Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Revealing Divine Might
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With four of the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts felled and Sichuan Palm Flesh Buddha slain in a single clash, Clear Mind Dojang staggered back five full steps before halting.
If there was any accomplishment, it was that Clear Mind Dojang had shattered the Mountain-Haired Fiend's fearsome cauldron.
The onlookers, reduced to mere spectators, were speechless at the unbelievable sight before their eyes.
Clear Mind Dojang spoke in a subdued tone.
"What is it you want?"
There was no need to answer an enemy's questions one by one. Especially not when they stood in direct opposition, as now.
Heuk Do-san gazed down at the fragments of the cauldron he had been gripping until then. In that one clash, the iron cauldron, infused with qi, had exploded like a bomb.
'This is the martial prowess of the orthodox sects...'
It had likely been the Demon-Subduing Golden Man, said to shatter even the Vajra Indestructible Body.
Heuk Do-san didn't know exactly who Clear Mind Dojang was. But he knew the elders of the Nine Great Sects were masters who had attained unfathomably profound realms of martial arts.
In the past, without tricks or feints, he wouldn't have withstood even a single exchange.
'There must be clouds of masters in the jianghu stronger than Clear Mind Dojang, right?'
Suddenly, Heuk Do-san wanted to know just how strong he had become. He looked up at Clear Mind Dojang and asked.
"What is the Dojang's signature technique?"
"What?"
"Fist? Or sword arts? Tell me. When the Demonic Cult's fiends clashed in life-or-death battles with the Dojang in the past, what martial art did they fear most?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I've heard the Kongdong Sect's Demon-Subduing Sword is unparalleled in the world. If you're planning to use the sword, I'll wait until you find a worthy one."
With that, Heuk Do-san scanned the surroundings.
Swords from the fallen foes, not to mention Enemy Wind Temple, lay scattered across the hall. He was telling him to pick one.
"You?"
Heuk Do-san belatedly tossed aside the cauldron fragment. He clenched and unclenched his fist, cracking his knuckles, and said.
"Choose quickly."
"You insolent cur!"
Clear Mind Dojang shot forward.
In an instant, Heuk Do-san felt as if an enormous wall was crashing toward him whole. In the center of that wall, a purple qi coalesced into one and surged forth.
Even just looking at it sent chills; the qi was terrifying. Heuk Do-san unleashed the Iron Bridge technique, twisting his waist desperately. A torrent-like surge of energy grazed past his face, now tilted toward the sky.
With a *peng!* the suction force overwhelmed his hair and clothes, yanking them in at ferocious speed. In that moment, a fierce qi blasted from his left side as well. Clear Mind Dojang had unleashed his left palm.
Heuk Do-san twisted his waist in an impossible maneuver, deflecting even the left palm. Then the right palm came flying straight for his heart. A lightning-fast follow-up variation at appalling speed.
Clear Mind Dojang's palm strikes were swift, heavy, and endlessly variable. Each time, Heuk Do-san evaded them by a hair's breadth. Movements neither too fast nor too slow—just exactly what was needed.
'This is the Hundred Thousand Great Heaven Realm...!'
Through this battle with Clear Mind Dojang, Heuk Do-san felt the myriad movements etched haphazardly into his brain and muscles beginning to settle into place.
Clear Mind Dojang's mind went blank. In mere moments, he had unleashed over thirty Kongdong Sect signature techniques.
His heavy fists and palms wove a dense net that not even a bird could escape, yet he hadn't so much as grazed the enemy's sleeve.
Each strike whistled through empty air by the slimmest margin. Suddenly, he thought the foe was like the wind. A wind no net in the world could capture.
'Is this truly human movement...!'
In that instant, a motley crew of martial artists broke through the defensive line and surrounded Yong Seol-ran. Amid the chaos, several blades flew toward her all at once, each vying for the Jang Sword.
On the verge of being shredded, Yong Seol-ran unleashed hidden weapons in all directions. Sharp screams rang out as the five at the front collapsed in convulsions.
