In truth, I hadn’t completely trusted Baek Hasin. In reality, he had only joined at the very end when the tide of the chaotic battle had turned.

However, I had calculated that if I created a balanced situation, he would side with me.

‘Since we’re both grade-skippers.’

We had spent time together, but I also had a certain conviction that Baek Hasin wouldn’t miss the opportunity to eliminate a competitor.

Of course, as part of that, he could have attacked me when I was tired. But I knew that wouldn’t happen.

Because he was the protagonist. He doesn’t betray a favor.

“Let’s move for now. We can’t be relieved yet.”

I suggested to Baek Hasin, who was collecting Go Su-bin’s black headband.

We had defeated three black headbands. It was the best result, but there were still unstable factors remaining.

‘Because the 1st and 2nd place are still somewhere here.’

Both Bong So and Namgung Bihwa were masters of a different class from the opponents I had faced so far. If I were to face them now, it would be difficult to avoid certain defeat.

‘No, could it be different if I cooperate with Baek Hasin?’

I analyzed our current strength, recalling Baek Hasin who had defeated Go Su-bin so easily, contrary to my expectations.

Come to think of it, Go Su-bin had just dealt with four first-rate martial artists. In her already tired state, she was too wary of me and couldn’t be sufficiently aware of her rear, so it could be said that she was defeated.

But even so, the blow he had just shown was of a different caliber. Baek Hasin’s realm was definitely higher.

I guessed that the current Go Su-bin was at a level between a proficient and master of the peak. If it was higher than that, I could guess that Baek Hasin had now reached the master level or surpassed it.

‘To get stronger again in that short time. Is he a monster?’

It was a protagonist-like growth rate. A guy who was only at the first-rate level half a year ago. Putting aside the strange feeling, I left the clearing filled with ashes.

Thanks to the slight recovery of my internal energy and stamina, I could exert some level of lightness skill, but the speed wasn’t fast.

“If you’re worried about Bong So and Namgung Bihwa, they’re over there.”

Just then, Baek Hasin pointed beyond the hill that divided the mid-slope of the spiritual mountain.

“In this chaos, it’s a distance where they would have come looking for us.”

“That’s right. But you don’t have to worry so much.”

“What?”

When I asked back reflexively at the unexpectedly calm reply, Baek Hasin answered.

“They were fighting each other.”

“A battle of pride?”

Come to think of it, in the original work, Namgung Bihwa had a great sense of rivalry. She always showed a desire for the top spot, and in that state, it was plausible that she would challenge Bong So once.

Even if that judgment was not rational in the end.

Since both of them had almost filled the credits needed to advance to senior students, it would be safe to see this as just a battle of pride.

“We were lucky.”

The worst-case scenario I had imagined was a collaboration between the top and second-in-line. If they joined hands, no one in the current state could win.

“Anyway, let’s get far away so they don’t notice us. It’s almost time.”

“…I think it’s already too late.”

“Damn it!”

As soon as Baek Hasin’s words ended, a presence was caught at the end of my qi sense.

I quickly stopped running and raised the Daoist Scholar’s Fan, taking a stance. At the same time, Baek Hasin and the student with the blue headband also raised their wooden swords.

And a bald man who revealed his appearance from the forest. The sunlight shining through the leaves created an engraving like a sculpture along the curves of his face.

“Aren’t you the students who skipped a grade this time?”

Bong So, the candidate for the next head of the Shaolin Sect, had come to find us.

I looked at him, who was wearing a black headband on one ankle, and replied.

“That’s right. Why did you come all the way here? You got a black headband, so you should be done with your business, right?”

That meant Namgung Bihwa had lost. Looking at the two blue headbands on his other ankle, it didn’t seem like he needed additional points.

“I came to see once. How strong the winner of this Dragon and Phoenix Assembly is.”

‘Me again.’

Thanks to the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly drawing a lot of attention, I had unintentionally become a popular star. The only good thing was that he had come out of curiosity rather than to do something to me strategically.

In order not to disappoint the opponent’s expectations, I bluffed with a mixture of truth.

“I’m a bit tired from crushing Mo Yonghan and Yeo Jin-gon in a row. For now, the guy next to me will be more useful.”

As I tried to subtly pass it on to Baek Hasin, his eyes narrowed.

“Can he be compared to the winner of the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly?”

