In the broad courtyard before Venerable Gonggong’s quarters, the two men stood facing each other.

Yeon Hojeong saluted with crisp precision.

“I am Yeon Hojeong of the Yeon Clan of Green Mountain in Gangdong.”

Beomo’s eyebrow twitched.

From the very first meeting, he was using an equal tone. One look at their appearances should have been enough to tell their ages apart, yet the man was acting rather arrogantly.

Still, just because the other man had come out that way did not mean he could behave loosely in return.

“I am Beomo of Shaolin.”

Venerable Gonggong, watching the two from a distance, clicked his tongue softly.

Tang Gwan, sitting beside him with his arms folded, gave a dry laugh.

“That Arhat must keep you from ever growing bored, Venerable.”

“Ha ha, he only leaves me troubled.”

Their conversation reached Beomo’s ears clearly, despite the considerable distance.

Beomo’s eyes deepened. Somehow, it sounded as though they were treating him like an inexperienced child, and he did not like it.

No thought. Empty the mind.

After taking a small breath, Beomo suddenly looked at the hand axe hanging at Yeon Hojeong’s waist.

It was an axe whose edge had not even been properly sharpened. Its size was perhaps a /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ little longer than a grown man’s forearm.

Unable to restrain his curiosity, Beomo asked, “Do you use an axe?”

“Ah, this?”

Yeon Hojeong gave a bitter smile.

“An axe is my main weapon, but I have let it rest lately. Of course, if a moment comes when I need it, I will use it.”

“I see.”

Beomo quietly looked down on him.

An axe?

An axe was not a weapon proper martial artists normally used. It was the sort of weapon used by Dark Path ruffians or third-rate mountain bandits who pushed through with weight.

Yet the man called the greatest of the younger generation under heaven used an axe? And he was a son of the Yeon Clan, which had made its name through swordsmanship?

Truly an unusual fellow.

Beomo, who had been looking at Yeon Hojeong with a smile, gathered his mind again.

Whatever weapon he uses, his skill in concealing his qi is real. I must not let my guard down.

The fact that he had failed to read the man’s presence was enough to acknowledge his opponent’s ability.

However, there were many kinds of martial arts in the martial world. Among them were many divine arts and peerless disciplines particularly specialized in containing and hiding True Qi.

Beomo thought Yeon Hojeong’s martial art was likely similar to that sort.

“Then, I believe we may begin.”

Yeon Hojeong tilted his head.

“Had we not already begun? I was waiting.”

Confusion rose on Beomo’s face.

“What do you mean? I never said I would make the first move.”

“...Ah. So that is the sort you are.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled and nodded.

“Understood. Let us begin.”

For no clear reason, Beomo’s mood soured. Yeon Hojeong’s eyes, words, and bearing resembled his Abbot Martial Uncle and the Tang Clan Lord.

Arrogant.

SHHHK.

Beomo lowered his stance.

The posture he took with fluid ease evoked solid stone. There was not a single opening to be found.

A faint golden True Qi seeped from Beomo’s body.

WOOOOOOONG!

A sound spread as though a Buddhist temple bell were tolling.

Venerable Gonggong slapped his knee.

“It is the Mahayana Brahma!”

It was the opening of the Mahayana Brahma Divine Art, one of Shaolin’s peerless divine arts.

The qi wave spreading in every direction was astonishingly resilient. Rather than feeling splendid or unusual, it was a magnificent qi art that quietly extended its presence.

Beomo said, “Come in first.”

Yeon Hojeong nodded.

“Very well.”

Step, step.

Beomo frowned.

What is he doing?

He had told him to come in, and the man was simply walking forward without any preparation.

He had not opened an Inner Qi heart method or taken a careful stance. He was approaching with light, fresh steps, as if going for a stroll on the hill behind his house.

There was not even the fighting spirit or tension of a man entering a contest in his eyes.

Is this fellow trying to play games with me?

Before he knew it, Yeon Hojeong had entered within one zhang of Beomo.

That was when it happened.

PAAAAAK!

Yeon Hojeong’s right foot shot toward Beomo’s face like a whip tipped with an awl.

Beomo’s eyes flashed.

Fast!

He had been approaching slowly, only to unleash an explosive kicking art in an instant.

