Chapter 27: Chapter 27
“What are you doing?”
Jang I-seo asked, bewildered by the imitation.
“What do you mean? I’m copying my master.”
“Excuse me?”
“If you’re going to teach me, teach everything from start to finish. Don’t get petty over losing some little thing.”
“That’s not it.”
Your stance is wrong, you bastard. When did I make a fist? I kept my palm open and threw a palm strike.
“How is it? Same, right? Probably the same. Nothing escapes the eye of genius Mao.”
Correction. This one was definitely a dullard.
“Just do it your own way. Don’t hurt yourself trying to copy me.”
“Nope. From now on I’m going to copy everything you do. And then I’ll definitely become stronger than you. And nag you right back.”
Suit yourself. Jang I-seo shrugged and looked at the rock face.
“Begin.”
Mao steadied his breathing, his expression turning utterly serious.
After countless failures, he’d grasped the theory completely. All that remained was success.
“Don’t send the energy ahead… release it. The more you send at once, the stronger the force. So this is… the more the merrier! URYAAAAAH!”
Flash. Mao’s eyes snapped open. His fist flew.
FWAAASH!
A heavy crack. An enormous volume of yang energy poured from his hand like a waterfall.
And the moment his raw fist stopped three inches short of the rock face.
KWAAAAANG!
A tremendous roar exploded as if the world itself were splitting apart.
‘What… was that?’
His ears rang.
But the sound wasn’t what stunned Jang I-seo.
It was that single punch Mao had just thrown. More precisely, a fist-shaped blaze that slammed into the rock face.
An intense wave of heat swept the surroundings. Jang I-seo instinctively retreated five, six paces. He shielded his face with his sleeve and stared in horror.
“Wh-what is…”
An unbelievable sight. His mind went blank. Surveying the rock face again, a massive hole had been punched through it, as if two hands had traced a wide circle.
But that wasn’t all. Flame still hotter than lava licked the rock, crackling and radiating heat.
He’d fired a palm wind and gotten a fire fist instead.
“What did you just do?”
Too stunned for words, Jang I-seo asked Mao.
“Ha. Haha. Hahahahaha. Uwahahahahaha!”
Mao, utterly bewitched, suddenly erupted into laughter. He pounded his chest and roared triumphantly.
“I, genius Mao, have finally achieved enlightenment.”
“On what.”
“My secret technique. the More-the-Better Fist!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Heh heh heh. How foolish you are, Jang I-seo. Don’t you understand? I just experienced a profound breakthrough and ascended to the ranks of absolute masters! Behold the power of my original martial art, the More-the-Better Fist!”
Mao thrust both hands toward the rock face.
Right. Amazing. Incredible. He understood that part. Jang I-seo was so dumbfounded he simply said.
“Do it again.”
“Hmph, think I can’t? Watch. This is genius Mao’s secret technique! More-the-Better FIST!”
Mao threw another punch. Not even a whisper of wind. Thoroughly third-rate thug level.
“Huh. What’s going on?”
Jang I-seo eyed him with a look that screamed “are you an idiot.”
“What. Can you not gather your qi?”
“Yeah. It won’t gather. What’s wrong with me!”
What’s wrong? You blew through every last drop of internal energy in your dantian in one go, that’s what. Unbelievable. Too absurd for words.
“Jang I-seo. Something’s wrong with my body. My strength. The strength won’t go in! Must be qi deviation!”
Did he think qi deviation came that easily? And,
‘Others need to sit cross-legged for a full shi to circulate and recover, but you just need to breathe for half a shi and it’ll all refill.’
The terror of the Heaven-Yang Body was that application and accumulation operated at the highest possible level without any cultivation method.
Jang I-seo exhaled irritably and surveyed the rock face again.
He hadn’t expected Mao to dump all his internal energy at once like an idiot. No, the fact that it was even possible was astonishing. Internal energy had limits on how much could be expelled in a single breath. Otherwise, the meridians serving as pathways would burst from the strain.
But Mao…
‘The Eight Extraordinary Vessels without a trace of impurity, and internal energy so pure it defies description. That’s the Heaven-Yang Body. So he can explosively release all of it in a single instant.’
The result was a punch with power that even absolute masters couldn’t replicate.
A truly foolish, idiotic move. But still, at this level, claiming to have invented a new martial art had some merit.
The name “More-the-Better Fist” was thoroughly unimpressive, though.
Honestly, if he hadn’t been watching from close by for so long, even Jang I-seo might have mistaken it for a breakthrough to a new realm.
Reaching this conclusion, a thought struck him.
‘The Thunder Circulation Method converts internal energy into lightning qi. That allows me to move greater volumes of internal energy even faster than Mao’s Heaven-Yang Body. But the movement is literally like lightning, so I never even considered capturing it. If I could seize the lightning qi and use it for emission or fa-gi…’
Those words he’d told Mao about circulating slowly. Perhaps the one who truly needed to heed them was himself.
But he quickly dismissed it with a hollow laugh.
What could someone with a Nine-Orifice Body possibly do? All flash, no substance.
Anyway, the special training was over. Time to head to the Heavenly Demon Palace. Only about one shi, two hours, remained until the appointment. Even leaving now, it would be tight.
“Seventh Young Master, stop fooling around and…”
Just as Jang I-seo moved toward Mao, who was clutching his hair in despair.
TWING!
A sharp presence from behind. An arrow?! Fast.
WHIRL! Jang I-seo spun in place, leaped, and snatched the incoming arrow cleanly out of the air. He landed and shouted.
“Seventh Young Master, get behind me!”
His urgent voice rang out. Mao’s eyes snapped open, head jerking up.
SH-SH-SH-SHINK!
