Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Sparring
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“This guy...”
Orca stopped mid-reply and looked up. Ox God Head did the same. Yuri followed suit and glanced upward.
—Whoosh...
Harabel Ushia. She was descending from above. Scattered embers fluttered about, her wings of flame billowing dramatically. It was easy to see why her nickname was “Flame Phoenix.”
“You were in this city too?”
“You lunatic, don’t act like we’re buddies.”
Harabel glared at Ox God Head, her crimson eyes flashing.
“If you keep cozying up to me like that, people will suspect I’m a possessor too.”
“If you’re not, then you’re not. Why worry about weird crap?”
“Beyond that, I have zero interest in being associated with a creep like you.”
“That really hurts my feelings. It’s not like this is our first meeting.”
Despite the blatant rebuke, Ox God Head stood tall and unashamed. Harabel, who had paused in midair, furrowed her brows openly at Orca’s blatant stare and whipped her head away. In the end, she didn’t descend to the ramparts but instead halted in the sky, keeping a wide berth from Orca.
‘They said she got subdued by Orca before.’
Of course, that had been entirely Harabel’s fault. She still seemed uncomfortable around Orca even now.
“So, who’s this guy?”
Ox God Head’s attention shifted back to Yuri, and Orca answered with a calm expression.
“He’s the childhood friend of my prospective disciple.”
“What? He’s a total nobody. Why’d you bring him along?”
“Something like his master is Kwon Rang.”
“Kwon Rang?”
Ox God Head blinked.
“Who the hell’s that?”
There was no reason to mock Kwon Rang, who wasn’t even present. Ox God Head’s expression was genuinely one of ignorance about who Kwon Rang was.
“Didn’t you meet him in Lutran and promise a spar? Or was that a lie?”
“No, wait...”
At the mention of the sparring promise, Ox God Head furrowed his brows and sank into thought. Meanwhile, more and more people gathered at the ramparts. They murmured while gazing at Ox God Head and Harabel in the sky, then erupted into cheers upon spotting Orca on the wall.
“Why are you the one getting cheers?”
Ox God Head, still racking his brain to recall Kwon Rang, suddenly vented his frustration.
“To the people of Lutran, you’re some unknown madman, while I’m the Lord of Derusia Magic Tower.”
“I’m the Full Moon Reveler Ox God Head!”
As soon as Orca finished speaking, Ox God Head bellowed at the top of his lungs.
—Rooooar! His shout turned into a lion’s roar, shaking the very air.
“The private realm of the Limitless Supreme! I am the Full Moon Reveler Ox God Head!”
Before the reaction could spread, Ox God Head hurled his magic staff far behind him. At the same time, he kicked off the air. He caught the flung staff against his chest, then chained it into a flashy kick. The staff soared through the city gate once more, halting above the crowd’s heads just like before.
“Hoo—!”
His ceremony rang out even louder than earlier.
“Woooah—!”
The crowd cheered wildly at his poised form, spinning half a turn in midair and thrusting both arms forward. Only then did Ox God Head return to his spot with a satisfied expression.
“Now that’s more like it. Hearing that really wakes me up.”
He nodded along to the prolonged cheers and turned his gaze back to Yuri.
“So. You’re something like the disciple of this Kwon Rang guy, right?”
“Yes...”
“If you’re a disciple, you’re a disciple. What’s with the ‘something like’?”
“I’ve only received some casual guidance.”
“I see. You look pretty well-trained, though. So, why are you here?”
“I came to watch the spar. You really don’t know Kwon Rang Bakerd?”
“No, I remember now.”
Ox God Head’s face took on a strange expression. He was a possessor. He might have lived decades in this world, but by Yuri—Lee Soo-hyuk’s—standards, Ox God Head was someone he’d often chatted about in the community just a few years ago.
Did the current Ox God Head still remember the FS who massacred the Sairan Guards’ Bakerd over and over to master the Raspeon Sword Art?
