Chapter 349 – I'm Not Weak Enough to Be Manipulated (3)

The Tai Chi Sword was simple.

Drawing a large Tai Chi pattern in the air was the entirety of the technique. But within it contained all the mysteries of the Wudang Sect's swordsmanship.

Continuous and unbroken, endlessly connected…

When the heart moves, the body follows…

All under heaven in one's palm, soon having the world in the palm of one's hand.

Whoooosh!

Tremendous energy that seemed to crush all of Wudang Mountain surged toward Dam Ho.

"Ohh!"

"Su-such swordsmanship…"

The Wudang Sect Taoists cheered at the swordsmanship's majesty that dominated heaven and earth, while the heroes watched spellbound.

The Tai Chi Sword that Taoist Cheong-wol deployed was truly perfect.

At least it appeared so to the heroes' eyes. But not to Dam Ho.

Taoist Cheong-wol's Tai Chi Sword certainly possessed overwhelming majesty. But that was all.

The technique was upright like that deployed by a martial arts instructor, without the slightest disorder. It was merely martial arts properly learned under a good teacher's guidance in a training ground or practice room, containing no traces of any fierceness or contemplation.

Dam Ho launched his body toward Taoist Cheong-wol at the center of the Tai Chi.

At that moment, a massive tangible sword suddenly rose from the center of the Tai Chi. It was sword energy concentrating Taoist Cheong-wol's accumulated power.

The massive sword energy struck down at Dam Ho like a heavenly god's sword.

Hum!

At that moment, Dam Ho's body trembled minutely.

It was the Shield, a unique defensive internal energy technique of the Solitary Path style.

Added to the Shield was the mystery of the Golden Scarab, created by imitating a beetle's round body.

Immediately after, the sword energy and Dam Ho's body collided.

Clang!

People saw Dam Ho's body split vertically in half. The massive sword energy struck the earth with force enough to bisect Dam Ho's body.

Crack!

A huge crack formed in the bluestone-paved training ground floor, and the entire area shook as if an earthquake had occurred. It was truly terrifying power.

But the expression of Taoist Cheong-wol, who had deployed the sword energy, wasn't very good. Though he didn't know how it appeared to others, he who deployed the sword knew.

That his confident sword strike had missed.

He had certainly deployed his swordsmanship orthodoxly. But the moment it struck Dam Ho's body, minute trembling and curves caused the striking point to become subtly disordered. As a result, his sword energy glanced diagonally past Dam Ho and struck the earth directly.

'Deflecting sword energy? Such a technique…'

Taoist Cheong-wol's beard fluttered and his pupils shook. He hurriedly withdrew his sword and tried to deploy the Tai Chi Sword's defensive form.

Tai Chi was both the beginning and end of the Tai Chi Sword. The defensive form also started with drawing Tai Chi patterns.

Taoist Cheong-wol's body rotated gracefully, creating a Tai Chi pattern.

Clang!

"Kek!"

However, before he could even create half the Tai Chi pattern, Dam Ho's strike exploded on his sword.

It was a strike of the Single Yang Strike.

The Single Yang Strike didn't possess intense power like the Shattering Palm Strike or Single Shattering Wall. But the punch extending like a whip curved at mysterious angles, creating unpredictable trajectories.

Swish swish swish!

Dam Ho continuously launched Single Yang Strikes.

Taoist Cheong-wol's arms moved frantically. He didn't dare use powerful techniques and responded improvisationally. Because of this, his movements became greatly unstable.

Finally, Taoist Cheong-wol couldn't endure and retreated backward. He intended to retreat once, regulate his breathing, and seek another opportunity.

But as much as he retreated, Dam Ho approached.

The fist that had been lightly clenched to deploy Single Yang Strikes suddenly changed as if gripping a stone.

Triple Strike Cannon Shadow Fist, the Demon Cult's supreme technique obtained when imprisoned in the Heavenly Gold Demon Prison.

Boom boom boom!

Intense punches like firing cannons were deployed three times in succession.

"Gasp!"

Taoist Cheong-wol's body shook greatly.

The intense impact shook his interior. From the shock of his organs being stirred, he nearly dropped his sword.

'This can't be!'

Taoist Cheong-wol couldn't help but be shocked.

The martial arts Dam Ho deployed were all just fundamentals of the Solitary Path style. He hadn't even deployed techniques with truly great power. Yet he was gradually neutralizing Taoist Cheong-wol.

Like a cat playing with a mouse.

For Taoist Cheong-wol, it was an unbearably humiliating situation.

