Chapter 239. I Tried Imagining Dyeing It.

Cheonak said to me.

“It’s been a very long time since someone threatened me. How refreshing.”

I was watching Cheonak’s expression when I realized something felt off. Cheonak continued.

“So, to sum it up, you’re saying I just have to make sure I don’t kill you?”

I shook my head briefly, then looked at Cheonak.

‘Is he insane? What kind of weird interpretation is that?’

The White-Clad Scholar swallowed and warned him.

“Cheonak, don’t.”

At the word don’t, Cheonak laughed. Still seated, he floated through the air toward me and thrust out his left palm.

Since it was a surprise attack along a simple path, I immediately met it with my right palm.

After a thud rang out, Cheonak laughed.

“You threaten me with something even the Cult Leader never dared?”

As I poured the internal power of my entire body into my right palm, I felt my blood rushing backward. At first, it had been an ordinary palm strike, but Cheonak was gradually raising his power. Even though I knew his internal energy was deeper than mine, the moment we actually competed in palm force, my insides began to boil.

‘Fine, let’s do this.’

The Beggars’ Sect Leader said.

“How could a junior withstand your power?”

Cheonak glanced sideways at the Beggars’ Sect Leader.

“If he can’t withstand it, then he should take responsibility for the words he spat out.”

The Beggars’ Sect Leader snorted.

“Responsibility, is it?”

In that instant, another thud rang out, and this time the Beggars’ Sect Leader and Cheonak’s palms collided. Was this meant to save me? Or was he trying to make me burst so we would all die together? I was confused.

Cheonak spread both palms left and right as he laughed.

“Hehehe. Good. At this level, even the Hao Gate Master should be able to endure it. I’ll deal with you using my leftover strength.”

Even while receiving the Divine Beggar’s palm force head-on, Cheonak spoke as if it were nothing.

As I endured Cheonak’s power, the moment the Divine Beggar joined in, I drew in one deep breath. But soon Cheonak’s power began growing stronger without pause, and my breath caught in my throat.

‘Is this really his leftover strength?’

The White-Clad Scholar said with a troubled expression.

“Ahem, I told you I saw it with my own eyes. Because of this fellow’s ultimate technique, those trying to protect the Four Heavenly Kings were obliterated, and the Four Heavenly Kings retreated at the same time. I’m telling you, it isn’t a bluff. Shouldn’t you make something like that yours, Cheonak? Of course, it would be fine if I made it mine as well. In any case, if Yi Zaha really detonates the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven from the inside, just how do you intend to stop it? A precious martial art will disappear.”

I cursed him with my eyes.

‘This bastard.’

Cheonak answered with a laugh.

“Shut up. Baek bastard, I’ve got Yi Zaha pinned down, so do something about the Sect Leader.”

The White-Clad Scholar looked around and said.

“I can’t do that. If the four of you are contesting palm force and some extraordinary master suddenly appears, who’s going to handle that? I’ve never heard of four people suffering mutual destruction at the same time. If someone tries to profit while we’re fighting, it’ll be a serious problem. I’ll coldly serve only as the judge.”

The White-Clad Scholar, who had been looking around, suddenly thrust out his left palm and attacked the Divine Beggar.

Thud!

My eyes widened on their own.

‘Why do his words contradict themselves so much?’

In that instant, before I could make any kind of calm judgment, I also thrust my left palm at the White-Clad Scholar. Because even if I wanted to live, I couldn’t bear to watch the Beggars’ Sect Leader die before my eyes.

Thud!

The White-Clad Scholar received my palm force with a startled expression.

“Are you mad?”

Only after I had unleashed my palm force did I realize my mistake, but I did not regret it. We were already in danger anyway, so adding more danger had no meaning. Instead, from now on, I intended to threaten even Cheonok if I had to.

This was a battle of wits with my life on the line.

As though he was still worried, the Beggars’ Sect Leader checked on my condition.

“Are you all right?”

I felt that if I let out my breath, my strength would leave me, so I only nodded. In any case, a total of eight hands were pressed together, pouring out palm force at the same time.

“……”

The Divine Beggar opened his mouth.

“Cheonak, how about we stop? This is a meaningless contest.”

Cheonak replied.

“Even the Divine Beggar under heaven feels fear?”

“Hardly.”

This time, Cheonak mocked the White-Clad Scholar.

“And you?”

The White-Clad Scholar smiled as he answered.

“To be honest, the moment the Gate Master bursts, I plan to run. I’ll see whether the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven is faster, or I am.”

In short, it meant he wasn’t afraid.

I had taken these three far too lightly.

“……”

Cheonak teased me.

“Junior, go on and burst. Let’s see who dies.”

Only after hearing his mockery did laughter escape me. It had been fine up until I threatened him and kept my expression under control, but the words I had spat out had become reality.

Come to think of it, with both palms spread to the left and right, I couldn’t form the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven.

Fortunately, perhaps because the Beggars’ Sect Leader was pouring out an enormous palm force, the power of the scholars pressing in on me was gradually decreasing.

To think there was someone who would work this hard to save me. As I looked at the Beggars’ Sect Leader’s aged face, my vision blurred slightly. For the first time in a long while, I confirmed that the emotion called anger was being pushed aside by the emotion called gratitude.

‘Wow, I really am living a strange life. Who am I, for him to……’

Since I did not want the Divine Beggar to die like this, I did the best I could and sent out the Golden Turtle Wandering Art through my right palm, and the Moon Shadow Heartless Art through my left.

Victory or defeat did not matter.

If I couldn’t endure it, we would all die anyway.

‘This is absurd.’

I held out quite well for about half a quarter-hour.

Despite all that effort, Cheonak’s palm force pushed back the Golden Turtle Wandering Art and tried to force its way in. I designated my palm as the final rampart and endured as if fighting a defensive siege. From my left palm, the cold energy of the Moon Shadow Heartless Art pouring toward the White-Clad Scholar was dispersing in a strange way, but I did not give up on that side either.

Using two martial arts at the same time, reading the situation, scheming, and maintaining my breathing made the crown of my head burn hot.

Even in the midst of this, the Beggars’ Sect Leader was striving to reduce the burden coming toward me by attacking both the White-Clad Scholar and Cheonak.

In that instant, a growl burst out from the Beggars’ Sect Leader’s stomach, and the three of us looked at him at the same time.

‘Wow, he really is a beggar.’

The Beggars’ Sect Leader gulped down his saliva.

“I’m hungry. What is this nonsense? These martial arts were learned so we could eat and live. What pathetic fellows.”

Cheonak seemed to find the beggar’s words absurd as well, and shook his head.

“Ha……”

The White-Clad Scholar also snorted.

“Honestly.”

Looking at it this way, I was the only one taking it seriously.

When you lacked power, you could not even crack jokes—that was the internal energy struggle of martial artists of the jianghu.

With eight palms stuck together, I roughly gauged everyone’s power. It seemed to run, from deepest to shallowest, in the order of me, the White-Clad Scholar, Cheonak, and the Beggars’ Sect Leader. As more time passed, the Beggars’ Sect Leader actually began pressing the two of them, and I was able to counterattack the White-Clad Scholar and Cheonak as if assisting him.

To think I would end up attacking Cheonak?

Of course, the Beggars’ Sect Leader was the one continuously smashing the two of them over the head with a cudgel.

I was in the position of cheering on the Beggars’ Sect Leader while tapping the two of them on the head with chopsticks. In any case, I too had switched to the offensive.

Because of the beggars’ commander-in-chief, I had turned into such a useful man.

‘Nice.’

Sweat slowly began to trickle down the White-Clad Scholar’s face before evaporating with a hiss, and steam was also rising in wisps from the crown of Cheonak’s head. Since it was difficult for me to speak, I mocked the two of them with my expression.

Every time our eyes met, I deliberately made an obnoxious face while pouring out my internal energy.

If I were to summarize that expression of mine, it would be something like, “Heeheeheehee.”

At that moment, Cheonak and the White-Clad Scholar exchanged glances, and suddenly the force coming toward me grew even fiercer. As if they had changed their strategy somehow, the four of us rotated on the spot together with our palms still joined.

It felt like I had gotten on some amusement ride, so it was not exactly pleasant.

‘Damn it, what are they doing?’

By the time I came to my senses, the situation had shifted so that Cheonak was fully contesting palm force with the Beggars’ Sect Leader, while the White-Clad Scholar concentrated on me.