Even Beomo of all people was flustered by that terrifying speed. But he too was a warrior monk famed as one of Shaolin’s talents, and his body responded first to Yeon Hojeong’s vicious kicking art.

HOOF!

Beomo’s right fist bent like a snake and aimed for Yeon Hojeong’s calf. He meant to knock it aside before it could strike his face.

Then Yeon Hojeong’s foot vanished from Beomo’s vision.

THUD!

“Guh?!”

The kicking art that had been shooting forward dropped low as if swinging an axe and stomped down on Beomo’s instep.

Beomo’s face flushed red.

You—!

He had never imagined his instep would be stepped on. Thanks to the protection of the Mahayana Brahma Divine Art, his bones did not break, but an immense shock drove into the top of his foot.

What kind of conduct is this?!

What contestant in the world stepped on an opponent’s instep? It was an attack he had never heard of or seen.

PAAAAANG!

The enraged Beomo swung both fists.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.

It looked as if he were swinging wildly, but each blow was packed with enough force and momentum to shatter stone. It was the Shaolin Vajra Fist.

TUH-TUNG!

Beomo’s eyes opened so wide they seemed about to tear.

At some point, both his fists had been knocked left and right. His opponent’s palms had struck the pulse gates at his wrists.

He could not tell what method had been used, even after seeing it. It was a lightning-fast artifice.

Yeon Hojeong’s left hand struck Beomo’s chest.

THUD!

Kh!

The intense pain made his head spin.

Even the internal force of the Mahayana Brahma Divine Art struggled to disperse the impact. It was not the method of a hard fist, but a soft fist—a type of hidden force that struck inside the opponent.

Beomo, retreating backward like a madman, screamed without meaning to.

“Ah!”

CRUNCH!

Yeon Hojeong’s foot was once again stepping on his instep.

He had pressed down so hard that Beomo’s entire foot dug into the earth. Between the choking pain constricting his chest and the pain that felt as though his instep would break, Beomo’s momentum turned savage.

“You bastard!”

The lion’s roar burst from him before he knew it. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

WOOOOOOONG!

Along with the toll of a temple bell, Beomo’s fist writhed and aimed for Yeon Hojeong’s upper body.

It was an astonishingly swift and flexible fist art. It was a single punch filled with such profound principles that even Yeon Hojeong could be struck if he made one wrong move.

At last, one of the Seventy-Two Peerless Arts of Shaolin revealed itself: the Dragon King Soft Fist. As its name suggested, its momentum was majestic, like a dragon writhing into motion.

As expected.

Yeon Hojeong let out an inward exclamation of admiration.

Shaolin martial arts truly are...!

Even in the hands of a half-baked warrior monk who had learned well but could not properly apply what he had learned, they produced tremendous power and qi waves.

They were indeed worthy of being called the martial arts of the supreme pillar of the martial world. Even if one searched the whole world, it would be difficult to find martial arts so refined and magnificent.

But.

WOOOONG!

Yeon Hojeong’s two arms shone with a faint blue-green radiance. He was operating Azure Dragon Qi.

WHOOOOOOOSH!

The force of the Dragon King Soft Fist, which broke through by crushing momentum first, gently scattered.

And that was not all. Yeon Hojeong’s arms, already swinging, coiled around Beomo’s arm like snakes.

Beomo’s eyes opened so wide they seemed about to split.

With Beomo’s arm wrapped up, Yeon Hojeong laid his upper body backward.

KWADUK!

“Kraaaaaak!”

Beomo’s left arm broke just like that.

It was fortunate, at least, that the joint had not been destroyed. But the mental shock was nearly the same as having his head cut off.

You—!

It was the first time his arm had ever been broken in a duel.

But Beomo did not simply take it. He loaded his weight into his body and aimed his right hand at Yeon Hojeong’s jaw, and a blue radiance spread from that hand like rippling water.

It was the Avalokitesvara Clear Steel Hand. He had attacked through a complex circulation of Inner Qi in that brief instant. Though his practical combat ability was lacking, every martial art he had learned and trained was ingrained in his body.

Yeon Hojeong put strength into his foot.

KWADUDUDEUK!

“Kuk!”

Beomo’s body tilted forward.

FWIP!

