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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Within a darkened room, fashioned into a cultivation chamber, Lee Rowoon sat cross-legged, bare-chested, with his eyes closed. He, who had become the disciple of the Three Kings through an opportunity that would never come again.
‘The teachings of the Three King masters were of their living days, yet not of their living days.’
In the martial arts King’s case, it was the Blood Demon Divine Art and Heavenly Demon Divine Art that he used during his lifetime.
‘It was newly created after he became king and transcended the world.’
It was something new, created beyond that realm.
It was the same with Sword King and Demon King.
Instead of whatever they had perfected when they ruled the world, they created something new within the dimension of chaos.
Their purpose was singular:
‘To create a perfected work.’
The things that were great enough to make one a king of a world were relegated to mere components for creating a single, perfected work.
The three masters strived to create the ultimate by dividing their enlightenment and power.
A perfected work, born from the interlocking, gear-like teachings of the three masters.
In other words:
‘Each of the masters’ teachings is but an incomplete component.’
Furthermore, if the order were different, the gears would not mesh and would malfunction.
Therefore, Lee Rowoon received the teachings in the order the masters had created them.
First, Master Shin Yeol.
‘First is the Blood Demon Divine Art. You will learn to observe your inner self and how to use everything within your body.’
Teachings focused solely on observing and changing one’s inner self.
Therefore, he did not learn swordsmanship or Taoism derived from the Blood Demon Divine Art.
‘You will not be able to use martial arts.’
Unless he perfected the Blood Demon Divine Art and progressed to the next stage, he would not be able to use martial arts.
The Blood Demon Divine Art, one of the absolute divine arts that shook the Eun world, was merely a component.
The reason he couldn’t use weapons was the same.
He couldn’t use weapons until he had surpassed all of Master Shin Yeol’s teachings and moved on to Master Sword King’s teachings.
‘If you fail to observe this…’
He still remembered that chilling face.
‘Something worse than death will happen. You won’t die here anyway, so want to try it?’
So he tried it.
And, as expected, he realized his master’s words were true.
Pain and side effects worse than death.
He had to rebuild everything anew.
Now, he was facing the final stage of the Blood Demon Divine Art.
The Blood Demon Divine Art, divided into four stages.
Red Blood, Violet Blood, Black Blood, and finally:
‘True Blood.’
The blood of the Corpse Dragon he absorbed at the Hwasan Guild’s corpse disposal site was truly remarkable. It allowed him to leap past the Purple Blood realm and reach the cusp of Black Blood in one go.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Corpse Dragon’s blood was still coursing through Lee Rowoon’s body.
‘I haven’t fully absorbed it.’
If he could completely absorb this Corpse Dragon’s blood, he would be able to enter the final stage of the Blood Demon Divine Art, True Blood.
Saaaaaah.
Black mist began to emanate from Lee Rowoon’s cross-legged body. Discarding the useless parts accumulated in his blood, he absorbed only the life force contained within.
For now, he only needed one thing.
‘Time.’
He had enough enlightenment and resources to move on to the next stage. If only he had time.
A flash!
He would reach the True Blood stage.
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“Haah.”
Kang Eun-ha, sitting on the sofa, sighed. Her eyes looked towards a secret room in one corner.
It had already been a week.
Since Lee Rowoon entered that room and hadn’t come out.
‘What is he doing?’
Seeing him confined to the cultivation room, it was clear he was practicing the Blood Demon Art, no, the Blood Demon Divine Art.
However, as far as she knew, cultivating the Blood Demon Art required special materials.
High-purity blood, special drugs and rituals to allow the body to accept that blood. It wasn’t something that could be cultivated in an empty cultivation room like that.
“Haah.”
In truth, doubts had arisen at some point.
‘Is he really the Blood Demon?’
She had seen it with her own eyes, but she had never heard of a black blood membrane.
‘Could he be a spy sent by the Heavenly Demon Cult?’
