On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 107: Pests Must Be Exterminated All At Once

I sat on the ledge of the roof, lost in thought. I went through Xu Zhu’s memories that I’d witnessed, trying to recall the Black Demon that’d threatened her. He had a black mask on, but I was certain he was someone from the academy.

Of course, he could’ve withdrawn after the incident with Xu Zhu, but would he? When I was still around?

Here I was, the man who hadn’t only mastered the highly coveted Mount Hua Sect’s Plum blossom Sword Technique, but also nearly killed Lin Xiao Ming of the Three Martial Association. If I were them, I’d have kept spying on the target, reporting to the higher-ups the entire time.

Ding!

[The innate power Blind Eyes of God has been activated.]

With my eyes still closed, I activated my power. I could see everyone at the Hunter Academy, from the middle school to university divisions, including all the teachers and staff.

-----

[Park Sung-Jin]

A male human. Around for 18 years.

Special note: Uses a puny sword.

-----

[Lee Yoo-Jin]

A female human. Around for 21 years.

Special note: Uses puny ice.

-----

[Kang Seong-Yoon]

A male human. Around for 43 years.

Special note: Scared of the night.

-----

I could see each and every single one of them.

Ding! n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

[Yu Il-Shin’s innate power Blind Eyes of God has been upgraded in accordance with the rank of a Low-tier Benevolent God]

[Yu Il-Shin’s innate power Blind Eyes of God has been upgraded in accordance with the rank of a Low-tier Malevolent God]

Back then, when I appraised someone, I’d only see a few lines of information. But now, I learned their time of birth, fateful events, love interest, the food they had that day, hidden desires, and their sinister, twisted malice.

With the upgraded Blind Eyes of God, I relentlessly scanned the entire school. Even a seasoned, obsessive stalker was no match for me. The tsunami of information threatened to crush my brain, but I persevered and repeated the appraisal over and over again.

A god was an omnipotent being. Though my power was limited to a small portion of the universe, I was still omnipotent, albeit not invincible

“Found you.”

Finally, I found what I was looking for amidst the information overload.

Opening my eyes, I said, “Skill Sharing, Sung Mi-Ri Thunder Body.”

“M-Mister?”

“Mr. Sword God!”

Flash! Ruuuumble!

I turned into a lightning flash and disappeared.

Pzzz!

In the next second, I grabbed a student by his neck.

“Hic! W-what are you doing, Teacher?!”

He cried out, fearfully staring at me.

I glanced at the name tag on his left chest. Choi Yeon-Woo, a freshman in the high school division. His long hair, almost covering his neck, and his puppy-like eyes made him look like a kindhearted lad who wouldn’t even hurt a fly.

“Eek! Let go of Yeon-Woo!”

“W-what are you doing?”

A couple of female students nearby, seemingly his friends, screamed in shock. I didn’t pay them any heed.

“Ugh, Teacher. Please, let me go...” He pleaded, his face distorted with pain.

I looked at the information hovering over his head.

[Three Martial Association 253rd Black Demon, Chen Kun]

“Three Martial Association 253rd Black Demon, Chen Kun,” I said out loud.

Instantly, as if his mask had fallen, all traces of emotions disappeared from his face. Now, he looked as cold as an assassin. Moreover, he was hiding something inside his mouth. Too bad, I’d seen it.

“Umpf! Umpf!”

My other hand was already in his mouth. I clenched my fist and twisted it.

Crack!

“Waaaaah!”

Chen Kun let out a bizarre scream as his jaw fell, but I couldn’t care less.

With my bare hand, I pulled out the entire set of molars from his mouth, and another scream erupted.

“Where are the other Black Demons?”

I knew he was in no situation to reply, but so what? I looked straight into his eyes. I could simply look for the answer. As if I were dissecting his brain, Chen Kun and everything he knew unfolded before my eyes.

“Hmm.”

Before I knew it, I felt somewhat sympathetic for him. After all, his situation was similar to Xu Zhu’s. My anger toward the Three Martial Association surged once more.

Swiiiiish!

Suddenly, I heard something. Then, I found out that Chen Kun’s pants were soaked through.

“Huuu... Huuuwaaa...”

I also knew how he felt at this moment. He was terrified to death, like a mouth trapped in a lion’s maw. It can’t be helped. Despite being a Black Demon, he was still a puppet at the mercy of the organization.

