Chapter 113. Five Dragons Fight for a Pearl (9)

‘Although this bastard is around my age, he has incredible skills. It's impossible to tell just how large this gap will become in the future. The only thing I’m sure about is that he is going to become a huge obstacle that will block our path in the future. No matter what, he has to die, here and now.’

Of course, he knew that if Woo-Moon were to be killed, things would become even worse with the Justice Coalition. Things might even destabilize to the point of war between the Righteous and Evil Factions. The only way to avoid that would be for the Hegemon Clan to make many concessions.

However, even after calculating everything, So Myeong-Chan decided that it would

still

be better for the Hegemon Clan if he were to kill Woo-Moon here and now. That was how astonished he had been by Woo-Moon’s incredible martial arts.

To be frank, it was to the point where he was almost in awe.

With his outstanding senses, Woo-Moon immediately felt the bloodlust emanating from So Myeong-Chan’s gaze and qi as the Hegemon Clan representative debated the merits of killing him.

‘You asshole, so you’re thinking of killing me, huh?’

This was completely different from what he had felt coming from his strongest opponent yet, San Woo-Gyeol. That man was clearly the kind of lunatic who bared his fangs at anyone and everyone. However, it was almost as if his bloodlust was severely restricted by something, to the point where it was difficult to describe it as “intent to kill” per se.

On the other hand, So Myeong-Chan not only exuded a fierce killing intent, but also had the conviction of actually carrying out his intentions.

‘Fine, let’s see how well that works for you.’

‘I’ll be putting an end to this, Song Woo-Moon.’

The two looked at each other, musing over their own considerations. The second they finished, they both moved at the same time.

‘For now, I need to make sure I don’t overexert myself and focus on extending this spar until he exhausts all of his remaining qi. Now, should we begin our meal?’

As So Myeong-Chan strategized, Woo-Moon suddenly disappeared for a fraction of a second before reappearing right in front of him.

This was the real Illusive Shift, not the imitation he typically used by combining the Divine Phantasm Steps and the Northern Wind Steps. Obviously, Woo-Moon had only been pretending to be pushed back as his curiosity had gotten the better of him. This was the first time that he had been exposed to a baton technique, and he had wanted to learn more about it.

So Myeong-Chan was still hopeful as he didn’t know that Woo-Moon’s curiosity was the reason he had been “losing,” and he was nowhere near running out of qi. However, the moment Woo-Moon suddenly appeared using Illusive Shift, So Myeong-Chan’s gaze darkened.

‘You still have enough qi to use Illusive Shift?’

So Myeong-Chan quickly retreated, barely managing to block Woo-Moon's sword with his own. However, Woo-Moon stuck to So Myeong-Chan like a leech, following him no matter how far he retreated.

‘I-I won’t be able to shake him off!’

Goosebumps covered his entire body. Although Woo-Moon visibly didn’t seem that scary or vicious, all So Myeong-Chan could see at this moment was terror.

Woo-Moon had both swords sheathed at his waist. He drew the sword he had forged, continuing his drawing motion with a forward slash.

Swish!

This slash cut through So Myeong-Chan’s hair, shaving his entire head to the point where the white, untanned skin shone under the sunlight.

Woo-Moon immediately sheathed his sword at the end of the swing, and in one fluid motion, he drew the black Inkblade and sliced once again.

Swish!

His second slash shaved off So Myeong-Chan’s beard.

Swish!

The third slash cut through the hem of So Myeong-Chan’s pants and his belt simultaneously.

Finally, Woo-Moon sheathed his sword once again before swinging it with the scabbard, striking So Myeong-Chan all over his body.

So Myeong-Chan’s martial skills seemed inferior to those of So Geom-Rak, the youngest member of their family. Woo-Moon had nothing to learn from him, and he wasn’t in the mood to do that either.

Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack!

As he was being beaten, So Myeong-Chan desperately held on to his pants as they kept falling down.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Understanding that he had already been defeated, he had no will to fight any further. He just wanted to avoid the embarrassment of having his underwear exposed.

After beating So Myeong-Chan for a while, Woo-Moon finally took a step back.

“This is my victory, right?”

Woo-Moon had skillfully made sure to beat So Myeong-Chan just enough that he would feel it but not faint from it.

Forced to reply, So Myeong-Chan gritted his teeth in shame and anger.