He never thought that he, the Wudang Sect's leader and supreme figure, would be so helplessly overwhelmed.

For Taoist Cheong-wol, it was a nightmare moment. And his nightmare wasn't over yet.

Bang!

Dam Ho's foot struck his side powerfully.

It was the Charging Kick, standing at the pinnacle of Solitary Path style leg techniques.

Though he hurriedly deployed protective energy to defend, the impact penetrated his entire body through his side.

"Krek!"

Taoist Cheong-wol coughed blood and retreated three zhang. His complexion was pallid.

In his shaking pupils, Dam Ho's figure charging forward with black hair flowing was reflected.

It seemed like a massive beast charging with huge fangs bared.

His hair stood on end and fear suddenly struck.

He had never experienced such a thing even once.

There were many, many swords to fight for him.

Nearby was Taoist Cheong-heo, Hubei's Greatest Sword, and far away were even the Wudang Sect's lay disciples. There was no situation where he would substantially need to draw his sword and fight. And if a situation arose where someone of the Wudang Sect leader's level needed to draw his sword and fight directly, it would only be when the Wudang Sect had completely fallen or was cornered.

And now Taoist Cheong-wol was extremely cornered.

Whoosh!

Suddenly the air changed.

The feeling that all the air had become needles pricking his skin, as if the entire world showed hostility toward him.

'It's coming.'

Goosebumps arose all over his body.

Taoist Cheong-wol bit his lips hard and tried to deploy the Tai Chi Sword's supreme technique, Tai Chi Fills the Universe. But his sword was blocked by Dam Ho's fist from the beginning.

Boom boom boom boom!

And a storm struck.

Six Harmonies Blood Mountains and Rivers, the Solitary Path style's finale that launched twenty-four consecutive strikes in a single breath, was deployed.

Strike by strike accumulated. And Taoist Cheong-wol's body collapsed.

Clang!

When the fifth punch exploded, the sword he held shattered like glass and scattered in all directions.

Bang!

With the sixth punch hitting his temple, Taoist Cheong-wol's head snapped back. The black pupils disappeared from his eyes, leaving only whites. His consciousness had flown from the intense impact.

His body was collapsing helplessly.

Though it would be reasonable to stop here, Dam Ho didn't easily let Taoist Cheong-wol fall. His seventh consecutive strike flew to sever Taoist Cheong-wol's breathing.

"Sect Leader!"

"Stop! You demon."

Unable to bear watching, the Wudang Sect's elders threw themselves forward.

Whatever the sect leader's will to fight honorably, they first had to save him.

Swish swish swish!

The swordsmanship of five Wudang Sect elders poured toward Dam Ho all at once. At that moment, fierce air currents arose and swirled around Dam Ho's body.

He had deployed the Violent Demon Energy.

Boom boom boom boom!

Fierce violent energy swept the area and exploded outward.

"Aaaaah!"

"Ugh!"

With screams, the elders who had attacked Dam Ho were flung away. The sight of the elders writhing on the ground covered in blood was utterly miserable.

"Elders!"

"Won't you stop?"

"Kill him!"

Seeing the sect leader followed by even the elders being defeated, the Wudang Sect disciples' eyes rolled back. They forgot their previous fear and all charged toward Dam Ho at once.

Seeing such Wudang Sect disciples, the heroes wore expressions of despair.

Just half a day before, they had gathered in orderly fashion under the banner of protecting martial world justice. Until then, they had been filled with hope that by joining forces, they could drive out the Demon Cult.

But the training ground had been transformed into a scene of carnage by Dam Ho alone. Nowhere here could hope or order be found.

It was a tragedy created by Dam Ho alone.

Despair and anger simultaneously arose in their hearts. It was the moment when defiance sprouted seeds in their hearts.

"Let's kill him."

"Fist Demon! You madman."

Countless heroes joined the Wudang Sect's actions.

An incalculably enormous number of martial artists surged forward like a tsunami. Dam Ho stood blankly watching this sight.

The hostility, desperation, and anger of countless people was vividly transmitted through the air to his skin.

The training ground had already transformed into a cauldron of chaos.

Suddenly the corners of Dam Ho's mouth curved upward.

Because Dam Ho rarely revealed human emotions, his smile felt all the more eerie.

It was the scene he had so desired.

The raw martial world honestly revealing its emotions.

Here existed no calculation or pretense.

The sight of martial artists staking everything on a single sword and burning their reason in anger was even majestic. But that didn't mean he had any intention of going easy.

Boom boom boom!

Again violent energy swirled around him. In that state, Dam Ho was about to launch his body toward the Wudang Sect Taoists and heroes.

That's when it happened.

"Everyone stop."

Whoosh!

With a shout that rang throughout Wudang Mountain, tremendous sword energy crossed between Dam Ho and the heroes.

"Gasp!"

"Mm!"

The movement of heroes surging like a tsunami toward Dam Ho stopped completely. It was because of the line that separated them from Dam Ho.

A long line crossing the training ground. The line continuing like a scar on the earth was enough to cool the heated hearts of the Wudang Sect Taoists and heroes.

"Everyone calm down."

Then an elderly Taoist with an immortal's bearing descended between them.

"Gr-Granduncle?"

"It's Taoist Cheong-heo."

People recognized him and murmured.

As they said, the elderly Taoist was precisely Taoist Cheong-heo, called Hubei's Greatest Sword.

He stood blocking between the heroes and Dam Ho with a bitter expression.

He could see the sect leader and elders fallen at Dam Ho's feet. Though he didn't like them, they were still senior brothers who had shared joys and sorrows with him for decades.

Seeing such people fallen after being defeated by Dam Ho made him inevitably uncomfortable. But he was more level-headed than anyone here.

He could clearly assess the situation and had the reason to make cool-headed judgments.

He spoke to Dam Ho.

"That's enough."

"……"

"Though shameless… this is a request. Please stop here."

Taoist Cheong-heo's voice naturally trembled.

He knew.

That Dam Ho's fighting spirit had not yet subsided.

That Fist Demon wearing black hair and black robes was a monster who endlessly desired struggle.

Fight, and fight again…

A monster who could only prove his existence value through struggle alone.

When on the same side, more reliable than anyone, but when an enemy, an existence that inevitably became a disaster.

Taoist Cheong-heo had realized this fact three years ago and had continuously warned the Wudang Sect. But the Wudang Sect leadership including Taoist Cheong-wol ignored his warnings, and as a result, they paid such an enormous price.

Taoist Cheong-heo shouted at the hesitating Wudang Sect disciples.

"What are you doing? Quickly attend to the sect leader and elders. Make them take healing pills."

"Yes? Yes!"

The Wudang Sect Taoists, whose minds snapped alert at Taoist Cheong-heo's roar, hurriedly supported Taoist Cheong-wol and others. The fighting spirit and madness that had dominated them just moments before had already disappeared.

Dam Ho's brow furrowed slightly.

In conclusion, Taoist Cheong-heo's appearance could prevent damage to the Wudang Sect and heroes. But it was distant from the situation Dam Ho desired. So he couldn't help being dissatisfied, but Dam Ho's interest had also disappeared.

"Come with me. There are people I definitely want to show you."

Taoist Cheong-heo extended his hand to such Dam Ho.

Before going down to the village, Woon-jeong did laundry in the river and hung his clothes on rocks.

Jin Ja-gang likewise washed his blood-stained clothes and hung them on nearby rocks.

Both came out to sit by the riverside, taking the opportunity to wash and dry themselves.

Woon-jeong glanced at Jin Ja-gang’s body sitting beside him and couldn’t hide his amazement.

Despite having fought countless fierce battles, Jin Ja-gang’s skin was incredibly smooth. From behind, he was so white and beautiful that one could believe he was a woman.

Woon-jeong sighed and said to Jin Ja-gang.

“I feel like I’ve had a really strange experience.”

Jin Ja-gang looked at Woon-jeong with peculiar eyes.

“…”

But fortunately, Woon-jeong’s words weren’t the strange story Jin Ja-gang had imagined.

“I thought Miss An Ryeong was a good person. I can’t forget her serious expression when she talked about heroism.”

“That’s what you meant?”

“Huh? Then what did you think I was talking about?”

“Nothing.”

Jin Ja-gang thought for a moment before answering.

“Sometimes there are those who commit evil acts yet believe what they’re doing is righteous. At least Miss An Ryeong was acting tough outwardly while feeling ashamed inside, so she’s better than them.”

“Then is Miss An Ryeong’s An family medical house on the side of bad people?”

Even Jin Ja-gang couldn’t readily answer that question. But he could share his thoughts if not the answer.

“When I was young, I heard many stories about the martial world. I thought the martial world had good and evil, and was accordingly divided into orthodox and unorthodox sects. But that wasn’t it.”

“When did you feel that?”

“When I saw with my own eyes that the one called the greatest hero of the martial world was scheming behind the scenes.”

Woon-jeong had heard this from Jin Ja-gang in passing before. So he nodded in understanding.

“But he was merely a villain. What I truly felt fear about was when I met the young lady from Zhuge family.”

“Zhuge family… that would be Brave Phoenix.”

“That young lady had already defined me as an enemy before we even met and came looking for me. Therefore, she didn’t hesitate to act recklessly in front of me. She didn’t even mind taking hostages.”

“That’s going too far. That can’t be called orthodox sect methods.”

“And she said that to prove my innocence, I had to go before the great hero and make my case.”

“Ugh, that great hero is the one you just mentioned and the mediator Baek Li-jung that Miss An Ryeong talked about earlier.”

“Correct. He’s clearly evil. But Miss Zhuge was unknowingly participating in evil acts as evil desired. At the time, Miss Zhuge seemed to firmly believe it was justice.”

“Ah. Oh dear…”

“But later I learned from a vassal warrior that she wasn’t actually believing it was justice, but had reasons why she had to believe it was justice even if it wasn’t.”

“What?”

“It was to succeed in the marriage proposal with the Baek Li family.”

“Ah… That’s sad.”

Woon-jeong scratched his head and pouted his lips.

“Whether she believed it was justice or wanted to believe it… either way is frightening. It means becoming devoted as if what you believe must be justice.”

“I think so too.”

Jin Ja-gang looked at the torn cloth piece Bang Muk had given him, repeating the characters ‘Shaanxi’ that An Ryeong had told him. There could be no other meaning.

Shaanxi was a regional designation referring to Shaanxi Province.

Woon-jeong looked at the cloth piece and used his brain to make his own deduction.

“Putting the stories together, it seemed like Physician Bell Healers and Miss An Ryeong knew what Poison Dragon was looking for. Poison Dragon was trying to confirm whether poison sects were collecting herbs related to epidemics, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Did An family medical house know why poison sects were doing such things? If they knew, they wouldn’t have said they didn’t know when or how it would start.”

Jin Ja-gang recalled when he had met King of Hell Tang Qing.

“I saw King of Hell directly. He wasn’t someone who would handle affairs so carelessly. I think An family medical house wouldn’t know the details either, but even if they did, they wouldn’t have told me. Because I didn’t accept their proposal.”

“Then the reason the deceased Bang Muk gave us this torn cloth…”

Woon-jeong thought with a serious expression.

“…”

“…”

“…”

After thinking motionlessly for a while, Woon-jeong suddenly said awkwardly.

“I’m not stupid, you know? But this… I can’t figure it out even after thinking. Hehe.”

Jin Ja-gang soaked the cloth piece in water to remove the blood and spread it on the ground, saying.

“It’s probably a merchant group’s flag.”

The cloth piece was shaped like a triangle torn in half. After removing the blood, small patterns embroidered with various colorful threads could be seen around the cloth edges. The cloth’s material itself looked good quality.

“You’re right… After removing the blood, it does look that way. Poison Dragon has never been to Shaanxi, so how do you know all these things?”

“I’ve seen such flags planted in merchant company or trading group caravan processions several times.”

“That’s so like Poison Dragon. You always observe your surroundings so meticulously.”

“It would have been good if we could have searched and investigated all of Grand Harmony Courtyard’s warehouses, but circumstances weren’t favorable this time.”

Woon-jeong, who had been admiring Jin Ja-gang, asked.

“Then… what will you do now? Will you go toward Shaanxi?”

Jin Ja-gang thought briefly before answering.

“Even if Shaanxi-area merchant groups are connected to poison sects, I can’t confirm to what extent they’re involved. If they only provided supplies, it would be futile effort.”

In just one month, the summer Tang Ha-ran had mentioned would arrive.

Seeing that there was still no news from Dan Ryeong-gyeong in Shandong, there must be no particular gains on that side either.

But it was also difficult to inform Yangtze River Sword Gate. Yangtze River Sword Sect might also be corrupted, and information could leak to poison sects.

Jin Ja-gang pondered all the clues so far.

‘How can I find out?’

Before long, seeing the clothes had dried, Woon-jeong picked up his Taoist robe and shook it out.

“They’re all dry. I roughly removed the blood stains too, so now let’s go to the village to eat something and rest.”

To obtain information, they had no choice but to move anyway.

“Let’s do that.”

* * *

“Hehehe!”

King of Hell Tang Qing laughed uproariously at the urgent news that had arrived.

When Tang Gui-ok went to the room Tang Qing had summoned her to, he was still laughing, with tears streaming from his small eyes.

