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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Rumble—!
As a torrent of blue energy erupted and shook the arena,
Lee Seong-joon, who had been watching Kang Yi-ryung with an emotionless expression, narrowed his eyes.
The pressure was completely different. Kang Yi-ryung’s power had spiked in an instant, but he wasn’t surprised or taken aback.
He had anticipated this.
‘…She used her Innate True Qi.’
Lee Seong-joon’s gaze darkened.
‘…So, it comes to this.’
Once she released her Innate True Qi, this was no longer a friendly spar.
It had become a life-or-death battle.
The situation had escalated beyond what he had originally planned.
But he had anticipated this to some extent from his first conversation with her, so he was able to think calmly.
‘In a way… this is a good thing.’
Kang Yi-ryung was a madwoman.
She wouldn’t have quietly backed down after this friendly spar.
‘Considering what I’ve heard and gathered about Sosumun and Kang Yi-ryung…’
She would have undoubtedly sought revenge in some form.
Eliminating this future threat was a clean and perfect end from his perspective.
Having quickly organized his thoughts, he looked at her with cold eyes.
Despite his calm readiness for battle, Kang Yi-ryung didn’t seem to notice.
To be precise, she probably didn’t have time to.
Releasing the spark of life, her Innate True Qi, meant she was consuming her life force in real-time.
She could only last for about five minutes at best.
It was a short time, but she was confident she could kill him in that time.
Of course, it wasn’t baseless confidence.
She possessed a martial art that could be called a divine secret technique, even among the thousands of martial arts on Earth: Violent Demon’s Vicious Fighting Art!
Indeed, in terms of destructive power alone, it was said to be on par with the masters who wielded True Energy, the so-called rankers.
‘Normally, I couldn’t use it properly because of its high internal energy consumption…’
But now that she had released her Innate True Qi, it wasn’t a problem.
“I’ll kill you without a trace… so that my previous humiliations are never mentioned again.”
With a confident expression, she slowly thrust her fist forward, unleashing the ultimate technique of her martial art, the technique that had earned her the title of Great Rakshasa: Great Rakshasa’s Annihilation Fist.
Lee Seong-joon, who had been watching with a cold gaze, pushed his Blood Asura Divine Art to its limit.
“……”
The energy of the Blood Asura Divine Art, which had naturally spread throughout his body, surged with power, pushing his body beyond its limits.
His five senses sharpened. His thoughts accelerated, and time seemed to slow down.
In this distorted world, he fixed his gaze on Kang Yi-ryung, who was charging at him with fierce momentum.
‘…Not bad.’
Eliuros, the boss monster he had fought a few months ago, had also used Innate True Qi, but the power Kang Yi-ryung was now exuding was on a different level.
Eliuros had instinctively unleashed its power in a life-or-death situation.
But Kang Yi-ryung was consciously using her Innate True Qi.
She wasn’t just rampaging, she was controlling the energy.
She wasn’t being controlled by the power; she was wielding it.
The difference was stark.
Indeed, the aura she was emitting was even greater than that of a transcendent martial artist.
It wasn’t just that her power had increased; she was drawing on a higher level of energy.
And she could wield a vast amount of internal energy by burning her Innate True Qi.
An ordinary transcendent martial artist wouldn’t have been able to guarantee victory.
But he, Lee Seong-joon, wasn’t an ordinary transcendent martial artist.
He was the Blood Demon who had conquered the Thousand Continents, a ruler hailed as the Demon God.
Even with her Innate True Qi, she couldn’t defeat him.
“Haa…”
As he took a deep breath, his dark eyes, like a bottomless pit, turned red.
The suppressed power of the Asura within him surged, and a seductive red light erupted from his body.
Feeling the disciplined, pure destructive power, he raised his open palm, and a blood qi rose from it.
Woong—!
With a calm hum, the blood qi shimmered and coalesced, forming True Energy.
A satisfied smile on his lips, he spun the True Energy on his palm.
Whoosh—!
One rotation, two rotations…
The rapidly spinning True Energy transformed into a vortex, pulsating with power.
It was a feat only possible with an absurdly high level of understanding and control over internal energy.
But what was truly surprising was that this wasn’t the end.
Whoosh—!
He imbued the rapidly spinning vortex of True Energy with a wave of power.
And he poured all the internal energy from his middle and lower dantian into it, bringing the concentration of the True Energy to its peak.
The vortex raging on his palm was now his most powerful attack.
