Chapter 369 – Debts Must Always Be Repaid (1)

He had no confidence in persuading through dialogue.

He also had no confidence in subduing through logic.

He had never once overcome a situation through dialogue until now. Such soft situations didn't exist in Dam Ho's life.

He had always put his life on the line, believing only in his two fists as he crossed between life and death. He had lived his entire life that way.

It was the same now.

Dam Ho, who had blown away the Discipline Hall warrior monks blocking his path with a single strike, moved toward Namgung Chang.

The faces of the Discipline Hall warrior monks who had allowed an unexpected strike showed clear bewilderment. Fortunately, they hadn't suffered major injuries, but the very fact that someone had launched a preemptive attack made them panic.

But that was only momentary, and soon anger appeared on their faces.

"How dare you!"

"To attack Shaolin's warrior monks. This is a challenge to Shaolin."

They hurriedly got up and blocked Dam Ho's way. Unlike when they had been caught off guard, this time they had firmly raised their internal energy.

"Stop!"

"Demon!"

It was the moment they shouted and released their external energy.

Whoosh!

Suddenly wind blew.

From outside to inside.

From where they were toward where Dam Ho stood.

The wind wasn't simply blowing only from where the warrior monks were. Everyone gathered at the mountain gate felt the wind.

The chilly wind was blowing from behind them toward Dam Ho. No, it was being sucked into Dam Ho.

"What?"

"What is this?"

But their surprise was greater than that of the warrior monks facing Dam Ho directly. The pressure and wind intensity they felt was several times that of the heroes.

Dam Ho was still walking toward them. And the wind was rushing toward him.

No, he was drawing in the wind and air.

Dam Ho's black hair and black robes were billowing roughly in the incoming wind. That appearance didn't look human at all.

"Ugh!"

"Amitabha!"

At that sight, the Discipline Hall warrior monks unconsciously stepped back hesitantly.

They were warrior monks who had trained their entire lives in the great sect of Shaolin. Befitting those who had trained in the sacred Buddhist site, their martial prowess was truly remarkable. However, they had never once fought against a martial artist as bloodthirsty as Dam Ho.

A nauseating bloody stench penetrated their nostrils. The paralyzing blood scent whitened their minds.

"If you want to die, keep blocking me."

A massive beast bared its fangs.

A terrible net of killing intent they had never experienced once before engulfed the warrior monks.

The feeling of nerve endings burning and countless ants burrowing into the blood vessels throughout their bodies was so terrible that those who hadn't experienced it couldn't possibly imagine.

Only then did the warrior monks desperately realize why people called Dam Ho, a disciple of the prestigious Mount Hua Sect, the Fist Demon.

The Dam Ho reflected in their eyes wasn't human.

Though he had human form, he was something other than human.

Dam Ho stepped forward forcefully with his right foot.

Thump!

And approached dragging his left foot.

Scrape!

That off-beat gait made the warrior monks' hearts tremble.

They had to decide.

Either fight Dam Ho like this or retreat.

Their hearts said to fight, but their bodies wouldn't obey.

Creak!

Their bodies were being drawn little by little toward Dam Ho. It wasn't because of the wind blowing from behind. It was because of the terrifying attractive force emanating from Dam Ho's body.

They raised their internal energy to resist, but it was useless. Their bodies continued to be drawn toward Dam Ho.

They intuited it.

That if they were dragged like cattle to a slaughterhouse, there would be only death.

Gloom descended on their faces.

"What are the Martial Alliance warriors doing? Hurry and stop the Fist Demon."

Nam Cheon-san urgently gave orders. At this, the Martial Alliance martial artists all rushed toward Dam Ho.

"Stop!"

"How dare you try to harm the Martial Alliance's strategist."

That's when it happened.

Clang!

The Hainan Sect martial artists who had been keeping silent until now all drew their swords at once.

"No one can reach Great Hero Dam."

"Our Hainan Sect won't allow it."

Though they numbered only twenty, their sharp momentum was more than enough to overwhelm the heroes.

Hae So-wol was at their head.

Her appearance drawing her sword reminded one of the legendary Sword Empress.

