The Fist Demon did not let his guard down just because he wore the Fighting God.
His opponent was strong. Even fighting with all he had, he still had not managed to kill him. He had even forced him to put on the gauntlets.
Moreover, Ganghu had now drawn up every last shred of venom within him.
If he let his guard down, he would die.
It was still true for both of them.
They surged toward each other.
Because of the blade jutting from Ganghu’s fist, his arm was, in effect, longer than the Fist Demon’s.
Shwaaaaaak.
The blade, sharp enough to cut iron as if it were paper, grazed past the Fist Demon’s face. Since he still did not know whether the Fighting God could block that blade of killing intent, the Fist Demon avoided attacks as much as possible and responded cautiously.
But one could not keep dodging forever.
In an instant, a blade of killing intent flew in at an angle he could not avoid.
Paaak!
The blade that had torn through the air came to a halt, blocked by the Fist Demon’s palm.
‘Damn it! He blocked it.’
Ganghu saw it. There was not a scratch on the gauntlet. This was the majesty of the greatest gauntlets under heaven.
Shwaaaaaak.
At the Fist Demon’s counterattack, Ganghu twisted his body and immediately leaped back.
“Must be nice, hiding behind those gauntlets. Why not carry a shield while you’re at it?”
It was a persistent attempt to scrape at his pride and make him take off the Fighting God.
Pang, pang!
The Fist Demon struck his palm with his fist again and said,
“This is enough.”
It was not the reaction Ganghu had wanted. His provocations and mockery did not work.
There was one thing Ganghu did not know. From his youth, the Fist Demon had wandered the Central Plains with the Cult Leader, and among the Demon Venerables, he had more practical combat experience than anyone.
He was someone who had experienced every manner of provocation from every type of enemy.
Shwaaaaaak.
Ganghu’s fist swiftly aimed for the Fist Demon’s vital points. If it landed properly just once, it would be over.
If the blade pierced his body, then the fist would smash into the wounded spot.
Avoiding the incoming blade, the Fist Demon threw a punch.
Whoooong.
As if a massive lump of iron had swept past, the cheek brushed by the Fist Demon’s fist grew hot as though burned.
Shiiik!
Ganghu, having avoided the attack, sent his blade toward the abdomen. It was such a large body that it seemed he should be able to stab anywhere and hit something.
Yet the attacks only grazed him, and grazed him again.
It was not easy to leave even a single scratch on the Fist Demon’s body.
Of course, Ganghu did not easily allow the Fist Demon’s fists to land either. This was a matter of survival.
One hit, and he would die.
That sense of crisis kept both men’s bodies in a state of extreme excitement.
With their level of skill, one might naturally assume they were calmly grasping the situation and fighting, but that was not the case. Right now, both of them were extremely aroused.
It was a state of such extreme excitement that even if bones broke and flesh burst apart, they would feel no pain, and even if a wrist were severed, it seemed they would throw a punch with the severed stump.
That was why they could block. The attacks they exchanged came with such extreme speed and power that they could never have been blocked without this state of excitement. Without that excitement, the mind could not endure it.
Astral qi suddenly surged into their fists, and their figures vanished in an instant.
The air surrounding them burst again and again as if it would rupture one’s eardrums.
Boom! Booom! Booooom!
It was power that would have shattered anything in that place. Had there been a boulder, it would have been ground to powder; had there been a lump of iron, it would have been crushed like rice cake.
Both of them had surpassed the realm of being bound by forms, and their battle was truly displaying the very limits of fist arts.
Ilhwa Sword Venerable, who had been watching their fight, now sensed that this battle was heading toward its end.
They had been fighting without pause while pouring in such tremendous internal energy. There was no way they had much left. Both of them would try to decide the match soon.
In her heart, she cheered for the Fist Demon.
If, by any chance, the Fist Demon died, that death would not be his alone. Ian, Geom Mugeuk, and even herself, who had watched it happen—the aftermath would reach them all.
‘You must win, for our sake as well.’
Ilhwa Sword Venerable looked at Ian, who stood beside her.
She sent Ian a voice transmission.
