Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Unforeseen Tactics
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Seong-ryun could recognize the man in gray at a glance.
“The Sip-ma-jeon-in of the White Horse Temple, I presume.”
At Seong-ryun's question, the man in gray, Yu Un-ryong, nodded.
“And you must be Seong-ryun of the Beggars' Sect.”
“I am.”
“How absurd.”
Seong-ryun blinked, a sneer forming on his lips.
“The Sip-ma-jeon-in of the White Horse Temple who tucked his tail and ran after being defeated by Pyeong Seo-un now dares to challenge me?”
As expected of a master from the Beggars' Sect, he was trying to unsettle Yu Un-ryong with his sharp tongue.
“Hehehe.”
In the past, he would have flared up and attacked immediately.
But the Yu Un-ryong who had returned from the brink of death was no longer the arrogant Sip-ma-jeon-in who let his emotions rule him.
“The important thing is that I survived that fight.”
At Yu Un-ryong's words, Seong-ryun's smile vanished.
To have survived a life-or-death battle with a Dae-ui-go-su. Such an experience would grant a martial artist immense benefits.
It meant his skills must have improved by leaps and bounds.
“I see. I suppose you are worthy of facing me, then.”
Glancing down at his own hands, Seong-ryun spread one arm in a relaxed manner.
“You may have the first move.”
Yu Un-ryong gripped his White Horse Whip with a solemn expression.
Seong-ryun's ease and sense of superiority didn't stem from arrogance. Yu Un-ryong could feel that it came from having the skill to back it up.
*‘They’re all monsters.’*
As the word "monster" crossed his mind, Bu Eun-seol's face suddenly appeared in his thoughts.
His features were as beautiful as a peerless maiden's, but it felt as though an unknowable monster was coiled within that body.
*‘Compared to him, this one is nothing.’*
Yu Un-ryong's ultimate goal was to become the successor of the Demonic Hall.
To achieve that goal, he had to overcome this trial and even defeat Bu Eun-seol.
*Fwoosh.*
Just then, with a sound of tearing air, five figures descended from the sky behind Seong-ryun.
They wore ragged clothes, but their bodies emanated an aura as imposing as a great mountain, and bluish long staffs were tied to their waists.
They were the masters of the Sal-gu-haeng.
“Step back, Junior Brother.”
The newly appointed leader of the Sal-gu-haeng, U Gang, stepped in front of Seong-ryun and spoke.
“We will deal with him.”
“It's fine.”
Seong-ryun shook his head with a relaxed expression.
“I can handle him well enough on my own.”
“I know. But are those Sip-ma-jeon-in not demons who have inherited the cruel martial arts of the Ten Demonic Sects?”
U Gang shook his head with a grave expression.
“You are the one who will lead our sect in the future. If by some chance you were to be injured…”
His words were cut short.
*Tsssss.*
Because with a strange sound of slicing air, a man with a rusted sword on his back appeared out of thin air. It was Bu Eun-seol.
“And who are you?”
In response to U Gang's question, Bu Eun-seol threw a punch toward him without a word.
It seemed like a light punch, but a storm of fist energy poured out.
In the end, U Gang and the four other members had to hastily retreat.
“Who are you!”
To U Gang's shout, Bu Eun-seol replied coldly.
“You don't need to know.”
After a moment of confusion, U Gang glanced back and forth between Yu Un-ryong and Bu Eun-seol, a sneer on his face.
“Were you planning to take him on two-against-one?”
“That must have been your plan.”
At Bu Eun-seol's retort, U Gang spoke with a shameless expression.
“Junior Brother Seong is a Cheong-juk-gae who will one day lead the Beggars' Sect. There is no need for him to dirty his hands with demonic scum like you.”
“So beggars discriminate against people?”
Despite Bu Eun-seol's mockery, U Gang's gaze remained unchanged.
“Let's just call it the special treatment that comes with status.”
“Special treatment, you say.”
Bu Eun-seol slowly extended his right fist.
A faint light gathered around his fist. As a powerful internal energy raged, the flow of true qi became visible to the naked eye.
“Let's see if there's any special treatment after death.”
As killing intent billowed from Bu Eun-seol's body, U Gang shouted.
“Attack!”
At his command, the Sal-gu-haeng members behind him stepped forward as if they had been waiting and unleashed their fist techniques.
*Hwiik!*
The wind from their fists, coming from four directions at once, pressed in as if to shatter Bu Eun-seol's bones.
It was the Jade-Shattering Fist, the superior fist art of the Beggars' Sect, said to be able to split jade with a single light punch.
