Chapter 436

Chapter 436 – Heroes Are Born in Chaotic Times (2)

People generally think that when many martial artists fight entangled together, it becomes a chaotic battle where friend and foe are hard to distinguish, but the higher the level of martial artists, the more they instinctively find opponents matching their caliber even in chaos. ​

The suicide squad martial artists and the Ten Soldiers were like that. ​

Hae So-wol clashed with Seomun Ha-gyeong, one of the Ten Soldiers, and Cheong-un marked Nam Jeong-ok who freely wielded the Nine-Cut Ten Thousand Poison Whip. ​

So-cheon competed with Ji Su-hyeon, and Im Dok-o was Cho Yeon-woon's share. The remaining suicide squad martial artists collided with the martial artists the Ten Soldiers had brought. ​

"Kyaaah!" ​

"Die!" ​

Enraged shouts and curses erupted everywhere. ​

From their appearance, the grace and dignity usually associated with the martial world's greatest prodigies had long disappeared. What remained was only the desperate will and venomousness to definitely kill the opponent. That appearance was closer to beasts than humans. ​

Swish! ​

Whoosh! ​

Swords and sabers cut through the air and someone's blood shot up into the void. ​

"Urrgh!" ​

"Kuugh!" ​

Beast-like screams filled the battlefield, and within it, humans lost reason and rampaged while venting madness. ​

Humans no longer existed here. At least for today. ​

It was as if the entire world had gone mad. Within it, beasts wearing human masks vented the madness they had suppressed until now. ​

Jeong Cheon-ak took in all those scenes. ​

Everyone had become beasts rampaging, but only he stood alone in the middle of the battlefield like a noble crane. ​

Even the suicide squad martial artists rampaging madly with rage didn't try to approach Jeong Cheon-ak. They too instinctively sensed that Jeong Cheon-ak was somehow different. ​

The bearing of one standing at the peak and the dignity of a strong person could be felt from Jeong Cheon-ak. ​

Jeong Cheon-ak couldn't find a reason to join the fight. ​

Because none of the suicide squad martial artists were his match. If there was anyone with potential, it was perhaps Cho Yeon-woon fighting Im Dok-o. ​

Cho Yeon-woon definitely appeared to be of different caliber. ​

He possessed skill, judgment, and senses actually superior to the Nine Martial Dragons. If he continued growing steadily like this, he might someday become his opponent. But that was impossible. ​

Im Dok-o was a master not greatly different from Jeong Cheon-ak. Moreover, he possessed Hidden Soul Sand. Even for Jeong Cheon-ak, Hidden Soul Sand wasn't easy to handle. ​

Once even a mouthful was inhaled, that was the end. Jeong Cheon-ak didn't think Cho Yeon-woon could handle Hidden Soul Sand. ​

The Ten Soldiers were his brothers. Though not born of the same blood, they were closer than blood relatives. That's why he trusted and respected them. His intervening in their fights was no different from insulting them. So Jeong Cheon-ak watched. He would only intervene when the battle situation tilted. ​

Cho Yeon-woon was fiercely fighting Im Dok-o while keeping his nerves sharp toward Jeong Cheon-ak. ​

'Fortunate. That he's not joining.' ​

Seeing how things were going, unless it was a considerable case, Jeong Cheon-ak wouldn't intervene. That was fortunate for Cho Yeon-woon and the suicide squad at least. ​

Other suicide squad martial artists might not know, but at least Cho Yeon-woon vaguely sensed how terrifying martial power Jeong Cheon-ak possessed. Because of that, he also knew what hell would unfold the moment he intervened in the battlefield. ​

Right now the battle situation was maintaining a tense balance so he was silently watching, but if things turned even slightly unfavorable for the Demon Cult martial artists, he would definitely join. ​

He had to defeat Im Dok-o before that. The only person with any possibility of facing Jeong Cheon-ak was himself. ​

That's when it happened. ​

Swish! ​

Suddenly a burning sensation struck his left shoulder. Hidden Soul Sand had swept across his shoulder. ​

Clothes and skin were torn away as flesh turned black. Terrible pain assaulted Cho Yeon-woon. ​

'A mistake.' ​

Cho Yeon-woon hastily retreated and stopped the bleeding. Im Dok-o looked at such Cho Yeon-woon with killing intent. ​

"You're worrying about Cheon-ak while facing me. Unbelievable." ​

His killing intent made Hidden Soul Sand ripple greatly. ​

Im Dok-o was greatly angered that Cho Yeon-woon was guarding against Jeong Cheon-ak while facing him. Because he thought Cho Yeon-woon was disrespecting him. ​

Cho Yeon-woon also acknowledged his mistake. Im Dok-o wasn't easy enough to face while thinking of other things. ​

