Chapter 64
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The Fist Demon's Question
-----------------------------------------------------------------
At the Fist Demon's question, Seol Hwa-un's eyes darkened deeply.
“What do you mean?”
“You're not seriously asking because you don't know, are you?”
“…….”
“I know you used fist techniques based on yang-gang qi in your duel with the Blood Yin Four Lords. Are you going to deny it?”
“That's surprising. I didn't realize the Paecheon Sect's intelligence network was that good.”
The Fist Demon let out a scoffing laugh.
“I'll admit our sect is a mess outside of martial arts. We don't pay much attention to the factions around us either.”
“…….”
“But even so, our sect is currently part of the Evil Path Alliance. Not that I'm thrilled about it. The one upside is sharing their intelligence network.”
Though the Four Evil Heavens Sects had been wiped out, they hadn't been completely massacred.
The Eight Great Evil Sects of the Evil Path Alliance had been the quickest to secure the survivors and extract information from them.
The Fist Demon continued.
“I don't care about the Four Evil Heavens Sects' downfall. I was going to let it slide, but your fist techniques piqued my interest.”
“What about them?”
“If you insist on hearing it, I'll tell you. As you know, the North Sea Ice Palace is famous for its yin-han qi arts. They don't have any yang-gang qi arts at all.”
“How can you be so sure when you're not even from the palace?”
“Even if they did, it would clash with their yin qi. It wouldn't be efficient in the North Sea, so there's no reason to practice it.”
“…….”
“In over a thousand years of martial history, no warrior from the North Sea Ice Palace has ever used yang-gang qi arts. I've confirmed this multiple times.”
Seol Hwa-un's brow furrowed.
‘He's more thorough than he looks.’
“Also, the North Sea Ice Palace is known for its sword arts. Of course, I know they have fist techniques, but for the Little Palace Lord to be a fist master? Even the Palace Lord, the Ice Emperor, is a swordsman.”
The Fist Demon's eyes sharpened.
“And coincidentally, two hundred years ago, the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor—the world's greatest fist master and greatest warrior—disappeared at the North Sea Ice Palace.”
“You're saying I learned the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor's fist arts?”
The Fist Demon shrugged.
“I never said that. But now that you mention it, I have to ask: did you really learn his martial arts?”
“…….”
Seol Hwa-un's expression didn't change. But inwardly, his heart grew heavy.
‘I knew the day would come when using Blazing Flower Fist would bring this up...’
It had arrived sooner than expected. He hadn't anticipated the news reaching the Paecheon Sect.
A brief silence fell. Amid the taut tension, the two men simply stared at each other without speaking.
‘Well? Will you admit it now?’
Finally, Seol Hwa-un slowly shook his head.
“No. I learned the Solar God Palace's martial arts.”
The unexpected response widened the Fist Demon's eyes.
“What?”
“You know about the time the Solar God Palace attacked our palace?”
“……I do.”
The Solar God Palace was a sect that had vanished into history, existing far earlier than the era when the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor made his name.
In contrast to the North Sea Ice Palace, they specialized in yang-gang qi arts and had built a massive force in the southern wilds.
One day, they gathered their elite forces and boldly invaded the North Sea upon hearing rumors of the Ice Palace. But they faced an unforeseen problem.
The North Sea climate favored the North Sea Ice Palace and disadvantaged the Solar God Palace. In the end, they were subjugated by the Ice Palace instead.
Having lost their elites, the Solar God Palace became prey for surrounding sects and was ultimately destroyed.
“So then, at that time, the Solar God Palace's martial arts...”
“Exactly. We recovered them from the Solar God Palace warriors who invaded. Among them was a usable fist technique, which I learned.”
“……!”
This was the story the North Wind Brigade Leader had told his brigade.
The North Wind Brigade members who witnessed the duel with the Blood Yin Four Lords naturally grew suspicious of Seol Hwa-un's martial arts.
It wasn't something they could overlook if the next Palace Lord had learned an elite art from another sect.
The North Wind Brigade Leader, who deeply trusted Seol Hwa-un, brought up the Solar God Palace.
The Ice Family had been researching their martial arts, and he claimed it had been passed down to Seol Hwa-un.
Since it was from a long-extinct sect, there was no issue.
Even to Seol Hwa-un himself, it sounded plausible. So he repeated the same explanation to the Fist Demon.
“The Solar God Palace...”
Muttering with a hardened expression, the Fist Demon suddenly broke into a sly smile.
“Well, I guess I misunderstood.”
“It's fine.”
