Chapter 28
The Demonic Technique Is Revealed
Thousand-Mile Pursuit Technique
As the name implies, it is a technique that allows one to pursue someone within a thousand li.
Right now, Sword Spirit was using the Thousand-Mile Pursuit Technique to chase after Gon Hong-gi, the man who had killed the courtesan by draining her vital essence.
“If I hadn’t gone to the Zhugang Water Stronghold, that lady wouldn’t have died.”
It wasn’t guilt over her death that weighed on him, but regret over his own hasty decision.
The people of the Zhugang Water Stronghold could have been dealt with a day later, or even when he left the Zhugang area.
A few more days of suffering for those who had already endured much would not have changed their fate drastically.
“I acted rashly.”
Having lived isolated on an island, Sword Spirit was used to acting as soon as he thought of something. But now, he was trying to change that habit.
“She definitely had her vital essence stolen. That means the culprit must have mastered a demonic absorption technique.”
Sword Spirit moved through the air as if he were the wind itself.
He was using Ghost Floating Cloud Movement Technique (幽靈浮雲運行功), a legendary lightness skill created by Ghost Demon Emperor Gu Young-cheol, that allowed one to travel a thousand li with only a handful of internal energy.
Despite his incredible speed, Sword Spirit didn’t miss a single detail of his surroundings.
“The culprit moved while chasing someone else.”
He sensed that two distinct energies had lingered and disappeared at the place he was heading toward.
Only then did he understand why someone who practiced demonic arts had left traces.
He had heard from Jeok Hwamyung that demonic practitioners always erased every sign of their presence—since not only they but their entire clans would be condemned by the martial world if discovered.
There was no way they would leave the courtesan’s drained corpse behind without covering their tracks.
“Someone must have witnessed the act of energy absorption and chased after him to kill him. They probably only knew a demonic practitioner appeared, but not exactly who it was.”
Sword Spirit changed direction, veering left.
“The fugitive fled onto the main road to avoid being tracked.”
Normally, fugitives choose remote or familiar paths. But this one did the opposite—running through a busy main road.
“He must have realized he couldn’t shake off his pursuer by skill alone.”
With many witnesses around, even a demonic practitioner would be forced to act more cautiously.
Whoosh!
Sword Spirit’s speed increased even further.
“But the opponent is a demonic practitioner.”
While one’s humanity might change depending on their level of demonic cultivation, someone who had fully embraced their demonic nature wouldn’t hesitate just because of a crowd.
“Aaaaargh!”
A faint scream reached his ears. Sword Spirit’s figure became a blur, vanishing from sight as he accelerated.
Objects around him shifted in an instant—he had arrived at the place where Gon Hong-gi was slaughtering people.
He had used Ground Shrinking Technique (縮地)—a movement skill said to fold space itself, something only immortals were believed to use.
“Kekeke!”
Perhaps intoxicated by blood, Gon Hong-gi had fallen completely into demonic frenzy, oblivious to his own actions.
He shuddered in ecstasy as he drained people’s vital energy one by one, laughing eerily.
Around him lay the drained corpses of more than ten people, pale and lifeless.
“So it was you.”
When Sword Spirit spoke, Gon Hong-gi turned his head and looked at him. Then he smiled thinly—like a predator delighted its prey had walked into its trap.
“Kekeke! I was looking for you anyway.”
“Why did you kill her?”
Sword Spirit asked why the courtesan had been targeted.
“Kekeke! I just wanted to taste a woman’s flesh. Pretty face, and despite being a courtesan, she was untouched by men… fresh and delicious.”
He licked his lips with his tongue as he spoke. Sword Spirit frowned.
“For that reason alone?”
“Of course not. I never spare anyone who disrespects me. You ignored my offer.”
Listening to him, Sword Spirit realized that the courtesan had died because of his own refusal.
“People are strange. They make decisions without considering others, and when things don’t go their way, they curse and hate. Everyone has their own nature.”
“Kekeke! I don’t care about that. I’ve always lived however I pleased, and I always will.”
Gon Hong-gi slowly walked toward Sword Spirit. His steps quickened until he suddenly lunged, hand outstretched.
Sword Spirit lightly dodged, shifting his foot.
Thud!
Hooking Gon Hong-gi’s leg, he threw him into the air and slammed him down hard.
The impact was enough to shake the ground, but Gon Hong-gi seemed unfazed.
Sword Spirit then stomped on his leg with full force.
Crunch!
The sound of shattering bones echoed.
Unbothered, Gon Hong-gi raised his upper body and clawed at Sword Spirit’s foot.
Thwack!
Sword Spirit shifted again, blocked his hand, and stomped on his other leg.
Crunch!
This time, the bones didn’t just break—they crumbled into fragments.
“Kekeke!”
Laughing like a man high on drugs, Gon Hong-gi attacked again—only to be crushed again.
Both legs were pulverized, and his arm bones turned to powder, leaving him unable to lift them.
Tap tap tap!
Sword Spirit swiftly struck several of his pressure points, then stood before him.
“Kekeke! I’ll kill you!”
Watching the immobilized man shout threats, Sword Spirit said quietly:
“You must have a lot of blood in you after all that draining.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m going to let some of it out.”
At the mention of bloodletting, Gon Hong-gi burst into laughter.
