Chapter 598: A Gift From My Student

TL: FoodieMonster007

A great shock struck the Heavenly Fate Palace Lord Wi Mucheon.

Heaven's will is to be fulfilled three hundred years from now?

Standing right beside him, the Protection Palace Lord personally witnessed the corner of Wi Mucheon's eye twitch. He had never before seen the Saintess so surprised and flustered.

Geom Mugeuk, concealed within the Spacetime Manipulation Technique, was equally surprised.

She prophesied this three hundred years ago?

Even seeing it with his own eyes, it was truly difficult to believe.

A heavy silence descended upon the hall.

Wi Mucheon, who had been staring intently at the Saintess, slowly returned to his seat. He then began to pour alcohol into his cup.

It was a serious breach of etiquette to pour a drink while seated before the standing Saintess, but at this moment, no one paid it any mind.

TRICKLE.

In the hall where not even a breath could be heard, the only audible sound was the pouring of alcohol.

The Protection Palace Lord could sense it. He could feel the immense fury Wi Mucheon was experiencing. The clear sound of the liquid was the sound of the Saintess suppressing his rage.

Wi Mucheon silently gazed down at the cup, which was filled to the brim.

So much blood had already been spilled. He had reached a point of no return. And now Heaven delivers a prophecy like this? Why then did the Secret Box awaken? Why did it cry out so desperately in his hands?

After fiddling with his cup for a moment, Wi Mucheon asked the Saintess in a calm voice.

"Would you care for a drink?"

The expressions on the faces of the women in white, who were lined up on either side, hardened.

It was bad enough that he was sitting and pouring a drink for himself. Now he was offering one to her. This was an act he should not commit, regardless of his status as the Heavenly Fate Palace Lord.

Since the Saintess's eyes were covered, it was impossible to discern what she was feeling.

"I'm fine."

At the Saintess's calm refusal, Wi Mucheon drank alone.

The very moment he set his cup down, astonishing words came from the Saintess's lips.

"I cannot drink, but I will pour you a cup."

Hearing the Saintess's words, the women in white all glanced at her before lowering their heads once more.

They were surprised and tense. The Saintess was doing something she would never normally do. This surely wasn't just because they were in the middle of a war.

It must be because this prophecy was that significant.

The Saintess took a slow step forward. Though her eyes were covered, she walked with precision to stand directly before Wi Mucheon.

As if she possessed sight, she lifted the alcohol bottle and poured it accurately into Wi Mucheon's cup.

TRICKLE.

The clear sound of the cup filling made the hearts of the women in white even more fearful. They felt a taut tension, as if something terrible was about to happen at any moment. After all, everyone understood what the Saintess's prophecy meant to the Heavenly Fate Palace Lord.

Without drinking the alcohol she had poured, Wi Mucheon asked a question.

"What will happen if I don't withdraw from this war?"

The Saintess then calmly delivered the prophecy.

"In this battle, the Heavenly Fate Palace will suffer a great defeat. And you, Saintess, will die at their hands."

These were words no one would dare to speak. If anyone other than the Saintess had said them, it would not have been strange for their head to be smashed by a single strike from the Heavenly Fate Palace Lord.

However, Wi Mucheon did not do that. The cold fury instead brought him a sense of calm.

He drained the cup that the Saintess had poured for him.

"Unfortunately, this prophecy is wrong."

He didn't say it 'seemed' wrong. It was a firm declaration that the prophecy was wrong. This was a greater discourtesy than offering her a drink earlier.

The lined-up women all raised their heads to look at the Heavenly Fate Palace Lord. Their gazes were life-threatening. To deny the Saintess's prophecy was to deny their very existence.

Wi Mucheon paid them no attention. His gaze was fixed only on the Saintess.

Amid the cold tension, the Saintess opened her mouth. She was perfectly calm, as if she had naturally anticipated the Saintess would deny it.

"A Saintess may go her entire life without receiving a single prophecy, but a prophecy that has been delivered is never wrong."

A desire surged from deep within Wi Mucheon's heart.

It was a killing intent, a desire to kill the woman before him and make her a sacrifice for this battle. But he could not do that. If he did, the morale of the Heavenly Fate Palace would plummet, and the people's hearts would turn away from him. The martial artists of the Heavenly Fate Palace believed in the prophecies of the Saintess.

"Even so, I won't stop this war."

"May I ask why?"

"This time, Heaven itself has conveyed its will to me."

"How so?"

"Shouldn't you already know everything?"

Wi Mucheon's emotion was closer to rage than it was to ridicule.

If the Secret Box hadn't awakened, he would have believed the Saintess's prophecy. Even if he hadn't believed it, he would have stopped the war.

All because of this sham of a prophecy.

Wi Mucheon rose from his seat and slowly approached the Saintess. Standing right next to her, he whispered softly so that only she could hear.

"After I unify the world, I'll kill you and destroy the Saintess Palace."

