Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Point Cang's Second Dragon
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The corner of Jong Baek's mouth slowly began to curl up.
A scoff escaped his lips at the sight of Nangong Ryong and Nangong Hyeok provocatively taunting him from across the way.
"Amusing fellows."
His keen hearing picked up Nangong Hyeok's muttered curses nonstop.
"That bastard..."
His junior brother Jong Cheon's face flushed red.
"Have you ever seen such arrogant pricks? Senior Brother, the Nangong Clan must be out of their minds! How dare they insult Point Cang!"
Jong Cheon radiated killing intent, as if he might draw his sword at any moment and charge over to slit Nangong Ryong's throat.
Jong Baek calmly held him back.
"No need to get worked up."
"Senior Brother?"
"They're blind and deaf, so they neither see nor hear. Should we discard our dignity over fools like that?"
"But they're strutting around on the fame they scraped from this tournament! The Nangong Clan, of all people!"
Jong Cheon growled, glaring ferociously at the Nangong Clan side.
Jong Baek chuckled lightly.
"They earned it by beating Wudang's prodigy. Isn't he one of the Four Prodigies?"
"When was he ever a prodigy? Those guys haven't even tasted Point Cang's true sword."
"Haha, confidence is good, but overconfidence is not. Wudang's prodigy is genuinely strong."
"Strong enough to surpass you, Senior Brother? It's just empty fame from frogs in a well. If it weren't for sect matters last tournament, you would've taken first place."
Jong Cheon raised his voice, irritation and disdain thick in his tone.
It was the kind of talk that would make Wudang flip their lids if they heard.
His attitude, utterly dismissing one of the world's Four Prodigies, was enough to incite fury.
But Jong Cheon paid no mind to the stares around him.
"That's why idiots like them run wild without knowing their place! They have no fear of the world!"
Jong Baek chuckled lightly.
"You don't howl back just because a dog barks, do you?"
"We might not howl, but we can beat it, can't we?"
"Even dogs have ones you coax and ones you don't. Jong Cheon, you plan to play into their scheme?"
"Urgh!"
To Jong Baek, the Nangong Clan's younger generation was worth about that much.
Dogs not even worth facing.
Jong Baek spoke in a firm, resolute voice.
Absolute conviction and boundless pride filled his words.
"Does a dragon need to mind a mutt under the clouds? No matter what they yap, Point Cang's sword never dulls. Ignore them."
"Yes, Senior Brother."
Jong Cheon gazed at Jong Baek with admiring eyes.
It showed his senior brother had reached a lofty realm not just in martial arts, but in mental cultivation.
No trace of agitation despite the Nangong Clan's provocations in front of all these people.
He was like a towering ancient tree.
'As expected of Senior Brother. The title of Point Cang's greatest prodigy isn't for nothing.'
Jong Baek spoke quietly.
"Isn't it laughable? Acting like they're dragons themselves."
"Exactly, Senior Brother."
"But the moment they face a true dragon, they'll realize. A picture dragon and a real one are worlds apart. Then they'll tuck tail and know their place."
Jong Baek smiled softly.
"Conveniently, isn't that fellow your first opponent?"
"Yes, he is."
"Then, as you said, they'll quickly learn their place."
Jong Baek's eyes swept the surroundings.
Disciples from the Nine Great Sects, humiliated by the Nangong Clan, glared at Nangong Ryong and Nangong Hyeok with bloodshot eyes.
It was provocation aimed at Point Cang, but to them, it felt like mockery of the Nine Great Sects—especially themselves.
"If you're going to do it, do it right. Show them who's the real dragon."
Breaking the Nangong Clan would send everything flowing toward Point Cang.
A subtle smile played on Jong Cheon's lips.
"Don't worry. I know exactly how to beat disobedient mutts."
"Hahaha, good. Make it a show."
Jong Baek lightly patted Jong Cheon's shoulder.
"Still, they might provide some brief entertainment."
Next to Point Cang's One Dragon, Jong Baek, the strongest was Jong Cheon.
Though overshadowed by him, Jong Cheon's skill was far beyond what the Nangong Clan's younger generation could handle.
Jong Cheon could surely teach Nangong Ryong just how lofty Point Cang's sword truly was.
Jong Baek smiled faintly as he looked toward the Nine Great Sects' side.
"Once this tournament ends, everyone will know Point Cang's sword is the world's finest."
Thinking of Point Cang's sword standing tall at the heart of the Central Plains—not its fringes—already filled Jong Baek with delight.
A bright smile bloomed on Jong Baek's face.
"Smirking? You smirking fuck?"
Nangong Hyeok tilted his head crookedly at Jong Baek watching him from across.
That bastard's already got a winner's grin?
Nangong Hyeok whipped his head toward Nangong Ryong.
"Your opponent this time is that guy's junior brother? Look at him. Sneaky-looking, just like their sword style."
"......"
"Just crush him. Crush him flat."
Nod.
Even at Nangong Ryong's nod, Nangong Hyeok wasn't satisfied and yelled.
"Knock out all those bastards' teeth! Yeah? Sweep every last tooth! Let's become tooth hunters! Make those Point Cang fucks piss themselves at the sound of our name!"
Those around wore baffled expressions.
Not just the three from Thunder Dragon Squad, but the Nangong Clan's allies too.
'What hunter? Tooth hunter?'
'......Dog catcher? Piss themselves just from looking?'
'Does he have a grudge with Point Cang?'
'No way. How could a bedridden guy make enemies?'
But why's he foaming more than Nangong Ryong, who's directly involved?
He'd need to have killed his parents to rage like this...
Nangong Hyeok strained his eyes.
"Don't lose."
"Absolutely..."
"If you lose..."
"......I won't."
