Chapter 351

Chapter 351
### Chapter 351. Escape (1)

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What truly defined the path of the warrior?

The journey of internal visualization to achieve spiritual awakening invariably demanded the systematic wearing down and breaking of the physical form.

While every practitioner yearned for a sudden, transcendent revelation, mortality dictated that a person must dwell within their biological vessel until that precise instant arrived.

It was from this exact physical reality that the combat styles of the Buddhist orders took root.

What had originally been formulated merely to preserve health and provide protection gradually transformed across generations, until today, it was revered as one of the ‘Three Great Powers’, standing equal to material wealth and state authority.

Legends claimed that the Shaolin Temple continued to treat martial prowess as a mere vehicle for spiritual realization.

Yet, when one observed how the combative brotherhood, rather than the contemplative scholars, commanded the greatest authority and held the highest rank within the walls of Shaolin Temple, their spoken doctrines clearly clashed with their practical realities.

This duality was mirrored in the Wudang Sect, which had initiated the legacy of Taoist combat traditions tracing back to Jang Sam-bong.

In the modern era, the dark factions of the Black Way operated solely to amass raw power through severe training, and even the lawless Unorthodox Factions proudly defined their brutal methods as a legitimate branch of combat discipline.

It seemed martial arts had degenerated into a flexible label, easily shaped to justify whatever agenda its user desired.

Yet……

‘Can a monstrosity like this truly be called a martial art?’

Il-gak let out a strained, heavy wheeze as his gaze locked onto the terrifying presence standing before him.

*Keuhahahaha.*

It possessed an elongated, animalistic snout. Dense, matted hair blanketed its entire frame, and its glowing eyes held nothing human within them.

Even with the most imaginative interpretation, it was impossible to view this creature as anything other than a bipedal nightmare.

“You possess remarkable resilience for a fraudulent monk!”

Remarkably, the entity—resembling a bizarre, talking beast—was mocking him.

“Hehe—the fact that you can withstand my Byeon-byeon-goe-ma-gong to this degree is impressive. Have you truly mastered the secrets of the Yeok-geun-gyeong?”

The aberration was boldly declaring that its monstrous display was, in fact, a form of ‘martial arts.’

“……Amitabha.”

Il-gak attempted to create defensive separation by employing his Pa-wang-ju, but this walking beast…… no, this fur-covered man…… whatever it truly was, closed the distance rapidly by dropping into an unsettling, four-legged sprint.

“Mmm, a repulsive odor offends my senses. Yet, they say the most delectable flesh often carries the sharpest scent. Hehe.”

*Ag-ag.*

The monster ground its fangs together, snapping its jaws shut as if savoring a meal that was already in its grasp.

This single movement triggered a profound, instinctual revulsion deep within Il-gak’s core.

“Could it be that you…….”

“Do you wish to ask a question?”

Even as razor-sharp talons sliced toward him, a dark, unsettling urge to know more flared within the monk.

However, sensing that merely voicing the question aloud would corrupt his spiritual purity, Il-gak forcefully suppressed that morbid curiosity again and again.

*Keuhahahaha!*

Without warning, the entity erupted into a manic, deafening roar of laughter that echoed toward the heavens.

It ought to have been a simple vocalization.

Yet, Il-gak’s vision spun violently, and his inner pulse began to race and thrash with chaotic rhythm.

“You hypocritical bald bastards, what causes you such terror? Keu-heo. Tell me, does the reality of my cannibalism strike such deep horror into your souls?”

“……!”

Was this psychological destabilization born of the laughter itself?

Il-gak fought to anchor his spirit by anchoring his mind in absolute stillness, but his racing heartbeat refused to stabilize.

With his pulse accelerating, his respiration grew ragged, and this frantic breathing instinctively forced rigid, explosive power down into his knuckles.

*Jjeong— Jjeong—*

The violent shockwaves of fist-force detonating against the empty air pushed a brief pocket of space between himself and the creature.

Though forcefully repelled by the sheer weight of the impact, the monster’s face only twisted into an expression of pure malice and glee.

“Keuhaha. The terror from you shaved-headed monks is wonderfully predictable.”

As a consequence of the broken phrases drifting from the entity’s maw, horrific mental images began to plague Il-gak’s focus.

Agonizing shrieks of the dying.

The absolute dread of watching one’s own flesh ripped away and consumed.

The horror of an unnatural thing operating beyond human law.

The suffering of countless defenseless victims threatened to shatter the foundation of his unshakeable mind.

Yet, even with his psychological balance compromised, his physical vessel remembered the exact sequences of his training with perfect clarity.

The Arhat Fist, the Dragon God Fist, and the Dragon King Pliant Fist executed themselves seamlessly.

Though his personal mastery could not equal that of his revered senior brother, Il-gak had thoroughly absorbed the foundational combat arts of Shaolin to an elite degree.

“Amitabha.”

With an expression forced into artificial stillness, a fluid, sweeping wave of fist-force erupted forward.

In response, the beast’s posture shifted erratically.

Its low, predatory crouch suddenly rearranged itself into an almost human stance, and abandoning its feral biting attempts, the creature unleashed intricate hand strikes tipped with elongated, lethal talons.

*Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-bak!*

The collision of iron fists and razor-sharp hand energy unleashed a devastating shockwave through the immediate area.

He immediately transitioned into the Eighteen Arhat Palms, the Shattering Arm Palm, and the Great Strength Vajra Palm.

Slicing through the fabric of the air, concussive palm strikes exploded from Il-gak’s hands.

The creature, forced onto the defensive by the sheer volume of the hand techniques, quickly found its limbs tangled and crossed, causing it to stumble awkwardly backward.

Seizing the opening, he unleashed the One-Finger Zen, the Vajra Finger, and the Dharma Flower Finger.

*Swaeeek—*

The piercing finger techniques, fired precisely through the structural gaps of the enemy’s defense, surged directly toward the beast’s most vulnerable lethal points.

*Hwiik—*

“Peek-a-boo!”

The creature, which had seemingly dissolved into nothingness right before his eyes, materialized three Zhang behind him, its massive jaws snapping shut with lethal intent.

*Kwajik.*

“Keuaaaak!”

An academy disciple, his neck torn open by the vicious bite, collapsed and perished instantly without ever having a chance to raise a guard.

The predatory, unnatural entity rolled the severed muscle and flesh around inside its maw.

*Chew, chew. Tui.*

“An uninspired flavor.”

“!!!”

“This miserable wretch spent his life indulging in alcohol! What an embarrassment for a supposed Taoist cultivator. Keu-hehe.”

Discarding the corpse carelessly like a half-eaten, rotten fruit, the beast swung its gaze across the field to locate its next target.

Il-gak’s entire physical form trembled with a fury and agitation greater than he had ever known.

“I-Il-gak Seonim……!”

Before Nam Hwa-seong, who had been coordinating his defense alongside him, could stretch out a warning hand, Il-gak transformed into a solitary, blinding streak of movement.

A spark of sadistic amusement flashed within the eyes of the beast, which had been idly clearing debris from its teeth.

“Hehe, have you finally decided to offer me a real challenge?”

Even as it witnessed Il-gak bearing down upon it while wrapped in a brilliant golden aura, the monster displayed no hint of panic, casually snapping its fingers in the air.

*Puk! Puk!*

The exact moment two bloody tears ruptured across his left shoulder, Il-gak’s eyes flared in disbelief.

He was entirely certain he had slipped the trajectory of the strike.

“Tsk, did you truly believe the Peerless Vajra Art was an absolute, impenetrable barrier?”

Precisely as the creature mocked, his ultimate defensive technique had been bypassed and pierced.

Il-gak, preparing to reset his stance, abandoned his Dragon Flower Fist and instantly unleashed the overwhelming fury of the Ten Demon-Subduing Palms.

It was an astonishingly fluid and rapid counterattack for a warrior who had just sustained a direct, unexpected wound.

*Peo-peo-peong!*

Yet, despite the instantaneous adaptation of his assault, the beast shifted its physical position smoothly, as though it had anticipated the modification before it even occurred.

“I am a predator who was explicitly conditioned to hunt down the Little Buddha himself. Do you truly think a lesser, imperfect copy like you could ever bring me down? Keuhaha.”

In the next breath, the hands of the beast, contorted into an unnatural alignment, struck forward at speeds that defied human vision.

