Thud! Kwaang! Kwakwang!
Fights broke around in more than 10 places. The Soulless were all going insane at the same time, and Demon Lord with his men struggled to prevent the chaos.
Kuaak! Kuaack!
At first, they were pushed back helplessly. And there were not just a few of them, the Soulless were tearing through their iron cages like butter. Their ferocious movements were frightening to witness.
Even if their chests were damaged or limbs cut off, they were attacking without fear of death, not being neutralized unless completely taken down, and this instilled fear in the warriors.
Thanks to that, some of the warriors around were hesitating and ended up dead without being able to react properly.
“Break their heads! Then they will die!”
In the meantime, there was an old man rushing in to lead the troops.
He was the former pavilion head, Blood Star, who came to the Demonic Sect and stayed under the Third Disciple.
He was the one who had assisted her until now and was leading the subordinates in helping the Second Disciple now.
Kwaang!
Meanwhile, in the center of the place, the fight between the strongest beings was happening.
Yupae was chasing the movements of the Third Disciple who was now a Soulless.
What kind of footwork is this?
It felt incredibly odd. This was enough to cause confusion even for the most skilled warriors. Rather, if it was an extremely fast movement or movements done with illusions, there would be no way to recognize it.
Wheik
However, the footsteps that this woman was using was something he had never seen before. It was a technique in which something that was clearly a body was vanishing and appearing far away.
At the same time, as the number of illusions increased, it was difficult to know which was the real one. This was why he could not judge which was the correct one.
Swish!
Kuak!
The Third Disciple was right in front of his eyes, and when he hurriedly tried to move back to get his bearings, he was surrounded by strange black energy.
“Yupae!”
Looking at Yupae covered in this odd energy, the Demon Lord shouted in shock.
But, it was too late.
Kwaaack!
These dark flames jumped out and pierced Yupae’s entire body.
Exorcism Thirteen Movement Palm.
Meanwhile, Seol-Hwi was thinking over what Songhwa said earlier.
The martial arts of the Shaolin Temple, which was said to be the best in the central plains when it came to palm techniques—
However, unlike other well known palm techniques, it was not that widely taught. The reason was that it did not aim to destroy their enemies.
The founder of Shaolin, Bodhidharma, defined the term demon. They included all beings which disturb the flow of dharma by disturbing the body and mind.
However, he said it did not come from outside influences but from within the person.
On this subject, none of the disciples would neglect their studies. Assuming that a demon was a target, they would appropriately measure its strength and defeat it.
This was what exorcism consisted of.
And since this martial art specifically targeted demonic energy, it would be the best in that regard.
The sole purpose of it was to defeat the demons.
That was exactly what Songhwa was referring to. It was definitely the most appropriate choice to use against demons.
But how can I use the technique…
Seol-Hwi had never seen the martial arts. And there was no way he could use it. In other words, if there was another martial art that could go against demonic energy, then it could be used.
And the technique should be filled with the emotions of virtue to go against evil.
What Shaolin martial arts do I know?
Seol-Hwi immediately thought of all martial arts related to Shaolin.
And—
Ah!
Two martial arts popped into his mind naturally. These were not things he had learned personally but ones he remembered the AI learning during the fight against Wang Mo-ryeok.
<You have learned the Shaolin Five Fist.> <You have learned Eighteen Movement Dharma Palm.>
It was one of the system’s abilities. Once it was learned, it was embedded into one’s head and could be recalled.
This was a big help
Dharma…
The Shaolin martial arts.
The monks constantly trained to fight and overcome inner demons. Seol-Hwi soon began to examine the technique more.
That was the answer.
This was because the martial arts itself contained the theory, enlightenment, and method to overcome the demons.
I will be able to defeat it with that.
If by any chance what the Third Disciple was showing was the energy of a demon, then this level of exorcism should not do much, but from Seol-Hwi’s point of view, it did not seem like things had gone that far.
The Third Disciple was a woman who had not overcome the Profund Demon stage yet. So, there was no possibility that one could get rid of their limits just because they had someone within them.
So, in the end, that energy was all from some alien being within their body. Then, the power of the Eighteen Movement Dharma Palm which had the energy to destroy evil should be enough.
Chak!
By the time Seol-Hwi’s thoughts were organized, the Second Disciple’s warrior, Yupae and his spear, clashed with the Third Disciple.
And it all exploded everywhere.
Kwak!
At the end of the fight, Yupae was on his knees with one arm limp.
“Ughh.”
His clothes were burnt, and his skin was either scratched or stained by burns. Moreover, the odd aura was still on his back.
Yupae lost.
He was a talented person who had reached Supreme Demon. One who was considered strong was having difficulty subduing the Third Disciple.
