Chapter 203

Zhuge Hyeon drew his sword and shot toward Paeng Cheon at incredible speed.

SWIIIIISH—

The trajectory was almost painfully straightforward.

Paeng Cheon smirked and used his footwork to slide aside.

At that exact moment—

Zhuge Hyeon’s body swayed.

“Star-Orbit Shift!”

The sword that had been flying straight ahead abruptly changed course, its trajectory shifting again and again in rapid succession.

Paeng Cheon grinned.

“Knew you had something up your sleeve.”

His massive saber spun in a circle and intercepted the ever-changing sword.

THUD—

The instant he blocked it, Paeng Cheon drove his foot hard beneath the saber that had bitten into the ground.

KWAANG!

A spray of dirt and stones blasted toward Zhuge Hyeon.

SHRRR—

TING-TING-TING—

Zhuge Hyeon knocked every fragment of stone aside with the tip of his sword while charging straight at Paeng Cheon.

Paeng Cheon kept one hand on his saber’s hilt, launched himself into the air, and kicked at him.

WHOOOOM—

But Zhuge Hyeon had already dropped into a deep crouch beneath him.

“Damn...”

Did I let my guard down too much?

Zhuge Hyeon’s sword flashed toward Paeng Cheon.

Paeng Cheon grinned.

He wasn’t rattled in the slightest.

“I’ll crush you right where you are. White Tiger Crushes the Mountain!”

“Ghk!”

A tremendous pressure slammed down on Zhuge Hyeon.

His sword path wavered, and the blade swept past Paeng Cheon without touching him.

At the same instant, a brutal impact struck Zhuge Hyeon squarely in the face, and he felt himself hurled backward.

THUD—

“Ghk!”

Zhuge Hyeon rubbed his stinging face as he climbed back to his feet.

“You all right? If you want to call it here, just say so.”

Paeng Cheon watched him with an easy smile.

Zhuge Hyeon glared fiercely back and tightened his grip on his sword.

“I’m fine. Let’s continue.”

He wiped the blood running from his nose and steadied his resolve.

Paeng Cheon sighed.

“Just admit it. No matter how hard you try, you can’t beat me.”

“I will not disgrace my master. Even if I lose, I’ll fight with everything I have.”

“Then I suppose I have no choice.”

Paeng Cheon vanished.

WHOOSH—

In the next instant, he was already behind Zhuge Hyeon.

Zhuge Hyeon sensed him and whipped his sword around to attack—

“Get some rest.”

WHUMP—

Paeng Cheon’s fist buried itself deep in Zhuge Hyeon’s abdomen.

“Gahk!”

THUD—

Zhuge Hyeon collapsed face-first onto the ground.

Paeng Cheon sighed and started back toward the spot where he had left his saber.

“W-we’re... not finished yet.”

“What? You can still get up after that?”

Paeng Cheon had held back because he only meant to knock him unconscious, but the blow still shouldn’t have been something Zhuge Hyeon could simply rise from.

“I don’t want to hurt you. Just stay down.”

“If I back down... I’ll disgrace my master.”

Paeng Cheon chuckled at those words.

“That master of yours must really be something. Fine. I admit it. Anyone who managed to put that much grit into you must be a remarkable man. I misjudged him. I apologize.”

Only then did Zhuge Hyeon smile.

“Understood.”

THUD—

And promptly collapsed.

Namgung Gang and Hwangbo Sang had to acknowledge it as well.

“Impressive. How in the world did he train the kid to give him that much grit?”

“He used to be so timid, too.”

“If his master managed to change him this much, then he must be the real thing. Looks like I had him completely wrong.”

“Come to think of it, he’s the martial arts instructor chosen by the Zhuge Family. They’re people who want strength more desperately than most. There’s no way they would have picked an ordinary man.”

“That’s true. Now I’m even more curious. Just what kind of man is this martial arts instructor?”

“We’ll meet him when the time comes.”

“I’ll carry him. Let’s head back down.”

“Sounds good.”

Paeng Cheon hoisted Zhuge Hyeon onto his back and was about to leave when—

“Heh heh heh. Why’d you stop fighting?”

A voice so chilling that merely hearing it raised goosebumps drifted from the forest.

