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Chapter 59

Everyone present had heard the proclamation that Young Leader Lee Myeongchu, the Chief of the Fire Division, would concede ten seconds.

Even if Yang-hwi’s one second had proven shockingly ferocious, far more than expected, that didn’t change the fact that Young Leader couldn’t take his words back now.

“You look completely caught off guard. What’s wrong? Didn’t think an eight-year-old brat could hit this hard?”

Rather than strike right away, Yang-hwi twirled his sword playfully, sticking his tongue out like a taunt.

Lee Myeongchu’s face, frozen stiff, began to tremble.

Veins bulged across his neck, and a furious cross of anger pulsed on his forehead.

“What, mad now? So what if you’re mad, punk? Huh? Want to actually fight fair now? Do you?”

“...You damn brat. Must’ve swallowed some precious elixirs or something. Fine. I’ll teach you that there’s always someone stronger out there.”

‘Oh-ho, this brat. So he’s not falling for a provocation like this.’

Even if he’s just the son of Dark Path, he’s got some self-control after all.

In that case…

Yang-hwi strolled up with a light step and tapped Young Leader’s massive broadsword with his own.

“Yop!”

“...What are you doing?”

“What else? That was the second attack.”

“...You little bastard.”

“Yop! Third second!”

Lee Myeongchu’s already flushed red face turned a deeper shade.

Damn, how much blood is rushing to his head to make it look that dark?

Alright then—maybe it’s time for a little variation.

“Yop!”

The interjection was light, but this time, Yang-hwi swung his sword with real force and inner energy.

Buuuuung! KWAANG!

The sword struck the side of the Young Leader’s broadsword. Maybe he’d let his guard down after those two earlier jokes, but Young Leader was holding it too loosely, and so it spun the opposite way it was struck.

Right toward the Young Leader’s own face.

PUH-OK!

“Kuh-ugh!”

Young Leader, struck in the face by his own sword.

As the broadsword slowly slid down, his face, now streaming twin rivers of nosebleeds, came into view.

“Whoa there, are you alright? That’s a double nosebleed!”

“......”

“Puhahaha! Puhahahah! Look at you, getting a nosebleed ’cause you couldn’t block one second from a brat!”

“......”

“And you said what? You were going to give me ten seconds? You thought age was some kind of rank? Puhahaha!”

At Yang-hwi’s words, laughter and murmuring broke out among the spectators.

“Hoo, the young master of the Baek Family truly has outstanding skill.”

“More than that, the Young Leader of Gyojin Sect seems completely manipulated by that young lord’s antics.”

“Kehaha! Let his guard down and got a nosebleed! Doesn’t even have the basics of a martial artist!”

“Well now, six seconds, eh? Want to retract your ten-second concession before it’s too late?”

Watching the trembling Young Leader, Yang-hwi continued.

“Oh, and of course, you can’t just back out for free. If a man’s going to go back on his word, he’s gotta give something up. Don’t you all agree, fellow martial artists of the Eastern Lands?”

“Puhahahaha!”

“The young brother speaks the truth!”

“This kid really knows how to talk tough!”

With a sly grin, Yang-hwi raised his sword once more.

“Fifth second!”

Buuuung! KWAANG!

This time, Young Leader properly blocked the strike, but his wrist was visibly trembling.

Well, no surprise. The energy loaded into that swing wasn’t exactly light.

‘You may be younger, but I’ve got more internal energy than you, brat.’

Being the Young Leader of Gyojin Sect, he must’ve been raised on nothing but the finest tonic herbs since childhood.

But in the end, he was still just the successor of a minor sect that barely held sway in a single province.

Medicinal elixirs weren’t cheap, after all. No matter how good they were, there were limits.

Meanwhile, what Yang-hwi had consumed was the actual inheritance of the greatest martial artist to have ever walked the land, a man who had transcended mortality and ascended like a god.

’I haven’t even fully absorbed it all yet, and my internal energy’s already at half a 60-year cycle. And you dare act high and mighty just ‘cause you’ve got twenty years on me?’

“You’re getting scared, aren’t you? Feels like you’re going to collapse before we even reach ten seconds, doesn’t it?”

“...Shut up.”

“You regret it, don’t you? Be honest. You’re regretting it. I can see it all over your face, punk.”

“Shut up and come at me!”

