Chapter 233: A Band of Madmen

Only after the Thunder Fortress pierced through the clouds and vanished did Hwa Jinmyeong turn his head.

“Elder.”

Clear eyes and a voice imbued with strength.

Though he had lost an arm and been defeated in the duel, Hwa Jinmyeong showed not a hint of discouragement.

“When I return to the palace, I intend to make a proposal to the Palace Lord.”

“What kind of proposal?”

“I would like to establish a non-aggression pact with the Northern Heavens Ice Palace for the time being.”

“…May I ask why?”

The unexpected statement caught Cheok Hwa-hong off guard, and his response came a little late.

“I’m thinking of stepping into the Martial World myself.”

Hwa Jinmyeong was a warrior who had grown under the full support of the Solar Palace of Scorching Flame.

He was the Young Palace Master—a secret weapon kept hidden until now.

Only recently having stepped out of the palace, he had seen Jang Woo-hyun and the Annihilation Squad with his own eyes—and had felt much.

In truth, it hadn’t been the two disciples sent as his proxies who wished to follow the Annihilation Squad. It had been Hwa Jinmyeong himself. Had he not been seated as the Young Palace Master, he would’ve gone in person.

“I don’t think the training I’ve undergone was wrong. But I’ve realized there’s much to learn from the wider world. Despite my lack of experience, I believed I was the best.”

As he spoke with a smile, the corners of Cheok Hwa-hong’s mouth lifted.

‘So defeat became nourishment.’

Though it had been his first loss, he hadn’t succumbed to despair or frustration. The young master of the Solar Palace had risen the moment he fell.

“I understand your intentions, Young Palace Master. I shall lend my strength to persuade the Palace Lord.”

The longstanding conflict with the Northern Heavens Ice Palace still mattered. But to Cheok Hwa-hong now, it had become a secondary concern.

The Young Palace Master of the Solar Palace had opened his eyes after facing the warrior Jang Woo-hyun, and had taken his first new step forward.

If he continued to grow as he had today, it was possible that once Hwa Jinmyeong ascended as Palace Lord, the Solar Palace of Scorching Flame might surpass the Samcheong Tai Chi Sect as the supreme force of the Central Heavens Martial Realm.

‘Another debt we owe.’

Jang Woo-hyun of the Cheonrin Sword Alliance.

A new powerhouse who had suddenly appeared in the Central Heavens Martial Realm, he had scolded the arrogant Yu I-geon at the Ten Sects Assembly. And today, without warning, he had offered the Young Palace Master a moment of insight.

Though unintentional, Jang Woo-hyun was always aiding the Solar Palace.

‘These lunatics…’

Yu I-geon, who had ascended the Thunder Fortress under the Young Palace Master’s orders—

Having joined the Annihilation Squad, he was already fed up just three days in.

‘What the hell are these people?’

Even Yu I-geon, whom Hwa Jinmyeong personally praised as an outstanding disciple, had trained diligently in martial arts. He had nearly completed the grueling regimen of the massive Solar Palace.

But these people in front of him were something else entirely.

The warriors of the Annihilation Squad would laugh even after being stabbed or having their arms cut off, only to return the next day with weapons in hand, ready to duel again.

Training, duels, and battles continued endlessly.

Rather than a group of warriors, the Annihilation Squad was better described as a band of madmen.

And now—

Yu I-geon had been thrown right into the heart of that mad horde.

“Hey rookie, did you sweep over here?”

“We told you to clean this up. Don’t be lazy.”

Grit.

Grinding his teeth, Yu I-geon held back the words he wanted to spit out. Getting tangled up with them would only bring him trouble—or worse.

“Here too. Clean up.”

“Move faster, rookie.”

But the nagging didn’t stop, and finally, Yu I-geon snapped.

“I did not climb the Thunder Fortress to do cleaning work. There is no reason I should be doing this.”

He tried voicing his objection confidently—but the responses were all the same.

“Huh? Is the rookie angry?”

“Oh! The rookie’s throwing a tantrum.”

“Sounds like he wants to fight.”

Smiling, several warriors approached with Dharma Tools shaped like bracelets in hand.

Yu I-geon, having spent the past few days here, knew exactly what those were.

Tools that shattered if one used internal energy above a certain level.

The warriors of the Annihilation Squad wore those tools on both arms and dueled using the bare minimum of internal energy.

“Still got guts, this one. Alright, let’s fight!”

“Wait a moment! Why does it always come to this? I’m not planning to fight today. If you come any closer, I won’t stay idle!”

Yu I-geon refused—his injuries from the previous day weren’t even fully healed. But such reasoning had no effect on these people.