Even at those shocking words, the Saintess showed no agitation. Wi Mucheon's whisper continued.

"It doesn't matter either way, does it? If your prophecy is correct, I'll die anyway. On the other hand, if the prophecy is wrong, it means you deceived me with a sham prophecy, a deed for which you deserve to die."

Wi Mucheon smiled and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

"In that sense, I suppose we can consider this a special prophecy."

The Saintess turned her head to look at Wi Mucheon.

It was a gaze that felt as if she was seeing Wi Mucheon's face from behind the cloth, peering into his heart, and even looking into the future.

Was that the reason?

Wi Mucheon felt an urge to rip the cloth from the Saintess's eyes. What kind of eyes were looking at him from beneath that fabric?

I have treated you all so preciously until now, and on the eve of this crucial battle, is this all you can do for me?

The Saintess, as calm as she was at the beginning, spoke to Wi Mucheon.

"I only deliver the prophecy. It is you, Saintess, who must judge and decide."

She gave a polite bow to Wi Mucheon and turned away. Before heading outside, she paused.

Her gaze, still blindfolded, turned for a moment toward one of the walls.

Everyone assumed she was looking at the map of the Central Plains on the wall, but Geom Mugeuk stood in front of that map, hidden within the Spacetime Manipulation Technique.

Geom Mugeuk could feel it.

She's looking at me.

The Saintess turned back to Wi Mucheon and said something.

"I will not return, but will remain here."

Not only the women in white, but Wi Mucheon too was startled. He hadn't expected her to declare she would stay on the battlefield.

Without waiting for Wi Mucheon's reply, she walked out.

Geom Mugeuk understood why she had said that.

She wants to meet me.

The Fist King Jang Hu's aura had completely changed.

His killing intent manifested as a pure white light, while glowing, ghost-fire-like characters on both his hands bewildered his opponent's vision.

Behind Jang Hu's back, the gates of hell opened. Pained screams echoed from those who had fallen into hellfire for their evil deeds. Demons ran rampant through the sea of fire.

Jang Hu's manifestation was hell.

It was a manifestation that instilled terror and stole the will to fight just by feeling its presence.

The Fist Demon was not frightened at all. Having taken off his shirt to fight in earnest, the Fist Demon's momentum was terrifying. He strode unhesitatingly toward hell. Demons clung to him from all sides, and the ground boiled like lava.

The Fist Demon threw open the gates of hell and entered.

WHOOOOSH!

The Fist Demon's manifestation was the wind.

This was no longer a wind that tore things apart. It was the Fist Demon's changed wind, a wind that blew within a person's heart.

That wind began to blow in hell.

The demons were blown away by the Fist Demon's wind. Fireballs that had been boiling like lava were swept up and scattered in all directions. The demons screamed as they burned. Hell became a true hell.

In the middle of that windy hell, the two men clashed.

KABOOM!

Immense inner arts were loaded into the fists flying toward each other. The two men threw punches at one another as if they had met their mortal enemies.

"……"

Every time they threw a punch, the force of their stomps cracked and split the ground.

Neither man retreated a single step. The wails of ghosts could be heard from their clashing fists, and the sound of thunder erupted.

BOOM! KABOOM! BOOM!

The killing intent and demonic qi, which could never coexist, pressed down on each other.

Watching this, Lee Ahn's heart pounded like crazy.

Even from her distant position, she could feel it. The dreadful energy radiating from Jang Hu's fists.

If the Flower Sword Supreme hadn't blocked that energy for her, she would not have been able to stand here and watch with her depleted inner arts.

Even Yeom Baekyin, whose inner arts were intact, had retreated far away, unable to stop himself from vomiting up everything in his stomach.

These are all monsters.

Even if she obtained the ultimate secret manual, could she face them? She had no confidence. If so, what was the point of obtaining that manual?

The manual, the manual, the manual.

With only that filling his mind, he had forgotten. He had forgotten that this whole affair had started out of necessity in the first place.

The one who made him forget was the man who went underground.

He had been led to believe by the man's gentle demeanor that he might really give him the ultimate martial arts. In the end, that man was probably a monster just like these two. No, perhaps an even more terrifying monster than them.

Meanwhile, the exchange of blows between the Fist Demon and Jang Hu continued.

The ghost-fire spewing from the characters engraved on his fists mixed with Jang Hu's killing intent, making the surrounding air difficult to even breathe.

Even in the midst of it, the Fist Demon did not retreat a single step.

As if to say, this is the fist of the Fist Demon.

But, it wasn't.

The Fist Demon didn't just have his fists.

SHWIIIIICK!

"……"

A single move from the Fist Demon shattered the tense stalemate. A kick shot out instantly, parting the space between their fists.

It was the fourth form of the Thunder Arhat Fist, the Iron Leg Asura.

With that one blow, Jang Hu's jaw twisted as he was sent flying backward.

He had never expected the Fist Demon to use a kick, so he had taken that fast and powerful blow head-on.

