Qualification to Have a Chance (6)
My calculations had pegged the limit at second-generation disciples—ones I could suppress quietly without killing any Zhongnan disciples while moving with my juniors.
That's why I'd hoped we wouldn't run into anyone beyond first-generation disciples.
Fuck, is this for real?
……A dangju-level expert.
The two middle-aged men's heavy swords pointed unwaveringly toward us.
"Come out."
They weren't even swinging—just aiming—and yet it felt like slamming into a solid wall, suffocating.
"Planning to show yourselves only after these kids are dead?"
It was obvious who he was talking to without needing to hear it.
In the end, Geum Pyo, Eunho, and Hong Saryeon slowly stepped forward from where they'd been waiting at the back of the cave.
"Seems a shame for young ones like you to throw your lives away in a place like this."
Even with their faces masked, he seemed to gauge their ages from their builds and movements. There was a seasoned eye for people in his gaze.
He sighed as if he genuinely pitied them.
Then he glanced back and forth between me and my juniors before speaking.
"If that guy threatened you and dragged you here, speak up now."
The middle-aged man's finger pointed straight at me.
"……."
"……."
My juniors' eyes turned to me as well.
"Don't worry. I'm from Zhongnan. I won't lose to some old freak."
I got what kind of bullshit misunderstanding he had going on. Even if my body's in good shape, calling a guy in his twenties an old freak is a bit much, isn't it?
Eunho flinched for a moment, but seeing my juniors refuse to lower their swords, the middle-aged man shook his head.
"So you are all in cahoots, huh?"
"Those kids wouldn't have come here without knowing Zhongnan was around."
"Then it's laughable. You knew we were here and still waltzed in?"
The middle-aged man's sympathetic expression suddenly twisted into a sneer.
"Never thought we'd see blood over this."
"Cheonji, be careful. That last move of his wasn't ordinary."
"You watch yourself too, Dangju-nim."
The moment I heard the name 'Cheonji,' I couldn't help furrowing my brow.
Of all people to run into...
Among Zhongnan's people right now, the only one named Cheonji was Gun Cheonji, who would later be called Zhongnan's Guardian.
He was suspicious enough that I wondered if he was the mysterious expert who'd been tailing us.
But.
-Big brother. No time to space out.
Whether this tiger's den held cubs or a full-grown beast, if we didn't get our shit together, we'd get mauled all the same.
-You three take the middle-aged guy on the right.
The orders were simple. I'd handle Gun Cheonji while my juniors took the other one. They'd just hold out until I got there.
The problem was how quickly I could suppress Gun Cheonji.
Chua-chua-chua—
I stepped into Tae-eul Eight Myriad Divine Steps, dodging the middle-aged man charging at me and lunging straight for Gun Cheonji.
Clang—
As our swords clashed once, a smile crept across Gun Cheonji's face.
"Ho... So you're my opponent, old man?"
His sword swept in all directions, blocking the Black Dragon Sword. Simple and straightforward, which left no openings.
But more than that.
"Who's the old man here?!"
Since regressing, I'd never forgotten that I'd aged in my previous life—but getting treated like an old geezer in this young body was bullshit!
I shot forward like lightning.
"Huh?!"
Gun Cheonji's eyes widened in shock as he blocked the Socheon Sword Technique. More startled than when he'd parried my earlier ambush.
What's he so surprised ab—
"Y-You're younger than me?!"
Damn it. His genuine shock only pissed me off more.
If this was a ploy to rile up the enemy, I'd be impressed.
Cha-cha-chang—
Seizing his momentary fluster, I stabbed at his pressure points, but Gun Cheonji blocked every Black Dragon Sword strike with agile precision.
He glanced at his own sword, then stared at me in disbelief.
"How old are you, anyway?"
Did he seriously expect a masked guy in black robes to just spill that?
Instead of answering, I gathered sword energy in the Black Dragon Sword and fired it off.
Whiiing!
The sharp blade of energy targeted his throat, heart, and dantian. Rather than retreating, Gun Cheonji advanced, swinging his sword to meet it.
Boom—
Boom-boom!
A true swordmaster would deflect or redirect such energy, but Gun Cheonji countered mine with his own fresh blasts, neutralizing them outright.
Dissipating external force with external force instead of absorbing the impact.
It was a glimpse of just how high his cultivation already was.
A fully grown tiger, huh?
Zhongnan's Guardian from the Special Task Force was one of those even the Demonic Cult dreaded.
While we were taking hits up front, their rear ambushes on the Demonic Cult were devastating enough to more than offset our losses.
The issue was how much Gun Cheonji's current skill differed from the one I knew in my past life.
If he'd already reached Guardian levels, there'd be no suppressing him in time.
All I could hope was that this dangju had clawed his way up through cronyism and politics, not raw power.
I conjured thirty illusory swords, then hid eight real ones among them and thrust.
"Illusory swords?!"
Gun Cheonji's brow furrowed briefly before he gripped his sword two-handed in a mid-guard stance.
The heavy, massive swordsmanship unfolding from his hands was Zhongnan's most famous art: Heavenly Thirty-Six Swords. It was what they pulled out most against Huashan, masters of transformations and illusions.
Clang-clang—
Clang-clang—
Clang-clang—
Like a giant shield had risen, he blocked every illusory and real sword. His breathing was only slightly disrupted.
Familiar with illusions thanks to Huashan, huh?
Zhongnan in Shaanxi and Huashan had long been allies and rivals. Not by design, but they'd grown by always keeping an eye on each other, developing arts to exploit mutual weaknesses.
Huashan wielded flashy, aggressive swordplay; Zhongnan countered with solid, heavy defense.
Especially Heavenly Thirty-Six Swords, Zhongnan's signature that shone brightest among their arts.
For someone like me from Tae-eul Gate, who used transformations and illusions, it was the last thing I wanted to face.
"Your sword's got some real weight to it. Most who use transformations and illusions swing lighter. Overcompensating with brute force?"
Analyzing my techniques mid-fight like this? Fine, I did the same—but it still pissed me off.
"Analyze this!"
I unleashed Socheon Sword Technique with the Black Dragon Sword while extending my left hand for Cartoon Invincible Fist.
Whiiing—
Gun Cheonji moved to neutralize the incoming sword energy first, clashing his own against it.
In that instant.
Boom-boom-boom—
Boom-boom-boom—
His face twisted in shock.
"What the—?!"
Defeat flickered across his features. No wonder.
How much internal energy had I poured into that strike?
Riiiing—
Riiiing—
His hand flew back like it was repelled, just like before. And in the gap, my fist's fist energy shot like an arrow.
Bam-bam-bam-bam— Bam-bam-bam-bam—
He wildly unleashed Wall Cloud Heaven River Palms to dispel the Cartoon Invincible Fist, but some still landed solidly.
"Kuh...!"
As Gun Cheonji staggered back two steps, I drove in Socheon Sword Technique again.
Whiiing—
The Black Dragon Sword flashed like lightning, coiling around his blade like a snake to redirect its power.
Just as I pierced his Heavenly Thirty-Six Swords for another solid hit—
Riiip—
"……!"
His robes tore across his lowered back as the blade glanced off. I knew that move.
A technique from crouching low, extending the leg back to strike from a blind spot.
Spinning Kick!
It had to be Gun Cheonji's signature Spinning Kick.
Sure enough, as I looked up, his sole was already inches away.
I barely raised my left hand to block.
Thud!
Even dispersing the impact through the Flying Dragon Claw, my arm screamed like it might snap. If it'd hit my head as planned, I'd be out cold for sure.
As he recoiled from the rebound, surprise lit his face.
"Hah! You read the Spinning Kick? Just who the hell are you?"
Standing tall with his torn robes fluttering, his eyes held complex emotions.
"Your voice sounds like you haven't even hit thirty... Which sect raised a monster like you?"
Should I be grateful Tae-eul Gate's obscurity worked in my favor? Even forcing positivity, it didn't feel great.
My grip tightened on the sword instinctively.
"Don't you get why I'm wearing the mask?!"
Whiiing—
I poured out Socheon Sword Technique in a blink, but he'd already adapted, blocking the Black Dragon Sword with minimal motion.
Then came his incredulous voice.
"You still think you can break through us?"
I didn't answer.
Breaking through Gun Cheonji—and Zhongnan—was a given for me.
Instead, I scattered Great Heaven Sword Method while stabbing with Socheon Sword Technique.
But no openings yet.
"……You really believe you can, don't you."
Coldness laced Gun Cheonji's voice. A heavier tone than before.
"Is Zhongnan that laughable to you?"
Like a tiger who'd tolerated a scratch from a rabbit. More outraged by the bruise to his pride than the pain itself—the classic fury of the privileged.
"Something kids like you can just waltz into?"
Who knows.
Even regressed, with higher status and stronger martial prowess than my past life, the walls of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families still loomed tall.
But I'd stopped caring because I'd learned those walls wouldn't protect me anymore.
I wasn't the trembling rabbit cowering before tigers like before.
Seeing me stay silent, his lips twisted.
"Guess I'll have to teach you properly, then."
Immense energy cloaked his sword. Stronger and larger than sword energy, enveloping the blade.
"Just how vast and terrifying Zhongnan is."
The neighborhood adult tone he'd used on the clueless kid shifted to icy venom dripping from every word.
Show-off.
"That punks like you don't even qualify to challenge us."
The cramped cave filled with his killing intent.
Meanwhile.
"Kuhuk!"
A cry came from my juniors' side.
I glanced over.
"Hoo...!"
"Hah, hah."
Eunho lay collapsed with a shoulder wound, the others protecting him as they fought.
Goddamn it. Wasn't Zhongnan supposed to pick dangju through cronyism and politics?
Why the hell were they so annoyingly competent?
"……Not the time to worry about others."
Irked by my glance away, Gun Cheonji ground his teeth.
His sword brimmed with explosive power.
Great Heaven Heavy Sword. Shit.
The ultra-heavy sword known as Heaven-Heavy Sword was notorious—even blocking it could shatter a normal body, and redirecting didn't fully dissipate the shock.
And he was unleashing it in this narrow cave?
Knowing my goal was suppression, not kill, he went all-in without hesitation.
I focused my mind and regulated my breathing.
Take him down in one shot!
If he'd seen through me, I had to move faster.
I prepared the Crushing Form I'd been holding back.
Against someone as experienced and talented as Gun Cheonji, using it was risky in itself.
Who'd let live someone who knew their sect's core art's weakness?
That's why I'd never taught the Jeon-ga Three Forms to my juniors, and rarely used it myself unless desperate.
It was a delicate psychological play.
Gun Cheonji charged with savage momentum.
"Try blocking this!"
Staring at the heavy sword plummeting in a blue arc, I unleashed Mutual Destruction Fist.
My dantian emptied in an instant as space to his left warped.
"Gasp!"
Startled by the sudden Mutual Destruction Fist aura mid-swing, Gun Cheonji barely recalled his Great Heaven Heavy Sword.
I retracted the fist and bombarded him with Socheon Sword Technique.
Whiiing—
A dozen sword energies targeted his pressure points.
"What parlor trick is this?!"
Perplexed by the Mutual Destruction Fist but instinctive, he defended with Heavenly Thirty-Six Swords.
And I.
Unleashed the Crushing Form of Heavenly Thirty-Six Swords I'd waited for.
Dominate thirty-six directions under heaven for absolute defense: Heavenly Thirty-Six Swords.
I shattered its sole weakness—the twenty-seventh form of the third stance—and thrust Socheon Sword Technique through.
Not the sharpest or fastest, but precise extension was enough.
Sometimes measured power is the most accurate.
Stab!
The feel of blade piercing flesh transmitted through my hand.
Gun Cheonji, whose Heavenly Thirty-Six Swords was crushed in a blink, wore an unbelieving expression.
"Kuhk! ...H-How?!"
Even seeing the Black Dragon Sword buried deep in his shoulder, he alternated stares between me and the blade in confusion.
What's there to be shocked about?
Shlick—
I yanked out the Black Dragon Sword and grinned.
"Because I've got the qualifications to challenge you."