Chapter 148: The Fortresses Gate
The way back home from Suzhou somehow felt like returning after sneaking out to play behind my parents’ backs.
‘I think I can somehow soothe Sister Seol-ah’s disappointment, but…’
When worrying about the aftermath, the first person who came to mind was Sister Seol-ah.
However, as there was a definitive gift like the flat peach, it would probably be easily resolved.
The problem lay elsewhere.
Divine Monk Gong-ryo and the Seamless Heavenly Robe, Senior Jang Mun-gyeong.
They were gentlemen who were trying to subtly squeeze me dry.
And one more.
“That fellow Mu-ho must have suffered terribly, right?”
I knew best how shudder-inducing it was to have those two latching onto you.
“Sigh! To think of dealing with those gentlemen…”
Thinking of Baek Mu-ho’s plight, who must have been harassed by those gentlemen while I was away(?), my chest naturally swelled with pride—no, my chest naturally ached.
Perhaps when I returned home, the greatest obstacle might end up being Baek Mu-ho.
“Well, even if I get thrashed, I have to go back.”
There is something I must do as soon as I return.
The Defeng Yin Clan.
Those who not only appeared to have ties with the Blood Cult but were also suspected of being in touch with the unidentified mysterious force called the Crane.
On top of that, relations between us were bad.
If only to ease my anxiety, I must clear them away quickly.
Normally, the difference in weight class would be incomparable, but now, the story was different.
No, rather, it absolutely had to be right now.
If it was now, with Senior Jang Mun-gyeong here, the story changed significantly.
Moreover, if things went well, even the Divine Monk elder might intervene.
Although the Defeng Yin Clan was said to be the hegemon of a region, as long as the Divine Monk elder and Senior Jang Mun-gyeong stepped forward simultaneously, they had no choice but to become the defeated.
Those two were on a different level. It was to the extent that one had to feel sorry for the Defeng Yin Clan’s plight before even starting.
If there was a variable, it would be to what extent the power the Defeng Yin Clan had hidden was…
“We will know once we overturn it. Whether a snake comes out, or a tiger.”
And I will trample them.
To erase trivial evil, just as Master Heavenly Demon commanded.
Simultaneously adding the memories(?) of being targeted by that fellow Yin Si-hoo.
“…”
Yi Hwa stared at me intently.
As if trying to understand my words mumbled without context, Yi Hwa tilted her head.
Finding that appearance cute, I stroked her head once.
Meanwhile, a sound that tightly coiled tension dug into my ears.
Amidst the clash of sharp objects, the shouts of people were tangled together.
“…It’s a battle.”
My relaxed nerves sharpened.
As my senses heightened, the surroundings were detected more grandly and clearly.
“Robbery in Anhui?”
A battle taking place on a mountain path was in nine cases out of ten a clash with bandits.
However, as the location was what it was, it was difficult to take it lightly.
Because even if bandits set up base, it was obvious that the Namgung Clan would immediately send experts to demolish it.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
As we approached the source of the sound like that, those who looked like bandits to anyone’s eyes were running wild.
Perhaps because they were not ordinary bandits, their number was only three, yet they were driving back more than ten times their number.
[They are bandits of a proper fortress.]
“Bandits of a proper fortress?”
[I mean the Seventy-Two Fortresses of the Green Forest. They are fellows from there.]
Master Zhang Sanfeng immediately recognized them, as if the Seventy-Two Fortresses of the Green Forest had existed during his era as well.
‘Well, bandits and thieves must have existed in any era.’
If they settled in a mountain and harmed passersby with blades, or threatened them to take their wealth, that was a bandit.
Whether it was as expected or out of expectation, it was indeed strange.
‘It was said that the Nine Great Sects have been subjugating bandits recently, throwing the bandits’ territories into chaos. But even so, entering Anhui? It makes no sense.’
Although doubts arose, for now, I pushed them aside.
If I hadn’t seen it, that would be one thing, but since I had, it was only right to help.
Dash!
The footwork of the Cloud-Soaring Golden Light Step closed the distance with the bandit in one breath.
““Hahaha! They prattled about the Changcheon Merchant Group or the Namgung Clan! It was a bonanza! …Huh?!””
The triumphant face of the bandit was dyed with shock.
It was the Cloud-Soaring Golden Light Step, which mixed the subtlety of the Vajra Immovable Body Method, situated at the peak of movement in stillness.
Master Bodhidharma was confident that once the Cloud-Soaring Golden Light Step reached its peak, those facing me would feel as if they were looking at a phantom.
Since I didn’t deploy it from the front but penetrated from the flank as a surprise attack, it was no wonder he was so surprised.
It was no wonder, but.
“If you didn’t know, you should get thrashed!”
With the momentum of charging in, a strike of Shaolin Fist naturally extended.
Following the good-for-nothing Buddha’s advice, I moved half by my body’s instinct.
‘Huh?’
At that moment, though only for a split second, my expression must have been the same as the bandit’s in front of me.
It was due to the energy that suddenly shot up.
As if moving on its own as if alive, the divine power of fire was laden onto the fist extending the Shaolin Fist.
Krak-crack!
““Kakh!””
The bandit hit squarely flew back as a bloody mess, as if rammed by a bull as large as a house.
Thud! Roll, roll.
At the moment of impact, the sounds of dry branches snapping resounded in layers.
It was to the extent that I worried if there was any intact bone left in his entire body.
“What on earth is this…”
“How can a human do that…”
Perhaps because it was a shocking sight, during the brief silence, someone’s gasping voice was heard clearly.
Amidst that frozen world, my body was already moving to find the next bandit.
‘Once more…’
This time, I focused a bit more on how the energies inside me were moving.
As the body followed.
While reason only presented the direction, the rest was left to instinct.