The heroes recognized her.

"Why are you…?"

"Our Hainan Sect supports Great Hero Dam, the Fist Demon."

The words of Hae So-wol, a member of the Nine Martial Dragons, caused tremendous ripples. That not just Hae So-wol individually but the entire Hainan Sect supported Dam Ho was never something to be taken lightly.

"Has the Hainan Sect joined hands with the Fist Demon?"

"Hae Jung-hwa has betrayed the Central Plains."

But Hae So-wol and the Hainan Sect alone were insufficient to turn the tide. When several people incited them, the heroes stirred again.

That's when it happened.

Bang!

"Gack!"

Someone who had been hiding among the heroes and inciting them suddenly collapsed with a scream. And someone mysteriously appeared where he had fallen.

People's gazes gathered on the appearance of the young martial artist with his hands behind his back.

"Cho, it's Great Hero Cho."

"Drunken Cloud Dragon?"

The heroes recognized the young martial artist's identity and murmured.

He was precisely Drunken Cloud Dragon Cho Yeon-woon.

Beside him was the boy Bang Jin-bo, who still hadn't lost his childish features.

Tears glistened in Bang Jin-bo's eyes as he looked at Dam Ho.

"Brother!"

Though Dam Ho didn't even glance at him, it didn't matter. The mere fact that he had met him again made Bang Jin-bo emotional.

A martial artist near Cho Yeon-woon asked.

"Great Hero Cho, don't tell me you're also taking the Fist Demon's side?"

Everyone's gazes focused on Cho Yeon-woon.

Though it would be burdensome, Cho Yeon-woon's answer was simple.

"Of course."

"How can this be!"

"Disappointing, Great Hero Cho. Why would a martial artist from a prestigious sect like you take the side of such a demon?"

The heroes' criticism poured toward Cho Yeon-woon.

At that moment, Cho Yeon-woon silently loosened his upper garment. Then his upper body covered with scars was revealed to all under heaven.

"Mmm!"

"Ah!"

At that terrible sight, people unconsciously let out groans.

Cho Yeon-woon went ahead and rolled up one leg of his pants. Then a metal prosthetic leg showed itself.

At this, people were at a loss for words.

Cho Yeon-woon's scars spoke of his and the Hundred Battles Sect's history.

Three years ago, the Hundred Battles Sect fought against the Demon Cult to the last person. At that time, Cho Yeon-woon's leg was also mercilessly severed, and he nearly died. The righteousness Cho Yeon-woon had shown then made countless people's hearts race, and it still remained a legend in the martial world. And among the people here, there was no one who didn't know of Cho Yeon-woon's legend.

The last survivor of the Hundred Battles Sect.

At that moment, Cho Yeon-woon took out and unfurled a large flag.

Flutter!

The moment they saw the massive flag full of countless tears and worn marks, people all held their breath.

Though it was damaged beyond recognition of its original form, people recognized the flag's identity.

"Ah!"

"The… Hundred Battles Victory Flag?"

The moment they saw the symbol of the Hundred Battles Sect that the martial world's heroes had presented, many people collapsed on the spot.

Though the Hundred Battles Victory Flag had changed like a rag, that appearance rather gave unknown emotion to many people.

Bang!

Instantly Cho Yeon-woon planted the Hundred Battles Victory Flag in the ground.

"The Fist Demon is my friend. Whatever he does, I believe in him."

Roar!

His lion's roar echoed through the mountain gate.

To show blind faith in someone.

To show such faith by staking everything wasn't easy at all.

Cho Yeon-woon was staking the Hundred Battles Victory Flag and shouting that he believed in Dam Ho.

—Because he's my only friend.

His shout penetrated people's hearts.

The heroes who had been about to rush at Dam Ho hesitated.

When the situation became like this, the one flustered was Nam Cheon-san, the Martial Alliance leader. The fact that the Martial Alliance's martial artists wouldn't listen to him and had stopped, overwhelmed by Cho Yeon-woon's spirit, felt like a lie.

It wasn't only Nam Cheon-san who was flustered by the unexpected situation. Shaolin Temple's Abbot Gwang-cheon was also at a loss for what to do for a moment.

