Chapter 171

Chapter 171: Chapter 7. The Fist Demon and the Sword King Collide (3)

A strange heat spread throughout Dam Ho's entire body. The beads of sweat that had formed on his skin evaporated and dissipated as steam.

Seeing Dam Ho's condition, Namgung Cheon's eyes gleamed.

His left arm hung limply. The shoulder struck by the Blood Heaven Kick had been dislocated.

"So you're not completely useless after all."

Crack!

Namgung Cheon forcibly popped his shoulder back into place. The excruciating pain stimulated his brain, but he ignored it.

He had experienced such pain countless times while training in martial arts. The dislocated shoulder swelled up quickly, but it didn't matter—he was right-handed anyway.

"You had a chance to die easily, and you refused it. You'll regret that."

"I don't do regrets."

Late remorse, or lingering attachment.

There was no space for such emotions in Dam Ho's heart.

Thwack!

Dam Ho kicked off the ground.

Charging Step unfurled.

A smile appeared on Namgung Cheon's lips. It was unmistakably a sneer.

"Foolish! You still haven't realized that this footwork doesn't work against me."

Namgung Cheon once again deployed the Infinite Sky Step to evade Dam Ho's Charging Step.

He traced a graceful arc through the air, rushing to Dam Ho's rear. The sword in his hand gleamed fiercely.

That was the moment.

BOOM!

Dam Ho's foot scraped violently against the ground.

His right foot dug into the earth up to the ankle. He had deployed the Thousand Fathom Shift to forcibly halt the Charging Step.

GRRRCK!

The increased pressure caused his leg muscles to bulge enormously, and veins bulged on Dam Ho's face.

Dam Ho rotated his body around his right foot, dissipating the pressure that had been applied throughout his entire body.

"Hm!"

Namgung Cheon, who had been approaching from behind, felt his pupils tremble. Dam Ho's reaction had exceeded his expectations.

BOOM!

Dam Ho deployed the Shield Wall.

The impact struck the fabric of the air, and Namgung Cheon's eardrums were also affected.

For an instant, a ringing echoed through his head, and Namgung Cheon's balance wavered slightly. Dam Ho did not let that moment slip away.

Dam Ho's palm touched Namgung Cheon's chest. He was about to deploy the Five Finger Rock Breaking Technique.

Thwack!

At that moment, Namgung Cheon regained his composure and struck Dam Ho's hand with the flat of his sword, then hastily retreated.

"You brat!"

Shing!

Even as he created distance, he swung his sword at Dam Ho.

In that instant, Dam Ho leapt into the air and spun his body around. His leg shot out like a whip.

It was the Blood Heaven Kick.

Shriek!

WHAM!

It targeted Namgung Cheon's head, but was blocked by the flat of the blade. The sword body bent like a bow and deflected Dam Ho's body away.

Fortunately, Namgung Cheon blocked the attack, but the impact left his carefully tied hair in disarray.

Through the tangled strands of hair, fury rose in Namgung Cheon's eyes.

"How dare you!"

Namgung Cheon hurled the sword he was holding at Dam Ho.

WHOOSH!

The sword spun as it flew toward Dam Ho. Dam Ho ducked his head to avoid it.

Dam Ho then rushed straight toward Namgung Cheon.

Without his sword, Namgung Cheon was no match for him.

The moment his eyes flashed with vicious intent—

"Be careful!"

Jong Ri-yeon's voice came from behind. Immediately after, a violent sense of danger crashed through his mind.

Dam Ho ducked his head on instinct.

SWISH!

In that instant, a searing pain swept across his back. When he looked up again, he saw a sword spinning through the air behind him—it had grazed him.

The sword, having changed course in midair, attacked Dam Ho like a living creature.

'Sword Control.'

The legendary realm of controlling a sword with one's will.

SHING!

The air split apart as the silver blade targeted Dam Ho's throat.

Dam Ho struck the sword away with the Silver Net Technique. But the deflected sword spun around and targeted Dam Ho's vital points once more.

Swordsmanship performed by a human hand inevitably carried various limitations. This was due to the structural constraints of the human body.

But swordsmanship performed through Sword Control bore no such limitations. It could be deployed freely, without any constraint.

SPLIT!

A piece of Dam Ho's robe was sliced away.

Seeing this, Namgung Cheon smiled.

"How long do you think you can keep dodging?"

Namgung Cheon had mastered the Imperial Heart Method, the supreme internal energy technique of the Namgung Family. The internal power he had accumulated through the Imperial Heart Method was virtually infinite.

As long as his internal power did not run dry, his Sword Control would not cease.

Namgung Cheon deployed the Imperial Sword Form through his Sword Control. The Sword Control already possessed overwhelming power, and with the addition of the Imperial Sword Form's intricate techniques, its power doubled.

Shriek!

Before the piercing Sword Control, Dam Ho appeared as precarious as a candle in the wind.

"Ah!"

A sigh tinged with despair escaped Jong Ri-yeon's lips.

'It's over. No matter how strong he is, he cannot defeat Sword Control.'

She didn't care what happened to her own life, but the thought that Dam Ho would lose his life because of her was unbearably guilty.

In truth, Dam Ho was driven to an extreme impasse by the Sword Control. There was no way to penetrate it.

Wounds were accumulating on his body, yet he couldn't lay a single hand on Namgung Cheon.

Dam Ho's gaze sank coldly.

An ordinary person might have despaired and given up. But Dam Ho was no ordinary person.

'If there is no way, I will create one.'

That was the Dark Form Fist, Dam Ho's solitary way.

Hummm!

When Dam Ho deployed the Shield, his body began to vibrate.

In that state, Dam Ho charged toward the Sword Control with his Charging Step. Seeing this, Namgung Cheon sneered.

