*Pow!*
An excruciating pain surged as if his chest was being torn apart.
But Beok Jeong couldn't even glance down at his chest. The moment he looked away, that fist would come flying at his throat, not his chest.
The smell of metallic blood rose up his throat.
In the unfamiliar agony that felt almost alien, Beok Jeong grimaced. But there was no time to dwell on the pain.
He struck out at Jang Ilso's arm, pushing it away. Immediately, as if intending to follow up with a flurry of strikes, he then shifted his body backward. It was to pierce Jang Ilso's opening and create enough distance to recover from this situation.
It was a decent improvisation.
But the problem was that Jang Ilso was not one to be played by such tactics.
Crack!
Jang Ilso tore through the air, charging at Beok Jeong with unstoppable momentum.
Azure Flames Murder.
His unique martial arts, bestowed with the title Tyrant, unfolded with extreme ferocity.
The blue true qi swirling around his entire body seemed to boil like flames from hell, ready to engulf and consume Beok Jeong at any moment.
"Ik...!"
Uncharacteristically, Beok Jeong gritted his teeth as he thrust his fist forward.
His face contorted like a demon's, but the aura emanating from his fist was still awe-inspiring.
Arhat Divine Fist!
The fist that annihilates demons.
But facing such a formidable opponent, the demon in front of him was too powerful and relentless.
"Hahaha!"
Jang Ilso burst into laughter, unleashing dozens of strikes almost too fast to follow.
The blue true qi penetrated the space even before the golden aura of authority could fully extend.
Powerful martial arts inevitably require time to fully exert their force. However, Jang Ilso's strikes didn't allow Beok Jeong the time to convert his inner qi into authority.
As his authority crumbled without even halfway deploying, Beok Jeong couldn't hide his confusion. He quickly withdrew his extended hand and, facing the oncoming strikes, met them head-on with his fist.
Crash! Thud!
Jang Ilso's fist and Beok Jeong's fist collided in rapid succession.
In that moment, Beok Jeong felt it. Jang Ilso's subtle manipulation, subtly lifting him from below. Not excessively, but definitely.
"Do I look so foolish to fall for the same trick again!"
Beok Jeong instantly surged his internal strength.
If the intention was to prevent him from touching the ground again, then he would simply shatter that intention!
"Tahaaaaap!"
With a thunderous roar, Beok Jeong's Arhat Fist surged towards Jang Ilso's head. Laden with internal strength capable of shattering mountains, enough to prevent Jang Ilso from daring to block it!
*Bang!*
But in that moment, Jang Ilso's fist, charging head-on towards Beok Jeong's fist, twisted like a serpent, slipping past Beok Jeong's fist and coiling around his forearm.
In that instant, Beok Jeong widened his eyes in astonishment.
"What in the...!"
It wasn't surprise from encountering an abnormal asura.
Thud! Clench!
Jang Ilso's arm wrapped around Beok Jeong's wrist twisted.
It was natural. Not blocking didn't mean the internal strength infused in the fist vanished. Jang Ilso absorbed all that formidable internal strength with his twisted arm.
There was no change in Jang Ilso's expression, but his arm screamed in agony.
Crack!
Bones shattered and flesh burst forth, as the momentarily overwhelming pressure caused the swollen flesh to burst like a balloon, spraying blood as it exploded.
But amidst it all, Jang Ilso's arm firmly wrapped around Beok Jeong's forearm. It was as solid as a strong lock.
"Tyrant!"
Beok Jeong shouted loudly, channeling the power of Guanyin Palm into his left hand, instead of his entangled right. Dozens of palm shadows created in an instant poured towards Jang Ilso's body.
It was external force emitted not by anyone else but Beok Jeong. Despite being hastily executed, it contained enough power to overwhelm a thousand men.
In that moment, Jang Ilso forcefully pulled Beok Jeong's entangled arm. Beok Jeong's stance faltered slightly, and the direction of the external force he shot out was twisted.
But even then, only half of it veered off in a different direction. The remaining half of the external force poured directly towards Jang Ilso's body.
"Hahaha!"
Madness gleamed in Jang Ilso's eyes.
Whoosh!
