Chapter 201: The Master Weeps, the Disciple Unleashes His Cry (1)

When they first heard the sound, the people assumed they had heard it wrong. But it was no illusion.

Scrape! Boom!

The sound came again.

A rhythm of footsteps that unnaturally irritated the spirit.

One foot stamped hard upon the earth, while the other dragged across the ground. The sound burrowed into the eardrums of every person present.

So Cheonsan's pupils trembled slightly.

The footfalls were nothing remarkable, yet they were strangely unsettling. Still, So Cheonsan suppressed his discomfort and prepared to play his final melody.

Booom!

The instant he plucked the strings of his pipa, the footstep rang out with particular force. So Cheonsan flinched involuntarily.

Clang!

"Urgh!"

The taut string screamed and snapped.

So Cheonsan stared down at his pipa in disbelief. The strings had been woven from Thousand-Layer Thread, the toughest material under heaven. They were a treasure that should never have broken, no matter how many times he played.

That this treasure had shattered sent his spirits plummeting to the lowest depths.

"Who goes there?"

His eyes blazed with hostility as he searched for the source of those ominous footsteps.

In the distance, a man was walking toward them.

One foot stepped forward, the other dragged behind.

Anyone could see he was a cripple. And yet something about his bearing was wrong.

The air, which had burned so hot with the frenzy of battle, cooled to ice the moment he appeared. The battlefield, which had been consumed by madness, fell deathly still.

The warriors of the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Cult ceased their movements, unable to tear their gaze from the man. No—they could not.

The man's overwhelming presence compelled their attention.

Regardless of the level of their martial arts, all eyes turned upon him.

So Cheonsan, Deung Cheon-so, Sage Hyeon-geom, and Sage Hyeon-so as well…

"Oh!"

The moment Sage Hyeon-so saw the limping figure visible through the ruined wall, his pupils dilated wildly.

Disheveled black hair, a black wind cloak fluttering ominously in the breeze, and a left foot that dragged ever so slightly.

The face was too distant to make out, yet Sage Hyeon-so recognized him at once.

Sage Hyeon-so's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Ho… Ho-ya!"

He reached out his hand without thinking, toward Dam Ho in the distance. But Dam Ho was far beyond his grasp.

Sage Hyeon-so drew his outstretched hand to his chest and broke into sobs.

"Boo hoo! Ho-ya!"

Scalding tears streamed down his face and soaked his robes.

"Grandpa… Waaah!"

When Sage Hyeon-so began to weep, the young Ha-yeong burst into tears as well, not understanding why.

"Ah, really…"

Cho Yeon-woon, who had been desperately guarding Sage Hyeon-so's back until now, finally let out a sigh of relief. The end of that nightmarish pipa performance alone was enough for him to catch his breath. But he too could not take his eyes from Dam Ho.

It was as though Dam Ho had become the center of the world.

Even as every gaze in Shouzhou fixed upon him with that overwhelming presence, Dam Ho's expression did not so much as change.

As though searching for something, Dam Ho slowly surveyed his surroundings.

"Hieek!"

"Mmn!"

Those who met his eyes involuntarily flinched. But Dam Ho passed them by without a second glance.

His gaze, which wandered as though seeking someone, froze in an instant. It was the detached cottage. And through the gap in the ruined wall, a familiar face appeared.

It was too far away to discern any features, yet he recognized it at once.

'Master.'

Just as Sage Hyeon-so had recognized Dam Ho in a single glance, so too did Dam Ho know him instantly.

Their gazes entwined in midair.

'Have you been well? Ho-ya.'

'Master!'

Their eyes alone were enough to read each other's hearts.

Dam Ho took a step toward Sage Hyeon-so.

"Who are you?"

A sharp, ringing voice echoed beside Dam Ho's ear. So Cheonsan had appeared before him, blocking his path with a glare.

Dam Ho's brow twitched, but So Cheonsan paid it no heed and continued.

"Did I not ask? Reveal your identity at once."

