Battle for the Spiritual Beast (4)
Everyone flinched!
Greedy eyes, clouded by avarice, turned as one toward the bold declaration and the profound inner energy resonating from it.
The gazes that swiveled back were murderous.
After all the hardships they'd endured to corner it—what now?
The true master of the Sun Golden Frog?
Several experts among those gathered that day—men confident in their skills—turned with faces cold as frost. But what they saw stunned them.
“P-Pungun Jonja Sa Mu-hyeok?!”
“The sect leader of Jongnam Sect!”
“It's Jongnam Sect! Jongnam Sect has finally stepped forward!”
The crowd, assembled solely for the Sun Golden Frog, erupted in shock as the Jongnam Sect leader—master of Zhongnan Mountain—and his fellow disciples made their entrance.
They had long insisted that all treasures of Zhongnan Mountain belonged to Jongnam, but they'd never resorted to shows of force.
Now, with Jongnam's greatest master and sect leader, Pungun Jonja Sa Mu-hyeok, taking the forefront, the astonishment doubled.
“If I may be so bold... what did you just say?”
Sa Mu-hyeok and his disciples were all exceptional masters.
In the tense atmosphere where no one dared speak, someone finally broke the silence.
Dansim Bido Jeok Gae-ryeong!
Sa Mu-hyeok swept a stern gaze over the assembly, then paused in slight surprise upon recognizing the man bold enough to address him.
Dansim Bido Jeok Gae-ryeong was a renowned expert from distant Qinghai Province in Shaanxi, unaffiliated with orthodox or unorthodox sects, who dominated southern Qinghai with his unique flying knife techniques.
“Ho, a rare visitor from Shaanxi graces us.”
As Sa Mu-hyeok responded, Jeok Gae-ryeong cupped his fists in a subtle gesture of respect toward the elder of a prestigious sect.
“My words were exactly as you heard.”
“Pardon?”
“The true owner of the Sun Golden Frog is none other than our Jongnam Sect.”
With that, Sa Mu-hyeok stepped forward assertively, his disciples following suit and exuding an ominous aura.
No matter Jeok Gae-ryeong's ghostly knife skills, even he couldn't face Sa Mu-hyeok and his disciples at once.
“No, that's a bit...”
“They've done nothing until now, and only claim ownership when victory's in sight.”
“We respect Jongnam Sect, but this hardly befits a great orthodox powerhouse, does it?”
Beyond Jeok Gae-ryeong, there were other tough customers voicing dissent.
Surprisingly, they were orthodox figures: the Geumok Samhyeop—Gold Jade Three Heroes.
Hailing from Sichuan Province, they were famed for wiping out bandit groups.
Orthodox and unorthodox experts alike raised objections for the sake of the Sun Golden Frog.
The atmosphere grew ever more hostile—when!
“Hoho, you all truly don't know.”
A voice cut through like a warm, gentle breeze amid the biting winter chill.
It belonged to Sa Mu-hyeok's disciple guarding his rear: Cheonun Gogeom Yeon Il-bi.
Yeon Il-bi stepped forward as if mediating, but his words carried steel.
They implied that the dissenters were all outsiders, not natives of Shaanxi.
“This Sun Golden Frog originated from our Jongnam territory, so it rightfully falls under our sect's jurisdiction. Moreover, we once succeeded in capturing it, only to release it due to its fierce resistance. We appreciate the efforts of fellow martial artists, but since we caught it first, there's no helping it.”
True to his reputation for cunning over raw power, he wielded his silver tongue masterfully.
He artfully blended truth and lies: the frog had indeed appeared near Zhongnan Mountain—that much was fact.
But claiming capture and release? A blatant falsehood.
They hadn't even come close; Jongnam's second- and third-generation disciples had been too intimidated by its ferocity.
As expected of my junior brother.
Sa Mu-hyeok, prepared to unleash Jongnam's famed Heavenly Thirty-Six Sword Techniques if needed, inwardly smiled at Yeon Il-bi's eloquent display.
He believed this subtle warmth would prove more effective than brute force.
Yet one cannot cover the sky with two palms.
“That's not true. I've tracked the Sun Golden Frog since its first appearance... I witnessed Jongnam's warriors fail to subdue it completely, but I never saw them capture it even once.”
A man who knew the truth intimately cried out.
His martial prowess barely scraped second-rate; he was an unheralded tracker.
Yeon Il-bi, who had been mild as spring winds, hardened his expression at the precise rebuttal.
“And what is your title and name?”
He demanded it with an intensity rivaling Sa Mu-hyeok.
“I'm a nameless wanderer known as the Chasing Sun Guest from Fujian Province.”
Realizing the man was no major expert, neither orthodox ally nor unorthodox titan, Yeon Il-bi grew colder than ever.
“Are you, Chasing Sun Guest, claiming that our Jongnam Sect—a great orthodox powerhouse—has lied? Before all these people?”
Yeon Il-bi was sharp as a tack.
Though caught in his own web of half-truths, he didn't flinch.
Instead, he wielded Jongnam's colossal reputation—one of the Nine Great Sects—to crush him.
“N-No, I...”
“Can you take responsibility for your words? You're branding all of Jongnam as liars.”
The Chasing Sun Guest excelled in tracking and observation, but his skills were meager, and his sect third-rate at best.
Had he been a lone wanderer, he might have resisted—but with disciples vulnerable to Jongnam's wrath, he had no choice.
“...My apologies. It seems I was mistaken.”
The Chasing Sun Guest, who had journeyed from distant Fujian dreaming of life-changing fortune, faced harsh reality.
He bowed his head in submission.
“Hoho, mistakes happen. Coming from so far, the fatigue must be immense. Isn't that right, Senior Brother Sect Leader?”
Yeon Il-bi masterfully alternated whip and carrot, showcasing his veteran savvy.
“Indeed. With heroes from across the jianghu gathered at Jongnam after so long, surely you didn't mean to obstruct us?”
The pair exchanged trivial banter laced with warnings.
Only those who could withstand Jongnam's weight should rebel.
“This Chasing Sun Guest respects Jongnam's claim and will step back to merely observe the capture!”
“Jin Mo-do from Anhui Province concurs.”
“Bonggeommun from Jiangsu Province officially acknowledges Jongnam Sect's ownership!”
Those lacking prowess but rich in pragmatism chose alliance with Jongnam over the frog.
Though their words varied, they all fawned in the end.
Huhu.
Sa Mu-hyeok couldn't hide his satisfaction at the sight.
The corners of his mouth twitched upward.
Of course, some held firm.
The Gold Jade Three Heroes, Dansim Bido Jeok Gae-ryeong, and others at peak mid-stage or early super-peak—star-like elites—stood defiant.
Ten in total.
If it's just these ten, my disciples and I can handle them.
Yeon Il-bi rapidly calculated in his mind.
But public opinion was the issue.
Only ten resisted now, but more peak experts might join over time. Opportunists currying favor could side with the Three Heroes or Jeok Gae-ryeong.
“Hah! Must we see blood before you'll leave?”
Ching!
Unable to endure, Pungun Jonja Sa Mu-hyeok drew his sword.
As he unsheathed it, the air sharpened, shaking the entire present field with fierce auras.
As expected of Pungun Jonja.
His skill rivals Namgung Ungwang, the Crimson Sky Sword King and head of Namgung Family.
The Gold Jade Three Heroes gaped in shock at his extraordinary presence.
They'd held out to test the waters till the end—but that final edge was missing.
“We... shall respect Jongnam's will and withdraw.”
The Three Heroes retreated, abandoning the frog. As Sa Mu-hyeok smirked triumphantly—
Dansim Hoe-pung Bido!
Sudden chaos erupted.
Just as Jeok Gae-ryeong moved to withdraw with the Three Heroes, he abruptly hurled multiple flying knives at Sa Mu-hyeok with mad ferocity!
Screeeee!
So swift and powerfully spun, even top experts struggled to track them with the naked eye.
Jeok Gae-ryeong's abrupt ambush had a simple reason.
If I can just wound Pungun Jonja Sa Mu-hyeok, we've got a shot.
He lacked confidence in a fair one-on-one but trusted his ambush to injure.
Sa Mu-hyeok would surely flee if impaired, tilting odds heavily toward Jeok and the Three Heroes.
But the world rarely unfolds as planned.
Cheonha Bu-un!
Pungun Jonja Sa Mu-hyeok, renowned among Nine Great Sect leaders for his age-defying prowess.
He was acclaimed as the one who mastered Jongnam's signature Heavenly Thirty-Six Sword Techniques most perfectly under heaven.
Ching!
Unlike hothouse flower sect leaders, his practical combat experience was vast.
He not only perfectly countered Jeok Gae-ryeong's unpredictable ambush—
Cheonha Gyeoknang!
—but repurposed the recoil from deflecting the full-force knives into the Cheonha Gyeoknang stance, embodying raging storm gales among the Thirty-Six Swords, piercing Jeok Gae-ryeong's chest.
“Guh! Khek! H-How...?”
Dying, Jeok stared at Sa Mu-hyeok in disbelief.
Exceptional as Sa Mu-hyeok was, Dansim Bido shouldn't fall so easily.
His momentary lapse—believing he'd caught him off-guard—sealed his fate.
Thud!
Jongnam's sect leader, Pungun Jonja Sa Mu-hyeok, flaunted his peak mastery arrogantly before the crowd.
“Well? Anyone else wish to challenge me?”
His eyes gleamed with intoxicated thrill.
He even dropped formal speech, looking down on all.
Gurgle, gurrrrgle!
The crowd fell silent before his terrifying skill, filled only with the Sun Golden Frog's distinctive croaks.
“Then this Sun Golden Frog is ours by right.”
In that moment, Sa Mu-hyeok was emperor.
As the emboldened Jongnam leader approached the frog—
“I object.”
A voice rang out—seasoned beyond boyish, yet too young for manhood.