Seol-Hwi had already arrived at the temple.
However, he had no choice but to hesitate when he sensed the presence of those guarding the temple. There were a total of seven instructors.
Among them, three were not easy to assess, and if he jumped in, it would be a fight.
Hmm…
Even if just one person discovered him, the other six would jump out.
As intended, it was not easy to avoid the eyes of the instructors and pull that sword out. So, for now, he was waiting for the right situation.
“…?”
Wheik!
The wildfire was spreading around.
“Stop it!”
“Cut down the trees! Keep the flames out as much as possible!”
The instructors guarding the temple were sure to cut down the trees to widen the range of safety.
Wheiik!
But the fire was burning everything.
Although they did not come into direct contact with it, because of the heat which rose from the flame, the old temple began to catch fire.
“We need to step back! The sword!”
“No! It is impossible to take it now! Retreat at once!”
“Shit! Those damned bastards!”
Attempts were made to go back into the temple, but in the end, the instructors could not withstand the fire and escaped from the temple.
Jjjkkk
“….”
Seol-Hwi, who was lying flat, hesitated a little.
Even though the distance was good, his hair and clothes were close to catching fire. It was potentially dangerous so Seol-Hwi moved further away.
With the instructors gone, he had no obstacles in his way, and the moment he picked up the Small Flame Sword in the hand—
<You have obtained the Small Flame Sword.> <It is a unique fire-type item. Even if you have no internal energy, you can use flame arts.> <Resistance and affinity to flame will be increased.> <This unique item raises the ability of martial arts related to fire.>
Uh?
Seol-Hwi paused for a minute at the words he saw. The information felt difficult to look at.
In particular, the characteristics and abilities of this sword were not lacking compared to a Divine Sword.
Affinity with flame…?
He was not sure what that meant, but Seol-Hwi soon realized. He felt the horrid heat as he stepped into this place.
Wheik…
It had decreased. To be precise, even if the fire was close to him, it was not hurting his body.
“Huh… hm?”
Seol-Hwi, who was admiring the performance of this new sword, turned his head at the right time.
Step
And he witnessed an amazing scene.
In the midst of the flames one person lowered their body and came in.
“…”
Even though normally no one would think about attempting to go through such a fire, with the instructors all out, someone still endured all this due to that very reason.
Wheik!
Burned parts of the build were falling down. While the flame and smoke obscured their vision, the figure approached calmly.
Ghost Incarnate?
As soon as Seol-Hwi saw the frame of the person approaching, he knew that it was that man.
“Huh, we meet again.”
“…”
Ghost Incarnate did not answer.
He just glared at Seol-Hwi in hate.
Shhh
And his gaze fell to the sword.
“Ah, this? I couldn’t find a usable weapon, so I took this one.”
Seol-Hwi calmly said.
Tuk
Ghost Incarnate got up.
“What do we do now? Looks like I got it first.”
“Kik.”
Ghost Incarnate laughed at the words of Seol-Hwi.
Papat
He tried to attack, and his movements were swift too.
Saaaa
The place the sword aimed for was Seol-Hwi’s neck. It was an expression to show his determination to kill.
Kaaang!
It was electrifying. The two swords collided with one another, closer to Seol-Hwi than Ghost Incarnate, and each time they clashed, the sound produced resembled a loud roar.
Kang! Kakang!
As the flames and smoke grew stronger, the two men’s swords clashed against one another several times, and it felt like each clash had lasted an eternity.
“Huh!”
Kik!
In response to the strong counter of Seol-Hwi, Ghost Incarnate rolled back to retreat.
Tak. Swish.
The damage did not seem to register for his opponent. His attacks felt nimble, and his swift movements were matched. It was as if Seol-Hwi was one step ahead of him.
Seol-Hwi clicked his tongue, and Ghost Incarnate was nervous.
Out of all the enemies I faced… he is the strongest.
Ghost Incarnate thought so.
His senses, his reaction speed, his internal energy, and even the way he chose to breathe, he seemed one step ahead in all these aspects.
It was hard to believe that his opponent was a subordinate of the Earth Demon, the weakest of the Heavenly Demon’s disciples.
Where did this guy even come from?
Normally, retreating would be the right decision.
Even if he was Ghost Incarnate, who was brought up in the most toxic ways, it would be reckless to rush at an enemy when he had no chance to win.
But with the fire everywhere and smoke obscuring their vision, this was a chance for him.
The situation is in my favor.
He had witnessed countless deaths happen right before his very eyes, and in the midst of that, he also experienced a lot of situations with flames raging before him.
Kuak. Phew.
Phew.
His lungs felt like they were on fire. It was an incredible amount. No matter how strong the opponent was, this environment was making fun of them.
