Chapter 653: Don’t Be Disappointed

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The moment the Apostles entered the mindscape, they looked around. The scenery felt strangely familiar to them.

“This place is...”

“...Somewhere from our memories.”

Sagon nodded, his face pale. He wanted to fight alongside his friends too, but he knew all too well that in his current state, he would only get in the way. He signed to his friends, “Don’t get hurt.”

“Was it really this much of a ruin?”

“......”

They were in the former Blood Cult Headquarters, and this was the day they had stood in the way of their master and four grandmasters as they tried to escape the Blood Cult.

However, there were differences from their memories.

“The prisoners have escaped from the underground prison!”

All Five Young Azure Dragons were speechless.

“There’s a traitor! Catch the traitor who freed the prisoners!”

“Kuhahaha! Kill them all!”

The dead were wandering through the ruined mindscape, screaming. Some crawled with their limbs severed, some dragged their spilled intestines behind them, and some wept tears of blood from empty eye sockets. They roamed the mindscape aimlessly as blurry, ghostlike figures, and most of them were people from the Apostles’ own memories.

The Apostles were peerless masters who had broken the Blood Demon’s sorcery. They were no longer affected by the Blood Demon Eyes. However, at the Five Young Azure Dragons’ level, they could lose their minds in an instant.

“...So this was your hell,” Number One muttered, realizing that this was what that day must have looked like in Baek Suryong’s mind for a very long time.

RUMBLE!

Lightning flickered faintly in the distance, directly beneath the violently swirling sky. They did not miss the brief instant it lit up the darkness.

RUMBLE!

Two men were fighting in the center of the vortex. One had red hair and red eyes, and he was cloaked in a mysterious, divine aura that seemed to transcend mortality. The other man charged at him desperately, his fists wreathed in lightning.

They were Baek Suryong and Namgung Su.

Both were covered in blood, but the fight looked one-sided. Baek Suryong resonated with the swirling sky, and the energy radiating from him grew stronger. Namgung Su looked like he was barely holding on, squeezing every last drop of strength from his body.

Suddenly, ruby-red eyes turned toward the Apostles and the Five Young Azure Dragons.

“So, all of my disciples have come.”

You should be at . If you are not, you will be smacked.

As soon as the Apostles saw the languid, sinister smile on the man’s lips, they all raised their eyebrows and clenched their teeth.

“...Blood Demon,” Number One spat, before hurriedly imbuing his voice with inner qi and shouting to the Five Young Azure Dragons, “Don’t look into his eyes! That is not your master. The being inside him has...”

All Five Young Azure Dragons were speechless.

The Apostles were peerless masters who had broken the Blood Demon’s sorcery. They were no longer affected by the Blood Demon Eyes. However, at the Five Young Azure Dragons’ level, they could lose their minds in an instant.

Fortunately, Number One’s worry turned out to be unfounded.

“Who... is that?”

“That’s not our teacher...”

“Mr. Namgung Su!”

They were Baek Suryong and Namgung Su.

Even though they were fully exposed to the Blood Demon Eyes, the Five Young Azure Dragons seemed completely fine. If anything, they instantly noticed the foreign presence inside Baek Suryong’s body and grew wary of it.

Number One was puzzled. How?

A clear light shone in the eyes of the boys and girls as they glared at the Blood Demon. Seeing that they were not at all fazed, the Blood Demon, who had taken over Baek Suryong’s body, was caught off guard for a moment. After confirming something, though, he frowned.

“It appears some lowly souls have slipped in without my permission. To think there are still so many who wish to interfere with my long-cherished wish...”

The Apostles were peerless masters who had broken the Blood Demon’s sorcery. They were no longer affected by the Blood Demon Eyes. However, at the Five Young Azure Dragons’ level, they could lose their minds in an instant.

Number One ignored the Blood Demon’s grumbling and assessed the situation, quickly giving orders. “Number Two and Number Three, you’re with me. The rest of you, stay here.”

He was glad that the Blood Demon Eyes did not work on the children. Still, it was absurd to think the Five Young Azure Dragons could trade blows with the Blood Demon. There was no way mere prodigies could withstand his attacks.

