Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: A Calculated Provocation
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Gongmun rushed into the guest room in a panic.
His master had used the Hundred-Pace Divine Fist. Not just any Hundred-Pace Divine Fist, but one wielded by the strongest master Shaolin had ever produced.
To be hit by that at close range…
“Patron Neung, are you all righ—”
Gongmun, who had burst through the shattered door, froze in his tracks.
At the far end of the room, Neung Un-bi, who should have been knocked to the ground, stood firm with his arms crossed.
*No way… He blocked it?*
From behind his crossed arms, a pair of eyes glowed crimson.
At the same time, a suffocating demonic energy, unlike anything felt from him before, began to pour out of Neung Un-bi, filling the room.
The pressure of that formidable aura was enough to make Gongmun's hands tremble.
“The rascal’s got some skill. I suppose that’s why he had the gall to call me by my Dharma name so disrespectfully.”
While Gongmun couldn't hide his surprise, Jeonghwa spoke as if he had already known.
“What is the meaning of this?”
A voice as cold as the viscous demonic energy filling the room flowed from Neung Un-bi’s lips. The fire energy contained within Jeonghwa’s Hundred-Pace Divine Fist had awakened the power of the Demonic Spirit Divine Pill, which had long been dormant.
“Hoh? That look in your eyes… Are you saying you want to go at it? Fine by me. I was getting antsy from being cooped up in the Sutra Pavilion anyway.”
As Jeonghwa cracked his interlocked knuckles, Gongmun’s face instantly went pale.
*Why is he acting like this?*
He knew his master was hot-headed, but to attack without warning and then pick a fight just because he didn't like the look in someone's eyes?
Neung Un-bi might be from the Demonic Cult, but he was a guest of Shaolin, welcomed by the Abbot himself. If something were to happen…
“Master, you can’t—”
But his master was not someone who would listen to reason.
A gentle yet powerful force emanated from Jeonghwa as he stepped forward, pushing back the demonic energy and shoving Gongmun out of the room.
“Hoh? Spreading demonic energy in Shaolin? You’ve got some nerve, you bastard!”
Neung Un-bi’s brow furrowed at Jeonghwa’s blatant provocation.
*This crazy monk…*
He asked to see me after all this time, only to throw a Hundred-Pace Divine Fist at me?
It was absurd, but he had to endure it.
But he couldn't.
Jeonghwa's fire energy, a polar opposite, sent the demonic energy into a frenzy, and that boiling energy amplified Neung Un-bi’s own violent tendencies.
“Hah, if you keep this up… it will be very difficult for me to restrain myself!”
*Crack!*
With a sharp crack, Neung Un-bi, who had been gritting his teeth with a smile, uncrossed his arms and took a step forward.
“Ho!”
As his foot sank into the floorboards, Neung Un-bi’s figure shot forward, and a cold smile touched Jeonghwa’s lips.
“Not bad! But you’re still a long way off!”
At the same time, Lunar Eclipse was unleashed, and Neung Un-bi’s fist passed through Jeonghwa’s body.
But what the fist struck was merely an afterimage. Without any perceptible movement, Jeonghwa was already behind him.
“…Nine Grades of the Lotus Throne?!”
“You rascal! You have a sharp eye! Let’s see you block this one!”
Neung Un-bi quickly twisted his body to find Jeonghwa.
And what he saw was a fist pulled back and a foot planted firmly on the ground.
“Hundred-Pace… Son of a bitch!”
And from a much closer position than before.
As the curse escaped his lips, Neung Un-bi’s eyes widened, his pupils dilating.
His perception, honed through the training of his five senses, had surpassed its previous limits.
His surroundings blurred, and only Jeonghwa’s form remained sharp and clear.
*Whoosh…*
He heard the sound of a fierce wind and felt the flow of an immense amount of fire energy.
*Fwoosh!*
He could clearly see Jeonghwa’s fist being pulled back and then thrust forward.
But it was too fast.
The only way to dodge this was…
*Pak.*
Neung Un-bi instinctively unleashed the Three Nothings Footwork. Its speed was incomparable to Ung-hyeon’s.
