Chapter 1591: Even The Buddha Has Abandoned You (Part 1)

"Ah... Mi..."

Unfinished curses slip from the mouth. 

His fingertips trembled. Beopjeong now realized what was happening.

"How... how..."

But realizing it didn't change anything. He could only shudder, feeling the irreversibility of the situation.

How did they find out?

The Zhuge Family and Moyong Family were his hidden move. How much effort did they put in to ensure they wouldn't arrive on the battlefield?

Beopjeong's cautious mistake was a gap. Jang Ilso definitely tried to exploit that gap.

But, intentionally created, the gap became the entry point for Jang Ilso's fangs to penetrate deep into him.

"How!"

Beopjeong shouted in frustration. Jang Ilso shook his head slightly.

"No, that's not it. Rather, I should be the one asking questions."

Then he smiled at the contemplative Beopjeong.

"With what confidence were you so sure?"

"..."

"That I wouldn't know, that you could easily deceive, that you are above me. What made you think that way?"

Beopjeong's eyes shook. Jang Ilso's face bore a clear and mocking smile, making Beopjeong realize his mistake.

For those watching from the outside, everything was clear as day. That was why, while many fell victim to Jang Ilso, Beopjeong, who stayed a step away from the current, could gain confidence.

To fall victim to such a simple move was foolishness. He believed he would never fall for Jang Ilso's tricks.

But Jang Ilso was asking right in front of him. What confidence did he have? How did he harbor such certainty? How did someone stuck in the mud believe they could move forward, even in the swamp?

"I, I..."

He believed in waiting for the scripture's advice [not sure], and Beopjeong praised all that time as patience. But now, all that time was pushing Beopjeong into a hellish abyss.

Petty defeats stem from insufficient skills, but enduring humiliation for a long time starts with unfounded confidence. Beopjeong's defeat originated from that. 

"Do you want to hear why you lost?"

"This... this..."

"Because you were afraid."

Jang Ilso's flickering eyes stared at Beopjeong as if piercing through him. It was a gaze that seemed to meticulously dissect and dissect his inner thoughts. At this moment, Jang Ilso's eyes seemed even more profound than Beopjeong's.

"You might have thought you showed courage, but no... You were just groaning in the immense shadow. The moment you thought you could escape that shadow, you indulged in the certainty named confidence without looking back. In fact, you didn't even realize it was an escape."

"What nonsense are you babbling! I am..."

"You know, don't you?"

Jang Ilso spoke as if he were scolding a child.

The space between them was filled with ear-piercing screams and the deaths of many. In the vast expanse, like a gigantic calamity sweeping the world, a chilly stillness descended only between the two.

"You know, don't you?"

Beopjeong's hand trembled slightly. He couldn't deny it. The moment Jang Ilso spoke, the image of a person vividly appeared in his mind.

"Think about it. Why did I pull him from so far away?"

Beopjeong's body froze.

"Out of fear? To swallow the Heavenly Comrade Alliance while he was absent?"

Jang Ilso drew a gentle curve with his eyes.

"Could that be true? It's not just for such a simple reason."

"Shut your mouth!"

Beopjeong threw a punch, unleashing a massive force.

But the hasty power couldn't topple Jang Ilso. It hit the blue aura, changed direction, and only dug into the futile ground.

Quaaang!

A massive explosion erupted, and Beopjeong charged forward, determined.

Not yet. It wasn't over yet.

If he could only kill Jang Ilso, if he could only defeat that devil, he could reverse everything. He hadn't lost yet, and he wasn't cornered!

"Paeguuuuuuun!"

A downpour-like power descended towards Jang Ilso. However, Jang Ilso calmly received the attack without any urgency, and Beopjeong, who had been reluctant to hear those words, finally uttered them.

"So that you'll come."

"Shut up!"

"You can't afford to miss this opportunity. Don't you agree? There's no other chance that compares, no other way to escape the shadow you've cast."

"Can't you shut up!"

Quaaang!

Explosive power erupted, pushing Jang Ilso backward again and again.

But in Beopjeong's eyes, a subtle uneasiness began to emerge. The power of the Shaolin was originally designed not to kill but to suppress. This fact felt frustratingly new.

He needed to be stronger. Faster. More! More!

Not to suppress, but to kill that devil. To cut off the breath. To prevent that sinister tongue from playing any longer!

"In reality, you knew it best, didn't you? That you are nothing more than a pitiful human. So..."

Jang Ilso laughed with a cute[?] face.

"You are standing here right now."

"Aaaah!"

Explosive power surged from Beopjeong, but it wasn't as vigorous or overwhelming as before. It was fast and powerful, but it deviated from the fundamental principles of Shaolin.

Gradually, a deadly power, solely intended to kill the opponent, covered Jang Ilso.

"Hahaha!"

Jang Ilso laughed heartily as he received Beopjeong's power.

The relentless surge of energy and the soaring murderous intent.

Amidst all this, the battlefield unfolded before Beopjeong's eyes.

He didn't want to see it, but he had no choice. The disciples of the Ten Great Sects being thoroughly trampled, and the Evil Sect tearing them apart with manic movements.

