Chapter 182
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: Promises Aren't Made Lightly (3)
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A grin tugged at the corner of Mujin's mouth, curving into a sly arc.
The clash of auras was just the beginning. Now that true intentions were laid bare, there was no need to hold back.
'Can't let a golden opportunity like this slip away.'
-I knew it, you money-grubbing bastard.
'Control the intensity well.'
-If I just let it slide, I wouldn't be me.
He had shown his power, so no one could claim they lost due to carelessness. Hiding one's strength and pulling out a "surprise!" had become cliché. These days, it might even paint you as a sneaky schemer. With the stage set, it was time to lay down a double safeguard for the harvest.
"A spar without a wager is only half as fun, wouldn't you say?"
"You've got some guts. But I can't accept unreasonable demands."
"Of course not. I wouldn't make excessive requests from in-laws. I just want to make the spar a bit more exciting."
"How so?"
"Within reasonable limits, the winner gets one request granted, and the right to decide whether the spar continues."
"Quite the peculiar wager. Very well."
It was an unexpected oddity, but upon reflection, harmless. If it threatened the clan, he could refuse. And continuing the spar? Optional either way.
With consent secured, Mujin spoke lightly.
"Here I come."
"Bring it."
Mujin assumed his stance.
Left leg forward, right leg twisted upward. Left fist extended ahead, right fist tucked at the waist. Legs rooted like pillars, channeling power.
Woooong!
A wave of force rippled from the ground, surging up his legs to twist his waist. Muscles across his back writhed dynamically into his upper body.
Thud thud thud thud!
Pulsing energy fused with surging might from his dantian, flowing into his arms. His right fist, anchored firmly at his waist, locked into striking position.
'Is he serious?'
Huangbo Gwan-hyuk eyed Mujin's form with doubt. It was the textbook straight punch—pure basics, no frills. Clean execution infused with intent, but the path too straightforward.
"Inevitably Attained, One Mind One Fist, One Path One Strike."
Huh?
At the pinnacle of fists, there was no need for feints, changes, or illusions. Just a straight path to the target.
As Mujin's true intent infused his fist-heart, Huangbo Gwan-hyuk's face shifted.
'...Impossible!'
Waves of energy from the fist-heart's core seized him. He struggled to break free, but too late.
The Fist King faced a blinding white void.
Shuuuaaaang!
The straight punch extended.
Mujin stood firm, thrust delivered.
Kuuuung!
A belated roar shattered the air, rattling eardrums. The revealed scene triggered a massive quake in Huangbo Jangcheon and Huangbo Jangseong's pupils.
How many flips in midair was that?
Thud!
Huangbo Gwan-hyuk, flung against the barrier, crumpled like a puppet with cut strings.
Ah!
Only then did Huangbo Jangcheon and Huangbo Jangseong snap back, exhaling. The surreal scene had left them speechless. Their father was the emperor of fists, after all.
'What just happened?'
'We saw it clear as day!'
It made no sense to them. Maybe visible only to a third party, but their father had reached heights beyond them. Intent clear, path honest—they were certain it could be blocked.
Yet Father hadn't dodged or resisted, frozen on the punch's trajectory.
Mystery deepened.
Why? It defied logic. Unbelievable even with their own eyes. No one would buy the tale.
"What in the world did you do?"
"You have to face it yourself to understand. I'll make it clear."
If you don't get it after seeing, no answer emerges. And once isn't enough to grasp.
"What do you... No way?"
"Here it comes."
Instead of explaining, Mujin clenched his fist. Same stance, activating Fist-Heart Unity. A superpower halting the foe's will with his own. Distinct from mere formless energy— the fist's spirit lived, serving its master's intent.
Gasp!
Fist Prison.
Huangbo Jangcheon and Huangbo Jangseong felt trapped in a cage of fists. Bodies unresponsive, wills irrelevant.
Crash! Gahk!
The brothers uttered brief death rattles, consciousness severed.
Mujin laid father and sons side by side, strolling out casually... but couldn't.
-Three steps left, three right.
'You could've said sooner!'
-Not saying!
'Late's fine.'
Father and sons wouldn't sleep tonight. Frustration from the unknown defeat might kill them.
-You scam well.
'They won't know without tasting.'
Soon in-laws, so instill vigilance. Today's events? A contingency test. Failure could get messy. Wary of the Demonic Cult of the Demon God's cunning.
"The spar isn't over."
Not until I say so.
The next day, Mujin visited Taesan Pavilion again.
His steps light as parting clouds.
