Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 132

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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 131. The threads of enmity twist only tighter—3
Namgoong Soo was hurled backward, blood streaming from his mouth.
“Gah!”
The impact that tore through his entire body rattled his organs. Still, he kept his life.
It was thanks to the warriors of the Namgoong Clan who threw themselves before him.
Three Namgoong Clan warriors lay mangled in front of him—they had taken Dam Ho’s Breaking Star Hammer in his stead.
“Stop him!”
The Namgoong Clan warriors threw their bodies forward.
Their hatred for Dam Ho had already reached its peak; they hurled themselves forward without a thought for their own lives.
It was the fuse that lit the powder keg.
“Kill him!”
The warriors of the Murim Alliance surged toward Dam Ho in unison.
Like wolves descending on prey, they swarmed forward.
A space ruled by madness and killing intent.
Dam Ho stood at its center.
Hwang Hye Ryeong on his back, Muk Il Gwang braced against his side.
Muk Il Gwang had long since lost consciousness.
Dam Ho hurled Muk Il Gwang toward the enemies charging from the front.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
“Gack!”
The warriors who collided with Muk Il Gwang’s massive body shrieked and fell.
The hall descended into pandemonium in an instant.
It was only the beginning.
Two axes now hung from Dam Ho’s hands—Muk Il Gwang’s weapons.
Dam Ho hurled one of the axes toward the front.
Whoosh!
The great axe spun viciously through the air, sweeping through the charging enemies.
“Ahhhhh!”
Cries of anguish echoed through the hall.
The axe in Dam Ho’s other hand flew toward the opposite side.
Crack! Splinter! Slash!
The sound of flesh tearing and bone breaking tore through the air.
“Madman!”
Namgoong Soo shuddered at the sight.
It was like a tiger loosed among a flock of sheep.
A starving tiger was slaughtering the lambs without mercy.
Blood sprayed from every corner; screams of the dying filled the hall.
Namgoong Soo turned and tried to flee.
He could bear no more fear.
‘I will never face him again.’
He swore it to himself over and over.
In that moment, his neck went cold.
‘It’s him.’
No one had told him, and he hadn’t seen—but instinct screamed the truth.
His premonition was right. Dam Ho now occupied the space directly behind him.
Namgoong Soo spun like lightning, unleashing the Heavenly Thunder Finger, the secret art of the Namgoong Clan.
Fierce fingering force tore toward Dam Ho’s forehead, but he merely tilted his head slightly and slipped past the attack, closing the distance to Namgoong Soo’s chest in a heartbeat.
Their eyes met. Hot breath laden with killing intent and blood’s coppery taste washed over him.
He had no time to feel revulsion.
Crack!
Instead, savage agony exploded in his chest.
Dam Ho’s fist had buried itself there.
It had shattered bone and driven deep—deep enough that Dam Ho’s wrist felt the flutter of his heart.
“Aargh!”
Namgoong Soo coughed blood.
More than the pain, Dam Ho’s unfeeling gaze sent him into convulsions.
Burst!
The heart clenched in Dam Ho’s hand ruptured.
The light of life faded from Namgoong Soo’s eyes—yet paradoxically, in that dying gaze was a glimmer of relief.
‘I don’t need to fear you anymore. Come find me if you dare, even to the depths of hell itself.’
That was the last thought Namgoong Soo held while still alive.
Namgoong Soo’s body crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.
With Cheong Gu the Zhenren fallen, and now Namgoong Soo as well, the Murim Alliance warriors lost their bearings and descended into chaos.
In that moment, Dam Ho launched himself forward.
He flew straight into the heart of the warlords’ gathering.
“Huh?”
A man stood there with his mouth agape, clearly too terrified to attempt escape.
“Enjoying yourself?”
“W-what are you talking about?”
The man’s voice trembled as he spoke. Dam Ho’s eyes gleamed with a savage intensity.
“I’ve been wondering since the beginning. Who keeps stirring them up like this?”
The warlords’ frenzy had not ignited of its own accord. Someone hiding in the shadows had been fanning the flames at every critical moment.
The man stumbled backward, retreating step by step.
Terror blazed unmistakably in his eyes.
The man’s name was Gong So Choo.
He was a trusted subordinate of Gwak Geo Cheol, the vice-master of the Black Water Faction.
He had been hidden among the Murim Alliance warriors all this time, inciting them—all part of a scheme to use their strength to kill Hwang Hye Ryeong.
At first, everything had unfolded according to their design.
Unaware they were being used, the Murim Alliance warriors threw themselves into attacking Muk Il Gwang and Hwang Hye Ryeong with fierce enthusiasm.
It had seemed almost too easy—striking without lifting a finger.
‘But who could have foreseen this monster would step into the fray?’
A single man—Dam Ho—had destroyed all their careful plans.
The logic of Jianghu meant nothing to him. The Martial Code held no sway over him.
Countless warriors were instead being tossed about by that one man, reduced to panic and flight.
A smile crept across Dam Ho’s lips as he regarded Gong So Choo.
“So it was you.”
Years had passed, yet certain faces remained seared into his memory with perfect clarity. Gong So Choo was one of them.
The instant Gong So Choo saw that smile, a chill seized his entire body.
“Y-you know me?”
“It seems you don’t remember.”
Gong So Choo racked his mind at Dam Ho’s words, but no matter how hard he tried, the memory would not surface. He dismissed it as nonsense. If he had ever met someone like Dam Ho even once, he would surely have remembered. How could he forget someone radiating such overwhelming presence?
How could anyone forget such an intense existence?
Dam Ho spoke again.
