Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 71

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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 71. Strong Enough to Walk Alone—2
No one spoke. Perhaps they could not.
They could not believe what lay before their eyes. Rather, they did not wish to believe it. Yet believe they must, for it was happening right in front of them.
“Insane…….”
Someone uttered the word, then quickly fell silent. But no one blamed him. Though unspoken, they all felt the same.
The First Disciple of the Gongdong Sect, a member of Gumuryong, lay in ruins at their feet.
From the moment the fight began until Nam Hak’s complete devastation, mere moments had elapsed.
In that brief span, heaven and earth had been overturned.
At least, it felt that way to everyone present.
Gulp.
Someone swallowed hard.
“Senior brother!”
“Are you all right?”
The Gongdong Sect fighters, at last regaining their senses, rushed forward to help Nam Hak to his feet.
“How dare you! To strike down our brother.”
“We will not forgive this.”
The Gongdong fighters glared at Dam Ho, their eyes burning with enmity.
Dam Ho watched them without the faintest flicker of expression. He had never expected them to stand idle.
Having served in the Hua Shan Sect, Dam Ho understood better than most the arrogance—nearly approaching madness—that characterized the Nine Great Sects.
They forgive nothing that threatens their dominion. Not even another member of the Nine Great Sects itself.
The current peace held only because the strength among the Nine Great Sects remained balanced. Had one faction grown overwhelmingly stronger, the peace of the Gang Ho would have shattered long ago.
How this would end, even Dam Ho could not say.
He did not know how things had come to this pass, yet he was resolved to see it through to the bitter end. Even if that end was his own death.
For the first time, emotion kindled in Dam Ho’s eyes.
It bore the name of Madness.
Khk!
The Gongdong fighters’ faces turned ashen in the face of Dam Ho’s frenzy and killing intent. Yet they did not retreat.
Then it came.
“Everyone, stop.”
A faint voice froze the Gongdong fighters in place. It was Nam Hak who had spoken.
“Senior brother!”
“Are you all right?”
The Gongdong fighters hurried to lift Nam Hak into their arms.
Nam Hak coughed as they held him. Blood came with it.
“Senior brother?”
“I’m…… all right.”
Nam Hak forced the words out.
Had the Wan Lei Sim Gong not protected his internal organs at the final moment, his vital channels would have burst and he would have died on the spot.
But he had barely survived, clinging desperately to his fading consciousness. There was still something he had to do.
He struggled to his feet. He accepted no help from the Gongdong fighters. That was his last shred of pride.
Rising with great effort, Nam Hak fixed his gaze upon Dam Ho.
“I have lost. My defeat. As promised, no one here will question your actions.”
“…….”
“Though I burn with the hunger for victory, I am no coward. So I beg you—do not make me one.”
The last words were directed at the Gongdong fighters.
At their senior brother’s words, the Gongdong fighters swallowed their grief and nodded.
“Yes!”
“Senior brother!”
Nam Hak’s gaze returned to Dam Ho.
Dam Ho stood motionless, his eyes fixed upon Nam Hak. Cloaked entirely in black, Dam Ho resembled a demon.
“I am defeated, but the Gongdong Sect is not. When I master the Wan Lei technique, I will challenge you again. Will you accept my challenge?”
“Anytime!”
Dam Ho thought Nam Hak was a man of honor. Though arrogant and blinded by prejudice, he was a man who stood by his word.
That was why Dam Ho had spared his life.
Nam Hak performed the fist salute toward Dam Ho.
“Thank you.”
“…….”
“May I ask your name now? What is it?”
“Dam Ho! My name is Dam Ho.”
“I will carve your name deep into my bones, Dam Ho.”
Dam Ho nodded slightly.
At that, Nam Hak broke into a faint smile before his body crumpled to the ground. He had lost consciousness.
“Senior!”
The martial artists of the Gongdong Sect rushed to support Nam Hak’s limp frame.
Dam Ho turned away as though there was nothing more to witness. For just an instant, he favored one leg slightly.
In that moment, one of the martial artists muttered aloud.
“A martial artist with a limp—the same as he who destroyed Seo Cheon San Jang…… Could it be the Blood Star of Shin Kang?”
“Heavens! The Blood Star of Shin Kang? Was the legend from beyond the borders truly real?”
