108
108
The first day of the Two Phoenixes Decisive Battle came to a successful close.
In a festival of flowers spanning four groups and nearly two hundred contestants, if one name stood out above all others, it was undeniably Dokgo Yeon.
—At this rate, the championship is as good as hers!
—Even the Green Forest King acknowledged her so boldly—isn't that proof enough of her strength?
—Rumor has it she's not merely First-Rate or Peak level, but has already reached the Transcendent Realm....
Dokgo Yeon's beauty had been famous for years. Now that she was drawing enormous attention not only for her looks but for her martial prowess as well, the envious stares of countless crow-tits were only natural.
Even sparrows, hawks, and the very Four Phoenixes already soaring through the heavens envied Dokgo Yeon.
Ah!
Why would the heavens create the Black-and-White Two Flowers, only to then create Dokgo Yeon as well!
—Still, Dokgo Yeon hasn't become one of the Two Phoenixes yet, has she?
The Four Phoenixes took comfort in that. Dokgo Yeon still had a long road ahead before she earned the world's full recognition.
And so they let themselves relax—until....
—Now, now. Allow me to introduce you to the four phoenixes of the Murim. The Demonic Cult's Little Princess, and Wudang's Taiji Flower. Your first meeting since the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, isn't it? Haha, I do hope you all enjoy your evening. Well then!
For the Four Phoenixes, even a formal dinner hosted by the Murim Alliance—by the Murim Alliance Leader himself—with the Black-and-White Two Flowers was deeply uncomfortable.
"Little Princess, that Riding Position Thousand-Pound Hammer technique you showed me last time was truly impressive. I won't lose this time."
"And your Tai Chi Demon Net Play left quite the impression on me as well. A form that amplifies two great circle formations to catch a blade... Regrettably, it is a technique beyond my reach."
"Not at all. Someday you'll be capable of it too, Little Princess."
"Thank you for your encouragement, Taiji Flower."
The two of them—who by all rights should have been tearing each other down with jealousy—chatted warmly, like the closest of friends. And the Four Phoenixes could not grasp a single word of the conversation the heavenly flowers were having.
"By the way, Taiji Flower, about that combined technique I mentioned last time. Fighting a staff art expert, I mean."
"I remember. Hm... what if we executed the Joint Locking Technique together? Disrupt the flow of qi intentionally, so the internal qi overwhelms the vessel and bursts it open."
Was this really how Peak Experts conversed? The three others each reacted differently as they focused on the pair's exchange.
Crouching White Phoenix Jegal Seon was racking her brain, trying to comprehend the heavenly flowers' discussion.
Swallow Maiden Phoenix Moyong Ran was stabbing her chopsticks into hapless vegetables, stewing in jealousy.
And Mountain Lord Phoenix Bang Cheol-su was blinking, tilting her head in confusion.
"You two... you are talking about martial arts, right?"
"Hm? Oh my. What else would we be talking about?"
"...What exactly do you mean by that?"
Sagong Hee and the Little Princess both reacted to Bang Cheol-su's question with a certain sharpness. Bang Cheol-su scratched her head, wearing an awkward smile.
"No, my apologies. It just... sounded a bit like my uncles cracking jokes about womenfolk."
"Bang Cheol-su, that's rude."
Jegal Seon frowned and shot Bang Cheol-su a glare. As a woman of a prestigious orthodox clan, she could not tolerate such jesting directed at Taiji Flower.
"My apologies to you both."
"Miss Moyong, there's no need for you to apologize. And Miss Bang, please don't dwell on it. We were being inconsiderate—our apologies."
Sagong Hee bowed her head instead. Faced with such overwhelming magnanimity—deep enough to nearly graze the table's edge—the four women bit their lips before they knew it.
"Wow... I noticed it back in Hubei too, but they really are huge!"
"Hey, Bang Cheol-su!"
"It's all right, Miss Jegal. More to the point, Miss Moyong seems to have had something she's wanted to say for a while now...."
"You two."
Clack. Moyong Ran set her chopsticks down roughly and raised her head.
"Aren't you the least bit worried about Dokgo Yeon?"
"Pardon?"
"...Hmph."
