Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: The Eccentric (3)
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“Haa, hah... Dammit.”
Ptui.
Cheon Yu-gae spat out the thick phlegm stuck in the corner of his mouth.
Every single move was lethal and profound.
A moment's carelessness would mean instant death; his power was that destructive.
Grovelling on the ground might be disgraceful, but that was a luxury compared to losing your life. You had to be alive to do anything.
What made it even more infuriating was this.
‘That bastard is holding back, isn't he?’
While he was rolling on the ground like a rat, his opponent, the Divine Demon Fist, was showing restraint.
And he was doing it while looking up at Mount Hua, as if watching to see when they would arrive.
The rage simmering inside Cheon Yu-gae reached its boiling point.
The memory of his Branch Leader, Cheol Pung-gae, telling him to keep his head down and live quietly, faded away.
“Hey! You… you son of a bitch!”
“...?!”
From his disheveled position, still rolling on the ground, Cheon Yu-gae unleashed the Drunken Beggar Fist.
His movements were slow, yet his joints bent and twisted at odd angles, making it hard to follow his actions.
Then, in a burst of speed, he struck the Divine Demon Fist in the chest.
Thwack!
It wasn't a vital point, but with many blood vessels passing through, it was a good spot to inflict internal injuries.
‘And now!’
Seeing the Divine Demon Fist's body pushed back, Cheon Yu-gae clenched his jaw.
Beggar Starves, Never Retreats. It looked as if Cheon Yu-gae's groin would rip apart as he lunged, striking the Divine Demon Fist's chin and neck in an instant.
Thud.
But a hand caught his ankle. The Divine Demon Fist muttered in a quiet tone.
“So, such crude techniques exist in the world. I've learned something new.”
But it seemed this was as far as he would go.
Crack!
Sparks of electricity flew.
The current that had wrapped around his body now flowed into the Divine Demon Fist's grip.
Despite the searing pain, as if his flesh were being cooked, Cheon Yu-gae endured it without even screaming.
Because of it, cold sweat poured down his face.
A curious look appeared on the Divine Demon Fist's face.
“Does it not hurt?”
“Bullshit!”
Spitting out a curse, Cheon Yu-gae kicked up at the Divine Demon Fist's elbow with his free leg.
Whether it completely dislocated the joint and crippled him didn't matter; his only thought was to get away.
The reason he held back his scream.
At a distance so close he could feel his breath, Cheon Yu-gae opened his mouth wide.
The Divine Demon Fist frowned at the sudden foul stench of his breath.
Just then, the internal energy Cheon Yu-gae had gathered from the depths of his dantian shot out in the form of a roar.
“Kraaaaaaah!”
Boom—!
Heaven's Condemnation Roar.
The Heaven's Condemnation Roar, a technique he had stolen and learned while in an underground prison, exploded in the Divine Demon Fist's face.
Rumble, whoooosh.
Small clouds of dust filled the air. Taking advantage of the opening, Cheon Yu-gae retreated slightly.
“...Keuk.”
The wounds all over his body were one thing, but it felt as if a broken bone was piercing his internal organs.
Something hot and warm was flowing inside him.
‘This is bad. If I don't see a physician soon...’
Just as Cheon Yu-gae was about to step back.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
“...?”
“Why don't you stay with me a little longer.”
The Divine Demon Fist's right hand shot out from within the cloud of dust.
Cheon Yu-gae felt a surge of fear, but he still searched for a reason.
“Why...”
Why would someone who claimed to have business with Mount Hua fight a second-generation disciple of the Beggars' Sect?
Frowning, Cheon Yu-gae slapped the Divine Demon Fist's hand away.
“Why are you doing this to me?!”
To his desperate question, the Divine Demon Fist gave a simple answer.
“Killing two birds with one stone.”
“What?”
Cheon Yu-gae let out a hollow laugh. Killing two birds with one stone? What kind of ridiculous reason was that?
But the Divine Demon Fist had been quite serious in his reply.
This was the second martial art he had witnessed since coming to the Central Plains.
He wanted to see how quickly the Mount Hua Sect would respond to an incident in their territory, and how they would handle it.
And who would be the first to arrive.
In many ways, it was an opportunity to get a first impression of the Mount Hua Sect.
