Chapter 599: Just Ask to Borrow a Sword Instead
Chapter 599: Just Ask to Borrow a Sword Instead
Even with the Combat God gauntlets equipped, the Fist Demon did not lower his guard.
His opponent was formidable. Despite fighting with everything he had, he still hadn't managed to kill the man. He had even been forced to don his gauntlets. Furthermore, Kang Hu had now drawn out every last drop of his poisonous energy.
One lapse in concentration meant death. That reality applied to both of them.
They lunged at each other simultaneously.
Because of the blades protruding from Kang Hu’s fists, his reach was effectively longer than the Fist Demon’s.
Swaaaaak!
Blades capable of slicing through iron like paper grazed the Fist Demon’s face. Since it was still unknown whether the Combat God could withstand those blades of killing intent, the Fist Demon responded cautiously, focusing on evasion.
However, he couldn't keep dodging forever. In an instant, a blade of killing intent lunged at an unavoidable angle.
Pa-ak!
The blade, which had been tearing through the air, was caught and halted by the Fist Demon’s palm.
‘Damn it! He blocked it.’
Kang Hu saw it—there wasn't a single scratch on the gauntlet. This was the majesty of the world's greatest gauntlets.
Swaaaaak!
As the Fist Demon counterattacked, Kang Hu twisted his body and leaped backward.
“Must be nice, hiding behind those gauntlets. Why not just carry a shield while you’re at it?”
It was a persistent attempt to wound the Fist Demon's pride and goad him into removing the Combat God.
Pang, pang!
The Fist Demon struck his palm with his fist and replied, “This is enough.”
It wasn't the reaction Kang Hu wanted. His provocations and mockery were failing.
There was one thing Kang Hu didn't know: having wandered the Central Plains with the Cult Leader since his youth, the Fist Demon had more practical combat experience than any of the other Demon Lords. He was a man who had experienced every possible type of provocation from every kind of enemy.
Swaaaaak!
Kang Hu’s fist rapidly targeted the Fist Demon’s vital points. One clean hit was all it would take. Once the body was pierced by the blade, the fist would follow through to smash the wound.
The Fist Demon threw a punch while dodging the incoming blade.
Hwoooong!
The Fist Demon’s fist whistled past Kang Hu's cheek like a massive block of iron, leaving the skin burning as if scorched.
Shiiiik!
Having dodged the attack, Kang Hu’s blade aimed for the abdomen. The Fist Demon had a large frame; it felt like any random thrust would land somewhere. Yet the attacks only grazed and grazed again. It was difficult to leave even a single scratch on the Fist Demon’s body.
Of course, Kang Hu didn't allow the Fist Demon’s punches to land easily either. This was a matter of survival.
One hit meant death.
This sense of crisis kept both their bodies in a state of extreme, heightened frenzy. One might assume that martial artists of their caliber would fight with calm, calculated precision, but that wasn't the case. Right now, both men were pushed to the brink of madness.
They were in such a state of excitement that they wouldn't feel the pain even if their bones shattered or their flesh tore; they would likely keep swinging even if their hands were severed.
That was why they were able to block. The attacks they exchanged were flying at speeds and with power that could never be intercepted unless they were in this heightened state. If they didn't maintain this intensity, their minds wouldn't be able to keep up.
Their fists were suddenly imbued with Gang Qi, and their figures vanished in an instant. The air surrounding them exploded repeatedly, loud enough to burst eardrums.
Pung! Pu-ung! Pu-uuung!
The force was such that anything caught in the crossfire would have been pulverized. Rocks would have turned to dust; iron would have been crushed like dough. Both men had transcended the stage of being bound by forms; their battle was a display of the absolute limits of fist techniques.
Watching their fight, the One Flower Sword Venerable sensed that the battle was nearing its end. After fighting incessantly with such immense internal energy, they couldn't have much left. Both would soon look to settle the score.
In her heart, she rooted for the Fist Demon. If, by some chance, the Fist Demon died, his death would not be his alone. It would affect Lee An, Geom Mu-geuk, and even herself. The repercussions would reach everyone.