I had no need for a puppet. I relaxed my grip on Chen Kun’s neck.

Plop—

Like a marionette with cut strings, Chen Kun fell helplessly to the ground.

“M-Mr. Sword God!” Sword Demon rushed over to me.

I glanced briefly at him and said, “Sword Demon. This child is a secret agent from the Three Martial Association. Hand him over to either the Hunter Association or the police.”

“...What?”

Let’s see... There’s a branch of the Three Martial Association about 30 km from here. I only need a minute.

Flash! Ruuumble!

With a flash and a thunderclap, I disappeared.

***

Bam! Baaaam!

“Aaaargh! Save me!”

“Hyiiaaaa! A monster!”

“Eeeek!”

Screams echoed in the air as if a war had just broken out in the area.

At the basement of the South Korean branch of the Three Martial Association, there was a critically ill patient. She was covered in bandages and hooked up to several bags of fluids.

“Haa, haa—”

She was none other than Lin Xiao Ming.

She had narrowly escaped from Yu Il-Shin with the Teleportation Talisman. In spite of that, she’d suffered fatal wounds, and half of her organs were mangled. She was only alive thanks to the power of the Asura Spiritwalker Sword, a legendary divine relic forged from a god’s bones.

Shudder!

But right now, that sword was rattling violently, unbefitting of its reputation. No, it wasn’t the sword, but Lin Xiao Ming herself.

I’m... scared? Me? Lin Xiao Ming?

She was the successor to this era’s Sword Martial and arguably a once-in-a-lifetime genius in the 500-year history of the Three Martial Association! Unlike the worthless substitute factions, Martial Arts and Taoist Martials, she was the real deal! Aside from the Three Pure Ones, the only enemy that was on par with her in the association—no, the entire world, were the so-called SSS-rank monsters!

Baaaam!

In the next moment, the iron door to the basement flew open, and a blood-soaked man entered the room.

“Crazy bitch. You’re still alive?”

He regarded her sleeping figure with pure contempt, as if looking down on a filthy bug.

At that moment, Lin Xiao Ming knew. The one who stood before her wasn’t a man, but the Grim Reaper himself.

So why...?

Thump thump thump!

Her heart was beating rapidly, like a maiden in love. Lin Xiao Ming struggled to get up from the bed. How could she remain in such an unsightly position when her darling had come to visit her?

“For coming all the way here, let me show you something. Lin Xiao Ming’s best technique... Asura Heaven—”

Yes, I’ll die for you, but not in vain, she thought. She wished to sear all her martial arts into the Grim Reaper's heart and engrave her name there.

“Shut up.”

Bam! Ruuumble!

An ear-shattering explosion echoed as overwhelming pain ravaged her entire body, leaving her unable to scream or see anything.

Huh...?

Moments later, her vision returned and she was speechless.

The sky?

She saw the clear blue sky. What is happening...? She should’ve been in the basement, preparing for her final battle with Yu Il-Shin... So why was she in the sky?

Lin Xiao Ming was flustered, struggling to grasp the situation. Then, she finally realized that the entire building had collapsed in.

Ahh—

Atop the rubbles was Yu Il-Shin, staring at her with icy cold eyes.

So handsome.

A rush of chilling exhilaration hit her. To think there was a man who could toy with this Lin Xiao Ming!

In the past, her uncle forced her into dual cultivation to restore his cultivation. Ever since then, she only ever saw men as lustful animals, determined to remain alone. She vowed to master the sword techniques and cut down all who stood in her way, even if they were the Three Pure Ones!

But alas, it was simply a pipe dream. Compared to this man, she was just a frog in a well.

Yu Il-Shin merely looked as she free-fell, pointing a finger at her. Was that the same peerless skill that crushed her through space?

What a shame.

Had she met him earlier, would she have fallen into such levels of decadence? At the very least, she got to die in his hands.

“Kyahahaha!”

Seconds before her death, Lin Xiao Ming let out a laugh.

Crush!

***

The elites of the Three Martial Association assembled at the Three Pure Hall. They included ten S-rank Hunters from across China and around the world, over twenty Elders who, while not official Hunters, were on par with S-rank Hunters, and at least two thousand A-rank and B-rank Hunters. Not a single person present wasn't a martial arts master

Every single one of them bowed to the three masked figures, the Three Pure Ones. Taiqing, also known as the Grand Pure One, watched with a satisfied smile.