The Fist Demon did not miss this opportunity.

THWACK!

Following like a shadow, the Fist Demon's fist mercilessly slammed into Jang Hu's stomach. Although his protective enhanced qi activated, it hurt as if his intestines were bursting.

"……"

It was the first time a groan had escaped Jang Hu's lips.

Having seized the momentum, the Fist Demon's fists became even faster and stronger.

THWACK! THWACK! THWUMP!

The Fist Demon's fists continuously slammed into Jang Hu's body.

"Damn it! Stop!"

After taking a series of punches, Jang Hu cursed and shot away toward the distant spectator seats. The moment he landed next to the seated figure of Death.

SHWIIIIICK!

The Fist Demon's fist, rushing in right after, flew in to completely crush his face.

In that instant, the look in Jang Hu's eyes changed. It was a look that said, 'I've been waiting for this moment, too'.

Instead of blocking with his fist, Jang Hu spread his palm wide.

SHIIIIIIK.

A pitch-black wall blocked the space in front of his palm. The Fist Demon's fist flew in with enough force to smash anything.

The moment the fist struck the wall, a different sound was heard instead of an impact.

SLUUURP.

The wall rippled. The wall, which felt like a liquid, absorbed the Fist Demon's fist. He tried to pull his fist out, but this strange liquid held it tight.

SHWIIIIICK.

At the same time, Jang Hu's other fist cut through the air.

This time, too, the sound was different.

It was not the 'BOOM' of an impact.

SLICE! SLICE!

The sound of flesh being repeatedly torn was heard.

PAAAAK.

The Fist Demon, having barely pulled his fist from the liquid mass, was thrown backward.

DRIP.

Blood was flowing from the Fist Demon's arm that hadn't been caught.

His thick, large forearm and fist were deeply gashed, and the wound was deep. Even this was fortunate. Jang Hu had been aiming for his neck and heart.

A blade shimmering like light could be seen at the tip of Jang Hu's fist. It was no ordinary blade. It was a blade of killing intent, created from Jang Hu's own killing intent.

His hidden trump card had been revealed.

Watching this, Lee Ahn's heart sank. It was the first time she had ever seen blood flowing from her father's fist.

It was at that moment.

The Fist Demon raised his hand as if to signal a short break.

As the Fist Demon pressed the acupoints on his arm and hand to stop the bleeding, Jang Hu also tended to the internal injuries he had just sustained.

GUSH.

While tending to his internal injuries, Jang Hu coughed up blood. After spitting out the blood, his face actually looked more at ease.

Meanwhile, the Fist Demon strode over and picked up his shirt, which he had thrown on the ground.

Was he going to apply some wound salve? No way. Jang Hu was watching him with this thought in mind. The Fist Demon then found something in his clothes and took it out.

It was a pair of gauntlets.

They stretched elastically and fitted snugly onto the Fist Demon's large hands.

"No way…?"

Jang Hu recognized what they were. They were something that no one who practiced fist arts could fail to know.

"The God of War!"

It was the God of War that Geom Mugeuk had given him in the past. If the greatest of swords was the Heavenly Demon Sword, then the greatest of gauntlets was the God of War.

Jang Hu's expression hardened. He never imagined the Fist Demon would have the God of War. No, the problem was that he had put them on.

"The great Fist Demon is wearing gauntlets? The world will laugh at this."

It was a taunt meant to make him take off the God of War.

However, the Fist Demon didn't fall for Jang Hu's provocation. The Fist Demon did not let his pride get in the way. In the past, he would have rather died than not face his opponent with his bare fists.

But the Fist Demon was different now. Instead of showing shame, he boasted to Jang Hu.

"My disciple gave them to me as a gift."

"What?"

To the surprised and flustered Jang Hu, the Fist Demon added.

"Our Young Cult Leader gave them to me."

Watching this, the Flower Sword Supreme could see that the Fist Demon's change was not just in his level of martial arts.

The Fist Demon has become flexible.

The Fist Demon had changed. The man who seemed so hard he would never break, the man whose pride was stronger than anyone else's.

He became stronger because he changed.

The Flower Sword Supreme knew who was responsible for this change. It was likely for the same reason she no longer wore makeup and lived with her white hair.

"Son of a bitch!"

Jang Hu once again spewed vulgar curses unbecoming of him. He drew out all the killing intent he possessed. It wasn't intentional, the profanity just burst out. He truly hated the Fist Demon enough to kill him.

SHAAAAK.

The blade of killing intent at the tip of Jang Hu's fist extended, becoming longer and sharper. It was a sharpness that seemed capable of slicing through even ten-thousand-year-old cold iron.

"You disgusting Demon Supreme bastard! Come on, it'll take time to carve up that huge body of yours."

In response, the Fist Demon slapped his gauntleted fist into his palm, making a sound as he walked forward.

PANG! PANG!

"Consider it an honor to be their first use!"