Chapter 312

“Hmph.”

Beom-mong frowned and wrapped iron silk around his foot as well. The yellow leg guards wrapped around his calf puffed up and hardened.

At the same time, he stepped on the Mount Heng martial artist.

The thread wrapped around Beom-mong’s foot caused friction with the leg guards, creating tremendous sparks.

Crack crack crack crack!

Thanks to buying that brief moment, the Mount Heng martial artist twisted his body and avoided Beom-mong’s foot.

Thud!

“Hmm?”

Beom-mong looked at his foot, then suddenly raised his eyes and pulled back his left arm.

Crack crack!

The Soul Seizing Thread that was wrapping around his left arm caught on the sleeve with iron silk, causing sparks to fly.

The Soul Seizing Thread curved greatly and moved to Beom-mong’s right arm. Beom-mong pulled his kasaya to wrap his right shoulder. The Soul Seizing Thread that was wrapping around his shoulder got caught between the kasaya and shoulder.

Crack crack crack!

Violent sparks flew as the Soul Seizing Thread rippled greatly.

Slice!

In the midst of this, Beom-mong’s right ear flew off. Even the earlobe was cleanly cut off.

However, Beom-mong acted as if such an injury was nothing, ignoring it and tightly wrapping the Soul Seizing Thread with his kasaya. While doing so, he pulled his left arm back to use the Hundred Step Divine Fist.

Jin Ja-gang pulled the Soul Seizing Thread’s ring while rushing toward Beom-mong.

Beom-mong’s lips smiled broadly.

Whooom!

The internal energy of the Hundred Step Divine Fist rang from his left fist.

He was gathering internal energy trusting in the iron silk!

Hiss!

Sparks flew from Jin Ja-gang’s right palm.

Blazing Twin Scale Palm.

Blazing Twin Scale Palm exploded at Beom-mong’s side. Jin Ja-gang pulled the Soul Seizing Thread with his left hand while repeatedly striking with his right palm.

Bang! Boom!

Flames erupted and part of the monk’s robe burned. Holes were punched throughout the robe, creating sparks and scattering ash.

But Beom-mong received almost no damage. It seemed difficult to penetrate the robe and inflict damage before he deployed the Hundred Step Divine Fist.

The power of the Hundred Step Divine Fist reached within a hundred steps. Taking the Hundred Step Divine Fist right in front would be indescribably powerful.

When Jin Ja-gang showed signs of retreating, Beom-mong forcefully pulled his right hand wrapped with the Soul Seizing Thread to prevent Jin Ja-gang from withdrawing.

At that moment, Jin Ja-gang instead stuck even closer and struck Beom-mong’s head with his palm.

Hisssss!

A burning sound came as steam rose. Beom-mong’s face turned red. Blood vessels protruded from his head and tendons bulged from his jaw.

Beom-mong opened his lips and bared his gritted teeth. He was raising internal energy to his head for defense.

Though his flesh burning was painful, the internal energy of Blazing Twin Scale Palm couldn’t penetrate inside his head to cause fatal damage.

Following the Hundred Step Divine Fist and iron silk, even protective internal energy to the head.

It was internal energy that made one stick out their tongue in amazement.

Beom-mong’s left fist, with the Hundred Step Divine Fist’s internal energy gathered to the maximum, trembled madly. Fortunately, Jin Ja-gang was too close, so Beom-mong had no space to swing his arm.

Beom-mong’s body tilted slightly, then he rammed Jin Ja-gang’s jaw with his right shoulder. Though he had only moved an inch in maximum proximity, Jin Ja-gang felt momentum that made his body flinch.

Jin Ja-gang immediately turned his head.

Smack!

He was hit on the cheekbone instead of the jaw. His head rang as if struck by an iron lump. Iron silk was like a weapon in itself.

Beom-mong slightly raised his foot to step on Jin Ja-gang’s instep. Jin Ja-gang had his hand on his head and unintentionally sensed Beom-mong’s intention through Mind Connection.

Jin Ja-gang immediately pulled his foot away. Beom-mong continuously stepped while stabbing Jin Ja-gang’s solar plexus with his elbow. Jin Ja-gang had no choice but to remove his hand from his head and block.

Thud!

The elbow pushed away Jin Ja-gang’s forearm. Jin Ja-gang’s body floated and was pushed back. If pushed back more than one step, he would be hit by the Hundred Step Divine Fist.

Jin Ja-gang pulled the Soul Seizing Thread to stick to Beom-mong again while striking his waist upward with his knee.

Thung!

Getting caught on the iron silk, Jin Ja-gang’s knee hurt more instead. He couldn’t even give enough shock to divert attention. Jin Ja-gang drew poison needles from his right hand with Heaven and Earth Eight Defeats and stabbed Beom-mong’s head where red palm marks remained.

But even the needles had their tips bent or were deflected.

Namgung Won shouted.

“Be careful of Iron Head Technique!”

Beom-mong swirled his kasaya to pull the Soul Seizing Thread tighter himself while headbutting Jin Ja-gang’s forehead.

Crack.

Jin Ja-gang’s forehead split and blood flowed. When Jin Ja-gang staggered, Beom-mong reversed the wrapped kasaya to untangle the Soul Seizing Thread, pushed Jin Ja-gang with his foot, and tried to throw his left fist.

The Wudang and Mount Heng martial artists rushed in and hung onto Beom-mong’s fist.

“Ughhhh!”

The two young men turned red-faced from exertion and barely stopped Beom-mong’s arm by holding it.

“How persistent!”

Beom-mong had enough leisure to smile and speak even in this situation.

Jin Ja-gang was pushed back several steps, then wiped the blood flowing into his eyes while retrieving the Soul Seizing Thread.

But he didn’t flee and glared at Beom-mong from his position. He pointed his finger at Beom-mong.

Not only Namgung Won but also the Wudang and Mount Heng martial artists were flustered.

The Mount Heng martial artist shouted with a bright red face.

“Have you lost your mind!”

They had bought time for him to escape, yet he wasn’t escaping but persisting.

“May you achieve enlightenment!”

Beom-mong put more strength into his arm. The Wudang and Mount Heng martial artists were dragged along by Beom-mong’s arm.

“Kughhhh!”

The fist was gradually moving forward.

Yet Jin Ja-gang still didn’t flee and only glared at Beom-mong. As Jin Ja-gang concentrated internal energy, his hair began to rise backward.

Namgung Won shouted.

“Dodge! What are you trying to do!”

Beom-mong’s arm was almost fully extended. Tension reached its peak as Jin Ja-gang’s body gradually bent forward. It was an aggressive posture as if about to leap forward instead.

No matter how Namgung Won or the two martial artists looked, Jin Ja-gang didn’t seem to have a chance of winning. Though Jin Ja-gang fighting on equal terms with Beom-mong, one of the previous generation’s Twelve Vajras, even briefly was truly remarkable, the difference in internal energy depth and martial arts level was visibly apparent. Above all, if he couldn’t penetrate the iron silk and Iron Head Technique, he couldn’t damage Beom-mong.

But Beom-mong’s eyes, watching Jin Ja-gang, gradually narrowed. Then, the moment Jin Ja-gang’s lips slightly pursed, Beom-mong stepped with True Step technique and forcefully shook off the two people clinging to his left arm.

Crash!

“Wahhhh!”

“Kugh!”

The Wudang and Mount Heng martial artists were pushed away and tumbled. Beom-mong directly faced Jin Ja-gang’s eyes. His eyes flashed brilliantly. This was Dark Eyes, raising eyesight to the maximum to instantly blind the opponent’s eyes when they met.

Jin Ja-gang had already been caught by that Dark Eyes technique once before. He instantly closed one eye. The energy shot from Beom-mong’s eyes flew into his open eye, and his vision instantly went dark.

But Jin Ja-gang opened his closed eye to secure vision from one side.

Seeing this, Beom-mong frowned.

“Impressive. You instinctively know how to survive.”

No longer having the intention to fight, Beom-mong shook off the two clinging to his arms and leaped greatly backward to a hill several zhang away.

Beom-mong greatly swirled his left arm, which had concentrated the Hundred Step Divine Fist’s internal energy, to scatter the internal energy, then arranged his kasaya and clasped his hands together.

Blood flowed steadily from his severed ear, and distinct red burn marks remained on the tonsure of his bald head. But Beom-mong spoke in a voice as if it was nothing.

“Namo Amitabha Guanyin Bodhisattva. I withdraw today, but Poison Dragon benefactor, we will meet again soon.”

Jin Ja-gang took out a small tube from his mouth and said.

“That won’t happen. I don’t particularly want to promise a next time.”

“Are you telling this poor monk to beg for my life?”

Beom-mong chuckled.

“I understand. I’ll spare the three people at the gambling den. Will you let me go then?”

Jin Ja-gang looked at Beom-mong without answering. But he showed his intention by fitting the Soul Seizing Thread around his wrist and hiding it with his sleeve.

