Chapter 505

Beom-bon had goosebumps all over his body, making his exposed upper body and arms bumpy.

He raised his eyes and gritted his teeth.

He couldn’t be pushed back like this.

Beom-bon shouted with a lion’s roar.

“Demon, begone! Do not disturb the seeker of the way with your cunning tongue!”

Profound internal energy shook the entire pavilion. Because of the already broken pillars, the three-story pavilion tilted dangerously.

Rustle, old dust poured from the ceiling and beams and dirt dust rose upward from underfoot. Like heat haze, the dirt dust from above and below tangled and slowly circled in a circle.

It was a strange phenomenon created by Beom-bon’s internal energy.

However, Beom-bon regretted it.

He couldn’t hide his voice trembling at the end of the lion’s roar.

He ended up revealing that he was anxious.

There was no way Jin Ja-gang didn’t notice.

Cold sweat formed on Beom-bon’s back.

Jin Ja-gang shouted decisively as if seeing through such thoughts of Beom-bon.

“Human life is difficult to obtain!”

At Jin Ja-gang’s words, Beom-bon’s face contorted.

“Human life is difficult to obtain” is a commonly used phrase in the world. When someone says, even jokingly, that the world is really hard to live in, it’s used in the tone of replying that life is originally difficult.

It originally comes from Buddhism’s “difficult to obtain birth as human, life too is difficult to obtain,” meaning it’s difficult to be born as a human and even more difficult to live.

And that is…

“The Truth of Suffering…”

Beom-bon muttered.

The reason sentient beings’ lives are continuous suffering is because of birth, aging, sickness, and death. They suffer because of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and suffer because they cannot escape since birth, aging, sickness, and death are yokes everyone must experience if human.

Because of this, sentient beings’ lives are suffering itself, so paradoxically, knowing suffering represents one’s own existence.

What Buddha realized through asceticism under the bodhi tree, that the real world is a world of suffering.

That is the Truth of Suffering.

Suddenly Jin Ja-gang asked.

“Have you heard of the game called Path to Buddhahood?”

Path to Buddhahood?

Beom-bon knew what Jin Ja-gang was trying to say but didn’t answer.

Jin Ja-gang explained.

“The game board of Path to Buddhahood has various worlds, including paradise and hell. If you throw the dice well and pass through those paths to meet Buddha, you achieve Buddhahood and win.”

It was a story Mu-gak had told Jin Ja-gang.

“However, if you can’t enter the space of great enlightenment to meet Buddha, the player must wander forever on the path connected by six types of reincarnation: hungry ghost realm, animal realm, human realm, heavenly realm, asura realm, and hell realm.”

Jin Ja-gang looked straight into Beom-bon’s eyes.

“If the path to Buddhahood is such difficult and painful suffering even in a mere game, how arrogant and foolish is your thought to easily guide sentient beings?”

Jin Ja-gang rebuked Beom-bon.

“You who lure sentient beings with the sweet bait of gold are the demon!”

A strange scene was unfolding where Jin Ja-gang, not a Buddhist, was preaching to a great monk of Buddhism.

Beom-bon shouted in anger.

“Shut up!”

Beom-bon rushed at Jin Ja-gang. Beom-bon’s body split in two but was shaking severely. That meant he had lost his composure!

“Woooooh!”

Beom-bon shouted with a yell of spirit and flew to thrust his painful foot at Jin Ja-gang. Attacking with the painful foot on purpose was as if saying “This level of pain is nothing to me!”

However, already paying attention to it itself was showing wavering.

Jin Ja-gang didn’t dodge this time either.

Instead he exploded One Inch Force on Beom-bon’s big toe with his thumb.

Snap! Jin Ja-gang’s thumb broke. Jin Ja-gang bounced from his arm and tumbled backward, and Beom-bon’s foot bounced backward making him fall forward and kneel.

Beom-bon tried to immediately stand up and chase Jin Ja-gang. However, the moment he took a step, a scream leaked from Beom-bon’s mouth.

Crack.

The cracked big toe broke…

The big toe of Beom-bon who had Vajra Indestructible Body!

Sweat formed on Beom-bon’s forehead.

It hurts.

It hurts too much.

Such pain was for the first time in decades since childhood. The unfamiliar pain made his body shrink naturally.

Beom-bon couldn’t even stand properly and barely maintained his center while limping. Every time the broken big toe touched the ground, pain surged to the top of his head and his tongue ached.

Shaolin Temple’s martial arts have the characteristic of drawing strength based on a stable lower body’s firm posture. There’s also such reason for frequently stepping with the true angle in each posture. Therefore, the introductory martial arts learned at the beginning are mostly composed to use the lower body a lot to build lower body strength.

But of all things, Beom-bon who is large-framed, heavy, and specializes in introductory martial arts became unable to properly step on the ground.

At least thirty percent.

Unable to properly display martial arts, his own abilities will sharply decrease by at least thirty percent or more. The damage is tremendous to an unbelievable degree from just one big toe.

Coincidence? No, not a coincidence.

This is entirely the result of Jin Ja-gang’s meticulous calculation.

Beom-bon ground his teeth fiercely to forget the fear creeping and surging.

Grind.

Beom-bon wiped his sweaty forehead and glared at Jin Ja-gang.

This time they both broke equally.

But Jin Ja-gang…

Jin Ja-gang stood up with his elbow on the ground then asked Beom-bon as if absurd.

“Why are you like that after kicking people with an injured foot, leaving the good leg alone?”

Beom-bon was speechless.

“That’s because you…!”

Beom-bon’s face turned red as he tried to make excuses without realizing.

“You… you!”

Jin Ja-gang rushed and kicked Beom-bon’s leg. Beom-bon, who tried to make his lower body heavy with Thousand Pound Weight and endure with Vajra Indestructible Body as usual, was startled by the pain in his big toe and withdrew his strength.

For masters, a brief gap in an important moment becomes an opportunity for the opponent. Jin Ja-gang accurately kicked the ankle of the flustered Beom-bon.

Smack! Since the ankle had been twisted once, Beom-bon limped and twisted it again. Jin Ja-gang followed and kicked the ankle again.

Smack! Smack!

Beom-bon tried to hide his foot by pulling back to avoid Jin Ja-gang.

Who would have thought that Beom-bon with Vajra Indestructible Body would struggle in pain from his foot?

When Beom-bon pulled back and hid his injured foot, Jin Ja-gang kicked the front leg. Beom-bon had no choice but to endure. It was better to take the hit with the good foot and endure instead.

Jin Ja-gang lifted his foot and stepped hard on Beom-bon’s instep like Beom-bon had done to An Ryeong.

Then he scraped Beom-bon’s chest with the broken end of the Ladle River Divine Sword.

Scrape! A long red diagonal line was drawn on Beom-bon’s chest.

It stung and burned.

While Beom-bon froze from the pain and hesitated, Jin Ja-gang continued scraping Beom-bon’s chest.

Scrape! Scrape! Skin peeled and blood began to flow.

Beom-bon shrank from the pain. Jin Ja-gang is bleeding much more from being scratched by tiger claws earlier. But why can’t he do anything with just skin being peeled?

Now he had to admit it.

Jin Ja-gang has experienced much pain and is accustomed to this kind of fight. The fact that he’s calm despite receiving greater injuries than himself proves that.

After acknowledging reality, only then did Jin Ja-gang’s actions begin to enter Beom-bon’s eyes.

Not avoiding his attacks and receiving damage together in mutual destruction is to make him fearful.

Since Jin Ja-gang’s damage is much more serious, exchanging damage is actually much more advantageous for Beom-bon himself.

Why was he afraid without knowing that!

Beom-bon raised his head fully while enduring the pain. Jin Ja-gang’s head, split and bleeding profusely, came into view.

Vajra Indestructible Body is breaking but Iron Head Technique still remains.

Beom-bon bent his waist completely and headbutted Jin Ja-gang’s head.

If Jin Ja-gang tries to exchange damage equally, Jin Ja-gang will die with his head burst!

Swish!

Jin Ja-gang didn’t counter Beom-bon’s Iron Head Technique but just dodged.

Beom-bon completely lost his center. Jin Ja-gang grabbed Beom-bon’s nape and slammed him to the floor.

Bang! Beom-bon fell forward. Jin Ja-gang rode on top of Beom-bon’s head and struck the back of Beom-bon’s head with his elbow.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The shock came even more than when striking with One Inch Force. Beom-bon was beaten senselessly with his head planted on the floor.

Beom-bon tried to raise his body by pressing the floor with both arms.

“Kraaah!”

In an instant, Jin Ja-gang stabbed Beom-bon’s back of the hand with the Ladle River Divine Sword.

Stab!

Finally the Ladle River Divine Sword pierced through the back of the hand and embedded to the floor.

Beom-bon’s body stiffened as if struck by lightning. He came to his senses and struck Jin Ja-gang with the opposite elbow. However, when Jin Ja-gang slightly dodged, it didn’t reach. Jin Ja-gang struck the back of Beom-bon’s head once more.

Bang!

Beom-bon barely raised his head then was slammed down again.

“Kerk…!”

Broken wood pieces began embedding in his face. Beom-bon couldn’t even open his eyes properly now. Every time his face was slammed to the floor, thorns stuck in his eyelids too.

Beom-bon waved the hand without the blade to try to grab Jin Ja-gang. Jin Ja-gang instead grabbed Beom-bon’s arm. Beom-bon forcibly threw Jin Ja-gang.

Even while being thrown, Jin Ja-gang embedded a needle under Beom-bon’s nail to the end. The needle dug in about an inch.

Tingle!

“…!”

Tremor.

Tremor of pain.

Extreme pain brought by Piercing Strand Flash Severance.

Beom-bon felt goosebumps all over his body and curled up tightly. All the hair on his body stood on end.

“Kraaaak!”

Both the hand with the needle and the hand with the blade trembled. His limbs didn’t obey from the tingling.

Beom-bon realized how cumbersome a body unaccustomed to pain was.

Watching the thrown Jin Ja-gang squirm, Beom-bon hoped Jin Ja-gang wouldn’t get up.

However, Jin Ja-gang stood up.

Several of his ten fingers broken, shoulder dislocated, chest torn and bleeding profusely, knee shattered.

Jin Ja-gang still stands up.

Now Beom-bon became afraid.

Of Jin Ja-gang.

“Ugh, ughhh!”

Moans continuously leaked from Beom-bon’s mouth.

Jin Ja-gang said to Beom-bon who was still lying face down unable to get up.

“I’ll tell you how to escape from that position.”

Beom-bon didn’t want to hear but his ears perked up.

“Pull out the blade from the pierced back of the hand, pull out the needle from under the nail. Cut off the broken toe. Then stand up. The pain will be worse but you can move freely.”

Listening to Jin Ja-gang’s words alone, isn’t it the simplest thing in the world!

Beom-bon didn’t know why he didn’t think of that and kept taking hits.

Jin Ja-gang gave the answer.

“You’ve lived without paying a price until now, so you don’t know how to pay a price.”

Little by little, venom entered Beom-bon’s eyes.

“How do you know what kind of person this humble monk has lived as? Do you know how I lived and say such things?”

“Your track record of living, your current appearance is telling of your past.”

Beom-bon finally exploded.

“Kraaaah!”

He raised his body with the back of his hand still pierced by the blade. He stepped on the ground with his broken toe, stood up and roared.

“I! I did nothing wrong! My life wasn’t wrong!”

However, at that moment.

A nosebleed burst from Beom-bon’s nose.

Not an ordinary nosebleed but mixed with yellowish pus. Sticky bloody pus slowly flowed down his lips.

“Gurgle…”

Eyes also filled with blood and phlegm boiled in his lungs and throat.

Beom-bon’s eyes became murky.

Poison repellent.

The function of Vajra Indestructible Body that poison cannot invade.

Finally even that collapsed.