Chapter 776: Strike Before Impurities Mix In |
After parting ways with his father, Geom Mugeuk summoned the Heavenly Demon Spirit and mastered the Eighth Form of the Nine Calamities Demon Art to see what had changed within him.
However, before that, it was only proper to first greet the person whose appearance most resembled the Heavenly Demon Spirit.
“Master! Have you been well?”
The Fist Demon instantly noticed Geom Mugeuk’s change.
“Take off your clothes.”
“To think you’d ask your disciple to undress the moment we meet!”
“Stop joking around.”
Geom Mugeuk completely removed his upper garment.
The Fist Demon, who had been quietly observing him, suddenly widened his eyes.
The Fist Demon immediately recognized the transformation in Geom Mugeuk’s body. Having often trained bare-chested together, he could tell it clearly.
“Yes. During this recent journey, I was blessed with heavenly fortune and experienced a complete transformation.”
For an instant, surprise flickered across the Fist Demon’s face. To undergo a complete rebirth was a once-in-a-lifetime fortune that few even heard of.
Just like his father, the Fist Demon carefully examined Geom Mugeuk’s body. While his father had done so out of parental concern, fearing something might have gone wrong during the process, the Fist Demon observed for a different reason.
“For a practitioner of fist arts, a complete rebirth holds far greater significance than for any other martial artist.”
That made sense. Fist techniques relied on the entire body as a weapon—so if the body changed, the weapon itself had transformed.
To the Fist Demon, the phrase “complete reformation” carried immense weight.
“You once wielded the martial arts of man. Now, you have reached the point of wielding the martial arts of heaven. You’ve stepped onto the path toward the unity of heaven and man.”
Perhaps, more than anyone, it was his master who had long desired to see such a transformation. Understanding that, Geom Mugeuk listened to him with utmost seriousness.
“To fail to master the Thunderous Asura Fist with that new body would be an insult—to both the art and the body itself, don’t you think?”
Geom Mugeuk had already once sought out the Fist Demon and asked to be taught the Thunderous Asura Fist from the beginning. Through that training, he had reached the next stage of his martial path.
His insight into martial arts had become so profound that the grand mastery of the Thunderous Asura Fist no longer seemed far away.
“This time, I’ll definitely achieve complete mastery.”
The moment he mastered the Eighth Form of the Nine Calamities Demon Art, the Fist Demon urged him to achieve the grand mastery of the Thunderous Asura Fist.
Geom Mugeuk believed this series of events to be a blessing brought by his complete rebirth.
This rebirth was intricately connected to unexpected developments—it wasn’t merely a spiritual or physical fortune.
“Have you fought anyone since your transformation?”
“No, I haven’t.”
He wondered why that question suddenly came up.
The Fist Demon fell silent, deep in thought. Though he looked like someone who knew no worries, he was far more cautious and contemplative than he appeared.
“Are you busy right now?”
The master, who had been silently contemplating something, suddenly asked if he was busy. No matter how busy he might have been, the answer could only be one. Even if his father were to call him, this was the one time he would have to say, “I can’t go right now.”
“No, I have nothing but time, Master!”
“Wait here a moment.”
The Fist Demon went inside his quarters and returned shortly after, carrying a box. Its contents were unknown, but from the layer of dust and the marks of age, it was clear that it had not been used for a very long time.
“Follow me.”
The Fist Demon led Geom Mugeuk out of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
After running across the land using light steps, the two arrived at the Daecheon Mountains. The Fist Demon brought Geom Mugeuk to a small clearing near the largest waterfall there.
He placed the box on a nearby rock and then stood facing Geom Mugeuk.
“Do you trust me?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that, Master?”
“Answer me.”
“I do. I trust you more than I trust myself.”
It wasn’t a mere formality. There was a particular kind of faith that only the Fist Demon inspired. He was the kind of man who, if told to wait for a hundred years, would stand still and wait without a word for that entire time.
“How much do you respect me?”
Geom Mugeuk flinched and took a step back.
“Why are you being so scary all of a sudden?”
“Answer me.”
“I probably respect you far more than you think, Master.”
“Then you won’t get angry if I hit you without reason, right?”
“What?”
The moment the word left his mouth, the Fist Demon’s fist sliced through the air.
Whiiish!
Thud!
Caught completely off guard, Geom Mugeuk clutched his stomach and tumbled backward. Perhaps because no killing intent was behind the blow—or because it wasn’t imbued with internal energy—the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique did not activate.
“For the next strikes, do not use your internal energy or any defensive techniques.”
Geom Mugeuk rose to his feet.
“You’re saying that while it’s your fist that’s flying at me, Master? Are you telling me to just die here…?”
Thud!
The Fist Demon’s fist slammed into him again, sending him sprawling once more.
If internal energy had been infused into that strike, Geom Mugeuk would have been dead or fatally injured for sure.
But the Fist Demon’s fists contained only the force of thunder. He could imbue his punches with thunderous energy without using any internal energy at all.
