Namgung Heavenly Demon - Chapter 24

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 24

In the vast Training Ground, Namgung Cheon and Hwangbo Gun stood facing each other at the center.

At the head seats sat Namgung Mugang and the heads of the three families, while below them, members of each clan watched the two men with bated breath.

In one section of the spectator seats, Ak Soyou, the young master of the Shandong Sect, had taken his place.

A streak of red approached him like seeping color.

“You came.”

Without even looking to the side, Ak Soyou familiarly removed his outer robe and handed it over.

A small hand reached out to receive the outer robe.

Beneath the blazing red silk sleeves, hands white as jade were revealed.

Along with a delicately crafted nose and lips red as cherries.

The precious daughter of the Ak family, called the greatest beauty of Shandong.

It was Ak Seolran.

She looked at the outer robe and chuckled softly.

“With all this heat filling the surroundings.”

“Cover yourself.”

Though their words were curt with each other, deep sibling affection was contained within.

Ak Seolran reluctantly pulled her brother’s outer robe over herself and gazed at the Training Ground as she spoke.

“Will it really be alright? I heard that Young Master Hwangbo recently crossed the wall of the transcendent realm…”

Ak Soyou answered quietly without taking his gaze from the Training Ground.

“Hwangbo Gun is strong. They say he mastered the Taishan Boulder Fist faster than anyone in Hwangbo Clan history and reached the sixth level of the Thunderbolt Divine Fist.”

“But then how is Young Master Namgung Cheon…”

Ak Seolran’s words trailed off.

Where her gaze reached, there stood Namgung Cheon, barehanded just like Hwangbo Gun.

Ak Soyou shook his head.

“I cannot understand it either. No matter how renowned Young Master Namgung Cheon has become recently, Hwangbo Gun is an opponent whose victory cannot be guaranteed even when fighting with sword and full strength. Yet why has he abandoned his sword…”

Ak Soyou’s eyes deepened.

“However, it wouldn’t be to lose, so the outcome is also unknowable. He seems to have at least that much sense.”

At his words, Ak Seolran also nodded and turned her gaze back to the Training Ground.

At the center of the Training Ground.

Hwangbo Gun looked at Namgung Cheon with blazing eyes and opened his mouth.

“You carry two swords around, and now it seems you’re eyeing the position of the world’s greatest fist as well. But isn’t it true that excessive greed leads to achieving neither this nor that?”

It was provocation bordering on instigation, but Namgung Cheon only looked at Hwangbo Gun with the same indifferent eyes, making no reply whatsoever.

That terrible composure instead made Hwangbo Gun, who had thrown the provocation, feel awkward.

He cleared his throat unnecessarily and muttered.

“Hmm, quite taciturn, aren’t you.”

The moment Hwangbo Gun closed his mouth and took the starting stance, fully positioning himself.

Clang―!

The gong sound announcing the start of the duel rang out clear and long throughout the entire Training Ground.

Before the gong sound had even finished, Hwangbo Gun’s aura changed.

Internal energy began pouring steadily from his massive frame.

With the Hwangbo clan’s characteristic large build combined with internal energy, a mountain-like pressure bore down on Namgung Cheon.

The surrounding air grew heavy, and most warriors in the spectator seats unconsciously held their breath.

And the moment that energy reached its peak.

Thud―!

Hwangbo Gun kicked off the ground.

Leaving cracks in the blue steel floor, Hwangbo Gun charged forward.

A footwork technique that put weight into each step, encroaching on the opponent’s escape routes and seizing the space itself.

It was the Hwangbo Clan’s Heavenly King Steps.

For a moment, Namgung Cheon felt the illusion that the space surrounding him was being twisted.

‘Suppressing space with footwork alone.’

Hwangbo Gun, who had closed the distance in an instant, launched a heavy straight punch toward Namgung Cheon’s upper body.

Whoosh!

A fist of overwhelming energy.

But Namgung Cheon did not meet it head-on.

Tap tap―.

His feet traced a mysterious trajectory.

It was a footwork only he could perform, combining the steadiness of Cloud Movement Steps with the irregularity of demonic arts.

Whoosh!

Hwangbo Gun’s heavy punch grazed past his body.

Crash!

The missed fist shattered the Training Ground floor with a thunderous roar.

Fragments scattered in all directions, but before touching their bodies, they were deflected by the two men’s auras.

“Quick, aren’t you!”

With that shout, Hwangbo Gun’s fists struck at Namgung Cheon with even more fierce momentum.

Hwangbo Gun’s continued pressure.

However, Namgung Cheon evaded them all by hair’s breadths repeatedly.

After dozens of exchanges, a gleam appeared in Hwangbo Gun’s eyes.

‘He’s only dodging. But…’

He could not underestimate him.

‘He’s perfectly reading all my techniques and variations, deflecting them with minimal movement.’

He even felt like his opponent was toying with his fists.

Though he felt humiliated, Hwangbo Gun immediately regained his composure.

Getting excited before an opponent of this caliber would lead straight to defeat.

In that case.

‘I’ll get closer so he can’t react.’

Thump!

Hwangbo Gun stepped forward, bringing their already close forms even closer together.

Hwangbo Gun’s following strike.

