Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Long-Awaited Reunion, Yet Hearts Have Changed (2)
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114
Whoosh!
The Golden Demon Lion's body slid back over ten zhang.
The entire golden mask covering his face was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, as if it might shatter at any moment.
The expression beneath the mask twisted in shock.
In that moment of crisis, he had deflected the attack from Dam Ho—or so he thought.
But the force packed into Dam Ho's fist was truly terrifying, delivering a massive impact to the golden mask shielding his face.
His head rang, and tinnitus tormented his eardrums.
This had never happened before.
Swoosh!
In the meantime, Dam Ho's second and third strikes flew in relentlessly.
Not a word was spoken.
No warning was given.
From the instant he recognized the man as an enemy, Dam Ho had moved to eradicate the Golden Demon Lion.
Breaking Wave Claw unfolded.
Boom!
The Golden Demon Lion's body was pushed back helplessly.
He couldn't even dream of unleashing his qi. To deploy qi, one needed to circulate internal energy.
For an expert like him, a single breath was enough—but Dam Ho gave him no such respite, pressing the assault without mercy.
Whirrr!
Dam Ho's leg traced a bizarre arc through the air before crashing down.
It was Rebounding Demon Kick.
Boom!
The Golden Demon Lion crossed his arms to block Dam Ho's attack.
"Urk!"
One knee buckled, and his waist bent.
Dam Ho's body spun in place, then his leg whipped out once more like a lash.
It was the Blood Heaven Kick, the unique supreme art of Woo Kyung-pae, the Iron Blood Tyrant Demon who had dominated an era with a single kicking technique 120 years ago.
Boom!
The Golden Demon Lion's head snapped back.
Shards of the shattered golden mask flew in all directions. He had barely turned his head in time; otherwise, it might have exploded.
Disheveled hair fell over his face.
Toward this Golden Demon Lion came Dam Ho's foot once again.
Rebounding Demon Kick.
Dam Ho alternated between Rebounding Demon Kick and Blood Heaven Kick.
Under Dam Ho's storm-like barrage, the Golden Demon Lion found no opening for a counterattack and was forced back.
"Golden Demon Lion."
Unable to watch any longer, One Flame Asura stepped forward to assist.
Boom!
His single punch struck Dam Ho's back squarely.
Dam Ho spat blood from the unexpected blow. Even as his organs shook from the impact, his eyes didn't so much as flicker.
Swoosh!
Dam Ho's counterattack turned toward One Flame Asura.
A fist extended like a whip—Single Sun Strike—landed on One Flame Asura's shoulder.
Crack!
"Urk!"
One Flame Asura staggered back.
In that instant, the air rippled.
Dam Ho instinctively ducked his waist.
Sizzle!
A burst of scorching energy grazed his back. It was the Golden Demon Lion's qi.
"Whew!"
A sigh of relief escaped the Golden Demon Lion's lips.
One Flame Asura had bought him that split-second breather, allowing him to unleash his qi.
But the expression peeking through his disheveled hair wasn't a good one.
A chill ran down his spine.
His heart was still pounding fiercely.
Dam Ho's assault had far exceeded his expectations.
He could feel Dam Ho's boiling killing intent.
The terrifying malice dwelling in those deep eyes was clearly aimed at him. Dam Ho saw him as someone who must die.
A pure monster armed with unyielding vengeance—never sparing those who touched him—and merciless violence.
Such a being stood before him.
Shiver!
Goosebumps prickled across his entire body.
‘To think such a person exists in the world.’
At that moment, Dam Ho charged toward him.
No negotiation or talk was needed.
They had struck first. So he was simply returning the favor in kind.
He didn't care about the Golden Demon Lion's identity or his purpose here.
A single thought filled his mind.
‘Kill.’
The horrifying killing intent pouring from Dam Ho's body dominated the area.
The Golden Demon Lion unleashed qi blasts in succession. But Dam Ho dodged them by the narrowest margins.
And still, he didn't slow his charge toward the Golden Demon Lion.
Qi could claim a life with the slightest graze.
Anyone facing it would instinctively shrink back. Even Daoist Qinghe of the Wudang Sect hadn't dared overexert himself to draw his sword qi, had he?
Only qi could counter qi.
It was an age-old truism of the jianghu, an unshakeable truth. Those facing qi would tremble in fear and shrink without realizing it.
But such jianghu common sense didn't apply to Dam Ho.
Dam Ho trusted himself.
His martial arts, his rigorously tempered body.
His focus reached its peak.
Swoosh!
Another blast of qi shot from the Golden Demon Lion.
This long, whip-thin qi targeted Dam Ho's chest.
There was nowhere to dodge, nowhere to retreat.
And Dam Ho had no intention of dodging.
The internal energy built through Dark Soul Heart Technique concentrated in his fist. In that instant, a silvery glow enveloped it.
Silver Net Hand activated.
Dam Ho swung his fist straight ahead.
Clang!
The qi clashed against his fist and ricocheted away, while Dam Ho's body shook violently.
Blood streamed from his nose and mouth.
He had deflected the qi, but at the cost of severe internal injuries. Yet Dam Ho didn't stop.
His appearance was like that of a ferocious deity.
Fear flickered in the Golden Demon Lion's eyes.
He had faced countless warriors, but none like Dam Ho.
"Urgh!"
The Golden Demon Lion retreated.
In the gap, the Bloodfiends swarmed in.
"Out of the way!"
Naturally, the Bloodfiends didn't yield. They clung to Dam Ho with desperate tenacity.
In the meantime, the Golden Demon Lion and the Asuras pulled back.
The Golden Demon Lion shouted urgently.
"We're withdrawing."
"But..."
"We've achieved our goal."
The Golden Demon Lion glanced at Daoist Qinghe and the others.
They were entranced, watching Dam Ho's deathmatch with the Bloodfiends. Having shown them this much, no doubts would linger in their minds.
‘That level of prowess, though? Could he be connected to the Four Death Gods?’
Recalling a forgotten legend from the past, the Golden Demon Lion shuddered faintly. If his guess was right, it was something he couldn't ignore.
The Golden Demon Lion and Asuras leaped away.
Everyone except the Bloodfiends battling Dam Ho followed them out of the Evil Sun Sword Gate.
But Daoist Qinghe and the orthodox warriors, who should have blocked them, were too engrossed in Dam Ho's fight to intervene.
Boom!
In that moment, thunderous explosions rang out one after another.
The Bloodfiends encircling Dam Ho burst like fireworks in rapid succession.
Flesh sprayed, shattered bone fragments scattered everywhere. As chunks of ruptured organs rained down like a storm, some onlookers could no longer hold back and retched.
"Urk!"
"H-He's not human."
An unimaginable horror unfolded before their eyes.
The terrifying Bloodfiends who had slaughtered orthodox warriors lay in pathetic heaps on the ground.
All of it, done by Dam Ho alone.
Trampling enemy corpses and bathed in their blood, Dam Ho embodied the Grim Reaper himself.
Dam Ho glared in the direction the Golden Demon Lion had fled.
He had slain countless Bloodfiends, yet his killing intent showed no sign of fading.
The onlookers were overwhelmed by his presence, rendered speechless.
A suffocating silence descended over the manor.
Myeong-gyeong, staring at Dam Ho, suddenly looked down at his palm.
His fist was flushed red from clenching so hard, slick with sweat.
His body trembled without him realizing.
Ever since becoming Daoist Hyeon-geum's disciple, he had feared no one—but this monster before him instilled an inexplicable dread.
The stench of blood wafted from him.
Whether from bathing in enemies' blood or inherent to him, it assaulted the senses.
‘This is beyond me.’
A faint tremor ran through Myeong-gyeong's shoulders, shared by the others.
Everyone was speechless before Dam Ho's might.
Then.
"Ah... damn."
Eun So-cheong broke the silence.
Only then did Dam Ho ease his killing intent.
Dam Ho walked toward Eun So-cheong.
Dragging one foot while stomping with the other.
Only then did people notice he was lame.
Nicknames flashed through their minds.
"Divine Steel Blood Star."
"The... Fist Demon. He must be the Fist Demon."
The moniker most heard since entering Honam Province.
They hadn't fully believed the rumors. No, they couldn't.
Rumors were always exaggerated, embellished.
No matter how strong Dam Ho was said to be, he was just a latecomer youth. Most had thought so. But now they knew otherwise.
If anything, the rumors hadn't captured even half his terror. Witnessing it firsthand surpassed imagination. Only those who saw it could truly grasp his fearsomeness.
As everyone was overwhelmed by Dam Ho's presence, barely daring to breathe, Daoist Qinghe stepped forward.
"You..."
But someone else spoke first.
"Cheon... gyeong."
It was Han So-yu.
Her eyes trembled.
"You're Cheon-gyeong, right?"
Han So-yu stepped forward.
"So-yu!"
Daoist Hyunmu tried to stop her.
He couldn't fathom why she was acting this way.
‘Cheon-gyeong? Didn't he die long ago?’
It was a name that had stirred much talk within Mount Hua Sect.
The lame disciple taken in by Daoist Hyonso.
The sect's leadership couldn't accept such a cripple and had shunned him.
Despite being a first-generation disciple, Cheon-gyeong had received no proper treatment, only scorn.
But he had died. Twelve years ago.
Hadn't grief-stricken Daoist Hyonso gone into seclusion because of it?
‘And Cheon-gyeong is alive?’
This terrifying monster making his flesh crawl—Cheon-gyeong? Daoist Hyunmu thought Han So-yu was mistaken.
‘No way. She must have seen wrong.’
Second-generation disciple Won-yul thought the same.
"Senior Uncle Cheon-gyeong? Impossible."
He knew Cheon-gyeong too.
He had met him several times on errands and even talked with him, so he remembered the face well.
The Cheon-gyeong he knew wasn't so domineering or radiating such fearsome aura.
"No way. No..."
At that moment, Dam Ho's mouth opened.
"Lo...ng time no see, junior brother."
As the hoarse, raspy voice echoed through the hall, the Mount Hua Sect disciples staggered.
"Ah!"
The dead had returned to life.