“Yeah. Kwon Rang Bakerd...”
After his quiet mutter, Ox God Head nodded.
“If my memory’s right, Kwon Rang is a 6th Tier martial artist. That sound about right?”
He tucked the returning magic staff back into his side and snorted derisively.
“You want to watch something like your master get beaten by me?”
“...”
“Guys like me, true experts, don’t spar lightly. Especially not with someone weaker. That’s even more true. Winning against you is as easy as my brother scoring a goal. What do I gain from something that simple?”
“You have... a brother?”
Yuri desperately schooled his expression as he asked. Ox God Head nodded solemnly.
“He’s not in this world, but there’s someone I truly see as an older brother, blood or no blood.”
“I see...”
“Curious about what kind of guy my brother is?”
What should he say?
“...If the Full Moon Reveler, Limitless Supreme, calls him brother, he must be an incredible man.”
“Uhahahaha!”
Ox God Head burst into laughter.
“Damn right he is. What’s your name, kid?”
“Yuri.”
“Yuri. Go tell your Kwon Rang proxy-master this: Beating you in a spar would be too easy, and your defeat is a given, so why bother? I don’t have the nasty hobby of stomping on the weak, so don’t bug me...”
“That won’t do.”
A voice cut in from behind.
Bakerd landed beside Yuri on the ramparts, having leaped over the crowd’s heads.
“Full Moon Reveler. I came to this city to spar with you.”
Bakerd fixed his gaze straight on Ox God Head, sparing not a glance for Yuri, Orca, or Harabel on the wall.
“A year ago, you promised to spar with me here in this city.”
“Seeing your face brings it all back vividly now.”
Ox God Head looked down at Bakerd without losing his smile.
“Kwon Rang. I said the exact same thing back then, didn’t I?”
“This spar is for my sake, not yours.”
“Uhaha! Selfish words. Hoping to grasp a thread of enlightenment from sparring me?”
Ox God Head’s smile shifted slightly. He wasn’t just some concept-obsessed fool. Even with the possessor’s advantages, the tier he’d reached was real. Limitless Supreme. A 7th Tier warrior. A glint of the sharp presence befitting one of such high standing flashed in Ox God Head’s eyes.
“I’ll say this much, Kwon Rang. What you gain from sparring an overwhelmingly superior foe is mostly a sense of your own powerlessness and despair.”
“...”
“Of course, a rare few warriors add desperation to that and shatter their walls. Kwon Rang, are you one of those rare few?”
“I don’t know.”
“Stuck at the 7th Tier wall? Talent, grit, perseverance, effort, intensity, brushes with death... There are countless things needed for enlightenment. And you don’t need to spar me to get them. Sincere advice—take it to heart.”
Ox God Head tapped the magic staff at his side.
“My brother, whom I respect, once said this: ‘I still want to learn, and I’ll be learning my whole life.’ But Kwon Rang, you don’t look like you could teach me a damn thing.”
“Did that brother of yours also say it’s fine to treat promises lightly?”
Yuri, who had been listening silently, bit his tongue the moment he heard those words.
“Full Moon Reveler, I get that you’re not refusing the spar out of fear of me. But we already made the promise—trying to back out now? What kind of nonsense is this?”
“...”
“Answer me, Full Moon Reveler. Does the brother you respect treat promises so lightly?”
“No.”
The smile vanished from Ox God Head’s face.
“My brother never breaks a promise.”
The spar between the Full Moon Reveler and Kwon Rang was on.
*
Outside Lutran’s eastern gate, the Full Moon Reveler and Kwon Rang faced off. The gathered crowd lined the ramparts to watch, but Yuri stood in a spot close enough to qualify as the best seat in the house. Partly because he was something like Kwon Rang’s disciple, and Orca and Ox God Head had permitted it.
“What the hell is going on all of a sudden?”
