Spoils of the Duel
Two figures stood in the training arena.
A sly, malicious smile curved across Gang Unso’s face. At last he could display his true skill before every watching eye, and the thought filled him with pure delight.
“If you give up the duel right now, I’ll settle for having you kneel. How about it?”
“You sure talk a lot.”
Tang Cheonwi dug a finger into his ear, looking thoroughly annoyed.
“That insolent attitude of yours ends here.”
“You coming or not? Listening to that mouth of yours, anyone would think you were a Peak master.”
“You want me to lose my reason and charge in blindly, don’t you?”
“Caught me? Shame.”
Gang Unso cast a glance around the arena, then fixed his eyes on Tang Cheonwi once more.
“I trust the Black Scale Guard won’t interfere in our duel?”
“The Black Scale Guard must be pretty terrifying.”
They were the personal guards of the greatest under heaven—the sword and shield of the Sichuan Tang Clan, open only to those of exceptional ability. Anyone who truly knew the clan feared them the way one feared the messengers of the underworld.
“Relax. Even if I die here, the Black Scale Guard won’t lift a finger.”
“Prove it.”
“You cowardly little bastard.”
Gang Unso wanted to roar the words, yet the presence of the Black Scale Guard kept him in check. A single member of that unit could match an entire mid-tier sect. If an entire squad were present… the Cheongang Clan itself might tremble. Caution was only natural.
“Ildo.”
At Tang Cheonwi’s call—
“Your command.”
—a shadow dropped from the sky without a sound.
“Even if I die in this duel, do not intervene. Understood?”
“We will not hold the Cheongang Clan responsible. I will simply inform the clan head that the Young Master died in humiliating fashion at the hands of Cheongang’s youngest.”
“You really know how to wound a man.”
“I merely interpreted the Young Master’s intent.”
“That mouth of yours…”
“I will remain a spectator. Young Master Gang may kill our Young Master as freely as he likes.”
With those words Tang Ildo vanished as if he had never been there.
“We’ll settle this later.”
Gang Unso’s face went blank. What kind of relationship was that? He had heard the Black Scale Guard were reapers—one glance meant death, and the only way to survive was to never meet them at all. Yet this one floated like a feather. He simply could not understand it.
“Satisfied? Can we start already?”
Tang Cheonwi’s voice snapped Gang Unso back to reality. Everyone watching had heard the Black Scale Guard’s declaration. Whatever light words had been spoken, the man had promised not to interfere even if Tang Cheonwi was killed. Gang Unso could attack without restraint.
“Hahaha! Bold of you. If you want to die so badly, I’ll send you to the afterlife myself.”
Paat!
Gang Unso moved first. His form shot toward Tang Cheonwi with the Wave Treading Footwork—the pride of the Cheongang Clan. It was a step that rode the flow of water, gliding soft as a ripple one moment and exploding forward like a crashing wave the next. The distance closed in an instant. Internal energy flooded his palms.
Riding the current of water—soft as a ripple, then surging forth like a tidal wave.
“That’s the Cheongang Clan’s Jade Wave Palm!”
“One hit from that palm force and a body will be torn to shreds.”
“He’s not even reacting…”
Tang Cheonwi stood like a wooden post.
Wearing a victor’s smile, Gang Unso declared,
“This is the ancestral martial art of the Cheongang Clan—the Jade Wave Palm!”
Palm force crashing like a breaking wave, shredding everything it touched.
He drove the technique straight into Tang Cheonwi’s chest.
Kwaang!
An explosion of force roared out. Dust and earth from the training ground whirled into the air.
“Hahaha! How do you like the Jade Wave Palm of Cheongang?”
Gang Unso laughed in triumph—until the voice that followed froze his expression solid.
“That hurt, you bastard.”
“Wh… what?”
The dust cleared. Tang Cheonwi stood completely unharmed, casually brushing the dirt from his clothes. Then he stepped forward.
“My turn.”
He simply backhanded Gang Unso across the face. No technique, no art—just a bare palm that began to thrash the man without mercy.
“Guaaah…!”
Every time Tang Cheonwi’s hands and feet flashed like lightning, Gang Unso’s screams rang out.
“S-stop…!”
“What was that? Can’t hear you.”
Tang Cheonwi ignored him and continued the merciless assault.
“Please… stop…!”
This was no longer a duel.
“…I was w-wrong…”
It was a one-sided beating.
“Aaagh!”
Jegal Gwang squeezed his eyes shut at the sight.
“I’m an idiot for ever expecting anything better.”
Harsh words tumbled from a mouth that rarely cursed.
Tang Yuhyeon, on the other hand, fidgeted in open distress.
“Jegal Noona, shouldn’t someone stop this?”
Every gaze turned toward Jegal Rin. Since Jegal Gwang was simply watching, she seemed the only one left who might intervene.
But—
“Why?”
Her pretty eyes only held mild curiosity. She had no intention of stepping in.
“What if something really terrible happens?”
“Young Master Gang started the provocation, didn’t he?”
“If this ruins relations with the Cheongang Clan, I should at least try to stop it.”
Tang Yuhyeon was about to move when Tang Cheonwi’s beating finally ceased.
Warriors of the Cheongang Clan were already pouring into the training ground. The Cheongryu Yeong that had been seen at the pier now surrounded the area.
“What is the meaning of this?!”
Ham Eongye, their commander, roared the question while his eyes darted about, searching for the Black Scale Guard member Tang Ildo.
“I was just playing hand-tag with this fool. Can’t you see?”
“Even arrogance has limits. This is the Cheongang Clan’s territory.”
The corner of Tang Cheonwi’s mouth curled upward. Watching their behavior, Hwancheonjihwan shook its head.
That morning Tang Cheonwi had planted energy inside Ham Eongye’s body—a qi mine. Since poison had been used, it could also be called a poison mine. When the time came it would detonate. And the man was still shouting at Tang Cheonwi without the slightest idea.
Hwancheonjihwan was puzzled. Given Tang Cheonwi’s nature he should have acted without restraint. Yet since arriving at the Cheongang Clan he had kept that side of himself largely hidden—except, of course, for the way he had just thrashed Gang Unso like a rat.
“Watching you stand there blankly, only to rush in after realizing I was about to win… entertaining.”
“Apologize this inst—”
Ham Eongye never finished the sentence. A blade gleaming with cold blue light was already pressed against his throat.
“To whom do you dare demand an apology?”
The owner of the sword was Tang Ildo. The Cheongryu Yeong recoiled in pure shock at how quickly it had happened.
“Huk!”
“When did he—?!”
“Th-that’s the skill of the Black Dragon Emperor’s guard?!”
Not a single person present had seen Tang Ildo move—not even the Jegal twins. How could mere Cheongryu Yeong warriors possibly detect his presence?
“You would make an enemy of the entire Cheongang Clan?”
“Make an enemy of the Cheongang Clan, you say…”
Tang Ildo repeated the words slowly. Ham Eongye tried to smile in triumph, certain even the Black Scale Guard hesitated to provoke Cheongang.
“If the Cheongang Clan Head himself joined in it might be troublesome, but otherwise I believe I could wipe all of you out by myself.”
“Y-you dare look down on us?!”
“Do I look like water to you? Or does the Black Scale Guard seem that weak?”
As the words ended, Tang Ildo’s sword lengthened. Faint layers of energy stacked along the blade.
Layer upon layer of translucent force blade—visible proof of Transcendence.
“Th-that’s Sword Gang!”
“A Transcendence master!”
The moment they saw the Sword Gang, Ham Eongye’s face turned ashen. His own level was only First-class. Even a Peak master would defeat him; against Transcendence there was no fight at all.
“Do you now understand what you must do?”
