Chapter 164: Investigation (4)

Chapter 164: Investigation (4)

Wu Yuan's expression hardened like stone.

'He's fast!'

No, it wasn't merely 'fast.’ Wu Yuan believed there was enough distance between him and the demonic art practitioner, but that young man was closing in so quickly that it felt like space itself had been compressed.

'As expected of the demonic arts?!'

Although the 'demonic arts' were a collection of lowly miscellaneous techniques, they were proven to enhance the user's physical abilities to the extreme. However, it also had the fatal flaw of turning the personality of the practitioner into a monster. That was why any demonic art practitioner reaching a certain realm had to have their cultivation destroyed or—

“...Or they must be killed!” Wu Yuan bit his lower lip and got ready to face the charging Kang Jin-Ho.

Kang Jin-Ho was fast, but he was moving in a straight line. Xing Yi Quan was a school of martial arts that contained suppleness. If Wu Yuan let the incoming attack slip past his shoulder, then land a two-fist strike on Kang Jin-Ho's sternum at the same time... The momentum of the demonic art practitioner's forward charge should be reflected back to the former in full. A successful counterattack boasting such an impact would no doubt inflict fatal damage to the demonic arts practitioner's body, no matter how sturdy it was!

'How foolish!'

Relying on pure brute strength and nothing else to attack didn't deserve to be called martial arts. Today, this young demonic arts practitioner would get to learn the painful truth!

Paaaaaaahng!!!

The fist of the young demonic arts practitioner tore through the air. What a terrifying sonic boom that was! Wu Yuan gritted his teeth, then expertly deflected the incoming punch past his shoulder.

No, wait; he thought he had done that, but...

***

“...Cough.”

‘What... is going on?’

‘What just happened to me?’

Wu Yuan's dazed eyes slowly scanned his surroundings.

'Where am I?'

He needed a few seconds to realize that he was still inside the same mountainside. It had to be, as he could also see the demonic arts practitioner in the distance! But why was his consciousness in a chaotic mess? As if it was a roll of film being abruptly chopped and ripped apart?

“...Cough!”

Blood? Wu Yuan realized he had just coughed blood. However, that realization also led to a sudden eruption of intense pain akin to sharp knives mercilessly stabbing into his flesh.

“Kuh-uhhhk... Cough!”

More blood gushed out of his throat, making it difficult to scream from the pain.

'Just... Just what the hell happened?!'

Wu Yuan forced his head to slowly drop to take a look at his chest. Then, his body involuntarily trembled from shock. The clothing covering his front... had literally disappeared.

‘Could it be?!'

His blinking eyes scanned his immediate vicinity, finally noticing that he was inside a fairly-deep crater on the side of a dirt mound.

'I... I was flung back this far?!'

With just one strike?! Wu Yuan couldn't believe it. No, he refused to believe it. Unfortunately, the horrifying pain coming from his torso made it impossible to deny the truth. Besides, what other possibility was he supposed to rely on to explain this pain akin to every bone in his body shattering into pieces?

“Cough, cough!”

He wanted to say something, but his body refused to listen. Not his arms, nor his legs; they all betrayed his brain and refused to move an inch. How was this even possible?

The most-probable culprit responsible for Wu Yuan's state, the young demonic arts practitioner, leisurely walked over to where his victim was.

“Kuh-huk...!”

This... This couldn't be happening. However, Wu Yuan couldn't keep rejecting reality anymore. Looking at this scene objectively, it seemed Wu Yuan had failed to deflect the demonic arts practitioner's strike. And now, all he could do was pant laboriously and watch as Kang Jin-Ho came closer to him.

“Kuh-huuhk!” Wu Yuan convulsed and shivered powerfully at the hand of a terrifying demon tightly squeezing his throat. His senses hadn't dulled to the point of failing to sense the incredible level of strength contained in that hand. Wu Yuan's neck would snap like a twig with just a single finger flick of this young man!

“It seems you're still under a wrong assumption...” Kang Jin-Ho smirked eerily. That smile came across as more sinister and ominous than anything in this world. “You don't have the right to ask questions. Only I have that.”

“...!”

“And you still haven't answered my question.”

Wu Yuan began to nod away. He urgently nodded away, thinking that this was the only way to stop this demonic bastard from killing him right now.

Kang Jin-Ho eased his grip ever so slightly, allowing words to flood out explosively from Wu Yuan's cracked lips. “I... I can't be called strong in this world. People stronger than me are as many as pebbles on the road, y-you see? I-if you seek a truly strong opponent, t-then you should find someone else, not me!”

Kang Jin-Ho didn't say anything and quietly stared at Wu Yuan.

.

Feeling the pressure bear down on him again, Wu Yuan hurriedly revealed all the information he knew. “If you want to find true experts in China, you must seek out the members of the Martial Union!”

“Martial Union?”

Wu Yuan urgently nodded again. “Y-yes, them! I merely receive orders from the Martial Union. That's all! No one knows exactly who the ruling elites of the Union are, b-but I've heard they are peak experts that have surpassed the limits of humanity!”

“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes and stared at Wu Yuan; his interest was now genuinely piqued. “How do I get in touch with this Martial Union?”

“...You already are.”

“Mm?”

“I'm here, aren't I?! The Martial Union has sent me, after all! I might not know who they really are, but I still accept their commission to do jobs like this. T-that's why...”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly let go, and Wu Yuan fell back while coughing his lungs out.

“Cough! Cough!”

Kang Jin-Ho looked up at the heavens, somewhat unsatisfied.

'Martial Union, is it...?'

Should he consider this group as the modern-day equivalent of Zhongyuan's union of the so-called righteous sects? The way this Martial Union stayed hidden and schemed away in darkness reminded him of heretical cults instead.

'...Hmm. Does this mean different factions in China have been consolidated into one group?'

Kang Jin-Ho couldn't tell whether this man only knew one group called the Martial Union or if this group had already subjugated the others. One thing was clear at this stage, though—unlike the situation in Korea, it seemed one gigantic faction had seized power in China.

“I see. Thanks for the info,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Wu Yuan kept nodding away, his body shivering from nervousness. No matter how calm and amiable this demonic arts practitioner seemed right now, there was no getting away from the fact that such a man was like a walking ticking bomb that could transform at the snap of a finger.

Wu Yuan's life depended on such a man's whims, so how could he not be afraid?

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “What's your job?”

“...It's to monitor the airport.”

“The airport? Why?”

“For some time now, foreign martial artists have been entering the country to cause us headaches. That was why I was assigned to monitor the airport and contact the Martial Union if I spotted a martial artist. The Martial Union is supposed to decide on what to do, and then they give me the next order.”

“I see...” Kang Jin-Ho nodded before leaning in closer to whisper to Wu Yuan, “So, the order you received was to kill me?”

“N-no, it was not!”

“It's fine either way.” Kang Jin-Ho leaned back, no longer feeling like listening to this man. Whatever the original order was, this man had tried to kill Kang Jin-Ho right after confirming that he was a demonic arts practitioner. If Kang Jin-Ho had been weaker than this small fry, he would have ended up as a corpse by now.

“I understand that you were merely following orders. And I also understand that you didn't pursue me out of your own will.”

“Y-yes. That, that is correct.”

“However...” Kang Jin-Ho broke into a sinister grin. “You still need to pay for daring to bare your fangs at me. Don't you agree?”

Wu Yuan watched as Kang Jin-Ho's hand slowly extended toward his throat, despair quickly filling his eyes.