Chapter 197: The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and Shaolin
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 197: The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and Shaolin
Ruuuumble….
With the roar of a beast, the snow mountain began to shake.
The Lion's Roar was fundamentally a sound-based technique, but its substance was undeniable. It was a martial art where the sound itself became a massive shockwave, striking the enemy. At the same time, it was a sound technique like the roar of a lion, capable of shattering wicked sorcery.
Unlike me, who had prepared for it, Iron Head Dragon was completely exposed to the Lion's Roar.
“…How amusing.”
But it didn't cause him much damage.
We both knew each other's martial arts far too well.
“You couldn’t have thought you could defeat me with the Lion’s Roar… Don’t tell me you thought I was possessed by something?”
Fwoosh!
Iron Head Dragon moved his body with swiftness. He lowered his long arms and moved in a dizzying pattern.
The Daoist’s eyes widened as he tracked the creature’s position.
Left, right.
He charged, continuously changing direction.
Swish, swish, swish!
Shhhk!
Iron Head Dragon’s sharp claws slashed out diagonally.
Dragon's Claws.
The Dragon's Claws technique was originally a Shaolin martial art. Therefore, the Daoist was also able to respond.
Kagagagak!
But the difference in their physical scale was simply too great. It was no exaggeration to call it a fight between a human and a giant.
Whooosh!
The Daoist was pushed back by Iron Head Dragon’s strength. But he wasn't sent flying far.
“Huuup!”
Thud.
The Thousand Pound Drop.
He had planted his legs into the ground to endure the impact.
“That’s one exchange.”
It was astonishing that he had endured even a single clash. But considering the current situation, it wasn't good news.
Iron Head Dragon was not using his spirit beast abilities or the power of the Dragon Gate. He was only using the martial arts of Shaolin.
This wasn't a fight between a human and a spirit beast, but a fight between Shaolin and Shaolin.
“Enough with the Dragon’s Claws. Next up is…”
Paang!
Once again, the creature’s form vanished.
He reappeared right in front of the Daoist.
“The Arhat Fist.”
Instead of sharp claws, he had formed a fist.
Iron Head Dragon’s fist shot out like a thunderbolt.
The Daoist responded hastily, assuming the same stance as Iron Head Dragon.
Craaaash!
Fist met fist.
But the difference was stark.
The Daoist was large for a human, but he was still just a human. In contrast, Iron Head Dragon was nearly as large as I was. His form was close to human, but his size could never be called such.
A giant and a human.
When their fists collided, the result was obvious.
Craaack!
“Kugh!”
The Daoist’s left arm hung limp and tattered. It had been broken in a single exchange.
“Senior Brother. Have you been hiding your strength all this time? You’re holding up better than I thought.”
“You bastard… Get a… cough… hold of yourself…!”
Fwoosh!
Iron Head Dragon closed the distance again with incredible speed. He unleashed the Arhat Fist with masterful skill.
Kwad득득!
The Daoist focused his entire mind, blocking the creature’s attacks. But it was impossible to block every blow with a broken arm.
Thwaaack!
Iron Head Dragon’s Arhat Fist struck the Daoist hard in the chest.
Craaaaaash!
The overwhelming impact sent the Daoist’s body flying helplessly. He didn't even have time to use the Thousand Pound Drop.
Thud!
Craaaash!
The Daoist slammed into the ground, shattering the frozen rocks.
“Kuhuh…”
Cough.
He vomited a gush of red blood.
“Did you really think you could stop me with something like this?” Iron Head Dragon muttered, as if disappointed. “You were more entertaining than the others… but that’s about it.”
Shwaaaaa!
A frosty wind blew.
The battle between Shaolin and Shaolin had just ended. What stood before him now was not a man of Shaolin, but the Iron Head Dragon of the Snow Mountain.
Cold energy began to gather around his head.
“I still don’t understand. You must have known it would come to this, so why did you come back?” he asked, as if he truly couldn't comprehend it. “You thought you could stop me? Me, with such pathetic strength?”
His voice was filled with rage, but within it, a hint of pity could be seen.
“…You could have lived if you had just run away.”
Iron Head Dragon possessed overwhelming power. Even if someone else had managed to stop him, there was no way he would have lost track of the Daoist.
He had let him go on purpose.
Though he had declared he would annihilate all humans, he couldn't bring himself to kill the Daoist, the one he had been closest to and relied on the most.
Thump.
Iron Head Dragon walked slowly toward the Daoist.
One hundred steps.
Thump.
Ninety steps.
“Is this the ending you wished for, Senior Brother?”
Eighty steps.
“Answer me. Was dying a cold, frozen death here where no one can find you the ending you wanted?”
Seventy steps.
“Where did all that bravado about stopping me go? You should have begged that spirit beast to stop me, even if it meant getting on your knees.”
Sixty steps.
The Daoist staggered, barely managing to get to his feet.
“You must curse the day you became an Arhat… You must have cursed it to death, having to constantly bloody your hands, being ordered to do all of Shaolin’s dirty work.”
Fifty steps.
He continued speaking with difficulty, coughing up blood.
“You must have thought… that Shaolin was blinded by the allure of inner cores.”
“If not blinded, then what? How many spirit beasts did you have me kill?”
Forty steps.
“Even if they were all mindless beasts that had lost their reason… nothing changes.”
Thirty steps.
“Shaolin even ordered me to kill fellow humans.”
Twenty steps.
“I said nothing changes! They killed my parents and forced me onto the path of Asura!”
“…Because that was your destiny.”
Halt.
Iron Head Dragon’s steps stopped.
