Chapter 332 – Fear Ruling Over Fear (1)

Read it only at Utoon.net!
Discord

 

Cho Gwan was a man in his mid-fifties. Usually, men at that age had deep wrinkles carved into their faces and bore the marks of countless hardships etched into their features. But Cho Gwan was different.

 

His face was taut without a single wrinkle, boasting resilient muscles. Though his eye corners were filled with fine lines, considering his age, they could hardly be called wrinkles at all.

 

Cho Gwan could maintain his youth thanks to his powerful internal energy. The Black Elephant Cultivation Method he had mastered was counted among the strongest internal energy techniques even in the demonic path.

 

The internal energy built through the Black Elephant Cultivation Method was exceptionally profound. Such powerful internal energy slowed aging, and thanks to this, Cho Gwan boasted tremendous stamina and robust vitality despite being in his mid-fifties.

 

Three naked women lying on his bed proved this fact. All the women’s faces were stained with tears.

 

They were daughters of the White Merchant House’s leadership. Outstanding in beauty, they were objects of admiration among the White Merchant House’s men. But their fates changed drastically when Black Martial Hall clashed with the White Merchant House that night.

 

Their fathers had died or been injured, and the remaining family members were all imprisoned. They had to become Cho Gwan’s playthings to save their families’ lives.

 

Cho Gwan was the pavilion master of Black Martial Hall and the ruler of Guizhou Province. With powerful competitors like Golden Sand Sect and the White Merchant House fallen, there remained no one to check him in Guizhou Province.

 

He freely enjoyed the victor’s privileges. His face clearly showed satisfaction as he embraced three of the White Merchant House’s finest women simultaneously.

 

“Hehe!”

 

Cho Gwan let out a vulgar laugh and rose from his bed. It was when he began searching for and putting on clothes.

 

“P-Pavilion Master!”

 

A panicked voice came from outside.

 

“What is it?”

 

“S-Something big has happened!”

 

“Something big?”

 

Cho Gwan frowned and opened the door. Then he saw a subordinate standing outside.

 

“Are the remnants of the White Merchant House causing trouble? What exactly has happened?”

 

“That’s…”

 

“Speak quickly. What is it?”

 

“Right now, chaos has erupted at West Alley.”

 

“West Alley?”

 

“Yes! The street west of the White Merchant House. The one with the inns.”

 

“I already know that. So what’s the problem?”

 

Cho Gwan’s anger finally exploded. His subordinate flinched and carefully spoke:

 

“A Grim Reaper has appeared there.”

 

“A Grim Reaper?”

 

“Yes! One of our martial artists clashed with a wandering martial artist, and the damage is severe.”

 

“Severe damage from just one person?”

 

“Yes, Sir. We shouldn’t be sitting here. Our martial artists who are sent to him keep returning as corpses. Over thirty of our martial artists have already been killed by him.”

 

“How dare!”

 

CRASH!

 

Cho Gwan’s rage reached its peak. He punched the wall with his fist, and a huge hole was torn through the thick wall.

 

He quickly rushed outside. Black Martial Hall’s martial artists were waiting for him. But Cho Gwan’s gaze passed over them and fell on a dozen martial artists standing some distance away.

 

They wore red head coverings and clothes of scarlet wind silk, radiating a particularly murderous atmosphere. At a glance, their uniforms and bearing distinguished them from Black Martial Hall’s martial artists.

 

Cho Gwan spoke to them:

 

“The situation seems increasingly strange. To be safe, I ask that you come with us.”

 

“Of course.”

 

The leader among the scarlet-robed men answered briefly. This somewhat irritated Cho Gwan, but he suppressed his anger. It was he who needed them now, not the other way around.

 

Cho Gwan said to his Black Martial Hall martial artists:

 

“Let’s go. I want to see the face of whoever dares interfere with our sect’s affairs so fearlessly.”

 

“Yes!”

 

His subordinates answered powerfully and followed Cho Gwan.

 

They left the White Merchant House they had occupied last night and headed toward West Alley.

 

As Cho Gwan approached West Alley, he detected a thick smell of blood. The bloody stench was being carried by the wind.

 

Cho Gwan’s brow furrowed deeply. The thick smell of blood was agitating his mood.

 

Finally arriving at West Alley, he saw martial artists standing like a screen. They too were Black Martial Hall’s martial artists. They stood huddled together like frightened dogs, not moving an inch.

 

The sight made Cho Gwan’s fury explode.

 

“What are you all doing standing here?”

 

“Ah!”

 

“Pavilion Master!”

 

The martial artists belatedly noticed Cho Gwan’s arrival and bowed their heads. But Cho Gwan’s anger didn’t subside seeing this.

 

“Didn’t I ask? What are you doing here instead of subduing the one who killed our martial artists?”

 

“Th-that is…”

 

“Speak now!”

 

Cho Gwan’s anger finally exploded.

 

His voice mixed with rage echoed loudly through the streets. Even those with weak internal energy had their faces turn pale. Yet they hesitated to answer. The emotion showing on their faces was fear. And their fear wasn’t directed at Cho Gwan.

 

“Get out of my way!”

 

Finally, Cho Gwan pushed through them and stepped forward. Then West Alley’s scene came into full view.

 

“Mm!”

 

Suddenly, an indrawn breath escaped Cho Gwan’s lips. His face displayed pure bewilderment.

 

Countless corpses lay scattered on the street that had been hidden behind the martial artists. The street was dyed red with their blood.

 

At the horrific sight, Cho Gwan’s pupils shook.

 

“What is this?”

 

Even when subduing Golden Sand Sect or fighting the White Merchant House, so many hadn’t died.

 

Cho Gwan had invested considerable effort into cultivating Black Martial Hall’s martial artists, and their strength had become comparable to any prestigious sect in the Central Plains. This was why Cho Gwan dared harbor ambitions of conquering Guizhou Province.

 

Such carefully cultivated precious forces were being killed by a single individual, not by inter-sect warfare. For Cho Gwan, it was rage worthy of having a thousand flames in his heart.

 

“Where is that bastard?”

 

At Cho Gwan’s words, his subordinates all raised their fingers pointing in one direction. Cho Gwan’s gaze followed where his subordinates pointed.

 

It was an inn.

 

More precisely, a window seat at the dining hall on the first floor of the inn. Through the wide-open window, a man was eating.

 

Clink!

 

Each time he used his chopsticks, they struck the bowls making sounds. The street was so quiet that these sounds reached Cho Gwan’s ears clearly.

 

Cho Gwan knew he had arrived, yet the man paid no attention and continued eating. Behind the man appeared the innkeeper and inn owner, their faces filled with fear.

 

They stood like stone statues, only their eyes rolling back and forth between Dam-ho and Cho Gwan.

 

“This damn bastard…”

 

The moment Cho Gwan was about to unleash his curse, the man set down his chopsticks as if he had been waiting.

 

Click!

 

It was a trivial action, but it caused Cho Gwan’s momentum to suddenly cease.

 

The man turned to look at him. Instantly, Cho Gwan felt goosebumps rising all over his body.

 

Emotionless, pitch-black eyes. And within them, an ominous flickering.

 

Cho Gwan had never once seen such eyes before.

 

The moment the man’s eyes met his, Cho Gwan felt something had gone terribly wrong.

 

This man had no business being here.

 

Cho Gwan had long harbored ambitions of conquering Guizhou Province. Therefore, he had investigated every martial artist in Guizhou Province without exception, especially focusing on those capable of becoming obstacles or potential threats.

 

But no investigation had revealed the existence of a martial artist like the one before him.

 

‘Such eyes couldn’t possibly belong to an ordinary person.’

 

Had such a person existed, Cho Gwan would have discovered and either eliminated them first or ensured they caused no problems.

 

Shiver!

 

The goosebumps still hadn’t subsided. It was proof his body was sensing the threat before his mind.

 

Only then did Cho Gwan realize. The smell of blood he had detected before entering West Alley came not from his dead subordinates but from this man.

