'You crazy bastard!'

The Crimson King grimaced.

What was the so-called 'fist light'? In the world of cultivation, martial arts were built on the foundation of circulating internal qi to strengthen one's physical body or weapons.

Once that energy was filled to the brim in one's body and began overflowing, it'd get released externally. With a sword, it'd manifest as 'sword qi'. With a fist, it'd be 'fist qi'. And when the manifested energy was compressed, then compressed some more, until it contained enough destructive power... One could start calling it 'strengthening' qi.

This strengthening qi created through condensed internal energy could pulverize a human body into powder in the blink of an eye. Even an expert at the peak realm would never entertain the thought of receiving an attack laden with strengthening qi directly to their body.

The result would be far too damaging to be worth the trouble, after all!

This should've been common sense, but... But this madman was deliberately breaking that common sense!

Kwaaaaa-haaaang!

The Crimson King's fist light blew Kang Jin-Ho's shoulder apart. His flesh broke into bits to reveal the bones beneath. He was literally giving away his flesh to the Crimson King!

In that case, the compensation would be Crimson King's bones!

Slaaaash!

Kang Jin-Ho's Azuremourne diagonally slashed through the Crimson King from his right waist past his left chest. It was an accurate and beautifully executed strike.

If everything had gone according to Kang Jin-Ho's intention, death would've been the only result for his foe. However, even his sword laden with so much demonic qi failed to completely slice through the Crimson King's torso.

It wasn't because he was tougher than Vator physically, though. However, the Crimson King's muscles were so thoroughly packed with internal qi that they could repel Kang Jin-Ho's sword with even greater hardness than Vator's.

The injury was to his flesh as the sword failed to penetrate the Crimson King's abdominal wall. That didn't mean the injury was negligible, though.

Giving up one's pound of flesh for another's flesh! Even though Kang Jin-Ho had to give up far more than what he acquired, he didn't care.

Kang Jin-Ho stepped on the Crimson King's knee to leap up even higher, then slammed his own knee straight into the Crimson King's chin.

“Kuk?!”

The Crimson King violently jerked his head back. Despite his best attempt at dodging, Kang Jin-Ho's knee still brushed past him with an unstoppable momentum, leaving a lengthy trail of gaping wounds on his chin.

“Y-you bastard!” The Crimson King gasped and urgently retreated.

For the first time ever, a man who didn't know how to retreat from his enemies... had to retreat! Without consciously realizing it, too!

The Crimson King's eyes powerfully quaked.

'What is the matter with this bastard!'

Even as turmoil descended into the Crimson King's mind, Kang Jin-Ho kicked the air to relentlessly pounce on his enemy once more.

The Crimson King was undoubtedly powerful. Ironically, that was his only weakness.

Indeed, he was far too powerful for the modern era. Such outstanding martial prowess wasn't something achievable purely through effort alone, though. No, he must've been blessed with talent and power since birth.

What made that his weakness, though, was his lack of opponents as he grew more and more powerful. He most likely never fought against an enemy cultivator capable of threatening his life until now. The Crimson King was too strong to learn the intensity of a fight to the death.

If the Crimson King had been born in ancient Zhongyuan, he could have acquired experience and wisdom in the hellish environment of Gangho. Unfortunately for him, the modern era never gave him the opportunity to do that.

Kang Jin-Ho charged in again. In a long-distance battle, no one would win against the Crimson King. That kind of fight would be no different than shooting a rifle at a tank. The absurd strength of his long-range strikes meant the Crimson King wouldn't have to worry about closing the distance.

In fact, he probably never even bothered to do so. Most of his enemies would've been turned into dust particles or meat paste even before they could get anywhere near him, after all.

With his situation like that, it was no wonder the Crimson King was blind to his own weakness. Even if he knew, would he have cared about it? A weakness that no enemy could exploit wouldn't be a weakness. A disadvantage that could be offset with an advantage wouldn't really be a disadvantage anymore.

However, there was no such thing as 'absolute' in this world. And, perhaps for the first time in his life... the Crimson King encountered a deadly blade accurately targeting his weakness!

Just how many battles did Kang Jin-Ho fight? How many days and years had he spent killing and almost being killed?

Even a veteran of a hundred battles had no right to run their mouth in front of Kang Jin-Ho. After all, every moment of his life during the second try was a constant battle to ensure his survival.

He killed countless experts stronger than him. No one started their martial journey as an all-conquering top-tier expert, after all!

