Became a God-Level Martial Artist

Chapter 285 : Let’s Kill Him

Inside the small banquet hall of Seong-un Inn.Lee Seowon gathered the inn’s members together with the Orthodox Faction Later-generation Prodigies and began discussing the Eight Bats.

Their existence, the reason they had become active again, and why Seong-un Inn needed to capture them.

“It would be unrealistic for us to personally track them down. These are people that even the Murim Alliance and countless other factions failed to capture over the years.”

“Then what should we do?”

At Jin Seong-un’s question, Lee Seowon nodded as though he already had a solution.

Though he had spent his life in the Commercial World, whether in business or Murim, the world was ultimately built by people, so many things were fundamentally similar.

“We will make them come here to Yichang. We shall set a trap. To catch blood-sucking bats, one must spread the scent of blood. However, the truly important part comes after drawing them here...”

Lee Seowon’s gaze swept over the martial artists gathered within the hall.

The Eight Bats were Demon Heads listed among the public enemies of Murim.

This operation only held meaning if the martial artists here possessed the ability to kill them.

Seo Yu-gyeom spoke in a low tone.

“They mainly appear at night. Anyone caught by them has all their blood and Internal Energy drained away and becomes like a mummy. Their martial arts are apparently based on blood... though honestly, I don’t know much either. They disappeared fifteen years ago.”

Their martial prowess was known to be at the Peak-level Master Realm.

However, that too was information from fifteen years ago.

A span of time in which anything could have happened.

Seo Yu-gyeom continued.

“Even those cultivating orthodox martial arts with stable foundations differ wildly in growth depending on talent. So how could we possibly estimate those cultivating Demonic Arts?”

Perhaps they had suffered Qi Deviation midway and lost all their martial arts entirely.

Or perhaps they had undergone Demonic Liberation and grown dramatically stronger.

Demonic Arts possessed far too many variables.

Predicting the changes of Demon Heads was impossible.

“We might actually be bringing disaster into Yichang.”

For once, Seo Yu-gyeom displayed a defensive attitude.

After all, the reason they sought to lure in the Eight Bats was because of his master.

He disliked the idea of Seong-un Inn suffering harm because of matters involving himself and his master.

As everyone hesitated, Jin Seong-un spoke to Lee Seowon.

“We will handle it somehow. Just as we always have.”

There was no longer any reason to hesitate.

At least not for Jin Seong-un.

Nothing until now had ever been easy.

Nor had he ever deeply agonized over how to deal with enemies.

If there was an enemy that needed cutting down, then he would simply cut them down.

“If Jin Seong-un does it, then so will I. To begin with, this concerns my master.”

Seo Yu-gyeom also spoke as though it were only natural.

Just as Seomun Ak was about to say something while watching the scene, Moyong Hyeon spoke first.

“Seomun Ak and I will participate too. The inn’s business is our business as well. Besides, the training we’ve been receiving from Seo Yu-gyeom’s master lately has been pretty worthwhile.”

Seomun Ak stared at Moyong Hyeon with widened eyes.

Usually, he was the one dragging Moyong Hyeon down with him, yet this time their roles had reversed.

Moyong Hyeon smiled faintly like a victor.

Since he would be dragged in anyway, Moyong Hyeon had decided he might as well grab the other person by the hair first.

Thus, the members of Seong-un Inn decided to participate in this matter.

All that remained were the Orthodox Faction Later-generation Prodigies.

Their hesitation was obvious.

Naturally so.

To begin with, they held no goodwill toward Divine Slaughter, Shadowless.

No—in fact, they considered him no different from the Eight Bats or any other Demonic and Unorthodox monster.

Risking their lives as Orthodox Faction disciples to help someone like him felt absurd.

Of course, Lee Seowon had anticipated their reactions.

This was not something he could force.

He merely needed to subtly tip the scales within their hearts.

“Did you know that the founder of the Sichuan Tang Clan once joined hands with the Tyrant King of Sichuan, who was considered the greatest figure of the Unorthodox Faction at the time?”

As Lee Seowon casually posed the question, Tang So-yeon’s dark green eyes instantly sharpened.

“What?”

