‘Hmm.’
I looked at the two men in front of me.
One was Jang Mun-ryang, one of the Four Great Evils, who was curled up and sleeping on the ground, while the other was Song Jwa-baek, who was sitting cross-legged in the middle of cultivation.
Quite a lot of time had passed since they had finished the transfer of internal qi.
Sima Young had left a while ago. After the Beggars Union spitting ceremony was done, I asked her to give a message to Cho Seong-won.
-Cho Seong-won needs to wash up.
That’s right. A beggar’s breath was no joke.
In the meantime, Song Woo-hyun stood as my guard.
Jang Mun-ryang had given Song Jwa-baek all of his internal qi. His level of qi was astronomical as the man had crossed the wall.
This felt like a miracle.
However, dealing with so much internal qi meant that Song Jwa-baek would have to undergo body restructuring.
The first phase would be to push out the waste within the body.
Black liquid began to ooze out from his body, first from his skins, and then his meridians.
Due to the tremendous amount of qi, all his blocked veins opened up.
‘This guy is lucky too.’
Come to think of it, he also had luck in my previous life as he had been taken by Hae Ack-chun.
That was why this man had quite some fame before my regression.
-Still far from finished?
I didn’t think it would take that much longer. The pure qi that had been going around his body was gradually settling into the dantian.
However, he lost half of it in the process.
-Unfortunate.
There was no need to feel that way. That qi wouldn’t have fit well with his body, so it was expelled.
Even though all internal qi might feel the same, each person had their own unique qi. When it came to accepting qi from an external source, they would have no choice but to discharge any qi that didn’t fit their body.
-Then half is good enough?
Of course.
It was perhaps because of his special body type. He had a special body that circulated blood much faster, after all.
This was the body that our teacher had been trying to find all his life.
Due to his unique constitution, Song Jwa-baek’s cultivation happened quicker than normal people.
That was perhaps why he had been able to make half the qi into his own.
-If they are still far away, should he do it once more?
I should think about this.
Well, it wasn’t like I had been staying still for the past half an hour.
With the Heavenly Qi ability, I reviewed Short Sword’s memories and watched Jang Mun-ryang displaying his technique several times.
I didn’t stop at just observing but also analyzing the technique and practicing it.
‘I think it’s quite a scam technique, no matter how I think about it.’
The Heavenly Qi allowed me to master martial arts in a very short time. This was because the flow of time in the memory was different from the real flow of time.
Of course, the burden on the mind was much higher, but repeating a memory a dozen times wasn’t difficult.
“Phew.”
Song Jwa-baek opened his eyes as his cultivation ended, and I could see a bright shine in them.
“Puahaha!”
Song Jwa-baek burst into a burst of mad laughter, as if he was in a good mood.
I expected this.
It wasn’t enough that he had reached super master level, but he also felt as if he was close to the wall.
With just one candy, he had reached the upper ranks of warriors of the Blood Sect.
He then stood up and said to Song Woo-hyun.
“Yah. Hit me with your best shot.”
“H-head… butt?”
He looked confident.
Even if he was skilled, he couldn’t have won against Woo-hyun’s headbutt.
It seemed like he had hurt his pride due to that.
“With force?”
“Right. Full force.”
Song Woo-hyun’s skin began to turn brown as steam rose from his body.
He was doing this seriously.
He then tried to use a technique, but Song Jwa-baek hurriedly interrupted him.
“Wait. Not that much.”
“Ah… okay.”
Song Woo-hyun then headbutted Song Jwa-baek without using his body-enhancing martial arts.
The headbutt was launched earnestly, and Song Jwa-baek held his ground with his legs wide apart and clenched his core tightly.
Puak!
“Hmmm!”
Song Woo-hyun’s headbutt landed at speed, and Song Jwa-baek’s face turned red. The strength behind it was enough to send the latter about two steps.
A defensive force manifested itself around Song Jwa-baek’s stomach, sending Song Woo-hyung back at some speed.
Pak!
Woo-hyun, who quickly jumped back, then spoke with wide eyes.
“Your… your body is hard.”
The normal Song Jwa-baek would have fainted from this blow. Yet his body now felt as if it was strong enough without even needing to enhance it.
“Hahahahaha. Of course, it is because this hyung is stronger than you.”
He still didn’t understand the flow of qi, but was excited as he looked at me.
“Please compete with me once to see what level I have reached.”
He wasn’t just being confident but also wanted to fight me to see what level he had reached.
As I looked at him while he made his request.
-Such a tiresome guy.
What, can’t you understand at least this? He simply wanted to test his strength after becoming strong.
He looked at me and readied himself. I then asked.
“What level should I attack you with?”
