Chapter 197: I Will Become the Heavenly Demon

TL: FoodieMonster007

Mafia boss Chu Gaoh mobilized his subordinates the moment he confirmed the match's result.

They had him under double, even triple surveillance, so escape was impossible. The young Fist Demon waited in his home, prepared for death. He would never have spoken so boldly to Chu Gaoh otherwise.

"Did you make a lot of money?"

Chu Gaoh was furious enough to explode.

"You won't die a peaceful death."

He had suffered a huge loss. It wasn't just his own money. He had also brought in funds from other organizations. One misstep could cost him his life.

On top of that, this wet-behind-the-ears fighter was twisting his insides even further.

"I told the Chairman of this fighting arena about what happened. You know who's backing this place, don't you?"

Chu Gaoh's expression hardened. He feared their backer, the Evil Alliance, so he only fixed matches secretly when it was absolutely crucial.

He had done it well until now, but this time he was caught badly. He had never dealt with such a madman. He knew the guy had a temper but never dreamed he would pull something like this, even after receiving that huge scar on his chest as a warning.

"The young brat doesn't know the value of his own life."

"It's your life that's precious, not mine!"

The ordeal forged a resolution in the Fist Demon. He would never again have friends or family.

How great is this? I can act on my temper, even when he makes these dirty threats.

It was a shame, of course. He would die today, unable to practice his new resolution.

Chu Gaoh ordered his subordinates.

"Bring that bastard to his knees before me."

Chu Gaoh had no intention of letting this damn bastard die peacefully.

Dozens of mafia men drew their weapons at once. He was the Fist Demon, a champion in the fighting arena, but he had no inner arts. The number of opponents was too great.

Still, the Fist Demon was not intimidated.

"For every one of you I kill, I'll fight with the mindset that I'm saving one person."

The Fist Demon pulled a pair of gloves from his bosom and put them on. Sharp, awl-like points studded the knuckles.

"They're coated in a deadly poison," he announced. "A mere scratch and you'll spend the rest of your life lying down, eating nothing but porridge."

It was a lie, meant to make the men hesitate.

Among the mafia men, those who had fought the Fist Demon before flinched. The last time they fought, they had been injured and knocked out in total chaos. Now his fists were poisoned too?

"You cowardly bastard!"

At Chu Gaoh's words, the Fist Demon shouted back.

"Why? You guys get to run wild with swords, but I can't wear something like this? You trashy mafia bastards! Bring it on!"

Chu Gaoh shouted.

"Kill him! Three hundred taels to the one who kills him first!"

With a huge prize on the line, the mafia men swarmed forward, swinging their swords.

The Fist Demon fled toward the backyard. The mafia men at the front chased him excitedly, then suddenly plunged downward.

"Aaaaaargh!"

He had dug a trap in the yard, planting spear blades at the bottom.

The Fist Demon had come prepared. He would not fight with only his fists. His goal was to survive. If he had to die, he would take at least one of them with him.

A few men died in the trap, but the others were veterans. It might have been different if their opponent was a martial artist, but he was just a young man without inner arts.

They swarmed him, swinging their swords. All they had to do was plunge a sword into his body, and three hundred taels would be theirs. The men, mad for money, charged like lunatics.

The Fist Demon moved with incredible speed, dodging swords and throwing punches.

Men screamed as his awl-like fists connected.

Curses flew from all directions as the excited mafia men rampaged. They shrieked and charged, even as blood streamed from their bodies.

He rolled on the ground, avoiding blades from all sides.

He leaped up, ran toward a wall, then turned and threw a knife. The throwing knife embedded itself in a pursuer's body. He also threw stones from the ground and even snatched a fallen sword to swing.

Chu Gaoh shouted.

"So you've abandoned the honor of a fighter!"

He had provoked him, trying to stop him from using weapons, but it failed.

"I abandoned it because of you! You're the one killing your own subordinates!"

The Fist Demon fought incredibly well. He punched, kicked, rolled on the ground, and leaped up to kick. He rampaged like a wounded beast.

But there were too many of them. Despite his skill, the Fist Demon was hopelessly outnumbered.

