Chapter 451 – Only Resentment Accumulates Layer Upon Layer (1)

A blood-red chunk of meat flew and tumbled at Won Hoe-sang's feet.

"Kuuuu!"

A sound like air escaping from a leather bag flowed from the meat chunk. Only then did Won Hoe-sang realize the meat chunk had been a human he knew.

"Ten Sword?"

Blood Moon Ten Swords, the man occupying the very last position among them was precisely Ten Sword.

Though the lowest seat, his skill wasn't inferior to First Sword. A supreme martial artist who could receive lavish treatment at any sect in the martial world was precisely Ten Sword. The fact such a martial artist had become a meat chunk rolling on the ground looked like a lie.

Won Hoe-sang's gaze turned toward where Ten Sword had come from.

An ordinary inn no different from anywhere else. One of many inns filling this street. An shabby place he ordinarily wouldn't have glanced at, but Won Hoe-sang couldn't take his eyes off the inn.

'What is it?'

Something was inside there.

The being that instantly crushed one of the Blood Moon Ten Swords.

Though Ten Sword crushed like a meat chunk had stopped breathing, Won Hoe-sang couldn't even glance at him. Because all his nerves and senses were directed at the inn.

"Guild Master."

The Blood Moon Ten Swords gathered around him.

Their gazes were also directed at the inn Won Hoe-sang was looking at. The moment they saw the inn's gaping wall, their expressions hardened.

Though not midwinter, chills suddenly were felt. Fingertips tingled, spines chilled. Bewildered light appeared in their eyes at the intense sense of crisis felt for the first time since uniting under the name Blood Moon Ten Swords.

Ordinarily they would have entered through the hole in the wall without hesitation. But right now their feet wouldn't lift from the ground at all. As if their feet and the ground were glued together.

"What?"

"Kuk!"

Their faces contorted.

Tsuuuu!

A nauseating stench seemed to flow from inside the gaping hole. Like a huge beast breathing roughly.

They couldn't even guess how many lives it had devoured to exhale such a nauseating breath. They were overwhelmed by an unknown being whose face they hadn't even seen.

"Who are you?"

At that moment Won Hoe-sang spat out a voice filled with killing intent.

He was a merchant.

Instinctively recognizing that being pushed further by the unseen being's momentum would make the situation irreversible, he raised his voice first. His voice awakened the temporarily intimidated Blood Moon Ten Swords.

The Blood Moon Ten Swords briefly looked at each other's faces. Having been together so long, they understood each other's thoughts just by eye contact.

Fourth Sword and Fifth Sword walked toward the inn's hole shoulder to shoulder. They were the most quick-witted among the Blood Moon Ten Swords. Even if threats lurked inside, they could sufficiently protect their own bodies.

They believed those two could sufficiently reveal the identity of whoever was inside.

The Blood Moon Ten Swords watched Fourth Sword and Fifth Sword's backs while prepared to leap inside if necessary. While they watched, Fourth Sword and Fifth Sword's forms completely disappeared.

Gulp!

That was the moment someone swallowed dry saliva.

Kwaduk!

Creepy bone-crushing sounds echoed from inside.

"What?"

"Fourth Sword, Fifth Sword. Answer!"

The Blood Moon Ten Swords outside called to those who entered, but no answer came.

"……"

Silence briefly arrived.

That was when both the Blood Moon Ten Swords and Won Hoe-sang hesitated momentarily, uncertain how to react.

Seuruk!

Suddenly a strange sound flowed from inside the inn.

That sound like something dragging on the floor strangely grated on Won Hoe-sang and the Blood Moon Ten Swords' nerves. It hurt as if scraping nerves with a small hook.

Kung!

That was when a strange vibration was felt.

Instantly Won Hoe-sang and the Blood Moon Ten Swords felt their hearts sink.

Suddenly a fragment of martial world legend came to mind.

If you hear the sound of feet dragging on the ground, run unconditionally in the opposite direction. For it is the sound of the Fist Demon bringing death.

"Surely not?"

"The Fist… Demon?"

Then he revealed himself from the darkness.