Conversely, the War King and sons, facing Mujin after a day, couldn't treat him as before. Hearts heavy, answers elusive.
The War King especially struggled for composure, unlike usual. No matter how he pondered, it baffled. He needed confirmation.
"Sleep well, father-in-law?"
Mujin's casual demeanor emptied the War King of tension.
Unleashing the Fist King with one blow, then appearing nonchalant? Unimaginable.
'Is this my end?'
Frustrated, the direct War King cut straight.
"Can you explain what happened?"
"Some things you ask for, some you don't."
"Figure it out myself, eh."
"Isn't that martial arts?"
A pride-stinging retort.
Unheard impudence for Huangbo Gwan-hyuk. But hard to refute. Seeking another's insights for free? Deserved rebuke.
"You're right."
"Here I come."
As Mujin posed, Huangbo Gwan-hyuk ignited battle spirit, unleashing full power. Vowing no repeat of yesterday's fall.
It felt dreamlike even after. Yet mental and physical shocks lingered.
'Such absurd strength!'
'Why us, though?'
Huangbo Jangcheon and Jangseong shared the frustration. They too knew not how. Just a flash of white after mind-body takeover. Like will-erasing hypnosis or sorcery.
Yet no traces found.
Paaang!
Thoughts vanished in thunderous boom.
Two more spins this time.
Thud!
Huangbo Gwan-hyuk collapsed like rotten timber, eyes wide with doubt to the end.
Why couldn't he block?
Unresolved grievance flickered, then pupils slackened, consciousness gone.
"Your turn, you two."
"...?"
They'd stayed for Father's call and yesterday's doubts, but dreaded their sequence.
Spars confirm skills, fill gaps—a learning field. But this deviated far.
How to fill without knowing?
Gap too vast. Needed theoretical insight via explanation.
Mujin ignored such trivia or their skills. Armed only with unwavering execution of his plan.
Paaang!
Urk!
Advanced, struck. Hit clean.
One crisp blow felled them senseless. Mujin dragged brothers to Father under the eaves, lining them up.
'Gap my ass.'
-Scammer.
"Going again today?"
"Gotta help a martial artist until answers come."
Sounded pure benevolence, but Namgung Yeonhwa shook her head. Far from such innocence.
'Still, getting beat for a fortnight? No.'
Punching the clock like model official. Seeing Mujin's dutiful face, pity swelled for the humiliated Huangbo Clan.
Later, they'd pay him pension till death, right?
"Weird."
"What?"
"You're not one to waste time. Got ulterior motives."
"That suspicion of yours—want me to cure it?"
"...No thanks!"
Universal cure for mental ills. Beatings naturally heal. If they die mid-beat, oh well. No wasting effort on trivia.
"Don't worry, today's the last."
"Don't believe you."
"Gotta fix that."
"...I believe, all of it!"
Namgung Yeonhwa offered to drop trou and stand an incense stick's time if convinced.
Whoosh!
Mujin, uninterested, strode off without lingering.
Each Taesan Pavilion visit boomed thunderously; father and sons lay side by side.
'Why us?'
'Driving me mad!'
For a fortnight, Huangbo Jangcheon and Jangseong teetered on insanity beside Father. Martial fanatics they were, but not masochists.
-Leave it to Father alone?
-He's the main spar partner!
-So?
-Still.'
-Have the Patriarch stop him!
-Father agreed.
-So refuse!
-No!'
Forced by Father's glaring command to watch. Huangbo Jangseong now got why Namgung Yeonhwa refused spectating.
Watching was mercy; unintended involvement wrecked them. Eyewitness, yet clueless.
Fortnight passed; next day dawned.
Paaang!
Tsss!
Scorching heat spread, savage energy shaking Taesan Pavilion. Space aflame with rough fervor.
Mujin and War King stood apart.
Huuu!
Huangbo Gwan-hyuk, blocking Mujin's straight punch, exhaled raggedly. Stared incredulously. Not the honest art he'd assumed. Torment of racking brains now felt futile.
"A feint."
"Pretty effective, right?"
p>"A righteous sect using trickery?!"
"Not quite trickery. No evil aura. If anything, a scam. But so what?"
Mujin posed for fist strike, merging Soul-Piercing Demonic Eye and Full Advance Step. Could guide foe's predictions, even lure as desired.
Hardly trickery—a deception technique.
"You're more shameless than I thought."
"You're dodging the root issue. Took sixteen days to adapt to this minor ploy. In real combat, father-in-law knows what would've happened."