Ham Eongye could only nod frantically, unable to speak.
“I-I am sorry.”
“Not to me. Show proper courtesy to the Young Master.”
Tang Ildo sheathed the Sword Gang and vanished like a ghost. Cold sweat poured down Ham Eongye and the Cheongryu Yeong. Ham Eongye clasped his fists and bowed deeply to Tang Cheonwi.
“Our youngest is a child the Clan Head dotes upon, and for a moment I lost my head. Please forgive us.”
The smile on Tang Cheonwi’s lips only deepened. He offered no reply—because at that moment he was exchanging mental messages with Tang Ildo.
You’re a complete fraud.
Ahem. As long as things ended well, isn’t that enough?
Transcendenceee?
If I hadn’t stepped in, real trouble would have started.
You really put on airs.
I need to take a piss. Farewell.
Tang Ildo fled at once. Even Tang Cheonwi’s senses could not track him.
No wonder he’s the next candidate for Black Scale Guard commander.
Tang Ildo’s true realm was Peak. He had perfectly imitated Sword Gang—an art exclusive to Transcendence masters. Anyone below that level would never have seen through the deception. Only exceptional talent made such a feat possible.
First, let’s finish things here.
There was still work to do. Ignoring Ham Eongye’s apology, Tang Cheonwi rummaged through the robes of the writhing Gang Unso.
“Your Cheongang Clan really does keep some interesting trinkets.”
From the man’s chest he drew a single hairpin.
The Mysterious Hairpin Seal. A treasure that will complete the incomplete martial arts of the Jegal Clan.
Something like this should never have been in the hands of a fool like Gang Unso. The idiot had no idea what slept inside the pin; he had merely thought of it as a gift to curry favor with Jegal Rin. After her death in the previous life, the one who unraveled its secret had been none other than Jegal Gwang—and it was that friend who had gained the martial arts sealed within.
Sorry, Gwang, but the arts inside this hairpin suit Jegal Rin far better.
They were techniques meant for the women of the Jegal Clan. A man who cultivated them would lose his seed—great power bought at a steep price.
Gwang should master the Great Heavenly Star Sword Art and recover the Seven Profound Formless Sword through it.
The Seven Profound Formless Sword was a lost technique of the Jegal Clan. With Jegal Gwang’s talent, the Great Heavenly Star Sword Art would be more than enough to reconstruct it. And if he could not restore it alone, Tang Cheonwi would simply help.
I may not be a great swordsman, but I can see the path. I glimpsed it in the sword routes of the man who became the Sword Demon in my previous life. I can return the Seven Profound Formless Sword to the Jegal Clan.
But first, the matter right in front of me.
Plenty of time would come later. Helping then would not be too late.
“I won the wager, so this hairpin is mine.”
“Khh… th-that is…”
“Are you planning to go back on your word in front of everyone?”
In the end Gang Unso could only nod.
“…Do… as you like…”
“I was looking for a gift for Jegal Rin. This will do perfectly.”
Tang Cheonwi held the hairpin out to her.
“Take it.”
“You’re giving it to me?”
The watching women looked on with envy. He had won both the duel and the wager, and now he was offering the prize as a gift. The man they had once seen as a tyrant suddenly seemed dashing in their eyes.
“It’s of no use to me.”
Jegal Rin smiled radiantly. The very air around her seemed to brighten. Young masters from the lesser sects stood with mouths agape, struck dumb by her beauty.
“Thank you. I’ll wear it well.”
“Do as you please.”
He turned his head away from her grateful gaze.
“Hyeon-ah. The duel’s over. Want to go see the marketplace of Naksan?”
“Yes!”
“Come on, then.”
Tang Cheonwi left the training ground with his younger brother. Jegal Rin remained behind for a long while, smiling softly as she stared at the hairpin.
Meanwhile Gang Unso, stripped of his treasure, sank into a bottomless pit of humiliation.