Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: The Guest (3)
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#034: The Guest (3)
At least once in your life, you’re bound to meet someone who’s your polar opposite.
I had someone like that in my past life. My first boss, who would throw a fit whenever he saw me, and the owner of a barbecue restaurant who worked me like a dog without even paying minimum wage.
That’s why I want to tell this to anyone starting their professional life.
If you meet someone and get a bad feeling right from the start, just run.
And if you’re forced to stay near that person, do everything in your power to keep your distance.
Why am I suddenly bringing this up?
Because that man over there, Bukgung Baek, who’s watching us with such an intrigued expression, is exactly that kind of person for me.
Thanks to him, Lee Jeok-ha was now glaring at me with blazing eyes.
“The loser agrees to give up on Lady Cheong. How about it?”
Hey, Cheong So-so isn’t my woman or your woman to begin with. She’s a free spirit, a free agent on the market.
Curious about her thoughts, I glanced at Cheong So-so, and a telepathic message immediately reached me.
[If you lose, I’ll take a dose of poison and drop dead.]
As expected, she was a lunatic.
Bukgung Baek walked between me and Lee Jeok-ha and spoke.
“Then I shall state the rules. Any attacks that could inflict fatal wounds are forbidden. The match ends when one is rendered unable to fight or declares surrender. How does that sound?”
“I wish for a duel to the death.”
Why does the Third Young Master of the Martial Emperor Fortress keep insisting on a deletion duel when he has so much to lose?
“If either of you gets seriously injured, this will escalate into a matter between the Nine Dragons Fortress and the Martial Emperor Fortress. Are you fine with that?”
“...I suppose I have no choice. I will follow your proposal, Great Warrior Bukgung.”
“And you, Squad Leader Jin?”
“...Can’t we just not do this?”
At that, Lee Jeok-ha erupted in a fiery rage.
“Insolence! How can a man so easily give up the woman he loves! Can you even call yourself a martial artist after that?!”
“Wait, Lady Cheong and I are not in love...”
[If you want to spend the rest of your life checking for poison every time you eat or drink, go ahead and tell the truth.]
“...We are indeed in love. Sob!”
“Hmph! Finally speaking the truth. I’ll let you have the first move. Come at me!”
Lee Jeok-ha drew his sword and took a stance.
A suffocating aura began to emanate from his entire body.
‘So he wasn’t just any toad!’
He was a bullfrog.
As I took a moment to assess my opponent, a lightning-fast streak of sword ki shot down toward my head.
‘Hey, you said you’d let me go first.’
*CRACK!*
The training ground floor split vertically as dust and dirt flew into the air.
When I stared at him with a questioning look after the sudden attack, Lee Jeok-ha answered angrily.
“You weren’t attacking, so I was merely giving you a warning!”
“What kind of cowardly...”
“Silence!”
*Thud.*
Lee Jeok-ha stomped his foot.
Suddenly, it felt as if the gravity across the entire training ground had intensified.
I heard Bukgung Baek’s unsolicited commentary from the side.
“To have mastered the Heavenly Weight Step to this extent at his age... A remarkable achievement.”
*Rumble.*
With each step Lee Jeok-ha took, the pressure bearing down on me grew stronger.
And then.
“Die!”
Wielding a sword enveloped in a brilliant golden sword ki, Lee Jeok-ha shot toward me like an explosion.
Although fatal attacks were forbidden, he aimed straight for my heart as if he couldn’t care less.
“This son of a bitch?”
As much as I didn’t want to fight, I couldn’t just stand by when my opponent came at me like this.
I used the War King Step I had been preparing and escaped his attack range.
*Thump.*
Lee Jeok-ha stopped and swung his sword horizontally.
The golden sword ki extended in a long arc, rushing toward my side.
In my haste, I shoved my internal energy into the Black Lotus Gauntlets to block the sword ki.
*BOOM! Fizzle.*
A sound like a bomb detonating rang out as the sword ki exploded.
“Ugh!”
The force of the blast sent a jolting pain throughout my body.
‘Just how much did he pay to get this strong?’
He called it sword ki, but the amount of internal energy it contained was comparable to a sword aura.