Heuk Do-san sensed it was time to end the fight. Just then, Clear Mind Dojang's left palm targeted his face. It felt as if a lifetime of inner power had been poured into it; even before contact, tremendous palm force raged from the heart of the hand.
Heuk Do-san spun like a gale on the spot, thrusting out his left palm. Palm techniques best embodied the might of the Hundred Thousand Great Heaven Realm.
No wonder the jianghu called the terrifying art that Snow Mountain Elder had mastered the Hundred Thousand Great Heaven Palms.
*Bboom!*
A deafening roar as if the air itself exploded! A fierce shockwave erupted, unleashing a gale-like pressure.
Those with weak inner power burst eardrums and fell, while nearby tables and chairs flew like in a typhoon.
Clear Mind Dojang gouged the stone floor with his toes like a plow, sliding back a full three *zhang* before finally stopping.
But in the end, one knee buckled beneath him. At the same time, he spewed a basin's worth of dark red blood.
At the moment of palm contact, he felt a tsunami-like rebound surging through his bones, from shoulder to spine. Muscles tore with pops, followed by bone-crushing agony. It was as if lightning had pierced his spine and body.
'What monstrous inner power is this!'
Heuk Do-san was not unscathed either.
The Kongdong Sect's martial arts, founded by the exceptional Mad Zen Master 700 years ago and refined through countless geniuses since, were no easy mountain to cross.
"Ptoo!"
Heuk Do-san spat out the blood pooling in his mouth.
But the amount was far less than Clear Mind Dojang's, and he wiped his lips with his wrist and was done.
Still, internal injury was internal injury. The repercussions were not insignificant.
Eyes of those who realized even the Mountain-Haired Fiend could die began to gleam with inscrutable light.
Heuk Do-san asked Clear Mind Dojang.
"How far has the Dojang's martial prowess advanced?"
"What... do you mean?"
"I've rarely crossed hands with masters of your caliber. I want to gauge my own level against yours."
"What nonsense..."
Heuk Do-san shook his head slowly. The fact that he had taken an internal injury against Clear Mind Dojang momentarily shook him.
In fierce combat, injuries happened anytime, regardless of strength.
"I asked a foolish question."
"Just who the hell are you?"
"Give up on the Jang Sword. It wasn't the Righteous Alliance's to begin with, and hasn't the true owner appeared?"
"If madmen with unpredictable movements hold a dangerous blade, wouldn't even you seize it?"
"Are they certainly madmen?"
"What?"
"Throughout history, countless wars have been fought for world hegemony. The martial world is no different. The one difference is that in the martial world, which values justice and chivalry, it needs a monster called 'pretext'?"
"Are you saying the Righteous Alliance massacred innocents, branding them as demons, to seize hegemony over the current martial world?"
"I lost my family to Demonic Cult assassins. For over ten years, I wandered battlefields seeking revenge."
"......!"
"I know full well the atrocities the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult committed in the past. But you see, demons aren't exclusive to the Demonic Cult. In the end, perhaps this 'demon' thing clings not to martial arts or doctrines, but to people..."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"My point is simple. If you give up cleanly now, I'll hold back too..."
Mid-sentence, Heuk Do-san clenched his molars. Another clot of blood welled up his throat.
The vast qi accumulated through Hundred Thousand Great Heaven Realm training wasn't yet fully acclimated, and forcing its use had caused this. A minor injury, but unsightly for now, though it would fade with time.
'They made it sound like mastering the Hundred Thousand Great Heaven Realm would make you the world's top master overnight...'
No such thing as a free lunch in this world.
But to those ignorant of Heuk Do-san's circumstances, it meant something entirely different.
Clear Mind Dojang said quietly.
"I might accept that, but what about the others?"
Heuk Do-san looked around.
Over a hundred people remained, staring at him. Their eyes were definitely different from the fear-filled ones moments ago.