The Heavenly Demon Cult’s attempts to study and replicate the Blood Demon Art was an old tale from the past.
Could it be that they succeeded and were making a move to establish a new Blood Demon?
‘No.’
If the Heavenly Demon Cult was behind it, they would never have acted in this way.
‘No, wait.’
Or perhaps they were trying to cause division…
No, there was no possibility that the Heavenly Demon Cult had succeeded in studying the Blood Demon Art in the first place.
Her grandfather wouldn’t confuse the real and the fake. If they had succeeded in replicating the Blood Demon Art, the Heavenly Demon would have learned it.
It didn’t make sense that a human from Earth, especially a player, would have learned it. In the first place, in the first place, in the first place…
“Uwaaaak!”
Having been confined to the Blood Cult as a Divine Maiden for nineteen years, she had dreamed of a new life, but she never imagined such radical and urgent events would unfold.
“No!”
He is the true Blood Demon.
Not because of the black blood membrane, nor because of the existence of something called the Blood Demon Divine Art.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Her heart raced when she thought of Lee Rowoon. A certain image came to mind when she saw those red eyes.
Her intuition as a Divine Maiden told her that he was the true Blood Demon.
Slap!
Kang Eun-ha slapped both her cheeks with her palms.
‘Pull yourself together, Kang Eun-ha.’
It was already irreversible. Her grandfather had already contacted several other elders and revealed this fact.
If Lee Rowoon wasn’t the true Blood Demon, her grandfather would be beheaded for treason.
Moreover, she was the one who brought him here. If things went wrong, it would ultimately be her fault. Causing division within the Blood Cult, instigating rebellion, and even her grandfather’s execution.
‘Believe, Kang Eun-ha.’
If this intuition she felt for the first time since becoming the Divine Maiden.
If he was the true Blood Demon…
Gulp.
Imagining all that would change…
“Food.”
“…Hic! Hiccup!”
Kang Eun-ha gasped at the sudden voice and quickly stood up.
“Bl, Blood Demon…! Hiccup!”
“I told you not to call me that.”
Lee Rowoon, who had been shut away in the cultivation room for a week, was standing behind her.
‘When…?
Kang Eunha, startled, stared at Lee Rowoon while hiccuping. Lee Rowoon was casually rummaging through the refrigerator. Even though she was lost in thought, she hadn’t noticed him leaving the cultivation room and approaching her from behind.
If Lee Rowoon had harbored even a sliver of hostility, she would have been split in two and killed.
“Hiccup!”
Moreover, Lee Rowoon’s presence felt fainter than before.
“Want some?”
The moment Kang Eunha saw Lee Rowoon’s eyes looking at her, she realized.
‘H, He’s grown stronger?’
Just one week.
In that time, Lee Rowoon had progressed further. Because martial artists can grow stronger in a day, or even in a sudden moment of enlightenment, they are held in higher regard than players.
Players can only grow by hunting monsters or something else to gain experience points. But martial artists can grow stronger even during battle, and if enlightenment strikes, they can exhibit a completely different level of fighting prowess.
So, Lee Rowoon’s growth within a week was not unusual.
‘But is the Blood Demon Art like that?’
And the timing was also peculiar.
It felt as if Lee Rowoon had entered the cultivation room knowing that a week would be enough for him to grow stronger. Grow as strong as he wanted, just given time? Could such a thing…
“Hiccup!”
…be possible?
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
Kang Eun-ha finally came to her senses and circulated her internal energy to stop her hiccups.
“I, I will! Prepare it!”
“What are you talking about? It’s already done.”
Lee Rowoon was already mixing various side dishes into a large bowl with rice.
“I, I apologize… This lowly girl has committed a grave sin…”
“Your speech. I told you not to do that.”
“That’s…”
Kang Eun-ha couldn’t collect her thoughts at all. She felt dizzy. She hurriedly sat down and picked up a spoon.
“Do you guys want to eat too?”
“…!”
Kang Eunha’s eyes widened at Lee Rowoon’s words.