“Don’t ask this and simply do it. That way, you can know how strong I have gotten.”
“Is that so?”
What if I didn’t want to know how strong he got?
Well, I was actually a little curious about his new level.
“Since you are stronger, you will make this concession, right?”
“As you wish.”
At those words, he immediately rushed for me. He had asked for the fight and was even in a ready stance.
Papapapak!
His fist was already filled with qi, and was ready to hit me. Indeed, I could see that his fist techniques were being released better than before.
However, a closer look still showed gaps in his movement.
-He didn’t just ask for a duel. I think he just wants to hit you once.
Right
But the problem was that he was here.
I looked at the fist technique, which rushed to my chest like a cannonball.
In response, I simply grabbed his fist with my palm.
Pak!
‘…?!’
“Simple?”
“Uh…”
Song Jwa-baek looked bewildered. Clearly, he had expected a different outcome.
No matter how much he suddenly grew, I was someone who was well past the wall. Did he think a simple body reconstruction would push him close to me?
Rumble!
He tried pulling his fist back using internal qi, but I wasn’t budging.
“Damn it.”
He realized it wouldn’t work and launched a kick at my head. At that moment, I pulled back my right foot and pulled the fist in my hand.
Pak!
“Euk!”
I turned him around once, causing him to lose his balance and fall.
Kwang!
“Ughhh”
The air escaped from his lungs with a loud gasp, and he looked at me with blinking eyes.
“T-this is similar to the Ruined Spirit Fist’s technique!”
“That’s right. That’s the fist form I used.’
It was possible to release a complex attack with just simple movements using this one form.
He looked shocked as I said this.
“No! You only saw it once, so how?”
I had learned it thoroughly while he was cultivating, but there was no reason to tell him that, so I simply smiled.
Song Jwa-bek mumbled, finding this absurd.
“You monstrous child.”
It seemed that he got tired of not being able to win, even with a sudden tremendous growth in skills.
To him, I simply sighed and smiled.
“Learn well. Isn’t that how you get to be a guardian?”
“What?”
Song Jwa-baek heard my words, widened his eyes, and turned to me. I bet he didn’t think I would mention our deal regarding the role of guardian.
There were only a handful of warriors in the sect who were skilled. Why would I let him stay only as a captain?
“If you hate it, then don’t take it.”
“Who said I hated it?”
“For things like that, your attitude is worse than usual.”
He was taken aback by my words but quickly got up and bowed to me while banging his head to the ground.
“Right guardian Song Jwa-baek obeys the sect leader of the Blood Sect.”
Short Sword stuck her tongue out.
-Look at his attitude.
Leave it.
I was just happy to see him shake.
I wasn’t sure if it was good to let such a position be taken up by him… or if offering him the position in this private scenario was fine.
-Maybe the latter?
Maybe.
But how would Jang Mun-ryang feel once he regained his senses?
After all, he had given his skills to someone he didn’t know in an instant.
Inside the tower of the Wind Shadow Eight Forms in the Dual Martial Forces.
Inside a room on the 8th floor were Jin Song-baek, the Wind God, and Ha Seong-woon.
The 8th-floor leader, Seo Man-guk, was giving them a report about things happening around the land.
Then the report came to an important name.
“So Wonhwi, no, Young Lord Jin.”
The leaders of this tower knew that the South Heavenly Swordsman’s disciple, So Wonhwi, was also Jin Wonhwi.
Of course, only Jin Song-baek and Ha Seong-woon knew that he was the Blood Demon as he hadn’t fully mastered the martial arts of this sect yet.
Hearing that it was something that Young Lord Jin had done, Ha Seong-woon looked interested.
“Ohh, so how is that child doing?”
The last bit of news that had been received was about a fight involving the alliance and the Blood Sect. This new bit of news was a pleasant surprise.
“There is news about Young Lord Jin from the port of Wuhan in Anhang county near the northern Hunan province.”
“A port?”
Ha Seong-woon was slightly puzzled at the origin of this news.
Seo Mun-guk continued.
“We are unsure why, but it seemed that Young Lord Jin had participated in the bidding process as a guest of an escort service company called Hwang Yong.”
Ha Seong-woon frowned at this and looked at Jin Song-baek.
They couldn’t quite understand what the boy was up to. Hearing some of the rumors, he seemed to have taken control of the Blood Sect. Yet suddenly, the boy was participating in a bidding process all of a sudden.
Jin Song-baek stroked his beard and sent a message.
[We would know why if he moved to the Yangtze River.]
[What do you mean?]
[He is perhaps recruiting from the Evil Faction.]
[Recruiting?]
[The 18 River Families of the Yangtze River must be the first on the list.]