Blood spurted from his arm and side. He had no time to check his injuries. He dodged the swords flying from all directions and swung his fists like a madman.

A sudden kick sent the Fist Demon flying. He crashed through a pile of luggage and collapsed.

It was a strike from Chu Gaoh, who had been waiting for his opportunity.

"Get those gloves off him first!"

Men rushed in and ripped off his gloves. The Fist Demon bit a chunk from one man's neck, spraying blood everywhere.

PWUK! PWUK! PWUK!

A flurry of punches turned the Fist Demon's face into a bloody mess.

Chu Gaoh looked down at the Fist Demon.

"I've never seen such a venomous bastard."

As Chu Gaoh clicked his tongue at his subordinates, the Fist Demon suddenly splashed a liquid at him from a bottle.

Chu Gaoh waved his hand to block it.

CHIIIIIIK.

The liquid burned through Chu Gaoh's sleeve. It was Bone Dissolving Acid.

PWUK! PWUK! PWUK!

Chu Gaoh's eyes widened in fury. He stomped on the Fist Demon, enraged that he had almost been hit in the face with the acid.

The Fist Demon curled up to protect his vital spots, sensing the end.

This life ends here.

Now that death seemed certain, he felt afraid. It was unfair and infuriating to be killed by a bastard like Chu Gaoh.

The beating paused. The Fist Demon opened his eyes.

Chu Gaoh took out a throwing knife.

"I'm not going to let you die peacefully."

The Fist Demon raised his dazed eyes to the night sky. He wanted to see the stars or the moon one last time.

He saw a man sitting on a distant tree branch over Chu Gaoh's shoulder, looking down at him.

The Fist Demon closed his eyes, thinking it was a hallucination, then opened them again.

But the man was still there, silhouetted by the bright full moon. He looked a few years older than the Fist Demon.

Their eyes met. The Fist Demon had never feared another person, but this man's cold gaze filled him with dread.

Is he a grim reaper here to take me?

The thought even crossed his mind.

He was not a grim reaper. One of the mafia men spotted him.

"Hey? There's someone over there!"

As all eyes turned to him, the man leaped lightly from the branch.

He landed from a great height without a sound. His incredible movement technique startled everyone.

The man walked slowly to the Fist Demon, ignoring the mafia men completely.

He asked the Fist Demon.

"Can you still fight?"

The Fist Demon nodded and pushed himself up. His body ached as if broken, but he gritted his teeth.

"I can fight."

The man then turned to Chu Gaoh.

"Is it right to be so cowardly against a fighter?"

He knew the Fist Demon was a fighter, so he wasn't just a passerby. The man seemed to understand the entire situation.

"Who might you be?"

Chu Gaoh was inwardly tense. He worried a master from the Evil Alliance had appeared because of the match-fixing.

Then the young man said something unexpected.

"Fight fair and square."

HWIIIIK.

A finger qi bullet shot from the man's hand before Chu Gaoh could dodge, suppressing his inner arts. Suppressing an opponent's inner arts with a single flick was a skill only heard of in legends.

Startled, Chu Gaoh reflexively shouted.

"Kill him! Kill this one too!"

But no one dared to move. Beyond his skill, the man possessed a dignity that made it impossible to act rashly.

The man gestured for the mafia men to form a circle. As if possessed, they complied, creating a small fighting arena.

The Fist Demon rose and clenched his fists. He didn't know his helper, but he knew this was his only chance to live.

Chu Gaoh also realized he had to kill the Fist Demon to survive. His inner arts were suppressed, but he still had his knife and sword.

In that case, I have a chance!

He had no chance. Chu Gaoh swung his throwing knife but lost his grip. He drew his sword, only to have it taken from him as well.

The fight became one of fists. Chu Gaoh couldn't win with a sword, and he certainly couldn't win with his bare hands.

PWUK! PWEOK! PWAAAK! PWAK!

The Fist Demon's furious fists slammed into Chu Gaoh's body.

"Why! Why do you torment people just trying to live! Why!"

The Fist Demon broke Chu Gaoh's jawbone and ribs.

Chu Gaoh finally collapsed, gasping for breath. The Fist Demon untied his top, revealing his scar.

"You told me to look at this scar whenever I had a stupid thought, right? Now you look at it and die."

