Chapter 37: The Strongest One Here
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 37: The Strongest One Here
“Aaaargh!”
The man with the broken arm rolled across the floor.
His brilliant golden martial uniform was covered in dust, and his hair, once stylishly slicked back with pomade, was now a mess.
In front of him, Shin Kang-heon was vigorously scratching his dyed blonde hair.
“See? It would’ve been better if you’d just taken it off when I asked nicely.”
“You—do you think you’ll get away with this?!”
The Golden Glory Sect martial artist, consumed by rage, screamed at the top of his lungs. The intense pain of his broken arm, combined with fury and humiliation, made him lose all reason.
He staggered to his feet and began to raise his voice, invoking his sect’s name.
“I was going to offer you advice on how to join the Golden Glory Sect, and you dare repay my kindness with enmity! Do you think the Golden Glory Sect will stand idly by after this?!”
“……”
It was true that the opponent had initially approached Shin Kang-heon with good intentions.
He’d introduced himself as a Golden Glory Sect martial artist, mentioned it was his third time taking the exam, and offered to share tips, telling Shin Kang-heon to call him ‘older brother’ casually.
The atmosphere between the two had been friendly until a Black-White Agent appeared a moment later, instructing them to seize each other’s weapons.
—Haha… It’s a bit awkward to suddenly fight. We might become sect brothers, so I don’t want to cause any bad blood.
—Well, it can’t be helped. If it’s the rules, we have to fight.
—…How about this? If you, as the junior, yield this time, I’ll yield next time.
If he hadn’t made such an obvious offer, Shin Kang-heon would have treated him with respect as a senior martial artist.
Shin Kang-heon refused the Golden Glory Sect martial artist’s proposal, overpowering him with his overwhelming martial arts. He requested him to hand over his hand combat gear, but when the opponent refused to concede defeat, he had no choice but to break his arm and seize it.
“I’ll make you regret this for the rest of your life! You’ll learn how terrifying it is to live with the Golden Glory Sect as your enemy…!”
“Hey.”
Shin Kang-heon strode purposefully towards the Golden Glory Sect martial artist, who was still shouting furiously.
The opponent flinched and stepped back.
Even standing face to face, Shin Kang-heon’s height difference made his gaze seem to look down on the other man.
“Are you threatening me right now? With that level of skill?”
Among the well-built martial artists, Shin Kang-heon stood out with his overwhelming physique and appearance.
His confidence stemmed from his skill, and his words were unrestrained.
Even if others pointed fingers and called him arrogant, Shin Kang-heon had no intention of compromising his pride as a martial artist.
Not even if his opponent belonged to one of the Eight Great Sects.
“And I’ve been putting up with it since earlier, but who said you could use informal speech with me, a stranger?”
“You…”
“Still informal. Is it because you haven’t been beaten enough?”
At his fierce smile and mocking tone, anger surged within the Golden Glory Sect martial artist, but his body, instinctively sensing danger, merely trembled, unable to take any action.
‘A mere greenhorn, barely twenty years old…’
Shamefully, he was overwhelmingly stronger than himself, a third-year disciple of the Golden Glory Sect.
He’d heard he was a Rising Star that most of the Eight Great Sects were paying attention to, but seeing him in person, he was a monster beyond imagination.
“Why so quiet all of a sudden? You should either keep threatening me or apologize, go on?”
As Shin Kang-heon smiled and took another step closer, the Golden Glory Sect martial artist stumbled backward.
Fortunately, at that moment, a hand intervened between the two.
[Fighting after a winner has been decided is not permitted. The winner, please proceed in the direction of the red arrow. The loser, please proceed in the direction of the blue arrow.]
As the Black-White Agent intervened to mediate the dispute, the Golden Glory Sect martial artist hid behind them, then hastily moved towards the blue arrow.
Shin Kang-heon watched his retreating back, clicking his tongue softly and muttering.
“The Golden Glory Sect is nothing special. I should tell my uncle I’m not going there.”
He then fiddled with the hand combat gear he’d taken after breaking his opponent’s arm. He’d been wondering what to do with it, as it was awkward to hang from his waist like a sword or saber, or sling over his back. But since it was essentially a glove, he decided to try it on.
“Oh, not bad?”
It felt good, fitting snugly on his hand, likely due to the expensive materials used.
The thin palm area meant he barely felt any foreign sensation when gripping his saber, and he liked the subtly gleaming black surface.