He never thought the Ten Great Sects, led by him, would face such a situation. Moreover... it was even more horrifying than what he had heard. All of it, created and brought about by his own hands.

As his mind wavered, the hand reaching out with power also trembled. The energy that should flow like water was cut off, deviating from the path of power.

Somewhere in Beopjeong's heart, something was crumbling.

He wanted to turn away. To deny it by plugging his ears and closing his eyes.

But there was no way to escape from this sight. The harsh reality, a result of his arrogance and inadequacy, was dismantling everything he had built.

The face of the old monk distorted like an Asura. The Buddha he believed in and followed was nowhere to be found. Even his yellow robes [not sure] and shaved head couldn't conceal the boiling resentment within.

"Jang Ilsoooo!"

"Hahaha!"

Despite the pouring energy, Jang Ilso continued to laugh.

He couldn't contain his joy.

Just a human being.

Wrapped in the guise of a monk, but inside, desires that couldn't be hidden were bubbling.

Ultimately, war was something humans did.

People often mistakenly think that to read the opponent's moves, they must be superior. But in reality, understanding the opponent's heart and the desires within allows one to thoroughly discern subsequent actions.

The trap Jang Ilso set was by no means comparable to the Southern Sea Sun Palace.

Leading Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword into Anhui was the trap itself.

It may mean little to the world, but it was a fatal trap for Beopjeong. Jang Ilso saw it in his eyes. Inferiority filled within, the pressure to surpass the Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword, and the greed for all that glory to be monopolized by the Shaolin.

All of it led everyone to this point.

"Shut up! I said shut up!"

So Jang Ilso couldn't help but laugh.

Pretending to be noble in everything, the high monk was actually the human most captivated by desire throughout the entire realm.

How pathetic and ridiculous!

"Ahahaha!"

Truly, it was so amusing that tears were about to fall.

Beopjeong's energy began to emanate a more intense vigor. In the storm of overwhelming power, his murderous face became particularly distinct.

Suddenly, Jang Ilso felt curious.

Did he know? What his face looked like right now. When he realized that the devil he was trying to kill so desperately was none other than within himself, what expression would he make?

"Paeguuuuuuun!"

Beopjeong, with nursing blood vessels and eyes reddened like demonic flames, relentlessly delivered punches toward Jang Ilso's head.

Form, intention, and even consciousness vanished in a chaotic and indiscriminate display of power. Just punches swung under the single-minded determination to kill the opponent, devoid of any proper martial art techniques.

A fist narrowly grazed Jang Ilso's head, continually striking his shoulders. However, even as his shoulders twisted in pain, Jang Ilso did not cease his laughter.

That laughter was the issue. That mockery drove Beopjeong even more insane.

"Shut up! Before I tear that mouth apart..."

In that very moment, when Beopjeong, as a monk, would never dare to imagine such words, something unexpected happened.

Pfuuuuuut!

Suddenly, a fountain of blood spouted from Beopjeong's mouth.

His fist abruptly stopped in midair.

'What...?'

Was it an ambush? Poisoning? No, neither.

Beopjeong's gaze slowly lowered. Blood, flowing backward from his body and pouring out through his mouth, was thickly staining the ground.

The color of the blood was black, not clouded due to poisoning, but transparently black.

This was evidence of severe internal energies.

"Th-this... entering (入)..."

"Hmm?"

Jang Ilso smiled as if understanding while looking at Beopjeong frozen in place. It was a mischievous smile.

"Oh, oh. So, this is called 'entering deviation' (入麽)..." [it's either qi deviation or enlightenment...idk lol]

Thud.

Jang Ilso took a step towards Beopjeong.

"It's amusing, isn't it?"

"Cough! Cough! You, you..."

At that moment, Jang Ilso asked in a gentle voice.

"Do you understand what it means?"

Beopjeong slowly raised his head. Jang Ilso continued.

"Even the Buddha has abandoned you."

Those words struck Beopjeong's ears like thunder.

"Uh, ugh..."

Shaolin's martial arts could never coexist with malice.

Just a while ago, everything the Beopjeong did contradicted the essence of Shaolin martial arts. Pouring forth the most fundamental aspect of martial arts, which should be guided by a righteous heart (正心), in a reckless manner, invariably led to the onset of qi deviation (入魔).

The statement that the Buddha had abandoned him was not entirely inaccurate.

"If your Buddha truly does not permit evil, then it seems it is not I, but you, he seeks to eradicate. Given that even the brief moment you had to kill me was not allowed."

"Cough!"

Beopjeong forcibly closed his mouth.

However, the reverse flow of blood showed no signs of stopping. Each attempt to draw out the energy was met with a disruption of the vital force, and the pain felt like tearing through his Dantian.

'I...'

Ima (入磨) - In Buddhism, it refers to a stage of enlightenment where one transcends the state of ignorance.

For Beopjeong, more shocking than the fact that qi deviation had come at this moment was the cause behind it.

"Ah, Ami..."

He couldn't utter a single chant. Constantly pouring blood and deteriorating flesh betrayed his will. In the midst of unbearable pain, Beopjeong could only watch as Jang Ilso approached, radiating a blue aura.

Ironically, Jang Ilso's aura resembled the halo depicted in Buddhist paintings.