“Think I'd say that?”
The Fist Demon's smile deepened.
“I almost fell for it. Your story has two flaws.”
“What are you talking about?”
“First, the Solar God Palace had no decent fist arts. Certainly nothing capable of taking down the Blood Yin Four Lords.”
“How would you know?”
“You're underestimating our sect. Over the past two hundred years, we've investigated every fist art scattered across the world. There was nothing from the Solar God Palace.”
“Couldn't the Paecheon Sect have missed it? It's been ages since they were destroyed; records might be gone.”
The Fist Demon shook his head firmly.
“No, their signature elite arts were saber and staff techniques. They definitely had no fist arts.”
“I don't know the details of the Solar God Palace's arts myself. I just practiced the manual handed down.”
“Fine, then here's the second one. You've learned the Ice White Divine Art, right?”
It wasn't a secret, so Seol Hwa-un answered honestly.
“Yes.”
The Fist Demon smiled triumphantly.
“If your story is true, that means you've mastered two opposing divine arts from the Solar God Palace and ours. Is that even possible?”
“……!”
“Of course, the North Sea Ice Palace's arts might have evolved to allow opposing attributes. But is that easy?”
Seol Hwa-un couldn't retort.
“And I know one more thing: the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor's sect.”
“……!”
“Whether you know it or not, his sect was the Primordial Harmony Sect. Though he mainly used yang-gang qi, it was a sect that pursued harmony of yin and yang.”
This was little-known information, but the Fist Demon had learned it from records left by his sect founder, Kwon Pae.
Seol Hwa-un couldn't hide his bitterness.
‘I shouldn't have told No Dok-hae about his sect.’
“Still going to deny it?”
But Seol Hwa-un couldn't admit it.
If word got out that he had learned the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor's fist arts, countless martial artists would swarm him, causing endless hassle.
Huang Bo Tae-seong held great fondness for the North Sea Ice Palace and had received significant favors, so he was unlikely to spread it. But the Fist Demon was unpredictable.
He was an evil path master, after all. There was no guarantee he wouldn't tell the Evil Path Alliance.
“I'll say it clearly. I know nothing of the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor's martial arts.”
The Fist Demon's face hardened.
“Playing it that way? Then I'll have to check for myself.”
Paaaa!
Intense energy erupted from his entire body.
“……!”
A crushing pressure enveloped Seol Hwa-un. The overwhelming aura sent prickling pain through his whole body.
‘Is the Fist Demon this strong?’
It far surpassed the aura he had sensed before.
Thud!
Seol Hwa-un quickly judged and retreated. The three-zhang distance instantly became over six zhang.
Even without exchanging blows, one thing was clear.
‘At that range, it's hard to withstand the Fist Demon's fist strikes.’
The Fist Demon's lips curled up slightly.
“Good instincts. But...”
He unleashed a lightning-fast fist strike.
Paaang!
‘At this distance?’
Seol Hwa-un swiftly retreated further, raising both arms.
Thud!
Even at over seven zhang, the shockwave from the Fist Demon's fist strike slammed into Seol Hwa-un's arms.
Kwaang!!
“Urk.”
The heavy impact shoved his body back. It was a perfect block, but the pain drilled into his bones.
‘This is... Penetrating Air Wave Fist!’
A fist art created by Kwon Pae, inspired by Shaolin's Hundred Paces Divine Fist. It excelled in long range and power.
‘Back then, three zhang was the limit... He's refined it this much over two hundred years.’
Seol Hwa-un, trapped in ice for two centuries, felt a pang of envy.
But the Fist Demon gave no time for other thoughts.
Paang! Paang!
Consecutive Penetrating Air Wave Fists flew out, and instead of retreating, Seol Hwa-un dodged swiftly to the left.
Pang!
Each time, the Fist Demon's attacks grazed him perilously close.
The Fist Demon continued unleashing fist arts indifferently.
Papaaang!
‘Firing off Penetrating Air Wave Fist like that—it must consume a ton of internal energy!’
The Fist Demon's inner power was beyond imagination.
‘No choice.’
Seol Hwa-un's form suddenly blurred. The Penetrating Air Wave Fists passed harmlessly through his afterimage.
A glint flashed in the Fist Demon's eyes.
‘That's...!’
It was the Primordial Harmony Sect's supreme footwork: Heaven-Earth Shadowless Dance.
The Heaven-Earth Shadowless Dance incorporated the essences of footwork arts scattered across the world—Four Directions, Seven Stars, Nine Palaces, and more.
