Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Madness Manifests (4)
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“Kuhk!”
The throat that had begun swelling red returned to normal in an instant.
As long as the bones weren't broken, it was hard to inflict damage on a body dominated by demonic arts. Even delivering a solid impact beforehand was no easy task.
“Y-You bastard!”
Even so, that single blow had shaken him to the core.
A flicker of reason returned to Hong Junak's eyes, which had been filled only with madness.
“How dare you lay a hand on Myeong!”
“You killed him.”
“Uwaaaah!”
Boom!
He kicked off the ground with both feet and pushed off with both hands, exploding forward at tremendous speed. It didn't look like a man running—it was like a four-legged beast charging.
Human anatomy shouldn't allow using all four limbs to match an animal's speed, but Hong Junak was different. He was truly as fast as a leaping tiger.
Pop!
Explosive Palm layered atop explosive speed.
Murong Bi's short staff traced a smooth arc.
Splat!
He deflected the palm force and immediately ducked low, spinning his body as he charged in.
Thud!
His upper body nearly horizontal, he unleashed an upward kick that slammed into Hong Junak's face.
There was no scream, no groan. His momentum was so fierce that even after taking the hit to the face, he flew onward in the same direction.
Crunch!
Scarlet demonic energy poured from Hong Junak's body as he burst through the wall.
Murong Bi's face twisted.
'This situation's gone straight to hell.'
The Hong Sword Clan wouldn't be staffed entirely by idiots.
The fire at Hong In's residence must have everyone in chaos, but someone might have heard the building crumbling. Unlike before, it wasn't the floor—this time the wall had been smashed through.
Above all, Hong Junak's energy had fully transformed into blatant demonic qi. There had to be people who could sense that alien aura.
'I set up precautions, but...'
His conversation with Shadow came to mind.
'Guys might come rushing in under the guise of offering support. Deal with every one that shows up.'
'Understood.'
'On the flip side, some might try to enter once they realize something's wrong. Block them as best you can, but ignore any peak masters you can't handle. Actually, don't let anyone discover your presence at all.'
'Pardon?'
'A sword is best when it cuts clean or not at all. If you can't sever, at least stab the throat. In the worst case, you'll have to grab me and run.'
Shadow's stealth techniques were quite impressive. Without Brain Gate Heart Technique, even he might not have caught him easily.
'I planned to finish this quickly before then.'
Life never works out that way.
No matter how meticulously you plan strategies and tactics, things rarely go as intended.
That's why armchair theories from those who've never seen the field sound like grasping at clouds. Even veterans who've taken a hundred sword wounds in the heat of battle end up like this—how could ink-stained scholars' plans ever fit perfectly?
'No choice, then.'
He'd always made a habit of conserving strength and internal energy to the minimum, forged from living on unpredictable battlefields where anything could happen at any moment.
But when it was time to unleash everything, hesitation had no place.
A faint green haze rose from Murong Bi's toes.
Thud!
His low stance shot forward in a straight line, far faster than before.
He released the restrictions on his Mixed Origin True Qi, pouring internal energy freely.
For the first time since entering this body, he used the Murong clan's secret movement art: Flying Heavenly Bird Step.
Surprise flickered across Hong Junak's madness-twisted face.
Whoosh! Crack!
“Kugh!”
He dodged a powerful straight punch and drove a strike into Hong Junak's thigh.
It was a mystical movement. Not just fast—his body curved naturally in response to the opponent's attack, like a bird riding the wind.
'Ughhh!'
His inflexible waist screamed in agony.
But Murong Bi didn't stop. He wanted to stoke the rage further and let him exhaust himself, but he couldn't delay any longer.
Spinning gracefully to halt his charge, Murong Bi stomped down with thunderous force.
Roar!
The sound of his foot striking the ground evoked the roar of a massive carnivore.
Mountain-Shaking Tiger Step, a footwork on par with Flying Heavenly Bird Step.
If the previous charge had been swift and fluid, this one was heavy and forceful.
It didn't need to be the fastest—it sealed off escape routes with sheer momentum, leaving nowhere to dodge. And though heavier than Bird Step, it wasn't slow.
Fwoosh!
Even the madness from the demonic arts seemed half-scattered by the Tiger Step's aura.
Hong Junak desperately thrust out both palms.
It was the Explosive Palm's secret technique, invoked instinctively: Melting Rock Hand.
Whoosh!
Scorching palm force targeted his entire body.
At such close range, escape seemed impossible.
In that instant, the three-chi short staff danced.
Gripping the end of the handle, he used his wrist's spring to rotate it smoothly. The iron staff seemed to bend ever so slightly.
Flash!
A reddish glow trailed the shadow of the spinning staff to the right.
Red Flower Staff Technique. The destructive force of Melting Rock Hand crumbled against the staff tip's Mixed Origin True Qi force and was deflected.
Murong Bi's left foot shot forward long.
Thud!
His lowered stance came from the extended reach.
Shifting diagonally to pull the staff back, he loaded his weight onto his left foot and launched his right chest forward powerfully.
His right arm extended straight alongside his chest.
At its tip gleamed the rounded point of the refined staff.
Crunch!
“Kraaak!”
The shoulder struck by the staff collapsed with a gruesome sound.
The shoulder blade shattered. Beyond a simple fracture, the cartilage tore, and the bone head crumbled under the Force Emission impact.
If it had been a blade, the entire arm would have been severed.
Hong Junak roared and swung his left arm.
