Chapter 124
Chapter 124: Dong Bong-soo vs. Murong Byeong (2)
Had he deliberately missed? However, that didn't seem to be the case.
Because an expression of disbelief had risen on Murong Byeong's face.
Wh-what... how did this happen?
His expression was saying exactly that.
However, that expression soon disappeared and a vicious look took its place once again.
Murong Byeong immediately pulled out the sword embedded in the floor and this time aimed for Dong Bong-soo's side, slashing with all his might.
But!
The sword that had been thrust forth with all his strength slowed down the closer it got to Dong Bong-soo's body. Then at some point, it stopped completely.
"Aaaargh!"
He poured out every ounce of strength he had, even the strength from his mother's milk, trying to thrust the sword, but it wouldn't advance any further. Earlier it had slid down as if he'd struck a slippery rock with his sword, but now it wouldn't budge as if the sword was embedded in a thousand-year-old boulder. [ED/N: Mother’s milk here means every last bit of strength]
"Useful."
Dong Bong-soo spoke in a voice so ordinary it was also languid.
"Aaaargh!"
Murong Byeong added even the strength he'd used in the outhouse to the strength from his mother's milk and barely managed to pull the sword out from 'the void.' The expression might seem strange, but that's clearly how it looked to the witnesses. Murong Byeong was using all his strength to pull out a sword that was 'embedded' in the empty void beside Dong Bong-soo. If Murong Byeong's actions were acting, the Central Plains' greatest performer would have to immediately yield that position to him.
"Huak, huak..."
Though he had simply pulled a blade out from the void, Murong Byeong's entire body was drenched in sweat and his breathing had become indescribably ragged.
"Damn it! What is this? Is it sorcery?"
Profanity burst from the mouth of the always courteous Murong Byeong. That's how absurd and dumbfounding it was. It was martial arts he had never seen or heard of before.
No, even whether it was martial arts or not was ambiguous. No no, it must be sorcery. If not, the martial arts he had built up over a lifetime would become a joke.
Perhaps...
Everyone in this place might become such a joke too.
People are bound to fear what's different from others or what they don't know. That's how it was when science first emerged, and the same when first facing monsters like himself.
Dong Bong-soo had simply experimented with the martial arts he had realized, the Super True Energy Field, through various methods.
It was just slightly different from what others knew, and he had simply opened a new path that others didn't know.
"Damn it!"
After recovering his stamina somewhat with a brief rest, Murong Byeong cursed and charged at Dong Bong-soo once again.
Sssssshhk! Sssssshhk!
Heavenly Net Sword Technique First Form Five Net Scatter.
Heavenly Net Sword Technique Second Form Covering Heaven Dark World.
.....
....
...
..
.
Thud.
"..."
He had used all the forms of the Heavenly Net Sword Technique.
Even so...
Dong Bong-soo didn't move a single step from that spot.
The exhausted Murong Byeong dropped to his knees right there.
"Haak, haak..."
The venue was so quiet that even the finishing details of Murong Byeong's violently gasping breaths could be heard clearly.
Tap tap tap.
Dong Bong-soo moved. Danmok Gu's dagger was still held in his hand.
Arriving right in front of Murong Byeong, Dong Bong-soo bent down and brought his face right before Murong Byeong's face, just an inch away.
Shudder.
Murong Byeong's body visibly trembled.
Swish.
Dong Bong-soo brought the dagger in his hand to Murong Byeong's forehead. Without knowing what had happened or how, Murong Byeong simply allowed the dagger to touch his forehead.
Trickle.
Blood flowing down from his forehead passed his nose, formed droplets on his chin, and fell to the floor.
The clear blood scattered cleanly over Danmok Gu's dried blood scabs that had hardened black.
"..."
The venue fell into complete silence.
It was different from the quietness that had flowed when Namgung Hye's ankles were revealed or when Danmok Gu was being one-sidedly beaten. Fundamentally different.
Shock and alienation.
That was what was sweeping across the arena.
Even Murong Byeong, the person involved, didn't know what was happening or how, and couldn't speak. Because he was making eye contact with Dong Bong-soo at just an inch away.
"It's martial arts. Not sorcery."
“It's just that you're seeing it for the first time.”
Dong Bong-soo said.
***
Around the arena in front of the Inner Court.
Silence was also descending there in a sharp manner.
"..."
Jong Ji-hang stood impassively in the center of the arena holding the Heavenly Rigid Sword, and a man lay unconscious at his feet.
Zhejiang Eight Absolutes Pa Ho-reung. Undoubtedly the foremost among Zhejiang's rising stars. Setting aside background, he was an outstanding person who was said to be almost not inferior even to the Nine Dragons.
Such a person had been defeated by Jong Ji-hang's single sword strike. He hadn't been struck. He had clearly blocked it. Yet Pa Ho-reung had lost consciousness instead. The power contained in Jong Ji-hang's single sword strike must have been that tremendous.
With that, those who had fainted from Jong Ji-hang's single sword strike numbered five.
"Jo, Jong Ji-hang Young... Great Hero advances to the finals!"
Anyone who repelled five challengers in succession would advance to the finals.
