Tangmunjeon - Chapter 363



Only Krnovel

Flowers blooming in the snow

Hyun-gong spread his arms in the air and hugged Seol-hwa. For a moment, he felt the tip of the North Sea Ice Palace Lord’s fingertips touch his waist.

I know that I have no choice but to accept the damage. However, I have no intention of just giving up my back.

Hyungong twisted his body in the air. The hand of the Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord, which had been blown away by a hair’s breadth, moved again and grabbed the back of Hyungong’s thigh.

Kudangtang-

Hyun-gong rolled around on the floor, half-hugging Seol-hwa.

“are you okay?”

Hyungong asked Seolhwa. Seolhwa was so shocked that she almost lost her mind and called Hyungong’s name.

“Hyungong. You, your legs!”

He had no strength in his right leg. Hyun-gong staggered and got up using only the strength of his left leg.

It doesn’t appear to be a bone injury, but it is clear that he has muscle problems. It is not yet known whether this will result in permanent disability.

Somehow the situation was funny.

Namgung Myung, who lost his arm like Namgung Jinya. He himself, who might lose his leg like Yeongbo Jinin. Is the history of martial arts repeating itself?

However, Hyun-gong thought that he was in better condition than Nam-gung-myeong. After all, he wasn’t completely legless like Yeong-bo-jin.

But the situation is a little strange. The pain is too much for a handful of muscle and flesh from my leg to be blown away. It even feels like the pain isn’t staying still, but moving upward.

Hyun-gong realized secretly that this was no ordinary wound.

Hyun-gong quickly assessed the situation.

‘Will the Northern Ice Palace Lord kill Seolhwa?’

No. Didn’t he show any behavior that seemed to show concern for his own blood relatives?

‘Then can I rest assured?’

That wasn’t it either. The princess was a caring father, but at the same time, she seemed like someone who would do anything to cover up this incident.

If Seolhwa does not cooperate, the princess will surely kill her.

Conflicting evidence and judgments were mixed together to form one conclusion.

‘I cannot be sure of Seolhwa’s safety.’

Hyun-gong stood against the wall, supporting his body with his left leg, and aimed his sword at the Bukhae Ice Palace Lord.

However, the Northern Ice Palace Lord did not attack rashly. Rather, the Northern Ice Palace Lord’s attitude became very relaxed. Hyun-gong seemed to know the reason.

The strange sensation in my legs must have something to do with the eerie pain now creeping up my waist.

Hyun-gong shouted at Seol-hwa.

“go!”

“Where are you going!”

“Go south, to Wudang Mountain in Hubei. Look for Yeongbo Jinin. Wudang Mountain is a forbidden area, but if you tell her my name, she might let you pass. If not, go to Tang Jia Zhang in Sichuan Province, or Nanggong Shi Ga in Anhui Province. Yes. Tang Jia Zhang would be good. You know that place, right?”

“It’s not me, it’s you!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll follow along slowly.”

Hyungong spoke confidently. However, it was clear to anyone that Hyungong could not keep up with Seolhwa. Hyungong did not think that Seolhwa would be fooled.

That’s why Hyun-gong made a joke.

“Trust me. I am a man who has never died before.”

But it would have been better not to tell the last joke. Seolhwa sensed a strange sign in Hyungong’s voice.

Hyun-gong’s voice, which had not trembled when he first brought up the story, trembled at the last joke. Seol-hwa still sat down and looked at Hyun-gong’s side profile.

The space was filled with cold air. However, Hyun-gong was sweating. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot.

Seolhwa thought.

‘Father made a gamble and created an opportunity. If he had taken that opportunity, would he have been satisfied with just tearing off a piece of flesh from his leg? That would be impossible.’

‘Why doesn’t Father attack Hyun-gong now?’

‘Hyun-gong is in so much pain.’

no way.

A thought crossed Seolhwa’s mind.

Seolhwa immediately roughly tore the bottom of Hyungong’s right trousers.

Hyun-gong was startled and shouted.

“Go! Now!”

