The Silver Dragon's Gaze
Yuji Cheong stared at the long whips laid out on the floor with tense eyes.
*Tang Myung, the young master of the Tang Family, was the one who had defeated me. Now Tang Myung is nothing.*
Yuji Cheong muttered words of self-reassurance, then exhaled and turned his gaze to Tang Myung.
The Yuji Family ruled the Shanxi province as a dominant major sect. Even without the ten great families and five major sects in Shanxi, simply being able to rule an entire province spoke volumes of its strength.
The Yuji Family would fit perfectly into the top ten of the Wulin, even if it could not enter the top five.
That was why they had seized the fall of the Sichuan Tang Family as an opportunity to climb into the top five. They aimed to become one of the ten great families of the world.
The top ten families and top five families were both major sects, but the Yuji Family wanted to earn the name of a top five family at all costs.
Seeing that the young Tang Myung had become the family head, the Yuji Family had sent their peer Yuji Cheong. They planned to humiliate the Tang Family and turn it into a laughingstock across the Wulin.
However, neither the Yuji Family nor Yuji Cheong nor the Sword Elder had expected Tang Myung to boldly challenge him to a duel.
Yuji Cheong believed his shortcomings compared to Tang Myung were nothing more than family status. He poured inner energy into his sword.
**Whoosh! Whoosh!**
Sword qi erupted from the blade. It was sharp and refined, the mark of a young master from a prestigious sect.
**Whoosh!**
Then...
**Whoosh!**
Instantly, solid sword energy erupted from Yuji Cheong's sword.
**Sword Gang!**
**Sword Gang!**
Faces of those who recognized the power expressed admiration at the appearance of sword gang. Sword gang was the symbol of a peak expert.
**Yuji Cheong has become a peak expert.**
**Hah! Impressive. The Yuji Family really went all out this time.**
Seeing the crowd murmur in surprise, a smug smile appeared on Yuji Cheong's face.
Tang Myung had only accepted the duel because of this one move.
**I will kill you.**
Tang Myung looked at the sword gang. Then he smiled faintly.
*Remembering the favor I once received from you by my side, I'll give you one last word.*
Yuji Cheong's eyebrows furrowed. He said coldly,
**Is this your way of saying you want to make a last statement before dying?**
Tang Myung shook his head.
The whip moved slightly.
**Crack!**
The whip rose from the floor.
**Sssst! Sssst!**
Just like a snake, the tip of the whip lifted. Tang Myung laughed and reached out his hand.
He gently stroked the whip's head.
**Even if you raise your realm by eating a mountain of spiritual medicine... if you lack comprehension, it is only half a realm.**
**Whoosh!**
Then, solid qi began to gather on the whip.
**Whip Gang! Whip Gang!**
**Tang Myung, the young master of the Tang Family, no, the Tang Family Head, is a peak expert!**
Yuji Cheong's face twisted as well. After the Tang Family's destruction, the main family had fed him vast amounts of spiritual medicine to grow.
The family head's martial prowess was important, but the family head did not need to be outstanding in society. The young master, who handled external matters often, had been strengthened with spiritual medicine.
Otherwise, the Yuji Family's reputation would suffer.
But... Tang Myung was a peak expert like himself.
Yuji Cheong stared at Tang Myung with eyes full of ridicule.
**Are all solid qi the same? Hah! Proudly displaying such a tiny thread of solid qi as solid qi? You're no match for me.**
The crowd looked at Tang Myung's whip.
**That... is rather weak.**
Tang Myung's whip had only a thin layer of solid qi barely able to cover it. Yuji Cheong's solid qi, however, covered his blade and extended a full inch.
At the murmurs of the people, Tang Myung smiled.
**Enough talk. Let's begin.**
Tang Myung flicked his wrist.
**Since I am the family head... I will not yield first.**
**Hmph! I will make you regret it!**
**Paht!**
Instantly, Yuji Cheong's figure vanished and reappeared from Tang Myung's left side. Solid qi was the symbol of a peak expert.
The difference between first-class and peak experts was not only sword qi and sword gang, but also speed and power. Thanks to the gap in internal energy, a peak expert could unleash speeds no first-class expert could reach.
