Yi Rown stood in the lobby of the Mount Hua Sect.
To the question of who he was.
“Yi Rown.”
He stated only the clear facts.
“You guys call me the Blood Demon.”
The Blood Demon was just one of the titles that described him.
However, he said it plainly so they could easily know who he was.
“So….”
“That means….”
“That bastard….”
The lobby, which had been noisy, fell silent.
“…….”
A silence as if it were a lie.
Time seemed to have stopped, and the people who had stopped were all looking at Yi Rown.
Smirk.
Yi Rown smiled faintly at that.
Slowly, the warriors of Mount Hua were moving in to corner him.
Even at that moment, not a single footstep could be heard.
It couldn’t be said that all those filling the lobby were from the Mount Hua’s main force or high-ranking warriors, but it was as if all the warriors of Mount Hua were proving that they had excellent skills.
“…….”
Such silence was more frightening than the loud siren of an emergency or the shouts of people running around in a hurry.
Before he knew it, Yi Rown was completely surrounded by the warriors of Mount Hua.
The revolving door, which had been constantly rotating, had long since stopped, and those who were not warriors had already quietly disappeared.
It was over.
The preparation for battle.
Swish.
Finally, a sound was heard.
The scabbards of all the Mount Hua warriors at their waists.
They were placing their hands on the scabbards.
Clack.
They were reaching for the plum blossom-engraved sword hilts, each worthy of being called a masterpiece.
“The moment the sword is drawn.”
A voice.
“You die.”
Yi Rown’s voice flowed into everyone like a warning.
“Or….”
Even so, the Mount Hua warriors held their swords.
It was time for the swords to finally reveal themselves from their scabbards and emit their clear light.
Swish!
A sound that tore through the air echoed.
Bang! Bang! Baaang!
The swords that were being drawn were struck by something and returned to their scabbards.
However, whatever had hit the sword handles had enough power left.
Clang!
It tore through the scabbards or threw the warriors backward, scabbard and all, and slammed them into the wall.
Thud.
Red beads scattered and rolled on the floor.
They were blood beads.
Swish.
With a hand extended by Yi Rown, the scattered blood beads returned to become a handful of blood again.
Once again, silence flowed around them.
If the previous silence was due to the tension of a hair-trigger situation, now it was the silence after a bomb had already exploded.
Overwhelming.
There were more than a dozen Mount Hua warriors gathered in the lobby, but none of them could draw their swords.
And if.
“The warning ends here.”
If what had been shoved into the scabbard had aimed for the necks or chests of the warriors instead of their swords, everyone in this place would have been instantly killed.
“What I want to kill today isn’t the likes of you.”
Even so, was Mount Hua still Mount Hua?
“You don’t understand what I’m saying.”
The blood beads that had seeped into Yi Rown’s body flowed out again through his fingers and floated in the air.
If anyone had counted them, they would have said that they were exactly the same number as the warriors here.
It was because there were warriors who were putting their hands back on their sword handles despite Yi Rown’s warning.
Buzz.
The moment the blood beads were about to extend again at Yi Rown’s command.
Bzzzz.
A vibration echoed from somewhere.
It was a vibration that echoed from the lobby reception.
“Answer it.”
At Yi Rown’s command, the warrior standing at the reception nodded and slowly reached out towards the phone.
“Yes. Yes. Yes.”
The warrior, who only repeated the same words, put down the phone.
“They said to come up.”
These words were not directed at any of the Mount Hua warriors.
Yi Rown.
The higher-ups who had been watching the situation had ordered Yi Rown to be sent up.
Swish.
Those who had been nervously placing their hands on their sword handles all lowered their arms.
There was no longer any reason to fight….
Swoosh!
A blood bead flew and pierced someone’s head.
It was a speed that even a high-level warrior would not have noticed what had happened, even now that everything was over.
The man who had been spouting nonsense at Yi Rown earlier.
Thud.
He slowly collapsed and fell to the floor.
“Don’t go around running your mouths, everyone.”
Even if it was not them, but others.
* * *
A guide was walking to lead Yi Rown.
Tap, tap.
The sound of shoes echoed.
The footsteps were too confident and arrogant for a guide.
“I’ve seen you in pictures, but you look much better in person?”
A playful voice directed at Yi Rown.
There was a deep confidence in that voice as well.
It was as if she didn’t care about what Yi Rown had done in the lobby of Mount Hua, as if she didn’t even care that Yi Rown was the Blood Demon.
Tap, tap.
The echoing sound of shoes stopped.
It was not the elevator that was clearly visible in the lobby, but another elevator.
The warriors guarding it recognized the guide and bowed their heads.
“Yeah, yeah.”
The guide waved her hand as if it were natural, ordering them to step aside.
The warriors stepped aside.
Whirr.
The elevator opened its mouth as if it had been waiting.
Tap, tap.
“What are you doing? Get in.”
She must have already heard that he was the Blood Demon.
That he was hostile to Mount Hua and had a great hatred for Mount Hua.
Whirr.
As Yi Rown boarded the elevator, the door that had opened slowly closed.
There were no buttons inside.
Perhaps, the elevator was controlled from the outside, and it seemed that they could lock him in here if necessary.
“Not bad.”
“What, the security?”
The guide smirked.
“Shall I give you an introduction?”
“How sturdy is this place?”
At Yi Rown’s words, the guide spoke as if she were proud.
“It’s not just an elevator, you can think of it as a world of its own. Since it’s an isolated world….”
The guide’s eyes gradually calmed down.
