Chapter 388. I Got Beaten Up a Lot in Alleys.

Yongmyeong looked anxious over the safety of the Blood Night Palace.

To be honest, if it was Yongmyeong and not some other bastard, I could simply hand over Ilsal.

Yongmyeong seemed intent on insisting that we fight properly, but I currently lacked the grounds to determine the truth.

How about deciding it with a round of arm wrestling?

I couldn’t say that aloud because of Yongmyeong’s expression.

I sat on the wooden bench for a moment and gathered my thoughts. Why did the Cult Leader keep giving these trials to the people around him? I looked at Eldest Brother, then swept my gaze over Yongmyeong again.

Could I defeat this bastard cleanly without killing him?

Since he was a man who had learned Elder Heo’s martial arts, if I had to guess, he likely possessed martial arts that pursued killing with a single strike.

More precisely, when I countered Yongmyeong’s attack.

Not killing Yongmyeong would be an extremely difficult task. I could feel that much just from grasping Yongmyeong’s atmosphere and bearing.

That was because jianghu men and assassins were similar, yet different. Assassins did not easily appear in things like the ranking lists investigated by organizations such as the Martial Alliance. That was because they did not engage in sparring matches.

For some reason, I felt the Cult Leader would laugh if I killed Yongmyeong with my own hands, so I couldn’t do that for him either. After reviewing the possible course of the match several times, I rose.

“Let’s go outside first.”

“Yes.”

I deliberately grabbed the oddly shaped greatsaber. Yongmyeong looked at the oddly shaped greatsaber and asked.

“Must you use that?”

“This is more advantageous against assassins. You’re an assassin, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

In any case, this match had to be watched by the cultists, so we went outside. The Black Forest scouting party Eldest Brother had mentioned was standing by at a distance.

When I stopped first, Yongmyeong widened the distance even more. Unlike an ordinary sparring match, Yongmyeong moved quite a long way away before turning around and looking at me.

“Are you ready?”

“Are you?”

“I am ready.”

“I’m not yet.”

“Yes.”

Yongmyeong’s gaze was fixed on me, but I moved my eyes and looked up at the clear sky.

“I’m not ready to die yet. The sky is clear, the air is clean, and the clouds are white, yet I’m to fight a life-and-death duel against Elder Heo’s disciple, whom I have no intention of killing. This is not right.”

Yongmyeong replied.

“Even so, please do your best. My martial arts are not suited to sparring.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Only then did I find the answer in Yongmyeong’s reply. Yongmyeong was an idiot who knew nothing but life-and-death duels, but I was not. I was a man who was good at both life-and-death duels and sparring matches. Such is the subtlety of life: if you do not wish to kill someone, you must also stake your own life.

If he was Elder Heo’s disciple, that much risk was worth bearing.

Yongmyeong slightly thrust forward the sword he held in his left hand and said.

“I’m coming.”

There was no particular carelessness or opening to be seen in Yongmyeong. Of course, that was partly because he was standing still, but his very atmosphere revealed the concentration of an assassin who had trained for a long time. Yongmyeong moved three or four steps in short strides, then at some point unfolded swift lightness skill and closed the distance.

He seemed about to draw his sword while floating in the air...

It felt like a single sword strike with follow-up blows already prepared. It was fortunate I had grabbed the broad-faced oddly shaped greatsaber.

I blocked Yongmyeong’s thrust with the blade of the greatsaber.

When a thud burst out, the sword Yongmyeong swung appeared as if bypassing the oddly shaped greatsaber and cut the hem of my clothes. At close range, I unfolded Dark Fragrance Steps while swinging the oddly shaped greatsaber.

The sword Yongmyeong swung was quite fast as well.

I blocked Yongmyeong’s sword by shifting the large greatsaber’s direction little by little. If I had drawn Ilsal, I could have swung just as fast as Yongmyeong, but right now I was slower by exactly the difference in weight between our weapons. However, it was only a gap large enough that I could not seize the initiative, not one so large that my body would be cut, so I steadily struck away his sword with the greatsaber.

Yongmyeong had not learned martial arts only from Elder Heo.

He moved as if he had also learned martial arts from the Mistress of the Blood Night Palace, the Cult Leader’s junior martial sister. He was adept at striking and withdrawing, and his sword kept flying in from unexpected trajectories.

There were quite a few times when I struck away his sword the instant I confirmed only experience and speed, instinct and the sound of the wind, the movement of his shoulder and the position of his arm. Having seized the initiative, Yongmyeong gave me no chance to counterattack.

After his first attack failed, the method Yongmyeong chose was the swift sword.

If I kept only blocking like this, it felt as if my body would be pierced in several places...

I tried adding the principles of Heavenly Jade Star Absorption to the oddly shaped greatsaber in order to seize Yongmyeong’s sword, but Yongmyeong seemed to notice at once and easily withdrew his sword with movements as if cutting his strikes short.

Thanks to that, I had to move busily as well.

