The Winner of the Shadow Duel (3)
The flames roared skyward, their crimson glow growing ever brighter.
The concentration of fire qi had not intensified. Yet what was truly astonishing was that the vitality that had been fading away now surged back like a wildfire reignited by the smallest spark.
A strange light flashed in Dang Gwan's eyes. ‘He’s completely fine even after I used the Fire-Augmenting Poison?’
The Fire-Augmenting Poison was one of the one hundred and eight toxins he could draw from the concentrated venom essence within his body. As its name suggested, it was a poison that amplified fire qi.
Because of its nature, poison qi was inherently vulnerable to fire. The Fire-Augmenting Poison, however, used convergence and amplification to explosively increase fire qi in an instant.
It was different from gunpowder. Gunpowder caused an explosion, but the Fire-Augmenting Poison chemically stimulated the fundamental fire within a human being.
Dang Gwan had used it. After observing Yo Roe's martial arts, he had poured in a level of fire qi the giant could not endure, intending to break his body from within.
Yet instead of dying, the fading vitality had returned to its original state?
Whoosh!
The flames that had soared into the sky suddenly rushed back into Yo Roe's dantian.
“Kuhuk!”
Yo Roe spat out a mouthful of blood. It seemed even he could not avoid some strain on his body.
But that was all.
The Red Lotus Pure Fire Art activated once more, and an even more intense wave of fire qi erupted outward.
He had sustained internal injuries, but they did not appear to be severe. On the contrary, after vomiting the stagnant blood, his face even looked refreshed, as if he felt refreshed.
Though his shattered right fist had not recovered.
“Interesting.”
Killing intent blazed from Yo Roe's eyes.
“You noticed the moment I was poisoned? Did you use some kind of explosive?”
“That’s none of your damn business. That aside…”
Dang Gwan tilted his head.
“Why aren’t you dead?”
When engaged in battle, members of the Tang Family were never arrogant.
Though his mouth had spat out words like “lowly bastard” and “trash,” Dang Gwan's eyes had constantly analyzed Yo Roe's weaknesses and limits. That was why he had toyed with him using speed, pushed him back with raw power, and once he judged it feasible, driven poison into his body through palm and leg techniques.
Yet the man had not died. The attempt had failed.
Thud!
Yo Roe stomped heavily on the ground.
“As expected of the Tang Family’s patriarch. I had hoped for an honest fight, yet you resort to such cheap tricks.”
Dang Gwan let out a snort of laughter.
“I’ve never seen a proper fighter among those who look for romance in battle. Life is a continuous cycle of killing and surviving. The true beauty of combat is killing your opponent and staying alive. Remember that.”
“That’s a fine lecture.”
Yo Roe growled deeply.
“Killing and surviving, was it? Let’s see you try.”
Boom!
Yo Roe charged forward.
His speed was no different from before. Fast, but not as fast as Dang Gwan.
However, one thing had changed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Yo Roe swung his left palm. Not at Dang Gwan, but at the space around him. From the very moment he began running, he had already sealed off the escape routes.
Rumble!
Giant walls of flame rose on both sides of Dang Gwan. It was the Shinhwa Sect’s secret technique, the Twin Fire Walls of the Fierce Fire Divine Palm.
Even then, Dang Gwan did not move. He simply watched Yo Roe with intrigued eyes.
Yo Roe thrust his fist forward with tremendous force.
Boom!
A large crater formed where Dang Gwan had been standing.
There were only two places to evade: the air or behind him.
Dang Gwan chose the air. He possessed absolute confidence in his movement techniques.
At that moment, Yo Roe unleashed the Fierce Fire Divine Palm in every direction. Shockingly, even from his shattered right hand, streams of flame shot out.
Roaaar!
A massive river of flame instantly engulfed the ground. The flames covered a radius of over thirty meters. It seemed he had poured everything into this strike; Yo Roe's face had turned bright red from the exertion. ‘He’s created a stage.’
He must have realized that his opponent’s poison worked on him as well. So he had created a battlefield that favored only himself. ‘Not bad.’
Creating an environment advantageous to oneself was a fundamental of life-or-death combat. ‘But—’
Flash!
Dang Gwan's body, floating in midair, vanished in an instant.
It was faster than any movement technique he had shown so far. For a split second, even Yo Roe lost track of him.
Bang! Bang!
Shockwaves revealed Dang Gwan's position.
In the blink of an eye, he had moved more than sixty meters to the left. He raised his right hand. Between his index and middle fingers was a small throwing dagger.
The dagger he had finally drawn. Its blade, reflecting the firelight, emitted an eerie gleam.
Dang Gwan flicked his wrist.
Shuuuoooong!
The dagger flew in a straight line, piercing through the wall of flames and reaching Yo Roe's shoulder.
The speed was terrifying. Yo Roe twisted his upper body at the last moment.
Bang! Thud!
The dagger, having pierced even the final wall of the Twin Fire Walls, embedded itself in a small boulder.
Considering Yo Roe's fire qi and the power behind his strikes, the penetrating force was beyond imagination. Had the Twin Fire Walls not interfered, it would have easily drilled through four or five boulders.
But it did not end there.
Dang Gwan moved both hands in a dazzling display.
Swishswishswishswish!
Seven thin throwing daggers shot forward like beams of light. Their speed was equal to, if not faster than, Muk Bi's arrows.
At this point, surrounding himself with a river and walls of flame to create distance had lost all meaning.
Yo Roe moved his body urgently.
Bangbangbangbang!
The daggers that pierced through the flames flew past Yo Roe and embedded themselves in the ground, rocks, and trees behind him.
A strange light flashed in Dang Gwan's eyes. ‘I see.’
Those flame barriers were not simply meant to create distance. ‘He’s sharing his senses with them.’
He could read the exact moment a dagger touched the flame wall. That was how Yo Roe had so perfectly dodged the Seven Linked Flying Blades.
Yo Roe raised his left hand.
Rumble!
The wildly flickering flame walls seemed to collapse, only to transform into a massive dragon that charged toward Dang Gwan.
It was an extreme application of qi techniques. Despite being a fist fighter, his deep understanding of qi allowed him to launch such long-range attacks.
He avoided poison, read the trajectory of thrown weapons, and could even exert power in long-distance combat. That was why he fought this way.
It was more than enough to call him a supreme first-rate expert. If his opponent had been an ordinary martial artist, even someone of equal realm would have felt helpless against this style of combat.
But his opponent was Dang Gwan.
“……
What a boring bastard.”
He had analyzed him once again.
Flash!
Dang Gwan charged forward.
Straight toward Yo Roe, who was protected by the walls of flame. ‘What?!’
Feeling Dang Gwan's terrifyingly expanding presence, Yo Roe tensed up completely. ‘Where does that confidence come from?’
Whatever the case, this was no easy opponent.
In just a few exchanges, the man had figured out his weakness and nearly forced him to collapse on his own. It was only thanks to the Fire Essence he had stored within the Red Lotus Pure Fire Art that he had survived. Otherwise, he might have burned to death despite cultivating the Supreme Yang Art. ‘No matter what, you will never defeat me.’
Most internal injuries, dislocations, excessive bleeding, or even damage to his organs would not kill him. That was the regenerative power of the Fire Essence. ‘I’ll take anything you throw at me.’
Flash!
Yo Roe concentrated flames in front of him.
Roooaaar!
A fire dragon shattered the earth as it shot toward Dang Gwan. ‘He will definitely dodge.’
There was no way he could take this firepower head-on. He would surely fly to the left, right, or into the air to counterattack. ‘I’m ready. Dodge all you want!’
It was then.
Boom!
Yo Roe's eyes shook.
“What?”
Boom! Boom! Boooom!
The sound of exploding fire bombs rang out from the front.
They were not actually fire bombs. The sound was similar, but the explosive power was different. ‘What the hell is he doing?!’
Could he be using the same method he had used to burn fire qi inside his body to detonate the flame walls?
In that brief moment, Yo Roe focused his will on the flames he had launched.
Booom!
‘Ugh!’
Yo Roe involuntarily staggered backward. The shockwave transmitted through their linked senses was too violent. ‘This bastard…’
Yo Roe was genuinely shaken. ‘He’s smashing them head-on?!’
Rumble! Boomboomboom!
With overwhelming palm force, Dang Gwan shattered the storm of flames.
And then.
Whoosh!
A hand with a completely burned sleeve but perfectly intact skin reached out, aiming for Yo Roe's throat.
Swish!
Yo Roe quickly retreated. The killing intent radiating from Dang Gwan's fingertips was too vicious.
At that instant, Dang Gwan's body spun rapidly.
Whooooosh!
The flame storm that had gathered around him followed the rotation and shot high into the sky.
Right then, countless beams of light poured out from Dang Gwan's body.
They were hidden weapons.
Swishswishswishswish!
The speed was on an entirely different level compared to when he had first gauged the direction using the flame walls.
Yo Roe moved his massive body like a madman, trying to avoid the downpour of hidden weapons.
His skill was indeed remarkable. Despite his enormous frame, he managed to dodge most of the hidden weapon barrage that filled the space before him. His exceptional dynamic vision and flexibility were on full display.
However, he could not avoid them all. Four or five small hidden weapons embedded themselves in various parts of his body—his shoulder, abdomen, thigh, and upper arm.
Hssssss!
“Kugh!”
Yo Roe let out an involuntary groan.
The areas struck by the hidden weapons were emitting white smoke as they burned away.
It was not the Supreme Yang Art. This was poison. Among all poisons, it was the Bone-Melting Acid, one of the top five in terms of its ability to dissolve flesh and bone, that had been applied to the weapons.
Swish! Swish!
Yo Roe quickly circulated the true qi of the Red Lotus to block the infiltration of the Bone-Melting Acid.
Of course, the Bone-Melting Acid was not a poison that could be stopped so easily. However, the true qi emitted by an expert of Yo Roe's caliber was denser than the acid’s corrosive power.
Hssssssss!
The Bone-Melting Acid that had penetrated past his muscles and into his bones completely evaporated.
And in that brief window of time.
Dang Gwan had already reached right in front of Yo Roe.
Urgency flashed across Yo Roe's face.
“Brat.”
Dang Gwan's hand struck the exact center of Yo Roe's chest.
Thud!
“Kuk!”
Yo Roe spat blood as he was forced back.
The impact was not as strong as he had expected. However, it was an inner family heavy palm technique that completely scattered the rising true qi, leaving him momentarily defenseless.
Dang Gwan seized that exact opening.
Thudthudthudthudthud!
Seven palm strikes landed on Yo Roe's entire upper body like stamps being pressed down.
Whoosh!
The flames that had covered the area rushed back toward Yo Roe.
“Trying to conserve your strength? It’s useless.”
Whiiiirrr!
The flames that had been burning everything like a wildfire vanished in the blink of an eye. Yo Roe had absorbed them all.
But.
“You possess quite an extraordinary regenerative ability. Is that why you have so many openings? When I was younger, I fought several times against those bizarre fellows from the distant Southern Barbarians who carried spare lives with them. They were similar to you. They also charged in recklessly, trusting only in their recovery.”
Dang Gwan raised his hand.
Hssss!
Blue smoke rose from his palm.
“Even if their limbs were severed or an organ was destroyed, they wouldn’t die. Do you know what I did then?”
Yo Roe glared at him with bloodshot eyes.
Dang Gwan smiled coldly, his teeth flashing white.
“I melted their five viscera and six bowels completely.”
The Thousand Poison Hand of the Tang Family.
It was easy to learn but as difficult to master as the Doban Samyang Gwiwongong. It was the Tang Family’s supreme hand technique.
And seven years ago, Dang Gwan had reached perfection in the Thousand Poison Hand.
“Unless it’s one of the legendary Jiangshi, there is no one who can survive after their internal organs have been completely melted.”
Drip… drip…
Blood began flowing from Yo Roe's seven orifices.
Dang Gwan drew a single dagger and sliced a horizontal line through the air.
Squelch!
Yo Roe's upper and lower body were severed.
From the separated torso, dark red blood and unidentifiable chunks of melting flesh poured out.
“It was entertaining, you oversized brat.”
Dang Gwan turned around and brushed off his burned sleeve.
“My clothes are ruined. Tsk, I’m getting old too. Burning my own clothes just to catch a single bug… how embarrassing.”
Booom!
With a single explosive sound, Yo Roe's corpse was engulfed in black flames and burned away.
And so, the Fifth Martial General of the Shinhwa Sect, Yo Roe, met a futile end.