Clash with the Heavenly Dragon Four Evils (4)
The Heavenly Dragon Four Evils were blind to it, drunk on the empty prestige of the White Sword Sect, but graduating with special honors from Cheonmu Academy truly marked one as an outstanding master. And with two such graduates right here, it was time to prove that prestige.
“Good.”
The White Crane Beauty Maid Gong Son Se Jeong smiled. Every smile I'd seen from her before had been laced with worry, concern, or a tangle of other emotions. But this one was pure—radiant and unburdened for the first time.
The whole world seems brighter.
Her smile lit up the Central Plains like the midday sun, or so it felt. Thinking it over, I'd never laid eyes on a woman as beautiful as Gong Son Se Jeong. I'd seen beauties on her level before, sure, but never this close, never sharing a long conversation like this.
Not the time for this.
Three of the Heavenly Dragon Four Evils were still standing. I needed to focus.
“These bastards really want to taste blood.”
“Good! Kill them!”
“Kill the man—capture Gong Son Se Jeong alive!”
The Heavenly Dragon Four Evils were desperate now, shedding all pretense of restraint as they charged in unison, like they'd been waiting for this moment.
The youngest, already neutralized by me, watched from the ground with a vile smirk, utterly convinced of his brothers' victory.
The first to rush me was the eldest and strongest of the Heavenly Dragon Four Evils, Bamboo Spirit Sword Heo Dan-u—a peak master on the cusp of the superhuman realm, famed for his Azure Bamboo Swordsmanship. His blade trembled with such ferocity it nearly shook the air itself.
An impressive master, but two or three moves below me.
No reason to fear. I stepped forward gladly to meet him—
—when a brutish, massive glaive erupted right behind Heo Dan-u. It belonged to the second brother, Iron Horse Spear Na Deok-jo—a master of Iron Horse Great Glaive Spear Arts, once a soldier whose style echoed the imperial army's ferocity.
Quite the solid combo.
Na Deok-jo's glaive aimed to crush my skull while Heo Dan-u's sword targeted my knee—a perfectly divided high-low assault that spoke volumes about how long these brothers had fought together.
Tricky, but not impossible to evade.
The dual attack was tougher than a single foe, but I could handle it. Or so I thought.
Whoosh!
What the—? What I'd taken for a duo turned out to be a trio!
After the sword and glaive came a final strike at my heart: an arrow loosed by the third brother, Lightning Crossbow Wi Chang-seo, a former hunter whose inner energy-infused shots could drop a massive tiger in one hit.
Damn it!
Even for someone of my superior realm and strength, stacking three attacks was too much. In that split-second fraction of a second—
—the White Crane Beauty Maid Gong Son Se Jeong shone, steadfastly guarding my back as we'd agreed. My intel said she was a virtuoso of dazzling dagger throws, and she didn't disappoint. Despite striking last, she was the fastest of them all.
Clang!
Her dagger snapped Wi Chang-seo's arrow mid-flight, then spun on, slicing into Na Deok-jo's shoulder and halting his assault.
“Gah!”
The dagger's lingering force drew blood from Na Deok-jo. Their triple combo reduced to one—child's play for me.
As if to show off for Gong Son Se Jeong's aid, I unleashed Flame Flower Divine Army Baek Ho Jun's signature move.
Roar!
Scorching tiger claws shattered the eldest's attack, inflicting a grievous wound.
“Kuhak! Impossible!”
The brothers' combined assault crumbled before our duo. Heo Dan-u and the Heavenly Dragon Four Evils reeled in shock, especially Wi Chang-seo, who'd tasted her dagger firsthand, his face blank with disbelief.
“All that talk of the White Sword Sect, and you can't even beat two Cheonmu Academy grads?”
I mocked them, throwing their borrowed prestige back in their faces.
“You bastard! Insult me all you want, but I won't tolerate you slandering the White Sword Sect!”
They weren't mere fanatics—they were zealots. Their rage burned hotter at the sect's defamation than their own. Especially Na Deok-jo, who thrashed wildly with his massive glaive.
But only for a moment.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind, and something thudded precisely into Na Deok-jo's shoulder.
Splat!
