----------------------------------------

Of all times, to meet the person from the first trial now.

The feeling of despair he felt back then was just as strong now.

As the values showed, the gap was enormous.

[State]

Sama Gwi [Supreme Pavillion Lord]

Body: Normal

Level: Peak Demon

Health: 30 million/30 million

Internal qi: 50 million/50 million

Combat Power: 30 million [minimum]

‘If only I had a little more time…’

Seol-Hwi’s expression could only be dark.

Is there a way to strengthen oneself quickly with internal qi techniques? Yes.

There is a way to reach extreme demonic levels using demonic arts.

Of course, there is.

The problem was time.

To reach a certain level with Justice Faction’s internal qi techniques, it usually takes more than a day.

To swiftly circulate pure qi and open the Ren or Sea of Yin Meridian and Du or Governing Meridian requires that much time.

If using Demonic arts, the time can be significantly reduced.

Depending on the person, but for someone like Seol-Hwi, two hours would be sufficient.

That’s only when considering the standards of Supreme Demon or Peak Demon.

To ascend ton Profound Demon or Supreme Demon, significantly more time is required.

In the past, Seol-Hwi armed himself with elixirs precisely to shorten that absolute time.

“What’s with the frown? Where did your past confident self go?”

In contrast, the Supreme Pavilion Lord was triumphant.

It was a reaction born from looking at the figures.

“Have you shown up just to die by my hand again?”

Seol-Hwi retorted without backing down.

“Hmph. Your arrogant behavior is the same as ever. Your skills are merely…….”

The Supreme Pavilion Lord sneered, glancing upward slightly.

It was likely to confirm the overwhelmingly different figures once more.

‘What should I do…….’

Seol-Hwi realized that this time, it was indeed a crisis.

The difference in this fight was too great.

No matter what, there’s a certain limit.

With a difference like this, whether it’s Linear Attack Demonic Arts or anything else, it was a level where he couldn’t even withstand the opponent’s internal qi.

“Don’t worry. Since there’s such a big difference in skill…….”

“……!”

It was then.

In the blink of an eye, the Supreme Pavilion Lord was right next to him.

Unlike with Heuk Bi, this time Seol-Hwi couldn’t even see him move.

“I’ll kill you painfully while enjoying every single second of it.”

Thud!

With one blow, Seol-Hwi was knocked backward.

Seol-Hwi quickly got to his feet.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

He took another hit and collapsed to the ground again.

And this time, he was hit in the abdomen and couldn’t get up immediately.

Swoosh.

The Supreme Pavilion Lord bent down to meet Seol-Hwi’s gaze and asked.

“What are you doing?”

“Damn it!”

Seol-Hwi gritted his teeth and charged ahead. But his fist only sliced through empty air.

“Idiot.”

With the guy’s curses, the one-sided attack began.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

The Supreme Pavilion Lord didn’t use any martial arts to fight.

He simply overwhelmed Seol-Hwi with basic combat skills.

“Is that all you’ve got? Were you really this weak?”

Seol-Hwi was knocked back by the mocking words.

His face bore the marks of the beating he received, yet he still couldn’t properly defend against the attacks.

‘Isn’t there a way to momentarily elevate my level…’

Even in this desperate moment, Seol-Hwi was searching for a way to overcome the situation.

When the gap in health and internal qi is this wide, the significance of combat power diminishes.

To bridge this gap, ultimately,

He had to drastically enhance all his abilities.

‘Cultivation techniques are impossible. No, I can’t. The nature of demonic qi is different, and I might end up losing instead. So, I have no choice but to rise through Justice Faction’s martial arts.’

Demonic qi can rise quickly in a short time, but without elixirs, it requires absolute time.

However, with Justice Faction’s martial arts, realization was more important than internal qi.

Usually, realization comes after the body is developed.

Therefore, it’s inevitably slower compared to demonic arts.

But now, Seol-Hwi was trying to proceed in reverse.

Since he already had the realization, he hoped his body would follow.

Wham! Wham!

“Cough, cough.”

From the continuous blows, Seo Hwi eventually coughed up blood.

It seemed his internal organs were severely damaged by the opponent’s attack this time.

He had sustained wounds so deep that recovery seemed difficult on the moment.

“Hahaha! I feel so relieved. Finally, I get to see you beaten to death like this!”

The Lord of the Supreme Pavilion was confident of his victory.

No, more than that, it seemed like the grudges of the past had been completely washed away by the endless punching.

“It’s time to end this… huh?”

It was at that moment he turned his gaze back to Seol-Hwi.

He hated even the sight of Seol-Hwi struggling to stand, and the words he heard were irritating.

“Try a bit harder… Your punches are weaker than I thought.”

At those words, Supreme Pavilion Lord’s expression twisted.

Yes. He remembered.

It was those eyes.

He disliked the guy because of the way he looked at him.

“This time, I’ll have to break every bone.”

Supreme Pavilion Lord ground his teeth and took a step forward.

In such a situation, Seol-Hwi was still thinking.

‘Sense… I need to awaken my senses first.’

In a normal way, achieving a breakthrough in such a short time is impossible.

Is there no way to do it?

No. There is.

If only certain conditions are met, it’s not entirely impossible.

Then what are the specific conditions?

Awaken the senses within the body.

Originally, cultivating one’s qi is a way to expand one’s spiritual perception.

Unblocking the meridians also allows for the smooth transmission of internal qi.

What if this method could be obtained externally?

It’s through impact.

If a specific meridian point is struck, it can instantly expand one’s spiritual perception.

If accompanied by a high level of enlightenment in such a situation.

The current body could be transformed.

‘Of course, it could fail too.’

The cultivation needed to reach a higher state. If the opponent attacks during that time, the qi could become twisted, leading to a falling of inner demon.

But the aftermath wasn’t important right now.

Somehow, he had to awaken his senses, expand his spiritual perception, and reach the State of Enlightenment.

To do that.

“That’s the most tempting thing I’ve heard from you so far.”

At Seol-Hwi’s voice, Supreme Pavilion Lord’s eyes changed.

What outcome this final provocation will lead to.

Seol-Hwi had no choice but to watch.