Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Between Confidence and Arrogance (5)
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Murong Bi wandered the streets for a full hour, chatting with countless people.
He didn't seem tired at all. If anything, the conversations seemed to energize him like some kind of tonic—his vitality overflowed more and more as time passed.
Ironically, the Crimson Sword Trio trailing behind him without so much as swinging their swords once tired out first.
It wasn't physical fatigue, but mental. For warriors who had never aimlessly followed in people's wake before, physical training would have been far easier.
"Impressive."
Murong Bi muttered as they returned to the midpoint of the town.
Hong In asked with a calm expression.
"What is?"
"Talking to people."
"Fun, is it?"
"Thanks to that, I gathered a ton of information. The atmosphere in Wuhuan, what happened a few years ago, what commerce thrives here, what's trending lately..."
"Seems utterly useless."
"No way."
"What do you get from that?"
"Countless things."
Murong Bi twirled his staff out of habit.
"A good atmosphere means people are living well. No oppressors around, so it's lively, and merchants naturally diversify their ways. That's not unrelated to the flow of commerce."
"...Is that so?"
"Remembering minor events from years ago means they left an impression. You can gauge what people like and hate, what they find suspicious, and even who they take a liking to based on their attitudes."
Hong In was inwardly surprised.
'He thinks of everything.'
He himself had dismissed it as useless, but he hadn't expected such depth.
"Trends are especially important. A trend means the mainstream. Knowing it means reading changes in the flow. Trends connect to clothing, food, and shelter; changes there lead to flows of money; and money flows lead straight to the flow of the world."
"..."
"Of course, you can't truly glimpse the whole world from one city's flow."
My thoughts.
'Verbose, but...'
Honestly, I didn't believe he was really thinking all that.
But that attitude was definitely worth learning. He had never considered commoners lowly, but he had thought there was a clear difference between them and himself.
'Well, most of the world is made up of commoners.'
Didn't sages always say one must be attuned to society? Blind training alone wouldn't cut it.
"So, what do you think? Feeling like going now?"
Murong Bi smirked.
"What do you think?"
"If you want something, just say it."
"You've gotten awfully cocky."
"It's just the mission."
Murong Bi, who had been staring at him impassively, nodded toward the mountains with his chin.
"Lead on."
A cold smile crept across Hong In's face.
"Good."
With that, the group left the town and entered the mountain path.
How long had they walked?
As they turned onto a narrow trail, beautifully manicured woods appeared on either side.
Murong Bi let out a soft exclamation.
"What a fine road. The scenery is great."
The sun high in the sky seemed to have shifted a bit westward. It was cool and pleasant weather.
"Sparse people make it quiet—perfect for taking in the view."
Hong In, watching Murong Bi's back, opened his mouth.
"But..."
"What?"
"I heard you're nineteen."
"So?"
"I'm twenty-five."
"And?"
"There's an age gap—shouldn't you respect your elders?"
"I may lack manners myself, but I can't stand seeing it in others."
"..."
"You were rude too. And with that filthy mouth, I have no desire to treat you like an elder."
Hong In grinned.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."
"So you know you're rude yourself."
"That's why most people hate me."
"What if you pull that attitude in front of my father?"
"Who knows."
"Even on a mission, dragging a rude punk like you before him as-is would shame me as a son, wouldn't it?"
Murong Bi replied without turning around.
"You're awfully verbose about wanting to beat me."
"Will you take it lying down?"
"That's why I'm striking first."
"What?"
In an instant, Murong Bi's body spun at tremendous speed.
Crack!
There was no scream or groan.
The staff smacked Hong In's right cheek sharply, traced an arc, and then dropped vertically.
Thud!
Hong In, struck on the crown of his head, lost consciousness on the spot.
Thump!
Hong In's posture as his face slammed into the ground was utterly hideous.
Knees buckled, butt sticking up sharply, his entire face buried in the dirt—with thick blood pooling around it.
"...!"
The squad members were so caught off guard that they just gaped in shock.
Murong Bi looked down at Hong In with a pathetic expression.
"Has 'later generation' become a synonym for the biggest idiot among the young these days?"
Plop, plop.
Five broken teeth finally fell to the ground, evidence of how brutally he'd been hit.
"Fine, spirit's fine. But a moron who can't even hide his killing intent talks about being a swordsman? Manners, basics—you're lacking it all."
Guwol's eyes bulged.
"What the hell are you doing!"
Shing!
The squad members drew their swords.
Even with twenty drawing at once, the sounds overlapped seamlessly. That was how well-trained they were.
'Those guys.'
In the eyes of a former Martial Alliance Leader, they looked utterly amateurish, but watching that disciplined draw brought back memories of the men he had trained in the past.
'Come to think of it, some of them might still be alive?'
The strongest assassination unit in Martial Alliance history.
The squad the Alliance Leader had personally raised, brimming with venom—even fellow alliance members feared them. Yet everyone saw joining it as an honor.
No extra stipend or high official rank.
But every warrior who joined boasted one-against-hundred prowess and always completed any mission assigned.
'Wonder if I'll meet any later.'
Anyway, not the time for that.
"Why so surprised? Didn't you know your squad leader was plotting to take me down?"
Guwol's eyes wavered.
He had known, more or less. The signals had been given several times.
But those weren't signals to kill. Just to beat him half to death and vent.
Of course, Hong In might have changed his mind midway and actually killed him.
"That was...!"
Whoosh!
Guwol couldn't finish. Murong Bi had suddenly appeared a zhang away on his right.
He was stunned. How was he so fast?!
Boom! Clang!
