CLS-Chapter 675

Chapter 675:

Death.

Inescapable death.

That was the first thought that came to Wei Yan-ho’s mind when he saw the surging waves of demonic energy rushing toward him.

Wei Yan-ho, who had never given up even once in the face of any hardship or trial, was so overwhelmed by that demonic energy that he momentarily became conscious of death—that’s how overwhelming it was.

Demonic energy that seemed like all the malice and hatred in the world had gathered together and was seething.

That wasn’t martial arts.

It was something that couldn’t be called martial arts. At least, that martial technique was completely shattering the framework of what Wei Yan-ho had known as martial arts until now.

The seething waves came rushing like violent surges rolling in from a storm-tossed sea.

‘Block it…’

He had to block it.

He knew that.

But how was he supposed to block that?

Raise his sword to block it?

What a ridiculous notion.

A master-level expert could redirect the flow of a small stream. A supreme master could erase a lake from the world.

An absolute master who could shake the world might be able to collapse a small mountain with his sword.

But no one could push back the sea.

Human-created martial arts were nothing more than a mantis raising its arms to stop a cart in the face of raging nature. No human, no martial art could block the sea.

Look.

That surging black sea.

Those waves of malice that seemed like they would dye everything in the world with darkness and sweep away everything in existence.

He was overwhelmed by the power.

The incomprehensible martial principles contained within it, the demonic energy whose manifestation he couldn’t understand at all—none of that held any meaning for Wei Yan-ho right now.

All he could feel was overwhelming power.

Power so overwhelmingly unmatched that it made all the strength Wei Yan-ho had built up feel like an ant’s struggles.

Kwaaaaaaaaa!

The wave swept past Wei Yan-ho.

No sound could be heard. As if nothing had happened at all.

Wei Yan-ho slowly turned his head.

What remained was…

Nothing.

The space where the black wave-like demonic energy spewed forth by the Heavenly Demon had passed was empty, as if nothing had ever existed there to begin with.

Dissonance.

Extreme dissonance pressed down on Wei Yan-ho.

Gone?

Absolutely not.

This was Mount Hua.

Behind him had stood the pavilions of Mount Hua, and before them had been countless martial artists filling the space. But now, nothing remains.

It was a bizarre sight.

The pavilions were cleanly cut in half as if they had originally been built that way, exposing their skeletal frames. They were cut so cleanly that if you looked from the front, you couldn’t find a single flaw in the cut sections.

How could this possibly be described?

It looked as if a section of Mount Hua had been plucked out and sliced away. And everything in that sliced section had literally disappeared.

Annihilation.

“Urgh.“

Nausea welled up.

Wei Yan-ho raised his hand to cover his mouth.

Someone could be strong.

There could be countless others stronger than him. But no one could annihilate things like this—without any sound, without any reaction, as if nothing had ever been there.

This wasn’t martial arts.

This was…

“…”

Divine Strategy Monk’s pupils lost their focus.

‘What did I just witness?’

What was happening here?

His mind, which had always provided answers to his questions, seemed completely empty this time, offering no answers whatsoever.

Divine Strategy Monk’s fingertips trembled violently.

Gone.

Everything caught in the force unleashed by the Heavenly Demon had simply vanished.

‘How…’

How could such a thing happen?

There had been at least two hundred people filling that space. And those two hundred were martial artists that Sichuan and Shaanxi would proudly present.

They had been pushed back by the Demonic Cult, but that was because the Demonic Cult was strong. Even the weakest among the martial artists gathered here could proudly call himself a master who wouldn’t be ignored anywhere in the Central Plains.

Yet such people had simply disappeared.

They had literally been annihilated.

Without even being able to scream, without even daring to flee, they had just…

Was this…

Was this human power?

Divine Strategy Monk had seen countless martial artists throughout his life.

Quan Ji Sama Cheonse, who had spent his lifetime with him.

The Great Demon Emperor, who had shown him how terrifying demonic arts could be.

And Wei Yan-ho, the Mad Ghost Sword Hero, who now made him think he had even surpassed that Great Demon Emperor.

All of them had been terrifying masters without exception.

But…

Who among them could dare stand before that devil?

The Heavenly Demon’s martial learning couldn’t be compared to others.

It was on a different dimension.

Though standing on the same ground, breathing the same air, the Heavenly Demon seemed to be living alone in a different world.

How could a human possibly reach such a realm?

‘Block it?’

That devil?

That demon?

Blood trickled down from Divine Strategy Monk’s tightly bitten lips. His bloodshot eyes turned red.

By what means?

By what means could they block that monster? Even if everyone here rushed at him together, they couldn’t even scratch him.

The existence called the Heavenly Demon negated everything about Divine Strategy Monk.

He was the one who led the Righteous Martial Alliance. The Righteous Martial Alliance was a coalition created by gathering countless sects from the Central Plains.

Ultimately, a coalition was a place where forces gathered to face a powerful enemy. No matter how strong an enemy might be, if they could gather and combine their strength and deploy it in the right place at the right time, they could surely block it. In past wars, Divine Strategy Monk had proven that fact.

But now, that confidence was crumbling.

What should he do?

Before that demon who had transcended the world all alone, the Righteous Martial Alliance was too powerless. Even if Divine Strategy Monk gathered all the military strategies he knew and all the power he could mobilize, he couldn’t even begin to grasp how to block it.

