Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 2

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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 2. Spring Comes to Hua Shan as Well—2
Spring on Hua Shan, with its blade-sharp peaks, carried fragrance. The thick scent of plum blossoms drifted on the wind. Now, across the mountain, plum trees burst into bloom all at once.
Dam Ho walked through the fragrance of plum blossoms. With each step, it seemed petals descended upon him.
Dam Ho paused and looked around.
On all sides, plum blossoms filled the world. Each blooming tree displayed its own brilliant beauty.
Dam Ho reached out his hand. As if by magic, a plum blossom petal rode the wind and came to rest in his palm. He gazed at it for a long moment.
In spring, the plum blossoms reach their peak on Hua Shan. Because of this, when people thought of the Hua Shan Sect, they thought of plums. Perhaps for that reason, the Hua Shan Sect possessed many martial arts that incorporated plum imagery.
The Plum Blossom Fist and the Twenty-Four Moves Plum Blossom Sword were prime examples.
Because of this, a prejudice had taken root—that the martial arts of the Hua Shan Sect were light and flamboyant. In reality, a considerable portion of the sect’s techniques did fit that description.
The wind blew again, carrying away the petal from Dam Ho’s palm. He reached out to catch it, but the petal slipped gently through his fingers.
Dam Ho clenched his fist.
To him, the martial arts of the Hua Shan Sect were like that petal. Always seeming within reach, yet never quite grasped.
Dam Ho shook his head and continued on.
After a long walk, he arrived at the Tai Ping Palace.
Among all the sharp, treacherous terrain of Hua Shan, the Tai Ping Palace occupied the one truly spacious plateau.
Modeled after the Thirty-Six Heavens of the celestial realm, the Tai Ping Palace was immense. All major and minor matters of the Hua Shan Sect were conducted here, and the disciples trained their martial arts here as well.
In the Training Ground, many practitioners were engaged in their forms. Their appearances varied greatly, as did their ages.
The youngest appeared to be around twelve, while the oldest looked to be in his mid-twenties.
“Hah! Hah!”
Constant shouts burst from their mouths, sweat streaming down their faces without pause.
Those practicing the Crouching Tiger Fist—the most fundamental of the Hua Shan Sect’s martial arts—were Outer Disciples. A single figure barked at them with a voice like a roaring tiger.
“When you deliver a strike, put true power behind it! Drive it forth as a tiger emerges from its cave—use every muscle in your body to its fullest.”
“Yes!”
The disciples responding to his resonant, commanding voice answered as one.
“Transition from Crouching Tiger Emerges from Cave into Great Tiger Emerges to the World.”
“Yes!”
With their acknowledgment, the forms of the Outer Disciples shifted. A fierce and violent momentum erupted—as of a tiger bursting from its den into the world.
Dam Ho paused to watch their practice.
The instructor overseeing the Outer Disciples was Jin Gyeong, a First-generation Disciple of the Hua Shan Sect and acknowledged master of the Plum Blossom Fist.
Though ordinarily of pleasant temperament, when teaching martial arts he became utterly ruthless, so the Outer Disciples had given him the unwelcome nickname “the Poison-Hearted Asura.”
Jin Gyeong, in the midst of instructing the disciples, suddenly waved toward Dam Ho.
“Tian Jing.”
The martial artist who had radiated killing intent moments before vanished entirely, replaced by a man wearing a good-natured smile. Dam Ho gave a slight bow.
Tian Jing—the Daoist Name he had received in the Hua Shan Sect.
It had been three years since receiving it, and it still felt unnatural. Like wearing someone else’s clothes—nothing but uncomfortable.
Yet Dam Ho revealed none of this, simply approaching Jin Gyeong.
“What brings you here? Come to see your senior?”
“I was on my way to the Young Treasure Palace.”
“The Young Treasure Palace?”
Jin Gyeong’s eyes lit with interest.
The Young Treasure Palace held the texts in which all the Hua Shan Sect’s martial arts were recorded. As one of the sect’s most vital locations, it was heavily guarded, and entry was granted only to those of exceptional rank.
Outer Disciples were of course forbidden entry. Among the Inner Disciples, only those of First-generation status and above could pass through.
Though he was Jin Gyeong’s junior in generation, Dam Ho too held the rank of First-generation Disciple, so entry was naturally permitted him. Yet in truth, the Young Treasure Palace contained few martial texts of real value. Most of its collection consisted of Daoist scriptures.
The true Supreme Techniques of the Hua Shan Sect could not be learned from books. Experience and enlightenment that cannot be conveyed in mere words must be transmitted through direct instruction alone.