Heuk Do-san bellowed so all could hear.
"Last warning! Withdraw quietly now. Ignore it and give in to greed, and even I won't be able to control what happens next!"
But having seen him vomit blood, they weren't quick to move.
In that moment, one thought filled their minds.
Sichuan Palm Flesh Buddha was dead, the Demonic Cult masters disguised as express couriers caught by the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts. The greatest threat, the Mountain-Haired Fiend, was internally injured from clashing with Clear Mind Dojang—and locked in confrontation with him, unable to disengage.
If they intended to give up, fine. But to claim the Jang Sword, now—while facing deadly rivals who were either dead or pinned—was the last, golden opportunity.
As the air grew tense, the three bodyguards Bang Dae-gang had left rushed to shield Yong Seol-ran.
But they seemed woefully inadequate against the killing intent pouring from over a hundred people.
Eyes twisted with greed. The situation seemed to spiral out of control again.
Then someone shouted.
"The woman's defenseless!"
That one cry punctured the taut standoff.
Over a hundred martial artists roared and charged at Yong Seol-ran.
'Foolish mortals.'
Heuk Do-san pulled out the bone flute from around his neck and blew long and hard. No sound emerged, and no one saw what he did.
Suddenly, a flapping like flocks of migratory birds filled the air, and the entire Tongman Fortress plunged into pitch-black darkness.
People halted their attacks and looked skyward in unison. Astonishingly, thousands of bean-sized lights rained down from the night sky.
For a fleeting moment, it seemed dreamlike, like the Milky Way descending. Then came the sharp screams.
"Uwaaak!"
"Aaack!"
The hall swarmed with a black mass of bats. From nowhere, the bat swarm began biting everything in reach.
Against the overwhelming numbers clinging relentlessly, human martial arts were feeble flailing.
Some swung swords only to collapse rolling on the floor, heads blackened by bats.
Others slashed wildly, cleaving nearby allies. Even as they fell spraying blood, bats swarmed their bodies black.
To prevent escape, the bats targeted eyes first.
Those bitten in the eyes swung blades in blind terror, slaying more in the ensuing chaos.
The bats spared neither man nor beast. The horses the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts rode bucked wildly under attack.
From then on, no one cared about the Jang Sword. People stampeded for the exit. The jam was so thick it nearly tore the doors apart.
Save for the first six or seven who broke through, all were wedged immobile in the doorway. As escape became impossible, hotheads scaled the walls.
The bats clung tenaciously even to the fleeing. Hundreds even vaulted the walls after the lucky few who escaped into the desert.
It was pandemonium.
Yet even in the hellscape, some kept their wits.
"Clan Leader Bang! Under the carriage!"
Yong Seol-ran shouted.
Bang Dae-gang shoved aside the Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts and led his men diving under the carriage. Confirming all his allies safe, Yong Seol-ran grabbed burning firewood from the brazier and hurled it atop the carriage.
With pops like firecrackers, massive flames erupted. A blazing curtain of fire six *zhang* around the carriage unfurled.
The pursuing bats screeched and fled.
Meanwhile, Hong Gong-tak and the six remaining Soul-Chasing Ten Ghosts unleashed their most intricate Phantasmal Eighteen Sword Formation with all their might, barely holding off the bats. Still, bats pierced the formation, biting everywhere. At least their eyes were spared—a small mercy.
Amid the unfolding hell, one man stood untouched. The bats, savage toward all living things, gave a five-*zhang* radius around Heuk Do-san a wide berth.
Thanks to that, Clear Mind Dojang was safe from the bat onslaught akin to a natural disaster. Whether fortune or the enemy's mercy, he couldn't tell.
Finally losing patience, Clear Mind Dojang shouted.
"Call them off!"
"I cannot."
"Why!"
"Didn't I say? Give in to greed, and even I can't control it. No one can stop them until all prey collapse motionless."
"And after they're all down?"
"Then the feast begins, slowly."