Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Two Opponents
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There were two opponents.
It couldn't be called a fair fight, but this situation hadn't been fair from the start anyway. And having two opponents didn't put Dang Heeran at a disadvantage.
On the contrary, she was steadily gaining the upper hand against the Supreme Brothers. In a way, it even looked like a choreographed dance.
The Supreme Spear's long spear sliced fiercely through the air, but it never managed to cut Dang Heer's body. The Supreme Fist's fist techniques also merely grazed past her, maintaining a generous distance.
As the exchange of blows continued, the Supreme Brothers began to realize that something was gravely wrong.
Yun Hwiyeon. Her skills were certainly respectable enough to gain entry into the Heavenly Academy, but they couldn't possibly be this exceptional.
If Yun Hwiyeon had been this outstanding, she never would have gone unnoticed at the Heavenly Academy, where all eyes were on her.
And the one suffering the most was none other than the Supreme Fist.
Several times during his attacks, he had tried to exploit Dang Heer's blind spots with hidden weapons, but each time, she had countered his tricks with ghostly precision, as if someone had tipped her off.
*You're fighting well. Don't you think?*
Seok Ijin was sitting on the ground.
The Supreme Brothers were drenched in sweat as they battled Dang Heeran, paying no attention to their captured prisoner, Seok Ijin.
By now, Seok Ijin was wriggling his shoulders, having already slipped free of his bonds. He hadn't been poisoned by the Qi Dispersion Poison in the first place.
*So this is what they call a field evaluation?*
*I didn't plan on doing it this way at first, but I figured letting them experience real combat would be better than just sparring or debating with me.*
Seok Ijin's transmitted voice was laced with mischief.
*I had to endure a bit of hardship to lure in those fools, but luckily, they took the bait nicely.*
Now it made sense why he had called her Yun Hwiyeon.
The Tang Clan background didn't matter. Who would fear the Tang Clan when they were already provoking a Heavenly Academy professor?
What needed hiding was the Tang Clan's expertise in poisons and hidden weapons. Thanks to that, the Supreme Fist's face was twisted like he had chewed shit.
*It'll be over soon.*
Seok Ijin muttered. Wi Seongcheon could see it too.
The momentum had completely shifted to Dang Heeran. Her eyes turned venomous.
Puk!
The consecutive sounds made the Supreme Fist's body convulse. Black blood poured from his tightly clenched mouth.
In an instant, the long dagger Dang Heeran had drawn had stabbed and twisted into his heart several times.
"Grk...."
The Supreme Fist's eyes rolled back. Wi Seongcheon stared in startled surprise. He could feel the man's life rapidly fading.
Even just stabbing the heart would have been a fatal blow, but the dagger's tip was coated in deadly poison.
Come to think of it, this was the first time he had witnessed someone dying like this.
"Brother!"
The Supreme Spear's eyes bulged as he roared. The muscles in his arms gripping the spear twitched violently.
Dang Heeran retreated a few steps from his reckless sweeping spear strikes. She spun her blood-soaked dagger, glaring at the Supreme Spear.
"How dare you, how dare you!"
"That's my line."
Dang Heeran spat in a cold voice.
"With such pathetic skills. What gave you the confidence to lay hands on a Heavenly Academy professor?"
"Uwaaaah!"
"I know you hold a grudge against Professor Seok Ijin, but this is too much. Supreme Fist? Supreme Spear? Somyeong Mountain Three Fiends? Never heard of them."
The Supreme Spear's body trembled with rage. Dang Heer's words weren't registering in his ears right now.
His brother's corpse, spewing black blood. Blood tears streamed from the Supreme Spear's eyes.
Of course, Dang Heeran felt not a shred of pity for him.
They were wicked scum who deserved death. Leaving them alive posed no threat to her future, but that didn't mean they were worth sparing.
A dog's habits die hard. All they knew was bullying the weak and robbing with their meager strength.
There was more than enough reason to kill them.
"No way. You didn't actually rely on that crude poison your dead brother used, did you?"
Qi Dispersion Poison. Fatal to martial artists.
Its recipe was tricky, and handling it wasn't easy. The version these clowns wielded only disrupted shallow inner energy at best.
It had no effect on a master like Seok Ijin with profound inner energy.
Dang Heeran knew Seok Ijin hadn't been poisoned by it. In the end, this whole thing was a test he had orchestrated.
"...Whose help did you get?"
Dang Heer's voice lowered.
"There's no way trash like you would attack a Heavenly Academy professor out of grudge alone. Let alone a student? Ignorance can be bravery, but this is beyond that."
Dang Heeran spoke with conviction.
Mediocre skills. For scum like them to survive by evil deeds meant they knew better than most what targets were safe and which weren't.
Holding a grudge against Seok Ijin for six years without acting, and now suddenly seeking revenge? If their skills had improved dramatically, maybe—but with that level?
The suspicions didn't end there.
Seok Ijin's presence on this mountain was known only to himself, the Heavenly Academy students under his evaluation, and related parties.
