It has been a long time since the Ten Great Masters known as the Seven Irons and Three Fists appeared.
This was a title born after the great war against the Evil Sect in the past.
It is a name that came into being after the Righteous-Evil Great War.
Although a few individuals changed as time passed, the overall framework remained unchanged.
In the Central Plains, which fundamentally worships the martial way, they are the ten foremost powerhouses.
While ranking them was difficult, once it was established, it would be stranger still for it to be overturned.
'You can tell just by looking at the Three Venerables.'
It has been over ten years since the Three Venerables ceased their activities.
Cheonjon was the only one who occasionally showed his face; Paejon hadn't been active for over twenty years, yet he still maintained his position.
This showed just how unshakable a position was once secured.
So, let us pose a question now.
'Just how strong are the Ten Great Masters?'
This is a fundamental question.
The Seven Irons and Three Fists.
The strongest powerhouses selected as the top ten in the Central Plains.
Are they truly the strongest ten?
I raised the question and simultaneously provided the answer.
'No.'
I didn't think so.
There were countless individuals in the Central Plains right now living with their power hidden.
Could you not tell just by looking at my father?
Masters who did not stand out because they did not participate in the war, and whose names remained unknown as a result.
They must have known.
That the war could be won even without their deliberate participation.
Or perhaps, they simply didn't care whether they won or lost.
That was why they did not appear.
However.
'They did appear during the Righteous-Demonic Great War.'
The blood catastrophe wrought by the Cheonma.
At that time, the entire Central Plains began to burn, so there were those who had no choice but to reveal themselves.
Such were the existences who would later be called Noiseong and Gundo.
Though weaker than the Three Venerables, they were monsters more than qualified to be among the Ten Great Masters.
This meant there were those even stronger than the currently known Ten Great Masters.
While the current Ten Great Masters are undeniably strong, what was revealed was not the absolute truth.
Ah, of course.
'That's not to say the Ten Great Masters are weak.'
It simply meant they were not absolute existences who rose to their positions by strength alone.
Pat, pat.
Lightly dusting my hands, I looked straight ahead.
The Sect Leader of the Amipa.
Bunwol Gwonseon stood before me with her hands clasped behind her back.
She was merely standing there, yet the flowing air trembled faintly.
Was she projecting her power like the fool of a Family Head from the Pang Family?
No.
Even when trying to conceal it, her presence naturally seeped out.
'Gwonseon, huh.'
In the Amipa, which predominantly used swords, she was a woman who rose to the position of Sect Leader through fist techniques.
Looking at the old woman, I calmly steadied my mind.
At the same time, sensing her presence, I activated my physique.
Thump.
Power surged into my body as my muscles expanded.
Sensing hostility, I had entered a combat stance.
Just as I slowly began my preparations—
"Ninth Young Master."
Bunwol Gwonseon, standing ahead, asked me.
"Do you truly intend to go through with this?"
Hearing that, I smiled slightly.
"What do you mean? You've come all the way here."
The current location was a training ground prepared behind the quarters.
It was a place I had requested Madam Mi to prepare, and it was usually the spot used for sparring with Paejon.
In such a place, I was facing Gwonseon.
The reason, naturally, was for a spar.
Apparently finding this situation greatly displeasing, Gwonseon had been frowning the entire time.
"I will ask you one last time... Are you truly?"
"There is no need to ask. My answer will be the same as it was in the beginning."
I cut off the bothersome questioning.
"Hurry up and warm up your body first. Given your age, you'll break a bone if you don't."
"...Hah."
Her low sigh brushed against my skin.
My activated physique perceived every sensation with acute sensitivity.
"This is a chance I am giving you."
"A chance?"
"If this goes any further, it will not end with just a light scolding."
Gwonseon's eyes lowered heavily.
Her breathing grew slightly heavier.
The qi pressure radiating from her began to gradually consume the vast training ground.
"You are remarkable. To the point where I couldn't help but be horrified upon seeing it. You can be arrogant, and you can be conceited. Because you are at a level where you have every right to be."
"I don't know what to do with such praise."
"However, that is where it ends."
Woom.
As Gwonseon brushed her hand, a ripple stirred in the air.
"Do I look like that deficient child of the Pang Family?"
Dowang, who had instantly become a deficient fool.
I found it laughable, but I did not laugh.
It was not a light enough qi pressure to laugh at.
"The Amipa does not take slighted disrespect lightly."
The small ripple instantly distorted into a fissure.