“Yeah, yeah. We get it. But just put this on first. If you end up using too much strength and break something, you’ll get in trouble.”

As one warrior approached with a creepy grin, Yu I-geon began to gather his energy.

Fwoooosh—

A massive sphere of flame burst into existence on one side of the training ground.

His entire body cloaked in fire, Yu I-geon lowered his stance, ready to strike at any moment.

The heat alone was enough to cause burns just by being nearby—but the surrounding warriors were unconcerned about such things.

“Hey, you idiot! Don’t go drawing that much energy inside!”

“Whoa! The floor’s catching fire! Stop it, rookie! Stop!”

Fearing damage to the Thunder Fortress, everyone rushed to stop Yu I-geon.

“I’ve been holding back too many times, but I’m not weak if I fight seriou—”

BOOM!

Before he could finish, the sphere of flame that surrounded him was sliced cleanly in two and exploded.

“That was too easy.”

A man slung a crescent blade over his shoulder and walked over, having cleaved the flames in half.

“Rookie, can’t you do that?”

“……”

“You know, the fire that Young Palace Master used when fighting the captain. That one looked solid. Didn’t seem like it could be sliced so easily.”

“Yeah, show us that one.”

“You sure it’s okay? We’ll get in trouble if Cho-su finds out.”

“He already pulled in his energy—might as well let him show it off. We’ll block it somehow. Rookie, show us what you’ve got.”

The same warriors who had just been concerned about damaging the Thunder Fortress suddenly changed tune and began cheering him on.

“I can’t do it yet.”

“What? Then what was all that yelling earlier for?”

Looking baffled, the man thrust his crescent blade toward Yu I-geon. Yu I-geon stepped back and extended his hand.

Fwoosh!

From his palm, a sword of flame formed and blocked the incoming crescent blade.

“Huh? What’s that?”

When Yu I-geon deflected the weapon in silence, the others immediately asked what it was. With no way out, Yu I-geon finally answered the name of the sword he held.

“It’s the Flame Divine Sword.”

“Oh! A sword formed from flame instead of Qi Projection? Now that’s what you should’ve shown us!”

The man wielding a crescent blade lit up at the sight of the new martial technique and launched his attack.

As intense waves of energy spread outward, the surrounding warriors encircled the two.

Each time the crescent blade clashed with the Flame Divine Sword, a wave of Qi burst outward—but the warriors around them blocked it all, allowing the two to fight properly.

Yu I-geon fought with all he had, but within just a short while, his grip began to falter. In the end, he took a clean hit.

“Guh!”

It was only one strike, but the impact felt as if his body had been cleaved in two, and a cry escaped his lips.

“You’ve got good offense, but your endurance is pathetic.”

The crescent blade came flying again and smacked Yu I-geon with its shaft.

Whack!

Yu I-geon flew backward, unable to even groan in pain. The surrounding warriors grabbed him and tossed him back into the ring.

“Hang in there!”

“Yeah! Endure it!”

“Fight back!”

“Get up!”

“Pull yourself together, I-geon!”

Voices rang out around him—whether they were taunts or cheers was unclear.

‘Lunatics.’

Yu I-geon, barely able to stand, looked around at the warriors of the Annihilation Squad.

Their outfits were all different. Their weapons, too. But one thing they all had in common:

The warriors of the Annihilation Squad were strong.

He had trained hard, believed himself to be powerful—but among these lunatics, there wasn’t a single one weaker than him.

‘Where did freaks like these even come from…’

As consciousness began to blur—

Yu I-geon spotted a man shaking his head with a concerned look, standing among the warriors.

‘Senior Brother… what are you doing…’

Unneunghyeon, a fellow warrior of the Solar Palace who had ascended the Thunder Fortress with him.

He was Yu I-geon’s senior—and at the moment, he was sweeping the Thunder Fortress with a long Dharma Tool in hand.

Jang Woo-hyun thrust his sword swiftly toward the Wind-Passing Great Sage in front of him.

Just before the blade made contact—

The Great Sage’s body swayed, and he easily evaded the attack.

Like a willow branch swaying in the wind.

Jang Woo-hyun’s eyebrow rose.

“You…”

The movement the Great Sage had just displayed was a footwork technique Jang Woo-hyun knew well.

“Kya-hahahahaha! How about that? Impressive, right?”

The monkey monster thumped its chest proudly. Moments ago, the Wind-Passing Great Sage had mimicked a human martial technique.

Jang Woo-hyun turned to glance at Jin Ha-un, who stood to the side.

“What’s going on here?”

“Well, the Great Sage asked me to teach him martial arts…”

“What’s going on? I stole your human martial arts! Wahahaha!”

