A vortex so powerful that it could destroy the world blazed into life. Flames and frost churned together and soared into the sky. Nearby rocks and trees were uprooted and swallowed whole by the swirling maelstrom.
"Ugh..." Yeo Min groaned, shielding her face as she slowly approached. Lowering her stance and bracing her legs, she struggled with all her might just to keep from being swept away.
At the center of the vortex, the Fire King and the Blood Cult Apostle battled with enough force to shatter the heavens. From where she stood, however, all she could see was a clash of fire and frost. It was impossible to follow the movements of the supreme masters.
She knew getting any closer could kill her, but she had to press on.
Unconsciously, she muttered the alias of the martial artist to whom she was deeply indebted, "Nine Yin Witch..."
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"Are you perhaps Hayeon-unnie's daughter?"
"Y-You know my mother?"
The Nine Yin Witch was one of the Ten Great Villains that she met in the Valley of Evil. Although she had saved the Five Young Azure Dragons when they were surrounded by enemies, she later tried to kill Yeo Min for her yin qi in a fit of madness.
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"There's no need to be scared. It's okay. I won't hurt you."
Still, she didn't blame the Nine Yin Witch. The woman was a raving lunatic who lived in terrible pain from the side effects of a flawed White Ice Divine Art. It was her tragic fate which forced her to go mad and commit villainous acts.blockquote>
"I met your mother in a Blood Cult facility where many girls in similar situations were gathered."
The Nine Yin Witch explained that many children, including her mother, Eun Hayeon, had been held at the Blood Cult's martial arts research facility.
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"In that place, if you didn't train your martial arts rigorously, you were beaten and starved. Children died every week. Hayeon-unnie helped me a lot back then. Even though she must have been hungry herself, she shared her food with me."
Yeo Min clearly remembered the Nine Yin Witch's dying expression. Her gaze was confused, torn between the desire to help Eun Hayeon's daughter and desperation for yin qi. By the time she regained consciousness, however, the Nine Yin Witch was already gone.
She recalled the words that Baek Suryong had told her dazed self back then.
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"Let me start by telling you about the yin qi dwelling within your body."
"...Was it the Nine Yin Witch who gave it to me?"
"So you knew."
Later, she heard from her teacher that the Nine Yin Witch had willed her Ice Essence to her in her final moments.
A massive light exploded, followed shortly by a deafening roar that shook the heavens and the earth.
HUMMM...
The Ice Essence inside her body resonated with the vortex in front of her. Gritting her teeth, Yeo Min drew upon the White Ice Divine Art to deflect the stones and debris flying from all directions.
I might not be able to do anything with my current abilities, but...
She had no intention of foolishly throwing herself into the fight and getting herself killed, but when she began learning the White Ice Divine Art, she had made a vow to herself. If she ever met someone like the Nine Yin Witch again, she would not simply stand by and do nothing.
"I can't just leave them be."
Biting her lip, Yeo Min stared into the storm.
Two hundred exchanges at most.
Before the fight began, the Second Apostle had judged that she could surely kill the Fire King within two hundred exchanges. Although he was formerly ranked among the Ten Supremes, he had never achieved Body Reformation and was now approaching ninety. This meant that while his inner arts were among the most powerful in the current murim, his body could not fully contain them.
However, as the fight dragged on, she realized how wrong her initial assessment was.
He's unexpectedly familiar with the White Ice Divine Art.
This went beyond merely countering ice arts. She felt as if her opponent had fought masters of the White Ice Divine Art many times and had thoroughly researched how to overcome it.
Caution flickered in the Second Apostle's eyes. No opponent had read and reacted to her techniques in advance for decades.
Five hundred, no, it'll take a thousand exchanges to kill him.
She could end the battle quickly by going all out, but that would leave her temporarily weakened. Also, before the battle began, the First Apostle had clearly warned her to preserve her strength.
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"Don't push yourself until I arrive."
The First Apostle had grown more cautious after the recent injury to the Third Apostle and the disappearance of the Fourth Apostle, and he urged her not to fight recklessly. She deemed the advice reasonable and conserved her strength appropriately.
In contrast, the Fire King had been fighting tenaciously and relentlessly from the start. With each passing moment, it became increasingly apparent that the old man planned to self-destruct.
Watching him, the Second Apostle was reminded of an old but seasoned predator. The Fire King withstood attack after attack without crumbling, forcefully prolonging the fight from sunset till dawn the next day.
How has he managed to endure for so long with his aging, battered body? Just what is it that keeps him going?
A hint of doubt flickered across the Second Apostle's usually impassive face. The Fire King was old and frail, and his skin was necrotizing more and more. Still, despite knowing he had no chance of winning, his fighting spirit was indomitable.
"Blood Cult Apostle! You shall be my companion on the road to the afterlife, a boast to my friends who have gone before me!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOOOM!
Flames repeatedly condensed and exploded. The impacts continuously battered and shattered the frost barrier surrounding the Second Apostle, but that was not the end of it.
FWOOSH!
The Fire King's two arms, wreathed in fire, swelled to the size of a phoenix's wings and swallowed her.
The Second Apostle quickly retaliated, thrusting her palms in all directions. A pure white blizzard raged, pushing back the heat.
KRAKOOOOM!
The air chilled by the White Ice Divine Art collided with air heated by the Scorching Heat Divine Art, forming a massive tornado. Within it, the two supreme masters fought to the death, unleashing a natural disaster.
"...Why aren't you dead yet?" the Second Apostle asked curiously, brushing embers from her sleeve. Her snow-white uniform was now scorched black in places, and her jade-like skin was flushed red. She had never looked so disheveled in her life.