The dark red blood light pouring from his eyes was chilling. On top of that, the black demonic qi swirling around his entire body resembled an evil spirit.
The High Priest charged forward with a face half-lost to reason, mercilessly digging into the primal fear inherent in humans.
From his mouth, stretched as if to tear apart, came a beastly, no, even more feral howl. Hearing that scream piercing the eardrums, Jang Il-so raised the corner of his mouth.
Truly fascinating creatures.
Those called the strong inevitably become aware of their position, whether they like it or not. Put positively, they gain dignity; put negatively, they become hypocrites with double standards.
But to these demonic cult members, no such 'class' was felt at all. What could be seen in the High Priest was raw savagery itself. It seemed to prove that humans are nothing more than beasts.
No, perhaps that is the true nature of fanaticism. True believers are all equal under the deity, so there is no need to claim any class for oneself.
"But no matter how much…"
His lips, looking redder against his pale face, drew a chilling curve.
"Isn't this just too disgraceful?"
Emitting a chilling killing intent, Jang Il-so accelerated and surged forward. The torn hem of his robe fluttered wildly in the gust.
"Kyaaaaaa!"
Demonic qi gathered in the High Priest's hands as if even his last shred of reason had been blown away. Each strand of that smoky qi was stronger and more destructive than the steel qi wielded by absolute warriors. Even a graze would crush bones and tear flesh.
Dan Ja-Kang charged at a terrifying speed, swinging his hand toward Jang Il-so's head.
It was a reckless attack without any technique, but the fierce demonic qi surrounding his hand transformed the madman's desperate strike into an unparalleled martial move.
At that moment, Jang Il-so's hand shot out like lightning.
'I've seen enough, what now!'
Before Dan Ja-Kang's raised hand could reach his head, Jang Il-so's palm struck and broke Dan Ja-Kang's elbow first. The swirling demonic qi barely grazed Jang Il-so's head before crashing to the ground.
Jang Il-so seized the fleeting opening he found and leapt forward again.
But Dan Ja-Kang, as if anticipating his actions, swung his other hand to attack the advancing Jang Il-so.
'That's right!'
Jang Il-so twisted his body with the momentum of his charge.
His robe fluttered toward the incoming hand. He spun as if the High Priest's arm was an icy surface, sliding smoothly. The hem of his robe fluttered as he moved toward the High Priest's side, not his chest.
'Still there, right?'
No matter how much he denies it, the image surely lingered in the High Priest's mind like an afterimage: the swordsman Chung Myung, wielding a sword as a mid-range weapon, relentlessly piercing into the opponent's embrace!
Humans instinctively avoid such situations after experiencing danger. So naturally, the bishop would try to block his own embrace when Jang Il-so charged forward!
This reaction was exactly what Jang Il-so aimed for from the start.
Kwaaahhh!
The demonic qi that crashed into the ground exploded, delivering a delayed shock to Jang Il-so's back. The impact was so great that blood momentarily surged backward, but Jang Il-so did not dodge; he accepted it.
Then he swiftly penetrated the High Priest's completely exposed side.
"So this is how it's done."
Jang Il-so's hand, tinged blue, struck the High Priest's side without hesitation.
Bang!
Before the High Priest's body could even be pushed back by the impact, Jang Il-so's fists struck the same spot repeatedly like lightning bolts.
Having driven a dozen punches into the High Priest's side at once, Jang Il-so hesitated briefly before stomping the ground. Then he pursued the rebounding High Priest.
'No! Not yet!'
Landing hits was not everything. The important thing was to give the enemy no chance to catch their breath!
Kwaaah!
The High Priest, rebounding, swung his arm in midair. Rough, black demonic qi flew horizontally toward Jang Il-so, as if a giant brush had splattered ink in the air.
Jang Il-so lowered his stance close to the ground right then and narrowly dodged. The eerie qi brushing just above his head sent a chill down his spine.
But even more so, Jang Il-so's face began to be dyed with an even more chilling delight.
"This guy's crazier than I thought! Hahaha!"
Jang Il-so burst into a wild laugh and surged forward to a close distance from the High Priest.
Having experienced it firsthand, he began to understand why that mad Taoist fought like that.
Jang Il-so had already fought alongside Chung Myung once during the Black Dragon incident. At that time, he was fed up with Chung Myung's combat style that seemed to risk his life recklessly.
Back then, he only thought a rare madman had appeared in the Justice faction. But watching this scene against the High Priest and fighting in that style himself, he began to understand.
'That's not how you fight!'
Swoosh!
The wide sleeve of his robe instantly hardened like steel. Charged with internal qi and sharpened like a blade, the sleeve ruthlessly tore at the bishop's hand.
'He has no choice but to fight like that!'
This guy was strong. Unbelievably strong.
Especially his internal qi was vast to an extent even Jang Il-so, the best in the world, had never experienced before. Before seeing him, he never thought a person could wield such internal qi.
Even the Shaolin abbot, unmatched in internal qi worldwide, would seem ordinary next to this guy.
