Acting Like a Nobody (4)
It was a sound of impact no one there had ever heard in their lives.
Those gathered on Mount Hua discovered anew that a human fist and a human face could meet and produce a noise like that.
It spun.
Sun Woo-ryang, having taken Chung Myung’s fist full in the face, whirled through the air like a top.
Chwaaaaaaash!
The blood spurting from his nose scattered in all directions like mist as his body spun.
If he does it right, could he make a rainbow?
A rainbow made of blood, of all things.
How could there be anything more horrifying?
It felt like the boundary between common sense and nonsense had just collapsed.
Sun Woo-ryang, still spinning and spraying blood, finally hit the ground and convulsed. Looking at him, Chung Myung’s voice rang clearly through everyone’s ears.
“Something so insignificant is acting up.”
Chung Myung spat on the ground, then drew the wooden sword from his waist.
“Get up, you bastard. It’s not over yet. My anger doesn’t end with that!”
He roared like a lion, but rather than majestic, it sounded more like…
He’s just damn petty.
That was Yoon Jong’s honest feeling.
“Wh-what…?”
Sama Seung’s beard trembled.
W-what in the world…
It had happened right before his eyes, and yet he still couldn’t understand what had just taken place.
Chung Myung had seemed to vanish for an instant, then appeared in front of Sun Woo-ryang and struck. And Sun Woo-ryang, who took that blow, had literally spun like a top in the air before collapsing to the ground.
That was the full sequence of events as Sama Seung saw them.
The problem was that part about “seemed to vanish.”
I lost sight of that boy’s movement?
Even if he hadn’t been particularly tense because it was a match between third-generation disciples, was it really possible for him—the elder of Southern Edge—to lose sight of a Mount Hua third-generation disciple’s movement?
No, impossible. That can’t be right!
Sama Seung denied what he had seen. But the fault wasn’t his alone. Even if someone else had been standing here instead of him, they would have reacted the same way.
When people witnessed something that exceeded the bounds of what they believed possible, they instinctively denied it, doubted it.
“That cowardly bastard!”
Then a furious voice from beside him jolted Sama Seung back to himself.
“To launch a surprise attack in the middle of a conversation! Does Mount Hua know nothing of courtesy?”
“That vile wretch!”
“……”
Apparently that was how it looked to those boys.
Then again, of course.
The higher one’s martial skill, the more there was to be shocked by. For the second-generation disciples, briefly losing sight of Chung Myung’s movements wasn’t all that strange.
But Sama Seung was different. He was an elder of Southern Edge, wasn’t he?
Calming his pounding heart, Sama Seung once again focused on the dueling platform.
“Sun Woo-ryang! Get up!”
“Get up! Woo-ryang!”
Voices rose from all around, cheering Sun Woo-ryang on. Sama Seung stared hard at the fallen disciple, his eyes still full of disbelief.
I must have been mistaken.
That had to be it.
No. It had to be.
“Get up, you punk. I didn’t even put inner power into that, so why the hell are you acting so pitiful?”
Chung Myung glared at Sun Woo-ryang with burning eyes.
The Southern Edge side protested in a near frenzy, but none of that bullshit even reached Chung Myung’s ears.
If you climbed onto the dueling platform, from that moment on it was a duel. Courtesy? What the hell kind of courtesy was that? They looked like the kind who’d meet up with enemies, shake hands, drink a cup of wine together, and then start fighting only after all that.
“Ugh… ngh… urgh…”
At last, Sun Woo-ryang staggered and forced himself upright.
It had been a hard enough beating, but since the fist had contained no inner power, it shouldn’t have knocked him fully unconscious.
If there had been inner power?
He’d have died! What kind of question was that?
Watching Sun Woo-ryang rise, Chung Myung tapped his own shoulder with the wooden sword.
“Hurry up and get up. I’m wasting— You okay?”
His irritated voice softened abruptly.
“Uuugh…”
Gush.
Gush, gush, gush.