A man with black hair wearing black robes. The moment they saw deep pupils visible through disheveled hair, they realized the opponent was the being they'd suspected.

He was precisely Dam Ho.

Behind him Bang Jin-bo and Gi San-wol and others were visible, but Won Hoe-sang and others couldn't spare attention for them. Because Dam Ho held all their attention and senses.

From the moment Dam Ho revealed himself, they couldn't move. They were overwhelmed by the lingering aura flowing from the human called Dam Ho.

They weren't even curious what happened to Fourth Sword and Fifth Sword who entered the inn. Because it was obvious.

Won Hoe-sang glared at Dam Ho with wide eyes.

"How are you here? Surely you planned this ambush too?"

The situation was exquisite enough for Dam Ho to be suspected. But Dam Ho didn't bother making excuses.

Won Hoe-sang bit his lip hard and looked at the Blood Moon Ten Swords guarding him.

The Blood Moon Ten Swords who'd prided themselves on reaching the martial world's highest level. Massive elixirs and numerous secret manuals went to them. The gold consumed that way reached millions of taels.

The Blood Moon Ten Swords were masters he'd raised with gold. Seeing such masters showing intimidated appearances facing Dam Ho alone enraged him. But he pressed down his anger and continued with a calm expression.

"Fist Demon. I propose a deal."

"……"

"I'll give you all the gold Divine Flower Merchant Guild possesses. So discard your hostility and come under me."

"……"

"Women, wealth, elixirs, secret manuals, just say it. I'll obtain it even spending hundreds of millions of taels. If you join hands with me, you'll become several times stronger than now."

It was a sweet whisper like a devil's temptation.

Divine Flower Merchant Guild possessed the world's greatest wealth. Won Hoe-sang was Divine Flower Merchant Guild's owner, and he had the power to make his boasting reality.

Until now not a single person had rejected his proposals.

Though some might have rejected at first, no one existed who rejected the second time. Because he proposed several times the initial amount.

That no business could withstand overwhelming supply was Won Hoe-sang's belief. That's how he'd grown Divine Flower Merchant Guild and was showing results.

Won Hoe-sang looked at Dam Ho with anxious eyes. Usually most people wavered at the first proposal. But Dam Ho's eyes looking at him contained not a fragment of emotion.

Cold as ice and deep as darkness, seeing his gaze Won Hoe-sang realized his proposal hadn't worked at all. And that whatever proposal he made, he could never shake Dam Ho's heart.

"Kill… him!"

Instantly a voice filled with killing intent poured from his mouth and the Blood Moon Ten Swords moved. Though intimidated by Dam Ho, the Blood Moon Ten Swords were martial artists approaching the martial world's highest level. The martial arts they learned also held positions at the current martial world's peak.

Shwishwishwik!

The swords they wielded sharply cut through air aiming for Dam Ho's throat.

The formation attack seven people deployed was surprisingly intricate yet sharp. Like watching a formation attack textbook, their movements had not a single unnecessary part. But that was all.

Dam Ho felt no sense of crisis from their attacks.

Training according to secret manuals certainly could make one strong. Adding elixirs would also speed up strengthening. These were those who'd grown strong that way.

Martial artists like flowers grown delicately in stable environments. Though they could be great threats to ordinary martial artists or mediocre ones, they couldn't give any sense of crisis to martial artists who tempered themselves on battlefields like Dam Ho.

Kuuuuu!

Tremendous gravitational force occurred around Dam Ho's body pulling everything in.

"Kuk! What is this?"

"What's happening?"

Due to the tremendous gravitational interference, the sword paths they deployed changed randomly. If they'd had a bit more experience, they would have responded with quick wit, but unfortunately they didn't have much practical experience relative to their terrifying aliases or martial prowess. So they panicked when their familiar sword paths changed. And that divided their life and death.

Kwaang!

A tremendous explosion occurred.

Dam Ho had deployed Shattering Star Punch. The aftermath was truly tremendous.

Thud thud thud!

Flesh pieces flew in all directions, blood spray scattered. Bone fragments stained with blood shot out like projectiles.

