“What is this?”

Jeon-hyeon’s facial muscles twitched as if in a spasm.

A single blow.

With one attack, the disciple of Zhongnan was neutralized.

He had not simply fallen.

It was a common thing to fall and roll on the floor during a fight.

To get up from there and fight again was a martial artist. To hold a sword even while bleeding profusely was a martial artist of the martial world.

But Zhongnan could not get up.

What was revealed on the face of the disciple who was holding his stomach and foaming at the mouth was extreme pain, or despair.

A wound that would never allow him to get up again.

He had not died.

No, perhaps it would be better to die.

“You baaaastard!”

A tremendous shout erupted from right behind.

Only then did Jeon-hyeon realize that the disciple who had just fallen was none other than the disciple of the Three Treasures True Man, Dan-hu.

“To break his dantian! You villain!”

Dan-hu’s white beard trembled as if he would rush out at any moment.

That’s right.

His dantian was clearly broken.

A fatal wound for a martial artist, a wound that would make one wish for death.

The face of Dan-hu, who cherished his disciple, was red as if it would burst. The air current around him shook like crazy. Because the faces of the first-generation disciples who were right in front of him had all turned pale.

It wasn’t just that.

The other spectators also swallowed their saliva. Their gazes were focused on Cheon Mubaeck, who was the target of that distant anger.

But there was no expression, no emotion on Cheon Mubaeck’s face.

As if he were washing his face after waking up in the morning.

It was a face as if he had done something very natural.

His voice was calm.

“Did I break the rules? Or did I use a real sword?”

The crowd sank into silence.

* * *

“Don’t worry. I didn’t break his dantian.”

Cheon Mubaeck looked at the pale-faced Mount Hua martial artist.

“But, the pain will be quite severe.”

Would Cheon Mubaeck be that vicious?

He had no grudge against Zhongnan, and no ill-fated connection from a past life.

Well, if he had to nitpick, was it that they had held back during the righteous-demonic war and had only jumped on the bandwagon when it seemed they would win?

‘Come to think of it, that’s a little annoying.’

So he had a memory of beating up the Zhongnan sect leader to a pulp at that time…

He felt that he should have beaten him more severely.

Well, if you think about it, that’s forcing it. And isn’t the guy who has come up to the duel stage now a young brat?

What grudge would Cheon Mubaeck have against that young martial artist to break his dantian?

He just didn’t like the way Zhongnan was acting now, so he was being a little mean.

If he had to nitpick, he had wanted to beat up O Gwang-ryong, who had done a despicable thing while fighting with Neung-heo.

But Neung-heo had roughly done that.

He had used the internal energy-heavy hand technique to directly strike the opponent’s dantian. But he had dispersed the force.

Although it wasn’t broken, he had suffered an internal injury to the point where it would be difficult to cultivate his internal energy for a while due to the severe pain.

Although it would look like his dantian was broken on the outside, as time passed, they would find out. That it was just a simple internal injury.

But the psychological pain would not be simple.

Because even if it wasn’t real, he would feel the pressure as if he had lost his dantian.

It was a kind of warning.

The meaning that if he put his mind to it, he could break all their dantians, so don’t mess with him.

Looking at Dan-hu’s reaction, it seemed the warning had worked to some extent.

“So, you don’t have to worry either.”

Cheon Mubaeck aimed his sword at the stiffly frozen Mount Hua disciple.

“Shall we finish it?”

“…My name is Baek-gong. I ask for a match.”

“Yes. Right.”

Baek-gong took a deep breath and calmed his breathing.

Although there was a hint of fear, his calmed eyes were directed at Cheon Mubaeck.

‘Mount Hua is a little better.’

If he had to nitpick, it was.

Regardless of the level of their martial arts, should he say it was the character revealed in their eyes? Or should he say it was the posture of holding a sword?

From Cheonghyeonjin and the Plum Blossom One Sword he had seen before, to the Baek-gong in front of him now.

They all held their swords as a part of their training.

That was why there was no wavering.

Although they might have greed, they would not do anything unreasonable to achieve that greed.

Although they might be secular, they were not completely stained by the secular world.

Although they might make a name for themselves as a sword sect, they tried not to lose their identity as a Taoist sect.

‘That must be the difference between Zhongnan and Mount Hua.’

Zhongnan had been listed in the Nine Great Sects and had been dropped countless times.

On the other hand, Cheon Mubaeck clearly remembered that Mount Hua had never been dropped from the Nine Great Sects in his numerous past lives.

“The junior will attack first.”

Uh, was he a junior?

In terms of rank… Baek-gong was five or six years older than him.

But Cheon Mubaeck did not bother to deny it.

It was a common thing in a duel to yield the first attack to the junior.

And the result was the same anyway.

Ppa-gak!

“…!”

Although Baek-gong was quite fierce, Cheon Mubaeck lightly let the attack flow past and then struck with his wooden sword.

“Heo.”

“To think that he could so easily… a sword filled with internal energy.”

Looking at the broken sword, Baek-gong swallowed his saliva and took a fist-and-palm salute.

Seeing his shaking eyes, it seemed he was having a hard time accepting the defeat that had come in just one exchange.

Was it because of that? Cheon Mubaeck threw him a word of advice.

“I have lost, young hero.”

“Your sword path is too predictable.”

“Pardon?”

“If it were me, I would have taken the force out of the sword. It was a mistake to think of achieving a result with the first attack. A person should wield a sword, not be wielded by a sword.”

“…”

Although Baek-gong’s expression was that of not easily understanding, he realized that this was an important piece of advice.

He bowed his waist even more politely.

“Thank you.”

The starkly different treatment of Zhongnan and Mount Hua.

The Mount Hua Sect seemed to have been impressed by the appearance that Neung-heo had shown before, and by Cheon Mubaeck’s attitude now.

On the other hand, the Zhongnan Sect, which was convinced that its disciple’s dantian had been broken, was shaking as if it would kill Cheon Mubaeck at any moment.

‘Is one warning not enough?’

Then what.

“Come out quickly. Let’s have another match.”

He had to do it until it worked.

* * *

“Jeok-yu.”

“Yes. Elder.”

“Be calm, and be composed.”

“Yes.”

“That guy is strong. Absolutely do not underestimate him.”

The Zhongnan martial artist who was to go out for the third duel was Sa Jeok-yu.

He, who had been brutally defeated by Cheon Mubaeck before, got up from his seat, grinding his teeth.

As he played the role of the eldest among the first-generation disciples, Sa Jeok-yu could not back down.

But even so, he was not violently excited.

The reason why Zhongnan had been able to come this far was because of its skills. Sa Jeok-yu was the owner of the strongest martial art among the first-generation disciples after Jeon-hyeon.

He glared at Cheon Mubaeck, who was on the duel stage, and shouted.

“I’ll also brutally break your dantian.”

“…Uh. Right.”

Eum, right.

But I don’t have a lower dantian. To break my dantian, you have to break my head. Does that mean you’re going to kill me?

“Hey, Young Master Seon, since you also have to take the Primordial Root Scripture, let’s cooperate.”

Sa Jeok-yu openly proposed cooperation to the Mount Hua martial artist.

The Mount Hua martial artist flinched and then bit his lip with a firm face. Although his gaze towards Cheon Mubaeck was full of goodwill, if he lost here, Cheon Mubaeck would have 2 wins, and Mount Hua would only have 1 win.

Putting aside Mount Hua’s liking for Cheon Mubaeck, shouldn’t they win first?

Not just Sa Jeok-yu, but he also instinctively felt it.

That unless the Plum Blossom One Sword, Gukbo, came up, he could not defeat Cheon Mubaeck.

The only thing left was cooperation.

“I will personally apologize for what Gwang-ryong did in the first round. I will not do such a thing. To put it bluntly, let’s catch this guy and then settle it. I’ll bet my honor on it.”

“Eum.”

The Mount Hua martial artist nodded his head slightly.

Cheon Mubaeck shrugged his shoulders at that sight.

“You’re a guy who has a good grasp of the situation.”

Cheon Mubaeck did not see that sight badly.

It was not against the rules, and the forward-looking attitude of admitting his own shortcomings and proposing a joint attack was quite good.

On the contrary, it was better than Mount Hua here.

Because Mount Hua valued justification and honor, they could not easily make such a proposal.

Because for one person to be attacked by two was really an act of throwing away one’s pride.

Sa Jeok-yu aimed his wooden sword with a serious face.