The one who stepped forward then was precisely Discipline Hall Leader Gwang-mun.

"Senior brother, we mustn't be swayed by that person's words. We must first subdue the Fist Demon and question him for causing this disturbance."

Even at that moment, the martial artists blocking Dam Ho's front were being drawn toward Dam Ho. Their faces were deathly pale without a trace of color.

All the Discipline Hall warrior monks could be called Gwang-mun's disciples. Faced with his disciples' crisis, Gwang-mun lost not only his composure but even his reason.

It was when Gwang-mun was about to urge Gwang-cheon again, who couldn't easily make a decision.

"Amitabha! Grand-uncle!"

Suddenly a young monk interjected.

"So-cheon?"

"Why are you here?"

The young monk was precisely So-cheon, Shaolin's hope. Unexpected words came from his mouth.

"Great Hero Dam must have a reason for acting like this. I hope you'll watch for just a moment."

"Hmm!"

"How can even you…?"

So-cheon wasn't just any disciple.

He was Shaolin's hope and a promising talent likely to be the next abbot. This was why his statement had to carry special weight.

Gwang-cheon asked.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. I believe in Benefactor Cho."

"Hmm!"

So-cheon believed in Cho Yeon-woon.

Was it that bonds form through fighting? So-cheon was like that. Having fought Cho Yeon-woon with all his heart and strength, he could know what kind of person he was.

What Cho Yeon-woon had shown him was sincerity. The one such a Cho Yeon-woon staked everything to believe in was Dam Ho. Then he too should show faith in him, this was So-cheon's thinking.

When So-cheon came out like this, Gwang-mun was completely silenced.

Only then did Gwang-cheon make his decision.

"All Shaolin disciples, do not participate in this matter and withdraw."

"Amitabha!"

At his lion's roar, the monks saluted and all withdrew.

At that moment, the terrifying attractive force that had been drawing the Discipline Hall warrior monks disappeared without a trace. The Discipline Hall warrior monks who regained their freedom hurriedly retreated. Their backs were soaked with cold sweat.

Even as Dam Ho passed by them, they could take no action. They had expressions as if they had awakened from a nightmare.

"This cannot be!"

Namgung Chang's face, having instantly lost his supporters, was wretchedly distorted. Those remaining by his side were only a few martial artists dispatched from the Namgung family.

Their martial prowess was very powerful, so he had thought them reliable in normal times. But at this moment, they felt too pathetic.

Like reeds swept by a storm, they were trembling.

Dam Ho had already approached close to Namgung Chang.

His pressure and killing intent were binding Namgung Chang tightly.

"What did I do wrong that you're doing this, Fist Demon?"

"Are you asking because you don't know?"

"I truly don't understand. All I've done my entire life is dedicate myself to the martial world and the Martial Alliance. Even if I made small mistakes in the process, they weren't big enough to deserve such persecution."

Bloodshot veins appeared in Namgung Chang's eyes.

He was clear with himself. He believed so. That's why he could be so confident.

Namgung Chang glared at Dam Ho as if to devour him. If eyes could kill, Dam Ho would have been torn into thousands of pieces by his gaze already.

Even at that moment, Namgung Chang was confident he could resolve the tangled situation with his eloquent rhetoric.

Maintaining composure in any situation was a strategist's basic principle, and Namgung Chang prided himself on being an excellent strategist. However, his pride was completely shattered the next moment.

Bang!

"Gack!"

Extreme pain he had never experienced in his life was felt in his abdomen. In his bulging eyes, he saw Dam Ho's fist embedded in his stomach.

"You'll remember from now on."

The moment Dam Ho's indifferent voice reached his ears, the hem of Namgung Chang's pants was getting damp.

Namgung Geol shouted.

“Get away!”

Whose cry was that directed at?

Yuk Ha-seon, who had gracefully climbed over the second floor railing onto the corridor, suddenly turned her head to look down below the railing.

Im Yi-eon was fighting with Vajra monk Gong-hon, whose face was completely scraped and dripping blood, while An Ryeong was fighting Ham-geun again. And Namgung Geol and Vajra monk Gong-do were looking up at her.