The flames are always on my side. Always.
The burning pain, the pain of being burned, which was known to be the most horrid pain for one to experience—
It could be because of his body, or the pain he felt constantly, but he did not feel much pain from the burns on his body.
Phew
It was not just good, pain was one which controls one’s life. Without it, even if one’s body was broken, one would die without knowing it.
But like now, in a battle full of fire around him, not feeling pain was a blessing.
Wheik!
Most of the time one would not be able to move their bodies because the pain would be so great and they would not be able to do anything else. But, Ghost Incarnate, even in pain, had the confidence to hold out until the very end.
Crack!
Parts of the temple collapsed. As one pillar collapsed, a large rafter began to fall—
To Seol-Hwi.
Now… this…?
Pat!
Ghost Incarnate, who was about to run forward, stopped.
Even though a red hot pillar fell next to him. Seol-Hwi did not move. And the opening he wanted did not come.
“…”
“Did you think that this situation would work for you?”
Seol-Hwi asked calmly.
Wheik
The rafter which fell was like a giant charcoal of fire. Even in a situation where his clothes were charred by the wood and turned red due to the flames, Seol-Hwi spoke calmly,
“It always is. What you people think is like this. Having a terrible past and living solely for the purpose of survival, you would think that it would work to your advantage.”
“…!”
The Ghost Incarnate’s face was frowning.
It was rather offensive to other person to speak as if they knew everything.
“But. What kind of life would you have lived?”
“…?”
“There is no one in the world with a past as horrible as you. No one lives because no one else can die. Did you think everyone would live comfortably just because of it?”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“Just letting you know, your experience is quite far. The danger of death is the same. It is just a bit unusual, but it is nothing more than that.”
Tsssss
Seol-Hwi tore a part of his clothes off and threw it, and then he raised his eyes as he said,
“It is quite interesting, right now is the best time. If I kill you here… even the Second Disciple, who is above you will have a hard time finding the reason for your death. Which means this is a good chance for the Earth Demon.”
Ghost Incarnate had an awkward smile.
He did not like how his opponent had this arrogant way of speaking. Right now, he thought of wanting to get rid of such thoughts.
“I will kill you.”
Swish!
In an instant, he recalled dozens of martial arts designed for killing, and among those he chose the one which would threaten him the most.
Blood Engulfed Transformation, Virtual Fantasy, First Open Sword.
This was a unique combination of martial arts with footwork technique and one sword technique.
This technique had saved his life from death’s door many times over. At the same time, one hit would mean death.
It was not inferior to any other technique which could be used in desperate situations like now.
Tuk
On top of that, Ghost Incarnate made one more change. Pulling the innate qi from the body, he moved.
And after a while—
“Ugh… huk.”
His eyes turned red.
It was the side effect of his innate energy being depleted, but he did not care. This blow should leave him with half of his life lost, but killing his opponent was more important now.
“Kuak… uhhhh!”
His senses felt clearer and the energy surged. A fatal blow, it was being pushed with his innate energy.
This had to be the best attack right now, which could not be stopped.Let alone Ghost Incarnate but even the Second Disciple could not stop it.
“…The force seems to have changed a lot?”
Seol-Hwi’s expression changed a little. This guy was betting everything on this one attack. Originally, it felt like it, but it was even more certain when he saw the internal energy raising swiftly.
Wheik! Wheik!
Seol-Hwi looked around once more.
Observing the heat rising around and the smoke, the situation was one in which it was hard to breathe in, and additionally, visibility was also barely there due to the black smoke.
Wheik! Wheik!
And with the strong winds with the heat flying in, the flames were close to touching him and Ghost Incarnate.
Is his body different? Or can I endure the pain with that one?
Seol-Hwi continued to look at his opponent.
Even if he was enduring the heat with the new Small Fire Sword, the opponent for some reason was able to endure it as well.
Not just regular flames but flames which were starting to resemble the flames of hell.
Wheik!
In the middle of the fire, Seol-Hwi shook his sword.
So he has such ability.
The effect of the Small Fire Sword, even with the flames around, Seol-Hwi was not touched. He just felt warm.
A sword suitable for the Four Peak Demonic Martial Arts.
If this sword was a weapon for fire, this would work well with flame arts. If it was a sword like this, then the martial arts would be a lot more powerful.
He found his excitement at that fact.
If time slows down, the fire and the pain I feel will also be less.
And he had this sudden realization about how great the ability to slow down time was, the power to control the situation surrounding him.
It was not just about striking the opponent with martial arts, but it can also make it possible to reduce the pain of such things.
“Huh…”
When Seol-Hwi read the flow of time, a situation happened where time slowed down like a lie. The flame which was moving, also slowed down.