It was more unpredictable than the Beggar Clan's Drunken Eight Immortals Steps and freer in movement than Kunlun's Dragon-Capturing Eighteen Solutions.
In his youth, the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor had rampaged through enemy lines with this Heaven-Earth Shadowless Dance without a scratch.
However, mastering it was exceedingly difficult. Even the genius Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor had needed over a decade of relentless effort.
‘To think I'd use Heaven-Earth Shadowless Dance again.’
Since he had suffered to learn it in his previous life, recreating it was not hard.
Seol Hwa-un had consciously avoided using this footwork until now. Its overpowered performance hindered his growth.
But the Fist Demon was too formidable, and his Penetrating Air Wave Fist too tricky.
Papapapang!
The frequency of incoming Penetrating Air Wave Fists surged.
Seol Hwa-un used Heaven-Earth Shadowless Dance to close the distance instead. Yet the fists still couldn't touch him.
Even the Fist Demon was inwardly astonished.
‘Such exquisite footwork! It's like...’
Before long, the gap between them had narrowed to one zhang.
“……!”
“Now it's my turn.”
Seol Hwa-un's form dove into the Fist Demon's guard.
‘Ice Pillar Soaring Strike!’
The fourth form of Full Snow Flow Fist.
Shuuuak!
His fist, infused with pure white cold qi, surged upward from below, aiming for the Fist Demon's chin.
The Fist Demon's eyes darkened. He jerked his head back sharply.
Paak!
Seol Hwa-un's fist grazed the tip of his chin by a hair's breadth. It missed cleanly, but the Fist Demon's stance had completely crumbled.
Seol Hwa-un didn't let the opening pass.
Shuuk!
He thrust a powerful fist toward the Fist Demon's chest.
But then.
“……!”
A massive fist suddenly appeared right before Seol Hwa-un's nose.
‘Swinging a fist from that posture?!’
Incredibly, even in his disrupted stance, the Fist Demon had precisely targeted Seol Hwa-un's head with his punch.
If they continued, it would be mutual destruction. More accurately, given the internal energy gap, Seol Hwa-un would suffer more.
Seol Hwa-un had no choice but to withdraw his fist and evade the assault.
Paang!
The tremendous inner power produced a massive whoosh.
As he dodged the Fist Demon's strike, Seol Hwa-un closed in again, thrusting both fists in rapid succession.
Shushushushuuk!
The Fist Demon grinned with delight.
‘Wanting close quarters? Fine by me.’
The two unleashed a frenzy of punches at point-blank range.
Papapapak!
Their forms intertwined, fist qi exploding outward in all directions.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwakwang!
Soon, the surroundings were a mess of craters and shattered trees.
Kwakwakwang!
Seol Hwa-un was inwardly impressed.
‘Impressive!’
The Fist Demon's larger build should have disadvantaged him in ultra-close combat. Yet Seol Hwa-un gained no edge.
The Fist Demon's form transitions were superior to his own. He had undoubtedly mastered dozens of fist arts.
‘No wonder they say he's unmatched in bare-hand combat...’
Relatively, Seol Hwa-un was at a disadvantage here.
Because he couldn't freely use the Primordial Harmony Sect's fist arts, which he had practiced the longest.
One might think sticking to North Sea Ice Palace fist arts would solve it, but it wasn't that simple.
At Seol Hwa-un's level, forms flowed naturally like water, matching the situation. Selectively using specific arts was difficult.
Against lesser foes, maybe. But winning against a master like the Fist Demon while holding back was nearly impossible.
Papapang!
As time passed, Seol Hwa-un fell into a disadvantage.
‘Damn.’
Kwang!
Their fists clashed. Seol Hwa-un had avoided direct hits due to the power gap, but he had reached his limit.
His form staggered back.
‘Chance!’
The Fist Demon seized the moment, smashing down with a massive fist.
Buwoong!
A fist enveloped in enormous fist strength plummeted toward Seol Hwa-un's head. It was Kwon Pae's signature technique: Great Diamond God Fist.
“……!”
In this desperate moment, Seol Hwa-un's form blurred. The Fist Demon's fist cleaved empty air.
‘Again?’
Seol Hwa-un, now to the Fist Demon's left, had white flames blooming from his fist.
“……!”
Kwaaaang!!
“Urk!”
The solid hit to his side sent the Fist Demon's body flying back.
“…….”
Staggering, the Fist Demon barely steadied himself. Though he had taken a heavy blow, a thick smile played on his lips.
“Still going to deny it?”