—Do not watch it as your father’s fight. Watch it as the Fist Demon’s fight.
How could the clever Ian not understand what that meant?
—Yes, Sword Venerable.
It meant to exclude personal feelings and engrave every one of their movements in her mind without missing a single one.
Where else would she ever get the chance to see such a fight in person?
Papapapang!
Just then, as they exchanged blows with extreme concentration, Ganghu lost his balance.
The Fist Demon did not miss that instant. His shoulder slammed into Ganghu’s chest.
Kwaaang!
The moment he was struck, Ganghu swung the blade of killing intent, but it was blocked by the Fist Demon’s hand.
Shwaaaaaak.
Bang!
Struck in the face by the Fist Demon’s fist, Ganghu slid backward.
Blood streamed down from his nose.
A nosebleed in a fight between experts of this caliber?
It was truly something that should not happen, and yet, precisely because it was their fight, it could happen.
Ganghu pressed the acupoint on the bridge of his nose to stop the bleeding and asked,
“That was your chance. Why didn’t you follow up?”
Even with his head tilted back as he looked up at the sky, the Fist Demon had not attacked.
Massaging his wrist and fist, the Fist Demon said,
“You like setting traps, don’t you?”
He was referring to the blade of killing intent Ganghu had used earlier when driven into danger.
It struck the mark. In truth, if the Fist Demon had followed up, Ganghu had intended to launch a surprise attack.
Ganghu felt a tightness in his chest. In all his life, this was the first time he had faced an enemy this difficult to deal with.
Naturally, his gaze turned toward Ian.
‘If only I could take the Fist Demon’s daughter hostage.’
The reason he still could not put it into action was Ilhwa Sword Venerable, standing in front of Ian. If he needlessly provoked her and she, too, intervened in this fight, then the gates of hell would truly open.
‘I didn’t want to use this method.’
Ganghu brought out the move he had kept in reserve.
It was a move that required him to use even his innate true qi, and one he could only use by taking the life of his foremost disciple, Jindan.
But this was the only way to defeat those huge fists that were stronger than expected.
“Good. Let’s see the end now.”
Ganghu’s gaze turned toward his foremost disciple, Jindan, who had only been watching the fight until now.
At his master’s gaze, Jindan finally felt that it was time for him to step forward.
‘I will offer my life to help you.’
The characters engraved on Jindan’s fist began to emit a red glow. Then, as if waiting for it, Ganghu’s hand also emitted a blue glow like ghost fire.
Saaaaaaaaaa.
Blue and red light began moving toward each other.
Originally, Ganghu had to contain both of these energies in his fists.
But because the two energies were mutually opposed, if they existed in one person’s body, their collision would inflict severe internal injuries. Since he did not possess enough power to prevent that, he had stored one of the energies in his disciple’s fist.
He had to combine these energies into one and eliminate the Fist Demon as quickly as possible. Once the two energies began to clash, he would not come out unscathed either.
Jindan knew that he had to transfer the energy, but there was one decisive fact he did not know.
Not only the energy in his hand, but his life force and innate true qi would also be sucked away with it, and in the end, he would die. He did not know that it was such wicked sorcery. No—he did not know that his master was that cold-blooded.
Whiiiiiiiiii.
The blue energy and red energy met in midair and began to mingle.
It was at that very moment.
Shik!
A crisp, brief sound of wind was heard.
The next instant, the red energy that had filled the air flowed back into Jindan’s body.
Clack.
The sound of a sword being withdrawn.
Before anyone knew it, Ilhwa Sword Venerable was standing behind Jindan.
With a ripping sound, a split began to form.
Srrrrrk.
Jindan’s body was sliced diagonally apart, blood spurting forth. He died without even knowing why or how he had been killed.
Ganghu had never imagined that Ilhwa Sword Venerable would intervene in this fight, and he shouted with a face twisted in fury.
“You crazy bitch!”
Ilhwa Sword Venerable looked at Ganghu and spoke leisurely.
“Wasn’t this a one-on-one fight? Was it a fight where two against one was allowed?”
