Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 44
>Chapter Title: Talent (3)
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‘Flying Ghost Blade Technique, Third Stance: Shadow Affliction Blade Seal!’
The Dark Sect Leader’s signature secret technique, the Flying Ghost Blade Technique.
Among them, the most domineering single strike, the Shadow Affliction Blade Seal, sliced diagonally from Woo Horang’s shoulder to his chest. Woo Horang was the trusted retainer of the Leader’s third disciple, Wi So-yeon.
-Shraaak!
“Gah!”
A scream burst from Woo Horang’s lips as the blade cut into him.
He immediately lost his footing, staggering backward before collapsing flat on the ground.
Was this how he would die?
At that moment, Woo Horang’s eyes snapped open.
“Cough...! Cough...”
He coughed up blood.
Fortunately, he hadn’t lost his life.
“Haa... haa...”
How long had it been since someone had slashed him head-on like this?
No, getting done in like this was a first for him.
‘To think... I’d lose?’
Mok Kyung-un wasn’t even a superior expert compared to him. In fact, his internal energy was downright inferior.
Yet Mok Kyung-un had predicted he wouldn’t lose in a clash of techniques.
What was the reason for his defeat?
It seemed to lie in Mok Kyung-un’s unpredictability and versatile use of martial arts.
If he’d had even a little grasp of him beforehand, he might not have let his guard down like this.
But what was the point of dwelling on it now?
No excuses could change the fact that a loss was a loss.
A shadow fell over his face.
Mok Kyung-un had approached and was looking down at him.
Woo Horang spoke up.
“Cough cough... Why... didn’t you... cut properly?”
There was considerable bleeding, but Mok Kyung-un’s sword hadn’t sliced deep enough to be fatal.
If it had gone just an inch deeper, he might have died.
At these words, Mok Kyung-un smirked, bent down, and struck pressure points on Woo Horang’s chest.
-Tat tat tat tat tak!
‘Hemostasis points.’
The spots Mok Kyung-un had struck were acupoints for stopping bleeding.
Woo Horang looked at him with puzzled eyes, and Mok Kyung-un shrugged his shoulders as he spoke.
“If I killed you, your lady Wi So-yeon and even Elder Myeongdo-wang would come after me. That’d be a bad move.”
“......”
-Grit!
At Mok Kyung-un’s words, Woo Horang bit his lower lip hard.
It was utterly humiliating.
In other words, he was saying he’d only spared him because of his lady and his master.
But what could a loser say here?
“Go.”
Woo Horang said curtly to Mok Kyung-un.
Mok Kyung-un replied.
“Go where? Didn’t you come to fetch me? Since the lady called for me, I figured I’d at least see her face while I’m at it and escort you back...”
“Are you trying to humiliate me?”
“Humiliate? Ahhh. Is it because of your injury?”
He could’ve just let it slide, but this guy had to poke right at the sore spot.
Woo Horang forced strength into his neck and said.
“I’ll tell the lady that you wanted to repay a debt to your junior disciple, so I suggested a spar first. Now get lost.”
This was the utmost concession.
After losing the duel, he didn’t want her to see him like this or watch this guy gloat.
“Ah. So you’re asking me not to meet the lady.”
“Who said...”
“Yeah yeah. If that’s what you want, I’ll oblige.”
“......Then just leave nicely. No more of you and...”
“Have you forgotten something, by any chance?”
“What?”
“Don’t you owe me something?”
“Owe you?”
For a moment, Woo Horang’s pupils shook.
In his defeat and frustration, he’d overlooked it.
He was the one who’d proposed the wager with the lady’s tokens before the duel.
‘Damn it.’
Back then, he’d been absolutely sure he’d win.
But the result was the complete opposite.
Woo Horang ground his teeth and gestured with his eyes toward his lower side as he spoke to Mok Kyung-un.
“It’s in the pouch on my right waist.”
“Is that so?”
Without hesitation, Mok Kyung-un reached into the pouch on his right waist and pulled out the token.
This token hadn’t been given directly by Wi So-yeon anyway, so taking it would only invite needless suspicion without any real effect.
But,
“Too bad. All because of this little bet.”
-Kwachak!
The token crumbled and shattered in Mok Kyung-un’s hand, leaving Woo Horang unable to use the token he’d received from his lady.
