Chapter 118: Deepening Conflict
‘Me? With this man?’
No matter how high my reputation was rising, it was only among the rising stars. I knew the terror of real experts all too well.
The terror when I crossed swords with Adept Heu-do was enough to send a chill down my spine even thinking about it now.
Jang Mun-gyeong was a martial artist evaluated on the same level as that Adept Heu-do.
“A spar, your joke is too much.”
“I only wish to see your martial arts.”
“Against me… are you saying you wish to lift a sword?”
It was an absurd thing to say, even when I was the one asking.
The Ten Great Swords of the Land.
In terms of the sword, it meant he was one of those who would occupy a single spot when counting ten people across the whole land.
Of course, since the world of Martial World was teeming with eccentric experts, one could not know which monster was hidden where, but it was an undeniable fact that he was at least an recognized expert among the people of the world.
Such a person to me?
“That is right.”
“…”
Suddenly, I became curious.
How was this man looking at me?
Was he seeing something else through me?
Was he seeing something I could not see?
‘Would I know if we fought?’
Suddenly, a flame seemed to surge inside my stomach.
In my ears, the sound of something burning was heard like tinnitus.
My entire body grew hot.
Was it due to the fire divine power?
“I do not think those are words to say to a junior who is far behind you.”
Thinking it was because of the fire divine power, I suppressed myself, feeling that I should not act impulsively.
However, the reply that returned to those excuse-like words stimulated me once again.
“They say my Peak Sword Tao encompasses the essence of all sword techniques under heaven. Then, how do you think I obtained enough swords to call them ‘ten thousand techniques’?”
Talent and obsession.
The hunger hidden deep inside rose to the surface.
“I know no shame before martial arts.”
He was like a hungry wolf.
Despite having achieved everything others would envy, he knew no satisfaction.
It was hard to endure any longer.
“I understand.”
My blood also boiled hotly.
“Whatever, let’s get smashed once.”
***
When I stepped out after finishing the private meeting, many people were gathered.
Perhaps the rumor of Jang Mun-gyeong of the Seamless Heavenly Robe visiting had spread; the gathered people did not hide their astonishment at his appearance. They seemed to have been half-believing.
Well, even I would not have believed it if someone said Jang Mun-gyeong had visited such a shoddy place.
I headed to the front yard together with Jang Mun-gyeong.
The front yard, meant for receiving, loading, and unloading all kinds of escort cargo, was several times larger than an ordinary manor.
Since the requests were completely cut off at the moment, it was clean without a single thing in the way.
Standing at one spot in the center of the wide open space, Jang Mun-gyeong also stood about three zhang (about 9m) away from me.
“I will yield the first attack.”
“…Gasp?!”
“Really?”
The people who understood Jang Mun-gyeong’s calm words gasped.
If Jang Mun-gyeong, one of the Ten Great Swords of the Land, were to spar with a rising star who was not even twenty, anyone would show such a reaction.
However, a few looked at me with different expressions.
Especially in Lady Jang So-wol’s eyes, deep worry was settled.
‘Since he is clearly not a personality to do things half-heartedly.’
Just by Lady Jang So-wol’s reaction, I could guess that this spar would be quite rough.
Since he was an extremely serious person regarding martial arts, it was certain that I would suffer a great setback if I went forward thinking it was some clumsy sparring lesson.
Even if it were not for that, a setback was as good as confirmed.
‘I will display an ugly sight.’
Just a moment ago, I had displayed a majesty that made it seem like I had no rival under heaven to the people of the Bright Fate Escort Agency, but I might end up showing something unsightly.
As I put on Master Heavenly Demon’s gauntlets and lightly warmed up, a chuckle escaped me.
“What about a sword?”
“I am more accustomed to bare hands.”
Against Lady Jang So-wol, I maintained a shred of composure even while holding a sword, but against this man, it was out of the question.
“…I see.”
Jang Mun-gyeong, who had been staring at me intently, nodded as if he had understood something, and waved his hand slightly to the side.
Swish! Thud!
A broom used for cleaning the front yard flew over and entered Jang Mun-gyeong’s hand.
After shaving off the useless parts from the broom, a stick of a suitable sword length was quickly fashioned.
Was it a consideration for me, who had not drawn a sword?
‘Then there is no way my neck will be cut off… No, is the story different again if it is held in that man’s hand?’
As long as it was held in the hand of an expert who was one of the Ten Great Swords of the Land, that stick was no different from a sharp, famous sword.
Perhaps because the scene I had imagined earlier rose again, a chill went down my spine.
As if he did not care about my thoughts, Jang Mun-gyeong swung the stick in the air and opened his mouth.
“Come.”
And the moment he pointed the tip of the stick!
Kwaaaaaaa!!
“Huu…!”
Suddenly, the surrounding scenery changed.
The sense of perspective became strange.
Clearly, his build and height were similar to mine just a moment ago, but to see his entire body, it felt like I had to tilt my head up.
It felt as if his body had suddenly grown several times larger.
‘He is like a wall.’
Although it was merely a stick, a city wall of bleak dimensions seemed to have been erected.
It was an impregnable city wall that felt like it would absolutely never break.
If I crashed into it, I would unconditionally get smashed.
And I was the foolish black ox that had to ram its head into that city wall.
‘That would be funny too.’
If it were not my business, I would have laughed.
It was a story that could be gossiped about to nearby people, saying there was such a foolish black ox.
However, even in the face of that foolish act, the corners of my mouth curled up.
Sometimes, there were times like that.
When impulse dominates the body!
When one wishes to let go of everything!
The version of me leaping forward was definitely like that.
‘The start is with Shaolin!’
The Cloud-Soaring Golden Light Step moves my body!
“Vajra Immovable?”
