[Chapter 63]
"Gasp!"
"Wh-what's that? A tiger?!"
The sudden, terrifying roar startled everyone.
Though its source was unknown, it was unmistakably the roar of a tiger.
But this roar was too immense, spreading like thunder in all directions, making one's flesh crawl just by hearing it.
In the heart of Gaebong, half of the passersby collapsed on the spot, their legs giving out from fear.
"A tiger, it's a tiger!"
"Run, escape!"
"Aaah! Get out of the way!"
Panic escalated rapidly. Throughout the ages, a tiger threat was considered as dreadful as a mother's curse.
In an instant, the streets turned to chaos. Merchants hurriedly shut their doors, and people walking the streets fled without looking back.
Even at a distance from the bamboo forest, such commotion ensued. Such was the overwhelming power of the roar.
'No.'
However, a young man sipping tea in the top floor of a luxurious tavern in Gaebong was certain that this roar was not that of a tiger.
'This is no mere tiger.'
Surprise flickered across the young man's face.
'Such energy?!'
The erupting sound carried an incredible force.
He had never felt such energy before. It vibrated the heavens and earth, a boundless madness and a mysterious dignity coexisting.
A sound resembling the roar of a tiger, yet with a presence incomparable to a mere tiger's bellow.
'Uncle?!'
He was certain. The source of this energy was spreading from the bamboo forest where his uncle, the leader of Homyeongjeon, had gone.
But neither his uncle nor the warriors of Homyeongjeon exuded such energy.
Snap!
The young man leaped out the window.
* * *
In the midst of a fierce battle, Myeongchi Mountain staggered backward, reeling from a vicious strike.
"Damn it!" he cursed, his face pale as a ghost.
The fallen warriors of Homyeongjeon were even worse off, their faces not just pale, but blue with terror.
One of them was foaming at the mouth, overwhelmed by the ferocious roar that had erupted right before their eyes.
The wind grew wilder, howling through the bamboo forest, threatening to snap the sturdy trunks.
Myeongchi Mountain looked down at his hand gripping the sword hilt, trembling. His glove was torn, blood seeping out – the protective energy of his family's Dongcheon Gong technique had failed to fully absorb the impact of the blow.
"What terrifying power," he thought, witnessing the sudden surge of strength.
He turned his gaze to Yeon Hojeong, who stood with his head bowed, as a maelstrom of wind whipped around him.
Leaves swirled up into the sky, centering around Yeon Hojeong, and the wind seemed to carry a strange, white light within it.
Yeon Hojeong inhaled deeply, his veins bulging with each breath, his face alight with exhilaration.
"I've done it," he thought. The breath he drew was filled with a richer energy than before.
His lung capacity rapidly expanded, a result of grueling training that had now transformed ideally.
It was as if his lungs had undergone a metamorphosis, now so robust that he felt he could run ten miles with a single breath.
His lungs filled with a white, vital energy.
"The White Tiger Energy!"
The White Tiger, one of the Four Sacred Beasts, symbolizes autumn and is associated with the metal element. It governs the lungs, maintaining the body's strength.
Unlike the Black Tortoise, which expels turbidity, the White Tiger maximizes the energy absorbed by the lungs and spreads it throughout the body.
Myeongchi Mountain felt as if his very bones were transforming.
Proper breathing nourishes the bones and flesh; vigorous breathing enhances their quality.
This was the essence of the White Tiger – seeking relentless attack and advancement through extreme physical endurance and robust breathing.
Yeon Hojeong had trained his body so fiercely for this reason. The White Tiger Energy was difficult to summon without a solid physical foundation.
The guardian deity of the West, the ruler of the winds.
The manifestation of the White Tiger, the Great Emperor of the West.
"You fiend!" Myeongchi Mountain bellowed. "What kind of heretical technique is this?"
With a thunderous leap, he charged at Yeon Hojeong, spotting an opening as the latter stood still.
But his eyes widened in shock.
Yeon Hojeong was already rushing towards him, too fast and too powerful. The force transmitted through the ground felt like it could shake a mountain.
Yeon Hojeong's axe swung in a deadly arc.
"Argh!" Myeongchi Mountain grunted, facing a monstrous strength unlike any before. The density of the power was beyond imagination.
Pushed back by the immense pressure, Myeongchi Mountain hurriedly prepared to counterattack.
But again, he was too late.
The advance was terrifying.
With each step, he seemed to stamp the earth, his explosive strength and imposing momentum was like a great tiger pouncing on its prey.
This was the true martial prowess of Yeon Hojeong. During his days as the Black Dark Emperor, he was infamous for his destructive power and relentless combat spirit.
His axe, once imbued with a blue aura, now carried the pure White Tiger Energy.
With each strike, he generated massive shockwaves. Myeongchi Mountain's sword bent as if it would snap.
"He's too strong!"
The energy bursting forth was like a violent wave.
It was overwhelming. The storm-like force generated by the axe seemed capable of sweeping away the heavens and the earth.
And then there was his footwork.
It seemed he didn't consider evasion or counterattack. Only advance, always advance, amplifying the power of his axe two-fold, three-fold with the force of his steps.
Life returned to Yeon Hojeong's eyes.
"Good."
The footwork of the White Tiger, the Sovereign White Tiger Step.
It differed from the Black Tortoise's Unmovable Pillar. The martial arts of the White Tiger knew no retreat or defense.
And then there was the weapon technique.
With a resounding crash, Myeongchi Mountain let out a scream mixed with a groan.
