Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Sparring Match (4)
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A fortnight. It was the first time I'd had to properly recuperate since waking up in this new body.
I had to bridge the gap between my mind and body as much as possible.
Fortunately, there was a hidden cache nearby that my master and I had buried in my past life. There, I found the Five Elements Pill and achieved a state of oneness with my surroundings.
Thanks to that, I recovered more than half of my original power.
I'm still not at my peak.
But this life has its own advantages, which helped soothe my impatience.
The Heaven and Earth Body has opened a new path of martial arts for me, and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult will serve as the perfect stepping stone for my revenge.
To achieve that, I must make the most of this opportunity.
My past life taught me the painful lesson that only the prepared can seize an opportunity.
I am prepared, and I have no intention of letting this chance slip by.
Even if it means risking my neck and running wild in the heart of the cult.
The main plaza was larger than I'd expected.
It held a training ground large enough for ten people to move freely, encircled by spectator seats.
At first glance, it seemed like a good place to showcase my skills as planned.
But if I let my guard down, I would be devoured by the tigers that had unknowingly bared their fangs.
Just look at them.
Those greedy eyes filling the VIP seats.
Every one of their owners is a monster who could be called an absolute master.
The moment they realize I'm not someone who will move according to their will, they'll bare their fangs.
But I cannot afford to cower in fear of that.
Even now, the bastards of the Orthodox Faction I must kill with my own hands are growing old.
Those disgustingly hypocritical traitors do not deserve a peaceful death.
They must die flailing in agony, feeling only regret and despair.
Only then can my fallen brothers of the Green Forest depart this world in peace.
I must seize control of the cult as quickly and intensely as possible, making it my own.
It won't be too difficult.
The experience of uniting the Green Forest in my past life is still fresh in my mind.
Perhaps it will be even easier with the cult, which strictly adheres to the law of the strong.
And if not, I'll just have to make it that way from now on.
Finally, the words I had been waiting for came from the Chief Instructor's mouth.
"Now that all the students of Group 24 are on the stage, we will resume the twenty-fourth sparring match."
The moment he finished speaking, I drew upon a portion of my internal energy.
I could read the expression on Jo Gwang-uk's face.
From the moment I took him in, he had a habit of wearing his thoughts on his face.
It was the same now.
It was written all over him.
The second the bell rang, he was going to take down that bastard Geom Cheon-ha.
I'm sorry, but that couldn't be allowed to happen.
I needed to draw all the excitement and attention to myself.
Jo Gwang-uk was probably aiming for the same thing.
A wise choice.
He planned to avoid the overwhelming presence that is me and maximize his own gains.
He must have been confident he could subdue Geom Cheon-ha with the spinning fist I taught him.
But, unfortunately for him, his plan failed.
The moment he stepped onto this training ground with me.
It was as good as handing all initiative over to me.
Fwoosh!
Jo Gwang-uk shot off the ground and rushed toward Geom Cheon-ha.
Having anticipated his move, I cut in between them and interfered.
I deflected the path of the spinning fist I had personally taught him, sending it toward the floor, and gave Geom Cheon-ha a light shove on the chest.
CRASH!
Because of me, Jo Gwang-uk's spinning fist struck the innocent floor, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
Blinded by it, he failed to recognize me and threw a punch, cursing.
*'If he'd just thought for a second, he would've realized I'm the only one here who could block his punch...'*
It seemed there was still much to teach him besides martial arts.
The martial world is no place for someone with a hot temper.
I planned to smile and impart a lesson.
It would hurt a little, but the effect would be undeniable.
But that bastard Geom Cheon-ha, whom I had just shoved, cut in.
"Cough. Cough. Who dares interfere with me! I'll tear you to pieces with my own hands!"
He glared, his eyes bulging, first at me and then at Jo Gwang-uk.
Seeing as he didn't know who had just saved his skin, this one had a long way to go too.
Dealing with them one by one is a hassle, and an unfair fight lacks tension.
The audience would feel the same, and that's not what I wanted.