The moment he said yes, it would be as good as acknowledging that Ilhwa Sword Venerable could join in.
Another harsh curse burst from Ganghu’s mouth.
“You filthy bitch! You cowardly Demonic Cult bastards, worse than vermin!”
When he cursed Ilhwa Sword Venerable, Ian grew angry.
But Ilhwa Sword Venerable herself did not care at all.
The person she was concerned about right now was the Fist Demon.
Ilhwa Sword Venerable looked at the Fist Demon and bowed her head slightly.
She could not know what would have happened if that disciple’s energy had merged with his. Of course, even so, it was not a fight she should have interfered with recklessly.
Ilhwa Sword Venerable trusted the Fist Demon’s change.
His heart, which had become more flexible. His life, which had changed.
She hoped that today’s fight would not be a fight for honor, but a fight for victory.
Fortunately, the Fist Demon did not look displeased in the slightest.
Instead, he expressed his gratitude to her.
“Thank you.”
Ganghu sneered at the Fist Demon.
“You wear the Fighting God, and now you even take help from a woman.”
He tried to provoke him to the very end, but it did not work.
“If that woman is the Sword Venerable, wouldn’t that help be worth receiving?”
At the Fist Demon’s words, a smile formed at the corners of Ilhwa Sword Venerable’s lips. To think he would say such a thing about her. Yes, her prediction had been right.
Only now could Ian feel it. So this was a true fight between Demon Venerables. A fight between true adults, who did not get swept up in an opponent’s provocation and did not lose sight of what mattered. She was seeing, once again, the path she had to walk.
By contrast, Ganghu’s expression hardened completely. If the bastard who had submitted the report on the Eight Demon Venerables were standing before him, he would have smashed his head in on the spot. The reports he had submitted on the Demon Venerables had all been nonsense.
He did not know the reason the Fist Demon wanted to win this fight.
The Fist Demon had not the slightest desire to defeat him and gain honor. He simply wanted to defeat him quickly and wait for one person here.
When Geom Mugeuk came out, he hoped the first person he saw would not be Ganghu, spewing those filthy curses, but himself.
He wanted to see the Young Cult Leader smile brightly and joke. It did not matter if that joke was not directed at him. No, it would actually be better if it was not.
Let him joke with Ian, and with Ilhwa Sword Venerable.
For he was someone for whom simply watching that sight was enough.
‘Come to think of it, I felt something similar when I traveled with the Cult Leader in my youth.’
He had wanted to make sure no one dared treat the Cult Leader carelessly. Even if he was not the protagonist, he had wanted to protect him so that the Cult Leader could be. That very feeling.
The Fist Demon clenched his fist with that feeling contained within it.
Griiiip.
Ganghu’s fist, too, was loaded with immense internal energy and emotion.
Grip.
They instinctively knew. This would be the final collision.
Ssssss.
The blade of killing intent jutting from Ganghu’s fist grew even longer.
The Fist Demon said to him,
“Instead of doing that, why don’t you go to my daughter and ask her to lend you a sword?”
The Fist Demon was someone who knew how to mock others too. He knew how to enjoy himself while fighting. He had only been holding back because Ian was watching.
Of course, Ganghu did not meekly take it either.
“Why borrow it? I can just tear you all to death and take it.”
The two men launched themselves toward each other.
Shwaaaaaaaaaak!
Ganghu’s Wandering Soul Life-Severing Fist.
The final Seventh Fist, Dead Soul Strike.
The Fist Demon’s Thunderbolt Asura Fist.
The final Sixth Fist, Flame Thunder Asura.
What was contained in the Fist Demon’s fist was waiting and longing.
What was contained in Ganghu’s fist was loathing and hatred.
Before fist collided with fist, what the Fist Demon saw in his eyes was not the hell Ganghu had unleashed, but a cliff.
That cliff he had looked up at for so long.
The Fist Demon felt that the strength entering his arm, entering his fist, was different from usual. It was a sensation difficult to explain. Confidence erupted from his fist, as if he might even be able to bring down that cliff.
‘Yes, I’ll bring it down!’
