Chapter 103. The Entire World is My Home (24)

Bi Yeo-Jung was left alone after Woo-Moon left. She was grateful for his consideration.

If he said,

‘Haven’t you already broken up with my brother? Why are you helping him?’

, not only would she not have been able to find the right words to answer, but she knew that she may not have been able to keep herself together.

After standing there for a few moments, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve and left Woo-Moon’s room, heading toward her quarters. As she walked, she couldn’t help but be worried for Woo-Gang.

***

“How dare you talk back to your senior brother? You really must have a death wish.”

Woo-Gang and Hyeon Mu-Cheol stood facing each other in front of an abandoned temple.

While Woo-Gang was alone, four other Mount Hua disciples stood behind Hyeon Mu-Cheol.

Woo-Gang couldn’t find any reason to reply to Hyeon Mu-Cheol’s ridiculous words.

‘I’ve endured all of your shit ever since the moment I joined Mount Hua. But now... I’ve reached my limit. I’m sick of your bullying.’

The thing he couldn’t stomach, above all, was the fact that these bastards ridiculed his brother to no end. It was the final straw that awakened the anger that had long been dormant inside of Woo-Gang.

Seeing Woo-Gang not saying anything, Hyeon Mu-Cheol thought that his junior brother was scared, and he was elated.

“What, cat ate your tongue? Why don’t you look me in the eyes and talk back to me like before?”

Still, Woo-Gang didn’t respond to his goading.

“What, are you mad at me for your brother being called an idiot? What’s up with that? It’s not like it’s not true.”

“... up.”

Woo-Gang spoke up, but his voice was so soft that Hyeon Mu-Cheol’s ridicule drowned out his words.

“What?”

“Shut up,” Woo-Gang said again, this time with his usual unperturbed expression on his face.

Hyeon Mu-Cheol’s face turned red.

“You little... How dare you speak to your senior brother like this?”

The four standing behind Hyeon Mu-Cheol, often called “the Hyeon Mu-Cheol Sect” by their peers at Mount Hua, started shouting at Woo-Gang in turn.

“Song Woo-Gang, how dare you cross lines!”

“You’ve only been able to enjoy such luxuries due to being one of the Three Legendary Plum Blossoms, a title you only earned thanks to the benevolence of our senior brother! But to think you’d grow so arrogant!”

While they spat and spewed passionately, Woo-Gang calmly drew his sword and took a stance.

“Why talk so much? Didn’t you call me to teach me a lesson, second senior brother? Let's just do it.”

Hyeon Mu-Cheol suddenly smiled bitterly as he glared at Woo-Gang.

“Fine, I didn’t like you from the very beginning. I’ll have to show you properly today—how much better I am than you.”

Hyeon Mu-Cheol drew his sword and pointed it at Woo-Gang.

The two people focused for a moment, then moved simultaneously, deploying the same Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Blades.

Plum blossoms bloomed at the tip of their swords as they showcased the beautiful sword art full of myriad changes. Yet behind this exquisite technique were hidden ferocious power and bloodlust that did not let them hesitate for a single moment.

‘Impressive!’

Hyeon Mu-Cheol’s eyes shone coldly as he started to wield his sword more aggressively. As the senior brother, it was only right for him to subdue Woo-Gang as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, Woo-Gang defended as calmly as possible and precisely destroyed Hyeon Mu-Cheol’s attacks step by step.

The tip of Hyeon Mu-Cheol's sword quivered as two plum blossoms bloomed and simultaneously shot in two different directions, then converged toward Woo-Gang’s shoulder and abdomen.

Plums Blossom Twice![1]

Woo-Gang calmly retreated as he quickly used Plum Blossoms Adorn the Road twice.

Woosh!

As expected of a peak-level swift sword technique, Woo-Gang’s sword accurately blocked Hyeon Mu-Cheol’s double strike before it could touch him.

‘Ugh!’

When his sword collided with Hyeon Mu-Cheol’s, Woo-Gang groaned, feeling a heavy shockwave transmitted through his blade into his body.

‘As expected, my cultivation is weaker than his. But my grasp of the technique is better than his! I can win this!’

Woo-Gang’s eyes lit up, and the two proceeded to exchange over two hundred blows in mere moments.

As time passed, Hyeon Mu-Cheol was more and more astonished as he felt himself being slowly pushed back. Woo-Gang was like a steady mountain, calmly defending and breaking down each of his attacks, one by one, and at the same time inching closer and closer to him.

He felt severely pressured.

‘Damn it! How is this happening? There’s no way he has more energy than me!’

He couldn’t understand it; it didn’t make sense.

Although he may not have taken as many elixirs as Yu Cho, his family had still provided him with plenty. At the very least, his cultivation

had

to be stronger than that of Woo-Gang, who had no choice but to work for his own cultivation resources.

Things may have been different if Woo-Gang’s cultivation method was better than his, but considering they both cultivated the Violet Haze Divine Art, his cultivation level had to be higher than Woo-Gang’s.

At that moment, Woo-Gang’s sword flew sharply and drew a plum blossom in the air, aiming for the minute opening that appeared as Hyeon Mu-Cheol was distracted.

“Ha!”

The moment Hyeon Mu-Cheol tried to deflect Woo-Gang’s blow, the plum blossom shattered and disappeared. Suddenly, a new plum blossom bloomed next to its remains and flew in a completely different direction.

‘Nine Transformations of the Plum Blossom!’

It was a technique he knew all too well. However, the perfection with which Woo-Gang performed it was enough to shock the others.

Hyeon Mu-Cheol had been aware of this for years, and now, he couldn’t help but face the painful truth: not only was Woo-Gang’s natural talent far superior to his own, but the effort he put in his training left him and everyone else in the dust.

Sensing his own inferiority, Hyeon Mu-Cheol swung his sword again.

‘It doesn’t matter how perfect your technique is, I also know it!’

However, the moment Hyeon Mu-Cheol tried to block Woo-Gang’s attack by following the movements he knew of the Nine Transformations of the Plum Blossom, he couldn’t help but be astonished.

‘To think he used that single instant to connect his Nine Transformations of the Plum Blossom to Consecutive Falling Plums!’

It was a series of techniques that Hyeon Mu-Cheol could never have dreamed of.

The curtain of plum blossoms that Woo-Gang had spread fell toward him in a dizzying motion. However, at that moment, Hyeon Mu-Cheol raised his right arm, and a hidden weapon in the shape of a plum blossom spun and flew out from the space between his elbow and torso, lodging itself in Woo-Gang’s shoulder.

“Ugh!”

It happened so suddenly that Woo-Gang was unable to avoid it.

As Woo-Gang froze for a moment, Hyeon Mu-Cheol thrust his left hand forward and struck him in the chest with a Six Harmonies Divine Palm.

Bang!

Woo-Gang vomited blood and fell backward, unable to withstand the direct blow.

“You dirty... Wang Jeong, how could you... sneak attack...!”

As Woo-Gang tried to speak with difficulty, Hyeon Mu-Cheol smiled slyly.

“Sneak attack? What do you mean, junior brother? That Plum Blossom Mark was something I threw myself. Did you not see it? Oh, I guess my movements were too fast for you to see. You see, I’ve been practicing throwing Plum Blossom Marks these days.”

Obviously, he was lying through his teeth. How could the Plum Blossom Mark that had so suddenly flown from Hyeon Mu-Cheol’s armpit actually have come from his hand? Woo-Gang knew that it had definitely been thrown by Hyeon Mu-Cheol’s crony, Wang Jeong, who was in fact very skilled with the Plum Blossom Marks.

‘But... who’s going to believe me in the future?’

To think things would end like this...

It was an age-old truth that it was difficult for one hand to deal with two. But for Woo-Gang, the most righteous disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, to meet with such a traitorous end...

“Is it because the full moon is so bright today? Why are all these goddamn dogs barking? Well, the only way to fix a dog’s habits is to beat it!”

With those words, five stones suddenly flew out and struck Hyeon Mu-Cheol and the Mount Hua disciples in the face all at once, without a single second of delay between them.

Thud!!

All of them reeled back, spitting blood mixed with pieces of teeth.

“Who is it?!”

Woo-Moon appeared behind Woo-Gang with a grin on his face.

“Oh, me? I’m just a normal idiot. I was trying to get some sleep when some fucking dogs started barking. Now, if it was just one dog, that would’ve been fine, but there had to be a whole goddamn pack of them!”

“Hy-hyung?”

Woo-Moon walked past Woo-Gang and grinned.

“You don’t have to be ashamed, little brother. Didn’t they start fighting together first? Let your hyung go and scold those cowardly bastards for you.”

Woo-Gang lowered his head, tears threatening to fall.

On the other hand, Hyeon Mu-Cheol was momentarily shocked to see that Woo-Moon had mastered a hidden weapon technique to the point that he was able to throw not one but five rocks and hit them all without missing a single one.

Hyeon Mu-Cheol spat blood as he roared.

“Song Woo-Moon! How dare a person from the Iron Sword Baek Family get involved in the affairs of the Mount Hua Sect?”

“Huh? What are you barking about? Hey, dog, wash your bloody mouth. I can’t understand what you’re saying. Oh, maybe it’s because I don’t speak dog. Anyway, stop your barking and come here to take your beating!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Woo-Moon used the Northern Wind Steps and rushed at Hyeon Mu-Cheol.

Extremely wary of Woo-Moon after being hit by that rock, Hyeon Mu-Cheol hurriedly raised his blade in an attempt to block whatever attack was coming his way.

However, Woo-Moon just passed by him and ran toward the four Mount Hua disciples behind him.

“I freaking hate sneak attacks, so you bastards are first!”

As Woo-Moon rushed toward them with a terrifying force, two of the Mount Hua disciples decided to strike him first, swinging their swords at him from both sides.

In response, Woo-Moon used the Nine Yin White Bone Claw with both hands and grabbed their swords with his bare palms. He then swung his arms hard.

Crack!!!

He twisted the blades, and with them the arms of the two disciples holding them tightly, breaking their wrists and causing them to scream in pain. Then, he swung his sheathed sword, sending a blade of Raging Wind to another of the disciples. The disciple raised his arms in front of his face to block it, but a moment later, he was lying on the ground, screaming in pain from two broken forearms.

Suddenly, a Plum Blossom Mark struck Woo-Moon’s chest... and split his afterimage in half as Woo-Moon used the Divine Phantasm Steps, his figure disappearing like a mirage.

“Huh?!”

The hair on Wang Jeong’s neck bristled as he quickly looked around. Suddenly, he felt a cold touch on his neck. Before he knew it, Woo-Moon’s sword, drawn from its scabbard this time, was placed on his neck, shining with a cold silver glimmer under the moonlight.

“You rat! So you’re the one who likes sneak attacks, huh?! Well, how about I sneakily kill you?”

All of Wang Jeong’s hair stood on end, and fear turned his body numb. He closed his eyes tightly, unable to withstand Woo-Moon’s bloodlust.

“Nah, that would be going too far.”

Sheathing his sword, Woo-Moon used the Heavy Rain Fist instead, sending a flurry of blows with both fists.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

It was as if Wang Jeong was being beaten by a group of men from all sides. Shock and fear filled his face, which soon turned the size of a large pumpkin.

After Wang Jeong dropped to the ground, Woo-Moon raised a blood-stained fist and looked at Hyeon Mu-Cheol.

“Hey, you. Yeah, you’re... Hyeon Mu-Cheol or something? I hear that my younger brother is quite

indebted

to you,” Woo-Moon said as a dark grin lit his face.

‘That bastard, he’s an expert I can’t deal with? He seems to be even stronger than eldest brother!’

If it were any other person instead of Hyeon Mu-Cheol, they might have felt less ashamed and taken comfort in the fact that Woo-Moon was the Palm Martial Emperor’s grandson. However, Hyeon Mu-Cheol himself was also a descendant of one of the Eight Heavenly Martial Emperors, the Sword Emperor! How could he find any consolation in Woo-Moon’s status?

Hyeon Mu-Cheol clenched his teeth.

He was suddenly reminded of the incredible talent that Woo-Gang had shown when he first joined the Mount Hua Sect. The only reason he had been trying to suppress Woo-Gang was that very jealousy.

However, Woo-Gang’s talent was still so outstanding that even under that suppression, he was given a title as one of the Three Legendary Plum Blossoms.

Considering Woo-Gang’s ability, he had also expected that Woo-Moon, who was of the same blood as him, would also have a talent beyond imagination.

‘But isn’t this too incredible?’

This was no longer on the level of a younger-generation fighter. If anything, Woo-Moon seemed comparable to Hyeon Mu-Cheol’s father, the sect master of Mount Hua.

‘How can there be such a monster in the world?’

Woo-Moon started walking toward Hyeon Mu-Cheol, but Woo-Gang raised a hand to stop him.

“Hyung, wait a minute.”

Seeing that, Woo-Moon smiled inwardly but outwardly pretended to be angry.

“Why should I?”

“...Leave him be. Whether I hate him or love him, he’s still my senior brother.”

The disciples who had been beaten by Woo-Moon were also senior brothers to Woo-Gang. However, they were senior

sect

brothers, not actual disciple-brothers, as they didn’t have the same direct master.

However, Hyeon Mu-Cheol and Woo-Gang were in fact disciple-brothers with the same master.

“Senior brother? That bastard doesn’t even consider you human, much less his junior disciple brother. So why do you call him senior brother?”

Woo-Gang only gave Woo-Moon a pleading look and did not say anything special, and in the end, Woo-Moon let his anger slide off his face.

“Screw off! I’m only letting you off because of my brother.”

Although his pride was hurt, there was no need for Hyeon Mu-Cheol to provoke Woo-Moon and earn himself a beating. It would be a disaster if he ended up with broken arms like the others. Thus, Hyeon Mu-Cheol quickly left, taking the other four disciples with him.

Woo-Gang looked at them scurrying away.

“I’m definitely going to get back at them for looking down on me and daring to laugh at you, hyung. But I’ll do it with my own hands. It’s no fun if I borrow your help, is it?”

As Woo-Moon had expected, Woo-Gang pleading for mercy earlier had exactly zero to do with his innate kindness or whatever.

Woo-Moon smiled at him.

“Good, that’s my brother.”

1. The original here (梅開二度) is a Chinese idiom that means being able to do the same thing twice successfully and is commonly used to refer to a second marriage. Scoring twice, basically. ☜