Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Tailored Combat
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"As expected, Senior Brother Bang has such spirit. No helping it. Let's just go by ourselves."
She smirked mockingly, as if deliberately trying to provoke him.
Now that things had come to this, the one who snapped was Ban Bang-geun.
He snorted furiously and charged ahead first.
Ju Geum-ryeong's voice trailed after him from behind.
"That's the dashing Ban young hero I know."
With that, the three of them quickly plunged into the birch forest.
Surprisingly, those guys hadn't fled.
They stood waiting at a distance.
Bang Gwang-sil muttered.
"Huh? They were running for their lives a minute ago... Did they change their minds already?"
Han Ibi, overhearing from afar, called out.
"Changed their minds, my ass. This was their plan all along."
A ominous shadow flickered across Ban Bang-geun's mind as he led the way.
Learning from experience was no small thing, after all.
But Ju Geum-ryeong following behind weighed on him.
'Can't hesitate here. Damn it.'
Her presence goaded him into moving forward relentlessly.
That's when Wang Cheong-rin, standing opposite, spoke to Han Ibi.
"Got some clever trick up your sleeve?"
"Sure do."
"What is it?"
"We fight."
"What?"
"We beat the crap out of them."
Wang Cheong-rin flushed red with anger and shot back.
"How's that any different from before? Why bother coming all the way here just to fight?"
"It's different."
"How?"
Han Ibi chuckled softly.
"Lady Wang must have missed it. Now that we're in this forest, that Ban Bang-geun guy's ranged attacks won't pack much punch. And Monk Hye-jeong."
"Yes, benefactor."
"Whoa. Can't you tone down that old-man talk? You look about my age."
"Ah, sorry. I've lived in the temple since I was young..."
"Forget it. Not the time. Monk!"
"Yes."
"Shaolin's great with staffs usually, but you'd prefer bare fists over this, right?"
"Hm. For us monks who vow against killing..."
"Oh, come on. Not here for a sermon. Confident in a fistfight? Yes or no."
"...Yes."
"Good. And finally, Lady Wang."
"Yes."
"Use your arm blades."
"Pardon?"
Han Ibi nodded toward the thick trees.
"Use those arm blades. On that hopeless girl, of course."
Wang Cheong-rin glanced around the trees and let out a sudden realization.
"Ah!"
"Monk, you take that Ban guy. I'll handle Bang Gwang-whatever. Got it?"
"Yes."
"Just to be clear, each keeps the handkerchief they snag. Here they come."
Ju Geum-ryeong's group had closed in without dropping their guard.
Bang Gwang-sil spoke first.
"Listen, Monk Hye-jeong."
Hye-jeong replied politely.
"Yes, benefactor."
"As you know, Shaolin stands as the true backbone of the Murim Alliance alongside Mount Hua and Wudang."
"I'm not so sure about that."
"Hahaha. You're too modest, monk. Anyway, now that it's come up... Would a hero of Great Shaolin really stoop to mingling with these ragtag nobodies?"
Wang Cheong-rin exploded.
"What'd you say? Ragtag? Everyone knows you Mount Hua scum cling to the Alliance just to hog all the benefits!"
Han Ibi nodded.
"That's the most normal thing you've said yet, Lady Wang."
Bang Gwang-sil ignored them.
"It's not too late. Ally with us."
Hye-jeong didn't answer. Instead, he thrust his staff into the dirt.
"Shaolin monks always uphold loyalty as our principle. We can't turn our backs on those in need. Amitabha. Please understand, benefactor."
"Ho. Is that so? You'll regret it."
"Amitabha. We accept the outcome."
"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you..."
Suddenly, Ju Geum-ryeong burst from behind Bang Gwang-sil.
Aiming for a sneak attack.
Target: Wang Cheong-rin.
Wang Cheong-rin leaped out too. The fight was on.
Ju Geum-ryeong laughed.
"This time, I'll finish you. Signed that pledge nicely, right?"
"Hmph. Look who's talking."
Back at the restaurant, Ju Geum-ryeong had the edge.
She raised her arm.
The elegant Plum Blossom Swordsmanship from her slender blade was her signature.
Han Ibi thought.
'Oho, not bad.'
Her swift sword lunged mercilessly at Wang Cheong-rin.
Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew as Ju Geum-ryeong's sword clashed with the arm blade.
Han Ibi called.
"Lady Wang. Remember what I said?"
Wang Cheong-rin snorted but shifted position.
Toward denser birches.
Only then did Ju Geum-ryeong's group catch on to Han Ibi's scheme.
"Such cowards..."
Indeed.
Mount Hua's Plum Blossom Swordsmanship was famed for its beauty.
Meaning flashy enough to dazzle the eyes.
But it required ample space.
This forest didn't provide it.
Packed trees blocked room to maneuver.
Ju Geum-ryeong dodged trunks, unable to form proper sword paths.
Wang Cheong-rin's arm blades, short but razor-sharp and sturdy, excelled in close quarters.
Sharp whooshes echoed through the underbrush.
The flow had reversed from the restaurant.
Ju Geum-ryeong, her forms constantly interrupted, couldn't fight back.