"……"

"Aside from that, you are…"

So Cheonsan's voice rose higher. It was at that moment—

Tap!

Dam Ho suddenly launched himself from the ground. He had deployed the Charging Step.

Without a word or warning, Dam Ho hurtled forward like a battering ram. So Cheonsan was terrified.

"Madman!"

But he was one of the Seven Great Demon Masters, a supreme expert even among the Demonic Cult. In that desperate moment, he plucked the remaining strings of his pipa.

Twang!

A devastating sonic wave hurtled straight toward Dam Ho.

The skin on his face rippled like waves, and his robes flapped wildly. His chest was shaken and his meridians rattled, but Dam Ho's fierce gaze did not dim in the slightest.

Kwaaaang!

Dam Ho's Fortress Breaking Fist smashed through the wall of sound and slammed directly into So Cheonsan's torso.

"Mmn!"

So Cheonsan's body slid backward. A faint trace of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The pipa in his hand had shattered into pieces. He had blocked Dam Ho's attack with his pipa by a hair's breadth. But the crisis was far from over.

Whoosh!

Dam Ho's second and third strikes descended upon him like a storm.

So Cheonsan hastily drew a jade flute from his robes and swung it. A cloud of qi rose to envelop Dam Ho.

Kwaaaang!

With a thunderous boom, So Cheonsan's body lurched.

In that instant, Dam Ho burst through the dust and charged at So Cheonsan.

'He wasn't a cripple after all?'

Even in that critical moment, So Cheonsan harbored such a thought. Dam Ho's movements were so swift and fluid that they showed no trace of any disability.

Boom!

A short Single Strike landed upon So Cheonsan's body.

"Urk!"

So Cheonsan staggered and swung his jade flute. The flute was already sheathed in a fierce aura.

Though So Cheonsan was renowned as the master of sonic arts, he could easily manifest a blade of internal energy.

Smack!

The jade flute, charged with energy, struck Dam Ho's shoulder. In that instant, the Explosive Demon Energy erupted and scattered the qi.

"What?"

So Cheonsan, who had been certain this blow would inflict a fatal wound, was stunned. And Dam Ho did not let that brief moment slip by.

Grip!

Dam Ho seized So Cheonsan's collar, crossing his arms in an X. He was preparing to unleash the Heaven-Reach Strike.

So Cheonsan's body lifted into the air, his feet leaving the ground. In an instant, the breath was crushed from his lungs, and his face flushed red.

But as a supreme master, his response was dazzling.

Crack!

His jade flute hammered Dam Ho's torso three or four times in the space of a heartbeat. The impact forced Dam Ho's grip to release.

So Cheonsan, freed at last, hastily retreated and brought the jade flute to his lips.

He intended to play the Slaughter Heaven Demonic Sound.

If the Ten-Li Annihilation Sound was a wide-area sonic attack designed for mass slaughter, the Slaughter Heaven Demonic Sound was a one-on-one killing technique that concentrated all sonic power into a single point.

It concentrated the full force of the Ten-Li Annihilation Sound into a single point, making its power absolutely devastating.

'I only need to play it once.'

If he could unleash the Slaughter Heaven Demonic Sound, even if it did not kill Dam Ho, it would deal a crippling blow.

But Dam Ho did not give him that single chance. As though he had never been struck at all, Dam Ho's fist smashed into So Cheonsan's side.

Boom!

With a thunderous roar, So Cheonsan's body lurched. He had managed to block with his elbow, but the impact left his internal organs reeling.

Whoosh!

Dam Ho's leg lashed out like a whip.

So Cheonsan swung the jade flute to protect his body instead of playing it.

Crack!

The leg and the jade flute collided.

The jade flute, infused with So Cheonsan's internal energy, was harder and sharper than any divine weapon. He had infused every drop of his internal energy, determined to sever Dam Ho's leg in a single blow. But instead of breaking Dam Ho's leg, the hand gripping the jade flute was torn open, blood gushing forth.

