Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 7

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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 7. The Disciple Gazes Upon the Master, and the Master Comforts the Disciple—Part One
Seom Gyeong was the victor in the first match.
Seom Gyeong neutralized Won Gyeong’s Seven Star Sword Technique by employing the Plum Blossom Falling Scattered form from the Plum Blossom Fist.
After the two had finished their bout, Hyeon Geom Jin In offered no particular comment and proceeded directly to the next match.
Winners and losers were divided, fortunes shifted in opposite directions.
The victors were elated at the prospect of inheriting the heart-method of Hyeon Geom Jin In; the defeated hung their heads. A strange fervor filled Jin Mu Palace.
The hunger for victory, the yearning to grow stronger—these sentiments began to erode reason itself. Even Mu Gyeong, who was not directly participating in the matches, felt the heat shimmer in his eyes.
Dam Ho’s brows drew together.
In five years at the Hua Shan Sect, he had never known such an unusual atmosphere. The Hua Shan Sect was fundamentally a Martial Faction, though it was also a Daoist School. Because of this, a tranquil mood had always prevailed—yet now the opposite was true. The air itself burned hot.
‘Did you intend this? This kind of atmosphere?’
Dam Ho turned his gaze toward Hyeon Geom Jin In, who stood at one edge of the training ground.
Contrary to the almost frenzied air that surrounded them, Hyeon Geom Jin In remained as composed as he had been from the start.
Whether Hyeon Geom Jin In sensed Dam Ho’s stare or by mere chance, their eyes met—and in that instant, Dam Ho felt as though his eyes were being bored through by an awl. He staggered slightly, but he did not look away.
Something flashed across Hyeon Geom Jin In’s gaze at Dam Ho’s reaction. But it lasted only a moment; soon after, Hyeon Geom Jin In shifted his attention back to the training ground.
On the ground, Han So Yu was locked in combat with another senior disciple.
The Twenty-Four Hand Plum Blossom Sword unfurled from her hands. With each movement of her pale, ice-like fingers, plum blossoms seemed to bloom in the empty air itself. By contrast, her opponent flinched and retreated continuously, pressed backward step by step.
Even to Dam Ho, who knew little of the plum blossom style, it was clear that her forms were both beautiful and devastatingly efficient.
“Ah!”
Gasps and exclamations rippled across the crowd. Yet Hyeon Geom Jin In frowned slightly, as if displeased by something. Most of the onlookers, however, were too absorbed in Han So Yu’s performance to notice.
Slash!
Only after Han So Yu’s blade had shredded the front of her opponent’s robe did the match finally end. The defeated disciple stared at the long, ragged tear across his chest.
Had the blade cut only two fingers’ breadth deeper, he would not have lived to tell of it.
“Senior, I am grateful that you showed restraint.”
“You fought well too.”
The two exchanged the customary courtesies and returned to their places.
Dam Ho watched Han So Yu, flushed with exertion, as she took her place beside Mu Gyeong.
‘Senior’s Twenty-Four Hand Plum Blossom Sword is truly remarkable. To weave the forms so brilliantly like that…’
Almost no one else in the sect could deploy the Twenty-Four Hand Plum Blossom Sword in such a manner. She lacked the raw strength of a man, and this was her solution to that constraint.
The same martial art could yield vastly different power depending on what insight one gained and how one applied it.
Though far from perfect, Han So Yu was forging her own path with the plum blossom blade.
Dam Ho was impressed by her skill, which exceeded what he had vaguely assumed. Yet he felt no envy. He believed that though his own progress was slow, one day he too would reach such heights.
Then he heard Hyeon Geom Jin In’s voice.
“Next are Su Gyeong and Dam Ho.”
At the sound of his name, Dam Ho looked up.
Su Gyeong was among the most formidable of the senior disciples. His character was resolute and forthright to the point of bluntness, and many of the junior disciples feared him greatly.
Dam Ho walked to the training ground. Hyeon Geom Jin In’s brows furrowed as he watched him go—for he could see Dam Ho favoring one leg, limping ever so slightly.
Dam Ho took a boxing stance facing Su Gyeong.
“Senior.”
“Of all people, I have to face you.”
Su Gyeong’s expression twisted into a grimace.
