Chapter 64:


    Paedobang (4)


    The dead of night had broughtplete darkness.


    Twenty Shaolin disciples, each hiding their bodies, gazed at the pavilion situated in an ambiguous spot between the urban area and the slum of Nanchang.


    [Honginmun (弘仁門)]


    The characters meant “wide and benevolent.” It was a highly ironic signboard for a gang that extorted money from the slums.


    – When I give the signal, you will enter as nned.


    At Hye-gwan’s order, delivered through telepathy, the Shaolin disciples recalled their assigned roles and readied themselves for the operation.


    – First team, advance!


    As soon as Hye-gwan’smand fell, the three closest to Honginmun’s main gate rushed forward.Those in the first team included Beob-hwi, a disciple of Hye-dam, Beob-gang, the true disciple of the Head of the Jurisdiction Department, and one of the second-ss disciples from the Demon Extermination Squad.


    Among them, Beob-hwi, who was at the forefront, began to channel his energy, causing his hand to turn red.


    “Haaap!”


    As Beob-hwi thrust his palm forward, the red energy gathered in his hand shot towards the main gate.


    Bang!!


    Among the Shaolin Seventy-Two Consummate Arts, the mighty Tathagata Palm Technique sted Honginmun’s main gate off its hinges.


    “What, what’s going on?!”


    “An attack!!”


    At this violent deration of war, chaos erupted within Honginmun, but by then, the three had already passed through the shattered gate and infiltrated the interior.


    The thugs of Honginmun, who rushed out in the sudden confusion, could not hope to match the second-ss disciples of Shaolin.


    There was no need for techniques like the Tathagata Palm or the Vajra Divine General. Beob-hwi, Beob-gang, and the Demon Extermination Squad’s second-ss disciple overwhelmed the thugs effortlessly.


    While the thugs’ attention was entirely on the three who had entered through the gate—


    Swoosh!


    Shaolin’s second-ss disciples leaped over Honginmun’s walls from all directions, infiltrating the interior.


    The Honginmun forces, trying to deal with the three at the gate, found themselves surrounded by the Shaolin disciples.


    ‘Perfect! It worked wlessly.’


    Mu-jin, who had enteredst due to his lower proficiency in movement techniquespared to the second-ss disciples, rejoiced inwardly.


    This encirclement strategy was Mu-jin’s n.


    It was a tactic often used in urban warfare training during his time in the special forces. The only difference was that in modern times, they used guns and bombs, whereas now they used martial arts.


    The greatest advantage of this strategy wasn’t just the ability to surround the enemy or minimize damage.


    By surprising the enemy and encircling them, they could annihte the opposition very quickly.


    “Kraah!”


    The thugs of Honginmun fell like leaves in autumn.


    “We need to search the interior quickly!”


    Mu-jin shouted urgently right after they dealt with the thirty or so thugs of Honginmun in an instant.


    The reason for nning such a surround-and-destroy operation was to prevent the enemies from destroying evidence.


    It wasn’t just about the evidence of human trafficking, but most importantly—


    ‘If we can find any indication of their dealings with Ryu Seol-ho, we can wipe them outpletely!’


    With that thought in mind, Mu-jin dashed towards the pavilion situated in the courtyard.


    The moment he flung open the door of the nearest pavilion—


    “!!!”


    Sensing an inexplicable foreboding, Mu-jin quickly bent his waist using the Iron nk Bridge technique, and a sword shed past just above his head.


    ‘I almost died.’


    If it were an ordinary sword attack, he could have endured it with his Iron Skin technique. However, the swordsmanship just now could have shredded his Iron Skin like paper.


    This was because the opponent’s sword was imbued with sword energy (劍氣).


    “Step back!”


    Beob-gang, who had been running behind Mu-jin, shouted and thrust his palm at the ck-d assant who had swung the sword at Mu-jin.


    Crackle.


    Thunder energy surged from Beob-gang’s palm, and ording to the Vajra Divine General technique, the thunder energy shot towards the ck-d man.