As expected of a third-generation chaebol, he must have consumed elixirs by the bundle.
“You cur!”
Thinking he had seized an opportunity, Lee Jeok-ha unleashed a terrifying barrage of sword strikes.
I quickly used the War King Step to evade his attacks and closed the distance.
*CRASH.*
I dodged a strike that fell like a meteor.
*Crack.*
I deflected a sword thrusting from the side.
*BOOM!*
I blocked a straight punch.
And thus began the close-quarters combat.
Underestimating me, Lee Jeok-ha didn’t create distance and continued to attack with his sword and fists.
“Die!”
However, in a close-range fight like this, a fist-fighter has the advantage over a swordsman.
I blocked all his attacks and successfully landed strikes from the Dragon-Slaying Thirteen Strikes on his body.
*Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.*
But my opponent was a bullfrog who inherited the blood of the strongest under heaven.
He deployed a thick protective aura, blocking my attacks.
‘Damn it.’
The rebound from hitting the impenetrable barrier sent a shock through my own fists.
Just as I instinctively shook my hand from the stinging sensation...
*Flash.*
Something glinted, and a lightning-fast sword strike shot out.
It was a powerful thrust, executed perfectly despite his awkward posture.
The pinnacle of acrobatics.
“Hmph.”
The distance between us was so close I could feel his breath, leaving me little time to dodge.
*Rumble.*
I hastily drew upon my vital energy and unleashed the Explosive Death Force.
*KABOOM!*
A cloud of dust erupted from the training ground floor, obscuring our vision.
My entire body tingled from the force exploding at close range, but if I missed this chance, there was no telling how long this fight would drag on.
*Thump.*
The moment I made up my mind, I executed the War King Step.
I moved straight through the dust cloud to Lee Jeok-ha’s flank.
“Hmph!”
He was prepared, as his sword came flying at me immediately.
The thick golden sword ki enveloping the blade brightly illuminated the surroundings.
However.
‘I expected this, you bastard.’
I had already anticipated he would react this way.
I used the War King Step once more to escape the range of his sword strike.
And then, I brought out the secret technique I had saved until the very last moment.
*Poof.*
I imbued my hand with internal energy and burst a pouch I had prepared near Lee Jeok-ha.
A move born from enlightenment.
I was now using the idea I had gotten from my fight with Jeok Sa-jung.
“Ack! Achoo!”
Lee Jeok-ha began to sneeze, tears streaming from his eyes.
It didn't matter how much internal energy he had or how advanced his martial arts were.
That wasn't poison; it was sansho powder.
‘Thank you, Hall Master Jeok.’
*Thwip.*
As I sent my heartfelt gratitude to Jeok Sa-jung, I brought my fist to a stop right in front of Lee Jeok-ha’s eyes.
It was to announce my victory to everyone.
“...The winner is Jin Mujeon.”
With Bukgung Baek’s reluctant declaration, the outcome of the day’s match was decided.
Cheong So-so and Myo Hyang, who had come with me, stood with their mouths agape.
‘It’ll be a problem if they fall for me.’
After all, my heart belongs only to Chief Yuk.
After all that trouble, I suddenly missed Chief Yuk. Her heart, as vast as the great sea.
* * *
A short while later.
“I cannot accept this!”
The toad started throwing a tantrum, refusing to acknowledge the legitimate result of the duel.
Of course, I understood to some extent.
Objectively speaking, he was a cut above me in skill.
The amount of internal energy he possessed was incomparable to mine.
However.
‘It’s not the one who wins who is strong, but the one who survives.’
In the cold world of combat, no excuses are accepted.
I stood before him confidently.
“Oh, my dear Third Young Master, this unworthy one was simply lucky. Please don’t mind today’s events; it was just a simple accident...”
“You coward! To use such dirty tricks in a sacred duel! Do you even have the right to call yourself a martial artist?!”
*Shing.*
Lee Jeok-ha once again drew his sword and pointed it at me.
“Dirty tricks? This is also a legitimate type of weapon, just like the sword the Third Young Master is holding.”
“Don’t give me that nonsense! How can something like that be a weapon! Not even a third-rate thug would use it.”
