On the surface, it might have looked like a tense clash, but Jeok Seohwa had been feeling his defeat growing stronger for a long time.

The offense and defense had already been reversed.

At first, he had been pouring out attacks, but he had been gradually pushed back, and now he was on the defensive, busy just defending.

Every time they clashed, his sword was pushed back, and his palms stung. And little by little, he was busy just keeping up with the sword that the punk was swinging, unable to follow it.

Damn it, damn it!

To a punk who isn't even of age.

"Ugh-a-a-ap!"

Jeok Seohwa gritted his teeth. His pupils, whose blood vessels had burst from the excessive force, spewed out a bloody light.

The pride of a sect leader?

The affection of a father?

Yes, that was the beginning.

But now, something else was more important to him.

If he kills the punk, if he just kills the punk, Ganyang will fall into his hands.

Ku-reu-reu-reung!

Snake Sword, Blue Eagle Catches the Snake!

Jeok Seohwa's sword plunges down forcefully. The sword qi, divided into nine, flies towards Cheonyeong.

"Snake Advance?"

It was a winding sword strike, like a snake advancing. It was as if nine snakes were aiming for him at the same time.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

Some came, digging up the ground, and some came, leaving a trajectory like a bent whip in the empty air.

But it's not a dragon, just a snake.

"Hup!"

Cheonyeong puts Samyang True Qi into his feet.

The raised foot forcefully pressed down on the sword strike, as if to trample and burst the head of the approaching snake. As the ground exploded and rose, the sword strike lost its power and scattered.

Then, the sword in his hand was divided into seven strikes in an instant, and as it drew numerous 'well' characters, the sword strike shattered into pieces and lost its power.

The nine sword qi disappeared in vain without exerting their full power, and in the rising dust cloud, Cheonyeong stood alone.

The disappeared Jeok Seohwa.

He was in the sky.

The nine sword strikes were just to block Cheonyeong's view; what Jeok Seohwa had been aiming for from the beginning was this one strike.

A sharp eagle aiming for the snake on the ground.

Jeok Seohwa, with his sword as his claws, descends on Cheonyeong's head like an arrow.

I got him!

Joy was already boiling at the thought of the brain matter that would burst from the split head.

Before the smile of joy on Jeok Seohwa's lips could even fade, Cheonyeong slightly twists his body to the side.

The sword, which had lost its target for a moment, plunges towards the ground.

"...!?"

In that fleeting gap, in the dilated pupils of Jeok Seohwa, who was drunk on joy, he saw Cheonyeong's yellow pupils as he slightly raised his head. And his evil-looking smile.

A chill ran down his spine.

It felt like something was about to happen, but he couldn't predict what it was, and his vision went dark.

Teok!

Cheonyeong's extended hand grabs Jeok Seohwa's collar.

"I got you."

"You punk?"

I'm the one who's caught?

The question was not long.

Because the hand that had grabbed him forcefully pulled Jeok Seohwa's body and brought it down to the ground.

Kwa-a-a-ang!

The eagle that had descended, aiming for its prey, had missed, and on the contrary, had been caught by the waiting hunter and had been thrown to the ground.

"Kra-a-ak!"

Just as he had come down.

Jeok Seohwa, whose face had been slammed into the ground because he couldn't turn his body, let out a scream. His head went blank from the intense pain, and the flow of his true qi was cut off.

Th-this damn punk...

The moment he endured the pain and tried to get up in a hurry.

Kwa-deuk!

A strange sound was heard.

And a pain greater than being slammed into the ground dug into his shoulder.

"Keu-eu, ugh-a-a-ak!"

Jeok Seohwa lets out a tearing scream, grabs his shoulder, which was now cut open and vomiting blood, and begins to roll on the ground.

As if the pain had been transmitted through the sound, the movements of the Dokgak-gwi, who were fighting Yongcheon and the others to enter the Daegakjeon, stop.

The sect leader, their sect leader...

Although it couldn't be called the defeat of the Blue Serpent Sect, the match was over.

With Jeok Seohwa's defeat.

"Keu-eu-a-a-a-ak!"

Cheonyeong stomps on the rolling Jeok Seohwa's leg bone and crushes it.