Staring at the fragments of the broken token, Woo Horang couldn’t hide his despair.
He’d wanted to use that token as an excuse to confess his feelings the moment he became the most precious person to her someday.
But it was all for naught now.
“Take care of yourself. Later... Ah! Almost forgot.”
As Mok Kyung-un started to stand, he bent down again and whispered in his ear.
“Just so you know, I don’t care one bit who you like. So no need to worry about me spilling it.”
“......”
Woo Horang furrowed his brow at his words.
Could he trust this guy?
He’d already been anxious that this punk might reveal his hidden feelings to the lady.
Then Mok Kyung-un smiled faintly and said.
“More than that, thanks to you, it’s a lot easier to choose now. Appreciate it.”
“What?”
Woo Horang’s expression hardened at Mok Kyung-un’s words.
What was this supposed to mean?
Easier to choose?
‘No way?’
Realizing the implication, Woo Horang’s face flushed red, but Mok Kyung-un casually stood up, ignoring him.
Mok Kyung-un looked at the blade of the Demon Instant Sword.
“Nice.”
It truly lived up to being a treasured sword forged by the legendary master smith Gooya before it became the Demonic Sword.
Not a drop of blood stained the blade.
Poorly forged swords would cling to blood after a cut, making them sticky or prone to rust, but this one was pristine.
As if it had cleansed itself.
-......You won’t choose that mortal woman, will you?
As Mok Kyung-un admired the sword contentedly, Blue Spirit’s voice rang in his ear.
He didn’t deny it.
-Probably not.
After dealing with his junior disciple sister Yeo Wi-seon and now her senior brother Woo Horang, it seemed the Leader’s third disciple Wi So-yeon had no worthwhile retainers around her.
They saw her as a woman before their liege.
And so Mok Kyung-un had decided to exclude her.
-I agree with your judgment.
Blue Spirit concurred with Mok Kyung-un’s decision.
Woo Horang, who had sparred with Mok Kyung-un, was one of the Five Tigers, the Heaven-Earth Society’s top later-generation talents, and could be called her right-hand man.
For such a man to harbor romantic feelings and act against his liege’s will?
Then the organization wasn’t worth considering.
-Lacking reliable subordinates is a sign of poor leadership too.
Even if Wi So-yeon herself was exceptional, if those around her couldn’t match her and harbored ulterior motives, succeeding as heir would be a distant dream.
-But what now? The second disciple doesn’t seem like a great choice either.
In Blue Spirit’s view, it wasn’t just the third disciple Wi So-yeon who had issues.
The second disciple Jang Neung-ak seemed to have decent talents under him, but he himself didn’t appear to have the temperament of a true leader.
-Hard to pick between those two.
-Yeah.
What Mok Kyung-un wanted now was someone closest and most fitting as the heir.
Getting close to such a person would increase his chances of contacting the Leader somehow.
-If neither appeals, there are other options.
-......Other options?
-Why ask when you know?
-You mean the original plan?
-Yes.
-That’s one way, but the situation’s changed.
-......It’s still time to build your strength, mortal. The situation hasn’t changed.
-Focusing solely on building strength feels inefficient.
-Inefficient? Now that you know the Leader’s connected to your revenge target, you’re not getting impatient, are you?
-Dunno. I just want to know.
-Don’t rush. To shake things up from within, you still need to grow and build internal allies.
Mok Kyung-un gave a faint smile at Blue Spirit’s words.
His goal was finding his grandfather’s killer, while hers was settling her own grudge.
Their thinking naturally diverged here.
He responded half-heartedly to her advice.
-Yeah yeah.
-......At least pretend to listen.
Blue Spirit clicked her tongue inwardly.
This guy always ignored others’ advice once he’d made up his mind.
Then Mok Kyung-un spoke.
-No need to limit it to the second or third disciples.
-What? You don’t mean...?
-I’d like to meet the Eldest Young Master.
-......That guy who’s currently closest to the Leader’s seat?
-Yeah. That’s how I remember it.
Both Blood Point Valley Lord Lee Ji-yeom and the Dark Sect Leader had the most support in the Heaven-Earth Society right now, and in terms of strength alone, the Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang was the closest to being heir.
From that perspective, joining under him might even raise his chances of contacting the Leader.