“It was to stop the Heavenly Demon Cult’s invasion into the Central Plains. Once the Demonic Cult moved, Sichuan Province would have been the next most endangered place after Qinghai.”

“No, but that was...”

“Furthermore, around two hundred and thirty years ago, the then Sect Leader of the Wudang Sect, Daoist Master Domyeong, cooperated with Sword Demon Cheon.”

At those words, Baek Sang and Baek Seol widened their eyes toward Lee Seowon.

The Wudang Sect was a sect that despised Demonic Arts more than anyone else.

“The radical faction within the Demonic Cult at the time had declared themselves the Worship Sect and rampaged throughout the Central Plains. They were apparently quite a powerful force. The Wudang Sect needed to protect the common people, while the Demonic Cult needed to purge heretics, so they temporarily joined forces.”

Lee Seowon continued speaking.

“The fifteenth Sect Leader of the Mount Hua Sect, Ascension Sword Saint, even joined hands with Cold Soul Ghost, the greatest assassin of that era.”

“...Really?”

Hwamyeong asked in astonishment.

The others reacted similarly.

After all, histories involving cooperation with Demonic and Unorthodox figures were not things normally taught in detail to disciples.

Lee Seowon continued.

“The North Sea Ice Palace was entering a period of royal succession and needed external enemies to unite its power. It’s a somewhat complicated story... but in any case, if northern forces marched south, Shaanxi Province—where the Mount Hua Sect resides—would have suffered first.”

All the conclusions converged upon a single fact.

“Those great figures never hesitated to join hands with people they ordinarily considered enemies. Why?”

“......”

“Because a common enemy appeared, and a goal emerged that needed to be prioritized above all else. Look at the current situation. Recently, one hundred and seventy corpses believed to be victims of the Eight Bats have been discovered. Even while we speak now, that number may already be increasing.”

“......”

A strange silence settled over the hall.

Whether to help Divine Slaughter, Shadowless or not.

The simple scales within the Orthodox Faction Later-generation Prodigies had transformed into a complex choice:

Would they save the common people even if it meant joining hands with Demonic and Unorthodox figures—

Or would they turn away from innocent lives because they absolutely refused to cooperate?

That was all Lee Seowon had done.

He neither criticized nor persuaded them.

He merely placed truths they had never known one by one upon the scales.

“What matters more to all of you?”

This time, not only Jin Seong-un, but even Seo Yu-gyeom, Moyong Hyeon, and Seomun Ak looked horrified.

They had been listening almost entranced, only to suddenly realize that refusing to help now made them feel like hypocritical Orthodox martial artists abandoning the common people merely to preserve their own pride.

Tang So-yeon finally spoke with a sigh.

“Fine. Let’s say we help. Of course, we’re helping the common people, not Divine Slaughter, Shadowless himself. So how exactly are we going to lure them here?”

The mood had already shifted.

Tang So-yeon—the most difficult among them—had spoken those words.

Baek Sang and Baek Seol were also the type to prioritize the safety of commoners over their own personal feelings.

Hwamyeong, meanwhile, had not cared much from the start.

In truth, he had recently been observing the alcohol Divine Slaughter, Shadowless selected when drinking.

‘That man seems to understand the Dao of Alcohol fairly well.’

Because of that, Hwamyeong had secretly been considering someday discussing alcohol with Divine Slaughter, Shadowless behind Tang So-yeon, Baek Sang, and Baek Seol’s backs.

Once the atmosphere seemed settled, Lee Seowon grinned and said,

“I said we needed to spread the scent of blood, correct? Let us kill Divine Slaughter, Shadowless.”

“...What?”

Tang So-yeon looked utterly dumbfounded, while Seo Yu-gyeom wore an expression suggesting he wanted to wash his ears with water.

---

Shaanxi Province, Xianyang.

Thanks to the influence of the Mount Hua Sect and Zhongnan Sect, it was an extremely peaceful and tranquil city.

Unlike usual, when the streets would fall silent by the Hour of the Dog, loud booming noises still echoed from the outskirts despite the late hour.

“AAAAAH!”

A horrifying scream rang out.

A large man gripped another by the throat.

The strangled man’s complexion instantly turned pale, and soon his entire body began shriveling.

Around them already lay over a dozen corpses transformed into mummies.

“Haa...”

