Bu Eunseol and Woo Gang were exchanging blows at such close range their faces nearly collided.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
As time passed, Woo Gang’s face, unleashing his fist technique, grew increasingly distorted.
Though the Jade-Shattering Fist was an exceptional technique, compared to the world-dominating Seven Forms of the Fist Demon, it was merely flashy and scattered.
As Woo Gang forcibly defended against the freely flowing fist energy of the Seven Forms, his techniques and power dissipated repeatedly.
"Good!" Suddenly, a faint light shimmered around Woo Gang’s fist.
Unable to match Bu Eunseol’s technique and skill, he aimed to overwhelm him with raw power.
Boom!
As their fists clashed, a shockwave rippled outward in concentric circles.
Woo Gang staggered back three steps, while Bu Eunseol stood firm, like a heavenly general descended from the skies.
"…!" Woo Gang’s eyes filled with shock as he looked at him.
‘His inner power is this strong?’
With the elders’ aid, Woo Gang had consumed countless elixirs beneficial to the body since childhood.
And that wasn’t all—he had diligently cultivated his inner power every day into his forties. He prided himself on surpassing his peers in inner power, yet here he was, outmatched by a mere youth.
"I’ll admit your fist technique and inner power are a step above." A glint of resolve flashed in Woo Gang’s eyes as he looked at Bu Eunseol. "Prepare the formation."
Clack.
At his command, the Beggars’ Sect disciples drew their staffs, surrounding Bu Eunseol.
"Draw your sword. You can’t face this formation with just fist techniques."
At Woo Gang’s advice, Bu Eunseol replied with an expressionless face, "I’ll draw it when the time comes."
"Are you a Ten Demonic Warrior too?" The sudden question made Bu Eunseol furrow his brow.
When no answer came, Woo Gang continued, "Our sect has always upheld the path of chivalrous righteousness. Even if you’re a demonic spawn, we must collect your body." Scanning Bu Eunseol up and down, he added, "Name your sect. We’ll send your body there respectfully."
"No need to bother." Bu Eunseol spoke with unshaken eyes. "If I fall, leave my body for the beasts to devour."
Bu Eunseol had no attachment to life or lingering regrets. Thus, he cared little about what happened to his corpse. His only purpose was to move forward. That was his path.
But Woo Gang looked at him with a strange expression.
"You don’t believe you’ll lose."
"Too much talk." As Bu Eunseol grimaced in distaste, Woo Gang’s thick eyebrows twitched. Without another word, he stepped forward, joining the formation.
Hum.
A low vibration resonated as a powerful aura surged from Woo Gang and the five sect members. It was a momentum and vibration unlike any ordinary formation.
‘Not the Dog-Beating Formation.’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed.
The Beggars’ Sect possessed the Dog-Beating Formation, a peerless technique rivaling Shaolin’s Hundred Eight Arhat Formation. But that formation required thirty-six members. This meant the Dog-Slaying Unit’s masters were using another of the sect’s formations.
‘I’ll find out by clashing with it.’ Bu Eunseol lightly threw a punch, unleashing the fist energy of the Fist Demon’s Primal Manifestation.
"Hah!" The four Beggars’ Sect disciples surrounding him swung their staffs, easily dissipating the fist energy.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Like practitioners of the Ground Blade Technique, they assumed low stances, thrusting their staffs to relentlessly target Bu Eunseol’s lower body.
‘The power of the formation?’ Until now, no one had so easily countered the fist energy of the Fist Demon’s Primal Manifestation and struck back.
Bu Eunseol discerned that a strange aura surged each time they stepped into specific positions while wielding their staff techniques.
Zip.
Deploying his footwork to evade the staffs, a glint of light flashed from Bu Eunseol’s fist once more.
Pop!
Five streams of sharp fist energy shot toward Woo Gang and the Dog-Slaying Unit members from different angles and directions. It was the second form of the Seven Forms of the Fist Demon, the Extreme Lightning Chaos
Tap! Swish!
