Chapter 1802 – Return of The Mount Hua Sect
Kuuuuung!
Fists collided violently in
midair.
The immense force of impact drove
Hye Yeon far backward, blood spurting from his lips.
Even Hye Yeon, hailed as one of
the greatest prodigies in the martial world, could not withstand the vast
ocean-like energy before him.
“Ugh!”
Yet the Sun Palace Lord was the
one who roared furiously, seemingly about to explode.
“You bald brat!”
With a bellow that threatened to
shatter eardrums, the Sun Palace Lord charged at Hye Yeon once more, his feet
pounding against the ground. However, Lee Songbaek stepped in to block his
path.
The Sun Palace Lord’s face
contorted in rage.
“Move aside, you insignificant
wretch!”
Kwaang!
Kwaang! Kwaang!
Three surging waves of energy
came crashing down, but Lee Songbaek managed to block them with his sword. His
sword bent dangerously under the pressure of each strike, seemingly on the
verge of snapping, yet he successfully deflected all three attacks.
Barely catching his breath,
another wave of force surged toward him.
Kwaang!
Lee Songbaek spat out blood.
“You mosquito-like pest!”
The Sun Palace Lord’s eyes bulged
with fury as he pressed down on Lee Songbaek’s sword. Not only his inner
strength but even his raw physical power far exceeded Songbaek’s.
And that wasn’t the end of it.
Ssshhhhh!
White smoke rose from Lee
Songbaek’s hands gripping the overheated sword. The searing energy embedded in
the attack had turned his sword as red-hot as molten steel, filling the air
with the stench of burning flesh.
Grit.
Lee Songbaek bit down on his lip,
enduring the excruciating pain as his palm fused with the hilt of his sword.
The agony was like nothing he had ever felt, far worse than being slashed or
struck.
Compared to himself, his opponent
was overwhelmingly strong.
‘But…. I can fight!’
Had he widened the distance,
there would have been no way to withstand the colossal energy. But by closing
the gap this much, even the Sun Palace Lord could not unleash his full power,
enabling him to hold on somehow.
His body twisted as though it
would shatter with each blow, and his flesh burned under the searing heat. Yet
the mere fact that he could still fight was all that mattered.
‘Hold on.’
He didn’t need to defeat his
opponent. He only need to hold on. To fail even this would dishonor his sword,
the sword of Zhongnan.
“Haaaahhh!”
Pouring all his strength into his
sword, Lee Songbaek managed to push the Sun Palace Lord back. The mighty lord
stumbled, his face flushed with anger.
“This…!”
At that moment, Namgung Dowi
leaped high into the air, his sword slashing down with tremendous force. The
sword, gleaming with white energy, collided with the Sun Palace Lord’s hand.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaang!
Both Lee Songbaek and Hye Yeon
were sent tumbling backward, unable to withstand the sudden shockwave.
“Ugh!”
Namgung Dowi’s situation wasn’t
particularly any better. Though he was the one who launched the attack, he was
also the one who ended up being thrown back. He was sent flying nearly three zhangs into the air before
crashing down to the ground.
[Tl note: 3 zhang = 10 meter]
Thud!
Namgung Dowi’s outstretched hand
twitched briefly in mid-air. But it was only for a moment, he quickly rose to
his feet as if the pain had never fazed him.
Hye Yeon and Lee Songbaek did the
same. Like a pack of jackals cornering a tiger, their eyes gleamed as they
closed in on the Sun Palace Lord once more, showing no signs of
exhaustion.
Creak!
The Sun Palace Lord’s face
twisted with fury. No it would be more accurate to say that it was more than
fury, it was pure hatred.
“You… you wretched brats!”
This couldn’t be happening.
How could he, the Sun Palace
Lord, struggle against such insignificant amateurs?
The title of Sun Palace Lord
demanded both nobility and strength. It was a position that symbolized
supremacy in both power and dignity.
These puny fighters should have
been crushed long ago. By all logic, it should already have been over. And yet…
Flaaash!
Suddenly, Lee Songbaek’s sword
shot forward like lightning.
It was a completely unexpected
strike from someone who had never once attacked until now. Its sheer
unpredictability made it all the more effective.
The Sun Palace Lord, caught off
guard, was forced to dodge by leaning his head back.
Kuuuung!