At times, I stepped with force to shake the ground, and at other times I made it sink deeply to create variables, but Yongmyeong maintained his swift sword without any particular disturbance, like a man who could keep his balance even on a tightrope.

The oddly shaped greatsaber had been made by layering several blades, so its strength was excellent, but its surface was uneven, with grain-like ridges and even sunken spots.

After clashing weapons with Yongmyeong several times, the moment I lost my balance and my body half-rotated, I twisted the vertically raised oddly shaped greatsaber as if wringing it and blocked Yongmyeong’s thrust.

Clang!

The instant the tip of his sword lodged between the greatsaber’s blades, I combined internal and external force and snapped it aside.

The moment the blade bent, Yongmyeong drove a palm strike toward my shoulder.

I leaned my shoulder back to let it slide past, then activated Heavenly Jade Star Absorption, pulling him in while holding Yongmyeong’s sword, breaking his balance before continuing the exchange.

Yongmyeong thrust out another palm strike.

I was about to meet it with my left palm, but the instant I saw something glinting in Yongmyeong’s palm, I turned my wrist and seized Yongmyeong’s forearm from below. At that moment, as Yongmyeong released palm force, a small silver needle flew toward my face.

At this point, my body reacted first.

I struck away the silver needle that had reached right before my eyes with the Middle Finger Flick Art...

Then raised my left foot, which had been waiting in the most comfortable position, and struck Yongmyeong in the side. Yongmyeong lifted his right foot and blocked the kick, but in the end, he staggered after losing his grip on his sword.

I flung the tangled weapons behind me, then attacked Yongmyeong with my bare hands.

Because it would be more convenient to finish the match without weapons.

Yongmyeong was quite strong even by my standards, but he was a man who moved only as he had been taught.

Surprisingly, he seemed lacking in real combat experience.

He had learned martial arts from Elder Heo, but the way he fought lacked sinister qualities, as if a child of a prestigious clan had learned an assassin’s martial arts. I attacked by mixing palm arts and grappling techniques, and when I obscured Yongmyeong’s vision with cold energy poured from my left palm, a pair of palms suddenly shot out.

I immediately met and seized the two palms that appeared from where the ice art had scattered.

Unexpectedly, extreme yang energy surged in from one hand, while a frigid palm force pushed in from the other.

I looked at Yongmyeong as I melted the frigid one with the Flame Realm Great Handprint and offset the extreme yang palm force with the Moon Shadow Heartless Art.

‘He had cultivated both sun and moon evenly.’

The instant Yongmyeong’s foot twitched, I stretched out my foot first and stepped on the top of his foot.

Thud!

It was an unintended lesson beaten into him, but it could not be helped. Yongmyeong’s intent was perfectly clear.

The moment I added external force and made him drop to one knee...

Yongmyeong struggled as though squeezing out every last bit of strength, straining to bring both hands to the center.

What in the world was he aiming for?

Did it mean he had studied the principles of yin and yang and trained in his own version of Sun-Moon Radiant Heaven?

Perhaps because he had trained in external arts longer than I had, stopping his two hands from meeting at the center was the hardest part of this bout.

In the end, to force Yongmyeong to submit, I coiled the lightning qi of the Baekjeon Sipdan Gong around both arms. When I manifested three kinds of qi at once, Yongmyeong’s face went pale as if he had been struck by a palm blow.

Perhaps because it was beyond his understanding, he looked deeply shocked.

But for the moment, I had no intention of going easy on him. As I drew up the lightning qi of the Baekjeon Sipdan Gong, the scream Yongmyeong had been desperately holding back trembled out from his mouth.

But I wanted the cultists to hear Yongmyeong’s scream.

At last, when I poured out the lightning qi of the Baekjeon Sipdan Gong as though making it explode, Yongmyeong let out a long, drawn-out scream like air leaking out, then fainted on the spot.

As Yongmyeong, who had been enduring on his knees, collapsed to the ground like a bundle of straw, the surroundings felt newly silent.

‘One more win, then.’

I swept my gaze once over the Jaha Inn and the cultists watching.

Yongmyeong had never been my opponent to begin with.

Nor did I have any intention of killing him.

I quietly sat by the unconscious Yongmyeong’s head and watched the cultists. A voice came from somewhere.

“……Sect Master, why are you not finishing him off?”

I answered in an even tone.

“Yongmyeong’s master once taught me, so in a private sense, Yongmyeong is my senior brother. Shut your mouth.”

Another bastard threw out a question.

“Assassins are fighting with one kill at stake. There is no need for such petty sentiment.”

“Even if it is petty sentiment, I need it. You shut up too. Open your mouth again and I’ll take it as a challenge. Come stand before me and talk.”

These things were picking a verbal fight with me without fear. They were all wearing black masks, so I could not even tell who was speaking.

Yet another voice blabbered on like this.

“If sentiment was mixed into the fight, or if you fought a bout as though it had been arranged, or if there is an intent to deceive, the Blood Night Palace may be put in danger. Haomun Sect Master.”

