The Shadow Duel (1)
The winner of the shadow duel.
BOOM!
A single palm strike, casually unleashed, sent out a wave of force that shattered everything in its path.
Impressive.
Using the Chasing Thunder Movement Technique, Dang Gwan evaded Yo Roe’s palm strike and observed his opponent with cold, calculating eyes.
Fwoooosh!
Yo Roe’s entire body blazed with crimson flames, transforming him into a living inferno.
The heat radiating from him was so intense that even from ten zhang away, Dang Gwan’s skin prickled. Without a powerful inner energy shield to protect his body, one would not even dare approach this scorching true qi.
His body remains unharmed despite emitting such intense flames?
For those who trained in poison arts, maintaining the balance between resistance and poisonous qi was always a critical concern. If one increased the concentration of poison qi without sufficient resistance, their own body would melt from the inside out. And this principle applied not only to poison, but to every martial art in existence.
If the body lacked the durability to withstand dense true qi, no matter how profound one’s enlightenment, the flesh would fail. In other words, it was a matter of harmony between energy and body. The Wall of Martial Culmination did not exist for nothing.
Yo Roe’s scorching yang arts would be no different. This was not a question of martial style, but of fundamental principle.
Which means his body possesses heat resistance strong enough to withstand most fire-based attacks.
BAAAANG!
Yo Roe’s next palm strike scorched the air as it flew forward.
The tyrannical force tore up the ground, and the scattered debris ignited countless trees in raging flames. In an instant, the entire area around the Myth Cult’s primary intelligence outpost had turned into a sea of fire.
It seemed Yo Roe was furious at having been struck by Dang Gwan’s unexpected blow earlier. Each strike now carried a chilling killing intent. Though he wielded his martial arts for the sake of the cult rather than personal pride, he was still human. He could not help but feel rage.
Boom! Baaaaang!
Explosions rang out in succession, sending pillars of fire soaring into the sky.
His stamina was truly monstrous. Despite unleashing such devastating palm techniques one after another, his breathing remained perfectly steady.
His physical strength, inner energy, and mental fortitude were all top-tier. And yet, he never once lost sight of Dang Gwan’s evasive movements.
Setting aside his suppressed desires and battle lust, Yo Roe displayed a martial foundation that was nearly perfect. He was fully demonstrating why he stood as one of the Myth Cult’s Eighteen Martial Generals.
“I see.”
After launching countless palm strikes, Yo Roe finally relaxed his stance.
A sneer crept across his face.
“A rat with no courage to fight back. It seems all you can do is scamper around with those nimble feet of yours.”
Dang Gwan let out a short, derisive laugh.
“I was observing you. This robe is expensive, you see. It would be a shame to dirty it just to squash a single bug.”
“I’ll at least acknowledge that mouth of yours.”
Ruuuumble!
An even more intense flame erupted from Yo Roe’s body.
It was the Myth Cult’s supreme internal art — the Red Lotus Pure Fire Art. As he pushed his power to its peak, the flames surged outward in the shape of a radiant red lotus, forming a blazing halo behind him.
Dang Gwan’s eyes narrowed.
Indeed.
His raw power was extraordinary. Not only was his body perfectly tempered, but his inner energy reserves were immense. He might even surpass Dang Gwan in sheer volume of qi. The absolute, limitless heat he emitted would inflict severe burns on any ordinary expert who dared enter his range.
But that was as far as it went.
The robe, huh…
Dang Gwan lightly brushed his sleeve.
This outer robe had been the first gift his daughter, Dang Sang-ah, had ever given him. The quality was excellent, and it was far more comfortable than he had expected, so he had taken to wearing it often.
How ridiculous.
Though he spoke such words, Dang Gwan knew the truth. Without revealing his true strength, he would never be able to defeat Yo Roe.
Yo Roe was that powerful. So powerful that even the great Dang Gwan had to momentarily set aside his arrogance.
“No choice, then.”
Whooooooosh!
The eerie true qi of the Doban Samyang Guiwon Gong coiled around Dang Gwan’s entire body.
Unlike Yo Roe’s flashy Red Lotus Pure Fire Art, it continuously radiated an indescribable sense of ominous dread.