I felt a little sorry for Jo Gwang-uk, but I needed to make things fair.
I threw a proposal at him and Geom Cheon-ha.
"I won't use any internal energy. So don't be afraid. Come at me with everything you've got."
The seven worthless small fry were of no consequence, so I swept them aside.
And so, a 2-on-1 situation was formed between me and the two of them.
With this, the crowd would go wild again.
Of course, someone in the VIP seats might be displeased, but they wouldn't dare interfere directly in an examination of the Divine Hall of the Latent Demon.
Not with so many eyes watching.
Gwang-uk and Geom Cheon-ha, perhaps intimidated by the sight of me sending seven students flying at once, didn't move rashly.
They must have instinctively felt that I wouldn't be an easy opponent, even without using internal energy.
A commendable instinct.
But that wasn't a reason to go easy on them.
Using no internal energy, I closed the distance with pure physical strength.
Hnngh.
Focusing power into my thighs, I could feel the solid muscles screaming.
They were the precious foundation of my incredible speed.
I squeezed every last bit of power out of them and kicked off the ground.
BOOM!
My body shot forward as if I had stomped the very earth.
It was an astonishing speed for someone relying solely on physical strength.
The distance closed in an instant.
Gwang-uk and Geom Cheon-ha's eyes widened at the velocity.
They hadn't let their guard down, but they couldn't have expected this.
It wasn't their fault.
When one thinks of a master of physical arts, they typically picture immense durability and destructive power, not speed.
But that is a great misconception.
Agility.
It was one of the things I was most confident in when I achieved the Indestructible Body, and the one I worked hardest to cultivate.
Why, you ask?
It's simple.
Time is equal for everyone.
Literally, time flows the same for the strong and the weak.
Agility—that is, speed—allows a martial artist to dominate the time that is equally given to both them and their enemy.
Just like now.
Swish!
I threw my fists before Gwang-uk and Geom Cheon-ha could react.
To dominate time is to dominate the battle.
As if to prove it, they were completely helpless against my fists.
Thud! Thwack! Pow!
As my large, rock-hard fists slammed into their abdomens, neither could even scream.
They could only drool bloody saliva that welled up from within.
I wouldn't mind if it ended here, but it felt like a waste.
I needed to provoke them a little more, to draw out a scene that would drive the audience mad.
So I taunted them.
Hoping they would be filled with venom and charge at me recklessly.
"Is that all you've got? Where did all that ambition from before go? My mistake for thinking I'd have some fun with a couple of brats. Tsk, what was I even thinking, trying to do something with slugs like these."
"Kngh, my lord, why...?"
Gwang-uk, being the larger of the two, came to his senses first.
He looked up at me, his expression clearly asking why I was doing this to him.
"I have grown much stronger than when I took you as my subordinate. And I will likely continue to grow stronger. But what use is a subordinate who is this weak? Jo Gwang-uk, prove your worth on this very stage."
"...I will obey your command!"
Venom successfully filled Gwang-uk's eyes.
Now, I just needed the other one to fill with venom.
Just then, Geom Cheon-ha also regained his senses.
But it seemed I wouldn't need to provoke him myself.
"Do not disgrace the Geom Cheon Pillar Gate!"
Someone in the audience shouted at the rising Geom Cheon-ha.
I presumed it was Geom Cheon-ju himself, having a mere servant say what he wanted to.
A murderous aura was shimmering in the eyes of Geom Cheon-ju as he watched from the VIP seats.
Geom Cheon-ha must have noticed it too, as he looked not toward the direction of the voice, but toward the VIP section where Geom Cheon-ju was.
He must have seen the look in Geom Cheon-ju's eyes, because he shouted, exuding a completely different aura than before.
"Maeng Ak!!! I will kill you with my own two hands, no matter what!"
He looked ready to charge at any second.
But he turned his gaze to Gwang-uk beside him.
He spoke as if he were sacrificing the lesser for the greater good.
"Hey, monkey. Match my lead before I decide to kill you first."
"Bullshit..."