Su Gyeong’s true wish was to face a worthy opponent and display his prowess to Hyeon Geom Jin In. Defeating a cripple would be no accomplishment worth boasting of.
Su Gyeong glanced toward Hyeon Geom Jin In—a look that asked silently whether he might withdraw from the match. But before Hyeon Geom Jin In could answer, he stepped forward and approached Dam Ho directly.
“Dam Ho.”
“Yes.”
“You are the disciple that Hyeon So took in, I understand.”
“That is correct.”
“Hmm.”
Hyeon Geom Jin In’s gaze grew colder, harder.
Dam Ho’s eyes also turned flinty. No further words passed between them, yet he could feel plainly that Hyeon Geom Jin In viewed him with disfavor.
“You may withdraw.”
……
“Did you not hear me? Go back.”
“Might I… ask the reason why?”
“Do you truly not know?”
“I do not.”
Hyeon Geom Jin In seemed to find Dam Ho’s reply audacious. A chill began to gather in his gaze. Dam Ho felt the weight of that coldness, yet he did not flinch.
Hyeon Geom Jin In stared at Dam Ho for a long moment, then clicked his tongue.
“You have some backbone, at least. A man ought to be thus. But you possess a grave disqualification as a martial artist.”
“Is it because of my leg?”
“It is.”
The expected response made Dam Ho’s pupils waver. On the one hand, he couldn’t hide his disappointment. He’d thought that the Hua Shan Sect’s finest master would possess a vision unlike the others, yet there was no difference between Hyeon Geom Jin In and anyone else.
“My sword is not something a cripple can master so easily.”
Hyeon Geom Jin In’s voice carried an arrogant pride in his own blade. But Dam Ho’s chest was being torn apart.
Dam Ho’s eyes snapped wide open.
“I too am a first-generation disciple of the Hua Shan Sect.”
“If you are a student of Hyeon So, then you should walk Hyeon So’s path. If you walk that path, you too will earn the respect of scholars just as he has.”
“Are you telling me to abandon martial arts now?”
“Are you not already experiencing your own limits? All this time, you’ve surely struggled in every way to overcome your physical constraints?”
Hyeon Geom Jin In’s gaze turned toward Dam Ho’s legs. Though concealed by cloth, his right leg was noticeably thicker than those of the other disciples.
None of Hua Shan’s disciples possessed a right leg like Dam Ho’s. One could see how fiercely he had trained and conditioned himself. Yet compared to that, his left leg was withered.
“But no matter how much you train, you can never overcome such a grave imbalance of the body. You will never be able to enter the Realm of Ascension. Rather than waste further effort beyond this point, you would do better to find another path early. That is the only advice I can offer you.”
“That cannot be.”
Hyeon Geom Jin In’s brow furrowed at Dam Ho’s resolute reply.
An ordinary person would have quailed at the mere sight of that gaze, yet Dam Ho did not yield. Such unshakeable courage pleased him, but accepting a disciple to inherit his teachings demanded a coldness of an altogether different order.
“You will not back down?”
“At the very least, I wish to receive the same opportunity as the others.”
“Very well. If that is truly your will……”
Hyeon Geom Jin In’s anger flared at Dam Ho’s stubbornness.
He stepped backward and spoke to Su Gyeong.
“Fight him.”
“But……”
“Make that child understand reality. It will be for his own good.”
“I……understand.”
At Hyeon Geom Jin In’s firm voice, Su Gyeong nodded reluctantly.
Su Gyeong raised his fist toward Dam Ho.
“Student, do not harbor resentment against me.”
It was the opening stance of the Five Elements Altered Form Fist, one of the Hua Shan Sect’s absolute techniques.
Because the power was deployed according to the principles of the Five Elements, it was not easy to master, but once perfected, it possessed such tremendous force that a single punch could shatter a massive boulder in an instant.
Dam Ho drew a deep breath and assumed the opening stance of the Bamboo Leaf Hand. It was the martial art he had studied longest. Though its power could not compare to the Five Elements Altered Form Fist, Dam Ho trusted in his Bamboo Leaf Hand.
Han So Yu’s face went pale as she watched the two of them.
“Will it be all right? Shouldn’t we stop this? Bamboo Leaf Hand can never match the Five Elements Altered Form Fist.”