'What manner of body is this solid?'

But before he could dwell on the question, Dam Ho's assault continued.

At So Cheonsan's very nose, the Single Strike Wall was deployed.

A shockwave radiated outward, striking So Cheonsan's eardrums.

Whirrr!

The sudden ringing caused So Cheonsan to momentarily lose his balance, his head spinning.

It was but a flicker of unsteadiness. But for Dam Ho, that was enough.

Smack!

The Single Strike struck So Cheonsan's temple. His mind, already in disarray, was thrown into utter chaos.

'The Slaughter Heaven Demonic Sound…'

Even then, So Cheonsan instinctively tried to play the flute. If only he could perform the Slaughter Heaven Demonic Sound, a single reversal was still possible.

In that instant, Dam Ho's palm pressed flat against his chest.

Whoooosh!

The Five Finger Rock Breaking Technique unleashed its full power.

So Cheonsan's chest caved inward in a spiral.

"Kuhuk!"

A terrible pain that resonated to the very marrow of his bones finally tore a scream from So Cheonsan. He had never felt such agony in all his life.

Dam Ho seized the staggering So Cheonsan by the collar. Though dazed, So Cheonsan realized Dam Ho was about to unleash the Heaven-Reach Strike once more.

"You bastard!"

There was no leisure to play the jade flute. So Cheonsan attempted to release all the internal energy in his body at once, deploying a protective aura.

Crack!

In that moment, Dam Ho twisted one of So Cheonsan's arms. The arm contorted like a pretzel, the bones shattering to fragments.

The broken bones pierced through the flesh and jutted grotesquely outward.

The pain beyond imagination scattered So Cheonsan's internal energy. His protective aura vanished without a trace.

Dam Ho once again seized So Cheonsan's collar in a viselike grip. And the Heaven-Reach Strike was unleashed.

Like a tree swept up in a typhoon, So Cheonsan's body soared into the air. His legs flailed for a moment before his body flipped and plummeted earthward like a thunderbolt.

Kwaaaaang!

A tremendous boom that shook the hearts of all present erupted as So Cheonsan's body was driven upside down into the ground. Dust rose, and the earth let out a cry of pain.

"……"

Silence descended upon the hall.

Friend and foe alike, every eye was wide with shock.

The impossible scene that had unfolded before their very eyes forced them into stunned silence.

So Cheonsan had been one of the Seven Great Demon Masters and a grandmaster of sonic arts.

A legendary wielder of sonic power whose single performance could annihilate all living things within ten li—he had not even managed a proper melody before his life was snuffed out at Dam Ho's hands.

Had he played the Slaughter Heaven Demonic Sound even once, the outcome might have been different.

But Dam Ho had not granted him that single opportunity, pressing forward like a storm to end his life.

They had seen it with their own eyes, yet the entire spectacle felt like a lie.

It was like a nightmare—utterly unreal—and it enforced their silence.

Despite the ferocious assault he had unleashed upon So Cheonsan, Dam Ho's breathing had not so much as quickened.

Behind him, So Cheonsan's body crumpled to the ground, but Dam Ho did not so much as turn his head as he moved forward.

Boom! Scrape! Boom! Scrape!

His footsteps sent shudders through the onlookers.

Dam Ho was heading toward Sage Hyeon-so. He spared not a glance for any other direction, his eyes fixed solely upon the old man.

That single-minded gaze filled the people with fear.

"How… how can such a person…"

"The Ten-Li Reaper couldn't even raise a hand…"

"The Demon Master of Despair has appeared…"

The warriors of the Demonic Cult began to retreat, stepping back in terror before turning and fleeing outright.

Like a receding tide, the Demonic Cult's forces withdrew, allowing the Murim Alliance warriors to breathe at last. But not a single person fully relaxed their guard.

They watched Dam Ho in breathless silence.

Dam Ho had arrived before the detached cottage.

"Master!"