To defeat him, Cho Yeon-woon also had to concentrate on this fight. ​

"Right! I did something ridiculous. A big mistake. So as an apology, I'll focus only on you." ​

"You should have done that from the start." ​

Im Dok-o's gaze turned toward Cho Yeon-woon's left shoulder. Cho Yeon-woon's shoulder struck by Hidden Soul Sand was already losing its function. ​

Even with his whole body intact he couldn't guarantee victory, but having lost one arm, he thought victory had tilted toward him. ​

Taking advantage of the momentum, he attacked Cho Yeon-woon. ​

"Die! Drunken Cloud Dragon." ​

Swish! ​

Instantly the Hidden Soul Sand coiled around his body all flew toward Cho Yeon-woon at once. Before the Hidden Soul Sand covering the entire void in black, Cho Yeon-woon appeared to have nowhere to flee. And Cho Yeon-woon had no intention of fleeing either. ​

Kwooo! ​

Energy swirled around his whole body. He had deployed protective energy. ​

Hidden Soul Sand blocked by protective energy bounced away. Cho Yeon-woon didn't miss that brief gap. Instantly withdrawing protective energy, he rushed at Im Dok-o like lightning. ​

"Hyaat!" ​

With a great battle cry, Cho Yeon-woon's signature technique Eight Desolations Divine Fist unfolded. ​

Kwakakak! ​

Cho Yeon-woon's limbs spewed terrifying power. ​

As techniques organically linked, he pressed Im Dok-o without giving him time to breathe. But Im Dok-o wasn't an ordinary martial artist either. While recovering Hidden Soul Sand, he calmly blocked or deflected Cho Yeon-woon's attacks. ​

"Not bad. Martial Alliance dog." ​

"Same to you." ​

Even while conversing, they didn't stop violently moving their hands and feet. ​

Attacking with Hidden Soul Sand was blocked by protective energy, and when protective energy was withdrawn, Hidden Soul Sand bored in like a viper again. ​

Both had reached the realm of freely controlling internal energy. Im Dok-o alternating between Hidden Soul Sand and fist strikes appeared like a demon, while Cho Yeon-woon alternating between protective energy and fists and kicks evoked a heavenly general. ​

They were truly attacking and defending with all their might. Engaging in a perfect battle of unified offense and defense. ​

Their fight was rushing toward a climax. The same was true for others. ​

Hae So-wol was also doing her utmost against Seomun Ha-gyeong. ​

The Ice Jade Sword that Seomun Ha-gyeong held was a treasure among treasures. If even slightly grazed by the Ice Jade Sword, wounds would freeze and coldness would penetrate the body. The coldness froze blood circulating in the body, so internal energy had to be used to melt it. ​

But Hae So-wol wasn't entirely disadvantaged. She had accumulated much experience through her martial world travels. Among them, experiences accumulated while traveling with Dam Ho were greatly helpful. ​

Kakakang! ​

Sparks flew from their swords, and sword energy shattered. ​

Cheong-un and Nam Jeong-ok's fight was also rushing toward a climax. Qincheng Sect's supreme technique didn't fall behind even against the Nine-Cut Ten Thousand Poison Whip. ​

Because of that, Nam Jeong-ok's face twisted like a demon. Because the fight he thought would end quickly was dragging on endlessly. ​

His Nine-Cut Ten Thousand Poison Whip coiled around Cheong-un's body like a viper. ​

"Just die already. Qincheng dog." ​

"Hmph! How can you call yourself an upright martial artist while relying on such a weapon?" ​

Cheong-un struck away the Nine-Cut Ten Thousand Poison Whip while shouting resolutely. At this, Nam Jeong-ok's face twisted even more. ​

"What's the difference between a sword and a whip that you talk nonsense? If you're going to say such things, throw away your sword first." ​

"The sword is the king of all weapons, different in caliber from such junk." ​

"Hmph! Righteous sect dog, still full of pretense. The one who wins by any means is truth." ​

Swish! ​

Nam Jeong-ok concentrated more power into the Nine-Cut Ten Thousand Poison Whip. Then a distinct halo formed on the Nine-Cut Ten Thousand Poison Whip. It was whip aura. ​

Tension appeared on Cheong-un's face. Though he knew the opponent was a master, he hadn't thought he'd reached the realm of freely deploying energy. ​

Nam Jeong-ok could be said to have already taken one step into the realm of absolute masters. In contrast, Cheong-un's realm was still ambiguous. Visible but unreachable. So it was a realm where half a step was regrettable. But Cheong-un didn't retreat. It was a situation on the edge of a cliff with nowhere to retreat anyway. ​