“That was entertaining. What a shame.”

“Entertaining? It wasn’t even a life-or-death battle.”

Three old men—one white-haired, one black-haired, and one red-haired—walked out of the trees, all of them smiling.

“Who are you people?!”

“Us? The men who are taking you with us.”

“You kids really do wander around dangerous places without a care in the world.”

“And thanks to that, we get to take four promising young disciples of the Five Great Families without any trouble at all.”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

“Now then. We have no intention of treating you roughly, so come along quietly.”

Namgung Gang drew his sword and stepped forward.

“I don’t know who you are, but you would be making a grave mistake if you took us lightly.”

As Namgung Gang settled into a guarded stance, Hwangbo Sang and Paeng Cheon readied their own weapons.

“Heh heh heh. This might actually work out nicely. Shall we see what the young talents of the Five Great Families can do?”

“Sounds fun. Come at us with everything you have.”

The three young men swallowed hard.

They had known from the moment they sensed the strangers’ qi that these men were far beyond them.

Namgung Gang sent Paeng Cheon a voice transmission.

“I’ll draw their attention with Sang. Take him and get out of here.”

“How can I be the only one to run? I can’t do that.”

“And what happens if he gets hurt while we’re fighting?! Do as I say and go!”

“He’s right. Go. Even if something happens to us, someone needs to get back to the families and tell them what happened.”

“You two—!”

“Go!”

“Didn’t you hear us?!”

At their shout, Paeng Cheon bit down hard on his lip.

“I’ll get back as fast as I can and bring help. If you get any chance to escape, take it.”

“Stop worrying about us and go!”

Paeng Cheon tried to flee with Zhuge Hyeon on his back.

But—

“And where do you think you’re going? I can see exactly what you brats are trying to do.”

“Wha—! When did you...?”

Namgung Gang and Hwangbo Sang recoiled in shock.

Neither of them had even sensed when the man moved.

The red-haired old man slowly approached the startled Paeng Cheon.

“Go on. Let’s see if you’re talented enough to escape.”

An aura that screamed not to come any closer rolled violently from his body.

“Run! Azure Sky Presses Down!”

KRA-KRA-KRAK—

Namgung Gang’s sword qi poured toward the red-haired old man like a torrential rain.

“Heh heh heh. Is that the famed pride of the Namgung Family, the Unfettered Firmament Sword Art? A rainstorm made from sword qi... Heh heh. Looks like I’ll need an umbrella!”

SWISH—

A whip shot from behind the red-haired old man like a snake and began spinning violently.

TING-TING-TING—

Its rapid rotation left an afterimage shaped almost exactly like an umbrella, batting aside every streak of Namgung Gang’s sword qi as though they were nothing more than raindrops.

Then—

“First Burst of Thunder!”

KRA-KOOOM!

A devastating strike hammered into the red-haired old man amid a peal of thunder.

CLANG!

“Heh heh heh! The Hwangbo Family’s Thunderbolt Divine Fist, is it? You’ve made a respectable amount of progress. Against anyone else, that last move would have done some real damage. Unfortunately for you, you picked the wrong opponent today. Heh heh.”

Namgung Gang and Hwangbo Sang bit their lips at the sight of the red-haired old man defending against their attacks with such ease.

They had known they were outmatched.

They simply hadn’t imagined the difference would be this overwhelming.

And the real problem was that the red-haired old man wasn’t the only monster present.

There were two more just like him standing behind him.

Were they really going to be captured without being able to do anything?

“Those faces... Have you given up already? You youngsters surrender faster than I expected. Come now, show me a little more. It was just starting to get entertaining.”

The red-haired old man looked genuinely disappointed that the fun had ended.

There was no point in attacking again.

They would only waste their strength.

It was wiser to conserve what they had and wait for a chance to escape later.

“Tsk, tsk. Pathetic. Giving up after that little... If you have no intention of continuing, then let’s be on our way.”

The red-haired old man slowly approached.

SWISH—

WHUMP—

A sword came hurtling through the air and buried itself in the ground directly in front of him.

“I’d advise you not to cross that line.”

At the sudden voice, not only the red-haired old man but the white-haired and black-haired ones as well turned with faint tension in their expressions.