When the mind is troubled, moving the body is the best solution.

It was the same when he had been trapped in dark mine shafts for eight years.

Buried under tens of thousands of pounds of stone, able to advance only half a span to one span per day. The helplessness of a ten-year-old lacking both physical strength and internal energy.

Twelve hours a day, loneliness and fear that found him in the darkness.

Dread about the future.

Jin Ja-gang had not been free from such emotions either. The stronger his vengeful spirit became from accumulated hatred, the more severe his fear grew.

However, if he kept repeatedly chiseling and moving, he could forget his fear, if only momentarily. That’s why he threw himself even more into the work of chiseling.

Now was no different.

He was someone who hadn’t properly learned martial arts.

His left side’s qi and blood were almost completely blocked.

Moreover, he was utterly alone, unable to receive assistance.

But his opponents were great martial families that coveted the entire martial world.

Could he, who had experienced only a part of the martial world, really face those who schemed for all under heaven?

No, could he even meet Tang Qing?

Could he hear the full truth about the Medicine Sect massacre from Tang Qing’s mouth?

How could he make them pay for their crimes!

Even after thinking thousands of times, tens of thousands of thoughts, no answer emerged.

His head ached terribly. It was complicated and frustrating. The questions without answers and hopeless situations made him sink into helplessness and defeat once again.

So he moved. He moves. He moves and moves, struggling to shake off his brooding thoughts.

In the pain caused by Mad Blood Heaven technique’s internal energy, distracting thoughts disappear; in the screaming muscles, fear vanishes; in the flowing blood, frustration is forgotten.

When the internal energy raised by Mad Blood Heaven technique rolled and rolled until he could no longer endure it, Jin Ja-gang shouted and slashed the rock in front of him with his sickle.

“Uaaaaah!”

Clang clang clang!

Sparks flew as the sickle’s blade scraped the rock. It gouged nearly an inch deep, leaving rough scratched marks.

Snap!

At the same time, the front part of the sickle’s blade broke off while embedded. This sickle was the third one that Woon-jeong had obtained from the village blacksmith. The handle twisted and the metal fixing the sickle loosened and rattled.

As Jin Ja-gang’s internal energy grew increasingly intense through the Jade Void Nine Light Five Thunder Toad Technique, the sickle couldn’t withstand it.

Jin Ja-gang spread his remaining internal energy through the meridians of his four limbs and hundred joints, calming his internal energy.

The internal energies that had been circulating through his right side hid in various parts of his meridians, bringing indescribable refreshment. While for others the lower dantian was where qi gathered, for Jin Ja-gang, his entire right side’s meridians served as his dantian.

“Huff. Huff.”

Jin Ja-gang knelt and gasped for breath. Blood flowed heavily from his face and body, dripping to the ground.

Drip, drip, drop.

At the rustling sound of someone approaching, he turned his head to see Soso placing clean white cloth and rice in the usual spot. Soso, meeting Jin Ja-gang’s eyes, nodded in greeting.

“Thank you, Soso. You don’t need to go to such trouble.”

Soso smiled as if it was fine. She no longer startled at seeing Jin Ja-gang covered in blood. Then she took back the cold rice she had brought earlier and returned.

Jin Ja-gang calmed his breathing and removed his blood-soaked clothes. Naked, he entered the stream to wash his clothes and body. Blood washed out abundantly into the stream water.

Then suddenly.

Jin Ja-gang stopped washing and looked to the side.

“What are you doing?”

Tang Ha-ran, who had come after Soso left, was staring blankly at Jin Ja-gang.

Tang Ha-ran wore a truly dumbstruck expression.

“How… could such a body…”

Jin Ja-gang’s skin, with the blood washed away, was white and smooth. It was transparent enough to appear somewhat pale. It was even more beautiful than a woman’s.

Though his body was lean, his shoulder muscles had developed from long periods of hammering and holding chisels, and his forearms had detailed, firm muscle definition. The intricate back muscles rarely seen and his straight waist.