The Black-and-White Two Flowers reacted differently, and the other phoenixes' expressions stiffened at Moyong Ran's words. But Moyong Ran had no intention of taking back what she'd said.
"That's what everyone is saying. Dokgo Yeon. That the Murim Alliance Leader created a monster. That spurred by your two Peak-level martial prowess, he deliberately bought half a year to push his own daughter into the Transcendent Realm just to make her shine. That he rigged the tournament bracket—"
"Hah. That's preposterous."
The Little Princess cut Moyong Ran off.
"So what exactly are you trying to say? That Dokgo Yeon's strength is illegitimate? That she has no right to become one of the Two Phoenixes? Or that this is all the Alliance Leader's scheme to raise Dokgo Yeon not just as a Black-and-White Flower, but as Murim's Number One Flower?"
"Th-that's not quite what I meant. I only—"
"I don't care. Even if she's stronger than me."
Sagong Hee's calm words startled the Four Phoenixes. The absent Most Beautiful Phoenix would have been astonished too.
"If the rumors are true and she's Transcendent—no, even if she's just at the Peak and stronger than me, what of it? The strong rise to the top. That's only natural."
"But surely, as a member of the Dokgo Clan—the family of the Murim Alliance Leader—she must have received a great deal of hidden support—"
"Aren't we all the same? I doubt the Jegal Clan, the Moyong Clan, or the Green Forest's resources fall short of the Dokgo Clan's. I don't think you can pin this on circumstance. Don't you agree, Little Princess?"
"Taiji Flower, you're a bit of a different... never mind. Fine."
Under Sagong Hee's steady gaze, the Little Princess raised both hands.
"I share the same view. Do you think anyone is born at the Peak? Reaching the Transcendent Realm clearly took grueling, bloody effort. That much cannot be denied."
"You two seem to defend Miss Dokgo quite fervently. ...Then allow me to be bold and ask one more thing."
Moyong Ran even offered a martial salute as she posed her question with utter seriousness.
"If the two of you were to face Miss Dokgo in battle, if you were to lose before everyone's eyes—would you still speak as you do now? Against a Transcendent Realm master?"
It was a clear provocation. Jegal Seon, who had been reining Bang Cheol-su in, felt her mind go blank at Moyong Ran's sudden eruption after staying quiet for so long.
"Hah. Who says we'd lose so easily? Even if we did, all we have to do is push forward faster than Miss Dokgo advances and overtake her."
"Exactly. ...If we ever cross swords, my pride might sting for a moment, but that's only a moment. What matters in the end is who stands victorious when it's all over."
"......."
Moyong Ran stared blankly, mouth agape, at their answers. Jegal Seon and Bang Cheol-su, too, found themselves speechless for a long moment.
So this was the caliber of the heavenly realm—the middle and late Peak stage, with the Transcendent Realm right before their eyes!
"Right, Little Princess?"
"Of course, Taiji Flower."
Snap.
Both women thrust their chopsticks simultaneously at the spring roll lying between them. Far thicker than the other rolls—so daunting that no one had ventured to take it, so massive that the inside still steamed with heat—the spring roll seemed on the verge of crumbling under their chopsticks.
"Let go, Little Princess."
"Oh my. Would you care to demonstrate the virtue of yielding?"
They were smiling, but they were not smiling. The three other women swallowed hard at this war of flowers, and the outcome was decided in an instant.
"Ah?!"
From an empty seat, a single chopstick flew up and stabbed clean through the spring roll.
"Using an extra chopstick with Sword Control Art—how dare you?!"
"Victory in the end is all that matters."
"Why you...."
The situation teetered on a hair trigger, ready to explode into a fight at any moment.
"Excuse me."
The door opened, and the white-haired girl who had been the very center of the conversation revealed herself.
"Oh my, what brings you here?"
"My apologies for interrupting your meal, seniors. Little Princess, um...."
Dokgo Yeon glanced around at the others and barely managed to speak.
"Doctor Mubung is looking for you. He says it's urgent...."
"Pardon?"
"Wh-what about me?!"
"...Senior Taiji Flower, he didn't mention you, so...."
Sagong Hee's expression went hollow as she dropped three chopsticks. The Little Princess flashed a smiling-eyed grin and bowed her head politely to the others.