However, Seolhwa paid no attention and examined the condition of Hyeon-gong’s legs.

Even though a lot of flesh had been blown away, not much blood was flowing from the wound.

However, the skin above the wound is stained red, and Hyun-gong is struggling to suppress his body trembling in pain.

All circumstances point to one reason.

Remnant soul blood poison.

Poisons are rare in the cold north. However, the only poison used in the north, zanthoxylum venom, is not inferior to other poisons.

The poison of Zanbaek Blood reacts to the negative energy flowing in the human body. It devours the negative energy, tears through the blood vessels, and runs towards the heart in the shortest possible distance.

Because the poison spread so quickly and its nature was so vicious, once the poison seeped into the bloodstream, it was virtually certain death.

The reason why Bukhae Ice Palace Master did not attack Hyungong violently was because he thought the match was over the moment he injected the residual white blood poison into Hyungong’s body.

However, Seolhwa knew one way to save Hyungong.

Seol-hwa bit off the thick flesh under her thumb, creating a deep wound.

Hyun-gong knew nothing about the blood poison. However, he knew that Seol-hwa was planning to do something unusual. The Lord of the Northern Ice Palace also noticed Seol-hwa’s intentions.

“Stop!”

The Ice Palace Lord rushed towards Hyeon-gong and Seol-hwa. The Ice Palace Lord was not sure how to deal with Seol-hwa.

However, Hyun-gong was able to block the Northern Ice Palace Lord by skillfully swinging his sword while leaning against the wall.

At the same time, he kicked Seol-hwa, who was crouching down with her injured leg, with all his might. Seol-hwa fell to the floor without even screaming.

Hyun-gong shouted again.

“go!”

But Seol-hwa flew again and grabbed Hyun-gong’s leg.

Hyun-gong was unable to shake off Seol-hwa properly due to his difficulty in moving his legs. Seol-hwa held Hyun-gong’s wound with her bleeding palm.

The poison of the remaining blood moves along the yin energy flowing in the blood and blood vessels.

That means that by using a stronger negative energy, the direction in which the poison of the remaining blood can spread can be changed. And the negative energy that Seolhwa possessed was incomparable to that of Hyungong.

As Seolhwa raised her yin energy, the poisonous poison that was rushing towards Hyungong’s heart changed direction and headed towards Seolhwa’s palm.

The King of the North Sea Ice Palace shouted.

“Hyungong, stop it!”

Hyun-gong’s reaction was a little late.

Firstly, because I didn’t know how to stop it, and secondly, because I had made eye contact with Seolhwa.

Seolhwa was staring at Hyeon-gong. For a moment, Hyeon-gong forgot everything and stared blankly at Seolhwa.

Blue eyes. Eyes that I couldn’t look at properly because I was a little embarrassed.

Hyungong could still vividly picture the scene in the guest house where he first saw those eyes. That day, Hyungong lost everything to those eyes.

If I had known this situation was coming, would I have been able to ignore the story and just let it pass?

No, it couldn’t have been. It was the first time in his life that Hyungong had experienced an irresistible force. Even if he had lost everything, Hyungong would have approached Seolhwa.

And Hyun-gong realized that the strange pain that had been seeping down his legs and up to his waist had disappeared.

I still felt quite a bit of pain in my leg where the flesh had been torn off, but it was nothing compared to the pain I had just experienced.

Only then did Hyun-gong come to his senses and shout at Seol-hwa.

“Snow Flower, You!”

“This time it’s my turn to show my sincerity, right?”

Seolhwa smiled faintly. It was the smile of a daughter atoning for her father’s sins.

The blood flowing from Seolhwa’s palm had hardened unnaturally. It quickly turned dark red through Seolhwa’s wrist and up to her forearm. The poisonous blood was tearing through her blood vessels and rushing toward Seolhwa’s heart.

Seolhwa tried to use her internal energy to stop the poison from spreading, but it was of little use.

Seolhwa got up from her seat and ran straight out of the reception hall.

There is no time to hesitate, no time to say goodbye.