“Can you sense the Dark Blood Unit?”
“I’ve known about them all along.”
“…!”
The Dark Blood Unit, who were they? They were the elite assassination squad created by Left guardian Kang Hancheol with all his might.
Each member was a transcendent expert, and among them, the Dark Blood Unit Leader was a master who had reached the Extreme Demon realm.
It was said that with three members, they could assassinate even a Transcendent Realm expert, and with six, they had a 50% chance of assassinating someone at the peak of the Transcendent Realm.
But their most fearsome aspect was their ability to conceal themselves.
Their stealth abilities were known to be on par with the Ghostly Howl Valley, Eun’s most famous assassin group.
Furthermore, this villa was designed to allow the Dark Blood Unit to reside at any time and maintain perfect concealment. And yet…
‘He knew?’
Lee Rowoon put down his spoon.
“Are you going to disturb my meal by needlessly leaking your presence, or are you going to come out and eat with us?”
Leaking their presence?
Kang Eun-ha, sweating nervously, said to Lee Rowoon,
“They are tasked with guarding the Blood Demon…”
“What guarding can those weaker than me do? Stop with the pointless acts and come out to eat.”
Saying so, Lee Rowoon extended his index finger.
Drip.
A drop of blood welled up. What was peculiar was that it wasn’t the deep black color she had seen before, but a faint crimson mixed in. But the sight that followed nearly made Kang Eun-ha faint.
Fwoosh!
The blood droplet exploded, transforming into tiny needles that filled the air.
Whoosh.
The needles, floating in midair, were aimed at…
Gulp.
…where the Dark Blood Unit was concealed.
“I am the Blood Demon. When I tell you to come out and eat, you eat.”
As Lee Rowoon bent his index finger again, the blood droplets that had transformed into needles gathered and disappeared into his hand.
Swish.
Only then did the members of the Dark Blood Unit sheepishly reveal themselves.
It wasn’t a bad feeling.
‘I’ve entered True Blood.’
He had entered the final stage of the Blood Demon Divine Art, True Blood, while secluding himself in Kang Hangcheol’s villa.
This was because he had succeeded in absorbing almost all of the Corpse Dragon’s blood flowing through his veins.
Now, what remained was to absorb the remaining blood and transform the parts that were still Black Blood into True Blood.
To make the True Blood flowing from his Blood Core denser and complete it. And if he completed True Blood…
‘I can finally move on to the next stage.’
The second gear. The problem was the timing. When a new gear begins to mesh, it inevitably creaks at first. In other words:
‘There’s a momentary weakening.’
However, the moment the two gears began to mesh properly, they would generate even greater power than before. Therefore, the timing of creating the second gear was quite important.
‘But first, I need to complete True Blood.’
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Lee Rowoon, as usual, left the cultivation room and headed for the dining table.
“Blood Demon! The meal is ready!”
Kang Eun-ha, wearing an apron, called out in a cheerful voice.
The meal, which was vague to call “prepared,” was simply rice mixed with side dishes in a large bowl. Since his existence was currently a secret, he couldn’t hire servants, and it was also awkward to keep the previously hired servants here.
‘Because my existence is a secret.’
Only truly trustworthy people were currently in this villa, and since the Dark Blood Unit only consumed Grain abstinence pills (bigokdan – fasting pills), naturally, Kang Eun-ha had to prepare the meals. The problem was…
“I said I would cook.”
“But for the Blood Demon to prepare a meal…”
…that she was the Divine Maiden of the Blood Cult, who had never touched water with her hands.
Furthermore, her homeland wasn’t South Korea, nor Earth, but Eun. Even her tastes were different, so the gochujang (Korean chili paste) ratio was off.
A twitch.
Seeing Lee Rowoon frowned, Kang Eun-ha was flustered and about to bow her head in apology.
“We have a guest.”
The reason Lee Rowoon frowned wasn’t because of Kang Eun-ha.
Kwaaaang!
A commotion was erupting outside.
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