But compared to that vast internal qi, their techniques were extremely simple. Their martial art was simply overwhelming the opponent with sheer internal qi.
Then how should someone without such internal qi face them?
All the answers were with Chung Myung.
To draw up internal qi from the dantian and convert it into qi requires a minimum amount of time. The larger the amount of internal qi to be drawn, the longer the time needed.
The key was to not give that time.
If they fought at a distance where they could exchange qi blasts, defeat was certain. The destructive power of their martial art was so great it ignored the finesse of techniques.
Therefore, the only way was to give no chance to gather internal qi, and bombard with continuous attacks at close range, dragging the fight into a brutal brawl.
But!
Kwaaahhh!
Jang Il-so sharply bent his waist backward. The High Priest's black hand flew past just above his nose by a hair.
'Easier said than done!'
This was just a methodology.
The enemy's internal qi was vast. Even the hastily drawn internal qi, without enough time to gather, was enough to reduce a human body to a handful of blood and flesh.
So that method was no different than saying to survive a spreading fire on a mountain, you must break through in the direction the fire spreads. This was a method only a madman who didn't value his life would take.
But there was someone. Surely existed. Someone who could do that madness without flinching.
So!
Kwaaah!
With terrifying madness pouring from his eyes, Jang Il-so threw his body toward Dan Ja-Kang's arm aimed at him.
Inside! Inside! Faster!
'If I can't do it!'
Jang Il-so's elbow drove into Dan Ja-Kang's forearm.
Crack!
But the sound of bones crushing came from Jang Il-so's shoulder, not Dan Ja-Kang's arm. The demonic qi brushing past easily crushed his shoulder.
His face twisted involuntarily in pain. But Jang Il-so gritted his teeth and moved again toward a spot very close to Dan Ja-Kang.
'Won't I be ashamed!'
Spinning quickly like a top right in front of Dan Ja-Kang's nose, Jang Il-so rammed his shoulder into his chest. The shoulder strike, powered by rotational force, exploded against Dan Ja-Kang's chest.
Bang!
Using the rebound, he slightly lifted his body and struck Dan Ja-Kang's jaw with his knee.
Smash!
As he spun his body in the air, he unleashed dozens of continuous strikes toward Dan Ja-Kang's head. The blue qi from his feet shot toward Dan Ja-Kang like a waterfall.
"Ugh!"
The continuous strikes rained down like a torrential downpour in the blink of an eye, finally drawing a groan from the now insane Dan Ja-Kang.
Bang!
Like Chung Myung, Jang Il-so kicked off the air repeatedly to accelerate his approach, charging at Dan Ja-Kang with a face full of raging qi.
"Kyaaaaaa!"
At that moment, Dan Ja-Kang let out a roar and threw a lightning-fast punch to hit back. It was incomparably faster than any punch he had thrown so far.
Though he had surrendered to demonic qi and chosen to be a beast in life, it seemed a trace of reason remained. He reduced internal qi to increase speed, delivering the most perfect strike possible at this moment. For Jang Il-so accelerating in midair, it was an unavoidable and unblockable blow.
'He still has some part of brain working, huh!'
But Jang Il-so did not slow down or change direction at all, even as Dan Ja-Kang's fist flew straight to pierce his face.
It was suicide. Nothing else could describe such madness.
Without a moment's hesitation, Jang Il-so charged forward, drawing qi into both hands as if Dan Ja-Kang's fist did not exist.
At that moment.
Kwaaahhh!
Chung Myung leapt like a ray of light above Jang Il-so's head and swung his sword. Not the blade but the flat side, a strike that hits rather than cuts!
Dan Ja-Kang's fist, aimed to pierce Jang Il-so's face, was deflected. Its trajectory twisted, grazing Jang Il-so's cheek.
Crack!
In an instant, skin was torn and bone crushed.
But Jang Il-so did not blink at that and immediately thrust both hands with swift speed toward Dan Ja-Kang. The qi flowing through his hands left irregular blue trails in the air. The blue lines, etched at the fiercest points, were strangely beautiful, unbefitting this brutal battle.
Kwaaahhh!
Jang Il-so's twin palm strikes buried into Dan Ja-Kang's abdomen. His hands, surrounded by blue flames, tore through Dan Ja-Kang's clothing and imprinted two bright blue palm seals on his stomach.
Blood spurted from Dan Ja-Kang's mouth, covering Jang Il-so's face. Stained red with both his own and the enemy's blood, Jang Il-so grinned, revealing white teeth.
"In the end, it is humans who catch and kill beasts."
Bang!
Jang Il-so's palm strike lifted Dan Ja-Kang's jaw. As Dan Ja-Kang was bounced back halfway airborne, Jang Il-so wildly whipped his robe's hem and pursued.
His face, mixed with killing intent, pleasure, and even fear, now bore an intense expression unlike any before.
'This!'
His eyes flashed incessantly at the intense sensation that seemed to pierce him from head to toe.
'What an amazing feeling?'
Right now, he was on the edge of a blade.