**Die, you bastard!**
Anger that had built up exploded. Yuji Cheong's sword aimed at Tang Myung.
Tang Myung smiled and gathered power in his hand.
**I will break you.**
Tang Myung extended his hand toward Yuji Cheong's sword.
**Papa pat!**
The sword gang and Tang Myung's power clashed. However, Yuji Cheong's body staggered greatly.
Tang Myung's power struck Yuji Cheong's sword gang not head-on but on its side, pushing the force outward.
Yuji Cheong, who had staggered, hurriedly straightened his posture and swiftly swung his sword in the air.
He had swung his sword to prepare for Tang Myung's hidden attack. But...
**Whoosh!**
The sword was swung. Nothing remained in its place.
Tang Myung stood there and watched him.
**Since I yielded first...**
Tang Myung's eyes turned cold.
**It's my turn now.**
As Tang Myung's eyes changed, his aura shifted.
**Whoosh!**
Tang Myung's aura change startled the old man beside the Sword Elder.
**[Official duel. Do not intervene.]**
The Sword Elder said to the old man,
**This is an official duel. I cannot allow you to interfere.**
The old man looked at Tang Myung.
**Such a young child possessing such an aura? That is the aura of someone who has experienced countless life-and-death battles.**
The Sword Elder did not speak, and the old man urgently sent another message.
**It's dangerous. With such an aura, he is someone who has gone through countless life-and-death battles. The young master will not be able to win.**
**If it is dangerous, then intervene at that time. If I intervene now, the main family's prestige will suffer.**
The Sword Elder looked at Tang Myung.
*'What on earth happened to Tang Myung during this time to make him so changed?'*
When the Sword Elder looked at Tang Myung, the young man lightly waved his hand.
**Ssst! Ssst!**
The whip moved softly yet lethally from Tang Myung's hand.
**Well then, shall we begin?**
With his words, Tang Myung lightly waved his hand.
**Ssst!**
The whip shaken from Tang Myung's hand was suddenly whipped violently.
**Paht! Paht!**
Following Tang Myung's hand, the whip burst through the air and relentlessly whipped the void.
Tang Myung, holding the whip, swung it lightly.
**Whoosh!**
Tang Myung's whip was swung fiercely toward Yuji Cheong.
**Hah!**
Yuji Cheong shouted a battle cry and swung his sword at the oncoming whip.
**What?! Young master!**
The Sword Elder shouted in surprise. But Yuji Cheong's sword had already cut the whip.
**I will cut it!**
He intended to slice the whip apart in one breath with his sword gang.
**Whoosh whoosh!**
The moment the sword touched the whip, the whip coiled around the sword.
**Papa papa pat!**
Sword gang and whip gang clashed, releasing a deafening wave of energy. Yuji Cheong's face filled with shock.
He had thought he could easily break and cut the whip with his weaker solid qi. Instead, his sword was entangled by the whip.
But Yuji Cheong was no fool. He swiftly pulled his sword downward.
He aimed to cut and pull out.
But his face soon hardened.
**Ssst!**
The whip had already formed a loop and wrapped around Yuji Cheong's neck.
**Ssst!**
**Hah!**
Tang Myung wrapped his neck in one breath and spoke.
**Did you get careless?**
Tang Myung smiled and lightly pulled the whip. The whip around Yuji Cheong's neck gradually tightened.
Yuji Cheong's face turned deathly pale.
Solid qi was already gathered on the whip. The moment it touched his neck, it would slice it clean off.
**Release the solid qi.**
Yuji Cheong hurriedly released his sword gang.
**Whoosh!**
The whip gang and Yuji Cheong's sword disintegrated instantly.
No matter how stubborn, he could not withstand the force of solid qi.
Tang Myung also released his solid qi and pulled the whip back.
**Whoosh!**
**Kwaak!**
The whip was yanked back powerfully, scraping Yuji Cheong's neck.
It did not cut the neck clean, but the wound was severe enough to draw blood.
**This is too weak. You seemed to have gotten careless. Let me try again.**
Tang Myung smiled and flicked the whip once in the air.
**Creak!**
Yuji Cheong looked at the Sword Elder.
**Give me your sword.**
**Young master, stopping here...**
**I have not yet shown my full ability.**
At Yuji Cheong's words, the Sword Elder sighed softly and threw his sword.
**Paht!**
**Clang!**
Yuji Cheong, sword drawn strongly, charged at Tang Myung.
**Yah!**
A battle cry. The famous move of the Yuji Family, the Ascending Dragon Sword Style, unfolded.
**Papa pat!**
Yuji Cheong's sword rose and fell repeatedly like a dragon ascending, sword qi surging upward.
Tang Myung's eyes grew cold.
Yuji Cheong was no fool. He attacked with his familiar sword qi rather than the immature sword gang.
**Poison Dragon Ascending Split.**
With a small mutter, Tang Myung swung his whip.
**Papa papa pat!**
Ghost images of the whip surged endlessly in the air.
The whip images blocked and repelled Yuji Cheong's sword. Not just blocked, but repelled from all sides—left, right, up, down—without striking head-on.
**Papa pat!**
Then Tang Myung's whip swung fiercely toward Yuji Cheong's fully exposed body.
**Papa papa pat! Clack clack clack!**
Tang Myung's whip relentlessly struck Yuji Cheong's entire body. The lightning-fast whipping left Yuji Cheong's mouth torn open in a scream.
**Kyaaak!**
The whip did not merely hit and fall. It hit and scraped as it passed.
Pain was inevitable.
**Stop!**
The Sword Elder stomped the ground. In the next instant he grabbed Tang Myung's whip.
**Whoosh!**
Tang Myung's whip was caught by the Sword Elder's hand and stopped. Tang Myung said coldly,
**Yuji-gong did not accept defeat.**
The Sword Elder looked at Yuji Cheong with a grim face. Every place the whip had passed, the clothes were torn and blood flowed.
Worse still, whip marks were visible on his face. It was a pitiful sight.
Yuji Cheong let out a whimper and glared at Tang Myung.
**Kill me.**
**...**
Yuji Cheong's words made the Sword Elder's face harden.
**Kill him right now! Kill that bastard Tang Myung!**
Seeing Yuji Cheong shouting like this, the Sword Elder shook his head. Although the Tang Family's sect had diminished, its martial units and experts remained intact.
He could not kill Tang Myung here. The problem was... Yuji Cheong had uttered those words publicly.
**Sssst!**
As expected, Tang Family experts began stepping forward.
The Tang Family experts had already put on leather gloves.
**Ssst! Ssst!**
The Sword Elder sighed at the coldly resolute Tang Family experts donning the gloves.
**Young master has suffered serious injuries. There will be another chance to discuss today's events.**
At the Sword Elder's words, Tang Myung said coldly,
**If we just let them go?**
The Sword Elder hesitated for a moment and looked at him.
**You intend to stop it?**
The Sword Elder looked at the Tang Family experts behind Tang Myung. There were about ten of them.
But their numbers were not enough to stop him.
Tang Myung looked at Yuji Cheong coldly.
**Are you assuming the main family will simply let you proclaim that the head of the Tang Family has been killed... in Sichuan land?**
The Sword Elder's face hardened, and Yuji Cheong's face turned deathly pale.
Only then did they realize what they had done.
**Th-that...**
**We also acknowledge that the young master of the Tang Family and the young master have made a mistake. However... is it really necessary for the Tang Family to cause trouble like this?**
It meant they would wage war with the Yuji Family.
The Sword Elder said,
**The Sichuan Tang Family!**
**I will be ignored!**
Tang Myung shouted and glared at Yuji Cheong.
**I will kill you right here.**
Tang Myung's words, the Tang Family experts shouted in unison.
**I will kill you right here!**
**Ssst! Ssst!**
The Tang Family experts' hands now held concealed weapons one after another.
The Sword Elder's face hardened.
*'This place...'*
The Sword Elder looked at Yuji Cheong. In the Sword Elder's gaze, Yuji Cheong looked at him with a hardened face.