Crushing the Shadow
There is a saying that a master can be recognized just by the way he clenches his fist.
It means that even in the smallest, most inconspicuous actions, the secrets of supreme martial arts are hidden.
While this is half exaggeration, it is also an undeniable truth.
To be precise, once martial artists who have reached a certain level exchange their first blows, they can gauge their opponent's strength nine times out of ten.
Boom!
A deafening roar echoed, one hard to believe came from the collision of mere flesh and bone.
It was the immediate result of Jeok-un slipping past Ji Dong-tak's guard and throwing a single punch.
"Urgh?!"
Ji Dong-tak had blocked Jeok-un's fist with a casual attitude, only to be struck by genuine shock.
The internal energy loaded into Jeok-un's single punch far exceeded his expectations.
Flustered, Ji Dong-tak pushed Jeok-un away. Jeok-un retreated smoothly, measuring his opponent's level.
The absolute peak of the Transcendent Realm?
Jeok-un accurately gauged the realm of Ya-ju, Ji Dong-tak.
It was a realm equal to the one he currently occupied.
The peak of the Transcendent Realm was a stage that ordinary martial artists without talent could never reach, no matter how hard they strived their entire lives.
However, Jeok-un already knew that the man before him had not achieved this through ordinary means.
To think the energy he harvested during his days as a lustful demon is so vast.
Harvesting energy meant forcibly absorbing another person's qi.
Indeed. To the public, Ji Dong-tak was known as a merchant born and raised in Changsha, a shrewd operator who controlled the back alleys.
In reality, he was a lustful demon who had raped women in the Shanxi martial world.
His true identity was the Fox Demon, Ji Jung-young.
As his moniker "Fox" suggested, he was human trash who targeted, violated, and murdered only the weak.
Yet, though the net of heaven is wide, its justice is absolute.
Growing arrogant from the energy he had harvested, Ji Jung-young foolishly tried to lay his hands on a daughter of the Moyong Family.
Though he ultimately failed, there was no way the Moyong Family, a member of the Seven Great Families, would let it slide.
Enraged, the Moyong Family issued a kill order, relentlessly hunting Ji Jung-young. Reduced to a fugitive, he fled and hid across the Jianghu.
It was then that he met Do Ye-cheon, and Ji Jung-young's fate was rewritten.
"Become my shadow. In return, I will give you a new face and a new identity."
Ji Jung-young prostrated himself before Do Ye-cheon, throwing his entire body to the ground. And Do Ye-cheon kept his promise.
Ji Jung-young became Ji Dong-tak, living as Do Ye-cheon's dog ever since.
"You might have grown fat as a pig, but your knack for running from the Moyong Family is still intact."
"..."
Ji Dong-tak had altered his appearance to hide his past.
He had gained an extreme amount of weight and even disfigured his own face.
Thus, he believed no one would ever recognize him as the lustful demon of his past.
But now that this belief was shattered, Ji Dong-tak could not help but fall into utter shock.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
With every exchange of forms, sonic booms erupted, shattering all the furniture on the top floor.
The more blows Ji Dong-tak traded with Jeok-un, the more astonished he became.
Is this bastard really at the peak of the Transcendent Realm?!
Ji Dong-tak had sensed it from the first move, and after three exchanges, he was certain.
No, how is that possible at his age?
How could he have reached the peak of the Transcendent Realm?
Ji Dong-tak simply could not believe it.
Yet, refusing to believe did nothing to change reality.
Whoosh!
As Ji Dong-tak grit his teeth, Jeok-un closed in on him like an experienced hunter.
Damn it...!
Terrified by the bizarre, ferocious, and eerie nature of the footwork, Ji Dong-tak hastily retreated.
It was Jeok-un's movement technique and secret art, unknown to anyone in the current Jianghu.
The Seven Captures Mystical Steps.
Originally, the signature techniques of the Jegal Family were the Heavenly Secret Divine Flight and the Heavenly Secret Mystical Steps, but they were entirely different in nature from Jeok-un's Seven Captures Mystical Steps.
The Heavenly Secret Divine Flight and Heavenly Secret Mystical Steps were movement techniques specialized for survival.
Since ancient times, the Jegal Family produced strategists specialized in intellect; if such a talent were captured, it would be a massive loss to the entire Orthodox faction.
For this reason, their movement techniques placed their emphasis on strategic retreat.
But the Seven Captures Mystical Steps was different.
Jeok-un was someone who had risen from a rogue of the Unorthodox faction to the very summit.
