He wasn't called the Mad Dog for nothing.
Baek Suryong shook his head as he watched Noh Goonsang unleash a torrent of crude taunts, despite looking like he could collapse at any moment. Once his mouth opened, it did not stop. As he cornered the Undying Supreme Demon, Noh Goonsang's verbal attacks relentlessly pierced his ears.
"Do you really think a demon who sucks human blood is qualified to preach about human decency?"
"Tsk tsk. Even beasts don't prey on their own kind. Wait. Doesn't that make you a lower life form than a four-legged animal?"
"For your information, just because you look human doesn't make you human. Just as boasting of lofty knowledge doesn't make one a gentleman, your pathetic act of trying to sow discord to save your own skin after acting so high and mighty is just laughable."
Even as he fought, Baek Suryong was stupefied by the unending taunts. At this rate, the Undying Supreme Demon might actually start bleeding from his ears.
As expected, the Undying Supreme Demon's face flushed with rage. "Shut your trap, you dying old man! You're just wagging your tongue freely, trusting in the Azure Dragon Hero's might!"
If not for Baek Suryong, he would absolutely charge at Noh Goonsang and tear the wrinkled bastard to shreds. Unfortunately, his opponent was the Azure Dragon Hero, and he was struggling just to withstand the pouring onslaught.
"Mr. Baek! Give him a good thrashing for me. He won't die easily, so there's no need to hold back."
"That was the plan from the start." With a slight nod, Baek Suryong slammed his fist into the Undying Supreme Demon's face.
CRAAACK!
The Undying Supreme Demon's cervical bones snapped and his head bent backward at a macabre angle, but the regenerative power of the Undying Demonic Art wasn't daunted by such an injury. Soon, his dangling head snapped back into place on its own.
"Guuuh..."
Noh Goonsang chuckled maliciously, "You're wagging your head just like a sick chicken. Then again, the thing above your neck is as useless as a chicken's, I suppose."
"S-Shut up...!" the Blood Cult's Head Elder groaned, feeling that his mind and body were being torn to shreds by the combination of the Azure Dragon Hero's ultimate martial arts and the Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva's venomous tongue.
CRUNCH!
Baek Suryong stomped on the neck of the Undying Supreme Demon, who was sprawled on the ground. Ironically, the fact that the cultist didn't die easily meant he could treat the old man as roughly as he pleased.
"Gack, keoheok...!"
"Stop the theatrics. I know you can't die from this even if you wanted to." Baek Suryong stared down chillingly at the suffocating Undying Supreme Demon. Any normal person would have died long ago, but even the old man's fatal wounds were slowly healing.
Sensing his end, the Undying Supreme Demon coughed up blood and laughed. "Kekeke! How truly mysterious. Since you've mastered the martial arts of all four apostles, you're bound to be this strong. No matter how I think about it, though, I can't figure out how that's possible."
"You're not in a position to ask questions."
Baek Suryong did not finish off the Undying Supreme Demon just yet. The Blood Cult's Head Elder had immense value. If he could extract the location of the Blood Cult Headquarters and other important information, he could gain an overwhelming advantage in the war.
Killing him comes after I get everything I want from him.
Of course, the man wouldn't talk easily, but he was also determined to find out by any means necessary.
I don't exactly have enough time to slowly question him... Should I risk it?
"Kekeke! Do you really think you can get information about our Cult from me? With mere torture?"
"......"
"Go on, give it a try. I'm curious if there's any pain I haven't felt before!" The Undying Supreme Demon laughed mockingly. Confident that Baek Suryong wouldn't kill him carelessly, he was defiant despite his defeat.
However, Baek Suryong was lost in another thought entirely.
I have to be really careful, but...a brief moment should be fine.
He took a deep breath to calm himself and avoid stimulating the Blood Demon within, then unleashed the Blood Demon Eyes.
KIIIIING!
His pupils turned crimson, and beams of light burst from his eyes.
The Undying Supreme Demon's eyes went so wide it seemed they would pop out of their sockets. "H-How...!"
He trembled uncontrollably, barely able to breathe under the pressure of the heaven-defying aura. Something incomprehensible, something far beyond his imagination, was happening right before his eyes.
"Do you remember me?" Baek Suryong whispered in a languid voice.
The Undying Supreme Demon flinched. He recalled a distant fear and awe buried deep in his memories.
The being before him was no longer the Azure Dragon Hero. He was...
"Y-You are..."
Baek Suryong reached out and closed the Undying Supreme Demon's eyes. "Sleep until I call for you again."
The Undying Supreme Demon's trembling body went limp as he fell into a deep slumber.
"...I'm coming now, so just hold on a little longer," he muttered to himself, trying his best to calm the energy of the Heaven Defying Divine Art.
This was different from simply knocking him out with brute force or sealing his acupoints. The Blood Demon could extinguish his subordinates' consciousness with an absolute command. Without new orders, the Undying Supreme Demon would never awaken again.
Baek Suryong let out a sigh of relief, "Phew..."
Although he had only used the Heaven Defying Divine Art for a very short time, the after-effects left his breathing ragged. The price for visiting the abyss, even for a moment, was steep.
"Are you... alright?" Noh Goonsang asked.
Baek Suryong nodded, his face somewhat pale. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."
He lifted the unconscious Undying Supreme Demon with telekinesis, then let out a long whistle.
FWEEEEET!
A moment later, Yeo Min used her movement arts to rush to his side. "There's no one around. It seems they've all gathered in one direction."
Not long ago, on their way here, she had regained consciousness. Baek Suryong had told her to climb somewhere high and keep watch, then immediately gone to deal with the Undying Supreme Demon.
"My goodness, Principal! Your wounds!"
Spotting Noh Goonsang's injuries, Yeo Min cleaned the wounds, applied an ointment, and tore a piece of her martial arts uniform to bandage them.
"Hohoho! Aren't you're quite skilled, Min?"
"How can you still laugh after getting hurt so badly? I'll support you, so just lean on me."
"Ahem... I'll take you up on that."
Their happy reunion was brief, however.
RUUUUMBLE!
Thunder roared in the distance, each flash of lightning revealing the scene unfolding below. Hundreds of martial artists were clashing, releasing violent waves of energy in all directions. Screams and shouts echoed across the gorge.
To Baek Suryong's extremely developed senses, the battlefield was painted vividly before his eyes.
VWOOOM!
In response, Thunderclap, the sword he had taken from the Fourth Elder, vibrated with a shudder.