Chapter 39
Soldiers, startled by the explosion, rushed in desperately.
Paeng Pung-gyeol stared at Tian Ailang, who had blocked his Gang Qi Slash with strangely condensed internal energy, his entire body surging with excitement. For him, having lost the symbol of manhood, martial arts was the only joy left in life. Especially powerful techniques made him feel like he was erecting what he lacked. He'd planned to toy with this young punk—who seemed to have decent skill—before eventually slicing off his manhood as a playful finale. But this game was exceeding expectations.
Paeng Pung-gyeol's blood boiled.
Tian Ailang frowned deeply at the eunuch's aroused state. What the hell? That perverted look?!
Aside from recoiling at Paeng Pung-gyeol's lecherous expression, Tian Ailang felt a twinge of disappointment in himself. He'd tested himself to conserve as much internal energy as possible, but that resolve had shattered in an instant.
Well, you can't fill your belly on the first bite.
Tian Ailang recentered his mind.
Paeng Pung-gyeol laughed as he unleashed his qi. The force made the air crackle.
Tian Ailang heightened his visual acuity, maxed out his senses, and focused.
Circling qi around his hand, Tian Ailang gently pressed his palm against the energy Paeng Pung-gyeol shot forth. With the exquisite art of Yi Hua Jie Mu, he softly redirected it.
Boom!
“Argh!”
Nearby soldiers gripping spears in vigilance suffered the backlash.
Tian Ailang examined his hand and the result. “It works?”
Yi Hua Jie Mu was a technique he'd learned when he couldn't use internal energy yet, refined on Chan Ho's advice. Like grafting energies together, it allowed fluid control of foreign qi—a supreme skill that was quite fun. Until now, he'd handled bare blades or sword qi barehanded. Deflecting Gang Qi with bare hands was suicidal, so this was his first time deploying Yi Hua Jie Mu with internal energy.
This method seemed perfect for fighting efficiently while conserving qi. It also allowed for more delicate maneuvers than barehanded deflection.
“Yo ho ho. Fun, isn't it?”
Paeng Pung-gyeol let out a bizarre laugh, then suddenly grabbed a nearby soldier and hurled him at Tian Ailang with abandon, heedless if the man lived or died. The soldier flew at an alarming speed.
Tian Ailang used Yi Hua Jie Mu to redirect the incoming soldier.
“Aaaah!”
But upward. The soldier suddenly soared into the sky.
At the sight, Paeng Pung-gyeol seemed thrilled and unleashed Empty Air Grasp, flinging soldiers wildly.
“Yo ho ho ho!”
Ignoring their lives, he crammed bomb-like qi into their bodies or spun them before throwing—every manner of madness. Each time, Tian Ailang deflected them with ultra-precise Yi Hua Jie Mu.
“Aaaah! I'm flying!”
“Flying, sir!”
A bizarre spectacle unfolded as soldiers flew around Paeng Pung-gyeol and Tian Ailang. Their landings were their own problem, of course.
Witnessing Yi Hua Jie Mu's profound artistry, Paeng Pung-gyeol grew even more excited. Such martial prowess was rare even in the imperial palace.
“That old Wudang hag would love this. Today is pure delight. Alright, now the real fight begins! Yo hot!”
Paeng Pung-gyeol stopped tossing soldiers and stomped toward Tian Ailang.
His form vanished, then reappeared in a flash.
Shwick!
Tian Ailang urgently bent backward in the Iron Plate Bridge stance. Paeng Pung-gyeol's hand whistled past his nose.
The eunuch had leaped like a flying bolt, swinging his hand. Seeing Tian Ailang dodge with Iron Plate Bridge, he followed with Thousand Catty Hammer, smashing down. But aimed at Tian Ailang's groin.
Tian Ailang felt a crisis greater than a sword through the heart.
“Haaap!”
Resolved not to burst, he thrust his hand back, cartwheeling his legs upward naturally.
Crack!
Their feet collided with a thunderous roar. Pushing Paeng Pung-gyeol back and regaining position, Tian Ailang broke into cold sweat.
I nearly joined his ranks just now.
Paeng Pung-gyeol's disappointed look chilled him further. It had been intentional, no doubt.
“A shame.”
As expected, Paeng Pung-gyeol murmured.
Flames sparked in Tian Ailang's eyes at his words.
“Damn you, you freak worse than Yo Hyang or Dracul! You're more twisted than those bloodsuckers, you bastard!”
Tian Ailang couldn't understand his own fury. It was simply a man's instinct.
“Yo ho ho! Seeing you angry makes me want you under me even more.”
“Lord Paeng Eunuch!”
In the brief lull, Commander Chae arrived with elite soldiers.
“Are you alright, my lord?”
Paeng Pung-gyeol snorted at their fussing. “Hmph, stay out of it. It's been ages since I felt this thrilled. Yo ho ho.”
Seeing his expression, Commander Chae nodded obediently and barked at the soldiers, “Everyone, fall back five zhang!”
He knew being near peak experts' clash could burst a shrimp's back like a prawn in a whale fight.
Paeng Pung-gyeol called to the retreating commander. “Commander Chae, check the carriage at the entrance for my weapon. Fetch it at once.”
