Go ahead. Try and kill me. (1)
Fwaaash!
Chung Myung’s sword split the air like lightning.
Kraaaang!
At the same time, a burst of flame blossomed in the air, and a single ornate ring was shot up into the sky.
Brrrrng.
The ominous trembling sound of the falling ring filled the surroundings. Yet, without a shred of hesitation, Chung Myung charged straight at Jang Ilso.
Kagagak!
The chilling sound of Chung Myung’s Dark Plum Sword being dragged across the ground echoed eerily.
In that moment Chung Myung’s lips twisted. As they parted, gleaming white teeth showed. Just as Jang Ilso felt a sudden, chilling sense of foreboding and flinched…
Chung Myung kicked off the ground once more, accelerating instantly, like a shooting star closing the distance between him and Jang Ilso in a flash.
Kwaaaah.
The fighting spirit radiating from the two suddenly condensed, violently colliding and unleashing a fierce wave of energy that spread out in all directions from where they stood.
Fwaaang!
With a deafening roar that seemed to tear apart the air itself, Chung Myung’s sword surged upward. His swift strike, surpassing even sound itself, shot towards Jang Ilso’s chin.
It shot forth.
Yet, before the blade could even brush against Jang Ilso’s skin, it collided with Jang Ilso’s fist.
Boooom!
At the instant the fist, bracelet still gripped tight, collided with the razor-sharl blade, a massive explosion erupted.
Kkadduk!
Even in that split second, Jang Ilso’s bracelet and Chung Myung’s sword kept grinding against each other, as though trying to push the other away, like wolves who were biting each other’s muzzles and growling fiercely.
A sword striving to rise, and a fist pressing down.
The one who broke that taut standoff was Chung Myung.
Fwaaah!
As if by magic, the strength drained from Chung Myung’s sword. Unable to retract the force of his punch, Jang Ilso’s fist plunged downward.
Kagagak!
Chung Myung’s sword, channeling that force, spun fiercely. The Dark Plum Sword, having scraped – no, rather carved – the ground, traced a large arc as it came crashing down towards Jang Ilso’s head.
A perfect shift from an upward slash into a downward strike. Having even the slight imbalance, it was clearly a difficult attack for Jang Ilso to handle.
Yet in that moment Jang Ilso proved once more why he was called Paegun. Instead of steadying his forward-tilted body, he twisted slightly and swung his elbow with violent speed.
Kaang!
Jang Ilso’s elbow smashed into the flat of the descending Dark Plum Sword.
As Chung Myung’s eyes widened, the sword path twisted, narrowly brushing past Jang Ilso’s body and plunging into the ground.
Swaaaek!
Not missing this brief opening, Jang Ilso’s foot shot out like a viper, targeting Chung Myung’s knee.
Instead of dodging, Chung Myung also extended his foot, meeting Jang Ilso’s kick head-on.
Boooom!
Their feet collided in midair, unleashing a terrifying sound of bones breaking, accompanied by an explosive crash.
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!
It didn’t stop there — the two fighters’ Chain Kicks [연환각(連環脚)] collided repeatedly in midair.
With each and every collision, a dull, bone-chilling crack resounded.
Booom!
Another blast rang out, and crimson blood – no one could tell whose – splattered into the air. At that instant, Jang Ilso propelled himself forward, taking another decisive step towards Chung Myung.
Swaaaaek!
His kick sliced through the air, aiming straight at Chung Myung. Almost effortlessly, Chung Myung’s outstretched foot bent downward like a swallow, deftly avoiding Jang Ilso’s strike.
Bbaak!
Chung Myung’s knee slammed straight into Jang Ilso’s shin – a blow so savage that the onlookers shuddered. Yet instead of writhing in pain, Jang Ilso flashed a sinister smile.
Fwah!
In that moment, Jang Ilso’s right foot swiftly rose and slammed down heavily, as if crushing the very ground beneath.
Kwoooooong!
The solid ground cracked like a spiderweb, broken fragments rising into the air. Beneath Jang Ilso’s foot, embedded at the center of the spiderweb, lay Chung Myung’s left foot.
Fwaaash!
Too close to wield a sword effectively – but Chung Myung swung without a moment’s hesitation. Bending his wrist sharply, he drew the blade tightly against his forearm, making it seem as though the blade itself was his arm, slicing at Jang Ilso.
Slice!
Jang Ilso threw his torso back as far as it would go, but Chung Myung’s sword carved a long gash across his chest, missing a fatal strike by barely a hair’s breadth.
At that moment, Jang Ilso’s eyes flashed ominously.
Taaat!
Jang Ilso thrust out his right hand, forcibly pushing away Chung Myung’s right upper arm. By doing so, he preemptively stopped Chung Myung – who was already twisting his body to its limits – from countering with a reverse thrust.
Wiiiiing!
At the same moment, Jang Ilso’s left hand, blazing with vivid blue Steel Flames [염강(炎鋼)], shot straight for Chung Myung’s flank.
But then.
Tak!
Chung Myung released the sword he had been holding, as if tossing it lightly.
‘What?’
Even someone as great as Jang Ilso could only widen his eyes in that instant.
And then.
Fwaaaaash!
Chung Myung’s left hand darted out like a viper lunging from its burrow, snatched the sword from midair, and thrust it directly at Jang Ilso.
A sword aimed at the throat, and a palm strike [장(掌)] aimed at the side!
Either one was an attack no human flesh could endure, yet the two of them tore into each other without yielding so much as a single step.
Crunch!
Boooom!
The chilling sound of flesh being sliced apart and a deafening explosion of colliding energies erupted simultaneously.
At the culmination of their collision, Chung Myung was flung away like a released arrow and smashed into the ground at a staggering speed.