Blood rarely had a moment to dry on Kang Jin-Ho's clothes, earning him the nickname of Crimson Demon. And when there were no more strong experts for him to kill, people started calling him Heavenly Crimson Demon King!

Kang Jin-Ho soared through the air before chopping down on the Crimson King's shoulders with the Crimson Destiny and Azuremourne.

It didn't matter how strong an expert was, they still had to go through a process first before unleashing their martial arts. And that was drawing qi from their dantian and circulating it to their hands. Like how humans had to inhale and exhale to live, a martial artist had to circulate their qi first.

...And Kang Jin-Ho had no thoughts of giving the Crimson King enough time to do that!

Even if an ocean of qi existed in your dantian, it'd be as good as non-existent if you couldn't use it. Kang Jin-Ho knew this fact all too well.

BOOOOOM!

Yet another burst of punch strengthened by qi brushed past Kang Jin-Ho's waist. That attack could've easily pierced straight through a thick plate of steel.

As expected of the Crimson King! A punch hastily performed with a minimum amount of qi still boasted enough power to split the ocean and cause an immense explosion. However, such an attack was useless if it couldn't land on the target.

That should've been common sense. In that regard, the Crimson King fully deserved to be called a monster unrestricted by common sense and logic!

That fist light didn't even touch Kang Jin-Ho. It merely brushed past him, yet the pressure still blew apart his flesh and cracked his ribs. Even though Kang Jin-Ho's physique was tempered through internal energy, nothing but the air pressure from the passing fist light alone still injured him.

However, a smile still bloomed on Kang Jin-Ho's face.

The attack was the best form of defense. However, that logic only applied when said attack landed on the target. Between a posture with both arms protectively covering your chest and another posture with one arm extended forward, it shouldn't take a genius to realize which one offered a higher degree of defense.

Before the Crimson King's right fist could retract, Kang Jin-Ho dug right into his enemy's chest. Then, he pulled both of his swords closer toward his torso before wildly spinning his body.

“Kuh-hut!”

Kang Jin-Ho's figure spun like a top. The Crimson Destiny and Azuremourne seemingly transformed into fangs jutting out from this top and began mercilessly hacking at the Crimson King's torso.

Clang, claaaaang!

The Crimson King hurriedly stumbled back after the two blades repeatedly cut through his defenses. However, Kang Jin-Ho still didn't give him time to back away. While maintaining his spin, Kang Jin-Ho charged at the Crimson King faster than the latter could retreat.

“Goddamn it!”

For the first time today, the Crimson King yelled out an expletive.

What was going on here? What was the meaning of this situation?

What he was witnessing could not be called martial arts. This wasn't a duel between experts but a bloody street brawl! Wasn't this situation similar to how a man discussing poetry like an aloof scholar suddenly grabbed you by the collar and dragged you through the mud?

The Crimson King had never experienced fighting in mud before. And he never thought he'd one day get involved in one, either!

It wasn't as simple as a lack of preparation. Well, no one tried to engage the Crimson King in this kind of a messy fight before. After all, he specialized in hand-to-hand combat. And a close-quarter fighter was supposed to be good at exactly that, fighting in close quarters. As such, experts relying on weapons did their best to keep a distance from such a fighter in a duel.

The Crimson King was well aware of this. And so, he didn't really bother himself with preparing for close-quarter battles.

However, Kang Jin-Ho held a different mindset. His idea of a close-quarter battle starkly differed from the Crimson King's. Even a small slip-up in such close proximity to their enemy was a death sentence to a martial artist. As such, no one wanted to shove their head in the range of their enemy's attacks.

It was worth remembering that a martial artist's range of attack was vastly different from a regular person's. In terms of boxing, this range would be like a boxer clinching their opponent, then landing a series of body blows from less than ten centimeters away. Even if you wanted to break out of this clinching attempt, it'd be nearly impossible. And there was no referee to break it off, either.

No wonder the Crimson King was aggravated to the extreme!

The Crimson King roared in rage while throwing another punch. Unfortunately, Kang Jin-Ho didn't allow him to finish the move.

That punch was rising rapidly from the left side. Before the attack could fully form, though, Kang Jin-Ho powerfully kicked the crook of the Crimson King's arm.

Even if the difference in strength between the fighters was enormous, a punch would still miss its target after the arm's crook was kicked away. The Crimson King's punch aimlessly sliced through the empty air. At the same time, Kang Jin-Ho used the rebound from the kick to leap up even higher to land more kicks against the Crimson King's head.