“Yes, you won! I can’t say that’s a victory for the Righteous Faction, though. You’re more evil than us Evil Faction members, you demonic bastard!”

“Thank you for the compliment~”

When So Myeong-Chan admitted defeat, a roar so loud that it seemed as though the sparring venue would collapse erupted from the Righteous Warrior Squadron.

Baek Ryeong and Baek Yo even hugged each other and cried.

“Uncle! You’re the best! Really, the best!”

Four more representatives had been left on the other side when Woo-Moon stepped up as their last representative.

Although the Three Great Sword Families had some expectations, knowing Woo-Moon’s skills, the situation had been so hopeless that the others didn’t even have the slightest hope.

That was what made this an even more dramatic victory. Woo-Moon had defeated five people in a row by himself.

This dispute between the Justice Coalition and the Hegemon Clan had been due to a fight between an external disciple of the Wudang Sect and a force under the Hegemon Clan.[1]

A group of masked assailants had apparently robbed them using the Hegemon Clan’s martial arts.

However, the Hegemon Clan claimed that it wasn’t related to them, and as the Wudang Sect wanted to find out the truth and demanded compensation, the dispute escalated. Eventually, the dispute spread to the entirety of the Justice Coalition as well as the higher echelons of the Hegemon Clan, leading to this sparring event.

However, now that the Justice Coalition had won, not only would their standing in

gangho

increase, but the Hegemon Clan would also have to pay compensation to both the Justice Coalition and the Wudang Sect.

“Damn it!”

Barely withstanding the pain of his bruised and swollen body, So Myeong-Chan gritted his teeth and cursed.

“We’re returning. Withdraw!”

“Withdraw!”

As the Hegemon Clan took down their quarters and left, the Justice Coalition was busy enjoying the fruits of their victory.

At the center of it all was Woo-Moon. Of course, considerable attention and praise was also being given to Woo-Gang, who was the other winning representative. In fact, only the two brothers of the Song Family had won any of the spars for the Justice Coalition.

Woo-Gang had won two, while Woo-Moon had won five, giving the Justice Coalition a total of seven victories.

“By the way, why did Young Hero Yu of the Mount Hua Sect become the Righteous Heroic Warriors Squadron Captain? Looking at things now...” one of the talents said, wanting to say that Woo-Moon’s martial arts seemed much stronger while testing the reactions of the Mount Hua disciples nearby.

As he did so carefully, one of his friends nearby just blurted a response.

“Oh, that? Well, it’s said that Young Hero Song wasn’t able to participate in the finals because something had happened. That’s why Young Hero Yu won by default.”

The person who had asked the question nodded in understanding, while the Mount Hua disciples who had heard their conversation said nothing.

Talents were gathered all over the place, raving about what they had noticed regarding Woo-Moon’s incredible skill, to the point where spit was flying everywhere.

If it were any other time, none of them would have been so excited, at least not to the point where they praised a fellow talent like this. They had their own pride, after all. However, seeing Woo-Moon fighting against their long-time enemy, the Hegemon Clan, and cheering him on with each victory made them all see him as one of them.

“Oh! By the way, wasn’t Young Master Woo-Gang really cool, too? To think he formed a plum blossom out of flames! It really was beautiful.”

“That’s right! He did! Young Hero Woo-Gang is really impressive. He only lost to that San Woo-Gyeol after defeating two opponents by himself.”

Overhearing the two girls talking, Hyeon Mu-Cheol suddenly remembered something and walked over to Woo-Gang.

“Junior brother, what happened? What was that martial art from earlier? I’m sure that wasn’t a technique of the Mount Hua Sect. It was the first time I’ve ever seen it. Hey, it couldn’t be that you’ve taken on two masters, could it?”

Hyeon Mu-Cheol was upset seeing the attention focused on Woo-Gang, who had shown off some outstanding skills and won. He only regretted his actions after he had already spoken.

‘Damn it, I acted without thinking! I should’ve read the room before I opened my damn mouth.’

Hearing him speak as if he was reprimanding Woo-Gang, those around them looked at him with displeased expressions. Even the disciples who were originally part of Yu Cho’s faction secretly glared at Hyeon Mu-Cheol as they celebrated near Woo-Gang.

Standing nearby, Woo-Moon was about to step forward and speak. However, he stopped himself when he saw his younger brother, who looked more vibrant and confident than ever, with a steely look in his eyes.

“Oh, second senior brother, that is a very good question. Then could it be that you and eldest brother Yu only learned Mount Hua’s martial arts?” Woo-Gang said, looking straight into Hyeon Mu-Cheol’s gaze. He looked down at Hyeon Mu-Cheol casually, as he was naturally tall and bulky.

‘T-this brat... was he always this big?’

Woo-Gang’s figure seemed larger than life to Hyeon Mu-Cheol for the first time. It was a feeling he had never felt before. He felt small in comparison.

Either way, he felt like he had to respond.

“Of course not. Eldest brother and I also know the martial arts of our families.”

“Well, yes, of course you do. Which brings me to my point: you’re allowed to learn the martial arts of your families, right?”

“Yes. But the techniques you used today don’t belong to the Iron Sword Baek Family, and nobody ever saw the Palm Martial Emperor use them, either!”

Hyeon Mu-Cheol was actually not wrong; the blazing plum blossom had nothing to do with the Baek Family or the Palm Martial Emperor. And if Woo-Gang truly did take on another master, that was quite literally the worst sin of the martial world—deceiving one’s master and betraying one’s vows.

“Why do you only think of my mother’s family? The techniques I used today are from the martial arts of my father’s family.”

“What? I’ve never heard of such martial arts existing anywhere, though!”

“I’d be surprised if you had. It’s just as you said: the techniques I used today aren’t known to the

gangho.

But the problem is, how come that your first suspicion is that I’ve taken on another master?”

Hyeon Mu-Cheol was at a loss for words.

Woo-Gang was right. Not only did Hyeon Mu-Cheol not know whose martial arts Woo-Gang had used, but he couldn’t prove that Woo-Gang had taken on another master, either.

“But, but didn’t your father run some kind of inn in the countryside?”

“So an innkeeper isn’t allowed to know martial arts, then?”

‘You brat, you dare...!’

Hyeon Mu-Cheol grew angry seeing Woo-Gang talk back against every single point he made. When he was about to open his mouth, unable to control his anger, his most loyal follower tugged on his sleeve. He understood that it was neither the time, nor the place, so he swallowed his rage and took a step back.

‘Fine, I’ll endure it.’

This definitely wasn’t the right moment, but that moment would come.

Although it had cooled down for a moment after Hyeon Mu-Cheol’s outburst, the mood quickly warmed up again. Things got rowdy much faster when an external disciple of the Wudang Sect came forward and shouted that he had received a solid amount of compensation from the Hegemon Clan.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart! To thank you for your good graces, I will take care of all of your food and drink!”

“Woohoo!!!!”

Although they weren’t forgetting about the wounded, the sweetness of their victory was greater than their sorrow. Thus, the talents focused on relishing their joy.

Soon after, following the invitation of the Wudang Sect, the talents went to a large manor nearby and had a banquet.

Of course, just like before, Woo-Moon and Woo-Gang were the center of attention.

“Ma-Ra! What are you doing? Hurry up and come down. Let’s have fun together.”

Seeing that Ma-Ra was still hiding somewhere and keeping watch, Woo-Moon called out to her.

“Okay.”

Ma-Ra popped out of thin air, as usual, and stood next to Woo-Moon. She was still neatly wearing the pretty flower gown that Baek Jin-Jin had once worn.

“Huh?!”

“It’s-It’s Young Lady Smileless Flower!”

Leaving aside Ma-Ra’s incredible concealment skills, which no one except Woo-Moon could ignore, she shone with a beauty that was not inferior in the slightest to Hyeon Yu-Yeon of the Mount Hua Sect or Baekri Hye-Min of the Baekri Family. Everyone who saw her for the first time was shocked.

“Now, here,” Woo-Moon said. He picked up a glass that no one was using and cleaned it using Samadhi True Flame before handing it to Ma-Ra.

Glug, glug, glug!

Transparent liquor filled her glass. Completely belying her pretty and delicate appearance, Ma-Ra dunked the liquor in one move, and she seemed very refreshed as she did so.

“Good.”

As Ma-Ra held out her glass again, Woo-Moon poured her another glass and then used Void Grasp to suck up the liquor from the bottle without having to raise it.

1. In chapter 88, it says that the one clashing with the Hegemon Clan was the Zhuge Family. ☜