Why?

Before she could feel puzzled, her legs went cold. Goosebumps rose from her legs up her spine to her neck.

“Huh?”

A questioning exclamation came from Yuk Ha-seon’s mouth. She didn’t know why, but if she felt an ominous feeling, she had to move immediately to survive.

Yuk Ha-seon immediately tried to stomp and leap, but her foot wouldn’t lift. It was as if someone below was pulling her foot down.

Yuk Ha-seon bit her lips and concentrated maximum internal energy on her feet. But instead of using internal energy to lift her foot, she concentrated internal energy using Thousand Pound Drop technique. Then she expelled maximum internal energy from the Yongquan acupoint on her right foot. It was internal energy powerful enough to shatter a house-sized boulder.

But the internal energy Yuk Ha-seon expelled couldn’t go downward. It hit an irresistible force and surged upward in the opposite direction.

Thump!

A cylindrical column made of blood, flesh, and wooden planks shot up before Yuk Ha-seon’s eyes.

“Ah…!”

Below Yuk Ha-seon’s right thigh was invisible. The fluttering silk gauze was also cut off from the severed thigh.

Yuk Ha-seon unconsciously looked up.

A crushed mass was tangled with silk and stuck to the ceiling beams of the second floor pavilion, dripping blood.

The identity of the mass was the wooden planks that had been on the second floor corridor and the blood and flesh that had composed her leg.

Following the dripping blood drops, Yuk Ha-seon’s gaze went down.

Below where her right foot had been standing was a round hole, and below that she could see the appearance of diminutive Mu-gak with his entire body twisted in a bizarre shape. Mu-gak was pointing his trembling finger upward and falling downward.

Vajra monk Gong-do had thrown Mu-gak upward so Mu-gak could attack from below the second floor corridor.

Yuk Ha-seon’s face, which had been dazed for a moment, contorted with pain then filled with rage when she saw Mu-gak.

“Die!”

Yuk Ha-seon raised her hands to strike with both palms toward the hole below.

Vajra monk Gong-do moved to catch Mu-gak.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Namgung Geol made Gong-do shrink back by shooting sword steel at him, while Jin Ja-gang stabbed Gong-do’s instep with his folding sickle. Though Gong-do pulled his foot out sensing danger without seeing Jin Ja-gang, Jin Ja-gang continuously followed and stabbed with both folding sickles.

Pop pop pop! Holes kept forming in the floor.

Even because of the sword steel flying from behind, Gong-do could no longer retreat further.

Finally, the folding sickle pierced through Gong-do’s left instep and embedded in the floor. Gong-do jerked his head up. His eyes met Jin Ja-gang’s. Jin Ja-gang’s gaze was cold.

Conversely, Gong-do’s face turned bright red.

What did it mean to be injured by Poison Dragon Jin Ja-gang?

Gong-do sent internal energy to his left foot pierced by the folding sickle to prevent poison from spreading. At the same time, he spread his palm and swept upward diagonally from below to slap Jin Ja-gang’s cheek. This wasn’t a simple slap but external palm technique that would break the neck if it hit.

Shaolin Ear Slap!

Jin Ja-gang immediately released the folding sickle and rolled his body sideways.

Whooom! With tremendous wind pressure, the floor boards swayed. Gong-do’s palm missed Jin Ja-gang and struck a pillar supporting the second floor railing.

Crash! The middle of the pillar burst out and broke. The second floor railing made creaking sounds as it tilted. The young men who had been hiding below the railing ran away in surprise.

Meanwhile, Jin Ja-gang rolled on the floor and slashed Gong-do’s heel with the folding sickle. Indeed, the sharpness of the weapon made by Tang family weapon craftsman Beon-woo was tremendous. Jin Ja-gang could cut Gong-do’s heel tendon with almost no effort.

His left foot was fixed to the floor by the folding sickle pierce, and his right foot’s heel was cut. Gong-do could no longer stand and knelt on his right knee.

Namgung Geol quickly surveyed the kneeling Gong-do and the situation above. Yuk Ha-seon, who had become one-legged, was holding onto the railing to avoid falling as it shook and tilted severely. And Mu-gak was also waiting with his finger embedded in the wall.