The surging flames of the entangled true qi surrounding Jang Ilso surged forward, devouring and consuming like a firestorm that swallowed people whole. With the blazing true qi surrounding him, Jang Ilso thrust his body forward towards the oncoming external force.
Crash!
Eventually, dozens of palm shadows struck Jang Ilso's body simultaneously.
No matter how much true qi he had enveloped his body with, he couldn't fully withstand such force. The shock alone was enough to stagger him, as the impact struck his entire body.
However, even as Jang Ilso's mouth and nose dripped with thick blood, he continued to plunge into Beok Jeong's embrace, still with one arm entangled around Beok Jeong's arm.
Thud!
Jang Ilso's elbow struck Beok Jeong's ribcage.
It was like hitting a giant steel wall, a counterforce that threatened to snap his arm, laden with internal strength.
Nevertheless, Jang Ilso relentlessly swung his elbow, consecutively striking Beok Jeong's chest and ribcage.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Blood gushed from Beok Jeong's mouth, pouring onto Jang Ilso's face. His face, soaked with both his own and Beok Jeong's blood, emanated a blue killing intent from his eyes. And then, he struck Beok Jeong's ribcage forcefully once again.
Crunch!
At that moment, Beok Jeong struck Jang Ilso's chin with the palm of his hand. Jang Ilso's head snapped backward as if it would break. Blood sprayed from his lips into the air.
"Huk!"
In that instant, Jang Ilso's fingers dug into Beok Jeong's side. In a moment when he converted his internal strength into an offensive attack, his fingers, seizing the opportunity, pierced through Beok Jeong's ribs, gripping tightly between them.
"Aaargh!"
Kwaaang!
Beok Jeong rained blows upon Jang Ilso's chest with his fists, as if trying to beat him into submission and escape from this agony.
And then...
Kwaaang!
Beok Jeong's vision momentarily went white. And soon after, the sky filled his sight. It was the bleak, cloudy sky, as if stars were embedded in it.
"What...?"
For a moment, Beok Jeong's face, unable to comprehend the situation, froze. What brought him back to reality was the excruciating pain radiating from his jaw.
Jang Ilso had smashed his jaw with his head.
"This...!"
Spurt!
Beok Jeong gritted his teeth fiercely. A rage he had never felt before boiled within him. Hatred for the one who had brought him to this point overflowed, igniting a blaze of "mercilessness."
"Noohhhhhhh!"
Kwuung!
Beok Jeong kicked Jang Ilso's abdomen straight on.
It was literally a kicking attack. However, whether by chance or necessity, that almost desperate blow struck Jang Ilso with absolute certainty. Jang Ilso's body was thrown backward.
With his hands freed, Beok Jeong unleashed all his rage without leaving a single bit behind.
"Huahhhhh!"
Literally a storm of strikes.
Originally meant to exert power to overwhelm the opponent, the essence of the mighty Kongouken (金剛拳), which should have been a completely different usage of his martial arts, now spewed forth from Beok Jeong, tearing Jang Ilso apart as if he were nothing.
"Aaaaaah!"
Not satisfied with that, Beok Jeong screamed, gathering both his hands in front of his chest, forming a strange hand seal, and forcefully thrusting forward. The form created by his hands emitted a reddish true qi, more crimson than golden, and immediately surged towards Jang Ilso.
Shishimoniin!
A technique developed by Sakya while practicing under a bodhi tree to defeat the temptations of demons, according to legend.
True to its origin, it possessed the power solely to annihilate the opponent, and even those who learned it shied away from using it due to its intense killing intent. It was one of the top martial arts among the Seventy-Two Arts.
Even in Beok Jeong's eyes, the reddish true qi shimmered and fluctuated.
Kwaaaaaaang!
The ground erupted, and shattered fragments flew in all directions like bullets. The cloud of dust surged so quickly that it covered the sky. It was a sight that was hard to believe it was created by human strength alone.
"Huuk! Huuk! Huuk!"
Beok Jeong gasped for breath. Sweat poured down his entire body like rain. His victory was long gone, lost amidst the blood and sweat.
His fingertips trembled.
'Why...'
Why was he experiencing such defeat?
Jang Ilso and his martial arts were at least one step ahead. Under normal circumstances, he should have been able to suppress the opponent easily as long as he didn't let his guard down.