‘You must win, if only for our sake.’
The One Flower Sword Venerable looked at Lee An standing beside her. She sent a message via Voice Transmission.
— Don't look at this as your father’s fight. Look at it as the Fist Demon’s fight.
Lee An was clever; she understood exactly what that meant.
— Yes, Sword Venerable.
It meant she should set aside personal emotions and engrave every single movement into her memory. Where else would she get the chance to witness such a battle firsthand?
Pa-pa-pa-pang!
In the midst of their clash of extreme concentration, Kang Hu lost his balance. Without missing the opening, the Fist Demon’s shoulder slammed into his chest.
Kwaang!
The moment he was hit, Kang Hu swung his blade of killing intent, but it was caught by the Fist Demon’s hand.
Swaaaaak! Kwang!
Struck in the face by the Fist Demon’s fist, Kang Hu was sent sliding backward. Blood trickled from his nose.
A nosebleed in a fight between masters of this level? It was truly unheard of, yet it was precisely because of the nature of their fight that such a thing could happen.
Kang Hu pressed a pressure point on the bridge of his nose to stop the bleeding and asked, “That was your chance. Why didn't you follow through?”
Even though Kang Hu had his head tilted back, looking at the sky, the Fist Demon hadn't attacked.
The Fist Demon massaged his wrist and fist as he replied, “You like setting traps, don't you?”
He was referring to how Kang Hu had used the hidden blades when he was cornered earlier. The words hit the mark. Kang Hu had indeed intended to launch a surprise attack if the Fist Demon had pursued him.
Kang Hu felt a weight on his chest. In all his life, he had never encountered an enemy so difficult to handle. Naturally, his gaze drifted toward Lee An.
‘If only I could take the Fist Demon’s daughter hostage.’
The reason he hadn't acted on that thought was the One Flower Sword Venerable standing in front of Lee An. If he provoked her and she joined the fray, the gates of hell would truly open.
‘I didn't want to resort to this.’
Kang Hu unleashed his hidden trump card. It was a technique that required the use of Innate True Qi and could only be activated by taking the life of his top disciple, Jin Dan. But this was the only way to overcome those massive, powerful fists.
“Fine. Let’s end this.”
Kang Hu’s gaze turned toward Jin Dan, who had been watching the fight. Seeing his master’s gaze, Jin Dan felt that it was finally time for him to step forward.
‘I will give my life to aid you.’
The characters engraved on Jin Dan’s fists began to emit a crimson glow. As if waiting for this, a blue light, like ghost fire, erupted from Kang Hu’s hands.
Saaaaaa.
The blue and red lights began to move toward each other. Originally, Kang Hu was supposed to contain both energies within his own fists. However, since these two energies were polar opposites, having them in one body would cause severe internal injuries due to the collision. Lacking the power to suppress that conflict, he had stored one of the energies in his disciple’s fists.
He had to unite these energies and eliminate the Fist Demon as quickly as possible. Once the two energies began to clash, he wouldn't be safe either.
Jin Dan knew he had to transfer the energy, but there was one crucial fact he didn't know. Not only the energy in his hands, but his very life force and Innate True Qi would be sucked out, resulting in his death. He didn't realize how wicked the sorcery was—or rather, how cold-blooded his master was.
Hweeeeeee.
The blue and red energies met in mid-air and began to mingle. It was at that exact moment.
Shik!
A sharp, short sound of wind cut through the air. In the next instant, the crimson energy that had filled the void retreated back into Jin Dan’s body.
Chul-kuk.
The sound of a sword being sheathed.
Before anyone realized it, the One Flower Sword Venerable was standing behind Jin Dan. With a tearing sound, a rift began to form.
Sluuuuurp.
Jin Dan’s body was sliced diagonally, spraying blood. He lost his life without even knowing how or why he had died. Never expecting the One Flower Sword Venerable to interfere in the fight, Kang Hu shouted with a face contorted in rage.
“You crazy bitch!”
