Chapter 90 – Welcome, Master of the Bloodthirsty Art (1)

“The sparring schedule has changed?”

“Yes, Sohyeop.”

The young Sollimseung who came to explain around lunchtime said this.

The story was that there was an opinion that the criteria for selecting Guryong among the four losers in the semi-finals were unfair, so they decided to have a sparring match among themselves.

Even I thought that it was unfair for the Wulin Mingsuk to decide among themselves, but…

“Is that opinion from the Hwasan faction?”

“…I haven’t heard anything about it, So-seung.”

Right, that’s right! It fits perfectly with his expression!

Although I didn’t see the sparring properly, I heard that Sollim and Namgung Se-ga, who fought fairly well against Paengwol and Gyeon Yong-jin, were likely to win.

I would probably end up in third or fourth place, and Kwak Do-hyung, who was also in the running, was probably at the same level. They didn’t really have a fierce battle.

In the end, there must have been dissatisfaction from those who lost to Neungpungyeon or Kwak Do-hyung, and I shouted that something was suspicious about Neungpungyeon.

“Well, then, So-seung…”

Sollimseung knew that he had been caught by my expression and ran away.

Anyway, it didn’t matter. It was just a little late in the time slot, not the date.

I just felt a little regret.

Anyway, since the other guys seemed to be good, and it wouldn’t be easy for Neungpungyeon to win, it would be okay.

Fuck, this isn’t right!

“Huh, Neung Sohyeop’s skills weren’t just what he showed last time. Or did he learn a lot that day?”

Doyeojung, who was eliminated in the first round and had only been watching in the waiting room since then, seemed to be admiring it with a calm voice.

However, with his eyes, he sent a signal that something was strange about me.

Neungpungyeon ended up facing Namgung Chang. It seemed like they flipped a coin to decide, but since there were only four people, I thought it was a good composition.

Sollim, who had fought first, easily defeated Gonryun, and I thought the match between Neungpungyeon and Namgung Chang would be similar…

Every time Hwasan’s 24th generation Meihua Sword Art attacked, Namgung Se-ga’s Changgung Mu-ae Sword Art couldn’t keep up and was pushed back.

[Something’s suspicious… I heard that Hwasan demanded this sparring match, but did they have some hidden move?]

[No, there wasn’t. If there was, they would have used it when they fought me.]

If he had realized it and showed a more subtle attack, I might have been convinced.

Martial arts are not something that changes with just one realization in a situation where there is nothing, but if there is enough accumulation, you can make a significant improvement by realizing something.

However, that’s just internal energy sucking. At that level, there wouldn’t be much difference compared to me, or he might even have the upper hand.

“Internal energy suddenly appears out of nowhere?”

Except for special cases like me, there is only one way to increase internal energy so rapidly.

Medicine.

“Oh, no.”

Doyeojung sighed as he watched the sparring stage again, and I saw Namgung Chang’s sword break through five of the six plum blossoms, but he couldn’t block the last one.

And the next moment, the plum blossom sword energy on Neungpungyeon’s sword stopped in front of Namgung Chang’s heart.

“…I lost.”

“Thank you for conceding.”

Namgung Chang admitted defeat with a bitter expression, and Neungpungyeon smiled victoriously as he sheathed his sword.

As he responded to the cheers around him, Neungpungyeon’s eyes met mine.

With a confident expression, it seemed like something had definitely changed…

‘Huh?’

As he passed by me, I felt a familiar energy.

It felt even more unpleasant than before, probably because of the situation.

[What is it, hyung?]

Doyeojung answered without even turning his head.

[What’s wrong?]

It didn’t make sense, but I asked just to be sure.

[Is there a medicine that mixes magic with internal energy and causes a sudden increase in strength?]

The energy emanating from Neungpungyeon was undoubtedly magic.

The same as the one that attacked me during the Four Heavenly Kings’ attack.

Jegal Mireng watched her son’s martial arts performance. He had already reached his goal.

Since he wasn’t the type to care about honor in the first place, she was worried that he might withdraw before the start, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

“I guess it won’t be difficult for Yoon to beat Paengwol, right?”

“That’s right. I just hope he doesn’t get hurt…”

Her husband, Go Cheon, spoke gently next to her.

Since the morning before, when he mistakenly thought they had spent the night together, his attitude had become even more gentle.

She watched as Paengwol approached from the opposite side.

A huge sword, a huge physique like Inwang.

He was quite big for his age, but compared to Paengwol, he looked like a child.

As the start of the martial arts was declared, the two faced each other head-on.

While Paengwol moved slowly, her son approached with swift movements and poured out punches.

Three punches that endlessly swayed and could not be predicted, eventually converged into one and aimed at Paengwol’s shoulder.

But Paengwol predicted it and twisted the long handle of his sword to block the punch.

Continuing, the horizontal sword technique attacked Doga’s son, but he lowered his body and approached instead.

“This won’t work…”

Jegal Mireng nodded her head at Go Cheon’s sighing voice.

He might be able to put up a decent fight, but her son was still in Paengwol’s hands.

“Reinforced sword with preemptive strike… it’s like a fortress.”

The destructive power of the reinforced sword was meaningless if it didn’t hit its target. The reason for sacrificing speed to add weight was regrettable.

However, when it combines with preemptive strike, the weakness of the reinforced sword is greatly alleviated.

This tactic meant to suppress the opponent with delayed movements did not mean moving faster than the opponent.

It was a technique that read the opponent’s movements, used them against them, and made them reveal their weaknesses and miss their attacks.

“Yoon probably has some understanding of the Ohodanmun technique, but the difference is still significant…”

“If understanding the technique means understanding everything, then how can one become a master?”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like Paengwol had the intention of using any unique techniques.

Thanks to that, her son seemed to be able to show his full potential.

However, every time the solid sword swung towards her son, even though she knew he would be fine, Jegal Mireng’s hands trembled.

Her husband reached out his thick hand and held hers.

“Don’t worry too much. You know, as a mother, you should know? I don’t think Paengwol will go too far, so don’t worry.”

Jegal Mireng felt guilty again at her husband’s warm words.

She knew that the trembling of her hands was not just because of her motherly heart.

“I lost.”

“Thank you for conceding.”

In the end, I had to declare my surrender to Paengwol without being able to land a valid hit.

I tried my best to squeeze out my energy, but I only managed to hit him four times.

Even the attack that barely touched Paengwol’s body was not enough to break through his defensive stance.

“Still, you did well for a brother. I’ll buy you some expensive snacks when I treat you later.”

“I won’t refuse to eat them.”

Still, I was able to avoid most of Paengwol’s attacks. It was ridiculous that the result of jumping around like a madman was just that, but it was still something.

As I watched the shaman Gyonyongjin and the spearman Kwak Dohyung’s performance after coming down from the sparring stage with Paengwol, I thought about the conversation I had with Doyeojung before going up on stage.

“I’ve heard that those who master the internal energy of Taoism or Buddhism become sensitive to magic… But isn’t Shaman Gyonyongjin or Spearman Kwak Dohyung also practitioners of Taoism? And even Jinryung of Sollim doesn’t seem to have any particular reaction to it?”

“I don’t know the reason. But even now, I can feel it.”

After persistently arguing my point, Doyeojung finally left, saying he would look into it.

Sometimes, when I met eyes with Neungpungyeon, who always had a confident expression, I wondered if he didn’t even realize that he was emanating magic, or if he was just confident that he wouldn’t be caught.

“Maybe he doesn’t even know himself.”

“What?”

I was startled by Paengwol’s sudden words and looked up at him.

“That’s Kwak Sohyeop over there. His sword is too hasty. He must have learned that it’s not good to do that.”

In martial arts, quickness and slowness are opposite positions. Therefore, they both know well when the other is at their most difficult.

“Isn’t it good to be fast?”

“The important thing is not actually being fast. It’s about being perceived as fast by the opponent and making it impossible for them to respond to the attack.”

Paengwol’s explanation about what martial arts is all about was sharp.

“It’s about researching how to effectively attack the opponent, regardless of anything else, whether it’s imitating the shape of an animal or borrowing from the laws of nature.”

Then, Gyonyongjin’s Songmungogeom drew a strict line in the air, as if answering Paengwol’s words. At the end of the Taegukhyegeom technique that enveloped Kwak Dohyung’s Saeilgeom technique, the two swords stopped their dance.

Gyonyongjin’s sword was standing right next to Kwak Dohyung’s neck.

“You’re being led. It’s easy to eat and clean.”

Paengwol’s triumphant gaze was directed at Gyonyongjin, and Gyonyongjin, who had won Kwak Dohyung’s surrender, met his gaze.

What is this, they look like protagonists in a sports drama.

Anyway, that’s how the outcome of the Guryong was decided as people expected, except for Neungpungyeon.

And as Paengwol promised, there was a drinking party at a place called Hwahwaru that evening.

Honestly, I was very hesitant to go, but I had no choice but to accept it.

After all, connections are precious no matter where you go.

But just going there was disappointing, so I quickly took care of urgent matters and secretly went to my mother’s room to have a deep conversation before leaving.

Every day was precious because I might not be able to have sex until the stability period after pregnancy.

Thanks to that, I had to go to a brothel alone, but I wasn’t worried because it was a famous one.

“Look, I found it quickly.”

As I was about to enter the building that was shining brightly even with just a lamp, I took a deep breath.

“Kang Sohyup.”

It was Doyeojung’s voice. I looked around to see where the sound was coming from and saw Doyeojung gesturing to me in a dark alley.

“Why is he in a place like this?”

I walked absentmindedly, but as soon as I stepped into the alley, I felt a chill and stopped.

The boundary between light and darkness where my feet were stepping.

Why did he call me to a place like this?

Doyeojung shook my hand frantically as his expression became more urgent, but I started to take small steps back.

But I couldn’t stop my steps.

Snap.

As if it had never been attached in the first place, an enormous force poured into me right after Doyeojung’s neck snapped.

It was a terrifying force that was on a completely different level than the one Paengwol had spewed out as if it were a test.

“Come on, owner of the Blood Demon Technique.”

Perhaps because of this force that was shaking me like a typhoon, the voice coming from the darkness sounded particularly cold.

If I run away, I’ll die. I had to accept that fact, whether I liked it or not.