Chapter 73. Enemies of Grudge, and Enemies of Origin (3)
“Young Master!”
Urgency flashed across Sin Mo's face. Yeon Hojeong, who had charged forward like a storm on thunderous steps that shook heaven and earth, had already reached the vanguard of the enemy lines. It was a monstrous speed.
To close the distance not with lightness skill but with footwork—such extravagance was unheard of. The real problem, though, was Yeon Hojeong's killing intent.
Sin Mo had witnessed that intent once before. It was the same ferocity he'd shown when crushing the Thunderclap Chase Star. But the intensity was incomparable. If that had been a gentle breeze, this was a raging gale. If that had been a campfire, this was a blaze that could incinerate mountains.
'Dangerous!'
He didn't know what had ignited such killing intent. What mattered was that the Young Master could be caught off guard and lost in vain.
“Protect the Young Master!”
Paak!
Led by Sin Mo, the Chaeng-eungdae moved swiftly. As he raced forward in a frenzy, Sin Mo suddenly spotted the footprints left on the ground. They were the traces of Yeon Hojeong's steps.
'These marks?!'
They were a total mess. Not simple footprints, but cracks spiderwebbing outward like boulders hundreds of catties heavy had crashed down. It looked like he'd deliberately poured his inner energy into shattering the earth.
No trace ofc alm in those prints. The brutal scars revealed Yeon Hojeong's mental state perfectly.
'Danger!'
Teoreung!
Teoreoreung!
Finally closing the gap with all his might, Sin Mo caught a clear glimpse of Yeon Hojeong's back.
'Gasp!'
Sin Mo's eyes widened in shock.
Kwakwakwang!
The explosion roared like thunder, as if gunpowder had detonated. Startled, Sin Mo halted his lightness skill without thinking.
Peok!
Peoreok!
Kwang!
A hairline crack spread across the ground just three inches from his toes. It wasn't from Sin Mo's power. It was the mark of an invisible shockwave rebounding.
“Everyone, stop! Don't approach!”
The Chaeng-eungdae hurriedly braked their advance. Sin Mo's mouth slowly gaped open.
“No way?!”
* * *
The giant evoked the image of a diamond guardian statue. Axe raised high as he leaped toward the sky, Yeon Hojeong wondered.
Is this really okay?
His opponent was a master. Not quite at the supreme realm beyond enlightenment's wall, but certainly vying for the top in the realm below.
And it wasn't just this giant. Two other masters, staring at him in shock from three zhang back, were on the same level. These three together could take a Seven Great Families patriarch, or even crush a representative elder from the Nine Great Sects.
He had charged straight at such foes.
'Can't take them all at once. Focus on one thoroughly. Can't use the Black Division Commander yet. Good thing they don't intend to kill me.'
In that split second, he read the surroundings, the reality, the future. Countless possibilities.
Though his killing intent had exploded at the sight of his blood enemies, he was a battle-hardened veteran who had survived countless asuras' fields. He calculated. Derived. Reviewed the answers, fitted them to the situation.
Blazing emotion linked with icy reason. As Yeon Hojeong, he raged; as the Black Dark Emperor, he swung the axe.
Peoreok!
The giant, Myeong Hak, was startled.
'What?!'
His muscles compressed to the limit, trained in the Myeong family's ancestral art, the Spirit Turtle Divine Art. One of the four divine arts left by their founder, it granted diamond indestructibility at its peak—a miraculous technique.
It was the very art mastered by Myeong Unji, the Dark Division Commander. And Myeong Hak had reached far higher than him, thanks to his deeper foundation in the original art.
Even his Spirit Turtle Shell, hard as steel, was cleaved over an inch deep by the axe. No matter how heavy the axe, considering the shell's rebound—this power was impossible.
“You bastard!”
Hwoook!
Myeong Hak's fist tore through the air. A brutishly massive fist. Even before fully extending, it churned the atmosphere.
An unblockable strike. Yeon Hojeong's eyes held the darkness of the north.
Kwaang!
'Guh!'
Myeong Hak staggered back a step. Not by choice. His thrust fist throbbed as if it would shatter.
“What the hell are you?!”
Tereok!
Yeon Hojeong landed. Around him, translucent hexagonal shell patterns materialized—a turtle shell.
Weeeeng!
A serpent-like beast writhed upward from his shoulder like ascending to heaven. The Black Tortoise technique, North Heaven Twelve Walls.
A technique famed for absolute defense, said at its peak to deflect cannon fire with an inner energy shield alone.
Myeong Hak's face twisted.
“What the hell are you……?!”
Paak!
No need to humor him. Yeon Hojeong closed in with nimble movements. Not even using White Tiger Gallop Step, yet faster. In pure instantaneous approach, he surpassed Myeong Hak.
The startled Myeong Hak swung dual fists.
Bwoong!
Bwoong!
Heavy fist art. And thus devastatingly powerful.
But if it was heavy gongfu, Yeon Hojeong had no shortage. He wielded an eighty-geun heavy axe embodying one-strike-kill principles.
His axe swung in Wild Beast Killing Axe—no, Wild Beast Chain Palm.
Cheojeojeojeong!
The left fist rebounded; the right curved down, smashing the earth.
Shock crossed Myeong Hak's face again. What he'd unleashed was the Spirit Turtle Divine Fist. Not full power, but enough to disable most masters in one blow.
That fist was blocked. A strike that could shatter boulders.
Shiiik!
Peoreok!
A pillar-like leg whipped at Yeon Hojeong's iron axe. Yeon Hojeong's body slid back.
Myeong Hak's lips twitched faintly. Considerable pain flared in his extended leg. From the rebound.
Kung!
Regaining stance, Myeong Hak asked coldly.
“What are you? Daring to face the Myeong family…… Hm?”
He hadn't noticed amid the sudden assault, but up close, this seemed to be that guy.
“You're that brat Yeon Hojeong?”
Yeon Hojeong replied coldly.
“Is that all of you?”
“……Hah!”
Myeong Hak burst into rough laughter.
“Hahaha! Seen a lunatic like this? You know us and still charge in swinging that axe?”
Leisure dripped from his laugh. And not just him—the two masters standing with hands behind backs three zhang away also seemed relaxed, despite the initial surprise.
Killing intent rose in Myeong Hak's eyes.
“All the better. I'll break your limbs and drag you back to the main house.”
Break limbs. Words he'd heard countless times. So often they'd grown stale.
Tsutsutsutsu.
Yeon Hojeong felt a blazing killing intent surge, chilling even himself.
'This one's it.'
Definitely. Not because of the shared art. An old memory, but he recalled the man's temperament precisely.
Yes. This one, and the two behind him with hands clasped— they were the vanguard when the Yeon family was invaded.
Beureureu.
The axe trembled. Fury overriding cold reason infused it with terrifying power.
Myeong Hak's face hardened.
“Vicious killing intent. Even black path mongrels don't emit that. Fitting for a villain who treats killing like child's play.”
“……Treats killing like child's play?”
Sparks flew from Yeon Hojeong's eyes.
“To you lot, sure.”
Beonjeok!
Beonjeok!
His bloodshot, flickering gaze chilled Myeong Hak's spine.
Myeong Hak reached back.
“I'll handle him. You two rest.”
A middle-aged man with a longsword at his waist spoke.
“Be careful, brother. That one's no ordinary beast.”
“Beast is still a beast.”
Kuwoong!
Myeong Hak stomped forward powerfully. A sturdy step, rivaling Yeon Hojeong's.
“Come.”
Imposing. Whatever his character, his warrior's poise in battle was befitting a prestigious house.
Yeon Hojeong hated that dignity. The audacity of this man who, under the pretext of family honor, buried innocent forces alive, donned a mask like a mangy dog, and beat people to death.
Axe slung on his shoulder, Yeon Hojeong spoke.
“You. What's your name?”
“No manners, like a mongrel. Fine, I'm Myeong Hak, your elder. Chew on that name while rotting in our family prison.”
“Myeong Hak…… Myeong Hak……”
Yeon Hojeong nodded.
“I'll remember.”
“Enough chatter. Come……”
Kwang!
Yeon Hojeong closed the gap in an instant, swinging the axe. Lightning-fast strike. Completely different speed from before.
Yet Myeong Hak didn't panic. He met the axe arcing in fast enough to bend spear shafts with a single fist.
Cheoeoeong!
The clash resonated like striking metal.
'What is this guy……'
Myeong Hak was shocked again. He'd felt it in the first clash—not ordinary power. Even he, who yielded to no one in strength, had to tense every muscle.
Yeon Hojeong unleashed a storm of attacks.
Cheojeojeojeong!
Cheoeong!
Fast and fierce. Seemingly wild swings, but each a killing blow, severing momentum and preempting counters.
Another master wielding such a massive, heavy axe with such speed and finesse?
Kwang!
Yeon Hojeong spat blood in fury. The force from the fist that struck the axe blade shook his internals instantly.
Soft energy hidden in hard fist. When unleashed deliberately, mere clash inflicted internal wounds.
But Yeon Hojeong didn't retreat. White Tiger Qi surged, manifesting infinite advance footwork.
Kwang!
Kwang!
Kwang!
Power, and more power. Bursting short distances, Yeon Hojeong finally unleashed Tiger King Nine Thunder Strikes.
'……!'
Myeong Hak's expression changed. A league beyond before. Skin split before the axe even touched.
No half-hearted block would do. Myeong Hak drew the Spirit Turtle Divine Art to its limit.
Kwarurung!
Kwang!
Axe and fist collided, birthing a massive shockwave. The spreading energy wave swept the surroundings.
Myeong Hwi and Myeong Heon, the two masters, and all three hundred of the White Dragon Army retreated.
Get caught in it, and even they'd suffer internal injuries. Lesser experts might enter death's door from the shockwave alone.
Such was the clash's power.
The two hammered at each other relentlessly.
Kwarururung!
Strength against strength, inner energy against inner energy.
Myeong Hak was strong. Not agile, but his whole body a weapon. External art deflecting eighty-geun axes, fists pulverizing boulders.
Yeon Hojeong matched him. Contrary to looks, his raw power was innate. He yielded to no one.
Kwakwakwang!
Peoreok!
Yeon Hojeong spat blood again. Pakak! Myeong Hak faltered.
“Urgh.”
Aiming a chest link strike, the curving axe whipped his thigh instead. So powerful he nearly toppled. His right thigh swelled grotesquely.
Myeong Hak ground his teeth.
“Brat thinks he can take me?!”
Chiiik!
Myeong Hak's aura soared skyward. The pressure alone was hard to withstand. Spirit Turtle Divine Art at full throttle—his true power.
A fearsome art. Untrained folk would faint just standing before it.
Then.
“You……”
Bafllement crossed Yeon Hojeong's face. Pale, mouth bloodied.
Myeong Hak's thick brows twitched.
'What?'
Woooung.
Wooooung.
Poised to attack, Myeong Hak sensed something eerie.
'Why is that guy's qi……?'
Tsutsutsutsu.
Black energy surged from Yeon Hojeong's body. Astonishingly, stronger than before his injury.
Unbelievable.
Yeon Hojeong was equally shocked.
“You…… what art did you cultivate?”
“What are you saying?!”
Yeon Hojeong grimaced.
“Fake Black Tortoise Art?”