Of course, that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt—being struck by the Fist Demon’s fists was pain enough to remember for a lifetime.
Thud! Thud!
His punches landed in relentless succession. From every spot that was struck, electric tingles of thunderous energy coursed through Geom Mugeuk’s body.
“What, are you beating your disciple just because I achieved rebirth first? If you keep doing this, I’ll spread rumors saying you were jealous and hit me out of envy…”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Fist Demon’s punches came in earnest this time. He didn’t focus on any single part of the body—he struck everywhere evenly. Body, limbs, even the face.
Gradually, the power of the blows increased, and the current of thunderous energy that flowed through them grew stronger and stronger.
Even as he was beaten senseless, Geom Mugeuk understood perfectly well that the Fist Demon was tempering his body.
If that weren’t the case, his master would never have pummeled his disciple like this.
That was why Geom Mugeuk did everything he could to refrain from activating his body protection technique.
But no matter how much he suppressed it, pain surged through his entire body. How could the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique simply remain dormant in such agony? He had to fight with all his will to keep it from activating.
‘It hurts this much, and I still have to keep you from activating!’
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Master, hitting from behind is cowardly!”
The punches grew even stronger.
“It hurts! Master! Your disciple is going to die!”
He wasn’t exaggerating—it truly hurt. And when the thunderous energy coursed through the struck areas, screams escaped his mouth involuntarily.
Even through the blows, he could feel it.
The Fist Demon was focusing every ounce of his mind and spirit into each punch.
‘Right now, Master’s suffering more than I am.’
He could feel the immense mental strain it must have been putting on the Fist Demon. After all, a single misjudged blow could seriously injure—or even kill—him.
Thud! Thud! Thud-thud-thud!
Just as Geom Mugeuk was about to lose consciousness from the relentless assault, the Fist Demon shouted loudly,
“Endure it!”
Geom Mugeuk’s closing eyes snapped open.
“This process is like forging steel—striking it to make it stronger. The material before me is Millennial Cold Iron. It must be hammered before any impurities mix in.”
The Millennial Cold Iron was his own body, and the hammer that struck it was the Fist Demon’s fist.
And that hammer belonged to the greatest fist master in the martial world—further imbued with the strength of thunder. Truly, there could be no rarer or more precious hammer in existence.
Bang! Kwaang! Bang!
Had Geom Mugeuk not been the Fist Demon’s disciple, he would never have experienced such a rare fortune. The Young Cult Leader would never have been subjected to such merciless blows.
But right now, the Fist Demon struck him purely as a disciple.
After being beaten with all the force his body could take, the Fist Demon finally stopped.
Geom Mugeuk collapsed instantly—but it wasn’t over yet.
“Now, go under the waterfall.”
“In this condition?”
Without giving him time to protest, the Fist Demon threw Geom Mugeuk beneath the roaring waterfall.
“Don’t use your internal energy!”
“I’ll die if I don’t! Aaargh!”
But despite his words, Geom Mugeuk endured the waterfall without using any internal energy. The impact felt like it would tear his body apart, but he spread his arms, letting the torrent strike every inch of him evenly.
He knew this was exactly what his master intended. The fact that they had come to this place meant this was as vital a step as the beating itself.
Kwakwa-kwakwa-kwakwa! The deafening roar of the waterfall drowned out everything.
When the falling waterfall struck his battered body, it felt as though his entire being was melting away. The pain was even greater than what he had endured during his complete rebirth.
But Geom Mugeuk gritted his teeth and endured it.
How much did he trust the Fist Demon?
Enough to accept dying from this if it went wrong.
He endured, and endured again—until at last, he lost consciousness beneath the waterfall.
How much time had passed?
When Geom Mugeuk opened his eyes, the Fist Demon was looking down at him. The man who had always seemed terrifying now appeared exhausted, drained of strength and spirit.
“...Master.”
“You’ve woken up?”
He found himself lying on a rock beside the waterfall, his body giving off a faint medicinal scent.
Geom Mugeuk immediately understood. The medicine that the Fist Demon had brought earlier in that old box had been applied to his body.
“Well done. I knew you could withstand it.”
From the faint smile that appeared on his usually stern face, Geom Mugeuk knew the process had succeeded.
“The body that has undergone complete rebirth is already extraordinary—most would call it perfect. But if such a body is tempered properly, it becomes something beyond perfection.”
The Fist Demon revealed that what he had done earlier was no simple beating.
“The technique I used on you is called the Thunderstrike Muscle-Tempering Method. It’s a secret art passed down together with the Thunderous Asura Fist. The method destroys the skin and muscles with thunderous energy, then rebuilds them anew. It can only be used once in a lifetime, and only on a body that has undergone complete reformation. I never imagined I would be able to use it in my generation.”
Geom Mugeuk sat up. He had thought the pain would leave him unable to move, but to his surprise, his body felt light—almost reborn once more.
“Go and wash yourself beneath the waterfall.”
Geom Mugeuk returned to the waterfall and washed away the blood and sweat.
When he came out and looked at himself, not a single bruise remained, despite the savage beating he had taken.