Afterimages of Kang Jin-Ho's kicks explosively multiplied in numbers to practically engulf the Crimson King's skull.

“Kuk?!” The Crimson King gasped and stumbled back again. And again. Without even realizing that he did!

When would he ever have experienced someone kicking him in the head like this? Everything he experienced was unprecedented. Unfamiliar. Never felt or sensed before!

Kang Jin-Ho was like a foreign element introduced into large-scale precise machinery. And he was gradually breaking down the precise weapon called the Crimson King.

Attacks he had never suffered from before! A close-quarter battle he had never fought until now! And a driven enemy he had never come across until this moment...! All these factors combined to mercilessly drive the Crimson King to a corner.

Worst of all...

“You stinking demonic bastard!” The Crimson King roared in rage.

Indeed, he had lost his cool.

He was being pushed back. After getting swept up in all these nonsensical attacks, the Crimson King found himself retreating! Every backward step he took doubled his rage level. Blood rushed to his head, and making rational calls became harder and harder. His vision was quickly draining of all color, while his body grew stiffer.

Agitation and hatred were two different emotions.

While hatred could inspire more fervor, rage usually paralyzed a person. The Crimson King failed to look after himself as agitation got the better of him. But Kang Jin-Ho's eyes remained cold and still. He silently observed the changes to the Crimson King's state, then gradually pushed the latter even further into a corner like an experienced hunter herding his game.

Wasn't this like walking on a tightrope? Dancing on the edge of a blade? Such a description didn't really do this situation justice.

One wrong move, and Kang Jin-Ho's head would shatter into pieces. Or a hole big enough for a cannon shell to go through might open up in his torso instead!

Life and death could be decided with one punch. And Kang Jin-Ho was reveling in an intense pleasure even as he treaded the boundary between life and death.

Adrenaline pumped like a potent drug in his head. This pleasure was threatening to turn his whole body into a mush, saggy pile!

'Yes, this is it!'

Everyone in this place, this world... was soft. Weak.

In Kang Jin-Ho's view, the Crimson King was the first 'perfected' being he met in this world seemingly propped up by a bunch of straws. After all, the Crimson King didn't die after getting punched and kicked. And he didn't fall even after getting sliced up, too!

Indeed, the Crimson King was a truly excellent foe who remained standing even after Kang Jin-Ho unleashed everything in his arsenal. What would be a fitting title for such a foe?

Did it matter? No. At this stage, anything was fine with him.

Kang Jin-Ho had forgotten that he was in a fight to the death. He also forgot that he had already half-stepped past the threshold of death. And he no longer remembered what his original role was supposed to be.

He only focused on dodging what was coming and stabbing any opening he could find with his swords. He gave up his pound of flesh in return for his foe's flesh.

Battered and bloodied... Yes, that was a good description of Kang Jin-Ho's state. His swords might slice up and stab the Crimson King, but the latter's punches were also destroying Kang Jin-Ho's body in return.

Kang Jin-Ho held the upper hand in terms of strategy. However, strategy alone wouldn't bring him victory. Even if they were exchanging a similar number of moves, the damage inflicted was on a different scale.

An army of one thousand could try all sorts of clever tactics to attack and utilize every trick in the book, but it could never win against an opposing force a million soldiers strong. Because... No matter how many you killed, the enemy's numbers would not decrease appreciably.

That was what attacking the Crimson King was like. No matter how many times Kang Jin-Ho sliced, chopped, stabbed and even resorted to biting, all he could inflict was nothing more than some flesh wounds. On the other hand, the Crimson King was diligently damaging Kang Jin-Ho.

Even so, the smile etched on Kang Jin-Ho's face was disturbingly cruel. So what if all this was true!

That was when 'it' happened. The Crimson King suddenly reached out and grabbed the incoming Crimson Destiny with his bare hand.

Cruuuuunch!

The Crimson Destiny containing an enormous amount of demonic qi mercilessly dug into the Crimson King's palm. His flesh was forcibly split open, and even his bones were broken apart. And then... the sword completely impaled the Crimson King's hand. However, as the price of this success, Kang Jin-Ho's sword was finally brought to a standstill.

“Kang, Jin, Hooooo!”

The Crimson King's left fist slammed angrily into Kang Jin-Ho's chest.

Blinding rays of fist light flashed next. This light, reminiscent of the breaking dawn, exploded brilliantly against Kang Jin-Ho's torso. And then...

Kang Jin-Ho flew away like a kite with its strings cut before crashing into the ocean below.