"You must be desperate to die."

The power of the Sword Control was absolute.

It was not something that could be withstood with bare hands. Not even with the Shield, a vibration-based defensive technique, as backup.

PFFT!

The Sword Control pierced through the Shield. Flesh was torn away, and the blade carved through the muscles of his chest.

"Cough!"

Dam Ho coughed up blood.

The blade had pierced through one of his lungs and exited through his back. With a hole in his lung, it rapidly collapsed.

As the air intake was halved, Dam Ho's complexion turned ashen in an instant.

Dam Ho's body, impaled through the chest, stopped in its tracks. Bending low at the waist and bleeding, his figure drew a roar of triumph from Namgung Cheon.

"Look at that! AHAHA!"

His laughter shook the earth, sending dust billowing into the air.

At that moment, Dam Ho raised his head. Blood flowed from his nose and mouth. The blood that ran down his chin soaked his chest red.

"Grrrrk!"

A grotesque sound escaped as one lung collapsed. But the light in Dam Ho's eyes never diminished.

Rather, it burned with even greater ferocity.

A rough, hoarse voice escaped through his lips.

"I… caught it."

"What?"

"Your sword!"

The blade that had pierced his chest was gripped in Dam Ho's hand.

CRACK!

When Dam Ho applied force, the blade snapped in half. Dam Ho discarded the broken piece. The remaining half of the blade was still embedded through his chest. An injury that would kill an ordinary person instantly. But for Dam Ho's body, which had been trained to the extreme, that was not the case.

The muscles around the wound tightened, minimizing the bleeding. The wound in his lung also constricted, stopping the air from leaking out.

"Huup!"

Dam Ho drew in a deep breath.

As air entered, the collapsed lung returned to its original shape.

THUD!

Dam Ho kicked off the ground.

His fist cleaved through the air.

As Dam Ho's figure rapidly closed the distance, Namgung Cheon showed a startled expression for the first time. He habitually tried to swing his sword, but his hand grasped nothing.

In haste, he deployed the Protective Energy.

BOOM!

Dam Ho's blow struck upon the Protective Energy. The silver barrier wavered, and Namgung Cheon's body was pushed back.

"Kugh! Insolent…"

Even though he had blocked it with his Protective Energy, the intense impact sent tremors through his organs. The shock that penetrated his entire body twisted Namgung Cheon's face. But soon, rage dominated his entire being.

"You think you can do anything to me without a sword? Foolish!"

He was the patriarch of the Namgung Family.

Naturally, he had mastered not only the Namgung Family's sword techniques but also their fist techniques. Without a sword, he was still invincible.

Namgung Cheon deployed the Nine劈神 Fist, the Namgung Family's secret fist technique. And that became his greatest fatal error.

Dam Ho did not let slip the instant Namgung Cheon switched to the Nine劈神 Fist.

BOOM!

Dam Ho's fist struck Namgung Cheon's forearm. The Nine劈神 Fist was halted midway.

"Ugh!"

Namgung Cheon gritted his teeth and tried to deploy the Nine劈神 Fist again, but in that instant, Dam Ho's entire body blurred before his eyes.

The Shield had been deployed.

In that state, Dam Ho launched his fist.

A fist, then an elbow, followed by a torso and knee strike—blows rained down. Dam Ho's body spun like a cogwheel.

A relentless chain of attacks without a moment to breathe.

Six Harmonies Blood Mountain and River.

Pushing the body to its absolute limit to deploy this technique placed enormous strain on the entire body, plunging one into a state of powerlessness.

Dam Ho had only learned it, but this was his first time deploying it in actual combat. He would have preferred not to use it, but he had no choice.

The blade embedded in his chest tore through his flesh each time the Six Harmonies Blood Mountain and River was unleashed. The body he had barely stabilized was now gushing blood, but Dam Ho paid no heed and continued his assault.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A thunderous roar erupted, and Namgung Cheon's body shook.

When he blocked the fist, an elbow came. The moment he paid attention to the elbow, a knee flew at him.

An overwhelming sense of pressure and impact, as if a massive storm were raging.

CRACK!

"Kugh!"

The forearm that had blocked Dam Ho's attack let out a sound of rupture. A dull moan escaped through Namgung Cheon's lips.

He didn't need to look to know. His forearm bone had fractured.

"You damn…"

Namgung Cheon cursed and tried to retreat. But his body wouldn't budge, as if it had sunk into a swamp of glue.

When the Six Harmonies Blood Mountain and River was deployed, a terrifying gravitational force emanated from Dam Ho's entire body, drawing everything around him toward him. Namgung Cheon was also ensnared by this gravitational force.

Through blood-soaked strands of hair, a chilling killing intent swirled in Dam Ho's eyes.

A chill crawled up his spine. Namgung Cheon shuddered with a sense of foreboding.

The momentary breach created by Namgung Cheon's fractured forearm.

The Six Harmonies Blood Mountain and River exploited that gap.

WHAM!

Both arms were flung wide open, and the barrage of fists, elbows, shoulders, and torso strikes followed like a storm.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

"Kugh!"

The face struck by the fist was knocked to the side, the waist buckled like a shrimp from the knee strike. A torso strike crashed down upon it, and an open palm slammed into Namgung Cheon's chin.

Muscles tore. Bones shattered. Blood flowed. Spittle flew. Pupils dilated. A ringing echoed in his head.

An ordinary person would have lost consciousness in this state. But he was Namgung Cheon.

Sword King Namgung Cheon.

Even with his consciousness fading, his right hand formed a sword seal.

A faint energy gathered on his fingers—he was creating sword energy with the sword seal.

BOOM!

They exchanged their final techniques.