Chapter 171: Chapter 7. The Fist Demon and the Sword King Collide (3)

A strange heat spread throughout Dam Ho's entire body. The beads of sweat that had formed on his skin evaporated and dissipated as steam.

Seeing Dam Ho's condition, Namgung Cheon's eyes gleamed.

His left arm hung limply. The shoulder struck by the Blood Heaven Kick had been dislocated.

"So you're not completely useless after all."

Crack!

Namgung Cheon forcibly popped his shoulder back into place. The excruciating pain stimulated his brain, but he ignored it.

He had experienced such pain countless times while training in martial arts. The dislocated shoulder swelled up quickly, but it didn't matter—he was right-handed anyway.

"You had a chance to die easily, and you refused it. You'll regret that."

"I don't do regrets."

Late remorse, or lingering attachment.

There was no space for such emotions in Dam Ho's heart.

Thwack!

Dam Ho kicked off the ground.

Charging Step unfurled.

A smile appeared on Namgung Cheon's lips. It was unmistakably a sneer.

"Foolish! You still haven't realized that this footwork doesn't work against me."

Namgung Cheon once again deployed the Infinite Sky Step to evade Dam Ho's Charging Step.

He traced a graceful arc through the air, rushing to Dam Ho's rear. The sword in his hand gleamed fiercely.

That was the moment.

BOOM!

Dam Ho's foot scraped violently against the ground.

His right foot dug into the earth up to the ankle. He had deployed the Thousand Fathom Shift to forcibly halt the Charging Step.

GRRRCK!

The increased pressure caused his leg muscles to bulge enormously, and veins bulged on Dam Ho's face.

Dam Ho rotated his body around his right foot, dissipating the pressure that had been applied throughout his entire body.

"Hm!"

Namgung Cheon, who had been approaching from behind, felt his pupils tremble. Dam Ho's reaction had exceeded his expectations.

BOOM!

Dam Ho deployed the Shield Wall.

The impact struck the fabric of the air, and Namgung Cheon's eardrums were also affected.

For an instant, a ringing echoed through his head, and Namgung Cheon's balance wavered slightly. Dam Ho did not let that moment slip away.

Dam Ho's palm touched Namgung Cheon's chest. He was about to deploy the Five Finger Rock Breaking Technique.

Thwack!

At that moment, Namgung Cheon regained his composure and struck Dam Ho's hand with the flat of his sword, then hastily retreated.

"You brat!"

Shing!

Even as he created distance, he swung his sword at Dam Ho.

In that instant, Dam Ho leapt into the air and spun his body around. His leg shot out like a whip.

It was the Blood Heaven Kick.

Shriek!

WHAM!

It targeted Namgung Cheon's head, but was blocked by the flat of the blade. The sword body bent like a bow and deflected Dam Ho's body away.

Fortunately, Namgung Cheon blocked the attack, but the impact left his carefully tied hair in disarray.

Through the tangled strands of hair, fury rose in Namgung Cheon's eyes.

"How dare you!"

Namgung Cheon hurled the sword he was holding at Dam Ho.

WHOOSH!

The sword spun as it flew toward Dam Ho. Dam Ho ducked his head to avoid it.

Dam Ho then rushed straight toward Namgung Cheon.

Without his sword, Namgung Cheon was no match for him.

The moment his eyes flashed with vicious intent—

"Be careful!"

Jong Ri-yeon's voice came from behind. Immediately after, a violent sense of danger crashed through his mind.

Dam Ho ducked his head on instinct.

SWISH!

In that instant, a searing pain swept across his back. When he looked up again, he saw a sword spinning through the air behind him—it had grazed him.

The sword, having changed course in midair, attacked Dam Ho like a living creature.

'Sword Control.'

The legendary realm of controlling a sword with one's will.

SHING!

The air split apart as the silver blade targeted Dam Ho's throat.

Dam Ho struck the sword away with the Silver Net Technique. But the deflected sword spun around and targeted Dam Ho's vital points once more.

