Chapter 139: Come On, Come On! (3)
Chapter 138 – Come On, Come On!(3)
Seeing Yun Jong-seung’s unyielding momentum, the new cadets who were about to rush forward hesitated again.
What on earth was that monster-like guy?
They had heard that until last year, he was the official pushover of the Dragon Heaven Academy. Was it even true that he was a real pushover?
They said he was a fellow who reached the quarterfinals only because he was lucky.
Was that really luck?
How many people had he knocked down already?
In all likelihood, the rumors about Yun Jong-seung were clearly underestimated.
One new cadet shouted.
“Do not be scared, everyone! That guy is exhausted anyway! Let us go!”
It was just when they were about to rush forward in a swarm again.
“What are you guys doing there?”
“……!”
Startled by the voice that suddenly came from behind, the Zhengzhou Sect warriors turned around.
‘When did he…!’
None of them had noticed a presence.
At the entrance of the alley, a giant man stood firmly with his back to the setting sun.
Yun Jong-seung also had a sufficiently large frame, but this man was much larger.
An angular face and copper-colored skin.
Recognizing him, Yun Jong-seung finally let out a sigh of relief and smiled goofily.
“Oh… it’s Su-hyeok. Hehehe.”
Paeng Su-hyeok frowned and examined Yun Jong-seung’s face, which was dyed in the colors of the sunset.
“Who… are you?”
“Geez. It’s me, me. Yun Jong-seung.”
“Huh? Ah, long time no see, Jong-seung. You have changed a bit.”
Only then recognizing Yun Jong-seung, Paeng Su-hyeok strode over.
Funnily enough, he did not even spare a glance at the fifteen-or-so new cadets who filled the alley.
He was unhindered, as if walking through an empty alley.
Although the new cadets from the Zhengzhou Sect felt their pride hurt for some reason, not a single one of them dared block Paeng Su-hyeok.
Since the aura emanating from Paeng Su-hyeok’s entire body was that formidable.
Wherever Paeng Su-hyeok passed, the cadets parted like the sea.
Having walked up to Yun Jong-seung like that, Paeng Su-hyeok shook his head and clicked his tongue.
“Are you still getting beaten up everywhere you go?”
“Hey, who’s getting beaten up? I was the one doing the beating.”
“Your face is not convincing at all. Anyway, it was good to see you after a long time. Keep it up.”
“Huh? A-Are you leaving?”
“Why?”
“No, well… if you are bored, let’s beat them up together.”
“I’m not bored, though?”
What a jerk.
Knowing the situation full well!
Paeng Su-hyeok chuckled.
“If you have something to say, spit it out.”
“Ugh.”
As the situation flowed strangely, one new cadet who was watching stepped forward abruptly and clasped his fists.
“Greetings to Senior Paeng Su-hyeok. We are the new cadets from the Zhengzhou Sect.”
“Oh, yeah. Nice to meet you.”
“This matter is a problem between us, so we hope you will just leave.”
“Hmm.”
Paeng Su-hyeok stroked his chin for a moment, then cracked his neck.
“But what should I do about this?”
“Yes?”
“I hate people who tell me to do this or that the most. It keeps reminding me of a certain bastard, too. So I always end up acting in the exact opposite way.”
Shring.
Having finished speaking, Paeng Su-hyeok drew the great saber slung on his back.
Instantly, the expressions of the new cadets turned dark.
On the other hand, Yun Jong-seung let out a sigh of relief internally.
Wow, that was close. I was nervous he might just leave. With this bastard’s personality, he was more than capable of just leaving.
That new cadet’s mouth had saved Yun Jong-seung. To think there was a time when Paeng Su-hyeok’s foul temper would actually be helpful.
Yun Jong-seung curled up the corners of his torn lips to the maximum.
“Hehe… you guys are all dead now.”
As if to prove those words, Paeng Su-hyeok brandished his great saber and leaped.
“It’s been a long time since my blood boiled! Bring it on!”
Swish!
“Uh-uh-uh? Bl-Block him!”
“That crazy…!”
The new cadets brandished their weapons in terror.
Yet, Paeng Su-hyeok was agile and flexible, completely unbefitting of his giant build.
Whoosh!
