Chapter 122: The Fist King Joins the Four Evils
The Fist King Joins the Four Evils
Chapter 122: The Fist King Joins the Four Evils
The Sword Demon and the Heavenly Demon shifted positions as if locked in a deadly dance, their movements synchronized with the flying Demon Sword.
This, then, was the Dance of Death.
As they grappled, each intent on killing the other, it suddenly dawned on them—they were each other's only true friend.
Was this the profound irony of life, or was it simply the twisted nature of the Demonic Path?
The word "friend," tossed around so carelessly until now, only regained its meaning in this moment of mutual annihilation.
Both the Sword Demon and the Heavenly Demon...
Ah, so we really were friends after all.
They had always been wary of each other, suspicious, plotting each other's deaths—in truth, they were perhaps the two men in the world most alike in temperament.
The Sword Demon was a little more violent, the Heavenly Demon a little more cunning—that was the only difference.
The Demon Sword circled the sky before plunging down again. The Heavenly Demon twisted his position to keep his back guarded, but their strength and internal energy were too evenly matched. Neither could overpower the other, and the battle remained deadlocked.
Then, as the Demon Sword grazed past them once more—
SCREEEEEEEEE—!
A long, piercing Sword Cry tore through the air, laced with something foul—an ominous sound.
A white streak slashed through the sky in a massive arc, wrapping around both their torsos in a single, crushing bind. The thin line thickened like a whip.
The faces of the Heavenly Demon and the Sword Demon paled simultaneously.
The sheer force pressing down on them was anything but ordinary.
Cold sweat drenched their bodies—this crisis had come too suddenly.
Ah...
The Fist King.
Neither the Heavenly Demon nor the Sword Demon were the type to fall easily, but...
They had been pouring every ounce of their strength into killing each other. By the time they sensed the danger, the best they could do was each grip the whip with one hand. Normally, they would have exchanged glances to coordinate, but the Sword Demon had no eyes—so that was impossible.
"You fucking bastards—"
Dan Woo-sung appeared, his gaze murderous.
The two beasts, locked in mutual destruction, were now caught in his grasp.
Gritting their teeth against the pain, they finally released each other and tore at the Lightning Whip with both hands, resisting with all their might.
Had it been an ordinary whip, breaking free would have been simple—they could have severed it with their internal energy.
But this was the Fist King's Lightning Whip.
Even touching it was agony. The stench of burning flesh filled the air as the Heavenly Demon and the Sword Demon struggled against the lightning energy, their own martial arts clashing violently with the whip's power.
Then—
As their energies erupted outward—
Dan Woo-sung, wrapped in white energy, yanked the whip taut.
They must die here.
These two were the greatest evils plaguing the martial world.
The Emperor's Council Leader, the Green Forest King, Moo Yong-chu—even Dan Woo-sung himself had suffered at their hands. Countless lives had been lost to their ambitions.
In that moment, the Sword Demon redirected the Demon Sword's Demon Gate toward Dan Woo-sung, sending the blade spinning through the air straight at him.
The Demon Sword was his last hope.
SCREEEEEEEEE—!
At that instant, the Heavenly Demon saw something white shoot up from the ground—White Cat, the white cat, swelling to enormous size midair before snapping its jaws around the flying Demon Sword and landing lightly on the ground.
White Cat had reacted instinctively to the sword's movement, catching it mid-flight. Now, as the Demon Sword struggled to break free, the cat growled and shook it violently in its mouth, swinging its head side to side—like any cat playing with prey.
But for the Demonic Path, this was a hopeless situation.
Dan Woo-sung glanced between the Sword Demon, the Heavenly Demon, and White Cat before scanning his surroundings. He had deliberately used the Lightning Whip to attack from a distance—because Mad Demon or Young Palace Master could join the fray at any moment.
The Sword Demon spoke.
"You call yourself the Fist King? Bullshit!"
The Heavenly Demon hissed through clenched teeth.
"Demon Fist."
A conversation between a man with eyes and one without—naturally, they couldn't agree.
Dan Woo-sung, hearing them still bickering, poured even more power into the White Lightning Ten Stages.
CRACKLE—CRACKLE—CRACKLE—!
Few could endure the agony of the White Lightning Ten Stages coursing through their bodies without screaming.
Yet neither the Sword Demon nor the Heavenly Demon made a sound—they only glared at Dan Woo-sung in silence.
Young Palace Master, who had followed White Cat, watched the chaos from a distance before clapping his hands with a grin.
"Ah, splendid! Carry on—I won't interfere. Demon Fist, don't worry—do as you please. Hahahahahahahaha!"
Behind him, the forces of Ten Thousand Demon Palace—including the Bow Demon Unit—lined up in formation. They were Young Palace Master's personal guard. As they finally arrived, he waved them off.
"No need to intervene. When demons fight demons, who are we to interfere? Let them settle it themselves. That, too, is the way of the Demonic Path."
"As you command."
Dan Woo-sung shot a sidelong glare at Young Palace Master.
White Cat, still tossing the Demon Sword around in its mouth, positioned itself protectively behind Dan Woo-sung, staring down Ten Thousand Demon Palace's forces.
For Dan Woo-sung, this was a reassuring sight.
Had White Cat not formed this small bond with him, he might have found himself in a far more precarious situation.
The cat, seemingly indifferent, gnawed at the sword before tossing it to the ground, pressing it down with a paw, then batting at it playfully.
Meanwhile, Young Palace Master addressed the Heavenly Demon and Sword Demon.
"You insolent fools. What a pitiful sight. Hahaha—so full of yourselves, yet you can't even handle one Demon Fist? Your titles are wasted on you. Utterly wasted."