Elena, arriving late, wore an expression of clear bewilderment. For her, the shock of the Full Moon Reveler arriving today for a spar with Kwon Rang paled compared to Orca personally bringing Yuri here.
“To think I get to witness the Limitless Supreme’s prowess from such prime seats. Thanks to the 3.5 billion man, Yuri, I’m sharing in the luck too.”
Ha-ryeong, who had come with Elena, savored the luxury of the front-row view and raised a finger.
“And the referee is the Azure Heaven Sword Lord Namgung Ju-won? Fitting for the Limitless Supreme to have the Namgung Clan head as his judge.”
The Namgung Clan head, arriving late, had been designated by the Full Moon Reveler as the spar’s referee. Among those present, he was the most renowned aside from the Full Moon Reveler himself.
“He doesn’t look too upset about it.”
“Of course not. The Azure Heaven Sword Lord has been stuck at the 7th Tier wall for ages. Right now, among the Righteous Heavenly Alliance’s five great clans, only two have broken through to 7th Tier.”
The Alliance Lord, Swordless White Crane Mo Yong-hyeon-rak, and White Silver Martial Marquess Yeon Ri-sang-a.
The Namgung, Jeon-gal, and Hwangbo clans had yet to produce a 7th Tier warrior.
“It’s not direct combat, but sometimes you pick up martial principles from an observer’s perspective. The Azure Heaven Sword Lord probably thinks he got lucky. Same for me.”
“What tier are you, Ha-ryeong?”
“Do you know what’s most important for an assassin?”
“A secret?”
“Yes, exactly. The more secrets, the better the assassin.”
Meaning she wouldn’t tell.
“What’d you talk about with the Tower Lord?”
Elena leaned in and whispered. Orca was now chatting with someone from the Ascard Family who had arrived late.
“She asked if I’m learning martial arts well.”
“Lie. No way she’d call you over just for that. It’s something to do with me, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Why lie when it’s so obvious? So, what’d she say?”
“That it’s not good for either of us if I keep holing up in your mansion.”
Elena’s eyes trembled. She glared briefly in Orca’s direction, clutched the hem of her robe, and muttered.
“Why tell you that directly?”
“Probably worried about her adopted daughter.”
“Huh? Adopted daughter? You heard that far?”
Elena’s startled exclamation quickly dropped to a whisper.
“It’s just on paper. The Tower Lord and I aren’t really like that.”
“Heard that too.”
“Anyway...! Whatever you heard, I’ll talk it over with the Tower Lord again. I’ve got my own plans, so don’t worry, Yuri.”
“No need.”
His mind was already made up. Having received a manual on the Self-Rotation Thunder Flash Technique from Orca, ignoring her advice and lingering at Elena’s mansion would just look awkward.
“No... need? What do you mean?”
“I can’t keep imposing on you forever.”
“Oh, it hasn’t even been that long? Just over a month...!”
“We’ll talk later.”
Convincing Elena right now would be tough, and besides, something more important was at hand.
‘Sigh.’
But Elena’s expression nearby was off. Her blue eyes swirled like a stormy sea, and her slightly parted lips quivered.
‘No... need?’
Those words echoed in Elena’s mind.
“...?”
A tickle on the back of her hand. Looking down, Yuri’s fingers were gently stroking it.
“What are you doing?”
Elena let out a hollow laugh and nudged Yuri with her elbow. But Yuri’s face remained perfectly calm. He glanced at her, then looked ahead again.
“Idiot.”
The echo in Elena’s head faded. She chuckled softly and shifted her gaze to where Yuri was looking.
Bakerd, who had been sitting cross-legged in meditation, was rising to his feet.
“If it’s not enough, feel free to do more.”
“No, this is sufficient.”
A meditation of just over ten minutes. Not long, but extending it wouldn’t matter. He felt it through his prickling skin. No—he’d known it even before the signs appeared.
An unwinnable opponent. He’d known it from the start. No amount of meditation to calm the mind or reflection on his accumulated arts would change it. Defeat was already sealed.