“Then how do you believe I should have fought for it to be a fair fight, Third Young Master?”
*Thrust.*
At my question, Lee Jeok-ha stabbed his sword into the ground and pointed at it.
“I believe the only path of a true martial artist is through the pure body and the weapon held in one’s hand.”
I inwardly cheered at his answer.
A perfect line of reasoning to shatter that toad’s stubbornness had just come to mind.
“Then the method I used to win earlier was...?”
“A method only cowards would use.”
Gotcha.
“By the Third Young Master’s logic, the Green Dragon Hall of the Nine Dragons Fortress must be a place full of cowards. And the Fortress Lord is their leader.”
“Gasp!”
That was right.
The Green Dragon Hall was formerly the Sichuan Tang Clan, masters of poison and hidden weapons.
Lee Jeok-ha had essentially just publicly insulted them in what was like their own backyard.
Finally realizing his mistake, his face instantly turned pale.
I quietly approached him and said.
“What will you do? There is the option of retracting your statement and accepting the outcome...”
“Grr!”
Furious, Lee Jeok-ha glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
Of course, that wouldn’t change anything.
He had come to the Nine Dragons Fortress as an envoy of the Martial Emperor Fortress; he couldn’t return having only caused diplomatic problems.
And my prediction was spot on.
“...I retract my previous statement. I also... accept my defeat.”
He had admitted his loss.
With this, I had completely defeated this toad in both martial skill and strategy.
But this was no time for complacency.
“I have learned much.”
I bowed to him with a cupped fist salute in a polite posture.
“...We’re leaving!”
Lee Jeok-ha ignored my greeting, leading his subordinates back to the main fortress.
Watching his retreating back, I thought.
‘Shouldn’t I raise it to forty percent instead of thirty?’
The profit-sharing ratio for the Cheong Family Trading Post’s branch needed to be renegotiated.
* * *
The next morning.
“It’s thirty percent. You promised.”
“I never agreed to that ratio. They say a person’s mind changes after a trip to the bathroom, and you, Lady Cheong, are the perfect example.”
“Of all the analogies, you compare it to a filthy bathroom? Fine. Thirty-two percent. That’s my final offer.”
“Forty percent.”
“Look here, Squad Leader Jin. Thirty-two percent. That’s a whole twelve percent more than what you were getting before.”
“Forty percent.”
“...I’ll concede to thirty-four percent. As you know, this is an absolutely ridiculous condition.”
“Forty percent.”
“Thirty-six percent. Let’s just stop and go eat. My sister is waiting over there.”
“Forty percent.”
“Thirty-eight percent. Happy now?”
“Forty percent.”
“...Fine. Let’s do forty percent. But on the condition that you deal with that Third Young Master if he comes again.”
“Okay. Thank you. Okay. Forty percent!”
Persistence.
As expected, my big bro Doo-hwan’s negotiation skills were legendary.
Just as we finished our peaceful negotiation and were about to eat breakfast together amicably...
*Creak. Glimmer.*
Yesterday’s traitor, Yong Ma-san, appeared, emitting a brilliant, reflective light.
‘That bastard!’
A fiery rage welled up inside me. I almost used the Ultimate Death Force to slice Yong Ma-san in two but barely managed to restrain myself.
If he disappeared, the First Squad’s workload would surely explode.
“I heard about what happened yesterday. It must have been tough.”
“What do you know? Were you even there?”
“...Due to personal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been good for me to be seen by many people.”
Myo Hyang, who had returned from the kitchen, brought food for Yong Ma-san and said.
“Warrior Yong must have had his reasons, so don’t be too hard on him.”
“Lady... Lady Myo...”
“Warrior Yong, you should help Squad Leader Jin out sometimes, too. It would put my mind at ease to know someone as dependable as you is helping him.”
At Myo Hyang’s words, Yong Ma-san’s face turned bright red as he nodded.
“I shall engrave your request upon my very bones, Lady Myo.”
What’s with the talk about bones over a few simple words?
He doesn’t listen to a single thing I say.
I was glaring at Yong Ma-san with contempt when...
*Clatter.*
“You were having a meal.”
The destroyer of my peaceful daily life.
Dan Un had arrived.