Blue Spirit tsked at Mok Kyung-un.
-Tsk tsk. Doesn’t seem like a great choice.
-Why not?
-The second and third disciples are ones you follow, but that Eldest Young Master mortal has no shortage of options. Can you really bend him to your will?
-Fair point. But no harm in trying.
-Always like this with you mortals—gotta do it yourself to be satisfied. Anyway, I warned you. It’s too early.
-Yeah yeah, got it...
-Hm?
Suddenly, Mok Kyung-un furrowed his brow.
-What’s wrong?
-The energy...
-Energy?
Mok Kyung-un turned his head toward the southwest corner of the wall.
He’d already sensed someone else hiding there, watching him.
He guessed it was someone sent by the Leader’s second disciple, Jang Neung-ak.
He’d thought they’d reveal themselves once he moved from the spot.
But suddenly, that presence’s energy wavered and then faded.
‘What’s this?’
Energy fading like that usually meant expending qi or some mishap like injury.
As he puzzled over it,
-Thud!
‘!?’
Turning at the sound of someone collapsing, he saw the escort Seok Jung sprawled on the ground.
He scanned the surroundings, but no one was visible.
Mok Kyung-un frowned, went to Seok Jung, and checked his pulse. His acupoints had been sealed; he’d fainted.
‘Who?’
“Hup.”
Another sound made him turn, and the injured Woo Horang, lying on the ground, had closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side.
He’d passed out too.
Mok Kyung-un let out a faint sigh and said.
“Who’s there?”
Someone was definitely present.
Then a voice came from behind.
“Quite the unusual fellow.”
‘When?’
Mok Kyung-un’s eyes narrowed.
Someone unknown had approached behind him without detection.
Ever since gaining his fortuitous encounter from the Blood Point Valley report, his energy sense had sharpened, and his keen eyes let him spot others’ presences easily.
Yet he hadn’t sensed this one.
That meant,
‘Hiding his energy like death qi?’
Probably.
Otherwise, he couldn’t have evaded his senses completely.
Then the voice continued.
“From your fighting, you seem to have reached the level of a Division Leader, yet your visible energy is merely peak beginner.”
The unknown figure was appraising him.
Curiously, he was modulating his voice to sound thicker, hiding his identity.
Mok Kyung-un spoke.
“......Forgive my rudeness, but may I ask who you are?”
A snicker came in response to his question.
Then the unknown one said.
“Take a guess.”
Mok Kyung-un scratched his head awkwardly.
“This is tricky. I’ve never even seen you before, from the sound of your voice.”
“Then just look at my face directly.”
“Is that so? If you say...”
-Pat!
Mok Kyung-un whipped his head around quickly.
But no one was behind him.
There’d been almost no sound of movement, and he’d vanished from sight in an instant.
From this alone, Mok Kyung-un knew for sure.
‘......Fast.’
Faster than his head-turn meant the opponent had clearly reached a higher realm than him.
Far stronger than Woo Horang, one of the Five Tigers hailed as the Heaven-Earth Society’s top later-generation talent.
That put him at least at Valley Lord level or above.
“How am I supposed to see your face like this?”
The unknown figure lightly taunted Mok Kyung-un.
It seemed like a test.
‘Hmm.’
Should he play along?
Then Blue Spirit’s voice whispered in his ear.
-The mortal behind you. His pupils are different colors. The right one’s white.
‘!?’
Unlike Mok Kyung-un, Blue Spirit could see clearly around him.
From her words, Mok Kyung-un realized the identity of the one behind him.
He’d heard descriptions of key figures from the Dark Sect Leader.
And so,
-Swish!
Mok Kyung-un clasped his hands, slightly bowed his head in a cupped-fist salute, and said.
“Disciple of the Dark Sect Leader, Mok Kyung-un, greets the Eldest Young Master.”
‘!?’
Silence fell behind him at Mok Kyung-un’s greeting.
Then, soon,
-Swish!
Someone poked their face out to Mok Kyung-un’s right.
As Blue Spirit said, one pupil was black, the other white—actually grayish-white. A tall, handsome man with striking features.
The moment their eyes met, Mok Kyung-un felt a strange sensation.
It was a sense of kinship.
‘What is this?’
As he wondered, the handsome man asked in an intrigued tone.
“How did you know?”