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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Despite forcibly pushing and restraining the violent Blood Qi, imbued with the power of Asura, into his heart, Lee Seong-joon’s face remained undisturbed.
He wouldn’t have even attempted it if he hadn’t been confident of success.
‘I’ve done this countless times already.’
There was no reason to consider failure.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The sound of his heart pounding filled his ears. It was struggling to expel the overflowing Blood Qi into his blood vessels.
Following that, excruciating pain surged relentlessly from his heart, which felt like it was about to burst. However, he couldn’t give in to fear and release the Blood Qi.
To achieve perfect control, he needed to envelop and stabilize his heart with the currently contained Blood Qi, thoroughly taming it.
Thump! Thump!
‘Ugh…!’
Lee Seong-joon suppressed a scream rising within him.
Then, he spread the Blood Qi settled in his heart throughout his body.
His heart, losing its usual rhythmic pattern, began to thrash, constantly resisting and rejecting the infiltrating Blood Qi.
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
Just as the sound of his heartbeat seemed to reverberate through his mind and his consciousness began to fade…
‘Now…!’
Lee Seong-joon quickly released the forcibly restrained Blood Qi into his blood vessels and took another deep breath.
It was a high-risk process; even the slightest delay in that split second could have resulted in instant death.
There was a reason why the number of top experts within the Blood Cult was so small.
If they couldn’t skillfully handle Blood Qi like this, they couldn’t even attempt it.
It was a tense battle of nerves, wagering one’s own life.
If they succumbed to the fear of death and stopped, they would never overcome the wall.
However, if they pushed too aggressively, their heart would stop, leading to a gruesome death.
He had to tread carefully, like walking on thin ice.
“Huu…”
Having regained some stability, Lee Seong-joon inhaled through his nose and filled his heart with Blood Qi once more.
His heart, which had found momentary peace, swelled and throbbed again.
Immediately after, he spread the Blood Qi throughout his heart once more.
Thump! Thump!
His heart rapidly repeated its contractions and expansions.
Once, twice, ten times, twenty times, a hundred times, a thousand times…
Counting became meaningless. As he repeated the same process for what felt like an eternity…
Thump-!
With a strong beat, he sensed the carefully spread Blood Qi settling throughout his heart.
‘Halfway there.’
He was finally ready for a battle of dominance with his heart.
The ceaselessly rotating Blood Qi gradually converged towards his heart, formed a siege, and slowly began to approach.
Thump. Thump.
The moment the Blood Qi, which had been gradually closing in while surrounding the area, finally reached his heart…
As if waiting for this moment, the Blood Qi dug deep into his cells and began to take over.
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
His heart, sensing the threat, throbbed violently, trying to resist.
However, the Blood Qi, which had already permeated and hidden throughout his heart, wouldn’t stand idly by.
As if waiting for this moment, the Blood Qi rose and swiftly took control of his heart.
It wasn’t just about gaining dominance; he had to completely subdue it, making it a haven for Blood Qi, ensuring no future repercussions.
It wasn’t an easy task.
Normally, he would have to repeat this process endlessly, just as when he first injected Blood Qi into his heart.
In fact, when he first reached the peak level, he had spent three days and nights cultivating his energy.
But now it was different.
He possessed the experiences and memories of someone who had been revered as the Blood Demon, even a Demon God.
Therefore, he could confidently assert that he could perfectly control his heart in a single attempt and fulfill the essential element for becoming a peak expert.
Indeed, his refined technique and strengthened physique controlled and harmonized the Blood Qi, his mind, trying to settle in his heart.
Gradually, the Blood Qi began to coil and take root in his heart, and the control of his heart naturally shifted.
Now, even if he reached his limits, as long as he, Lee Seong-joon, willed it, his heart, which held the reins, would no longer resist.
However, it was too early to celebrate.
‘Finishing touches.’
If he became complacent just from gaining control, his heart, having lost its self-regulation, could suddenly stop, leading to a gruesome death.
Therefore, while maintaining control, he had to clearly command and imprint upon his heart to beat naturally.
‘Minimize the beats, allowing a large amount of blood to be pumped at once.’
The moment he gave the command…
Thump-! Thump-!
His heart began to beat slowly, completely obeying Lee Seong-joon’s will.
The long and arduous battle was finally over.
“Huu…”
With a single exhale, he felt a large amount of Blood Qi spread throughout his body due to the forceful beating of his heart.
Lee Seong-joon opened his eyes naturally, a bright smile spreading across his lips.
“I did it.”
As he let out a joyful exclamation, a familiar green hologram window appeared before him.
Ding-!
> Blood Shadow Asura Divine Art has reached 5 stars and evolved to SS+ rank
> Your body is undergoing new changes
> Middle Dantian has been opened!
> All stats increase
Strength +7
Dexterity +7
Stamina +7
Blood Qi +7
> The absorption rate of ambient energy has greatly increased, and Blood Qi stats will periodically increase!
Lee Seong-joon smiled as he checked the message window.
“Excellent.”