Shaolin’s Vajra Immovable Body Method creates explosive movements in an instant with small gestures and recoil. It narrows the distance in a flash without any preparation stance, making it hard to grasp the sense of distance.
It was truly the culmination of static movement.
That essence was also contained in the Cloud-Soaring Golden Light Step.
A strange light colored the corners of Jang Mun-gyeong’s eyes.
And…
‘Ultimate Extreme Strike!’
Kwang!
“Ho?!”
I show it grandly right from the start!
Perhaps because the destructive power exceeded expectations, the strange light turned into astonishment.
However, the one who was surprised was rather me.
‘Kugh!! It does not work?!’
Since he had not properly seen my capacity yet, I thought it would be an unexpected hidden dagger.
The martial art that Master Bodhidharma was said to have refined a thousand times in the heavens.
Although it was at a level embarrassing to say that I had captured even one-ten-thousandth or one-hundred-thousandth of that enlightenment, it was a martial art that had worked reasonably well until now.
That Ultimate Extreme Strike was completely blocked.
The moment the stick and fist collided, a subtle recoil absorbed my force. It even redirected the strike point where the power of the blow was entirely focused.
Although he barely moved, the moment it collided with my force, dozens of flows and changes of force were contained within that stick.
The expectation that I would start by breaking that kind of stick was completely blown away.
‘Continuous Strike!’
The lower body moves.
The tip of the foot rises, drawing a line like a swallow.
Paang!
Those who have learned Shaolin’s martial arts have their entire bodies turn into weapons.
A Shaolin fist expert can tear a human body apart with just a light touch of the fingertips.
The offensive pouring from multiple angles instantly enveloped Jang Mun-gyeong’s left and right.
Thud! Tudung! Pang!
“Tsk!”
Before fighting, I had imagined a black ox ramming its head into a city wall.
It was exactly as I had thought.
I was ramming into him recklessly, but not a single thing worked.
Then, as if he had seen all there was to see, the stick of Jang Mun-gyeong, who had been unilaterally receiving my offensive, moved.
“Kugh!!”
By the time I realized it, the stick was already right in front of me.
The strike that squeezed past the boundary of listening force and synesthesia reached right in front of my nose.
Rhythm-less.
Since there was no sign before or after the attack, it was a tricky technique to read!
As if in return for the static movement I had shown, a sharp sword strike dug in.
The sensation that reacted at the last moment brought out a strand of martial arts contained within my body.
Spirit-Descending Hand.
The unparalleled divine art created by Master Zhang Sanfeng through painstaking refinement received the sword strike.
Thump! Bam! Roll roll!
“Argh!”
Although I barely managed to receive and redirect it, the force I could not fully redirect sent my body flying.
I was thrown onto the ground and made to bounce off the earth several times.
The force contained in that unsightly stick was easily enough to turn a house-sized boulder to dust.
As I barely managed to stop my body, a voice that was annoyingly calm reached me.
“Shaolin when advancing, Wudang when retreating. Not bad. Lately, while looking at Shaolin’s martial arts, I have often thought that technique devours momentum. Rather, this side feels like looking at real Shaolin martial arts.”
“Haha…”
If I had the leisure, I wanted to see Beom-gak’s expression right now.
Because he would be frowning deeply upon hearing those words.
“You have learned the martial arts of the Nine Sects well. Rather, it is better. However, if that is all you have to show, let us stop here.”
It was a favorable review and words containing consideration.
I had done well to this extent.
For a rising star who had not even passed twenty to receive this kind of evaluation from Jang Mun-gyeong of the Seamless Heavenly Robe was a lifelong source of pride.
‘It twists my stomach, though.’
However, strangely, my insides felt twisted.
I did not want to accept it, even though I knew I would lose.
I could quickly tell what made me feel that way.
‘I am Master Zhang Sanfeng’s…’
Where did everything inside me come from?
‘Master Bodhidharma’s…’
Everything inside me was a hymn dedicated to my masters.
‘Master Heavenly Demon’s…’
That was me.
‘I am their disciple!’
I was the disciple of legends who were discussed as the greatest of all time.
What I shouldered was heavier than the reputation of the Ten Great Swords of the Land.
‘And such a version of me takes defeat for granted?’
That was nonsense.
‘Move!’
A force different from a moment ago began to move inside me.
Divine power.
A power that ordinary Martial World people did not have.
A power that was a superior compatibility compared to ordinary internal energy.
‘Burn!’
The fire divine power violates the metal divine power.
What refines metal is flames.
The metal divine power is forged, establishing a sharp edge.
The earth divine power burns together as it harmonizes with the Heavy Earth Divine Art.
‘Melt inside me!’
The Three Talents Unified Qi Art becomes a single world and holds that power.
The wildly raging force filled the vessel that was me, scattering its aftermath in streams.
Kung!
The stamp of the foot unleashed, unable to overcome the surge of emotion.
The foot stomping the ground overturned the atmosphere.
“Huuu…”
The breath exhaled was full of fire breathing.
It felt as if my lungs would cook.
The force trying to burst out felt as if it was boiling and evaporating the blood inside me.
The air could be felt heating up.
The gazes looking at me could be felt changing.
‘I will smash it!’
To hell with defeat!
I have not lost yet!
***
“Indeed.”
The air around Yeon Cheong-un was getting hot.
It was not a trick of the mind.
Behind Yeon Cheong-un, who was preparing a strike, nothing could be seen properly due to the shimmering haze.
Inside the boiling air, amidst the shimmering haze, something seemed to exist within the waving flow.
It could be an optical illusion.
“The Young Heavenly Dragon…”
In Jang Mun-gyeong’s eyes, that shadow looked like something divine transmitted only through oral tradition.