Seeing Tang Gui-ok enter, Tang Qing threw the letter and laughed while holding his stomach.

“Hehe! Hehehehe! That guy’s really a talent, a talent. Every time he moves, he causes incidents that shake the martial world!”

Tang Gui-ok was startled seeing the first part of the letter, but soon calmly finished reading it and smiled warmly.

“Amazing. Our nephew-in-law.”

“Right? Right! I’m not laughing for nothing, am I? How can this happen every time he goes somewhere?”

The first line of the urgent letter was news that Shaolin Temple’s Breaking Sect had finally begun to act.

Tang Gui-ok also understood the significance of Breaking Sect leaving Shaolin Temple. That’s why she was surprised.

But the next news was even more surprising.

It was understandable that Breaking Sect’s warrior monks had swept away Grand Harmony Courtyard, Physician Bell Healers’ stronghold, but afterward all nine warrior monks had become corpses.

“Who did this? Surely our nephew-in-law didn’t eliminate them all?”

“There were collaborators, but they erased all traces. We have an idea who, but no evidence. It’ll be revealed soon but will take some time. Poison Dragon probably knows.”

Tang Qing continued.

“Actually, this move had very significant meaning for Shaolin Temple. It was the first step in proclaiming that Shaolin Temple had embarked on merciless righteous law practice toward the martial world, announcing to the world that Breaking Sect had emerged.”

“Especially attacking Physician Bell Healers, one of our Six Poison Cliques.”

“It was a symbolic warning that no one could escape righteous law practice. But the ones who came out died from the very start, so how embarrassing it must have been.”

Tang Gui-ok listened to the excited Tang Qing’s story and said.

“Brother likes that child too much, it’s problematic. I understand brother feels good because of our nephew-in-law, but Shaolin Temple won’t back down this much.”

“That’s right. Thinking of when they stepped forward to protect righteous law in the past, they ignored all side branches and stupidly smashed only the main body before passing through. No matter how much damage they suffered, no matter how the world evaluated and cursed them, they didn’t care at all. They would just silently do their job from start to finish once they began. That’s the frightening thing about Breaking Sect.”

“Moreover, brother, since Physician Bell Healers was hit, it’s not particularly good for us either, is it?”

“I know. That’s why I’m going to be in a very bad mood from now on. Though I planned to eliminate them later, it wasn’t time for them to disappear yet. Though they were hard to trust, with that position empty, one stronghold in Henan has disappeared. We need to create a new bypass stronghold.”

King of Hell Tang Qing frowned and remained motionless, leaning on the table for quite a while.

Lady Tang Gui-ok quietly drank tea while waiting for Tang Qing’s anger to subside.

Tang Qing stayed like that for nearly four-hours. Then suddenly Tang Qing picked up chess pieces placed beside the table.

“The current situation in the martial world is like this.”

Tang Qing grabbed a handful of thick wooden chess pieces and placed them on the table, saying.

“This is our Tang family.”

He grabbed another handful of chess pieces and stacked them carefully on top.

“And this is Indestructible Heavenly Sword’s Righteous Alliance and his followers.”

Tang Qing continued stacking chess pieces.

“This is Yangtze River Sword Sect, and this is Shandong Unorthodox Sects and other neutral factions. Roughly, the current situation is divided like this. But…”

Tang Qing picked up the container that had held the chess pieces.

“Shaolin Temple has entered the war.”

Tang Qing threw the container at the stacked chess pieces.

Crash.

The stacked chess pieces collapsed.

“In short, it’s become chaos. Now the era of Nine Provinces and Six Heavens is over. And whether it’s Baek Li-jung or Yangtze River Sword Sect, if they can’t surpass Shaolin Temple, they’ll all become dogs chasing chickens. No, they’d be fortunate if they don’t get completely destroyed.”

Tang Gui-ok, who had been watching quietly, said.

“But aren’t we already prepared to surpass Shaolin Temple?”

“Not yet. Shaolin Temple’s intervention was too fast. Starting from Henan, they’ll soon strike at the surrounding areas of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Huguang, and Anhui. Once rear safety is secured, they won’t care about trivial matters and will advance. The martial world will be devastated in an instant. No matter what we do, we’re one step behind.”

“We need time.”

Tang Qing shook his head vigorously.

“I’ve been watching the heavenly signs for several days recently. One month until the first raindrop falls, then half a month of rain period. We need to buy at least a month and a half more time.”

Tang Qing fell into deep contemplation again.

“But what method could stop those ignorant monks…”