According to that new rule, Jong Ji-hang was confirmed as the first finalist from the arena in front of the Inner Court.
"Waaaah!"
"The best, truly the best!"
"A powerful championship candidate has appeared!"
The spectators who had witnessed his overwhelming appearance right before their eyes shouted with all their might.
Jong Ji-hang himself had no emotional response to it. His gaze as he descended from the arena was consistently directed north. Because the Heavenly Rigid Sword was trembling in that direction.
"Something...? Why is the Heavenly Rigid Sword crying like this? Just who could it be...?"
That direction was precisely...
***
"Must be toward Central Great Road? Where Dong Guang-chuan is?"
Yeon Yeong-ha said, moving her lips slightly.
Opposite to Jong Ji-hang looking north, she was staring south.
Two pairs of eyes facing different directions.
However, the destination those eyes were watching was the same. The arena at Central Great Road.
Yeon Yeong-ha had felt a very intense flow of energy from that direction just moments ago. Though it had calmed down now, it absolutely wasn't something just anyone could do. More importantly, no emotion could be felt from the flow of energy.
Dong Guang-chuan, that's him.
"Hiyaaat!"
Her opponent, who had only been watching for an opening, rushed in while Yeon Yeong-ha was distracted.
However...
Boring. Just like the previous four people, but this time especially so.
Thwak.
Her hand moved forward and an Energy Curtain formed. It momentarily blocked the opponent's front and soon wrapped around their face.
"Heh..."
In an instant, the opponent's face became a bloody mess. Without managing to let out a single loud scream, they fainted.
"This isn't it. I made a mistake?"
She hadn't seen it directly. But she was certain it was different. The 'application' of energy that Dong Guang-chuan had done and what she had just done. The gap between the two was very large.
Yeon Yeong-ha pouted her lips, then soon smiled brightly.
"Well, I'll know when I see it directly."
She squatted down. Then she lifted the face of the one who had buried their head and lost consciousness.
All their teeth had fallen out and their nose was completely crushed. The bleeding was also severe. The blood shed by the previous four people was stuck to the arena floor, and new blood was being painted over it.
Yeon Yeong-ha casually set the opponent's head back down on the floor and spoke to the referee who was blankly staring at her from afar.
"Hey, mister. What are you doing? Isn't this person who just collapsed the fifth one?"
"Ah... ah, ye, yes. Ha Yeong-yeon Young Hero advances to the finals!"
Waaaah!
The referee's words fell and Ha Yeong-yeon... Yeon Yeong-ha became the first finalist from the arena outside Muhwa Gate.
Boring, boring. Boringly maddening. To the point of exploding.
Endure. I'll just endure this much. Dong Guang-chuan is waiting over there. When I see him, this excitement will calm down a bit. Though it might be the opposite.
Yeon Yeong-ha descended from the arena outside Muhwa Gate and headed south, and the tournament continued.
Here, the arena in front of the Inner Court where Jong Ji-hang was.
And.
Central Great Road where Dong Bong-soo was.
***
"..."
Unlike the other two arenas, the vicinity of Central Great Road surrounding the central arena where Dong Bong-soo was remained subdued.
All the people simply watched Dong Bong-soo with their mouths hanging open.
Hwa Seon-hyang on the rooftop, Namgung Hye at the referee's seat, Paeng Ho-ryu below the arena, and Murong Byeong kneeling right in front of him.
"...I, I lost..."
He barely admitted defeat while avoiding Dong Bong-soo's abyssal eyes.
Then he stood up and descended from the arena powerlessly.
An upset.
One of the Nine Dragons, counted among the championship candidates, had fallen far too easily in an unscheduled preliminary.
"Th-th-th..."
To think he was that strong!
Hwa Seon-hyang was so shocked she sat down on the rooftop.
She had been surprised when he suddenly leaped onto the arena. She had wondered why he would unnecessarily face a master like Murong Byeong. It was only natural. He could have met easier opponents just by waiting.
Now she saw there was no need for that.
Th-that person was a far greater master than Hwa Ye-ji or she had thought. And to an extent that was difficult to measure.
Thump thump.
Her heart, which had felt like it would burst from anxiety, now began to beat with another meaning. Just as the name Dong Guang-chuan was being engraved even more intensely on her heart.
Paeng Ho-ryu's heart was also beating violently.
Even when he earned the empty reputation of being one of the Three Stars, he had felt nothing. He had simply wanted to meet the other two rising stars.
He had met several of the Nine Dragons including Murong Byeong, but the name Nine Dragons was even more hollow than the name Three Stars. They were nothing but apples that looked good but tasted bad.
That person! Dong Guang-chuan!
Different. From the feeling he gives off to his skill, that peculiar mysteriousness—everything makes my whole body tingle.
Tap.
Without even realizing it, his feet were already kicking off the ground.
Whirrr.
The cold spring air struck his entire body, but he didn't feel cold. Before he could even perceive it, he was already descending onto the arena. Footsteps light enough to not match his build drew his opponent's gaze to him.
"Paeng Ho-ryu."
At the words Paeng Ho-ryu, the crowd stirred once again.