It’s not that long, but you can still move.

There is still time to wander around in search of a sliver of hope.

Seolhwa left the reception hall and went outside the Bukhae Ice Palace.

And then, as if by a miracle, I found Inyoung approaching the reception desk.

*

Tang Mujin, who was wandering around the North Sea Ice Palace, discovered Seolhwa.

Seolhwa’s appearance is unusual. Her shiny yellow hair is disheveled and her expression is extremely urgent.

Seolhwa shouted without any explanation.

“The ice palace is this way! Go to the reception hall immediately!”

“what’s the matter?”

“Hyun-gong is in danger!”

Dang Mu-jin ran towards the direction Seol-hwa was pointing, but then realized that Seol-hwa’s face was pale.

“Wait a minute. Is there something wrong with you?”

Many emotions flashed through Seolhwa’s eyes. But Seolhwa’s voice did not waver.

“It’s because I feel sick. The problem is not me, it’s Hyungong!”

Dang Mu-jin nodded and shouted while running in the direction Seol-hwa pointed.

“I’ll make you some galgeun-tang later, so rest somewhere warm!”

“okay.”

Seolhwa said that and sat down on the spot.

And then I raised my head and looked at the endlessly pouring snow.

The pain that was tearing at my blood vessels had already spread past my shoulder and was reaching my heart.

Seolhwa laughed out loud. But there was no one to hear her laughter.

But strangely enough, I felt at ease.

*

The first thing that Dang Mujin saw when he entered the reception hall was six corpses strewn across the hallway. The corpses of the Bukhae Ice Palace people who had not even learned martial arts.

‘Did the Demonic Cult’s unmanned forces invade?’

Dang Mu-jin was about to go straight into the room inside the reception hall when he noticed that someone was blocking the path from the room to the hallway. It was Hyeon-gong.

Hyun-gong was leaning against his body as if his legs were uncomfortable, and he was swinging his sword in an unstable posture to block the Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord.

Dang Mu-jin became a little confused.

‘Didn’t the Demonic Cult’s unmanned forces invade? Why are the Ice Palace Lord and the Hyeon-gong fighting?’

At that moment, Hyun-gong discovered Dang Mu-jin. Hyun-gong cried out.

“Dangmujin, Seolhwa! Take a look at Seolhwa!”

“Body aches?”

“It’s not a body ache or anything!”

However, Dang Mu-jin did not listen to Hyun-gong’s story well. Hyun-gong’s situation seemed too urgent. Hyun-gong was in danger of losing his head to Binggungju’s sword at any moment.

When Dang Mu-jin drew his sword and approached Hyeon-gong, Hyeon-gong cursed again.

“Please, tell me!”

Unlike usual, he is completely out of his mind. It seems like he is in a serious situation rather than just feeling sick.

But of course, Dang Mu-jin had no time to go out in search of the story.

Instead, Dang Mu-jin tried to fit the current situation as best as he could.

Ice Palace Lord scattering weeds towards Hyungong. Hyungong begging for Seolhwa to save him.

‘···Did the Ice Palace Lord try to kill Seolhwa?’

No, now is not the time to worry. What Dang Mujin must do now is to subdue the Bukhae Ice Palace Lord.

“We don’t have time to go find Seolhwa right now. Let’s finish up here and then move on.”

Hyun-gong’s judgment was too excellent to be forced any further.

If things had gotten this bad, the Ice Palace Lord would have tried to shut Seol-hwa’s mouth even by killing her.

If we defeat the Ice Palace Master as quickly as possible, there is a chance of Seolhwa surviving.

Not knowing how much time Seol-hwa had left was driving her crazy.

“Ugh, ugh···.”

Hyun-gong forced himself to hold his breath, then raised his sword again and aimed it at Bukhae Ice Palace.

Dang Mu-jin also stood by Hyeon-gong’s side with his sword in hand, waiting for Bukhae Ice Palace Lord’s opening.

However, Dang Mu-jin and Hyeon-gong were unable to gain the upper hand.