For nobodies shaking down the area around Somyeong Mountain in Honam to come all the way here targeting Seok Ijin?
It didn't add up unless they had known in advance that he would be here.
...
The Supreme Spear, shedding blood tears, raised his head. He glared at Dang Heeran with eyes dripping venom. She didn't flinch in the slightest.
Wi Seongcheon felt it.
An indescribable sense of unease. Right here, only Wi Seongcheon sensed it.
Even Seok Ijin, who had been warily watching the Supreme Spear for any desperate last stand, wasn't aware of the unease Wi Seongcheon felt.
'...What is it?'
Something ominous.
That feeling was swelling. And the source making Wi Seongcheon feel it was the Supreme Spear.
It made no sense. The Supreme Spear's skills weren't impressive. Wi Seongcheon might fare differently in a direct fight, but from what he could see here, the man's spearwork was amateurish.
Yet this unease, growing stronger, made Wi Seongcheon glance down at the back of his hand.
His hairs were standing on end, goosebumps rising. His spine chilled and prickled, even without cold sweat.
"Say something...."
The Supreme Spear's silence irritated her. Dang Heeran frowned.
Wi Seongcheon stepped forward. Seok Ijin's gaze, watching him, filled with puzzlement. He couldn't fathom why Wi Seongcheon, who had been observing all this time, was suddenly stepping in.
Wi Seongcheon felt the same. He didn't know the reason for this ominous unease. But he felt he had to act. He couldn't just watch anymore.
It happened in an instant.
The Supreme Spear's thrust was faster than anything he had shown before. It was lightning-quick, no less.
Even Seok Ijin was startled by the draw. He leaped forward in alarm, but soon despaired.
*Too late.*
The distance between the Supreme Spear and Dang Heeran was too close.
No matter how skilled Seok Ijin was, this was unavoidable. Unless time itself stopped, the Supreme Spear's spear would pierce Dang Heer's throat.
Dang Heer's reaction was slow too. The moment the Supreme Spear's eyes across from her flashed with bloodlust, the spear was already thrusting.
Seok Ijin wished time would stop, and Dang Heeran felt time *slowing*.
The spear.... couldn't be dodged. It aimed straight for her throat. Her body moved too slowly.
She never imagined this could happen. Right here, Dang Heeran sensed her own death.
Seok Ijin and Dang Heeran were too late. The Supreme Spear's spear was fast.
And Wi Seongcheon.
Was just a bit faster.
"Huh!"
A startled gasp escaped Dang Heer's lips. Her vision flipped, and her neck ached stiffly.
Suddenly, she was staring not at the incoming spear tip, but at the sky.
Her neck.... throbbed like it was sprained. The force yanking her from behind had been too rough.
The lifesaving grip wasn't gentle. Hurled backward, Dang Heeran crashed onto her butt before she could steady herself.
Slumped there.
Dang Heeran stared blankly ahead. She saw Seok Ijin, who had rushed in late, frozen in an awkward stance.
Seok Ijin's eyes held emotions not much different from hers.
*How?*
Both thought the same.
The spear thrusting at her throat. Pulling Dang Heeran aside would have been slower than yanking her back. So that's what he did.
After dragging Dang Heeran back and throwing her, his feet didn't stop, pressing forward.
The thrusting spear had initially targeted Dang Heer's throat, but the moment its target receded, it instantly shifted aim.
But whether it could strike was another matter. It wasn't some brilliant technique.
The instant the spear thrust, Wi Seongcheon tilted his body sideways. And raised his arm upward.
Swaek!
The sound came from below as the spear grazed past his side at a hair's breadth. Immediately, Wi Seongcheon swung his arm down, clamping the spear shaft between his ribs and forearm.
Creeak.
The thrust felt like an elastic whip. His elbow joint snapped out, his hand smacking the Supreme Spear's jaw sideways.
It's over. Wi Seongcheon thought so. The strike had landed cleanly without deflection.
*No, it's not.*
He instantly revised his judgment. Despite the twisting blow, the resistance was abnormal.
The Supreme Spear's neck veins bulged grotesquely. Abnormally activated muscles withstood the impact.
Wi Seongcheon looked up at the Supreme Spear's face. It was utterly different from before.
*He's grown a bit...*
Bigger.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, the Supreme Spear *released* the spear. His widely spread arms enveloped Wi Seongcheon.
He had no desire to be embraced. Wi Seongcheon kicked off the ground, leaping up and kneeing the Supreme Spear's face.
The strike was clean again, but its power fell short of expectations. The suddenly toughened body endured it.
Wi Seongcheon's eyes narrowed. A beat later, the thought hit him.
*Why am I even fighting?*
This fight had nothing to do with him. He had jumped in suddenly, but if he hadn't, Dang Heeran would be dead.
That was all.
No need to continue now. Seok Ijin had dropped his pretense of being bound. As Wi Seongcheon stomped the Supreme Spear's face and leaped higher, he glanced at Seok Ijin.
Their eyes met, and Seok Ijin clenched his fists.
"Go for it!"
Wi Seongcheon's face twisted.