"Kwaaa!"

"Kuk!"

Martial artists fighting nearby were struck by disaster. Because the shattered flesh pieces and bone fragments became terrifying weapons embedding in their bodies.

All that carnage occurred from one Shattering Star Punch.

Though he pulverized seven swordsmen in an instant, Dam Ho's movements didn't stop. His body spun like a top with his left foot as axis. Then he saw Won Hoe-sang charging from behind.

Red energy was materialized in his hands. Hand Force.

From when he lost fighting spirit, the Blood Moon Ten Swords were merely bait, and the true attack was Won Hoe-sang's role.

Though he'd now retired from the front lines focusing only on leading Divine Flower Merchant Guild, he too was a martial artist who learned martial arts. To a supreme level at that.

Asura Shadowless Hand.

A secret hand technique sleeping in the Demon Cult's archives. In pure destructive power alone, it was supreme martial arts ranking in the top ten of the Demon Cult's hand techniques. Won Hoe-sang had mastered Asura Shadowless Hand.

Though he couldn't be confident of victory in direct confrontation with Dam Ho, he thought the advantage would tilt toward him in a surprise attack. That's why he sacrificed the Blood Moon Ten Swords and attacked by surprise.

When Dam Ho detected Won Hoe-sang's surprise attack, the force made by Asura Shadowless Hand was right before striking his chest.

"It's over."

Won Hoe-sang's eyes flickered.

No matter how much the Fist Demon, he couldn't be fine after hand force struck his chest.

He trembled at the ecstasy of catching with his own hands the Fist Demon all under heaven feared.

Uuuuung!

Then suddenly Dam Ho's body trembled and his form looked blurry. Right after, Won Hoe-sang's hand force struck Dam Ho's chest.

"……"

Instantly Won Hoe-sang's eyes widened. If he'd struck the chest with hand force, there should have been sensation in his hand, but strangely it felt empty.

That was when Won Hoe-sang unconsciously raised his head to look at Dam Ho.

Jjaeng!

Suddenly with a dizzy shock his head flew backward. His nose was crushed bleeding, and focus disappeared from his eyes.

Won Hoe-sang staggered.

He couldn't understand. His hand force clearly struck Dam Ho's chest, yet why he himself received the shock and his mind grew faint.

Right before the hand force struck, Dam Ho deployed a shield offsetting most of the shock. If Won Hoe-sang's level had been higher, or if he'd experienced much actual combat, the moment Dam Ho deployed the shield he would have prepared the next move.

He too was a martial artist who raised his level with secret manuals and elixirs like the Blood Moon Ten Swords. Actually directly fighting was his first time in decades. So he couldn't judge coolly.

Dam Ho who'd blown away Won Hoe-sang's mind and body with Piercing Yang Strike charged terrifyingly. He deployed Charging Step.

Even in dizzy consciousness Won Hoe-sang crossed both arms protecting his upper body. To block Shattering Star Punch, Dam Ho's famous ultimate technique known to the martial world.

Kwaaa!

That moment Dam Ho's right foot shot out like lightning exploding at his abdomen.

"Kuuuu!"

A bizarre groan flowed from Won Hoe-sang's mouth. Because of the terrible pain felt in his abdomen.

After briefly trembling, he lowered his head to look at his abdomen. Then he saw Dam Ho's right leg piercing through his abdomen. The leg was penetrating his abdomen like a spear.

Charging Kick, Solitary Path's unique leg technique.

Combined with Charging Step to display maximum power, Charging Kick boasted lethal power like a rhino's horn.

"This can't… be!"

Won Hoe-sang reached out trying to grab Dam Ho. But strength left his hands, unable to extend further.

His eyes blurred and everything in the world looked hazy.

Dam Ho was at the center.

"Evil… spirit like……"

Tears flowed from Won Hoe-sang's eyes.

It was too unfair to die like this.

He'd struggled so much in his youth building today's world's greatest merchant guild, diligently supporting the Demon Cult creating today's situation.

Now the Demon Cult's world had opened, yet thinking only he must die like this, he couldn't bear the unfairness. Most of all, his daughter left alone in the world weighed on him.

