Chapter 196 - Bloodline is Everything

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 196: Individual Combat (2)

“Ah... damn it.”

After falling to the ground, Kwon Hudon and Gael Garcia, who had been wandering around the Secret Vault, ended up encountering swordsmen from the Mei Clan.

One of the swordsmen, a short young man, scratched the back of his head and grumbled.

“Why you two, of all people? I wanted to fight that Kwon Hanul or whoever.”

Despite his flashy, bubblegum-pink hair, the youth wore a traditional, ornate Chinese robe embroidered with plum blossoms. In his hands was a massive double-handed sword—long and thick.

“Um… who are you?”

Kwon Hudon asked cautiously. The youth pointed to himself with a finger.

“Me? I’m Mei Ryo, the White Blossom Sword.”

“…White Blossom Sword?”

Kwon Hudon’s face went blank for a second. Then, repeating the title to himself, he suddenly shouted:

“Th-The Seven Plum Blossom Swordsmen!”

“Heh… so you do recognize me.”

Seeing Kwon Hudon’s reaction, Mei Ryo smiled in satisfaction.

“Y-You’re the youngest swordsman in the history of the Seven Plum Blossoms! A genius who earned the title even before reaching adulthood!”

“Oh? You know that much?”

“The executioner who decapitated the S-class monster Linus with a single strike, using dual swords!”

“Wow, you’re really up to date on me.”

“The protector who single-handedly defended Guangdong Province in China for over a decade without a single casualty!”

“…Wait, aren’t you a descendant of Hyukcheon? Why do you know so much?”

Mei Ryo scowled, visibly disturbed.

“Ugh, now I don’t feel like killing you anymore. But I can’t disobey Sister Mei Xiao.”

Mei Ryo raised his hand. The ten swordsmen behind him drew their blades.

“Kill them cleanly. Make sure they don’t suffer.”

The swordsmen charged at the two.

Meanwhile, Mei Ryo, apparently killing time, pulled a cigarette from his pocket. As he tapped the pack and held one between his lips—

—someone suddenly shot past his face and slammed into the ground.

Startled, Mei Ryo turned his head. One of his swordsmen lay there, bent at the waist and vomiting blood.

“What the hell?”

He looked forward—and saw it.

All of the Mei Clan swordsmen were lying on the ground.

“U-Ughhh…”

“Aaargh…”

Some had their jaws shattered; others were half-buried in the floor.

In contrast, Kwon Hudon and Gael Garcia stood completely unharmed.

“W-Whoa! That was close!”

“Excellent timing just now.”

“It was all thanks to you, Gael,” Kwon Hudon replied sheepishly.

Mei Ryo stared at the two, dumbfounded.

The swordsmen who had just been defeated—those were his personal elites. Their skills were nothing to scoff at. They had never once disappointed him.

And yet, they'd been taken down by these fledglings?

“…I made a mistake. A tiger cub is still a tiger. I underestimated those two purebloods.”

Mei Ryo gripped his double-handed sword tightly. The entire space filled with his intense aura.

“I’ll kill you with my own hands.”

Tension spread across Kwon Hudon and Gael Garcia’s faces.

Their opponent was one of the Mei Clan’s top elites.

They were still far from capable of facing someone like him head-on.

But retreating wasn’t an option either.

Kwon Hudon summoned his Blackscale Armo. Thick, overlapping scales formed over his body.

In the blink of an eye, Kwon Hudon disappeared, replaced by a giant clad in iron armor.

“Beruel.”

Gael Garcia, too, brought out his ultimate trump card.

The power of a demon filled his body—and then, even his outward appearance began to change.

“Heh…”

Mei Ryo's eyes sparkled as he looked at the two.

“This might actually be fun.”

He charged at them, swinging his twin swords.

Then it happened.

A flash of light struck Mei Ryo directly. He was flung backward, slamming into the wall.

“Ghh… urgh…”

A groan escaped his lips—then his head slumped lifelessly.

Kwon Hudon and Gael Garcia stared in stunned silence.

“Phew…”

Standing where Mei Ryo had been was a woman, withdrawing her elegantly outstretched leg.

Kwon Hudon looked at her, bewildered.

“I-Illusion Beast, Raishin…?”

* * *

Kwon Hanul wandered aimlessly through the Secret Vault.

Though the layout was like a labyrinth, he wasn’t worried about getting lost. The Genius Bloodline automatically mapped everything in his mind.

Occasionally, hunters corrupted by cursed swords attacked, but he dispatched them with little difficulty. Other than that, there were no major problems.

“I think it’s this way.”

At some point, a familiar aura began to drift toward him.

Unfortunately, the mysterious power of the Secret Vault obscured it, preventing him from identifying it clearly.

Still, he moved toward the direction the aura was coming from. The closer he got, the stronger it felt.

Then, without warning—

The wall to his left exploded.

