121. Domination Step
“Amazing, Master!”
Kwak Jeong said, brimming with excitement.
“Word is spreading like wildfire that Yu Il O came demanding a match with you, only to get chased off with a single strike!”
“……”
“And get this—some people even claim they saw him secretly carted off on a stretcher to Ma Ui’s place that very night. Plenty are speculating you’re the one who did that to him.”
“Idle rumors.”
“Aw, c’mon.”
Kwak Jeong spoke as if he knew everything.
“You’re just saying that to save Yu Il O some face, right? I get it.”
“Young master of the Nine Yin Kwak Family, Kwak Jeong.”
I put on a stern expression and said,
“When you speak, show proper respect to the strong. How long do you think the names of the Nine Yin Kwak Family and Sado Family will shield you?”
“Gasp!”
I’d clearly scolded him harshly. Yet Kwak Jeong’s eyes sparkled brighter than ever.
“So that means the name of the Asura Apostle protects me now?”
“……Well, you are my disciple, after all.”
“Heh heh! Exactly! This disciple Kwak Jeong will absolutely follow your teachings, Master.”
I had a sinking feeling I’d pulled some weird trigger.
I hadn’t noticed before because I’d kept my distance, but this kid was a clear-eyed fanatic no less than Tak Horak.
No—sometimes he seemed even worse.
That’s why I often caught him and Tak Horak giggling together like old pals.
“Kwak Jeong. I have urgent business today, so head back to the family and train.”
“That’s a shame.”
“Didn’t you say you’d listen well? Go gather some insights.”
“Understood!”
Kwak Jeong left the family’s training hall with his guard in tow.
Once we two were alone, Pa Cheon spoke up.
[This is bad.]
“I can guess what you’re gonna say. I agree.”
The “bad” part was the rumors swirling about me.
[Looks like even Yu Il O got done in by the Supreme One.]
“No matter how tough Yu Il O talks, can he stand up to the Heavenly Demon?”
Yi Se Ryeong was a powerhouse who shattered this world’s common sense.
Someone at rank 8 probably couldn’t even scratch her.
The problem was the rumor that I had done it.
Just to be sure, I’d summoned Tak Horak and asked if he’d started the rumor.
“I admire you, Lord, but I’d never spread such nonsense! If I did, I’d waste my own dantian right now and march into the Punishment Cave on my own two feet!”
Tak Horak, who utterly dreaded the Punishment Cave—more precisely, Do Il Gwang inside it—reacted that strongly, so I figured he was telling the truth.
[Then it’s even weirder.]
“Yeah.”
No matter how fight-crazed the Divine Cult was or how fast rumors spread here, it hadn’t even been a full day. It shouldn’t have reached Kwak Jeong’s ears already.
“Someone’s deliberately spreading it.”
[Obvious without looking. Why would Chu Tae Su do that?]
“Yu Il O said it himself. That Chu Tae Su and the unranked were plotting something.”
[True, but what’s that got to do with hyping you as a powerhouse? Ah, I see.]
Pa Cheon, mulling it over alone, seemed to reach the same conclusion as me.
I nodded and said,
“Those with ranks can be told to beat Sa Wol first and come back. But for the unranked?”
[No such excuse works.]
“Exactly.”
[Chu Tae Su must’ve thought something was off and used his head.]
My strategy to dodge rank challenges was simple yet brutally effective.
You’re not qualified to challenge me—go beat my direct subordinate first.
The issue? The unranked could ignore that and charge right in. No rank meant no reason to obey me.
Sure, the unranked were the type obsessed with self-training and enlightenment.
But they still had egos craving proof. That’s why they occasionally popped out to pick fights with famed Cult experts.
“Even if they tried something with the unranked, they’d have ignored it. From their view, a rank 23 like me wasn’t worth breaking seclusion for.”
[But if you’re someone who beat a rank 8 otherworldly powerhouse? That’d spark their challenge lust.]
“Same reason they’ve been so cooperative on tasks. Clearing them faster boosts my rep.”
[Triple-layered trap, huh.]
The more I thought about it, the creepier he got. Since when had he been scheming this?
[Nothing changes.]
I nodded at Pa Cheon’s words.
“Right. What matters now is training.”
[You’re starting to sound demonic, demon.]
“Still got a ways to go.”
[True. Which is why—]
Pa Cheon floated up into the air and continued.
[I took an objective look at your combat power last night.]
“Yeah.”
[First, this Pa Cheon Sword. Fake flying sword or not, it’s plenty to throw foes off balance.]
Not to mention it never broke, could slice gang qi, and absorbed energy.