*KABOOM!*
The Hundred-Pace Divine Fist tore through the space where Neung Un-bi had been and smashed into the wall.
*Thwack!*
At the same time, Neung Un-bi, who had already closed in from the side, slammed his fist into Jeonghwa’s ribs.
“Ugh!”
Jeonghwa grimaced slightly, but as if he hadn't taken much damage, he was already extending a wide-open hand toward Neung Un-bi.
And then, in an instant, that single palm split into dozens.
“Thousand-Hand Buddha?”
*Not only the Nine Grades of the Lotus Throne, but now Buddha's Palm too?*
“Damn it all!”
Neung Un-bi’s eyes rapidly scanned the palm strikes.
Among those countless palms, only one was real.
But he was running out of time.
He suspected five of them to be the true strike.
“Hup!”
Neung Un-bi spread his hands and drew a circle around his body.
Lunar Eclipse, Lunar Halo!
*CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!*
“Keuk!”
Because he hadn’t fully identified the attack, he couldn't focus his power.
His hands throbbed from the impact, and a murderous glint began to surface in the eyes of the infuriated Neung Un-bi.
“So you want a real fight, is that it!?”
“...!”
Shoving Jeonghwa back with both hands, Neung Un-bi unleashed all his demonic energy at once.
Lunar Eclipse, Moonlight Suppression! A technique that crushed the area under his feet with the pressure of his demonic energy!
*Ruuuumble…*
The oppressive energy compressed into the floor before erupting upward in a massive explosion.
*KABOOOOM!*
The guest hall, unable to withstand Neung Un-bi’s power, was blown to smithereens.
*Rumble!*
The tremor spread through the ground.
And at the center of the explosion, Neung Un-bi, his hair tie broken and his disheveled hair whipping in the wind, glared at Jeonghwa with eyes as black as ink.
The fully released power of the Demonic Spirit Divine Pill swirled around him like a tempest.
*Crack, pop!*
The debris of the guest hall around Neung Un-bi, unable to endure the tangible demonic energy, burst into dust.
He had held back his power, not wanting to cause a disturbance in Shaolin. He had intended not to destroy any buildings, even if a conflict arose.
But how could he possibly endure being provoked like this?
“This… You started this.”
As Neung Un-bi spoke coldly, a strange smile formed on Jeonghwa’s lips.
“What is happening!”
“What’s going on here!”
Drawn by the explosion of the guest hall, Shaolin monks swarmed in from all directions.
“Huh? Martial Uncle Jeonghwa?”
“Senior Brother Gongmun?”
“That man… isn’t he from the Demonic Cult?”
The Shaolin monks, not knowing what had transpired, had looks of bewilderment, but soon, as if sharing the same thought, they all glared at Neung Un-bi.
The streams of demonic energy pouring from him.
His fiercely glaring eyes.
The murderous intent that whipped around him, sharp enough to sting the skin.
To any observer, did it not look like he was the one causing trouble?
“How dare you! We treated you as a guest, and this is how you repay us! Disciples, what are you waiting for! Seize that bastard and lock him up!”
A Shaolin monk of the ‘Gong’ generation who was among the crowd gave the order, and the other martial monks immediately surrounded Neung Un-bi.
“Hey! No! That’s not it! Stand back!”
Gongmun, who knew the whole situation, was at a loss.
*Why is everyone acting like this?*
Jeonghwa had been the one in the wrong.
But for some reason, everyone was judging based solely on the immediate situation, without understanding the context.
A building was destroyed, and a member of the Demonic Cult was emanating killing intent… so they concluded that Neung Un-bi was at fault.
It was a deep-rooted prejudice, an incident born from the assumption that the Demonic Cult must be in the wrong.
And Gongmun was deeply ashamed to realize that he, too, had held such a prejudice.
“What is the meaning of this!”
“...?”
At that moment, the Lion’s Roar of Buddhism thundered through the area.
The voice belonged to Jeonghwa.
“Tsk, tsk. How can the monks of Shaolin be so narrow-minded!”
“...Pardon?”
“Your eyes are rotten. And so are your thoughts!”
“…”
“Just because he’s emitting killing intent and a building is destroyed, does that make him the one at fault? Or did your prejudice against the Demonic Cult lead you to this conclusion?”
“...?”
At Jeonghwa’s unexpected question, the Shaolin monks looked at each other in confusion.
“Tsk, tsk. This is why they call Shaolin blind fools.”
Jeonghwa shook his head and glanced somewhere in the distance.
Watching them from afar were several figures.
The Abbot of Shaolin, Jeongmyeong; the Great Elder, Jeonghyeon; and the elders of the ‘Jeong’ generation, who represented the current Shaolin.
*Did you see that, Abbot?*
Jeonghwa’s eyes seemed to convey this message to Jeongmyeong.
Before meeting Neung Un-bi, Jeonghwa had been summoned by Jeongmyeong and had a long conversation.
Jeongmyeong had confessed his troubles, saying he was unable to make a judgment. Jeonghwa had replied with a single phrase.
That he would show him.
He would show him just how rotten Shaolin’s eyes had become, how they had been blinded for so long simply because they were part of the Orthodox Faction.
That was why he had deliberately caused a commotion.
To show them Shaolin’s flawed judgment, trapped in its own prejudice.
Until now, Shaolin had always stepped forward in times of crisis.
When the Demonic Cult threatened the Orthodox Faction, when the Unorthodox Faction threatened the Orthodox Faction, when the nation faced foreign invasion.
But the distinction between Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic was not what mattered.
Even if one stood under the banner of the Orthodox Faction, if they tormented people with greed and threw the world into chaos, that too was a calamity, and Shaolin had a duty to intervene.
“Amitabha…”
Jeongmyeong chanted the Buddha’s name, his face hardened.
It was a sufficient answer. Now it was his turn to respond to Jeonghwa.
His indecision gone, Jeongmyeong spoke, his eyes radiating a gentle light.
“Disciples, you may all withdraw.”
“...?”
“Elders, it seems you and I have a long conversation ahead of us.”
“Yes, Abbot.”
The elders, who seemed to already understand Jeonghwa's meaning, replied respectfully.
Even as they turned to head for the Main Buddha Hall, the disciples just looked on, bewildered.
“You rascals! Did you not hear the Abbot’s words! What are you standing around for? Scram!”
Jeonghwa roared like a lion, but his lips were curved into a broad smile.
He knew that Jeongmyeong would finally follow his will.
“Ahem! You whelps! Do I truly need to give you a beating!”
“...!”
As Jeonghwa continued to bellow, the Shaolin monks startled and scurried away as if fleeing.
Neung Un-bi, who had been watching the scene, scowled and glared at Jeonghwa.
From the looks of it, Jeonghwa knew about this charade, Jeongmyeong knew, and even the elders knew?
“What in the world was that all about? I believe I’m owed an explanation…”
Naturally, his words were not kind.
From what he could piece together, it was clear that the crazy monk Jeonghwa had used him.
“Haha, Patron Neung… I must apologize.”
Neung Un-bi’s face contorted further at Jeonghwa’s sudden apology.
*What? Sorry?*
*This bastard! It's not like you can just apologize after hitting someone…*
“Since I was in the wrong, I can’t just let it go… Patron Neung, would you care to join me for a drink? I know you must be bewildered, but I will explain everything in detail.”
“…”
At those words, Neung Un-bi felt his tension drain away.
*Damn it, he's smiling?*
Fine. Let’s hear it then.
Let’s hear the reason for pulling a stunt like this.
Neung Un-bi retracted his killing intent and calmed his seething demonic energy.
“And where are we supposed to drink? The guest hall is in this state… If you’re thinking of asking me to pay for it, don’t even dream of it.”
“…”
As Neung Un-bi grumbled, Jeonghwa burst into a bright laugh.
“Hahaha! Surely you don’t think I would? It’s a shame about the guest hall, but thanks to you, I’ve managed to persuade Shaolin. So it’s not a loss, but a gain.”
“…”
“Come! This way, Patron Neung! Hahahaha!”
As Jeonghwa shook a bottle of liquor and laughed heartily, Neung Un-bi sighed and shook his head.
*Alright, let's drink.*
*I treated you to meat when we first met, so it's only fair I get a drink from you now that we've met again.*