Chapter 640: I Am the Last in Line

The sky dyed in twilight colors marked the end of the seven-day Heavenly Martial Festival.

PSSSSSSH...

If not for the red mist rolling in with the darkness, the city would still be reveling in the festivities. The Dragon and Phoenix Tournament finals would have been held, the crowd would have cheered for the winner, and the Heavenly Martial Festival’s final rankings would have been announced at the closing ceremony. The students and instructors of the Five Great Academies would have reflected on the past year, ending it amid tears and laughter. A shocking result would have astonished the jianghu, and prodigies with unfamiliar names would have emerged as the murim’s new stars.

If only the monster with blood-red hair and eyes had not arrived.

“Not exactly a warm welcome, huh? Even though I rushed over because I wanted to join the fun!”

The Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance was deathly silent. Every master glared at the uninvited guest, their eyes flashing with a menacing light.

“Oh well. Since showing up empty-handed felt a little rude, I brought a gift.”

The Night Emperor snickered and crooked his finger. At his signal, the First Apostle hurled a severed head toward the alliance.

WHOOSH!

The head sailed through the air in an arc, rolled a few times along the ground, and came to a stop at the feet of the Murim Alliance Chairman who stood at the very front.

“...Kunlun Sect Leader.”

“Those monstrous fiends!”

“Not one of them will leave here alive!”

Recognizing the severed head, the sect leaders of the Nine Sects roared in unison.

The scene was quite literally the calm before the storm. Dust rose from the ground and slowly swirled as the murim masters drew on their immense power. Anyone of lesser skill would have had to endure tremendous pressure just by coming near.

Nevertheless, the Night Emperor strolled toward the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance’s camp as if he were out for a leisurely walk. The Apostles followed behind him like attendants.

STEP! STEP!

A measly five people casually cut through the aura of thousands of masters as they approached. Ironically, it was the masters of the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance who visibly tensed, each tightening their grip on their weapons.

“The Blood Cult Apostles...”

“Those monsters are still alive...?”

“Disciples, do not engage them! They are beyond you! Anyone below the peak realm must steer well clear of them!”

The veteran masters of the Nine Sects warned their disciples in trembling voices. A terror they had not felt since peace returned to the world came back to life like a nightmare. The monsters who had once butchered the orthodox murim’s masters with horrifying strength and ruthlessness had reappeared, looking not one day older than they had back then.

“Looks like everyone’s worked up over seeing some familiar faces after so long, huh?”

The man who called himself the Blood Demon snickered.

The Apostles surveyed their enemies with blank, apathetic expressions, then spoke as one.

““Supreme Lord. Please give the order to attack.””

The Night Emperor did not immediately order them to slaughter the enemy. His ruby-like eyes scanned countless faces before landing on Baek Suryong.

“Well, this is a bit.

VWOOOM!

The moment the two men locked gazes, the air trembled with a strange resonance.

The Night Emperor’s crooked smirk deepened. “Long time no see!”

“...I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Baek Suryong replied. “We have never met before.”

“Oh, come on! Thanks to you, I went through a pretty painful time.”

The Night Emperor instantly recognized Baek Suryong as the masked man who had used the Heaven Defying Divine Art to send him packing back at the Namgung Estate.

This man was the reason for his obsession with the Heaven Defying Divine Art. After rebelling against the First Apostle, he had been locked in the underground prison, wherein he created the Heaven-Defying Black Night Demonic Art.

Now that I think about it, maybe even that was part of the Blood Demon’s design?

Even if it was, it mattered not.

The Night Emperor giggled. “There was a time when I thought about nothing but hunting you down and killing you. But now that we’ve met again, I’m just happy to see you. Isn’t that madman’s plan just fascinating?”

“It looks less like you got devoured and more like the two of you blended together. I suppose that’s only possible because you’re both batshit crazy.”

“Want some advice? It’s easier to accept your situation and wait for an opportunity to strike back than to continually struggle against that thing.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Once I kill you, I might find a new way to deal with it.”

“Puhahahaha! I’m getting so excited right now!”

The two men were engaged in a conversation that no one else could understand.

The Heavenly Martial Principal Jin Ryang’s breathing grew ragged with excitement. The Supreme Buddha and the Sword Sage observed the Blood Demon of this era with heavy, somber eyes. The Murim Alliance Chairman desperately restrained himself from charging at his mortal enemy.

Every supreme master was lost in their own thoughts.

The Night Emperor did not give them time to ponder.

FWOOOOOSH!

His red hair whipped toward the sky. A crimson light swirled in his eyes, and a massive wave of energy spread from his body. Slowly, he floated thirty centimeters into the air.

“Let’s enjoy the last night of the festival!”

As soon as the Night Emperor finished speaking, the Blood Cult’s army emerged from the churning red mist.

All of their eyes were bloodshot. Unable to control the seething demonic qi inside them, their bodies warped into monstrous, inhuman forms.

““GRAAAAAAAAH!””

““KWAHAHAHAHAHA!””

The fiends of the Blood Cult let out bestial roars. Behind them, the red mist surged forward alongside them like a tidal wave. They looked like devils who had escaped from hell.

““...!””

Martial artists who had never experienced war and those whose faces turned white from the dense, suffocating demonic qi froze in fear. Everything happened too suddenly and too fast. They didn’t have enough time to steel their hearts and brace themselves.

“Amitabha! Do not be deceived by the enemy’s appearance!”

Omnidirectional telepathy imbued with profound Buddhist inner qi calmed the frightened allies.

Enveloped in golden light, the Supreme Buddha stepped forward. “If we are defeated here, the city behind us will fall, and the world will be plunged into calamity. We must stand our ground!”

These were the words of Shaolin’s greatest master, one of the Ten Supremes and a pillar of the entire murim. The martial artists of the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance took deep breaths and slowly shook off their fear.

Moreover, the Supreme Buddha was not alone.

“Our enemy is the Blood Cult. The Nine Sects must not consider a joint attack shameful. Form the joint attack formations!”

Upon hearing the Sword Sage’s clear command, the masters of the Nine Sects bit their lips and nodded. Normally, the proud martial artists of the Nine Sects would consider ganging up against one enemy disgraceful, but now, they all got into formation without complaint.

“At long last, the moment has come!”

The Heavenly Martial Principal couldn’t stop himself from trembling with euphoria. Not bothering to hide his emotional state, he glanced around, taking in the Blood Cultists rushing in like a landslide, the snickering Night Emperor behind them, the expressionless Apostles, and the martial artists assuming their starting stances, prepared to die.

“A turbulent era that will make martial arts bloom across the world is about to begin, heeheehee...”

Thankfully, his insane ramblings were drowned out by an ear-splitting bellow from the Murim Alliance Chairman, Yayul Hwang.

“BLOOD DEMOOOON!”

The thunderous Lion’s Roar slowed the charging Blood Cultists.

POP POP POP POP!

The heads of the five or six men at the front exploded.

The Murim Alliance Chairman stood with his fist thrust forward, glowering at the Night Emperor as if he wanted to devour him. A ferocious aura emanated from the supreme martial artist as he pushed his power to the limit.

“I finally get to see your ugly mug. The man who devoted his entire life to wiping out you bastards is right here! If you’ve got the guts, face this Chairman one-on-one!”