Chapter 36
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: I Heard You're from the Evil Faction
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Go Jeong-mo's face twisted like he'd chewed on pine bark as he squared off against Ko Dae-han.
"Eek! Damn it!"
He, too, was from the Demon Dragon Academy.
The Demon Dragon expert was quite burly himself, but he looked downright scrawny next to Ko Dae-han.
In truth, external martial arts prowess was more renowned among the unorthodox factions than the righteous ones.
Especially the bandits, who boasted massive physiques among their external arts masters.
But the situation now was the complete opposite.
Ko Dae-han, the righteous fighter, utterly dwarfed Go Jeong-mo of the unorthodox side.
As the unorthodox man climbed onto the platform, he kept muttering under his breath.
"No matter how you look at it, that's bandit-level bulk..."
"What was that?"
"Oh, nothing."
The match went exactly as expected.
The instant it began, Go Jeong-mo's arm slammed downward.
Bam!!
It was a miracle the table didn't shatter.
"Ko Dae-han wins!"
"This can't be real."
Go Jeong-mo rubbed his wrist in shock at Ko Dae-han's monstrous strength.
When a Dragon Academy student unexpectedly crushed a Demon Dragon one in this unlikely venue, the Dragon Academy cadets swarmed in, cheering Ko Dae-han wildly.
"Ko Dae-han! Ko Dae-han!"
"Ko Dae-han! Ko Dae-han!"
The thugs who'd shouldered Hwang Tae-seong earlier glared at Ko Dae-han and sneered.
"Looks like first place is out of reach for you."
"If you can dodge that monster somehow, maybe you'll snag Luoyang's White Lord or something?"
"You don't need some crappy Arhat title, right?"
"Ha, damn it, where the hell did that freak come from? To even aim for second, we'd have to draw lots and face him..."
They all shot Hwang Tae-seong dirty looks.
Hwang Tae-seong met their eyes and flashed them a wide grin.
Song Baek-woo, one of them and an arm-wrestling contestant, saw the smile and scoffed in disbelief.
"Does that bastard have no shame?"
"Imperial dogs are all the same."
"Anyway, let's hope we draw him."
They saw Tae-seong as nothing more than a pushover.
But they never realized it.
That Tae-seong's eyes held an icy chill.
The tournament proceeded smoothly, and now only four remained.
The thugs were praying to their ancestors to match them against Tae-seong instead of Ko Dae-han.
And it seemed their ancestors heard their desperate pleas—or rather, it was Tae-seong's ancestors pulling strings—because they got their wish.
"Yesss!"
"Awesome!"
The thugs cheered ecstatically, whooping with joy.
"They're thrilled."
Tae-seong finally faced off against one of them.
In the distance, Yang Cho-gun, Jo Gi-myeong, and Sama Ryang cheered him on fervently.
Yang Cho-gun even mimed slitting throats, urging him to kill.
He wasn't usually this fired up.
"Those guys..."
Even as he climbed the platform, Song Baek-woo from the Blossom Palace mocked Tae-seong.
"I'll end this quick."
"Do your worst."
The two faced each other across the table.
"Ready, fighters! Grip hands. Get set..."
Song Baek-woo's face brimmed with confidence.
But the moment their hands clasped, the Blossom Palace thug's expression froze.
Instinct told him the man before him was unbeatable.
The sensation that his hand might shatter any second made him ready to forfeit.
"Begin!"
"W-wait! I forfeit!!"
But Tae-seong gave him no chance to yield.
Krraaaang!!
Before the thug could pull away, Tae-seong slammed his hand into the table.
One side of the specially made table exploded into splinters.
His hand went with it, of course.
"Gaaahhhh!!"
"Baek-woo! You okay?"
"M-my hand bones are shattered!!"
"You vicious bastard! Mangling a man's hand like that! You think you'll get away with this?"
"I barely pushed, how was I supposed to know it'd end up like that?"
"You did that on purpose, you son of a bitch!"
"What am I supposed to do if he's weak?"
"You bastard! Lying through your teeth!"
The thugs moved to gang up on Tae-seong.
But his merciless gaze stopped them cold.
The martial world was no place for the oblivious; even they had that much sense.
Tae-seong clucked his tongue mockingly at them.
"Tsk tsk tsk... That's why you pick your fights carefully."
"W-what's your name? The Blossom Palace won't forget today's grudge!"
"Hwang Tae-seong. Come to the Imperial Palace Martial Academy anytime. I'll be waiting."
"Grrgh..."
Song Baek-woo limped off with his comrades' help.