“He might be lacking, but I’m out of stamina.”

Our gazes met in the air. I could feel the will to somehow dunk the opponent.

“Then just attack all at once. I’ll go easy on you.”

“His words are polite, but his attitude is arrogant.”

Running away was out of the question anyway. Baek Hasin and I stood side by side and prepared for a joint attack. Just then, Bong So, who had been holding a wooden sword, clenched his fist.

Paang-!

In an instant, his fist cut through the air and was extended. The range where the fist strike had passed was right next to me.

Thud-

The student with the blue headband, who had been trying to sneak away from behind, collapsed on the floor as he was. It was the result of making a bad move, being overwhelmed by the gap with the opponent.

“Hundred Steps Divine Fist?”

“Yes. I’m still inexperienced, so I can’t break a rock beyond a hundred steps.”

To say he was inexperienced when he could fly a fist realm that could knock out a first-rate martial artist in one blow from that distance.

I glanced at Baek Hasin. He seemed to have quite a bit of stamina left, but it was impossible to face Bong So alone.

He would know that too. Because the qi wave that Bong So was subtly emitting was not ordinary.

A similar feeling to Seo Muk-ho.

‘Peak of the peak.’

In a state where our stamina was not intact, there was no answer for the two of us.

I let out a faint sigh and suggested.

“Hey, let’s get the blue headband from that guy, and we can probably pick up the white ones while following our tracks.”

And then I slowly tore off the headband of the fallen guy and threw it to him in a bundle. And then I subtly took the wooden sword he was holding in one hand.

“Are you satisfied with this?”

I remembered Go Su-bin bluffing earlier. Although the positions were the opposite.

Then, Bong So, who had quietly taken the headband, shook his head.

“What I’m doing right now is not just for credits. It’s closer to a will to fight.”

And then he took a step closer to me. A shameless guy who had taken what he was given.

“It has to be now. Because I’ve just faced a strong opponent. I saw a wall.”

It seemed to be about Namgung Bihwa.

Come to think of it, Bong So wasn’t in his best condition either.

His collar was torn in several places, and under the shade of the trees, steam was rising slightly from his whole body, as if he had also consumed his stamina.

It would have been impossible to easily subdue a master of Namgung Bihwa’s level.

“We’re back to square one. Then make me one promise.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll fight with all my might. So don’t touch our headbands. We came in late, so we need some leeway.”

“A strange proposal. What if I say no?”

“Then I’ll fight half-heartedly. So poorly that your heated body will cool down.”

Bong So was the unshakable number one anyway. If his purpose was not credits, then it couldn’t be a subject of a deal. It was much more meritorious to be a stepping stone for a realm increase.

“…A clever idea. A very interesting idea.”

I must be the first to threaten him with something like this. Bong So looked this way, as if a little surprised.

“So what are you going to do?”

“Let’s do that. Do your best. I hope you don’t disappoint me.”

At the same time, I retreated, and Baek Hasin stepped forward.

“Like that time.”

“Yeah.”

As Baek Hasin raised his demonic qi, a black current flowed out from the bandage on his right arm.

An ominous and ferocious power. It seemed to be an ability he had awakened while I hadn’t seen him.

“You certainly have the skills to skip a grade.”

Bong So’s expression became serious, and he raised his wooden sword. With that, Baek Hasin raised a black sword qi and rushed towards the opponent.

Kaang!

Soon, a qi wave that was hard to believe had come from the clash of wooden swords was scattered in all directions, and Baek Hasin was pushed far back by the enormous impact.

‘An incredible sword pressure.’

I instinctively raised my guard and rushed forward, raising my sword qi.

The weight of the internal energy that Baek Hasin had shown was definitely above the master level. And yet, Bong So, who had received it head-on, was still standing in that spot.

I swung my wooden sword, aiming for Bong So’s blind spot.

It was a self-evident fact that my sword path was ahead of his sword, which had already been swung once towards the front. If this continued, I would be able to inflict at least a serious injury, if not a fatal one.

But that expectation was soon shattered by the tingling pain that was transmitted from my fingertips.

“Your joint attack is quite natural.”

The moment I heard Bong So’s voice, I reflexively dodged backward. With that, Bong So’s sword grazed the tip of my nose.