 

An ordinary person would have retreated by now. But Cho Gwan was an ambitious man aiming for Guizhou’s dominance. With so many subordinates watching, he couldn’t turn tail and flee so meekly.

 

Suppressing his fear, he shouted:

 

“Who are you?”

 

That moment, the man rose from his seat. And walked out of the inn.

 

Suddenly, an ominous sound echoed through the street.

 

Shuffle! Thump! Shuffle! Thump!

 

Unsettling footsteps that stimulated the heart.

 

Only then did Cho Gwan and Black Martial Hall’s martial artists look at the man’s feet.

 

His distinctive gait, stepping on the ground with his right foot and dragging his left foot, along with the sound it produced, brought one man to their minds.

 

“Fist Demon?”

 

“Mount Hua Fist Demon?”

 

Cho Gwan and Black Martial Hall’s martial artists’ pupils trembled.

 

Among countless martial artists in the world, only one possessed such a distinctive characteristic and intense impression.

 

“Is it really the Fist Demon?”

 

“Surely not?”

 

Turmoil arose among Black Martial Hall’s martial artists. The murmuring that started in some spread throughout the entire group and soon affected the entire street. All of West Alley was in upheaval.

 

That’s how intense Dam-ho’s presence was.

 

From the moment Dam-ho fully revealed himself, no one on the street could tear their gaze from him.

 

“Uu!”

 

“Kuk!”

 

Involuntary groans burst from Black Martial Hall’s martial artists’ mouths.

 

Merely looking at Dam-ho made their eyes feel like they were popping out, their hearts pounding so fiercely they seemed about to burst through their chests. Yet they couldn’t look away.

 

Dam-ho wouldn’t permit it.

 

They wanted to avert their gazes from Dam-ho. But their bodies wouldn’t obey.

 

They were overwhelmed by the momentum Dam-ho emitted.

 

That moment, Cho Gwan stepped forward.

 

“You bastard!”

 

Thanks to the Black Elephant Cultivation Method protecting his spirit, he was less affected than his subordinates. This allowed him to step forward.

 

Dam-ho’s gaze turned toward Cho Gwan. The emboldened Cho Gwan immediately flinched. But he was Black Martial Hall’s pavilion master. Though he had lost the momentum, he had no intention of backing down so meekly.

 

“Are you really the Fist Demon?”

 

“……”

 

“If you really are the Fist Demon, you should stay put on Mount Hua. Why are you causing chaos here in Guizhou Province? What grievance do you hold to slaughter our sect members? How can you still call yourself a disciple of the prestigious Mount Hua Sect?”

 

His voice rang loudly through the street. Only then did Black Martial Hall’s martial artists find some stability.

 

They exchanged looks.

 

No matter how strong the Fist Demon was, he was alone. And there were hundreds of them.

 

The absolute numerical advantage brought stability to their hearts.

 

Even at that moment, Cho Gwan’s voice continued:

 

“I will officially lodge a complaint with Mount Hua about this incident. Or rather, with the Martial Alliance. However, if you retreat now, I’ll consider this never happened. So have the magnanimity to withdraw while you can. A brave man also shows courage by acknowledging the times and backing down.”

 

“Are you done talking?”

 

That moment, Dam-ho finally spoke.

 

The desolate, emotionless voice devoid of human feeling made Cho Gwan feel all his body hair standing on end.

 

Cho Gwan realized for the first time how terrifying an emotionless, uncaring voice could be.

 

Dam-ho was walking toward him. His steps couldn’t be stopped by numerical advantage or grandiose speeches.

 

No negotiation, no threat worked on the man before him.

 

There remained only one option.

 

Cho Gwan shouted:

 

“Everyone attack! He’s made of flesh like us. If he takes a sword strike, he dies!”

 

His evil voice stirred his subordinates’ courage.

 

“Waaaaah!”

 

“Die!”

 

Black Martial Hall’s martial artists all rushed at Dam-ho simultaneously.

 

Like a black tidal wave, Black Martial Hall’s martial artists in black robes surged forward.

 

That moment, Dam-ho struck the ground.

 

BOOM!

 

The black tidal wave broke apart and shattered.