Book 6 Chapter 4

Tang San's Mistake, Arrogance Brings Disaster!

- Qi Gong (Mysterious Practice) Learned from the Body of Nuohak

Lack of confidence makes a person timid,

and losing courage makes movements sluggish.

But conversely, if confidence is excessive,

a monster called arrogance becomes an obstacle, blinding the eyes

and exhibiting a terrifying power that causes loss of judgment.

Honestly, Tang San was too careless. Carelessness, summoned by arrogance, always and everywhere, inevitably brings its close friend, disaster! This formula had never failed, an immortal truth.

Not long ago, it had backfired that he had made his cousin, Tong Namcheol, who had always bothered him since childhood, as flat as a pancake, pressing his nose into a iron plate like a mung bean pancake.

That day, Tang San, who had decisively struck down his cousin and sworn enemy Tong Namcheol, felt as if he could fly. At that time, Tang San was filled with confidence in his throwing techniques, feeling as if he would never lose a fight.

It was good that the confidence from that day continued until today, but relying on that confidence and acting too recklessly ultimately brought disaster.

Getting too caught up in emotions and acting on impulse, he forgot to pay attention to his surroundings. Especially with throwing techniques, the danger of backlash is very high when they fail, so one should have been much more cautious than with other martial arts.

When his confidently thrown Samhwanbiseon and Chilseongyeonhwan Bigeokseon, one of his strongest techniques, were rendered useless by the sword of Cheongryongdan's leader, Cheonsuryong Maengyeonho, his entire body was exposed defenselessly under the opponent's sword.

Maengyeonho, seizing the opportunity, was not clumsy enough to give Tang San time to dodge, as befitting a promising disciple of the Hwasan sect. As fierce sword energy, hidden within countless falling plum blossoms, violently swept across Tang San's body, his clothes looked more like rags.

Seeing that he was still alive, it was clear that some mercy was shown, but it wasn't a complete one either.

"Cough!"

Tang San, struck by Maengyeonho's fierce sword energy, unable to suppress his surging blood and qi, cried out and fell backward. He seemed to have suffered greatly.

"Tang San!"

Nuohak, Tang San's closest friend from Jujakdan, rushed towards Tang San with a roar.

"Where do you think you're going? A path you cannot take!"

"Clang!"

"Ugh!"

However, Nuohak's steps, worried about his friend's safety, were blocked by a Cheongryongdan member, making further progress impossible.

The name of the Cheongryongdan member blocking his way was not important. The important fact was that he was blocking his path! The eyes of the ill-tempered beggar flashed with fire.

"Aaaargh! Samjaeguta Bongbeop!!!"

"Pabababa!"

Along with the roar, the green hitting stick in Nuohak's hand began to unleash monstrous changes.

The unparalleled changes of the hitting stick from Nuohak's hand, having shed the heavy ink rings that were like shackles, were unmatched. The changes emanating from the flexible tip of the stick were incredibly agile.

"Gasp!"

The eyes of Cheolgeombiryeong Ha Se-in, the vice-leader of Cheongryongdan, widened in shock. Nuohak's attack, showing changes that defied common sense, was surging towards his vital points.

He had indeed faced Geaebang's hitting stick techniques before, but no one he had encountered had ever displayed such strange and monstrous changes as Nuohak.

'Samjaeguta Bongbeop!'

Nuohak possessed a secret martial art that he had never revealed even to his friends in Jujakdan: Samjaeguta Bongbeop. This secret art was learned through countless beatings from Biryuyeon.

Originally, Geaebang had a secret staff technique passed down covertly, like the undergarments of a common woman. Its name was the sacred Hita Bongbeop!

This incredibly profound staff technique, rumored to have been created to effectively beat dogs, was kept as secret as the illicit lovers within the Geaebang leadership.

Unlike the one or two stances of the widely known Hangryang Sibijang, only direct descendants of the sect leader were qualified to learn this staff technique. Even Nuohak, a direct disciple, had only learned the first half and not the entirety. However, because Nuohak had entered Cheonmu Hakgwan, he was able to learn a little more, just a speck of dust more.

Traditionally, Geaebang learned martial arts through begging. If one did not beg properly, they could not learn martial arts. As their martial arts were diverse, the amount of martial arts accumulated by a beggar depended on how outstanding their begging divine skill was.

Some people referred to this as becoming increasingly杂乱 (jāluàn - disorganized, cluttered). (This is not entirely incorrect.)

Due to Geaebang's foundation, even elders possessed unique and complex martial arts, making their lineage more tangled than a ball of yarn.

What Nuohak was now displaying was certainly not the secret ultimate technique of Geaebang, Hita Bongbeop. Even if it was a method of beating dogs with a stick, Hita Bongbeop had a more elegant and refined quality.

Nuohak had committed a transgression that would make the founder of Geaebang weep tears and pull out his hair – he had distorted and modified the half-learned Hita Bongbeop according to his own will.

This was Nuohak's own staff technique, perfected through arduous effort by modifying and improving the ultimate secret technique, Hita Bongbeop. That was Samjaeguta Bongbeop.

Samjaeguta Bongbeop, like Samjaeguta Gwonbeop, is divided into three parts, but with slightly different meanings.

Each part is composed of Inbong (Human Staff), Jibong (Earth Staff), and Cheonbong (Heaven Staff).

First, the third part, Inbong, is a martial art that beats a person like a dog, turning them into a dog. The second part, Jibong, is similar to the first, beating a person like a dog, but burying them in the ground. And finally, the ultimate and most refined part of Samjaeguta Bongbeop, the first part, Cheonbong, is an extremely fearsome and wicked martial art that beats a person so severely they ascend to heaven. The final Cheonbong is used to beat a person into dust.

This was evidence that Nuohak had been deeply ingrained by Biryuyeon, like the essence extracted when making bone broth.

The profound mysteries and wonders originally contained within Geaebang's ultimate secret technique, Hita Bongbeop, had vanished from Samjaeguta Bongbeop, leaving only brute force and blood-soaked desperation. It was a brutal staff technique that couldn't be stopped due to its sheer ignorance. That was Samjaeguta Bongbeop.

"Gasp!"

Cheolgeombiryeong Ha Se-in was momentarily flustered by Nuohak's sudden assault.

Nuohak's staff technique deviated significantly from the principles of martial arts, making it difficult to counter. Moreover, with Yugyumgeom Hyeonun joining in from the side, he could no longer focus solely on Nuohak's staff. This was his most fatal mistake. A moment of carelessness provided an opening for Nuohak's Samjaeguta Bongbeop to penetrate his defenses. Samjaeguta Bongbeop struck him relentlessly.

"Pababababa!"

"Puk puk puk!"

Mercy was never a consideration for either side from the beginning.

"Kuaaaak!"

A pig-like squeal erupted from Ha Se-in's mouth. There was no trace of his status as a Cheonmu Guryong anywhere on him. Hearing such a piercing scream, who would believe he was a top disciple of the Kunlun sect?

Thus, Cheolgeombiryeong Ha Se-in, who had fallen out of favor with Biryuyeon and become the cause of this martial arts tournament, was utterly crushed by Nuohak's Hita Bongbeop, receiving the full force of Samjaeguta Bongbeop.

Then, Biryuyeon, watching from afar, finally showed a satisfied smile.

He never let anything that bothered him go unnoticed.

'Even the slightest resentment is magnified a hundredfold and returned!'

Biryuyeon had never forgotten the teachings of his sect, which were as precious as gold and jade.