Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Bandit Tournament (4)
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Bandit King.
In other words, as the Supreme Bandit Fortress Lord Jin Mu-hyuk ranked first in the bandit hierarchy, all bandits—strong or weak—were nothing but ragtag scum in his eyes.
There was no reason for anyone strong enough to earn his recognition to stoop to banditry in the first place.
Bandits were, by tradition, the occupation chosen by cowards who lacked ability but didn't want to starve.
Such scum banded together to form a single stronghold, and seventy-two such strongholds combined to create the current bandit alliance.
This inevitably meant their solidarity was weak from the start.
They were already a bunch of idiots and brutes, too busy checking each other and tripping one another up to unite.
And so, the Bandit Tournament was born to bolster that solidarity.
A stronghold that proved its strength could displace an existing one, or fill a vacancy if a stronghold was wiped out, earning a spot among the seventy-two.
With its cutthroat competition, promotion and relegation system, and massive prize money, the Bandit Tournament was the bandits' grandest festival.
And some lunatic had crashed that festival.
That lunatic was Cheongun.
From the Justice Alliance, no less. What the hell? The Alliance and the bandits were never on good terms, but as long as neither crossed the line too far, they had an unspoken rule of non-interference, didn't they?
Paaat—!
Jin Mu-hyuk leaped back and pointed his finger.
"Hey, you."
The finger jabbed accusingly.
Cheongun took it in stride.
Bandits were just bandits—ignorant thugs. What was the point in arguing?
"Why'd you call me?"
"You're the Chief Patrol, huh?"
"That's right. The face of the Justice Alliance—that's me."
"……"
Jin Mu-hyuk furrowed his brow.
"Show me your badge."
At that, Cheongun pulled out the plaque proving his Chief Patrol status.
But Jin Mu-hyuk had put some distance between them, so it was a bit far.
Jin Mu-hyuk clicked his tongue.
"Too far. Come closer."
"It'll wear out. Look from there."
"……"
Jin Mu-hyuk suppressed his anger, narrowing his eyes.
He checked the plaque over and over, but the dragon emblem and its overall shape were flawless.
Undeniably genuine.
Jin Mu-hyuk let out a short sigh.
"I can't make sense of this. Has the Alliance always been this rude? If you have grievances with the bandits, send a letter or dispatch an envoy—there are procedures. Ignoring all that to crash our event and cause a ruckus... is this truly worthy of a 'Alliance'?"
"And have your lot ever followed procedures while shaking down travelers for tolls?"
"……"
Jin Mu-hyuk eyed Cheongun intently.
"Speak. What's the Alliance's business?"
For a moment, Cheongun fell into thought.
The Alliance's business? As if. He'd come just to snag the prize money, but now fabricating a grand justification on the spot, his stiff mind wouldn't turn.
So Cheongun put on a wistful expression.
It was a honed pity-inducing look from his early beggar days, refined to boost begging success rates after possession.
Cheongun asked.
"Curious?"
"Yes."
"I see. Then stay curious."
"…That's too much."
"Something like that."
"……"
This was Cheongun's psychological warfare.
In truth, Jin Mu-hyuk was burning inside at Cheongun's attitude.
If that guy really was the Chief Patrol, he was probably one of the Three Lights: Radiant Heaven Sword.
That monk was likely from Shaolin's Punishment Squad.
And the two women? One seemed mid-Peak realm, but the other was unreadable—at least Transcendent.
Not easy opponents to kill, and ones you shouldn't even if you could.
Mess up, and you'd tangle with the Namgung Clan, Bloodline Pavilion, Darkwood Sect, Myriad Dragon Escort Agency, Filth Gate, Justice Alliance, Sword Sovereigns, and Silver Hooks—all in one go.
That's why the bandits, who had charged in recklessly moments ago, froze at the words "Justice Alliance," scanning the situation like scared rabbits.
Some were even prepping to flee.
Jin Mu-hyuk laughed in disbelief.
