Chapter 14: Glimmer of Hope in the Darkness (3)
A suffocating tension filled the tavern.
The four Mount Hua disciples jumped up from their seats, their hands gripping the hilts of their swords. They could hardly believe their ears. It was the first time they had ever been subjected to such crude insults.
“Say that again,” one of them hissed.
The disciples were poised to draw their blades at a moment’s notice. Yet, Il-gwang merely narrowed his small eyes and glared back at them, completely unfazed.
“I told you to shut your mouths, you rat-faced bastards. What are you glaring at? Dammit.”
The disciples’ faces flushed bright red. They felt lightheaded from the raw, vulgar street slang. They were at a loss for how to even respond.
Baek-hee, unable to contain her rage, urged her senior brothers.
“How can the Mount Hua Sect stand by and endure such insults? What will the Jianghu think of us? Just kill this ugly bastard!”
However, the situation was not as simple as Baek-hee made it out to be.
Their opponents were government soldiers, and they currently carried no weapons. Moreover, there were too many witnesses in the tavern. If they killed them, the Mount Hua Sect would be at odds with the imperial military. Furthermore, the sect elders had strictly warned them not to get involved with the military, so they could not act recklessly.
Even so, their humiliation was unbearable.
“What are you going to do if I keep staring?” Il-gwang taunted.
Spurred by Il-gwang’s continuous provocations, Baek-hee stamped her feet and urged her senior brothers, “Do something, quickly!”
Even without her prompting, the other disciples were already trembling with rage.
At this point, the most uncomfortable person in the tavern was Cheong-hae. He sat with his head bowed low, unable to look anyone in the eye. He blamed himself, feeling that all of this was his fault.
So-mu placed a hand on Cheong-hae’s shoulder and said, “Lift your head and look around.”
Cheong-hae cautiously looked up. He saw the recruits of Group 16 glaring back at the disciples, silently supporting Il-gwang. So-mu’s low voice reached his ears again.
“Everyone here is furious on your behalf. If you keep cowering like this, you are making fools out of them.”
A strange emotion welled up inside Cheong-hae. When he was being ostracized by his peers within the Mount Hua Sect, had anyone ever stood up for him? Even when he was beaten half to death by the Plum Blossom Sword Guards, the other disciples had gathered merely to point and laugh at his misery.
Furthermore, even the sect leader and elders had treated him like disgraced trash. The only exception had been his master.
Had he ever experienced anything like this before?
This novel feeling made Cheong-hae’s blood run hot.
His eyes began to tremble.
‘Everyone is on my side…’
Seeing the shift in Cheong-hae’s demeanor, So-mu delivered the final nudge: “One thing is certain. If you run away now, you will regret this moment for the rest of your life.”
Under the table, Cheong-hae clenched his fists tightly.
‘The Mount Hua Sect are no longer my senior brothers. The companions of Group 16, who share my anger, are my true brothers now. I will never do anything I regret again.’
Thud!
Cheong-hae slammed his hand on the table and stood up. As Il-gwang and the Mount Hua disciples turned their heads, they saw Cheong-hae standing tall, his fists clenched.
“Stop it. I can’t endure this any longer.”
Baek-hee’s brow furrowed in anger.
“Are you insane? Do you not know who I am? A disgraced junior of the lowest rank dares to speak to his senior sister…”
Before she could finish, Cheong-hae cut her off.
“I said, shut your mouth!”
Perhaps because he had been living with Il-gwang, it was the first vulgar shout he had ever uttered in his life. He felt an immense sense of relief wash over him.
Not only the recruits, but even So-mu blinked in surprise as they stared at him.
“Y-You… how dare you…” Baek-hee stuttered, her face pale.
The other three disciples were equally dumbfounded, momentarily speechless.
Then, in a fit of rage, Baek-hee drew her sword.
Shring!
“Die, you bastard!”
Everyone watched in alarm as she lunged at Cheong-hae.
Since they were at adjacent tables, the distance between them was less than ten feet. With a single stride, Cheong-hae was within her striking range.
“J-Junior Sister!” The other disciples cried out, trying to stop her, but she was completely deaf to their voices.
The tip of her sword thrust toward Cheong-hae’s throat, filled with lethal intent. However, because she was blinded by anger, her strike lacked any finesse, change, or feints.
It was an incredibly simple, straightforward strike. And a single thought occurred to Cheong-hae as he watched it approach.
‘It’s slow.’
Something was wrong. A second-generation disciple’s sword could not possibly be this slow. In the past, these were people of such superior rank that he had barely dared to make eye contact with them.
Not only was it slow, but he could also see countless glaring openings in her stance.
Cheong-hae merely twisted his upper body, letting the blade glide harmlessly past him. He watched the sword pass inches from his nose, moving as slowly as if time had dilated.
At that moment, Cheong-hae’s right hand moved reflexively, striking upward to hit her wrist.
Crack!
“Aaargh!”
