Chapter 116

The King of Power, Called the Demon King

The Madman looked Danwooseong up and down before saying, as if it couldn’t possibly be him.

“No way. The next generation wouldn’t be roaming the martial world already. And definitely not my senior.”

Dan Wooseong replied in a light, joking tone as Gwangma seemed confused.

“Why do you think it isn’t?”

Guangma stared at Dan Wooseong intently, like a man sitting at a gambling table, agonizing over whether to raise his final bet.

Then he shook his head again.

“No. It can’t be. You’re not from the Ten Thousand Horses Palace.”

Dan Woo-sung neither confirmed nor denied it.

Instead, the words “Manmagung,” “Kisu,” and “senior” stuck in Danwooseong’s ears. It was good information.

‘Could it be that the Sword Demon is from the Ten Thousand Horse Palace and is the same disciple as this guy?’

Since he called the Sword Demon a friend, it was possible.

Moreover, the name ‘Ten Thousand Demons’ wasn’t something you could just brush off. It felt like the kind of name that suggested an organization that produced dark arts practitioners.

Kwangma glared at Dan Woo-sung and said.

“Well, your true identity doesn’t really matter anyway. Do you know why?”

Danwooseong poured himself a drink and replied.

“I know.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“That’s because they’re both thinking about killing each other.”

“Kk-kkk…”

Dan Wooseong stared at the madman. After all, the reason this man was ranting to Dan Wooseong about the Ten Thousand Horse Palace and friends was simple. He intended to kill him.

Dan Wooseong held out the bottle as if offering him a drink.

“By the way, you’re a junior who doesn’t know how to lead. Take it. And don’t so brazenly snatch someone else’s drink. You’re not even paying for it.”

Gwangma burst out laughing and thrust his cup forward. Clink— the sound of the cup meeting his hand as the liquor poured in.

Danwoo Seong also poured wine into the cup. Then the two drank, their eyes locked on each other.

Kwangma spoke.

“Then how about the loser spills every last bit of the truth?”

“Sounds good. Weakness is a sin, after all.”

Danwooseong nodded as if agreeing, then poured more liquor and said.

“Drink up. You’ll be parched after getting beaten.”

“Kwahahahaha…!”

Dan Woosung gently scratched the madman’s pride.

“One of us will die anyway. Let’s reveal our true identities.”

“I am the Mad Demon.”

Dan Woo-sung retorted immediately, as if parrying a blow.

“The Fist Demon.”

Kwangma’s mouth formed a perfect circle.

“Oh…”

There was no one among the riders nicknamed Fist Demon. Whether he was a junior or a senior remained unclear.

Dan Woo-sung smiled as he spoke.

“Madman, were you perhaps escaping from the Ten Thousand Horses Palace?”

Kwangma laughed along with him.

“As if that could ever happen. Anyway, a greenhorn like you calling yourself a demon master… A demon? You? Even a dog would laugh at that. You little brat. You bowed a few times to a survivor from the Ten Thousand Demon Palace, learned a few martial arts moves, and then just went and grabbed the nickname ‘Demon’ for yourself? You moronic little bastard. Where is your master? I’ll tear that bastard to pieces first.”

At that moment, the crowd of angry men gathered because the solicitor had been killed in one blow. Of course, they were the martial artists from the brothel where the solicitor belonged. Roughly twenty men, swords drawn, charged forward. Someone pointed at the Mad Demon and shouted.

“That’s the one.”

As over twenty men lined up in formation, swords drawn, the Madman turned his head and smiled at the warriors emerging from the brothel.

“What a bunch of idiots…”

The twenty or so men stood frozen for a moment, seemingly speechless the instant they saw the Madman’s face, aura, and bulk. To their eyes, he looked like a master they absolutely must not challenge.

Those who had come snorting as if ready to slit their throats immediately… stood still.

The Madman gestured.

“Why did you stop coming? Come on.”

Then Danwooseong spoke briefly to the crowd that had gathered.

“Go.”

They were in a state of mind where they welcomed the words “Get lost” more than “Come at me.”

At Danwooseong’s words, the warriors of Giryuu began fleeing as if a spell had been broken. They too were men who lived by the sword, but this time, they believed fleeing was the right answer.

There was no way the Madman would let them go easily.

“Clack…”

He planned to throw a bottle to hit one man, then use the shards to kill the others nearby.

The Madman watched the fleeing men, then grabbed the bottle.

But he couldn’t lift it.

When the Madman turned, Danwooseong was pressing down on the bottle with two fingers.

The madman’s gaze shifted from the liquor bottle to Dan Woosung’s face.

Dan Woosung said.

“Why show off your strength against such weaklings? Is that the way of the demon? You’re a demonic fool.”

As the Mad Demon released his grip on the bottle, Dan Wooseong also withdrew his fingers.

Perhaps due to the internal energy both men had injected in that instant. The bottle, caught in the aftermath of that energy, shattered into powder on the table like sand pouring out.

Madman tapped the table with his hand, sending the powder swirling into the air.

The Mad Demon pursed his lips into a circle and exhaled sharply, as if expelling a projectile, while Danwooseong simultaneously swept his hand through the air.

Then the shards of dust were swept toward Danwooseong before abruptly changing direction, embedding themselves into the ceiling with a thudding sound.

Not a single fragment dust particle fell back to the floor, leaving even the Demon King inwardly astonished.

Kwangma stood up.

“Kwonma, will you die here, or go somewhere quiet?”

Danwooseong read the expression on the Madman’s face. It was a stubborn look, the kind that suggested he would do the opposite of whatever Danwooseong answered. Not wanting to kill the innocent, he spoke as if gambling.

“If we go somewhere quiet, won’t you just run away again?”

“As if that would happen. You bloody fool. Come on, let’s go somewhere spacious. Fighting is this old man’s third favorite pastime.”

As Gwangma stepped forward as if to move willingly, Danwooseong glanced at the innkeeper. He couldn’t very well settle the bill while pretending to be a horse trainer, something he hadn’t planned on doing.

After downing the free drinks, he followed the Mad Horse out.

The atmosphere had been ominous from the start, so no one could say a word.

Only then did the innkeeper’s assistant emerge, mop in hand, staring blankly at the receding figures of the Madman and the Fistman before clearing the table and spitting out curses.

“Kwangma, Kwonma, you bastards. Penniless bums. You fuckers ruin the whole atmosphere and then skip out on the bill. Fucking assholes… Kwang-Gwon-Ma, you retarded bastards. Even your nicknames are retarded. You can’t even pay your tab, but you’re thinking about killing each other… Oh my god, you’re fucking crazy. Crazy. I thought I was watching a Peking opera with Zhang Fei and Lü Bu.”

I thought he was coming to fight, but the madman stopped his steps far off in the distance. His ears were sharp, and he’d heard every curse from the shopkeeper.

The Madman turned back and said.

“I’ll kill him and come back. Wait.”

As the Madman brushed past Danwooseong, Danwooseong spun around and delivered a precise aerial kick to the Madman’s head. Startled, the Madman blocked Danwooseong’s foot with his left hand, but with a thud! his massive body flew horizontally.

His speed rapidly decreased mid-air. Popping up from the ground, the Madman charged at Danwooseong, thrusting his right fist forward.

As Danwooseong blocked and seized that fist with his left hand, a sound like tearing wood resounded loudly throughout the area.

Then, as their bodies were enveloped in a whirlwind of energy, the ground beneath their feet caved in.

As if engaged in psychological warfare, they gradually raised their internal energy, waiting for an opening. Then, the Madman raised his left hand. In that instant, Dan Woosung kicked the Madman’s abdomen, pushing him back.

Thud!

Guangma stumbled back several steps, then grinned as if he hadn’t taken a hit at all.

Danwoo-seong did not use the Ten-Thousand-Battles Ten-Thousand-Deaths Technique, and the Mad Demon had yet to unleash the Ashen Calamity Dust Demon Technique.

The Great Masters of the Ten Thousand Demons Palace, considering the Mad Demon’s temperament, passed down the Ashen Calamity Dust Demon Technique.

“Ash” refers to the ashes born of calamity, while “cataclysmic dust” signifies the dust said to arise when heaven and earth are utterly overturned. Classifying demonic arts, the Mad Demon’s martial prowess belonged to the Flaming Fire lineage.

He was a man who fought fiercely, burning everything to ashes. Possessing regenerative abilities, he could hold his own against sword masters wielding indestructible blades. His ability to taunt the celestial demon who avoided combat stemmed from his Heavenly Demon-Shattering Palm technique.

The Mad Demon spoke.

“Let’s head to a wider area.”

Dan Woo-sung followed the Mad Demon, moving while scanning the surroundings for any hidden masters.

He had no choice but to be cautious.

They moved to a secluded spot, as if the two were walking together again. During the move, the Demon King turned his head this way and that, and as he rotated his arms as if stretching, the clothes he wore began tearing apart. His muscles were swelling due to the Demon King’s Frenzy Technique.

Danwooseong, walking beside him, asked quietly.

“Kwangma.”

“Speak.”

“I did not learn martial arts at the Ten Thousand Horses Palace.”

“I know.”

“I’ll kill you and burn the entire Ten Thousand Horses Palace to the ground. Before you die, tell me its location.”

“I refuse.”

“Why? It seems you fled the Ten Thousand Horses Palace.”

The Madman had no intention of telling him.

I didn’t particularly like the Ten Thousand Horses Palace, but it was the only place in the world that took in the defeated remnants of the Demon Path who had nowhere else to go, fed them, and gave them shelter. That’s why, even for a madman like me, the Ten Thousand Horses Palace was the last bastion and the only force worth protecting.

The Mad Demon spoke like a normal man.

“Unfortunately, even if I die, you won’t learn the location of the Palace of Ten Thousand Demons. Torture won’t work at all. I’ve already lived through suffering far worse than that.”

Danwooseong placed his hand on the Madman’s shoulder as he spoke.

“Madman, what is the Ten Thousand Horses Palace? Is it truly worth protecting?”

The madman stared at Danwooseong’s hand. It was a hand devoid of any inner strength or power.

‘A peculiar fellow.’

It was a truly brief moment. Dan Wooseong looked at the Madman as if he were an old friend he had known for years.

Dan Wooseong spoke.

“Simply killing you would be nothing to me. Can you understand the human heart?”

It was a statement implying he would spare lives whenever possible, but it was incomprehensible to the Madman’s twisted mindset. Yet, perhaps sensing the sincerity behind the words, the Madman replied in a serious tone.

“I’ve come too far. I don’t want to deny my entire life with words like that. I’m from the Ten Thousand Horses Palace. There, I learned martial arts, ate my meals, killed people, fought with comrades, was imprisoned, and grew strong to defeat those within. And soon, the Ten Thousand Horses Palace will send out its demonic arts—you won’t even have to search for them. Just wait.”

Dan Woo-sung looked up at the Mad Demon.

“No matter what your life has been, I pity you.”

The Mad Demon said.

“If there is life after death, let’s have a drink there.”

As soon as the Mad Demon finished speaking, he slammed both fists down onto Danwooseong’s head. Then, the Mad Demon’s upper garment burst open, revealing his ashen-gray body. His face contorted as the energy of the Ash Calamity Dust Demon Technique surged to its peak. Then, an attack unfolded that tore apart his opponent’s moves as if crushing them. Every moment was a deadly strike of mutual destruction. Possessing regenerative abilities, he didn’t even flinch at weapons piercing his flesh, making his assault all the more lethal.

Dan Woo-sung evaded the Demon King’s attacks while studying his physical structure and psychology.

He immediately realized his opponent could withstand ordinary blows. He judged that even the Golden Water Technique might prove ineffective, and that those wielding weapons would likely have their limbs torn apart by counterattacks after landing their strikes.

Kwonwang’s assessment proved spot on.

When Dan Woosung thrust his fist toward the charging madman, the madman’s response was bizarre. He parried the fist with a move resembling a beast swinging its forepaws, then launched an attack with his left hand.

It was a beast-like counter.

He thought that with such deep internal power and swift movements, most masters of the White Path or Black Path would be torn apart without even getting a few exchanges in.

Body techniques rely on reading an opponent’s psychology to counterattack, but the Mad Beast was a beast itself, rendering such techniques ineffective.

Famous techniques were met with a body ready to absorb them head-on, rendering their brilliance or feints utterly useless.

As if compelled by the adage “meet force with force,” Danwooseong summoned the Ten Thousand Battles, Ten Thousand Victories technique, transforming into a lightning-enveloped King of Light.

Crackle-crackle-crackle!

In that instant, the hairband securing Danwooseong’s hair snapped. Enveloped in a white current, Danwooseong seized the Mad Beast’s two fists barehanded.

Then, with a roaring scream, the Madman flashed his hands upward, unleashing a torrent of force that sent Danwooseong flying through the air. It was an instinctive reaction. At the same time, it was also an appropriate countermeasure.

Next, the Demon King’s thighs swelled as if about to burst, and he leaped toward Danwooseong. But before long, seeing a massive fist falling from the sky, the startled Demon King wrapped Fire Hell Qi around both hands and tore the fist apart.

It looked as if he were crushing a massive snowball with his bare hands.

Dan Woosung burst forth from the shattered remains of the brain sphere, grabbing the madman’s head with his right hand as he fell straight down.

Then, as if determined to endure the thunder energy with his entire body, the Madman reached out with both hands to grab Danwooseong’s wrists. He intended to shatter Danwooseong’s arms while absorbing the thunder energy.

It was truly the response of a madman.

This very reason was why even the Sword Demon and Heavenly Demon hesitated to make a life-or-death decision against him.