Fist Demon of Mount Hua - Chapter 83

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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 82. Some things cannot be forgotten, no matter how many years pass—1
Hyeol Lin Sal Mak had made itself the tyrant of Shin Kang. They possessed power that befitted such a claim, and there were few in Shin Kang bold or strong enough to challenge their stronghold.
Hyeol Lin Sal Mak possessed a rough yet freewheeling atmosphere all its own. Much of this stemmed from the profound influence of Shim Su Myeong, the organization’s master.
Shim Su Myeong reigned as the absolute authority of Hyeol Lin Sal Mak, yet he never coerced his subordinates. Instead, he granted them considerable freedom and made them follow him by their own will.
That climate of liberty had shaped Hyeol Lin Sal Mak into what it was.
Shim Su Myeong, the absolute master of Hyeol Lin Sal Mak, sat in his quarters gazing at the wall. More precisely, he gazed at a single blade hanging upon it.
“The Jeok Sung.”
It was the final bequest of the Blood Fiend and the treasure that En Ha Seong, master of Seo Cheon San Jang, had so desperately desired.
The Jeok Sung, dimmed since En Ha Seong’s death. Shim Su Myeong stared at it with penetrating intensity, and in his eyes burned a hunger that could not be hidden.
‘I want that blade. I want to wield that blade as I please.’
When he first brought the Jeok Sung here, he harbored no particular greed. He had merely hung it in his chamber as a monument to victory and to discourage others from coveting it.
But as the saying goes, seeing objects arouses greed. Each day he gazed upon the Jeok Sung, and before long, the poison of covetousness had begun to seep into his heart.
“Damn it!”
Shim Su Myeong cursed and rose from his seat.
“Aagh!”
“We’re under attack!”
Suddenly shouts erupted from outside, accompanied by the clash of weapons. In an instant, Shim Su Myeong’s face went pale.
“Who are they?”
He rushed to the window and gazed out. Hundreds of martial artists had breached Hyeol Lin Sal Mak’s defenses.
Warriors clad in helms tinged with blue light and armor of the same color. They rode massive warhorses and wielded spears that shimmered with azure radiance.
Thrust! Thrust!
“Aaagh!”
With each thrust of their spears, Hyeol Lin Sal Mak’s fighters fell screaming.
Though Hyeol Lin Sal Mak’s warriors fought with all their might, the fundamental disparity in strength was simply too great.
The invaders showed no urgency. They moved slowly, deliberately, methodically slaughtering Hyeol Lin Sal Mak’s defenders.
At their vanguard stood a man of towering build—a physique like a moving boulder, matched by an equally colossal warhorse.
Whoosh!
“Aaagh!”
Each time he swung his enormous spear, Hyeol Lin Sal Mak’s fighters were split in two and cast to the ground. He wielded that gigantic weapon as though it were a blade.
As he swung the spear, blue Spear Qi rippled through the air—a shimmering mirage that looked like the ghosts of hell itself.
Merely witnessing him brought cold shivers down one’s spine. It was clear at a glance that he was the leader.
Then the leader’s eyes turned toward Shim Su Myeong’s position. In that instant, Shim Su Myeong understood—he could never match this man’s strength.
His very soul trembled with fear, issuing a warning that his mind could not deny.
Clatter-clatter!
The leader turned his horse toward Shim Su Myeong’s location. Shim Su Myeong seized the Hyeol Lin Blade and prepared to rush out.
At that moment the door burst open, and Shim Ok and Heuk No tumbled in.
“Father!”
“Master!”
The wounds covering their bodies spoke to the ferocity of the battle they had just endured.
Shim Su Myeong quickly examined Shim Ok from head to foot. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. What about you?”
“No time for long explanations. Get out of Hyeol Lin Sal Mak now. Go to the study and push on the third bookshelf—a secret passage will reveal itself. Escape through there.”
“I can’t do that.”
“This is no time for stubbornness.”
“No! I’m going to fight with you, Father!”
“Ahhh.”
Shim Su Myeong sighed and turned to Heuk No.
“Heuk No!”
“Yes, Master!”
“I’m entrusting my daughter to you.”
“Father! What do you mean—Ah!”
In that instant, Shim Ok lost consciousness. Shim Su Myeong had struck one of her pressure points.
“Master?”
“Take her and go. I don’t know who they are, but we cannot possibly stand against them. Go now. Please, protect my daughter well.”
“Understood, Master!”
“Hurry.”
“Yes!”
Heuk No, carrying the unconscious Shim Ok, fled the chamber.
Bang!

Immediately after, the entire wall crumbled away. The leader of the attackers then revealed himself.
“Hiyah!”
Shim Su Myeong wasted no time, launching a strike directly at him.
Screech!
A crimson Sword Qi erupted from the Hyeol Lin Do, shooting toward the leader. But the man in blue armor brushed aside Shim Su Myeong’s assault with a casual flourish of his spear.
“Raagh!”
Shim Su Myeong swung the Hyeol Lin Do again and again, pouring every supreme form the blade could manifest into his relentless assault.
“Die, you monster!”
Shim Su Myeong had no idea why these men were attacking Hyeol Lin Sal Mak. He knew he was outmatched, but that didn’t mean he could simply sit back and accept slaughter.
No matter which form he unleashed, the leader parried with ease.
Snap!
The leader’s spear shot forward like a serpent, piercing clean through Shim Su Myeong’s shoulder and tearing through the wall behind him in one motion.
“Khack!”
Shim Su Myeong cried out, blood pouring from his lips.
The man’s lips moved beneath the visor of his helmet.
“Not without skill. But your momentum falls short.”
“Who are you to commit such slaughter within Hyeol Lin Sal Mak?”
The leader did not answer. Instead, his gaze fixed on the Jeok Seong hanging upon the wall.
“I received my orders. Find the Jeok Seong and bring it back.”
“You came for the Jeok Sung?”
“Treasures beyond one’s station invite calamity. A blade like that is not fit for a warrior of your caliber.”
“Massacre upon massacre for a single sword? Do you fear nothing—not even Heaven itself?”
“Hah! A man of Gang Ho place his faith in Heaven? That’s rich.”
The leader let out a bitter laugh.
The killing intent woven into his voice sent ice through Shim Su Myeong’s veins.
The leader extended his hand. At once, both the Jeok Sung and the Hyeol Ma True Scripture hanging on the wall were drawn toward him.
Shim Su Myeong’s face went ashen as he witnessed the sight.
“Im… impossible. The Void-Grasping Technique?”
The leader was wielding that ultimate technique—one said to be achievable only by masters whose Internal Energy had transcended the mortal limit—as though it were nothing.
Shim Su Myeong now understood: this man was far more formidable than he had ever imagined.
“W-who… who are you?”
“Who knows!”
A cruel smile played at the man’s lips.
Crackle, crack, crack!
In that instant, a series of small explosions detonated within Shim Su Myeong’s body. The leader had infused his Internal Energy into the spear lodged through Shim Su Myeong’s form.
First the smaller meridians ruptured, then the major ones. His body convulsed as if countless firecrackers were detonating from within.
“Aaahhhhh!”
Shim Su Myeong’s scream tore from his throat in pure agony.
Blood streamed from his eyes and ears. Every opening in his body erupted like a fountain, crimson spraying in all directions.
Thus ended the final moments of Shim Su Myeong, the Master of Hyeol Lin Sal Mak.
Only then did the leader finally sheathe his spear.
“Pathetic. For all the fuss about him being a Tyrant of Shin Kang Seong, I scarcely felt challenged.”
The leader turned away.
The massacre that had raged through Hyeol Lin Sal Mak was already complete.
Only the men in blue armor—his own troops—remained among the living. Not a single soul of Hyeol Lin Sal Mak had survived.
“Casualties?”
“Two hundred Blue Qi Soldiers, all accounted for. However…”
“What is it?”
“It appears someone escaped. We found a secret passage behind the study.”
“Send trackers. It’s not time to reveal ourselves yet.”
“Understood.”
“The rest of you, return to base.”
“Yes, sir!”
The leader turned and departed from Hyeol Lin Sal Mak.
In his wake, the fortress reeked of nothing but death.
＊＊＊
En So Cheong exhaled as she surveyed the devastation of the fifth floor of Cheon Ha Je Il Ru. It looked as though a tempest had swept through. In truth, a tempest by the name of Dam Ho had destroyed everything in its path.
Faced with crisis, her maternal uncle Shim U Won had displayed remarkable cunning. He had bought the silence of every guest in the building with coin, and put in place multiple layers of safeguards to ensure their absolute discretion.
The moment anyone whispered a word of what happened here, everything they possessed would crumble to dust.
“Sigh.”
En So Cheong exhaled a sigh that seemed far too weary for her years. Jong Li Su watched her in silence, his own thoughts equally tangled.
“Silver Blade.”
“Yes?”
“What do you think would happen if you fought that man?”
…….
“Do you think you could win?”
“That’s…….”
Jong Li Su hesitated.
En So Cheong nodded as if she’d expected nothing less from his pause.
“My uncle couldn’t move an inch against him. The master of the Ui Seon Mun—one of the Honan Five Great Sects. In other words, even the Five Great Sects of Honan wouldn’t stand a chance against that man.”
“That’s…….”
“He’s truly terrifying.”
Though Jong Li Su offered no reply, his heart aligned with En So Cheong’s words.
‘No—it’s more than just terrifying. The sheer destructive force he commands is beyond imagination itself.’
He’d slain a disciple before the master of the Ui Seon Mun and left no trace of consequence. Ordinary martial artists wouldn’t dare dream of such a thing.
“You said his name was Shim Kang Blood-Saint? Have you ever heard of him?”
“I apologize.”
“Well, you’ve been away from the martial world traveling with me. Look into this man when you have the chance.”
“Understood.”
“Sigh—why must everything be so complicated? We only met because Jin Gyeong’s food was delicious.”
En So Cheong heaved another sigh.
Though she bore the title of only daughter to the En Ga Bo—the most influential power in Honan—she remained nothing more than a young girl.
Then it came.
“Why are you sighing like that?”
“Huh?”
A crisp voice rang out suddenly.
En So Cheong turned her head toward the stairs.
“You’ll cave the floor in.”
“Sister?”
En So Cheong’s frown melted into a radiant smile as if she’d never been wearing one at all.
A woman of striking appearance was ascending the staircase.
She wore a leopard-hide vest across her upper body and form-fitting leather trousers below. Her tawny skin and luminous smile evoked the image of a wild mare galloping freely across an open plain.
“Sister!”
En So Cheong threw open both arms to greet the woman.
The woman’s fresh smile deepened.
“It’s been too long.”
“Hwang Hye Ryeong.”
The woman’s name was Hwang Hye Ryeong—one of the few people En So Cheong trusted most. And the one she had arranged to meet here today.

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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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