Shin Kang-heon didn’t know it, but the hand combat gear he’d seized and put on was expensive equipment, worth tens of millions of won.
“He uses good weapons, alright. Though his skill seemed barely enough for a Second-Rate Martial Artist.”
It was a remark that would make the owner’s blood boil if he heard it, but the Golden Glory Sect martial artist had already fled far away.
[Winners, please follow me.]
Shin Kang-heon began to walk leisurely, following the Black-White Agent who led the way.
Then he spotted a familiar face and approached him.
“Hey, Pi Seung-hwa.”
“…Don’t talk to me.”
“You’re from the Golden Glory Sect, right? Your senior martial brother was a total pushover.”
Last year, Pi Seung-hwa, who won a silver medal at the Sword Dance Competition, had, after much deliberation, joined the Golden Glory Sect.
This meant the Golden Glory Sect martial artist whose arm Shin Kang-heon had broken was Pi Seung-hwa’s senior martial brother.
Of course, unlike Pi Seung-hwa, who was a promising talent of the Golden Glory Sect, his senior martial brother was an ordinary martial artist.
They weren’t particularly close.
Still, there was no reason for Pi Seung-hwa to be happy to see Shin Kang-heon, who had defeated a martial artist from his own sect.
“If you keep insulting my sect, I won’t hold back either.”
Pi Seung-hwa’s eyes gleamed coldly.
The fine hairs on Shin Kang-heon’s skin pleasantly stood on end at the aura, which was far more refined than last summer.
“Who said your sect was bad? Seeing your aura now, it actually seems pretty decent.”
Grinning, Shin Kang-heon stuck close to Pi Seung-hwa and continued talking.
“You’re the only one I know here. I’m bored, let’s chat as we go.”
“Bored? Aren’t you nervous, even though it’s an exam?”
To Pi Seung-hwa, who wore an incredulous expression, Shin Kang-heon countered with an equally bewildered look.
“Are you nervous about an exam just to become a Third-Rate Martial Artist?”
“……”
In his defense, it was true.
Despite the term ‘Third-Rate,’ half of the examinees each year failed to even obtain a Third-Rate License and went home.
But for martial artists like Shin Kang-heon and Pi Seung-hwa, it was nothing more than a stepping stone.
“Can’t win three times out of a maximum of five chances? If you’re at that level, you should just go home and slice onions with a knife.”
“What if you have bad luck and meet First-Rate Expert-level opponents three times in a row?”
“What are the chances of that? Only about ten people get a First-Rate Expert License each year.”
Shin Kang-heon believed that even though the exam had changed dramatically, its essence hadn’t.
In fact, he preferred the current method.
The two walked, following the Black-White Agent, engaging in various conversations.
Shin Kang-heon stared intently at the back of the Black-White Agent’s head and asked Pi Seung-hwa.
“Who do you think will come in first among our age group?”
Who was the most outstanding among the Rising Stars of their generation?
It was a childish question, but one that always sparked heated debates.
As a Rising Star who had just stepped into the Martial, Pi Seung-hwa couldn’t help but react.
“…Song Jun-ho of the Taiji Sword Sect, or Yang Ha-yun of the Sun Moon Sect.”
“Ah, those Grade 1 Constitutions?”
Shin Kang-heon recalled the two people he had seen at the entrance of the Martial Alliance.
Song Jun-ho of the Taiji Sword Sect was a guy with a youthful appearance and thick, caterpillar-like eyebrows.
Yang Ha-yun of the Sun Moon Sect was a guy who seemed a bit vacant.
“They both seemed pretty small.”
“Well, everyone is small by your standards.”
By Shin Kang-heon’s standards, even Ki Mu-hyeok, who was in the late 180s cm, was only ‘not small.’
But by ordinary standards, both of them were indeed short.
“…If you happen to meet them, don’t mention their height. Don’t say they’re small or short. Song Jun-ho, especially, is extremely sensitive about such remarks.”
Due to their commonality as Rising Stars belonging to the Eight Great Sects, Pi Seung-hwa had already met the two he just mentioned.
The only two Grade 1 Constitution Rising Stars this year.
Having seen them in person, Pi Seung-hwa could confidently assert that those two were the most outstanding among their peers.
“Heh heh. So they hate being called shorties, huh?”
“I shouldn’t have told you…”
Pi Seung-hwa sighed and then asked Shin Kang-heon a question.
With an expression that clearly anticipated the answer.
“Who do you think is the strongest among us?”
Shin Kang-heon poked his own chest with his thumb.
“Me or Ki Mu-hyeok. Whichever one of us is in better condition today will take first place.”
Pi Seung-hwa shook his head as if he’d expected it.
At the same time, a slightly surprised expression appeared on his face.
“Ki Mu-hyeok? Isn’t he a Grade 4 Constitution?”
“What does Constitution matter? Skill is far more important.”
“……”
Pi Seung-hwa had once thought that way too.
As long as the gap wasn’t too wide, he could overcome the difference in Constitution with enough effort.
But after actually meeting the Grade 1 Constitution Rising Stars, he realized.
“You don’t know yet. Grade 1 Constitutions are on a different level.”
Pi Seung-hwa smiled bitterly and shook his head.
The level of support Rising Stars of the Eight Great Sects received after joining varied depending on their Constitution.
Pi Seung-hwa, a promising talent of the Golden Glory Sect, had an excellent Grade 2 Constitution. The Golden Glory Sect not only provided him with all sorts of Spiritual Medicine but also assigned several experts to guide his martial arts.
Thanks to this, Pi Seung-hwa’s martial arts had improved beyond comparison in just a few months.
“Why would a major sect provide such support? Because they clearly possess that much potential.”
No matter what anyone said, the greatest talent for a martial artist was their innate Constitution.
The Eight Great Sects invested massive sums only in those with the definite potential to become future experts.
“…Even I received this level of support. You can’t even imagine the treatment a Grade 1 receives, can you?”
As astronomical figures and the names of experts were listed, the other examinees, who had been quietly eavesdropping, swallowed hard.
However, Shin Kang-heon listened half-heartedly, then snorted.
“So your conclusion is that you can’t even compete with a Grade 1 without even fighting them?”
“Ki Mu-hyeok might be superior to you or me right now. But in three years, or five years at the latest, he’ll definitely hit a wall.”
Pi Seung-hwa continued, his eyes filled with conviction.
“And in ten years, he’ll be living in a completely different world. No amount of effort can change that. Those were the Sect Master’s own words to me.”
“……”
Shin Kang-heon stared intently into his eyes, then clicked his tongue softly.
“The Golden Glory Sect really isn’t for me, after all.”
“…What?”
Shin Kang-heon recalled the special training he’d undergone with Ki Mu-hyeok over the past few months.
Every day was so grueling it made him want to vomit, and there were times he wanted to give up.
Yet, the reason he endured to the end was half his competitive drive to beat Ki Mu-hyeok.
The other half was the joy of growing stronger little by little each day.
Shin Kang-heon had never once considered limits during that process.
“So, according to you, a Grade 3 like me can never beat a Grade 1?”
“……”
Seeing Pi Seung-hwa remain silent, Shin Kang-heon chuckled.
If you choose the path of a martial artist, shouldn’t your first thought be to smash through any wall of limits you encounter, rather than accept it?
“If a sect teaches you about limits first, there’s nothing else worth hearing.”
Shin Kang-heon strode past Pi Seung-hwa and moved forward.
From the opposite direction, another Black-White Agent was approaching, leading a group of martial artists.
[Stop.]
[Stop.]
As the two groups stopped and eyed each other warily, the Black-White Agents met in the middle, exchanged words, and returned to their respective sides.
[Our numbers happen to match theirs perfectly. In a moment, the second event will begin, so please prepare yourse—]
Before the Black-White Agent could finish speaking, Shin Kang-heon, his face full of excitement, walked towards the opposing side and shouted.
“Who’s the strongest one here—come out!”
*
At the same time.
Ki Mu-hyeok also stood facing his opponent, awaiting the second event.
“Your reach is short, so you’ll be at a disadvantage. Are you really sure you want to go against me?”
“You…!”
He had said it out of consideration for his opponent, but contrary to his intention, the other seemed furious.
But Ki Mu-hyeok, seemingly unaware of the reason, tilted his head and finished what he was saying.
“It’s okay to ask the Black-White Agent to change your opponent. The second event is pretty unfair when there’s a big height difference, after all.”
“You bastard—! I’ll make you regret those words!”
Song Jun-ho, the Taiji Sword Sect’s top Rising Star, fumed, his face beet red.