    Although the ck-d man split the thunder energy with his sword imbued with sword energy, his hand trembled slightly, indicating that the electric shock had prated.


    Mu-jin didn’t miss the opportunity and retreated, while Beob-gang charged at the ck-d man.


    ‘Is this what a battle between masters looks like?’


    Mu-jin watched in awe as Beob-gang and the ck-d man dueled.


    Most ordinary people in this world assumed that martial artists were masters simply because they could use internal energy to produce incredible strength and speed that ordinary people couldn’t achieve.


    However, for those living within the martial world, using internal energy was a given.


    Thus, among martial artists, the minimum standard for considering someone a “master” was precisely this—


    The emission of energy.


    Not just reinforcing the body, but reaching a level where one could emit energy to create sword energy (劍氣), fist energy (拳氣), or hand energy (手氣).


    And Beob-gang and the ck-d man were continuing their duel, scattering sword energy and thunder energy.


    “Heh heh heh. Mu-jin, you were right. I never expected so many of these skilled individuals among the thugs rummaging through the slums.”


    At that moment, Hye-gwan burst into a strangeugh and said something odd.


    Looking around in curiosity, Mu-jin saw that indeed, the ck-d men who had newly appeared all around the courtyard were emitting sword energy or knife energy.


    In most mid-sized martial arts sects, there were usually only one or two individuals, or at most four, who had reached such a level.


    In some rural martial arts schools or sects, it wasn’t umon for there to be none at all.


    Yet, all seven of the newly appearing ck-d men were emitting energy.


    The seven ck-d men were being handled by Beob-gang, Beob-hwi, and eight second-ss disciples from the Demon Extermination Squad.


    The remaining nine second-ss disciples from Chubodang and the External Affairs Department hadn’t yet reached the level of emitting energy.


    Among the second-ss disciples in Shaolin, only about forty had reached that level. Of course, even forty was a considerable number, and when including the first-ss disciples and the heads of the factions, the number of masters neared two hundred.


    And that was the power of a prestigious sect possessing multiple consummate arts and divine techniques.


    “Move quickly to rescue the captives and find any evidence!” Hye-gwanmanded the second-ss disciples who couldn’t join the battle and then looked at Mu-jin.


    “You stay put.”


    “???”


    Mu-jin looked at Hye-gwan in confusion, who took a sip of liquor and pointed to the spot next to him.


    “Stay here and observe. It’s more important for you.”


    He was offering Mu-jin the opportunity to watch the masters’ duels up close, and those were simultaneous battles.


    “Yes.”


    Having already fought several battles today, Mu-jin followed Hye-gwan’s orders withoutint.


    In fact, watching the masters’ fights was quite fascinating.


    ‘Beob-gang is a better master than I thought.’


    Beob-gang was pushing back the ck-d man who had almost beheaded Mu-jin.


    He avoided or countered the sword energy the ck-d man scattered with thunder energy, never directly blocking the sword.


    Instead, he struck the side of the sword with palm techniques imbued with thunder energy whenever he got the chance. Each time, the ck-d man would momentarily hesitate as the thunder energy flowed along the sword’s de.


    Mu-jin watched not only Beob-gang’s battle but also the other masters’ fights and realized something.


    ‘It’s not just about emitting energy.’


    Although the ck-d men and the second-ss disciples fighting them were all emitting energy externally, the course of the battles varied widely.


    Beob-hwi, who seemed to be on a simr level to Beob-gang, was pressing a ck-d man with the Tathagata Palm Technique, which wielded the powerful Extreme Yang Energy.


    In contrast, there were ces where the second-ss disciples were evenly matched with the ck-d men, and some were slightly being pushed back.


    ‘Just like using one’s body, the ability to emit energy depends on how freely one can control it.’


    Thanks to watching multiple battles simultaneously, Mu-jin roughly understood the differences.


    Beob-gang and Beob-hwi continuously used palm techniques imbued with thunder and zing energy to push their opponents.


    On the other hand, some could only create sword energy or fist energy when performing specific techniques.


    “That guy is quite formidable.”