The One Flower Sword Venerable looked at Kang Hu and spoke nonchalantly.
“Wasn't this a one-on-one fight? Was it okay for it to be two-on-one?”
If he said yes, he would be admitting it was okay for her to intervene as well. Another string of foul curses erupted from Kang Hu’s mouth.
“You dog of a woman! You cowardly Demonic Cult bastards, less than vermin!”
Lee An grew angry at the insults directed at the Sword Venerable. However, the One Flower Sword Venerable herself didn't care in the least. The person she was concerned about was the Fist Demon.
She looked at the Fist Demon and gave a slight nod. There was no telling what would have happened if the disciple’s energy had merged. Of course, even so, it was a fight she shouldn't have meddled in.
But she believed in the change in the Fist Demon. In his softened heart. In his transformed life. She hoped that today’s fight was not for honor, but for victory.
Fortunately, the Fist Demon didn't look displeased at all. Instead, he expressed his gratitude.
“My thanks.”
Kang Hu sneered at the Fist Demon.
“Wearing the Combat God, and now receiving help from a woman.”
He tried his best to provoke him until the end, but it didn't work.
“If that woman is the Sword Venerable, isn't that help worth receiving?”
A smile played on the One Flower Sword Venerable’s lips at the Fist Demon’s words. To think he would say such a thing about her. Yes, her intuition had been right.
Lee An could finally feel it. This was a true battle between Demon Lords. A fight between real adults who didn't get swept up in the opponent’s provocations and never lost sight of what was important. She was seeing the path she needed to take.
In contrast, Kang Hu’s expression turned completely rigid. If the person who had submitted the report on the Eight Demon Lords were in front of him, he would have crushed their skull instantly. The report on the Demon Lords had been entirely wrong.
He didn't know the reason why the Fist Demon wanted to win this fight. The Fist Demon had no desire to gain honor by defeating him. He simply wanted to win quickly so he could wait for someone here.
He wanted the person Geom Mu-geuk saw when he emerged to be himself, not this foul-mouthed Kang Hu. He wanted to see the Young Cult Leader smiling brightly and making jokes. It didn't matter if those jokes weren't directed at him. In fact, it might be better if they weren't.
If he joked with Lee An, or with the One Flower Sword Venerable... The Fist Demon was a man for whom just watching that scene was enough.
‘Come to think of it, I felt the same way when I traveled with the Cult Leader in my youth.’
He had wanted to ensure that no one dared to act disrespectfully toward the Cult Leader. Even if he wasn't the protagonist, he wanted to protect the Cult Leader so that he could be the protagonist. That was the very heart he carried.
The Fist Demon poured that sentiment into his clenched fist.
Tight.
Vast internal energy and emotion were also loaded into Kang Hu’s fist.
Tight.
They both knew instinctively. This was the final clash.
S-s-s-s-sk.
The blades of killing intent protruding from Kang Hu’s fists grew even longer.
The Fist Demon said to him, “Instead of doing that, why don't you just go to my daughter and ask to borrow a sword?”
The Fist Demon also knew how to mock. He knew how to enjoy a fight. He had only been holding back because Lee An was watching.
Of course, Kang Hu wasn't one to take it lying down.
“Why borrow one? I’ll just tear you all apart and take it.”
The two men hurled themselves at each other.
Swaaaaaaaaak!
Kang Hu’s Ghostly Soul Severing Fist. The final, Seventh Fist: Soul Slashing Strike.
The Fist Demon’s Thunder Asura Fist. The final, Sixth Fist: Yama’s Thunder Asura.
Contained in the Fist Demon’s punch were waiting and longing. Contained in Kang Hu’s punch were malice and hatred.
Before the fists collided, what the Fist Demon saw was not the hell Kang Hu had unleashed, but a cliff. The cliff he had looked up at for so long.
The Fist Demon felt a power in his arm and fist that was different from usual. It was a feeling difficult to describe. A confidence that he could tear down the cliff itself erupted from his fist.
‘Yes, I will tear it down!’