Paeng Su-hyeok, who passed by like the wind, swung his saber with high spirits.
Slash! Spurt!
“Argh!”
“Aaack!”
Screams shot up wildly from here and there.
It was truly as if a yaksha had crawled up from hell to perform a saber dance.
In the path where the great saber passed, blood reflecting the sunset glow was sprayed in all directions.
It was not a deep wound.
Although Paeng Su-hyeok’s saber was extremely sharp, it did not dig deep enough to harm internal organs.
If it did, they would have surely died.
It merely sliced the skin shallowly, causing streaks of blood to burst forth without causing critical injuries.
However, it was definitely wild and domineering.
Deep scars were left on the walls where the great saber brushed past, and some walls were even ruthlessly shattered.
His fighting spirit, which bordered on murderous intent, was terrifying enough to make one fear even approaching him.
“Eura-chacha! Why are you standing there blankly! Bring it on! You greenhorn bastards!”
“Ack!”
“Aaack!”
The endless screaming.
The new cadets who had intended to rush at Yun Jong-seung scattered in panic.
It was truly a living hell.
‘That… crazy bastard…!’
The oldest among the new cadets stood with his mouth wide open, shrinking back.
Right now, only one thought arose in his mind.
‘Damn it, I messed with the wrong guy!’
That is not human.
Hebei Paeng Clan’s Paeng Su-hyeok.
Just like Yun Jong-seung, a person who reached the quarterfinals of last year’s Joint Conference.
No, but why did he only reach the quarterfinals?
He couldn’t win even with that level of skill?
In that case, just how strong is Namgung Cheon, who won?
Meanwhile, Yun Jong-seung clicked his tongue internally as he looked at Paeng Su-hyeok through his swollen eyes.
‘Tch, he’s gotten stronger again.’
He had prided himself on training harder than anyone else during the break.
As a result, he had grown to a degree that was surprising even to himself.
It was truly a level of making someone sit up and take notice.
Yet…
‘That fellow is even more so.’
Actually, he had expected it to some extent.
Since Paeng Su-hyeok also hung around with Namgung Cheon last year.
If he had watched Namgung Cheon from the side, he would have surely put in blood-sweating efforts during the break.
Namgung Cheon was that kind of existence.
An existence that constantly stimulates you when he is nearby.
An existence that makes you unable to forgive yourself for letting time slip away.
An existence that makes you feel boundlessly small and drives you to make more effort.
Without saying a single word, without typical coercion or persuasion, Namgung Cheon was an existence who made one feel their shortcomings to the bone.
Yun Jong-seung’s thoughts were accurate.
Paeng Su-hyeok was also thinking of Namgung Cheon while performing a high-spirited saber dance.
‘As that bastard said, changing the training method slightly definitely made a difference.’
In the past, he had only obsessed over domineering martial arts.
He only thought of strong force and immense destructive power.
However, once he broke the stereotype that fast things are light, the world became much wider and possibilities increased.
That small realization had brought about many changes.
Fast yet heavy.
Slash!
Heavy yet flexible.
Whoosh!
Flexible yet upright!
Clang!
“Urgh!”
As a single strike fell vertically from the sky, a sword was cut clean in half and slammed onto the ground.
“Huh…?”
The new cadet wearing a bewildered expression.
He shrank back repeatedly and then fell flat on his buttocks.
“Hiieek! Sp-Spare me!”
Did the new cadet who screamed like that not jump up and run away?
Watching his retreating figure with pity, Paeng Su-hyeok clicked his tongue.
Although Paeng Su-hyeok himself did not know, the aura of the battlefield emanating from him had a terrifying atmosphere that ordinary martial artists would find hard to bear.
The Hebei Paeng Clan’s unique practical martial arts must have played a part, and watching Namgung Cheon right next to him and growing like him was also a cause.
Once one person began to flee, the other martial artists around also turned their bodies one by one and began to run.
The oldest new student shouted abruptly.
“You bastards! Come back! Aren’t you embarrassed!”
“Hey.”
“……?”
“Isn’t it better to be a bit embarrassed than to die?”
“Tch!”
Clicking his tongue, the new student twitched his nose, then suddenly burst into a shout of focus and ran forward.
“I cannot just leave! Take this!”
