Chapter 209
Chapter 209
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: Part 3. Every Action Bears Its Consequences (3)
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Boom!
True Person Hyeongeom burst through the wall. His hair was disheveled, but his eyes gleamed coldly.
Zing!
His sword-holding hand trembled.
A wind blew from beyond the collapsed wall.
'He's coming.'
True Person Hyeongeom swung his sword.
Sizzle!
In an instant, a blood-red plum blossom bloomed before him. It was a plum blossom formed from sword energy.
Blood Plum Blossom Sword.
It was a sword technique he had created for his disciple Myeonggyeong. But the power he unleashed was worlds apart from what Myeonggyeong could muster.
Boom!
Shattering Wave Fist clashed with Blood Plum Blossom Sword.
The blood plum blossoms True Person Hyeongeom had conjured withered before they could fully bloom, and a fountain of blood erupted from Damho's shoulder. Yet Damho charged at True Person Hyeongeom without so much as a twitch in his expression, as if he felt no pain.
True Person Hyeongeom charged right back without yielding.
His iron sword targeted the vital points all over Damho's body.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Damho's fist collided with the iron sword.
Common sense dictated that no matter how tough human flesh was, it could never withstand steel. Even a sword as thin as a child's finger could wound the frail human body.
But Damho was shattering that common sense.
His fist, empowered by Silver Net Hand, was wrapped in a net of qi. The qi net shielded his fist from True Person Hyeongeom's iron sword.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Metallic clashes rang out repeatedly as fist met sword.
The plum blossoms bloomed and faded in cycles, shattered sword energy scattering in all directions.
"Hmph! Not bad."
True Person Hyeongeom sneered even as he swung his sword fiercely. But inwardly, he was shocked by Damho's prowess.
The Blood Plum Blossom Sword, crafted for his disciple Myeonggyeong, was a supreme technique worthy of ranking among the world's best. Yet Damho was dispelling it effortlessly.
He could now understand why Myeonggyeong had lost to Damho.
Damho's martial skill was far too powerful to label him a mere late-stage disciple. It was enough to make even True Person Hyeongeom's flesh crawl.
He hated to admit it, but he had to.
Damho was an absolute master. At the very least, his power was in no way inferior to his own.
Hum!
The moment he acknowledged Damho as a worthy foe, his aura shifted. Accordingly, the swordsmanship he displayed changed as well.
Whoosh!
A sharp whoosh pierced the air.
Clang!
It seemed like a light strike, yet Damho's body slid backward upon blocking it. A gash had opened on the fist that clashed with True Person Hyeongeom's sword, blood trickling from it.
True Person Hyeongeom held his sword as lightly as if grasping an egg. But a closer look revealed a slight gap between his hand and the hilt, the blade spinning on its own.
Like a living creature, the self-rotating sword emanating from True Person Hyeongeom's hand exuded an ominous aura.
Swish!
True Person Hyeongeom scattered his sword toward Damho once more.
It wasn't any special stance or supreme art. Just a plain horizontal slash. Yet Damho couldn't dodge it.
When martial arts reach their peak, even ordinary moves can contain profound principles and power.
Such was True Person Hyeongeom's realm.
A state unbound by forms or stances, where every thought became a supreme technique.
It transcended Sword-Heart Unity, entering the realm of Heart-Form Unity.
One step further would lead to true Heart Sword—the realm True Person Hyeongeom so desperately sought.
Scree!
True Person Hyeongeom's sword flew ferociously.
Every thought became a supreme technique, inner energy flowing precisely as intended.
His movements were beautiful, like a dancer's. Yet the sword intent within them was utterly lethal.
Clang!
With a metallic ring, Damho's body slid backward.
In that fleeting clash, he had already sustained wounds in three or four places. Blood flowed from the sharply split skin.
That eeriness, that coldness awakened Damho's mind.
Sizzle!
Demonic Tempest Aura swirled around his entire body.
True Person Hyeongeom's sword, tracing a sharp trajectory, was slightly deflected by the Demonic Tempest Aura.
Damho seized the opening and pressed in.
Rumble!
Mount Hua Rock Wave Breaker detonated, sending True Person Hyeongeom's body sliding backward.
Damho launched himself into the air. Blood Heaven Kick and Rebounding Demon Kick alternated in rapid succession.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening blasts echoed continuously as True Person Hyeongeom was forced back, leaving deep footprints in the ground.
Rage boiled in Damho's chest.
True Person Hyeongeom was the senior brother to his master, True Person Hyeonso.
If his junior brother had suffered such grievous injuries, this man should have been the first to rush over, setting everything else aside.
Yet here he was, imposing his stubborn authority. He had risen through the privileges of a righteous sect, but he refused to look upon those beneath him.
Arrogance and stubbornness as if chosen by heaven. That chosen-people mentality ignited the rage buried deep in Damho's heart.
'I'll shatter it.'
He would show him exactly what the tenacity of one who crawled up from the bottom entailed, what the resilience of weeds constantly trampled meant.
Iron Body Wall struck the air's seams.
Clang!
True Person Hyeongeom's attack was nullified.
Cracks spiderwebbed across his sword. For the first time, dismay flickered across True Person Hyeongeom's face.
Single Sun Strike hammered the sword again. Already at its durability limit, the blade shattered like glass, fragments flying everywhere.
He had abruptly lost his weapon. But True Person Hyeongeom charged through the scattering shards without a hint of fear.
Mount Hua Sect's supreme lightness skill, Dark Fragrance Drifting. Like a subtle fragrance wafting faintly, True Person Hyeongeom closed in on Damho just so.
For a warrior of True Person Hyeongeom's caliber, having no sword was no different from having one.
His handblade became his sword.
Thud thud thud!
Damho's fist and True Person Hyeongeom's handblade clashed and separated dozens of times.
True Person Hyeongeom's barehanded swordsmanship was flawless. But his handblade, substituting for a sword, was not.
"Urk!"
His hand swelled up.
Unable to endure the pain, True Person Hyeongeom retreated. In that instant, Damho lunged forward.
Through his tousled hair, Damho's ferocious eyes pierced deep into True Person Hyeongeom's chest.
True Person Hyeongeom gritted through the pain and unleashed another sword stance with his hand.
Damho rounded his back. Golden Turtle Shell, a protective technique inspired by a beetle's curved body.
True Person Hyeongeom's attack glanced off at an angle. In that gap, Damho's chest opened wide. He plunged in with Assault Step.
Boom!
Shattering Wave Fist detonated.
These were techniques born when True Person Hyeonso and Damho had combined forces to teach Myeonggyeong the Blood Plum Blossom Sword.
Assault Step and Shattering Wave Fist formed the foundation of his current Lone Shadow Style.
"Cough!"
True Person Hyeongeom spewed blood as he flew backward.
Fortunately, he had hastily circulated his energy to protect his chest, avoiding external wounds. Instead, his organs churned, and his qi and blood roiled.
True Person Hyeongeom had no time to calm his qi and blood. Damho was charging with Assault Step.
To overcome his congenital limp and run straight, he had dashed toward rocks thousands, tens of thousands of times.
While others learned footwork easily, Damho had staked his life on it.
That moment, those life-risking days, had forged the Damho of now.
His master's tears and his own blood were embedded in that fist.
Boom!
"Cough!"
Struck again, True Person Hyeongeom staggered back.
His hair was a wild mess, resembling a ghost's. When had the always impeccable True Person Hyeongeom ever suffered such humiliation?
True Person Hyeongeom's mind was in chaos.
Weeeeng!
Tinnitus rang in his ears, his head blank, unable to form a single thought. Toward such a True Person Hyeongeom, Damho unleashed Shattering Wave Fist once more.
Boom!
True Person Hyeongeom tumbled across the ground without even a scream.
"This is... the power of Master and me, which you so vehemently denied."
He vented all the resentment from his chest.
Damho unleashed only Shattering Wave Fist.
He wanted to show it through Shattering Wave Fist.
That his limp was not the limit of the man called Damho.
The world is not led solely by the perfect.
Not everyone can be perfect.
Not everyone is like True Person Hyeongeom.
Even those not chosen by the world could stand equal to the chosen if they gritted their teeth.
The scars etched on Damho's fist were proof of his struggles, proof of the life he had lived.
Crack!
"Cough!"
True Person Hyeongeom spewed blood and flew back.
He was already unconscious, not twitching a muscle.
Whoosh!
Damho propelled himself with Assault Step, pursuing the flying True Person Hyeongeom.
Immense inner energy gathered in his pot-lid fist.
The same Shattering Wave Fist, but its power was on another level. This one strike would end True Person Hyeongeom's life.
It was the moment Damho's Shattering Wave Fist shot toward True Person Hyeongeom's head.
"No!"
"Senior Uncle! Stop!"
The Mount Hua Sect disciples present blocked True Person Hyeongeom's front all at once.
This was the man who had smashed True Person Hyeongeom, whom they revered like the heavens. There was no way they could block his fist.
Yet they did. To protect True Person Hyeongeom with their lives. To prevent a greater tragedy.
Still, Damho's fist did not stop.
The Mount Hua Sect disciples squeezed their eyes shut.
Boom!
Heaven and earth shook.
Dust soared high into the sky, the ground wailed. An immense pressure wave crushed their bodies.
They braced for agony, but felt no greater pain.
The Mount Hua Sect disciples cautiously opened their eyes. There stood Damho, fist extended before them.
His appearance was that of a ferocious demon, a title like Fist Demon well-earned.
That madness and intimidation crushed their hearts. Yet he seemed poised to strike no further.
"S-Se... Senior Uncle! Thank you."
Second-generation disciple Woncheong mustered his courage to speak to Damho.
His voice became the signal.
"Senior Uncle! Thank you."
"Thank you for showing mercy."
The Mount Hua Sect disciples bowed deeply to Damho. But Damho paid them no heed.
His gaze turned to Gong Son-jung, whose mouth hung agape to one side.
Gong Son-jung trembled like an aspen leaf.
First the Demonic Cult's Ten-Li Dead Zone, Little Thousand Mountain, and now even Mount Hua Sect's True Person Hyeongeom had been crushed by Damho's hand.
It was an utterly unbelievable display of dominance.
Damho recognized no distinction between demon or righteous. He simply destroyed whatever obstructed him.
Today, that truth had been made crystal clear.
'He's no mere demon. Overlord—yes! He's this era's overlord.'
One who valued strength above all.
Binding him with existing order and rules was impossible. That made him all the more terrifying.
Damho spoke.
"Find them!"
"Pardon?"
"Find those who colluded with the Demonic Cult."
"We will. We will find them without fail."
Gong Son-jung shouted at the top of his lungs in a rigid stance.
Damho turned away.
Rumble!
At that moment, the wall of the massive hall behind the Mount Hua Sect disciples crumbled like a sandcastle. Only then did the disciples realize.
Damho's final strike had landed not on them, but on the hall behind.
A chill ran through their bodies.
"Senior Uncle!"