The Hua Shan Sect, once one of the Nine Great Sects and thriving in its prime, had experienced a severe decline when it lost all its masters of the previous generation at once.
Now the sect was gradually recovering some of its former glory, yet it remained far short of its peak. The shortage was simple: there were not enough skilled masters capable of proper instruction.
Above all, Hyun So—the Master who had taken Dam Ho as a disciple—had for some reason never cultivated martial arts. He was the only Taoist Scholar in all of Hua Shan.
When he announced that he would take Dam Ho as his disciple, everyone objected.
What the current Hua Shan Sect needed was powerful martial artists. What could a Taoist Scholar who studied texts possibly teach? He would have no genuine martial arts to transmit.
Yet the other elders had no spare attention to devote to this disciple either. Moreover, Dam Ho possessed a fatal flaw for martial training.
Hyun So had accepted Dam Ho as his disciple despite all opposition. Because of Hyun So’s rank as an elder of the sect, Dam Ho had become a First-generation Inner Disciple—but paradoxically, this became the greatest obstacle to receiving martial instruction. The elders who had opposed his acceptance refused to teach him.
“You work hard indeed. Persevere like that, and surely one day you will break through your limitations.”
Jin Gyeong’s gaze drifted, almost unconsciously, toward Dam Ho’s left leg.
A fatal flaw for any martial artist. All disciples within the Hua Shan Sect knew this truth.
For all his words, Jin Gyeong harbored no real belief that Dam Ho could overcome such a weakness. The martial arts of the Hua Shan Sect were not something a cripple could master.
Dam Ho perceived the pity in Jin Gyeong’s eyes. But he revealed nothing of his awareness, simply bowing his head.
“I’ll take my leave now and head to the Young Treasure Palace.”
“Go ahead. Work well.”
Dam Ho passed by Jin Gyeong and headed toward the rear of the Tai Ping Palace.
“That cripple is a First-generation Disciple of the Hua Shan Sect?”
“With a body like that, can he even deploy martial arts properly?”
The Outer Disciples muttered behind his back.
“How dare anyone chatter during training?”
At Jin Gyeong’s sharp rebuke, the Outer Disciples sealed their lips as tightly as clams. But their voices had already reached Dam Ho’s ears.
Still, Dam Ho did not break stride. He had heard such talk countless times before, and these stares were familiar. His heart was not weak enough to be shaken by so little.
He passed Tai Ping Palace and arrived at Young Treasure Palace.
Though it appeared unremarkable at first glance, Young Treasure Palace’s entrance held a sophisticated mechanism. No one could enter without the martial masters guarding Young Treasure Palace disarming it.
The Master of Young Treasure Palace was Hyun Mu, whose Daoist Name was the same, and he was the senior brother of Hyun So and one of the elders of the Hua Shan Sect. The martial masters guarding Young Treasure Palace were first-generation and second-generation disciples who had studied under Hyun Mu.
Jong Gyeong, a first-generation disciple, recognized Dam Ho.
“You’ve come again today.”
“Senior brother.”
“Are you going into Young Treasure Palace?”
“Yes!”
“You’re quite persistent. Go on in.”
“Thank you.”
Dam Ho bowed respectfully and entered Young Treasure Palace. Jong Gyeong then disarmed the mechanism himself.
Inside Young Treasure Palace, bookshelves lined with volumes stretched across the space. There were not only texts containing the martial arts of the Hua Shan Sect, but also a diverse collection of general works.
Though Young Treasure Palace was sealed on all sides, soft light filtered in from somewhere, making it possible to read the texts without difficulty.
Dam Ho’s fingers traced the spines of books on the shelves. Young Treasure Palace supposedly contained all the martial arts texts of the Hua Shan Sect, yet the collection was smaller than one might expect. A great calamity decades past had destroyed a considerable number of them.
He had come here countless times since then. So much so that he could tell, eyes closed, exactly where each volume was shelved.
Click.
A worn volume caught on Dam Ho’s finger. Without hesitation, he drew it out.
Bamboo Leaf Hand.
That was what was written on the aged cover.
The Bamboo Leaf Hand was one of the most fundamental hand techniques of the Hua Shan Sect, alongside the Crouching Tiger Fist and the Six Harmonies Fist. Because of this, it was mainly passed down to Outer Disciples. It was not martial arts fitting for a first-generation disciple like Dam Ho to study. And yet, Dam Ho could not tear his eyes from the text describing the Bamboo Leaf Hand.
The Bamboo Leaf Hand comprised three major forms.
Bamboo Leaf Cuts Sky.
Flying Leaf Thousand Miles.
Leaf Pierces the Sun.
Despite their grand names, each form was simple yet devastatingly efficient.
