Chapter 143

Chapter 143

A strange sensation of buoyancy began to blur her already dazed mind even further.

Hwangbo Nyeong entrusted her body to the warmth he felt within his inner world.

A fist that shattered Mount Tai.

It was an exaggerated expression. No matter how strong a human was, one could not destroy a mountain with a single punch.

However, martial arts had goals. Daoist martial arts sought to express one’s own nature, while demonic arts sought to defy the heavens.

Among them, there were divisions such as Taiji, the Sun, and the Five Elements depending on what one wished to express, but in the end, the essence remained the same—the goal was to contain nature within martial arts.

Then what goal did the fists of the Hwangbo Family hold? What kind of ideal had the creator of the Hwangbo Family’s fist techniques embraced when crafting them?

In truth, it was impossible to determine. There was no way to know the thoughts of the dead, and since each person’s values differed, interpretation depended on the individual.

Thus, Hwangbo Nyeong’s fist could no longer be considered the Hwangbo Family’s fist technique, but rather Hwangbo Nyeong’s own fist technique.

Youngho’s advice had been fatal. Depending on how it was received, the path diverged—and yet, in the end, those paths converged into one place.

All Roads Lead to One.

In the end, Hwangbo Nyeong was merely undergoing the process of growing stronger.

Numerous paths lay before her. Dozens—perhaps even hundreds—of paths all cried out to Hwangbo Nyeong.

Walk this path. This path will raise you to greater heights.

Among the countless roads, Hwangbo Nyeong found a single one. It was a path that felt fierce, as though it carried killing intent.

After hearing Youngho’s words, Hwangbo Nyeong had thought: the Hwangbo Family’s fist was ultimately the orthodox path.

It must be used to save the common people and to repel evil foes. Thus, Hwangbo Nyeong resolved.

‘To protect, I destroy.’

To carve evil out of this world. To safeguard the peace of the realm.

To see her will through, Hwangbo Nyeong stepped onto the most difficult path among the many.

As she took one step forward toward that path, her vision flashed white.

When Hwangbo Nyeong opened her eyes again, it was around dawn. The beautiful starlight scattered across the cloudless sky welcomed her.

“You’re awake?”

At the voice coming from beside her, Hwangbo Nyeong, as if entranced, turned her hazy gaze toward Youngho.

She gave no answer to Youngho’s question.

Bathed in moonlight, Youngho’s face—and his lustrous black hair that fell to his neck—appeared unbearably beautiful.

Even Hwangbo Nyeong herself could not understand why he found Youngho so beautiful.

But as she felt her restless heartbeat, she finally realized her emotions.

Awe—no, it was not mere reverence, but something closer to admiration—complicated Hwangbo Nyeong’s heart.

Unaware of Hwangbo Nyeong’s feelings, Youngho smiled as she always did and said,

“I pray that you refine your enlightenment and win your duel against the Fist King.”

Leaving only those words behind, Youngho disappeared from Hwangbo Nyeong’s sight. Watching Youngho vanish without a sound, Hwangbo Nyeong wondered if she had just witnessed an immortal.

Hwangbo Nyeong repeatedly clenched and unclenched her hand, then grinned.

“With this… it’s possible!”

Contrary to Youngho’s expectation that it would take a week for her to consolidate her enlightenment, Hwangbo Nyeong seized victory in her duel against the Fist King the very next day.

No one in Shaolin had expected it. Least of all Hyewon, who was called the Fist King.

When Hyewon was defeated, a sense of loss spread throughout Shaolin.

He was that significant a figure within the sect. Yet among Shaolin’s disciples, there was one person—the most rational one present—who beamed brightly and sincerely congratulated Hwangbo Nyeong.

Ignoring his dislocated shoulder, Hyewon reached out with his one movable hand and ruffled Hwangbo Nyeong’s hair as he said,

“You’ve grown! I don’t know what happened, but you must have obtained a tremendous fortunate encounter.”

There was no humiliation from defeat visible on Hyewon’s face.

There was only a monk rejoicing in the fact that a junior of the orthodox sect had surpassed him.