Jin Ja-gang said.

“I need to come out now, so I’d appreciate it if you could turn your head.”

“Ah!”

Only then did Tang Ha-ran realize her mistake and turned her head.

Her cheeks flushed beyond redness to her earlobes. But Jin Ja-gang’s body kept flickering before her eyes. She covered her face with her hands, but it was so hot she wondered if she might have caught fire deviation.

Tang Ha-ran fidgeted with her fingers. Her gaze kept wanting to turn sideways. If possible, she wanted to steal glances using eye techniques.

Meanwhile, Jin Ja-gang wrung out his clothes, put them on his body, and came outside.

Tang Ha-ran pouted and spoke in a petulant tone.

“Do you have to give people such cold treatment? To someone who might die tomorrow?”

Jin Ja-gang asked indifferently.

“Is not receiving cold treatment your wish?”

Tang Ha-ran immediately retorted as if asking what that meant.

“No! How could that be!”

Jin Ja-gang stared at Tang Ha-ran. Tang Ha-ran’s face reddened again. Tang Ha-ran couldn’t bear to look directly at Jin Ja-gang and turned her head. Her face burned thinking of Jin Ja-gang’s body.

“Could you please not stare at people like that? That’s very rude behavior and…”

It wasn’t rude, but because she couldn’t look back at him herself. But Jin Ja-gang’s response was…

“Is that your wish?”

…that.

Tang Ha-ran, exasperated, shouted.

“How is that a wish! It’s just a request!”

She was so absurd that informal speech came out.

“I understand.”

Jin Ja-gang sat down, picked up chopsticks, and began eating. Tang Ha-ran sat beside him with a deflated feeling.

Though simple side dishes, while eating the warmly steaming rice, Jin Ja-gang said.

“If it’s uncomfortable, you can speak as you used to. There’s no need to be formal with me.”

“Those words… ultimately mean you can’t take responsibility for me… right?”

“I cannot take responsibility for you, young lady.”

“Why?”

Tang Ha-ran’s words became shorter.

“I haven’t even repaid all the debts to those who died before me. I don’t have the luxury to take responsibility for the living.”

“What if I die?”

Jin Ja-gang looked up to meet Tang Ha-ran’s eyes.

After thinking about something, Jin Ja-gang said casually.

“I would at least burn incense for you.”

“Ha.”

Deflated, Tang Ha-ran shook her head.

“I’m a fool for expecting anything.”

Jin Ja-gang ate his rice silently.

Tang Ha-ran said.

“Look here. Since you don’t seem to plan on taking me anyway, I’ll just speak comfortably.”

“I don’t know about taking you… but anyway, do as you’re comfortable.”

“Don’t keep leaving room for ambiguity like that!”

Tang Ha-ran glared at Jin Ja-gang with displeasure and continued.

“I was watching your training briefly – why do you abuse yourself like that?”

“You said you watched me training. It’s training.”

“But you’re Poison Dragon now. Training in that manner is reaching its limits.”

Jin Ja-gang chewed his rice while listening to Tang Ha-ran’s words.

“When physical abilities reach their peak, mental visualization training is more helpful than moving the body. Especially for internal energy, you should follow the Four Types of Rebirth cultivation method. The stronger your mental intention becomes, the faster and more powerful internal energy you can raise.”

Talk about internal energy was something that would interest Jin Ja-gang.

“What are the Four Types of Rebirth?”

Realizing that Jin Ja-gang was finally showing interest, Tang Ha-ran pouted and said.

“The Four Types of Rebirth originally comes from Buddhism, meaning Right Thought Rebirth, Chaotic Rebirth, Unconscious Rebirth, and Mental Intention Rebirth. Mental Intention Rebirth means that at the moment of death, when one cannot chant prayers aloud, one recites them in the heart. It means that transcendent mental intention has power strong enough to guide the dying to paradise.”

