Chapter 122
Chapter 122: Lustful Dragon
The person who climbed up was, unlike Murong Byeong, a black-robed man of small, nimble build and sharp, fierce eyes. Peculiarly, short swords and daggers hung in clusters on the front and back of his chest.
A strange expression rose on Murong Byeong's face upon seeing him. Perhaps the kind of expression one would make when, after shooing away a fly stuck to one's head, it attaches itself again to the back of one's skull?
"Four-Armed Flying Blade, we meet again here."
Though he couldn't compare to Murong Byeong, Four-Armed Flying Blade Danmok Gu was a fairly famous rising master in Liaoning Province. However, the reason Murong Byeong frowned wasn't simply because he was a master from the same region.
"That's right, Young Master Murong. Meeting you again after three years makes me truly happy."
At the words "three years," Murong Byeong's face became even more disgusted than before.
"That incident was an accident."
"...Did I say something?"
"..."
In truth, Danmok Gu had an old grudge against Murong Byeong.
His younger sister had dated Murong Byeong and been abandoned. It didn't end there—in the end, his sister took her own life from the shock of the breakup. Danmok Gu had gone to the Murong Family to meet Murong Byeong, only to be beaten black and blue and dragged out like a dog.
That had happened three years ago.
From that brief exchange alone, the crowd could easily sense that something had occurred between the two.
The venue became noisy once more.
"Four-Armed Flying Blade! Do your best!"
"Brother Danmok! Murong Family or whatever, crush them to pieces!"
At the crowd's cheers, Murong Byeong's face twisted further. He had climbed up to impress Namgung Hye, but was only showing an even worse side of himself. On top of that, the entire Murong Family had suddenly become something like public enemies of the Martial World. Even if he won the tournament, it seemed he wouldn't hear anything good.
He had tried to show off and couldn't even break even.
Murong Byeong's gaze toward Danmok Gu then immediately turned cold.
"You will regret this."
"Ha ha ha... Do you mean you'll kill me? That would be even better. If I die, I can at least disqualify you."
[Anyone who kills their opponent will be immediately disqualified. One must show mercy.]
Danmok Gu's words referred to this very clause among the newly created rules.
Murong Byeong's sharp eyes became even keener.
"I don't make empty threats."
He immediately rushed toward Danmok Gu like lightning.
Having anticipated that Murong Byeong would launch a surprise attack, Danmok Gu quickly pulled out five throwing blades stuck on his chest and hurled them at Murong Byeong.
Clang-clang-clang!
Murong Byeong's sword moved as if casting a net, knocking down all the blades in an instant. It was the Heavenly Net Sword Technique that the Murong Family prided itself on.
Swish!
Murong Byeong continued charging forward with that momentum.
"...!"
Startled, Danmok Gu rapidly retreated backward. The current Murong Byeong was much faster than the Murong Byeong he had faced three years ago. He had expected it, but didn't know the difference would be this great.
For three years, he had gnashed his teeth in bitter resentment. Remembering his sister's smiling face, he threw flying blades and threw swords again and again.
And yet.
He fell into a disadvantage in just one exchange...
Danmok Gu didn't give up and continued throwing blades while retreating. Even so, he couldn't completely shake off Murong Byeong, who was quickly closing in. Retreating backward and charging forward were fundamentally incomparable in speed. Moreover, with the difference in their martial skills being so starkly divided, there was no need to say more.
Murong Byeong brought down his sword.
Clang-clang!
Due to the characteristics of the Heavenly Net Sword Technique, the moment the sword collided with the blades, a dense energy wall naturally formed along the sword line. Through the gaps in the energy wall, energy winds leaked out and mercilessly tore the skin on Danmok Gu's face and shoulders.
"Ghk!"
Danmok Gu swallowed a groan and dropped to one knee. He tried to block with daggers hastily drawn, but it was insufficient.
Just this one exchange. In terms of breaths, perhaps one breath.
Danmok Gu had already been defeated.
The cheering crowd fell silent in an instant. The skill of one of the Nine Dragons that they witnessed with their own eyes far exceeded what they had imagined. They had hoped for something, but as expected, the wall between the Murong Family and the Nine Dragons was high. Even among those who had jeered at Murong Byeong earlier, several who had made eye contact with him were now leaving the venue.
Thud-thud-thump!
"Ghk!"
A one-sided beating began.
Having seized the advantage, Murong Byeong completely let loose and pummeled Danmok Gu's entire body. He didn't even swing the sword in his hand. Only with leg techniques—no, just random kicks—he was cornering Danmok Gu. As his legs lightly swept across the arena, bruises formed on Danmok Gu's body and streams of blood spurted from his mouth.