“Destiny?” he said, as if utterly dumbfounded. “Khuhut… Destiny, you say. Right, so it was my destiny to walk the path of Asura? You vile, selfish monks… you mock me to the very end.”
He couldn't hide his furious aura. A biting, cold wind began to blow, as if to say there would be no more waiting.
He started walking again to kill the Daoist.
And so, ten steps.
“This is the end. I will sever every last one of these damned, ill-fated connections!”
Iron Head Dragon lowered his thick head. It was a finishing blow.
Watching him, the Daoist closed his eyes.
Was he resigning himself to death?
No, that wasn't it.
The Daoist extended his right arm, his fist clenched as hard as Iron Head Dragon’s head.
He simply pushed forward lightly.
There was still some distance between them. There was no way the Daoist’s final attack could reach Iron Head Dragon.
But.
Booooong!
A deep wound appeared on Iron Head Dragon’s chest.
“Kughhh…!”
Struck by the unexpected blow, Iron Head Dragon pulled his body back.
“The Hundred Steps Divine Fist…?”
The Hundred Steps Divine Fist. As its name suggested, it was a martial art of a higher grade. A legendary technique said to be able to strike an enemy a hundred paces away.
Of course, the Daoist’s execution of the Hundred Steps Divine Fist wasn't perfect. It was barely ten paces. Even then, its power had diminished, failing to inflict a major injury.
But a crack began to form on Iron Head Dragon’s blue, gem-like heart.
“Kghh!”
A scarlet flash of light erupted from it, trying to melt his frozen heart.
Iron Head Dragon’s form was unstable. He was neither in his human form nor his spirit beast form.
This was what the Daoist had been aiming for.
The form he had taken with the power of the Dragon Gate. The blue heart, visible even to the naked eye. He had thought that if he could shake that core, he might be able to revert Iron Head Dragon to his original self.
“With something as pathetic… as thiiissss!”
The attempt was good. But Iron Head Dragon was not so easily defeated.
Craaackle!
The cold energy of the snow mountain gathered in his body. It suppressed the erupting scarlet light and mended the crack.
“Grk… Hooo…”
Iron Head Dragon glared at the Daoist with cold eyes.
If the Daoist had been just a little stronger, that last blow would have caused serious damage. He might have even been defeated by that single, permitted attack.
“Should I… thank you…?”
But the blow had failed to break him. Iron Head Dragon’s body grew even harder. His unstable form began to slowly change back into the stable form of a spirit beast.
“…You have failed, Senior Brother.”
Thump.
Once again, Iron Head Dragon walked toward the Daoist. Cold energy gathered around his massive head once more. He intended to crush the Daoist right then and there.
Craaaaaaaash!
Iron Head Dragon’s head slammed into the ground with enough force to shatter the mountain.
“Kugh…”
But he did not manage to kill the Daoist.
“Lord Gomodo…”
Because I had snatched the Daoist by the neck and pulled him out of the way in the nick of time.
“Why did you… this humble monk…”
You should have just let me die. Why did you interfere?
That’s probably what he was trying to say.
“Grrrrr…”
I let out a low growl.
Unlike me, he could speak freely whenever he wanted. To die without being able to say what you want to say… The waste of it is killing me.
“So you’ve chosen to side with the humans in the end.”
Iron Head Dragon said in a cold voice.
“O Tailed Death. Is that truly your choice?”
Creeak.
Plants buried deep within the snow mountain began to grow. Thick roots wrapped around the Daoist’s body. This way, at least he wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.
Iron Head Dragon took his stance. A competitive spirit even seemed to flicker within him, as if the previous battle had been a perfect warm-up.
“Isn’t this an interesting fight? I, a man of Shaolin who is supposed to save all living beings, am trying to kill humans.”
His manner of speaking had changed again. He was no longer being familiar; he was now using formal speech, as if truly treating me as an enemy.
“And you, a spirit beast from the evil lands of the 100,000 Great Mountains, are trying to protect a human.”
A bitter smile played on Iron Head Dragon’s lips.
“Khut… Well, you don’t have to answer.”
Ruuuumble….
I could feel Iron Head Dragon drawing up power from the depths of his dantian. It was an incomparable force to what he had used against the Daoist.
“I will defeat you and enlighten you.”
It seemed he still hadn't abandoned his initial idea.
“And then, starting with the nearest Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, I will kill every last human.”
Killing all humans was his goal.
“Let me tell you something interesting.”
Iron Head Dragon pointed one hand to the sky and the other to the ground.
“In all of heaven and earth, I alone am the honored one.”
It was a familiar pose, and a familiar phrase.
Iron Head Dragon’s internal energy skyrocketed. He even let out a slight laugh, as if drunk on his own omnipotence.
He looked at me, about to continue speaking.
“The master of this place is…”
But he couldn't finish his sentence.
Because he saw me assuming the same pose.
One hand to the sky.
The other to the ground.
In all of heaven and earth.
I alone am the honored one.
“Grrrr…”
I didn't stop there.
I grabbed the sky with one hand.
And grabbed the earth with the other.
And shifted them greatly.
The Grand Shift of Heaven and Earth.
Iron Head Dragon’s eyes widened in disbelief.
In all of heaven and earth, I alone am the honored one.
He was saying that he was the foremost being, the master of the world. That’s what it meant.
There are a few things I need to teach this guy who’s trapped in his own world.
If I had to pick the most important one…
It’s that I am the master here.
I could let that much slide.
But there was one thing I absolutely could not forgive.
That he dared to speak the name of my beloved Master’s Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
For a guy who acts so recklessly…
“A good beating is the only cure.”
Iron Head Dragon.
You’re in for it now.