Chapter 77: Soul Alteration


    AAAAHH!


    The moment I mentioned the Blood Cult, Cho Mak-Saeng let out a sudden, guttural scream and lunged at me. I had kept a firm hold on his neck to prevent any reckless moves like this, but he thrashed about violently as if he cared little about the consequences.


    <em>I cant let him die just yet.</em> I quickly released him to prevent his neck from snapping and stepped back.


    Grr Finally freed, Cho Mak-Saeng dropped to all fours like a wild animal, emitting low, menacing growls. The whites of his eyes were bathed in crimson, grotesque veins bulged across his face, saliva dribbled down from his gaping mouth, and his nails grew longer and sharpened into ws.


    Narrowing my eyes, I carefully observed the gray qi swirling around his fingertips. Hey Whats the name of the martial art youre using? I asked.


    Unfortunately, he was in no condition to answer me.


    GrrGRAAAARGH! he roared, pouncing on me like a tiger. His long nails rent gray streaks across the night sky, and the force of his attacks shattered a nearby alley wall, sending debris tumbling.


    I deftly evaded his attacks, then perched on top of the rubble and looked down at him. Im pretty sure thats the ck Blood Demonic Art. Do you know why people call it a demonic art?


    GUAAAAH! SHUT UP! Cho Mak-Saeng yelled,unching into another wave of wild shes.


    Its because the ck Blood Demonic Art causes a drastic change in temperament. At first, the practitioner will only be more irritable, but as time goes by, they will eventually be robbed of their sanity, I continued, dodging his blows over and over again.


    Shut up! Ill kill you!


    <em>If I stop talking, hell sumb to his madness and wont be able to give me any answers. For now, Ill just keep pressuring him and see whether he reveals anything useful.</em>


    If that isnt bad enough, the ck Blood Demonic Art also consumes the users life force instead of inner qi. You might think youre using sword qi, but thats not true sword qi


    SWISH!


    Why arent you reading this at ?


    I narrowly evaded the ws aimed at my neck, then leaned close to his ear and whispered, The more you use it, the more your life force dwindles. Eventually, ck blood will ooze out of your every pore until you shrivel up like a mummy and die. Thats why its called the ck Blood Demonic Art. Did your teacher inform you of this?


    For a moment, Cho Mak-Saeng hesitated, but his madness soon returned as he iled around wildly and screamed, Shut the hell up! Dont try to confuse me!


    You should look at yourself in the mirror right now.


    AAARGH!


    You know, youre a terrible spy. What kind of spy is as reckless and thoughtless as you?


    Keuaaak! Shut up! Get out of my head!


    <em>Hmm? Get out of my head? What a strange choice of words Anyway, its time I subdued him. Hes been making a lot of noise, and I wouldnt be surprised if someone heard themotion and alerted the authorities.</em>


    With the precision of a surgeon, I swiftly jabbed his pressure points with my fingers and paralyzed him.


    Muscles convulsing, he copsed to the ground like a felled tree.


    I stood over him, saying, Dont make me repeat myself. Tell me everything you know about the ck Blood Demonic Art, starting with who taught it to you


    CRACK, CRACK!


    To my horror, Cho Mak-Saengs joints suddenly bent unnaturally and he sprang to his feet with uncanny  wees you.


    What a lunatic Did you break the paralysis by force? I asked, stunned by the eerie sight.


    Hehehe he giggled, even as several of the bulging veins on his face ruptured and painted a macabre tapestry of blood upon his visage. Like a puppet with disjointed limbs, he contorted his body grotesquely to meet my gaze.


    My jaw dropped in shock and revulsion. If you keep this up, youre really going to die.


    Hehe HAHAHA! POWER, OVERFLOWING POWER! With this strength, Ill kill them all! Those bastards who dared to ignore me because Im an orphan! Ill tear them apart and feed them to the dogs! Cho Mak-Saeng shrieked.


    In an instant, his ck hair faded to white, his already thin frame grew even more gaunt, and the gray qi over his nails lengthened as he poured everyst ounce of his life force into the ck Blood Demonic Art.