It was said that he had high mental power and overcame any trouble that arose properly, but even that did not help in this fight.
“Uh. They said it was Supreme Demon, was something wrong?”
The Third Disciple smiled.
Yupae got up.
“Kuak!”
But the black energy around his body refused to leave, and it was not being repelled with his internal energy. It had a more odd nature than the usual demonic energy.
Shh
The Third Disciple slowly turned her eyes.
“Huk….!”
The shocked look of the Second Disciple came into her eyes, but she did not care. Her eyes were focused on this one old man.
“This guy is surely something.”
It was Dong Ryong, the person who knows the sorcery and could use it.
Apparently, she thought that since the change in her body was because of him, it would be wrong to let him do as he pleased.
This.
Seol-Hwi frowned at the sight of the Third Disciple dealing to Dong Ryong because he was a threat and right then.
<Choose one of the choices from below.> ▶Subdue the Third Disciple who had turned into a real Soulless Demon. ▷Rescue Dong Ryong from the Third Disciple. ▷Save Songhwa first.
Finally out.
Seol-Hwi nodded as he looked at the choices. He thought the purpose for coming here was to take down the Third Disciple, but now the related choices came up.
But—
Why Songhwa?
The choices seemed divided but in fact they were connected as one. By suppressing the Third Disciple, both Dong Ryong and Songhwa could be saved.
Even if the Second Disciple attacked, he could prepare for it.
But why are the options so different?
Was this not like he had to give up on one person?
<You have selected ‘Subdue the Third Disciple who had turned into a real Soulless Demon.’> <…Wait for a moment.>
The moment he chose the first option, something odd happened.
What is this now?
Originally, he thought when he made the choice he would fight the woman, but this was beyond his expectations. And as he was asked to wait, he was thinking of the tough things.
“Ahem!”
Dong Ryong held his neck. Due to the black energy coming from the extended hand of the Third Disciple his face was turning red, and he fell to the ground struggling.
Shhh
The gaze of the Third Disciple which followed now turned at the fallen Songhwa.
“You are no longer needed.”
Chak.
And her hand aimed for Songhwa and her energy began to form.
<…Start.>
Damn it!
As soon as Seol-Hwi saw it, he reacted right there and went for Songhwa.
Wheik!
The black energy which moved towards him, Seol-Hwi protected Songhwa from it with his body and let the intense coldness flow from his palms.
White Light Demonic Arts!
It was not to suppress it with force but to slow it down.
Chung!
Was the choice valid? The black energy was trapped in the cold, and Seol-Hwi regarded this as a half effective technique.
We cannot collide like this anymore.
A considerable amount of energy was consumed just to stop this simple hit from her. To make matters worse, Seol-Hwi saw Songhwa convulsing on the ground.
The clash of demonic arts was enough to kill Songhwa. It was natural for this young boy without martial arts.
<Would you like to use the Heaven and Land Golden Phoenix Pill on Songhwa?>
Seol-Hwi immediately used it, and the pill was in the golden belt.
There was a phrase in the usage of the description that it dispelled the negative energy around from the mind and body, so he thought it might work for Songhwa right now.
<You have chosen to use it on Songhwa.> <Songhwa is regaining consciousness.>
“Awake?”
At Seol-Hwi’s question, Songhwa raised his head.
“…Huh. You woke me up?”
“Right.”
“As I thought… my benefactor.”
“But our situation isn’t so good.”
He glanced around and looked at the Third Disciple. Naturally, she was looking at them with displeased eyes.
“Like a bug…”
She looked angry. She was dissatisfied with the fact that this worthless man blocked her attack.
The energy which bloomed from the sword reached three feet in height. It was an attack no one could block.
In the meantime, Seol-Hwi and Songhwa continued their talks.
“Did you get the Exorcism Thirteen Movement Palm?”
Songhwa asked.
“No. But I got something similar. I know how to use the technique to stop the dark energy.”
“Ah…?”
Songhwa was really flustered.
In order to use the energy against the demons, one had to learn the martial arts of the Justice faction. He only mentioned the necessary martial arts but never imagined that the person would really use it.
“Well, I have never used it, so I don’t know if it will even work.”
Seol-Hwi began to prepare to fight and—
<Supreme Master ON>
And he chose the martial arts type.
Shaolin’s techniques to train the monks.
The Eighteen Movement Dharma Palm was a deep form of martial arts which prevented the mind dwelling in the inner side of the body, to stop the wrong path of excessive meditation. So he was not sure if it would work here.
But there was no turning back now.
“Get lost!”
The Third Disciple’s sword, the energy of this other world poured into Seol-Hwi, and he was ready.
He took the stance, and the airflow which had been opened up before, began to slowly move along the hands of Seol-Hwi.
The energy which was the antithesis to demons.
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