The delayed concussive shockwaves of the fist-force completely engulfed Il-gak’s entire body.

*Peo-peo-peo-peo-peo-peo-peo-puk!*

Il-gak prided himself on his threshold for enduring physical trauma, but this agony belonged to an entirely different tier.

This was no superficial battery against his flesh; the force vibrated deep into his marrow, shattering bones beneath the surface.

Furthermore, a venomous, numbing sensation lingered everywhere those knuckles had grazed, followed immediately by a spreading paralysis.

‘If I allow myself to absorb another sequence of these blows, my life will end here.’

Il-gak desperately channeled every remaining drop of his internal reservation toward a singular meridian point.

However,

“……!”

Before he could project the accumulated power, his internal systems failed him.

His vital organs convulsed violently, and a torrent of dark blood welled up from his lungs, flooding his throat.

“Keu-heok— cough—”

The combative doctrines of Shaolin were globally renowned for their unparalleled structural stability and meditative calm.

Il-gak found it nearly impossible to comprehend that his inner foundations had been shattered so drastically.

Yet, the luxury of contemplation was denied to him.

“Keuaak!”

“Keo-heuk!”

For the very moment Il-gak’s offensive faltered, the brave academy disciples who had rallied to help him engage the monster were being slaughtered.

‘Is this the horrific reality that Dan-ju Jin was forced to witness without being able to stop it?’

Suddenly, the memory of that man’s retreating figure flickered in his mind, carrying a weight of hidden agony far worse than he had previously understood.

Il-gak roughly wiped the crimson stain from his chin and brought his palms together in a solemn gesture of devotion.

Mercifully, after purging the stagnant blood, the sluggishness plaguing his left arm receded, allowing him to command it once more.

“Namu Amitabha……”

He began to mentally intone the sacred principles of the Yeok-geun-gyeong, formulas he had recited ten thousand times in deep, wall-facing meditation until selfhood dissolved entirely.

His frantic heart, which had been hammering wildly against his ribs, fell entirely silent as though it had ceased to beat, and the chaotic worldly attachments that had clouded his clarity were scattered like ash in the wind.

As his joined hands slowly separated, an infinite cascade of illusory hand-shadows materialized along the trajectory.

“……Oh? You have actually unlocked the secrets of the Thousand Hands?”

A spark of genuine fascination finally ignited within the gaze of the arrogant beast.

“Amitabha.”

With each gentle, calculated motion of his physical hand, dozens of solid, golden afterimages manifested in its wake.

*Jjeong—*

Hundreds, then thousands of radiant palms converged upon the monster, sealing away every possible path of evasion.

*Peo-peo-peo-peo-peo-peo-peo-peo-peo.*

An incandescent golden brilliance erupted, so blinding it felt as though a star had crashed directly into the soil.

This staggering manifestation of absolute power, capable of reducing solid matter to microscopic dust, demonstrated the true, terrifying majesty of Shaolin—a lethal reality often obscured by Il-gak’s naturally gentle demeanor.

But—

*Twitch.*

Was the underlying trauma too severe?

His left arm, which needed to sustain the full extension of the technique, suddenly trembled and buckled.

Il-gak ground his teeth raw and forced his left hand forward, but the creature, instantly identifying the micro-second lapse in structural integrity, slipped through the web of the Thousand Hands and broke free.

“Keuhahahahaha! Exactly as I calculated!”

Though its physical form looked battered and bloodied from the fragments of the strikes that had connected, the beast radiated absolute triumph as it laughed.

*Bulge, bulge.*

The lacerations weeping blood across its skin began to stitch themselves closed, and the patches of torn fur sprouted back with unnatural velocity.

Faced with this reality that defied the natural order, the mental composure Il-gak had painstakingly gathered was violently shattered once again.

The creature, fully restored to its pristine, unblemished state, smoothed down its mane and carelessly shook the remaining blood from its limbs.

“I must admit, I did not expect a monk of your caliber to push me to this extent.”

*Ssssh—*

Folding the distance through space, the monster materialized directly in front of him once more.

“……!”

The beast drove an explosive straight punch forward, its monstrous features twisted in a sadistic grin.