Taking advantage of the
unbalanced body, Hye Yeon immediately charged forward.
Thump!
Thump! Thuung!Thwack! Thwack! Thud!
His attacks were precise and
devastating, as if straight from the Shaolin manual. His Arhat Fist technique
targeted every vulnerable point on the Sun Palace Lord’s body.
‘What is it with these kids from
Central Plains?’
The Sun Palace Lord deflected his
fists.
Hye Yeon’s closely shaved head
and the nine burn marks etched upon it were clearly visible. With just a moment’s
opening, he could strike Hye Yeon down. His young monk’s head would crumble
like tofu.
He must have known this too, yet
he charged fearlessly into his range.
‘Does he think he has two lives
to spare?’
The Sun Palace Lord swung his
fist toward Hye Yeon’s head.
But before it could connect,
Namgung Dowi’s sword once again came hurtling toward his neck.
“Whoaaaa!”
The Sun Palace Lord let out an
animalistic roar, a sound utterly devoid of dignity, a stark contrast to his
usual self.
It was proof of how enraged he
was.
“You insolent brats!”
Kwaaang!
He paid no mind to his own hand
as he swung his sword with force. The red Extreme Yang Qi that had gathered in
his fist exploded like a bomb, scattering deadly heat and force in all
directions.
The sheer intensity of the energy
was enough to sear flesh and melt bones just by being near it. Yet, not one of
the three opponents retreated. There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation.
Sizzle!
The stench of burning flesh
filled the air. Had such a stench felt so nauseating to the Sun Palace Lord
before?
These three individuals seemed to
have no intention of retreating. Instead, they were thrusting their necks
toward their own demise.
A short while ago, the Sun Palace
Lord might have laughed heartily at such audacity. But at this moment, their
forms overlapped with others in his mind.
Those who had inflicted a
humiliating defeat upon him. The accursed swordsmen with plum blossoms carved
on their chests.
“Grrr…”
The Sun Palace Lord’s face
distorted like an evil spirit as he recalled the memories he wanted to erase
even by burning them with a soldering iron.
“Whoaaahh!”
He poured his internal energy
into the strike, or rather, he attempted to. But in that moment, Namgung Dowi’s
sword came slashing down once more, striking his shoulder like a bolt of
lightning.
Kagagak!
The body infused with immense
internal energy, was able to block even the sword. However, there was no way to
prevent the deep scars left on the skin.
“Ugh!”
The Sun Palace Lord flinched and
retreated, but quickly grounded himself with a resounding stomp. As expected,
Hye Yeon seized the momentary wobble, flipping his body and delivering twelve
consecutive kicks aimed at the Sun Palace Lord’s head.
Thud!
Hye Yeon’s foot clashed with the
Sun Palace Lord’s forearm. The twelve rapid collisions, completed in the blink
of an eye, reverberated as though they were a single, tremendous strike.
The hairpin lodged in the Sun
Palace Lord’s hair broke, sending loose strands flying. His ornate robe tore,
revealing a reddened and swollen forearm.
“You insolent braaat!”
Almost losing his composure, the
Sun Palace Lord unleashed a surge of energy toward Hye Yeon’s solar plexus, who
was still mid-air. Predictably, Lee Songbaek leaped forward to intervene.
Kwaaaaang!
Lee Songbaek was flung backward
alongside his sword, tumbling several times with Hye Yeon before managing to
steady himself by driving his sword into the ground.
Wasting no time, the Sun Palace
Lord slammed his foot into the ground and lunged forward again, determined to
end them before they could recover.
But a gaunt figure suddenly threw
himself in the way, ramming his shoulder into the Sun Palace Lord’s torso.
Crash!
When their bodies collided,
Namgung Dowi spat blood and was hurled backward with great force.
The impact forced even the Sun
Palace Lord to halt his pursuit.
Speechless, the Sun Palace Lord
stared at the three before him. All three were lying in a pitiful state. But he
couldn’t stop any of them from breathing.
Soon enough, they rose again, as
if it was the most natural thing in the world. He had already seen this sight
numerous times and would likely see it many more.
Their bodies were scorched and
swollen, bleeding profusely. Yet their expressions hadn’t changed from the
first moment they had faced him.
The Sun Palace Lord’s hands began
trembling uncontrollably.
It wasn’t fear. It was the sheer
intensity of his rage, so immense that it was difficult to contain. The fury
boiling within him felt as if it would sear his mind.
“Me... to be brought to this
level by these...”
The Extreme Yang Qi surged like molten
lava from the Sun Palace Lord’s body.
Watching him, Hye Yeon muttered
calmly.
“Amitabha. Sijus, can you continue?”
“If we stop, we’ll die. Do we
have a choice?”
“I’ll be the first to fall if it
comes to that, so there’s no need to ask.”
Hye Yeon smiled faintly.
‘What a strange feeling.’
Sometimes… No, often, he found
himself confused about which sect he belonged to. Though he was undoubtedly a
disciple of Shaolin, he felt more at ease with the disciples of Mount Hua. With
them, he experienced a serenity he never found in Shaolin.
Yet at this moment, he came to a
realization.
‘It’s not about affiliation.’
If their goals align and their
intentions are the same, affiliation becomes trivial.
Though Namgung’s descendant,
someone he once regarded with caution, stood beside him, and even the swordsman
of Zhongnan, someone he had rarely spoken to, they fought together now without
a shred of doubt, trusting each other with their lives.
“Amitabha.”
Hye Yeon half-closed his eyes.
‘I thought I had shed it, but was
that merely a facade?’
Realizing this was enough.
At that moment, Namgung Dowi
swung his sword sharply and spoke.
“However, I can’t hold on for
much longer. My internal energy is about to run out.”
“What a coincidence. I was about
to say the same.”
Though they had chosen close
combat to minimize energy depletion, resisting the Extreme Yang Qi was no
simple task. Especially while protecting Lee Songbaek, they were depleting
their reserves at twice the rate.
Still, there was no room for
complaints. Without Lee Songbaek, they wouldn’t have lasted this long.
“Then...?”
“Yes.”
Namgung Dowi nodded deeply.
“We have to settle this now.”
“....Amitabha. Do we have a
chance of winning?”
“Well....”
That would mean no.
Hye Yeon’s judgment wasn’t far
off. If this were their first encounter with the Sun Palace Lord, they might
have had a chance. He would surely have been caught off guard. But
unfortunately, that one moment of complacency had already been exploited by the
Five Swords of Mount Hua.
“Then we have only one option.
From now on, From now on, we must be different from who we were before.”
Hye Yeon’s words made Namgung
Dowi chuckle softly.
“Why are you laughing?”
“It’s nothing. It’s just... what
you said reminds me of someone else I know, though only the tone is different.”
“.....I’m not that bad.”
“Sure. Let’s go with that.”
Namgung Dowi smiled softly. Even
Hye Yeon found it to be a truly charming smile.
“When this battle is over, let’s
have a drink together. No, the three of us.”
“....Can monks drink alcohol?”
Startled, Lee Songbaek asked. Hye
Yeon responded sheepishly.
“A Monk cannot drink alcohol. But
grain tea... that might be acceptable.”
“....Grain tea is alcohol, isn’t
it?”
“W-well, technically, it’s
different. It’s tea!”
“.....”
While Lee Songbaek was
speechless, Namgung Dowi, who had been giggling, slowly lowered his sword. His
gaze remained steady.
‘This is daunting.’
That Extreme Yang Qi felt as though
it would incinerate him at any moment. Yet he had to confront and overcome it.
If things continued as they were,
it would be impossible.
‘In the end, I must surpass
myself.’
A daunting task. Yet it didn’t
feel entirely insurmountable.
After all, he had the support of
these remarkable comrades—individuals unmatched anywhere.
‘Weight and stillness.’
Shaolin’s essence and Zhongnan’s
serenity stood beside him now. If he could infuse even a fraction of their
mastery into his sword....
At that very moment, as Namgung
Dowi grasped a fleeting epiphany—
Whoosh!
An overwhelming surge of
scorching energy erupted, taking advantage of his distracted state.
“Siju!”
“Sogaju-nim!” [young lord]
In an instant, Namgung Dowi’s
eyes snapped open.
A ferocious storm of Blazing Yang Qi Art threatened to
engulf the entire world, and in mere moments, it enveloped Namgung Dowi
completely. [tl note: yeol-yang-gi-gong
열양기공]
❀ ❀ ❀
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