It was the moment I confirmed that I was the weakest among the four. As if he had suddenly erected a barrier, Cheonak put up only the bare minimum of defense against me and attacked the Beggars’ Sect Leader. I had experienced quite a few contests of palm force myself, but the battle unfolding now was on far too high a level.

I was so displeased that I felt my eyes might roll back, but there was nothing in particular I could do.

‘This is driving me insane.’

For an instant, the thread of my reason snapped, but the moment I saw the Sect Leader, I stitched it back together as if with a needle.

To be honest, I had no intention of detonating the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven and dying together with them. Since the beggars’ commander-in-chief was doing that to save me, I did not intend to perish alongside them.

‘I don’t know anymore. Let’s just endure.’

When I suddenly glared at the White-Clad Scholar with murderous eyes, the White-Clad Scholar seemed to have failed at keeping his expression in check and looked slightly startled.

‘Mm, in any case, this bastard can’t go all out.’

Because he was the one most wary of my Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven.

Suddenly, I felt the channels through which my internal energy flowed growing narrower and narrower, so I cursed at the Heavenly Jade.

‘Expansion work is needed. Expansion work, I said. Heavenly Jade, you son of a bitch.’

The moment I turned the Heavenly Jade into a son of a bitch along with the Lecher, a grinding sound rang out from inside my mouth, and I felt as if the blood vessels in my eyes were bursting.

Had the Heavenly Jade understood me?

Suddenly, I felt as if a dike inside my body had collapsed with a crash, and the three of them looked at me at the same time with startled expressions.

“……!”

I felt stifled all over, and with a sensation similar to when I unleashed the Lecher Bastard, I expelled the energies of yin and yang at the same time like a wave of force. In that instant, even I could see a purple energy rising like a haze before my eyes, and my whole body was engulfed in currents of air.

I poured Purple Dawn Qi from my entire body.

Of course, the source of this Purple Dawn Qi was the Heavenly Jade. My breathing became somewhat easier, but my whole body was in pain. It was a pain difficult to put into words. My guess was that as the Purple Dawn Qi erupted, the channels of my internal energy were forcibly expanded, and a groan slipped from my mouth on its own.

“Agh……”

Everything I could see was gradually dyed purple.

Why, in the middle of all this, did wild raspberries come to mind? I had no idea. Because it hurt so much, I was thinking strange thoughts as if they were nothing. The problem was not the Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven; it was a moment where I felt like I was about to soil my pants with something.

Because of the pain inflicted on my body, I opened my mouth.

“I’m going to burst.”

The White-Clad Scholar and Cheonak looked at me with startled expressions. I said to the Beggars’ Sect Leader.

“Senior, dodge even now.”

The Beggars’ Sect Leader answered with a calm smile.

“I cannot do that. Death and life are not so greatly different. I will stop it somehow, so endure. If we vanish like this, there will be no one left to stop the Cult Leader. Do not give up.”

Even in the middle of this, I felt as though I understood why the Beggars’ Sect Leader had become so strong. He was simply a man of an exceptionally high spiritual caliber. Even in the face of death, he did not waver much.

It was like looking at an eminent Buddhist monk.

Suddenly, Cheonak muttered the same way I had to the Lecher.

“Cult Leader, you son of a bitch.”

The White-Clad Scholar said to Cheonak.

“……You withdraw your power first. Any further than this, and even I won’t be able to contain it.”

This time, Cheonak nodded without saying much else.

“Very well.”

The moment the pressure I felt from the right vanished, I looked at Cheonak.

To think such an absurd moment would come.

It seemed we had escaped the crisis because the Cult Leader was a son of a bitch. Then did that mean in my previous life, the Cult Leader and the Lecher, those sons of bitches, had been in league with each other?

Everyone’s expressions changed little by little. Those who had been watching one another’s moods and studying one another’s faces reduced their power as if they had turned over a new leaf, and a short while later, we calmly withdrew our hands.

“…….”

It had been a long time since I had felt such tense silence.

“Hoo.”

I simply stayed still with my mouth shut for a while. Asura-balbalta or whatever the hell else, right now shutting up was the answer, so I focused only on breathing.

Cheonak looked up at the sky, then opened his mouth in a calm tone.

“Absurd. I will acknowledge that it was a threat consistent in word and deed.”

