Chapter 198: Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and Shaolin
Kugugugung….
With the sound of beasts roaring, the snowy mountain began to tremble.
The Lion's Roar was fundamentally a sound-based martial technique, but it was undeniably a formidable skill.
The sound itself transformed into a massive shockwave that struck down the enemy.
Simultaneously, it acted as a sound-based technique, resembling the roar of a lion, to break malicious sorcery.
Unlike me, who had prepared in advance, Cheoldu-ryong was fully exposed to the Lion's Roar.
“…Interesting.”
However, it didn't inflict significant damage.
This was because both of them were deeply familiar with each other’s martial arts.
“You don’t think you could defeat me with the Lion's Roar, do you… Or perhaps, do you think I’ve been possessed by something?”
Paat!
Cheoldu-ryong swiftly moved.
His long arms descended as he moved in an erratic pattern.
The Doin narrowed his eyes, tracking his position.
Left, right.
He continuously changed directions as he charged forward.
Pabababak!
Chwaaaak!
Cheoldu-ryong’s sharp claws slashed diagonally.
Dragon Claws.
Dragon Claws originally belonged to Shaolin martial arts.
Thus, the Doin was also capable of countering it.
Kagagak!
However, the difference in physical strength was overwhelming.
It was akin to a battle between a human and a giant.
Hwoooong!
The Doin was pushed back by Cheoldu-ryong's sheer force.
But he didn’t fly too far.
“Huuup!”
Kuuung.
Thousand Jin Anchor.
He firmly planted his legs into the ground, enduring the impact.
“That makes one exchange.”
The fact that he endured even one exchange was remarkable.
However, considering the current situation, it wasn’t particularly good news.
Cheoldu-ryong wasn’t using his spiritual beast abilities or the power of the Dragon Gate.
He was only employing Shaolin martial arts.
This wasn’t a fight between a human and a spiritual beast—it was Shaolin versus Shaolin.
“Enough with the Dragon Claws. Next is….”
Paaang!
Once again, his figure vanished.
He reappeared directly in front of the Doin.
“Arhat Fist.”
This time, instead of sharp claws, his fists were clenched.
Cheoldu-ryong’s fist shot out like a thunderbolt.
The Doin hastily responded.
He mirrored Cheoldu-ryong’s stance.
Kwaaaang!
Fist collided with fist.
But the difference was stark.
Although the Doin had a large physique, he was still human.
In contrast, Cheoldu-ryong’s size rivaled mine.
Though his form resembled that of a human, his size was anything but.
A giant and a human.
When their fists clashed, the result was predictable.
Jjejejeok!
“Kkeuhup!”
The Doin’s left arm dangled limply.
In a single exchange, his arm had broken.
“Senior Brother, have you been hiding your strength? You’re holding out better than I expected.”
“You fool… focus… kkeuhk… and snap out of it…!”
Paaat!
Once more, Cheoldu-ryong closed the distance at lightning speed.
He skillfully unleashed the Arhat Fist.
Kwadeudeuk!
The Doin focused all his attention, defending against the onslaught.
But with his broken arm, it was impossible to block all the attacks.
Puuuuuk!
Cheoldu-ryong’s Arhat Fist struck the Doin square in the chest.
Kwaaaaang!
The overwhelming force sent the Doin’s body flying helplessly.
He didn’t even have the chance to use Thousand Jin Anchor.
Tukwang!
Kwaaang!
The Doin crashed into the ground, shattering frozen rocks along the way.
“Kkeuhuh….”
Cough.
He vomited a mouthful of bright red blood.
"Did you think you could stop me with something like this?"
Cheoldu-ryong muttered as if he was disappointed.
"It was more entertaining than the others, but... that's all."
Suaaak!
A frosty wind blew.
The battle between Shaolin and Shaolin had just ended.
What appeared before me was not Shaolin but Cheoldu-ryong of the Snowy Mountain.
Cold air began to gather around his head.
"You must have known this would happen. So why did you come back?"
He spoke as though he truly couldn’t understand.
"Do you think you can stop me? With such meager power?"
His voice was filled with anger, yet there was a hint of pity within.
"...If you had just run away, you could have lived."
Cheoldu-ryong possessed overwhelming strength.
Even if someone had managed to stop him, there was no way he would have let the Doin escape.
He had deliberately let him go.
Though he claimed he would annihilate humanity, he couldn’t bring himself to kill the Doin, who had been his closest companion and greatest support.
Step.
Cheoldu-ryong slowly walked toward the Doin.
One hundred steps.
Step.
Ninety steps.
"Is this the conclusion you wanted, Senior Brother?"
Eighty steps.
"Answer me. Is freezing to death here in the cold, with no one around, the ending you wished for?"
Seventy steps.
"What happened to the confidence you had when you claimed you could stop me? You should have begged that spiritual beast to kneel and stop me."
Sixty steps.
The Doin staggered but barely managed to rise to his feet.
"To become an Arhat… I must have cursed it. To constantly spill blood, to be tasked with all of Shaolin’s dirtiest deeds… I must have cursed it to death."
Fifty steps.
He spoke with great difficulty, coughing up blood.
"You must have thought Shaolin was blinded by greed for the inner cores."
"If it wasn’t greed, then what was it? Do you know how many spiritual beasts you made me kill?"
Forty steps.
"Even if they were all mindless monsters… it doesn’t change anything."
Thirty steps.
"Shaolin even ordered me to kill humans like myself."
Twenty steps.
"Nothing changes! They killed my parents and forced me down this hellish path!"
"...That was your destiny."
Pause.
Cheoldu-ryong’s steps came to a halt.
"Destiny?"
He spoke as if the word itself was absurd.