"Forgive me. I'll take my leave first. Until next time."
The Little Princess hurried out with Dokgo Yeon. Sagong Hee picked at the punctured spring roll and quietly ate her rice.
"......."
Watching Sagong Hee poke the spring roll with a single chopstick—tap, tap, tap—the three phoenixes felt a chill run down their spines for reasons they couldn't explain.
* * *
"Apologies, Miss Yeon. Your first match must have been weighing on your mind."
"Not at all. Thanks to you, Doctor, I won without shedding a drop of blood. If you ever need anything else, please call on me."
Of the three who had been expected to return late into the night, Dokgo Yeon arrived home first, and I inadvertently tasked her with fetching the Little Princess for me. Fortunately, she tracked down Lee Si-a and brought her right away.
"Little Princess, to my room."
"Understood."
Creak. I locked the door and opened the window. Lee Si-a promptly stripped off her cumbersome outer robe and tossed it aside.
"What on earth is so urgent that you sent Dokgo Yeon on an errand? What, do we have a night operation to run?"
"I've captured the Ice Demon."
"......What?"
"The Ice Demon. Yoo Seol-ra. I've taken her."
Lee Si-a tilted her head at my words.
"How?"
"I spotted her passing by, so I ambushed her."
"......Where is she now?"
"The tournament arena warehouse. The Soul-Bewildering Marker Nine Palace Formation that the Ice Demon set up. Anyway—lend me your ear a moment."
Murmur. I whispered quietly so no one outside could eavesdrop, speaking only to Lee Si-a. Her face turned bright red, but she swallowed her anger and turned around.
Bang!
When she flung the door open, Dokgo Yeon, who had been awkwardly lingering nearby, flinched in surprise. In her arms was the freshly dried bedding she'd laundered at dawn, soft and fluffy.
"Miss Dokgo, might I trouble you for one more favor?"
"Please, go ahead, Little Princess sister."
"...Well, Doctor Mubung and I are thinking of stepping out for a bit of... recreation. Would you mind pretending you didn't see anything?"
"Excuse me?!"
Lee Si-a pointed at me, the flush spreading all the way to the crown of her head.
"I'll be going out with Doctor Mubung to procure some medicinal ingredients—and in the process, perform a bit of medical practice outdoors."
"Ou-outdoors? You don't mean...."
"...Sometimes it's beneficial to nurture one's yang energy in the mountains and receive the mountain's vitality."
Seeing her blush to the very top of her head, it was clearly the Miyeom Divine Art's influence. Dokgo Yeon, who grasped Lee Si-a's meaning in an instant, flushed as deeply as Lee Si-a herself.
"Ah, um, i-if that is what you both wish, it's hardly my place to stop you, but... ou-outside...."
'Honestly, she should at least let an outdoor affair slide.'
"B-but if you sneak out and my father catches you...."
"Worry not. I can manage that much with Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step."
Lee Si-a tapped the empty air lightly with her foot. Dokgo Yeon hesitated in silence, then asked Lee Si-a,
"C-can you really leave this estate using Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step?"
"Of course. Doctor, please climb onto my back."
Lee Si-a turned her back toward me, and I climbed on lightly. Perhaps as revenge for all the times I'd grabbed her rear, she deliberately supported me by the buttocks—but the real victory was mine, with my rigid member grinding against the cleft of her backside.
"We'll be back quietly and swiftly—Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step!"
'Now!'
I flicked the soles of my feet in sync with Lee Si-a's launch. Her body and mine rose high into the sky together, and Dokgo Yeon's eyes sparkled in amazement.
"Whoa...!!"
"We'll return shortly."
Tap, tap, tap. While riding on Lee Si-a's back, I stepped across the empty air with Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step. Midway, Lee Si-a nearly slipped as she ground her hips against my shaft, but thanks to the immense inner energy I'd siphoned from the Ice Demon, we made it safely out of the Dokgo Clan's estate.
"This is insane... I've turned into a depraved woman who does it outdoors!"
"What's the big deal? You flew through the sky stark naked in Chengdu."
"Why you—!"
"Let's just go."