Commander Chae summoned soldiers. “Go get Lord Paeng's weapon!”
Under the heaven-like command, they dashed off.
“Yo ho ho, shall we resume?”
Tian Ailang calmed his agitated heart. Hundreds of soldiers surrounded them, but he focused solely on Paeng Pung-gyeol.
Seeing this, Paeng Pung-gyeol grinned wider. “Yo ho~ I knew you were special. Won't you truly join me?”
Reading Tian Ailang's firm refusal in his eyes, Paeng Pung-gyeol sighed regretfully.
His form closed in instantly.
Without a stance, he unleashed Imperial Wind Fist. It was the imperial basic Imperial Constant Fist, adapted in Paeng Pung-gyeol's style. Simply a horse-stance straight punch, but from a transcendent peak expert, it was otherworldly.
Tian Ailang didn't meet the straight punch head-on. Rotating his hand outward, he deflected the fist sideways.
The powerful qi stung his hand, but with Four Taels Deflecting a Thousand Catties, he brushed it aside effortlessly.
“Yo ho ho? Yi Hua Jie Mu and now Four Taels? Excellent!”
At a mere one chi apart, they exchanged blows.
As Tian Ailang grew accustomed to Yi Hua Jie Mu and Four Taels, blocking Paeng Pung-gyeol's attacks became smoother. A direct clash would've caused massive qi backlash, but flowing deflections allowed offense and defense without qi drain.
Dozens of exchanges in, faint smiles graced both faces.
Since learning martial arts in the palace, Paeng Pung-gyeol had never traded so many blows. Palace intrigues favored lethal strikes, not fair fights like this. At over a jiazi old, he savored pure martial joy for the first time.
Tian Ailang thrilled at parrying swift, mighty punches with precise senses and qi control.
To create distance, Paeng Pung-gyeol loaded a massive qi surge into his fist.
Sensing his current techniques couldn't fully handle it, Tian Ailang gathered qi and countered with a punch.
Wooong!
Their fists halted a cun apart, qi colliding in resonant thunder.
“Urk!”
“Agh!”
Weaker soldiers spat blood and collapsed, even at distance.
In the qi tug-of-war, Tian Ailang spotted tiny flaws like gaps in Paeng Pung-gyeol's energy.
He slipped his qi into those fissures. Ultra-precise control was needed, but his hypersensitive senses from qi-less days made it surprisingly easy.
Crack. Crack.
Paeng Pung-gyeol felt something gnawing his fist-gang, disrupting its viscosity.
Pushing Tian Ailang back with an extended punch, he retreated briefly. “Yo heh heh…”
Gazing wondrously at his fist and Tian Ailang, he marveled.
Tian Ailang pondered the phenomenon. A clue beckoned.
“Incredible—nothing else to say.”
Paeng Pung-gyeol's admiration was genuine. “How can such a youth wield profound qi control? With that energy and understanding, you could found your own school.”
Extending his hand, he beckoned the soldiers straining with a massive axe.
Whooosh!
The great axe flew lightly like a leaf to his grasp.
Tian Ailang paled as Paeng Pung-gyeol hefted the great axe. A colossal aura erupted, unlike his hand or fist techniques.
One blade was grotesquely huge, the other small. Notably, the shaft's tip protruded for thrusting beyond the blades.
Soldiers who recognized it gasped in awe. One of the imperial court's Three Great Treasures, forged from millennia-cold iron refined five years—unbreakable, slicing anything, blood never staining the blade.
Tian Ailang watched Paeng Pung-gyeol twirl the great axe, savoring it. Did the weapon recognize its master? It hummed welcomingly.
From the moment he gripped it, not a single flaw showed. Like an ancient mountain.
Hmm…
A true ordeal. No more conserving qi. Even if he wanted to strike and flee as Song So-gyeol advised, the moment had passed. Rescuing others was secondary; heading to his sworn brothers would endanger them against this foe. And such a master wouldn't let him escape easily.
Frontal assault was the only path—and oddly thrilling.
Am I subtly perverted too?
Reflecting, he realized he thrilled at facing the strong. Never sparring due to his grandfather's health, training solo in nature with imagined foes, he'd always dreamed of worthy opponents. The world overflowed with them—no dull days.
Setting aside revenge, sacrifice, good, evil—battles with the mighty were pure joy. This one too. Paeng Pung-gyeol growing stronger brought not despair, but rising elation.
Thump. Thump.
As Paeng Pung-gyeol assumed his stance, Tian Ailang's heart raced. One lapse, and death. Eyes wide, he concentrated.
Suddenly, his senses renewed. Hypersensitive lately, they expanded alive-like. Skin pulsing with heartbeat, fine hairs swaying in unseen qi, muscles primed by will.
Nature's qi breathed ceaselessly into him. Fatigue and wounds vanished instantly. Before, meditative posture was needed; now, it flowed constantly even idle. Vitality surged. Merely opening meridians channeled vast qi—inexhaustible.
The effect of his prior insight: Qi Arts fifth stage.
Startled yet delighted by Tian Ailang's qi shift, Paeng Pung-gyeol stepped forward.
Tian Ailang met him with Shrinking Earth Step.
Distance closed in a blink. Their legendary battle began.