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‘Baek Hye-hyang!’
The sect members were shocked at the appearance of the other successor to the throne. Even Baek Ryeon-ha could not hide her own shock on the stage.
She doubted whether or not her rival would have responded, but here she was, appearing boldly and drawing everyone’s attention.
“First Elder!”
Hae Ack-chun looked at the man with neatly tied gray hair standing behind Baek Hye-hyang and grumbled.
It was the First Elder and Blood Splitting Sword Emperor, Dan Wei-kang, a man at the sect’s peak.
On the side of Baek Hye Hyang was the First Blood Star, Jang Ryong, and the Second and Seventh Blood Stars, Yu Baek, and Seom Mae-hyang.
“A-all of the Seven Blood Stars!”
“Is the sect finally going to rise again?”
The members of the sect were all excited at this sight. All the high-ranking people of the sect, captains, leaders, and elders, were gathered in this holy land.
Baek Hye-hyang walked to the fore, setting it, so the two successors stood facing each other.
Leaders from each faction confronted each other. All of the high-ranking people on the podium also stood up, making the atmosphere heavy.
It would not be strange if a fight broke out.
Pat.
At that moment, Baek Ryeon-ha, who was on the throne, stood up and addressed Baek Hye-hyang and her men.
“It has been so long.”
Responding to her greetings, those on Bae Hye-hyang’s side bowed their heads.
It was a courtesy given to one who had inherited the blood of the former sect leader. However, no one there kneeled. It was as if they didn’t acknowledge Baek Ryeon-ha’s claim.
The expressions of the nobles on Baek Ryeon-ha’s side became angry. At that moment, Han Baekha opened her mouth.
“Are the nobles not going to show proper manners to the Blood Demon?”
“Blood Demon? Ha!”
Baek Hye-hyang turned to Han Baekha with a cold gaze and said,
“Who do you think is the Blood Demon?”
“Of course, it is my lad…”
At that moment, Baek Ryeon-ha raised her hand and stopped her. She then smiled and spoke to Baek Hye-hyang.
“Isn’t it possible for the members of the same sect to greet each other?”
“Such worthless words. It isn’t like we are friendly sisters who smile and greet each other, right?”
“I know.”
Baek Ryeon-ha answered this without being pushed back. Baek Hye-hyang then looked her up and down as she said.
“I thought you would fail in martial arts, but you managed to pass the fifth star of the Blood Heavenly Sura Arts.”
Her blood-red hair and eyes were proof of that. Although they were sisters with different mothers, in this, they were similar.
Baek Hye-hyang’s own features were much sharper, but they could have passed as twins if it wasn’t for her distinctly more womanly features.
“There is no reason why I shouldn’t do it.”
“This is basic.”
The conversation between the two successors was quite barbed. As a sharp war of nerves began, people on both sides were ready to act. The only one who stayed relaxed was Dan Wei-kang.
He was the strongest one here and was only interested in fighting Hae Ack-chun.
‘He has changed beyond recognition.’
After coming out of closed training, he had been convinced that no one in the Blood Sect could be his opponent. However, Hae Ack-chun was different from the past.
He appeared to be close to the same wall that he was at.
‘I don’t think anyone could be a threat if it isn’t the Ghastly Monster.’
No matter how much power there was, he still had confidence.
As long as he had crossed the wall and stepped to the other side that transcended humans, he would be the only one that could deal with Dan Wei-kang.
Baek Ryeon-ha’s voice was becoming colder as if her emotions were slowly rising.
“I thought they had acknowledged me since you responded to this invitation. It stated that I was head of the sect, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.”
“Acknowledge it? Hehehe!”
Baek Hye-hyang burst into laughter. This situation seemed to genuinely amuse her.
Baek Hye-hyang, who laughed for a while, then said.
“My sister is seriously mistaken about something. It is ridiculous to think you are worthy of inheriting the title of the Blood Demon.”
“… I was the right choice, unlike you.”
Baek Hye-hyang’s eyes widened. It was because Baek Ryeon-ha had spoken of her past that shouldn’t be mentioned.
It was a reminder that Baek Hye-hyang was the child of a prostitute.
“You surely have become bold, saying those words from your mouth.”
--Goooo!
As she raged with killing intent, a red haze rose from Baek Hye-hyang’s body. Looking at her forces, it seemed her men were also ready to fight.
The tenseness of the situation was evident.
‘She is stronger.’
‘… truly amazing.’
‘Can one change so much in two months?’
Do Jang-ho, in particular, was more surprised. He knew well about Baek Hye-hyang’s abilities as he served under her, but this was completely different from before.
Now it was difficult to judge her level.
‘Was my choice wrong?’
Do Jang-ho was sure that ‘he’ would be the Blood Demon that would save the sect. However, an unexpected variable called Sima Chak appeared. His heart now trembled and shook at the sight of strong Baek Hye-hyang.
Baek Hye-hyang spoke in a chilly voice.
“To confront the ones who destroyed the sect, what do you think you can do with your little power?”
Even if Baek Ryeon-ha had a health problem, from the start, she was someone who didn’t have talent in martial arts. In terms of strength, Baek Hye-hyang was more suited to be the Blood Demon.
Whisper!
The members of the sect gathered around them were also in confusion.
“Right. You need to be stronger to be the Blood Demon.”
“It isn’t time to discuss legitimacy but to speak about our sect’s revival.”
Those words indicated clear support for Baek Hye-hyang, and it seemed like the crowd was leaning toward her.
Baek Ryeon-ha then said,
“If you follow the logic of power, then even if we looked at my sister, it would be better to hand over the throne of one of the four elders here.”
“Now that is nonsense.”
“Sister, you cannot give up the position you don’t even have, and now you are talking about following the rules.”
“Rules?”
Snap!
Baek Ryeon-ha snapped her fingers.
And, as if it had been prepared in advance, Seo Kalma handed something over to her in a very polite manner.
It was long and decorated with ornaments.
When the lid of the box was opened, a sheathed sword was placed upon its red surface. Baek Ryeon-ha then held the sword and said.
“The successor to the Blood Demon Sword is the Blood Demon. You must know that is the law of the sect, right?”
Whisper!
Again, the people were excited. This time they took Baek Ryeon-ha’s side.
“The lady has the Blood Demon Sword.”
“Can it not be a fake?”
They were unsure of how genuine it was, so Han Baekha spoke loud enough for all to hear.
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“Who do you think infiltrated the Murim Alliance and killed the First Military Commander, Zhuge Won-myung, and stole the real Blood Demon Sword? It was our lady!”
At those words, Hae Ack-chun glared at her.
‘Bloody Hand Witch, that bitch!’
This was something that they didn’t inform him of beforehand.
Because of Han Baekha’s words, all of Son Wonwhi’s struggles and deeds ended up being attributed to Baek Ryeon-ha.
[Hae Hyung, please be patient. It is not right now to bring out the truth.]
Seo Kalma was quick to notice and sent him a silent message.
If Hae Ack-chun decided to act out, then Baek Ryeon-ha had the most to lose.
Clench!
Hae Ack-chun clenched his fist. He wanted to stop Han Baekha now, but just as Seo Kalma said, he wasn’t about to do it in front of this many set members.
Seo Kalma, who calmed him, looked at Baek Hye-hyang and said,
“As far as I know, your side escaped with many fake Blood Demon Swords from the Murim Alliance’s stronghold. Will you deny my words?”
The square became noisy again after hearing these words.
Many sect members under Baek Hye-hyang were also aware of the rumors about the many fake copies of the Blood Demon Sword. That was why they thought that Baek Hye-hyang at least had the real one.
But now they were convinced.
‘It is all fine now.’
When the atmosphere turned, Han Baekha smiled.
Baek Hya-hyang looked at Baek Ryeon-ha. She never saw her in the Murim Alliance. Of course, she could have been among the watching crowd.
‘… could it be that I was tricked?’
Baek Hye-hyang was confused. At first, she had been convinced that the Blood Demon Sword was fake after seeing its seal. However, she was the only one who knew about the sword and seal.
That was why she had been confident that Baek Ryeon-ha didn’t know which sword was real.
The First Blood Star also looked her way.
‘To think they would use Zhuge Won-myung.’
Other than that fact, he was sure that this sword was fake. However, they were unsure of the identity of who killed Zhuge Won-myung.
They lacked any justification to question her.
‘Is she telling the truth?’
