Death is Fair to All (6)
In the span of a split second, Yeon Hojeong realized the danger. “This is bad.”
A grievous wound had been torn through his side. Worse, the iron chain that had pierced him was now coiled tightly around his upper body. Though his arms remained free, the fact that he was bound to his enemy had not changed.
And now a spear was thrusting toward him with lethal intent. “His spearmanship is incredibly sharp.” There were masters of the spear within the Shinwha Sect, yet none could wield a technique as unorthodox and piercing as Yeon Hojeong’s.
In every respect, the man was formidable.
The real problem lay in this very moment. “He’s already accounting for the follow-up.” The killing intent behind the incoming spear left no doubt—this was a strike meant to end the fight in a single blow.
Yet Beon Jak did not watch the spear. He watched Yeon Hojeong’s eyes.
Those eyes were utterly transparent. No emotion could be read from them.
One thing, however, was certain. “This man knows when to seize the decisive moment. At least, it isn’t now. In that case……” Beon Jak’s eyes flashed. “I’ll accept the loss.”
Whooooosh!
Releasing the Yama Fist, he traced the forms of the Fierce Fire Divine Palm. Both hands shot forward and seized the shaft of the spear.
Thud!
Pain surged through his palms and raced up his spine. Beon Jak’s cheeks trembled. “Beyond anything I imagined!” Even though he had grabbed the shaft rather than the blade, the skin of his palms split open. The centrifugal force and amplified power of the rotating spear were releasing an overwhelming destructive force.
Sssssss!
With a cloud of white steam, the spear’s rotation ceased. Acrid smoke rose from Beon Jak’s hands where they gripped the shaft. His blood was evaporating.
Yeon Hojeong’s lips curved upward.
He twisted his upper body in a flash. Thick veins bulged on the hand clutching the chain.
In that instant, Beon Jak sensed something was wrong. “The chain?!” He immediately executed the Thousand-Pound Weight technique to resist Yeon Hojeong’s attempt to pull him in.
But he was mistaken.
Yeon Hojeong had not twisted his body to drag Beon Jak forward by the Flood Dragon Chain.
Thud!
“Kuh!”
A groan finally escaped Beon Jak’s lips. “Damn it.” The twisted torso snapped back with terrifying elasticity, driving the spear deeper with even greater force.
Half the spearhead buried itself in the opposite side of Beon Jak’s torso—the side already pierced by the chain. Had the Gold Emperor Wall not been active at all times, the entire shaft might have gone through.
“Hraaaah!!”
With a thunderous battle cry, a massive blaze erupted from Beon Jak’s body.
Whoosh!
Yeon Hojeong yanked the spear free and leapt backward. He had already gained the advantage in this exchange; there was no need to force a collapse.
Sssss!
Even as he retreated, he did not release the Flood Dragon Chain. Instead, he poured Black Tortoise Water Qi into it, extending the chain’s length. “He really is impressive.” Despite flooding the chain with every drop of Black Tortoise Qi he possessed, his left hand and entire left arm felt as though they had been thrust into a furnace.
The Gold Emperor Pure Art—the supreme cultivation art of the Shinwha Sect. Unlike Yeon Hojeong, who had refined four different energies according to their natures, Beon Jak had poured everything into a single yang-fire art. Its power was overwhelming.
Yet Yeon Hojeong neither released nor loosened the chain. “I won’t let go……”
In that moment, his eyes wavered.
“Graaaah!”
With a scream that bordered on a beast’s roar, Beon Jak tore the end of the Flood Dragon Chain out through the wound in his side.
Splash!
Flesh ripped away, dangling loosely from the gash.
It was a horrifying sight. Though the length of chain that had penetrated his side was not long, the very idea of sacrificing his own torso rather than severing the chain was something no sane person would consider. “Is this guy insane?” Even though his opponent was one of the Shinwha Sect’s Martial Generals—an enemy he should despise—Yeon Hojeong felt more disbelief than anger.
Then it happened.
Fwoooosh!
Beon Jak drew in the remaining flames with greater intensity. The heat was so fierce that even the barrier of Black Tortoise Water Qi Yeon Hojeong had erected around himself could not approach. The ground itself began to bubble and boil, and trees and grass dozens of feet away suddenly burst into flame.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes shook. “No way……”
Vwoooooom!
It was a terrifying spectacle.