He turned to his subordinates, pointing at the two.
"Are these the men worthy of the titles Heavenly Demon and Sword Demon? Does that make any sense?"
The subordinates chimed in.
"Heavenly Demon? Sword Demon? Ridiculous. They're nothing but arrogant fools."
"The Heavenly Demon is the pinnacle of Ten Thousand Demon Palace—Wi Ji-cheon never deserved that title to begin with."
Encouraged by Young Palace Master's nod, the men continued their mockery openly—something they would never dare do under normal circumstances.
"The Sword Demon is supposed to symbolize invincibility—what happened to that? The Grandmasters must have overestimated them."
Young Palace Master waved his hand, egging them on.
"Exactly! The Grandmasters aren't always right."
The insults grew louder, each member of Ten Thousand Demon Palace taking turns to belittle the two.
"Just look at them—does that look like a Heavenly Demon?"
"Seeing him follow in his father's footsteps sends chills down my spine."
Young Palace Master cackled.
"Right, right! Good point."
The Heavenly Demon and Sword Demon burned with fury, but their lives were hanging by a thread—they couldn't even retort. The words of men they would normally dismiss as insects stabbed at them like daggers.
One subordinate spoke up.
"Raised as orphans, fed, sheltered, taught martial arts—and this is the arrogance they repay us with? Young Master, I beg you—rein in the others. Those trained by the Grandmasters act as if they stand above Ten Thousand Demon Palace itself. But even the Grandmasters are part of Ten Thousand Demon Palace! How can we tolerate their tyranny?"
Young Palace Master nodded.
"Well said. I'll speak to my father. Especially these two—they've been eyeing my life for too long. Locking them up won't be enough. Demon Fist—kill them quickly."
Dan Woo-sung, still pouring energy into the whip, growled at Ten Thousand Demon Palace.
"You pathetic bastards—shut your mouths."
Young Palace Master flicked his fingers.
"Bring me a chair—let's watch."
A small folding chair was brought out. Young Palace Master sat, chewing on jerky as he observed the scene, then waved a piece at White Cat.
"White Cat, aren't you hungry?"
The cat ignored him. Young Palace Master tossed the jerky its way.
"Ungrateful creature."
He then circled a finger at his subordinates.
"Let's see who survives."
The gesture was an order to encircle them. With a thunderous rumble, Ten Thousand Demon Palace's forces—archers, spearmen, swordsmen—formed a wide ring, trapping Dan Woo-sung, the Heavenly Demon, the Sword Demon, and White Cat inside.
One hundred warriors in total—the Dragon Demon Unit, Bow Demon Unit, and Secret Demon Unit.
The Dragon Demon Unit raised shields at the front, the Secret Demon Unit drew swords, and the Bow Demon Unit nocked arrows.
No matter the outcome, Young Palace Master's command would decide who lived—the survivors would be met with a full assault.
Even as the encirclement tightened, Dan Woo-sung, the Sword Demon, and the Heavenly Demon remained locked in their struggle, unmoving.
Then—
Young Palace Master sprang up from his chair.
"Hahaha! What a sight. Signal—ready!"
He raised three fingers.
Then two.
Then one.
Then a fist.
Finally, with a childlike grin, he slashed his hand downward and screamed—
"KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!"
Arrows loosed simultaneously from the formation.
TWANG—TWANG—TWANG—TWANG—!
They couldn't just die like this.
Dan Woo-sung released the Lightning Whip and shot into the air—and absurdly, the Sword Demon and Heavenly Demon, now freed, followed.
All three were masters—they soared to impossible heights.
The Bow Demon Unit nocked another volley, aiming skyward—
At the peak of their ascent, the three unleashed their ultimate techniques—not at each other, but at Young Palace Master.
Dan Woo-sung's Lightning Fist.
The Sword Demon's blade-like palm strike.
The Heavenly Demon's Sun-Moon Heavenly Palm.
A colossal fist, a slicing blade, and a massive disk of intertwined yin-yang energy—all converged at once.
Young Palace Master's face drained of color.
He spread his palms, emitting a desperate glow—but the moment the Lightning Fist struck, his body convulsed violently. The Sword Demon's slash tore through him, and the Sun-Moon Heavenly Palm reduced him to dust, scattering his remains into the wind.
As Young Palace Master vanished from where he stood—
Ten Thousand Demon Palace's forces screamed.
"YOUNG MASTER!"
Then—a giant descended from the sky, landing in the center of the battlefield before unleashing a devastating palm strike at the Dragon Demon Unit.
BOOOOOOOOOOM—!
Mad Demon.
Without a word, Dan Woo-sung, the Heavenly Demon, the Sword Demon, and Mad Demon began slaughtering Ten Thousand Demon Palace's forces.
There was no strategy, no camaraderie—just the flow of battle.
The four of them moved with such brutality that calling them the Four Evils of the Martial World wouldn't feel out of place.
The fact that Dan Woo-sung—the Demon Fist—was suddenly among them was absurd, yet here he was, cutting down Ten Thousand Demon Palace's numbers alongside the others. Desperate cries erupted from all sides.
"AVENGE THE YOUNG MASTER!"
The Bow Demon Unit Leader and Dragon Demon Unit Leader roared like wartime commanders.
"Ten Thousand Demon Palace will remember you as the Four Evils!"
"The Palace Master himself will judge your crimes!"
"To harm the true heir of Ten Thousand Demon Palace—this is unforgivable!"
Even as they shouted, Ten Thousand Demon Palace's forces fell by the dozens. Some fled to deliver the news, while others—fanatical devotees—charged to their deaths against the four masters.