"Ha."
Only then did Cheongun check the man's expression.
A normal person would scheme to slip away like a rat upon realizing the situation, but he remained calm.
Jin Mu-hyuk asked Cheongun flatly.
"Why'd you kill the Cloud Peak Stronghold bandits?"
"They threatened me for tolls while I was passing through. Not content with robbing money, they killed the weak for fun—evil scum, so I killed them."
"Scum who deserved death."
"Exactly."
"Then why has a Chief Patrol shown up at the Bandit Tournament invoking Cloud Peak Stronghold's name?"
"Watching you lot use stolen money for prizes and such looked ridiculous."
"……"
Jin Mu-hyuk had no retort.
It pissed him off, but nothing was wrong.
"Fair enough. So what do you want? War with the bandits?"
"That wouldn't be bad."
"No need for such a wasteful slog."
Cheongun nodded.
"Then shut up and listen."
"Can't do that. I know what you'll demand."
"Touchy about pride."
Jin Mu-hyuk replied curtly.
"My pride isn't the issue. If bandits cared about pride, they wouldn't hole up in these mountains. They'd have stepped into the jianghu long ago to build fame."
"True. Then why stay holed up?"
"Because I have bandit brothers to protect. I know the rumors—that bandits are trash who fleece the common folk. Some probably are. The rule is not to touch unarmed civilians, but bandits are a loosely bound group by nature. What can you do? They're starving brothers too."
Bandits hide in the forests.
The Waterway Stronghold bandits eye them warily as fellow thieves, orthodox sects try to exterminate them on sight, and even the Five Evil Alliances—the core of the unorthodox—treat bandits like outsiders.
What does hoarding wealth in the mountains mean? True riches and glory?
They just hole up in the woods their whole lives, die there, and band together—that's bandits.
"Cowards? Guilty. That's why we took to the mountains. Why would honorable folk climb them? Only the starving, those who can't show their faces openly, become bandits."
Either way, bandits were trash.
Born that way.
Ignored and shunned by all.
No matter their backstory, they're thieves preying on others.
Jin Mu-hyuk said.
"But those flawed scum are my brothers."
"So what?"
"They're not inherently evil. Just uneducated. Dumb, as you say. Ready to change anytime."
"Get to the point."
Jin Mu-hyuk pointed at Cheongun.
"Hey, Chief Patrol."
"What?"
The man bared his teeth in a grin.
"Skip the pointless war. Let's settle it man-to-man."
Before possession, Cheongun thought jianghu folk were all proud, spirited, noble souls.
Unfazed by public opinion, upholding righteousness and chivalry—it seemed so cool.
But possession taught him the truth.
Romance? Fair fights?
Bullshit. Peel back the layers, and martial artists were viler, sneakier than the powerless—petty thugs using every dirty trick under the banner of victory.
All of them utterly base.
Never challenging the strong, groveling before superiors, failing to uphold their will.
So Jin Mu-hyuk's words felt refreshingly novel to Cheongun.
Clear out the minions and duel one-on-one?
Manly, protective of his crew, facing inevitable defeat without flinching, pushing his will through.
That made him a true martial artist.
Better than the posturing old fogeys of the orthodox sects.
Though still just a bandit.
Jin Mu-hyuk stood in the wide training ground, arms crossed.
"…You really plan to fight with that?"
Cheongun drew his fishing rod from his belt.
"Yeah."
"Why not use a proper sword…"
"Shut up."
As the words ended, Cheongun swung the rod.
Tracers in '∞' patterns whipped out, the line tautening as azure sword qi sprayed forth.
Eardrum-shattering whooshes.
Under the madly surging sharp energy, Jin Mu-hyuk crossed his arms defensively.
"!!!"
Kugugugu—!
The sword qi shattered against his forearms like sand grains.
Even with protective aura up, he was pushed back three steps by mere sword qi.
Jin Mu-hyuk's eyes widened.