"If you do, I'll drill you till the next tournament. If it looks bad, just drown in the piss pot or come back crippled. Got it?"
"......"
"Got it?"
Nod.
Nangong Ryong clenched his jaw.
Nangong Hyeok slapped his back lightly.
"Go on, flip 'em over!"
"Mm!"
Nangong Ryong strode onto the dueling platform.
Geon Cheon-hwi shook his head.
Doesn't that look just like a hunting dog?
Geon Cheon-hwi could clearly see how he'd been trained and brainwashed.
Geon Cheon-hwi cautiously spoke up.
"Will the Young Master be alright?"
"What."
"I hear that Daoist Jong Cheon is quite the expert. They say if not for Point Cang's One Dragon, he'd be the One Dragon..."
"Bullshit."
Nangong Hyeok turned to Geon Cheon-hwi with a hollow laugh.
"Just watch."
"......Yes."
"What."
"Nothing."
Geon Cheon-hwi tilted his head but turned his gaze to the platform.
* * *
Amid the crowd's anticipation and worries, Nangong Ryong stepped to the center of the dueling platform.
As Nangong Ryong mounted the platform, the spectator stands erupted in noise.
Jong Cheon eyed Nangong Ryong walking to the center.
'Daring to provoke Point Cang?'
His eyes sharpened.
His gaze instinctively sought out Nangong Ryong's openings.
'To lose to trash like this. Tsk tsk, pathetic.'
Hollow, listless eyes.
Solid energy, yet somehow empty.
Riddled with flaws.
Pathetic that some Kunlun nobody and a major sect's junior had fallen to this.
He could guess Joint Southern Sword Dragon's level without experiencing it.
Jong Cheon exhaled lightly and placed his hand on his wooden sword.
"I am Jong Cheon of Point Cang. Greetings to Nangong Clan's challenger."
"......"
"Point Cang's sword is sharp, so take care."
A chilling voice escaped him, his eyes flashing with sharp light.
His needle-like aura began prodding Nangong Ryong's skin.
Nangong Ryong nodded calmly, then gripped his wooden sword.
A blue bolt of lightning flashed briefly in his previously listless eyes before vanishing.
Jong Cheon showed surprise, then smirked.
'He has a trick or two, it seems.'
Not just luck or weak opponents.
Swish!
Jong Cheon gripped his sword hilt firmly.
And at the exact moment the duel began, Jong Cheon stomped powerfully.
"But that's as far as it goes!"
With his advance, nine sword auras burst from Jong Cheon's blade.
Nine streaks of light too fast to follow seemed to pierce Nangong Ryong's body.
Sharp, swift, intense.
Literal beams of light.
Creeeang!
A belated sword-drawing ring echoed, followed almost instantly by a clamor like rain hammering a pot lid.
Clangclangclangclangclang!
Unbelievable sounds for wooden swords clashing. Nangong Ryong's robes fluttered, then holes punctured through like porcupine quills.
Spectators' jaws dropped.
"Is that the Four Shadows Sword Technique?!"
"They call it the swiftest of swift swords!"
"Can't track it with the eye!"
"Whoa! It'll end in seconds!"
Each blue sword aura flash brought deafening booms: bang, bang.
"As expected of Senior Brother Jong Cheon!"
"That Nangong Clan young master can't do a thing."
"Haha, serves him right!"
"He mimed slitting throats, but his own's getting pierced! Hahaha!"
Point Cang disciples laughed heartily.
They'd been inwardly furious at Nangong Ryong's taunts too.
To see Jong Cheon toy with and dominate him—how satisfying!
"Senior Grand Brother...?"
Then, junior brother Jong Won stared at Jong Baek in shock.
Jong Baek was biting his lip bloody, fists clenched white-knuckled.
His face showed clear anxiety, urgency, and dismay.
'Why?'
He couldn't help wondering.
Jong Cheon was clearly dominating, wasn't he?
"How in the world..."
Jong Baek groaned.
His gaze fixed on Nangong Ryong parrying Jong Cheon's sword.
The Four Shadows Sword Technique, which should've pierced him long ago, wasn't landing.
Nangong Ryong was blocking Jong Cheon's honed aura completely.
'......Dodging that sword?'
Jong Baek's face twisted in bewilderment at Nangong Ryong's unexpected movements and aura.
Different from the inn—different aura, presence, motion.
Had he gained enlightenment in those few days?
No other explanation for Nangong Ryong's current level.
'Yes, he's definitely different from before.'
He had to admit it.
And that only scratched at his nerves more.
It was right then.
Flash!
Rumble!
Jong Cheon's soaring sword auras, like arrows shot skyward, were instantly devoured by Nangong Ryong's Thunderous Lightning Wall.
The Four Shadows Sword Technique shattered against Nangong Ryong's Imperial Sword Form barrier and crumbled.
Boom!
"Kekekeek!"
Jong Cheon, struck on the crown, rolled ugly, eyes rolled back.
Thud!
A heavy thud.
Silence like death fell over the cheering Point Cang disciples.
Their pupils shook like in an earthquake, legs buckling.
Jong Won's mouth had been agape for ages.
Nangong Ryong stood aloof, coldly glaring at the Point Cang side.
Then, as if to show off, he pointed his wooden sword at Jong Baek and flicked it downward lightly.
"You...!"
Jong Baek's face contorted monstrously.
"......"
Their gazes clashed in midair.
Tension hung thick as Gold Apex Shang whispered to Nangong Hyeok.
"Your next opponent is you. Prepare, he says."
"......What? When?"
"Just now."
"Just now?"
"It's different this time, he adds."
"......"
Nangong Hyeok stared blankly at the platform.
"What the hell, say it out loud! Mute again?!"
Still, the provocation landed solidly.
Nangong Hyeok cackled at Jong Baek's wretchedly twisted face.