Chapter 202

Jaseong, who had opened the Thirteenth Gate, opened his eyes.

His pupils began to shine, surpassing gold, radiating with a transparent light.

Wuuuuuuuuuuung—

The world stopped.

Even the wind, sounds, and Cheon Gwang-hwi's murderous intent seemed to freeze.

Behind Jaseong, an enormous apparition rose.

Twelve gigantic gates successively opened, and at the end, a thirteenth gate made of brilliant light slowly swung open.

Kwaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

A power beyond imagination exploded.

The entire land around Baima Monastery trembled from the force.

Clouds in the sky tore apart, and the earth itself screamed.

This was not merely the realm of martial arts.

It was the descent of a god.

Cheon Gwang-hwi's face turned white.

Even he, who had reached the Profound Realm, trembled from the absolute oppressive force emanating from the being before him.

"W-what is this energy?!"

Cheon Gwang-hwi staggered backwards.

An instinctual fear crushed his arrogance.

Jaseong did not reply.

He slowly raised his Wicked Flame Sword.

The black sword hilt became wrapped in a transparent light, its form dissolving and transforming into nothing but a pillar of light.

"If you can withstand it, then try—Heavenly Demon."

Jaseong's voice resounded as if echoing throughout the universe.

"Celestial Gate Opening Art... Gate of God!!"

Jaseong swung his sword downward.

It was a simple strike.

Yet, within its trajectory contained the laws of the entire world.

Shuaaaaaaaaak!

Heaven and earth split apart, and a colossal slashing beam of light poured toward Cheon Gwang-hwi.

"Heavenly Demon Divine Art's secret essence, Heavenly Demon Huangcheon Slash!!!"

Cheon Gwang-hwi gathered all the demonic ki in his body for defense.

It was an enhanced energy forged from every drop of internal power he had absorbed.

But...

It was useless.

Jaseong's sword strike sliced through the demonic ki, space, and Cheon Gwang-hwi's flesh as if it were tofu.

Paaaaaat!

A dazzling light swallowed Baima Monastery.

Moments later,

The light faded, and silence descended.

Jaseong stood, gasping for breath.

Before him, the earth was cleaved in two, the chasm endlessly stretching forward.

And at its end stood Cheon Gwang-hwi.

No, what was once Cheon Gwang-hwi.

His body was already collapsing.

From the point where the sword strike had hit, he crumbled to ash.

"... Hahaha.... Impossible... I, the Heavenly Demon... I... to fall in a place like this...."

Cheon Gwang-hwi's eyes stared into empty space.

Disbelief lingered in his gaze, but his vitality was already extinguishing.

"Kuh..."

With his final breath, Cheon Gwang-hwi's body fully turned to ash and scattered on the wind.

Thus ended the reign of the new Heavenly Demon, who had plunged the Central Plains into terror.

The sight made Jaseong collapse to his knees, drained of strength.

His Wicked Flame Sword slipped from his hand and stabbed into the ground.

The recoil of opening the Thirteenth Gate left his entire body nearly numb.

Yet, a faint smile spread across his lips.

'It's over. Everything is over....'

The Murong Clan, Hebei Peng Clan, Zhongnan, and the Demonic Cult—

All those who had driven his elder brother and sister-in-law to death, he had condemned with his own hands.

Jaseong looked up at the sky.

The dark clouds parted, and clear moonlight cascaded down.

Bathed in its glow, he could almost see the faces he longed for.

"Elder brother... Sister-in-law."

Hot tears streamed down Jaseong's face.

The sorrow and longing he had suppressed burst forth all at once.

"It's done... I've avenged you all. Now you can rest. I think... I can finally rest too."

With his sword tip lowered, Jaseong murmured softly.

Shedding tears of release, he was no longer the World's Greatest or the Evil Path Association Leader, but merely a boy from the Red Light District who had lost his family.

* * *

At the same time,

On Luoyang's outskirts, the battlefield was a pandemonium of blood and flesh.

"Ice Lord Asura Sword Art!"