Caught entirely off guard by the speed of the transition, Il-gak desperately crossed both forearms to form a guard, but the monster paid no heed to the defense and smashed its fist directly into his position.

The instant the creature’s knuckle collided with Il-gak’s form, which had desperately reinforced itself with the Yeok-geun-gyeong.

*Tteong—*

Il-gak exerted every ounce of his remaining soul to hold his ground, while the beast unleashed a massive surge of raw physical power to obliterate him where he stood.

The clashing manifestations of internal energy, finding no release through their targets, detonated outward in a massive omnidirectional shockwave.

*Peo-peo-peong—*

A violent hurricane of wind erupted alongside a deafening roar of thunder.

“Uuuk……”

“Keok……”

The surrounding warriors who were locked in their own engagements found themselves thrown off balance, unable to maintain their footings against the gale.

“What kind of monstrous strength is this……”

While they stood paralyzed by a display of violence that seemed impossible to believe even as they witnessed it firsthand.

*Swaaaaa—*

The dust and residue of the explosive clash gradually drifted away.

The two combatants at the epicenter remained locked in their original positions, frozen in the aftermath of their collision.

However,

“Il-gak Seonim!”

Their physical states could not have been more radically opposed.

Il-gak was violently and continuously coughing up torrents of blood, while the beast’s sadistic grin remained immovably carved onto its face, thoroughly delighted by the spectacle.

Just as the monster drew back its arm to deliver the definitive, executionary blow.

“Heuaaaaap!!”

Nam Hwa-seong along with the surviving cultivators charged desperately at the beast’s flanks.

“Tsk, insignificant insects, clear out of my sight!”

*Kkung—*

Blades of condensed Sword-light (Sgang) flew outward from the careless flick of the creature’s fingers.

Far from being able to provide any meaningful assistance to Il-gak, the rushing warriors were immediately forced into a desperate struggle just to keep their own heads attached to their shoulders.

“That was an admirable effort, you counterfeit monk.”

“…….”

Il-gak felt a profound, suffocating weight descend upon his spirit.

Rather than a simple fear of the murderous intent and oppressive aura bleeding from his opponent, a devastating sense of absolute worthlessness consumed him.

He had spent his entire life believing that the systematic denial of the self, the conditioning of the flesh, and the endurance of suffering were the true paths to securing ultimate power.

The conscious suppression of mortal cravings and the adherence to agonizing training regimens constituted the true essence of martial arts (Muhak).

He had watched the shortcuts of the Black Way, which prioritized rapid ascension above all else, inevitably lead its practitioners to ruin.

He had held an unshakeable faith that the strength wielded by those who strayed from the righteous path would always crumble when confronted by a master who walked the path of righteousness.

That was the foundational truth of the warrior’s way.

‘But……’

What was this reality before him?

Far from practicing restraint or suppressing desire, this entity lived entirely by its basest instincts, violating every law of heaven and nature, yet it was utterly dominating them.

The disciples this beast was slaughtering with such casual indifference were not men who had been lazy in their training.

And yet…… and yet…….

These dedicated practitioners were being broken and felled as effortlessly as dry grass in a storm.

‘……What is the purpose of martial arts?’

Every tenet he had revered and trusted without question throughout his existence was being fundamentally uprooted.

The sacred declarations of the Buddha, which had always resonated in his soul with the gravity of a thousand bars of gold, suddenly felt as hollow and weightless as a passing breeze.

Riding upon that cynical breeze, the harsh, grating voice of the beast cut through his thoughts.

“But this playground is officially closed.”

A dense, malevolent black mist began to coalesce around the creature’s fist as it drew the limb backward into a striking posture.

It was impossible to discern whether the phenomenon was pure fist-qi or raw fist-force.

However, the singular reality Il-gak knew with absolute certainty was that this strike would offer no peaceful transition into the afterlife.

“Perish!”

The exact micro-second the monster prepared to launch its fist forward.

*Peong!*

*Kwakwakwakwakwang!*

From a tremendous distance away, a catastrophic detonation erupted, loud enough to rupture the eardrums of anyone nearby.

Forgetting for a fraction of a second that he stood on the precipice of execution, Il-gak’s gaze instinctively whipped toward the source.

‘That direction…… that is where Dan-ju Jin was engaged…….’