Because as Sun Woo-ryang got back to his feet, blood came pouring from his nose like a waterfall.
So much blood spilled out that it soaked his chest in an instant and pooled on the ground. Even Chung Myung flinched at the sight.
Sun Woo-ryang swayed, got back on his feet, and after gasping a few times, he forced out words with difficulty.
“I-I can still fight…”
“You’re gonna die.”
No, seriously, he looked like he was actually going to die.
Was that really how much blood came out when a nose was broken? Well, how would Chung Myung know—he’d never punched someone’s face without using inner power before.
Sun Woo-ryang braced himself on trembling legs and clamped both hands over his nose.
“Th-the bleeding won’t stop…”
“I said you’ll die, you idiot!”
Keep that up and he really would die!
No, Chung Myung wasn’t the sort to hesitate over killing someone, but not like this!
To think his first kill in this second life might be some guy dying of excessive bleeding after getting decked in a duel. What kind of nonsense was that!
Alarmed, Chung Myung turned with a slightly green face toward Unam and said,
“Shouldn’t he get treated or something?”
There was about to be a murder on Mount Hua.
“W-well, the rules are, um…”
Unam, too, seemed flustered by the unexpected situation and couldn’t manage a proper answer. There were no regulations covering whether treatment could be given and then the match resumed. They’d probably need both sides to agree, but this wasn’t exactly a situation where they could leisurely ask for consent, was it?
Bu-ruk! Buu-ruk!
At that moment, Sun Woo-ryang tore off a strip of his own clothing and shoved it into his nose.
Oh?
Smart.
The cloth was instantly stained red, but after packing it in there hard enough, he somehow managed to stop the bleeding. Having controlled the flow, Sun Woo-ryang raised his wooden sword and pointed it at Chung Myung.
So, he was going to continue?
Sure enough, the Southern Edge boys really were stubborn. They didn’t give up easily just because they had thick skulls. Hah. Different sect, but commendable—
“You cowardly bastard!”
“……Huh?”
Chung Myung’s head tilted slightly.
“You’re shameless… cough! Shameless! Cough! Cough! And you still dare pull a stunt like that!”
Pick one, man.
If you’re angry, be angry. If you’re hurting, then be hurting.
“I’ll tear you apart and feed you to the dogs!”
Chung Myung narrowed his eyes.
All right, then. That “commendable” comment was canceled.
“What, do Southern Edge disciples learn how to curse first? None of you know a damn thing about humanity, righteousness, propriety, or wisdom.”
And you do?
Oh, come on! Show up when you’re supposed to! I’m in the middle of bringing honor to Mount Hua, huh? Bringing it up, huh?
Clutching the wooden sword, Chung Myung clicked his tongue and rolled his neck.
“I was feeling a little sorry, but that’s all gone now. So quit running your mouth and—”
“Even if you bow your head now and beg, it’s too late, you son of a bitch! I’ll beat you so badly your own parents won’t recognize you!”
“Ah, keep talking. I’m fine with it now.”
Any trace of guilt had vanished cleanly.
Chung Myung also raised his wooden sword and pointed it at Sun Woo-ryang.
“Come at me.”
“……You bastard!”
“Go on. I’ll show you what it means to not even graze me.”
“Fine, then I’ll do it right now!”
It was then!
“Sun Woo-ryang!”
A sharp voice burst out from behind him. Sun Woo-ryang reflexively turned his head and flinched at the rigid expression on Jin Geum-ryong’s face.
“Don’t get worked up. And don’t underestimate your opponent.”
Sun Woo-ryang looked back at Chung Myung with an expression of alarm.
The second-generation disciples had all subjugated their opponents without taking so much as a single hit, but he alone had gone up and made a fool of himself, and that had made him overexcited beyond reason.
He’d grown up hearing over and over that an agitated man couldn’t show his true skill, yet in actual combat he had forgotten the lesson.