A chilling frost radiated from Lee Rin's sword, sweeping the foes ahead.

Wherever her sword point touched, demonic Cultists' bodies froze and shattered into white fragments.

It was a beautiful and deadly sword dance, fitting the Little Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace.

"Kyaagh!"

"A mere wench...!"

Demonic Cultists screamed and charged, but their blades barely brushed the hem of Lee Rin's robe.

By her side moved a man, flitting like a shadow.

Shuuk! Shuk!

Throwing blades from Gu Janghu's fingertips struck Demonic Cultists' vital points with unerring accuracy.

He gripped twin swords in reverse grip and wove through the enemy formation, flawlessly covering Lee Rin's blind spots.

As a peak expert from Killing Valley, he was an efficient and flawless assassin.

"Protector Gu! Left side!"

"I know!"

With perfect harmony, the two broke through the Demonic Cult's encirclement.

Yet, there was no sign their enemies' numbers were diminishing.

Amid the endless tide of black, weariness crept over them.

Just then—

Kuuuuuuuuuuung—!

From the east—where Baima Monastery stood—came an earth-shattering roar.

It was not just noise.

The very air screamed and the ground trembled with a massive shockwave.

"T-that...?!"

Lee Rin halted her sword mid-swing and turned her head.

Gu Janghu also stared toward the eastern sky with startled eyes.

The pitch-black night sky was split into two colors.

On one side, a blackish-red demonic ki that threatened to swallow all light.

On the other, a magnificent golden immortal energy that seemed to purify the world.

At the intersection of these two forces, a massive vortex tore the clouds asunder.

The instant they saw this, Lee Rin and Gu Janghu instinctively understood.

Who commanded this enormous power.

"Protector Gu! That golden ki... It's Jaseong the Great Hero!"

Lee Rin's voice trembled.

There was only one in the Central Plains who could emit such immense energy—Jaseong.

Gu Janghu's face stiffened.

"The opponent... is the Heavenly Demon. That black-red demonic ki could only belong to him."

"Could it be... The Great Hero is fighting the Heavenly Demon alone?!"

A sense of dread flashed through their minds.

Jaseong had entered the heart of the Demonic Cult alone.

And now, he was clashing with the Heavenly Demon with the might to shake the world.

"Hurry! We must help! Alone, the Hero is in danger!"

Lee Rin shouted urgently, dashing forward.

Ignoring the Demonic Cultists before her, she sprinted at full speed toward Baima Monastery.

"Sect Leader...!"

Gu Janghu also gritted his teeth and followed close behind.

Behind them, members of the Shadow Division trailed like phantoms.

Seeing them, the other experts across the battlefield began to move as well.

"That way! The Evil Path Association Leader is dueling the Heavenly Demon! Go and assist!"

Black Star Sect Leader Heavenly Black Sword Venerable shouted, sweeping his black robe.

His eyes blazed with shock and curiosity.

The fact that someone could stand against the Heavenly Demon, a Profound Realm master, left him in awe.

In truth, when Jaseong was absent, Heavenly Black Sword Venerable had, out of curiosity, fought the Heavenly Demon one-on-one.

But he hadn't even been a match and lost his left arm in the process.

Other unorthodox and orthodox experts were the same.

None dared recklessly challenge the Heavenly Demon.

But the thought that the Evil Path Association Leader would confront the Heavenly Demon alone...!

"Let's go! Support the Evil Path Association Leader!"

King of Ten Thousand Poisons from Poison Valley, Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor from the Twin Dragon Clan, and the White Bone Spirit Monarch—figures of the unorthodox world—all simultaneously rushed east.

The orthodox experts followed suit.

True Person Cheongho of Mount Hua, master Hye-gong of Shaolin, and Division Chief Zhang Daebong of the Beggar's Union—leaders of the righteous alliance—were also drawn to Baima Monastery by the enormous energy.

"The Central Plains scum are running! Catch them!"

"The Heavenly Demon is there! Block their way!"

