Chapter 64:

Chapter 64:

Paedobang (4)

The dead of night had brought complete darkness.

Twenty Shaolin disciples, each hiding their bodies, gazed at the pavilion situated in an ambiguous spot between the urban area and the slum of Nanchang.

[Honginmun (弘仁門)]

The characters meant “wide and benevolent.” It was a highly ironic signboard for a gang that extorted money from the slums.

– When I give the signal, you will enter as planned.

At Hye-gwan’s order, delivered through telepathy, the Shaolin disciples recalled their assigned roles and readied themselves for the operation.

– First team, advance!

As soon as Hye-gwan’s command fell, the three closest to Honginmun’s main gate rushed forward.

Those in the first team included Beob-hwi, a disciple of Hye-dam, Beob-gang, the true disciple of the Head of the Jurisdiction Department, and one of the second-class disciples from the Demon Extermination Squad.

Among them, Beob-hwi, who was at the forefront, began to channel his energy, causing his hand to turn red.

“Haaap!”

As Beob-hwi thrust his palm forward, the red energy gathered in his hand shot towards the main gate.

Bang!!

Among the Shaolin Seventy-Two Consummate Arts, the mighty Tathagata Palm Technique blasted Honginmun’s main gate off its hinges.

“What, what’s going on?!”

“An attack!!”

At this violent declaration of war, chaos erupted within Honginmun, but by then, the three had already passed through the shattered gate and infiltrated the interior.

The thugs of Honginmun, who rushed out in the sudden confusion, could not hope to match the second-class disciples of Shaolin.

There was no need for techniques like the Tathagata Palm or the Vajra Divine General. Beob-hwi, Beob-gang, and the Demon Extermination Squad’s second-class disciple overwhelmed the thugs effortlessly.

While the thugs’ attention was entirely on the three who had entered through the gate—

Swoosh!

Shaolin’s second-class disciples leaped over Honginmun’s walls from all directions, infiltrating the interior.

The Honginmun forces, trying to deal with the three at the gate, found themselves surrounded by the Shaolin disciples.

‘Perfect! It worked flawlessly.’

Mu-jin, who had entered last due to his lower proficiency in movement techniques compared to the second-class disciples, rejoiced inwardly.

This encirclement strategy was Mu-jin’s plan.

It was a tactic often used in urban warfare training during his time in the special forces. The only difference was that in modern times, they used guns and bombs, whereas now they used martial arts.

The greatest advantage of this strategy wasn’t just the ability to surround the enemy or minimize damage.

By surprising the enemy and encircling them, they could annihilate the opposition very quickly.

“Kraah!”

The thugs of Honginmun fell like leaves in autumn.

“We need to search the interior quickly!”

Mu-jin shouted urgently right after they dealt with the thirty or so thugs of Honginmun in an instant.

The reason for planning such a surround-and-destroy operation was to prevent the enemies from destroying evidence.

It wasn’t just about the evidence of human trafficking, but most importantly—

‘If we can find any indication of their dealings with Ryu Seol-ho, we can wipe them out completely!’

With that thought in mind, Mu-jin dashed towards the pavilion situated in the courtyard.

The moment he flung open the door of the nearest pavilion—

“!!!”

Sensing an inexplicable foreboding, Mu-jin quickly bent his waist using the Iron Plank Bridge technique, and a sword slashed past just above his head.

‘I almost died.’

If it were an ordinary sword attack, he could have endured it with his Iron Skin technique. However, the swordsmanship just now could have shredded his Iron Skin like paper.

This was because the opponent’s sword was imbued with sword energy (劍氣).

Beob-gang and Beob-hwi continuously used palm techniques imbued with thunder and blazing energy to push their opponents.

On the other hand, some could only create sword energy or fist energy when performing specific techniques.

“That guy is quite formidable.”

“Do you need assistance?” Mu-jin asked.

The man who seemed to be the leader of the black-clad men appeared to be even more skilled than Beob-gang or Beob-hwi.

Though Mu-jin’s level was still too low to fully comprehend, he could sense that the energy emission and movements were much smoother.

For that reason, no less than three Second-class Disciples of the Demon Extermination Squad were fighting that leader.

“They’re veterans of such battles. Don’t worry,” Hye-gwan reassured.

No sooner had Hye-gwan finished speaking than a new figure emerged from the shadows at one side of the courtyard.

“So, the reason it’s taking so long to wrap this up is because we have guests from Shaolin,” the figure remarked.

Unlike the other black-clad figures, this middle-aged man walked with a certain ease. The unsettling feeling from his seemingly random steps struck Mu-jin belatedly.

‘There’s no sound.’

Even though he wasn’t using any known stepping or phantom technique, there was no sound or presence at all.

‘Paedobangju!’

Mu-jin finally realized that this man was the Paedobangju from the novel.

“Heh heh heh. As the benefactor said, we indeed come from Shaolin. But who are you, sir, to reach such a level and be here tormenting the poor?” Hye-gwan, who had realized this before Mu-jin, asked with a sly smile. Although only his eyes and lips smiled, his eyes had already taken on a sharp glint like a knife.

Standing beside Hye-gwan, Mu-jin noticed another peculiarity. He sensed a very faint smell from Hye-gwan.

‘This scent... It’s the same as when Grandfather sobered up last time.’

Realizing the nature of the scent, Mu-jin understood that Hye-gwan was quickly sobering up while stalling for time with his words.

“Ha ha ha. To receive recognition from the famous Drunken Buddha is an honor I don’t know how to handle,” Paedobangju said.

“It’s not a good thing. Every heretic I’ve acknowledged is now waiting in the depths of hell for my arrival. Ha ha ha.”

Both Hye-gwan and Paedobangju burst into hearty laughter, enjoying the moment.

As Paedobangju’s right hand moved toward the scabbard at his waist, Hye-gwan, who was beside Mu-jin, suddenly lunged at Paedobangju.

However, Paedobangju, who had already drawn his blade, casually swung it, releasing a blood-red sword aura.

Boom!

The energy from Hye-gwan’s palm technique clashed with Paedobangju’s aura, creating a loud explosion.

“Ha ha ha!”

Laughing as if he found it amusing, Paedobangju swung his sword at an incredible speed, releasing multiple thin threads of sword energy.

The scene of red threads weaving through the air looked beautiful at first glance, but their true nature was sinister, capable of severing flesh and bone with a mere touch.

Hye-gwan evaded the numerous sword energies using a light stepping technique, moving diagonally. However, there were too many sword energies to avoid, so he had to deflect some with his arm techniques.

Slice! Slice!

The unblocked sword energies cut through and demolished the walls and structures of the courtyard.

Emerging from the spiderweb-like attack, Hye-gwan threw a punch, releasing a fierce energy from his fist.

‘That’s the legendary Vajra Demon Subduing Fist!’

The golden fist aura emitted a heavy and oppressive energy.

Paedobangju, recognizing its formidable power, chose to dodge rather than block it directly with his sword.

Hye-gwan, anticipating this, followed Paedobangju’s evasive move immediately after unleashing the Vajra Demon Subduing Fist, aiming precisely at Paedobangju’s retreating path.

However, Paedobangju, a master in his own right, didn’t allow Hye-gwan to close the distance completely.

The distance where the sword could reach but the fist couldn’t. Paedobangju succeeded in maintaining this gap.

Mu-jin, watching the renewed exchange from that distance, had his eyes shining brightly.

‘These are real masters!’

The movements were so fast that it was hard to follow, and he could only occasionally catch their trails, but one thing was certain.

The duel between Paedobangju and Hye-gwan was on a different level from anything Mu-jin had seen so far.