The monkey demon laughed gleefully, while Jang Woo-hyun’s brows furrowed slightly.

What the Great Sage had just displayed was Seoryupyo, the footwork of Azure Star’s Body Movement Technique—the very one Jang Woo-hyun had copied when he first met Jin Ha-un.

“You think only you can mimic the movements of monsters? I can copy human martial arts too! Wahahaha!”

For some reason, the Wind-Passing Great Sage found the whole thing hilarious and kept laughing.

“Ha-un.”

“Yes?”

“What exactly did you show him?”

“Well… I wouldn’t say I taught him. I just demonstrated and explained a bit.”

“How many did you show?”

“I showed him Seoryupyo and Cheongun Jeokhagum.”

“Cheongun Jeokhagum? Are you allowed to just hand out Azure Star’s martial arts like that?”

“Huh? No, I didn’t really teach him… just showed it a few times and explained a bit…”

“Wahaha! I’m just that talented! I should’ve learned martial arts sooner. Why did I wait until now? It’s so easy!”

He said it like that, but in truth, he’d never needed to learn them until now.

With the power he originally possessed, there was nothing he couldn’t crush or kill. Why learn human martial arts?

But this strange situation he found himself in with Jang Woo-hyun had led the Wind-Passing Great Sage to begin learning them.

“……”

Jang Woo-hyun could only stare silently at the Great Sage, unsure how to even respond.

“Why’re you looking at me like that? Come on, one more round!”

The Great Sage beckoned, and with a reluctant grimace, Jang Woo-hyun approached and delivered a flurry of slashes.

Once again, the Wind-Passing Great Sage dodged them all with slight, swaying movements.

The monkey demon, who once only charged forward blindly, now understood dodging and retreating. Just as Jang Woo-hyun had strengthened his footwork by stealing Seoryupyo when all he’d known was Tiger Step.

The Great Sage, having evaded all the attacks, now approached from a blind spot and reached out with a hand.

In the past, it would have just been a fast and forceful strike.

But this time, it was different.

The reaching hand slowed slightly midway, and twisted with flair.

‘He’s copying forms and techniques too?’

The sword of Azure Star—

And at its peak, the Cheongun Jeokhagum.

The Great Sage had mimicked both the forms and motions of Cheongun Jeokhagum, showing an attack completely different from his previous ones.

Jang Woo-hyun tried to deflect the blow with the flat of his blade, but it wasn’t easy.

With no choice, he continued backing away, avoiding the transformed strike.

Only after dozens of steps did the Great Sage halt his assault.

“I just watched the kid do it and copied it roughly. How is it?”

“‘Roughly’? Don’t give me that.”

This was far from rough mimicry. It wasn’t perfect, but he had interpreted and adapted it in his own way.

Besides, martial arts required a matching internal energy technique to be effective. Even with good sword forms and footwork, they were half-baked without an appropriate inner cultivation method.

But the Wind-Passing Great Sage, using his innate monstrous senses and physical abilities, had reshaped the techniques to suit his own style.

“Wait, back when we first met—you used martial arts, didn’t you?”

Back during their first encounter at the Demon Extermination Sect.

The Great Sage had used True Step and shown a form that resembled martial arts.

“Oh, that? I was just mimicking it to look convincing. I’ve fought humans plenty of times. It wasn’t really martial arts—more like instinctive fighting, stiffened up to look the part.”

“This is… bad, really bad.”

From one side, Seoryeom murmured.

“Mouse, what do you mean bad?”

“Eh? Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself.”

“Talking to yourself? But we all heard it! Come here. Fight me.”

“Me? How could I possibly fight the Great Sage…”

“Just do it. Not coming? Then I’ll go to you.”

As the Wind-Passing Great Sage began walking toward him, Seoryeom stepped back a few paces and drew his weapon.

“I’m serious, you know. I won’t hold back.”

“What? You won’t? Ha! Look who’s full of spirit! Fine then, don’t hold back!”

The monkey demon kicked off the ground and charged at Seoryeom.

While the monkey and the mouse beastkin caused a commotion, Makya Wol quietly approached Jang Woo-hyun.

“Are you sure this is okay?”

Jang Woo-hyun had no response to that.

This situation had been completely unforeseen.

Even when the Great Sage was just mimicking the outer shell of martial arts, it was convincing. But now, he was seriously learning martial arts.

When Seoryeom muttered that this might be a disaster, Jang Woo-hyun had unconsciously nodded.

The Wind-Passing Great Sage had been powerful enough with just his innate monstrous strength. But now, he had begun to learn human martial arts.

What such a situation would lead to—no one could predict.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep