Chapter 1854 – Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1854. I don’t see myself that way. (4) ❀ ❀ ❀

Flinch.

Tang Soso instinctively took a step back.

‘Monk?’

The aura radiating from Hye Yeon far exceeded what she could have imagined.

Tang Soso had never once considered it—never imagined that Hye Yeon, of all people, could emit such a fierce and violent energy.

Perhaps she, and everyone else, had been far too complacent?

Shaolin had been thoroughly trampled under Jang Ilso’s feet. And in the process, Hye Yeon had lost people who were like family to him.

He was a monk trained to control and suppress his emotions—someone who would grieve for others before himself. That’s why it hadn’t shown. But that didn’t mean the sorrow and resentment buried in Hye Yeon’s heart were any less than others’.

And now, those hidden emotions were erupting. Even the greatest of the world—Jang Ilso paused before this presence.

“Hmph. Shaolin, is it…”

A gentle curve formed in Jang Ilso’s eyes.

“Is there really anything worth seeing? They’re all fools, every last one of them.”

Despite the blatant provocation, Hye Yeon's expression didn’t change. Jang Ilso scoffed dismissively, then casually stepped forward.

At that moment—

Taaaaang!

With a sound like a taut piece of leather snapping at its limit, a thunderous strike hurtled toward Jang Ilso’s face. The speed was unimaginable—Jang Ilso twisted his head in surprise.

Whoosh!

The strike narrowly grazed the side of his head. His disheveled hair floated in the air, then slowly settled again.

A trace of seriousness crept into Jang Ilso’s eyes.

“Hye Yeon, was it?”

“……”

“You’re not quite what I heard.”

Sensing a growing wariness inside himself, Jang Ilso slowly licked his lower lip.

It was strange. That monk was already near exhaustion. Even if he wasn’t, he shouldn’t be able to match Jang Ilso. Even Hye Yeon's masters had been thoroughly crushed by him.

Unless the Hye Yeon standing before him could somehow transcend time and disparity with talent alone, he should not pose a threat to Jang Ilso.

And yet, Jang Ilso didn’t lower his guard.

‘Rare, but they do exist.’

Those who casually defy the logic of the world.

Jang Ilso’s instincts were telling him: the person before him was one of them.

“If you won’t come…”

Grip.

Hye Yeon clenched his fist. The hardened calluses rubbed together with a sound like grinding steel, making Tang Soso’s hair stand on end.

“…then I will.”

Kung!

As soon as the words left his mouth, Hye Yeon disappeared like a puff of smoke and instantly reappeared in front of Jang Ilso.

Perfect execution of advanced movement technique. Yet, the motion carried no perceptible force. His inner energy control had reached such a level of perfection that not a single ounce was wasted.

Before Jang Ilso could even react, Hye Yeon’s fist, glowing with golden light, flew toward the center of his chest.

Fwoosh!

Jang Ilso quickly raised a hand cloaked in blue flames to block the incoming punch.

Kuung!

At the moment their fists collided, Jang Ilso’s eyes widened.

An unexpected force pressed against him. It wasn’t a destructive blow, but a heavy, driving power that pushed.

Thud.

Jang Ilso involuntarily stepped back with both feet. And Hye Yeon, as if he had anticipated this, immediately followed up, footwork flowing seamlessly.

Paat!

Jang Ilso instinctively raised an arm to block a punch aimed at his face. The bracelets around his wrist flared with energy as they met Hye Yeon’s strike.

Taang!

Then suddenly, Hye Yeon’s clenched fist opened. The bottom of his palm landed a heavy blow on Jang Ilso’s forearm. [jangta, 장타(掌打: Lower part of the palm)].

Jang Ilso’s expression twisted in pain from the dull ache radiating from his arm.

Fwooshshsh!

He lifted his left hand and brought it down fiercely. The hand, wrapped in blue flame, looked like it could split Hye Yeon in two.

Tuung.

