They had far surpassed the level of simple forms. At close range, the battle between Paedobangju and Hye-gwan was not limited to their specialties, the blade or the staff, but also included fists, legs, and fingers, through which they unleashed their qi.
The form of the qi they emitted was not fixed either. When Paedobangju swung his blade, it sometimes whipped like a lash, making the sword energy dance, and other times, a blood-red wave surged forth.
Hye-gwan was no less formidable. When he flicked his fingers, sharp and swift qi shot towards Paedobangju’s vital points like hidden weapons. When he punched, golden fist energy, resembling Sun Wukong’s Ruyi Jingu Bang, burst forth, and when he swung his leg, sharp qi waves like blades flew at his opponent’s head.
The ground and buildings near their battle did not survive the exchange of attacks, defenses, and evasions.
The impact was so powerful that the fights between the Shaolin disciples and the men in black had also come to a standstill.
As if showcasing their skills, a duel far beyond human limits continued for a moment.
It started with a single stroke from Paedobangju.
Just as before, the sword energy that erupted from Paedobangju’s heavy swing spread out like a blood-red wave, surrounding Hye-gwan from all sides.
Hye-gwan chose to defend instead of avoiding the widely spread attack.
He blocked the sword energy with his qi barrier and was about to counterattack.
Paedobangju, who had unleashed the blood-red wave, was already swinging his blade again.
The stance was the same as before, but the result was different.
The sword energy, which had spread out to cover all sides, condensed and shot out, precisely covering the width of Hye-gwan’s body with blood-red sword energy.
The condensed sword energy, now more powerful, shattered Hye-gwan’s qi barrier, and Hye-gwan’s stance faltered under the force.
Before Hye-gwan could regain his balance,
Paedobangju was already swinging his blade in the same stance again.
The blood-red wave of sword energy, which had spread widely from Paedobangju’s drawn blade, was condensed infinitely.
At the moment of extreme condensation,
Hundreds of strands of faintly glowing sword energy merged into one, forming a dazzling cluster of stars.
That tyrannical blood-red cluster of stars, which was said to be able to cut through anything, poured down on Hye-gwan.
The red stars, brightly illuminating the dark sky, were enough to capture Mu-jin’s attention.
And as the beautiful cluster of stars fell toward Hye-gwan’s figure,
Mu-jin screamed involuntarily.
However, Paedobangju’s Dao Gang (刀罡), utterly indifferent to Mu-jin’s desperation, finally split Hye-gwan’s figure in two.
Hye-gwan’s figure, split left and right, dissipated like a mirage.
What Paedobangju’s qi had cut through was Hye-gwan’s illusion.
At the peak of this Shaolin consummate art, it allowed the creation of nine illusions simultaneously.
Hye-gwan, who had created and moved through the illusion, appeared behind Paedobangju, who was full of openings after creating the Dao Gang for his attack.
Hye-gwan, aiming for a decisive victory, pointed his fingers like blades and thrust them towards Paedobangju’s heart.
Paedobangju, in a fluster, barely twisted his body, narrowly avoiding a fatal strike to his heart.
However, although he narrowly avoided his heart, a deep wound was inflicted on Paedobangju’s right side.
Hye-gwan relentlessly continued his attack on the critically injured Paedobangju.
Hye-gwan was truly relentless.
Focusing on Paedobangju’s now-awkward right side, he persistently attacked, and as the exchange continued, the wounds on Paedobangju’s body increased.
In the moment when Paedobangju’s stance collapsed due to the accumulating injuries,
Hye-gwan’s palm struck accurately at Paedobangju’s heart.
Immediately after, blood spurted from Paedobangju’s mouth.
Paedobangju, his heart ruptured, mumbled to himself as his vision blurred. Hye-gwan, with a mocking tone, answered his question.
“It’s a basic principle of martial artists to conceal thirty percent of their skills. Perhaps the benefactor lacks real combat experience?”
Paedobangju seemed to want to retort to Hye-gwan’s words, but only blood came out of his mouth as he opened it.
And thus, Paedobangju died with his mouth open and eyes wide.
After the highest master, Paedobangju, lost his life to Hye-gwan, the remaining battle concluded swiftly.
With their leader dead, the men in black, seeing no chance of victory, immediately committed mass suicide.
Once all the battles had ended, Hye-gwan, who had dealt with Paedobangju, approached Mu-jin and spoke.
“I heard your desperate ‘No!!’ well. Thank you for worrying.”
Although the words sounded touching, Hye-gwan’s expression showed he was merely teasing.
“Isn’t it natural to be surprised? It was a Qi Gang after all,” Mu-jin grumbled, to which Hye-gwan responded with a chuckle.
“What’s so special about a Qi Gang?” ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel★fire.net
Saying that, Hye-gwan assumed the starting stance of the Vajra Exorcising Devil Fist and drew his internal energy. From his fist, an overwhelming surge of internal energy emanated.
The accumulating layers of Qi finally formed a cluster of stars, and when Hye-gwan punched, the golden cluster of stars soared into the sky.
“Gathering and condensing hundreds of strands of energy creates strong energy. And in a battle where your head could be cut off in the blink of an eye, if you leisurely gather hundreds of strands of energy, you’ll end up like that.”
Although Hye-gwan didn’t point anywhere specifically, it was clear to anyone listening that he was referring to Paedobangju.
“Still, the power is certain, isn’t it?”
“If you get hit, you’re definitely a goner.”
“Then how about using it in a situation where the opponent can’t avoid it?”
“If it were me, to make the most of that sure opportunity, I would just use my hand to aim for the opponent’s neck or heart. What would you do if that opportunity disappears while you’re making strong energy?”
“…Then is strong energy useless?”
“It depends on the situation and how you use it. For example, if you encounter an opponent who has achieved the state of Diamond Immortality and can’t be hurt by ordinary techniques, or if they are wearing armor made of something like Eternal Cold Iron, or if they have achieved a high level of body-protection Qi techniques, in those cases, you’d have no choice but to attack with strong energy. In that case, you need to think about how to hit the opponent with strong energy.”
“If it were you, Master Uncle, how would you hit them?”
“To put it in the most fundamental terms, if you elevate your understanding of energy to the level where you can quickly form strong energy like a fist technique, that’s ideal. But practically, if you have to fight immediately, it depends on the opponent. If my Bone Striking Technique surpasses the opponent’s martial arts, I would suppress their movements with my martial arts first, then use strong energy. If our martial arts are similar or if I am outmatched, then I would rely on movement techniques. I’d have to keep dodging and wear the opponent down.”
Hye-gwan spoke very confidently about running away.
“Even if you use powerful strong energy, if your speed is slow, you can’t catch someone with superior movement techniques. And no matter how superior your movement techniques are, if you can’t penetrate defense-specialized martial arts, it’s useless. Even the most advanced body-protection Qi techniques can be penetrated by strong energy. As you see, the realm of martial arts is diverse, and there are always natural counters.”
“Are you saying we should master a variety of martial arts?”
At Mu-jin’s question, Hye-gwan shook his head.
“Balance is important, but you shouldn’t be obsessed with it. Everyone has different areas of talent, but the time given to everyone is the same. Investing time in martial arts where you have no talent can be a waste of time. It’s better to invest time in the martial arts where you have talent. If you reach the peak in whatever you choose, you’ll find a way to overcome natural counters.”
Seeing Mu-jin’s confused expression, Hye-gwan added an explanation.
Additionally, they discovered a ledger that recorded the sales of goods, and it was not difficult to discern that some of the items sold were kidnapped vagrants, despite the slightly altered names.
However, there was one regret.
“Damn it. There’s not a single letter left related to Ryu Seol-ho.”
There was no evidence linking Ryu Seol-ho, the branch leader, to the incident.
Whether it was simply because there was no evidence or because Ryu Seol-ho was not yet connected to the hidden forces, even Mu-jin could not determine.
“Should I fabricate the letters like last time?”
Mu-jin, briefly considering this plan in his mind, soon shook his head.
Using the same trick twice was risky. Moreover, framing Hong So-hee, a mere maid, and framing the branch leader and the head merchant’s second son were entirely different in terms of risk level.
“Since I have to stay here for a few months anyway, I can take my time and approach this slowly.”
For now, he had already eradicated the human traffickers. Preventing the hidden forces from kidnapping children with unique constitutions was a significant achievement.
Perhaps this was an even more crucial issue than the Cheonryu Sangdan.
Mu-jin, Beob Gang, and Beob-hwi headed towards the government office in Nanchang.
The size of the government office they reached via the main road was on a different scale compared to the one in Deungbong-hyeon.
Although Deungbong-hyeon had been significantly developed due to the Shaolin and the Cheonryu Sangdan, it was still just a single county.
However, Nanchang was the capital of Jiangxi Province.
This was not a mere county office but the government office that administered the entire Jiangxi Province, the Seungseonpojeongsa Office.