    <em>His whole existence is being consumed and hes morphing into a ghoul. What on earth is this? This isnt the ck Blood Demonic Art Im familiar with!</em>


    Hahaha! Ill rip your heart out and eat it right in front of you! Cho Mak-Saengughed, reaching for my chest with lightning speed.


    I immediately leaned backward, but his ws still shredded the front of my clothes. I had barely escaped by a hair. It seemed the time for holding back was over.


    Quickly unsheathing Moon Shadow, I aimed a sh infused with sword qi at his outstretched arm. However, contrary to my expectations, not only did I fail to sever it, leaving only a deep gash, my hands were also trembling from the recoil.


    Hahaha! DIE! Ignoring the ck blood oozing from his arm, Cho Mak-Saeng lunged at me again, demonic qi swirling around him.


    Y arent you reading this at ?


    <em>Tsk. Theres no fear in those crazed eyes.</em> I stomped hard on the ground andunched myself into the air.


    Cho Mak-Saeng mirrored my move, and we shed briefly under the moonlight, him aiming for my heart and neck while I targeted his lower body to neutralize him.


    SPLURT!


    My sword pierced holes in both his thighs, and hended and staggered forward. However, what appeared to be a clumsy stumble turned out to be a tactic for closing in on me.


    Hehehe! heughed, raising his ws yet again.


    Seeing him, I was seriously amazed. <em>Wow!</em><em>If he had disyed this level of skill and strategy on stage, not even Cheon could have defeated him. Isnt his strength around peak-level right now? Hes using sword qi freely and his body is like steel. Moreover, as expected of a ghoul, hes devoid of fear even in the face of a stronger opponent. Soon, however, hes going to run out of life force to burn</em>


    Noticing an opportunity, I aimed for the injury Id inflicted earlier and sessfully severed his one remaining arm. Nevertheless, undeterred, heunched himself at me headfirst, attempting to bite me.


    If youre seeing this, you are at the wrong ce.


    In response, I smacked him in the face with Moon Shadows hilt, then hammered his back with my fist, sending him crashing face-first into the ground.


    He writhed around like a worm, trying to stand back up.


    Sighing, I broke some more of his bones, until finally, hey still.


    Phew I panted, sweating profusely. Killing him would have been much less effort, but I needed to subdue him to question him. Pressing my foot against his neck, I said coldly, Speak. Who taught you the ck Blood Demonic Art?


    Hahaha! Kill me, or Ill kill them all. The bastards who looked down on me just because Im an orphan!


    Tsk, it seems youvepletely lost your mind, I groaned as I ced my hand on the crazy punks head and infused him with the qi of the Heaven Defying Divine Art. Demonic qi had seeped into every fiber of his being, and until it was removed, it didnt seem like we were going to be able to have any kind of meaningful conversation.


    <em>Huh, the more I do this, the easier it gets,</em> I thought, extracting the demonic qi in Cho Mak-Saengs brain. Unlike when I treated Wiji Cheon and Gongson Su though, I didnt absorb it. Although impure qi and demonic qi were simr, thetter was useless to me and would only harm my body. As such, I expelled it to the outside and incinerated it.


    Finally, when his body waspletely cleansed, Cho Mak-Saeng regained consciousness. Why am I Ahh! It hurts, it hurts so much! he cried.


    <em>Hes doomed</em>, I thought. The boys body was emaciated, resembling a mummy, with bones protruding and ck blood flowing from every orifice. Like a candle in the wind, it was clear that his life was about to be extinguished.


    <em>Such is the fate of most who dabble in the demonic arts,</em> Imented. Although Id seen this scene countless times, it was no less gut-wrenching.


    I I dont want to die like this Cho Mak-Saeng begged, tears streaming down his face at the grim realization of his impending mortality.


    Tell me who taught you the ck Blood Demonic Art, and Ill grant you a quick death, I offered, sensing his desperation.


    This is a non-profit trantion. You should not be seeing ads.


    Confusion clouded Cho Mak-Saengs face. Demonic art? I-I dont know, I dont know anything he stuttered.