*Kwarung!*
When Bu Eun-seol threw his punch, a single stream of fist energy began to push back the Jade-Shattering Fists that were pouring in from all directions.
It was the exquisite fist energy of the Gwon-ma-cho-hyeon.
“What is that?”
U Gang's eyes widened as he watched the scene.
To block the Jade-Shattering Fists unleashed by four men, one would need to either push back with at least equal force or execute four consecutive moves.
But wasn't Bu Eun-seol magically blocking the force of four men with just a single punch?
*‘To think such a fist art exists.’*
The fist energy unleashed by Bu Eun-seol not only changed direction freely like a tangible sword aura but also maintained its power until the very end.
*‘It’s a fist art that’s only possible when backed by immense internal energy.’*
Realizing that Bu Eun-seol's fist art was not only bizarre but also that his internal energy was formidable, U Gang stepped forward.
“Stand back. I'll deal with him!”
Striding up to Bu Eun-seol, he swung his two fists like a windmill, unleashing his technique.
As befitting the Haengju who led the Sal-gu-haeng, the power of U Gang's Jade-Shattering Fist was on a different level from that of the four members.
*Hwik hwik! Hwiriririk!*
As fist technique clashed with fist technique, the distance between them narrowed even further.
Before they knew it, the two were exchanging moves at a distance where they could clearly see each other's faces.
In terms of fist arts, Bu Eun-seol was clearly a cut above.
However, U Gang was a master of the fist who had trained in the Jade-Shattering Fist for thirty years. He compensated for his lack of power by using profound moves at just the right moments.
*‘With Senior Brother U and the four members, they at least won't be defeated.’*
Watching Bu Eun-seol and U Gang's clash from a distance, Seong-ryun turned his head and spoke to Yu Un-ryong.
“Well then, shall we move to a different location?”
At Seong-ryun's words, Yu Un-ryong smiled, his eyes filled with killing intent.
He could finally face him one-on-one.
“Fine.”
As Seong-ryun shot up into the sky, Yu Un-ryong immediately followed.
Soon, the two men, now two streaks of light, passed through Yeong-pung Gorge and arrived at a field of reeds.
Spotting the reed field bathed in moonlight, Seong-ryun halted his movement technique.
“This place will do.”
Yu Un-ryong slowly walked forward. He stopped after closing the distance to about twenty paces.
The attack range of a normal whip is within three *jang*.
But the White Horse Whip could extend up to six *jang* and, if desired, could be used as short as a longsword.
Knowing this well, Seong-ryun noticed that this twenty-pace distance was Yu Un-ryong's preferred range.
*‘So this is the distance he likes to use.’*
*Piiing!*
With a sound that cut through the air, the white whip, like a white snake, shot toward Seong-ryun's brow.
Had he been an ordinary master, his brow would have been pierced by this single move.
*Pat!*
But Seong-ryun's reflexes were like lightning.
Instantly twisting his body to avoid the White Horse Whip, he drew a circle with one hand. It was the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, one of the two great arts of the Beggars' Sect, alongside the Dog Beating Staff Technique.
As immense palm energy poured out, Yu Un-ryong immediately retracted the White Horse Whip and spun it like a top.
The Dragon Subduing Palm, which could be called the essence of external martial arts, grew stronger the more it was met head-on.
Yu Un-ryong circled around Seong-ryun, dissipating the palm energy while looking for an opportunity.
“Was the White Horse Whip's technique always this passive?”
Seong-ryun laughed heartily and unleashed a continuous stream of palm energy from both hands.
But this palm technique, unleashed as if in jest, was the heaviest and most profound move of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms: Si-seung-yuk-ryong.
“Hahp.”
With a short shout, Yu Un-ryong flicked his hand, and the White Horse Whip suddenly split into three strands, clashing against the palm energy.
*Pararak!*
With a sound of slicing wind, Yu Un-ryong instantly dissipated the palm energy and retreated another *jang* in a single breath.
Seong-ryun's palm technique was fiercer and sharper than expected, so his intention was to create distance to leverage the whip's advantage.
“Retreating is useless.”
Seong-ryun whistled and once again waved his twin palms erratically.
In that instant, dust rose in a cloud from all directions, and an invisible palm energy shot out like arrows.
It was the exquisite move of the Dragon Subduing Palm, I-sang-bing-ji.
“Hmph.”
Yu Un-ryong snorted briefly and used his footwork to retreat again.
He anticipated that if he dissipated the palm technique and counterattacked, Seong-ryun would close the distance again in the meantime.