Cheongun's form was already charging right at him.
The bamboo tip of the rod in Cheongun's right hand thrust like a spear.
Lightning-fast, focused spear qi cleaved the air.
Jin Mu-hyuk instantly drew his broad saber, parrying with its wide blade.
"Hup!"
The rod's focused power clashed with the blade—cjeeeng!—the saber trembling.
Just the clash cracked the ground where they stood, spiderweb fissures spreading.
"Kyaak!"
Nearby watchers like Jin Ga-bok staggered from the shockwave.
And it didn't end there.
The spear-like rod suddenly bent, tracing baffling staff-like arcs.
Straight thrust curving unpredictably.
"Tch!"
Jin Mu-hyuk's right arm muscles flushed red.
He raised his saber high, slashing a '十' in the air.
Cross-shaped saber qi erupted toward Cheongun.
At that instant, the rigid line, via Four-Two-Heavy-One subtlety, snapped upward in a massive arc.
Whirling like a vortex, it engulfed the cross saber qi.
"Heh!"
Not over yet.
Whirick—!
The arcing line slithered snake-like past Jin Mu-hyuk's side.
But not done.
Looping behind, it coiled around his waist, then chest and shoulders, binding like rope.
"!!!"
He surged protective aura to repel it, but azure light flashed on the line, enduring.
It was piercing his aura bit by bit.
'Sword qi on the line?'
Jin Mu-hyuk swallowed, stomping into the air.
He escaped the assault narrowly, but a sword rocketed vertically at him.
Like homing in, it adjusted trajectory to match his path.
Cheongun using Remote Object Control.
And another sword from the side.
Cheongun's secondary: Demon Sword.
—Swaeaeaeak!
Two swords whipped through the air, tangling chaotically after the lightly stepping Jin Mu-hyuk.
He fired saber qi at Cheongun mid-chase, but Cheongun casually raised his forearm to block.
What could mere saber qi do against Diamond Indestructible?
It blocked without a scratch.
Instead,
—Swaeak!
Cheongun brushed back his hair as if wiping sweat from his forehead.
A few strands caught on his fingers, pulled free—and infused with qi, he flung them at Jin Mu-hyuk.
"!!!"
Sword qi on hair!
Jin Mu-hyuk reeled at the unheard-of feat.
And not tossed like darts—the qi-laden hairs streaked precisely through the air, homing on him alone.
"Damn it!"
Dodging wouldn't cut it, so Jin Mu-hyuk halted.
Then swung his saber down from overhead.
The thrust saber pinnacle unleashed massive wind pressure, whipping up a qi vortex.
A strike pouring in seventy percent power.
The flying hairs scattered, Crimson Night Sword and Demon Sword lost balance and fell.
A strain, but Remote Object Control wasn't easy.
Handling that many would've drained at least eighty percent inner power.
Break it once, and he'd lack the power to repeat.
But he was wrong.
Refined and processed natural qi is inner power. Unprocessed pure qi is Natural Qi.
Void Spirit Body allowed absorbing natural qi.
With it active, Cheongun no longer needed to refine or process.
He could wield the ambient natural qi freely—no need to accumulate inner power.
Thus.
—Paat!
The two fallen swords floated up again.
The qi-infused hairs too.
With traits active, Cheongun was essentially infinite power.
Jin Mu-hyuk couldn't win.
He mumbled blankly, lips twitching, gripped his saber in frustration at the overwhelming gap—but thought of the bandits he'd leave behind and swallowed his rage.
Finally.
"…I lost."
He conceded.
But the incoming swords showed no sign of stopping.
Jin Mu-hyuk yelled in panic.
"I lost! I said I lost!"
"……"
"Stop! You madman! I lost! Listen to me!"
"Not desperate enough."
"What the—fuck! I lost! I'll give you whatever—just spare my life!"
Only then did the two swords halt midair, the qi hairs scattering in the wind.
And Cheongun said wistfully.
"Champion."
"……"