Fist Demon of Mount Hua Episode 8

The Disciple Looks to His Master, and the Master Comforts His Disciple (2)

Dam-ho lay sprawled on the floor, unmoving. Everyone thought he would not be able to get up. Some even looked at Su Gyeong as if he had gone too far.

Su Gyeong didn’t look comfortable either. He had failed to stop Damho using his Five Elements Formless Fist, resorting instead to exploiting his weakness with the Plum Blossom Footsteps.

Su Gyeong let out a low sigh.

“That should be enough. Any more than this…”

At that moment, Dam-ho, who had been lying there without the slightest movement, barely managed to raise himself up.

Blood flowed from his nose and mouth. Nevertheless, Dam-ho’s fighting spirit still burned in his eyes as he looked at Su Gyeong.

Su Gyeong said,

“Junior Brother, perhaps we should stop now…”

“Continue.”

At that moment, Hyeon-geom’s voice rang out.

Su Gyeong looked at him.

“But…”

“Cheon-gyeong’s fighting spirit has not yet broken. Do you intend to end this on your own when your opponent has not surrendered? I have no desire to pass down my martial arts to someone so soft.”

Su Gyeong gritted his teeth.

Sage Hyeon-geom’s intention was obvious.

He wanted to break Dam-ho’s will and rid him of his obsession with martial arts. He believed that was the best thing for Dam-ho.

Do not resent me, Junior Brother.

Su Gyeong picked up a wooden sword nearby and charged toward Dam-ho.

His footwork, dazzling like scattered plum blossoms, confused Dam-ho’s eyes.

Dam-ho took a step backward. His intention was to create some distance and read his opponent’s moves.

Whoosh!

Su Gyeong’s foot brushed past the tip of Dam-ho’s nose.

It was the Sweeping Leaf Leg Technique.

Like a broom sweeping away fallen leaves, Su Gyeong’s kicks sliced through the air. Just when it seemed that his foot would merely pass Damho by, it bent at a bizarre angle and drove straight down towards the top of his head.

Thud!

Dam-ho crossed his arms to block Su Gyeong’s technique.

The powerful impact spread through both his forearms and vibrated across his entire body. His face contorted involuntarily from the excruciating pain.

Su Gyeong mixed the Sweeping Leaf Leg Technique and the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art in his attacks. Faced with sharp sword techniques and dazzling kicks, Dam-ho seemed unable to respond properly and was forced back helplessly.

“Wh-What is…?”

As they watched the scene unfold, pity spread across the faces of the first-generation disciples. Many of them did not particularly like Dam-ho, but seeing him being driven back so one-sidedly stirred a sense of pity in them.

Un-gyeong turned to Mu-gyeong,

“This is reality. No matter how strong his will is, he cannot overcome a fundamental difference. The path of a martial artist does not suit Cheon-gyeong.”

“Even so…”

“Senior Brother, you are someone who will lead Mount Hua in the future.”

With that, Un-gyeong firmly closed his mouth. But his intention had clearly reached Mu-gyeong.

“Tch!”

Mu-gyeong clicked his tongue in frustration.

Meanwhile, Su-gyeong was pressing Dam-ho even more fiercely. Under the relentless onslaught of attacks from Su-gyeong’s sword and legs, Dam-ho could no longer find anywhere to retreat and was left huddling in on himself.

“It’s over.”

Su-gyeong’s sword shot toward Dam-ho.

Plum Blossoms in Full Bloom.

It was a dazzling technique that created the illusion of countless plum blossoms blooming across Mount Hua all at once.

Surrounded by the sea of blooming plum blossoms, there seemed to be no escape for Dam-ho.

Su-gyeong was certain of his victory.

Now!

That was the moment.

Dam-ho’s eyes flashed.

Perhaps because he had become excited, Su-gyeong’s movements had grown larger.

That single lapse created an opening.

Whoosh!

Dam-ho drove off the ground with his right foot.

A single step forward.

And a single punch.

Thud!

His fist pierced through Plum Blossoms in Full Bloom and struck Su-gyeong squarely in the chest.

Fortunately, Su-gyeong’s internal energy protected him, preventing any serious injury.

Shock appeared on Su-gyeong’s face for the first time.

Had Dam-ho’s punch carried proper internal energy, that single strike would have shattered his chest completely.

It had been a perfectly timed counterattack aimed directly at his opening.

Su-gyeong felt a chill run through his chest.

He had looked down on Dam-ho because he was a cripple, but Dam-ho had an unexpected move hidden up his sleeve. And that move had been powerful enough to send a chill down Su-gyeong’s spine.

If his fist had carried internal energy, I would have died from that one blow.

Without realizing it, Su-gyeong looked toward Sage Hyeon-geom. He saw Hyeon-geom wearing a displeased expression. However, he did not seem to have any intention of ending the match.

Then…

There was still a chance left.

Thud!

Su-gyeong launched his Sweeping Leaf Kick toward Damho’s waist.

Crack!

Damho’s face twisted. The impact was so powerful that it nearly snapped his waist.

Dark red blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. This was proof that he had suffered deep internal injuries rather than merely external wounds.

As Dam-ho staggered, Sage Hyeon-geom’s voice rang in his ears.

“You clearly possess remarkable talent. That last move proves it. However, without a body and internal energy to support it, even such remarkable talent is useless. This is reality. So understand reality and give up.”

“I… cannot do that.”

Dam-ho shook his head.

He had bitten his lips so hard that they split open and blood flowed down.