You said poison doesn’t work?
Previously, Yeon Hojeong had told him that the Myth Cult’s experts had reached such mastery in scorching yang arts that using poison against them would be unwise.
A cold smile formed on Dang Gwan’s lips.
The world had no idea. No one knew just how far the Sichuan Tang Family’s poison and hidden weapons had evolved. That they had already far surpassed common sense.
“I’ve seen enough. Shall we begin in earnest?”
Whoosh!
Dang Gwan’s figure shot forward like lightning.
In terms of movement technique alone, he held a clear advantage over Yo Roe. Though Yo Roe’s reflexes were exceptional enough to track the movements, his inability to match that speed was a fatal weakness.
Dang Gwan’s hand pierced through the wall of flames surrounding Yo Roe.
BAAAAAANG!
Yo Roe staggered back several steps.
Hssssss!
White smoke rose from Dang Gwan’s hand and sleeve.
The corners of Yo Roe’s mouth curled upward.
“An impressive speed, but do you really think such feeble attacks can even scratch this body?”
Dang Gwan offered no reply.
Pa-ba-ba-bak!
Lightning never struck in a straight line. It bent at countless angles before slamming into the earth.
Dang Gwan’s movement technique was exactly like that. True to its name — Chasing Thunder — his body moved as if folding space itself, striking from every blind spot imaginable.
Before anyone realized it, he had circled behind Yo Roe. His leg lashed out like a whip.
Thud-thud-thud!
Yo Roe’s body shook once more.
But that was all. Even after taking three consecutive kicks, he only felt a dull ache. No real damage had been dealt.
Yo Roe swung his hand horizontally.
Flash! BOOM!
It was a hand-blade strike infused with scorching fire qi. The moment a crimson crescent appeared in the air, four or five trees caught within its path were sliced cleanly in half.
Rumble! BAAAAANG!
The severed trees collapsed, scattering countless embers across the area.
It was a display of utterly brutish power.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
Tap.
Dang Gwan landed lightly once again, having retreated over ten zhang away.
Yo Roe frowned deeply.
“Your attacks are far too light. That kind of martial art cannot inflict even the slightest impact on my body.”
Dang Gwan smiled.
“Your body is certainly tough, I’ll give you that.”
“……”
“I’ll even praise you for it. The fact that your hands and feet remain unharmed after piercing through the protective barrier of the Red Lotus Flames proves you are indeed worthy of being the patriarch of a prestigious family.”
This was not arrogance. It was pure confidence.
When one cultivated the Myth Cult’s scorching yang arts to their extreme, they could emit protective flame-based gang qi. Even a supreme expert would find it difficult to break through unless they attacked with full intent. And with such high-temperature flames added to it, approaching — let alone penetrating — was nearly impossible.
And yet Dang Gwan had struck the living fire god’s body multiple times with both hands and feet and remained completely unscathed.
“But if that’s all you’ve got…”
THUD!
Yo Roe stomped down with such force that the entire mountain peak seemed to tremble.
A strange light flashed in Dang Gwan’s eyes.
A stomp technique?
Did foreign martial arts even possess such a concept?
“You will never defeat me.”
Pa-aaak!
Having previously used long-range attacks to keep his distance, Yo Roe now closed the gap without hesitation.
While he could not compare to Dang Gwan, his movement technique was still at an astonishing level. Dang Gwan had simply displayed speed beyond common measure. Yo Roe, too, possessed martial arts worthy of a grandmaster.
Yo Roe’s massive fist tore through the air.
It was the Yama King’s Eight Fists, the same technique Gyu Jeok had used before — one of the Myth Cult’s supreme skills.
BAAAAANG! Baaaaang!
The flaming fist strikes exploded through the air, generating terrifying shockwaves.
Yo Roe’s Yama Fist was different from Gyu Jeok’s. While Gyu Jeok had used sharp, precise techniques, Yo Roe wielded fists that were endlessly heavy and powerful.
Even when learning the same art, the nature of the technique could change depending on one’s interpretation.
It was truly worthy of the Fifth Martial General — the one said to possess the strongest fists among the Eighteen Martial Generals.
Bang! Rumble!
The overlapping fist energies amplified one another, creating explosions so powerful they seemed to steal one’s breath.
Each punch felt like a blazing cannonball. Dang Gwan continued to retreat, dodging the strikes, but the relentless barrage of fists finally began to restrict even his movements.
A vicious smile appeared on Yo Roe’s face.
Got him.
There was nowhere left to retreat. Behind him was a cliff, and even if he tried to circle around to the rear, the flames of the Red Lotus would bind his lower body.
This is why you people can never win.
The reason the Sichuan Tang Family had ruled through fear was because of their poison and hidden weapons.
But against an expert emitting this level of protective gang qi, hidden weapons would be useless. Moreover, due to the nature of poison, all toxic qi would evaporate in the face of such intense flames.
Even at similar levels of cultivation, there were clear compatibilities. Yo Roe had no doubt of his victory.
Thud!
Finally, Dang Gwan’s feet reached the edge of the cliff.
Fwooooosh!
Walls of crimson flame rose on both sides of Yo Roe, completely sealing off every possible escape route.
Dang Gwan glared at him with icy eyes.
Meeting that gaze, Yo Roe spoke in a voice as cold as his flames were hot.
“It’s over, you venomous snake.”
THUD!
Just as he prepared to unleash his final strike with a powerful stomp—
…?
Suddenly, Yo Roe’s eyes trembled.
What is this?
The inner energy surging from his dantian shook violently, like a raft caught in a storm.
In that split second, Yo Roe fell into a terrible dilemma — whether to throw this punch or hold back. He trusted his own power. He trusted the cult’s martial arts. He trusted the years of training he had accumulated.
There was no way anything could go wrong. It was just a momentary disturbance in his energy. He simply had to strike.
His reason told him this.
But his instincts screamed otherwise.
The wild beast within him whispered:
Don’t. You must not throw that punch.
Before he knew it, the energy of the Yama King’s Eight Fists had already flowed from his chest to his right shoulder.
And the closer it drew to his fist, the more violently his true qi raged.
If you throw that punch, you’re finished!
Goosebumps erupted across his skin.
He didn’t know why he felt this way. But Yo Roe clearly sensed mortal danger.
And yet—
That’s ridiculous!
He chose to ignore the warning his instincts screamed at him. With this one strike, he could crush that arrogant bastard once and for all.
Yo Roe threw his fist forward with all his might.
CRUUUUNCH!
“……?!”
Silence fell.
Dang Gwan looked at Yo Roe with eyes full of pity. Yo Roe stared down at his own fist with an expression of utter disbelief.
His fist had exploded from the inside out, crushed so badly that bone was exposed.
Hssssssss!
Roaring flames cauterized the wound and evaporated the blood.
The pain must have been excruciating. Yet Yo Roe simply stared at his mangled fist in a daze.
“If your head is empty, you should at least have some caution. But it seems you lack even that.”
“……”
“What the hell did you do to me?”
“That’s none of your concern. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it.”
Dang Gwan raised his right hand.
He brought his index finger and thumb together, then flicked them sharply.
Snap!
At the crisp sound, Yo Roe’s face turned deathly pale.
“Urrgh!”
He vomited a mouthful of blood.
Whoosh!
That wasn’t all. The flames that had been incinerating everything in all directions began to die down at a terrifying speed.
The fire that had been spreading outward now rapidly contracted, condensing into his back and both forearms.
The exact spots where Dang Gwan’s palm and kick techniques had struck him earlier.
Danger!!
Dang Gwan grinned.
“You said poison doesn’t work? How laughable.”
Wooooooong!
The true qi of the Doban Samyang Guiwon Gong erupted from his body and pierced directly into Yo Roe’s acupoints.
In that instant, a blinding white light exploded from Yo Roe’s body.
KWAAAAAAAANG!!
A tremendous explosion rang out as a massive vortex of flames shot into the sky.
Dang Gwan brushed off his sleeve. Fortunately, his robe remained completely undamaged.
“There is no such thing as a person immune to poison. As long as it is not used clumsily.”