Chapter 114

Chapter 114: It's Been a While Since We Met, But My Heart Isn't What It Used to Be (2)

Skid!

The Golden Demon Lion's body was sent sliding back more than ten zhang.

The golden mask was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, looking as though it might shatter at any moment.

Behind the mask, the Golden Demon Lion's expression had completely changed.

At the critical moment, he had deflected Dam Ho's attack. No—he thought he had.

But the power contained in Dam Ho's fist was truly terrifying, delivering an enormous impact to the golden mask that shielded his face.

His head was ringing, and a piercing tinnitus assaulted his eardrums.

This was the first time such a thing had happened.

Whoosh!

In that interval, Dam Ho's second and third strikes flew in succession.

Not a single word had been spoken.

There was no warning.

From the moment he identified an enemy, Dam Ho moved to annihilate the Golden Demon Lion.

The Fortress Breaking Fist was deployed.

Bam!

The Golden Demon Lion's body was helplessly driven backward.

He did not even dare deploy ki energy. To manifest ki, he would need to draw upon his internal energy.

For a master of his caliber, the time it took to draw a single breath would have sufficed. But Dam Ho did not even grant him that moment, pressing his assault relentlessly.

Whirr!

Dam Ho's leg descended from above, tracing a peculiar arc through the air.

It was the Bouncing Demon Kick.

Bam!

The Golden Demon Lion crossed his arms to block Dam Ho's attack.

"Kuh!"

One knee buckled, and his waist bent.

Dam Ho's body spun in place, and once again his leg lashed out like a whip.

It was the Blood Heaven Kick—the peerless technique of the Iron Blood Overlord Wu Gyeong-pae, who had dominated an era a hundred and twenty years ago with a single kicking style.

Bam!

The Golden Demon Lion's head snapped backward.

Fragments of the shattered golden mask scattered in every direction. It was only because he had barely managed to turn his head that he avoided having his skull caved in.

His disheveled hair covered his face.

And upon the Golden Demon Lion, Dam Ho's foot descended once more.

It was the Bouncing Demon Kick.

Dam Ho alternated between the Bouncing Demon Kick and the Blood Heaven Kick.

Caught in Dam Ho's storm-like relentless assault, the Golden Demon Lion could not find an opening to counterattack and was driven backward.

"Golden Demon Lion!"

The First Infernal Judge could not stand by any longer and stepped forward to aid the Golden Demon Lion.

Bam!

His punch struck Dam Ho squarely in the back.

Dam Ho, caught off guard by the sudden blow, coughed up blood. Even though the impact rattled his organs, Dam Ho did not so much as blink.

Whoosh!

Dam Ho's counterattack came immediately, aimed at the First Infernal Judge.

A fist that lashed out like a whip—the Single Yang Strike—smashed into the First Infernal Judge's shoulder.

Crack!

"Kuh!"

The First Infernal Judge staggered and retreated.

In that moment, the air rippled.

Dam Ho instinctively ducked his waist.

Shoom!

In an instant, a wave of heat swept past his back. The Golden Demon Lion's ki energy had grazed him.

"Phew!"

A sigh of relief escaped the Golden Demon Lion's lips.

The First Infernal Judge had bought him a split second, granting him the opening to launch his ki energy.

But through his disheveled hair, the expression visible on his face was not one of satisfaction.

His blood ran cold.

His heart was still pounding violently.

Dam Ho's attacks had far surpassed his expectations.

Dam Ho could be felt radiating murderous intent.

Deep within his black eyes, a terrifying killing intent was clearly directed at him. He had identified him as someone who must be killed.

A pure monster armed with vengefulness and merciless violence, one who would never let go of anyone who provoked him.

Such a man stood before him.

Shudder!

Goosebumps covered his entire body.

'To think such a person exists under heaven.'

At that moment, Dam Ho charged at him again.

No negotiation or conversation was necessary with this man.

They had struck first. He was simply returning the favor.

What the Golden Demon Lion's identity was, or what purpose had brought him here—Dam Ho did not care in the slightest.

The single thought in his mind:

'I'll kill him.'

The terrifying murderous intent that erupted from Dam Ho's body seized the entire area.

The Golden Demon Lion launched ki energy in rapid succession. But Dam Ho dodged each one by a hair's breadth.

And yet, he did not slow his charge toward the Golden Demon Lion.

Ki energy was lethal even from a mere graze.

Anyone who faced ki energy could not help but shrink back. Had not Sage Cheong-heo of the Wudang Sect pushed himself to deploy sword ki precisely because of this?

Only ki energy could stand against ki energy.

This was a long-held axiom of the martial world, an unchangeable truth. Therefore, one who faced ki energy could not help but tremble in fear and shrink back without realizing it.

But for Dam Ho, such martial world conventions did not apply.

Dam Ho believed in himself.

In his martial arts. In his body, which had been trained to the extreme.

His concentration reached its peak.

Whoosh!

Once again, the Golden Demon Lion launched ki energy.

Long and whip-like, the beam of ki energy targeted Dam Ho's chest.

There was nowhere to dodge, nowhere to retreat.

And Dam Ho had no intention of dodging.

The internal energy accumulated through the Dark Soul Heart Method condensed into his fist. In an instant, a silver glow enveloped his fist.

The Silver Net Hand was activated.

Dam Ho swung his fist without hesitation.

Boom!

The ki energy was deflected, and Dam Ho's body shook violently.

Blood flowed from his nose and mouth.

He had deflected the ki energy, but suffered serious internal injuries in the process. But Dam Ho did not stop.