Seeing that, I tilted my head slightly.
"So? Are you telling me to stop now after coming all this way?"
"If you apologize and beg for forgiveness, I might consider letting this disrespect slide."
"What apology and forgiveness?"
Haha.
I let out a laugh and immediately covered my mouth.
Oops, what to do. I couldn't hold it in.
After pondering for a moment, I dropped my hand.
It was already too late, so I decided to just keep going.
"You're the one who came looking for me first thing in the morning without any prior notice."
"...'That side'...?"
As if the address displeased her, Gwonseon's brow furrowed.
"And what apology are you talking about? Did it hurt your feelings when a kid much younger than you talked back to the Sect Leader?"
"You truly intend to cross the line."
"If there's a line, I crossed it ages ago. Why bother worrying about such tedious things?"
"You do realize that you are declaring war on the Amipa right now, do you not?"
"To hell with the Amipa."
I said, mixing in a sigh.
"I'm just messing with you, Senior, because I don't like you. If you want to drag the Amipa into this, go ahead. It doesn't matter to me either way."
"...!"
"And. If I apologize and beg for forgiveness now, well. Do you think I don't know you'll just use it as an excuse to get the answers you're curious about, Senior?"
Would she simply forgive me? Not a chance.
Even while thinking my actions were childish tantrums, the reason Gwonseon silently followed me this far was precisely because of that.
"I said let's keep it simple, didn't I? I even handed you a justification."
There was a societal stigma against an older master fighting a junior from the later generation.
And to settle a dispute of intent through a contest of brute force? If things went poorly, she would be labeled petty.
So I provided her with a justification.
I picked a fight with her first.
On top of that.
"I even placed a restriction. Promising not to speak a word of this incident to anyone."
I had cleaned up the aftermath to ensure the situation wouldn't blow up.
I had taken care of everything flawlessly, so what was she hesitating for?
It was beyond my understanding.
And it seemed Gwonseon felt the same way.
"Just what. What is the reason you are going this far?"
"Sect Leader. Are you deaf by any chance?"
"...What did you say?"
"I've already explained everything up until now. Yet you ask me again."
Had she not heard me?
Or did she hear but fail to understand? Then I should speak even more simply.
"Mind games are a fucking pain in the ass, so let's just fight and end this. Isn't that how martial artists should do things?"
"Hah."
What a waste of time.
My schedule for today was already packed as it was.
Meaning I was busy as hell and had no time to entertain an old woman.
So.
"Grandma, let's stop talking and get to what we're here to do."
That was the limit of my patience.
As I loosened my shoulders slightly and spat those words out, the woman standing beside Gwonseon flushed red in the face this time.
"You bastard. What did you just say to the Sect Leader?"
She was the same woman who had interrupted earlier.
Judging by her face, she seemed absolutely furious.
However.
"How dare you insult the Ami Se—Gack!?"
The woman failed to finish her sentence this time as well.
A distance of about ten paces.
I closed that distance in a single stride and grabbed the woman by the throat.
Seized, the woman could do nothing but begin trembling.
Looking at her, I spoke.
"What did I tell you earlier? I said I'd rip off one of your arms."
Crunch.
"Gaaah!!?"
I didn't rip it off; instead, I snapped her right arm at a grotesque angle.
I considered actually ripping it off for a moment, but held back.
"Why do you keep interrupting when the adults are talking? Keep it up, and you'll actually die. Got it?"
The woman couldn't even scream.
Since I had grabbed her throat to keep things quiet, I blocked her breathing as well.
In that state, I looked at Gwonseon.
The distance between me and Gwonseon had closed to less than two paces.
"Since you keep hesitating, I'll help you out with one more thing."
Gwonseon's eyes had widened considerably.
This was clearly my consideration for her.
A warning not to drop her guard needlessly before we fought.
"If you aren't going to fight, I'll kill her right now."
As I said with a smile—
At that moment, an immense qi pressure erupted from Gwonseon.
Her stance remained the same, but the atmosphere was entirely different.
It was an aura as if she had become an entirely different person.
Is this the fighting spirit of a Ten Great Master?
It was adequately stifling, and the feeling wasn't half bad.
Swoosh.
Boom—!!
I tossed the woman I was holding haphazardly.
The sound of her crashing into a wall echoed from afar.
I had held back, but if I had miscalculated, she might have died.
Such thoughts even crossed my mind.
"You certainly have a talent for humiliating others."