Swordsmanship performed by a human hand inevitably carried various limitations. This was due to the structural constraints of the human body.

But swordsmanship performed through Sword Control bore no such limitations. It could be deployed freely, without any constraint.

SPLIT!

A piece of Dam Ho's robe was sliced away.

Seeing this, Namgung Cheon smiled.

"How long do you think you can keep dodging?"

Namgung Cheon had mastered the Imperial Heart Method, the supreme internal energy technique of the Namgung Family. The internal power he had accumulated through the Imperial Heart Method was virtually infinite.

As long as his internal power did not run dry, his Sword Control would not cease.

Namgung Cheon deployed the Imperial Sword Form through his Sword Control. The Sword Control already possessed overwhelming power, and with the addition of the Imperial Sword Form's intricate techniques, its power doubled.

Shriek!

Before the piercing Sword Control, Dam Ho appeared as precarious as a candle in the wind.

"Ah!"

A sigh tinged with despair escaped Jong Ri-yeon's lips.

'It's over. No matter how strong he is, he cannot defeat Sword Control.'

She didn't care what happened to her own life, but the thought that Dam Ho would lose his life because of her was unbearably guilty.

In truth, Dam Ho was driven to an extreme impasse by the Sword Control. There was no way to penetrate it.

Wounds were accumulating on his body, yet he couldn't lay a single hand on Namgung Cheon.

Dam Ho's gaze sank coldly.

An ordinary person might have despaired and given up. But Dam Ho was no ordinary person.

'If there is no way, I will create one.'

That was the Dark Form Fist, Dam Ho's solitary way.

Hummm!

When Dam Ho deployed the Shield, his body began to vibrate.

In that state, Dam Ho charged toward the Sword Control with his Charging Step. Seeing this, Namgung Cheon sneered.

"You must be desperate to die."

The power of the Sword Control was absolute.

It was not something that could be withstood with bare hands. Not even with the Shield, a vibration-based defensive technique, as backup.

PFFT!

The Sword Control pierced through the Shield. Flesh was torn away, and the blade carved through the muscles of his chest.

"Cough!"

Dam Ho coughed up blood.

The blade had pierced through one of his lungs and exited through his back. With a hole in his lung, it rapidly collapsed.

As the air intake was halved, Dam Ho's complexion turned ashen in an instant.

Dam Ho's body, impaled through the chest, stopped in its tracks. Bending low at the waist and bleeding, his figure drew a roar of triumph from Namgung Cheon.

"Look at that! AHAHA!"

His laughter shook the earth, sending dust billowing into the air.

At that moment, Dam Ho raised his head. Blood flowed from his nose and mouth. The blood that ran down his chin soaked his chest red.

"Grrrrk!"

A grotesque sound escaped as one lung collapsed. But the light in Dam Ho's eyes never diminished.

Rather, it burned with even greater ferocity.

A rough, hoarse voice escaped through his lips.

"I… caught it."

"What?"

"Your sword!"

The blade that had pierced his chest was gripped in Dam Ho's hand.

CRACK!

When Dam Ho applied force, the blade snapped in half. Dam Ho discarded the broken piece. The remaining half of the blade was still embedded through his chest. An injury that would kill an ordinary person instantly. But for Dam Ho's body, which had been trained to the extreme, that was not the case.

The muscles around the wound tightened, minimizing the bleeding. The wound in his lung also constricted, stopping the air from leaking out.

"Huup!"

Dam Ho drew in a deep breath.

As air entered, the collapsed lung returned to its original shape.

THUD!

Dam Ho kicked off the ground.

His fist cleaved through the air.

As Dam Ho's figure rapidly closed the distance, Namgung Cheon showed a startled expression for the first time. He habitually tried to swing his sword, but his hand grasped nothing.

In haste, he deployed the Protective Energy.

BOOM!

Dam Ho's blow struck upon the Protective Energy. The silver barrier wavered, and Namgung Cheon's body was pushed back.