What's the big deal about a warrior losing an arm?

In his past life, he had bitten off Jin Gumyeong's ear even though both his legs had been cut off and he had no strength to move anymore.

It should have been at least that much.

"I warned you, didn't I? That if you just handed over your son, I would retreat quietly."

"You punk! You damn X-bastard!"

Look.

His mouth is still running.

Cheonyeong approaches Jeok Seohwa.

Although the match was over, to not leave any future problems, he had to cut the bud completely.

Even though he had cut off his arm and crushed his leg, his eyes, which had a yellowish light, were still just as fierce.

Cheonyeong raised his foot with the intention of completely crushing the remaining leg.

And the wind blew.

A figure, who had lightly stomped the ground with the wind and had closed the distance in an instant, extends a palm towards Cheonyeong.

"Tch!"

Cheonyeong, whose purpose had been thwarted, extends his palm with the intention of striking back.

Hoo-woo-ung!

"...?!"

The palm that should have made a sound upon impact disappears, and Cheonyeong's hand hits the empty air. And feeling something that made the back of his neck stand on end, Cheonyeong kicks the ground with the foot that had been aiming for Jeok Seohwa's leg and hastily retreats. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The threat, whose substance was not even clear, was clearly another hand with formidable power.

"Ghost Hand?!"

The retreated Cheonyeong frowns with one eye and looks ahead.

The person blocking Jeok Seohwa's front was, as expected, the Ghost Hand, No Gwanyeong.

"Elder!"

The faces of the stopped Dokgak-gwi light up.

It was an expression as if they had met a savior in a moment of crisis, and their slumped shoulders regain their strength.

"The elder has come! Kill the punks!"

A single warrior who changes the tide of the battle.

That was the meaning the Ghost Hand had.

But.

"Everyone, stop!"

No Gwanyeong's voice echoes through the Daegakjeon, stopping the Dokgak-gwi who were about to start attacking Yongcheon and the others again.

"E-elder?"

"Tsk! You pathetic punks."

No Gwanyeong, who had clicked his tongue with a tone full of displeasure, looks at Jeok Seohwa and sighs.

Although I had expected it would come to this.

No Gwanyeong, with a very hardened face, looks at Cheonyeong.

"Family Head Tang."

"Brother."

"I have no choice but to do this."

"I understand. Brother, you should fulfill your duty."

"Hmm."

"But I will recommend it. Step aside."

"I can't do that."

"Then, I have no choice but to go over you."

Cheonyeong's pupils were cold.

If an obstacle appeared in the way of his revenge, he was planning to remove it and pass by, no matter who it was. Even if that obstacle was the Ghost Hand, who had shown him deep goodwill.

"Promise me one thing."

"Please speak."

"If I can't stop your steps, do as you please. But, please end it with just the young master and his father."

"There will be future problems."

"Then you take it."

"Pardon?"

"They are a group that will naturally scatter after the sect leader and the young master die. The Unorthodox Faction is originally like that, and when the top seat is empty, it is the law that a commotion arises to occupy that seat."

"But how can you tell me to take it? Who knows which punk will aim for my seat."

"No, it won't be like that. And the Unorthodox Faction is bound to be loyal to the one with power, the one who is beneficial to them. You have sufficient power, and if you defeat me, you will even gain trust. So the majority will follow you."

Cheonyeong looks at No Gwanyeong steadily and then smirks.

"It's a contradiction. You say you'll stop me, and then you tell me to take it? Your words and actions don't match at all."

"I can't help it. Although I've only stayed for a while, it's a loyalty I have to protect for the sect leader."

"The loser dies. That's the same for you, brother."

"It can't be helped. Isn't that the martial world? And my loyalty is enough with having stopped his death once. But, keep it in mind. The fight between forces in the martial world is like that. The strong annexes the weak. And rules."

"..."

"If your rule is not to their liking, they will eventually split. And they will rebel. That is the natural order. But for now, take it. You have already taken a step. If you don't take over the Blue Serpent Sect even after defeating me, on the contrary, you, who have caused chaos in a place that was running well, will only get blame."

"Hmm, that's true. I would have only caused chaos even after getting my revenge. I'll think about it. Gradually. For now, I have to get my revenge first."

"Do so. The law of the Tang family is not to leave a grudge behind."

"I will do my best."

"I too have no intention of giving way easily."

No Gwanyeong, who had nodded to Cheonyeong, says to the warriors of the Blue Serpent Sect.

"Everyone, listen well! Whoever the winner of this fight is, put down your weapons!"

No Gwanyeong finished his words and turned around.

There was no need to hear an answer in the first place.

Now that the sect leader had collapsed, the only one the warriors of the Blue Serpent Sect could rely on was the Ghost Hand.

And even if the sect leader had been there, if he had spoken with determination, the warriors would have been tempted by his words.

That was the Ghost Hand, No Gwanyeong, one of the ten heroes of the Sicheon Unorthodox Faction, whose name was not lacking even when compared to the world.

"Let's begin."

"Hmm."

As No Gwanyeong turns around, Cheonyeong, who had been thinking for a moment, sticks his sword into the ground.

Puk!

No Gwanyeong, who knew that it meant he would not use it, frowns with one eye and says.

"Are you not going to use your sword?"

"Yes."

"Heh! You said you would do your best! Are you going to fight me with your bare hands?"

As No Gwanyeong makes a feigned angry expression, Cheonyeong smirks.

"Who?"

"What?"

"Who said I'm bare-handed? I clearly said I would do my best, and I really intend to."

Cheonyeong takes out a hidden weapon from his inner garment.

"You'll have to be quite tense. Because this might be stuck somewhere all of a sudden."

"Ah!"

At those words, No Gwanyeong bursts into laughter.

He had misunderstood.

Even if Tang Cheonyeong had put down his sword, he could not be called bare-handed. His main weapon would already be stuck all over his body.

"That's good. I've been wanting to see it, your hidden weapon technique."

"Shall I go first?"

"No way? I can't let you take away such a fun opportunity!"

Pa-ang!

As soon as his words ended, he flew over.

His one step jumped over three feet in an instant, and the moment he was about to respond, a palm was already digging into his abdomen.

Ping!

Cheonyeong immediately flicks his finger in the direction of the palm that had flown in.

A soundless hidden weapon, the Silent Cut.

And the Samyang True Qi contained within it.

"Heh!"

The Ghost Hand, who was about to get a hole in his palm, rotates his wrist and sends out a second palm force.

But it was already too late.

Cheonyeong had already jumped back and was throwing hidden weapons with both hands.

Hidden Technique, Fan Rafter!

Kwa-a-a-a!

No Gwanyeong, who was chasing Cheonyeong, is startled by the hidden weapons that are flying like the ribs of a fan and changes his direction.

He couldn't deflect them.

Since he could already hear the sound, it was clear that the power contained in the hidden weapons was not to be trifled with.

And hadn't he thrown the hidden weapons in all the directions he could escape so that he couldn't chase him?

"As expected!"

Far from criticizing the hidden weapon technique as despicable, No Gwanyeong, with a face full of joy, forcefully draws out his internal energy and increases his running speed, and his body begins to split into two.

And then four, and in an instant, he creates eight afterimages and dodges the Fan Rafter, chasing after Cheonyeong.

"Tch!"

Ping! Another hidden weapon that flies with a strong sound.

"Hmph!"

But No Gwanyeong accurately deflects the hidden weapon.

But Cheonyeong's move was just a 'feint first, kill later', where he blinds the opponent with the first move and takes their life with the following move.

Swii-iik!

The Silent Cut, hidden in the shadow of the first hidden weapon, digs in, aiming for No Gwanyeong's Adam's apple.

But it did not achieve its purpose.

As if he had expected Cheonyeong's aim, No Gwanyeong twists his upper body and dodges the second hidden weapon as well.

"Shallow trick! Do you think I'll fall for..."

No Gwanyeong's face, which had been mocking Cheonyeong's skill, hardens.

Because he had felt a formidable momentum from his side, and when he had hastily turned his head, Cheonyeong was smiling, with his fist pulled back.

"No way, did you think I was hiding only one thing?"

(End of Chapter)