The blow of the Avalokitesvara Clear Steel Hand brushed past Yeon Hojeong’s shoulder.

There was no need to dodge just because an attack was coming in. All one had to do was disrupt the opponent’s posture. It was a method only someone terribly accustomed to real combat could use.

Before Beomo could even realize why his attack had missed, he had to face an impact that flashed white before his eyes.

CRACK!

A knee surged up like an axe and struck Beomo’s jaw. For an instant, Beomo felt as though his mind were about to fly away.

That was where it began.

Yeon Hojeong’s real attack.

THUD! CRACK! BOOOOOM!

A powerful three-hit combination landed entirely on Beomo’s body.

They were not attacks that caused severe internal injuries, but they left him unable to gather his senses from the shock. If Killing Intent had been carried in them, Beomo would have died before the third strike was reached.

HOOOOOOONG!

White wind surged from Yeon Hojeong’s body.

KWANG!

With one powerful step, a strike of the Tiger King flew out.

THUD!

“Kuhuk!”

Beomo spat blood and collapsed where he stood.

It was not an attack that knocked him away, but one that drove all its force into his body. He would not die, nor would he need to recuperate from severe internal injuries, but he would find it difficult to use martial arts properly for some time.

Yeon Hojeong brushed off his hands.

“I have seen much.”

“Krrgh!”

“Then.”

“W-wait!”

Beomo trembled as he pushed himself up.

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“Impressive. I have heard Shaolin’s warrior monks are all hard-boned, and I did not expect you to stand again after that blow.”

“W-what in the world was that?!”

“What do you mean?”

Beomo ground his teeth with a pale face.

“You stepped on my instep! How can such an absurd move be called a fight—!”

That was when it happened.

HWAAAAAAK!

For an instant, Beomo felt the illusion that the whole world had been dyed red.

And in that red world, Yeon Hojeong finally drew the axe.

HOOOOOOONG!

A hot wind, as though it held flame, wrapped around Beomo’s body.

Huk!

Beomo’s eyes opened so wide they seemed about to tear.

A demon spitting mad flame from both eyes was swinging an axe.

Yes. It was an axe.

At the same time, it was not an axe. No axe in the world was as vast as Mount Tai.

HWARURURUK!

The axe blade falling as it split the air caught fire. The flame-wreathed edge was descending with terrifying speed, as if it would split his body in half at any moment.

Beomo squeezed his eyes shut without realizing it.

HOOF!

In an instant, the hot wind vanished, and the cold wind of winter cooled Beomo’s body.

When Beomo opened the eyes he had squeezed shut, his complexion turned even paler. The hand axe Yeon Hojeong had swung was already touching his forehead.

Yeon Hojeong smiled faintly.

“I have heard Shaolin martial learning is deep and vast, a high-level martial art capable of responding to any method under heaven.”

“...”

“Was the martial art you learned so light that it could not respond to even this sort of petty trick?”

Beomo’s cheek trembled.

Yeon Hojeong hung the hand axe back on his belt and saluted.

“Shaolin’s art lived up to its name. The one who lost was you, not Shaolin’s art.”

“...!”

“When the time comes later, let us have another round. Then I will face you with strength as well. Take care of yourself.”

Yeon Hojeong looked toward Venerable Gonggong.

Venerable Gonggong sighed and nodded.

*****

On the way back to the quarters.

Tang Gwan threw out a question as if tossing a stone.

“Why did you do that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Unlike you, you held back.”

Yeon Hojeong looked at him with a bewildered face.

“Were you telling me to kill him on the spot?”

Tang Gwan snorted.

“Even if you did not kill him, you could have pressed him down so he would never dare crawl up again. The one who asked for the duel first was Venerable Gonggong, so he would not have been able to say much.”

“That would not do. Rather, that warrior monk must burn with competitive spirit and come looking for me.”

“Why is that?”

“If he knows he can learn something from me, will that not raise the chance that Venerable Gonggong will watch the Clan Lord’s back?”

Tang Gwan clicked his tongue in amazement.

“You snake of a bastard.”

“Anyway, the time is a little awkward. Shall we have a meal?”

“Don’t spout nonsense. Mealtime passed long ago.”

“Hmm.”

“Forget the meal. Buy me liquor.”

“Shall I? Let us do that, then.”