Right, although Zhongnan was not an orthodox sect like Shaolin or Mount Hua.

This flexibility must be what had made them this much.

Pretty good guys…

“You’re like a villain of the world!”

“Huh?”

Cheon Mubaeck’s eyebrows twitched.

“To break the dantian of a young disciple and to trample on his dream of martial arts. You should be ashamed!”

You guys were trying to break the head of a Mount Hua kid.

“I will surely break your dantian and make you crawl!”

Well.

Cheon Mubaeck shrugged his shoulders.

“Right. Come at me, quickly. I’ll yield the first attack.”

“Hmph. I admit that you’re a great guy. But you can’t overcome the depth of a prestigious orthodox sect. I will surely break your dantian.”

Well, that means you’re going to break my head.

“Then well, I’ll do the same to you.”

At Cheon Mubaeck’s low voice, Sa Jeok-yu’s face hardened.

“I will now start the duel.”

It was fortunate that the Scholar Elder had interfered, otherwise Sa Jeok-yu would not have been able to move for a short moment.

Because his body had frozen at the terribly low voice.

But Sa Jeok-yu quickly regained his composure and aimed his wooden sword.

As if to prove that it was not for nothing that he was said to be the next after Jeon-hyeon among the first-generation disciples.

His posture was steady and perfect.

But that was all.

Unfortunately, it was not a level where he could compete with Cheon Mubaeck with a good posture.

Sa Jeok-yu immediately stabbed his sword and rushed in.

“Huh?”

Sa Jeok-yu had two expectations.

To counterattack, or to let the attack flow past.

But.

‘He’s turning his body?’

He had completely turned around. As if he didn’t even care about his attack.

But at that moment, Cheon Mubaeck’s left hand, which was holding the sword in a reverse grip, went behind his back.

And at the same time, the wooden sword in his right hand moved swiftly towards the Mount Hua martial artist on the opposite side.

Ttang, ttang!

“…!”

It was blocked.

The attack that was aiming for his back was blocked. As if he had eyes on his back, the sword that had popped out from behind his back, held in a reverse grip, had deflected all of Sa Jeok-yu’s attacks.

At the same time, the sword was swung towards the Mount Hua martial artist on the opposite side.

Ppaak!

“Keok!”

The first hit the back of his knee and brought down his lower body.

Ppeok!

The second, while he was staggering, struck his wrist hard. The wooden sword flew far away, spinning.

It was a moment. A short time when Sa Jeok-yu had attempted just one attack.

Cheon Mubaeck’s head slowly turned and met Sa Jeok-yu’s eyes.

“Now it’s one-on-one?”

Why is it?

The reason why he got goosebumps all over his body.

Is it because of those words?

Or is it because of the countless sword shadows that are pouring down from the left and right?

Cheon Mubaeck’s twin swords were swung at the same time.

He can’t block it.

Even if he blocks one, he’ll be hit by the other. He can’t block both.

No, he can’t see both. Can he block even one? Not at all. He couldn’t block anything.

Ppa-gak, ppaak!

It hit his shoulder, and it struck his lower body.

Sa Jeok-yu staggered greatly as if he had dropped his sword and collapsed. But strangely, the sword did not fall from his hand. It was a strange feeling as if some force, that is, external qi, was forcefully making the sword stay in his hand.

‘Did I get hit in the head?’

Does that make sense?

Cheon Mubae-ck’s attack did not stop.

He was literally beaten up.

To the point where Gwak Cheon-hu, who was watching from a distance, trembled, recalling how he had been beaten.

“I wasn’t going to go this far.”

A dizzying shock that was transmitted throughout his body.

The sword did not fall, so it was not a disqualification. But he did not faint either. Sa Jeok-yu, who was shocked by that strange phenomenon, hurriedly opened his mouth.

“I, I… keok!”

“Shut up.”

Before the word ‘surrender’ could even come out, Cheon Mubaeck’s terrible violence poured down.

How much time had passed?

When Cheon Mubaeck finally struck his dantian and Sa Jeok-yu’s body fell like a kite with its string cut.

Cheon Mubaeck withdrew his sword.

And far away.

He pointed at Gukbo, who was getting up from his seat, and at Jeon-hyeon, who looked like he would rush out at any moment with a red face, and said.

“Hey, tell your hyungs to come out.”

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep