Chapter 209: Hangzhou (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 209: Hangzhou (2)
Chu Gyeom, a Super Peak expert belonging to the Black Lotus Union’s direct martial force, possessed a unique quirk: he wielded a great scythe.
Facing an unfamiliar weapon was always a tricky endeavor. Thanks to this advantage, he was a proven master who had already claimed victory over several other Super Peak experts.
Given his proficiency in naval combat, it was only natural that Chu Gyeom had been assigned to guard the ships.
The Black Lotus Union's other two Super Peak experts had already taken up positions within Hangzhou, leading their respective subordinates.
Since the Black Lotus Union had no grand ambitions to actually conquer Zhejiang Province, their plan was simple: draw the enemy's attention for a while, then retreat by sea.
‘Which son of a bitch...’
The problem was that those ships were now nothing more than scrap wood. There was no way Chu Gyeom possessed the ability to raise a sunken vessel from the depths of the sea.
To put it simply, their escape route was gone.
To withdraw now, they would either have to march overland straight through the Righteous Faction’s territory, or seize another ship.
Walking on Water? Sure, it was possible to run across the surface of the sea, but to travel such a vast distance using only Walking on Water?
That was the kind of suicidal stupidity only a moron with a death wish would attempt.
To make matters worse, every ship worth stealing had already been destroyed. Even the spare lifeboats on the warships had been smashed to splinters.
In short, they were well and truly fucked.
Naturally, Chu Gyeom’s rage reached its boiling point.
“I’ll kill you...!”
Sprinting across the water to reach the harbor, Chu Gyeom leaped high into the air. His target was the man standing on the docks with a brazen smirk on his face.
As he swung his scythe downward in a vicious arc, the man simply spread his arms wide.
“Welcome.”
At that exact moment, the ground violently vibrated. Rumble! The harbor shook as if struck by an earthquake, and several massive stone pillars erupted from the earth.
The man easily sidestepped the descending scythe, then planted the sole of his foot squarely into Chu Gyeom’s back with a powerful kick.
“Urgh...!”
Crash! Chu Gyeom’s body tumbled across the hard ground.
The man, who had already perched himself atop one of the newly formed stone pillars, looked down at him.
“Fight. If you win, I’ll let you leave in one piece.”
Chu Gyeom looked around blankly until his gaze landed on a woman standing before him. She was on guard, wielding a massive greatsword.
“You... you’ll regret this.”
Chu Gyeom licked his lips, his eyes lingering lecherously on the woman’s large chest.
“I’ll rape that bitch right in front of your—Gah!”
Slam! Chu Gyeom’s face was driven straight into the dirt. Seo-jun, suddenly standing directly over him, tapped the back of his head with his foot.
“Let’s watch our language, shall we?”
Seo-jun gave Namgung Su-ah an encouraging little cheer before returning to his perch atop the high stone pillar.
Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted, “Alright, begin!”
A deathmatch with a predetermined conclusion had begun.
*
Seo-jun sat back on the stone pillar, casually watching the duel between Namgung Su-ah and the scythe-wielder.
He had already surrounded the area with sorcery to cut off any avenues of escape, so there was no worry about the man fleeing.
And what if Namgung Su-ah fell into genuine danger? He was already maintaining a light state of the Qi Spirit Scripture.
He could foresee and prevent anything that might happen at this level of combat well in advance.
“Don’t just play around. Watch closely, Chun-bong.”
“I am watching.”
Indeed, Chun-bong was staring intensely at the duel, her large eyes wide open.
Seo-jun suppressed the sudden urge to pull her into his arms and knead her soft cheeks, forcing himself to focus on the match instead.
Chu Gyeom was the first to charge. Gripping the very end of his great scythe’s handle, he swung it in a devastating, wide arc.
Because it was such a massive weapon, its reach was extraordinary. Watching the curved blade descend toward her, Namgung Su-ah calmly circulated her internal energy.
“Lightning, upon the sword.”
The act of speaking it aloud solidified her mental imagery. It dwelled within the sword, blooming into a brilliant star.
Crackle!
Lightning, carrying the heavy essence of a star, surged toward the sky.
Flash!
Chu Gyeom’s eyes widened in shock. The girl's Astral Qi itself was unrefined, but the sheer volume of her internal energy was absolutely absurd.
“What the hell is...!”
Clang! The scythe was violently repelled the moment it clashed with the greatsword. Chu Gyeom cleverly used that rebounding momentum to spin rapidly in mid-air.
Whoosh! The great scythe spun with him, gaining terrifying acceleration. He unleashed that full centrifugal force directly at his opponent.
Screech!
The scythe closed in. Namgung Su-ah raised her greatsword to block it, prompting a cruel smirk from Chu Gyeom.
“Stupid bitch...!”
His slightly bent arms snapped straight. The scythe's reach extended even further, causing the greatsword to block the shaft of the weapon rather than the blade itself.
This meant the massive, curved blade bypassed her guard and was hooking straight for Namgung Su-ah’s body.
“Ngh...!”
Startled, Namgung Su-ah quickly jerked her greatsword upward. Zing! The incoming scythe blade was deflected toward the sky.
However, the momentum of the fight had already shifted.
Still suspended in the air, Chu Gyeom used the upward force of his deflected scythe to perform a fluid somersault.
With that single continuous movement, the deadly tip of the massive blade lunged right back down toward Namgung Su-ah.
She hurriedly tried to block it, but—
Slash—!
Her unstable Astral Qi was cleanly cut through. The scythe’s blade bit toward her flesh. Or rather, just before it could—
BOOM────────!!
Chu Gyeom’s head was violently slammed into the dirt.
“How long has it been since I told you to watch your mouth? ‘Stupid bitch’? Did you lose your intelligence from getting hit in the head too much?”
Clicking his tongue, Seo-jun patted Namgung Su-ah on the shoulder.
“Good job. For your first time, this was excellent. Take a little break.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Namgung Su-ah gave Seo-jun a small peck on the cheek before lightly leaping up onto the stone pillar.
“Alright, next contestant! Geum Chun-bong!”
Chun-bong hopped down from the pillar. Seo-jun looked down at the man in the dirt.
“You get ready, too.”
Seo-jun delivered a few sharp kicks to Chu Gyeom's ribs, forcing the man to scramble back to his feet.
“You... you son of a bitch...!”
In a desperate surprise attack, he spun his body and swung the great scythe with everything he had. The tip of the blade aimed directly for Seo-jun’s chest.
Seo-jun raised his hand nonchalantly.
Hum—
The scythe vibrated violently as it was stopped dead by the very tip of his index finger. Chu Gyeom's Astral Qi dissipated the moment it touched him, and the mere piece of metal couldn't leave a single scratch on Seo-jun’s skin.
“Shall we try saying that again?”
Under Seo-jun’s oppressive gaze, Chu Gyeom’s eyes darted around in terror.
“...I will do my best.”
“Good boy.”
Thwack! Giving Chu Gyeom a swift kick to the backside, Seo-jun climbed back onto his stone pillar.
“Then, begin!”
Round 2, start!
*
Chun-bong stared down the opponent before her. A single drop of water fell into the stillness of her mind. Plink. Along with the spreading ripples, a brilliant platinum starlight coated Chun-bong’s sword.
Shimmer!
Chun-bong rapidly calculated her odds. A direct confrontation was still too much for her. While she might possess more internal energy, her unrefined Astral Qi would likely shatter if they kept clashing head-on.
She summoned the dragon dwelling within her mental imagery. The coiled beast slowly raised its head.
‘Chun-bong Divine Art.’
As she called out the name of her martial art, the mental image of Lee Seo-jun—who had been playing by himself in a corner of her mind—hopped right onto the Azure Dragon’s head.
Tap tap! Mental Seo-jun patted the Azure Dragon’s head, and the majestic beast looked visibly disgusted. But that was all. With a single snort, the Azure Dragon quietly settled into Chun-bong’s sword.
What that signified was incredibly simple. The Chun-bong Divine Art and the Azure Cloud Divine Art had finally achieved unity.
“Haaa....”
Hot breath escaped through Chun-bong’s clenched teeth as her eyes flashed with a platinum glow. Simultaneously, her Upper Dantian reacted, tracing the lingering essence of the Sword God left within her body.