Kwon Hanul reflexively raised his arm to shield his face.

A fist burst through the shattered wall, slamming into his forearm. He was sent flying.

“Finally found you!”

The man who burst through the wall shouted, his voice full of glee.

“I scoured this entire place like a madman looking for you!”

The man strode toward Kwon Hanul, who dusted off his struck forearm and spoke.

“Bae Cheol-min. Seems a lot has happened since we last met.”

The man—Bae Cheol-min—grinned. It was a wild, feral grin.

“Yeah! A lot. I finally broke free from that damned binding curse!”

“If you’ve broken free, why not run far away? Why come looking for me?”

“Run? Why the hell would I run? I didn’t break free just to run and hide.”

The hostility radiating from Bae Cheol-min thickened the air.

“I wanted to be free so I could take revenge on Hyukcheon!”

His face twisted with both joy and rage—a grotesque mix of emotions.

“I’ll kill you first! I’ll make you pay for what your father did to our clan!”

“I understand your resentment,” Kwon Hanul replied, dryly. “But do you really think you can pull that off with your level of skill?”

“Cocky, aren’t you? Just because you’ve gotten a bit of fame, you think you’re untouchable?”

Bae Cheol-min’s muscles began to twitch.

Every single muscle in his body flexed and contracted in unison.

“Everyone mocks me. Says I can’t fight with just the Healthy Bloodline. And those who said that? I crushed them all with these hands.”

His muscles, swelling and shrinking repeatedly, finally tightened in full contraction. His already small frame shrank even further.

“I’ll show you what the Healthy Bloodline is truly capable of. When the resentment and fury of the Bae clan reached its peak—this is the monster it gave birth to!”

Bae Cheol-min lowered his head and bent his spine forward, curling up.

Kwon Hanul hesitated at the grotesque sight. He couldn't comprehend how a human body could contort like that.

And then—

Bae Cheol-min’s body sprang forward like a coiled spring.

It was too fast to dodge. Kwon Hanul instinctively crossed his arms in defense.

Simultaneously, the Dragon Demon Armor wrapped itself around Kwon Hanul’s arm.

It wasn’t a conscious action—the black dragon’s instinct had summoned the armor on its own.

‘But why?’

He barely had time to wonder before Bae Cheol-min’s fist slammed into his forearm.

Kwon Hanul’s body was hurled backward, his feet carving two long trenches into the floor.

He uncrossed his arms—and felt a dull ache in the bones of his forearms.

That wasn’t all.

The Dragon Demon Armor, which had encased his arms, shattered into pieces and fell away.

Armor that could easily withstand most attacks had been destroyed in a single blow—a simple punch.

Had he not activated the armor, both of his arms would’ve been crushed.

“Heh, how’s that? Pretty damn sharp, huh?”

Bae Cheol-min’s laugh echoed through the space.

Kwon Hanul turned toward him—and couldn’t hide his shock.

Bae Cheol-min’s once-small frame had tripled in size. His muscles had swollen like inflated balloons.

“The ability of the Healthy Bloodline is adaptation. No matter how extreme the conditions, no matter how far the body is pushed, it endures. That’s the power of the Healthy Bloodline.”

Bae Cheol-min extended his fist.

The blow that had shattered the Dragon Demon Armor had also mangled his own hand—twisted and misshapen.

“Impressive. That Blackscale Armor is tough—true to its noble lineage.”

Steam began to rise from his fist, and in an instant, it returned to normal.

An unbelievable regeneration rate—the power of the Healthy Bloodline.

“Alright then. Ready for round two?”

His swollen muscles began to contract again. Bae Cheol-min’s body shrank back down to his original size.

“…No, that larger form is probably your true form.”

Through the Healthy Bloodline, Bae Cheol-min had boosted his physical abilities—surpassing human limits. His grotesquely enhanced muscles were compressed and explosively released for even greater strength.

“This… this isn’t a skill a normal human—or even a Hunter—could acquire.”

Artificially contracting and releasing muscle fibers for bursts of power…

Kwon Hanul had never heard of such a technique or trait. It must be something only a body trained entirely through the Healthy Bloodline could achieve.

“You got it. So let’s get back to it, shall we?”

Bae Cheol-min’s muscles compressed again, shrinking his frame.

It looked unimpressive—but Kwon Hanul couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

That shrunken form… was his most dangerous.

“Alright. Let’s do this.”

The Dragon Demon Armor once again enveloped Kwon Hanul’s body, and the Demon Dragon Aura surged across its surface.

He now looked like a black flame had wrapped itself around his body.

Bae Cheol-min let out a whistle.

“So that’s the true combat form of the Black Dragon Bloodline, huh?”

The two glared at each other. A moment of silence passed.

Then, at the same instant, they both launched off the ground.

