The Heavenly Demon Tests Them (8)
The other groups proceeded with their tests, and a variety of strategies emerged. Some focused on the fact that Hwaryeong couldn't move her feet and tried to harass her from a distance with throwing daggers. The strategy itself wasn't bad, but it had one fatal flaw. No matter how well you threw the daggers, they were meaningless if they never reached the opponent. The daggers they hurled were snatched out of the air with ridiculous ease by Hwaryeong's hands, only to be turned against their owners.
There were plenty of other strategies as well. Those who tried to overwhelm her with brute force found their own power turned against them and ended up flat on their backs. The ones who brought explosives—goodness knows where they got them—were shut down before Hwaryeong even had to step in, with her asking if they were trying to destroy Mount Hua again. The group that showed up with spears to keep her at bay had their weapons confiscated and received an impromptu lecture on proper spear technique.
As failure after failure unfolded in every possible shape and form, it was soon the turn of the group that included Park Yeon.
“What strategy have you prepared?”
“None at all.”
Han Min-jun answered on behalf of the group when Hwaryeong asked. She let out a laugh, apparently thinking he was joking.
“Are you trying to hide your plan?”
But Park Yeon knew the truth. Han Min-jun was completely serious.
Ever since the test began, they had watched the others face Hwaryeong and talked among themselves. Though their individual feelings differed, they all shared the same goal of wanting to pass this test. After discussing countless strategies, they had reached one conclusion.
‘In front of someone this absurdly strong, strategy is meaningless. So let’s not make one in the first place.’
It sounded insane, but it was actually a rather clever idea. No matter how perfect a strategy they came up with, it would be instantly seen through and dismantled by Hwaryeong. Hadn’t that been exactly what happened to everyone who went before them? So instead, they decided not to settle on any plan at all. They would improvise everything. If they couldn’t create a flawless strategy, they would rely on unpredictability.
Na-seol’s suggestion sounded like nonsense at first glance and even more like nonsense when taken seriously, but after thinking it over, both Han Min-jun and Siyugeom nodded. They said it wasn’t a bad idea. The moment the three strongest members of the group agreed, the opinions of Park Yeon and the other Hwasan players no longer mattered. And so their grand strategy was decided.
That was the truth. They had no strategy whatsoever.
Even now, Park Yeon was wondering if this was really okay, but it was far too late to turn back.
“Come forward.”
It was time for the test.
They prepared nothing? Is this a deception, or are they sincere? Either way, that overflowing confidence is rather pleasing.
The first to charge was Seol-ah. While the others were observing me, she simply sprinted forward without hesitation and threw a punch. It was the Wall-Shattering Jade-Destroying Fist. A strike meant to shatter stone and break jade—a fist carrying the will to crush even the ruggedness of Mount Hua. Its power was decent, but it was far too honest to be considered advanced martial arts.
I caught the punch with one hand, expecting a follow-up barrage, but Seol-ah didn’t continue her attack. She quickly retreated instead.
“Say something before you jump in!”
“It’d be a problem if you collapsed right away!”
Seeing the others’ bewildered reactions, it clearly hadn’t been a planned move. Seol-ah ignored their protests, stared at her own fist for a moment, then charged at me again.
Was she trying to hold my attention? Fine. I would play along with her intention.
While I kept receiving Seol-ah’s fists, the other four surrounded me from all sides. From behind, Han Min-jun unleashed the Gale Swift Sword. Even just sensing it with my qi sense, I could tell it had improved greatly since the past, but it was still lacking. Both momentum and sharpness were halfway there.
I deflected Seol-ah’s fist with one hand while responding to the Gale Swift Sword with the other. Did they think both my hands were now occupied?
Among the outsiders, the one who had shown the most promise rushed toward me. His name was… Siyoo, I believe. I shook off the two who were holding my arms and struck his abdomen, sending him flying into the distance.
As if refusing to allow any openings, Park Yeon and the Hwasan player leaped at me. Strange. As I received their attacks, I noticed their coordination lacked any real flow. They were simply rushing into whatever gaps they saw. There was no visible strategy or tactic at all.
…Did they truly have no plan whatsoever?
The only thing they had was a single purpose: to face me.
Once I realized that, laughter escaped me on its own. I had seen plenty who came up with grandiose schemes to fight me, but this was the first time I had encountered people who had completely emptied their heads. They really were insane.
They decided that making a strategy would be pointless anyway, so they would just charge in without one? They were aiming for unpredictability? Even so, there is a limit. Unpredictability only has meaning when built on a solid foundation. Drop it onto bare ground and it will simply shatter.
It was amusing, but at the same time, it felt incredibly arrogant. It was one thing to believe strategy held no meaning for them. But this was still a test. This was the place where they were supposed to show me everything they had. And yet they came with no preparation at all?
That was pure arrogance. And baseless arrogance deserves proper punishment.
I would increase the pace a little.
I folded the hand that had remained open since the test began and made a fist. Then I drove it toward Siyoo, who was charging at me. He was sent flying into the distance, his sword strike still in motion as his entire body shattered from the impact.
Next came the Hwasan group. The three of them coordinated and rushed me together. It was nothing more than the same boring Hwasan formation I had seen in the distant past, seen recently, and seen just moments ago. I broke Han Min-jun, who stood at its center, first. The other two faltered in shock and tried to retreat, but it was already too late. They were still well within range of my fist.
I casually sent the two of them flying, then turned my gaze to Seol-ah, who was charging at me like a wild beast once again.
Let’s see how long you can keep this up.
I said nothing and silently dealt with them. Every technique they displayed was crushed by a single fist wrapped in inner energy. I pressed them down so they would feel the helplessness of their own martial arts.
About ten minutes passed like that. Every member of this group was now sprawled across the ground. Han Min-jun kept trying to stand only to collapse again. Park Yeon lay face-down, completely motionless. One of the Hwasan players leaned against a building railing, staring blankly into the air. Seol-ah was the only one still standing before me in a fighting stance, but she wasn’t even worth paying attention to.
This girl had never intended to defeat me from the start.
You naturally come to understand the difference when you fight someone. The difference between those who pour their entire heart into trying to bring me down and those who have already decided they will lose. Seol-ah belonged to the latter. Because she viewed me with reverence, she had never once searched for a way to win. She was merely pretending to do her best.
“Seol-ah. I have one question for you.”
“Yes?”
“You know that I dislike those who give up without even trying.”
“…Yes.”
“Then what exactly are you doing right now?”
If you truly wish to look at me and become like me, then come at me with everything you have. If you are lost in blind worship and see me as someone you can never catch up to, then stay right there and stop. Which will you choose?
While I waited for an answer from the silent Seol-ah, Siyoo staggered to his feet from where he had fallen. He moved to stand beside her and spoke.
“What do you mean, what are we doing? We’re buying time. That’s a strategy too, you know?”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Yes. While you’ve been chattering away, the people who were knocked down are getting back up.”
I had only been waiting because the test was still underway. Hmm. It didn’t seem like he was saying it out of genuine ignorance. He was pretending not to know for the sake of raising morale.
“The villain always talks too much and loses. It’s a cliché. So you’d better get ready to take a hit.”
“Am I the villain?”
“Of course. The one getting ganged up on is always the villain.”
“If you want to claim you’re the hero, then try defeating me. You have to win in the end to be the hero, don’t you?”
“That was my plan all along.”
Siyugeom discarded his broken sword, drew a new one from thin air, and charged at me. The vicious swordsmanship that ignored defense and targeted only vital points was clearly far removed from Hwasan’s sword style.
“Since when was the Mutual Destruction Sword a technique of Hwasan?”
“You never said we could only use Hwasan martial arts in this test!”
Hmm. That is true. I will admit this mistake was mine.
The moment Siyoo began using a sword style that did not belong to Hwasan, his momentum surged. Now that he had returned to his original sword form, his movements had come alive. But it was still not enough. Did he really think this would be enough to defeat me?
I struck his solar plexus and laid him on the ground. Almost instantly, Han Min-jun burst forward. The wind was blowing. A fierce, razor-sharp wind shot at me from every direction. Since the bladed wind was not coming from a single point, it seemed as though the only way to scatter it would be to destroy the entire space.
But that was nothing but an illusion. He must have infused the wind with Hwasan’s mysterious techniques in an attempt to bewilder me. I had noticed it was a trap, but I would play along. Go on, show me what you want to do.
As Han Min-jun intended, I threw a fist toward the wind. Before my fist could even connect, the wind scattered. The instant my punch pierced empty air, three Hwasan members appeared and launched a coordinated attack. Their three swords shot forward with the precision of a single person swinging. Was this what they had been aiming for? This much?
A coordinated attack could certainly make up for insufficient individual power with numbers, but that was all. If the opponent could not be surpassed even when three combined their strength, it was meaningless. After sending the three flying, I saw Seol-ah stamping her foot behind them. That was the Eight Extremes Fist. It wasn’t in its normal form—it looked like it had been grotesquely modified.
I see. So everything before had been to buy time for her to prepare a decisive strike. They had created this situation through eye contact alone, without exchanging a single word. Hmm. Not bad. If this were an ordinary story, it would be quite cool for me to take a hit here. But unfortunately, I am a childish person who hates losing.
I clenched my fist and met her punch with my own. Two fists carrying killing intent collided. The shock should have spread outward, yet nothing happened. The moment our fists met, the force canceled out perfectly.
“Because Baru would hate it if I broke the floor.”
I drove my fist into the chin of a wide-eyed, bewildered Seol-ah, then looked around. It seemed none of this group would be getting up again.
“Next.”