He’d realized this long ago. Not today, but a year prior, the first time he laid eyes on the Full Moon Reveler. Bakerd took a deep breath and assumed the stance of his fist art.
“I am Bakerd, known by the moniker Kwon Rang.”
The magic staff slipped from Ox God Head’s side. He caught it on his instep and held it steady. Balancing on one foot looked precarious, yet there was no flaw or opening in Ox God Head’s posture.
“The private realm of the Limitless Supreme. Full Moon Reveler Ox God Head.”
His quiet declaration rang heavy in everyone’s ears.
Ox God Head spread his left hand wide. Bakerd frowned at the five fingers.
“Five exchanges?”
“No.”
Ox God Head shook his head.
“My roots aren’t in wuxia, so I hate vague stuff like five moves or ten.”
“Then what do those fingers mean?”
“Five minutes.”
Ox God Head said it flatly. He withdrew his spread hand, then grabbed the jacket draped over his shoulders.
“If you’re still standing after five minutes, I lose.”
“...Fine.”
Bakerd nodded.
“But don’t stop attacking just because I look like I’m about to die before the five minutes are up.”
“It’s not a deathmatch.”
“Five minutes. I’ll endure.”
“Arrogant.”
Ox God Head clicked his tongue, undid his jacket buttons, and shrugged it off. Or rather, it looked like he flung it aside. —Flutter! The jacket billowed like a cape and soared into the sky.
‘Fuck.’
Yuri couldn’t relax for even a second. He bit his tongue desperately to stifle his laughter. Beneath the jacket was a white short-sleeved shirt. But it wasn’t just any tee.
‘Where the hell did that come from?’
No way this world sold soccer team jerseys, so Ox God Head must have commissioned it himself. Yuri tried his best to ignore the number 7 plastered on Ox God Head’s back.
“What’s that number?”
“No idea about the details, but it symbolizes Ox God Head.”
“Is the writing above his name?”
“Probably his real name from before possession.”
“Wasn’t his real name Ox God Head?”
Even the sounds reaching his ears tormented Yuri beyond the visuals. He felt an urge to plug his ears against the conversation between Elena and Ha-ryeong right beside him.
“I’ll go easy on you.”
“An honor to experience the famed Full Moon Ox Slaughter Technique.”
Namgung Ju-won, standing as referee, glanced between Ox God Head and Bakerd.
“Doesn’t look like I’ll have room to intervene. Do we really need a referee?”
“Count the five minutes precisely.”
Ping.
The magic staff bounced up from Ox God Head’s instep. —Kwarrr! White battle aura enveloped it.
The moment he saw it, Bakerd charged forward. The Full Moon Reveler’s arts were infamous. He coated a magic staff of mana-conductive orihalcon with battle aura and booted it like a cannonball—that was his fighting style.
And his signature ultimate technique, Full Moon Ox Slaughter Fame, went beyond kicking an aura-clad orb; it manipulated the aura itself with exquisite finesse, producing countless variations.
‘Can’t let him create distance.’
That was Bakerd’s judgment. Kicking the staff to smash distant foes was the Full Moon Reveler’s favorite tactic.
Bakerd was a fist fighter. He wasn’t adept at ranged combat and didn’t enjoy it.
‘If I close in, there’ll be an opening...’
How naive and arrogant that plan was became clear in an instant. The initial distance wasn’t far—just a few dozen steps. But before Bakerd could cover half, the white-aura-wrapped orb left Ox God Head’s foot.
The sphere reached Bakerd in a blink. It didn’t feel like it had been kicked; it was as if it had always been right in front of him.
‘My fist...’
Don’t thrust it. Decades of warrior instinct screamed the warning. Bakerd spread both palms wide to receive the aura sphere.
—Crack.
The moment he heard bones crunch, Bakerd’s body flew backward.
“Hoo!”
A cheerful voice echoed in his fading consciousness.