Chapter 351

Chapter 351 – Time Does Not Make Everyone Wise (1)

Dam Ho's gaze swept over them.

Their forms were reflected one by one in his emotionless pupils that revealed no feelings whatsoever.

Shiver!

The moment his gaze touched their bodies, the previous generation elders all trembled as one.

They were Taoists who had lived almost a hundred years. Having learned the Wudang Sect's martial arts to perfection and enjoying long lives, their internal energy wasn't weak enough to be intimidated by mere eyes.

But Dam Ho's gaze was different.

His eyes, obtained after countless crossings between life and death, contained the full weight of the life he had to endure all this time.

The old Taoists who had lived peaceful lives under the high walls of the Wudang Sect contained power they could never obtain even if they died and were reborn.

Usually calm like a sea without waves, but the moment Dam Ho raised his momentum, a storm struck the tranquil sea.

That was how the old Taoists saw Dam Ho's eyes now.

His gaze, swirling with frenzied killing intent mixed together, was truly spine-chilling. They had never experienced such a stare even once before.

'Immeasurable Buddha! How could such an evil dragon emerge from Mount Hua Sect?'

The sense of crisis they felt was truly tremendous.

Among the old Taoists, the one who looked most hot-tempered stepped forward. His snow-white hair and eyebrows told of how many years he had lived.

The old Taoist's name was Wu-guang.

He was Taoist Cheong-heo's grand-uncle and had the most hot-blooded personality among the previous generation elders gathered here.

The Wudang Sect's Taoists called him Wu-guang instead of his original Taoist name Martial Fanatic. He was that obsessed with martial arts and had never neglected training for even a moment over decades.

Even Taoist Cheong-heo, called the Wudang Sect's greatest swordsman, used to seek his teachings when his martial arts hit bottlenecks in his youth.

While time made most people gentle and wise, this didn't apply to Wu-guang. Even now, approaching a hundred years old, he had the same impatient personality as in his youth.

He was angry at the fact that he had been momentarily intimidated by Dam Ho's gaze.

Wu-guang let out an aged voice:

"Smash mouths, you say? This young brat says anything. I'll punish your arrogance and send a warning to Mount Hua."

Whoosh!

At that moment, Dam Ho kicked off the earth.

His wildly flowing black hair and the eerily gleaming eyes between them appeared to expand instantly.

At Dam Ho's attack that came without warning, Wu-guang cried out in alarm and spread both hands wide. Then thunder echoed throughout the area with a 'rumble.'

One of Wudang's supreme techniques, the Four Symbols Wind Thunder Palm, was deployed.

The Four Symbols Wind Thunder Palm possessed fierce power uncharacteristic of the Wudang Sect's martial arts that emphasized softness. It was said that thunder would echo when the Four Symbols Wind Thunder Palm was mastered, and Wu-guang's appearance was exactly that.

Bang!

A roar burst out as Dam Ho's fist collided with the Four Symbols Wind Thunder Palm.

"Mm!"

The one who groaned was precisely Wu-guang. Both his hands that had deployed the Four Symbols Wind Thunder Palm swelled up. It was clearly Wu-guang's loss no matter who looked.

"Grr!"

Shame and anger appeared on Wu-guang's face.

The fact that he suffered losses even after deploying the Four Symbols Wind Thunder Palm that he had trained for almost his entire life made him furious.

"Bastard! I won't forgive you."

Wu-guang deployed the ultimate technique of the Four Symbols Wind Thunder Palm, Thunder God Ten Thousand Strikes, with full power. Palm force accompanied by lightning flew toward Dam Ho as if the Thunder God had manifested.

Crack!

The air burst with lightning and bright light flickered throughout the area. It was truly terrifying power.

"Junior brother!"

"Mm!"

The old Taoists who saw this burst into exclamations, but no one tried to stop him. Wu-guang's heart was precisely their heart.

They wanted to gauge Dam Ho's capabilities through Wu-guang. So they watched.

Light was bursting throughout the area, but Dam Ho's eyes were becoming even darker.