The opponent was definitely in a posture of having extended his sword towards Baek Hasin. And yet, in that short time, he had twisted his sword path and even launched a counterattack at me.

He was trickier than the blood fiend I had faced before.

‘He’s above Seo Muk-ho.’

While I was making that judgment, Baek Hasin rushed at Bong So again. In the midst of the ensuing chaotic battle, I kept Bong So in check by blinding his vision with light magic or touching his face with a flame bullet.

‘I can’t defeat him with the remaining mana anyway.’

Then it was better to use magic in a supportive form. While the joint attack continued for a while, Bong So’s evaluative voice was heard.

“It’s more than I expected. But it’s a pity.”

I didn’t like that his gaze was on me at the last mention.

‘It’s almost over anyway, so I should at least land one blow…’

While I was thinking that, I suddenly felt a wind blowing from inside the forest, and a long-haired woman with a wooden sword jumped out, parting the bushes.

“Namgung Bihwa?”

Kwaang!

A collision sound that echoed in the forest in an instant. In the midst of the relentlessly crossing sword strikes, what I could see was the figure of Bong So, who had taken a step back.

‘I thought she had lost. Was she not completely eliminated?’

As long as she didn’t have all her headbands snatched, she wasn’t eliminated, so she must have come for revenge after recovering.

The wooden swords that were clashing relentlessly in front of me.

In the midst of the fierce battle worthy of a fight between the top and second-in-line, I asked.

“What are you going to do?”

Baek Hasin, who was clearly exhausted, gripped his wooden sword tightly, with his gaze fixed on the battlefield.

“…It’s meaningless if I can’t even win against that.”

“I agree.”

I raised the Daoist Scholar’s Fan and gathered all the remaining mana there. As the mana in my circle was drained, a flame with a flowing electric current formed at the tip of the fan. A spear of flame lightning with the maximum firepower I could currently produce was being formed.

‘Now all that’s left is to shoot it at the optimal timing.’

“Go!”

With a shout, Baek Hasin rushed forward. The black sword qi that dug into the moment he had just blocked Namgung Bihwa’s sword, aiming for the inside of Bong So’s shoulder.

Kwaang!

Bong So, who had allowed a clean hit for the first time, was pushed to the side. It seemed he had raised his shoulder for a moment and received Baek Hasin’s sword with his protective qi, but perhaps because the impact was not without effect, his movement of deflecting Namgung Bihwa’s sword was unnatural.

‘Now!’

Aiming for the gap where Bong So’s protective qi had broken, I fired the spear of flame lightning that I had been compressing until now.

Flash!

The spear of flame lightning, which flew with a halo of light, squeezed through the battlefield where Namgung Bihwa’s and Baek Hasin’s swords were entangled and exploded on Bong So’s shoulder.

Pajijijik!

It pierced the unstable protective qi with a spirally honed fire and restrained his body with the exploding electric shock.

“Amazing… sir.”

The attack of the spear of flame lightning, which had hit at the optimal time, decided their fate. Namgung Bihwa’s and Baek Hasin’s swords cut through Bong So’s abdomen in an X-shape.

‘With this, it’s over…’

As I was thinking that, Bong So’s figure blurred for a moment.

“I didn’t think I would be defeated like this.”

Bong So, who had approached right in front of me in an instant, said, looking at me. It was the result of a single, all-out stomp.

“You were the one who told me to do my best, but you hid something?”

“No. It was a single step where I poured out all my remaining internal energy.”

His body, which was visible beyond the student uniform that had been torn by the wooden sword, was bruised but relatively fine.

No matter how much it was a wooden sword, to think he hadn’t collapsed after being hit by a blow clad in sword qi.

‘Was it thanks to protecting his neck and face with his sword and both arms in that instant?’

I put all my remaining internal energy into it and swung at Bong So, who had approached close.

Just as the wooden sword that Bong So was bringing down and my sword were about to clash, a horn sounded. The time for the credit snatching event was over.

We looked at the blades that had stopped in front of each other’s eyes and then lowered our arms. According to the rules, fighting was now prohibited.

“The injured to me! The rest, follow on your own.”

The instructor who had been watching the battle rushed out of the forest and announced the end of the event.

It felt like the string of tension that had been heightened until just a moment ago had been completely released.

I let out a sigh and sat down on the spot.

It was now time for the settlement.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep