The crowd’s attention was focused on Neung-heo.

Neung-heo made a strange expression and looked down at the fallen Jeok Wangyu.

“What, you bastard. I thought you were strong because you were putting so much force into your face, but you’re nothing special, are you?”

A look of disappointment appeared on people’s faces.

‘How?’

Zhuge Seola’s eyes widened.

The most important thing for a martial artist was the eye to see people.

As Cheon Mubaeck had emphasized in the past, if you didn’t have an eye for people in the martial world, you couldn’t survive.

It was most important for people of the martial world to read the opponent’s aura and atmosphere to grasp their level.

Jeok Wangyu was by no means an easy opponent.

Aura and atmosphere.

The calluses on his hands and the shape of the muscles revealed through his clothes.

The profound light in his pupils and his even breathing.

Putting all that together, he was a peak warrior who had already reached a mature realm.

But Neung-heo had defeated such a person.

‘And in one blow.’

A single blow.

He had thrust his sword faster than the opponent’s sword drawing, which had reached the extreme.

A swift thrust.

That alone was worthy of being called a martial arts master of the martial world.

What was more surprising was that it was a feint.

Zhuge Seola was truly impressed by the scene where he twisted the sword at the point of arrival and struck the temple with the flat of the sword.

‘I knew he was a decent warrior.’

She realized anew that she had no eye for people.

She had never dreamed that he would defeat Jeok Wangyu in one blow like that.

The Red Scarf Society warriors who supported Jeok Wangyu were flustered.

“Who are you. How on earth did you… Lord Jeok.”

Neung-heo tilted his head.

“Me? I’m Neung-heo. One-Eyed Snake Neung-heo.”

“One-Eyed Snake! That One-Eyed Snake!”

“The hero who saved the young disciple of Mount Hua by throwing his own body at the Mount Hua martial arts tournament?”

“Indeed…!”

“Huh?”

Neung-heo was bewildered by the crowd’s reaction.

He knew that his fame had also become known to some extent thanks to Cheon Mubaeck.

But when the word hero was attached, his body twisted as if he had heard something that didn’t suit him.

“As expected. The rumors of the martial world were not false.”

“The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero must not be an exaggeration either. Since the One-Eyed Snake who travels with him is at that level. Well, seeing that he defeated the third-in-command of the Red Scarf Society, it wasn’t a false rumor!”

The warriors of Wudang, who had gathered at the Elder’s Hall after hearing the commotion, talked among themselves.

Only then did Neung-heo realize that he had done something quite surprising.

‘Is this guy stronger than I thought?’

Neung-heo also had a sense.

He had considered him a decent fellow, and he had been reluctant to fight before.

But when they actually fought.

‘Ha. Compared to when I get hit by the Lord, he’s ridiculously slow.’

Neung-heo had experienced violence disguised as sparring from Cheon Mubaeck countless times.

He had experienced the speed and internal energy contained in a single gesture of Cheon Mubaeck countless times. Compared to that, Jeok Wangyu’s sword drawing was ridiculously slow.

He didn’t even need to go as far as Cheon Mubaeck.

‘Cheonhu, is that guy doing well in Shaolin?’

Just thinking of Gwak Cheonhu, he was faster than this.

So he had thought he was slower and shabbier than he looked.

‘I had become stronger!’

Neung-heo’s face flushed.

If he was the third-in-command of the Red Scarf Society, he would be at least a mature peak warrior.

If it had been the past Neung-heo, the Neung-heo before meeting Cheon Mubaeck, he would have been an existence he could never surpass even if he lived his whole life.

But now he had surpassed him.

And with ease.

Neung-heo’s heart pounded. A mixture of thrilling elation and excitement welling up from the tips of his toes pulled Neung-heo’s lips into a wide grin.

“Hehehe. How is it, Lord? Do I seem to have the martial prowess to protect my own things?”

“You’ve become quite useful.”

Although Cheon Mubaeck’s tone was blunt, Neung-heo’s mouth opened wide.

Considering Cheon Mubaeck’s usual stinginess with praise, it was the first time he had heard such a remark.

It was a high praise.

How long had it been a time of sublime violence?

Neung-heo, who had finally seen the results with his own eyes, shrugged his shoulders.

“Hehe. Lord. Look. Doesn’t it look like the legendary Lightning Flash Sword, who is said to have split the past martial world with a single lightning strike?”

“Phew, this bastard.”

“Am I wrong? Then do I look like the Azure Sky Sword God?”

“Oh, my head.”

Cheon Mubaeck put his hand on his head.

“Then the Sword King? Or the Sword Saint? Or the Shandong Sword Hero? The Heavenly Sword Divine Lord?”

One by one, the names of the absolute masters who represented an era were mentioned.

The expressions of the crowd, who had been admiring Neung-heo’s skills, also became awkward.

It was not an easy task to leave a moniker and a footprint in an era.

A legendary existence.

They were beings who were not just respected but revered by all the people of the martial world.

So ordinary people of the martial world usually could not even mention the monikers of the past absolute masters carelessly. But wasn’t Neung-heo comparing himself to them?

The expressions of the people who had been admiring him as a hero became awkward.

“Hmm. It does feel like the Heavenly Sword Divine Lord. Bang in one shot!”

Cheon Mubaeck’s face, who had been listening quietly, also gradually hardened.

“Hey.”

A low voice. Neung-heo, who felt an unusual air, instantly came to his senses.

This bastard.

How does he pick only my past lives to talk about?

* * *

‘He’s quite useful.’

Neung-heo’s move was quite powerful. It wasn’t for nothing that Jeok Wangyu had been defeated.

But Cheon Mubaeck’s voice was cold.

“Don’t get cocky. If you can’t do that much in the environment you’re in, it’s better to give a sword to a monkey.”

“Why do you say that? It makes a person sad.”

“Why does Gwak Cheonhu go around sparring with strong people so often?”

“Well… to fight with strong people.”

“What’s so good about fighting with strong people?”

“His skills will improve.”

“Neung-heo. Who did you fight with every time you trained?”

“…”

Neung-heo became speechless.

Come to think of it, Neung-heo was in an environment that all the people of the martial world who wanted to become strong desired.

He had increased his internal energy by consuming a pretty good elixir from Yakseon in Shaolin.

He had learned the Neung-heo Left Sword of the Red Blood Sword Fiend, who had swept the era.

Not only that.

He had a sparring partner to practice it skillfully.

Gwak Cheonhu, the Fighting Ghost, who was considered one of the best among the later generation experts, sparred with him two or three times a day.

And Cheon Mubaeck, who had a vast and magnificent knowledge that far surpassed the realm of a martial arts master, even gave him advice while matching his hands and feet.

Moreover, he had even accumulated practical experience while dealing with the Blood Demon Valley.

Neung-heo had been beaten up by Gwak Cheonhu and Cheon Mubaeck all this time, so he didn’t know his own level, but he had already reached a considerable realm.

But Cheon Mubaeck’s voice was so sharp that it was thorny.

“From now on, if you mention the Sword King, the Sword God, or anything like that, you’ll get a beating.”

He, who had been quite cocky, understood Cheon Mubaeck’s euphemistic expression.

Don’t get excited, don’t get cocky, don’t be arrogant.

Of course, defeating Jeok Wangyu in a single blow, and neutralizing him without killing him, was a considerable achievement to be proud of.

Considering the past Neung-heo.

‘Arrogance is a poison.’

Cheon Mubaeck appropriately advised Neung-heo not to be arrogant, even if he was happy with his achievement.

‘The reason I have not yet reached the sword’s peak.’

Perhaps it was because of arrogance.

He had shaken the martial world in every life, and had left his name in an era.

He had never once thought of himself as arrogant, but he realized in every past life.

That there were still many things he didn’t know about the path of the sword, that there were more things to learn, and that it was so deep and endless that he couldn’t see the end.

Even though he didn’t know all that, had he been arrogant because of the praise of the people of the martial world?

Had he not whipped himself?

‘Well, there’s no room for arrogance. That egg guy is still in an incomprehensible realm.’

A monster that made his hair stand on end just thinking about it.

But at the same time, a fighting spirit welled up. In this life, for sure.

While he was making that decision. The Elder’s Hall was crowded with no room to step.

The warriors who were guarding the front of the Elder’s Hall, Jincheong’s disciples, and the other elders of Wudang had all gathered.

When Jeok Wangyu collapsed, the remaining three warriors of the Red Scarf Society had lost all their initial momentum.

No matter how strong the influence of the Red Scarf Society was within Wudang, causing a commotion in the Elder’s Hall was a completely different matter.

The expressions of the Martial Faction elders, who were friendly to the Red Scarf Society, were also unusual.

Cheon Mubaeck did not step in.

Because it seemed that the matter would be resolved if he just stayed still.

“To draw a sword in the Elder’s Hall, I will report this matter to the Red Scarf Society Leader. It is regrettable.”

Even the Martial Faction elders, who were not on good terms with Venerable Jincheong, expressed their displeasure.

But it was then.

“There’s no need to report to the leader. Because I have come.”

A deep, low voice cut through the people. The gathered elders and Wudang warriors made ambiguous expressions and opened a path.

In particular, the elders who seemed to be on the Martial Faction side coughed awkwardly.

Cheon Mubaeck was quite impressed as he looked at the man who was walking over.

‘He’s skilled.’

It was a blade-like aura.

“Vice-leader.”

The man with an impressive beard was the vice-leader of the Red Scarf Society.

If you were to rank them, he was the second-in-command of the Red Scarf Society.

Cheon Mubaeck looked back and forth between the fallen Jeok Wangyu and the vice-leader and let out a laugh inwardly.

‘Jeok Wangyu, looking at what that guy is doing, I was wondering why Wudang was so weak. The real deal starts from the vice-leader?’

Even if Venerable Jincheong was an elder of the Taoist Faction, his internal energy was profound, and looking at his protruding temples, the martial arts he had learned were also unusual.

Even though Wudang sought the Tao, as a martial sect of the martial world, the Taoist Faction elders were also powerful.

And yet, Jincheong was unusually unable to stand up to Jeok Wangyu’s tyranny.

He didn’t understand that. Even if Jeok Wangyu was strong, he was not at that level.

Now all those questions were solved.

“Are you the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero?”

A low voice.

Cheon Mubaeck, who read the firmness in it, smiled slightly without realizing it.

“I am Cheon Mubaeck.”

“I am the vice-leader of the Red Scarf Society, Chuhonsak.”

His posture when taking a fist and palm salute, and his gaze were different. Cheon Mubaeck thought to himself that he had met a decent person for the first time in a long time.

Chuhonsak.

Somehow, the name, atmosphere, and aura were not unfamiliar.

‘He’s a typical martial artist.’

Unlike Jeok Wangyu, no emotion was revealed on his face.

Cheon Mubae-ck knew this type of person well.

A martial artist who walked the path of martial arts his whole life.

Perhaps he was the same type as Cheon Mubaeck. Because Cheon Mubaeck walked the path of the sword not just his whole life, but in every past life.

“I apologize. And thank you for the mercy in your hands.”

“Mercy?”

“With your skills, you could have killed Lord Jeok in an instant, but you let him live, didn’t you?”

Cheon Mubaeck shook his head slightly.

“It wasn’t me, it was him.”

When he pointed at Neung-heo, a faint surprise appeared on Chuhonsak’s face for the first time.

“Heo… they say the martial world is wide. Indeed, anyway, Lord Jeok has caused a great inconvenience to the guest of Wudang. This matter is strictly the fault of the Red Scarf Society, and we admit it. I apologize to the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero here, and to Venerable Jincheong, on behalf of the Red Scarf Society.”

Unlike Jeok Wangyu, he was not arrogant. Jincheong also seemed to have a good impression of him, as he put his hands together and nodded his head.

‘It’s not that the Red Scarf Society is unconditionally in conflict with the Taoist Faction. At least, the conflict has not escalated to the point where they would draw swords on each other right away, or perhaps only that person Chuhonsak is unusually friendly.’

When Chuhonsak admitted his fault and apologized, the atmosphere improved a little.

“Ah, and may I ask you a favor?”

“A favor?”

“Don’t misunderstand. As a person who walks the path of a martial artist, I would like to compete once with you, who defeated Lord Jeok in one blow.”

Chuhonsak pointed at Neung-heo.

Cheon Mubaeck made a strange expression as he saw the fire in Chuhonsak’s eyes.

He saw a pure desire to fight once.

It was the fighting spirit of a martial artist.

But was that all?

‘He’s trying to save face.’

Since the third-in-command of the Red Scarf Society had been defeated by Neung-heo in one blow, the face of the Red Scarf Society would be in tatters.

That calculation was probably at the bottom of it.

Neung-heo, who had also noticed that, stepped forward confidently with a slightly displeased expression and a face mixed with some confidence.

“Alright. But it’s cramped here, so let’s go outside.”

“No, that’s enough.”

It was then.

Cheon Mubaeck stopped Neung-heo and stood up from his seat.

“What?”

“You’re not at his level.”

Cheon Mubaeck smiled and stood up.

“They say a children’s fight turns into a parents’ fight. What do you say, want to have a go with me?”

“…!”

The veins on the back of Chuhonsak’s hand, which was gripping the hilt of his sword, bulged.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep