Repay Resentment with Blood

Hapdan lunged from the air, aiming to crush Seonwoo Seol from above. Retreating instantly, Seonwoo Seol clenched her pale fists, falling into the starting stance of the Demonic Thunder Divine Fist. The spot she had just vacated was exactly where Hapdan was about to land. Since it was impossible to easily change direction mid-air, she had moved preemptively to seize the tactical advantage.

I wasn't about to stand idly by. I couldn't let Seonwoo Seol fight alone, so I channeled my fist qi into my hands and waited for Hapdan's next move. *Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!* As if reading our intentions, Hapdan began unleashing energy blasts from both hands while still suspended in mid-air. Unlike ordinary energy blasts, these took the form of condensed, murky reddish-brown smoke hurtling straight toward Seonwoo Seol.

The three projectiles blocked off Seonwoo Seol's escape routes. Then, bringing his hands together, Hapdan unleashed a massive blast of energy directly at her. *Swoosh!* "Ugh!" An unbearable stench wafted from the projectile, forcing me to instinctively cover my nose. No wonder they called him the Stench King. Dirty bastard. Yet, the smell wasn't entirely unfamiliar; it was the exact same foul odor I had detected in the black blood coughed up by the Tiger Brigade's vice-captain. There was no doubt about it—those projectiles were made of pure corpse energy.

While Seonwoo Seol flared her fist qi to counter the massive incoming blast, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠threw a punch at one of the smaller projectiles to clear an escape route for her. *Pshhh!* "Argh!" The moment my qi-infused fist struck the condensed corpse energy, it dispersed, releasing an even more putrid stench than before. Ugh, my nose is literally going to rot off. Fortunately, the corpse energy quickly dissipated into the air. However, this meant that without a protective layer of qi, the corpse energy could easily seep into one's body. A master capable of deploying Protective Astral Qi would have had no trouble, but neither Seonwoo Seol nor I had reached that level of cultivation yet.

Having seen what I did, Seonwoo Seol rapidly thrust her fist toward the massive projectile that had closed in on her, pulling it back in the blink of an eye. It looked like a mere tap, but the force behind it was extraordinary. *Thud!* *Sssss...* The faint red fist qi enveloping Seonwoo Seol's hand seemed to literally consume the corpse energy. Despite striking such a massive blast, not a single trace of the foul odor escaped. Landing on the ground, Hapdan's face stiffened at the sight. He clearly hadn't expected his corpse energy to be devoured so easily.

Retreating through the path I had cleared, Seonwoo Seol frowned and shouted, "You filthy, smelly bastard!" She must have caught a whiff of the lingering corpse energy I had dispersed. With that cry, she launched her counterattack. Moving with explosive, lightning-fast speed, her seemingly delicate fist shot toward Hapdan's chest.

"Impudent wench!" Though caught off guard by her sheer speed, Hapdan was still a seasoned demonic villain. He immediately thrust his palm toward Seonwoo Seol's solar plexus. "Watch out!" *Boom!* Stomping the ground to propel myself forward, I grabbed Seonwoo Seol by the waist and pulled her out of harm's way. *Whoosh!* As I wrapped my arm around her waist to protect her, I used my other arm to strike Hapdan's incoming forearm. In that instant, a sharp sting shot through my left hand. Wondering what had happened, I looked down and saw a soot-like black smudge on the back of my hand.

"Tsk..." The problem was the burning, throbbing pain. In my rush to save Seonwoo Seol, I hadn't coated my hand in fist qi, allowing the corpse energy from Hapdan's body to invade my skin. While it was a minor injury I could easily shake off, it meant I absolutely had to use fist qi whenever I attacked him. Even a Peak Master who could manifest fist qi at will couldn't use it indefinitely. What a pain in the ass this guy was.

"Make sure to keep your fist qi active. Otherwise, his corpse energy will seep in." "...I'll be careful." As I channeled fist qi back into my hand, the black smudge on my skin began to fade. Seonwoo Seol nodded, pressing herself close to my side.

"How dare you two flirt in the middle of a battle! What do you think you're doing?!" Hapdan roared, glaring at how closely Seonwoo Seol and I were standing. Hey, it's not like we're holding hands and performing some lovers' dual-sword technique. Why is he so mad?

"..." Wait a minute. If I play my cards right and talk some trash, won't he show an opening? Provoking people is my specialty. I immediately flashed a smug, irritating smirk and let my mouth run. "Well, I guess a guy who reeks of rotting corpses every time he uses martial arts would never know what it's like to have a woman near him." "...What did you say?"

"What, isn't it obvious? To gather corpse energy, you probably have to sleep with dead bodies every night. What kind of woman would like a necrophiliac?" "Shut your mouth!" "Actually, wait, there might be one woman. Your mother. Though I bet she beats her chest in despair every single day looking at you. Imagine going through the pain of childbirth only to raise a notorious demonic villain. How heartbreaking."

I didn't actually insult his mother. That was the final line of conscience for Yoon Gomyung, a 39th-generation descendant of the Papyeong Yoon clan. However, to a lifelong bachelor and unfilial son like Hapdan, it must have sounded incredibly offensive. His face flushed a deep crimson, and veins bulged in his bloodshot eyes as he glared at me. "Shut up before I rip your tongue out!"

Unable to contain his boiling rage, Hapdan crossed his arms and swung them down violently. Dark, reddish-black corpse energy billowed from his hands. "After I kill you, I will hang your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head on the merchant guild's gates to announce that the Divine Hand of Life and Death has arrived!" *Pop, pop!* I looked closely at the sound and realized the blood vessels in his eyes were literally bursting one by one. It wasn't just because of my trash talk; it was the typical violent frenzy exhibited by those who practiced demonic arts.

"..." ...At least, that's what I chose to believe. It's not like I asked if his mother was still alive; I just said she'd be sad to see him like this! From that point on, Hapdan's attacks shifted. Instead of systematically blocking our escape routes and unleashing unavoidable strikes like before, he began wildly spamming energy blasts out of pure instinct. Defending against this chaotic onslaught was incredibly troublesome for Seonwoo Seol and me.

*Bang, bang, bang!* "Cough, cough!" "Hold your breath as much as possible!" Seonwoo Seol coughed, having inhaled some of the vaporized corpse energy. Avoiding the randomly spammed projectiles was a problem, but not avoiding them was an even bigger problem. When we barely managed to dodge, the projectiles slammed into the ground, turning the surrounding area into a wasteland of rot and stench. The weeds growing on the ground didn't just wither; they crumbled into dust. But if we didn't dodge, the corpse energy would hit us directly. Our only choice was to detonate the projectiles mid-air using our qi-infused fists.

Seonwoo Seol and I exchanged over twenty clashes with Hapdan, but we couldn't find a clear way to defeat him. If we got close, he released corpse energy all around him to keep us at bay. If we backed off to catch our breath, he pelted us with projectiles, leaving us without a single moment of rest. Then, it happened. "Behold the power of the Divine Hand of Life and Death!" *Boom!* "Ah!" With a sharp cry, Seonwoo Seol was sent flying backward. It wasn't corpse energy this time. He had struck her with a palm blast infused with a chaotic, mixed inner force.

"Socheonma!" "I-I'm fine, so...!" No matter how pathetic Hapdan seemed, he was still a notorious demonic villain feared in Northern Yuan. To prevent him from approaching the fallen Seonwoo Seol, I stepped in, attempting to unleash the Third Stage of the Hundred Medicine Fist Secrets. "Get lost, you pest!" The same palm strike that had blown Seonwoo Seol back was now aimed at me. A pitch-black mass surged before my eyes, instantly shattering my defensive posture as I tried to block it with crossed arms.

*Crash!* I was certain I had blocked it. Yet, in the blink of an eye, I found myself rolling across the ground, thrown back over twenty feet. "Ugh...!" It went beyond mere pain; it was pure agony. My breath was completely knocked out of me, and it felt as though someone was tearing my chest to shreds. Experiencing a true master's strike for the first time in my life, a profound sense of exhaustion washed over my entire body. I couldn't even stand up. Ugh... did I push him too far? No wonder the Murim Alliance hunted down practitioners of demonic arts as public enemies. Just as I struggled to push my upper body off the ground—*Stomp!* "Gah." Hapdan appeared out of nowhere, planting his foot firmly onto my chest. He leaned in, slowly grinding his weight down on me.

"Go on. Keep running your mouth like you did earlier." "...You really want me to?" Even if I drowned, my mouth would probably still float to the surface to keep talking. Just as I was about to deliver a witty retort even at the gates of death, something dripped onto the back of my hand. *Drip, drip...* "...?" The dark red liquid trickling down my hand was blood. But there was no way it was mine; if anything, my hand should have been infected with corpse energy, not bleeding. I looked up to see where it was coming from and realized it was dripping from the hem of Hapdan's clothes as he stepped on my chest.

Although it was hard to tell because of his black robes, his waist area seemed completely drenched in blood. In that moment, the words of the Tiger Brigade's vice-captain flashed through my mind: 'Though I was struck by the Shadow Soul Undying Palm, he must have also sustained a severe wound to his abdomen.' ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠That was where the vice-captain had wounded him! Unaware that his wound had reopened and was dripping blood, Hapdan continued to glare down at me. Now that I knew his weakness, I just needed to target it... but with his foot pinning my chest, I couldn't move. My breath was growing shallower by the second. Right then—

"Let Chef Yoon go, you hideous monster!" Seonwoo Seol, back on her feet, lunged toward Hapdan. *Swish.* With his attention diverted to Seonwoo Seol, Hapdan unconsciously loosened the pressure on his leg, giving me a brief window to breathe. *Now!* *Crack!* "Aaaaaaargh!" Hapdan shrieked in agony. I had channeled every ounce of my remaining fist qi and slammed my fist directly into his ankle bone. As Hapdan staggered from the sudden, excruciating pain, I screamed, "His right flank! Target his flank!"

