Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 116

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 115. A reunion after a long time, yet the heart is no longer the same as before—3
Han So Yoo fixed her gaze upon Dam Ho. Tears had already welled up in her eyes.
She hadn’t been certain. But watching Dam Ho limp forward, she wondered if it might be him. Yet when that suspicion became reality, she found herself engulfed in profound confusion instead.
“You were alive. But why haven’t you returned to the Hua Shan Sect? Everyone worried about you so much.”
“Really?”
“What?”
“Did everyone really worry?”
……
At Dam Ho’s chilling question, Han So Yoo’s words caught in her throat.
Only then did she perceive it—the gaze with which Dam Ho looked upon her was desperately cold. Not a trace of emotion dwelt within it.
Eyes as numb as if observing a complete stranger with no connection whatsoever. That gaze felt strangely terrifying.
“Cheng.”
“How is Master?”
“Master is well…… and doing fine.”
At Han So Yoo’s answer, Dam Ho gave a nod.
This was the one thing he had most wanted to hear.
For Dam Ho, that was enough.
As long as Master was safe, they would meet someday.
Dam Ho turned and looked toward Eun So Cheong.
“Let’s go.”
“Cheng!”
Suddenly, an angry voice rang out in Dam Ho’s ears.
Dam Ho turned to see Hyun Mu the Zhenren glaring at him.
Hyun Mu’s voice echoed sonorously throughout the Akyang Sword Sect.
“Is your name truly Cheng? Then why do you show no respect to your Master Sect’s esteemed elder?”
Most of the martial artists in the hall nodded in agreement with him.
In the Jianghu, no place held a clearer hierarchy within a sect than anywhere else.
Those of lower rank must show utmost respect to the esteemed elders of their sect. Once a person became a disciple of a school, they could never escape the bonds of hierarchical rank. Even Myeong Gyeong, who was currently regarded as the finest talent of the Hua Shan Sect, had been merely an Outer Disciple twelve years ago—ranked lower even than the Second-generation Disciples.
But when Hyun Gyeom the Zhenren accepted him as a disciple, the situation reversed. He became a First-generation Disciple, and the Second-generation Disciples came to address him as Master.
That was the Jianghu’s hierarchical rank, and the order of the sect.
So it was natural for Hyun Mu to show his displeasure. If Dam Ho truly was a disciple of the Hua Shan Sect, he should have paid his respects first and foremost to Hyun Mu, the esteemed elder of his sect.
Dam Ho’s eyes darkened profoundly.
In that instant, Hyun Mu, who had just shouted with such force, shrank back like a turtle, overtaken by an inexplicable dread.
The gaze with which Dam Ho looked upon Hyun Mu was so pitch-black that not a fragment of any emotion could be found. Yet it was clear beyond doubt that this gaze held no goodwill.
Hyun Mu felt a chill run down his spine.
He had stepped forward boldly at the mention of being a sect disciple, but Dam Ho’s overwhelming presence had made him shrink back without his own awareness.
Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed upon Dam Ho and Hyun Mu.
They remained trapped by the intense impression Dam Ho had just created. They were held in thrall by his lingering presence.
‘A powerhouse…… and a disciple of the Hua Shan Sect at that.’
‘Of course. Only a renowned sect like the Hua Shan could nurture someone like him.’
If Dam Ho were to join the Hua Shan Sect, the devastation would surely be beyond imagination.
While they marveled at the Hua Shan Sect’s hidden strength, they watched the unfolding situation with cautious eyes.
Dam Ho said nothing and continued to stare directly at Hyun Mu. In response, Hyun Mu felt an even greater pressure.
For Hyun Mu, that brief silence felt like an eternity. So he cried out.
“Why do you say nothing? Do you mock the esteemed elder of your Master Sect?”
“A Master Sect……”
At last, Dam Ho opened his lips.
All eyes turned toward him, brimming with anticipation. What followed was enough to throw the entire hall into chaos.
“I may have a Master, but I have no Master Sect.”
“What?”
“He denies the Master Sect.”
Not only Hyun Mu but the entire hall stirred with agitation.
Those present here belonged to the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Clans—the greatest names of the Jianghu.
To them, a Master Sect was an irreplaceable cradle and tomb, a beginning and an end, the sum of all their existence.
To deny one’s Master Sect was something that could never happen. To do so would be to strip oneself of a place to stand in the Jianghu itself.
They looked upon Dam Ho with burning anger.
Hyun Mu’s beard trembled.
“Are you now denying the Hua Shan Sect? After learning Martial Arts from the Hua Shan Sect, how can you say such a thing?”
His anger was genuine.
By Hyun Mu’s values, this was an utterance he could neither understand nor tolerate.
For him, Hua Shan was everything—his entire world. That a mere disciple would dare deny it.
It wasn’t just a desecration of his Master Sect’s dignity; it was tantamount to rejecting the very order that governed Jianghu itself.
“So Hua Shan amuses you, does it? Hua Shan is…….”
“Don’t force your convictions upon me.”
“You dare…….”
“Hua Shan abandoned me.”
“What do you…….”
“You don’t understand.”
Dam Ho’s voice had gone as cold as his gaze—so chilling that Hyun Mu could find no words to press further.
Instead, the memory of twelve years past rose unbidden in his mind.
After returning from beyond the mountains, his elder brother Hyun So had withdrawn into seclusion, while Myeong Gyeong and Cho Yeon Woon had fallen silent.
Though the elders of Hua Shan had pressed them with questions, they offered nothing—not a word. So the circumstances of that day remained shrouded in mystery.