And so, the two fists—the Fist Demon and the Fist King—collided head-on.
Kwaaaaang!
Layers of compressed malice and hatred could not overcome the Fist Demon’s heart for Geom Mu-geuk.
Pa-pa-pa-pa-pak!
The blades of killing intent shattered into a flurry of white light. The Fist Demon’s fist, having crushed the blades, proceeded to shatter Kang Hu’s fist as well.
Kwad-d-d-duk!
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
A horrific scream erupted from Kang Hu’s mouth, but it didn't last long. Kang Hu saw it—a pitch-black shadow covering his entire field of vision. It felt as if the sky itself were collapsing upon him.
Kwang!
The Fist Demon’s massive fist, having destroyed the other's hand, flew straight into Kang Hu’s face. As Kang Hu’s Body Protection Qi shattered into pieces, his face was completely caved in and crushed.
Fist King Kang Hu, his face destroyed, slowly toppled forward. No sound of thunder was heard from Yama’s Thunder Asura. And the last thing Kang Hu saw in his final moment was Death, sitting in the spectator seats, watching the fight.
Thump.
The lifeless Kang Hu collapsed to the floor. The life-and-death bloody battle between the Fist Demon and the Fist King had finally come to an end.
“Father!”
Lee An ran to the Fist Demon and threw her arms around him. She was so happy her father was safe. Though she hadn't shown it, no one knew how anxiously she had watched. The One Flower Sword Venerable had told her to see it as the Fist Demon’s fight, not her father’s, but how could she?
“I am fine.”
Only at the Fist Demon’s reassuring answer did Lee An finally feel relieved. Now, not as a daughter but as a martial artist, she shared her thoughts on the fight.
“You were truly magnificent.”
The Fist Demon gave a wide grin. It was awkward, but it was a smile that suited his rugged face perfectly.
Watching the scene in silence, the One Flower Sword Venerable could tell. Through this fight, the Fist Demon had ascended to another realm. For those at their level, a life-and-death battle with such a rival was a fated encounter more precious than any spirit medicine.
Yeon Baek-in stared blankly at the completely demolished martial arts hall. The corpses piled there were all from his side. Since he had clearly sided with Kang Hu, he would have no complaints even if the Fist Demon killed him with a single strike.
Then, something caught Yeon Baek-in’s eye.
‘Huh?’
Everything around them was destroyed, but there were things that remained intact. They were the chairs that housed the mechanical devices leading underground. In this place where everything had collapsed and shattered, only those remained unscathed.
‘Could it be?’
Was it a coincidence? Or...?
Yeon Baek-in’s gaze turned toward the Fist Demon. The Fist Demon was slowly removing the Combat God gauntlets. The look in his eyes as he gazed down at the gauntlets was deep.
The Fist Demon folded them neatly and tucked them into the folds of the clothes he had picked up from the floor. He hadn't noticed when he first took them out, but the leather pouches for the gauntlets were securely fastened. He had attached the pouches so that they could never be lost unless the clothes were forcibly stripped from him.
Yeon Baek-in was unsure, but Lee An knew for certain. Her father had fought in a way that avoided destroying those chairs. It wasn't as if they couldn't come up if the passage was destroyed, but this was a gesture of respect toward the Young Cult Leader.
It was the Fist Demon’s courtesy—to let him come up comfortably through the mechanism he had entered, rather than making him dig his way through the earth. Her father hadn't won because he was lucky. The fact that he had spared these chairs in the midst of such a desperate fight meant...
‘Father was stronger.’
And Lee An could feel her father’s heart toward the Young Cult Leader. The heart of a Demon Lord who wanted to wait for the Young Cult Leader after tidying up the place.
She thought that perhaps the heart of Geom Mu-geuk, who had tried not to break the table at the Pungryu Tavern, and her father’s heart, which had protected the chairs, were not so different.
As if to prove her theory correct, the Fist Demon looked at the wreckage and spoke to Yeon Baek-in.
“An honored guest is about to arrive. Clean this mess up.”