I was suddenly acknowledged. Since they were such madmen, it was not especially surprising.

The White-Clad Scholar nodded.

“Cheonak, you stopped well.”

I said to the three of them.

“Now that I have confirmed all of you are people who do not fear death, I will not make such threats again. It does not seem like they would work anyway. Still, thanks to you, I went right up to the brink of death and also made an achievement in martial arts.”

For some reason, with these people, simply laying everything bare honestly seemed to be the answer.

The Beggars’ Sect Leader nodded, then said to me.

“Jaha, I nearly shit myself sitting right here.”

“What did you nearly do?”

“Shit.”

“Yes.”

Cheonak said to the Beggars’ Sect Leader.

“Beggar, what exactly are you? Your internal energy has grown deeper than before. You beggar bastard.”

To Cheonak’s question, the Beggars’ Sect Leader answered.

“As you know, I am simply a beggar. What identity would there be to speak of? Even today, I was merely begging with the Hao Sect Leader on the bridge. Because of you people, even making a living is difficult. I would prefer not to meet you often. And Cheonak, I am also grateful that you did not treat the young junior too harshly. I know that you held back appropriately.”

At the Beggars’ Sect Leader’s words, I felt even Cheonak’s fading killing intent shatter to pieces and fly off somewhere.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so, for Cheonak, for the first time, asked the White-Clad Scholar with a drained expression.

“Every time I fight this beggar bastard, I lose my strength. Are we retreating like this?”

The White-Clad Scholar took a dried-up brush from his robe and tossed it lightly. The brush shot up into the sky, then shattered into pieces and vanished.

“It seems I’ve spent too long with my nose in books. To think I would fail in such a manner. I, too, will focus on training for a while. As for the Sect Leader, I have nothing to say, since I was in fact defeated earlier.”

The White-Clad Scholar looked at me.

“However, if the Blind Scholar had been alive and you had not been here, the Beggars’ Sect Leader would have died today. Regardless of my defeat.”

I replied in an even tone.

“Wouldn’t it have been difficult even if Blind had been here?”

The White-Clad Scholar shook his head.

“No. It is not because of martial arts. The beggar would not have been able to fight properly because of his disciple. It was a battle designed down to psychological warfare, but as the plan went awry one thing after another, I lost interest. Cheonak, you must have gained something as well. That will be all for today.”

Cheonak rose together with the White-Clad Scholar and said,

“Beggar, have you seen the Cult Leader recently?”

“I have not.”

“What do you think he’ll be like?”

“I don’t know. I can never fathom what goes on inside him. At any rate, seeing that your skills have improved as well, I cannot say I feel entirely bad. I’ve been stimulated.”

“Goddamn beggar bastard. Please, learn to distinguish between enemy and ally when you live your life.”

Cheonak looked at me.

“Crazy bastard, you’re quite something for your age.”

I nodded.

“Let’s meet again. Senior, you’re impressively insane yourself.”

For a moment, I locked eyes with one of the Three Calamities under Heaven. He was still an enemy, but I felt as though we had become the sort of people who could exchange a few jokes before fighting, like the old generals once did.

Suddenly, Cheonak blurted out something completely out of nowhere to me.

“And I am not a slave.”

Wishing this bastard would hurry up and disappear, I answered half-heartedly.

“Congratulations.”

Cheonak smiled with a strange expression, then said something I had not expected.

“Long ago, I was a slave.”

The White-Clad Scholar grabbed Cheonak by the arm and turned him around.

“Don’t say anything unnecessary. Let’s go.”

“Next time, let’s have a drink.”

I said it to Cheonak, but the White-Clad Scholar cut me off.

“Shut up.”

Perhaps worried that Cheonak might be influenced by me, the White-Clad Scholar quickly spirited him away. Now that things had turned out this way, I was the one who felt regretful. For some reason, I found myself wanting to drink with Cheonak. At Cheonak’s words that he had once been a slave, all sorts of imaginings whirled through my mind.

‘Amazing. He was a slave?’

Could it be that Cheonak had killed his own master?

It was nothing more than my imagination. Somehow, whether it was the righteous path or the demonic path, I felt confident I could dye them purple, but because the White-Clad Scholar was on guard, I could not finish winning Cheonak over.

That was a slight pity.