Chapter 350

Chapter 350 – I'm Not Weak Enough to Be Manipulated (4)

A scarred hand was tenderly stroking a flag torn like rags.

The Hundred Battles Victory Flag.

That was the name of the flag bearing as many scars as those carved into flesh. It was now torn and tattered to the point where it could hardly be called a flag, having been mended thousands of times just to maintain its form.

Cho Yeon-woon gazed at the flag with sorrowful eyes, as if it would crumble with a crackling sound if grasped with even the slightest force.

It was the Hundred Battles Victory Flag, the sole legacy and symbol left by the Hundred Battles Sect.

'I wanted to become someone who wouldn't shame the Hundred Battles Victory Flag…'

Cho Yeon-woon let out a quiet sigh.

Looking back on the past three years, it had been a nightmare.

He had devoted himself frantically to martial arts, but it was difficult to shake off the guilt of being the only survivor. So he relied on alcohol and pushed his body to its limits in training.

As a result, his martial arts may have grown stronger, but his heart had become extremely desolate. If Dam Ho hadn't come at the right time, he wouldn't have been able to escape from his inner demons.

'Dam Ho.'

He was the only friend in his life. For him, he could throw away his own life at any time.

That's when it happened.

"What are you thinking about so deeply?"

A boy holding two bowls in both hands approached and asked.

"Just this and that…"

"You must have many worries, but eat while thinking. Here."

The boy suddenly held out one of the bowls he was carrying.

Cho Yeon-woon's eyes widened.

"Did you already make it?"

"It's just making porridge. Why are you being so dramatic about it?"

The boy, Bang Jin-bo, made an embarrassed expression. At this, Cho Yeon-woon couldn't help but be amazed.

During the three years, Bang Jin-bo had become remarkably handsome. As his weight decreased, his facial features that had been buried in fat came to life clearly. Though not what one would commonly call handsome, he had at least become worthy of being called a fine young man.

Even Cho Yeon-woon really hadn't expected Bang Jin-bo to change like this. So it was true that he still hadn't gotten used to it.

Bang Jin-bo sat down heavily beside Cho Yeon-woon with his porridge bowl. And he began eating the porridge. Cho Yeon-woon also picked up his spoon and tasted the porridge.

It was porridge made quickly with available ingredients.

Though it seemed roughly made, it was delicious.

'This kid!'

Cho Yeon-woon couldn't help but be amazed.

Even before, Bang Jin-bo's cooking skills had been excellent. But now, simply saying excellent wasn't enough to describe it.

Eating food made by Bang Jin-bo calmed his mind and body. It even reminded him of food made by his mother, whose memory was now dim.

'Jin-bo also made tremendous efforts during these three years.'

He looked at Bang Jin-bo with fresh eyes. Then Bang Jin-bo frowned.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Just because I'm proud of you."

"About what?"

"Just! Just let it go, man!"

"Tsk! How bland."

Bang Jin-bo snorted. Even Cho Yeon-woon, who would have flared up in the past, chuckled.

The place where they were currently staying was a mountain in Xixia in eastern Henan Province. Xixia was a transportation hub where waterways and land routes coexisted at the border with Shaanxi Province. It was only about a thousand li away from Dengfeng County where Shaolin Temple was located.

If they wanted, they could arrive in three or four days, but Cho Yeon-woon was never in a hurry.

That's when Bang Jin-bo put down his porridge bowl and carefully asked:

"Are you okay?"

"About what?"

"Your leg…"

"What am I supposed to say? I'm fine."

Clang! Clang!

At Bang Jin-bo's careful question, Cho Yeon-woon tapped his leg with the back of his hand. Then metallic sounds echoed. It was the sound of his iron prosthetic leg.

"It hurt a little at first, but now it's actually sturdier and better. Hahaha!"

Cho Yeon-woon burst into loud laughter. In the past, Bang Jin-bo would have scolded such Cho Yeon-woon. But now he just looked at him with pitying eyes.

Losing a perfectly good leg and adapting to a prosthetic wouldn't have been easy. Moreover, Cho Yeon-woon was a martial artist who had learned martial arts.