But what on earth was happening?
The momentum was clearly on his side. Still, this couldn't be called momentum at all. His labored breath, trembling hands alone showed that.
What would those who witnessed this think? What would they say about the blood he shed?
"This...!"
Hatred, animosity, unbearable rage surged once again.
"Paggoooooon!"
A roar that shook the foundation erupted from Beok Jeong's mouth.
It was a lion's roar processed to a degree that could freeze even the heat of the surging battlefield. The rising dust cloud quickly retreated at its momentum.
There was no way he would die like this.
That vile guy couldn't possibly die at this degree. So, firmly, with his own hands, he would...
"Wooook!"
In that moment, a strong sense of vertigo overwhelmed Beok Jeong, sealing his mouth shut. Dizzying dizziness assaulted him.
"Poison?"
This was clearly a symptom of poisoning.
But when exactly?
"Ugh..."
Beok Jeong's gaze scanned his own body. One side of his torn and blood-soaked garment was dyed dark crimson.
"This, this is..."
The side where Jang Ilso's fingers had pierced through. The clothing there was dyed a deep crimson. It was where Jang Ilso had injected poison into Beok Jeong's body in that brief moment.
"A mere trick...!"
Beok Jeong gritted his teeth.
To an expert with internal strength like his, poison was nothing more than a momentary drain of internal strength.
Beok Jeong immediately redirected his internal strength to ignite the poisonous energy flowing within his body.
But...
"It won't go away?"
The poisonous energy flowing through his body persisted despite his efforts to burn it away. It was an inexplicable phenomenon.
Beok Jeong's eyes trembled as if experiencing an earthquake.
"What... What is..."
Beok Jeong reflexively grabbed his side. It was then that he felt a strong foreign sensation he had not noticed amidst the pain.
If it felt like something from where Jang Ilso's hand had penetrated...
"Ga...rlic..."
"Correct."
A calm voice echoed.
Of course, it didn't quite match the owner's appearance.
Jang Ilso, who looked disheveled like a ghost, had suddenly risen to his feet and was staring at Beok Jeong.
His upper garment was torn away, revealing a torso covered in scars, soaked in blood.
One arm was still broken, twisted at an odd angle, and blood still trickled down.
But Jang Ilso seemed indifferent to such injuries, casually raising his dangling arm and using his other hand to align the broken bones.
"This... is something I cherish deeply."
Thunk.
"Like a toy."
Thunk.
A chilling sound echoed each time Jang Ilso's twisted arm straightened slightly.
"How is it? Isn't it a good method?"
"...Ugh."
Beok Jeong ground his teeth. The pain was numbing, reaching a degree where speech was difficult.
"Emei... Tabu!"
As Jang Ilso paused, his eyebrows twitched for a moment.
Beok Jeong, after holding the spatial control on his side, forcibly pulled out the ring. In the process, his ribs broke, and the flesh caught on the ring was literally torn out. It was a gruesome sight. Even Jang Ilso furrowed his brow for a moment.
"This... this is too much..."
"Hmm... It seems like you're thinking too lightly. If it were that easy, I wouldn't have gone through all this trouble, would I?"
Jang Ilso smiled gently. His smile, with his broken face, was eerie.
"If you have a thorn like this, you inject poison into it while it's stuck there. You can't do much about it, but you can continuously use internal strength..."
"Jang... Ilso!"
Beok Jeong charged at Jang Ilso, disregarding all conversation. His eyes were filled with the intent of vengeance, trusting everything to poison and revenge alone.
"You've gotten much better at that gaze."
Jang Ilso walked toward Beok Jeong, smiling contentedly.
Even including Beok Jeong's wounds, Jang Ilso had suffered far greater losses so far. That was an undeniable fact.
But somehow, that was fine.
"Welcome. This is the battlefield, and this is a fight. Now you've finally stepped into it. Let's see who's the real deal here."
"Jang Ilsooooo!"
Beok Jeong rushed at Jang Ilso without hesitation. Mercy and legality were long forgotten. All that guided him now was rage.
That's why Beok Jeong didn't see it.
At the moment he charged, Jang Ilso glanced elsewhere.
The battle, no, this war was approaching its climax.
Towards a result that no one had expected.