“Wahaha! So you’ve learned demonic arts too! If you kill me, you’ll be hunted too. Let’s hide and perfect our arts together—”
“Idiot.”
He had completely misunderstood.
“Gah!”
Suddenly Gon Hong-gi screamed.
Despite not feeling pain from his broken limbs, he now stared wide-eyed at Sword Spirit.
“How…?”
He could feel all his blood converging in one place.
Blood that should have circulated stopped flowing, gathering in one spot—bringing unimaginable pain.
“You should feel it too.”
Gon Hong-gi’s face twisted in disbelief. He finally realized Sword Spirit had not practiced demonic arts.
“You bastard!”
He shouted, but Sword Spirit ignored him.
“Now feel how excruciating it is when blood is forced out of the body.”
The human body has two main types of blood vessels: veins and arteries.
Veins return blood to the heart; arteries send blood from the heart throughout the body.
Sword Spirit pressed on Gon Hong-gi’s pressure points, blocking an artery.
Blood that should have been pumped out was now being forced back into the heart through the veins.
As blood accumulated, Gon Hong-gi clutched his chest, glaring at Sword Spirit.
His body turned red, then blue—the blood that should have gone to his brain was cut off.
“Grrrgh!”
Foam frothed at his mouth; his eyes rolled back.
Even a demonic practitioner was helpless when the brain was deprived of blood.
Sword Spirit moved his sword.
Boom!
A sound like a burst of air came from Gon Hong-gi’s chest, followed by a fountain of blood erupting from his heart.
“Gaaah!”
As the accumulated blood spurted out, the pain momentarily vanished. He glared at Sword Spirit with murderous fury.
But that was all he could do. His body was powerless.
His blue face turned pale as blood continued to pour out of his heart.
“This isn’t over yet.”
Sword Spirit directed his sword toward Gon Hong-gi’s dantian.
“Aaaaaargh!”
This time, Gon Hong-gi screamed as his dantian shattered—his internal energy, absorbed from countless victims, vanished.
“You… gaaah!”
Without his inner power, he could no longer endure the agony of his life’s blood flowing out.
“This is the pain you inflicted on countless others. Feel it well—and in your next life, don’t be born human. Be born as a beast of burden and repay your sins through service.”
Sword Spirit looked down at him coldly.
Eventually, Gon Hong-gi bled out completely and died—a fitting end for his atrocities.
Sword Spirit searched his body.
“As expected, he had it on him.”
He pulled out a book from Gon Hong-gi’s robes.
“Hmm…”
It was pristine, as if newly copied. If this was just one manual of the Blood Absorption Demonic Technique, there must be others.
“Old Ghost always said sinister plots lurk in times like this.”
Sword Spirit remembered the Ghost Demon Emperor’s love of schemes and strategies. A bad feeling crept up.
“If the ones defeated thirty years ago are plotting again… they must already be in the Central Plains.”
He flipped through the manual.
“Like the Surapok Heaven Technique, this is also incomplete. But if the demonic sect perfected it…”
Originally, demonic arts were incomplete martial techniques. If perfected, they would no longer be mere demonic skills—they would become divine arts.
“This is worth studying.”
He skimmed through it once more, memorized the core formulas of the demonic art, then burned the manual with Sammei True Fire (三梅珍火).
Looking around and nodding to himself, he decided to leave the corpses as they were. Letting others see the traces of demonic arts would alert the martial world.
He then returned to Hyanghak Pavilion.
* * *
“Patriarch! A demonic technique has appeared—Blood Absorption Technique!”
News arrived at Shinchang Manor early in the morning.
Ui Je-ung, younger brother of Ui Je-min, the clan patriarch and First Elder, hurried to the inner residence and shouted from outside.
Clatter…
At the word “demonic technique,” Ui Je-min rushed out in shock, not even fully dressed.
He was one of the few who remembered the Blood Massacre thirty years ago.
“Is that true?”
The mere fact that the demonic arts that vanished thirty years ago had reappeared was enough to make Ui Je-min—one of the Hundred Masters of the martial world—tense.
“Yes. So far, seven people in the Zhugang area have fallen victim to the Blood Absorption Technique.”
“Dispatch the Hyunryong Squad immediately. Preserve the scene as it is.”
“Understood. What about the government troops?”
“Tell them this is a martial world matter. Ask for maximum cooperation, and assure them we’ll do the same. I’ll head to the scene myself.”
“Yes, Patriarch!”
When Ui Je-ung left, Ui Je-min returned to his room.
“Demonic technique?”
His wife, Byeok Hye-in, asked.
“The martial world is stirring. I’m sure it’s related to Hyeon Jin-myeong of Cheonmyeong Manor. I have to see it for myself.”
Ui Je-min hurriedly dressed, and Byeok Hye-in helped him.
“Is it necessary for you to go personally?”
“This isn’t just any martial art—it’s the same demonic art those demons used to cause the Blood Massacre thirty years ago.”
Byeok Hye-in hadn’t lived through that tragedy, but she knew of it.
“And this isn’t happening just anywhere—it’s happening in Zhugang. And since Hyeon Jin-myeong of Cheonmyeong Manor died in our house, it will be more convincing if I personally investigate.”
“I understand. But be careful.”
“Don’t worry. Things are different from thirty years ago.”
Fully dressed, Ui Je-min stepped out of his room just as the Hyunryong Squad sped out of Shinchang Manor.
