Fist Demon of Mount Hua Episode 11

It was a month before Dam-ho could move on his own again, and during that time, he spent most of his time practicing internal energy circulation.

He would wake up at dawn, take a dose of Surging Yang Elixir, and then practice the Heavy Sky Heart Technique, and by the time he was done, the day would have passed without him even realizing it.

Just as Sage Hyun-so had promised, the Surging Yang Elixir and Heavy Sky Heart Technique created a harmonious synergy. The sticky, sluggish energy of the Heavy Sky Heart Technique would burn like wildfire once he took the Surging Yang Elixir.

Since Dam-ho was unable to move his body, he delved deeper into the Heavy Sky Heart Technique. As he delved deeper and deeper, he was able to see aspects he hadn’t noticed before.

While Dam-ho immersed himself in the technique, Sage Hyun-so went back to Three Elders’ Mountain to gather more herbs for making the Surging Yang Elixir.

When Sage Hyun-so returned back at his abode, he was carrying an enormous bundle of herbs. As soon as Sage Hyun-so arrived at his abode, he began concocting the Surging Yang Elixir again without taking a break.

By the time Dam-ho was finally able to move again, Sage Hyun-so was able to complete hundreds of Surging Yang Elixir pills.

“How is your body?”

“I’m strong enough to move.”

Though he said that, his condition was far from ideal. Having been immobile for so long, his entire body had stiffened. Restoring his hardened muscles to their original state took great priority.

His left leg, in particular, was a problem. He’d lost all the muscle he’d built up over the years of running up and down mountains, leaving him with practically nothing. He would need to rebuild them from scratch.

But Dam-ho didn’t feel discouraged. While he had lost much, he had also gained far more.

“Master.”

“Ho! As you know, the existing Mount Hua Sect martial arts do not suit you. We need to create a new martial art, one that is tailored specifically for you.”

Dam-ho’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

He already knew this. He had painfully realized it over the past five years.

“The first thing we need to accomplish is creating a footwork technique tailored just for you. You don’t need any flashy movements. With that leg, not only would it be impossible for you to learn complex footwork, but it would also hinder the learning of other martial arts.”

“I understand.”

Dam-ho readily agreed. He had been thinking the same as Sage Hyun-so.

“A simple footwork technique without unnecessary flourishes, but one that is optimal for executing your martial arts. What kind of technique could that be?”

Sage Hyun-so bent down and picked up the small stones lying on the ground and began to arrange them on the ground.

The stones were piled up like a miniature fortress.

“This is your enemy.”

“……”

“Those who have perfected their own martial arts, achieving the solid defense of an impenetrable fortress. How would you face such an opponent? What kind of footwork would you use? Have you ever thought about it?”

“I have to overpower them with strength. That’s the only way for me.”

“Exactly. You need to overpower them. But have you thought about how to increase your strength?”

“By building muscle—”

“It’s speed.”

“What?”

“If you increase speed, your strength will increase as well.”

Sage Hyun-so picked up a small twig from the ground and placed it across the stones.

The twig and the stone wall now faced each other.

Suddenly, Sage Hyun-so flicked the twig with his finger. The branch flew off at high speed, crashing through the stone wall with a thunderous crash.

“Battering ram, a siege weapon that can destroy a fortress in a single strike. Your footwork should be like this battering ram.”

“A battering ram?”

“Yes! Like a battering ram, it should concentrate all its power into a single point with terrifying speed. If you can do that, you can overcome complexity with simplicity. This is the solution I’ve come up with.”

“……”

Dam-ho couldn’t say anything. It felt as if the fog clouding his mind was finally clearing away.

A new possibility that he hadn’t seen before began to appear.

Sage Hyun-so’s voice echoed again.

“A footwork technique like the battering ram that breaks through a fortress wall—I shall call it Charging Steps.”

“Charging Steps…”

“It’s the footwork technique that you and I will create from now on.”

Sage Hyun-so’s voice resonated deeply in Dam-ho’s heart.

***
Charging Steps.

A footwork technique modeled after a battering ram smashing into a fortress wall.

Now that they had a clear goal, Sage Hyun-so and Dam-ho threw themselves into creating it. Sage Hyun-so began sharing all the martial knowledge he had accumulated throughout his life.

“Among the famous martial arts of Jianghu, there is a technique known as the Blood Sky Kick.”

“The Blood Sky Kick?”

“It was the signature martial art of Woo Kyung-pae, the Iron-Blood Supreme Demon, who roamed Jianghu alone one hundred and twenty years ago. His kicks were said to be so powerful that a single strike could reduce his opponent to a bloody mist and dye the sky red.”

With the Blood Sky Kick alone, Woo Kyung-pae rose to become one of the ten greatest martial artists of his era.

However, his violent nature and indiscriminate killing eventually made him the common enemy of Jianghu.

Hundreds of renowned martial artists joined forces to hunt him down, but Woo Kyung-pae repeatedly escaped their pursuit before vanishing without a trace.

He was never seen again.