"What kind of martial art is this?!"
It was neither spear nor sword technique.
Yet it was powerful. The strange wind that had been summoned made this technique far stronger, more precise, and more brutal than anything he had used before.
It was the Tiger King's Nine Thunderous Blows, a high-dimensional offensive martial art that formed the basis of the Beast Spear Technique, yet incomparable to it.
Crack! Snap! Boom!
Myeongchi Mountain was forced back again and again.
He tried to escape, but the howling winds from all directions suppressed his freedom of movement. And with Yeon Hojeong advancing like an unstoppable bull, he was continually pushed back.
But he couldn't keep retreating forever. At this rate, he wouldn't even have a chance to counter before the axe took his head.
Myeongchi Mountain roared.
"Aaargh!"
Boom!
Yeon Hojeong's axe faltered.
It was the secret technique of the Dongcheon Gong, the Thousand Observing Divine Blade. In a brief moment, Myeongchi Mountain managed to use the secret technique to escape danger.
"Now, you!" he declared.
His turn to attack had come. Myeongchi Mountain's sword seemed to say so.
Wham!
The swift and fierce Thousand Observing Divine Blade surged towards Yeon Hojeong's entire body.
It was an incredibly fast and violent sword technique. Although he had managed to draw it forth, the White Tiger Energy hadn't fully settled. It seemed difficult to block easily.
At that moment, the Black Tortoise Energy burst forth.
Whoosh! Crash!
"Ugh!"
Myeongchi Mountain felt a jolt in his wrist as if it might snap.
"What on earth?!"
From Yeon Hojeong's body, which had been summoning a pale blue and white wind, a dark azure mist began to rise.
It was the invincible defense, the Northern Sky's Twelve Barriers. An absolute defense following an explosive attack.
The White Tiger is responsible for advancing and attacking in battle.
The Black Tortoise repels threats with an impregnable defense.
Attack and defense, an integrated whole. He had gained a shield of steel but had not held a worthy weapon until now, finally grasping a divine weapon as formidable as his shield.
Thud!
After defense comes attack. Yeon Hojeong, having repelled Myeongchi Mountain, took a step forward and swung his iron club.
Bang!
Blood spurted from Myeongchi Mountain's nose and mouth.
It was an internal injury. Although he had blocked the attack, the shock had shaken his entire body.
Yeon Hojeong did not stop.
With each Sovereign White Tiger Step, he unleashed the possessed attacks of the Tiger King's Nine Thunderous Blows.
Bang! Crash! Boom!
Bamboos fell in droves. The blood Myeongchi Mountain coughed up increased.
"I'm losing…"
The battle had turned in an instant.
"To think such a man exists."
He instinctively blocked the attacks, but his strength was waning.
In contrast, the opponent's martial arts grew stronger. Like adjusting ill-fitting clothes, the attacks became terrifyingly precise at a fearsome speed.
"…?!"
Suddenly, Myeongchi Mountain saw an illusion.
Behind his opponent, it seemed as if a white Tiger Spirit was rising like a mirage.
"A monster?!"
There was a creature with legs larger than palace columns, a tail thicker than rafters, and a long neck with the face of a beast.
The black stripes crossing its snow-white fur resembled mountains painted by an artist. Its blue eyes shone with human-like light, and its gently curved fangs were like steel swords.
It resembled a tiger but was oddly different, much more mystical and majestic, the ruler of the Western Heavens looking down upon him.
The Four Symbols, the White Tiger.
"Aaaah!"
Myeongchi Mountain vomited blood as he struck down towards Yeon Hojeong's crown.
Yeon Hojeong's axe moved from low to high.
Whoosh! Bang!
From his right thigh to his left shoulder, he was split open. The sword in his hand snapped in half.
Yeon Hojeong, having raised his axe high, then brought it down with force.
Myeongchi Mountain's eyes filled with despair.
The descending giant axe was like the claw of the Tiger Spirit.
Crash!
The axe that shattered his skull now dug into Myeongchi Mountain's chest.
It was a decisive blow.
Hiss…
"Huff."
Inhaling, Yeon Hojeong pulled the axe from Myeongchi Mountain's body and looked down at him with cold eyes.
"He was a strong opponent."
Myeongchi Mountain was of the same like as his father. A martial artist who had perfected both attack and defense beyond the realm of martial arts.
It was because of such a man that he could more easily summon the White Tiger. In a way, he was a grateful adversary.
Yeon Hojeong turned around.
Nearly a hundred bamboos lay fallen. Traces of Myeongchi Mountain being driven in a straight line.
And beyond that, one warrior of Homyeongjeon had not fallen.
"How can this be?"
Myeongchi Mountain, a master representing the Blue and White Warriors.
Such a master had been pushed to death by a junior, not yet of age. An unbelievable event had occurred.
Yeon Hojeong, who had walked slowly, now stood three yards in front of the warrior.
He aimed his axe at the warrior.
"Are you of the Myeong family?"
The warrior shook his head involuntarily. It seemed the only way to live.
Yeon Hojeong nodded his head, then suddenly swung his axe.
Bang!
A loud explosion erupted from a particularly dense bamboo area.
Yeon Hojeong spoke coldly.
"Come out."
"…My bones ache."
From behind the shattered bamboos emerged a young man in his late twenties.
The young man, Myeong Kang-rim, asked with a stiff face,
"Who are you, really?"
Yeon Hojeong smiled brightly.
"You are indeed a Myeong."