Jang Ryun looked at Han Baekha and Baek Ryeon-ha. Both of them had expressionless faces.
He couldn’t tell if they were bluffing
‘What do we do now?’
While they were in thought, Baek Hye-hyang pulled the sword out from its sheath.
Srrng!
‘Fake’
Those who knew of the real sword smiled at the sight. This one had to be fake.
It was probably difficult to change the public’s opinion now. However, Baek Hye-hyang raised her sword.
Wooong!
The sword in her hand turned red at that moment and resonated loudly.
“The sword is red like blood!”
“Blood Demon Sword!”
The members of the sect became noisy at the sight.
‘…?!’
On the other hand, the faces of the nobles on Baek Ryeon-ha’s side became stiff.
The reason they had been confident was simple. It was because their opponent simply could not have the real Blood Demon Sword.
In actuality, Baek Ryeon-ha was being trained to imitate the Blood Demon Sword’s signature transformation, but all of her swords broke.
‘No…’
Baek Ryeon-ha could not hide her shock while looking at the form that resembled the Blood Demon Sword appearing through Baek Hye-hyang’s sword. All kinds of thoughts ran through her head.
‘Wonhwi!’
A thought went through her mind that if Wonwhi had escaped from Sima Chak, then this woman might have captured him and taken the real sword after killing him.
“That sword! Where did you get it from?!”
Baek Hye-hyang smiled. This was her trump card.
‘As I thought, yours is fake.’
Baek Ryeon-ha wouldn’t act like this if it was the real sword.
Instead, she would have insisted that Baek Hye-hyang’s sword was fake and that her sword was real. Baek Hye-hyang then smiled.
“You said you took that sword after killing Zhuge Won-myung, so what is with that reaction?”
“T-that…”
At that moment, Baek Ryeon-ha felt the urge to step back.
Regardless of the authenticity of her sword, she had made the mistake of thinking that Wonwhi had been killed and the sword stolen.
Baek Hye-hyang didn’t miss the chance.
“If the sword you risked your life for is real, show us proof. The Blood Demon Sword chooses its master on its own. If the sword is genuine, is there anything that cannot be done?”
‘The situation is becoming bad.’
Han Baekha sighed. She never expected this. When the situation unfolded, she shared the same thoughts as Baek Ryeon-a.
‘Did Baek Hye-hyang find him?’
Otherwise, there was no way she could have the real sword.
She was at a loss for what to do.
She would rather reveal So Wonwhi’s existence to everyone here and find out the truth about how that sword fell into her hands and if she had harmed him.
Whisper!
Now everyone was full of doubts.
When Baek Ryeon-ha didn’t pull out her sword from its sheath, even those who were siding with her began to doubt.
Baek Ryeon-ha bit her lip as the atmosphere changed.
She had lost.
Bang!
At that moment came a huge roar. The floor cracked, and Hae Ack-chun moved. Everyone looked at him in shock.
“What did you do with Wonhwi!”
Baek Hye-hyang raised an eyebrow.
“Fourth Elder. What are you talking….”
Swishhhh!
However, Hae Ack-chun’s body turned red before she could speak, and steam gushed out of it. It was the sign that he was enhancing his body, his secret technique.
Recognizing this, Baek Hye-hyang’s side began to pull their weapons out.
Chang! Chang!
The same happened on Baek Ryeon-ha’s side. Both sides were ready to fight at any moment. And it was then…
Flinch!
All of their senses were pierced sharply. Elders on both sides and people ready to fight felt like their bodies were thrown back.
Chacck!
At the same time, a red flag appeared between them.
Baek Ryeon-ha and Baek Hye-hyang’s faces became stiff.
“The Blood Heaven Sura Arts, Break Down?”
“What?”
The successors of the Blood Demon recognized this.
‘Who is doing this?’
Members of both factions, alongside the women who led them, looked over to the spot stimulating their senses. There stood a young man with flowing red hair and a blood-stained sword.
‘…!!’
Seeing this, Baek Hye-hyang’s eyes shook as if she was caught in an earthquake.
‘How did this happen…’
At that moment, Hae Ack-chun, who had been full of anger, smiled until it reached his ears, and his body shook as if it was trembling.
“Fourth Elder Hae Ack-chun greets the Blood Demon!”