It was dignity not shameful for the status of a Wudang Sect previous generation elder. He possessed such powerful might that ordinary sect leaders wouldn't dare to oppose him.

"Yet you hid so well."

During the period when the Demon Cult's invasion killed countless people, during that time when Mount Hua Sect fought at the front and suffered great damage, Wu-guang and the other Wudang Sect previous generation elders never showed themselves.

Even when Mount Hua Sect suffered near-annihilation and closed its gates, the damage the Wudang Sect received was truly minimal. Thanks to this, the Wudang Sect could maintain its position as one of the martial world's two great pillars along with Shaolin Temple and enjoy its current tremendous prosperity.

The Wudang Sect's previous generation elders were at the center of this, and Wu-guang was also one of them.

Those who chose their sect's safety over dedication to the world.

Dam Ho's eyes gleamed eerily, then fierce and rough currents swirled around his body. He had deployed the Violent Demon Energy.

Crash crash bang!

The Violent Energy and Thunder God Ten Thousand Strikes collided, and lightning stretched in all directions, burning the earth black.

"Mm!"

"This is!"

Taoist Cheong-heo and the Wudang Sect's previous generation elders hurriedly retreated. The aftereffects had reached even where they stood.

Bewildered emotions were clearly revealed on the previous generation elders' faces. They were all martial artists who had each completed one of the Wudang Sect's martial arts. Though not known to the world, their martial achievements were equal to or even stronger than masters encompassing the world.

Crash!

But even with their eyes, they couldn't penetrate the scene unfolding within the sea of flickering lightning at all.

Yo-guang, the eldest among the previous generation elders, muttered:

"Still, junior brother will win, right?"

"Looking at how fierce the lightning is, isn't it obvious?"

Woon-guang agreed with him.

Seeing this, Taoist Cheong-heo let out a sigh.

"Ah! Great-uncles, grand-uncles."

"Why are you like that, Cheong-heo?"

"Even seeing that, don't you understand? How does that look like grand-uncle is winning?"

"What do you mean? Look how fierce junior brother's energy is."

"How could that be…"

Taoist Cheong-heo trailed off.

It was as if a massive iron wall stood before his eyes. A wall that couldn't be climbed over or torn down.

Clearly the previous generation elders' martial arts were strong enough to pierce the heavens. But they had too little real combat experience.

Fighting each other in sparring was all they had done.

They had never fought risking their lives against life-and-death enemies like Dam Ho, nor had they ever staked everything in a split second.

Though they might retain a Taoist's purity, they didn't possess a martial artist's fierceness. So even seeing what unfolded before their eyes, they couldn't judge clearly.

'Everything is my fault.'

Taoist Cheong-heo shook his head in despair.

He had wanted to break down the walls.

By having Dam Ho meet the previous generation elders, he wanted to broaden the framework for exchange and find ways to overcome the current crisis. But as a result, his choice had been too hasty.

His great-uncles and grand-uncles were still trapped in the preconception that only they were the best. Their hearts weren't open enough to have frank conversations with external beings.

The name Wudang Sect, the pride of being Wudang Sect's previous generation elders had built huge walls around their hearts. As high as the Great Wall of the north, as thick as Mount Tai…

That's when it happened.

Clang!

"Kek!"

"What?"

Suddenly a shockwave swept through the entire area. And the lightning pouring throughout the area vanished completely as if washed clean.

Instantly, the eyes of Taoist Cheong-heo and the Wudang Sect's previous generation elders widened as if they would tear.

"Th-that?"

"This can't be!"

Their pupils were shaking uncontrollably as if an earthquake had occurred. The revealed scene was that shocking.

"Grrrr!"

Wu-guang was being shaken like a reed while Dam Ho held him by the collar. His right arm was hanging limply, apparently broken from the shoulder, and both legs were also bent in grotesque directions.

"Wu-guang?"

"Senior… brother!"

At that moment, Wu-guang barely turned his head to look at them. His face was filled with terror.

As a Wudang Sect previous generation elder, he had always reigned only above others' heads. Such a person was being shaken while Dam Ho held his collar.

He had truly done his best. He had deployed the Four Symbols Wind Thunder Palm exactly as he learned from his master. Without a single deviation, without any insufficiency, the Four Symbols Wind Thunder Palm as it was.

Even if his master were reborn and returned, he couldn't have deployed it more perfectly. But Dam Ho… this pitch-black demon now looking into his eyes had literally crushed the Four Symbols Wind Thunder Palm to pieces.

As if denying the life Wu-guang had lived, he had completely destroyed all the studies Wu-guang had built up in the Wudang Sect.

He was going crazy with this first-time experience of terror. So he looked at his senior brothers and junior brothers with desperate yearning. To save him from this madman's hands.

At that moment, Dam Ho raised his fist. Then Yo-guang urgently shouted:

"Stop! What kind of wicked act is this?"

Crack!

At that moment, Dam Ho's fist exploded on Wu-guang's face. Precisely on Wu-guang's mouth.

Wu-guang's teeth shattered and flew out, and his tongue was crushed. Blood splattered in all directions and Wu-guang's body writhed like a fish caught on a fishing line.

"Waaah!"

Groans of pain flowed through his crushed lips. But Wu-guang couldn't even think he was in pain. His nerves had already been paralyzed by fear.

Only then did Dam Ho release the hand holding Wu-guang's collar. Wu-guang sprawled on the ground unable to move.

Dam Ho silently looked down at such Wu-guang. His appearance without any words was more terrifying.

"Old fool!"

"How dare you harm a Wudang Sect elder?"

Only then did the previous generation elders who came to their senses raise their killing intent.

Dam Ho's gaze turned toward them.

"Whose mouth should I smash next?"

"……"

Instantly, as if by agreement, the elders clamped their lips shut like clams.

Though their hearts were full of anger and they wanted to strike Dam Ho down immediately, their bodies wouldn't move as they thought. No, they couldn't move.

Who was Wu-guang? Though he might be the youngest among the previous generation elders, his martial prowess wasn't that far behind Yo-guang or Woon-guang. Rather, his powerful internal energy could be said to be the greatest among them. Such Wu-guang had been helplessly defeated by Dam Ho.

Even if they stepped forward, it was impossible to reverse the situation immediately.

The previous generation elders had never experienced a human like Dam Ho even once. The existence called Dam Ho, who bit like a mad dog regardless of consequences, imposed psychological burden just by being seen.

Dam Ho's sticky killing intent dominating the area still hadn't subsided. Yo-guang and the other elders shuddered at that eerie sensation. But they couldn't retreat helplessly like this.

If they retreated like this, the Wudang Sect's dignity would fall to the ground. Conversely, even if they attacked Dam Ho, there was no guarantee they would win.

It was truly a dilemma.

That's when Taoist Cheong-heo stepped forward.

"Great-uncles, grand-uncles! Please listen to this Cheong-heo's words and withdraw your anger. This Cheong-heo earnestly begs with his life at stake."

A sharply forged sword touched his neck. Not anyone else's sword but Taoist Cheong-heo's own sword. He had pointed the sword at his own neck.

"Cheong-heo!"

"Great-uncle! Even after the conversation ends, if your anger hasn't subsided, this Cheong-heo will take his own life. So please listen to my words just once."

"Hmm!"

The previous generation elders coughed briefly at Taoist Cheong-heo's spirit in stepping forward with his life at stake. But that was only momentary; rather, they thought it worked out well.

In a situation where no retreat was visible, Taoist Cheong-heo had opened an exit.

Taoist Cheong-heo's gaze turned toward Dam Ho.

"I'll request this staking my life. Please withdraw your anger just this once. No matter how lacking the Wudang Sect may be, it's certainly one pillar of the orthodox path. We must all join forces to overcome this hardship and adversity. So please…"

His earnest eyes and heart were conveyed directly.

At this moment, Taoist Cheong-heo had let go of everything.

His position as a Wudang Sect elder, his reputation as Hubei's Greatest Sword, and even a martial artist's pride.

That earnestness moved Dam Ho.

Dam Ho nodded his head.

"Thank you! Truly thank you!"

Taoist Cheong-heo's voice echoed throughout the clearing.