On top of that, this was his mindscape. A single gesture from him could endanger their lives.

“We came all this way just to watch?”

“We can fight too if we use our joint attack formation!”

All Five Young Azure Dragons were speechless.

“We won’t get in the way. So let us come with...”

“No.”

The Five Young Azure Dragons protested strongly, but Number One firmly shut them down.

“Can even one of you use the Airwalking Technique proficiently? Or are we supposed to fight while carrying you?”

““......””

Baek Suryong said, "Shame on you!"

All Five Young Azure Dragons were speechless. The Airwalking Technique was the bare minimum required to join the fight. No further explanation was needed to illustrate the vast difference in their level and what was required.

“Knowing your place is also a skill. I think you will survive here, but even that won’t be easy,” Number One stated firmly.

Namgung Su shook his head in disdain. The ones who are seeing this have disappointed him.

He looked around. The dead who had been wandering aimlessly through the mindscape began to approach them, showing clear hostility. The Blood Demon had issued the command. Following a hazy voice that echoed through the mindscape, they now recognized the intruders as enemies.

“My dear Apostles and students. To think that even you cannot understand me as I try to cross the heavens... How regrettable and tragic that even our moment of parting must be such a futile battle.”

Number One glared at the Blood Demon, who was spouting bullshit, then turned to Sagon. “Sagon. You stay here too. We will wear our master down and drag him back to reality. Until then, wait here and recover from your injuries as much as you can.”

They were Baek Suryong and Namgung Su.

Sagon nodded, his face pale. He wanted to fight alongside his friends too, but he knew all too well that in his current state, he would only get in the way. He signed to his friends, “Don’t get hurt.”

“We’ll try.”

Baek Suryong said, "Shame on you!"

Sagon nodded and held out his fist to Number One. Number One tilted his head in confusion for a moment before catching on and lightly bumping fists with Sagon.

TAP! TAP! TAP!

Number Two and Number Three did the same, each bumping fists with Sagon in turn. Even amid the urgency, they let out small smirks.

They did not miss the brief instant it lit up the darkness.

“Let’s go, then.”

Just as the three Apostles were about to take off, Hyonwon Kang asked, “Um... Senior Brother? Is that what I should call you?“

Number Three’s eyebrow twitched violently. Turning his head, he glared at Hyonwon Kang. The boy flinched, but still said everything he wanted to say anyway.

“What you said earlier about killing you or whatever, what did you mean? It keeps bugging me...”

“At your current level, you don’t even have the right to know.” Number Three cut Hyonwon Kang off in a threatening tone and immediately shot up into the sky.

The Apostles were peerless masters who had broken the Blood Demon’s sorcery. They were no longer affected by the Blood Demon Eyes. However, at the Five Young Azure Dragons’ level, they could lose their minds in an instant.

Number One and Number Two also briefly met the eyes of the junior brother and junior sister who had learned the same martial arts as them before taking off.

“...What the hell? So petty.” Grumbling, Hyonwon Kang glared at Number Three’s back and picked up a dao from the ground. Although it was just an ordinary blade lying among the ruins of the mindscape, it looked oddly similar to the ones he had seen in the Hyonwon Clan. For now, he planned to use it in place of his broken Black Dao.

““KYAAAAAAAH!””

No sooner had the Apostles left than the dead shrieked and charged at them, as if they had been waiting for this opportunity.

SWISH!

Namgung Su shook his head in disdain. The ones who are seeing this have disappointed him.

Hyonwon Kang swung his dao with all his might, venting his frustration. The lunging dead man split clean in two and collapsed.

“What?”

The technique was so powerful that even he himself was startled.

And he was not alone.

For a moment, the Apostles’ eyes wavered.

“My martial arts are so much stronger...”

“My techniques are coming out easier than usual.”

“I was definitely exhausted, but isn’t it weird how I’m bursting with energy?”

“Right now, I could even walk up the air...”

While fighting the enemies of the mindscape, the Five Young Azure Dragons were bewildered by the unknown power overflowing inside their bodies. However, with enemies pouring in relentlessly from all sides, they had no time to dwell on the strangeness of it all.

We’ll chase you there to ask if we have to.