Chapter 85: Creating a Martial Art (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 85: Creating a Martial Art (2)
The elders, realizing they wouldn't gain anything by staying, left the hall without another word.
"She’s no ordinary girl."
"She may be a girl, but she is the Sword Demon's child, after all."
The elders spoke as they walked hurriedly toward their next destination.
"But why are we reacting so sensitively to this Acting Squad Leader? I only came along because you asked, but I still don't quite understand," the elder in black asked.
The elder in blue replied, "We opposed it simply because he was suddenly being appointed as the Acting Squad Leader. I don't know the full story, but if the Sword Demon's child brought someone from the outside to fill that role, there must be something more to it, don't you think?"
The elder in grey shook his head as he listened to their conversation.
It’s because they handle matters like this that they can’t even hold their own in a conversation with a young girl.
The three elders headed toward a hall located deep within the compound.
*
During my day-long stay at the Nine Demons Chamber, I managed to uncover a few facts.
The position of Acting Squad Leader could be appointed by the Chamber Leader’s authority if he were present. However, in his absence, the Elder Council was supposed to oversee such matters.
Apparently, this was a new regulation enacted by the Elder Council just a few days ago. Ham Bi-hye could only fume in frustration, unable to find a loophole.
As a result, I was stuck in a state of limbo.
For some reason, the Elder Council was intent on keeping me away from the Ninth Chamber Leader’s closed-door cultivation room.
I couldn't exactly sneak in, either.
The closed-door cultivation area consisted of a nine-story pavilion, with each floor serving as a private room for a Chamber Leader. To get through, I would have to bypass the senses of the high-level experts guarding the place.
But no one even dreamed of doing that.
The guards stationed at the closed-door cultivation rooms were masters stronger than anyone else.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize my father had so many enemies," Ham Bi-hye said when she came to find me after I had spent the day idling about.
"I'm fine. Honestly, it’s better for me if I just stay like this and then leave."
Well, if things improved and I could treat Ham Jeok, that would be fine too.
It wasn't a bad situation for me either way.
My only concern was leaving before anyone could do any harm to the Ninth Chamber Leader.
However, that "harm" began to slowly turn its gaze toward me as I was returning to my quarters.
A man suddenly blocked my path and shouted.
"Hey! Are you the one supposed to become the Acting Squad Leader of the Blood Wind Squad?"
His tone was as vulgar as a back-alley thug's, but the aura he radiated was that of a first-rate master.
He had a slender build and carried a sword longer than average, and he was dressed in a blue battle robe.
I recognized that uniform well.
That’s the uniform of the guys who were fighting the Blood Wind Squad. Was it the Iron Blood Demon Group?
The Iron Blood Demon Group wore blue uniforms.
Trusting in Jeok Yeong, who was standing behind me, I gave the man a thin smile.
How dare a mere squad member try to pick a fight with the New Dragon of Sichuan and the Yellow Dragon Secret Sword?
They say even a dog gains a fifty-percent advantage in its own yard, but isn't this a bit much?
Even if your squad leader came, he’d be no match for Jeok Yeong, you brat.
"And? Why do you ask?"
When I replied bluntly without honorifics, a smirk spread across the man's face.
People in this world often make a mistake.
They think that if they show courtesy to someone acting like an ignorant brute, that person will return the favor. In reality, the more polite you are, the more you'll be trampled by such people.
Courtesy is a way of treating people with reason; it doesn't move the heart of a brute.
This is a truth I’ve mastered throughout my entire life.
Therefore, the right way to deal with ignorant people is to be just as ignorant. Being polite and trying to explain the situation to someone who starts by hurling insults won't solve anything.
The reality is that you have to insult them even more to silence their ignorance.
There are only two ways to suppress fire.
One is water—you must be as cold and calm as water to suppress the flames.
The other thing that can extinguish fire is fire itself.
You have to set a backfire to truly bring a blaze under control.
In fact, the larger the fire, the less effective water becomes. Just as a massive fire can only be quelled by a counter-fire, you must meet ignorance with even greater ignorance to defeat an ignorant fool.
If I were to use polite speech with a guy like this under the guise of being well-mannered, he would most likely look down on me and try to humiliate me.
That’s why I had to go all out with the same bluntness.
"If that's true, I was thinking of challenging you to a duel."
"You don't need a butcher's knife to kill a chicken."
As expected, our Jeok Yeong knows exactly when to step in. And his attitude is just as bad as mine. Good boy.
"He's my sworn brother. If you want to duel me, beat him first. Then, I'll consider it."
"Why? Are you scared of me?"
I didn't know what his deal was, but he seemed desperate to pick a fight with me.
Someone probably put him up to this, but it was a shame to see the Nine Demons Chamber falling into such disarray.
Actually, on second thought, it wasn't that shameful.
I had no reason to care.
"Yeah, I'm terrified."
I said that and turned to walk away.
The man had issued a serious challenge, and when I dismissed it like a joke, his face contorted with rage.
It was then.
The youngest of the Seven Heroes came running toward me, panting heavily.
Uh-oh. That kid coming toward me in such a panic is never a good sign.
"My Lord, we have a problem!"
"What is it?"
At my question, he spoke with a frantic expression.
"This morning, while we were warming up at the training grounds, some guys picked a fight with us, and it turned into a duel."
I looked back at the man who had blocked my path.
It seemed I wasn't the only target; they had pulled this stunt on my entire group simultaneously.
And they had actually fallen for it.
"Who?"
The youngest of the Seven Heroes looked like he was about to cry.
"Everyone. The brothers from the Twin Heroes of Guiyang, the Demon Subjugation Group... everyone went to the sparring stage for a duel."
When I looked at the man who had stopped me, he was wearing a smug grin.
This was definitely a planned operation.
Falling for such a crude provocation strategy... Amateurs, truly.
I headed toward the sparring stage with Jeok Yeong and the Seven Heroes.
I felt a pang of regret, thinking I should have stopped the Demon Subjugation Group and the Twin Heroes of Guiyang when they said they were going to warm up this morning.
I let out a sigh and looked up at the sky, where cirrus clouds were drifting by.
The clouds were slowly scattering as if they were shedding their feathers.
The Nine Demons Chamber had several permanent sparring stages.
Wherever there was a training ground, there was inevitably a sparring stage. They said it was to foster a fighting spirit and cultivate skill, but I saw it as nothing more than providing an opportunity to kill at any time.
Po Zhongyin of the Twin Heroes of Guiyang was already up on the stage. I thought it was the first duel, but it turned out to be the last.
The other members of the Demon Subjugation Group and Xing Youzheng were already watching the stage with dejected faces, having presumably been defeated.
They were covered in cuts and bleeding here and there, but no one seemed to care about their injuries.
Warriors from the Iron Blood Demon Group were scattered around, all of them mocking Po Zhongyin on the stage.
"How many moves do you think he'll last this time?"
"I say five seconds."
"That long? I say four."
"What are you talking about? That 'Horse-Head' guy up there is a hidden master of our Iron Blood Demon Group. A piece of trash like that won't last three seconds."
The bastards were even betting money on how many seconds it would take for Po Zhongyin to lose.
Idiots. No matter how much they goaded you, you should have endured. To duel warriors of the Iron Blood Demon Group, one of the top martial units in the Nine Demons Chamber? These guys are well beyond second-rate and are nearing the level of first-rate masters.
It wasn't a fair match from the start. To further humiliate our Demon Subjugation Group, the Iron Blood Demon Group had clearly sent out only their high-level experts for these duels.
The man currently facing Po Zhongyin also radiated the aura of a first-rate master.
Po Zhongyin, who had only recently approached the second-rate level, stood no chance.
Perhaps realizing he was outmatched after facing the man directly, Po Zhongyin attacked first.
It was a fast, linear strike, but it was blocked with pathetic ease.
Then, "Horse-Head" swung his sword as if he were playing around.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In exactly three moves, Po Zhongyin's sword flew into the air.
Po Zhongyin stood there dazed, staring blankly at his sword as it spun through the sky.
Thud!
Even after the sword plunged into the floor of the sparring stage, he couldn't move a muscle.
Many of the Iron Blood Demon Group warriors whispered as they saw Jeok Yeong and me arrive.
"Ah, looks like the leader of those losers is here. There were rumors he was a master, but maybe his skills are just as pathetic as the rest of them?"
When one man provoked us like that, the other members chimed in with similar insults.
At those words, the members of the Demon Subjugation Group and the Twin Heroes of Guiyang lowered their heads even further.
I barked at them.
"Why are you hanging your heads?!"
At my shout, the Demon Subjugation Group looked up.
"Did you think you had already become first-rate masters? Did you think your skills were even close to those of the men standing over there? The warriors of the Iron Blood Demon Group became who they are today through dozens of hellish training sessions! Have you ever undergone such training? Is your martial art an advanced martial art like theirs? Of course you are no match for them! So what is there to be ashamed of? All you have to do is devote yourselves further and become masters later!"
At my words, the shoulders of the Demon Subjugation Group members straightened.
They had been unconsciously intimidated by the overwhelming aura of the many Iron Blood Demon Group warriors, and their spirits had been crushed.
I shouted like this because I feared that if I left them like this, they might never be able to pick up a sword again.
Crushing defeat and despair are the greatest poisons to a warrior.
If this wasn't healed, they could end up as broken men, so I took drastic measures.
"Even the people here are no match for a stronger master! I will prove that to you right now!"
Was I going to duel? Of course not.
Am I crazy? Why would I duel these bloodthirsty bastards?
In terms of raw skill, I was about the same level as the Twin Heroes of Guiyang; I’d only end up humiliating myself.
However, didn't I have the super-peak master Jeok Yeong with me?
With him here, why on earth would I duel?
"Young Brother Jeok, this time, show these bastards exactly what the price is for touching us. It wouldn't be right for me to step in, so you show them what true martial arts are. Show them the worth of the name 'Yellow Dragon Secret Sword,' the sworn brother of the New Dragon of Sichuan."
At my words, Jeok Yeong, his spirit fully roused, nodded.
"Yes, Brother. Just watch. I'll show you how I cook these bastards. How dare they touch us."
Jeok Yeong hadn't said anything, but he seemed just as furious about our Demon Subjugation Group being so miserably defeated.
Somewhere along the way, a sense of camaraderie had formed among us, and he felt as if he had been the one defeated.
I approached the members of the Demon Subjugation Group.
"Watch closely from now on. You must find the reason why you need to become stronger right here."
Truly, I have a silver tongue. Even as I say it myself, I’m often impressed by my own words.
Perhaps because of their deep defeat, the Demon Subjugation Group answered me with utmost politeness.
"Yes, sir."
When the Seven Heroes only stole glances at me, I glared at them once.
And these guys are supposed to be my subordinates. What should I do with them? I should probably make them participate in the hellish training here.
I turned my gaze back to the sparring stage.
Jeok Yeong climbed onto the stage and shouted.
"Whoever wants to duel me, crawl up here!"
"So you're the one they call the Yellow Dragon Secret Sword. Where do you get off being so arrogant? You only managed a draw with some kid from the Murim Alliance's Nine Dragons Group—or was it the Earth Dragon Group? Even if Mu Gyeol, the leader of the Nine Dragons Group, came here, he couldn't beat us."
One man strode onto the stage.
But Jeok Yeong shouted again.
"One isn't enough. More of you, get up here!"
I nodded. As expected, Jeok Yeong is a hot-blooded fellow.
He knew exactly how to restore our tarnished pride.
Another man flew through the air and landed on the stage. His movement was so natural that I could tell at a glance he was a high-level expert among the Iron Blood Demon Group.
But then, Jeok Yeong shouted once more.
"This is still not enough to face me. One more!"
Wait! This is getting a bit dangerous.
Isn't Jeok Yeong bluffing too much? Of course, he could probably beat those two with his skills, but how was he going to handle three first-rate masters at once?
Now, I was the one getting worried.
"Fine! I'll test if you have the right to talk like that!"
Yet another man climbed onto the stage.
At this point, the pride of the Iron Blood Demon Group warriors was wounded, and they all began to radiate killing intent.
But Jeok Yeong remained unfazed and spoke calmly.
"Let's see just how great your skills are that you dared to pull such a disgraceful stunt!"
Jeok Yeong let his aura flare up.
Whoa! This is no joke. When did Jeok Yeong grow this much?
He was clearly different from when we were at the Ilguk Sect.
He had undoubtedly grown even stronger as time passed.
The men visibly flinched at Jeok Yeong's aura.
"Bring him down a peg!"
"Kill him!"
The Iron Blood Demon Group warriors below shouted, but the three men facing Jeok Yeong didn't have the luxury of being distracted.
Jeok Yeong's aura was that fierce and ferocious.
The aura emitted by the three Iron Blood Demon Group experts was also formidable.
I was worried enough to think, Will he be okay?
And when Jeok Yeong went as far as to provoke them, a sigh escaped my lips.
He beckoned the Iron Blood Demon Group experts with his fingers.
Their expressions turned deadly serious.
While they had looked playful during their duel with Po Zhongyin earlier, their faces were now filled with nothing but killing intent.
If this goes wrong, someone might actually die.
I moved closer to the sparring stage, prepared to shout and stop the duel if necessary.
But while I was worried about Jeok Yeong, I also trusted the skills he had shown when facing the Blood Lama and Mu Gyeol.
I only hoped he wouldn't sustain any major injuries.