Sensing an opening, Chu Gyeom charged. Swoosh! The great scythe swept low across the ground.
Chun-bong hopped up, stepped lightly onto the flat of the scythe blade, and leaped again.
Boing!
Soaring high, Chun-bong flipped her body in mid-air. With the sky now beneath her feet, she lunged downward with her sword.
The tip of her blade vibrated minutely, tracing countless martial variations as it plummeted toward Chu Gyeom.
“Hmph...!”
In response, Chu Gyeom clamped his mouth shut and swung his scythe upward to meet her.
Screech!
The scythe cut through nothing but empty air. Chun-bong’s form vanished like a phantom, instantly reappearing on Chu Gyeom’s left flank.
“What kind of fucked-up mar—Mmph!”
Catching himself and keeping his mouth tightly shut, Chu Gyeom quickly swung his scythe in a massive full circle. Whoosh! The scythe, swung without a single break in its momentum, cleared everything in his immediate vicinity.
“Tch...!”
Clicking her tongue, Chun-bong quickly retreated. At the same time, she focused all her energy into a single thrust. Following the unrefined sword path still lingering in her body, she lunged forward.
Rip!
The sword shot forward as if being sucked into a vacuum, flawlessly piercing through a momentary opening in his guard. Just as the tip was about to reach Chu Gyeom’s chest—
Clink!
Chu Gyeom expertly caught her sword between the scythe’s head and its long shaft, then violently twisted his weapon.
Fling!
“Huh...?”
Chun-bong’s sword was disarmed, flying high into the sky. She stood there, completely defenseless, with her mouth hanging open.
Having learned his lesson the hard way, Chu Gyeom did not dare follow up with a lethal attack. Instead, he nervously shifted his eyes to gauge Seo-jun’s reaction.
“Is... is that enough?”
“Yeah, congratulations.”
Seo-jun slowly clapped his hands.
“Your life has been extended. Now, Round 3.”
Chu Gyeom’s lips began to tremble.
*
The "sparring" continued for a staggering twenty-one rounds.
Considering how the rounds only grew longer as they went on, the man named Chu Gyeom had truly fought with his soul on the line.
‘He’s a diligent fellow.’
Seo-jun admired him silently as he turned his head, sensing multiple presences rapidly approaching their location.
This harbor was essentially the only viable escape route. As such, if a battle dragged on this long, the rest of the Black Lotus Union was bound to notice.
‘One Super Peak and about fifteen Peak experts?’
Seo-jun smirked as he conjured a spark between his fingers. Zap! Deep blue lightning rapidly gathered at his fingertip.
Following a sudden burst of natural inspiration, the form of his Heaven-Thunder Explosion shifted. Seo-jun casually flicked the highly condensed mass of lightning from his index finger.
Peeeeeew—!
The projectile shot forward like a bullet, tearing through the air with a sharp whistle. Just before it made contact with the approaching targets, it exploded brilliantly.
CRACKLE──────────!!
Thin strands of Astral Qi erupted in all directions, swirling violently in the form of lightning.
The fragments of Astral Qi compressed into that single, small bullet numbered in the hundreds.
Like the deadly shrapnel of a grenade, the microscopic shards of Astral Qi literally shredded through human flesh.
“Aaaaaagh...!”
Amidst the overlapping screams of agony, a single figure suddenly burst forward from the smoke. It was the Super Peak martial artist.
But his trajectory was a bit strange.
“What the?”
The guy was hauling ass in the exact opposite direction.
Faced with this unexpected cowardice, Seo-jun first checked back on Chu Gyeom.
Chu Gyeom, who had been panting heavily with utter exhaustion, finally had his throat slit by Namgung Su-ah’s greatsword. It had taken twenty-one rounds.
“Good work.”
Leaving a word of praise that Chu Gyeom would never hear, Seo-jun stood up.
“I’m going to go catch tomorrow’s teaching aid.”
With that single sentence, he vanished into thin air.
Yeo Un-jeok stared blankly at the empty spot where Seo-jun had just been sitting.
‘What kind of monster is that...?’
His eyes trembled uncontrollably.