"Kugh! Insolent…"

Even though he had blocked it with his Protective Energy, the intense impact sent tremors through his organs. The shock that penetrated his entire body twisted Namgung Cheon's face. But soon, rage dominated his entire being.

"You think you can do anything to me without a sword? Foolish!"

He was the patriarch of the Namgung Family.

Naturally, he had mastered not only the Namgung Family's sword techniques but also their fist techniques. Without a sword, he was still invincible.

Namgung Cheon deployed the Nine劈神 Fist, the Namgung Family's secret fist technique. And that became his greatest fatal error.

Dam Ho did not let slip the instant Namgung Cheon switched to the Nine劈神 Fist.

BOOM!

Dam Ho's fist struck Namgung Cheon's forearm. The Nine劈神 Fist was halted midway.

"Ugh!"

Namgung Cheon gritted his teeth and tried to deploy the Nine劈神 Fist again, but in that instant, Dam Ho's entire body blurred before his eyes.

The Shield had been deployed.

In that state, Dam Ho launched his fist.

A fist, then an elbow, followed by a torso and knee strike—blows rained down. Dam Ho's body spun like a cogwheel.

A relentless chain of attacks without a moment to breathe.

Six Harmonies Blood Mountain and River.

Pushing the body to its absolute limit to deploy this technique placed enormous strain on the entire body, plunging one into a state of powerlessness.

Dam Ho had only learned it, but this was his first time deploying it in actual combat. He would have preferred not to use it, but he had no choice.

The blade embedded in his chest tore through his flesh each time the Six Harmonies Blood Mountain and River was unleashed. The body he had barely stabilized was now gushing blood, but Dam Ho paid no heed and continued his assault.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A thunderous roar erupted, and Namgung Cheon's body shook.

When he blocked the fist, an elbow came. The moment he paid attention to the elbow, a knee flew at him.

An overwhelming sense of pressure and impact, as if a massive storm were raging.

CRACK!

"Kugh!"

The forearm that had blocked Dam Ho's attack let out a sound of rupture. A dull moan escaped through Namgung Cheon's lips.

He didn't need to look to know. His forearm bone had fractured.

"You damn…"

Namgung Cheon cursed and tried to retreat. But his body wouldn't budge, as if it had sunk into a swamp of glue.

When the Six Harmonies Blood Mountain and River was deployed, a terrifying gravitational force emanated from Dam Ho's entire body, drawing everything around him toward him. Namgung Cheon was also ensnared by this gravitational force.

Through blood-soaked strands of hair, a chilling killing intent swirled in Dam Ho's eyes.

A chill crawled up his spine. Namgung Cheon shuddered with a sense of foreboding.

The momentary breach created by Namgung Cheon's fractured forearm.

The Six Harmonies Blood Mountain and River exploited that gap.

WHAM!

Both arms were flung wide open, and the barrage of fists, elbows, shoulders, and torso strikes followed like a storm.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

"Kugh!"

The face struck by the fist was knocked to the side, the waist buckled like a shrimp from the knee strike. A torso strike crashed down upon it, and an open palm slammed into Namgung Cheon's chin.

Muscles tore. Bones shattered. Blood flowed. Spittle flew. Pupils dilated. A ringing echoed in his head.

An ordinary person would have lost consciousness in this state. But he was Namgung Cheon.

Sword King Namgung Cheon.

Even with his consciousness fading, his right hand formed a sword seal.

A faint energy gathered on his fingers—he was creating sword energy with the sword seal.

BOOM!

They exchanged their final techniques.

The manor of Dan Ryeong-gyeong could be seen ahead.

However, the path was blocked.

Two orthodox faction warriors were controlling the passersby. Even a merchant who had been trying to pass through pulling a handcart was stopped by the warriors.

“No, if you block the path where people travel… If I go around another way, it’ll take half a day longer.”

“From here on, there are measures by the Martial Arts Alliance in place, so you can’t pass. If you keep being stubborn, we’ll consider you on the same side as the evil faction members. Understand?”

