Death Is Fair to Everyone (5)
Hmm.
Pae Yul’s eyes flashed.
How far away was it? Roughly ten li, perhaps?
Gold-colored flames.
KWOOONG!
The shockwave erupting from ten li away shook the entire mountain range.
Yeon Hojeong, and…
Someone whose name he did not know was fighting. Their skill appeared extraordinary. The distance was too great to read the enemy’s aura, yet the leaking shockwaves were immense. It meant the opponent was a master worthy of trading fierce blows with Yeon Hojeong.
There truly are many masters in this world.
A smile spread across Pae Yul’s face.
He was only human, after all. A man who had staked his entire life on martial arts. His pride ran deep, and his unwillingness to lose was second to none. Naturally, he felt jealousy and displeasure toward anyone stronger than himself.
Yet a fighting spirit far fiercer than any envy was what truly sustained him.
There’s a certain taste to knocking them down.
Many were stronger than him. Yeon Hojeong alone was more than ten years his junior yet already surpassed him. And Pae Yul liked it that way. The world was full of geniuses and monsters.
The more obstacles there were, the more enjoyable the process of shattering and leaping over them became. The hours of endurance were painful, but for the sake of tasting that moment of hard-won victory, he could endure any suffering.
But.
Paahak!
He closed half the ten-li distance in an instant.
Immediately, sinister auras rose from every direction. Assassins, martial artists; their numbers were nearly impossible to count.
At least for now, I can’t tire the financier simply for the sake of my own competitive spirit.
The financier was obviously Yeon Hojeong.
Paahak!
An assassin burst from the left thicket, hooked fingernails slashing toward his throat.
Chiiing!
As if he had been waiting, Pae Yul raised his short spear to block the killing blow, then seized the assassin’s throat and twisted.
Kwadeuk!
The struggling assassin flopped backward into the bushes. His windpipe and carotid artery had been torn out together. Even immediate pressure on the wound could not prevent death.
From that moment, the scattered killing intents converged sharply on Pae Yul alone.
“Huu.”
He drew in a deep breath and exhaled. For an instant, a mighty aura surged from his body.
Pabababak!
The assassins charged without so much as a battle cry.
Just those visible to the eye already exceeded thirty. Moreover, this was not open terrain. If he allowed the hidden killers to close in, he might die before displaying his true ability.
Yet Pae Yul smiled with satisfaction.
“Good.”
Paahang! Puk!
The elastic sweep of his short spear punched straight through an assassin’s chest.
He did not cut or smash. Every strike was a pure thrust, a killing method that shot forward to pierce and destroy.
Pababak!
He accelerated instantly, closing on the assassins and spinning his short spear with ferocious speed.
Pubeobeobeobeobeok!
His spearwork moved like shafts of light.
Even though it was not a long spear, five assassins standing far apart suddenly had large holes drilled through their chests.
The secret technique he had honed for years, the new myth that would erase the old legend of Point Cang Shooting the Sun and carve its own legend in its place, exploded outward.
“Uaaaap!”
Jeojeojeojeojeojeong!
He had not even drawn his sword. Freely wielding a single short spear to deflect every attack, Pae Yul’s martial arts had reached a truly peerless realm.
Pubeobeok! Pubeobeobeobeok!
Defense was followed by attack. After lightning-fast defense came extreme-speed strikes like rays of light.
Pulseok!
The countless assassins collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. Every fallen body bore an identical hole through the chest.
Huup.
Pae Yul regulated his breathing.
The penetrating power of the Piercing Sun Spear could pierce even steel. However, to produce such force required perfect control of coiling silk energy, joints, and muscles with maximum elasticity.
He had poured every ounce of strength into those explosive strikes. The consumption of stamina and internal energy was inevitably severe.
As expected, the feeling is completely different when used in real combat.
He had to manage both stamina and internal energy distribution carefully. If he wasted his strength in a chaotic melee against difficult opponents, he would exhaust himself and die before killing them.
Pababak!
More enemies were appearing.
These were not assassins but government officers. And they were no ordinary officials.
Each seemed to possess considerable martial training. They approached cautiously, palms glowing a heated red.
A formation?
It was not a murim formation. It was the coordinated battle array used by constables and government forces. Unlike the orthodox sects, the imperial palace and official bureaus never concerned themselves with fair duels.
They employed any means necessary to capture criminals. Their strategies and tactics often surpassed even the secret arts of murim sects.
And with this level of martial skill on top of it…
“Good. Very good.”
Chaaaang!
He drew his sword.
Holding both sword and spear—two weapons of entirely different character—his aura grew even sharper than before. Whether he could wield them perfectly or not, the sheer killing intent was sharp enough to freeze the hearts of any master.
Pae Yul roared.
“Come!”
The officials charged with battle cries.
The melee had begun.
* * *
“Truly an incredible fellow.”
Beon Jak made no attempt to hide his emotions.
“That clumsy brat from back then has grown this much in such a short time.”
It was only natural that Beon Jak was shocked.
At the time, Yeon Hojeong had been unable to handle him. Even fighting alongside his father Yeon Wi, they had failed to gain the upper hand.
Moreover, Yeon Hojeong’s combat sense had already reached an extreme level, and Yeon Wi had opened his secret technique for the first time in actual battle, his momentum blazing.
Yet Beon Jak had still escaped. More precisely, he had abandoned the fight and fled.
The surprising part was that the retreat had been a calculated decision. Beon Jak had judged that although he could kill both Yeon Wi and Yeon Hojeong, he could not withstand the coordinated assault of the remaining masters.
If he had risked his life and fought to the end back then, no one could say whether Yeon Wi and Yeon Hojeong would still be alive.
