Wiji Yeol sat down next to the Fire King's body. "...I will remain here."
He had infused the Fire King with supreme yang qi from his Flaming Soul Divine Art, keeping the man alive long enough to leave behind his final words, but the price for doing so was steep. His already haggard complexion grew even paler, the combined toll of his ordeal with the Undying Supreme Demon and the exhaustion from within the Samsara Hell Annihilation Formation plainly visible on his face.
Wiping cold sweat from his brow, he added, "I'm dying to see Cheon, but in my current state, I'll only be a hindrance to you."
He turned his head, fixing his gaze on the distant canyon.
The wind carried the stench of blood, painting a vivid picture of the brutal battlefield even from this distance.
RRRRRUMBLE!
Thunder roared intermittently, shaking the ground and shattering cliffs. The wind carried the stench of blood, painting a vivid picture of the brutal battlefield even from this distance. The Second Apostle and the Fire King had fought their final battle far from the canyon because it couldn't withstand their power, yet the terrain was still being destroyed by the other supreme masters.
"Will you be okay on your own?" Baek Suryong asked worriedly.
Although haggard, Wiji Yeol nodded resolutely. "I'm not so weak that a wild beast could take me down. The Blood Cultists have also all flocked over there, so I won't be in any immediate danger. I'll be fine, so go on."
"...I understand." Baek Suryong nodded. Time was of the essence, and as Wiji Yeol said, bringing an exhausted old man onto the battlefield would only put them both in more danger. "Please find a nearby cave and hide. I will return with Cheon."
"Don't you worry about me. Have you forgotten? I have decades of experience living in the mountains, hiding from both the Blood Cult and the Murim Alliance." Wiji Yeol forced a smile and hoisted the Fire King's corpse onto his back. Surprisingly, the old man's corpse was unbelievably light, as if he had burned away everything he had.
As Baek Suryong turned to leave, however, he stared at the blood-red robe illuminated by the dawn and asked apprehensively, "But...are you really okay?"
As the surrounding scenery zipped past, he felt the energy of the Heaven Defying Divine Art stirring within him.
His question was laden with hidden undertones. The Baek Suryong he had witnessed inside the Samsara Hell Annihilation Formation had resembled a second coming of the Blood Demon. To make matters worse, when Baek Suryong ordered the sorcerers to commit suicide after escaping the formation, he himself had felt an overwhelming impulse to kneel and obey.
"...I'm fine," Baek Suryong answered without looking back, hiding his uneasy expression from Wiji Yeol.
BOOM!
With a powerful kick, he shot into the air, launching himself toward the canyon battlefield.
The Heaven Defying Divine Art has reached the Ninth Star.
Watching Baek Suryong disappear in the distance, Wiji Yeol whispered earnestly, "Please... never forget who you are."
Glimpsing the Blood Demon's memories in the Samsara Hell Annihilation Formation had advanced his martial arts to the next realm. He also now had a faint understanding of the Blood Demon's goal.
"Interdimensional Travel, huh...?"
When he muttered those words inside the formation, he had sensed the Blood Demon's presence and lost partial control of his body to that bastard.
"You are getting closer to completion surprisingly quickly..."
"You'll understand me someday, in the not-so-distant future. Perhaps even right now."
"Shall we open the heavens together?"
He couldn't tell if the eerie entity had left him or was merely dormant, but he knew it could resurface at any moment.
The reason it could act so freely was probably because we were inside the Samsara Hell Annihilation Formation, but...as my mastery of the Heaven Defying Divine Art increases, the more the Blood Demon's influence encroaches upon me, threatening to overwhelm my sense of self.
He could either suppress his accelerating transformation into the Blood Demon, or give in to it.
"...I'll just have to be careful."
He couldn't avoid using the Heaven Defying Divine Art in the war against the Blood Cult. It was the nemesis of all demonic arts and the ultimate weapon that could end the war once and for all.
"This is the fate of those who defy heaven."
Baek Suryong was at a crossroads. He could either suppress his accelerating transformation into the Blood Demon, or give in to it. Depending on his decision, the fates of the people around him, and even the world itself, would change drastically.
"I'm still okay."
Muttering as if to convince himself, he increased his speed, shooting forward like a beam of light.
For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that Baek Suryong was walking on a knife's edge, but all he could offer were words of prayer.
WHOOOOOSH!
Yeo Min tore across the landscape, pushing her movement arts to their absolute limit. She was even faster than when she raced Sama Hyeon. A bead of sweat on her neck turned to frost from the White Ice Divine Art, and tiny ice particles shattered in her hair as it whipped in the wind.
She had never run so fast before. Right now, few teachers at the Azure Dragon Academy could match her speed. The catch was that the woman chasing her was an even more incredible movement arts master.
Is the Vermilion Phoenix Academy Principal okay?
He had definitely been alive when she last saw him. Just as the Second Apostle was about to deliver the final blow to the Fire King, she had unconsciously unleashed the White Ice Divine Palm. Her attack probably hadn't made much of a difference, and the most she could do was turn and flee the instant her eyes met the apostle's. Even that had required tremendous courage.