Kwon Hanul threw a punch—Bae Cheol-min blocked it with his shoulder and countered by slamming a knee into Kwon Hanul’s abdomen.

Kwon Hanul brought down his arm to block the knee, then struck upward with his palm—landing a hit on Bae Cheol-min’s chin.

“Trading blows evenly with me?! Now that’s what I expect from a trueblood!”

Bae Cheol-min roared and brought down a knife-hand strike. Kwon Hanul deflected it and countered with a punch to Bae Cheol-min’s gut.

“But it’s too soft! This isn’t nearly enough!”

Even after a direct hit to the abdomen, Bae Cheol-min didn’t flinch. Instead, he retaliated immediately.

“Harder! Hit me with everything you’ve got!”

He even gave up defending altogether—absorbing Kwon Hanul’s attacks while going all-in on offense.

“Come on! The power of a trueblood can’t be this weak!”

In contrast, Bae Cheol-min’s attacks were devastating.

When Kwon Hanul failed to block with his arms and got hit elsewhere, his entire skeleton shuddered.

Even with the Dragon Demon Armor shielding him—it wasn’t enough.

“Is that all you’ve got to show me?!”

Bae Cheol-min spread his arms wide—aiming to grab him.

Kwon Hanul clicked his tongue.

He hated to admit it, but in terms of raw physical ability, Bae Cheol-min had the upper hand.

If he got caught—it could be over.

Kwon Hanul summoned all his Demon Dragon Aura. A black energy gathered around his fist.

Black Dragon Ascension Art– Advanced Form

Aura Strike Style – Rising Dragon Fist

He threw a punch.

The aura morphed into the head of a dragon—its jaws opening wide.

The black dragon’s head surged forward and devoured Bae Cheol-min.

“Huff…!”

Kwon Hanul leapt back. He knew a single Rising Dragon Fist wouldn’t be enough to defeat him.

But it could buy time. Enough to regroup—

“Heh! That was fun!”

Before the thought could finish, Bae Cheol-min burst through the dragon’s head.

Even after taking a direct hit from the Rising Dragon Fist—his body was completely intact. Not even his skin was scorched.

“But you’ll need a lot more than that to bring me down!”

Bae Cheol-min drove a punch into Kwon Hanul’s stomach—and at that moment, his contracted muscles were released.

BOOM.

The shock was like a bomb going off at point-blank range. The Dragon Demon Armor shattered, and Kwon Hanul was sent flying.

“Kugh!”

He hit the ground, coughing up blood. In a single strike, his internal organs were obliterated.

“Cough… cough!”

At that moment, Kwon Hanul realized his mistake.

Bae Cheol-min wasn’t just strong.

He was on a different level.

An Absolute Being.

A title that wasn’t undeserved.

“Is that all it takes to knock you out?”

Bae Cheol-min raised his fist again.

The attack had completely crushed his hand—yet he didn’t seem concerned.

Thanks to the Healthy Bloodline’s power, it was already regenerating.

“You know why you got hit so easily? You underestimated me.”

Bae Cheol-min began walking forward, closing the distance.

“People always say the same thing: ‘Healthy Bloodline? You’re going to fight me with that joke of a lineage?’ Bunch of arrogant morons.”

He sneered.

“Wanna know why I’m this strong? Because I survived hell.”

The Bae clan had been punished for betraying the Hyukcheon bloodline—forced to toil in brutal dungeons.

“Lava fields, acid lakes, poison swamps… I grew up in hellholes like those.”

A place where even elite Hunters wouldn’t survive a single day.

But Bae Cheol-min had the Healthy Bloodline. He endured, clinging to its power.

“Of course, I trained too. I did everything I could to strengthen my body. Once, I dropped a boulder while lifting and shattered my entire spine.”

Even then—he endured.

The Healthy Bloodline rebuilt him.

And in the end, it gave birth to a once-in-a-generation monster: Bae Cheol-min.

“…I have no choice but to acknowledge it.”

Kwon Hanul stood up. Blood still trickled from his lips—his internal injuries far from healed.

“I let my guard down. I thought I could handle you with my current level.”

Bae Cheol-min tilted his head.

“Why’d you drop the honorifics all of a sudden?”

“I’m in a pissy mood from getting beaten down. You think I have the energy for polite speech?”

Kwon Hanul rubbed the back of his neck.

The blood had stopped flowing. Even his pale, deathly complexion was improving.

Bae Cheol-min narrowed his eyes.

“Something’s off. Why do you look totally fine all of a sudden?”

Kwon Hanul only smiled.

Bae Cheol-min wasn’t the only one with the Healthy Bloodline.

And in terms of bloodline purity, Kwon Hanul’s was even higher.

“Looks like I can’t beat you as I am now.”

“You're saying that like you have a way to beat me.”

“I do.”

Kwon Hanul steadied his mana, and murmured quietly—

“Pangu.”

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]