Chapter 252

The Soul Seizing Thread completely passed through the warrior’s body and emerged.

The warrior stood with his eyes bulging out and mouth agape.

Several blood lines were drawn across his body. Blood seeped out from each line. Still-warm pieces of his body slid down and fell to the ground.

The warriors’ faces were filled with horror.

By then, Jin Ja-gang was already walking toward another warrior as his target. The warriors hesitated and stepped back.

Hae Mak blocked Jin Ja-gang’s path. Hae Mak’s expression was greatly contorted.

Jin Ja-gang’s method of killing was strangely horrific. From the perspective of those who wielded blades, losing an arm or leg wasn’t actually a big deal, yet Jin Ja-gang’s techniques looked particularly cruel.

This was because Jin Ja-gang put emotion into his hands.

Most masters don’t treat inferiors as human when killing them. They just kill indiscriminately. Since it’s bothersome, they use whatever method is most convenient for them. Sometimes they kill for fun.

But Jin Ja-gang was different.

He killed each person one by one with deliberate emotion. As if each one were his lifelong nemesis, as if his opponent were an evil enemy that both heaven and earth would rage against!

That’s why it felt terrifying.

From the victim’s perspective, it even felt unjust.

What did I do so terribly wrong to be treated like this and die!

How terrifying it is for a person to become the target of another person’s anger. Especially when it’s because of past events one barely remembers, having merely followed orders.

Therefore…

The faces of the warriors who had to die cruelly at Jin Ja-gang’s hands showed bewilderment along with the greatest sense of injustice.

However, Jin Ja-gang had seen such expressions many times before.

“Don’t think it’s unjust. Think of those who had to die even more unjustly because of you. You say it was just orders, but for them it would have been an unjust situation where their entire lives were completely destroyed.”

Jin Ja-gang’s eyes became even redder with bloodlust and his anger grew much thicker.

Not only did the warriors step back another few steps, but even Hae Mak felt chills throughout his body from the vicious killing intent.

Jin Ja-gang began hunting again. Hae Mak blocked Jin Ja-gang’s path. Hae Mak struck the approaching Jin Ja-gang with his iron abacus.

Whooom!

A heavy wind sound rang out.

Hae Mak’s signature weapon, the iron abacus, was made entirely of metal for both the frame and beads, weighing over fifty catties. Even without internal energy, being hit would break bones and burst flesh.

Jin Ja-gang twisted his waist to avoid the end of the abacus. Hae Mak quickly moved forward a few steps with quick steps, hooked his pinky finger on the end of the iron abacus and spun it. If Jin Ja-gang had charged after dodging once, he would have been hit for sure.

Clatter clatter!

The iron abacus spun and the abacus beads collided with each other, sparking and making a strange roar.

When Hae Mak switched from his pinky to his middle finger, the trajectory of the horizontally swinging iron abacus changed to rise diagonally. The iron abacus made one diagonal rotation and struck down at Jin Ja-gang from above.

Jin Ja-gang pushed against the ground with his front foot and slid backward.

Bang!

The dense marks of abacus beads remained exactly on the ground where the iron abacus struck. Hae Mak suddenly kicked the iron abacus stuck in the ground and leaped up.

Clatter clatter clatter!

The iron abacus spun wildly, scraping the ground as it flew toward Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang retreated backward then jumped up to avoid it. Hae Mak, who had already leaped into the air, tucked in his thumb and slightly bent his other four fingers as he stabbed at Jin Ja-gang.

This was a technique derived from practicing Golden Sand Palm, concentrating internal energy at the trained fingertips to stab. Learning this technique made the skin thick and cracked like old tree bark, hence the name Sharp Point Finger.

His fingers were hard enough to hook onto a spinning fifty-catty iron abacus because he had learned Golden Sand Palm and Sharp Point Finger.

Jin Ja-gang countered Hae Mak’s Sharp Point Finger with Golden Thread Hand. Golden Thread Hand was a technique that neutralized opponents by breaking finger and wrist joints or grabbing vital points.

However, Hae Mak’s fingers were much harder than Jin Ja-gang expected. He grabbed the fingers and tried to bend the joints in reverse, but the fingers didn’t budge.

Grabbing and twisting the wrist was the same. From fingers to forearms seemed to be one solid piece that wouldn’t move.

Jin Ja-gang looked into Hae Mak’s eyes. Hae Mak’s eyes were smiling.

Hands trained with Golden Sand Palm were immune to Golden Thread Hand!

Hae Mak stabbed without caring whether it was Jin Ja-gang’s hand or forearm. Every time Hae Mak’s fingertips touched, the shock reached down to the bone.

Jin Ja-gang flipped his wrist to block Hae Mak’s fingers with his Soul Seizing Thread ring.

Ting!

The ring rang and was pushed back, nearly breaking his wrist. Hae Mak continuously stabbed Jin Ja-gang’s left chest with his fingers. It was tremendous finger strength.

Hae Mak wasn’t someone without skill. No matter how good one’s political power, it was hard to survive in the Martial Alliance without ability. A branch leader was at least at the level of a medium sect’s leader.

Thud thud. Thud thud thud!

Four stabs penetrated like driving stakes. His ribs rang out. With internal energy contained, his energy channels tingled. Jin Ja-gang made his hand like a claw and struck Hae Mak’s forearm.

Drilling Dragon Claw that pierced holes in opponents’ bodies!

“Slow! Too slow!”

Hae Mak immediately withdrew his hand, so Jin Ja-gang’s fingers struck Hae Mak’s back of hand.

Drilling Dragon Claw couldn’t pierce Hae Mak’s back of hand. Instead, Jin Ja-gang’s fingernails broke.

Crack.

It felt like striking hard metal rather than human flesh.

Hae Mak kicked Jin Ja-gang and leaped over him.

Jin Ja-gang rolled on the ground and quickly got up. Looking at his chest, his clothes were torn and several round bruises had formed. Moreover, internal energy had penetrated, causing some internal injuries.

Drip.

Blood flowed from Jin Ja-gang’s mouth.

Meanwhile, Hae Mak had gone back to pick up his iron abacus.

Hae Mak brushed off Jin Ja-gang’s fingernail fragments from his back of hand. Not even a scratch mark remained.

“Did your fingernails have poison? But it’s useless. Golden Sand Palm involves training hands with medicines for over ten years. Even if I stuck my hand between rusty iron fragments, it wouldn’t get scratched, so do you think fingernails could pierce it? Poison needles won’t penetrate either.”

Jin Ja-gang had been almost one-sidedly beaten, but his killing intent hadn’t diminished at all. He wiped the blood from his mouth and said.

“Is that so?”

Hae Mak shook his iron abacus to provoke Jin Ja-gang.

Clatter clatter clatter.

“Hmph. A nobody borrowing the power of strange weapons and just running his mouth.”

Though brief, actually facing him directly, Poison Dragon’s footwork and lightness techniques didn’t seem particularly sophisticated. They were rough and slow.

Hae Mak relaxed somewhat.

“Your momentum seemed like you’d wage war against the Martial Alliance? A powerless nobody dares to oppose our Martial Alliance and talk about paying for past sins?”

Hae Mak emphasized the words “our” and “Martial Alliance.” It was clever rhetoric subtly shifting his responsibility to the Martial Alliance.

Jin Ja-gang said.

“The grandiose word ‘war’ doesn’t seem fitting. Right now I’m thinking of eliminating this Martial Alliance Guizhou branch first. So that powerless and weak people won’t come here trusting this place only to be sold off.”

“Powerless and weak people? Guizhou Medicine Sect? Even a passing dog would laugh.”

“No. I said powerless and weak people, not Guizhou Medicine Sect.”

“Isn’t that the same thing!”

Hae Mak was being unreasonable. Jin Ja-gang had already experienced such verbal tricks several times.

“Do you know what’s strange? You know what you did.”

“What are you saying?”

“So you deliberately misinterpret my words. Though you clearly understood, you pretend not to understand and play word games as if you have justification you don’t possess. Does that cover up or forgive your sins?”

“The one playing word games is you, not me!”

“Unfortunately, I’ve seen too many people like you. And do you know what happened to the people who said such things in front of me?”

Hae Mak looked somewhat incredulous, then laughed.

“You who couldn’t even touch my collar are incredibly arrogant. Fine, suppose I drove away the weak as you said.”

“Pulling out Soso’s tongue was probably your order too.”

“Yes. I did that too. So what? So how will a nobody like you punish me?”

Jin Ja-gang pointed upward with his finger.

“Heaven will.”

Hae Mak unconsciously glanced up, then squinted because the sun was bright.

This time Jin Ja-gang pointed at the ground again.

“Earth will.”

Finally he pointed at Hae Mak.

“And the vengeful spirits are watching you from behind.”

“Nonsense.”

“Now it’s time to kneel before them.”

Jin Ja-gang bared his canine teeth and ground them.

Grind grind!

Hae Mak suddenly felt an ominous feeling. Jin Ja-gang twisted his body and pulled his arm with all his strength. At that moment, Hae Mak felt searing pain in his right ankle as if burned by fire.

“Huh?”

Thud.

The Soul Seizing Thread had penetrated Hae Mak’s right ankle. His right foot was severed below the ankle and flew away.

“Ugh, ahhhhh!”

Hae Mak screamed then gritted his teeth and endured. Hae Mak’s face was instantly drenched in sweat. The pain was one thing, but he wondered when the Soul Seizing Thread had wrapped around his ankle.

‘When I kicked!’

But the Poison Dragon he had seen was slower than expected. That’s why he couldn’t properly block his Sharp Point Finger, wasn’t it?

‘No!’

Looking at Poison Dragon now charging toward him…

He was fast.

His movements were completely different from just before!

He had been deceived!

Jin Ja-gang had deliberately deceived him.

It was as if he was saying through actions, ‘This is what you did to the Medicine Sect too, right?’

Hae Mak used the iron abacus as a cane to support himself on the ground while extending Sharp Point Finger with one hand. Jin Ja-gang immediately grabbed Hae Mak’s forearm. He spun all three dikes to explode internal energy to the maximum. Hae Mak pulled his arm away while turning his body to strike Jin Ja-gang with the wide surface of the iron abacus. Jin Ja-gang blocked the iron abacus with his back. No, rather it was correct to say he struck the iron abacus with his back.

Thud!

The iron abacus struck Jin Ja-gang’s back. Jin Ja-gang endured it. Since Hae Mak was on one foot and too close, the weight wasn’t properly applied. The protruding parts in the middle of the abacus beads pierced Jin Ja-gang’s back skin, staining his back with blood spots, but that was all.

Hae Mak immediately dropped the iron abacus and stabbed at Jin Ja-gang’s eyes with his four Sharp Point Fingers. It was cowardly behavior for someone from the Orthodox Path, but Hae Mak didn’t care.

But!

Jin Ja-gang kept his eyes wide open and stabbed back at Hae Mak’s eyes!

Jin Ja-gang spread his index and ring fingers and rode Hae Mak’s nose bridge with his middle finger. Stabbing with only index and middle fingers could easily miss, and if the opponent turned their head slightly, fingers could break. However, if you set a guide with the middle finger, though slower, it would never miss. It was determination to definitely stab Hae Mak’s eyes.

Hae Mak was momentarily terrified. Jin Ja-gang would be stabbed first, but his own eyes could be blinded too. Moreover, Jin Ja-gang’s broken fingernail tips would certainly have poison on them! Jin Ja-gang would only be blinded, but he would die from poison entering through his eyes.

‘This crazy bastard!’

Hae Mak hesitated. He couldn’t make a losing exchange. He tilted his head back to avoid Jin Ja-gang’s fingers while changing direction to stab Jin Ja-gang’s nape. Jin Ja-gang grabbed Hae Mak’s hand and kicked his remaining leg.

Hae Mak’s body swayed and fell sideways. Jin Ja-gang caught Hae Mak’s other hand too. He turned around to put Hae Mak’s arms over his shoulders and bound his fingers and back of hands with Soul Seizing Thread.

“What!”

Hae Mak cried out urgently.

Jin Ja-gang pulled the Soul Seizing Thread tight with all his strength.

The fingers and back of hands trained with Golden Sand Palm were covered with calluses like old tree bark. Though the Soul Seizing Thread wrapped around, it didn’t properly penetrate.

Screech, screech screech.

The Soul Seizing Thread couldn’t dig in, making sounds like pottery being scraped. But Jin Ja-gang continued pulling the Soul Seizing Thread.

Jin Ja-gang gritted his teeth and pulled the rings with all his might.

“Ughhhhhh!”

Despite putting in tremendous internal energy, Jin Ja-gang’s arms were trembling!

The Soul Seizing Thread dug into the skin, gradually creating blood lines.

“Ughhh!”

Hae Mak kicked at Jin Ja-gang wildly with his one foot while struggling. Hae Mak shouted toward the warriors.

“What are you doing! What are you doing!”

The warriors hesitated then charged toward Jin Ja-gang.

Hae Mak’s arm over the shoulder bent and his body curved greatly. Hae Mak screamed in agony.

“Ahhhhh! Ahhhhhhh!”

The gradually penetrating Soul Seizing Thread finally broke through the thick skin and entered. Hae Mak’s eyes widened. His pupils contracted to the extreme.

Thud thud thud!

The fingers that had brought Hae Mak to this position through decades of training broke apart and floated in the air.