A sphere brighter than flame itself shone at Beon Jak’s solar plexus. The spear wound in his abdomen and the mangled side torn by the Flood Dragon Chain began to close at an alarming rate.
In that instant, Dang Gwan’s voice flashed through Yeon Hojeong’s mind. “You didn’t know? Damn it, and you still tore that Gyu Jeok bastard to pieces?” “That guy’s a real piece of work. I wondered why he never mentioned that those bastards don’t die easily. Turns out he didn’t know either.”
That was right.
The masters of the Shinwha Sect cultivated something called Fire Essence to maximize their regenerative abilities. That regeneration defied human common sense. They could not reattach severed limbs, but any ordinary internal or external injury could be healed with just a few breaths.
During the battle against the Eighteen Martial Generals, once the party had learned this fact, they had made certain to decapitate every Martial General they fought. “I forgot.” It was Yeon Hojeong’s mistake. “Damn it, what the hell is wrong with me lately?” Under normal circumstances, he would never have overlooked such a critical detail—especially when he already knew his opponent was a master of the Shinwha Sect.
Yet he had forgotten.
It was the same recent change that caused him to lose awareness of his surroundings whenever he focused on a single point.
Boom!
Yeon Hojeong stomped down with the White Tiger Dominion step. His eyes blazed once more with fighting spirit. “This is still a battle. No room for stray thoughts.”
Flash!
Beon Jak’s pupils turned golden.
“How long has it been since you activated the Fire Essence?”
Yeon Hojeong clicked his tongue.
“You people certainly know a lot of studies that defy common sense.”
“Defying common sense…… It is theology beyond the comprehension of a mind the size of a grain of millet.”
“You sure know how to dress it up. That Fire Essence of yours—it isn’t infinite, is it?”
It was not a question expecting an answer. After unleashing the White Tiger Dominion step, Yeon Hojeong continued to watch for any opening in Beon Jak’s guard.
Beon Jak’s voice grew calm.
“The Fire Essence is the power of a god. We have only received a fragment of it. There is only one being who can wield this Fire Essence freely.”
It was an answer Yeon Hojeong had not expected.
His eyes gleamed.
“The Shinwha Sect Leader?”
“Shut your mouth!!”
The thunderous roar sent the flames filling the area recoiling as though struck by a gale.
It was a sudden, rage-filled outburst. Beon Jak’s face twisted like a demon’s.
“A filthy outsider whose head hasn’t even dried yet dares speak the Sect Leader’s name so carelessly!”
Oh? Now this was interesting.
Yeon Hojeong chuckled.
“Isn’t it said that even cursing the king in private is no crime? Besides, he’s my enemy. What does it matter if I curse him, tear him apart, or savor every insult?”
“You bastard!!”
“Still, I’ve learned one thing.”
The transparent gaze that had been impossible to read was now filled with killing intent.
“The best way to provoke you people is to drag that Sect Leader bastard into it.”
Boom!
Beon Jak charged.
His speed was slightly faster than before. The Fierce Fire Divine Palm crossed the air in an instant.
Crash!
The power was monstrous. The condensed force of the Fierce Fire Divine Palm exploded three trees and carved a crater into the earth.
At this level, he was no different from a moving cannon. His martial art truly possessed destructive power comparable to artillery. “And he’s fast.” Crash! Boom!
Even while bound by the Flood Dragon Chain, his movements remained free.
The reason was obvious. Beon Jak, who had been looking for an opening to seize victory, was now unleashing his maximum output with the intent of reducing Yeon Hojeong to ash.
It was fortunate that Yeon Hojeong had been prepared. Had he failed to read the movement in that instant, he would have lost an arm.
Boom! Boom!
Beon Jak swung both hands wildly, as though trying to tear everything apart. The air itself screamed.
It was neither palm technique nor fist technique. It was a form of martial art closer to clawing and ripping—an utterly reckless assault resembling a claw technique.
Yet the simpler the forms, the faster they were. And speed, provided one possessed the durability to withstand the impact, meant superior destructive power.
Moreover, Beon Jak possessed firepower that even the Black Tortoise Water Qi of the Four Gods Art could not properly resist.
Crash! Boom!
Even though he had not launched a wide-area attack with internal force, the ground erupted and distant rocks were scarred.
It was a shockwave. The collision of pure power—the clash of qi generated by the Gold Emperor Pure Art—had created a tremendous shockwave.