“You're quite the cautious one.”
Seong-ryun knew that Yu Un-ryong was hiding his true skill while searching for a weakness in his palm technique.
“Or has the White Horse Temple's whip art changed?”
The terrifying thing about the White Horse Whip Art was not just that it transcended the limitations of a whip as a weapon.
The problem was that each move of the White Horse Whip Art preemptively claimed all of the opponent's space, leaving no room for a counterattack.
But Yu Un-ryong was doing the exact opposite, constantly defending while retreating.
“I see your intention, but it's about time we end this!”
*Ududuk.*
The sound of bones cracking echoed from Seong-ryun's body as if he had raised his internal energy to its maximum.
He was about to unleash the pinnacle of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, the most powerful move: Hang-ryong-yu-hwe.
*Tung!*
With a sound like a flexible bamboo stalk bending and snapping back, a powerful, circular palm energy poured onto Yu Un-ryong's body.
*Flash!*
At that moment, a glint flashed in Yu Un-ryong's eyes. Simultaneously, his body shot forward like an arrow and collided with the palm energy.
*Hwiriririk!*
Amazingly, when the Hang-ryong-yu-hwe move struck his body, it seemed to slide right past him, didn't it?
“What?”
Seong-ryun let out a cry of alarm.
Beneath Yu Un-ryong's torn clothes, the White Horse Whip was wrapped around his body.
Like a hidden protective garment, he had the white White Horse Whip coiled around his entire body.
This was the Ho-pyeon-ga-ui technique, which was only possible after mastering the White Horse Temple's ultimate internal art, the White Horse Heart Sutra.
*Paaaa!*
A flustered Seong-ryun unleashed three consecutive palm strikes.
A series of Dragon Subduing Palms, sharp as axes, poured down, but they still slid off Yu Un-ryong's body upon contact.
By mastering this Ho-pyeon-ga-ui, he had been able to survive being struck by the Seven Injuries Palm Force of Pyeong Seo-un, the Dae-ui-go-su of the Kongtong Sect.
*Piiing! Chwararararak!*
Having broken through Seong-ryun's attack and closed the distance, hundreds of whip shadows poured from Yu Un-ryong's body like a shower of arrows.
The white whip shadows, pouring down and covering the world, swallowed Seong-ryun like an avalanche.
*Kwawooooo!*
As the thick dust settled, Seong-ryun could be seen crouching low.
His body, struck by the Ho-pyeon-ga-ui technique, was torn and bruised all over.
“So this was your strategy... How unique.”
“Don't get cocky!”
Having seized the momentum, Yu Un-ryong spun his body in the opposite direction.
The White Horse Whip once again clung to his body, and at the same time, he unleashed hundreds of whip shadows.
It was a move that modified the Ho-pyeon-ga-ui.
“If you uncoil the whip, you must coil it again. I already anticipated such a move!”
An intense light was emanating from Seong-ryun's right hand.
Simultaneously, he turned his left palm into a blade and thrust it into the storm of whip shadows.
*Chwaaaak!*
Like water being parted, the storm of whips split open, revealing Yu Un-ryong within.
By concentrating all the power of the Dragon Subduing Palm without releasing it, his hand had become as hard as if he had mastered the Heavenly Dipper Hand.
“Farewell.”
At the same time, five palm shadows were forming in his right hand.
It was the little-known move, Sang-ha-mu-sang.
*Peng peng peng peng peng!*
Struck five times in succession, Yu Un-ryong was pushed back five steps.
The Ho-pyeon-ga-ui had protected his body, but it couldn't block the five streams of internal energy that Seong-ryun had unleashed.
*Drip.*
A trickle of red blood flowed from his tightly clenched lips.
From just a single blow, he had suffered a severe internal injury, as if his heart meridians were about to snap.
“Your skills are quite impressive, but you can't defeat me with such tricks.”
Seong-ryun's Dragon Subduing Palm was nearly a perfect counter to Yu Un-ryong's White Horse Whip Art.
Moreover, due to the significant gap in their martial prowess, Seong-ryun had already seen through Yu Un-ryong's trump card.
“Kgh.”
Seong-ryun approached Yu Un-ryong, who was down on one knee, with a solemn expression.
Yu Un-ryong quickly tried to get up and swing his White Horse Whip.
But his qi and blood had been thrown into turmoil by Seong-ryun's power, and he couldn't move his body, as if his demonic blood had been suppressed.
Seong-ryun maintained his solemn expression and held out his palm.
“This is the end!”
And without hesitation, he swung it toward Yu Un-ryong's head.