As the unavoidable fist energies poured forth, the Dog-Slaying Unit members gathered like a flower bud, then scattered, swinging their staffs.
Using an exceptionally unique and flawless coordinated attack, they dispelled Bu Eunseol’s fist energy once again.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Now the Dog-Slaying Unit members launched their counterattack. They swung their staffs, occasionally unleashing fist techniques with one hand. Observing their relentless assault, Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed.
‘The Beggars’ Sect’s martial arts are more diverse than I thought.’ Their fist techniques varied, each employing distinct stances.
With countless disciples, the sect’s martial arts had evidently evolved in diverse ways.
Swish! Pop! Pop! Pop!
After exchanging over thirty moves in a short time, Bu Eunseol stepped back.
‘The formation is intricate, but those executing it aren’t perfect.’ The formation was sophisticated, impossible to break quickly, but the disciples wielding it each displayed highly individual techniques.
This allowed Bu Eunseol to clearly see the flaws in their moves.
As he leisurely studied their techniques, preparing to unleash his fist technique—
Swish! Thud!
A sharp whistle and a dull impact echoed from afar. Bu Eunseol instantly recognized it as the sound of the White Horse Whip striking the ground.
‘Yoo Unryong.’ There was no move in the White Horse Whip technique that involved striking the ground.
Yoo Unryong must have hit it in vain. That meant the fight was increasingly turning against him.
‘As expected, it was a lost cause.’ The martial arts of the Great Righteous Masters had already reached the transcendent realm.
To defeat them, one needed superior techniques and a mental fortitude surpassing theirs.
"Now!" As Bu Eunseol’s focus wavered briefly, Woo Gang, noticing it, shouted. "Boiling Sound Startles Dogs!"
Pop!
The Dog-Slaying Unit masters, swinging their staffs, all leaped into the air. Bu Eunseol, watching them, furrowed his brow in disbelief.
‘To seize such a prime opportunity and use that move…’
Humans couldn’t float in the air like birds, so descending left them vulnerable to significant openings. Thus, leaping into the air during combat was one of the most taboo actions in real battles.
Clang!
But an unexpected situation unfolded. The Dog-Slaying Unit members, airborne, suddenly struck their staffs against each other fiercely.
Chiiing!
The outer layer of the staffs shattered, revealing a silvery metal inside. At the same time, a sharp, jarring metallic sound pierced their ears.
It was a shrill, eerie noise, as if boring into the skull.
‘Tch.’
Bu Eunseol’s senses, honed by the Beast Way, were far sharper than those of typical martial masters. The moment he heard the sound, it felt like a dagger stabbed into his ears, and the world seemed to turn white.
Clack.
Seizing the moment, the Dog-Slaying Unit members landed from their leap and struck Bu Eunseol’s body.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Hit repeatedly by the staffs, Bu Eunseol slid backward.
"Heh heh heh." Woo Gang, looking at Bu Eunseol, whose clothes were torn to rags by the staffs, grinned triumphantly. "No matter how great a master, they fall to the Boiling Sound Startles Dogs technique."
"A dog startled by loud noises." Bu Eunseol, instead, smirked. "A fitting move for beggars."
"Do you know a dog’s weakness?" Woo Gang said confidently. "A dog’s weakness is its nose. Hitting it works, but spraying vinegar on it causes even more pain because of their keen sense of smell."
With another grin, he continued, "You demonic practitioners often use techniques that amplify your senses. Nangyang Pavilion is like that, and so are the Soul Extinguishing Palace and the Extreme Slaughter Sect."
"Are you so proud of using such dirty tricks?"
"Heh heh heh. As you say, we’re beggars. It’s laughable to think beggars would only use clean methods." Woo Gang smiled broadly. "This technique was made to deal with demonic scum like you, so it’s especially fitting."
"A technique to deal with demonic practitioners." Bu Eunseol suddenly realized something. "The Boiling Sound Startles Dogs technique is a countermeasure taught to the Beggars’ Sect’s Great Righteous Masters by the Martial Alliance to defeat demonic martial arts."