Beom-mong smiled quietly and looked at Namgung Won and the Wudang and Mount Heng martial artists.

“Tell them! I will definitely find them.”

Leaving those words, Beom-mong leaped onto a tree with movement techniques and disappeared like the wind.

The Wudang and Mount Heng martial artists sat down with dazed expressions.

“Great Master Beom-mong withdrew first?”

Namgung Won approached Jin Ja-gang while holding his twisted arm to his chest. Namgung Won spoke in an angry voice.

“Why didn’t you run away! We three almost buried our bones in this place trying to protect you alone. It’s only because Great Master Beom-mong withdrew first!”

“It seems he realized why I cut his ear.”

“What?”

The Wudang martial artist got up and asked.

“You deliberately cut his ear, not by accident?”

“Do you think Great Master Beom-mong would accidentally give up his ear?”

“Well…”

From the side, it might have looked like Jin Ja-gang randomly extended the Soul Seizing Thread and got lucky. But for that one move, Jin Ja-gang had changed the Soul Seizing Thread’s trajectory more than twenty times to confuse Beom-mong.

And finally cut off his ear. The Soul Seizing Thread was coated with poison. Beom-mong would have known this and blocked the meridians connecting to the severed ear area to prevent poison intrusion.

However, blocking meridians meant his own internal energy couldn’t move to the ear area either. He would be defenseless against external internal energy attacks, namely sound attacks.

To block sound attacks, he would need to release the meridians and raise internal energy to the ear area, but then the poison would spread.

From the moment his ear was cut, he was caught in a trap.

Jin Ja-gang had aimed for that point. He planned to disrupt Beom-mong’s center at once with sharp frost sound and settle the match.

But Beom-mong skillfully recognized Jin Ja-gang’s decisive move and immediately avoided it. He seemed to worry about Jin Ja-gang’s poison spreading if time was prolonged. If poison spread, the Wudang and Mount Heng martial artists, who were currently just bothersome, would also become threats.

The Mount Heng martial artist reset Namgung Won’s twisted arm and broken wrist to their original positions while splinting with a sword. Then he said to Jin Ja-gang.

“The plan has gone awry. We’ll contact you later. But now that our contact with you has been exposed, we might not be able to meet again.”

Jin Ja-gang looked toward where Beom-mong had disappeared and spoke.

“As expected.”

“As expected?”

Jin Ja-gang looked at the Mount Heng martial artist and asked.

“Who is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“The person I’m supposed to meet.”

The Mount Heng martial artist flinched, then stopped speaking and looked at Namgung Won. Namgung Won seemed to be the one with authority to answer here.

Jin Ja-gang turned his gaze to Namgung Won.

“Great Master Beom-mong was circling around me, looking for someone connected to Yangtze River Sword Gate through me. Who is the person Great Master Beom-mong is looking for, the person I’m supposed to meet?”

Namgung Won thought briefly and said.

“Great Master Beom-mong is an assassin.”

“Different from what one generally thinks of as an assassin.”

“That’s why it works.”

Namgung Won looked at Jin Ja-gang with admiring eyes.

“That’s why we were quite surprised. Seeing you exchange moves almost equally with Great Master Beom-mong.”

“I was lucky. Iron silk was too strong.”

The level of martial arts itself was different. Blazing Twin Scale Palm was among the Tang family’s advanced martial arts, yet couldn’t penetrate iron silk.

“It’s not for nothing that Shaolin Temple’s martial arts are called the best under heaven. Especially Shaolin Temple’s iron silk is called Golden Silk Iron Vermillion, considered the finest among iron silk.”

Jin Ja-gang nodded.

“I could feel it after facing him. That’s why I’m telling you this, perhaps there might be no ‘next time’ for me rather than your side.”

Beom-mong had taken a hit while not properly grasping Jin Ja-gang’s martial prowess. Next time, he would come for Jin Ja-gang more prepared than now.

After thinking briefly, Namgung Won made a decision.

“Understood.”

At Namgung Won’s words, the Wudang and Mount Heng martial artists tried to dissuade him.

“Brother Namgung!”

Namgung Won shook his head.

“If Shaolin Temple has already caught the scent, next time will be the same anyway. Now might actually be optimal.”

Namgung Won urged Jin Ja-gang.

“I’ll tell you in advance, his mouth is quite rough. Don’t lose your manners.”

“I’ll try.”

Namgung Won turned with a displeased expression.

“Follow me.”