His greatest weapon, his finger, was essentially sealed.

Namgung Geol immediately stepped on tilted Gong-do’s back and leaped up. Catching the defenseless Mu-gak took priority over Gong-do.

Gong-do pulled out the folding sickle and reached out to grab Namgung Geol, but Namgung Geol had already leaped toward Mu-gak.

Namgung Geol raised his sword upward.

Namgung Geol’s sword tip fluctuated. The blade vibrated tremendously, invisibly fast.

Flowing Water Thousand Changes.

It was Heaven Sky New Sword’s supreme technique.

Namgung Geol’s sword flowed like valley water. Even if a large boulder blocked it, it would flow around; even if a landslide blocked the waterway with earth and sand, it would seep deep underground and flow again.

Thus it would ultimately reach the sea.

No matter how Mu-gak interfered, this one sword technique would continue to the end and cut Mu-gak’s body in half.

The last remaining Arhat monk leaped up to block Namgung Geol flying toward Mu-gak. The Arhat monk with his palm cut in half gripped a massive cleaver with both hands and deployed blade techniques with all his might.

The incredibly hard massive cleaver shot out dozens of blade lights, creating a blade curtain in front of the Arhat monk.

Namgung Geol swept his sword down vertically.

Though Namgung Geol’s sword was falling vertically onto the warp and weft blade curtain, it passed through the blade curtain, the Arhat monk’s cleaver, and body as if receiving no hindrance at all. As if a formless shadow was passing through the Arhat monk’s body.

Slash.

The Arhat monk’s body split left and right.

Namgung Geol flew toward Mu-gak passing between the Arhat monk’s splitting body.

Hiss. Steam was already rising from Namgung Geol’s sword. The sword steel would end soon.

But one strike would suffice. No matter how powerful Mu-gak was, he couldn’t survive being hit by sword steel!

“Achieve enlightenment!”

Mu-gak seemed to recognize the power of Heaven Sky New Sword’s Flowing Water Thousand Changes and pulled his finger from the wall.

Then he brought his finger toward the falling sword steel. It was reckless behavior tantamount to offering his nape to a blade.

The sword steel and Mu-gak’s finger almost touched, but didn’t.

Namgung Geol’s sword tip was blocked and trembled.

And.

The steel energy began collapsing from the sword tip.

Light scattered, the mass crumbled, the blade was crushed, and the skin of Namgung Geol’s wrist, forearm, and elbow holding the sword handle was pushed away. Bones twisted, muscles pressed and swelled, then burst as if crushed.

A large cylinder pushed and flew through Namgung Geol’s right shoulder, chest, and abdomen all at once.

“Huh…!”

Namgung Geol fell with an expression of disbelief. Mu-gak fell with him.

Jin Ja-gang threw the folding sickle wrapped with Soul Seizing Thread’s white thread.

The folding sickle spun and flew toward Mu-gak. Vajra monk Gong-hon ran along the wall and kicked the folding sickle with his sole, embedding it in the wall. Then he pressed the white thread with his shin imbued with Golden Silk Iron Beads like riding a rope, using that elasticity to bounce up and do a somersault to land.

Jin Ja-gang spread his opposite hand toward the air, then gripped tightly and pulled.

Another invisible black thread was connected to the folding sickle. The black thread wrapped around and tightened Gong-hon’s leg. Though it couldn’t cut his shin blocked by Golden Silk Iron Beads, with his leg caught in mid-air, Gong-hon ended up slamming his head into the floor. Gong-hon desperately twisted his body to fall on his buttocks and kept his chest upward so Mu-gak wouldn’t be crushed.

From above, Yuk Ha-seon leaped down and struck Mu-gak with one palm.

Gong-hon wrapped around Mu-gak and blocked Yuk Ha-seon’s palm with his head.

Thud!

Gong-hon’s neck was incredibly thick and didn’t even shake from the impact. Yuk Ha-seon poured internal energy from her palm center using internal energy techniques. Yuk Ha-seon’s internal energy penetrated into Gong-hon’s head. Gong-hon’s brain was shaken as internal energy expanded inside his head.