“You didn’t act alone. Who sent you? Who gave you the orders?”
“W-what are you talking about? No one ordered me to do anything.”
Gong So Choo hastily protested.
“Was it Jo Yun San?”
“H-how did you—”
Crack!
The moment Gong So Choo’s eyes widened, Dam Ho’s fist struck him hard in the abdomen.
“Glaaaaagh!”
Hunched over, Gong So Choo vomited up everything he’d eaten that morning.
His abdomen felt like it was tearing apart; he could barely breathe.
Dam Ho seized Gong So Choo by the nape of his neck and began to move. Gong So Choo’s body went limp, dragged along like a corpse.
“Aaaghh!”
Many stood nearby, yet none dared to stand against Dam Ho.
To their eyes, Dam Ho was not human.
No human could do what he was doing.
“Glaaaaagh!”
Some pressed their heads to the ground, retching violently. They did not dare to meet Dam Ho’s gaze.
Dam Ho hooked the sprawling Muk Il Gwang under one arm.
He carried Hwang Hye Ryeong on his back and held a man in each of his arms as he leaped away.
Dam Ho’s figure vanished in an instant. Yet no one attempted to pursue.
Bang!
Namgoong Chang surged to his feet.
His face had turned ashen.
“Say it again. What did you just tell me?”
“It was…….”
The Namgoong Clan warrior who had come to deliver the report faltered.
“Quickly!”
“Young Master Namgoong Soo has… passed away.”
“That’s absurd…….”
Namgoong Chang’s shoulders trembled violently. Yet he soon collected himself and asked, “Where is his body?”
“Outside, sir.”
Namgoong Chang kicked open the door and strode out.
In the courtyard beyond the Great Hall, the warriors of the Namgoong Clan stood arrayed in solemn lines. In the center lay a form shrouded in white cloth.
“Surely not…?”
Namgoong Chang moved forward on unsteady feet.
The white cloth was stained dark with blood. With trembling hands, he lifted it away. There beneath lay Namgoong Soo.
His skull was crushed halfway through, his eyes wide and staring. Etched across his face was the terror he must have felt in his final moment—terror that death itself had failed to erase.
“H-how? Who could have done this?”
“The Demon of Authority…….”
“The Demon of Authority? You mean Dam Ho? But why on earth would he—?”
“That is…….”
The warrior explained in detail everything that had transpired.
As Namgoong Chang listened to the account, he slowly closed his eyes.
‘So it’s come to this.’
His heart began to pound fiercely, his breathing grew shallow. The moment Dam Ho’s name was spoken, a change seized him—a name that had burned itself into his chest like an indelible mark of dread.
“Because of him, dozens of our warriors have been killed or wounded.”
“Where is he now?”
“He has fled Akyang. The entire Murim Alliance is on alert. He has been marked as a public enemy of the Jianghu, and pursuit teams are being assembled as we speak. You are ordered to bring the First Elder at once.”
Namgoong Chang rose abruptly and made his way toward the Murim Alliance’s Great Hall.
His complexion was ashen beyond measure.
‘Because of one man…….’
Namgoong Chang bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.
Everything he and the Namgoong Clan had built was beginning to crumble. If this continued, it could shake the very foundations of the Murim Alliance itself.
He pushed open the doors of the Great Hall and entered. Twenty pairs of eyes turned toward him—every one an elder holding office within the Murim Alliance.
“Welcome, Elder Namgoong.”
“We have been waiting.”
The moment Namgoong Chang took his seat, the assembly convened.
“You have all heard, I trust. This creature called the Demon of Authority has brought shame upon the Murim Alliance’s authority.”
“He must be eliminated without fail, so that the Alliance’s prestige is restored.”
“One mudskipper alone is causing such turmoil. We cannot ignore this any longer.”
The elders spoke with one voice, demanding Dam Ho’s destruction.
Namgoong Chang’s gaze turned toward Hyun Mu, the elder of the Hua Shan Sect.
“What are your thoughts, Zhenren Hyun Mu?”
“Why do you ask me that?”
“Because the Demon of Authority came from the Hua Shan Sect, did he not?”
“He did, in the past.”
“Then you mean to say he is no longer one of you?”
“He rejected the Hua Shan Sect first.”
Hyun Mu’s voice as he answered was as cold as winter frost.
He had not forgotten the humiliation Dam Ho had inflicted upon him.
A disciple who disowned his master?
And in the prestigious Hua Shan, no less.
Hyun Mu could not possibly forgive him.
To accept him would be to deny the Hua Shan Sect itself.
“Then I shall understand the Hua Shan’s position to mean that they have no objection to however we see fit to deal with the Demon of Authority.”
“The Hua Shan Sect is a member of the Murim Alliance. I trust you will remember this.”
“The Alliance appreciates the Hua Shan’s stance.”
Namgoong Chang nodded slowly.
Satisfied smiles bloomed across the faces of the listening elders.
Had the Hua Shan insisted on protecting the Demon of Authority to the end, division might have torn the Alliance asunder.
Cheong Wol, an elder of the Qing Cheng School, rose from his seat.
“Now we must organize the pursuit teams. Before he becomes an even greater threat, he must be eliminated without fail.”
“Agreed!”
The elders voiced their assent to Cheong Wol’s proposal.

Namgoong Chang’s expression darkened.
Of all places, the Murim Alliance had moved. There was no longer a place in the world for the Demon of Authority to stand.
No matter how formidable the Demon of Authority’s martial prowess might be, he could not survive with the entire realm turned against him.
That was the nature of the world, the law of the Jianghu that Namgoong Chang knew.
‘Then why does this unease grip me so?’
A chill swept through him.
He wrapped both arms across his shoulders.

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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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