And so the Fist Demon and the Fist King, their two fists, collided head-on.
Kwaaaaaang!
Even loathing and hatred packed down in layer upon layer could not overcome the Fist Demon’s feelings for Geom Mugeuk.
Papapapapak!
The blade of killing intent shattered in a burst of white light.
The Fist Demon’s fist, having shattered the blade, smashed even Ganghu’s fist.
Crunch!
“Uwaaaaaaaagh!”
A wretched scream rang from Ganghu’s mouth, and it did not last long. Ganghu saw it—the pitch-black shadow that filled his vision. It was as if the sky itself were collapsing down upon him.
Boom!
The Fist Demon’s massive fist, the one that had shattered his own, flew straight on and buried itself in Ganghu’s face.
As Ganghu’s protective qi was smashed to pieces, his face caved in, completely crushed inward.
Fist King Ganghu, his face destroyed, slowly toppled forward.
No sound of thunder was heard from the Flame Thunder Asura.
And what Ganghu saw in his final moment was Death, seated in the spectator stands, watching this fight.
Thud.
Ganghu, his life extinguished, fell to the floor.
At last, the life-and-death blood battle between the Fist Demon and the Fist King had come to an end.
“Father!”
Ian ran to the Fist Demon and threw her arms around him. She was so happy that her father was safe. Though she had not shown it on the outside, no one would know how anxiously she had watched.
Ilhwa Sword Sovereign had told her to watch it not as her father’s fight, but as the Fist Demon’s fight—but how could she possibly have done that?
“I’m fine.”
Only after hearing the Fist Demon’s firm reply did Ian finally feel relieved.
Now, not as a daughter but as a martial artist, she offered her impression of the battle just now.
“You were truly magnificent.”
The Fist Demon gave a broad smile. It was awkward, yet it suited his rough face perfectly.
Ilhwa Sword Sovereign, who had been silently watching the scene, could tell. Through this fight, the Fist Demon had ascended to yet another realm. For those at their level, a life-and-death blood battle against such a worthy rival was an opportunity more precious than any miraculous elixir.
Yeon Baegin was staring blankly at the utterly wrecked martial hall. The corpses piled there all belonged to those on his side. Since he had clearly sided with Ganghu, he would have no excuse even if the Fist Demon struck him dead on the spot.
Then something entered Yeon Baegin’s eyes.
‘Huh?’
Everything around them had been smashed apart, yet there were things that had not been broken.
They were the chairs with the mechanism that led underground.
In this place where everything had collapsed and shattered, only those remained intact.
‘Could it be?’
Was it coincidence? Or…
Yeon Baegin’s gaze turned toward the Fist Demon.
The Fist Demon was slowly removing the Fighting God gauntlets he had been wearing.
The Fist Demon’s gaze was deep as he looked down at them.
After folding them neatly, he picked up the clothes that had fallen to the floor and placed them inside.
He had not noticed it when they were taken out earlier, but there was a sturdy leather pouch fixed inside to hold the Fighting God gauntlets. Unless someone stole his clothes and stripped him, the gauntlet pouch had been attached so that he would never lose them.
Yeon Baegin was uncertain.
But Ian knew for certain.
Her father had fought while making sure not to destroy those chairs.
Of course, even if the passage had been broken, it was not as if they would have been unable to come up—but this was the Fist Demon’s courtesy toward the Young Cult Leader.
His courtesy, telling him to come back up comfortably through the mechanism he had gone down by, rather than forcing him to dig his way up through the ground.
Her father had not won against him by luck. The fact that he had left those chairs intact even amid that urgent battle meant one thing.
‘Father was stronger.’
And Ian could feel her father’s regard for the Young Cult Leader.
The heart of a Demon Venerable who had wished to clean this place up properly before waiting for the Young Cult Leader.
Perhaps the heart with which Geom Mugeuk had tried not to break the tables of the Pungryu Tavern and the heart with which her father had protected the chairs were not so different after all.
As if her guess had indeed been correct, the Fist Demon looked over the chaos and said to Yeon Baegin,
“An esteemed guest will be coming up. Clean this place thoroughly.”