His skin looked clearer, his muscles denser. He could feel the strength coursing through his body—it had truly become the Millennial Cold Iron, now forged into a divine blade.
“It would’ve been better if someone more skilled than I had performed the Thunderstrike Muscle-Tempering Method, but this was the best I could do.”
“There’s no fist greater than my master’s in this world.”
Geom Mugeuk stood up and bowed deeply.
“Master, thank you. You have turned my fortune into an even greater one. I am truly grateful.”
The Fist Demon smiled with satisfaction, pleased that his effort had not been in vain.
“Make sure you achieve grand mastery of the Thunderous Asura Fist.”
The fortune of his complete rebirth had not yet ended.
“Master, please teach me again.”
Geom Mugeuk did not delay his training in the Thunderous Asura Fist. After the dedication his master had shown him, he could not postpone his pursuit of mastery any longer.
This was, in fact, an opportunity for him.
And Geom Mugeuk knew very well—doors of opportunity never stayed open for long.
“I’ll visit you every day until the sound of thunder disappears from my fists.”
He didn’t aim merely for grand mastery. His goal was a higher state—one where he could attain Completion and, at the same time, make even the thunderous roar vanish from his fists. In martial arts, there existed a force beyond logic, something that could only be described as aura or momentum. He intended never to let go of that moment’s momentum.
‘I’ll break through it all at once!’
Geom Mugeuk thrust his fist forward, and the Fist Demon met it with his own. The difference in size was still that of an adult’s and a child’s, but—
“Good. Let’s turn that child’s fist into an adult’s fist!”
From that day on, Geom Mugeuk began refining the Thunderous Asura Fist.
After completing his training that first day, he returned home, opened the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique, invoked the Heavenly Time Secret Art, and continued striking with his fists.
The next day, when he returned to train with the Fist Demon, his master was inwardly astonished.
‘He’s changed this much in just one day?’
He assumed it was the effect of Geom Mugeuk’s rebirth and the secret art he had performed, but that wasn’t the only reason. Geom Mugeuk’s training time wasn’t limited to a single day, after all.
Training with the reborn Geom Mugeuk deeply inspired even the Fist Demon.
And how could it not?
The one who had undergone complete rebirth was none other than Geom Mugeuk, who had also endured the Thunderstrike Muscle-Tempering Method. To train alongside such a person was an extraordinary experience.
During their brief moments of rest, Geom Mugeuk would ask questions that pierced to the very essence of the fist arts. For the Fist Demon—who was already approaching the ultimate mastery of fist techniques—these questions made him reflect upon both his martial path and his training. The two shared their profound understanding of martial arts without reservation.
The Fist Demon let go of the mindset of teaching.
He trained together with him.
With that attitude, the two devoted themselves entirely to their practice. The fortune of Geom Mugeuk’s rebirth had extended even to the heart of his master.
Among all the people Geom Mugeuk had ever trained with, the Fist Demon was the one whose rhythm and style aligned best with his own.
The Fist Demon was a man who knew no surrender. Once he began throwing punches, he wouldn’t stop until his arms fell off.
And Geom Mugeuk was no different.
No sound came from the Fist Demon’s fists, while from Geom Mugeuk’s fists, thunder still roared.
Once, during their previous training, the Fist Demon had said,
—I wonder if my fists will ever make that sound again.
His fists no longer produced thunder, but he had said that if he broke through that barrier once more, he would hear the sound again.
One man threw his fists to bring back the thunder.
The other struck to make the thunder vanish from his fists.
From the Fist Demon’s training grounds at the Eastern Fist Faction, the sound of thunder rang out every day—thunder born from Geom Mugeuk’s fists. The Iron Fists of the Eastern Fist Faction trained while listening to that thunder.
Cheon So-hee, the next successor to the Fist Demon, gazed toward the source of the sound, her eyes deep with emotion.
‘Senior Brother is truly training with everything he has.’
The fact that the thunderous sound continued meant he was striking endlessly without rest. That ceaseless thunder made everyone solemn.
With their master and senior brother training so fiercely, how could any of them afford to be lazy?
Every Iron Fist gave their all in training, to the very limits of their strength. Even when they collapsed from exhaustion, Cheon So-hee continued to strike with her fists alone.
And even after she too fell, the sound of thunder continued to echo.
Then, one day, after countless days of grueling training with the Fist Demon—
Geom Mugeuk’s fist cut through the air. Suddenly, his movement stopped.
The punch struck out just as always—but this time, no sound of thunder followed.
‘I’ve done it!’
As Geom Mugeuk turned to the Fist Demon, his face radiant with elation, the fruit of their shared struggle descended upon them like destiny itself.
Kwahhhhhhh-BOOOOM!
A thunderclap erupted from the Fist Demon’s fist—greater, deeper, and more earth-shattering than any sound heard before.
The roar shook the ground beneath them, echoing across the vast expanse of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, a thunderous resonance that reached every corner.
It was the moment the ownership of thunder changed hands.