As the years passed, he faded into legend, and eventually, few people even remembered his name.

“Most people believed Woo Kyung-pae had grown tired of Jianghu and gone into seclusion. But the truth was different. The chaos he caused eventually forced Sang Cheonja, the Mount Hua Sword Immortal and the greatest master of our sect at the time, to take action.”

Like Woo Kyung-pae, Sang Cheonja was also one of the ten greatest martial artists of that era. His swordsmanship was said to be unmatched.

The two fought for an entire day and night.

Their battle was so fierce that it seemed as though heaven and earth were being torn apart.

In the end, Sang Cheonja defeated Woo Kyung-pae by the narrowest of margins.

“If Woo Kyung-pae had not exhausted so much of his internal energy while escaping the other masters of Jianghu, even the great Sang Cheonja might not have defeated him. That was how powerful he was.”

After killing Woo Kyung-pae, Sang Cheonja intended to burn the secret manual containing the Blood Sky Kick.

However, after carefully examining the technique, he changed his mind.

“Woo Kyung-pae may have used it for evil, but the Blood Sky Kick itself was an extraordinary martial art. Sang Cheonja could not bear to let such a technique disappear forever.”

Since the manual could not be officially preserved by the sect, Sang Cheonja ordered the scholars of Mount Hua to memorize its contents and pass it down orally.

In this way, the Blood Sky Kick survived through generations of oral transmission.

“It is said that a master of Shaolin’s Shadowless Kick can launch as many as eighteen kicks while suspended in the air. That is possible because of precise internal-energy control and the technique’s continuous flow of attacks.”

Sage Hyun-so paused before continuing.

“But the Blood Sky Kick is completely different. It pays no attention to finesse, complicated movements, or the delicate distribution of internal energy.”

His eyes grew serious.

“It has only one purpose—to destroy the opponent with a single kick.”

Dam-ho stared at Sage Hyeonso.

They had spent five years together, but this was the first time he had ever seen Sage Hyeonso speak with such passion.

“The Blood Heaven Kick does not need flashy footwork. All it needs are sturdy legs that can serve as pillars. If you learn and study the Blood Heaven Kick, Charging Step will surely be completed as well.”

“I understand.”

Dam-ho nodded.

He trusted his master. If his master said something, there was surely a proper reason behind it.

Sage Hyeo-nso’s face was flushed red. However, there was not the slightest hesitation in him as he taught Damho the Blood Heaven Kick.

Sect Leader Hyeoncheon had ordered him not to pass on the martial arts of the Mount Hua Sect to Damho. But the Blood Heaven Kick was not a martial art of the Mount Hua Sect. There was no reason to hesitate.

After hearing all of the Blood Heaven Kick’s forms and internal energy circulation methods, Damho finally understood why Sage Hyeonso had spoken so passionately.

The Blood Heaven Kick did not require refined movements. All it needed were preparatory motions to maximize destructive power. It was a martial art even Damho, with his bad leg, could fully perform.

The problem was that to use the Blood Heaven Kick, one needed tremendous leg strength, explosive lung capacity, and precise control of internal energy.

‘Master.’

Damho felt respect for Sage Hyeonso naturally welling up inside him.

His master was not simply bringing out a secret art and telling him to learn it. This was a solution he had presented after considering Damho’s physical condition, the effort he had put in until now, and the direction he needed to develop in.

It was clear how many days Sage Hyeonso must have spent worrying over this for his sake, and how many sleepless nights he must have endured.

Even after that, Sage Hyeonso continued pouring out the knowledge he possessed. After hearing everything, Damho entered into fierce discussions with Sage Hyeonso.

Day after day, the two engaged in intense discussions. It was common for them to stay up all night, and sometimes they went several days without sleeping at all.

Creating a new martial art was not easy even for masters of an entire generation. For a scholar-Taoist who only knew theory and a reckless young martial artist to create one was close to impossible.

However, the two of them had a strength others did not. They did not know how to give up easily. They were also incredibly persistent.

Neither Damho nor Sage Hyeonso held much importance within the Mount Hua Sect. Almost no one cared what they did. Thanks to that, Sage Hyeonso and Damho were able to test and create martial arts much more freely.

If Sage Hyeonso presented the theoretical direction, it was Damho’s role to verify it with his body.

It was also something they would never have dared to attempt if they had not been supported by the stable internal art known as the Middle Heaven Heart Art.

Damho stopped climbing up and down Mount Hua. It was because doing so might draw other people’s attention. Instead, he began training through a special method.

Behind Sage Hyeonso’s residence, there was a small clearing and a large boulder. The boulder was as huge as a great hall.

Sage Hyeonso drew a small circle on the lower part of the boulder, at roughly Damho’s eye level.

Damho calmly watched what Sage Hyeonso was doing.
From the boulder where the circle had been drawn, Sage Hyeonso drew a straight line toward the clearing.

A straight line was drawn on the ground, and he had Damho stand at its end.

“This is the task you must do starting today.”

“What should I do?”