Star Instructor, Master Baek

Chapter 163: Rebuilding the Valley of Evil

TL: FoodieMonster007

"The Blood Demon? What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden?" Baek Suryong asked, his expression puzzled.

Blue Eyed Freak's lips curled into a cold smile. "Don't play dumb. Someone saw your hair and eyes turning red when you fought the Bloody Ripper."

"My hair and eyes turned red?" Baek Suryong widened his eyes, pretending this was news to him. Shrugging, he added, "I really have no idea what you're talking about."

"There are countless martial arts out there, but only one causes that effect," Blue Eyed Freak insisted, his blue eyes glinting eerily.

Under that piercing gaze that scanned him from head to toe, Baek Suryong became certain of one thing.

This guy… He's mastered the Blue Eyes Demonic Art.

Baek Suryong had suspected it when he first met the Blue Eyed Freak, but at the time, he was focused on rescuing Wiji Cheon and didn't have time to dwell on it.

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Since reaching the seventh star of the Heaven Defying Divine Art, Baek Suryong could sense others' energies much more keenly. If it was a demonic art from the Blood Cult, no matter how much they tried to hide it, he would definitely notice.

To think I'd meet a successor of the Blue Eyes Demonic Art in a place like this. Fate sure is mischievous.

Baek Suryong chuckled, "Oh really? And what martial art would that be?"

"The Heaven Defying Divine Art. The ultimate martial art that only the Blood Demon, the supreme leader of the Blood Cult, can master."

"……"

"I'll ask you one more time. Are you the Blood Demon?" the Blue Eyed Freak pressed, though he seemed certain of the answer.

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Baek Suryong shook his head firmly. "No, I'm not."

"You're still going to deny it?!" Blue Eyed Freak roared, his blue eyes flashing fiercely.

Baek Suryong looked at him with pity and snickered. There was no point in arguing, as words alone wouldn't be enough to convince his opponent.

Blue Eyed Freak lost his temper. "Are you mocking me? You may be able to fool others, Blood Demon, but you can't deceive my eyes."

"Believe what you want, but I'm telling you, I'm not the Blood Demon."

"Then you won't mind if I inform the Murim Alliance? I'll tell them that Baek Suryong, an instructor at the Azure Dragon Academy, is the current Blood Demon who has mastered the Heaven Defying Divine Art."

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"Pfft! The Murim Alliance, you say?" Baek Suryong snorted. Approaching the Blue Eyed Freak, he slowly turned his hair and eyes red, almost as if he was showing off.

Blue Eyed Freak's face contorted with rage. "So I was right after all!"

Baek Suryong scoffed. Although he had always feared that someone would discover the fact that he'd mastered the Heaven Defying Divine Art, it didn't matter if that someone was a villain like the Blue Eyed Freak.

"Between me, an instructor at the Azure Dragon Academy, and you, a demonic practitioner from the Valley of Evil, who do you think the Murim Alliance would believe? They might just kill you on the spot," he said dismissively.

Blue Eyed Freak immediately retorted, "I can always file an anonymous report. It won't be hard to get the Murim Alliance to at least launch an investigation. If they dig into your past, I'm sure they'll find evidence linking you to the Blood Cult…"

"Hahaha! Go ahead, do whatever you want. Since I'm not the Blood Demon, there's nothing for them to find," Baek Suryong laughed.

He was confident that even if the Murim Alliance dug into his past, the worst they could uncover was that his parents, both former delinquents at the Azure Dragon Academy, had eloped. Unless they knew that he had been reincarnated, there was absolutely no way to connect the current him to the Blood Cult.

Growing impatient, Blue Eyed Freak snarled, "Still lying until the very end!"

Baek Suryong gazed at his reflection in those deep blue eyes. "I'm curious. What gives you the courage to confront me alone? Do you really think you can get away after provoking me? Or…"

Baek Suryong extended his senses to search for Hell Axe and Wolf Fang Blade, only to discover that they were both far out of earshot. It seemed that Blue Eyed Freak wanted to keep them out of this conversation, but that also meant that they wouldn't be able to intervene in time if he decided to kill their friend.

WHOOSH!