If he retreated or knelt, comrades fighting hard nearby would be endangered. ​

Cheong-un concentrated power into his sword with truly all his might. ​

Kakakang! ​

As sword and whip collided, his body was helplessly pushed backward. But fortunately, his sword struck by whip aura still endured without breaking. ​

Cheong-un found a thread of hope in the fact his sword was still intact. ​

"Hyaaat!" ​

Qincheng Sect's supreme techniques unwound from his sword like thread. His entire body was instantly wrapped in silver sword energy and clashed with Nam Jeong-ok's whip aura. ​

Kwaaang! ​

The aftershock of their collision swept in all directions. Martial artists fighting nearby were swept up by the energy wave and tumbled, and many were affected. Among them was Im Dok-o who had been fighting Cho Yeon-woon. ​

Im Dok-o's Hidden Soul Sand was swept by the energy wave and momentarily scattered. Hidden Soul Sand was lighter than sand grains so was easily affected by external energy waves. Because of that, Im Dok-o had to use Hidden Soul Sand while paying special attention to surrounding conditions, but an unexpected situation had unfolded. ​

Im Dok-o hastily recovered Hidden Soul Sand, but Cho Yeon-woon didn't miss that gap. ​

"Haat!" ​

He threw his whole body at Im Dok-o just like that. With his bare body without even deploying protective energy. ​

Though Hidden Soul Sand had scattered much from the unexpected energy wave, a considerable amount still swirled around Im Dok-o's whole body, making it dangerous. Charging bare-bodied without deploying protective energy toward such Hidden Soul Sand was truly suicidal. ​

Everyone thought so. Not only Im Dok-o the Hidden Soul Sand's owner, but even Jeong Cheon-ak who had been observing. ​

Kakakak! ​

And in fact it was. Cho Yeon-woon's flesh touching Hidden Soul Sand was gouged out, muscles were torn away, and he instantly became a blood-person. Yet Cho Yeon-woon didn't scream once or stop his body. ​

Eight Desolations Divine Fist's ultimate technique exploded. Power saved for this moment erupted like an active volcano. ​

Kwakwang! ​

"Kuuk!" ​

Im Dok-o's body swept up in the explosion flew backward like a falling leaf. His whole body was already dyed with blood, and his left shoulder and right leg were broken and dangling. He had suffered fatal damage. But he didn't despair yet. ​

Because he grasped that Cho Yeon-woon who had exploded all his power had no strength left. Cho Yeon-woon had consumed all cards he could attack with, and what remained was only his counterattack. ​

"Become blood sand." ​

At his gesture, just as Hidden Soul Sand fluttering in the air was about to coil around Cho Yeon-woon again… ​

Crack! ​

Suddenly Im Dok-o's head snapped sideways. ​

His skull shattered, and blood and gray brain matter scattered everywhere. Im Dok-o's body that had been staggering collapsed with a thud. ​

'H-how?' ​

That was the last thought Im Dok-o had while alive. ​

"Kuugh!" ​

Cho Yeon-woon groaned and withdrew his extended leg. What had just struck Im Dok-o's temple was precisely his leg. And his leg was a metal prosthetic. ​

When he first attached the prosthetic after his leg was severed, Cho Yeon-woon had struggled to balance his body. The metal prosthetic and his original leg differed considerably in weight, and because of that, his body's balance was subtly disrupted. ​

Naturally deploying Eight Desolations Divine Fist wasn't easy either, and its power was inevitably significantly weaker than originally. But Cho Yeon-woon through bone-carving effort instead weaponized the prosthetic. ​

"Kuhup!" ​

Only after confirming Im Dok-o had died did Cho Yeon-woon exhale the breath he'd been holding. His face was deathly pale without a trace of blood. ​

He wanted to just collapse on the ground. But he couldn't. Though he had barely defeated Im Dok-o, danger hadn't disappeared yet. ​

That's when it happened. ​

"How dare you!" ​

Kwaaang! ​

With an angry shout, powerful force struck Cho Yeon-woon. ​

Cho Yeon-woon couldn't even scream and was flung over ten zhang, tumbling on the ground. ​

Enraged by Im Dok-o's death, Jeong Cheon-ak had struck Cho Yeon-woon with a palm. ​

"How dare you kill Dok-o." ​

Terrifying killing intent poured from Jeong Cheon-ak's eyes. ​

Because it happened so instantaneously, Jeong Cheon-ak couldn't prevent Im Dok-o's death in time. Having lost a comrade right before his eyes, his rage was truly fearsome. ​

Crack! ​

The killing intent and force he emitted overturned the earth in the area. ​

At Jeong Cheon-ak's demon god-like appearance, Cho Yeon-woon's pupils wavered. ​

'We're all dead.' ​