Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Beast vs. Beast
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“Where are you?”
Song Myeong-cheon’s voice rang out again.
“Here!”
Han Ibi raised one hand and shouted.
But just then, the beast hurtling toward him slammed into his field of vision.
It was already right up close.
Sharp claws protruded from the front paw of the creature as it kicked off the ground and leaped.
With no time to prepare, Han Ibi instinctively flung his body aside and tumbled across the ground.
At the same moment, those claws raked fiercely through empty air.
A chill ran down Han Ibi’s spine.
Though its first strike missed, the beast showed no sign of disappointment and hurled itself at Han Ibi once more.
This wasn’t the movement of some mere animal—it was like that of a martial arts master.
Han Ibi sprang up like Bruce Lee himself, but all he could do was roll away again to dodge.
He didn’t even have a moment to register the cold of the snow.
“Hey, hey! What’s your deal?”
The beast swung and missed again, yet it charged straight at Han Ibi without a hint of giving up.
Han Ibi rolled backward, shot to his feet, and hoisted his longsword high overhead.
“Hey, cutie pie. I don’t want to hurt you. But if you keep coming at me like this…”
He swung the longsword at the airborne beast with every ounce of strength he had. A sharp whoosh tore through the air as it cleaved the space around it.
The counterattack must have caught the beast off guard too, as it twisted midair like it was swimming freely before retreating to put distance between them, locking eyes with Han Ibi all the while.
“Grrrr.”
The growl resembled a cat’s, but far deeper and more menacing.
Han Ibi said,
“Look, I’m starving half to death right now, but I don’t want to cook you up and eat you. So just scram already. I’m barely hanging on as it…”
Han Ibi couldn’t even finish his sentence.
The beast had coiled like a spring and launched itself once more.
This time, Han Ibi sobered up and unleashed a sword form.
The attack seemed about to connect. His razor-sharp blade was poised to slice right through the beast’s torso.
But… the feedback vibrating up the blade felt all wrong.
Gasp!
Han Ibi could hardly trust his own eyes.
Incredibly, the beast was perched atop the flat of his sword.
Astonishing balance.
Han Ibi, tensed to the max, hurriedly twisted the blade to shake the thing off.
But the beast shifted its footing onto the blade’s edge.
Han Ibi shook the sword violently. The beast rode it out, keeping perfect balance.
Then, suddenly using it as a launchpad, it pounced straight at Han Ibi.
Claws! Those sharp claws were the real threat!
Flustered, Han Ibi dropped the sword and thrashed to escape the beast’s lunge range.
But…
“Argh—!”
A scream of agony echoed through the mountains.
He’d been so fixated on the claws…
He’d overlooked the simple truth that a beast’s primary weapon was its teeth.
Teeth optimized not just for digestion, but for the hunt.
The beast had sunk its jaws into Han Ibi’s right shoulder with monstrous force.
The pain grew steadily worse.
Then he heard a whoosh whipping past his ear. Song Myeong-cheon had closed in and swung his staff at the beast.
Sensing the danger, the beast promptly released Han Ibi and leaped away.
It eyed Song Myeong-cheon with wary vigilance.
“Master!”
Han Ibi beamed with relief and joy.
“Master, you made it. Sorry about the mess. But I think we’ve finally found ‘it.’”
Song Myeong-cheon kept up his staring contest with the beast as he asked,
“Found what?”
“That thing right there. This time, it really looks like the herb we’re after.”
That flower. The vivid purple one.
Behind the cute yet vicious beast, it almost seemed to glow.
No—perhaps this adorable monster was guarding the flower.
Song Myeong-cheon glanced at them and said,
“Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon.”
Han Ibi blinked.
“Pardon?”
“That’s a Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon.”
“Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon?”
Song Myeong-cheon drew a deep breath before continuing.
“That’s right. One of the terrifying poisonous beasts that roam the Central Plains.”
“Poisonous beast…”
Gasp. Poisonous? Meaning that thing bit me?
Now that he thought about it, his shoulder suddenly felt heavy and rigid, like he’d developed a frozen shoulder overnight.
Song Myeong-cheon said,
“Don’t move a muscle. Try not to talk, either. And whatever you do, don’t circulate your qi clumsily.”
“Yes, sir.”
Only then did Han Ibi grasp how serious this was.
Song Myeong-cheon went on.
“The Golden Radiant Herb brims with intense yang energy. You could say it’s fire taking the form of a flower. And spirit herbs like that are always guarded by spirit beasts of opposing nature.”
Han Ibi nodded as realization dawned.
“So you’re saying that really is the Golden Radiant Herb. And that beast is its watchdog.”
But Han Ibi received no answer.
Song Myeong-cheon’s eyes had already turned pitch black.
Here we go again. Beast mode.
So this would be beast versus beast.
Sensing the shift in Song Myeong-cheon’s aura, the Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon’s stance grew even more savage.
Its razor-sharp growl sent goosebumps racing across the skin.
Thud!
The Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon kicked off the ground with explosive power.
Song Myeong-cheon swept his staff to seal off its trajectory. The beast spun fluidly midair with a graceful twirl.
It slipped past the defensive line with ease and slashed out with those signature claws.
Song Myeong-cheon deployed footwork to scatter its momentum. Their positions had now switched.
At that moment, Han Ibi struggled just to stay on his feet. Nausea roiled in his gut, and his muscles began stiffening like dry timber.
He crumpled to the ground without realizing it.
Damn, the ground’s freezing cold…
“Kyak—!”
In that instant, he saw the Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon bare its fangs and charge.
Its charge was indistinguishable from a first-rate expert executing lightness skill.
This time, evasion wouldn’t be easy. Song Myeong-cheon swung his staff to intercept.
But…
The Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon landed feather-light on the staff and glared down at Song Myeong-cheon.
The exact same move it had pulled on Han Ibi.
Song Myeong-cheon’s inky-black eyes looked ready to swallow the beast whole.
The beast tried to springboard off the staff. Or at least, it attempted to.
But in that split-second of borrowing the rebound, Song Myeong-cheon read it perfectly and swung to negate the force.
The beast tried to bounce again. The staff countered once more.
Perched atop the staff at point-blank range and glaring, but utterly unable to touch Song Myeong-cheon.
The beast seemed to abandon the tactic, hopping down to resume their standoff.
It had apparently realized Song Myeong-cheon was no easy prey.
In that moment, the Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon suddenly dropped low to the ground and charged. It had switched to targeting the lower body.
After all, it had venomous saliva as its god-given weapon.
Just one solid hit was all it needed.
Song Myeong-cheon dropped into a low stance too and swept the staff out long.
Clack!
Claws met staff in a resounding clash.
Right paw, left paw, right, left.
The Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon shredded the air with its claws in a blistering assault. Song Myeong-cheon’s staff danced in perfect counter, blocking every path.
Then the beast abruptly kicked off the ground and soared.
Song Myeong-cheon spun on his heel, redirecting, and smashed the staff down hard on its head.
Gotcha!
Han Ibi, gripping with white-knuckled tension, inwardly cheered.
Crack! A mighty impact rang out.
But it wasn’t the sound of the beast’s skull shattering.
The thing had clamped its jaws on the staff with iron strength and now dangled from it like an ornament.
Song Myeong-cheon, caught off guard, whipped the staff around wildly.
Yet the beast refused to let go, clinging with desperate tenacity.
Then, timing a particularly vigorous swing, it launched itself and slashed at Song Myeong-cheon with its front paw.
At the same instant, Song Myeong-cheon swiftly retreated his entire body while thrusting out his left fist.
Blood sprayed.
What had happened?
Han Ibi cried out in shock.
“Master!”
In the end, the Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon’s front paw had carved a long gash across Song Myeong-cheon’s neck.
But the beast’s abdomen had taken the full brunt of that left fist…
Had it not curled into a ball at the last second to soften the blow, it would have been a killing strike on the spot.
The telltale mark emerged on Song Myeong-cheon’s forehead. His face twisted into a feral snarl like a predator’s.
No visible wound, but it clearly hurt—the beast licked at the struck area on its belly, trying to soothe the pain.
But in truth… Song Myeong-cheon was the one who’d come out worse.
The Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon’s deadly venom seeped from its entire body, meaning that claw wound would inevitably trigger poisoning symptoms.
Then came a thunderous roar.
“Rawr!”
A bellow that seemed to split heaven and earth.
Song Myeong-cheon let out a massive roar.
At the same time, patches of his body turned jet-black. The veins just beneath his skin had all flooded with the same color.
Ink-black hues spread like spiderwebs along his pulsing meridians.
Han Ibi shuddered at the gruesome sight, straight out of a horror or sci-fi flick.
Now Song Myeong-cheon looked more monstrous than the beast itself.
This didn’t resemble poisoning symptoms. If it were, Han Ibi would have changed first.
In the end…
Ah, Master Song’s gone and pushed that Hongmeng Great Law or whatever to its absolute limit… What now? Even if he wins like this, he’ll berserk and collapse. So the solution is…
His gaze landed on the Golden Radiant Herb right before him.
That’s what we need.
Han Ibi glanced over—the clash between the two beasts had only grown more ferocious. One utterly pissed-off man and one beast locked in a brutal exchange.
First things first, secure it.
Han Ibi willed his now thoroughly stiffened body into motion and crept slowly toward the Golden Radiant Herb.
That was when it happened.
“Kyaak—!”
The Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon spotted Han Ibi’s movement, broke off mid-fight with Song Myeong-cheon, and came barreling at him with a shriek.
At this rate, he’d be torn to ribbons by those claws.
Then—a terrifying whistle cut the air.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The wooden staff Song Myeong-cheon had hurled spun wildly toward the Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon.
Song Myeong-cheon charged right behind it.
The beast, thrown into no small panic, twisted its body and rolled across the ground.
Snow sprayed everywhere. Yet there was something different about the beast’s physique.
It displayed reflexes beyond imagination.
Before it could even right itself from the roll, it sprang once more at the onrushing Song Myeong-cheon.
Song Myeong-cheon was unarmed now.
He threw a straight punch at the beast. The flutter of his sleeve echoed through the silent peaks.
The Demonic Poison Bear-Raccoon twisted rightward in midair to evade the fist. That left Song Myeong-cheon’s left upper body wide open.
Han Ibi shouted,
“Watch out, Master!”
Just as the beast’s fangs closed in on Song Myeong-cheon’s left shoulder.
Crack!
A sharp sound exploded outward.
But…
It bit his shoulder—why the cracking noise?
(To be continued)