"...!" At my shout, Seonwoo Seol's eyes narrowed as she shot forward like a bolt of lightning. And then—*Bam!* "Gack!" Seonwoo Seol's fist slammed directly into his bleeding flank. Even as a spectator, the sheer impact looked painful enough to bring tears to my eyes. Now it was my turn to get up. Springing off the ground, I drove an uppercut straight into his opposite flank. *Crack!* "How dare you... how dare you...!" Hapdan glared at me, his eyes practically bleeding with rage. With his ankle shattered and his body reeling from the shock of Seonwoo Seol's Demonic Thunder Divine Fist, he could barely stand. My instincts screamed that if we didn't finish him now, we never would. I grabbed Hapdan by the collar.

"What did you say your title was again?" "I am... the Di... Divine Hand of Life and Death...!" "Cut the crap." Raising my fist, I left him with one final remark. "No matter what, you're just the Stench King to me, you smelly bastard." "You... mother...fucker...!" As Hapdan raised his hands, thick with corpse energy, to choke my neck, I moved faster. I drove the Third Stage of the Hundred Medicine Fist Secrets straight into his lower abdomen, right where his dantian was located. *Shatter!* "N-No... Nooooo...!"

His dantian shattered, and the moment I released his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠collar, Hapdan's body collapsed. The once-burly, wild-looking middle-aged man shriveled up instantly, turning into a pathetic, frail old man. The Shadow Soul Undying Palm was a demonic art. Even with orthodox martial arts, the backlash of a shattered dantian was immense; for a demonic art that gathered forbidden corpse energy, the rebound was bound to be far more devastating. Now reduced to a shriveled husk of a creature, Hapdan spoke in a barely audible whisper.

"What did you say?"

"Resentment... will be repaid... with blood..."

Muttering those incomprehensible words, the shriveled old man lay still. Just as I was about to step closer to him—*Thud, thud, thud!* The sound of galloping hooves echoed from a distance. Several riders burst into the estate. Judging by their uniforms, they were the academy's security force, the Tiger Brigade.

"Where is the demonic villain? Where is he?!" Arriving fashionably late, the Tiger Brigade's captain shouted in a booming voice, only to freeze in utter shock upon seeing Seonwoo Seol and me. "W-What on earth happened here?" "Well, aren't you guys quick," I muttered. If you were going to show up, you could've done it a bit earlier. Regardless of how shocked the captain was, I collapsed flat on my back onto the ground. Every single muscle in my body ached. The Tiger Brigade could handle the cleanup. For now, I just wanted to rest.

Of course, resting was out of the question. Dammit. In the academy's infirmary, rumors had already spread like wildfire. Not only had the notorious Northern Yuan demonic villain, the Stench King, been captured, but the ones who caught him were none other than Seonwoo Seol and me. While we were being treated in the infirmary to purge the corpse energy from our bodies, all sorts of people kept barging in. Fortunately, since Seonwoo Seol and I were patients, West Hall Master Dan Buyong—the very person who had hired me—personally kicked everyone out. Once the room was finally cleared, Dan Buyong turned to us with an incredibly grave expression.

"I need to hear exactly what happened, from start to finish. Tell me everything." "Well, you see..." Since she asked, I gave her a detailed, blow-by-blow account of everything that had transpired, starting from my very first encounter with Geum Ho. Honestly, I didn't really want to whine about a petty feud between two grown men, but this had clearly crossed the line. If Geum Ho hadn't pulled this stunt, none of this would have happened in the first place. As I explained the connection between the Hyeondong Merchant Guild, the Double Axe Sect, and the Stench King—who was acting as the sect's leader—Dan Buyong's face hardened into stone.

"How could a member of the academy staff commission such a heinous hit on a colleague?!" Dan Buyong clenched her fists so hard that her knuckles popped. Yikes, terrifying. "That's why, Hall Master Dan, I have just two favors to ask of you." "Favors?" Confused by my sudden request, Dan Buyong looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "They aren't difficult. In fact, they're probably the easiest favors you could grant."

"An incident of this scale won't just end with the Tiger Brigade. The Murim Alliance and the government authorities will definitely launch a joint investigation, right?" "Indeed. Since it involves a notorious demonic villain who harmed innocent civilians, it is a matter that requires cooperation between the martial world and the imperial government." "In that case, could you make sure I'm present during the investigation? After all, I am a key witness." "That much is easily granted," Dan Buyong nodded readily. Excellent. The second favor would be even easier to fulfill.

"And please bring that bastard Geum Ho... I mean, that fellow, directly to me." "Bring Geum Ho... to you, Chef Yoon?" "Yes. That is my second favor." Geum Ho, my dear friend, didn't I tell you I wouldn't let you off easy? Where do you think you're running to?