    Are you going to remain loyal to the Blood Cult even after they did this to you? I pressed, hoping to unearth some useful information before the kid died.


    Cough! I really dont know, I dont know anything! B-Blood Cult? Im an orphan Cough! Martial arts, I learned them at the orphanage, then Cough! From the Namgoong n


    Cho Mak-Saengs speech was extremely fragmented, but I pieced together his story. Abandoned at five, he learned martial arts at an orphanage sponsored by the Namgoong n, until finally he caught the eye of Namgoong Su.


    So youre telling me that you knew a martial art without being taught? Do you think that makes sense? I asked skeptically.


    I-I didnt know it was Cough! A demonic art Cho Mak-Saengs voice trailed off weakly.


    Why didnt you tell Namgoong Su about it? I probed further, trying to unravel the mystery.


    B-because, like you, he would ask me where I learned it


    <em>Hmm No one, especially not a spy, would make such a foolish im. Does this mean that hes telling the truth?</em>


    Suddenly, a certain memory resurfaced in my mind. It was a conversation I had with the Demonic Strategist in my previous life.


    Read this at , or else.<blockquote>


    Kukuku, this? This is the secret weapon that will enable us to conquer the world.</blockquote>


    Within the Blood Cult, there was no one I hated more than the Demonic Strategist. Even now, I felt like I could hear his sinisterughter as he proudly showed off histest inventions.<blockquote>


    Look, isnt it beautiful?</blockquote>


    The Demonic Strategists voice echoed, chillingly detached, amidst what could only be described as hell on earth. Countless childreny on stone beds, their skulls cruelly split open to reveal their brains, yet they were still alive.<blockquote>


    Its a miracle. Through ancient techniques and the power of artifacts passed down through generations, weve imnted the teachings and martial arts of our Cult directly into their minds.</blockquote>


    <em>No, no It cant be</em> I seized Cho Mak-Saeng by the hair and swiftly shaved it off with sword qi.


    W-What are you doing? he protested.


    Read this at , or else.


    Stay still. I need to check Fuck.


    Traces of surgery, barely visible, marred the skin of his head.<blockquote>


    The children who survive the procedure will lose all of their memories. Thus, even if we send them to the orthodox sects, theyll just innocently work hard and rise through the ranks on their own volition. However</blockquote>


    The depraved grin on the Demonic Strategists face whenever he boasted about his work still haunted me.<blockquote>


    As the years pass, theyll eventually remember their true roots. Do you get it now? These young ghouls are the seeds that we will nt in the hearts of the orthodox sects! Kukuku! Oh, right. I still havent told you the name of this procedure. Im thinking of calling it Soul Alteration, and the modified children the Soulless. Doesnt that sound just perfect?</blockquote>


    Soul Alteration. Just recalling the name of the technique sent shivers down my spine.<blockquote>


    The day the Four Great Demons youre raising arepleted and the Soulless are awakened, our Cult will turn the murim into a sea of blood. Kukuku KAHAHAHAHAHAHA!</blockquote>


    <em>At least that monster who abandoned his humanity died by my handsor did he?</em>


    I remember destroying his qi center and cutting off all his limbs, but the Blood Demon arrived before I could deliver the finishing blow


    Doubt gnawed at me as I considered the possibility of the Demonic Strategists survival. <em>What if he didnt die that day? What if someone inherited his twisted legacy?</em>


    Ugh, ugh, so cold! S-Save me, please


    While I was lost in my thoughts, suddenly, Cho Mak-Saengs body began to convulse and swell up like a pufferfish. Cracks appeared all over his skin, and a faint light shone out from within. <em>Its over</em>, I thought, instinctively stepping back and bracing myself for the inevitable.


    BOOM!


    With a blinding sh, Cho Mak-Saeng exploded, leaving only the echoes of his torment in its wake.<hr>


    <strong>Trantors Note:</strong> The manhwa had to tone this scene down significantly to get it past the censors, but for some reason, I got all excited and ended up going all out on the vocabry


    Also,ments keep me going, even if its just a simple ty. A reminder that I enabled anonymousments, just tick the guestment checkbox and fill in a fake name/email address.