[Black Shadow Chains are useless below Peak anyway, so ignore them.]
They’d been handy, but with this power inflation, they weren’t shining lately.
Sure, used cleverly, they’d still have a role…
[Next: Return Flow, Domination, Ultra Vibration. Each packs massive power.]
“Mix ’em for more.”
[Then the Blink Jade and Time Wheel Jade. Can’t use both at once, but I figured something useful.]
Couldn’t combine Blink Jade and Time Wheel Jade. But while Time Wheel stretched time, Blink’s cooldown ticked at normal speed—not slowed. So Time Wheel effectively shortened Blink’s cooldown.
[Finally, your martial arts.]
“Worth looking forward to?”
[Don’t.]
Pa Cheon said,
[Bung Kwon’s raw destructive force matches a Peak expert’s committed strike.]
“That’s Peak level……”
[Like I said yesterday, Peak masters can unleash that anytime, like grabbing something from a drawer. Big difference. Hitting’s another issue for them too, sure.]
Me? I needed wind-up time.
[And to hit that hard, you rely on the Guardian Ghost Tablet treasure. Meaning you fight like an external arts master, not a true inner energy one.]
“So, conclusion?”
Pa Cheon answered.
[Short fight? You beat Peak guaranteed. Time Wheel seals it.]
“Oh.”
[No celebrating. Super Peak? Instant loss. We assume at least Super Peak foes.]
“Even with Time Wheel.”
[Precisely: if you don’t end it in one hit under Time Wheel, you lose.]
Pa Cheon went on.
[Only Yu Il O’s kept up with Time Wheel so far, but real combat’s different. Depending on arts or manifested simsang, even non-otherworldlies could match it.]
“Fair. So far, I’ve struck when they were off-guard, not mid-serious fight.”
[Even Hyeok Mun would’ve caught up without the curse. Hyeok arts carry lightning speed.]
“Anyway. No way around it?”
[No.]
Pa Cheon twitched like shaking his head.
[If you can’t win a short fight, flip it.]
“How?”
[One Strike, Certain Kill.]
Pa Cheon said.
[Kill before they show their true power.]
“One Strike, Certain Kill……”
It sure fit my current situation.
[Two things for you to do.]
First, shorten Bung Kwon’s activation time.
Second, learn footwork.
[Ultimately, wield Bung Kwon’s essence with your whole body. Better yet, with your sword? Add my Domination, Return Flow, Ultra Vibration?]
“Control the force right, and you max destruction,” I said.
[That’d match a Super Peak’s simsang-awakened strike.]
“One-shot the fight, huh?”
I felt sweat slicking my palms.
“That’s insane, right?”
[Insane. One Strike, Certain Kill means fail to kill, and you die.]
“Maybe I’m used to insane by now.”
I grinned.
“Sounds thrilling.”
[Cut the bravado. You don’t even know ‘foot’ in footwork.]
“True.”
Footwork wasn’t just steps.
It was the start and end of all martial arts.
Problem? I was clumsier than I thought.
Using inner energy and flexibility for impossible balances at high speed? Way too hard for me.
“You wouldn’t bring up footwork lightly. There’s a way, right?”
[Obviously. Last night, sorting your state, I made one.]
“Made footwork? You?”
I gaped.
Footwork was martial arts’ start and end.
Making one? Same as inventing a new art.
Even Super Peak masters rarely did that. That’s why creators were hailed as Grandmasters.
Pa Cheon snorted.
[Called it footwork for convenience. Real martial artists would laugh calling it that.]
“Still, you made it. Impressive.”
[Sure, whatever.]
His tone dripped pride anyway.
[This footwork holds One Strike, Certain Kill essence via two sword strikes. Guess what.]
“Minimizes movement since I use it, maximizes speed instead?”
[Good boy.]
“Quit treating me like a dog.”
[At your level? Worse than a spirit beast pup.]
“……You sure know how to sweet-talk. Anyway, that leaves two attack options: slash the neck, stab the heart.”
[Correct.]
Pa Cheon continued.
[Use Time Wheel and Blink to flank their rear, then strike.]
“What if a realm master reacts?”
[Focus Domination briefly to disrupt senses. So time the hit precisely.]
“Time Wheel, Domination, and other intents at strike moment. All at once?”
Left hand circles, right draws triangles? No—this was portrait with left, landscape with right.
[Not that hard.]
My partner, but such a pain.
Genius types, man.
“So. Like Bung Kwon, what’s this footwork you made called?”
[One step crushes and kills.]
Pa Cheon replied.
[Domination Step.]