Swish!
“Oh, pretty good?”
The new student deployed brilliant movement techniques and rushed in.
Paeng Su-hyeok slowly raised his great saber,
“Huh?”
But at that moment, did the new student not pass by his side like the wind?
Glancing back, the new student leaped straight toward Yun Jong-seung.
‘My target is only you! The Paeng Family guy was not in the plans to begin with, and has nothing to do with the Young Sect Leader!’
Swish!
Finally leaping, the new student pulled up his internal energy to the maximum and put weight into his sword.
A momentum of a truly fatal single strike.
Although it was a sword swung with the feeling of questioning whether it really kill, he also thought it did not matter if he died.
He might be expelled before even attending the Academy, but would Song Won-gyo, who would become Sect Leader in the future, not cherish him deeply?
“Hiyaaaah!”
Letting out a roaring shout, he struck down vertically with his sword.
Whoosh!
In a split second, Yun Jong-seung pulled his right foot back and raised his left hand, blocking the blade.
Clang!
From the blade colliding with the arm guards, a roar that seemed it would rip the eardrums vibrated loudly.
At the same time, the arm guards absorbed the energy!
Yun Jong-seung added the energy pulled from his dantian and the energy received through his body, and rapidly circulated it along the Hand-Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian.
Whoosh!
The training of changing the flow of energy while absorbing impact was something he had already been doing since last year’s Joint Conference duel.
Exactly as Namgung Cheon had taught him!
‘A complete lotus!’
Finally, Yun Jong-seung’s palm, which shot out like a ray of light, struck the opponent’s solar plexus squarely.
Thud!
“…”
“…?”
The new cadet frowned slightly and tilted his head.
When the blade was blocked and the palm shot in, he had thought it was the end.
Yet, was it not weaker than he thought?
It felt as if a child had merely tapped his abdomen with a fist.
However…
“…!”
Boom!
Instantly, as the robe on his back exploded, the new cadet flew through the air, crossing it.
Crash, tumble!
Having rolled on the floor just like that, the new cadet completely lost consciousness while foaming at the mouth.
“Fuuuu.”
Yun Jong-seung let out a long breath.
“Oh?”
Paeng Su-hyeok admired while stroking his chin.
Smirking, he turned to Yun Jong-seung.
“You’ve become decent enough to play the part of a proper human.”
“Ugh. What kind of praise is that?”
Leaving Yun Jong-seung’s words behind, Paeng Su-hyeok strode over and looked at the fallen new cadet’s back.
A red lotus was clearly imprinted in the center of his back.
“Didn’t your lotus originally get imprinted on the abdomen?”
“As the achievement level of the Red Lotus Palm increases, it appears on the opposite side.”
“Oh!”
Letting out an exclamation as if genuinely impressed, Paeng Su-hyeok walked over to Yun Jong-seung and pinched his cheek.
“Kid, this is a top-grade compliment.”
As Paeng Su-hyeok shook Yun Jong-seung’s cheek wildly, Yun Jong-seung flailed and struggled.
“Aaack! Let go! It’s going to bruise!”
“Hahaha! It seems you trained hard during the break.”
“You are no joke yourself, though?”
“Well, was that so? But I wonder about that bastard. Can we put up a decent fight against him now?”
“Well. I haven’t seen him recently either.”
“Why? Aren’t you guys from the same neighborhood?”
“Namgung Cheon went into closed-door cultivation.”
“That bastard did closed-door cultivation? Hmm.”
As a certain murderous intent flared up from Paeng Su-hyeok’s entire body, Yun Jong-seung was startled.
‘Why is he emitting murderous intent while thinking of a comrade?’
Regardless, Paeng Su-hyeok formed a cold smile.
“Well, if we launch a surprise attack upon seeing him, we’ll get a rough estimate.”
“A surprise attack?”
“When trying to kill an enemy, a surprise attack is indeed the best.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah. Real combat is always cold.”
This bastard is serious.
While Yun Jong-seung clicked his tongue internally, Paeng Su-hyeok sheathed his great saber and formulated a plan in his head.
* * *
“Achoo!”
Namgung Cheon, who sneezed, sniffled and scratched his ear.
“Is someone praising me again?”