"I said I'm taking the lead. Stop using that thick skull of yours and just aim for the opening I create!"
Then, without waiting for Gwang-uk's reply, he rushed at me.
Now *that* was a decent speed.
He must have forgotten all about conserving energy for the later tests and was pouring in everything he had.
But even so, he was still far from being my match.
"Chaaah!"
He unleashed the Sword of the Azure Demon of the Geom Cheon Pillar, the same technique I'd seen him use at the pond behind the dorms.
The blade turned blue, and its sharpness seemed to have doubled since then.
It appeared he hadn't been idle for the past fortnight either.
*'When facing this sword, I mustn't be deceived by the sense of distance.'*
Of course, a slight increase in sharpness wasn't enough to cut me.
Besides, I had faced this sword once before.
Its strengths and weaknesses were plain to see.
The Sword of the Azure Demon of the Geom Cheon Pillar contained a trick that used sword energy to deceive one's sense of distance at the moment of impact.
Because of that, instead of dodging by one step, I dodged by two, putting more distance between us.
But what was this?
It seemed he had anticipated that and swung his sword accordingly.
To pour all his strength into making himself a feint...
This one wasn't normal either.
Of course, thanks to him, I showed a slight opening.
And that opening became an opportunity for Gwang-uk, who had rushed in behind me, following his lead.
*'Better than I thought.'*
I was honestly a little surprised.
I had pictured a scene like this and set the stage for it, but they created an even more beautiful picture than I had anticipated.
In this moment, they weren't like a cat and a dog, but like sworn brothers who had trained together for years.
"Kuaaaagh!"
Gwang-uk, too, showed potential no less than Geom Cheon-ha's.
*'Hoh. Did he combine the spinning fist with the principles of his original fist art?'*
His right arm, stretching toward me, was imbued with a rotating, ink-black fist energy.
He too had used his venom as a foothold to unleash a single, full-powered strike.
*'They've both grown.'*
Gwang-uk and Geom Cheon-ha.
Facing me, the two of them had hit their limits, and using their venom as a foothold, they had surpassed them.
And they did it as a coordinated attack, two men who were at each other's throats becoming one.
But that alone was not nearly enough to defeat me.
Without even looking back, I blocked his fist with a single hand.
Honestly, since I wasn't using any internal energy, my wrist throbbed.
They wore expressions of utter despair, but for me, even feeling this much of an impact was unexpected.
Well, I didn't bother showing it.
My goal was to drive the ones in the audience and VIP seats wild.
I had to appear as overwhelming as possible.
As if I could effortlessly receive the power they had scraped from the very bottom of their barrels.
Unfortunately, it was time for the curtain to fall on this play designed to showcase my power.
"Hmph. Is this the end? You both did well."
Whoosh!
After that brief acknowledgment, I grabbed Gwang-uk's right hand, which I was holding, and pulled it from behind me to the front.
Gwang-uk was dragged violently forward.
Even with his large frame, he couldn't handle my strength.
I threw him straight at Geom Cheon-ha, who was in front of me.
Fwoooosh!
The air whistled heavily, as if a boulder had been thrown.
But its speed was no less than that of Gung So-so's admirable arrows.
Gwang-uk flew helplessly and crashed into Geom Cheon-ha.
CRACK!
Thanks to that, the screams of both men echoed across the training ground.
"Gyaaaah!"
Seeing the venom in their eyes, there was no way they'd pass out from just this.
I had to end this quickly, before they recovered from the impact.
Fwoosh!
I kicked off the ground and unleashed a foot technique on the tangled pair.
Th-th-th-thud!
I wasn't trying to kill them, so I didn't strike down with the heavy soles of my feet.
I merely delivered a shock to their vital points with the tips of my toes.
In a way that made their fierce, coordinated attack seem meaningless, they passed out on the spot.
A brief silence fell over the training ground.
And in that gap, the Chief Instructor came up to announce the end of the test for Group 24.
"All students except for Maeng Ak are unable to battle...!
The test for Group 24 is now concluded."