For a martial artist who was more sensitive to physical balance than anyone, regaining his former prowess while wearing an iron prosthetic leg was never an easy task. It wasn't hard to imagine how much blood and sweat Cho Yeon-woon had shed during this time, making it difficult to laugh easily.

That's when it happened.

Suddenly Cho Yeon-woon reached out and roughly tousled Bang Jin-bo's hair.

"Ow! Why are you doing that?"

"Don't look at me like that."

"Brother?"

"I'm fine. Even with one leg missing, I'm still a martial artist. The Drunken Cloud Dragon. So don't look at me with those pitying eyes."

"I'm sorry, brother. I…"

"I know your heart! Still, trust your brother."

"Yes!"

Bang Jin-bo answered at the top of his voice without realizing it.

'Right! I just need to trust him. Yeon-woon brother is the Drunken Cloud Dragon. The martial artist who smashed even that great Nine Martial Dragons. Having such feelings is actually insulting to Yeon-woon brother.'

Bang Jin-bo reflected and reflected again.

Cho Yeon-woon smiled looking at such Bang Jin-bo.

'Good kid!'

Bang Jin-bo was one of the few people he trusted. So he was even more pleased to travel with him.

Cho Yeon-woon looked up at the sky.

Now Shaolin Temple wasn't far away.

Cho Yeon-woon was confident he could meet Dam Ho when he went to Shaolin Temple.

'Wait just a little longer, my friend. Now I'll become your strength.'

The only friend who had come running without regard for distance to save him. This time, he was on his way to help him.

***

Wudang Mountain had seventy-two large peaks.

The nameless peak that Dam Ho was climbing following Taoist Cheong-heo was also one of them.

It was a peak in the opposite direction from the Wudang Sect, with very treacherous terrain and few visitors.

Taoist Cheong-heo was guiding Dam Ho to a mountain peak that even Wudang Sect disciples rarely visited.

Dam Ho silently followed behind Taoist Cheong-heo. Taoist Cheong-heo was grateful for such Dam Ho but also felt burdened.

Complex inner feelings were clearly revealed on Taoist Cheong-heo's face.

The Wudang Sect had been completely shattered by Dam Ho alone. No matter how much Taoist Cheong-heo's relationship with the sect leader had grown distant recently, he couldn't calmly accept the situation where his sect, the Wudang Sect, had been devastated by a single person.

It was an unbelievable situation where the presence of a single person was shaking the Wudang Sect.

'Sigh! To think Mu-yeong tried to frame such a person.'

He recalled the Matchless Sword Jin Mu-yeong, who was still in closed-door training.

At first, he had been angry at Jin Mu-yeong, but now he only felt sorry.

Jin Mu-yeong was also a prodigy.

An eternal prodigy capable of leading the coming age. But unfortunately, Dam Ho existed in the same era.

Dam Ho was already a giant leading the age. He was showing a completely different path from other prodigies.

If there was the greatest misfortune for the prodigies of the current age, it would be that Dam Ho existed in the same time period.

'Sigh! Master Hyeon-so really raised a burdensome disciple well.'

He both envied and pitied Master Hyeon-so for having Dam Ho as a disciple. Embracing a disciple with such overwhelming presence wasn't easy for any master.

Lost in complex thoughts, Taoist Cheong-heo arrived at his destination.

The place he had brought Dam Ho to was terrain where cliffs surrounded a small clearing in a circle like a gourd.

Seven small caves were carved at the bottom of the cliffs.

Taoist Cheong-heo looked at Dam Ho and spoke:

"Sigh! We've arrived. Please wait a moment."

Instead of answering, Dam Ho looked around.

The air felt particularly heavy. As if only this place had stagnant air.

With Dam Ho behind him, Taoist Cheong-heo walked to the center of the clearing.

He channeled his internal energy and shouted:

"Great-uncles, I am Cheong-heo. I've brought an important guest."

"I wondered what that bloody stench vibrating was, and you've brought a butcher, Cheong-heo!"

As soon as Taoist Cheong-heo finished speaking, a voice filled with tremendous internal energy flowed from one of the caves and echoed thunderously throughout the cliffs.

At the voice filled with internal energy that rang in his eardrums, Taoist Cheong-heo's eyes slightly frowned. Even Taoist Cheong-heo, called Hubei's Greatest Sword, found the internal energy contained in the voice too profound to handle easily.

"I've been sensing a bloody scent since earlier."

"Such a terrible bloody scent. Just how many must one kill to emanate such a bloody scent?"

"Bringing such a blood demon into sacred Wudang Mountain. Cheong-heo, are you in your right mind?"

Different voices flowed from other caves. Each voice combined and amplified even louder.

At the unexpected reaction, Taoist Cheong-heo's complexion changed completely. He hurriedly explained to the beings inside the caves.

"He is the Fist Demon Dam Ho, a disciple of Mount Hua Sect."

"If he's a disciple of Mount Hua Sect, isn't he a disciple of a prestigious sect? Yet such a person emanates such a terrible bloody scent?"

"There are circumstances to that."

"Hmph! I didn't believe it when the sect leader spoke, but seeing it directly like this, I can't help but believe it. For a disciple of the prestigious orthodox Mount Hua Sect to emanate such killing intent, Mount Hua Sect has truly fallen far."

The sighs flowing from inside the caves swallowed up Taoist Cheong-heo's voice. When the situation became like this, a bewildered expression appeared on Taoist Cheong-heo's face.

Those inside the caves were precisely the previous generation martial artists of the Wudang Sect. They were martial artists who were great-uncles to Taoist Cheong-heo. Therefore, even Taoist Cheong-heo had no choice but to show extreme respect.

They were truly living legends of Wudang and the final stronghold. Because they remained, the Wudang Sect firmly believed it could protect Hubei Province and the Wudang Sect even though the Demon Cult was continuously gaining power.

It was also because of them that Taoist Cheong-heo could somewhat lessen his mental burden. But he never expected them to show such blatant hostility toward Dam Ho.

"Great-uncles, please listen to me for a moment. He is not our enemy. Rather, he's the final stronghold to protect the martial world. Moreover, he is a legitimate disciple of Mount Hua Sect. This is not something to openly display hostility about."

"Cheong-heo! I've already heard about him from the sect leader. He said he's a demon who disrupts the martial world's order, and indeed those words are correct. The bloody scent lingering in his breath is disturbing pure Wudang Mountain."

"That's right, senior brother! My head is already starting to ache."

"I can't understand what Cheong-wol is doing that he couldn't stop that demon and sent him up here."

Rumble!

Because the entire cliff became a resonance board, their voices were amplified even more tremendously.

That's when it happened.

Thud!

Suddenly Dam Ho stamped his foot hard. Then the entire area shook loudly as if an earthquake had occurred.

Instantly, the voices flowing chaotically from inside the caves stopped abruptly and silence fell.

Dam Ho looked over the caves one by one.

The caves swallowed by darkness were too dark to see through with human vision. But to Dam Ho's eyes, trained in darkness at the Thousand Gold Demon Prison, the interior scenery was clearly visible like broad daylight.

"Old men who are all talk."

"……"

"If you want to chatter so much, come outside. Darkness won't protect you."

Dam Ho's voice was very quiet. But his voice was terrifyingly amplified inside the caves.

Rumble!

"Kek!"

"This is!"

The previous generation martial artists of the Wudang Sect inside the caves came rushing out in shock.

They were seven old men wearing light blue Taoist robes with pure white headbands tightly tied around their heads. Their completely wrinkled faces and snow-white hair made it impossible to guess their ages.

"How dare you look down on the Wudang Sect's elders?"

"How on earth did Mount Hua teach its disciples?"

They shouted angrily at Dam Ho. But Dam Ho's eyes weren't looking at them. He was looking at Taoist Cheong-heo.

"What exactly am I supposed to discuss with these people?"

"These… people are the highest-ranking elders of the Wudang Sect."

"Elders?"

"Yes. They are the greatest spiritual pillars of our sect."

"Are they spiritual pillars simply because they're old?"

At Dam Ho's words, not only Taoist Cheong-heo but also the previous generation martial artists of the Wudang Sect changed complexions completely.

"This bastard!"

"How dare! To speak such nonsense."

When they were angrily chattering, that's when it happened.

At that moment, Dam Ho muttered quietly:

"Whose mouth should I smash first?"