Yang-hwi, who had a habit of turning contrarian at times like these, didn’t swing his sword for the sixth second. Instead, he spun in circles, grinning as he danced around Lee Myeongchu.

“They say it’s pathetic for a twenty-year-old to be getting flustered by a brat! But hey, at least even a pathetic loser like you understands the weight of a man’s word. I’ll give you that!”

“I’ll kill you—this little bas—!”

At the exact moment Lee Myeongchu erupted in rage, Yang-hwi activated The Thousand Vessel Step.

One step, laced with both speed and finesse, then speed again.

Even though Young Leader was a master of the same second-tier realm as Yang-hwi, his outburst had thrown off his timing.

Seizing the opening, Yang-hwi slipped behind him and lunged with his sword.

More precisely, straight at the space between Lee Myeongchu’s buttocks.

“KRAAAAAAGH!”

A dark red stain began to bloom at the center of Young Leader’s rear.

“KRAAAH! KRAAAAGH!”

“Relax, it only went in an inch, punk.”

“YOU LITTLE SHIT! I’LL KILL YOU, YOU MISERABLE BASTARD!”

“Oho~ Young Leader, those veins popping out like spiderwebs—was your mother some kind of human-faced spider? Who knew the Lord of Gyojin Sect was into that kind of kink?”

“SHUT THAT FILTHY MOUTH! ONCE THESE THREE SECONDS ARE UP, YOU’RE DEAD!”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. Looks like you might bleed out first. Blood’s pouring out of your backdoor. Could it be you have hemorrhoids?”

The crowd could no longer contain themselves and exploded into wild laughter.

“KWAHAHAHAHA!”

“Puhahaha! human-faced spider, doing that with one… Puhahahaha!”

“He’s got hemorrhoids?! At such a young age...”

“He’s more than twice the kid’s age, but judging by this spectacle, I couldn’t tell who the real child is!”

“This is pure mockery! Has the Gyojin Sect really fallen this far?! Hahaha!”

Yang-hwi glanced at the blood smeared on his sword and made an exaggerated expression of disgust.

He scraped the blade along the ground to wipe off the blood and tossed out a jab:

“Ugh, the stench! Of course he reeks—wouldn’t be a proper Dark Path brat if he didn’t!”

His skin had turned from red to nearly black. Thick veins throbbed and pulsed all over. His entire body trembled like someone in the middle of a seizure.

Lee Myeongchu’s eyes bulged open.

‘That little bastard… Has he finally reached his limit?’

Crack!

Something snapped. Oh yeah, that definitely snapped.

Yang-hwi braced himself for the incoming counterattack.

But instead—

“Kuh-ugh! Hrk! Cough!”

Lee Myeongchu hacked up a massive mouthful of blood, dark with congestion.

Whatever snapped wasn’t what Yang-hwi had anticipated.

‘Oh hell. He’s gone into Qi Deviation.’

Young Leader collapsed and began vomiting blood like a madman.

No matter how you looked at it, it was clear: he’d succumbed to Qi Deviation.

“Hey. You alright?”

“Kuh... urgh... cough! Gugh...!”

Seeing his son’s condition, the Lord of Gyojin Sect sprang into action.

“Chu! Are you okay?!”

Yang-hwi quickly spoke before the Gyojin Sect master could interfere.

“If you help him now, it counts as Young Leader losing in a life-or-death duel!”

“…….”

“What will you do? Are you really going to let your son carry the shame of losing to an eight-year-old brat?”

“...You will die. I swear it.”

With blood dripping from his clenched teeth, the Gyojin Sect Master silently pressed acupuncture points to stabilize his son’s meridians.

But the Qi Deviation that had consumed Young Leader Lee Myeongchu wouldn’t calm down so easily.

“Cough! Cough! F-Father… hrg…!”

“Chu! Snap out of it! Stay with me, Chu! Damn it!”

Eventually, Lee Myeongchu lost consciousness.

‘Yeah… no coming back from that. Even if he recovers, he’s done as a martial artist.’

Maybe it was Yang-hwi’s sharp intuition, but he could feel it instantly.

That guy—he’s finished. Even with good treatment, he’ll never fight again.

“You little monster… I will kill you. I’ll cut off all your limbs and make you watch as they’re sliced away.”

“Pheew~ Gyojin Sect Master old man, don’t you think that’s a bit much to say to a child like me?”

“Silence. I have no interest in matching words with your foul tongue. Remember this. You. Will. Die.”

“Tch. You’re so dramatic. Like anyone needed to tell me you’re from Dark Path.”

Yang-hwi once again theatrically wiped the blood from his blade by dragging it across the ground.

“Hmph. I can’t sheathe it like this. The scabbard’ll get filthy.”

Hearing this, the trembling Gyojin Sect master managed to suppress his rage with great effort.

“I acknowledge our loss in the first match. Let the second challenger step forward.”

So he still has the composure of a sect leader, huh?

Yang-hwi had pushed him as far as he could, hoping to bait him into a reckless counter, but the result was a bit underwhelming.

‘Well, this much is plenty.’

With a slight smirk, Yang-hwi stepped back.

Immediately, the retainers of the Baek Family rushed to his side, showering him with praise.

“You were incredible, young master!”

“When did you grow so powerful, Lord Hwi?”

“Truly a peerless talent! A once-in-a-generation genius!”

They bowed respectfully in admiration.

“It felt fine saying it myself, but hearing those words from others makes me a bit embarrassed. Let’s keep it down, shall we? Haha. Anyway, who’s next?”

Between Baek Mu-ryang and Gu-Ak, the outcome of the next match could hinge on who stepped up second.

Baek Mu-ryang took a step forward and turned toward the Gyojin Sect Master.

“Who will represent Gyojin Sect next?”

After a brief moment of deliberation, the Gyojin Sect Master replied curtly:

“Blood Night Wanderer. I leave it to you.”

The one who stepped forward in silence was a middle-aged man gripping a sharply curved blade.

A rogue swordsman infamous for his love of bloodshed, each time he took up his blade, entire fields were said to run red. He was feared as the Blood Night Wanderer.

“I’m the second. Who’s your side putting up? Not that it matters—I intend to gift death equally.”

Just as Gu-Ak, who had been quietly pondering, was about to step forward—

Baek Mu-ryang was one step quicker.

“My Lord?!”

“I, Haed Of Baek Family, will face Blood Night Wanderer myself.”

“But, that’s—!”

“Gu-Hyung. It’s fine.”

Hearing Yang-hwi’s voice, Gu-Ak turned his head.

“What are you thinking, Junior Brother?”

“Nothing special, really.”

“If you don’t have a plan, then I should be the one to go in. You know that.”

On the surface, it was a logical claim.

As the one who reached first-class mastery first, Gu-Ak would’ve had a better chance of victory.

‘Then again, that was a month ago.’

It had been exactly a month since they first received Gyojin Sect’s challenge to a duel of life and death.

Since then, Yang-hwi and Baek Mu-ryang had entered closed-door training together.

“Gu-Hyung, just watch. You’ll understand.”

As they conversed, Baek Mu-ryang stepped into the arena to face Blood Night Wanderer.

From the back, Gyojin Sect Master scowled.

“Baek Family Head. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for sect leaders to face each other?”

Clearly, the Gyojin Sect Master believed that taking on Baek Mu-ryang personally would guarantee victory.

Baek Mu-ryang responded in a quiet but cutting tone:

“As a sect leader, I believe it’s my duty to face the one you put forth.”

A veiled jab, calling out the Gyojin Sect Master for hiring a mercenary stronger than himself.

As expected, Gyojin Sect Master bared his fangs in anger.

“Blood Night Wanderer. Kill him. No need for mercy.”

“Didn’t need you to say it. That was always the plan.”

With arrogant confidence, Blood Night Wanderer spun his curved blade once in the air.

“Baek Family Head, they say your martial level is in the second tier. Have you had a breakthrough?”

“Nothing much. I just swung my sword a lot.”

“Ha! Then your head will roll today.”

Light began to shimmer along Blood Night Wanderer’s blade.

A sign of a master who had reached the peak.

The manifestation of a tangible aura of sword energy.

“I’ll end it in one strike. Hahahahaha!”

Just as Blood Night Wanderer launched himself, roaring with laughter—

Buuuuung!

The air filled with the deep buzzing of vibrating wings, like a swarm of bees spreading in all directions.

Blood Night Wanderer’s eyes bulged wide.

“W-What is this…?!”

Baek Mu-ryang’s blade trembled, reaching the highest level of the Realm of Phoenix Wings.

Above the sword’s tip… sword aura had risen.

---The End Of The Chapter---

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