No need to guess—it was Gong Son Se Jeong's handiwork. Unbelievably, she'd downed a distant foe with a thrown dagger.
Incredible. No wonder the academy heads gave her special graduate status—and still miss her after two years.
Can't let her outshine me now.
My turn.
I unleashed chilling palm energy at Heo Dan-u, already struggling up close.
Already battered by my fiery assault, the stark temperature shift threw him into panic, forcing him back.
“Big brother!”
As Heo Dan-u teetered, Wi Chang-seo—hunter-turned-archer—nocked another arrow from his shortbow, but I was faster.
Long-range foes are a hassle for my close-quarters style, so I'd mastered the Moon Palace's famed Moon Palace Finger, a finger technique hurling razor-sharp winds.
Shrieeek!
My spiraling wind blast struck Wi Chang-seo's wrist dead-on as he drew.
Crack!
A bone-chilling snap—his wrist shattered clean. A mercy, really; it'd heal stronger if set right.
“Gaaaaah!”
Even a stoic hunter couldn't endure both wrists dangling limp. And against groups, such screams were gold—they sowed fear.
“Eek!”
With their rearguard down, Na Deok-jo retreated, wary of Gong Son Se Jeong's fierce glare from behind—especially after tasting her sting. That left eldest brother Heo Dan-u isolated up front.
“N-no, stay back!”
One-on-one now, Heo Dan-u panicked, waving me off. He knew it: even two-on-one, he couldn't win.
“Attitude's doing a one-eighty from all that White Sword Sect boasting, huh?”
I closed in, mocking him mercilessly. Petty small-timers, acting like the world's top master's fame—and the sect's—was theirs. Worshipping the supreme warrior? Baffling. Feeling superior through it? Utter nonsense.
“Spare me. Please, spare me!”
As I drew near, reality hit him—he groveled. Only his own skill could save him now, not sect names or borrowed glory.
“Who said anything about killing? I'll let you live.”
I grinned, stepping closer. Said I'd spare him—not that I wouldn't beat him senseless.
“Go tell Baek Muhon and the White Sword Sect.”
I glanced at Gong Son Se Jeong, smiling contentedly behind me, and continued.
“From this moment, White Crane Beauty Maid Gong Son Se Jeong is a free woman, unbound to anyone.”
With that, I thrust my palm forward savagely.
Boom!
Thoroughly thrashed by our onslaught, the Heavenly Dragon Four Evils fled in terror. The icing: the three younger brothers hauling their eldest—like a corpse—after I'd pummeled him senseless.
“Our teamwork's pretty solid, huh?”
Alone now with Gong Son Se Jeong, I grinned.
No kidding—fellow alumni synced like pros. We matched the long-practiced Heavenly Dragon Four Evils without breaking a sweat. The power of shared roots?
“Yeah... it was amazing.”
Not my imagination—her eyes sparkled with unprecedented vitality. Talking to those thugs, she'd seemed lifeless, drained like a dead fish. Now? Herself again.
“Sorry for getting worked up and shouting like that. It wasn't even my business.”
Declaring her freedom when I wasn't her lover or friend? Rude in hindsight. Embarrassment and regret hit post-adrenaline.
“No! Not at all. You have no idea how happy that made me.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Teaming up with comrades in the martial world for heart-pounding adventures, living as a warrior, dying as one—that's my dream.”
A noble dream. Forcing someone with that into servitude for the next top master? Unforgivable.
“Shall we head back to Cheonmu Academy? Vice Headmaster Dan Ri-cheong and the others are waiting, eyes popping out with worry.”
The White-Faced Beauty who'd vanished for two years, plaguing the academy with concern—time to show her true self and apologize.
“Really... will they welcome me?”
Still anxious, she got my ready reply.
“Once a Cheonmu Academy cadet, always one, right?”
Especially a special graduate—they'd welcome her anytime. They'd told me: come anytime life got tough or crisis struck.
“Cheon Myeong.”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
Never thought I'd hear those words from a stunning beauty whose gaze could make ears burn crimson. Mood perfect, I deployed my real-world charmer.
“If you're grateful, buy me a meal.”
A feast would be better. Tea afterward? Even better.