"I will curse you. Even in death you……"

Peoseok!

Instantly Won Hoe-sang's head shattered.

The headless body flailed and collapsed, revealing Dam Ho's indifferent form.

"Gulp!"

The sound of someone swallowing dry saliva echoed across the battlefield.

The Toad Art, so powerful it destroys one’s own body.

The Five Thunder Piercing Heaven Technique, drawing power at the cost of destruction.

Qingcheng Sect’s Venerable Woo-am and the Zoroastrian Cult’s Enlightened Master combined only the strengths of these two supreme divine techniques to newly create the Jade Void Nine Light Five Thunder Toad Art.

The Jade Void Nine Light Five Thunder Toad Art builds dikes at the vital points of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians to store massive internal energy and control its flow. Therefore, as the number of dikes increases, the internal energy that can be used increases accordingly, making one proportionally stronger.

Yelu Huan, who had been the Enlightened Master, finally completed the Jade Void Nine Light Five Thunder Toad Art while confined for a long time in the Guizhou branch of the Martial Arts Alliance.

Nine dikes, the Ninth Light Dike.

Being able to use internal energy to the limit that a human body can endure, there would be almost none in the current generation who could match him in destructive power.

Needless to say, it would be absolutely reckless to face him with the power of the Eighth Light Dike.

However, Jin Ja-gang had one more weapon.

Asura Blood!

The essence of poison, with countless extreme poisons and deadly toxins infused into his blood.

Added to that was even King of Hell Tang Qing’s Extinction Essence, one of the Tang family’s three great fatal poisons.

Now Jin Ja-gang’s Asura Blood had become an absolute poison that even the greatest masters couldn’t endure.

Behold the sight of blood gushing from Jin Ja-gang’s entire body, scattering like mist and creating a poison fog! If one were to inhale that, even Yelu Huan would have difficulty enduring for long.

But Yelu Huan didn’t greatly fear Jin Ja-gang’s Asura Blood.

Yelu Huan had experienced Jin Ja-gang’s poison once before. Back then, he had suffered considerably from the poison energy released in a confined space.

However, this was a wide estate with plenty of places to avoid. As long as he was careful about contact with his skin and inhalation, it wouldn’t be fatal.

With such a vast difference in martial arts cultivation, no matter how strong the poison was, it would be difficult to harm Yelu Huan!

Whoosh!

Yelu Huan tilted his head back to dodge the poison palm flying toward his face. The missed palm force exploded behind Yelu Huan, creating a blood spray.

Hisssss…

The blood spray that became poison mist didn’t dissipate but remained in place, forming a poison zone.

Yelu Huan kicked Jin Ja-gang’s side.

Crack!

The sound of impact and ribs breaking came simultaneously.

Blood poured more severely from Jin Ja-gang’s side where a hole had been pierced. Yelu Huan chased after the retreating Jin Ja-gang, leaping up and kicking consecutively. Jin Ja-gang twisted his body and raised both arms to block.

Thud thud thud thwack!

Jin Ja-gang was sent flying nearly three or four zhang, blood splattering in all directions. The splattered blood created blood sprays and raised poison mist. Poison mist formed in various places. Yelu Huan spun in mid-air, gathered his strength, then extended both palms forward.

He pushed the poison mist aside and palm force poured out. Jin Ja-gang touched the ground and somersaulted sideways to dodge.

Crash! Yelu Huan’s double palm crushed the ground and created a huge pit large enough for a person to enter.

Yelu Huan’s hands didn’t stop as he struck dozens of palm shadows.

Countless palm forces fell from above like hail. Holes were pockmarked in the debris of the collapsed roof. Whether roof tiles or bricks, they were instantly crushed.

Jin Ja-gang repeatedly stepped back while drawing and throwing poison needles with Heaven and Earth Eight Trigrams. However, the poison needles were also dented and bounced away when hit by the ceaselessly pouring palm force.

But then.

Flash!