An immense aura, far greater than when he first arrived in the Valley of Evil, burst forth, causing his robes to flutter.

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Overwhelmed by the pressure, the Blue Eyed Freak stumbled backward, his face etched with shock. I thought he was injured from fighting the Bloody Ripper… How did he become even stronger than before?

Almost as if he could read the Blue Eyed Freak's thoughts, Baek Suryong continued, "…Did you come here to die?"

The Heaven Defying Divine Art was the pinnacle of the Blood Cult's martial arts. Its aura suppressed, oppressed, and dominated all other martial arts of the Blood Cult, including the Blue Eyes Demonic Art. Moreover, now that Baek Suryong had reached the seventh star realm, he could make even demonic masters of his level break into a cold sweat, let alone those weaker than him.

"Ugh…" Suddenly, blood trickled from the Blue Eyed Freak's mouth, his eyes became bloodshot, and he stopped retreating.

He had bitten his own tongue to free himself from the crushing fear. Although he knew that he could neither win nor escape, he had no intention of dying quietly. Since he'd met his mortal enemy, he would at least put up a fight!

"Blood Demon! The day has finally come to avenge my old friends!" he bellowed, forcefully summoning his qi.

"Huh? Avenge? Old friends?"

CRACK! CRUNCH!

The Blue Eyed Freak pushed the Blue Eyes Demonic Art to its limits, causing veins to bulge all over his body as his muscles swelled and a fierce blue aura enveloped him.

Baek Suryong raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Not bad. At this level, even the Bloody Ripper would have a hard time taking you down."

The Blue Eyed Freak's martial arts exceeded Baek Suryong's expectations, but even then, it wasn't enough to shake his confidence.

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"Die!" the Blue Eyed Freak roared, drawing his sword and charging with the speed of lightning. With his weapon raised high above his head, he slashed down at Baek Suryong.

CRASH!

With the elusiveness of a phantom, Baek Suryong sidestepped, and a huge crater formed where the sword hit the ground. Despite this, the Blue Eyed Freak's gaze followed Baek Suryong flawlessly, and he promptly unleashed a second attack.

"I'll kill you and avenge my friends!" he shouted, blue light pouring from his eyes. The calm demeanor he'd shown while guarding the Valley of Evil was nowhere to be seen.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOOOM!

As the two masters clashed, explosions echoed like bombs. The Blue Eyed Freak's sword, charged with enhanced qi, was destructive enough to change the landscape, but Baek Suryong focused only on defense, conserving his strength and energy.

As they fought, Baek Suryong looked deeply into the Blue Eyed Freak's eyes. Seeing the immense anger and pain there, he was reminded of the Nine Yin Witch who had gone mad after being forced to learn the White Ice Divine Art in a Blood Cult facility. He had expected there to be more victims like her out there, but he didn't think he would meet another one so soon.

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"Ah… I understand now," he sighed softly. "We need to talk, but first… you need to calm down."

Baek Suryong hadn't interfered with the Nine Yin Witch since she had chosen her own path. However, the Blue Eyed Freak didn't seem like someone who wanted to die, so he decided to approach the situation differently.

He closed in on the Blue Eyed Freak, parrying the next blow even though it cost him a few strands of hair. In response, the Blue Eyed Freak gritted his teeth, his eyes emitting so much blue light they looked like they were on fire.

Those special blue eyes, sharpened by cruel training and drugs, could read an opponent's movements, predict their attacks, sense the flow of energy, and gauge their strength. When it came to anticipating surprise attacks, it ranked among the world's top martial arts. If the Blue Eyed Freak achieved complete mastery, his eye would become nearly divine, approaching the level of foresight.

Unfortunately…

"You're still a long way from fully mastering the Blue Eyes Demonic Art, aren't you? Not that it matters. Even if you achieved it, you cannot defeat me," Baek Suryong remarked, slipping into a gap in the Blue Eyed Freak's guard.

The Blue Eyed Freak quickly surrounded himself with a qi barrier, but it was futile. The moment his qi touched that of the Heaven Defying Divine Art, it melted away.

"What the hell…?!" he exclaimed.

"Curse your luck. Our martial arts are just too incompatible," Baek Suryong sighed, grabbing the Blue Eyed Freak's face and slamming him into the ground.