“I’ve lived my whole life just doing business, what is this evil faction you’re talking about!”

“That’s why you should go back while we’re speaking nicely. Can’t you hear those sounds over there? Do you want to get hit by a stray blade and die while passing by?”

Screams could be heard from far away.

The sound of palm forces exploding with banging noises.

The clanging sound of swords clashing against each other.

All these sounds were coming from the manor ahead.

The merchant had no choice but to turn his cart around.

The merchant looked at Jin Ja-gang who was behind him and shook his head repeatedly. He was gesturing that it would be useless to make a fuss like himself, so he should go back.

The screams that had been continuously ringing out were gradually becoming more intermittent and decreasing. There was no other choice available.

Jin Ja-gang continued walking forward. When Jin Ja-gang didn’t stop and kept coming, the two warriors blocked his path. The bearded warrior showed his sword at his waist threateningly with an annoyed expression.

“Didn’t you just hear? You can’t pass through here. Go back.”

Jin Ja-gang looked up at the warriors and asked.

“How long has it been?”

The warriors frowned.

“What?”

“How long has what been?”

“I was curious how long you two have been here.”

The warriors were dumbfounded and pursed their lips.

“Why are you curious about that?”

“This is a strange fellow. What do you do…”

Jin Ja-gang dropped the bundle he had been carrying in his hands to the ground.

Clatter!

A metallic sound rang out.

“What! What’s inside that makes…”

The moment the warriors looked down at the bundle in surprise, a dagger appeared in Jin Ja-gang’s hand. Jin Ja-gang lowered his body and slashed the shin of the bearded warrior in front.

“Ah!”

The moment the bearded warrior crouched down, Jin Ja-gang straightened his waist and leaped up, stabbing the dagger into his stomach.

“Kugh.”

The bearded warrior’s eyes widened greatly and his face contorted in pain. Jin Ja-gang pulled out the dagger and stabbed it in once more.

Stab!

The warrior standing beside him drew his sword in surprise but couldn’t attack Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang stared intently at the frightened warrior and asked.

“How long has it been?”

“You, you b*st*rd…”

Jin Ja-gang continued to pull out the dagger and stab it again.

“Kugh! Keu-euk!”

The bearded warrior who had been screaming at first could barely make any sound. Even his convulsions gradually subsided. Even when stabbed with the dagger, there was no particular reaction. Yet the fact that he continued stabbing with the dagger was itself terrifying.

The bearded warrior couldn’t even stand on his own strength and was now almost hanging on Jin Ja-gang’s arm. When Jin Ja-gang pulled out the dagger, he fell forward and died.

“How long have you been here?”

Jin Ja-gang asked again in a tone so even that no emotion could be felt.

But instead of answering, the warrior chose to flee toward the manor. There were plenty of his allies over there.

“An enemy has appeared…!”

Jin Ja-gang drew a needle from his sleeve with his other hand and threw it.

Flying Thread Twelve Branches!

The needle embedded itself in the buttocks of the fleeing warrior. It was a needle coated with false hellebore poison liquid. The poison causes fever and severe pain in the area where it spreads. The warrior’s one leg became stiff and he tumbled while running.

Jin Ja-gang approached the warrior with the dagger. The warrior turned his body to lie on his back on the ground and swung his sword. Jin Ja-gang kicked his arm to knock the sword away and covered the warrior’s body with his own. Then he headbutted the warrior’s face. As he fell, it became like ramming his nose and mouth, with Jin Ja-gang’s weight fully applied. The warrior’s back of the head was against the ground, so he received the full impact.

Thud!

His nose was crushed and his teeth broke in chunks. In the meantime, Jin Ja-gang even drove the dagger into the warrior’s side.

“Keo… euk!”

The warrior was almost at the point of death. He pleaded with a faintly escaping voice.

“Sp-spare me…”

Jin Ja-gang covered the warrior’s body and spoke into his ear.

“That’s not the answer I want.”