It was a power that a novice who had forcibly unleashed their Innate True Qi couldn’t possibly withstand.
Ten Thousand Blood Demon Realm
Third Form
Asura Annihilation Wave Palm.
KABOOOM—!
With a sound that tore through the air, the Asura Annihilation Wave Palm shot out and collided with Kang Yi-ryung’s Great Rakshasa’s Annihilation Fist.
Crash—!
Despite the deafening impact, neither Lee Seong-joon nor Kang Yi-ryung was pushed back.
Their destructive power was perfectly matched.
But the Asura Annihilation Wave Palm wasn’t an ordinary palm technique.
It was imbued with the principle of waves.
The first clash wasn’t the end.
Woong—!
The wave of power that spread from his palm created another vortex of red True Energy,
which immediately shot towards Kang Yi-ryung’s outstretched arm, tearing apart her meridians.
Crack—!
As her meridians exploded, her skin tore, and blood spurted from her arm like a fountain.
No, it wasn’t just her arm.
The fierce vortex of True Energy continued to advance, eventually engulfing her entire body, wreaking havoc on her internal organs.
C-Crack—!
Her organs were in tatters.
She couldn’t possibly be unscathed.
“Guh—!”
Black, dead blood poured from her lips like an open faucet.
She had barely managed to avoid death, as the power of the Asura Annihilation Wave Palm had been somewhat diminished by the clash with her own technique.
But her body was a wreck, worthy of being called a cripple.
She had exhausted her life force by using her Innate True Qi, and her organs had ceased to function.
Her body collapsed like a rag doll.
Thud.
The victor had been decided.
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“H-Hunter Lee Seong-joon has defeated China’s final fighter, Hunter Kang Yi-ryung! “
“Korea has achieved a perfect 5:0 victory!”
Jo Kang-hyun couldn’t hide his surprise at the announcer’s exultant voice echoing throughout the arena.
“He won! Hunter Lee Seong-joon beat Kang Yi-ryung!”
He jumped to his feet, shouting in an excited voice,
but his reaction was mild compared to others.
The executives of the Hunter Association and government officials were stamping their feet, unable to contain their excitement.
“I can’t believe we beat China…!”
“We’ve proven Korea’s strength to the world!”
But the one most shocked was Vice President Taehyun Ko.
He had forgotten his dignity as Vice President and was staring with a look of utter disbelief.
“…Impossible.”
He had expected Lee Seong-joon to have a plan, since he had so confidently accepted the friendly spar.
But he had never imagined that the plan was to defeat Kang Yi-ryung head-on.
‘Does this even make sense?’
Although he hadn’t personally tested him, he had met countless hunters, so his intuition was quite sharp.
‘Just a month ago, Hunter Lee Seong-joon was definitely an SS+-rank hunter.’
Then what was this scene before him?
‘He defeated the SSS-rank hunter, the Great Rakshasa, Kang Yi-ryung…’
This meant that Hunter Lee Seong-joon had reached SSS-rank in just four months since his return to Earth.
A wry laugh escaped his lips at the unbelievable reality.
“Heh heh…”
Even the nine hunters who represented the Earth, the members of the Guardians, had taken at least a year to reach SSS-rank.
But Hunter Lee Seong-joon had done it in just four months, three times faster.
His past achievements were already legendary, but this growth was truly unprecedented.
‘What is Hunter Lee Seong-joon’s limit?’
A question naturally arose, but he quickly dismissed it.
His achievements were too astounding.
‘…I can’t even begin to fathom it.’
But he was certain of one thing.
Hunter Lee Seong-joon was the future of the Hunter Association.
No, he was a giant who could be called the future of Korea.
“Finally… finally!”
A bright smile spread across Taehyun Ko’s face as he clenched his fists.
It was only natural.
Korea, always considered the weakest in East Asia, had won a friendly spar against China.
Of course, Sosumun was only a part of China’s overall strength.
But the impact wouldn’t be small.
‘Not to mention China, even Japan will have to be wary of Hunter Lee Seong-joon’s existence.’
They wouldn’t be able to engage in reckless diplomacy as they had before.
This alone was a joyous occasion, but it was just the beginning.
‘Considering Hunter Lee Seong-joon’s growth rate…’
The motherland, South Korea, would soon establish itself as a powerhouse in East Asia.
They could reclaim the diplomatic advantages they had been forced to give up to powerful nations like China and Japan.
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