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SLAM!

"Argh!" The Blue Eyed Freak coughed out blood. It wasn't mere brute force that had felled him; Baek Suryong had channeled the Heaven Defying Divine Art's energy into his body, forcibly dispersing the Blue Eyes Demonic Art.

He grit his teeth in frustration. By now, it was painfully clear to him that as Baek Suryong's crimson Blood Demon Eyes glowed brighter, his own blue eyes began to dim.

Baek Suryong explained, "Did you know? The Blue Eyes Demonic Art was a martial art created specifically for the shadows who guarded the Blood Demon. This means that even though it's one of the most powerful demonic arts, the restrictions placed on it are stricter than most.

"Our martial arts have a strict hierarchy. You, a user of the Blue Eyes Demonic Art, can never hope to defeat me, who mastered the Heaven Defying Divine Art."

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"Shut up! I'll kill you…!" the Blue Eyed Freak screeched, desperately trying to muster all his remaining qi.

Alas, it was futile. He was ready for sacrifice his life to take down Baek Suryong, but faced with its nemesis, his qi refused to obey him.

Baek Suryong calmly looked down at him. "Since you called me the Blood Demon and tried to kill me, you must really hate the Blood Cult. As I said before though, I'm not the Blood Demon."

"Stop talking nonsense! How can you not be the Blood Demon when you've mastered the Heaven Defying Divine Art?!"

"If I were truly the Blood Demon, why would I bother lying? Why would I go easy on you and let you live till now?"

"You're trying to deceive me until the very end!"

SMACK!

Baek Suryong slapped the Blue Eyed Freak so hard that his head whipped to the side. "Think before you speak. Do I look like someone who would waste time on such meaningless bullshit?" he said coldly.

"……" The Blue Eyed Freak fell silent. After a while, when a little bit of reason came back to him, he asked gingerly, "Are you really not the Blood Demon?"

"No, but it is true that I have mastered the Heaven Defying Divine Art," Baek Suryong admitted.

"How can that be? The Heaven Defying Divine Art is…"

"…Just a martial art like any other. Anyone can learn it as long as they have the right formula."

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"……"

"Let me tell you this." A malevolent smile appeared on Baek Suryong's face, and an overwhelming killing intent radiated from him. "I hate the Blood Cult just as much as you do, maybe even more. So far, I've killed every cultist I've met, and I will continue killing them. Someday, I'll definitely find their headquarters and raze it to the ground."

The Blue Eyed Freak stared blankly at the surreal sight in front of him. A man with blood-red hair and eyes stood silhouetted against the blazing hues of sunset, his chilling smile masking a rage capable of incinerating the entire murim as he declared his intention to annihilate the Blood Cult.

"If I were the Blood Demon, I wouldn't waste time talking to you. I'd just kill you quickly, or capture and torture you. Same goes for those guys over there," Baek Suryong said, tilting his head to the side.

The Blue Eyed Freak glanced in the direction Baek Suryong had indicated. In the distance, he could see his friends, Hell Axe and Wolf Fang Blade, rushing over using movement arts.

"Blue Eyed Freak!"

"Hey, you! Stop!"

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Despite setting up a qi barrier to block sound before the fight, the explosive energy waves from their intense battle had breached it, alerting his friends and prompting them to come running.

Baek Suryong returned his hair and eyes to their normal black color. There was no need to explain himself to more people than was absolutely necessary. Looking intently at Blue Eyed Freak, he warned, "I trust you're smart enough to understand the situation."

"…I didn't tell them anything. Please, don't kill them," Blue Eyed Freak pleaded.

Baek Suryong nodded, then grabbed Blue Eyed Freak's arm and helped him up. Seeing this from a distance, Hell Axe and Wolf Fang Blade ceased using movement arts and approached slowly, not wanting to provoke Baek Suryong.

Baek Suryong carefully studied the trio in turn. After some deliberation, he announced, "I have a proposition for you three."

The long-time gatekeepers of the Valley of Evil stared blankly at Baek Suryong, puzzled.

Baek Suryong grinned. "What do you guys think about rebuilding the Valley of Evil?"

All three men's eyes widened in surprise.