The color drained from everyone’s faces.
The blood-red star of Shin Kang had descended upon the Central Lands. The crimson star was already staining the world with blood.
Dam Ho turned to leave. Yet no one stepped forward to stop him. They were all overwhelmed by the sheer presence of this one man.
Yi Shin Pung’s jaw muscles twitched visibly.
He wanted to say something to Dam Ho, but he lacked the courage to speak.
‘Where does such a man come from……’
His face had been stripped of honor. The only consolation was that Nam Hak of the Gongdong Sect shared in his humiliation.
“Senior!”
Bang Jin Bo followed after Dam Ho.
The assembled warlords watched the two figures recede into the distance, their expressions hollow with shock.
Had any martial artist in the history of the Central Lands ever made such a dramatic entrance? Assuredly, none.
Dam Ho had appeared suddenly in Gansu Province one day, showering blood like rain, and vanished just as abruptly as he had come.
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The Yangtze River was commonly called the lifeblood of the Central Lands. This vast river, born in Qinghai, carved through the heart of the world, nurturing countless lives and civilizations in its wake.
The river was too wide and too deep to be called merely a waterway, and thus great ships could navigate it with some regularity. Among them were enormous vessels capable of carrying several hundred souls at once—ships known as the Yunma Do Gang Ship. These were the very vessels that now plied the waters.
A ship bearing both horses and men cut smoothly through the rough swells of the Yangtze, living up to its name.
The deck of the Yunma Do Gang Ship was crowded with people. Most were merchants traveling the upper and lower reaches of the river, though several martial artists were also visible among the throng.
The Yunma Do Gang Ship was pulling into a dock near the entrance of Hu Bei Province. A considerable number of people waited at the pier, hoping to board.
At last, as the Yunma Do Gang Ship came to anchor, a great ramp was lowered.
“Those departing first, please. Everyone, maintain order.”
A middle-aged dock worker called out in a loud voice.
Many people disembarked following the worker’s directions. First came the passengers, then the horses and carts.
Dozens of people and animals had left, yet the empty spaces filled quickly. Those waiting at the pier surged aboard the Yunma Do Gang Ship.
“Don’t push, if you please.”
“There’s space here.”
The deck soon filled with the sound of voices and footsteps.
People gathered in small groups according to their acquaintances. These clusters ranged from pairs to dozens.
The largest gathering stood near the stern on the open deck. Some thirty men in uniform dress had assembled there.
One of them held aloft a substantial flag.
Seondo Pyo Guk.
One of the mid-sized escort houses based in Seondo County of Hu Bei Province. It was known as a promising operation in the region, with nearly a hundred escort agents under its banner.
Half of Seondo Pyo Guk’s hundred-strong force—some fifty agents—had been assigned to this crucial escort mission. Yet their faces bore no trace of tension or worry.
They were in Hu Bei Province.
This was the stronghold of the Wudang Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects, and also the territory of the Jegal Family, one of the Five Great Families.
Beyond that, numerous righteous sects had established themselves here. There was no room for bandits seeking to prey on escort goods, and even should any exist, they possessed the strength to repel them with confidence.
Geum Jong Gyeong was the head escort officer responsible for this mission. Though he stood barely five feet in height, his shoulders were broad and his eyes sharp. Those meeting him for the first time often found themselves awed by his commanding presence.
His strength lay not merely in appearance. Though nominally second to the house master, Geum Jong Gyeong’s martial skill surpassed that of Deung Il Cheong himself.
With house master Deung Il Cheong now advanced in years, Geum Jong Gyeong had become the true force guiding Seondo Pyo Guk. The loyalty his agents showed him was correspondingly deep.
Geum Jong Gyeong spoke to his subordinates.
“Don’t grow careless just because we’ve boarded the Yunma Do Gang Ship. You never know when trouble might strike.”
“Have no concern, head officer. With all of us keeping our eyes sharp, what could possibly happen?”
“That’s right.”
Geum Jong Gyeong smiled warmly at the agents’ words.
“I know. Still, we must always be fully prepared.”
“Of course.”
“Leave the watch to us, and do rest yourself for a time, head officer.”
“Very well!”
Though he spoke such words, Geum Jong Gyeong did not let his guard slip. Twenty years of habit was written too deeply into his bones to ever fade.