The hem of Yeon Hojeong’s robes was shredded. Even though qi enveloped his entire body without obstruction, the shockwave was scattering it.
Still, it was fine. “More.” Boom! Rumble!
The forest was collapsing.
The more it did, the more fluid and natural Yeon Hojeong’s movements became. He was adapting to Beon Jak’s martial art in an instant. “Just a little more.” Boom! Boom!
Before the successive storms of flame, even the sky turned red.
“Huff!”
Beon Jak, who had been unleashing an indiscriminate barrage without pause, drew in a single breath.
At that moment, Yeon Hojeong’s eyes blazed.
Boom!
With a thunderous explosion, Yeon Hojeong shot forward and unleashed the Azure Dragon Art’s Dragon Pack Three Forms in rapid succession.
Thud!
The thrusting spearhead tore into Beon Jak’s side.
Crack!
The sweeping shaft shattered Beon Jak’s collarbone.
Boom!
A fluidly delivered fist struck Beon Jak’s abdomen with tremendous force.
Splash!
Beon Jak vomited blood and was sent flying.
The Azure Dragon Art was a martial art focused on evasion and counterattack. The stronger Beon Jak’s technique became, the more lethal the chain of strikes would be the moment a single opening appeared—enough to leave him unable to even breathe.
Then it happened.
Clang!
Beon Jak, sent flying, rotated his body in midair.
The technique had been powerful enough to nearly knock him unconscious, yet Beon Jak clung to his sanity through the power of fanatical faith.
That was not all. He had rotated his body not merely to disperse the impact.
Ting!
The end of the Flood Dragon Chain fell away from Beon Jak’s body. He had completely escaped the chain that had been wrapped around his torso.
Boom!
Even while vomiting blood, Beon Jak ran.
Though he wanted nothing more than to reduce Yeon Hojeong to a handful of ash, he had a mission to fulfill.
He had amplified his rage and revealed an opening for the sake of this single chance. “It stings.” The Fire Essence wavered unsteadily. His torn side, broken collarbone, and shaken internals were rapidly regenerating, but that was the limit. “The internal injuries aren’t healing anymore.” After only two or three recoveries, the Fire Essence could no longer perform its role.
It meant Yeon Hojeong’s attacks possessed truly immense destructive power.
Whoosh!
Beon Jak’s figure rapidly receded into the distance.
And then—
“I knew it.”
Boom!
Yeon Hojeong’s left foot stomped down with tremendous force.
A white gale wrapped around the spear. From the moment Beon Jak had begun his escape, the Azure Dragon Qi had switched to White Tiger Qi, drawing out power near its limit.
In that brief moment, Beon Jak had already fled more than thirty zhang away. The ruined forest made his figure clearly visible.
“Perfect.”
A white radiance exploded from Yeon Hojeong’s hand.
Flash!
The White Gale Thunder Spear shot forth and pierced straight through Beon Jak’s thigh.
Thud!
“Kuh!”
It was a strike he had never imagined.
It was fortunate that his leg had not been blown off entirely. Still, the result was the same—he could no longer use one leg. “Fire Essence!” Fwoosh!
He ignited flames that set fire to a distant tree. He drew back the fiercely burning heat to bolster his strength.
Yet the leg did not recover easily. He had avoided having the bone destroyed through his split-second judgment, but the inner thigh muscle had been completely ruptured.
“As expected, that was the limit.”
Beon Jak’s eyes wavered. Before he knew it, Yeon Hojeong was approaching from behind.
“You may have lost awareness of your surroundings, but I can see exactly what’s happening inside your body.”
When one loses something, one gains something else.
With those godlike eyes, Yeon Hojeong had seen through the fact that Beon Jak’s Fire Essence was no longer functioning properly.
Then it happened.
Boom!
With a thunderous explosion, Pae Yul appeared, his entire body covered in blood.
Spitting, Pae Yul asked, “Who the hell is this yellow bastard? He looks damn strong.”
“An arsonist.”
“Is that so. This beautiful forest.”
“I intend to skip all the trial procedures. I’ve decided to be the judge myself.”
“So what’s the verdict?”
Clang!
Yeon Hojeong drew the White Dragon Axe. His face was the very image of a wrathful deity.
“The sentence is capital punishment. The method of execution is dismemberment.”