Damned Transmigration - Chapter 122

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

◈ Damned Transmigration ◈

Chapter 122: Winter 3

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“Please do not take what I am about to say the wrong way.”

Yuri and Hwangbo Jin-cheol faced each other on a snow-covered plain as flakes drifted around them.

The spar had been arranged suddenly, but Lorelia did not stop it. If anything, she was pleased and touched to see Yuri actively challenge another martial artist.

Yeonri Sangah did not stop it either. Hwangbo Jin-cheol had come all this way to test himself against Cloud Dragon in the first place.

“I am stronger than you, Hegemon Dragon.”

“I know.”

Hwangbo Jin-cheol nodded. It was a simple fact, not something offensive. He remained at the fifth tier, while Cloud Dragon had reached the sixth.

The difference between opening the Upper Dantian and not opening it was decisive.

Under the right circumstances, someone at the sixth tier might stand against a seventh-tier opponent, and someone at the seventh tier might fight an eighth-tier opponent. But it was impossible for someone at the fifth tier to contend with someone at the sixth.

In a one-on-one fight, there was not even room for unforeseen variables.

“What I want to experience is the fist art the Hwangbo Family takes pride in.”

“I, too, wish to experience the fist art that earned you the title Cloud Dragon.”

“Ha ha. Fist arts are not my only specialty. How about this, then? We use only the minimum inner power needed to perform our martial arts. Naturally, without protective force aura as well.”

Moved by the offer without knowing Yuri's true intentions, Hwangbo Jin-cheol cupped his fists and bowed. Yuri returned the gesture with a genial smile.

Crack.

A faint popping sound came from the fist pressed against his palm.

Families that had built their history as martial artists were rare on both the Eastern and Western Continents.

Among those rare families, none was more renowned than the Hwangbo Family.

For hundreds of years, they had maintained their martial lineage. Even their secrets of physical conditioning put them on a completely different level from the vast majority of martial artists.

The current family head was not especially famous, but Hwangbo Jin-cheol had reached the fifth tier at twenty-five and earned a dragon's title. He was considered a genius who would leave his name in the family's history.

That massive body was the result of generations of blood, and the external training he had undergone since childhood gave him the strength to uproot thick trees and shatter rocks with his bare hands, even without inner power.

‘Under these conditions, I have the advantage.’

Without protective force aura, physical toughness would stand out all the more.

Hwangbo Jin-cheol studied Cloud Dragon with sharp eyes. Yuri had a solid build, but it could not compare to Hwangbo Jin-cheol's.

The same applied to his fists. They were built for violence, but so were Hwangbo Jin-cheol's. His own fists were at least twice as large.

“You have already conceded much to me, so I will not ask for the first strike as well.”

Hwangbo Jin-cheol smiled broadly and raised both fists. It was the stance of Thunderclap Divine Fist, a martial art only direct descendants of the Hwangbo Family could learn. Put kindly, it was straightforward. Put poorly, it was simplistic.

At least, that was how it looked.

When faced directly, that honesty and simplicity did not feel like a weakness. Fists swung head-on by such a massive body rendered most responses useless through their size and strength alone.

“Yes.”

Yuri smiled in the same manner. He held one loose fist out before him as though cradling an egg.

With inner power restricted, force aura was impossible to use. A spar fought under such conditions, especially between martial artists, would inevitably close until they were within punching range.

A large frame held an advantage in reach. Hwangbo Jin-cheol's arms and fists could strike from a distance Yuri's fists could not reach.

‘There is no need to rush in first. I can wait until he throws probing punches and tries to close in.’

Hwangbo Jin-cheol considered his approach and moved his feet.

Thump.

He had only added the bare minimum of inner power, but the stomp of his inborn monstrous strength shook the snowfield.

At the sight, Yuri felt joy swell in his chest.

‘He will be fun to hit.’

Yuri walked forward too. Unlike Hwangbo Jin-cheol's, his steps made no loud sounds. His light footsteps left marks in the snow.

Without hesitation, Yuri closed the distance.