To attack after such damage—perhaps the power of demonic arts.
And his reckless assault unwittingly disrupted the rhythm, making it hard even for Murong Bi to evade.
Bam!
Murong Bi's hair whipped back.
In agonized ecstasy at landing a hit, Hong Junak's face twisted into horror in a split second.
“Hoo.”
Calm.
His left hand naturally hung down toward the floor, while his right, gripping the staff, extended straight out at a right angle.
His chest, exposed defenselessly.
Yet it was utterly unscathed. Aside from his torn and burst clothes revealing a bit of chest, nothing had changed.
His skin was just a little flushed red?
Considering Explosive Palm's power, it was excessively intact.
“How?!”
Whoosh!
The force enveloping Murong Bi's body vanished like smoke.
Hong Junak's senses keenly detected the shift.
Which only shocked him more.
“No way... Force Qi Skill?!”
Force Emission fundamentally amplified power through internal energy operation and projected it outward.
“Projection” meant expelling it from the body. The technique of wrapping that force around the outer shell to linger on desired areas or the whole body, offsetting external impacts, was called Force Qi Skill or Force Qi Armor.
That was exactly what Murong Bi had just used.
“Impossible!”
Even he, with his Red Thread Qi Skill at eighty percent mastery, hadn't dared attempt it yet.
For a young warrior not even in his twenties to wield such a technique, difficult even for peak masters, so effortlessly?
“What... what the hell are you?!”
“Why'd you snap out of it?”
Clicking his tongue, Murong Bi kicked off the ground again.
Snap!
Charging straight in, he swung the short staff mercilessly.
Hong Junak felt his mind reel.
Shadows of the staff filled every direction. He couldn't tell real from fake.
Before, he might have retreated, but now he couldn't. The penetrating force from his shattered shoulder lingered in his upper body, disrupting his energy flow.
Papapapapa!
He tried blocking with one left arm, but it couldn't fend off that barrage.
“Kraaaak!”
His whole body ached.
Even the blocked left arm hurt. He'd poured energy to deflect, but it had struck weak points with eerie precision, dispersing the force entirely.
Murong Bi's eyes flashed.
Trembling, Hong Junak's body still emanated demonic qi, but panic led to wild swings.
And in that gap.
A flaw finally appeared dead center in Hong Junak's chest.
Whoosh!
Murong Bi's body became a streak of shadow closing in.
Unlike Bird or Tiger Step, this was a stealthy assault specialized in ambushes: Hidden Forest Leopard Step.
Thud!
Hong Junak's body, struck squarely in the chest, flew backward.
Crunch!
Crashing through the building wall again, he tumbled amid debris.
His legs, draped over the breached wall, quivered.
The fight was decided.
“Hooo.”
Exhaling the last breath, Murong Bi grimaced.
'Damn, it still hurts.'
Even Force Qi Skill didn't negate all impact. With this level of energy and body, it was inevitable.
'No time. Finish him first, then...'
That was when it happened.
Shhh.
A sharp sword intent emanated from the entrance to the patriarch's quarters.
A presence he'd missed amid the battle. Now just a dozen paces from the entrance.
“What a pain in the ass.”
Of course he'd be discovered. When had life ever gone his way?
Twang!
Murong Bi kicked off, intent on killing Hong Junak and fleeing ASAP.
The change was instantaneous.
Fwoom!
Before he could take three steps, scorching demonic qi rushed in hot.
Murong Bi twisted right.
Scree! Boom! Crunch!
A sudden palm strike exploded a distant tree, snapping it midway.
Murong Bi's eyes widened.
'Air-Splitting Palm.'
The so-called fist wind or palm wind—a qi projection technique.
Hong Junak's earlier palm force had carried Air-Splitting Palm principles, but its power halved after one zhang.
This was different. The force from his palm heart maintained uniform power all the way to impact.
Perfected Air-Splitting Palm.
“Kuhhhh.”
Crackle.
Hong Junak rose, scattering debris, ominous crimson demonic qi rising from his body.
The writhing qi resembled dozens of squirming snakes.
“Uwaaaaaah!!”
Hong Junak's roar was no longer human.
Murong Bi's face crumpled.
“What the hell did that bastard cultivate?”
His level clearly hadn't been high. And it was only a half-baked demonic art.
His final blow had pulverized the heart acupoint—no demonic art should let him rise after that.
'This is at least mid-tier crimson class.'
Hong Junak charged at Murong Bi.
Madness fused with demonic qi. The very picture of a qi deviation demon.
Murong Bi nimbly stomped.
Thump!
Grazing past Hong Junak, he glanced back.
'As expected, not enough.'
He'd slammed a ruthless strike into the side during Flying Heavenly Bird Step passage, but after a brief stagger, he turned again.
This was why you never tangled with demonic art cultivators.
'No helping it.'
He could squeeze out everything to kill him. The problem was afterward.
'Escape gets harder. But there's a way.'
Snap!
Murong Bi bolted toward the side gate by the wall.
The direction where Shadow lay hidden.
“Kraaak!”
Hong Junak pursued like a beast hunting prey.
And then.
“Patriarch!”
Boom!
Yi Jongbaek and dozens of swordsmen burst through the gate, faces etched with urgency.
“What happened... Gasp!”
“Your patriarch's here!”
Murong Bi leaped into the air.
In that moment, Hong Junak's face—nearly upon him—entered Yi Jongbaek's view.
“Kraaaak!”
“B-Block him!”