Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1899

KWA-AAAAAAANG!

A massive explosion of energy erupts where fist and spear collide. It’s a blast that could reshape the terrain, but for these two, it’s merely a probing attack.

KWAANG! KWA-AAAAANG! KWAANG!

The extended fist and the spear, bending like a snake, clash repeatedly in the air.

Each collision sends out a terrifying shockwave of energy, sweeping across the surroundings.

“Hah!”

KOOONG!

Shin Chang’s foot slams into the ground. The countless repetitions of this movement flow seamlessly, and the spear in his hand whirls like a white dragon rising from a dragon’s nest, flying towards the Hong King.

The Hong King grits his teeth, seeing the spear flying towards him with a terrifying vortex.

His hands are dyed gold, crossing left and right.

KAGAGAK! KAGAK!

The crossed hands tighten as if to grasp the whirling spear. The spear, filled with white energy, spins fiercely within the tightening grip, as if determined not to be caught.

KAGAGAGAGAGAK! KUUUUUNG!

Energy clashes with energy, and the two are pushed back.

Regaining their balance, the two men stare at each other with the eyes of wild beasts.

Crack, crack.

The Hong King lightly clenches and opens his fist. The power of the spear felt in his hand is considerable. The back of his hand throbs from the impact, and his grip aches from trying to hold the spear.

But Shin Chang is in a similar state, lightly massaging the hand holding the spear.

The two men stare at each other in silence, and the moment their eyes meet.

PAAT!

Without a word, both men’s bodies cut through the space, flying towards each other.

“TAAAAAT!”

More than ten spear shadows fly towards the Hong King’s entire body like snakes hunting their prey.

The Hong King’s fist also creates dozens of fist shadows, countering the incoming spear shadows.

One strike! Another strike!

Energy powerful enough to wipe out dozens of trained martial artists with a single attack rains down on each other like a storm. Utterly precise and incredibly powerful!

The battle between these martial artists, who have transcended human limits, changes the terrain with a simple thrust.

KWA-AAAAAAAANG!

Another massive explosion erupts.

The ground, made of dirt and rock, is gouged out as if struck by a meteorite, and the trees far away are uprooted and sent flying like chopsticks by the aftershock alone.

But this is still just a light probing attack.

The two men, having created some distance, stare at each other with sharp eyes.

“How strange.”

Shin Chang was the first to speak.

“It’s strange that a martial artist like you exists in this inferior era. I always thought it was strange, but after fighting you, I feel it even more clearly.”

“An inferior era….”

The Hong King said with emotionless eyes.

“That’s a low-quality statement.”

“Hmm?”

“A martial artist is ultimately someone who fights against themselves.”

“It doesn’t matter who fills the surroundings. Martial prowess is built with one’s own hands and feet. No matter the era, my martial prowess will not change.”

Shin Chang laughed as if amused by those words.

“That’s true. I was foolish. I admit it.”

To say that a martial artist of that caliber is swayed by the times is nothing short of an insult.

“But the regret remains. If you had been born in another era, you would surely have had the world at your feet.”

Compared to the long history of martial artists, the period they ruled the world was only brief. If he hadn’t been born in the same era as the Twelve Evils, the Hong King would surely have left his name firmly in the long history of martial arts.

“Still foolish words.”

“Hmm?”

“What does it mean to stand alone in the world without an opponent to fight? I would rather be a strong loser than a weak ruler.”

Shin Chang’s smile deepened.

“It’s a shame… that I have to kill someone like you.”

“You don’t know your place.”

The Hong King lightly clenched his fist.

‘Shin Chang Gwan Il.’

His reputation had been heard countless times. The title of the greatest spear in history needs no other modifiers. It means that in the long history of martial arts, no one has surpassed him with the spear.

And Shin Chang’s power, which he had experienced firsthand, was indeed worthy of his reputation.

Crack.

The hand that collided with the spear aches as if it would tear apart. His hand, which could tear through steel like paper and not even get a scratch in boiling molten metal, was hurting.

But that pain only made the Hong King’s blood boil.

“I thought I would never feel this kind of excitement unless I was fighting a demon king.”

“Demon king? Are you talking about the Demon Lord?”

Shin Chang looked at the Hong King with interest.

“Come to think of it, you fought the Demon Lord. How was he? Is he still strong?”

“Well…”

The Hong King smiled. The subtle smile made it difficult to guess the meaning behind it.

“One thing is certain. If you can’t beat me, you don’t even have the right to fight the Demon Lord.”

“Is that so?”

Shin Chang bared his teeth.

“Then I’ll start by piercing your neck.”

The spear spins once and is then held in his hand again.

“Let me give you a hint first.”

“Ah, don’t make that face. This isn’t an act of disrespect. I just want to reduce the unfairness a little.”

“Unfairness?”

“Of course, you are a strongman who can ignore the times. I admit that. But even so, there is one thing you absolutely lack.”

“……Tell me.”

“Experience.”

The Hong King frowned at Shin Chang’s words.

To him, who had lived through long years of struggle, the claim that he lacked experience was an unfair assessment. But the Hong King could not refute Shin Chang’s words.

Because he understood the true meaning of what he was saying.

“Because you have lived in an inferior era, you have only seen a narrow path of martial arts. You don’t know how a master of the spear fights, or what it means to have reached the pinnacle with the spear.”

“So… I’ll spare you once.”

“You….”

PAAAAAAAANG!

THUD!

The Hong King was about to speak when a terrifying energy passed right next to his face.

The Hong King’s eyes flickered subtly. Shin Chang, with his spear extended forward, wore a bitter smile.

“That’s once.”

“You bastard….”

“Shin Chang Gwan Il. My spear is a spear that pierces the sun. You need to understand what that means, right?”

His tone was like a teacher instructing a student.

He knew.

Perhaps the age of that Shin Chang was more than twice that of the Hong King. He had reached the pinnacle in his past life, so he must have lived a long life, and in this life, he must have lived for nearly a hundred years.

But the Hong King was too great to accept such humiliation.

“The strong are entitled to be arrogant.”

“Oh?”

“If you are strong, that is.”

Shin Chang’s eyes sharpened.

“It seems you still don’t understand…”

His hand holding the spear tightened.

“I’ll make you understand with your body!”

PAAAAAAANG!

The energy emitted from the tip of the spear flew at an unbelievable speed.

Even the Hong King, who thought his eyesight could not improve any further, felt something white appear before his eyes.

KWAANG!

His hand, reflexively swung, deflected the incoming energy.

But the attack doesn’t end with just one.

KWAANG!

PAAAAAAANG!

Unbelievably, the sound of the explosion from the impact of the Hong King’s hand was heard faster than the sound of the energy being emitted from the spear.

It meant that the energy was flying at a speed far exceeding the speed of sound.

For the Hong King, who had fought countless battles, this was an unknown realm. It was the first time in his life that he had experienced such speed.

Spear strikes of tremendous speed flew in succession. Even the Hong King could not even dream of counterattacking and was barely able to block them.

And then, in succession….

KWA-AAAAAAA AAAAAA!

The Hong King’s eyes widened slightly.

A tremendous vortex of energy, incomparable to anything before, was flying towards him.

It had increased its power instead of speed!

‘No!’

It was not a spear strike that could be explained simply like that.

The spear strike, rotating like a horizontal hurricane, engulfed everything around it. The ground was being torn up and sucked in, visibly being crushed into finer pieces.

An attack that would have been admired by an observer.

But now, the Hong King was in a position where he had to block that attack.

He couldn’t just admire it.

“Hoo.”

He took a short breath, and his hand slowly drew a circle. Countless hand shadows appeared like illusions in the space where his hand passed. It was like the form of the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara [a Buddhist deity known for their many arms].

WOOOOONG!

Hundreds, thousands of hand shadows engulfed the incoming spear strike. Countless hand shadows were crushed, torn, and burst, but the number of new hand shadows being created was greater than the number of hand shadows disappearing.

Just as individual drops of water gather to form a vast river, thousands and tens of thousands of hand shadows gathered to create the form of a giant hand that crushed the spear strike.

KWA-AAAAAAA AAAAAAANG!

Finally, a massive explosion occurred, and fragments of energy burst out in all directions. Even a fingernail-sized fragment could crush a rock it touched, and it dug into the ground, creating a chain reaction of explosions.

It was exactly the kind of situation where one would say that the earth was overturned and the sky was collapsing.

“Hah!”

In that collapsing world, Shin Chang burst into a more cheerful laugh.

“Is that Buddhist martial arts? A strange monk would be horrified to see it! A non-Buddhist using Buddhist martial arts!”

To be precise, it was just a form of orthodox martial arts that did not remain within Buddhism.

The branches of martial arts, which had been endlessly subdivided and divided in the past, disappeared, mixed, and merged when the world could no longer maintain the form of a sect, and reached this point.

The Hong King’s martial arts inherited Buddhist martial arts, Taoist martial arts, and even secular martial arts. Not a perfectly honed sword, but a vessel that contains everything. That was the essence that the current Hong King had achieved.

And!

Something suddenly approached Shin Chang, who was flying against the storm.

‘What?’

PAAAAAAAANG!

A fist energy of tremendous power grazed right next to his face.

Shin Chang’s body, which had been flying at high speed, stopped in place like a video that had been paused.

Sizzle.

A stream of blood flowed from the long wound on his cheek.

Shin Chang, raising his hand and wiping the blood from his cheek, quietly looked at the blood that had stained his hand red.

He was injured.

That didn’t matter. He didn’t underestimate the Hong King that much. He never intended to win without a scratch in the first place.

Nevertheless, the reason he was gritting his teeth now was because the attack that had wounded his cheek was very familiar.