The gap in achievements between the Northern Ice Palace Lord and the two men is large. In fact, it might be more accurate to say that Dang Mujin’s swordsmanship skills are too far behind to turn the tide.

Furthermore, just as Hyun-gong is better at defense than offense, Bukhae Ice Palace Lord is also better at defense than offense. Since they are both using shields, there is no way to break through.

In the end, Hyun-gong made a decision.

– Dang Mujin. My sword is too dull. Since my leg is also injured, I can’t aim for the Ice Palace Master even if I’m lucky enough to reveal an opening. You take the Ice Palace Master’s life instead of me.

– Me? Impossible. I can’t even approach the Ice Palace Lord.

– I’ll somehow create an opening. I’ll somehow block all of Ice Palace’s attacks. You just wait for an opportunity and somehow, just once, land a fatal attack. Can you do it?

The moment Hyun-gong’s transmission ended, Bing-gung-ju’s sword rushed towards Dang-mu-jin.

Hyun-gong jumped slightly on one foot and approached Dang Mu-jin, then lowered his posture unsteadily and blocked Bing-gung-ju’s sword.

“hurry!”

There was a clear hint of exhaustion in Hyun-gong’s voice.

It seems like it’s too much for Hyeon-gong to fight Ice Palace Master with his sword while his body is not normal. It won’t be long before Hyeon-gong can stop Ice Palace Master.

As Hyun-gong became more dangerous, Bing-gung-ju’s sword strikes became even more fierce.

However, the Ice Palace Sword still could not penetrate the Hyeon-gong. At least, that was the case so far. Tang Mu-jin took a deep breath.

Hyun-gong’s words are right. While Hyun-gong is concentrating on defense, we must somehow turn the situation around.

An unnatural division of attack and defense.

A huge burden.

But Dang Mu-jin’s mind strangely became at ease.

‘Why?’

Before long, Dang Mu-jin realized the reason.

‘···What have I been doing until now?’

In the past, Dang Mu-jin put down his sword and grabbed the wheel and poison.

However, Dang Mu-jin’s thoughts still did not stray far from the days when he held a sword.

I unconsciously looked at my friends and other experts and tried to follow their methods.

A sword-wielding, well-versed in both combat and defense, versatile warrior.

That was what Dang Mu-jin thought the experts looked like.

However, what is held in Dang Mu-jin’s left hand is a wheel, and what flows in his right hand is poison.

The wheel and the poison have one thing in common. Unlike the sword technique that can be skillfully used for both offense and defense, it is that it cannot be used for defense.

A versatile, unmanned vehicle was not the path that Dangmujin should pursue.

There had to be only one way for Dang Mu-jin, who held the wheel and poison, to subdue his opponent.

Don’t cower, but take your opponent’s life before he can thrust his blade at you.

Faster and more intense than that Eugene Kwang.

Dang Mu-jin took a deep breath.

As he held on to the thread of enlightenment, an endlessly wide space of imagination opened up before Dang Mu-jin.

A space I had been to before. A space filled only with darkness, and without any paths.

A place where I was frustrated because I couldn’t find my way. A place where I couldn’t even guess where to go.

This time, nothing has changed.

There is no path, no destination. A world filled only with darkness.

But looking back, it was only natural.

Who in the world would want to reach the realm of supreme power through poison and secret weapons, and which warrior in the world would want to advance to the next level while neglecting defense?

If no one has gone before Dang Mujin, how can there be a path, how can there be footsteps? Who has gone before Dang Mujin and determined the destination?

Just as he returned to the Bukhae Ice Palace alone and silently walking across the pure white snowfield without a single footprint, Dang Mujin walked alone in the darkness without a single footprint.

There was still no path. There was still no destination.

In the past, I was afraid of that fact, but now I rather enjoy it.

Setting a destination for those who will follow. And leaving the first footprints.

That is the privilege of only the great master.

Unlike his friends who had to find their way and follow it, Dangmujin went forward freely.

Sharp thorns approached Dang Mu-jin. However, Dang Mu-jin did not flinch. He revealed everything about himself and slowly walked away, releasing everything slowly.

The sharp thorns, the cruelly tough and strong thorns, lost their color as they were unable to wrap themselves around Dangmujin.

Following Dang Mujin’s footsteps, countless thorny vines withered and twisted. Numerous vines bowed their heads toward the king.

Finally, Dang Mu-jin stopped walking and looked back.

There were footprints that were too few to be called paths, and they were shining white.

If more and more people follow these footsteps, those footsteps will come together to form a single path.

Instead of moving forward quickly, Dang Mu-jin stopped for a moment.

And he decided to leave a milestone for those who would follow him in the future.

Dangmujin drew up all the energy in his body and built it up delicately.

Based on his medical knowledge, he layered dozens of different medicines and poisons in sequence to create a delicate yet delicate balance.

Dang Mu-jin poured the poison of the Inmyeonjiju on it for the last time. Under the poison of the Inmyeonjiju, all the poisons mixed together and formed a single drop of transparent liquid.

Clear liquid drops floated into the air, emitting a brilliant light.

Someone in the future will desperately reach out to grab this light.

*

A desperate voice was heard from somewhere.

“···jin!”

“···Mujin!”

“Dangmujin, what are you doing!”

It was Hyun-gong’s voice.

The scene of the reception hall of the Bukhae Ice Palace unfolded before Dang Mujin once again.

Hyun-gong was still locking swords with the Northern Ice Princess, and behind him, Baek Hyang-ah was seen pinned against the wall, occasionally grumbling.

And there was a drop of clear liquid on the tip of Dang Mu-jin’s finger.

A single drop of water that looks like sweat, tears, or traces of melted snow.

A faint smoke rose from above.

Dang Mu-jin said.

“stringer.”

“Are you finally coming to your senses?”

“Get out.”

“Are you trying to die?”

“Get out of the way unless you want to die too.”

A meaningful word. But it didn’t feel like Dang Mu-jin was lying.

Hyungong swung his sword at the Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord for the last time, knocking the Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord back, and then threw himself to the side as if falling down. That was the best response Hyungong could show.

Now there is nothing between the Northern Ice Palace Lord and Dang Mujin.

Even in Dang Mujin’s hands, there is no weapon that can stop the Ice Palace Sword. The sword that Dang Mujin had been swinging just a moment ago is rolling around on the floor.

If Ice Palace Master takes three steps forward and swings his sword, Dang Mujin will lose his life.

“You’re giving up on defense? Are you accepting defeat?”

The Ice Palace Master lowered his posture as he spoke.

I could see the body leaning forward, the weight being placed on the front heels, and the muscles in the legs of the archer were pulled taut.

“How could that be?”

Dang Mu-jin waved his right hand in a gentle curve.

The transparent water droplets became hundreds and thousands of small drops, just like drizzle, and enveloped the North Sea Ice Palace.

“This is my offense and defense.”

“haha!”

Binggungju burst into laughter and rushed towards Dangmujin.

One step.

At the same time, strength entered the right arm of the Ice Palace Master who was holding the sword.

Second step.

Ice Palace Master swung his sword without slowing down. The sword began to surge from the lower left to the upper right. In just a moment, Tang Mujin’s upper body would be split into two pieces.

“Hang in there.”

And finally, at the moment when the Ice Palace Princess was about to take three steps forward, Dang Mujin closed his open right hand, as if he was controlling the wheel.

At the same time, the North Sea Ice Palace fell down with a bang.

The body of the Ice Palace Lord was clean without a single scratch. It was as if his soul had been dragged away and captured by Dang Mujin.

It was such an astonishing sight that not only Hyun-gong but also Baek-hyang-ah, who was on the verge of death, opened her eyes wide.

A poisonous spirit that was looked down upon by many as a cowardly trick.

A martial art that was not even recognized as a martial art by most people.

The new possibilities of the Dokgo that had been like that blossomed brilliantly at the fingertips of the great master.