“This is the decision of Hyeon Geom Jin In himself. No one can overturn his decision.”
Mu Gyeong’s expression was grave as well. But there was nothing he could realistically do.
Hyeon Geom Jin In was a figure of such stature that even Hyeon Cheon Jin In, the sect leader, could not act carelessly toward him. There was no possibility that Mu Gyeong could overturn such a man’s decision.
Un Gyeong added his voice.
“Hyeon Geom Jin In’s decision is correct. It is time Dam Ho understood reality, even now.”
“Brother?”
“How much longer will you let him dream? Think again on what truly serves Dam Ho.”
At Un Gyeong’s cold words, Han So Yu bit her lip tightly.
In that moment, Su Gyeong and Dam Ho collided.
Crack!
Their hands met in impact.
The first-generation disciples’ eyes widened in surprise. Contrary to their expectation that Dam Ho would be sent flying in a single exchange, he had managed to deflect the Five Elements Altered Form Fist quite skillfully.
“Was Dam Ho at this level?”
“The Bamboo Leaf Hand holding its own against the Five Elements Altered Form Fist.”
They murmured in evident astonishment.
The most shocked was Su Gyeong, who faced Dam Ho directly. The rebound force he felt from Dam Ho’s hands was no ordinary thing.
The fact that Dam Ho could stand against his Five Elements Altered Form Fist using only the Bamboo Leaf Hand, the Hua Shan Sect’s most basic martial art, was both surprising and wounding to his pride.
‘How dare he!’
Su Gyeong’s eyebrows shot upward.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
His hands moved faster still. The air seemed to fill entirely with his fists. It was the Wood Overcomes Earth Kill, one of the Five Elements Altered Form Fist’s killing techniques.
Like the principle that wood energy devours and slays earth, this form was brimming with the Wood essence.
“Ugh!”
The impact transmitted through his hands drew a low groan from Dam Ho. Yet somehow he did not fall back.
Su Gyeong’s techniques were dazzling beyond measure. By contrast, Dam Ho’s Bamboo Leaf Hand was very simple. But it was solid. As solid as his unwavering will.
‘I am not wrong.’
Dam Ho clenched his teeth.
He wanted to prove that even with legs that worked against him, there was no problem in executing martial arts.
Thud!
In that instant, Su Gyeong’s fist struck Dam Ho’s ribs with full force. The impact knocked the breath from him, and his face contorted in pain. Yet even in that moment, Dam Ho deployed the Bamboo Leaf Hand, driving Su Gyeong back with a palm strike to his chest.
Thud!
Su Gyeong’s expression shifted. The blow had carried little Internal Power, so the impact itself was negligible—but he hadn’t expected Dam Ho to land even a single strike against him. The realization unsettled him.
Boom!
Suddenly Dam Ho’s momentum changed. He shed the lightness of his earlier movements and became heavy, grounded. He had switched from the Bamboo Leaf Hand to the Recovery Tiger Fist.
Pivoting his left foot as an axis, Dam Ho drove his right leg forward with tremendous power and unleashed a devastating punch.
Crack!
Dam Ho’s fist landed squarely on Su Gyeong’s forearm. The impact bloomed instantly—Su Gyeong’s forearm swelled before his eyes. He had taken damage from a strike he hadn’t anticipated.
Su Gyeong’s face darkened. His eyes flicked sideways. He caught sight of Hyeon Geom Jin In’s unmistakable disapproval. If he fell out of favor now, his chance to become a disciple would slip away forever.
‘Damn it. I didn’t want to resort to this, but……’
Su Gyeong’s movements transformed.
Like plum blossoms scattering on the wind—his footwork became elusive and impossible to track. It was the Plum Blossom Step.
Su Gyeong began to circle Dam Ho’s body. Dam Ho anchored himself with his left foot, keeping his frame rooted to the ground and focusing on defense. But he was outmatched against Su Gyeong’s Plum Blossom Step.
Advance and retreat, advance and retreat—the pattern repeated endlessly. Su Gyeong’s unpredictable movement threw Dam Ho’s balance into disarray. Su Gyeong seized every opening, however brief, and struck.
The Fire Overcomes Metal Kill—a move born of fire overcoming metal—erupted against Dam Ho’s chest.
Crash!
Dam Ho’s body flew backward through the air.

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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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