Of course, there was another, more decisive reason.
The Divine Demon Fist yawned lightly.
“Because I felt like it.”
“...You madman.”
The words, reminiscent of the previous Divine Demon Fist, made Cheon Yu-gae shudder. Goosebumps rose all over his body.
Meanwhile, the Divine Demon Fist clenched and unclenched his fist.
‘The old man was right.’
His master had told him that if he ever went out into the world after his death, people would be startled by such words, and that in itself would become another weapon.
The Greatest Eccentric Under Heaven.
To put it simply, he could be called the most eccentric master in the Central Plains.
That was why people simply accepted whatever the previous Divine Demon Fist did.
Because he was such a peculiar man.
Because that's the kind of martial artist he was.
And for that reason, most gave up on trying to understand him.
With the exception of a few.
‘The old men told me to just be wary of them.’
The Martial Alliance, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, the Peerless Hegemony.
They alone watched the Divine Demon Fist's actions closely and saw through his eccentricity, realizing it was not his true nature but a disguise.
Now that his master was dead, all he had to do was wear that mask himself.
As that thought crossed his mind, the Divine Demon Fist noticed someone coming down from Mount Hua and twisted his lips into a smirk.
“Beggar, it seems your role is over.”
“...What?”
‘Looks like they've reached the mountain path.’
The Divine Demon Fist's eyes met with someone wearing a Taoist robe.
“Shall we see what this rising new talent is made of?”
With his gaze fixed on that person, the Divine Demon Fist's fist instantly transformed into a knife-hand and mercilessly struck down at Cheon Yu-gae.
***
“How disappointing.”
Ouyang Jue sighed lightly and sneered.
“Was that all there was to it? The disciple sent out by *that* ‘Divine Demon Fist’?”
Ouyang Jue briefly recalled his past life.
The man he had met in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains when he was around twenty-eight; a martial artist who, despite being well past seventy, never stagnated and constantly challenged the impossible.
His strength was such that even the Ouyang Jue of that time couldn't be certain of victory.
So, they decided to spar, and only after a ten-day-long battle did they realize they were equals and exchanged one technique each.
The Divine Demon Fist taught him the Heaven-Shaking Single Thunder Strike.
Ouyang Jue taught him the first half of the Moon-Stepping No-Shadow.
Afterward, as Ouyang Jue was about to leave, the Divine Demon Fist had a request.
-I have a disciple I left behind before coming to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. I told him he could do as he pleased after I was gone... but damn, I can't help but worry.
The expression on the Divine Demon Fist's face as he said this was uncharacteristically stiff.
It was as if a simple poke would release a flood of unseen emotions; his concern and worry were palpable.
Of course, Ouyang Jue had been busy in his own way. He never had the time to look for the next Divine Demon Fist.
He had mostly assumed that the disciple of that ridiculously strong old man would be living just fine on his own.
In truth, it wasn't any of his business.
At least, not back then.
And now.
Ouyang Jue was looking at another Divine Demon Fist from a distance.
Compared to the old man, he was young, full of vigor, and a youth who didn't know his place.
The years of experience separating the two Divine Demon Fists were that vast.
Even knowing that, Ouyang Jue couldn't hide his disappointment.
And he could easily guess what had happened to him in his past life.
‘He must have died.’
The martial world wasn't so forgiving as to let such an arrogant warrior live long.
No matter how incredible the martial arts this Divine Demon Fist possessed for his age, if he got into a fight with an older martial artist, his death was a foregone conclusion.
The same was true for the current Ouyang Jue.
There was a reason he was biding his time to grow stronger and slowly perfecting his body.
Everything starts with a single step.
Wanting everything from the start would only invite disaster by alerting the enemy.
Just like that fool over there.
Looking at the Divine Demon Fist, Ouyang Jue warned in a low voice.
“That's enough.”
“...?”
Shing!
Drawn without catching the Divine Demon Fist's attention, Severing Manifestation let out a cold cry.
It was sword intent. An intent sharp enough to slice the wind and shred a nearby leaf into three pieces.
The Divine Demon Fist's pupils trembled slightly.
‘Sword ki?’
But even if it was, could it strike from over ten paces away?