Gwonseon didn't seem the least bit concerned about what had happened to her Amipa disciple.
"If that is your choice, I shall respect it. After all, the fiery whims of youth are grand in their own right."
Gwonseon slowly took her stance.
"Please do not regret your cho—!"
I drove my fist into Gwonseon's abdomen.
Kuuung—!!
"...Kkeoh!?"
Gwonseon's body folded over.
Without relenting, I shoved her back with immense force.
Kwaaaa—! Bursting with wind pressure, Gwonseon's body was sent flying toward the wall.
Kuuung—!!! Gwonseon's body smashed through the training ground wall and embedded itself into it.
Thud, thud.
Debris sprinkled down.
Looking at that, I spoke.
"Stop acting tough. You're asking to die."
She was still acting like that even after I had shown her everything. It was absurd.
I was staring at the wall with eyes full of irritation when—
Woom—!
I sensed a burst of qi pressure in an instant.
I immediately clenched my fists.
Huuuk—!
Heat gathered together.
In an instant, the Flame Jade (Yeomok) was formed.
Putting all my strength into my shoulder, I hurled it with everything I had.
The Flame Jade shot forth rapidly toward the wall.
Boom—! Kwaaaaaaa—!!!
The moment it collided, a tremendous explosion erupted.
It radiated a heat intense enough to leave not even a bone behind if it were an ordinary person.
Was it over?
'Like hell.'
I didn't harbor such thoughts for even a moment.
I shifted my gaze to the opposite side of the wall.
Hwiiiiiik—!
I slightly turned my head. Just then, a fist grazed my cheek.
Gwonseon had somehow escaped the blast range and was now behind me.
I had perceived it by a hair's breadth.
"You brat—!"
Crack—! Gwonseon stomped the ground, and cracks erupted in all directions.
Her onslaught followed.
Countless fist trajectories visible through my mind's eye.
I twisted my body, deflecting each and every one.
Boom—! Boom—!!
Every time I parried a fist, my body vibrated slightly.
'Heavy.'
They said each of Gwonseon's strikes was fierce, and the rumors were true.
The old woman possessed considerable strength for her age. If I took a hit poorly, my bones would be pulverized.
'Was that earlier strike blocked?'
The surprise attack to her abdomen.
I had even shattered her protective strong qi, but it hadn't gone in properly.
Gwonseon had reacted in that fleeting instant.
'Nice.'
She was indeed a Ten Great Master.
She was on a different level from the mediocre ones.
Huuuuuk—!
"!"
I sensed qi pressure.
Amidst our repeated close-quarters combat, a sudden sense of foreignness emanated from Gwonseon.
'The flow of her qi had changed.'
It was a flow I would have missed if I hadn't been paying attention.
It seemed she was gathering it to use secretly.
'Where.'
Throwing a punch, I assessed Gwonseon's body.
'Found it.'
From her left shoulder to her fist.
The flow of her qi was distorted only in that area.
I thought she favored her right hand, but she was actually left-handed.
'A feint.'
It seemed she had intentionally made me mistake her for a righty. Thorough, very thorough.
Better late than never.
I narrowed my eyes slightly and shifted my legs.
Relaxing the power in my waist, I adjusted my angle.
Immediately, Gwonseon's fist came flying in.
Kwang—! I took the powerful fist strike on my shoulder.
My stance faltered.
'Hmm.'
My shoulder went numb, and my bones stung.
And this was despite wrapping myself in strong qi.
She was undeniably strong.
But.
'Is this all?'
It wasn't anything surprising.
"Hah!"
As an opening appeared, Gwonseon's stance shifted, seemingly intending to use the power she had gathered.
Soon, the qi she had been hiding revealed its presence.
Gwonseon's qi gathered at her fingertips, and she thrust her arm out.
Muhosanjang.
A palm-shaped strong qi was blasted out.
No, it *tried* to be blasted out.
Pop—!
"...!?"
Gwonseon's martial art failed to manifest.
Because I had blocked her hand with my own palm the very instant her palm thrust forward.
Paaaaang—!!
Qi scattered and exploded in all directions.
As the fierce shockwave swept through—
"Kuheok!"
Gwonseon coughed up blood and staggered back a few steps.
With her martial art sealed, her qi and blood seemed to have been twisted.
"...Hah... hah."
Gwonseon breathed heavily. Even while coughing up blood, she stared at me with a face full of horror.
I had just sealed her martial art using a rather barbaric method.
I had timed my collision recklessly right at the moment her qi was about to burst forth.
Doing so would cause both of us to suffer internal injuries from the qi.
Usually, the attacking side would suffer the greater damage.
'That is, assuming our qi reserves are similar.'
An immense amount of qi could offset even that damage.
Of course, I wasn't entirely free of internal injuries, but it was at a tolerable level.
Gwonseon staggered.
Even seeing that, I had no intention of stopping.
I stepped forward and attacked.
Smack—! Gwonseon hastily raised her arm to defend, but unable to block the full impact, she swayed.
'Then once more.'
This time, I wreathed my fist in flames.
Guyeomtaearang.
Flames burst from the fist that struck Gwonseon.
Roar—!!!
Flames vast enough to engulf the entire training ground.
Even as I watched the surroundings burn, I quickly darted my eyes around.
Searching for her position.
I had dealt a blow, but using the recoil, Gwonseon had concealed herself.
The flames blocked my vision; was she planning to use that to aim for a counterattack?
Not a bad move. The problem was—
'You cannot escape my flames.'
These flames were one with my qi sense.
Moving within them was no different from handing over her position entirely.
'She should have just blown the flames away.'
A deeply regrettable choice.
I extended my left arm.
Swish—!
Gwijung reacted, spewing cloth from my hand.
In an instant, it pierced through the flames, and— Crush—!
"Gasp!"
I grabbed Gwonseon, who had been weaving through the flames.
I yanked her toward me.
Whoooosh—!! Gwonseon's frail body pierced through the flames and reappeared.
Gwonseon flew rapidly toward me.
Seeing that, I immediately launched my fist.
Smash—!
"Kek...!!"
I struck her face just as she came close. I didn't apply any strong qi.
Even after taking a hit to the face, Gwonseon still moved. It seemed she was desperately trying to counterattack.
Confirming this with my mind's eye, I whipped her left shoulder.
Thump—!
Her stance wavered.
Because of that, Gwonseon's counterattack failed.
'Next, the legs.'
To be exact, her right thigh.
I restricted her movement with the impact and crushed her ankle.
Gwonseon collapsed.
Using Gwijung to pin her posture in place, I drove my knee into her solar plexus.
Kuung—! The attack bore down, crushing her strong qi.
"Puhak!"
With the pain, Gwonseon spat up blood.
I twisted my body to dodge it.
I didn't have many changes of clothes, so it would be troublesome if they got dirty.
Using the recoil from my dodge, I kicked her face with my foot.
Smack—!
Gwonseon's head snapped back. Blood splattered into the air, and I could feel the strong qi coating her flesh dissipate.
Untying the binding Gwijung, I forcefully kicked her chest away.
Kwang—!
The shoved Gwonseon slammed hard into the wall and then flopped flat onto the ground.
Gwonseon lay on the floor; even seeing that, I didn't let my guard down.
Even that could be a feint.
I stared at her with that thought in mind when—
"..."
As time passed, Gwonseon did not move a muscle.
The situation grew quiet for a moment.
'What is this.'
Sensing a subtle atmosphere, I tilted my head.
'It can't be.'
I furrowed my brow.
Surely not?
Nah. No way.
I waited a little longer, but the situation didn't change.
"...Is it for real?"
I approached the fallen Gwonseon and grabbed her by the hair, lifting her up.
Swish.
Her light body was dragged up limply.
Gwonseon's face was already a wreck.
Blood streamed down from her nose and mouth, and she was taking shallow breaths as if she would die at any moment.
Her upper body was a complete mess.
Seeing this, I had to let out a hollow laugh.
I thought surely it couldn't be, but it seemed I was right.
I suddenly felt hollow.
None of my expectations had been met.
With mounting irritation, I asked Gwonseon.
"Is this really it?"
Not a single part of her was truly broken, snapped, or ruined.
Even her internal organs were fine.
What kind of fight was this?
At the utterly pathetic result, I looked at Gwonseon and spoke.
"Are you kidding me? How are you this weak?"
She was one of the Ten Great Masters of the Central Plains. Even if she was somewhat weaker than what the world perceived, it shouldn't feel like this.
It was entirely different from what I had anticipated.
An utterly disappointing sight.
I shook her hair by the grip, but Gwonseon's breathing only grew fainter.
"No, Grandma. Get up for a second. Let's keep fighting."
I couldn't let it end so disappointingly.
I said it with that intent, but—
Tremble...
At my words, far from coming to her senses, Gwonseon only gave a brief shudder.