"Oh? You knew?"
"Yeo Hwanjin told me. Each Great Righteous Master was taught a secret method to counter demonic martial arts."
"Yeo Hwanjin?" Woo Gang’s expression turned bizarre. "Then you’re the Ten Demonic Warrior who killed him?"
"That’s right."
"Heh heh heh… Hahaha!" Woo Gang laughed heartily, nodding. "I’ve caught a big fish unexpectedly!"
His face beamed with satisfaction.
"By taking down two Ten Demonic Warriors at once, Junior Brother will secure the position of next sect leader without issue."
"Taking down?"
"Don’t act so calm." As Bu Eunseol’s eyes gleamed, Woo Gang sneered. "Once struck by the No-Seeking Staff Technique, your heart veins are shaken, and you can’t even move."
Woo Gang had poured immense inner power into his staff technique during the attack. Having been hit defenselessly, he was certain Bu Eunseol had sustained internal injuries.
"Then why not finish me off now?" Staring at Woo Gang, Bu Eunseol muttered as if to himself. "Or are you scared?"
Seeing Bu Eunseol’s utterly calm expression, Woo Gang snorted in disbelief.
"Acting nonchalant? Or do you know this is the end?" Raising his staff, Woo Gang grinned triumphantly.
"You were unlucky." As he slowly approached, his eyes burned with excitement.
Though he had volunteered to aid Seong Ryun, achieving the feat of defeating a Ten Demonic Warrior with his own hands was monumental.
"Farewell." Woo Gang’s No-Seeking Staff Technique danced through the air like a fluttering butterfly.
He unleashed his exclusive technique, Self-Purifying No-Seeking, aiming to crush Bu Eunseol’s head in one blow.
"…!" Woo Gang sensed something was wrong.
Bu Eunseol’s eyes, watching the staff descend toward his head, gleamed with a fierce light. It was not the look of someone suffering severe internal injuries.
‘Damn!’ Realizing something was amiss, it was too late to retract his move.
Shing!
A sword cry that shook the heavens and earth resounded. At the same time, a dark cloud from Bu Eunseol’s back enveloped Woo Gang’s body. It was like an unstoppable force of nature.
Slice.
With a chilling sound, a thin line of blood appeared on Woo Gang’s neck as he swung his staff downward. The lightning-fast killing sword, the Unmatched Thunderbolt, had been unleashed.
"How…?" Woo Gang’s fading eyes were filled with disbelief.
How could Bu Eunseol, whose heart veins should have been shaken by the No-Seeking Staff Technique, wield such a swift sword unscathed?
"Because I wasn’t injured." Having reached the fourth level of the Ban-geuk Method, Bu Eunseol’s body was enveloped in powerful protective qi at all times.
But Woo Gang, completely unaware of this, had been certain of victory the moment his staff struck.
Thud.
The headless body fell hollowly to the ground.
"Unit Leader!" The four Dog-Slaying Unit members, snapping out of their shock, swung their staffs at Bu Eunseol.
But they were merely prey for the bloodthirsty Black Blade.
Slash!
A Black Blade aura spread like a fan, transforming into a cross-shaped sword energy that enveloped the unit members.
It was the third form of the Supreme Heavenly Flow, the Waning Moon, Dawn Star.
"Hiyah!" The Dog-Slaying Unit members, gripped by fear, frantically swung their staffs at the incoming cross-shaped sword energy.
It was as if black and blue-green lights were vying for dominance in the space. The outcome depended on which side claimed more space.
And the result… was the Black Blade’s victory, staining everything black.
Splatter!
Blood sprayed into the air as the Dog-Slaying Unit members’ bodies were drenched in crimson.
Tap.
Having dispatched the unit members, Bu Eunseol launched himself into the air with full force.
‘Yoo Unryong!’
His destination was the reed field where Yoo Unryong and Seong Ryun were fighting.
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