“I-it’s been about one hour since we c-came…”

Jin Ja-gang pulled out the dagger, got up, and stabbed it into the warrior’s chest. The warrior died with his eyes wide open.

Jin Ja-gang stood up and looked around. The merchant from earlier had already abandoned even his cart and fled.

He found the bundle he had dropped earlier and untied the knot. Inside were short swords, sickles, and needles he had hastily prepared from the village blacksmith and acupuncture shop. Jin Ja-gang coated them with poison liquid.

Right now, he had to be grateful for even having these.

And the ten Dengryeo Warming Pills in his chest.

The secret internal injury medicine of Guizhou’s Medicine Gate that Soso had given him.

Jin Ja-gang tapped the oil paper containing the Dengryeo Warming Pills and looked at the manor. The killing intent he had been suppressing boiled up again.

“Whew.”

After today passed, Jin Ja-gang would finally walk a path of no return. He would walk a thorny path dozens, hundreds of times more treacherous while receiving much more serious misunderstandings than now.

However, Jin Ja-gang couldn’t stop.

Without resolving this burning feeling in his chest, he would regret this moment until the day he died.

* * *

“Keu-euk!”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong spat blood from her entire body and staggered backward.

Myowol spun the Non-Killing Sword in her palm. The Non-Killing Sword absorbed Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s blood and glowed even redder.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong wiped her blood-covered face with her sleeve and ground her teeth.

“What a vicious sword.”

“Amitabha. Now kneel and repent.”

Myowol had her monk’s robes torn here and there and had suffered some blows, but Dan Ryeong-gyeong was different. Not only was she missing one arm, but the poisoning was gradually worsening, making her continuously weaker. This had a fatal effect on the fight. The numerous wounds carved on her body were traces of this.

“To make me kneel, it would be faster to cut off both my legs.”

Myowol was indifferent even to Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s venomous words.

“If that is your wish, I shall grant it as you desire. Indeed, it would be faster to cut off both legs rather than persuade the benefactor.”

Myowol attacked Dan Ryeong-gyeong again. The Non-Killing Sword dripped red blood as it sliced through space.

Chaotic Wind Wave Sword.

Sword energy flowed from all directions like chaotically swaying wind.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong countered with palm force.

Bang bang bang!

Myowol deflected all of Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s palm forces while charging forward. Another line of blood appeared on Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s thigh. Dan Ryeong-gyeong bounced her body backward and extended her silk covering. She twisted and coiled the tattered silk covering as much as possible to make it like an awl, then aimed for Myowol’s eyes.

Myowol slightly moved her head to the side to avoid the tip of the silk covering. The silk covering passed by Myowol’s ear, spun around, and aimed for the opposite eye. Myowol smoothly moved her head in the opposite direction. The silk covering continued to circle following Myowol, then wrapped around her neck.

Whirr!

However, Myowol had already pulled her head out. Instead of her head, the Non-Killing Sword was in that position. Myowol forcefully pulled the sword with the silk covering wrapped around it.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong put her weight into it and resisted.

Screech, screeech.

But she was overpowered and dragged, leaving marks on the ground. Dan Ryeong-gyeong was pulled toward Myowol. Myowol continued to wind and pull the silk covering.

“You know better than anyone that resisting is meaningless. Look around you.”

While Dan Ryeong-gyeong was caught by Myowol, most of the manor’s household had been killed or fallen with serious injuries. Even the steward had become a cold corpse lying on the ground.

A few had retreated inside the house and held out, but it was useless. Jeon Woong showed a satisfied expression as the situation was being resolved without incident.

“Drag out all the b*st*rds inside!”

The first one dragged out was Bian Bu.

“Let go, you b*st*rds! Let go!”

Bian Bu was dragged out after having his crutch taken away and was thrown down.

“What did this fortune teller say to us earlier?”

Jeon Woong kicked and trampled on Bian Bu’s face.

“Euk! Eo-euk!”

Bian Bu was helplessly beaten. His lips split and his eyes swelled up.

Next, injured servants and maids were dragged out.