Baek-hee’s wrist bent, and she lost her grip on her weapon. Her posture completely broken, her chest was left wide open.
Without hesitation, Cheong-hae followed up with his left hand, striking her squarely in the chest.
Thud!
“Kyaaaah!”
Screaming, Baek-hee stumbled backward, landing right back where she had been standing. Because Cheong-hae had not infused his strike with internal energy, she suffered no serious injuries.
However, her sword was now firmly in Cheong-hae’s hand. He had disarmed a second-generation disciple in a single exchange.
Cheong-hae stood frozen, staring at the sword in his hand. He hadn’t realized just how strong he had become, nor did he fully comprehend the caliber of the person who had been training him.
Clutching her throbbing wrist, Baek-hee glared at her companions.
“Are you just going to stand there and watch?!”
Finally snapping out of their daze, the three Taoists drew their swords in unison.
Shring! Shring!
“Cheong-hae, you bastard! What trick did you use?”
As three sharp blades were leveled at Cheong-hae, a chilly aura settled over the tavern. The ordinary patrons quickly scrambled into the corners, trying to stay out of the crossfire.
At that moment, So-mu stood up, breaking the silence.
“I don’t think we can resolve this quietly anymore. Since we are all people of the martial world, why don’t we settle this the martial way? A duel, perhaps?”
The disciples internally rejoiced at So-mu’s proposal. This was a chance to legally teach these soldiers a lesson. They didn’t know how Cheong-hae had disarmed Baek-hee, but they didn’t care. They needed to accept before So-mu changed his mind.
The eldest disciple among them stepped forward. Her name was Hyeon-jeong, and she was known as one of the strongest second-generation disciples in the Mount Hua Sect.
“I will accept, on the condition that no one is held responsible for any injuries or deaths.”
Even though So-mu spoke politely, Hyeon-jeong did not drop her arrogant tone. So-mu merely nodded, unfazed.
“However, we will set the rules. We don’t want to cause too much of a commotion, so the duel will consist of a single match. Whichever side loses must kneel and apologize.”
There was no reason to refuse. The soldiers were making a massive concession.
“Fine. I will represent our side. Who among you will step forward?”
So-mu paused, scanning his squad members.
“Choose any one of us. If he loses, we will all kneel and apologize.”
Hyeon-jeong’s eyebrow twitched.
Who was she? She was a second-generation disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, one of the elite orthodox sects of the Great Sects and Associations. So-mu’s words implied that any common foot soldier from his squad could defeat her.
“How arrogant. It seems you truly wish to see blood today.”
“Just make your choice. Before I change my mind.”
So-mu expected her to choose Cheong-hae or target one of the weaker-looking recruits, as that was the outcome he had been nudging her toward.
However, Hyeon-jeong was a man of immense pride. Her eyes scanned the recruits one by one, looking for the strongest among them. He pointed his finger.
“I choose that brainless bald one.”
So-mu sighed as he saw a savage grin spread across Il-gwang’s face.
“Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?” So-mu asked.
“Are you trying to back out now?”
So-mu didn’t answer immediately, falling into thought.
‘He has no eye for strength. If he were a Plum Blossom Sword Guard or a first-generation disciple, I might have shown some restraint. I only wanted to teach these arrogant kids a light lesson and send them on their way, yet she seeks her own doom.’
From So-mu’s perspective, the second-generation disciples of Mount Hua were nothing but green juniors of the martial world. Having dealt with countless such novices, he knew exactly how to handle them: you simply had to crush their pride.
However, if her opponent was Il-gwang, moderation was out of the question.
“I was advising you for your own sake,” So-mu sighed.
“You will pay for tarnishing Mount Hua’s reputation. I have chosen the bald bastard. If you lack the courage, then kneel now.”
“Sigh. I guess it can’t be helped.”
At So-mu’s signal, the recruits began pushing the tavern tables to the walls. In an instant, a circular space about thirty feet wide was cleared in the center of the room.
Stepping forward, Il-gwang cracked his knuckles, eager for a fight. A series of sharp pops echoed through the quiet room.
Hyeon-jeong narrowed her eyes and said coldly, “Draw your weapon.”
Cheong-hae stepped forward and offered Il-gwang the sword he had taken from Baek-hee, but Il-gwang waved it away.
“No need. When you’re training a dog, bare hands are much more effective than a stick.”
Though he was training in swordsmanship, Il-gwang’s preferred method of fighting was hand-to-hand combat. Having observed Baek-hee’s movements earlier, he had already gauged their skill level—and his own.
“A mere soldier thinks he can engage in hand-to-hand combat?” Hyeon-jeong sneered.
Il-gwang raised his clenched fists to face height, adopting a solid stance. It was the street brawling style he had honed since childhood, now combined with the internal cultivation he had practiced at the training camp. This would be his first time testing it in a real fight.
Il-gwang himself was curious to see just how much destructive power his newly transformed body could unleash.
“Stop barking and get over here,” Il-gwang grinned.