As the Blossom Palace experts departed, Imperial Palace cadets who had gathered at some point began chanting Hwang Tae-seong's name.
"Hwang Tae-seong! Hwang Tae-seong!"
"Hwang Tae-seong! Hwang Tae-seong!"
Even some Dragon Academy students, savoring the Demon Dragon's defeat, joined the Imperials in calling his name.
A new table replaced the wreckage, and the matches resumed.
"N-next is the final match!"
At last, Tae-seong faced Ko Dae-han.
The Dragon Academy officials who'd just chanted Tae-seong's name acted like it never happened, wiping their mouths and cheering Ko Dae-han instead.
The Imperial cadets wouldn't be outdone, roaring Tae-seong's name.
The two clasped hands.
For the first time, tension etched Ko Dae-han's face.
"Ready~ Go!"
The match began, and Ko Dae-han pushed with all his might.
"Hiyaaah!!"
But Tae-seong's arm didn't budge an inch.
In that moment, Ko Dae-han knew.
The man before him was beyond his reach.
'This... this can't be!'
It was the second time, but he couldn't accept being overpowered.
'How does such slender arms produce this insane power?'
Of course, that was relative to Ko Dae-han himself; Tae-seong's arms were hardly slender.
Ko Dae-han poured every ounce of strength, even from his nursing days, but Tae-seong's face showed only boredom.
"Grrraaah! Chaa! Hah! Nngh!!"
Pffft—
He let out another dry fart.
He must have a constitution where straining made him pass gas.
Ko Dae-han's face flushed beet red from the effort.
Tae-seong decided it was time to end it.
He moved his arm.
Ko Dae-han's followed naturally, dragged toward him.
It looked utterly unreal, like a child beating an adult at arm-wrestling.
An outsider would've jeered it was fixed.
The arm slammed down on Tae-seong's side without a hitch.
Cries of despair erupted from the crowd.
Most must've bet on Ko Dae-han.
Not that Tae-seong cared.
"......"
Ko Dae-han stared in dazed defeat.
Tae-seong patted his shoulder once and stepped down.
The arm-wrestling prize was a voucher for a night at the top floor of Blue Moon Tower, overlooking the night view.
Sell it, and it'd fetch at least fifty coins.
I planned to cash it in and treat my friends to drinks and meat.
"Let's use this for a round of drinks after training camp. Sound good?"
"Perfect!"
"You're a true big shot."
It felt like ages since I'd had real fun.
Hanging out like this with friends—couldn't even remember the last time.
Since starting martial arts in high school, training camps were a luxury I couldn't afford.
Couldn't even drink water during cuts—how could I go on a camp?
My only camp memories were from early childhood.
But now, I'd never miss one again.
Jo Gi-myeong glanced at the sky and said,
"Assembly time's approaching. Let's head to the gathering spot."
"Right."
"Having a blast, huh."
Just then, a man in Demon Dragon Academy robes stopped me.
"You. A word."
His aura was blade-sharp—a Sword Union master.
I asked,
"Me?"
He nodded curtly instead of answering.
A bit arrogant.
Being singled out, I wondered inwardly,
'Who's this guy? Why me? Because I hurt that Demon Dragon cadet earlier?'
But I had no reason to bow. It was an accident in the match.
"If it's about earlier..."
"Crush that fool's hand to dust or chop it off for all I care."
True unorthodox grit.
I grew more curious.
What did he want?
But I kept my face neutral.
"Why should I follow you? We're from different groups."
"I heard you're from the unorthodox factions."
"Never confirmed or denied it. What's that to you?"
"Would you follow if I said the Evil Sword Alliance Leader's son wants to meet you?"
'The Evil Sword heir wants me? Come to think of it, he was with those Demonic Cult guys earlier.'
I was more interested in them, actually.
They were on my kill list.
I decided to go along.
"Lead the way."
"Wise choice."
Yang Cho-gun looked tense and asked,
"You sure? Want me to come?"
The Demon Dragon man shut it down flat.
"No."
Yang Cho-gun snapped sharply,
"What makes you think it's safe to send him alone?"
"That's for him to decide. No need for you to butt in."
Their eyes clashed in midair.
I sent Yang Cho-gun a transmission.
-Thanks for worrying. But don't. They can't harm me. Be back soon.
He knew my skills were top-tier from overhearing, so he backed off.
-Still, be careful. Unorthodox scum pull dirty tricks.
Technically, I was closer to them, but no need to point it out.
He had a point, too.
Unorthodox fighters saw poison or hidden weapons against superiors as fair game.
The dead tell no tales.
-No worries.
-Take care. We'll wait at assembly.
-Got it.