The elastic staff strike snapped the blade midway.
Murong Bi's wrist twitched like lightning.
The staff that broke the blade whistled through the air and shot upward.
Crack!
He couldn't even react.
Guwol, jaw struck, rolled his eyes back and fainted. He avoided the humiliation of losing teeth like his superior, but his jawbone cracked instead.
"Must've been tough serving the squad leader. Even copied his carelessness perfectly."
One of the Crimson Sword squad members shouted.
"Attack!"
The entire Crimson Sword Trio, minus their two leaders, charged at Murong Bi.
Murong Bi smiled and gripped the staff with both hands.
"At least make me bleed as much as Suhyang did!"
A quarter-hour later.
"Ughhh."
"Cough, cough!"
"Uaa..."
The squad members collapsed here and there along the trail looked no different from their fallen leaders.
Three or four were even jammed upside-down into the woods, their legs sticking out above the underbrush and trembling.
"Ah, so refreshing."
Murong Bi's face was especially fresh as he wiped his brow.
"This is what you call true exercise."
He had minimized qi consumption through precise power control. It was possible only because his stamina had risen greatly in the past few days.
And so?
Even after fighting with full spirit, it didn't feel like he'd fought at all. His body felt properly loosened—in fact, he wanted to cut loose again.
"Ugh."
"Hey."
Guwol, who had fainted, staggered to his feet.
His cracked jaw throbbed with headache. Still disoriented, he clutched his broken sword and scanned around, eyes full of confusion.
"Wh-where..."
His speech was slurred.
Guwol, clutching his jaw with his left hand, finally spotted Murong Bi.
And his subordinates jammed everywhere.
"Gasp!"
His mouth fell open wider in shock, but there was no pain.
'I-Impossible!'
The Crimson Sword Squad, hailed as Wuhuan's top force beyond even the Hong Sword Clan.
And among them, the elite Crimson Sword Trio—all groaning on the ground.
At a glance, every one had at least one broken bone. No deaths, fortunately, but they'd need at least three months of recovery for their severe injuries.
"H-how...?"
Thud!
"Gah!"
Struck in the gut with the staff, Guwol dropped to his knees again.
It was a jolting blow that sharpened his mind, making the pain worse. He'd rather have fainted, but his awareness grew clearer with time.
"What's your name."
"Cough! Hack, hack!"
"No name? Then die."
As Murong Bi raised the staff, Guwol shouted desperately.
"Gu-Guwool!"
"Right, Teacher Gu."
"You... think you'll get away with this?"
"Cracked-jaw guy talks big? Must be just a speck."
"Th..."
"And speak properly. You lot tried to take me down first. You think I'd just take it lying down like an idiot?"
"W-we're from the Hong Sword Clan!"
Murong Bi let out a wry smile.
"Crimson Sword is the top in Wuhuan?"
"...?"
"How do the so-called tops all invoke their organization's prestige only after getting crushed? Are all Wuhuan sects this petty?"
Guwol felt his face burn.
Shameful.
It was unconscious, but it meant he'd been riding on the Hong Sword Clan's name all along.
"Skills mediocre, character mediocre, and you won't even admit defeat cleanly."
"..."
"Trash."
Guwol's head drooped automatically.
It was far better getting hit with the staff. Mockery from the victor was utterly humiliating.
Especially when grounded in truth.
It was then.
"Urgh!"
Hong In, finally regaining his senses, pushed off the ground and shook his head.
"Aaaagh!"
Shaking his head made his skull throb, his mouth taste bitter, and his broken nose bridge ache.
As Hong In flailed and rolled on the ground, he spotted Murong Bi.
"You, you bastard!"
Murong Bi, who had been looking down at him calmly, suddenly changed expression and stomped the ground with one foot.
Boom!
"Gasp!"
Startled, Hong In twisted his body away.
Guwol wore a look of utter despair, and even Murong Bi laughed in exasperation.
"Speechless, really."
He walked toward Hong In.
"You punk!"
Finally realizing his shame, Hong In quickly drew his sword.
Murong Bi's foot shot out straight.
Clang!
His mid-level kick struck the hilt's end before the sword was fully drawn, shoving it back in.
Hong In's body spun with the sword, and that was when Murong Bi's beating began.
Pow-pow-pow-pow!
The staff was invisible to the eye.
"Kaa... keh!"
"Don't show your teeth—it's annoying."
There was no mercy in the beating.
He had planned to smash that mouth for mocking Sujing, calling her "that girl" and teasing her beauty, but since the fool had lunged first, he was almost grateful.
Hong In truly felt like he was dying.
It was like ten men swinging clubs at once. He couldn't dodge, and even if he tried to block, hits elsewhere made his body curl up involuntarily.
The qi he had cultivated so far was useless. Each blow severed his qi flow sharply, forcing it back to his dantian—eventually paralyzing it entirely.
In the end, even from the mouth of Hong In, who had draped himself in arrogance beyond mere confidence like fine silk robes, a pathetic plea escaped.
"Sp-spare me!"
"Not killing you."
Crack!
"But wouldn't death be better?"
Splat!
Finally struck solidly on the jaw, Hong In rolled his eyes back and collapsed.
His body was one thing, but his face had swollen to twice its original size.
Murong Bi pointed his staff at Guwol.
"You."
"Y-yes?!"
"Guide me to the Sword Clan."
"Got it!"
"Good... where you going, punk."
"G-guiding..."
"Not carrying your boss? He's clan heir blood, isn't he?"
"Sorry!"
Murong Bi sighed as if the ground might cave in.
"The world is full of dimwits like this..."