Chapter 59
Dong.
The bell rang out again. At the same moment, Dang Hye drew her dagger.
But Dang Pae and Dang Ho-yeop merely curled their lips and made no move at all.
"Hye. You've done enough. How about stepping off this stage before you get hurt?"
Dang Pae stepped forward with a kindly smile.
Dang Hye responded to that single step by turning her body slightly toward him.
"Shut up. How long are you planning to keep up this act?"
"Our Hye's gotten awfully sharp-tongued. It hurts to see you misunderstand your older brother's intentions so badly."
"Older brother? Disgusting. Cut the crap."
Dang Hye hurled her dagger at Dang Pae. But Dang Pae avoided it with embarrassing ease.
"Must I really stain my own hands with blood before you'll feel satisfied?"
Dang Pae's expression twisted, as though he were truly hurt. At the same time, a fierce wave of inner power crashed down on Dang Hye.
For a brief moment.
"Huh?"
A voice of surprise slipped from Dang Pae's mouth. He had intended to force Dang Hye to her knees in one stroke.
But Dang Hye did not kneel. He poured even greater force down on her, and only then did Dang Hye show a troubled expression at the pressure. At the same time, she shot another dagger at Dang Pae.
That dagger, too, was easily avoided, but the force pinning Dang Hye down vanished all at once.
Strange. When I last checked Dang Hye's cultivation, she was clearly at the threshold of the first-class realm... How is she holding out like this? Don't tell me it's that bastard?
Dang Pae thought of Baek Mugeuk's face, then shook his head.
No matter how rare a genius was, he couldn't raise someone else's level so drastically in such a short time.
"Hye. It looks like you've had a fortunate encounter. Congratulations."
"Save your congratulations."
"What a shame. I suppose I'll have to cut down a flower just as it begins to bloom."
"Now that I look at you, you're really pretty greasy."
"That's not greasy. That's called dignified."
Whoosh.
Dang Pae and Dang Hye's exchange cut off in an instant. That was because a dagger launched from Dang Ho-yeop's hand had shot straight for Dang Hye.
"Do I really need to waste a cow-slaying knife on a chicken? Brother, please wait a moment. I'll deal with this wench and be right back."
"Fine. It would be entertaining to see how much the younger generation has grown."
Once Dang Pae gave permission, Dang Ho-yeop sent out dagger after dagger. Then he lunged at Dang Hye along with them.
Dang Hye evaded the daggers without difficulty. Then she reached out and caught the fist that had slipped in behind them.
"You dare grab my hand?"
Dang Ho-yeop flared up and tried to wrench free before thrusting a fist toward Dang Hye's face. Or rather, he tried to.
"Huh?"
"......?"
The fist trapped in Dang Hye's hand did not budge. Dang Ho-yeop looked bewildered for an instant. Dang Hye, who was holding that fist, looked no different.
"Y-you bitch!"
Sensing that something was wrong, he pulled back and sent a kick flying.
But Dang Hye blocked that just as easily.
At that moment, Dang Hye felt it. I am not weak now. No, rather...
Her gaze moved to Dang Ho-yeop.
"I'm strong."
"What the hell is this lowborn bitch saying?"
Dang Ho-yeop drew another dagger with his free hand and tried to slash at her. Dang Hye yanked the fist she was holding inward and twisted.
Crack.
With the sound of Dang Ho-yeop's arm coming out of joint, his body collapsed to the floor. At the same time, he began to scream.
"Y-you crazy bitch, how dare you lay your hands on me?"
"No, are you just weak?"
"How twisted do you have to be to spout that nonsense?"
Dang Ho-yeop's strength was far too weak compared to what Baek Mugeuk had shown her.
His speed was far too slow compared to Baek Mugeuk.
Yes. No matter what the bastard did, he was weaker than when Baek Mugeuk had trained her.
Haah...
Before she knew it, Dang Hye let out a sigh. Dang Ho-yeop had looked down on her all her life. And yet Dang Ho-yeop, standing in front of her now, was painfully pathetic.
So much so that it was embarrassing how frightened she had once been of him.
Dang Ho-yeop shoved his dislocated arm back into his shoulder and struck out with his hand at full speed.
Thump-thump-thump!
But not a single strike reached Dang Hye. Instead, Dang Hye blocked every one of Dang Ho-yeop's attacks while beating his body down in return.
Bang.
As she struck him over and over, the anger she'd felt all those years because of Dang Ho-yeop rose up inside her.
Bam.
And with it came humiliation.
Smash.
The faster her hand moved.
Bang!
The stronger it became.
"Ugh."
Dang Hye's fist slammed hard into Dang Ho-yeop's abdomen. His body lifted, and blood began to spill from his mouth.
"Didn't you say that whether a person dies or not doesn't matter?"
Dang Hye grabbed Dang Ho-yeop by the collar as he crumpled to the floor. Then she began punching his face.
Thud.
The only sounds echoing through the hall were Dang Ho-yeop's groans and the thud of Dang Hye's fists.
"......"
"Say, 'Please spare me.'"
"......"
"What, do you not want to because you're from a lowly bloodline?"
"......"
No words came from Dang Ho-yeop's mouth. No, no words could come. The bastard had already lost consciousness.
Even so, Dang Hye did not let go of his collar.
Not until applause came from behind her.
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
When Dang Hye turned her head, she saw Dang Pae clapping. He smiled faintly.
"Hye's achievement is remarkable. I can't help but be impressed."
"You're next."
"Well, before that, why don't you do what you came to do?"
"What I came to do?"
"Didn't the clan head permit killing?"
Dang Pae's gaze shifted to Dang Ho-yeop. Dang Hye's expression twisted completely.
"Why can't you kill him?"
"......"
"Our Hye really is too kind."
Step.
Dang Pae walked toward Dang Hye.
"It seems one outing into the martial world wasn't enough for you to understand what the martial world is like."
Dang Pae stood before Dang Hye without revealing even a trace of killing intent.
"Shall your older brother kill him in your place?"
"Don't call yourself my older brother."
"If you dislike it, then it can't be helped."
Dang Pae threw a punch in an instant. Dang Hye raised her arm to block it.
The moment Dang Pae's fist met Dang Hye's arm, her body began sliding backward inch by inch. As distance opened between them, Dang Pae released dagger after dagger.
Paang!
The daggers fired from Dang Pae's hand sounded different from the start. The shriek of air being torn apart filled the entire hall.
Dang Hye twisted her body to avoid them, but thin lines of blood bloomed wherever the daggers passed.
"If you don't move faster, you'll die, Hye."
"......"
This one was different. He was on an entirely different level from the likes of Dang Ho-yeop. The moment that thought flashed through Dang Hye's mind, Dang Pae's shadow surged forward at high speed.
He attacked her nonstop, dagger in hand. Dang Hye drew her own dagger and began blocking, but she couldn't stop every attack.
Gradually, more wounds opened on her body, and the amount of blood she shed increased. Dang Pae then flicked the blood off the dagger in his hand.
"You haven't even properly fought as a Dang Clan member yet, and already you look like you're about to die?"
If I keep getting pushed back like this, I really will die. There is only one way to kill an enemy stronger than me...
Dang Hye's heart began to pound faster and faster. But in contrast, her mind grew colder and colder.
She shot out a dagger and lunged at Dang Pae.
"So you're doing exactly what Ho-yeop did? How boring."
Dang Pae knocked the dagger away, and Dang Hye kicked off the ground and extended her leg. Even that was blocked when Dang Pae raised his arm.
And yet, for some reason, Dang Hye did not look the least bit anxious.
"Something interesting? I'll show you."
Dang Hye murmured in a low voice. Then she used Dang Pae's arm as a springboard and lifted herself into the air.
"A martial artist who uses daggers is going to leap into the air? You need to start over from the basics."
"......"
At the same time she rose into the air, Dang Hye began scattering every dagger on her person into the sky. Then, at the peak of her rise, she twisted her body.
She seized the daggers and threw them.
Whoosh!
The first dagger launched shot toward Dang Pae at high speed. But Dang Pae casually knocked it aside.
"Is that all there is to your little trick?"
With a laugh full of ridicule, Dang Pae fired five daggers in return. Shot at high speed, they tore through the air as though they would pierce Dang Hye's eyes at any moment.
Huuup.
Dang Hye drew in a sharp breath and poured out every drop of inner power she had. Then the direction of the daggers scattered through the air all changed at once, turning toward Dang Pae.
Paaang!
The daggers Dang Pae had fired at Dang Hye were swept away in the torrent, their traces erased completely.
"What the hell...?"
Something was wrong.
Dang Pae paled. He unleashed daggers packed with all his inner power, but only some of them were knocked down on impact.
Dang Hye's daggers came at him from every direction like living snakes.
The best choice left to him was to hunch down and raise his protective qi.
Kwaaaang!
A violent sonic boom exploded, like thunder striking. At first, Dang Pae's protective qi seemed to be blocking Dang Hye's daggers well enough.
But before long, the daggers pierced through his protection and began lodging themselves all over his body.
Thuk.
The sound of blades sinking into flesh rang out again and again.
By the time Dang Hye's feet touched the ground again, Dang Pae's body looked like a hedgehog.
The hall was silent except for Dang Hye's rough breathing. Everyone present had been struck dumb with shock.
And the one most shocked of all was...
Clan Head Dang Bo. He had risen from his seat of honor, mouth hanging open.
"Ten Thousand Blossoms Rain... how on earth...?"
His low murmur seemed to fill the entire hall.
"Clan Head, please mind your dignity. Close your mouth."
Baek Mugeuk's teasing voice came from somewhere. But Dang Bo didn't hear a word of it.
This was the moment the clan's lost ultimate technique had been revived in Dang Hye's hands.
"She actually pulled it off in real combat for the first time. I should call that impressive, I guess."
Baek Mugeuk spoke to Dang Bo in a playful tone, but in truth even he was surprised. During practice, he had never seen Dang Hye perform Ten Thousand Blossoms Rain so perfectly.
Dang Pae could not move. No, he didn't so much as twitch, as though he had fallen unconscious.
Everyone's gaze shifted to Dang Pae, then naturally returned to Dang Hye.
Dang Hye exhaled raggedly and looked down at Dang Pae. A thousand feelings seemed to collide in her chest, and she bit her lip hard. Then she turned and looked at the clan head.
"It's over."
That was Dang Hye's declaration of victory. Looking at her, Dang Bo slowly rose to his feet.
At that moment, a low voice, heavy with killing intent, shot out.
"You stupid girl. You should have checked whether the enemy was dead!"
It was Dang Pae.
He barely managed to lift his upper body and shot out a dagger.
Faaang!
The dagger spun, tearing the air apart. A killing dagger launched with all the remaining inner power in his body.
Dang Hye only stared at Dang Pae's dagger. She knew she had to dodge, but she couldn't move. She had no inner power left at all.
Hah. Damn it.
Baek Mugeuk let out a short sigh then. Ten Thousand Blossoms Rain was, in a sense, a killing move. It was impossible for a martial artist at the very threshold of the peak realm to perform it and still have inner power left.
At this rate, Dang Hye would die.
Even if the outcome of the duel changed, he couldn't just stand by and watch.
The instant Baek Mugeuk moved to save Dang Hye, someone else shot out faster than he did.
"Clan Head?"
The poisoned dagger was about to reach Dang Hye's eyes when the clan head appeared before her.
It was an impossibly fast movement, as though a person had materialized out of thin air.
He brushed the incoming dagger away as lightly as if flicking off dust.
"The duel ends here."
A brief silence fell.
For a moment after that, Dang Pae's face twisted in utter ruin.
"Clan Head, what do you mean by that? The duel isn't over!"
Dang Pae shouted in fury.
"Dang Pae. Deciding victory and defeat is not your place. That is for the owner of the Dang Clan, the clan head, to decide."
"I won't accept it!"
"And if you don't accept it, what then? Shall I kill you?"
"......"
Dang Bo spoke with chilling indifference. Yet the poison leaking from his body began melting the floor.
Crunch.
"I accept the clan head's order."
Dang Pae's expression warped completely. But he could no longer keep defying him. Dang Bo's killing intent was directed wholly at him.
Dang Bo turned and looked at Dang Hye. Then he reached into his robes, drew out a dagger, and handed it to her.
"The young mistress is you, Dang Hye."
"......"
Dang Hye did not answer him at all. She only looked down at the dagger placed in her hand.