Within the sensory movement that utilized instinct, the energies showed vitality of their own.
“You!”
Tense all over, the Green Forest bandit swung a thick axe.
Just as Master Zhang Sanfeng had evaluated him as a proper bandit, he reacted to my movements.
It was clear he was a warrior trained by properly practicing martial arts.
Advancing without hesitation toward the axe falling with the momentum to split my head, I thrust my fist as if thrusting a spear.
‘Is it this?’
The moment I thrust my fist, the flow of energy passing over my shoulder seeped into Master Heavenly Demon’s gauntlets worn on my hands.
The hot energy surging from my stomach ran rampant, devouring the other energies.
‘Look at this fellow?’
The divine power of fire pressed down on the other divine powers, growing in strength.
Becoming a top predator, it ran wild while growing its power by devouring other divine powers.
The fist laden with that power clashed with the plunging axe blade!
Claaaaang!
Along with the sound of steel tearing, the axe shattered into pieces.
The power that shattered the axe flickered as red flames.
“Crazy!”
The owner of the axe, whose web of his thumb was torn, screamed in shock.
“Are you a monster!”
“I look human from head to toe, you bandit bastard!”
Perhaps because the divine power of fire had soared, I felt my emotions rise hot as I twisted my body to the side.
A kick whipping along with the body’s rotation!
The bandit tried to block even with the remaining axe handle in his hand, but!
Crack!
The kick, which broke the axe handle and kept going, snapped the opponent’s waist.
“Kahuq!”
Whoosh!
Along with the sound of his lungs being squeezed, sparks flew from the body of the blown-away bandit, just like before.
The hot power of fire was filled in my body to that extent right now.
It was to the extent that I worried if sparks were mixed in the breath I exhaled.
One thing was clear.
‘The generation and restriction cycles are totally messed up!’
Wood generates fire. According to the Five Elements relationships, the newly settled divine power of wood was firewood that nurtured the divine power of fire.
In short, among the divine powers I currently possessed, there was no energy that could restrain the divine power of fire.
It was only because the divine power of earth was firmly holding its ground that I could remain normal.
‘This… might be dangerous.’
Around the time I obtained the divine power of fire, Baek Mu-ho had worried that my personality had grown nasty.
Come to think of it, just a moment ago was the same.
‘A monster. They’re saying all kinds of things.’
Around the time I was holed up in Suzhou’s gambling den, I heard that a Dragon King had appeared on the Yangtze River, and realized that was my story.
Not content with being called a Heavenly Dragon and a Dragon King, I heard myself called a flower immortal, and now I’m a monster.
I wish they would unify it into one if possible.
‘A dragon, flowers, and fire… Does a dragon with a flower on its head breathe fire? …What kind of crazy thought is this?’
Perhaps because the divine power of fire was running wild, I felt the boundaries of my reason crumbling.
“Let’s finish quickly.”
Exclude the divine power of fire.
I tightened the leash of reason that had only been pointing directions, and controlled my body that had been moving instinctively.
I felt my reaction grow slightly sluggish.
Instead, a firmer sensation enveloped my body.
Unifying the mind, energy, and body, I deployed the Ultimate Extreme Strike.
And I loaded the divine power of wood into it.
The penetrating force that had pierced the river extended toward the last remaining bandit.
Thud! Bam!
The blow, which blew away his upper body along with the weapon he was holding, ended the battle, leaving a trace as if a giant beast had bitten him.
“Gulp!”
Someone swallowing their saliva was quite loud.
Turning my gaze toward that spot, they gasped and guarded against me.
In their eyes, an instinctive fear was visible.
“Do I look like an enemy to you?”
I gave them room to think.
As they were given the leeway to understand the current situation themselves, they instinctively lowered the swords they held.
A man swallowed hard, stepped forward, and bowed his head.
“I am sorry. It is just… we were so… surprised…”
“It seemed so.”
It was a content I could understand in my own way.
Although Yi Hwa beside me didn’t seem to agree.
‘By the way, I think the bandits mentioned the Changcheon Merchant Group and the Namgung Clan earlier?’
Perhaps because the heat had left my head slightly as the divine power of fire subsided, I finally had the capacity to examine the surroundings.
‘No matter how I look at it, they don’t seem like people from the Namgung Clan…’
I couldn’t feel the temperament unique to the Namgung Clan’s people who made their names famous in the martial world.
Rather, should I say they were a bit cruder?
‘A merchant group. Yes, merchants rather than warriors…’
That meant this was not the end.
“Yo-Young hero! No, Great Hero! I have a request!”
The man who had opened his mouth to me suddenly bowed deeply.
To him, I asked what I had already guessed.
“Is their main unit elsewhere?”
“Huh? Y-Yes!”
If there were members of the merchant group, there must have been warriors of the Namgung Clan to protect them.
Their absence here meant they must still be fighting right now!
The merchant group that should be protected had fled, separated from the warriors who were in the middle of fighting.
It meant the battle situation was bad.
I was already in a situation where I needed to test how to handle this divine power of fire.
A real battle against an enemy of this level would be of great help.
“I will see you in a bit.”
I moved immediately.
A guide was not particularly necessary.
Because traces of the merchant group fleeing were abundant everywhere.
Moving rapidly along those traces, those engaged in combat came into view.
A giant who looked a head taller than any ordinary person.
The exposed muscles of his shoulders were large and thick as if he were wearing armor.
Wielding a giant axe as large as his build like a whip, he was overwhelming two swordsmen.
At the moment I took one more step forward toward that fight!
Bam!
Hot heat flared up from my fist that had swiped away a hand axe that suddenly flew right before my nose.
That giant had recognized my presence even at this distance and thrown a hand axe strapped to his waist.
“That’s a hot greeting.”
A formidable enemy.
Once again, divine power filled my entire body, and it began to heat up hot.