“Well, well. What a sight. Has it really been three hundred years since the whole association gathered here?”

Then, the one wearing the mask of chaos spoke, “Keeheehee. Still, isn’t this a bit excessive?”

He was Shangqing, the Supreme Pure One.

The one wearing the mask of a majestic old man with a long beard shook his head. “How is this excessive? The leaders from the Martial arts and Taoist Martials have died. Moreover, the man who killed them possesses divine power. We need to get rid of him as soon as possible.”

He was Yuqing, the Jade Pure One.

“Keeheehee. If you say so. Let’s hear what the top faction, Sword Martial, has to say about this.”

Click clack!

A provocative beauty in red cheongsam walked into the hall, her heels clicking on the marble flooring. A bloodthirsty smile played on her lips.

“Hohoho. Sword Martial Lin Xiao Ming greets the Three Pure Ones and her comrades.”

***

Back on the rooftop of the Hunter Academy...

“Hmhmhm~ Pork belly is tasty because there’s three layers of flesh~”

Sizzle—!

“Hmhmhm~ Pork belly is even tastier when there are five layers of flesh~”

Not bad for an improvised song, right? If only Baek-Ho inherited this talent of mine.

Trickle!

Lilith and the angel soldiers were salivating. Understandable. The smell of meat sizzling over the charcoal fire was just that deadly.

“Just a bit more.”

Slash slash!

I moved the kitchen knife—no, Demon Lord, slicing the meat into bite-sized pieces.

“Dig in.”

“Kya~ Kyakya~!”

Lilith and the angel soldiers pounced on the meat. Originally, I planned to order chicken, but the skull chickens left me traumatized.

“What are you doing? If you don’t hurry, there won’t be any meat left.”

“Are you alright?”

“Teacher.”

Choi Kang-San and Sung Mi-Ri looked at me concernedly. Meanwhile, Sung Mi-Na hid behind her younger sister, stealing glances at me. She was still wary of me.

“Of course I am~ I’ve been indebted to you for some time, that’s why I’m treating you to some meat. Come, eat. Sword Demon, stop screwing around and hurry up.”

“A-alright. Let’s eat.”

Forcing a smile, Choi Kang-San picked up his chopsticks. The Sung sisters followed suit, but the worried expressions never left their faces.

I looked at the time on my phone.

Sword Demon asked, “What’s the matter, Mr. Sword God?”

I dipped a piece of meat into the ssamjang[1] and smiled.

“About time for some news to arrive.”

***

Slash slash!

Blood gushed from the decapitated leaders of the Three Martial Association. Bathed in their blood, Lin Xiao Ming laughed hysterically.

“I offer these sacrifices to my beloved Yu Il-Shin!”

“Lin Xiao Ming! What in the name of hell?! Have you lost your mind?!”

“Aaah... He accepted my offerings. I can’t be happier.” Lin Xiao Ming touched herself with a face full of bliss.

“Lin Xiao Ming! Why would you turn against your comrades!? You’ve really gone insane!”

“Kyahahaha! Divine power, Asura Heaven-Sundering Dance!”

Crack! Plaaat!

Six arms sprouted on Lin Xiao Ming’s sides and back. Grinning maniacally, she grabbed the swords of her fallen victims.

“Why haven’t all of you become sacrifices for my Yu Il-Shin yet?”

Swoosh! Baaam!

Her six arms brought upon a storm of sword qi, engulfing the surrounding vicinity.

“Hyiieee! The descendant of the Sword Martial has gone insane!”

“Kill her!”

***

“Ah, it’s here.”

Ding!

[A Follower Salvation Quest has occurred.]

[Target: Lin Xiao Ming (Fanatic)]

[God Yu Il-Shin, do you wish to save your fanatic Lin Xiao Ming from a life-threatening crisis? (Yes/No)]

Of course, I had no intention of saving that madwoman. But I should at least exterminate the pests in one go, right?

“Yes.”

Swoosh!

I disappeared from the rooftop.

1. A thick, spicy paste used with food wrapped in a leaf in Korean cuisine. The sauce is made of fermented soybeans, red chili paste, sesame oil, onion, garlic, green onions, and optionally brown sugar. ☜