By successfully developing the Blood Shadow Asura Divine Art, his target, his Middle Dantian had naturally opened. His level had risen.
‘…I’ve reached the peak level.’
He had become a martial artist worthy of being called a master even within the Thousand Continents. Naturally, the growth resulting from this was immense.
Due to the changes in his physique, all his stats increased by 7, his muscles and skin became even firmer and tougher, and his senses expanded further.
Furthermore, the amount of Blood Qi, which he had constantly craved, was replenished to some extent.
Even this alone would have been a satisfactory result, but the benefits he gained from this growth weren’t limited to stat increases.
‘I can apply one more layer of materialized Blood Qi.’
It might seem like just a single number, from one to two, but the cutting power and durability were worlds apart compared to the Blood Qi he handled as a first-class martial artist.
‘The power of my martial arts itself has changed.’
In fact, he could now subdue C-rank monsters like the Blue Tiger just by firing a Blood Flower Barrage.
Moreover, its speed was significantly faster.
Before, Blood Qi would surge after he thought about it.
Now, the moment he thought about it, crimson Blood Qi would rise from his hand like a heat haze.
It was a natural result.
Energy emanating from the heart, the center of the body, was inevitably faster than energy moving from the dantian located in the lower abdomen.
This meant that the destructive power, speed, and efficiency of the Blood Qi he could handle had changed dramatically.
Combined with the previous stat increases, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that his combat power itself had reached a different level.
He had achieved truly tremendous growth.
However, the greatest advantage gained from this growth wasn’t the aforementioned basic physical abilities or the improvement of his existing skills.
‘…Finally, I can unleash the Blood Demon’s martial arts.’
He could now wield the power from the time he was called the strongest Blood Demon during the Great Righteous-Demon War.
Naturally, the Blood Demon’s martial arts possessed power on a different level compared to the martial arts he had used before.
This meant that all preparations for taking first place in the raid gate were complete.
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Perhaps it was because he was participating under the name of ‘White Tiger,’ one of the five major guilds?
From pick-up service during travel to schedule management, appearance maintenance, and tailored clothing, he received full support from the White Tiger guild.
Although there were some bothersome aspects, he didn’t refuse since they were showing consideration and sincerity. And fortunately, the results were quite good.
“You look absolutely amazing! Among the best I’ve ever styled!”
“……”
Lee Seong-joon turned his head at the hair stylist’s words and looked in the mirror. There was a reason for the saying
“A man’s hairstyle makes the man.”
The subtly styled, textured perm revealed his high nose bridge and large eyes, which had been partially hidden behind his hair.
His previously somewhat stuffy-looking face was gone, replaced by a bright and open impression; it wasn’t an exaggeration to say his image had changed drastically.
Of course, a change in hairstyle alone wouldn’t have made such a big difference.
‘…Clothes are important.’
Wearing a black suit and a white dress shirt, instead of his usual tracksuit, emphasized his masculinity.
Moreover, they seemed to have taken great care when tailoring the suit, as he felt no restriction in his movements.
They had caught two birds with one stone: style and practicality.
‘Not bad.’
A satisfied smile spread across Lee Seong-joon’s lips.
“Thank you. Good work.”
After nodding his head in farewell, Lee Seong-joon left the hair salon.
A White Tiger guild member waiting outside immediately opened the car door for him.
“Please get in.”
It was a completely different situation from when he usually went hunting in gates, but since it had been prearranged with the White Tiger guild through messages last night, Lee Seong-joon casually got into the car.
Vroom.
The black luxury sedan smoothly accelerated onto the road.
After about 10 minutes, the car stopped, and the White Tiger guild member in the driver’s seat carefully spoke.
“We’ve arrived.”
Thanks to his heightened senses after reaching the peak level, he could somewhat picture the scenery outside even from inside the car.
‘There are more people than I expected.’
Perhaps it was because it was a competition among the five major guilds, a battle of rookies that would determine future value?
Despite being near the entrance to the raid gate, he could sense the presence of many people nearby.
Click.
The moment Lee Seong-joon stepped out of the car, he realized the identities of the numerous presences he had sensed.
Click. Click.
Reporters began to shower him with flashes.
He felt like a celebrity, like those he had seen on TV or smartphones.
‘Well, calling me a celebrity wouldn’t be wrong.’
In a world where monsters constantly threatened human territory, hunters with strong powers were as popular as celebrities.
In fact, events held by famous guilds or famous hunters were even more popular than those of celebrities.
However, since it was his first time experiencing this firsthand, he couldn’t help but be slightly flustered.
But the White Tiger guild wouldn’t leave Lee Seong-joon unattended without any countermeasures.
“I’m Hwang Sung-wook, the second team leader of the White Tiger Guild’s public relations department. It’s an honor to meet you in person.”
Hwang Sung-wook, the second team leader of the White Tiger guild’s public relations department, who had been waiting at the car door, immediately addressed him.
“Nice to meet you.”
“You must be overwhelmed by all the cameras, so let me quickly escort you to the waiting room.”
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