‘No, it's just an empty bluff.’
Thinking so, the Divine Demon Fist didn't halt the momentum of his swing.
Whoosh!
The fist the Divine Demon Fist threw was like a massive boulder.
A boulder large enough to block an entire road.
It was like a natural disaster, impossible for one person to move.
And on top of that, crackles of faint lightning energy flickered.
The lightning ki, circulating from his dantian, coursed through the Divine Demon Fist's entire body in an instant.
All of that happened in a single moment.
It was a level of martial prowess the young Divine Demon Fist had achieved through bone-grinding training, repeated ten thousand times over.
“Hic!”
Cheon Yu-gae hiccupped as he saw the Divine Demon Fist's tendons tighten.
It felt like an illusion, as if his movements had become faster than before.
No, a weight that seemed to slow time itself settled between the three of them.
Path Towards the Extreme of Light, Thunder Quake.
The Divine Demon Fist's signature body enhancement technique, and one that none of his predecessors had ever fully mastered.
Crack!
The Divine Demon Fist's hair shot upward.
Like a goblin from a folktale, his skin, visible beyond his clothes, turned a deep red.
Soon, the sword intent that met his fist vanished without a trace.
Cheon Yu-gae knew of Ouyang Jue's fearsome reputation, which made him realize just how powerful the Divine Demon Fist standing before him truly was.
“Hah, haah.”
To some, it was more than enough to inspire terror.
‘Is that all the skill he has to show for his debut in the martial world?’
But to another, it was nothing short of pathetic.
Having seen the completed art of the Divine Demon Fist, Ouyang Jue's disappointment was beyond words.
Pathetic.
Thinking this, Ouyang Jue spoke without realizing it.
“You're surprisingly unimpressive.”
“...?!”
Before the Divine Demon Fist could respond, something struck him.
Smack!
‘What was that?’
The Divine Demon Fist felt his body lift into the air. His feet seemed to have risen an inch off the ground.
More than anything, there was the sound of an impact that seemed to echo from within him.
It felt like a palm strike to his abdomen.
But he hadn't seen it clearly, so he couldn't be sure.
His mind went blank, then returned.
Of course, those two things are completely different.
He had no time to counter Ouyang Jue's next move.
Crack.
His left temple exploded in a flash of white.
His left eye instinctively shut, and in the blackness, an illusion shaped like a lightning bolt flashed past.
‘What the...’
The pain came late, then spread in an instant. It felt less like his eyeball was injured and more like the nerve had been completely destroyed.
Had he ever felt such an intense sensation before?
The Divine Demon Fist gently caressed his cheek with his left hand, anticipating and preparing for Ouyang Jue's next attack.
But it was already too late. Ouyang Jue was already upon him.
Thwump!
“...?!”
The Divine Demon Fist could no longer remain calm. Once again, the floating sensation of his body rising into the air rendered his mind helpless.
And faster than anything, his body was thrown backward.
Crash, skrrrrr...
Only after flying back ten feet did the Divine Demon Fist manage to regain his footing.
Scrapes covered his entire body.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth due to severe internal injuries.
Even his clothes had long since been torn to shreds.
From what the Divine Demon Fist could tell, it had been nothing more than a simple kick!
The Divine Demon Fist frowned.
“You're the ‘Plum Blossom Sword Hero’?”
At those words, Ouyang Jue let out a chuckle.
With an air more arrogant than relaxed, he rebuked the young Divine Demon Fist, who was incomparably weaker than the seasoned one he knew.
“You caused a scene in front of Mount Hua with this level of skill?”
Ouyang Jue gestured lightly.
“This time, I shall personally face you with my fists.”
“Judging by the way you talk, I'm glad I came. You rotten bastard.”
Watching the rapidly approaching Divine Demon Fist, Ouyang Jue's eyes gleamed.
For now, he was just an ignorant wolf, an unaffiliated rogue.
But if handled well, he was a warrior who could become a powerful asset. And as that old man's disciple, he couldn't be a fool.
Though he lacked experience, that was something that could be gained.
Ouyang Jue watched Cheon Yu-gae carefully sneaking away and sent him a mental message.
-I'll make sure to beat him up for you.
-Please do. That son of a bitch, please punch him right in the face.