Dam Ho fixed his gaze on the page and, with his free hand, began to demonstrate the forms of the Bamboo Leaf Hand.
Whoosh!
A series of thrusting, sweeping, flicking, and drawing motions flowed without interruption. The air in Young Treasure Palace rippled at his movements.
Dam Ho executed the Bamboo Leaf Hand freely even in the narrow space between shelves. After completing the forms from beginning to end, he fell into contemplation while studying the text again.
‘The Bamboo Leaf Hand is certainly swift. But it lacks weight, and without reaching a certain level of mastery, it cannot deliver true power. That is its weakness.’
Of course, once one reached the higher realms of the Bamboo Leaf Hand, it could strike with force equal to a great hammer. It was said that among the Taoist masters of old, some had cleaved great boulders in two using only the Bamboo Leaf Hand.
But those days were long past. Now the disciples of the Hua Shan Sect regarded the Bamboo Leaf Hand as merely a passing study and did not delve deeply into it.
Had Dam Ho’s legs been intact, he would never have become so fixated on the Bamboo Leaf Hand.
The Bamboo Leaf Hand was one of the rare Hua Shan techniques that required no separate footwork study. For someone like Dam Ho, who could not properly learn true footwork or movement methods, it was the optimal choice.
The forms and techniques already burned into his mind, Dam Ho pursued them with relentless intensity. Even in the darkness, his eyes glowed with a keen, cutting light.
This was his gaze, already considerably tempered. When he had first arrived at Hua Shan, his eyes had blazed with nothing but venom. His poisoned gaze had been so fierce that even the elders of the Hua Shan Sect had shaken their heads in dismay.
Five years had passed. In that time, Dam Ho had grown older. His gaze, too, had become far more composed than before. This was why people believed he had been greatly reformed.
But they were mistaken. Dam Ho had not been reformed at all. He had simply grown patient enough to conceal the light in his eyes.
Dam Ho felt the beast that lay dormant within him.
A creature of endless ferocity and cruelty breathed in unison with him. That beast waited only for the day when Dam Ho would set it free.
Restraining the beast that dwelt within, Dam Ho reached for another volume.
Crouching Tiger Fist.
This was the fist technique being practiced by the Outer Disciples now training in the Training Ground of Tai Ping Palace. As one of the foundational martial arts of the Hua Shan Sect, it possessed simple forms like the Bamboo Leaf Hand, yet carried tremendous power.
This time too, Dam Ho held the text in one hand and demonstrated the Crouching Tiger Fist with the other.
Boom!
The air burst apart from the punch, though no Internal Energy had been channeled into it.
It was a fast, crisp strike, yet one weighted with considerable force.
The Crouching Tiger Fist was among the martial arts that had existed since the very founding of the Hua Shan Sect. When the sect first established itself on Hua Shan in the distant past, the Crouching Tiger Fist was already there, and it had walked through history alongside the sect.
But as time passed, techniques of supreme power far exceeding the Crouching Tiger Fist were created in numbers beyond counting.
Eventually, like the Bamboo Leaf Hand, the Crouching Tiger Fist fell to the status of a basic technique that only Outer Disciples studied. Everyone regarded it as merely a stepping stone to higher arts and did not master it deeply. Even the elders of the sect did not.
But Dam Ho pursued the Crouching Tiger Fist with relentless focus. The deeper his understanding grew, the more a single question troubled him.
‘The Free Wandering Heart Method is not suited to studying the Crouching Tiger Fist.’
The Free Wandering Heart Method was a basic Heart Method studied alongside the Bamboo Leaf Hand, the Crouching Tiger Fist, and the Six Harmonies Fist. Outer Disciples first had to master the Free Wandering Heart Method before they could even begin the Crouching Tiger Fist and its companions.
The Free Wandering Heart Method was indeed an excellent Internal Energy technique. It was stable enough and accommodated the acceptance of higher Heart Methods without difficulty.
Because of this, it was suited to disciples of low achievement and beginners, but it did not harmonize well with the Crouching Tiger Fist or the Bamboo Leaf Hand.
‘Why in the world?’
Everyone had progressed as naturally as expected, learning the Free Wandering Heart Method first, then moving on to the Bamboo Leaf Hand and Crouching Tiger Fist. But Dam Ho harbored doubts.
The question that had begun gnawing at him weeks ago only grew larger as time passed, like a rolling snowball.
Dam Ho lost all sense of time, consumed by the study of Crouching Tiger Fist.
Though countless uncertainties crowded his mind, his hands moved with a sharpness beyond reproach as he executed the form.
And so Dam Ho’s days slipped away, one after another.

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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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