KWANG! KWANG! KWANG! KWANG!

The barrage of fists stopped Chu Gaoh's breathing.

The Fist Demon stood up, panting, and looked at the man.

A sword floated up in front of the man.

CHWAAAAAAK.

The sword split into dozens of sword-shaped qi that rose into the sky. The mafia members stared up, fascinated.

SHWISHWISHWISHWISHWISHWISHWISHWISHWI!

The sword qi rained down on them.

The sword qi pierced their heads, faces, and chests, and they all collapsed.

The man left no one alive.

Geom Mugeuk, listening to the Fist Demon's story, exclaimed.

"The Soaring Sky Sword Art's Ominous Sky Strike! That was Father!"

"That's right. It was the Cult Leader."

Geom Mugeuk was stunned. He never knew his father had discovered the Fist Demon.

"He was the Cult Leader at your age," the Fist Demon explained. "This was before he was even named successor."

Geom Mugeuk felt moved that his father had saved the Fist Demon.

"Standing amidst the corpses, the Cult Leader said to me, 'Those are baby fists. How about we turn them into a real man's fists?'"

"Ah!"

Geom Mugeuk now understood where the 'baby hands' comment came from.

"So what did you say?"

"I said no. How could I follow someone I didn't know? What if he was an assassin or some great villain? I told him I was grateful he saved my life, but I couldn't go."

Geom Mugeuk thought it was amazing that the Fist Demon had refused. The young Fist Demon seemed so vibrant and alive, a quality now hidden in his heart. Who would have known that the stuffy, rigid man who silently watched their training had such a past?

"So what did Father say then?"

"He just turned away silently, with a look that said, 'Do as you please.' Watching his back, I suddenly realized I was wrong. If I didn't follow him, I'd never escape this fighting arena. I was lucky this time, but I'd eventually die from this kind of dirty treatment."

The Fist Demon recalled the moment. That brief decision changed his destiny.

"If he had tried to persuade me, I might have stubbornly refused. I thought bravado was cool back then, but as I watched his back grow distant, my body moved on its own. I ran after him. I said I was sorry and that I'd changed my mind. That's when the Cult Leader looked at me and smiled. You know the one, right? His unique…"

"You mean that sneer that looks down on people?"

"Yes, that smile."

"Father is probably the person who suits that smile best in the whole world."

"Honestly, the Cult Leader was cool that day. A different kind of cool than you."

"Am I cool too?"

The Fist Demon pretended not to hear Geom Mugeuk's words and continued his story.

"The Cult Leader brought me to our Cult, placed me in the Eastern Fist Garrison without a word, and never came to see me again."

"That's just like Father."

"I climbed from the White Fists to the Black Fists on my own. I put in a blood-boiling effort back then."

With his innate talent for fist techniques and hard work, the Fist Demon of that time must have garnered everyone's attention.

"The day I became one of the Black Fists, the Cult Leader came to find me. He arrived as if he'd been watching all along. Do you know what he said?"

"What did he say?"

The Fist Demon's voice trembled as he recalled that day.

"I will become the Heavenly Demon, so you will become my Fist Demon."

Their special bond wasn't just about martial arts. It was because of this hidden past.

Geom Mugeuk imitated his father.

"I will become the Heavenly Demon too, so…"

"Too late. I'm already the Fist Demon."

"Ah! That's right. I guess I should say that to Cheon Sohwi. Wait a moment. I'll find words that suit us."

The Fist Demon gazed at Geom Mugeuk. The image of the young Heavenly Demon, Geom Woojin, superimposed itself over Geom Mugeuk's figure.

They were two people, similar yet different. If Geom Mugeuk was light, Geom Woojin was darkness. One seemed light enough to fly away, the other heavy enough to sink forever.

But the Fist Demon also felt that this light and darkness were not so different. They were dark yet bright, and bright yet dark.

"The Cult Leader took me from this place, but you brought me here."

The Fist Demon had met two young, blood-related Cult Leader candidates in this very place. He felt it was destiny.

Just then, Geom Mugeuk looked calmly at the Fist Demon and said serenely.

"I will become your disciple, so please become my Master!"