Five, six more arrows screamed from the forest.
Assassins!
KA-KA-KA-KA-CLANG!
Jang I-seo planted himself in front of Mao and deflected the arrows left and right with a short sword drawn in a flash. But this was a feint. A smokescreen to hide the real threat.
FWIIISH!
One arrow traced a serpentine, wicked curve, flying off-beat. It sailed past Jang I-seo and streaked toward the rear.
‘Mao…!’
Right now, Mao’s dantian was completely empty. He couldn’t dodge. He couldn’t withstand it.
THUD!
“Jang I-seo!”
The arrow buried itself in Jang I-seo’s outstretched left arm. He skidded backward, having thrown his arm and body in front of Mao to shield him.
He grimaced and asked.
“Your internal energy. Still gone?”
“Yeah. But your arm…”
“It’s fine. Hide behind the rock.”
“Hey, what about you?!”
“Go!”
Jang I-seo barked. Mao bit his lip hard and ducked behind the boulder. Jang I-seo snapped the arrow shaft, then pressed pressure points on his shoulder and arm. Not a regular arrow. A poisoned one. Fortunately, not a lethal toxin. Just a temporary paralytic.
“If you’re going to use poison, commit to it. Going to these perverse lengths must mean you hold quite a grudge against me.”
Jang I-seo snorted and addressed the forest.
[Heh heh heh heh heh-!]
A grotesque laugh echoed from the trees as if reverberating from everywhere at once.
‘The Six-Harmony Sound Transmission…!’
Cold sweat beaded on Jang I-seo’s forehead. The Six-Harmony Sound Transmission was a variant of sound-transmission technique, a form of sonic disruption that concealed the user’s location while broadcasting their voice to everyone present.
Sound transmission itself was extremely difficult to master, requiring exquisite control over internal energy.
In other words, not an opponent to take lightly.
[To think a wretch with such pathetic internal energy killed my brother Mak-gwi. I’m so furious the laughter just won’t stop. Heh heh heh!]
Brother? Jang I-seo’s eyes flashed. Simultaneously, a profile assembled itself in his mind.
‘Slaughterhouse rank five… the Lust Demon Poison Bow, Yo Do-sun!’
A sworn brother to the top-knotted Mak-gwi, inseparable enough to be called blood siblings. That was definitely him.
The Slaughterhouse. They’d ignored the warning and come straight for revenge.
[Taste hell yourself! Heh heh heh!]
With the wicked laughter, FW-FW-FW-FW-FWISH! Five, six more arrows screamed in succession.
KA-KA-KA-KA-CLANG!
Jang I-seo deflected them again with his short sword. And calculated rapidly. Same intensity, same speed as before. These weren’t fired by multiple archers. One man. Yo Do-sun. Rapid fire.
‘Then he’s positioned… that way!’
Jang I-seo burst from his position.
But.
THUD!
“Ghk!”
An arrow flew in from a completely unexpected eastern direction. He spun midair, barely deflecting it so it only grazed his right shoulder.
‘How?’
Jang I-seo’s expression twisted in horror. The paralytic poison began spreading through his right arm as well.
[Heh heh heh heh! You fool. Did you think you could find me so easily? When Yama asks why he died, tell him it’s because you picked this grave site. Heh heh!]
FW-FW-FW-FW-FWISH!
More rapid fire from the forest. But Jang I-seo’s paralyzed arms hung limp, drained of strength.
“Jang I-seo-!”
The worst crisis had arrived.
* * *
The five-pronged fork at the base of Mahe Mountain.
Among them, the central path leading to the Guardian Dragon Hall was a long, single-file uphill road.
For an organization responsible for security and protection within the cult, it might have seemed too exposed.
But this location was optimized for defense beyond anywhere else.
First, the terrain on both sides of the single road was so rugged that hiding or climbing was nearly impossible. The moment someone began ascending, the Guardian Dragon Hall could spot them a full quarter-shi before their arrival, buying time to prepare for ambush.
And at the road’s end stood thick walls emblazoned with tigers, with warriors stationed above in rotation. A fortress in the truest sense.
But today, for some reason, the gates were thrown wide open. The warriors who should have been on the walls stood in solemn formation before the entrance.
One reason.
“Today’s the day at last. The day the Seventh Young Master arrives.”
Guardian Dragon Hall Master Ji Dae-ho surveyed the lower path, eyes brimming with anticipation.
Indeed.
Today was the day of the Seventh Young Master’s private audience with the Cult Leader.
Until now, he’d failed to open the doors of the Heavenly Demon Palace every time, returning with slumped shoulders. Most of the Guardian Dragon Hall warriors assumed the same would happen today.
“But Hall Master, what happens if the Seventh Young Master fails to open the doors again?”
“We have neither the need nor the right to question what His Supremacy does.”
“My apologies.”
“However.”
Ji Dae-ho spoke with a hardened expression.
“The seat of Young Cult Leader will move permanently beyond his reach. That much is certain.”
The warriors nodded. No one had ever seriously considered the Seventh Young Master becoming Young Cult Leader.
But the Cult Leader’s choices were always unpredictable, and Mao was the master of the Heaven-Yang Body. A sliver of possibility remained.
The problem was that opening the doors of the Heavenly Demon Palace proved qualification. Three years had been granted. Failure to accomplish it would surely bring consequences.
“Then Hall Master, you believe he’ll fail to open them again as well?”
At his subordinate’s question, Ji Dae-ho curved his lips upward.
Honestly, his head said exactly that. He wouldn’t open them. But one chance in a thousand. If a miracle happened today, the reason would be clear.
‘Jang I-seo. Because you’re there.’
Today of all days, he found himself wanting to see that man more than ever.