Having absorbed all the blood and Internal Energy from a living person in an instant, the man looked around with red-glimmering eyes.

Aside from his brothers, not a single living person remained nearby.

Realizing there was nothing left to consume, he wore a disappointed expression and even continued stroking the dead body, trying to absorb the final traces of Internal Energy remaining within it.

Third Bat, the eldest among the Eight Bats, roughly rubbed the youngest’s head.

Though called the youngest, the man already appeared well past forty, making the sight rather bizarre.

“My youngest brother, do not be disappointed. Judging by these fellows’ swords, they seem to be disciples of the Xianyang Sword Sect.”

The Xianyang Sword Sect was not particularly large, yet it possessed deep history and tradition, and generation after generation it upheld chivalry.

Their swordsmanship was also widely praised as rivaling that of major sects.

Third Bat continued.

“They attacked us first, did they not? That means we now possess legitimate justification to devour the Xianyang Sword Sect.”

“Oooooh.”

Though once called the Eight Bats, they were now only six.

The First Bat and Second Bat had been killed by Divine Slaughter, Shadowless fifteen years ago.

Their calamity had begun from that moment onward.

There was no way a Demonic Art that absorbed human blood and Internal Energy could exist without side effects.

The only one capable of controlling and suppressing those side effects had been First Bat, the original eldest among them.

Now that he was dead, those left behind could no longer unleash their Demonic Arts freely.

The accumulating madness and steadily fading reason that came from absorbing blood and Internal Energy terrified them.

Thus they had lived for fifteen years.

The Eight Bats firmly believed that if they had been able to maintain the momentum they once possessed, they would have written a new chapter in history.

Perhaps they might have even surpassed Blood Demon himself, who was considered the greatest Demon Head in all history.

They could not possibly calm their resentment without killing Divine Slaughter, Shadowless—the one responsible for reducing them to such miserable lives.

Then news arrived that the very Divine Slaughter, Shadowless who had ruined them had emerged from Deathshroud’s protection.

What they feared was the King of Assassins, not Divine Slaughter, Shadowless himself.

From that moment onward, they fully resumed their blood-draining and essence-devouring once more.

Their madness worsened day by day, but it no longer mattered.

If they intended to fight Deathshroud, they would surely fall into Qi Deviation and die before gathering enough strength.

But now their target was only a single man.

Divine Slaughter, Shadowless.

Before their madness completely consumed them, they could still gather enough power to kill him.

“Divine Slaughter, Shadowless is strong. But we will continue growing stronger tonight, tomorrow night, and every night afterward. So it does not matter.”

Tonight, they intended to massacre the Xianyang Sword Sect.

Aside from the Sect Master, who had reached the Peak-level Master Realm, over a dozen elders had apparently attained the Supreme Realm.

They would make excellent nourishment.

And tomorrow they would massacre an even larger force.

After that, an even greater one.

Sects were fine, but clans were even better.

Their bloodlines were not mixed, making them taste superior.

They had already confirmed that Divine Slaughter, Shadowless was in Yichang.

For now, they merely continued growing stronger so they could thoroughly tear him apart.

.

.

.

By the time the Eight Bats finished devouring the Xianyang Sword Sect throughout the night and emerged—

Dawn had already broken.

Merchants bustled through the streets while chatting noisily.

As creatures that disliked sunlight, the Eight Bats intended to return to a nearby cave they had found to sleep.

Then suddenly, the merchants’ conversation reached their ears.

“They say Guest Dragon, Sword Dragon, and Fist Hero Seomun killed Divine Slaughter, Shadowless.”

“Did they have some kind of grudge against him?”

“Who knows? Guest Dragon has killed plenty of villains already.”

The Eight Bats stopped dead in their tracks.

As they stared at the merchants with blood-red eyes from a night spent feeding—

The merchants shrieked in terror and fled immediately.

The death of Divine Slaughter, Shadowless.

Crunch.

As Third Bat clenched his fist, grotesque sounds echoed while blood dripped onto the ground.

Overwhelming emptiness and fury surged all the way to the tops of their heads.

If the rumors were true, there was no longer any reason to grow stronger.

What meaning was there in becoming stronger if the target had already died?

“...We head to Yichang immediately.”