An inescapable distance. A punch that had to be blocked.

At that moment, Namgung Cheon began his first counterattack.

What unfolded from his hands was neither palm nor finger techniques.

Like Hwangbo Gun, it was a tightly clenched fist.

The new martial art obtained from his mental image, Cheoncheon Myriad Forms Style.

He intended to demonstrate this with fists.

‘What’s important in martial arts is not the tool, but the principle and intent.’

If holding a sword, then with sword; if holding a spear, then with spear.

And if holding nothing, then with fists and feet.

Therefore, Cheoncheon Myriad Forms Style was also not bound by form.

Like water changing shape according to its container, it would manifest in the most perfect form suited to the tool being used.

In any case, he currently had no fist techniques he could show before everyone.

Most were either demonic martial arts or ones anyone would recognize.

Therefore.

‘I’ll show them. That even with fists instead of sword, I can unfold Namgung’s sky.’

Namgung Cheon’s fist moved softly.

Cloud Sea Barrier Heaven Fist.

Following the trajectory of Hwangbo Gun’s thrust, Namgung Cheon’s arm moved in a circle, flowing smoothly.

And he naturally deflected the direction of that fierce force.

Simultaneously, with his opposite fist, he lightly tapped Hwangbo Gun’s elbow.

Whoosh―.

Hwangbo Gun’s fist sliced through the air, and his heavy body momentarily lost balance, unable to overcome the force that had flowed away.

“…!”

Hwangbo Gun’s eyes widened greatly.

His hard-style fist techniques that he had refined his entire life were being neutralized by an unheard-of principle of softness.

But he only burned with greater fighting spirit.

“Interesting!”

Forcibly correcting his twisted posture, he instead used that rebound to unleash an even more ferocious series of attacks.

His movements changed.

The heaviness disappeared, and storm-like swift punches poured out continuously.

In response, Namgung Cheon’s fist techniques also transformed.

Thunder Shaking Heaven Fist.

His fist, now devoid of softness, clashed with Hwangbo Gun’s strikes.

Kwarrrrrung―!

Each time fist met fist, a thunderous roar like lightning strikes shook the training ground.

The two figures crossed the training ground at fierce speed, continuing dozens of exchanges.

Bang! Bang!

Fist energy ran wild in all directions, and fragments of shattered blue steel stone flew about.

The fight reached its climax.

At that moment, both realized.

It was time to bring this to an end.

Crack―.

Hwangbo Gun and Namgung Cheon almost simultaneously created distance for their final moves.

Golden fist energy began blazing from both of Hwangbo Gun’s fists.

Kwarrrrrung―!

Just from clenching his fists, thunder rumbled through the air.

The advanced martial art of the Hwangbo Clan that only those who had mastered the Mountain-Moving Fist could learn.

It was the Lightning God Fist.

Facing him, Namgung Cheon also lowered his stance.

The final technique.

For the Moonlight Azure Heaven Fist.

And the next moment.

Two figures shot toward each other.

Golden lightning erupted from Hwangbo Gun’s fist, while Namgung Cheon’s fist carried a cool blue energy like moonlight.

Kwagwagwagwa―!

The blue steel stone of the training ground split apart following their trajectories.

And then.

Stop.

Both men’s fists halted in midair.

Hwangbo Gun’s fist was positioned beneath Namgung Cheon’s chin, while Namgung Cheon’s fist stopped in front of Hwangbo Gun’s chest center, before his vital point.

Only the sharp energy gathered at their fist tips threateningly pierced each other’s skin.

Hwangbo U at the head table barely suppressed his body that had almost risen from his seat without realizing it.

Ak Paesan’s face was also rigid.

The training ground fell silent.

Only the two men’s rough breathing filled the training ground.

And it was Hwangbo Gun who broke that silence.

“Hahaha!”

He laughed heartily and lowered his hand first.

Namgung Cheon also silently lowered his hand.

On the surface, it appeared to be a draw.

But Hwangbo Gun could tell.

Though he had unleashed even his Lightning God Fist, his opponent still had much more to show.

‘Moreover, if he had wielded a sword….’

Certain defeat. He could hardly even imagine a scenario where he would win.

Hwangbo Gun looked at Namgung Cheon with eyes blazing with fighting spirit and spoke.

“Next time, when I master the Lightning God Fist, may I request another duel?”

Namgung Cheon silently nodded his head.

At that sight, Hwangbo Gun laughed heartily once more.

“Truly taciturn! Well, as long as we understand each other. Thank you!”

With those words, he suddenly turned toward the head table.

And then boldly clasped his hands in salute.

“May I offer a word to the Heads of the Clans?”

All eyes focused on his sudden action.

As Hwangbo U cleared his throat as if unable to stop him, Namgung Mugang nodded indifferently.

“Speak.”

As soon as permission was granted, Hwangbo Gun shouted as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“How can a fight between men end so blandly!”

He gestured with his chin toward Namgung Cheon standing beside him and continued.

“Though we could not settle the match with fists, we wish to prove that our Hwangbo is the best in the Central Plains when it comes to drinking! Please grant permission for a drinking feast among the younger generation!”

At that boisterous proposal, one person.

“Huu.”

Namgung Cheon let out a very deep sigh that no one could hear.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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