His entire body hurt. It felt as though he had been beaten again and again with an iron hammer. His left knee hurt especially badly. He desperately wanted to just lie down. If he did, he felt as though everything would become easier.

But Dam-ho stood firm.

As Sage Hyeon-geom had said, accepting reality was not difficult. But if he did that, he would be denying his own identity.

His single-minded desire to become a strong martial artist, and all the effort he had poured in until now, would all turn to nothing.

At the unchanging, stubborn look in Dam-ho’s eyes, Sage Hyeon-geom’s gaze grew even colder.

“What are you doing, Su-gyeong? The match is not over yet. How long do you intend to stand there blankly?”

At Sage Hyeon-geom’s frosty voice, Su-gyeong’s shoulders flinched.

Damn it!

Su-gyeong gritted his teeth and attacked Dam-ho.

After that Sweeping Leaf Kick, Dam-ho had already lost the ability to defend himself.

It was no different from being ordered to commit merciless violence against someone who could no longer defend himself.

Thud, thud, thud!

Su-gyeong’s Sweeping Leaf Kicks struck Dam-ho’s entire body again and again. Each time, Dam-ho’s body shook pitifully like a leather sack.

The sound of bones breaking rang out, and his entire body became covered in dark red bruises. Even so, Dam-ho remained standing until the end.

Eventually, Su-gyeong shouted in frustration.

“Please, just give up, Cheon-gyeong!”

It was not as if Su-gyeong felt at ease while beating him.

What he had wanted was a proper duel, not this merciless violence. But Daoist Master Hyeongeom’s cold gaze would not allow him to stop.

“Cheon-gyeong…”

“Ugh!”

The scene was so cruel that many of the first-generation disciples turned their heads away. Among them was even Un-gyeong, who had opposed Dam-ho learning martial arts.

“Just collapse already.”

For Un-gyeong to say such a thing showed just how wretched Dam-ho’s condition had become.

The blood vessels in his eyes had burst, making the whole world appear red. In the world that was gradually fading, he could no longer feel pain. The pain had numbed even his nerves.

“Cough!”

Dam-ho coughed up blood. The black blood staining his chest showed that the internal injuries he had suffered were far from ordinary.

Dam-ho knew that he could no longer endure. His will was still firm, but his body had already reached a point where it could no longer hold on.

For the last time, Dam-ho looked at Sage Hyeon-geom.

At that moment, Sage Hyeon-geom flinched.

It was because of Dam-ho’s eyes as they stared at him.

Within them burned utter desperation.

A killing intent.

And an indomitable ferocity that refused to yield under any circumstances.

Those eyes unsettled Sage Hyeon-geom.

Such a desperate, savage gaze had no place within Mount Hua, a righteous Taoist sect devoted to purity.

He bit down hard on his lip.

He knew this was the moment when he should make it stop.

If they crossed the line any further, Dam-ho would not only lose the path of a martial artist, but even the ability to live a normal life.

But…

The rejection rising inside his chest sealed his mouth shut.

In the meantime, Dam-ho took several more Sweeping Leaf Kicks from Su-gyeong.

Dam-ho barely moved his lips.

“I will… never give…”

Thud!

At that moment, Su-gyeong’s final strike landed on his temple.

The string that had been holding Dam-ho’s consciousness together snapped.

Like a kite with its string cut, Dam-ho swayed limply before collapsing to the ground.

“Cheon-gyeong!”

Only then did Mu-gyeong and Han So-yu rush to his side.

Su-gyeong closed his eyes and lifted his head. Something flowed down his forehead; it was impossible to tell whether it was sweat or tears.

At that moment, Sage Hyeon-geom’s voice rang out throughout the hall.

“What are you all doing? The defeated disciples should leave the True Martial Palace.”

Hearing this frosty command, the defeated disciples lifted Dam-ho onto their backs and left the Palace.

Without even looking back, Sage Hyeon-geom said,

“Continue the duels.”

“Junior Uncle!”

Several first-generation disciples burst into Sage Hyeon-so’s residence. On one of their backs was Dam-ho, battered and broken beyond recognition.

Sage Hyeon-so jumped off the wooden platform in shock.

“Ho! What on earth happened?”

“He was in a duel, and then…”

“A duel? How can this be the state of someone who was merely in a duel? This is the state of someone who fought a life-and-death battle! What in the world happened…? No, never mind. Lay him down at once.”

The first-generation disciples hurriedly laid Dam-ho down on the platform.

Dam-ho’s condition was not good.

No, it was the worst.

His breathing was faint, and blood continued to flow from his nose and mouth. It was almost a wonder that he was still alive in such a state.

“Ho… can you hear my voice?”

With the life of his one and only disciple hanging by a thread before him, even his normally unshakable composure had completely crumbled.

Dam-ho did not answer.

Rather, he could not.

He was hovering on the brink of death.

“Who… who did this to you?”

“Junior Uncle, please compose yourself.”

“Compose myself…? Right… I have to.”

With trembling hands, Sage Hyeon-so searched inside his robes. His fingers closed around a small wooden box.

When he opened it, a pitch-black pill appeared inside. Sage Hyeon-so quickly dissolved the pill in water and fed it to Dam-ho little by little.

“Ho! You must live. Ho! Are you really going to leave your master behind?”

After making sure Dam-ho had swallowed all of the medicine, Sage Hyeon-so immediately began massaging his entire body to circulate its effects.

“Ho… Dam-ho… you foolish child…”

Sage Hyeon-so’s anguished cries echoed through the night sky.