Chapter 244
Chapter 244
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 244
Chapter Title: The World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament (7)
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The Third Elder of the Lion Alliance.
The master of a great sect called the Mountain King Society.
The head of the most prominent escort agency in Jiangnan.
One of the Ten Great Masters, the ten warriors who reigned at the pinnacle of the martial world.
All these titles referred to the Ultimate Killing Demon, Im Jeong.
To obtain such accolades, Im Jeong had lived a life two or three times busier than anyone else.
He killed his martial brothers to become the master of the Mountain King Society, trained himself to enter the absolute realm, and pursued power to become the Third Elder of the Lion Alliance.
Endless greed.
Though he was often criticized for being vulgar, it was precisely this greed that served as the driving force and foundation that placed strength and power in Im Jeong’s hands.
‘If I can just handle this brat from the Battle Dragon Hall properly, a position second to one and above all others will not be just a dream.’
His reason for accepting Jin Mujeon’s proposal was simple. It seemed like an opportunity to seize even greater power than he currently possessed.
Of course, the Alliance would not be pleased about him coming over to the Nine Dragons Fortress.
The martial world was a place where grudges could form over the most trivial reasons; in the worst-case scenario, a military conflict with the Lion Alliance could erupt.
However, Im Jeong was confident.
With the Alliance Lord absent, the Lion Alliance was nothing he couldn't handle.
“Will you really be alright?”
“What do you mean?”
“I just don’t like the idea of you being reduced to a spectacle.”
*Smirk.*
At the concern of Ju Jeong-geum, Lord of the Water Dragon Gate, Im Jeong let out a dismissive laugh.
“Is that all? What does it matter if I become a spectacle? If there’s something to be gained, I’m willing to step forward anytime.”
“And I don’t trust that fellow, the Hall Master of the Battle Dragon Hall. I question whether a brat who’s barely over twenty can truly represent the Nine Dragons Fortress.”
“That’s your problem, my friend. You worry too much. Didn’t we investigate together and confirm that the brat’s will is the Lord’s will?”
“That may be so, but you must keep in mind that rumors and reality can often be different.”
Judging by his words and actions, Im Jeong might seem reckless, but he was a meticulous man.
Ju Jeong-geum, who was half a merchant, was so cautious one could call him timid.
That was why they had started gathering information the day after hearing Mujeon’s proposal.
And two days later, after confirming the entire situation, they reached a conclusion.
At the center of power in the Nine Dragons Fortress stood Mujeon, and his will was the will of the fortress lord, Bukgung Baek.
Having gained this certainty, Im Jeong had participated in the tournament on the final day of the preliminaries as a sign of his agreement with Mujeon’s proposal.
Im Jeong clicked his tongue as he observed Ju Jeong-geum’s worried expression.
‘Tsk, pathetic fool…’
In truth, Im Jeong had long disliked Ju Jeong-geum.
He had only maintained their relationship because the businesses of the Mountain King Society and the Water Dragon Gate were intertwined in many ways.
However, since defecting together would more firmly establish his own value, Im Jeong placated him.
“I know what you’re worried about. But there’s no need to fret. He’s a fellow who volunteered to lose just to make me look good. If he intended to betray me, why would he do such a thing?”
Seemingly a little reassured, Ju Jeong-geum nodded.
“Hmm… That’s certainly true. I’ve shown you an unseemly side of myself.”
“Unseemly? Not at all, you’re just being cautious. Let’s not dwell on it and go for a drink. A day like today calls for a grand celebration.”
“I hear there’s a courtesan house called the Red Flower Pavilion overflowing with fine wine and beautiful women. My treat, let’s go together.”
“There was such a fine place and you didn’t tell me sooner? Let’s go at once.”
And so, the two men set off toward the Red Flower Pavilion.
***
“Hoo.”
On the day of the final matches, the tournament grounds were even more crowded than before.
It was only natural; tourists don't just leave the moment a tournament ends.
Even coming from the next village over took half a day. Those from other cities would have ridden for at least a fortnight.
Having made such an effort to come, everyone would want to stay a few more days to take in the many sights of the Nine Dragons Fortress.
Myo Hyang was busy as a bee, promoting the products made by the Seocheon Merchant Guild to these very people.
‘By the way…’
She glanced at the participants gathered in a corner of the arena.
“…”
They were all skilled enough to make it to the finals, yet they all looked utterly unmotivated, which seemed rather pathetic.
“Gaga, it looks like today will be over quickly. How about a drink?”
Jeok Hwa-ran, seemingly waiting for Myo Hyang to be gone, popped out and said.
“What makes you so sure it’ll end early?”
“With the great Ultimate Killing Demon participating, who would dare challenge him? Hahaha.”
“Well, maybe, maybe not.”
“…Something’s suspicious.”
“What is?”
“You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
“Hehe, you can’t fool my instincts. Tell me. What is it?”
She puffed out her flat chest, exuding confidence.
“That I was just thinking how cute you are.”
“Whaaa…”
Jeok Hwa-ran covered her reddening cheeks with both hands.
“Just kidding.”
Her constant chattering next to me was getting annoying.
“W-What was that for!”
As expected, her mental age is as young as her figure, which makes her fun to tease.
“Business was terrible today, I’m so frustrated…”
“How bad was it?”
“How bad? Everyone flocked to the Ultimate Killing Demon’s side, of course.”
In the combat lottery, we take a ten percent commission from the winnings, excluding the principal bet.
If all the money was bet on the Ultimate Killing Demon, our earnings for the day would be zero.
“Then I guess I should place a bet.”
“It’s fine. The Ultimate Killing Demon is going to win anyway, so what’s the point?”
“How much is on the Ultimate Killing Demon?”
“Umm…”
Jeok Hwa-ran took out a palm-sized ledger and answered.
“Five thousand nyang.”
“That’s definitely less than usual.”
“I think they’re just betting in the hopes of picking up some stray money.”
“Makes sense.”
They probably figured they wouldn’t lose, since the Ultimate Killing Demon was sure to win.
“Here.”
Of course, we’d have to see how things unfolded.
I handed one silver nyang to Jeok Hwa-ran.
“Huh? Why the silver?”
“I’m placing a bet too.”
“Just one nyang?”
“If I bet on someone other than the Ultimate Killing Demon and win, all five thousand nyang will be mine, won’t it? Then a commission will naturally be generated.”
Jeok Hwa-ran tilted her head.
“That’s true, but… who are you going to bet on?”
“Nam Ji-ship.”
“The Mountain-Shattering Fist Elder?”
***
*Step, step.*
Im Jeong, holding his great saber, walked out slowly.
The spectators who had come to watch the tournament, as well as the warriors of the Nine Dragons Fortress, focused all their attention on him, not wanting to miss a single moment.
“Is there any who would challenge me?”
Despite his supremely arrogant words and actions, none of the participants dared to step forward.
In fact, this was only natural.
Challenging one of the Ten Great Masters was not courage, but recklessness.
Moreover, Im Jeong was an unorthodox warrior notorious for his ruthlessness.
A moment of recklessness could leave one crippled for the rest of their life.
And so, half an hour passed.
When no one came forward, Geum Geom-jin stepped onto the stage.
“If there are no challengers, I will announce the winner!”
The announcement was somewhat anticlimactic.
Im Jeong, on the other hand, was extremely satisfied.
By winning, he had earned a private audience with the Lord of Nine Dragons, obtained the Great Saber of the Green King made of mystic iron and a replica of the Underwater Heavenly Arrow, and even acquired the Lightning Arrow.
‘Hehe, to think I would obtain such a treasure.’
Im Jeong felt that the journey alone was worth it just for the Lightning Arrow, a legendary weapon.
“Then, the winner of the first World’s Greatest Martial Arts Tournament is…”
Just as the winner was about to be announced.
“I’ll do it.”
An old man, looking as if he had just woken up, with bits of grass stuck all over his clothes, raised his hand and spoke in a sleepy voice.
Im Jeong didn’t know who he was, but the other participants did.
The Mountain-Shattering Fist Elder, Nam Ji-ship.
The man who had shocked everyone by passing the preliminaries with a single blow.
As Nam Ji-ship slowly walked up to the stage, a peculiar light flashed in Im Jeong’s eyes.
‘Too ordinary.’
He was so ordinary that if he were farming, one would think he was a farmer, and if he were fishing, he would look like a fisherman.
In other words.
‘Returning to the original simplicity.’
He had reached a state where his ordinariness concealed his extraordinariness.
Nevertheless, Im Jeong remained brimming with confidence.
‘At best, he might have a trick or two up his sleeve.’
He was confident he could win even if Bukgung Baek, the Lord of Nine Dragons himself, were to step onto the stage.
“Old man, will you not regret this?”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. You’re the one who’s gonna be crying after a beating, you bastard.”
“…”
Who in the world could make such a provocation to the Ultimate Killing Demon?
Even the previous Lord of the Lion Alliance had treated Im Jeong with semi-formal respect.
The old man walked to the center of the silent arena and beckoned with his finger.
“What are you doing? Not attacking? As the superior, it is my duty to grant an inferior the first three moves.”
*Twitch.*
That was it.
That was as much as the thread holding Im Jeong’s reason could bear.
*KABOOOM!*
With a massive explosion, the ground shattered into pieces.
*Swish.*
Im Jeong’s saber drew an arc.
It wasn't blade qi. It certainly wasn't blade force.
It was a single strike, unleashed with pure power originating from a true stomp.
“Hoh…”
Though it was not imbued with qi, the wielder was Im Jeong, so the saber carried enough force to split a house-sized boulder.
*THUD!*
Hearing the heavy sound, Im Jeong doubted his ears.
It was a strike that couldn't be described as sharp, even as a joke.
Still, a blade was a blade. If the attack had landed properly, it wouldn’t have made such a dull sound.
But it was even more absurd for it to be blocked so easily.
“One.”
As Im Jeong stood bewildered, the old man’s voice made him lose his reason again, and he swung his saber.
“Let’s see you take this!”
His great saber, leaving a green afterimage, descended upon the old man’s head.
Qi soaring to the heavens.
Unlike before, this strike was filled with ample internal energy, and the old man unleashed qi from his body.
*KWAAAAA!*
A torrent of black energy instantly shot up, forming the shape of a dragon, and devoured Im Jeong’s saber strike.
“Two.”
“Hmph!”
Another taunt was heard, but this time Im Jeong did not get agitated.
He planned to sever the old man’s head on the third move.
His great saber moved without a sound.
Neither fast nor slow, neither heavy nor light—a strike that was the epitome of ordinary.
However, its power was anything but ordinary.
*Crack! CRACK!*
The saber, falling upon the old man’s afterimage, split the ground in a long, straight line, not just on the stage but all the way to the spectator stands.
“…”
If Im Jeong hadn’t controlled his power, it would have been a catastrophe, killing dozens of spectators.
Having shown such power, Im Jeong moved again.
“Three.”
“Die.”
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
His saber strikes linked together like a dance, shattering the space around them.
The saber art left behind by the founding ancestor of the Green Forest, endlessly refined by successive generations of its chief escort masters.
The Heaven-Severing Eighteen Forms had been unleashed.
In the time it takes to blink, eighteen saber strikes tore the world apart, and in response, Nam Ji-ship’s hands and feet moved like lightning.
And then.
*FLASH!*
A brilliant white light filled the arena.
The collision of their attacks had canceled each other out, returning to nothingness.
“…”
At the unexpected result, Im Jeong’s jaw dropped.
Following the unorthodox path’s maxim to always hide thirty percent of one’s strength, he hadn't used his full power.
But he hadn’t held back enough to produce such a result, either.
Im Jeong pondered the reason and soon came to a conclusion.
“…Absolute realm.”
Otherwise, this situation made no sense.
Im Jeong corrected his posture and clasped his fist.
It was out of the belief that one must show respect to the strong.
“I do not know from whence you hail, esteemed elder, but…”
“As for where I hail from, you can ask your master in hell.”
That was, until he heard the line-crossing provocation.