Sun Woo-ryang took a deep breath and steadied his heart. Breathing through his nose was awkward now, but before long he managed to recover his composure.
Once his breathing had settled, he glared at Chung Myung with cold eyes, very different from before, and snapped,
“So that’s your little trick, huh?”
“……Yes. I did that.”
Fine, let’s go with that. I don’t even know what I just did, but if you say I did, then I did.
“If we fight for real, a Mount Hua disciple like you will never be Southern Edge’s match. Especially you. You’d better be prepared. Don’t expect mercy from me.”
“Yes, yes. Of course. Anything else? If you’re done, then come at me. I’m telling you, I’ll show you what it means to not even graze me.”
“You’re the one who won’t even graze me!”
“You already got hit once.”
Doesn’t your nose hurt?
“I’ll kill you! You little mudfish bastard! Haaah!”
Sun Woo-ryang swung his wooden sword and charged at Chung Myung.
Now that he had regained his composure, the tip of his blade radiated a sharp edge. He was worthy of the praise of being the strongest among Southern Edge’s third-generation disciples.
Whoever from Mount Hua had stepped up would not have found Sun Woo-ryang easy to deal with. Even if it had been a second-generation disciple instead of a third-generation one, it still wouldn’t have been simple.
But for Sun Woo-ryang, it was a cruel misfortune that his opponent had been too terrible.
His opponent was none other than Chung Myung, Mount Hua’s calamity.
“No!”
Chung Myung drew his wooden sword far back.
Then, instead of retreating, he charged straight at the onrushing Sun Woo-ryang with full speed.
“Huh?”
The blade that had been drawn far back whipped forward at lightning speed and smashed into Sun Woo-ryang’s head.
Paaaaaaak!
There was no dodging it, no avoiding it.
How the hell was anyone supposed to dodge a sword they couldn’t even see?
Sun Woo-ryang’s mouth fell open and his eyes rolled back.
He’s dead.
Yeah. That’s dead.
If he doesn’t die from that, it’d be rude.
Sun Woo-ryang’s body sagged. But Chung Myung had no intention of stopping there.
“These days!”
Paaak!
One more blow before he even fell.
“You brats!”
Paaak!
Another one!
“Have no manners! No manners at all!”
As Sun Woo-ryang’s body collapsed to the ground, Chung Myung’s wooden sword kept beating him down, literally pounding him into the dirt.
“Back in my day, it wasn’t like thissss!”
If Chung Mun had heard that in the heavens, he’d have hurled his immortal staff and started foaming at the mouth.
But, unfortunately, the realm of the immortals could not interfere with the mortal world.
“Damn it all!”
Powwwwwch!
Finally, Chung Myung hooked Sun Woo-ryang’s crotch and kicked him up into the air, spinning him around.
After soaring three jang into the sky, Sun Woo-ryang came crashing back to the ground.
Kuuuuung!
Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
“I was gonna go easy on you if you hadn’t run your mouth. Tch. Kids these days, seriously. Hah!”
Every single third-generation disciple silently swore that no matter what happened, they would never, ever curse that bastard.
“Ah, right.”
Chung Myung turned again and walked over to the convulsing Sun Woo-ryang, sprawled out on the ground in a cross.
Then he reached out and yanked out the strip of cloth plugging his nose.
The blocked blood began pouring out again.
“How’s that? Didn’t even graze you, did I?”
Well, the method was a little different.
Chung Myung turned his head and looked toward the Southern Edge side.
Sama Seung, Jin Geum-ryong, and the other Southern Edge disciples all stood there with their mouths gaping open, unable to close them. They could only stare at Chung Myung in a daze, their eyes mingling shock and confusion.
“You’re surprised already?”
The match had barely even started. If they were already this shocked, what were they going to do later?
Chung Myung swept them with a glance, then returned to his own side.
Watching his back, Sama Seung unconsciously muttered,
“What in the world is this…?”
But no one there knew that this was only the beginning.
Only one person knew it—aside from Chung Myung himself.
---