Yelu Huan saw a single glittering point among the radiance of the palm force. A single point that emerged between the palm forces rapidly approached. Yelu Huan extended his hand before his face. A poison needle was caught between his fingers. In the midst of that, Jin Ja-gang had thrown one more poison needle between the palm forces using Flash Severance.

No, not just one. Yelu Huan used Thousand Catty Drop to fall straight to the ground.

Ping!

A poison needle that flew in a large arc from the left side grazed over his head. It was a poison needle that had circled from afar in a semicircle using the Flying Thread Twelve Branch technique.

If he had been careless thinking he’d blocked the needle that came with Flash Severance, the poison needle would have lodged in his ear hole.

Yelu Huan briefly stopped attacking and looked at Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang was setting his broken ribs by hand in the middle of the courtyard that had become a complete mess from Yelu Huan’s palm force.

“Truly a cunning fellow.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Didn’t you deliberately not block when you could have and set a trap?”

During the brief exchange, Jin Ja-gang had laid countless traps.

The second was spreading poison mist to induce him to use techniques employing palm force or finger wind rather than close combat.

The third was showing weakness by giving up his ribs.

The fourth was inducing a chain attack to counterattack with poison needles while pretending to fail.

The fifth was aiming with Flash Severance in that gap.

The sixth was calculating that Flash Severance would be blocked and attacking by circling poison needles from outside his field of vision using Flying Thread Twelve Branch.

And finally, the first trap was approaching right up close with confidence to set up all of this.

Acting confident then immediately suffering a setback in one move with broken ribs being knocked away, anyone would inevitably underestimate their opponent’s ability and become careless.

Bold.

He gave up his ribs in the first exchange when they didn’t know each other’s strength and gambled on the outcome.

“To use six stratagems in such a short time, I’ll praise you. But you failed.”

Yelu Huan slightly raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.

“Such shallow tricks don’t work on me.”

“Is that so?”

Jin Ja-gang didn’t seem to particularly care that the method he used by even giving up his ribs hadn’t worked.

“If cunning me failed, then you must be someone more cunning than me, old man.”

“Provocation is useless.”

Jin Ja-gang, who had set his ribs, looked at Yelu Huan and said.

“It’s not provocation but stating a fact.”

Yelu Huan smiled faintly.

“Sacrificing flesh to take bone… when it fails, the price is very high.”

Jin Ja-gang smiled along with him.

“I don’t think I failed though.”

“You’re being stubborn. Or are you throwing a tantrum?”

“Let me recommend one thing.”

Jin Ja-gang cut off Yelu Huan’s words and said.

“Do you remember the go move that Venerable Woo-am conveyed before, the one he waited forty years for?”

Yelu Huan looked at Jin Ja-gang for a moment, then asked back.

“Are you saying to spare you considering our past relationship?”

Jin Ja-gang bared his teeth and smiled.

“No. I said recommend, didn’t I? Throw down the stone. Forfeit. You know about that, don’t you?”

Yelu Huan laughed absurdly.

“Forfeit is when you give up because you can’t make any more moves when cornered! The one who should throw forfeit isn’t me but you.”

“Then I’ll go exactly the same as just now, so will you try blocking it?”

“What?”

“I’ll use the exact same technique as before, so if you think it won’t work, try blocking it.”

Yelu Huan’s brow furrowed.

“You’ve reached mastery in scratching people’s nerves…”

Jin Ja-gang didn’t listen to the end of Yelu Huan’s words. He launched a surprise attack aiming for the moment Yelu Huan was speaking.

He pointed his hand wrapped in poison mist sharply and stabbed at Yelu Huan’s solar plexus. Yelu Huan stopped his breathing and pushed away Jin Ja-gang’s hand with the back of his own. Jin Ja-gang bent his wrist and twisted his elbow to try catching Yelu Huan’s wrist.

He was thinking of attaching palms with Adhesive Connection Point Strike to try for a match with Grappling Technique. However, Yelu Huan didn’t easily allow it.

He lightly poked with his fingers at the palm and back of Jin Ja-gang’s approaching hand. That alone completely blocked Jin Ja-gang’s Grappling Technique. Each time he poked with his fingers to push away, Jin Ja-gang’s Grappling Technique flow was cut off.