Consequently, the Heavenly Secret Mystical Steps had been transformed into a practical, aggressive technique unlike anything before.
In short, it was not a strategic retreat, but a strategic advance—a movement designed to corner, capture, and execute the enemy.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
A gale whipped up with every step, and afterimages scattered in all directions.
Approaching like a ghost, vanishing like an illusion—it was enough to drive Ji Dong-tak mad.
Amidst this, feints that seemed like real strikes and real strikes that seemed like feints flew toward him.
Ji Dong-tak had to block everything with all his might.
Even if only half of them were real, he was wasting half his energy defending against illusions.
The sense of crisis Ji Dong-tak felt was extraordinary.
Damn it, damn it!
Ji Dong-tak grit his teeth in frustration.
But that did not mean he had any way to bridge the gap in their skills right now.
At least half a move. He is at least half a move superior to me.
Just because they were in the same realm did not mean their combat strength was equal.
Ji Dong-tak assessed the situation with cold eyes and quickly concluded that he had little chance of winning a direct clash of strength.
He was a man who, since his days as the Fox Demon, had left no trace behind thanks to his vicious cunning.
Thus, it was a precise judgment that he stood no chance in a fair fight.
But it will be different when it comes to internal energy.
During his days as a lustful demon, he had absorbed an immense amount of internal energy through dual cultivation.
Although its quality was uneven and impure, the absolute quantity was bound to overwhelm his opponent.
If I drag this into a battle of attrition, I will have the advantage.
The moment Ji Dong-tak reached this conclusion—
"M-Master?"
"What is going on—"
Having heard the commotion on the top floor, his subordinates cautiously opened the door, only to realize the situation too late.
"Ah!"
"Protect the Master!"
Sensing that Ji Dong-tak was in danger, the subordinates rushed onto the top floor in a swarm.
Believing the situation was turning in his favor, Ya-ju immediately raised his voice.
"Kill him!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"Everyone, hunt down the enemy!"
At Ya-ju's command, the subordinates charged at Jeok-un.
It was a plan to crush him with sheer numbers, far from a fair fight.
But Ji Dong-tak did not care in the slightest.
Even if all of them die, they will have done their part if they exhaust his internal energy through a battle of attrition.
It didn't matter if it wasn't honorable. The Unorthodox way was survival of the fittest. In a world where the strong were right, the form and manner of victory were of no concern.
Heh, besides, since he only recently caused trouble, he must feel burdened about committing a massacre.
Ji Dong-tak expected that Jeok-un, who had recently caused a stir, would hesitate to act ruthlessly against his subordinates.
However.
That expectation was completely wrong.
Whoosh!
Jeok-un reached out.
"Urgh?!"
One of Ya-ju's nameless subordinates was caught in his grasp.
A blatant killing intent flickered in Jeok-un's eyes.
These bastards who committed all kinds of evil deeds with Ya-ju as their backer.
Jeok-un tightened his grip, grabbing the man by the collar and pulling him in.
"K-Kgh?!"
Crack!
Snap!
Like a farmer plucking a ripe fruit, Jeok-un snapped the subordinate's neck.
As a fountain of blood sprayed, Jeok-un's massacre began.
Whoosh!
Dash!
Tossing the headless corpse aside, he lunged at the next target.
"Aaaaargh!"
The man let out a scream-like shriek and rushed forward with his sword raised.
But Jeok-un unleashed a lethal strike without hesitation.
They are no different from the demons of the Demonic Cult. Wiping them all out will only benefit the world.
Taking both the front and flank of the man simultaneously, he threw a swift punch.
Swoosh!
"..."
The moment the man's eyes widened in shock—
Smash!
Jeok-un's fist had already smashed into his face.
"Gack!"
With a single punch, the man's face collapsed inward.
His nose, which should have been prominent, was caved in.
Thud.
The lifeless body slumped powerlessly onto the floor.
Flash!
In an instant, utilizing the recoil, Jeok-un leaped right into the center of the enemies.
And so began a bloody dance of fists, elbows, knees, and kicks.
"Aaargh!"
"S-Spare me...!"
A battle of attrition was impossible.
With every single punch and kick, they were either blown away or turned into corpses. No strategy could hold up.
As time passed and corpses piled up like mountains on every floor of Seungguanru,
the attitude of Ya-ju's subordinates, who had charged in so confidently at first, began to shift.
"Ah, ah..."
"W-What on earth is that?!"
It was a madness they had never experienced before.