Watching that scene from the rooftop, Hwa Seon-hyang frowned.
"The fight seems to already be over... This is too much."
As she said, the fight was no longer a fight, but no one stepped forward. Because there had been no declaration of surrender from Danmok Gu.
Even from Dong Bong-soo's perspective, that fight had no value worth watching anymore.
As Hwa Seon-hyang said, the fight was already over. He scanned the distance beyond the reach of his Super True Energy Field with his eyes, searching again for the lunatics he had seen on the first day.
Jong Ji-hang and other strong warriors whose names he didn't know, and Yeon Yeong-ha.
No one was visible. Everyone was probably taking their preliminaries at other arenas.
That's when it happened.
Thud-thud-thump!
With a loud sound, Danmok Gu's face was completely buried in the arena floor. He had lost consciousness.
The blood he had shed was already completely staining one side of the arena. One could tell how severely he had been beaten. Even if he didn't die, it would take months of recuperation to recover.
Perhaps...
He might never recover.
Woooooah!
Cheers that shook the heavens poured forth.
But...
Not from here.
From outside Muhwa Gate and toward the Inner Court.
Someone had probably subdued their opponent with overwhelming force just like here. However, despite being an overwhelming fight, this place was quiet.
No one wanted it, but... a fight that concluded as predetermined.
That was the powerless revenge of those without strength. No one who witnessed it could let out a cheer.
Namgung Hye watched for a moment before climbing onto the arena to examine Danmok Gu, then called a Martial World Protection Corps member to carry him to the Pill Chamber. Then she perfunctorily told Murong Byeong that he had been too heavy-handed before descending back to the referee's seat.
The tournament had to continue. Even if people died.
Murong Byeong still stood in the arena and looked as if he was still angry. Some insect had rushed in and made his ears noisy, which must have been quite irritating. The next person to climb onto the arena probably wouldn't see anything pleasant either.
Hwa Seon-hyang looked around at the crowd, then shook her head and looked at Dong Bong-soo.
"I don't think we need to wait any longer, do you?"
Her words meant that no one would step forward for the next half hour. Dong Bong-soo also quietly observed the crowd before agreeing with her words.
"It seems that way."
There were few young masters here who surpassed Murong Byeong. Even those few were only evenly matched to the point where it was difficult to determine superiority.
The people who could definitely subdue Murong Byeong were:
Namgung Hye, who was just climbing onto the arena from over there to ring the bell.
"But when are you planning to climb onto the arena, Young Hero Dong...?!"
And excluding himself.
Tap.
Dong Bong-soo answered with action instead of words in the middle of Hwa Seon-hyang's question.
He had already kicked off the roof and was flying toward the arena.
The timing was so exquisite that the gazes of everyone in the venue focused on Dong Bong-soo all at once. As if he alone occupied this arena.
'Hm? That fellow is stepping forward already...! Does that mean?'
Did it mean he could subdue Murong Byeong?
Ting...Ti...
Namgung Hye caught the bell that was about to ring and stopped it. With that, the sound also stopped, and the decision for the first finalist was postponed.
A new challenger had appeared, so the bell was no longer needed. Not until one of the two in the arena fell.
'Now, go ahead and play to your heart's content. Show me a match worthy of the first finalist of the Heavenly Youth Martial Arts Tournament. And...'
Also confirm that you're another variable in this tournament alongside Jong Ji-hang.
Namgung Hye put the bell she had taken out back into her bosom and returned to the referee's seat. Some inexplicable smile lingered on her face.
On the other hand, Murong Byeong's expression was slightly twisted.
The reason he had beaten Danmok Gu so severely just now was partly to prevent him from ever clinging to him again, but more so because he didn't want to engage in any more meaningless matches.
Among the championship contenders—the Three Stars, Five Phoenixes, and Nine Dragons—as well as participants from major sects, none would appear in the preliminaries except himself. Everyone else was just part of the countless low-tier fighters scattered throughout the Martial World. Why should he bother testing martial skill against such nobodies? Wasn’t the outcome obvious?
On top of that, his original purpose of showing off his martial arts before Namgung Hye had also become useless. He had shown himself being jeered at and even received a warning for being too heavy-handed.
There was already nothing to gain from these preliminary matches. No, it was a situation where he had suffered only losses.
In such circumstances, when the thin and fragile-looking Dong Bong-soo climbed onto the arena, Murong Byeong's mood became extremely foul.
'Where does this snot-nosed bastard get off showing off? I'll make you piss and shit yourself within one watch period.'
The Lustful Dragon Murong Byeong greeted Dong Bong-soo with a smile that pretended to be courteous but couldn't hide its cruelty.