Chapter 1074

〈 Chapter 1074 〉 1074. Spirit’s Atlantis

[Using “Instant” (刹那). Remaining stacks: 4]

I beheaded the assassin targeting Li Mei.

“Foolish. What’s so important about that woman?”

I felt a condensed Killing Intent and power from the Sal On Guild Master behind me.

‘My back is completely exposed. This situation is impossible to handle. I’ll die once and then take his life.’

I prepared to use Full Recovery.

Li Mei, who was suffering from the effects of the Eight Trigrams Seal, suddenly lifted her skirt for no reason. Her white panties, clearly marked with an axe imprint, were revealed. The momentum of the Sal On Guild Master broke. Li Mei had successfully enchanted him—after all, he was just another man.

[Using “Instant” (刹那). Remaining stacks: 3]

I spun around and swung my sword in attack. Though the Sal On Guild Master hastily retreated with several steps, the tip of my blade grazed his side. A sharp smell of blood filled the air.

“Damn it… suppress that woman first!”

The cursing Sal On Guild Master shouted. Concealed assassins deliberately revealed themselves, noticing my intention to protect Li Mei. Their purpose was obvious—to distract me and draw my focus away from her. Half of the masked assassins were women, chosen specifically to counter Li Mei’s Charm innate ability.

“Mr. Chon Ma. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Li Mei stood up.

“That was pretty dangerous just now, though.”

“My head hurt earlier… but now, I’ve gotten used to it.”

I decided to trust Li Mei. She’s a senior officer of the Black Vine Sect—not some ordinary woman. Her agility stat alone rivals mine. She’s far too strong to fall to regular assassins.

Heavenly Demon Skill: Heavenly Demon Sword, Demon Wind.

A black wind shot toward the Sal On Guild Master. That wind would tear his body to shreds.

“AAAAAAHHHHH!”

The Sal On Guild Master screamed. The black wind disappeared, leaving my ears ringing. It wasn’t an ordinary shout—he infused mana into his voice.

Approaching the Sal On Guild Master, I swung my sword. His movements, slowed by the wound on his side, were slower than before. Pushing forward like this, I could easily win.

A gap opened during our fierce exchange.

‘Victory is mine.’

Confident in my win, I swung my sword. An assassin jumped out from the side to interfere. Blocking my sword with daggers in both hands, he flew backward and slammed onto the ground. The assassin, whose arm had been twisted 180 degrees, groaned as he fell.

Annoyed, I hurled my sword at the fallen assassin. It pierced straight through his body.

“You did the same thing with Li Mei earlier… you’re too emotional. Emotions are unnecessary in battle.”

The Sal On Guild Master charged forward.

“I only did it because I had the leisure.”

Recalling my sword from the assassin’s body, I summoned it back into my hand to counter the Sal On Guild Master.

“Now!”

Two assassins targeted my back. I created a Stormbreaker clone in my left hand and spun around. My blade cut through their bodies while deflecting the Sal On Guild Master’s Crescent Blade.

“Showing off so confidently at first, yet resorting to cowardly tactics now, huh?”

“There’s no such thing as cowardice in battle. Winning is all that matters. Just win.”

The Sal On Guild Master’s eyes glinted with Killing Intent.

I quietly observed the Black Vine Sect Leader still seated in his chair. For whatever reason, he showed no intention of moving anytime soon. Li Mei was handling things well. Pretending to flee from the assassins, she launched precise counterattacks and used her charm ability perfectly. She seemed to not need my help.

Heavenly Demon Skill: Black Flame Demon Dragon.

Black flames erupted from the tip of my sword.

‘Though it consumes a lot of mana, finishing this battle quickly seems better.’


Salondaju swung his sword at me. Salondaju’s arm twitched. His Crescent Blade, imbued with Full Strength, deflected my blade. Three assassins lunged with perfect timing.

Heavenly Demon Arts: Black Flame Demon Dragon Explosion.

KWAANG!

Black flames erupted before me. The assassins’ bodies exploded. Amidst the splattering blood and chunks of flesh, Salondaju approached. A twisted smile curved his usually stern lips.

“I’ve won!!”

I smirked. I knew he’d go for it. To Salondaju, the assassins were expendable. He was always after that one chance from the start.

[Using Instantaneous Movement. Remaining Stacks: 2]

I narrowly dodged the Crescent Blade aiming for my neck. My skin was grazed, blood droplets spraying. Even with Instantaneous Movement, it was this close. Without it, I might have died from that attack.

‘But I’m still alive.’

My counter struck immediately. My sword swept across Salondaju’s neck, severing his head.

Six assassins prepared to die charged from all directions.

‘Stormbreaker.’

My sword disintegrated, reforming into full-body armor in an instant.

CLANG! CLANG-CLANG! KIIING!

The assassins’ attacks couldn’t penetrate the armor. Their power was insufficient.

TCH.

I grabbed one assassin’s head and crushed it, then kicked another assassin’s legs out from under him.

“Trash. If I let you live, you’ll just be a nuisance later. You’re all dying.”

I killed the assassins with my hands and feet. They released poison smoke while trying to create distance. My helmet transformed, completely sealing off my mouth and eyes to prevent the poison from entering. Of course, the eye section remained transparent so I could see outside.

I created throwing swords and spears from Stormbreaker, launching them at the fleeing assassins. I even killed those targeting Li Mei.

“Li Mei. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. No injuries. With battle recovery, this level of poison is nothing.”

Battle recovery had that ability? I shed the Stormbreaker armor, returning it to its sword form. Stormbreaker’s power source is my mana and stamina. Maintaining transformations continuously drains mana.

“Huff…they ran away.”

“…Not without fighting back.”

Li Mei threw a dagger at the wall. A bead embedded in the wall shattered.

“The Eight-Gate Metal Lock Formation has been dispelled.”

The debuff disappeared. It felt like a heavy burden had been lifted from my back.

“Good job.”

I praised her and looked toward Wang Xuan, the Black Bamboo Sect leader, who still sat calmly in his chair.

“Amazing.”

“Salondaju? That guy wasn’t half bad.”

“Tsk, seems there’s been a misunderstanding. I wasn’t speaking to you.”

His gaze shifted. The space beside Wang Xuan rippled, revealing a man. He had a shaved forehead and braided hair, with a fox-like face. An unsavory and despicable aura surrounded him. His eyes appeared closed but on closer inspection, they were slightly open.

I recognized him as Qing Guaoli, the vice-leader and Wang Xuan’s right-hand man.

‘…Not teleportation magic. Was he here all along?’

Through some means – magic, barriers, skills, or tools – he had concealed his presence entirely. He wasn’t someone to underestimate.

“Guaoli. Once again, things have gone exactly as you said they would.”

“Of course. Li Mei is an intelligent woman. If there was no chance of success, she wouldn’t have started. And that chance was secured by Helten’s assistance.”

“To predict even Helten’s movements… your strategy truly reaches Heaven.”

“Your praise is too kind. Now, Sect Leader, shall we finish the remaining tasks?”

“Let’s.”

Wang Xuan rose from his massive frame.

I looked at Li Mei.

“How’s it going?”

“…Magnetic charm doesn’t work on either of them. They seem to lack any sexual desire entirely.”

Li Mei bit her lip lightly. The original plan was to enchant Wang Xuan, extract what we needed, then kill him for maximum gain.

“Don’t panic. It didn’t work on that last Chinese guy either.”

“…I’m Chinese too. Haven’t you forgotten?”

“Chinamen and Chinese are different.”

Wang Xuan’s appearance began to change.

His skin turned red, his mouth split wide, and his enormous belly grew even larger. The mountain of flesh opened its cavernous maw.

“The King of Hungry Ghosts smirks.”

“Always a magnificent sight, Sect Leader.”

Qing Guaoli sighed in admiration. Mockery and…


It was a voice laced with mockery.