“It turned out for the best. Even those above were growing skeptical about allowing your rampage. Coincidence or not, it’s better to end your life here and now.”
Utter confidence flowed beneath the calm voice.
He was fully qualified to speak such words. Despite suffering internal injuries and a broken arm, his aura did not yield in the slightest to Yeon Hojeong’s killing intent.
Yeon Hojeong laughed coldly.
“So, are you prepared?”
“What preparation is needed in a real fight, you ridiculous fool?”
“It seems you didn’t even realize I was showing you consideration.”
Was it provocation? Or sincerity? He could not tell. But gazing into Yeon Hojeong’s flame-like eyes, Beon Jak realized that while the boy’s martial arts had grown explosively, his spirit remained exactly as before.
Hwarururuk!
The supreme fire art representing the Shinhwa Sect blazed without limit, spreading its terrifying power in every direction.
“Arrogant bastard.”
Flash!
A massive blade of flame erupted from Beon Jak’s outstretched right hand.
A unique supreme technique of the Shinhwa Sect capable of emitting the power and sharpness of a divine weapon with bare hands.
“I will bury you right here, in this place.”
Paahaaaang!
Beon Jak charged toward Yeon Hojeong.
As expected.
Fast.
He appeared to have suffered considerable internal injuries, and the right arm wrapped in the Fire Dragon Demonic Blade did not look normal. Yet he was still this fast. The output with which he drew forth extreme flames remained exactly as it had been before.
Yeon Hojeong swept his spear diagonally.
Jeoeoeoeoeoeong!
A tremendous resonant sound erupted. The trees around them burst apart with successive explosions.
The force carried within the resonance was responsible. This was the principle of sound arts. With nothing more than the clash of their weapons, the two had generated a shockwave that surpassed the power of an ordinary sound-art master.
“Not bad at all!”
Hook!
No sound of cutting air could be heard, yet Beon Jak had already shifted to Yeon Hojeong’s rear flank. It was not footwork but a supreme rapid movement technique in which the entire body moved like weightless flame.
Beon Jak’s Fire Dragon Demonic Blade aimed for Yeon Hojeong’s waist—the closest and most fatal target from that position and stance.
It was then.
Jeoeoeoeong!
The blade of the Black Dragon Axe, drawn at some unknown moment, blocked the Fire Dragon Demonic Blade.
The strike had lacked proper weight due to the disrupted stance. That was why the Black Dragon Axe could defend against it.
Beon Jak’s eyes flashed.
“You bastard.”
Huk!
He withdrew the Fire Dragon Demonic Blade and reached out with his left hand, seizing Yeon Hojeong’s right wrist.
Beon Jak’s entire body was saturated with the fire qi of the Gold Emperor Pure Art. Even without visible manifestation, merely being grabbed could inflict severe burns.
However.
Chiiiiik!
White steam rose from Yeon Hojeong’s wrist.
The cold water qi of the Northern Black Tortoise poured forth with terrifying force. The water power was strong enough to momentarily drive back Beon Jak’s Gold Emperor Pure Art.
Pueoeok!
Beon Jak staggered backward. The butt of the spear shaft had struck his shoulder.
“Hmm.”
Yeon Hojeong lightly shook his right hand.
He had read the instant and responded with a massive surge of Black Tortoise qi, yet his sleeve was still scorched and the skin of his wrist glowed red. Had he been even slightly slower, the burns would have been horrific.
Yeon Hojeong smiled.
“Yes. It has to be at least this much.”
The words tore at the opponent’s pride. Few people could hear such a statement from someone they once considered beneath them without flying into a rage.
……
Beon Jak was one of those few.
As he corrected his stance and stared at Yeon Hojeong, his eyes had become utterly clear.
This bastard is truly something else.
He had known the boy was not to be underestimated, but he had not expected him to be capable of standing as a true equal.
Even without a direct clash of raw power, he could tell. The reaction speed, the internal energy control, the explosive force application showed not the slightest inferiority.
In some aspects, it was even superior.
Beon Jak lifted his right foot.
Kwaang!
A ground-shaking stomp. At the same time, the fire qi that had spread in every direction spun and rushed back into his body.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes blazed.
Pueoeong!
He closed the distance in an instant and thrust his spear, but Beon Jak had already leapt onto a tree.
It was a concentration of firepower. By absorbing the flames that had spread through the forest, he had essentially gained an inexhaustible well of internal energy.
Yeon Hojeong looked up at him with cold eyes.
Beon Jak smirked.
“What? Is it underhanded?”
“Not particularly.”
“It couldn’t be helped. You’ve simply become too strong to face normally.”
It was an honest admission.
Crucially, he still had to kill Mak Won, the Hundred Weapons Divine Lord. He could not afford to waste any more time here.
Hwarurururuk!
Giant flames rose from both of Beon Jak’s hands before subsiding. On his fists, faint golden flames now flickered with restrained power.
“I’ll finish this within half an hour.”
Paahaaang!
Faster than before. He approached like a bolt of light and threw a punch.
Pueoeoeoeok!!
With a horrifying sound of ruptured flesh, Beon Jak was blasted backward.
What?!
Beon Jak’s eyes shook as he looked down at his own abdomen. A small hole had been pierced in his side.
And the dark-grey iron chain that had created that hole was now wrapping tightly around his body.
The Red Flame Six Kills Art of the Vermilion Bird style. The Flood Dragon Chain wrapped around his fist burned a fierce red with Vermilion Bird fire qi.
Yeon Hojeong, gripping the Flood Dragon Chain with his right hand, drew the spear in his left far back.
“Let’s start by punching a few holes.”
Paahaaang!
The spear shot forward like lightning.