Penetrating Force: The Bridge Without Retreat
In the brutal world of Murim, locking hands bare-handed for a contest of strength wasn't some simple arm-wrestling match. It was a single-log bridge tactic—a deadly game where you infiltrated your opponent's body with your internal energy to kill them outright. The human body was riddled with countless meridians and acupoints, and these so-called martial artists were masters at channeling their qi through them.
But what if you could shove your raw, crude, destructive internal energy directly into their body and make it explode? The only way was unavoidable physical contact, but if it worked, it created the ultimate one-on-one duel where neither could back down until one was dead. Once the internal energy clash began, the first to retreat was doomed to lose—inevitably. And the winner sure as hell wouldn't sweetly release the grip like some flirtatious lover. If they were a loving couple, they'd have headed straight to bed after that intimate clasp, but between warriors? No chance. Pride alone demanded they put their foe in a coffin, not a bedroom.
Geum Ra-geo lunged at me without a moment's hesitation. Instead of pointless evasion, I chose the head-on clash. And so, the Chimtogyeong between me and Geum Ra-geo began.
"Keuhaha! You dare challenge this king with internal energy?"
Naturally, Geum Ra-geo seized the early advantage. No matter that I, Seol Ha-yeon, wielded the Heupseong Daebeop—he came at me full throttle with a Hwagyeong master's profound depths, crushing me from the start. I had no choice but to fall back. My hand and arm, the first points of contact, took the heaviest hit. Waves of his savage, wave-like internal energy began shattering the meridians in my hand and arm.
"Uhahaha! I thought you might be some rejuvenated old monster, but nah! Where'd you pick up that Somu Magong?"
That's right. My hand and arm, you dumb fuck.
I flashed a beaming smile at the cackling Geum Ra-geo.
"Go ahead, try shattering it."
"Bluffing... with what?"
My hand, connected from the elbow down, was fortified with the ultimate icy essence of Somu Magong—custom-tailored to my body, practically Ha-yeon Magong. And of course, that reinforcement wasn't just external. My arms were hardened by Somu Magong's unique properties. Add the paralyzing Somu Cold Qi that froze anything it touched, body or energy alike. Top it off with Heupseong Daebeop. Wasn't that enough of a breakwater to hold back his massive incoming waves, if only for a moment?
While Geum Ra-geo's energy stalled against the unyielding Somu Magong, I made my move.
"You Murim folks have some weird-ass techniques. Let's see if you can block this one."
The king's moves were one thing, but this guy's instant-backstab tech was so mystical it felt downright unfair from the victim's side. If you didn't know it, you got hit; even if you did, you had to expose your back. Total bullshit technique.
But hey.
"Bet you've never seen this."
Back in my old homeland, there were plenty of techniques that'd smack you if you didn't know them.
Let's see how you handle it—while dealing with Somu Cold Qi and Heupseong Daebeop.
I gripped his hand even tighter, like I was holding a lover I couldn't live without, refusing to let him escape. Staring into his one remaining pupil, I whispered.
Aura cultivation method passed down through generations in the empire's southern underworld nobility. Now scattered across the lands after being dismantled by powerhouses like me, its name may fade, but the technique endures. The fangs of the old underworld rulers, who dominated the south for 200 years, now coursed through his meridians.
The effect hit first in his arm, naturally. It looked prosthetic, but somehow it functioned like a real limb.
"That arm. Not just for show, huh?"
"What the hell did you do to this king? Is Somu Magongthis potent?"
"Efficiency's shit, though. Right? Better than nothing, so you keep it attached."
His arm didn't go numb. His qi, his internal energy did. The founding head of that southern underworld house had invented an aura that paralyzed foes' energy on contact alone. Taste the ultimate art of a (former) prestigious house with 200 years of history!
"What sorcery is this?!"
"Fuck off—you popping behind me was holy divine magic, then?!"
"Your fault for not handling Ihyanghwanwi and Gungsin Tan-yeong!"
"Then you eat shit if you don't know it, asshole!"
To me, his vanishing act to my back felt more like magic. And so, the mid-phase of our Chimtogyeong began. Naturally, I'd taken the upper hand. He'd failed to smash through my Somu Magong and Heupseong Daebeop breakwater in one go, so he ate the full counterattack.
If he'd breached me early, it'd have been my utter defeat—but if onlys don't rewrite history.
Starting by reclaiming my arms, I pushed up from his fingertips, hand backs, palms. Up to the wrists. Every meridian, channel, and acupoint along the path? Ripped to shreds. I'd wondered if it'd work on his prosthetic, but... success. He lost total control the instant those channels crumbled. Shame it didn't lead to bleeding or rupture since it wasn't flesh. Prosthetics beat real limbs there, for sure. Everything else? Straight disadvantages.
I sneered at his increasingly twisted face.
"How's it feel? Can't use your strength, huh?"
"Heupseong Daebeop...! You fused it with Somu Magong into some grotesque sorcery!"
Close, but totally different method, buddy. No spoilers on countermeasures mid-fight.
Freezing with Somu Cold Qi, sucking with Heupseong Daebeop, shoving Basilisk in the gap—he was reeling. Who the fuck picks an internal clash with me?
Victory seemed certain. But Geum Ra-geo's lone eye gleamed ominously. Then he swung his leg, kicking my thigh.
"Kraaak!"
"You crazy bastard."
Unable to act in the Chimtogyeong, he opted for primal, destructive close-quarters brawling. Against a peer in realm and physique, it might've flopped. With all qi tied up, a kick at point-blank was barely better than a mortal's without specialized external arts.
Exaggerating a bit, we were hugging so tight a swing was more like a rub. But that's why I couldn't block it worth shit.
His knee aimed for my gut but switched to stomping my instep due to the zero distance. No way to guard like this. I'd slacked defense expecting no real power. Big mistake.
Thwack!
"Kek! You dog fu—kehuk!"
"It works! No skill in external arts, huh?!"
"How the fuck does this retarded body and stance pack such punch... argh!"
Geum Ra-geo bulldozed relentlessly. Locked hands meant legs and heads only for brawling. He whipped kicks and knees, more grinding than swinging in this farce. Shockingly, those pathetic caresses were pulverizing muscle, cracking bones on the edge.
This... without the qi clash, I'd be dead already? Hwagyeong monster.
Seol Ha-yeon's face paled. Thus began the late phase of Chimtogyeong.
"Kraaaak!"
"Kieeeek! Stop kicking, you Yangtze dog!"
"You stop!"
"Kwaaaat!"
It started dignified enough—a proper Chimtogyeong. But late-game? Total clusterfuck.
"Kwaaaaht!"
"Urraaaat!"
One thrashed legs like a clown, bellowing madly; the other wailed grotesquely, twisting hips like scribbling with his ass. Strangers would call it a dogfight; insiders would sigh at a Hwagyeong duel devolving to this. Dignity? Long gone—obsessed only with winning.
"I, Geum Ra-geo, won't die like this pathetic shit!"
"Guys like you always do! Why? 'Cause I say so!"
My energy had long breached his elbow, reaching his shoulder. One more push: brain above, heart and dantian below. Key kill points on the verge of falling!
"Kwaaaaa!!!"
Aware, he shook me like a mad bull. Then shoved me back—to the ragged edge of the broken deck.
Whoosh!
One step more, and the Yangtze's current would swallow me. Close-quarters aquatic duel with the Pirate King? Fucked!
But he was fucked too—this wasn't someone else's problem!
Our pupils locked in the grip-struggle, mirroring the same ridiculous plea: 'Let's stop.' 'Save me.'
Couldn't. First retreat meant massive injury. Letting go? Instant dog-beating. Swordfight fair? I'd lose. Only now, binding his moves and qi, did I have a shot. Twice? No repeat.
This river pirate had brains—he'd dodge even a hair next time.
Stalemate. Internal-external deathmatch dragged on.
"Geum Channel Leader. Let's end this."
The red-haired pirate—no, Yangtze bandit—appeared to halt it. A Chojeoljeong peak nut swimming with pirates. He'd caught our fleeing slave Yongcheong, too. I'd assumed he was Geum Ra-geo's underling.
"If we keep this up, what happens to the investment in you? We poured gold into a worthless corpse."
Judging by his tone, different faction. Third force that saved the near-dead channel leader from Murim and imperial beatdown.
Geum Ra-geo growled with near-mad fury.
"How the hell do I stop now? Explain so this king gets it."
"Simple. You both want to live? Release internal energy simultaneously and back off."
Chimtogyeong was single-log deadly because retreat lost. Simultaneous? Mutual damage. But masters like us could minimize it.
Rare, since it implied mutual kill-or-be-killed.
"This nameless girl knows Somu Magong and Heupseong Daebeop. Plenty of weird sorcery, too."
"Seems so. Wasn't the Water Witch dead?"
"Not righteous or demonic sects. No reports from cults. New face, or old master in disguise via bone-shedding and odd expulsion arts. Either way, identity's shady—can't trust."
"Her suspicious creepiness makes her trustworthy?"
"Exactly, Channel Leader. Her absurd shadiness paradoxically guarantees minimal compromise."
The redhead approached me.
"Milady. Name unknown, but mastering two famed demonic arts? Clearly full of worldly grudges."
"Yeah, I hold grudges long."
"And you've lost power for some reason—karma's invisible threads at work?"
I shut up. Smartasses spin novels if you let them.
"Indeed. To a lone wanderer who swapped face and name, I offer a proposal."
Wah. Lone wanderer my ass. Goosebumps.
But I shot an intrigued glance. He nodded, convinced. Geum Ra-geo eyed me, muttering.
"Makes sense. Mastering that demonic shit and sorcery ain't sane."
Why paint me as brooding wolf-psycho? Whatever—my situation sucked. Refuse? Obvious aftermath. Beat Geum Ra-geo, this Chojeoljeong finishes me.
But... I'd gained edge here because he accepted the Chimtogyeong. Fair duel next? Low odds. Tricks don't work twice on thinkers.
What to do? No choice.
I withdrew first. Geum Ra-geo hesitated, then released smoothly, like loosening thread. Mutual courtesy minimized damage.
The redhead clapped.
"We sincerely welcome you to our society. Details after we handle business—board the ship."