“I’m hungry… so hungry…”

Wang Xian muttered. The Wang Xian who had transformed into a monster stumbled as he approached the assassin’s corpse. And then he just started chewing. Crunch, crunch. At this sudden act of cannibalism, both Na and Li Mei were shocked.

“Li Mei! Wasn’t that pig’s ability supposed to be about transforming parts of his body?”

“Yeah, yeah… I also didn’t know he could turn into a monster like this.”

“No way. This isn’t transformation—it’s more like he’s revealing his true form. He was a monster from the start.”

I tightened my grip on the sword. Dark demonic energy surged along the blade. I swung it straight at Wang Xian. The blade cut through him, but not a single drop of blood fell from his body.

Instead, a pale ghost appeared. It let out a piercing scream—”Kiiiiiaaaaaa!”—before vanishing.

“Haha. Another poor soul has been extinguished. They’re called Heavenly Horses, right? Brutal as their name suggests. You’ve just wiped out a human soul.”

Ignoring Qing Guaoli’s words, Wang Xian continued tearing into the corpse. I sent another wave of sword energy his way. Once again, a ghost screamed before disappearing. After repeating this several times, the result remained the same.

Wang Xian kept getting closer, eating nearby corpses while muttering under his breath.

“I’m hungry… so hungry… Why won’t this hunger go away…?”

Wang Xian mumbled. Blood and flesh clung to his lips, bone fragments stuck in his teeth.

“That looks like… a Hungry Ghost (Agui), doesn’t it?”

“Hungry Ghost?”

“Agui, haven’t you heard of it?”

“Yes, I know. A monster from hell that can never stop being hungry no matter how much it eats.”

“That’s correct.”

Pwack.

Qing Guaoli snapped his fan shut. His thin lips curved into a smirk.

“Of course, Li Mei. You’ve nailed it. Honestly, anyone who couldn’t figure this out is an idiot.”

“You little bastard. Are you calling me stupid? Die!”

I swung my sword at Qing Guaoli. A blade of energy shot out. Qing Guaoli didn’t react at all; a barrier surrounding him deflected the attack.

“So you’re a mage instead of a spellcaster, huh?”

“Unfortunately, I lacked talent for spells.”

“And necromancy too, huh? Part of the Necromancer school, I assume.”

“Figured that out from the corpses, did you? Not bad, for someone who thinks.”

Qing Guaoli remained as calm as ever.

I glanced briefly at Wang Xian, now transformed into a Hungry Ghost.

“Did you make him like this?”

“Indeed. Our leader desired power, and I gave him everything I could.”

“Bullshit. You used him as a guinea pig, didn’t you?”

“Hohoho.”

Chang Guaoli burst into eerie laughter.

I sighed.

“Gothwill, huh?”

Chang Guaoli’s smile faded. He opened his fan again, covering his mouth as he asked me.

“…You know about us. Of course, since you’re part of Heltan, it makes sense. How much do you know?”

“As much as I need to.”

Gothwill.

A faction that appears in the later parts of the original story. Their goals are contrary to Heltan’s.

Heltan’s ultimate goal is to ensure Atlantis never rises again—to kill the gods. As long as the gods exist, Atlantis will keep returning.

Gothwill, however, seeks godhood. Instead of the unrealistic method of conquering all of Atlantis to achieve their wish, they pursue other powers and methods to become gods.

“Conquering all of Atlantis depends on contribution points. The greater your contribution, the bigger your reward. Besides, the chances of complete failure are far higher.”

So they aim for godhood through alternative means.

The transformed Wang Xian was nothing but an experiment.

One question arises: why do the system and gods allow humans who dare to seek godhood to continue unchecked?

“It’s arrogance. They’re letting them try.”

Does Heltan know about Gothwill? While other members may not, Samuel, the boss of Heltan, knows about Gothwill. And yet he lets them be.

“Perhaps he hopes to use them to find a way to kill the gods. That faint hope keeps him waiting.”

I inwardly mocked them. Becoming a god, killing a god—both are surprisingly simple.

“Heavenly Horse! The Hungry Ghost is getting closer!!”

Li Mei shouted urgently.