Moved by such pure goodwill, Hwangbo Nyeong flushed without realizing it.

“Ah, I am still lacking….”

“You brat, if our first-generation disciples heard that, how embarrassed do you think they’d be?”

“Th-that’s not what I meant…!”

“Hahaha! I know!”

Hyewon laughed heartily as he continued,

“From this day forward, you are one of the absolute masters of the orthodox sect. No one can doubt it. After all, you defeated me.”

Glancing toward where Youngho stood, Hyewon said,

“Congratulations on becoming the Fist Queen, Hwangbo Nyeong.”

At Hyewon’s approving words, Hwangbo Nyeong’s eyes widened. At the adorable sight of her looking like a startled rabbit, Hyewon burst into laughter.

Watching Hyewon’s delighted expression, Youngho let out a faint chuckle.

‘He must be aware of what he just said….’

Hyewon surely understood as well—the impact of personally acknowledging Hwangbo Nyeong as the Fist Queen.

For the one known as the Fist King to call Hwangbo Nyeong the Fist Queen was no different from declaring her his equal—or perhaps even superior. The realm would likely be in uproar for some time.

‘I’ve seen all I needed to see. Shall I get going?’

Casting a brief glance at the thirty-six monks glaring at him, Youngho asked Horyeong,

“The Abbot didn’t try anything foolish, did he?”

“Yes. I thought he might attempt negotiations, claiming the terms of the deal were excessive, but it seems your warning was quite effective, Young Master. He handed it over without a single complaint.”

“He must know as well. That making this deal with me at this price is to his benefit.”

To move the one second only to the Heavenly Demon, this price was practically nothing.

“Then let’s be on our way.”

Just as he was about to execute his lightness skill and depart immediately, Hwangbo Nyeong approached Youngho and said,

“Is there anything I can help with this time?”

Seeing Hwangbo Nyeong suddenly speak casually to his lord, Horyeong was momentarily startled. But upon noticing Youngho’s utterly unconcerned expression, he relaxed and stepped aside.

“It doesn’t matter… but why…?”

As he responded, Youngho realized something. Come to think of it, until now Hwangbo Nyeong had only received from him and had never given anything in return.

‘It must have weighed on her.’

Given Hwangbo Nyeong’s clear-cut sense of debts and gratitude, she likely would not let things pass vaguely like this.

After pondering for a moment, Youngho said,

“Then would you like to come along? It might become a somewhat dangerous situation.”

“It’s fine. If you’re there, at least I won’t die.”

“If you put it that way, it means it’s dangerous enough that I’d have to intervene?”

“…….”

At that, Hwangbo Nyeong’s mouth shut. As though she had not considered that at all, her eyebrows trembled faintly. Seeing this, Youngho snickered.

“It probably won’t be that dangerous. Let’s talk as we go.”

“Where exactly are we going?”

“We’re entering a mountain located in a remote corner of Hubei.”

“Did something happen?”

“Why?”

“Well, the atmosphere seems unusual….”

Youngho glanced toward where Hwangbo Nyeong was looking. There, the Shaolin disciples still glared at him, unable to erase their hostility, their killing intent surging forth.

Youngho snorted as if mocking and said,

“It's nothing. Those guys just dislike me, that’s all. Let’s go quickly.”

“…Alright.”

Even if someone disliked another, they wouldn’t usually emit killing intent…

Hwangbo Nyeong responded reluctantly with a nod and followed behind Youngho.

***

Cheonung was training as usual, diligently practicing the extraordinary method of internal energy manipulation that Youngho had taught him.

Suddenly, Cheonung sensed a desperate presence rushing toward him.

‘What is this? It feels like Cheongsol…’

It was very strange. The Cheongsol he knew would stroll leisurely even if he heard that the Gold-Blood Hall Master had died.

But running like this with such urgency?

Unable to comprehend, he rose from his cross-legged meditation posture.

Bang!

Cheongsol had flung open the training hall door with such force that it cracked, bypassing the guards’ inspection entirely, and was catching his breath at full tilt.

For the normally methodical Cheongsol to ignore the guards’ scrutiny, it must be serious.