Due to the pressure growing inside his head, blood vessels in his eyes burst and turned red, and nosebleed immediately flowed. Blood oozed all over his face that was gouged and tattered from wounds caused by Pressing Nail Blade fragments.

Gong-hon’s eyes began to blur from Joyful Love Maiden poison powder that was scattered together.

Mu-gak, held in Gong-hon’s arms, shouted.

“Gaal!”

Gong-hon’s pupil focus quickly returned.

Gong-hon immediately burst out a lion’s roar while expelling the internal energy that had seeped into his head to the outside for relief.

“Kroaaang!”

Along with the lion’s roar, blood sprayed in all directions from his face.

Yuk Ha-seon was pushed by the lion’s roar’s wave all the way to the wall. Since her entire thigh below had flown away, blood poured endlessly.

“Ugh…”

Yuk Ha-seon couldn’t regain her senses and her consciousness blurred from rapid blood loss.

Gong-do pressed the floor with his pierced instep that could still move and rushed toward Yuk Ha-seon almost crawling.

For the finishing blow.

Namgung Geol, whose right chest had flown away, grabbed Gong-do’s ankle with his left hand. Namgung Geol was almost dragged along by Gong-do. Gong-do lay on his back on the floor, raised his foot, then stomped down on Namgung Geol.

Splat! Gong-do’s heel sank deep, crushing Namgung Geol’s face.

Namgung Geol’s body twitched and trembled, then stiffened and gradually became rigid. Still, his left hand held onto Gong-do’s pant leg to the end without letting go.

Gong-do changed to a prone position and shook his foot trying to shake off Namgung Geol. Another person’s legs appeared in front of him. Gong-do raised his head. Jin Ja-gang was looking down.

Jin Ja-gang’s lips seemed to contort, then a folding sickle dropped with a sharp piercing sound.

Gong-do received the folding sickle with Iron Head technique.

Clang!

A metallic sound rang out. Sparks flew as the folding sickle bounced off.

Gong-do raised his head and sneered as if it was nothing.

“You think that level can penetrate?”

With ordinary blades rather than sword steel, it was difficult to even make a mark. If no wound was made, poison wouldn’t work either. But if sword steel was raised, the poison applied to the blade would burn instead.

Therefore, no matter how powerful poison was, there were limits to causing poisoning using blades.

The reason it was difficult to use poison against the highest level masters. And the reason stealth was most emphasized in using poison.

Gong-do’s sneer contained such meaning.

But Jin Ja-gang replied flatly.

“Is that so?”

Then he struck down with the folding sickle again. Gong-do slightly lowered his head and received the folding sickle with the crown above his forehead.

Clang!

This time too, the folding sickle couldn’t wound Gong-do’s head. The Vajra monk’s Iron Head technique was the pinnacle of hard protective arts difficult to cut even with sword energy.

Gong-do raised his head to get up then quickly lowered it.

Clang!

Jin Ja-gang had swung the folding sickle again.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Gong-do could hardly raise his head. Jin Ja-gang kept striking Gong-do’s head. Though Iron Head technique covered from crown to forehead, the facial area below wasn’t reached by Iron Head technique. That’s why Gong-hon had been greatly injured in the face by Pressing Nail Blade.

Therefore, even though Jin Ja-gang was madly swinging the sickle without it working, Gong-do had difficulty raising his head for fear his face would be struck.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Jin Ja-gang continued swinging the folding sickle regardless.

Gong-do’s head began shaking up and down little by little. The applied force was getting stronger. This was because Jin Ja-gang continued increasing internal energy from Jade Void Nine Light Five Thunder Toad Art to add more power.

Even if the sickle blade’s tip couldn’t penetrate the head, the shock continued accumulating. No matter how thick the neck, there was a limit to endurance. Gong-do continued being hit on the crown while even feeling slight dizziness.

“This bastard…”

Gong-do could no longer endure, gritted his teeth and reached out to grab Jin Ja-gang’s ankle.

At that moment.

Pop.

His head stung.

Gong-do flinched.

A thin stream of blood flowed from his crown.