“Which esteemed expert might this be?”

“If none of us sensed your presence, you must be quite the expert indeed.”

A figure slowly emerged into view.

Kang Mujin.

“I know those kids. I recommend you leave them alone.”

“Heh heh heh. And if we don’t?”

A cold smile spread across Kang Mujin’s face.

“Then you die. And just so you know, my temperament isn’t exactly orthodox. I can get pretty cruel.”

“Oh? Is that so? Now I’m curious just how cruel.”

“Tell me why you’re trying to take those kids, and I’ll kill you without making it hurt.”

“Not going to offer to let us live?”

“Nope. You’re practically overflowing with the kind of qi that says leaving you alive would be a bad idea.”

“You sound awfully confident. Surely you realize the power I’m showing you right now isn’t everything I have.”

“Neither is mine.”

“Heh heh heh. Children, stand well back for a moment. It seems I’ll have to entertain this fellow.”

“Stay right where you are. I’ll finish this quickly and send you home.”

FWIP—

The instant Kang Mujin finished speaking, something sinister streaked straight toward the red-haired old man’s face.

He jerked his head aside.

SLICE.

DRIP—

Something razor-sharp tore open his cheek, and blood streamed down his face.

“Oh. You dodged that.”

“You bastard. Attacking without so much as a warning?”

“Since when does a fight need a warning? You just attack.”

“Heh heh heh. I like you.”

The red-haired old man casually wiped the blood from his cheek and licked it off his fingers.

“Let’s have some fun!”

The instant his hand blurred—

SWISH—

The tip of his whip was already in front of Kang Mujin’s face.

BANG—

KRA-KRA-KRAK—

The air exploded from the whip’s tip, and a tremendous surge of force swallowed the space where Kang Mujin stood.

But Kang Mujin was already gone.

“You dodge like a damned rat!”

The red-haired old man’s whip raced after Kang Mujin like a snake hunting prey.

“That’s not how you use a whip.”

Kang Mujin sounded almost disappointed.

He slipped around the lashing whip again and again while closing the distance to the old man in the blink of an eye.

Something flashed in Kang Mujin’s hand.

As it came hurtling toward him, the red-haired old man hurriedly looped his whip over his forearm to block.

TZAANG!

“Ghk!”

Even through his defense, the impact drove all the way into his bones.

That single exchange made one thing perfectly clear.

His opponent truly was strong.

THROB—

The instant that thought crossed his mind, searing pain shot through the top of his foot.

He looked down.

A sword had somehow buried itself through his foot.

“You see, I don’t use just one weapon.”

A man capable of wielding every weapon in existence as though each had been made for his hands.

That was Kang Mujin.

“I’ll ask the other two why they wanted the kids. Goodbye.”

SHAAANG—

Dozens of weapons erupted around Kang Mujin and tore through the red-haired old man in an instant.

Leaving the old man slowly collapsing in a ruin of blood behind him, Kang Mujin turned toward the remaining white-haired and black-haired men.

Hwangbo Sang, Namgung Gang, and Paeng Cheon stared at him with their mouths hanging open.

Just how strong was this man, to bring down that monster so effortlessly?

“May I ask the name of our benefactor?”

Kang Mujin answered Namgung Gang’s question gruffly.

“The guy on your back? I’m his martial arts instructor.”

“What?!”

A martial arts instructor this powerful?

They could hardly believe it.

The term martial arts instructor usually referred to someone with a particularly deep understanding of martial techniques.

Such a person did not necessarily need to possess an exceptionally high cultivation realm. What mattered was being able to clearly explain how techniques should be executed, how the body should move, and why.

But the man before them wasn’t merely knowledgeable.

He himself was monstrously powerful.

And judging by the way he had just fought, there didn’t seem to be a weapon in existence that he couldn’t use.

He was, quite literally, the perfect martial arts instructor.

Namgung Gang suddenly found himself jealous of Zhuge Hyeon.

“We’ll talk after I deal with these two.”

The three young men nodded—

Then froze at something they saw.

“W-what the hell is that?”

At their horrified reaction, Kang Mujin turned around.

The red-haired old man, his body mangled and drenched in blood, was slowly climbing back to his feet.

And he was grinning.