‘Now.’

Hwangbo Jin-cheol's fist could reach him from this distance. The instant he judged it so, his left fist shot out.

The massive fist aimed at Yuri's centerline, at a point where it could crush both his ribs at once.

The instant the fist entered range, Yuri's hand moved. The fist was stopped before it could reach its target.

‘What was that?’

Surprised, Hwangbo Jin-cheol swung his right fist. Yuri did not hurry this time either. He moved just a little later, catching the attack as it entered range as though sweeping it aside with a net.

Smack!

He released the caught attack slightly upward. Yuri had only interfered with the direction of its force and bent it a little. Yet Hwangbo Jin-cheol was so powerful that even the slightest deviation sent his attack far off course.

His fist passed far above its intended target, over Yuri's head.

Yuri then took a large step forward.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A fist with its middle finger jutting out struck Hwangbo Jin-cheol's solar plexus, Adam's apple, and philtrum in rapid succession.

Every one of them could cause excruciating pain if struck properly. Hwangbo Jin-cheol hurriedly dragged his foot back.

‘He is tough.’

It felt as though Yuri had struck metal. A fist using only moderate strength could not break metal.

Yuri tensed his facial muscles and barely suppressed the smile trying to emerge.

Being tough meant he could hit him more.

‘That just now was the Fist King's...?’

Along with cutting off the flow of the attacks, Yuri had redirected them. It was not exactly the same, but the method of severing an attack's flow resembled the Fist King's Ten Thousand Waves Severing Fist.

A year ago, Hwangbo Jin-cheol had met the Fist King. When word spread that the young heir of the Hwangbo Family had earned a dragon's title, the Fist King had come to see him in person.

They had sparred, and Hwangbo Jin-cheol had suffered a crushing defeat.

‘You are useful. I will look around a little more, and if I find no one better than you, I may teach you my martial art.’

It had been an outrageously rude and arrogant thing to say after visiting one of the Five Great Families, but the Fist King was a martial artist with the right to say it.

‘Could Cloud Dragon be his disciple...?’

If so, the Fist King had judged Cloud Dragon more highly than Hwangbo Jin-cheol. Looking at Cloud Dragon now, that was only natural, but it still stung.

With a hardened expression, Hwangbo Jin-cheol raised both arms high like a bear.

He decided no further probing was necessary.

Rumble...

The muscles across his body writhed, producing a sound like thunder.

Thump!

The moment he stomped, Hwangbo Jin-cheol's giant body appeared to grow larger.

It was not an illusion. His body truly had grown. His muscles swelled enough for the difference to be plainly visible.

Thunderclap Divine Fist had begun.

A huge fist hurtled at Yuri with absurd strength.

‘What the hell is with this guy?’

Yuri had thought he was timid and cautious for someone his size, but his attitude changed in an instant.

Wooooong!

The wind-splitting roar of the incoming fist was sharp enough to make his ears ring.

Yuri reached out against it. He moved in low, slightly below the fist's direct line, and struck the inside of Hwangbo Jin-cheol's elbow.

The blow drove into the joint, and Hwangbo Jin-cheol's fist shuddered to a halt.

Wham!

This time, Yuri did not wait. A fist sprang from outside Hwangbo Jin-cheol's vision and smashed into his jaw.

A normal person would have lost consciousness from such a hit. Hwangbo Jin-cheol did not. Instead, he drove his jaw down like an axe, crushing Yuri's fist beneath it.

At the same time, he swung his other unblocked fist, but Yuri caught its flow again and bent its direction.

“...”

Yeonri Eunha watched the spar with vacant eyes.

Though the conditions were identical, the fight was one-sided. Every attack from the massive and monstrously strong Hwangbo Jin-cheol was blocked or redirected midway. Each time, Cloud Dragon's fists struck Hwangbo Jin-cheol's body.

“Look, Sister. Cloud Dragon's attacks are not affecting Brother Hwangbo. Other than being tough, Brother Hwangbo's body has no real advantage. Does that not mean he might win if this keeps up?”

Namgung Yeon-bi chattered beside her. Yeonri Eunha kept her mouth shut because she did not want to answer, but she wondered the same thing.

‘They are light...?’

Was it because inner power was restricted? No, even considering that, Yuri's fists were too light.

Hwangbo Jin-cheol had been hit several times, but not even a small groan came from his mouth. His body did not stagger much either.

Cloud Dragon was a martial artist who had broken past the wall of the fifth tier and reached the sixth.

A martial artist's body developed according to the martial arts they trained in.

Cloud Dragon's frame was far smaller than Hwangbo Jin-cheol's, but even without inner power, his fists should have been able to destroy a human body as easily as crushing a snack.

“Ruthless.”

Yeonri Sangah saw things differently. Her brows creased slightly as she looked toward Lorelia.

With both hands clasped in front of her chest, Lorelia watched Cloud Dragon with an expression of satisfaction and pride.

“Did you teach him that?”

“Can I even say I taught him that? Yuri took it from me, Lorelia, as he pleased!”

“Took it...?”

Yeonri Sangah could not easily understand those words, but she understood that the Calamity Star was at the root of that merciless violence.

Not one of those light punches missed its mark. Every blow targeted a joint or vital point. Yuri was aiming only for the greatest possible effect with the least amount of strength.

It was a vicious fist style focused entirely on destroying the human body. Yeonri Sangah's shoulders trembled faintly at memories she did not wish to recall.

“You should be careful too.”

Lorelia smiled sweetly at Yeonri Sangah. Her cheek twitched at that smile and gaze.

“Careful? What exactly should I be careful of? Do not tell me you are warning me about Cloud Dragon.”

“Yuri's eyes have always been sharp, but they are sharper now.”

Lorelia giggled and whispered.

“If you carelessly show him your martial arts, he will take them from you bit by bit.”

“Take them?”

“Yes. You know it too, do you not? If something is stolen, the fool is the one who allowed it to be stolen. So even if he takes something from you, do not get angry and try to kill Yuri.”

“Then were you too foolish to have something taken from you?”

Lorelia's cheek twitched at the mocking question.

“I, Lorelia, was not robbed.”

“Did you not just say Cloud Dragon took it from you as he pleased?”

“I allowed Yuri to take it.”

Yeonri Sangah was about to answer that nonsense.

“Urgh...!”

For the first time, a groan escaped Hwangbo Jin-cheol. His thick left arm could no longer rise properly. It hung limply at his side, trembling.

“You have taken too many hits.”

No matter how strong his body was, repeated strikes to points that disrupted its function had robbed it of freedom as though it had been poisoned.

Still, he did not want to say he had lost because of that alone. He had taken more than a few dozen blows, yet he had not landed a single proper attack on Cloud Dragon.

Just a little more, and he felt he could do it. He could feel himself getting closer, little by little.

That small difference frustrated him.

‘If I can land even one hit, I might win.’

Yuri knew exactly what Hwangbo Jin-cheol was thinking. If the difference between them had been too great, Hwangbo Jin-cheol would have admitted defeat long ago. Yuri had deliberately let him feel as though he was close to catching him without ever allowing it.

Thud!

A fist struck his chest. It did not hurt much.

Yet his body reacted too slowly for him to counterattack as he wished.

Thud!

Another fist struck his chest. It landed in the exact same place.

Thud!

When he was hit once more, cold sweat ran down Hwangbo Jin-cheol's spine.

He was targeting his heart.

Thud!

Another fist struck the thick chest muscles protecting his heart. With every hit, the blow grew sharper like an awl, driving deeper.

“Ghk...!”

He tried to do something, but before he could, a sharp fist grazed the tip of his jaw. This time, he could not endure it without consequence.

His body staggered, and Yuri's fist struck his heart again with perfect accuracy.

‘It is getting closer.’

Cloud Dragon's fists were now both hammer and awl. The awl buried in his chest was being struck by a hammer, inching ever closer to his heart.

It became the first true fear Hwangbo Jin-cheol had felt since he was born.

What would happen if that invisible awl eventually reached his heart?

Thud!

The hammer struck the awl again.

‘How many are left?’

How many more hits until it reached his heart? The attacks he had endured so far had been so light at first that they barely hurt, but with each repetition, they became pain that numbed his body.

Would this attack be the same? Would he die if it reached his heart at some point?

Thud!

The hammer drove the spike through his muscle. Hwangbo Jin-cheol's hair stood on end.

Staggering backward, he looked at Cloud Dragon. Beneath hair whipped by the snowstorm, crimson light flashed in Yuri's eyes.

“Uhh...”

Thoughts about being the greatest among dragons had long vanished from Hwangbo Jin-cheol's mind.

He would die.

He was going to die.

That fear filled his mind and emptied his body.

A body emptied of counterattacks and defense was nothing but an easy target.

Thud!

A fist struck his chest.

The spike burrowed into bone. There could not be many hits left now. He should not let this continue. Thinking that, Hwangbo Jin-cheol tried to say he surrendered.

Before he could even open his mouth and speak, another fist came toward him.

“Ghk...”

The instant the fist was about to touch his chest, Hwangbo Jin-cheol rolled his eyes back and fainted.

“Young Master Hegemon Dragon?”

Yuri called out to him in disbelief. He had not even hit him. Why had he fainted?

Thump!

The unconscious giant toppled backward.

“Are you all right?”

He asked, but an unconscious person could not answer. As Yuri looked down at Hwangbo Jin-cheol, foam gathering around his mouth, soft footsteps approached from behind.

“Did you mean to kill him?”

Snow Princess, Yeonri Eunha, stared at Yuri with wary eyes.

“Your fists persistently targeted Hegemon Dragon's heart. If you had continued...”

“What grudge do I have against Young Master Hegemon Dragon that I would kill him?”

Yuri answered with a baffled expression.

“It is true that I was targeting his heart, but I had no intention of killing him. If I had, I would have struck with the intention to kill from the beginning.”

“...”

“I planned to intimidate him enough to make him admit defeat. I never imagined he would faint instead of admitting defeat. My method seems to have gone too far, so I will apologize when Young Master Hwangbo wakes up.”

“There is no need.”

Yeonri Sangah, who had been watching from a distance, spoke up.

“He was consumed by an Inner Demon born from his own imagination and fainted. You have no reason to apologize.”

There must have been that much killing intent.

Yeonri Sangah looked at Yuri standing silently. That calm face, without even a hint of fatigue, gave her much to think about.

“Is Cloud Dragon your disciple?”

After a moment of silence, Yeonri Sangah turned to Lorelia and asked.

“No.”

Lorelia answered with a bright smile. Yeonri Sangah nodded slightly and turned to Yuri.

“Come to the Yeonri Family.”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean that you should become a member of the Yeonri Family. The best option would be for you to marry into the Yeonri Family, but even if you do not wish for that, I will treat you as a direct descendant. I am saying I will give you the Yeonri surname.”

“What are you...?”

“I am Baek Eun-mu-hu. There is nothing I cannot do within the Yeonri Family. How about this? Become my adopted son. I have not married and have no children, so there would be no problem with you becoming my adopted son.”

It was Yuri's chance to become Yeonri Yuri after Namgung Yuri.

“Now? What are you talking about?”

A smile colder than the falling snow appeared on Lorelia's lips.

“Are you trying to take Yuri from me, Lorelia?”

“Take him? What are you talking about? You said Cloud Dragon was not your disciple.”

“He is not my disciple, but I am teaching him as though he were my disciple!”

“I do not understand what you mean. The choice belongs to Cloud Dragon. It is not your place to interfere.”

“That is... true. Yes, I, Lorelia, will support Yuri if that is what he wishes. But!”

Lorelia raised a finger and pointed toward the mountain peak.

“Before that, how about resolving the business that brought you to me, Lorelia?”

A cold smile appeared on Baek Eun-mu-hu's lips as well.

“Gladly.”