Jin Ja-gang raised poison needles on his fingers with Heaven and Earth Eight Trigrams.

Whirrrr. The poison needles freely moved between Jin Ja-gang’s fingers, palm, and back of hand, threatening Yelu Huan’s hand.

From the moment he held poison needles in his hand, it was no longer Grappling Technique but short weapon technique. Yelu Huan turned his palm this way and that to dodge the poison needles, then bent his middle finger and flicked.

Tang! The poison needle flicked by Yelu Huan’s finger instead flew back and lodged deeply in Jin Ja-gang’s thigh. When Jin Ja-gang staggered and retreated, he struck his chest with his palm without mercy.

Bang!

Jin Ja-gang tumbled while spewing blood. Only then did Yelu Huan try to breathe again after stopping his breath.

At that moment, Jin Ja-gang threw poison needles even while falling and vomiting blood.

Yelu Huan swept his sleeve to brush away the poison needles with wind.

Flash. Behind the swept-away poison needles, one needle flew quickly with Flash Severance.

Really using the exact same technique again?

Yelu Huan repeatedly swept his sleeve to catch the poison needle. But there was one more poison needle flying behind with Flash Severance.

‘Is this all? Just the level of struggling!’

Yelu Huan swept his arm once more to block the second Flash Severance too. But when he caught the second Flash Severance, if Jin Ja-gang went with the same sequence, next a needle would fly toward the side of his head.

Because the second Flash Severance flew late, the time to prepare for the next poison needle flying in a semicircle was slightly reduced.

‘Next is from the side, right? Left? Right?’

No, this time it might be from the right.

Yelu Huan concentrated his internal energy to raise his hearing. So he could hear even the slightest wind sound.

In that instant, Yelu Huan saw Jin Ja-gang bringing his hand to his mouth.

Right now Yelu Huan had raised his hearing!

Yelu Huan suddenly realized.

Jin Ja-gang shot out a Frost Sound.

Skreeeee!

Yelu Huan hurriedly tilted his head back. Though it didn’t hit precisely so his eardrum wasn’t damaged, because his hearing was extremely heightened, Yelu Huan’s hearing was momentarily lost. Simultaneously, a poison needle that flew from the left with Flying Thread Twelve Branch lodged in his earlobe. The poison needle that flew from the right passed before his eyes.

Jin Ja-gang had also thrown two Flying Thread Twelve Branch needles so he would be hit whether he dodged forward or backward.

Yelu Huan immediately grabbed his left earlobe with his fingers and tore it off right there. He retreated to escape the poison mist’s sphere of influence and barely managed to breathe.

“This… brat… where did you learn such tricks…”

When he spoke, he couldn’t hear his own voice and his ears felt stuffed. Yelu Huan rapidly circulated his internal energy to urgently restore his hearing.

Jin Ja-gang smiled.

“Did I say the traps I set earlier were six times? Actually it’s seven times.”

“Not six but seven times?”

Whirrrr.

Poison needles all popped out between Jin Ja-gang’s fingers at once and spun round and round. His expression was calm. But his ribs were broken and his internal organs were shaken from being struck in the chest. His fingertips trembled finely and his arm seemed uncomfortable somewhere.

However, Yelu Huan found it difficult to easily believe what he saw with his eyes. He became suspicious for no reason. Even though he himself was the one who inflicted those two injuries.

Jin Ja-gang said.

“One more trick coming. This time also exactly the same as before. You said my technique was just a trick, so will you try blocking it this time too?”

“You brat!”

Those words confused Yelu Huan even more.

Jin Ja-gang had even declared he would use the exact same technique. If he didn’t face it head-on, his pride would be hurt. His dignity wouldn’t stand.

But even if his pride was hurt…

No, wait.

Yelu Huan realized something was strange.

What Jin Ja-gang just said was wrong.

‘When did I say Poison Dragon’s technique was just a trick?’

He didn’t think he had?

In that instant, Jin Ja-gang released all ten needles he held in his hand.