But just before it landed, Hye Yeon subtly pushed the inside of Jang Ilso’s knee outward with his own. With his balance disrupted, Jang Ilso’s attack barely grazed Hye Yeon’s head. Hye Yeon seized the moment and unleashed a rapid barrage of strikes.

Kung! Kung! Kung! Kung!

In mere instants, Hye Yeon’s fists clashed repeatedly with Jang Ilso’s palms.

Each impact caused Jang Ilso’s body to sway slightly.

‘This bastard..…’

Jang Ilso’s gaze turned fierce.

Fwoooosh!

The blue flames surrounding him flared violently, exuding an overwhelming aura. The fire surged like it was alive, rushing toward Hye Yeon.

“Amitabha.”

From Hye Yeon’s body, an equally powerful golden light burst forth in response.

Supreme Great Ability. A manifestation of Buddhist law rooted in pure inner strength from the Tendon Transformation Classic. The golden energy swept away the blue flames in an instant. [musang dae neung ryeog, 무상대능력(無上大能力). Note: It’s classified as an upper level technique among the 72 ultimate techniques of Shaolin, and it is so difficult that only a few people in the history of Shaolin have mastered it. It is said to be a technique that was only passed down as a legend. In ch 529, Hye Yeon uses this as tension to subdue the demon cult.]

Their energies collided, neither side yielding an inch. Amidst the clash, their strikes toward each other never ceased.

Thud!

But then, one of Jang Ilso’s hands was slightly pushed back after clashing with Hye Yeon’s punch.

Just about an inch. Too small to decide anything significant—but for Hye Yeon, it was more than enough.

Thump.

He quickly stepped forward. His shoulder drove into Jang Ilso’s solar plexus with force.

But at that moment, Jang Ilso kicked at Hye Yeon’s knee.

CRACK!

The sound alone was enough to make one’s hair stand on end. But Hye Yeon didn’t retreat an inch—he barreled straight into Jang Ilso’s chest.

Kuung!

A crash like a boulder falling from a cliff rang out, and Jang Ilso was sent flying backward.

“Haaaaah!”

Without missing a beat, Hye Yeon advanced and unleashed the Hundred-Step Divine Fist straight at Jang Ilso’s chest.

“Ugh.”

Jang Ilso swiftly crossed his arms. His bracelets clinked as they absorbed the incoming blow.

Fwooshshshs!

The energies collided, sending waves of force in all directions.

Jang Ilso’s hair, blown back by the gust, slowly settled again. Disheveled, he silently lowered his gaze.

Marks left on the ground—none other than traces left by Jang Ilso as he retreated.

The same Jang Ilso who once easily toyed with even the abbot of Shaolin was now retreating against this young monk.

“Amitabha.”

At that moment, Hye Yeon’s voice rang out with a Buddhist chant.

Though he clearly showed signs of fatigue, his large, clear eyes shone with a clarity that felt almost overwhelming.

“Shaolin’s fist is not weak. An evil cultivator is just an evil cultivator. One cannot overcome the righteous path.”

“….Ha.”

A hollow laugh escaped Jang Ilso’s lips.

“This is why righteous sect bastards are so annoying…”

His irritation flared.

Compared to this monk, Jang Ilso lacked nothing. The inner strength behind his attacks was overwhelming, and his mastery of energy manipulation far surpassed the monk’s.

Yet he had been pushed back. Something unthinkable was happening to him.

What made it worse—he had no real reason to feel wronged.

It was heavy because it was weighty. Unlike the flashy, flamboyant techniques of the evil sects, Hye Yeon’s fist pursued nothing but the righteous path.

Heavy and resolute.

That's why it couldn't match evil sect’s explosive power, but because of that…

‘It can’t be stopped’

How could you stop a freight cart filled to the brim charging down a steep slope?

Would swinging a sword or flailing your limbs stop it? Would a great explosion deflect it?

No, it was impossible. That’s the nature of weight. It proceeds unwaveringly in the direction it’s set, unaffected by outside forces.