“It probably won’t even get scratched by any ordinary force.”
“Good.”
The guide.
Yi Rown already knew her identity.
-These are the people of Mount Hua you need to know.
Since he had been investigating Mount Hua for a long time, Ha Se-min had once shared information about the key figures of Mount Hua.
In fact, it was unnecessary.
The ones who could be called the brains of Mount Hua.
“But it’s a shame.”
Among them.
“Why didn’t you look this good back then? If I had known you were this good, I would have paid attention to you.”
She said, looking at Yi Rown as if provoking him.
She had known about the Plum Blossom Swordsmen from the beginning.
“When you were at the corpse disposal site.”
That was the signal.
Her eyes changed.
Her arm extended, trying to tear through Yi Rown’s solar plexus.
However, Yi Rown’s right arm was already moving, trying to grab her neck.
The scene that seemed to unfold slowly was a speed that could not be seen even if one divided a second into dozens.
Boom!
With an explosion, the elevator shook.
Thud!
Yi Rown and the guide were stuck to the walls.
Just now, it was the guide who had withdrawn her extended hand.
With that withdrawn hand, she had knocked away Yi Rown’s arm that was reaching for her, and Yi Rown had once again extended his arm, trying to crush Myung Seol-rin’s shin.
One second.
In that time, three or four exchanges had taken place.
“Myung Seol-rin.”
“I guess I am famous.”
She, the guide’s identity, was one of the elite Plum Blossom Swordsmen of Mount Hua.
The junior sister of the Red Plum Blossom Cheong In-woo, the Pink Plum Blossom Myung Seol-rin.
Eyes looking at each other.
It was Myung Seol-rin who moved again.
She seemed to have realized the difference in their exchange just now, but even so, she did not give up and extended her hand into the air.
The sword slid out of the scabbard on her back.
Clang!
The plum blossom sword that Myung Seol-rin held in her hand, cutting through the blood beads that Yi Rown had released.
Whoosh!
At the same time, Myung Seol-rin’s aura changed drastically.
A swordsman shows their true worth when they hold a sword.
Even more so if they are a Plum Blossom Swordsman.
Swish.
The petals of flowers were blooming.
The plum blossoms, which could be called the symbol of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, were blooming at this moment.
But that was only for a moment.
Swoosh!
Yi Rown’s blood beads pierced through all the plum blossoms.
Whizz!
They bounced in all directions and poured towards Myung Seol-rin.
Myung Seol-rin tried to block them by deploying a sword barrier.
However.
Clang!
Yi Rown put his hand into the sword barrier that had been deployed to block the blood beads.
It was a crazy thing to do.
The sword barrier was a strong energy barrier to block sword energy.
It was a barrier that cut off everything that came near it, cutting off everything that touched the sword barrier.
Clang!
The sound of an explosion echoed from Yi Rown’s arm that had entered the sword barrier.
The rotating energy barrier was colliding with Yi Rown’s arm, trying to tear apart his protective energy.
Normally, a protective energy could never overcome a sword energy barrier.
Even a strong person with a difference in level could not survive in a crushing machine.
But.
“This is messed up.”
Clang!
It was not Yi Rown’s arm that broke, but Myung Seol-rin’s energy barrier.
The plum blossom sword was knocked away.
In the meantime, Yi Rown’s hand reached out and this time, he firmly grabbed Myung Seol-rin’s neck.
“Ha.”
Myung Seol-rin let out a sigh, her mouth twisted.
Her world was soon turned upside down.
* * *
The elevator finally arrived at its destination.
Boom!
A large vibration echoed from within, and the elevator shook.
Squeak.
The door, which had stopped as if it had broken down.
Squeak.
Slowly began to open.
The scene that followed was nothing short of horrific.
Many people had ridden the elevator that had existed since the Mount Hua Guild House was built.
The heads of powerful sects, the adversaries who opposed Mount Hua.
Even the guild leaders.
However, the elevator had maintained the same appearance no matter who had ridden it.
Some even jokingly called this elevator a divine object of Mount Hua.
But.
Screech!
The inside that finally opened was completely scarred.
Scratches and tears, dents and holes.
It was a wonder that the elevator had not crashed.
But what was even more noticeable were the bloodstains.
“M-Myung Senior Sister…!”
A body that had fallen to the floor looked like a corpse.
It was doubtful whether she was even breathing.
They wanted to check right away, but.
Sway.
From the beginning, the warriors who had been waiting could only stop like animals in front of a lion the moment the door opened.
Red eyes flickering.
Splash.
He stepped out, stepping on the puddle stained with Myung Seol-rin’s blood.
Gulp.
Should they stop him?
Or should they run away?
Even at this moment, dozens of thoughts were swirling in their heads.
There was one fortunate thing.
“I knew this would happen.”
It was that they were not the only ones here.
The strongest swordsman in Mount Hua, or rather, the strongest swordsman except for the sect leader, was in this place.
The one who was called the best sword of Mount Hua, and was expected to receive the title of Divine Sword.
“Senior Sister Myung. Didn’t I tell you? That he’s a guy who doesn’t know ‘moderation’.”
Thud.
He slowly approached from the end of the hallway and spoke mockingly of the fallen Myung Seol-rin.
“Long time no see.”
He said to Yi Rown, who had calmed his flickering eyes.
“No, it hasn’t been that long.”
“…….”
“I saw you at the Blood King Fortress a few days ago, so should I say we met again so soon?”
The Red Plum Blossom, Cheong In-woo.
He was looking at Yi Rown with gleaming eyes.