As if even a moment’s delay could lead to the end of the world, Cheongsol’s limbs trembled uncontrollably.

From Cheongsol’s unexpectedly grave state, Cheonung could gauge how dangerous the matter he brought was.

Cheonung quickly approached him and asked,

“What happened?”

Seeing Cheongsol’s bloodless face, Cheonung spoke in a tense voice without realizing it.

Cheongsol, gasping for air yet determined, immediately answered,

“The Demonic Cult has invaded the Central Plains!”

At that moment, Cheonung’s expression twisted in horror.

“Explain in detail.”

Even now, Cheonung’s voice dripped with murderous intent and icy coldness. As if restraining himself, he bit his lips so hard that blood almost appeared.

“The information came from the Hao Sect. While the transport convoy of the Wunryong Carriage was on the move, a sudden intruder sprang out from the cart where the goods were stored. Most of the escort warriors died, and only barely did the convoy succeed.”

“What happened to the intruder?”

“It was a Poison Jiangshi.”

“…What?”

“The intruder wasn’t a living person, but a Poison Jiangshi—a type of undead. The venom from its wounds poisoned the surrounding escorts and martial artists, killing most of them.”

“That’s the work of the Demonic Cult? But Youngho destroyed the places that produced Poison Jiangshi!”

“That was only part of it. The Demonic Cult has long practiced various forbidden arts, so it’s not surprising that they possess Poison Jiangshi. The real concern is the final destination of these Poison Jiangshi.”

“Where?”

“Hubei.”

“…What?”

Cheonung’s expression, which seemed already incapable of hardening further, began to solidify into severity.

“It seems the Demonic Cult has been continuously disguising Poison Jiangshi as transported goods and moving them toward Hubei.”

“That doesn’t make sense. If the escort warriors were bribed to hide the Jiangshi, why were they suddenly discovered? I don’t think the Demonic Cult would stage such a spectacle just to declare war.”

“It’s rare, but occasionally goods get lost in the convoy, delaying delivery.”

“There’s no way they hid Jiangshi so easily.”

“Although classified as special cargo, apparently the handling was sloppy. It was merely an accident. Thanks to this, we now know that the Demonic Cult is hiding Jiangshi somewhere in the Central Plains.”

“…Is this related to Youngho?”

“…”

Cheongsol took a deep breath and said,

“From what Myeongnyang and I have speculated, it’s odd that the Jiangshi are heading toward Hubei. But recently, Myeongnyang mentioned the Demonic Cult’s Heretical Arts, the Myriad Phenomena…”

Trailing off, Cheongsol left his sentence unfinished. Cheonung’s eyes bulged with veins popping as he spoke through gritted teeth,

“So the Demonic Cult, already aware of Youngho’s movements, might be sending Jiangshi to attack my disciples.”

“That’s just speculation.”

“It’s not a wild guess; it sounds plausible. If Jiangshi have been sent to Hubei until now, how many would that be? Or perhaps the Demonic Cult deliberately lured Youngho to Hubei…”

Though a leap in logic, Cheonung asked gravely,

“When were the Jiangshi discovered?”

“The escort warriors fought the Jiangshi five days ago, and the convoy realized the Jiangshi existed just one day ago.”

“Youngho definitely departed three days ago, right?”

“Yes.”

Unease began to stir in his heart.

Breaking the silence, Cheonung said,

“Send twenty experts of Blood Ghost Hall Master and Hall Master rank, along with two squads.”

“But we don’t know Youngho’s exact location either.”

“That’s fine. Whether by coincidence or design, Youngho left Muyeon behind. She will surely find him.”

“Understood. I will relay the message.”

Cheonung watched Cheongsol hurry away and let out a deep sigh.

Soon, a frigid killing intent began to emanate from Cheonung’s eyes like frost.

This matter was suspicious in many ways. That Jiangshi were being sent to Hubei was one thing, but how did they become classified as special cargo?

It would have been impossible without a spy inside the convoy.

“…I’ll need to investigate.”

Just then, his cherished sword had been resonating, and it seemed he finally had a reason to draw it after a long time.