Faced with an abyss of a completely different dimension, they began to hesitate one by one.
"What are you doing?! I said kill him!"
Ji Dong-tak raised his voice, urging his men, but the subordinates, paralyzed by terror, could not even speak.
Realizing he could no longer rely on his men, Ji Dong-tak finally stepped forward.
Damn it! No, by now, he must have consumed a significant amount of his internal energy anyway!
Steeling his resolve, Ji Dong-tak dashed to a corner of the top floor.
His target was the pair of axes hanging on the wall.
They were his favored weapons.
Gripping the dual axes tightly,
Whoosh!
Swoosh!
He channeled the internal energy of the Art of Ten Thousand Joys.
The vast internal energy settled in his dantian surged in response to the Art of Ten Thousand Joys.
This was the driving force that had allowed him to survive the Moyong Family's kill order during his days as the Fox Demon.
Rumble!
Due to the nature of this dual cultivation art, an immense amount of internal energy—nearly double that of a martial artist of the same level—writhed within him.
Of course, because the essence of the absorbed energy was impure, the backlash of overusing it was severe, but...
Now is the time to use it.
Step!
Ji Dong-tak gripped the shafts of his axes tightly and charged at Jeok-un.
Whoosh!
As the axes sliced through the air, they made a sound like a swift sword.
This was because Ji Dong-tak's martial arts emphasized speed.
The ultimate technique of the former top one hundred masters, unleashed with dual axes.
It was a martial art bestowed upon him by Do Ye-cheon, a signature technique once used by a master who ranked among the top one hundred masters of the generation before last.
In case he had the misfortune of running into the Moyong Family, he had dedicated himself to practicing the Eighteen Heaven-Severing Axes even while living as Ya-ju, achieving significant mastery.
Furthermore, he believed he could easily secure victory against Jeok-un, who should have been exhausted from dealing with his subordinates.
Clang!
Crash!
Yet, Ji Dong-tak's Eighteen Heaven-Severing Axes could not break through Jeok-un's bare fists at all.
His... his internal energy hasn't decreased at all?!
As they exchanged forms, Ji Dong-tak was forced to realize the truth.
From the recoil vibrating through his hands to the internal energy radiating from his opponent,
everything pointed to one fact: the young man was not tired in the least.
Crack!
Sonic booms erupted continuously.
This was no illusion.
With every boom, dust drifted down from the ceiling of the top floor.
It was proof that the shockwaves of their internal energy were shaking the top floor and the building itself.
And the intensity of those shockwaves grew visibly larger with every clash.
He's getting... even stronger?
Cold sweat trickled down Ji Dong-tak's back as he felt the destructive power grow even fiercer than when they first clashed.
Just who on earth is this bastard...?
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Jeok-un's aura shifted.
"That's a nice look on your face."
"..."
Like a hunter finally revealing himself after cornering his prey,
Whoosh!
Boom!
The moment Ji Dong-tak was completely cornered, Jeok-un unleashed the power of Tam-rang.
The First Star of the Overlord: Covetous Wolf
The internal energy, amplified by reaching the third stage of the Great Heavenly Star Divine Art, gathered in his fist along with the Overlord's Divine Qi.
It was fist qi that had almost taken physical form.
Seeing the fist qi glowing so bright blue that it was indistinguishable from astral qi, Ji Dong-tak's face turned deathly pale.
Flash!
In an instant, Jeok-un lunged like a wild beast.
He had to block it.
Or he would die...!
Desperate, Ji Dong-tak crossed his dual axes in an 'X' shape above his head. At the same time,
"Shatter."
"Kgh...!"
Jeok-un clenched his fist and brought it down toward Ji Dong-tak's head like a cleaving axe.
Crunch!
Shatter!
The dual axes, packed with the internal energy of the Art of Ten Thousand Joys, shattered into pieces.
Then, a blow like a landslide slammed directly onto the crown of Ji Dong-tak's head.
Crack!
Boom!
The colossal force of the fist qi forged from the Overlord's Divine Qi.
Before Jeok-un's tidal wave of internal energy, everything was useless.
With the sound of tearing flesh and crushing bone, Ji Dong-tak's face collapsed like wet clay.
His knees buckled, his body folded, and the residual force began to transmit directly into the floor.
Under that destructive residual force,
Crack!
Rumble...!
the floor of the top level collapsed.
Then the floor below it.
And the floor below that.
Crash!
Finally, the force dissipated only after leaving a crater-like indentation on the ground floor.