The agents, knowing his near-obsessive nature, pressed him no further. Instead, they turned to their own conversations with enthusiasm.
“Just five more days and we’ll reach Dongting Lake? Time truly flies.”
“Indeed it does. Still, traveling on the Yunma Do Gang Ship is so comfortable and pleasant. If every escort mission were like this, I’d have no regrets.”
“As if such things were ever in our control?”
“Who doesn’t know that? I’m just saying what I think. Besides, who gets to dream on their own terms if not us?”
“True enough.”
Smiles bloomed on the escorts’ faces.
They were on the return leg from a journey that had taken them all the way to Sichuan Province. The Tang Sect, a prestigious school in Sichuan, had been their destination.
Geum Jong Gyeong thought the mission would end once they delivered the escort goods to the Tang Sect. But to his surprise, the Tang Sect had proposed that they transport the goods all the way to Hu Nan Province.
As the head of Seondo Pyo Guk, Geum Jong Gyeong had no reason to refuse. Yueyang in Hu Nan Province, their delivery destination, lay not far from Seondo County, the heart of his operation.
“By the way, have you heard the rumors circulating in Gansu Province?”
“What rumors are you referring to?”
“This fellow’s completely in the dark. Imagine not hearing such an enormous rumor.”
“What rumors are you referring to?”
It was Jang Sam who’d posed the question—a man known throughout Seondo Pyo Guk as an information broker. During escort runs, he made a habit of mixing freely with the others, and his ear for gossip had sharpened as a result.
All eyes turned to Jang Sam with keen anticipation. He seemed pleased by their eager attention and launched into his account with a rather self-satisfied air.
“There’s been a bloodbath in Gansu Province.”
“A bloodbath? What do you mean by that?”
“You all know of Hongyam San Jang, don’t you? Isn’t it the most powerful sect in the northern reaches of Gansu?”
“Of course.”
“Well, not long ago, Yi Shin Pung, the master of Hongyam San Jang, was hosting his sixtieth-birthday celebration when one man reduced the entire place to ruins.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“It’s the truth. Which is why Gansu is in an uproar right now. The first to provoke him was Jwa Sang Cheon, the foremost disciple of the Hyun Hyun Moon—and he was left a cripple. But that’s not all. Jang Hak Gyeong, a renowned merchant from the Daehwa Merchant Group in Gansu, fell to him. So did Jo Gyeong, the head of Yunyang Moo Gwan, and Mo Jung Hyun.”
“Is that truly what happened?”
Once he saw he had their interest, Jang Sam grew animated and began to recite all the rumors flying through Gansu. When many of his listeners wore expressions of doubt, he thumped his chest in exasperation.
“I’m telling you it’s true. Before he came to the Central Lands, this man single-handedly destroyed Seo Cheon San Jang in Shin Kang. He was branded with the byname ‘Blood Star of Shin Kang’ because of it.”
“Incredible. Hard to believe.”
“Just how fearsome he is—even Nam Hak, the foremost disciple of the Gongdong Sect and a member of the Gumuryong, was forced to submit to him. They say this man is a heartless killer, someone who will not forgive even the slightest affront.”
“But if Nam Hak, one of the Gumuryong, suffered at his hands, surely the Gongdong Sect wouldn’t sit idle?”
“Nam Hak declared, on his own honor, that the Gongdong Sect would remain uninvolved. So they have no choice but to simmer in their frustration and watch from afar.”
“If what you say is true, a major power has emerged in the Central Lands. Tell us more about this man.”
Spurred on by their encouragement, Jang Sam warmed to his subject and continued.
“Now, there’s a rumor that the Blood Star of Shin Kang is actually crippled.”
“That makes no sense. A martial master of such caliber, and he’s disabled?”
“I’m telling you it’s true. I—”
Geum Jong Gyeong let Jang Sam’s words drift past like wind, his gaze sweeping across the deck. Not that he felt no curiosity about the Blood Star of Shin Kang, but the safety of the escort goods mattered far more.
“Hmm?”
A peculiar pair of men suddenly caught his attention.
There was a man in a black robe whose face bore no expression, and beside him, a plump boy who wore a constant smile as he gazed cheerfully around at everything.

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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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