When he had last checked that sector, a volatile, swirling mass of azure and crimson energy had completely saturated the horizon.

He had been deeply unsettled by that massive, unstable concentration of Qi…….

But the sheer pressure of dealing with the monster directly in front of him had prevented him from monitoring the outcome.

Yet, that overflowing, cataclysmic aura that felt on the verge of detonating just moments ago had completely vanished, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

*Kwakwakwang! Peong!!*

Only the residual, deafening shockwaves continued to rattle his senses.

In that precise moment.

*Piing—*

Accompanied by a piercing shriek resembling a military signal arrow, a massive, roaring comet of flame erupted from the heart of the distant explosion, charting a path through the sky.

Under ordinary circumstances, both Il-gak and the creature would have disregarded the external anomaly to conclude their life-or-death struggle, but the sheer scale of this phenomenon commanded their attention.

By any metric of trajectory, that roaring fireball was hurtling directly toward their exact coordinates.

“……Je Geum-hak?”

The beast’s arrogant features twisted into a profound scowl as it locked its gaze onto the descending inferno.

And the moment the creature turned its head to trace the approach.

“Huh?!”

Il-gak similarly recognized the impossible truth: the object that had appeared to be a mere projectile of fire was, in reality, the silhouette of a human being.

Then, plummeting out of the heavens.

“You…… you absolute piece of trash!!!”

A roar roared forth, more vulgar and unrefined than anything heard on a field of honor.

Simultaneously with that voice, a suffocating, blistering wall of heat washed over the clearing.

“Baldy! Save your own skin and move out of the way!!!”

Though the exact nuances of the frantic command were lost in the roar of the wind, the unique identity of the speaker was instantly unmistakable.

*Swaeeek—*

Without a single moment of hesitation or doubt, Il-gak channeled every drop of his remaining strength to activate the Nine Ranks of Lotus Pedestals, throwing his body clear.

“How dare a pathetic brat of the White Way attempt to……!”

The beast, entirely devoid of any sense of impending doom, confidently drove its fist upward.

Several indistinct, dark spheres of fist-force erupted from its knuckles, rocketing toward the descending form of Jin So-un.

Having personally absorbed those identical strikes, Il-gak knew intimately well.

He knew exactly how much ruinous, lethal weight was packed within those deceptive, dim spheres of energy.

“Dan-ju Jin, watch out—”

However, the instant Il-gak opened his mouth to shout a warning.

“Go to hell, you son of a bitch!!!”

*Peo-peo-peo-peo-peo-peo-peong!*

Dozens, perhaps over a hundred concentrated spheres of pure solar fire began to rain down from the sky in an uninterrupted torrent.

And then.

*Hwaaaaak—*

The descending suns instantly vaporized the creature’s dark fist-force, enveloping the beast’s entire physical form in an absolute cage of incinerating heat.

“Keuaaaaaak!”

The monster, which had previously conducted itself as though pain was a foreign concept, unleashed a raw, agonized shriek that stripped away all its prior arrogance.

Il-gak’s eyelids strained to open against the blistering thermal wave that threatened to singe the skin of his bare scalp.

……This phenomenon.

‘A…… a downpour of liquid fire?’

He had encountered masters who specialized in Yang-attribute internal cultivation capable of projecting flames before.

It was not a completely foreign concept, given that the main temple housed elders who could manifest the legendary Samadhi True Fire.

But could a single human being generate a localized thermal environment…… identical to the interior of an active ceramic firing kiln?

……Could a destructive force of this nature truly be classified under the definition of martial arts (Muhak)?

“……Amitabha.”

Il-gak found the entire foundation of his understanding slipping further into doubt.

Then, a sudden, deafening Lion’s Roar shattered his paralysis.

“What are you daydreaming for, baldy!!! Are you planning to stand there and watch me do all the work!”

His crass, demanding superior displayed absolutely zero concern for the severe internal trauma his subordinate had just suffered.

Even so, Il-gak possessed enough situational awareness to know that this was hardly the moment to voice a grievance.

“Amitabha.”

Remarkably, even without consciously invoking the structural mantras of the Yeok-geun-gyeong, his mind achieved a state of profound, absolute tranquility unlike anything he had ever experienced.