The Demonic Cult's experts and jiangshi pursued after them.

Tens of thousands surged toward Baima Monastery like a tidal wave.

Yet, when Lee Rin, Gu Janghu, and the martial world's masters arrived at Baima Monastery—

The scene before them was, literally, 'ruins.'

"Th-this is Baima Monastery...?"

Someone muttered in a dazed voice.

The once grand temple that boasted a thousand-year history was gone.

The Main Hall had vanished without a trace, colossal stone pillars bent like candy sticks or reduced to powder.

The earth was cracked like a spiderweb, deep fissures running through which dark smoke rose.

It was the overwhelming devastation as if gods themselves had descended and waged war.

And at the center of the ruins—

There stood a single man.

Jaseong.

His black robe was torn to shreds, his entire body drenched in blood.

Yet he remained upright.

In his right hand, he still held the now lifeless Wicked Flame Sword; in his left, something else.

At his feet, a handful of ashes scattered in the wind.

And atop that pile of ash, lying beside what he held in his left, was the paired item—

A fragment of the Heavenly Demon's sword, cheonma Sword.

It was unmistakable evidence of Cheon Gwang-hwi's end.

"T-the Heavenly Demon...?"

"Was defeated...?"

Those among the Demonic Cult who had followed froze on the spot.

Their god, their absolute ruler, had disappeared without a trace—they could not accept it.

Their eyes became hollow with terror and despair.

In contrast, the orthodox and unorthodox masters felt a shudder that went beyond shock.

Heavenly Black Sword Venerable gripped his sword hilt with trembling hands.

"Unbelievable... He wiped out the Heavenly Demon, whom we couldn't even approach, alone?"

He knew well how unfathomable the Heavenly Demon's might had been.

Even if all the leaders of the unorthodox world—including himself—joined forces, they might not have managed to inflict a single wound on that monster.

And Jaseong had reduced that monster to ashes.

"A true... World's Greatest has been born."

King of Ten Thousand Poisons let out a groan.

He felt as if he had witnessed a sanctuary even his poison energy could not intrude upon.

Shaolin's elder, master Hyesung, joined his palms and closed his eyes.

"Heaven has not abandoned the Central Plains. The child from the Red Light District has saved the world."

Neither orthodox nor unorthodox practitioners doubted Jaseong's victory.

The lingering energy he radiated, and the empty void left by the vanished Heavenly Demon, testified to everything.

At that moment—

Wobble.

Jaseong's body, which had stood firm, suddenly sagged like a puppet with cut strings.

"Great Hero!"

"Sect Leader!"

Lee Rin and Gu Janghu screamed as they darted toward him.

Crossing the ruins faster than the wind, they reached Jaseong.

Thud.

It was Gu Janghu who caught the collapsing Jaseong.

Jaseong's body burned with fever, his pulse thundering madly.

The recoil from opening the Thirteenth Gate had twisted all the energy channels in his body.

"Great Hero! Are you okay?!"

At Lee Rin's cry, Jaseong slowly opened his eyes.

In his blurred vision he saw Lee Rin and Gu Janghu's faces, twisted in worry.

"... You've come."

A faint smile flickered at Jaseong's lips.

A peaceful smile of one who had laid down all burdens.

"We're sorry, we were too late...."

"No... You arrived just in time."

"You fool... Why did you fight that monster alone... What if you had died!"

"I promised... That after all my revenge, we'd travel the jianghu together."

With a faint laugh, Jaseong's eyes shifted to Gu Janghu.

"Gu Janghu."

"Speak, Sect Leader."

"Thank you. For enduring so much beside me."

"No. To be with my Sect Leader—those were moments of utmost honor."

Gu Janghu firmly grasped Jaseong's shoulder.

The tremble in his hand conveyed everything to Jaseong.

Once more, Jaseong gazed upward.

The dark clouds had cleared, and the bright morning sun poured down.

In that light, the visages of his elder brother, sister-in-law, and the Eternal Divine Physician seemed to smile at him.