One person surpassing the world.

Before that overwhelming and singular power, Divine Strategy Monk was simply powerless.

“S-strategist.”

A voice calling him could be heard.

He knew.

They wanted to find salvation in his words. They were craving hope to overcome this agonizing pressure that seemed like it would shatter their minds.

But Divine Strategy Monk couldn’t give them any answer.

“Elder!”

At Wei Jeong-han’s resolute voice, Divine Strategy Monk startled and turned his head.

Wei Jeong-han was looking at him with a stern expression.

“Don’t let your shoulders droop.”

“…”

“Everyone is watching.”

Divine Strategy Monk bit his lips tightly.

He was right.

What he had to do wasn’t just provide answers. In the past, he had provided answers while Quan Ji led these people, but now he had to do both.

If he couldn’t provide answers, he had to at least lead them. Even if it was just a bluff.

Divine Strategy Monk straightened his back proudly.

“Listen quietly.”

“Yes.”

“We must retreat.”

At Divine Strategy Monk’s quietly whispered words, Wei Jeong-han silently nodded.

There was no chance of victory.

You didn’t need to study military strategy to know that. The moment that Heavenly Demon appeared on Mount Hua, any chance of victory had vanished.

If it was a war they couldn’t win, they had to run. The problem was how to run.

“Tell the main force that the Heavenly Demon has descended.”

“You should go yourself, Strategist.”

“That’s impossible.”

Divine Strategy Monk’s frozen mind began to turn.

Looking at the situation coldly, the best result they could derive from here was getting a few people to escape. Even that was something they could only attempt, not something they could be certain of.

‘We’ll be annihilated.’

If he thought rationally, the result was obvious. If the Heavenly Demon put his mind to it, not a single person would survive.

One move.

With just one attack, the Heavenly Demon had proven that fact.

Martial arts of a different dimension.

Demonic learning like a devil that could push humans into the abyss of despair with just one gesture.

“Listen clearly.”

“Yes.”

“If I leave this place, everyone dies.”

“…”

“If I grab onto his ankle and hold on here, I might be able to get one person to escape.”

Wei Jeong-han’s eyes wavered.

Divine Strategy Monk’s voice wasn’t shaking like it had been moments before.

A calm voice. And an expression that seemed to have achieved enlightenment.

He seemed to clearly recognize what he had to do.

“Your son must survive without fail. Even if everyone here dies. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Wei Jeong-han bit his lips tightly.

Normally, he would have shouted that such a thing was impossible. When everyone was dying, they couldn’t run away to save only themselves. For Wei Jeong-han, who had lived his entire life for righteousness, that would be too shameful.

But not now.

Wei Jeong-han knew. Now wasn’t the time for such soft talk about righteousness.

Wei Yan-ho had to survive.

Not because he was his son. Even if Wei Yan-ho wasn’t his child, Wei Jeong-han would have risked his life to help him escape.

The Heavenly Demon was that kind of existence.

That person couldn’t be opposed through numbers. No matter how many rabbits there were, they couldn’t hunt a single tiger. To face someone like that, they needed someone who matched that level.

Among those here, only Wei Yan-ho had the possibility of becoming such a person.

So…

Even if everyone else died, Wei Yan-ho alone had to live. If they failed to do that, the Central Plains would never be able to dream of a future.

“Strategist.”

“We’ll save the small talk for next time.”

Divine Strategy Monk smiled gently.

Having regained his lost composure, an unapproachable dignity flowed from Divine Strategy Monk.

Wei Jeong-han bit his lips tightly and nodded.

Next time?

There was no next time. There would be no tomorrow for those who remained here. The next time Divine Strategy Monk spoke of wouldn’t be in this world, but in the afterlife.

Wei Jeong-han clenched his fists tightly.

His nails dug into his palms and blood flowed down his fists.

He knew. Now wasn’t the time to satisfy his petty pride. What mattered wasn’t his self-satisfaction, but the Central Plains’ survival.

“Watch for an opportunity and help Wei Yan-ho escape.”

“…Yes.”

Divine Strategy Monk looked at the Heavenly Demon with resolute eyes.

‘What an absurd thing.’

He had lived his entire life on battlefields. And for his entire life, he had devoted everything to running military operations.

Yet his final mission had nothing to do with military strategy—it was grabbing onto ankles and holding on.

‘Isn’t this what makes life interesting?’

Divine Strategy Monk smiled lightly.

His gaze turned toward the Heavenly Demon.

“Hmm?”

Perhaps sensing something different in the gaze directed at him, the Heavenly Demon’s eyes also turned toward Divine Strategy Monk.

“It seems you’re having interesting thoughts.”

A smile formed at the corner of the Heavenly Demon’s mouth.

“Struggle, you worthless things. I don’t wish to see you give up and die either. Try everything you can. When all your attempts come to nothing, you’ll learn what true despair is. The despair I felt, the helplessness I experienced—I’ll return all of that to you.”

Pitch-black demonic energy began flowing from the Heavenly Demon’s body.

“Today, here, the Central Plains meets its end. The world will be reorganized under my order.”

A declaration of demonic dominion over the world.

It was a declaration both lofty and calm, and full of spirit.