Wang Cheong-rin made full use of the trees.
Han Ibi muttered.
"Lady Wang, trees aren't obstacles—they're your allies. You're still not using them enough."
Wang Cheong-rin's eyes gleamed.
Ignoring the clashing weapons, she suddenly launched toward a tree on the right.
Ju Geum-ryeong flinched, momentarily stunned.
Wang Cheong-rin struck the tree with her left blade and kicked off, soaring up.
She flew to another tree in an instant.
Now she moved like a flying squirrel.
Clap clap clap!
Han Ibi applauded.
"Perfect. Won't be long now."
Ju Geum-ryeong panicked.
Each elusive move forced her to huddle her sword defensively over her chest.
Then...
Shing!
Wang Cheong-rin's arm blade whipped out.
Ju Geum-ryeong raised her sword to block.
But she overlooked one thing...
Arm blades were short, but used both arms.
Wang Cheong-rin swung her left arm, slicing across.
Splat!
Ju Geum-ryeong's shoulder tore open.
Nearly ending the spar with injury.
Wang Cheong-rin leaped to another tree, prepping her next strike.
Then.
"You bitch!"
A man charged, eyes blazing with fury.
Ban Bang-geun, smitten with Ju Geum-ryeong.
He swung his broad saber wildly.
A shadow blocked him.
"Amitabha. Forgive me."
Shaolin's young-old monk, Hye-jeong.
Unlike his dying voice, he shot forward like a gale, hand outstretched.
Called Capturing Hand.
The twelve forms of Shaolin Golden Dragon Captures pierced the narrow gaps between trees toward Ban Bang-geun.
But Ban Bang-geun was Kunlun's prodigy too.
He unleashed Kunlun's Eight Sabers, fiercely aiming to sever Hye-jeong's hand.
Yet Hye-jeong wove through trees with Arhat Steps, closing in.
One slashing, one grabbing.
A bizarre clash—not fisticuffs or saber arts—unfolded in Demon Valley's birch woods.
Han Ibi watched with keen interest.
'Done. Way more skilled than I thought. Shaolin's rep isn't bought with coins. Fun, but over. Too quick.'
Sure enough.
Thunk!
The saber lodged in a tree.
Ban Bang-geun couldn't yank it free in time and abandoned it for fisticuffs.
But Shaolin Capturing Hand was elusive.
Hye-jeong thrust as if punching.
As Ban Bang-geun's fist swung in...
Hye-jeong's fist morphed to palm, yanking his sleeve.
Ban Bang-geun toppled off-balance.
Hye-jeong snatched the silk handkerchief from his neck in a flash.
Over.
Han Ibi was about to cheer.
"Amitabha. Forgive me."
But Hye-jeong's words shut him up.
'Ugh, even now... Sick of it. That old kid. But ending before the girls' fight is good.'
Hye-jeong extended a hand to the sprawled Ban Bang-geun.
Slap!
"Damn it!"
Furious, Ban Bang-geun slapped it away, jumped up, and stormed off without looking back.
Han Ibi called to his back.
"See you later, young hero Ban."
Not that he'd hear with his ears or back.
Then a shout rang out.
"Junior Sister Ju! We should retreat!"
Bang Gwang-sil.
But Ju Geum-ryeong had no time to reply, fending off Wang Cheong-rin's relentless tree-hopping assaults.
"Senior Brother! I... I..."
Bang Gwang-sil leaped away regardless.
"Junior Sister Ju, I'll avenge you for sure."
Seeing the tide turn, he ditched her to flee alone.
Han Ibi shook his head.
"Man, can someone be this despicable?"
Bang Gwang-sil invoked Mount Hua's Dark Fragrance Step, darting from the birches.
Wang Cheong-rin, mid-clash, eyed it sidelong.
"Hey, young hero Jong. You're just gonna let that guy run?"
Han Ibi grinned.
"Of course not."
He drew flying daggers from his bosom.
'Charyeoksa Dagger Skill at level 6. Heh. Been dying to test it in real combat.'
Han Ibi unleashed Zhongli Swift Leopard Step and launched forward.
Then, like a hammer-throw athlete, he spun his body three and a half fierce turns.
Wang Cheong-rin and Hye-jeong stared in bewilderment.
Wang Cheong-rin had just sliced Ju Geum-ryeong's sleeve and muttered.
"What the hell is he doing?"
At the spin's end, Han Ibi shouted, flinging both arms.
"Rotating Flying Dagger Technique!"
Four daggers, pinched between fingers, sliced through the air toward Bang Gwang-sil.
Each on a different path.
But...
Hye-jeong's eyes widened.
"Amitabha... Impressive."
The daggers' trajectories were otherworldly.
Yes.
True to "Rotating Flying Dagger Technique," they curved in wide arcs.
Artfully dodging the dense trees...
Bang Gwang-sil sensed something amiss and glanced back.
He gasped at the incoming daggers, drew his sword, and desperately defended.
Clang clang clang clang!
True to Mount Hua's rising star, he deflected them all with Plum Blossom Swordsmanship.
'Yes!'
Bang Gwang-sil clenched his left fist unconsciously.
But...
(Continued in the next chapter)