This young monk’s martial art contained the very essence of weight. The most fundamental of fundamentals. The very core of orthodox martial arts that no one had ever dared to display before Jang Ilso.

“Tch.”

Jang Ilso clicked his tongue.

Was this monk really this powerful? He wondered if he had overlooked the monk’s presence somehow—but quickly dismissed the thought.

‘No way.’

Moments like this existed—when a person’s power suddenly surged, not due to changes in physical ability, but from breaking free of mental constraints.

The moment when one escapes the shackles of human perception and becomes infinitely free. [gwan nyeom, 관념(觀念)]

Jang Ilso calmly studied Hye Yeon.

“In Buddhism… they call it ‘casting off the shell’?” [talgak, 탈각(脫殼)]

Well, in fact, it didn’t matter what it is.

Whether this was a fleeting moment or a sign of things to come, only one thing mattered to Jang Ilso—the monk had become dangerously powerful.

Shaolin’s Hye Yeon, once called the greatest genius of the past hundred years, and whom Cheong Myeong himself said was beyond compare in talent—even to him—was now truly blooming.

Squeeze.

Meanwhile, Hye Yeon clenched his fist tightly again.

The feeling was truly strange.

He was clearly exhausted, yet he brimmed with energy. Everything in the world felt incredibly vivid, yet distant and hazy at the same time.

A sensation he had never experienced before. Yet strangely, it felt familiar and natural—like this was the world he had always lived in.

He didn’t quite know what it was, but one thing was certain:

‘I don’t think I can lose.’

He felt a certainty that everything he had built up until now had been to reach this very moment.

On the foundation of Shaolin’s martial arts, he had added the freedom of Mount Hua’s teachings.

All of it, woven together in a world of upheaval, had finally fused into one within Hye Yeon’s body.

He gently suppressed the rising euphoria with unwavering stillness. Then, Hye Yeon focused solely on Jang Ilso.

“Taaaaahm!”

Once again, Hye Yeon’s fist shot forward with heavy force.

Arhat Divine Fist. [아라한신권(阿羅漢神拳)]

A fist technique wielding an irresistible power, like the might of Buddha vanquishing Mara.

An overwhelming force came crashing down upon Jang Ilso. The blue flames surrounding his body trembled dangerously as if standing before a storm.

“Heup!”

Jang Ilso gritted his teeth and tried to retreat.

But Hye Yeon didn’t let go. Just as before, he used the advanced movement technique and instantly appeared right before Jang Ilso again.

“Hmph!”

But at that moment, Jang Ilso’s bracelets jingled and suddenly soared into the air.

Paaaah!

More than a dozen bracelets hovered in the air for a moment, then all shot toward a single point—exactly where Hye Yeon had just appeared. It was an attack that would’ve been impossible without the absolute certainty that Hye Yeon would show up there.

There was no place for Hye Yeon to escape. With the tide seemingly turning, Jang Ilso’s face twisted cruelly.

Wooooong.

Then it happened.

Even as the bracelets charged at him, each carrying crushing power enough to shatter bones with a touch, Hye Yeon showed no urgency. He slowly raised one hand in a half-palm gesture. The odd action left even Jang Ilso briefly stunned.

Then, Hye Yeon’s body split into nine forms.

‘What?’

Jang Ilso’s eyes widened.

Nine-Lotus Stance. [연대구품(蓮臺九品)]

Among Shaolin’s 72 ultimate techniques, this one was known as the most difficult and refined. So rare that even in Shaolin’s long history, those who mastered it could be counted on one hand. Now, that legendary technique revealed itself here.

Nine Hye Yeons. Hye Yeons, each in a different pose like nine sacred Buddha statues, surrounded Jang Ilso.

“Amitabha.”

One of them thrust the Vajra Mudra directly into Jang Ilso’s chest. [금강인(金剛印)]

Kuuuuung!

With a massive impact, Jang Ilso was flung far back. Blood spewed from his mouth, tracing a rainbow arc through the air.

Next Chapter

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