“With mental intention…”

“Masters who reach a certain level gain several times more effect from sitting still and training with mental visualization than from moving their bodies. Because human intention transcends time, even in an instant, eons of training are possible.”

“That’s still too difficult for me.”

“Will you give up just because of that? Mind arises from qi! When the mind arises, the body follows. Mental intention leads first and qi follows. That’s the direction you should pursue from now on. With training methods that only novices would use, you’ll never catch up to them.”

Tang Ha-ran stood up abruptly and went to the rock Jin Ja-gang had been cutting. The rock where the broken sickle’s front blade was embedded.

Tang Ha-ran raised her internal energy and grasped the sickle’s broken blade with her fingers. Despite being embedded and firmly stuck in the crevice, she pulled out the blade without much effort.

Then she placed the blade tip against the rock and drew forcefully.

Whoosh!

With a sound like tearing leather, a mark was carved incomparably cleaner than Jin Ja-gang’s trace. The depth was also gouged nearly half a span.

Next, Tang Ha-ran held the broken blade between her fingers, stretched out her hand, and threw the blade. The sickle’s broken blade flew, then suddenly disappeared mid-flight before reappearing as it severed a tree branch tip more than ten zhang away.

“Flash Severance. Our family’s hidden weapon technique.”

Jin Ja-gang’s expression darkened at the sight.

There was certainly a difference from his Flying Thread Twelve Branches technique.

If even Tang Ha-ran was like this, he couldn’t imagine how strong the remaining Tang family masters would be. Moreover, Jin Ja-gang had never properly encountered Tang family masters other than Tang Ha-ran.

‘Is that the only way after all?’

After thinking briefly, Jin Ja-gang said.

“I heard the Tang family estate is like villages clustered together to form one giant mansion.”

“That’s why our family’s inner compound is called the Tang Family Great Compound. It’s a place where those without permission can never set foot their entire lives. Among those in the outer compound, nine out of ten have never seen the inner compound. Of course, even if you sneak in, without guidance you’d quickly be trapped in a maze.”

“Those without permission…”

As Jin Ja-gang mulled over the words, Tang Ha-ran suddenly felt a strange sensation.

“You. Don’t tell me…”

Jin Ja-gang looked directly at Tang Ha-ran again.

Though he said nothing, she seemed to know what he was going to say.

“I’ll accept your proposal, young lady.”

Tang Ha-ran couldn’t say anything either.

This was what she wanted, but not like this!

This was too cowardly!

But those words didn’t come out and only circled in her mouth.

Tang Ha-ran suppressed her surging emotions and asked.

“You’re telling me… to betray my family? Does that seem reasonable?”

“Taking a descendant of the Medicine Sect as a son-in-law was unreasonable from the start.”

That was true. Tang Ha-ran also found it very strange. The Poison Sect attacked and destroyed the Medicine Sect. They were more than sworn enemies. Jin Ja-gang wasn’t a fool – he considered the Poison Sect his enemy, so would he volunteer to become a son-in-law?

No, why was Tang Ha-ran given orders to recruit Jin Ja-gang as a son-in-law in the first place?

Tang Ha-ran felt her pride wounded.

She had worked so hard for her family, yet in the end she was being used and discarded like this. Being consumed in this manner.

Tang Ha-ran looked at Jin Ja-gang with slightly reddened eyes.

“We might have to consummate the marriage. Can you hold me? Or for revenge, would any woman do?”

Jin Ja-gang looked at Tang Ha-ran quietly.

“I haven’t thought about it that way. But if necessary…”

Tang Ha-ran bit her lower lip hard.

“Do you know? How cruel those words you just said are?”

Tang Ha-ran struck Jin Ja-gang’s cheek forcefully.

But Jin Ja-gang raised his hand and blocked by placing the back of his hand against Tang Ha-ran’s wrist.

“What?”

Tang Ha-ran was angry.

Not even having the sense to let her slap him!

“At times like this, you should let me hit you!”

“I’m sorry. I felt killing intent, so I…”