This time I reversed our positions, carrying Lee Si-a on my back and racing to the arena in a single bound. The martial arena we reached by dashing through the night sky was nearly deserted, and I led Lee Si-a into the warehouse hidden by the Soul-Bewildering Marker Nine Palace Formation.
"Ugh."
Lee Si-a pinched her nose at the thick, heady scent pervading the warehouse. Inside lay the Ice Demon, all four limbs restrained, tongue lolling out, unconscious—with copious white nectar spilling from her petals onto the floor.
"Just how hard did you pound her?"
"Until she passed out, woke up, and passed out once more."
I swept my gaze over the Ice Demon.
—Ogo-gogok! Stop, stoooop! I lost to the Sex Demon's cock! I surrender!! The Ice Demon admits defeat, so please stop now! M-my womb feels like it's going to burst!!
I had poured yang energy into her until the white snowfield turned into a hill of ice, until her face twisted into an expression no woman should ever have to make. That was all.
I have done nothing wrong.
The fault lies with the Ice Demon's dantian, so perfectly optimized for Absorbing Yin to Nourish Yang. I merely returned yang energy in proportion to the yin energy I extracted.
"......Do you have some grudge against demonic practitioners? You did the same to the Flame Demon."
"If I held a grudge against demonic practitioners, wouldn't I have started with the Young Heavenly Demon herself?"
"When you put it that way, I have no retort. Haah, what am I going to do about this...."
Lee Si-a twisted her hair in anguish. Personally, I wanted to lock the Ice Demon away somewhere and harvest her yin energy indefinitely. No woman was as perfectly suited to Absorbing Yin to Nourish Yang as the Ice Demon.
"Bi-cheon. How much stronger do you get when you drain the Ice Demon?"
"Even just extracting the yin energy she's accumulated so far, it would be worth at least one gapja. Since only yin energy builds up in her, I can absorb it in far greater quantities and far faster than from anyone else."
"...Then if we received that, we really could grow stronger faster."
Lee Si-a chewed on her thumbnail, lost in thought. I held my breath, giving her ample time to wrestle with it.
'Was she going from Snow Ice Phoenix to Ice Chicken?'
Inhumane as it was, from the perspective of martial advancement alone, it was the most efficient method. By Demonic Cult standards, it was even a fairly normal line of thinking. Some scum in the Demonic Cult cut off women's limbs while draining their yin, claiming the limbs served no purpose.
"I've decided."
But Lee Si-a would never make a choice like that. I waited for the decision I already knew she would arrive at.
"What will you do?"
"I don't think this is something I should decide rashly."
"Then?"
"Not 'on my own,' no."
"What?"
Lee Si-a pointed to the spot beside me.
"Call Sagong Hee."
"Sagong Hee? Why? What business does the Taiji Flower have weighing in on Demonic Cult matters?"
"This isn't a Demonic Cult matter."
Lee Si-a looked me straight in the eye and spoke with bold clarity.
"My man is about to take a new woman. Shouldn't I ask my man's wife for her opinion too? Isn't that only right?"
"......."
It was a complicated, absurd relationship—but the bond between Sagong Hee and Lee Si-a was growing closer by the day.
"If Sagong Hee says no, then I say no too."
Perhaps because the three of us had shared intimacy once together. I felt tears well up at the friendship between Sagong Hee and Lee Si-a.
—Disciple. Love must always be divided fairly. Someday, when you possess... are you listening? Disciple?
'Master, I will never forget the way of life you taught me.'
I shall divide my love as fairly as I possibly can.
"A new woman? ...Her chest is smaller than mine? Then fine. I'm all right with it."
"Hey! You were supposed to say no so I could say, 'Well, it can't be helped!' How could you do this?!"
"Honestly, I don't really care how many more there are. Though if a woman has a bigger chest than me, I might mind just a little... fufu."
Jiggle, jiggle.
"Aaaagh! I knew it—I should have cut this off ruthlessly from the Flame Demon days!"
"Lee Si-a, your problem is that you're too kind. Heh heh."
Ah, wasn't there a saying about being betrayed by the axe you trusted?
Lee Si-a's scheme to execute a kill-with-a-borrowed-knife maneuver ended in utter failure.