‘What could have happened that day?’
Dam Ho watched Hyun Mu as he wrestled with the question, and something like mockery played at the corner of his mouth.
“Curious?”
“…….”
“Then ask him.”
Dam Ho’s gaze turned toward Cheong Heo, who stood alone and adrift. The moment their eyes met, Cheong Heo’s body went rigid.
Of all those present when Dam Ho appeared, Cheong Heo alone bore the greatest shock—for he alone knew the truth of that day.
Among all the masters gathered there, not a single one lacked skill, yet only he had abandoned Dam Ho, desperate to save his own wretched life.
That memory haunted him as shame. Though he’d acted to save his disciple Yeon So Ha, conscience offered no reprieve.
Even now, he sometimes dreamed of Dam Ho left alone, buried alive—a nightmare that refused to fade.
All eyes turned toward Cheong Heo. Yet he could not speak freely.
To reveal that day would tarnish not only Hua Shan’s honor, but Wudang and Songshan as well.
So Cheong Heo pressed his lips shut. But Dam Ho was unsurprised by his silence.
“I expected as much.”
“…….”
Dam Ho turned away.
There was nothing left for him here.
He no longer cared how they regarded him. Twelve years ago, when he’d been cut off from the world alone, he’d ceased to care about the gaze of others.
It mattered not how the world saw him. Their words were wind.
They were they, and he was he.
Those ignorant of the truth—Hyun Mu and the disciples of Hua Shan—could only hold their silence. But not all were bound by such restraint.
“To deny your Master Sect! You are clearly a heretic of the Outside Way.”
Jin Do Gyeong, an elder of Songshan, voice rising with fury.
He took great pride in Songshan and was rigid in his convictions.
Though it was not a matter of his own sect, seeing Dam Ho deny his Master Sect kindled an anger he could not suppress.
Dam Ho’s words amounted to a rejection not merely of Hua Shan but of the entire hierarchical order of Jianghu.
“There is no place in Jianghu for one who denies his Master Sect.”
“No matter how wrong a Master Sect may be, how can a disciple speak of denial?”
Several voices rose in accord with Jin Do Gyeong’s words.
As their voices swelled, the hall became a stage for his denunciation.
Jin Do Gyeong stepped forward, his finger jabbing the air.
“If you have any sense, you will kneel before your Master Sect’s elders and beg forgiveness. That alone might—cough!”
Crack!
In an instant, Dam Ho’s fist drove into Jin Do Gyeong’s mouth.
Teeth shattered. Lips were crushed.
Jin Do Gyeong collapsed in place, both hands pressed to his mouth, his face slick with blood and tears.
“Elder!”
The disciples of Songshan rushed forward like madmen.
Bang!
In that instant, Dam Ho’s fist drove into the Blue Stone floor.
Crash-boom!
Centered on his fist, the Blue Stone erupted outward.
Concentric waves of overwhelming force rippled in all directions, scattering shards of stone.
It was as though a Lightning Bomb had detonated.
“Gah!”
“Ugh!”
The disciples of Songshan were caught by the stone fragments and the shock wave, tumbling ignominiously in every direction.
Dam Ho did not even glance at them.
His gaze fixed entirely on one person: Jin Do Gyeong.
Jin Do Gyeong’s face contorted with pain and shame. He had never expected Dam Ho to throw a punch at his face without warning.
He lunged toward Dam Ho. But in that instant, their eyes met directly.
A shudder ran through him.
Every hair on his body stood on end.
‘If I move, I die.’
The thought struck him suddenly.
Only then did he recall that Dam Ho had single-handedly slaughtered the Golden Horse Lions and Blood Refining Ghosts that they had struggled so fiercely against.
This meant he was facing someone against whom even their combined assault offered no guarantee of victory.
He had done nothing but provoke such a being. He was fortunate to have kept his life.
His pride lay shattered on the ground, and humiliation washed over him like a tide. Yet he could not move.
Any movement now would mean certain death.
It was not mere premonition but absolute certainty. That was why he could not move.
Dam Ho opened his mouth, regarding Jin Do Gyeong.
“Open your mouth once more. Next time, I’ll tear your head clean off.”
A strangled sound escaped him.
Jin Do Gyeong’s head shrank down like a turtle’s, all his own volition gone.
Though Jin Do Gyeong’s honor and that of the Songshan Sect lay in ruins, those watching could not laugh. The reality of his plight felt all too close to home.
Dam Ho rose to his feet.
The gaze of countless eyes turned toward him.
Some glowed with contempt; others burned with fear.
One thing was certain: hardly any looked upon him with favor.
Only Eun So Cheong, Cho Yeon Woon, and Hae So Wol offered him even the slightest look of goodwill.
Dam Ho turned his gaze toward Hyun Mu.
Hyun Mu flinched visibly.
He had just witnessed with his own eyes what befell Jin Do Gyeong, an elder of the Songshan Sect.
Conventional understanding held no sway with this man.
His origins in the Hua Shan Sect, the hierarchical framework of Jianghu itself—none of it could bind him.
The only remaining possibility lay with Dam Ho’s master, Hyun So. Yet Hyun So had scarcely shown his face in nearly a decade.
For now, there existed no method to compel Dam Ho—not unless he chose to bow his head of his own accord.
In that moment, Dam Ho made his declaration.
“My name is Dam Ho. I am one who walks alone. I am a free spirit, bound to no sect.”
His cry rang out across the Akyang Sword Sect with crystalline clarity.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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