"Kuhuhut... Destiny, you say. So it was my fate to walk this blood-soaked path? These despicable and selfish monks... they mock me until the end."
He couldn’t conceal his raging fury.
A piercingly cold wind swept through the air.
As if there would be no further delay.
Cheoldu-ryong began to move again to kill the Doin.
And so, ten steps remained.
"This is the end. I will sever all these wretched ties once and for all!"
Cheoldu-ryong raised his thick, hard head.
It was a deadly blow.
The Doin, looking at him, closed his eyes.
Was he resigning himself to death?
No, that wasn’t it.
The Doin stretched out his right arm.
He clenched a fist as hard as Cheoldu-ryong’s unyielding skull.
And lightly pushed forward.
There was still a slight distance between them.
The Doin’s final strike couldn’t possibly reach Cheoldu-ryong.
But.
Jjeojeojeok!
A deep wound appeared on Cheoldu-ryong’s chest.
"Kkeuhuuuup…!"
Cheoldu-ryong staggered backward, having been caught off guard by the blow.
"One Hundred Steps Divine Fist…?"
One Hundred Steps Divine Fist.
As the name implies, it was an elevated martial art.
A legendary technique said to strike enemies from a hundred steps away.
Of course, the Doin hadn’t perfectly executed the One Hundred Steps Divine Fist.
It barely extended a mere ten steps.
Even then, its power gradually diminished and failed to inflict major damage.
But a crack had begun to form in Cheoldu-ryong’s heart, which glistened like a blue jewel.
"Kkeuughh!"
A crimson light burst forth.
It was an attempt to thaw his frozen heart.
Cheoldu-ryong’s form grew increasingly unstable.
It wasn’t the form of a human.
Nor was it the form of a spiritual beast.
The Doin had aimed for this.
The form altered by the power of the Dragon Gate.
The visible blue heart, clearly identifiable even with the naked eye.
He believed that shaking that heart might return Cheoldu-ryong to his original form.
“With just… this much…!”
The attempt was good.
But Cheoldu-ryong wasn’t an existence that could be dealt with so easily.
Jjejejeong!
The cold air of the Snowy Mountain gathered around his body.
It suppressed the crimson light bursting forth and filled the cracks.
“Guhh… huu….”
Cheoldu-ryong glared at the Doin with cold eyes.
If the Doin had been a bit stronger, that single strike might have caused severe damage.
It could have been enough to bring him down with just one attack.
“Should I… thank you for that…?”
But the blow didn’t destroy him.
Cheoldu-ryong’s body became even harder.
From an unstable form, it gradually transformed back into the stable appearance of a spiritual beast.
“…You’ve failed, Senior Brother.”
Step.
Once more, Cheoldu-ryong walked toward the Doin.
Cold air gathered around his massive head again.
And he intended to crush the Doin completely.
Kwaaaaang!
Cheoldu-ryong’s head struck the ground with a force that seemed to shatter the mountain.
“Guhhh….”
But the Doin’s death didn’t occur.
“Komodo….”
I had bitten the Doin’s neck and swiftly pulled him out.
“Why would you….”
I should have let him die.
Why did I interfere?
That’s probably what he wanted to ask.
“Grrrr….”
He let out a low growl.
Unlike me, who could always speak comfortably.
He couldn’t say what he wanted and was about to die.
That truly pained me.
“So, you’ve chosen to side with humans after all.”
Cheoldu-ryong spoke in a cold voice.
“Tail of death, is that truly your choice?”
Kudukuduk.
Plants buried deep within the Snowy Mountain began to grow.
Thick roots wrapped around the Doin’s body.
At least this way, he wouldn’t get caught up in the fight.
Cheoldu-ryong assumed a stance.
From his movements, it seemed he had fully warmed up from the earlier battle, even showing a faint sense of competitiveness.
“Isn’t this an amusing fight? A Shaolin monk who claims to save sentient beings tries to kill a human.”
His tone shifted.
No longer friendly, he spoke formally, as though addressing a true adversary.
“And you, a spiritual beast of the wicked land, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, protect a human.”
Cheoldu-ryong smirked bitterly.
“Kuhut… Well, it doesn’t matter if you don’t answer.”
Kugoooo….
I could feel Cheoldu-ryong drawing power from deep within his dantian.
It was incomparable to when he faced the Doin.
“I’ll defeat you and enlighten you.”
He still hadn’t abandoned his original thoughts.
“And starting with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult closest to us, I’ll kill every human.”
His goal was to annihilate all humans.
“I’ll tell you something amusing.”
Cheoldu-ryong pointed one hand toward the sky.
And the other toward the ground.
“Heaven above, earth below, I alone am supreme.”
The stance was familiar, and so was the phrase.
Cheoldu-ryong’s internal energy skyrocketed exponentially.
Drunk on the feeling of omnipotence, he even smiled faintly.
He tried to continue speaking while looking at me.
“The leader of this place is….”
But he couldn’t finish his sentence.
Because he saw me take the same stance.
One hand toward the sky.
The other toward the ground.
Heaven above.
Earth below.
“I alone am supreme.”
I didn’t stop there.
I grabbed the sky with one hand.
And grasped the earth with the other.
Then I moved them forcefully.
Great Heaven and Earth Shift (乾坤大挪移).
Cheoldu-ryong’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Heaven above, earth below, I alone am supreme.
It’s a declaration that one is the most superior being, the ruler of the world.
To someone trapped in his own delusions, there were a few things that needed to be made clear.
If I had to pick the most important one….
It’s that I am the leader of this place.
I might have let that slide.
But there was something I absolutely couldn’t tolerate.
He dared to speak of my beloved master’s Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
To a being that acts so recklessly….
“A good beating is the cure.”
Cheoldu-ryong.
It’s time for you to get hit.