“Which bastard was that? Who are you? Was the one who just spoke perhaps the Cult Leader? Are you saying you’re the Cult Leader? Judging by how terribly frivolous your voice is, I don’t think so, but don’t cross the line.”

I looked in the direction the voice had come from, but its owner did not speak again.

I looked around at the cultists and said,

“Why would the Blood Night Palace fear death? If they die fighting back, that is all. If you strike the Blood Night Palace, I will coordinate with the Orthodox Faction and build an encirclement outside the Blood Night Palace. Then we can have a proper fight. Anything else to say? Elder Heo Gyeom, aged as he is, is over there. You’re saying you’ll go kill an old meritorious retainer because you couldn’t get one sword? Even dogshit talk has its limits. I can’t even be bothered to refute it. Next.”

“…….”

For a moment, no one answered, so I looked at Yongmyeong and saw that his breathing seemed unstable. There was no particular panacea for unstable breathing, so I slapped Yongmyeong across the cheek with the back of my hand.

With a smack, his head turned, and Yongmyeong soon came to. Then, along with a brief convulsion, an extremely trembling exhale flowed out.

Yongmyeong looked at me with startled eyes, as if he had thought he was dead.

“Sect Master?”

“What.”

“Please finish it. I have to die……”

I looked at Yongmyeong.

“Are you planning to die? Looks like you need to come to your senses a bit more. Stick out the other cheek too. You’ll only come to your senses after getting hit.”

“…….”

“Yongmyeong, if you plan to die, you should go straight to the Blood Night Palace and prepare for battle with those people. What meaning is there in dying by my hand?”

“I have an agreement with the Cult Leader.”

“That is your agreement. It is not mine. I am not the Cult Leader’s subordinate.”

Yongmyeong spoke with an expression as if shrouded in darkness.

“I know. But.”

“But what.”

“I do not know if you are aware, but the Cult Leader also visited Ilyang County. Defying his orders is not as easy as it sounds.”

I nodded.

“If the Cult Leader met the people of Ilyang County and did not harm them, then from now on I need only refrain from killing cultists carelessly.”

“Have you not already killed many?”

“The Cult Leader killed many cultists too. Those Inner Hall bastards over there also killed the Outer Hall bastards just now. What has passed cannot be helped. I mean I will consider it from now on as well. I haven’t killed absolutely everyone just because they were cultists. The Third Young Master tried to kill me too, but I let him live, so he must be hiding somewhere.”

A somewhat familiar voice came from somewhere.

“The Third Young Master is alive?”

I answered the man hiding beyond the troops.

“First Young Master Yang, long time no see. After meeting a few times, even your voice is pleasant to hear. I thought you might have been done in by that mad Blood Cult Leader bastard, but you’re alive after all. Did the second son come too? He couldn’t come because his wounds were serious, right? First Young Master Yang, where are you? I can’t see you because you’re so small. If possible, speak while standing on tiptoe. Answer me already.”

“…….”

I looked at Yongmyeong.

“Who am I even talking to? Rude bastards.”

Yongmyeong raised himself up and answered my words.

“Sect Master, what should I do now? I will not take my own life.”

I nodded.

“Good. If you think you have already died once, your heart will feel a little lighter. Isn’t that right?”

“It is.”

I gave Yongmyeong his choices. Not knowing what he would choose, I opened my mouth first.

“You may remain at the Jaha Inn and fight with me. Or you may go back to the Cult Leader as you are and report honestly. Say that you attacked with all your strength and were defeated. If he does not intend to kill you right away, ask him to teach you a martial art that can defeat the Haomun Sect Master.”

“Pardon?”

I looked at Yongmyeong.

“Do you know clearly why you lost to me? I’ll tell you in advance, there are several reasons. I am not in a position to teach you. It would be better to learn from someone stronger than me.”

“Is there a third way?”

“You may go back to the Blood Night Palace as you are and prepare for battle. Whatever you choose, you need only not think of dying carelessly. Have you lost your mind because you fear the Cult Leader? Did the Cult Leader tell you to commit suicide if you lost? No. There is no way he did. He must be the sort who does not give detailed instructions. What matters is that your response or decision be clear and guided by your own judgment. No matter what happens, you need only not give up easily or think only of dying.”

Yongmyeong looked once at the Jaha Inn, then turned around and looked at the cultists.

There was also a way to switch enemy and ally right here, or if he disliked that as well, return to the Blood Night Palace.

I said to Yongmyeong,

“Yongmyeong.”

“Yes.”

“No one can entrust anything to a man who thinks of dying first just because he has failed a few times. I have more experience with failure and defeat than you do.”

Yongmyeong answered.

“I was under the impression that you were still undefeated.”

I answered in a serious tone.

“No. When I was young, I got beaten up a lot in alleys.”

“…….”

“The most absurd time was when they hit me, saying they didn’t like the look in my eyes. Look at my eyes. I suppose even back then, they weren’t the eyes of a mere waiter, were they?”

The fellow who had been acting like a man possessed finally relaxed his expression a little. Whether the cultists were there or not, Yongmyeong and I met each other’s eyes and grinned at the same time.