    “Do you need assistance?” Mu-jin asked.


    The man who seemed to be the leader of the ck-d men appeared to be even more skilled than Beob-gang or Beob-hwi.


    Though Mu-jin’s level was still too low to fullyprehend, he could sense that the energy emission and movements were much smoother.


    For that reason, no less than three Second-ss Disciples of the Demon Extermination Squad were fighting that leader.


    “They’re veterans of such battles. Don’t worry,” Hye-gwan reassured.


    No sooner had Hye-gwan finished speaking than a new figure emerged from the shadows at one side of the courtyard.


    “So, the reason it’s taking so long to wrap this up is because we have guests from Shaolin,” the figure remarked.


    Unlike the other ck-d figures, this middle-aged man walked with a certain ease. The unsettling feeling from his seemingly random steps struck Mu-jin btedly.


    ‘There’s no sound.’


    Even though he wasn’t using any known stepping or phantom technique, there was no sound or presence at all.


    ‘Paedobangju!’


    Mu-jin finally realized that this man was the Paedobangju from the novel.


    “Heh heh heh. As the benefactor said, we indeede from Shaolin. But who are you, sir, to reach such a level and be here tormenting the poor?” Hye-gwan, who had realized this before Mu-jin, asked with a sly smile. Although only his eyes and lips smiled, his eyes had already taken on a sharp glint like a knife.


    Standing beside Hye-gwan, Mu-jin noticed another peculiarity. He sensed a very faint smell from Hye-gwan.


    ‘This scent… It’s the same as when Grandfather sobered upst time.’


    Realizing the nature of the scent, Mu-jin understood that Hye-gwan was quickly sobering up while stalling for time with his words.


    “Ha ha ha. To receive recognition from the famous Drunken Buddha is an honor I don’t know how to handle,” Paedobangju said.


    “It’s not a good thing. Every heretic I’ve acknowledged is now waiting in the depths of hell for my arrival. Ha ha ha.”


    Both Hye-gwan and Paedobangju burst into heartyughter, enjoying the moment.


    As Paedobangju’s right hand moved toward the scabbard at his waist, Hye-gwan, who was beside Mu-jin, suddenly lunged at Paedobangju.


    However, Paedobangju, who had already drawn his de, casually swung it, releasing a blood-red sword aura.


    Boom!


    The energy from Hye-gwan’s palm technique shed with Paedobangju’s aura, creating a loud explosion.


    “Ha ha ha!”


    Laughing as if he found it amusing, Paedobangju swung his sword at an incredible speed, releasing multiple thin threads of sword energy.


    The scene of red threads weaving through the air looked beautiful at first nce, but their true nature was sinister, capable of severing flesh and bone with a mere touch.


    Hye-gwan evaded the numerous sword energies using a light stepping technique, moving diagonally. However, there were too many sword energies to avoid, so he had to deflect some with his arm techniques.


    Slice! Slice!


    The unblocked sword energies cut through and demolished the walls and structures of the courtyard.


    Emerging from the spiderweb-like attack, Hye-gwan threw a punch, releasing a fierce energy from his fist.


    ‘That’s the legendary Vajra Demon Subduing Fist!’


    The golden fist aura emitted a heavy and oppressive energy.


    Paedobangju, recognizing its formidable power, chose to dodge rather than block it directly with his sword.


    Hye-gwan, anticipating this, followed Paedobangju’s evasive move immediately after unleashing the Vajra Demon Subduing Fist, aiming precisely at Paedobangju’s retreating path.


    However, Paedobangju, a master in his own right, didn’t allow Hye-gwan to close the distancepletely.


    The distance where the sword could reach but the fist couldn’t. Paedobangju seeded in maintaining this gap.


    Mu-jin, watching the renewed exchange from that distance, had his eyes shining brightly.


    ‘These are real masters!’


    The movements were so fast that it was hard to follow, and he could only asionally catch their trails, but one thing was certain.


    The duel between Paedobangju and Hye-gwan was on a different level from anything Mu-jin had seen so far.