Kuuung!
Chung Myung’s body, unable to shed all its remaining momentum even after crashing hard into the ground, rolled across the dirt as though being dragged.
“Chung Myung-ah!”
At the sight, Yoon Jong and Jo Geol both shouted at the same time.
At last his body came to a halt. After lying still for a moment, sprawled out across the ground, he slowly opened his eyes and raised his upper body.
“Ah…”
Seeing this, Tang Soso’s legs seemed to give way, as she collapsed on the spot.
“Sahyeong…”
One look at Chung Myung, covered in dirt, was enough to guess how great an impact he had taken.
Yet it was by no means one-sided.
Drip.
“Hmm…”
Jang Ilso lifted his right hand and lightly brushed beneath his jaw.
The warmth of fresh blood spread to his fingertips. A long gash ran from just below his Adam’s apple up to his ear. Had it been slightly deeper, Jang Ilso would have already been a dead man.
As proof, his neck and the front of his robe were already stained crimson with flowing blood.
“Haha.”
Jang Ilso let out a laugh.
It was the same for both of them. Had he been a moment slower to bend his neck, he would have died. Had Chung Myung been a moment slower to twist his body, it would have been Chung Myung’s death. Life and death had balanced precariously upon a single fleeting decision.
“You know, I wonder every time…”
Jang Ilso shook his head.
“How can this possibly feel like fighting against someone from the Just Sect?”
The corner of his mouth curled up. Wearing a sinister smile, he glared at Chung Myung with blazing eyes.
“At this rate… doesn’t it seem more like I’m battling a demon from the Evil Sect, hmm?”
Chung Myung rose fully to his feet.
“Tch!”
He spat out a mouthful of blood without a second thought and flicked the blood from his sword.
‘Chest and neck.’
The wounds he had carved into Jang Ilso stood out clearly.
But there was little to celebrate. With his foot crushed and ribs shattered, inflicting a few shallow cuts on his enemy’s flesh could hardly be called a profitable exchange.
“Keep running your mouth.”
Chung Myung’s eyes turned chillingly cold.
“You don’t have much time left to keep babbling anyway.”
At those icy words, Jang Ilso’s eyes curved into crescent moons.
“Yes. That’s it. The reason I thought of you as special.”
“…”
“It’s strange, really. Just Sects’ bastards always strut around acting like tigers when they could be barely called dogs. But you – you were different. At worst, you were a wolf, yet you insisted on acting like some cheap stray mutt.”
The corner of Chung Myung’s eye twitched.
“I took it for hunger back then. But now…”
Jang Ilso’s smile suddenly deepened.
“Now I wonder if it wasn’t just desperation all along.”
“Shut up.”
Chung Myung bared his teeth, a savage aura spilling forth.
“That must be why you can fight like this.”
But Jang Ilso continued calmly, unbothered.
“A swordsman closing the distance against me? It’s no different from shoving your own neck beneath the executioner’s blade. Why would the illustrious Maehwa Geomgwi persist in such foolishness?”
“…”
When Chung Myung did not reply, Jang Ilso’s eyes lit up strangely.
“It’s not that you want to fight this way – you have no choice, do you? With your internal injuries unresolved, a straightforward approach could never bring you victory.”
Chung Myung still said nothing.
Taking the silence as confirmation, Jang Ilso shrugged lightly.
“What a pity. The nemesis meant to share my final stage isn’t at his full strength.”
“Full strength?”
Chung Myung let out a short scoff.
“…Hmm?”
Jang Ilso’s eyes narrowed slightly. Strangely enough, that mocking laugh bothered him.
“What’s so amusing?”
“Full strength… How easy for you to say.”
“…”
“My enemies never wait for me.”
Chung Myung reversed his grip on the sword.
“If an arm is cut off, you fight without that arm. If a leg is severed, you fight without that leg. Even when your insides are shredded and you’re vomiting blood, you swing your sword. Even when poisoned by demonic qi and spitting blood, you strike with your fists. That’s war. You weep before the corpse of your comrade, but the moment an enemy appears, you use that same corpse as a shield – that’s war.”
Chung Myung flashed a chilling grin.
“In this peaceful world, only you lot, who start fights whenever you feel like it… can spout nonsense about being ‘at full strength.’”
“…”
“I’ve never used such easy words as an excuse. I simply fight and kill.”
Jang Ilso felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine.
Was it the words, the expression, or was it because the teeth revealed in that dreadful grin were just too eerie?
“Anyway… you keep saying things no one can understand.”
It didn’t matter either way. The important point was that Jang Ilso wasn’t someone weak enough to fall victim to the desperate struggle of a wounded beast.
“You’re not going to just keep talking, are you? After speaking so grandly, isn’t it only right that you prove yourself?”
“I was going to.”
A fierce sharp light poured from Chung Myung’s eyes.
“That’s exactly my plan.”
Fwaaash!
Chung Myung’s form once again transformed into a flash of lightning aimed at Jang Ilso. Despite one foot being crushed, his speed had not diminished – on the contrary, he seemed even faster.
Radiating a murderous intent and a coldness that could stop one’s breath, Chung Myung charged in. Jang Ilso’s face twisted grotesquely at the chilling sight.
Fwaaah!
Unyielding Blue Slaughtering Flames surged violently around Jang Ilso’s entire body.
‘Ah.’
Intense heat filled Jang Ilso’s eyes.
‘Isn’t this delightful.’
Truly, wasn’t it strange? That such a hated enemy could be so welcome.
“Go ahead. Try and kill me.”
Jang Ilso’s fist shot out, wrapped in blue flame.
“If you can, that is!”
The blue flames swirled like a vortex, engulfing the charging Chung Myung in an instant.
________
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Return of the Mount Hua 
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