[Huh… that child seems to be taking his role as Blood Demon in earnest.]
[Seems like it.]
[But it is dangerous to move directly as a leader without subordinates.]
[Wasn’t the Murim Alliance besieging Guangxi? It seemed that he used his identity as the South Heavenly Swordsman’s disciple.]
Although he was always within the tower, the insight of Jin Song-baek was amazing.
Because he knew Jin Wonwhi’s true identity, he could properly deduce the purpose of this trip from simple rumors.
Seo Mun-guk then said.
“Do not be surprised by the report from now onwards.”
“What is it?”
Ha Seong-woon looked worried.
“It seemed like the young lord had a duel against the Wind Wave King.”
“What?”
“The Wind Wave King?”
The two of them looked shocked at this. This could be…
“Isn’t he one of the Eight Great Warriors?”
“Yes, father-in-law.”
“No… why is that child dueling him?”
Seo Mun-guk answered the question.
“It seemed that the Wind Wave King was in charge of judging the bids for the auction that the young lord participated in.”
“What happened then? Is the child alright?”
At those words, Seo Mun-guk smiled broadly.
“Congratulations.”
“Congratulations? What do you mean?”
“The young lord showed an equal level of skill to his opponent.”
“What? Truly?”
“The Wind Wave King also acknowledged the Young Lord’s skill in front of many people.”
“He did?”
Ha Seong-woon could not hide his surprise.
He knew his grandson was the Blood Demon, but he had never thought he was this strong.
However, Jin Song-baek, who was somewhat aware of Jin Wonwhi’s skills, simply nodded his head.
“If it is that child, then he is surely good enough to deal with the Wind Wave King.”
“Really?”
Jin Song-baek answered with a voice filled with pride.
“As his father, I stand by it.”
“Huh…”
However, there was something else that Jin Song-baek wasn’t sure of.
The Wind Wave King that he knew wasn’t a weak warrior. Regardless of that, what father would not be happy about this?
A smile formed on his lips.
Seo Mun-guk then continued.
“This is not the end.”
“Not the end?”
“It was reported that the young lord’s escort ship was attacked by an unknown group of monstrous warriors.”
“What! What do you mean? An unknown group?”
“From the information we have gathered, the identity of the group is unknown. However, the person who led the assault was Jang Mun-ryang.”
“J-Jang Mun-ryang!”
Ha Seong-woon could not hide his shock when the name of one of the Four Great Evils was mentioned. While the Wind Wave King had fought with his grandson to judge his skills, the unknown group led by Jang Mun-ryang was a different story.
Wasn’t he an enemy then?
The two of them were anxious while the man before him smiled.
It seemed that he was holding back his laugh.
“No, what happened? Why are you laughing?”
“Do not be so surprised. The young lord defeated him.”
‘…!!’
This time, even Jin Song-baek was shocked. From what he knew, So Wonwhi was not skilled enough yet to fight those beyond the wall.
“No, is that true?”
“It is. There was a mess in Murim.”
“A mess?”
It was natural that this would create a mess.
Jin Wonwhi, who was still in his early twenties, was being hailed as the second new star. This alone was amazing.
However, such a young man had defeated one of the Four Great Evils. It would be strange if any Murim warrior weren’t surprised.
“I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard this.”
“Of course, you couldn’t. Who at that child’s age could fight against such a man?”
“His growth is amazing.”
“His growth?”
“It was also reported that Young Lord Jin was flying using his sword, a feat that only legends have been told to be able to do. He used an Air Sword to wipe out Jang Mun-ryang and his group.”
Ha Seong-woon and Jin Song-baek were shocked as the report continued.
Beyond winning against Jang Mun-ryang, the usage of the Air Sword shocked them more.
‘Air Sword? Did he really cross over the wall?’
It didn’t seem like a lie anymore.
A warrior who hadn’t crossed the wall and reached the level of superhuman would only be able to dream of using the Air Sword.
However, it was shocking to hear that the skill was even used. It was because it wasn’t a skill appropriate for a melee fight.
‘Ha… how long was it?’
Jin Song-baek clenched his fist. He couldn’t help it.
Even if he was his son, he could not help but think of the child’s amazing martial arts.
The smile on his face would not leave.
“The Four Great Evils, fighting with an air sword… I wasn’t sure if this was a dream or real life. This child is…”
Ha Seong-woon mumbled in shock. The report then continued.
“That isn’t all. There are also rumors that he dueled against the Blood Demon, who is part of the Five Great Evils, and defeated him.”
‘…!?’
Jin Song-baek and Ha Seong-woon, who had been excited by the news until that point, frowned and tilted their heads simultaneously.