“Ah!”

And finally, the orthodox faction warrior who had been trying to drag out Soso suddenly screamed. Soso had cut the warrior’s hand with a short sword.

The warrior struck Soso’s head with his sword hilt. When Soso fell forward, he grabbed her hair and dragged her out.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong also saw this scene.

“Leave that child alone!”

Myowol dismissed Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s words as trivial. But Jeon Woong of South River Sect was different. He hadn’t forgotten the earlier humiliation.

“Oh ho, so she was a child cherished by the world’s enchanting flower? Bring that girl here!”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong glared at Jeon Woong in fury, but Jeon Woong only flinched momentarily before quickly smiling. After all, Dan Ryeong-gyeong was caught by Myowol.

“Didn’t I say I couldn’t take responsibility for my words? Let’s see if that’s really true.”

The dragged Soso looked up at Jeon Woong with fierce eyes while bleeding from her head.

“Where does a young girl dare to glare?”

Jeon Woong slapped Soso’s cheek.

Slap!

Soso’s head whipped around. But Soso gritted her teeth and continued glaring at Jeon Woong. Jeon Woong raised his hand.

Slap! Slap!

Soon Soso’s tender cheeks swelled up and blood flowed from her torn mouth.

“Eu… ah-eu-eo…”

Jeon Woong drew his sword.

Shing.

Bian Bu struggled and shouted.

“Leave that child alone and kill me, you b*st*rd! That poor child who can’t even speak… eok!”

What came back to Bian Bu was only kicks. Bian Bu was kicked in the stomach so much that he vomited blood several times.

The enraged Dan Ryeong-gyeong tried to release her silk covering and rush at Jeon Woong.

“You b*st*rd!”

However, the moment she tried to release the silk covering, Myowol demonstrated her divine skill and caught it with the Non-Killing Sword.

Snap!

Dan Ryeong-gyeong tried to leap but was caught and pulled by her own silk covering in mid-air.

Myowol grabbed the nape of Dan Ryeong-gyeong who had been pulled in an instant.

“Kek!”

“Trying to run away in front of this poor nun?”

Myowol gripped Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s neck and pressed down. Dan Ryeong-gyeong grabbed Myowol’s hand with one hand and tried not to kneel, but her legs gradually trembled and bent.

While suppressing Dan Ryeong-gyeong, Myowol spoke to Jeon Woong.

“If you’re going to kill, just kill. Weren’t you planning to kill everyone in this manor anyway?”

Jeon Woong answered somewhat obsequiously, overwhelmed by Myowol’s momentum.

“We’ll kill them anyway, but since this girl is also spawn of the evil faction, we’re just going to discipline her spirit before killing her.”

“Amitabha. What would be the point of tormenting one who cannot even speak?”

“Ah, yes…”

Jeon Woong spoke loudly as if for Dan Ryeong-gyeong to hear, like talking to himself, while raising his sword.

“Shandong Enchanting Flower! Watch carefully with both eyes wide open whether I take responsibility for my words or not!”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong drew up her internal energy while her nape was gripped. However, with her neck’s blood channels suppressed, her internal energy wouldn’t rise.

“Kuk, kuk!”

Blood leaked through her clenched teeth and her nose bled. Only the Tang family’s poison lurking in her qi and blood ran wild, while her internal energy couldn’t circulate.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong twisted her neck with all her might.

Crack, the sound of bones twisting came from her neck. When her neck became somewhat freer, Dan Ryeong-gyeong bit Myowol’s hand. Blood trickled from Myowol’s hand.

Myowol looked down at Dan Ryeong-gyeong and smiled.

“Ugly.”

But then.

Ping!

With a sharp sound of cutting through air, Jeon Woong groaned.

“Eu-euk!”

A needle was embedded in the back of Jeon Woong’s raised hand. Jeon Woong’s hand was paralyzed and he dropped his sword.

“I am…”

A new voice that hadn’t been heard until now came from the main gate.

“I am repentant.”