Dam Ho's appearance was that of a fiend from hell.

Fear flickered in the Golden Demon Lion's eyes.

He had fought countless martial artists, but Dam Ho was a type he had never encountered before.

"Hmph!"

The Golden Demon Lion retreated.

In that gap, the Blood Chain Demons filled the space.

"Out of my way!"

The Blood Chain Demons naturally did not retreat. They clung stubbornly to Dam Ho.

In that interval, the Golden Demon Lion and the judges withdrew.

The Golden Demon Lion shouted urgently, "We're pulling back!"

"But…"

"We've accomplished our primary objective."

The Golden Demon Lion glanced at Sage Cheong-heo and the others.

They were watching the battle between Dam Ho and the Blood Chain Demons with blank expressions. Having shown them this much, there would be no more doubts in their minds.

'That level of martial power, though? Could it be connected to the Four God Children?'

An old, forgotten legend flickered in the Golden Demon Lion's mind, and he trembled slightly. If his guess was correct, this was something that could never be ignored.

The Golden Demon Lion and the judges leaped away.

Those who had been battling Dam Ho aside, the rest followed behind them and departed from the Azure Sun Sword Sect.

But Sage Cheong-heo and the orthodox martial artists, who should have blocked their escape, were too preoccupied with the battle between Dam Ho and the Blood Chain Demons to intervene.

Kaboom!

At that moment, a series of explosions erupted.

The Blood Chain Demons surrounding Dam Ho burst apart one after another like fireworks.

Flesh flew, and shattered bone fragments scattered in all directions. The sight of broken organs raining down like a downpour caused several people to vomit.

"Ugh!"

"He—he's not human!"

A scene of indescribable horror lay before them.

The Blood Chain Demons, who had instilled terror in the orthodox martial artists, were now rolling on the ground in grotesque ruin.

All of it had been caused by a single person—Dam Ho.

Trampling over the corpses of his enemies, bathed in their blood, Dam Ho's figure was the very embodiment of death itself.

Dam Ho glared in the direction the Golden Demon Lion and his cohorts had vanished.

Though he had killed so many Blood Chain Demons, his killing intent had not subsided in the slightest.

The others watched Dam Ho in awed silence, unable to speak.

A suffocating silence settled over the estate.

Myeong-gyeong, who had been staring at Dam Ho, suddenly looked at his own palm.

He had clenched it so tightly that his fist was flushed red. And his palm was drenched in sweat.

His body was trembling without his knowledge.

Myeong-gyeong had become a disciple of Sage Hyeon-geom and believed himself afraid of no one. But this monster before him inspired a fear he could not explain.

He could smell blood on him.

Whether it was because he was drenched in the blood of his enemies, or whether it was something that emanated from him naturally, the scent of blood刺激d his senses.

'I'm not even on his level.'

A slight tremor ran through Myeong-gyeong's shoulders, and the same was true for the others.

Everyone was struck speechless by Dam Ho's might.

Just then—

"Ah… Uncle."

Eun So-cheong broke the silence.

Only then did Dam Ho ease his killing intent.

Dam Ho walked toward Eun So-cheong.

One foot struck the ground, the other dragged behind.

Only then did the people realize that he was lame.

The epithet that surfaced in their minds:

"Divine Stronghold Blood Sage."

"The Fist—he is the Fist Demon."

The most commonly heard title since they entered Hunan Province.

They had not fully believed the rumors. No—they could not believe them.

Rumors were naturally exaggerated and magnified.

No matter how strong Dam Ho was, he was merely a junior generation martial artist. That was what most people had thought. But now they knew otherwise.

The rumors had not even captured half of Dam Ho's true terror. The horror of seeing him in person was beyond imagination. Only those who had witnessed it firsthand could truly understand.

While everyone was overwhelmed by Dam Ho's presence, unable to even breathe freely, Sage Cheong-heo stepped forward.

"That…"

But before he could speak, another voice came first.

"Cheong… gyeong."

It was Han So-yu.

Her eyes were trembling.

"You are Cheong-gyeong, aren't you?"

Han So-yu stepped forward.

"So-yu!"

Hyeon-mu Sage tried to stop her.

He had no idea why Han So-yu was behaving this way.

'Cheong-gyeong? Didn't he die long ago?'

It was a name that had been much spoken of even within the Mount Hua Sect.

The lame disciple taken in by Sage Hyeon-so.

The leadership of the Mount Hua Sect could not accept such a lame disciple and had ostracized him.

Despite being a First Generation Disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, he had been denied proper treatment and subjected to contempt. That was Cheong-gyeong.

But he was dead. Twelve years ago.

Was that not why Sage Hyeon-so, heartbroken, had chosen seclusion?

'But Cheong-gyeong is alive?'

That the monstrous figure before them was Cheong-gyeong—Hyeon-mu Sage thought Han So-yu must be mistaken.

'No. So-yu must have seen wrong.'

The same was true for Won-yul, a Second Generation Disciple of the Mount Hua Sect.

"Cheong-gyeong Martial Uncle? That's impossible."

He, too, knew Cheong-gyeong.

They had met several times when he was sent on errands, and they had even spoken. He knew his face well.

The Cheong-gyeong he knew did not possess such overwhelming dominance or radiate such terrifying aura.

"No. That's not…"

In that moment, Dam Ho's lips parted.

"It's… been a while, Martial Sister."

The rough, hoarse voice that echoed through the hall made the Mount Hua Sect disciples stagger.

"Ah!"

The dead had returned to life.