Seol-Hwi didn’t move on his own.
He could feel himself jump onto the stage, and then wait for his opponent to come forward. Soon after, one of the remaining Four Imperial Troops commanders came out.
<Hwa Sun> Health: 7.7 million/ 7.7 million Internal energy: 7.2 million/ 7.2 million Combat power: 8.22 million
After seeing Hwa Sun’s status, Seol-Hwi spoke to Yulsa.
“Hey, old man. Is there another opponent for me?”
When Seol-Hwi selected ‘provoke the opponent’, what he said in order to achieve that was something he had no control over.
“Oh?”
Yulsa looked at Seol-Hwi with raised eyebrows. He seemed to be quite surprised with Seol-Hwi’s question.
“How dare you…!”
Perhaps because he had heard Seol-Hwi’s words, Hwa Sun reacted harshly.
“If that’s what you wish.”
“Hold on, that’s…!”
Yulsa cut off Hwa Sun, leaving the man trembling with anger.
“I will give you a stronger opponent.”
Yulsa turned to the Four Imperial Troops. He looked at those who were sitting side by side.
“You there, second row! Sixth one from the right!”
At the command from Yulsa, a man stood up.
“Yes!”
“Come onto the stage.”
Huh? What’s going on?
Seol-Hwi was stunned. He expected to provoke his opponent, but this situation was something else.
And why did Yulsa specifically choose that man from the audience?
After a while, the man called by Yulsa appeared on the stage, without another word. And then his status window appeared.
Cheon Gyun [Elder Gal Wi’s disciple] Super Master level (Peak) Health: 12.7 million/ 12.7 million Internal energy: 9.5 million/ 9.5 million Combat power: 9 million
Ah…
Seol-Hwi saw this, and at once, everything became clear to him.
One of the Elders sitting on the other side of the arena…
Seol-Hwi didn’t know what he looked like, but he remembered Elder Gal being mentioned when Imugi lost.
It seemed like Elder Gal Wi, who was under the Earth Demon, had placed his disciple into the Four Imperial Troops.
“Are you satisfied now?”
Yulsa looked at Seol-Hwi and asked him. This opponent was definitely stronger than Hwa Sun.
Seol-Hwi himself thought he could handle this, but then,
<Select from the following choices.> ▶ Provoke the opponent ▷ Just proceed
Of course this had to come up!
A situation with increasingly unfavorable options.
Once again, Seol-Hwi could choose to simply proceed, but he still had a rough idea on what to do.
If Seol-Hwi overcame this crisis, a better future would be created.
<You have selected ‘provoke the opponent’.>
“Three hits.”
“…?”
“I’ll finish this fight in three hits.”
Silence fell around him, and even Seol-Hwi could not believe what he just said.
Three hits, meaning Seol-Hwi would exchange attacks with his opponent only three times.
He said that he would end the fight in that short timespan.
“Haha, I think I’ve just heard something funny. A command unit captain will take down a member of the Four Imperial Troops in only three hits?”
As Yulsa spoke to the audience, their reactions appeared to Seol-Hwi.
[Elders] “That man has keen eyes. I think that he must have recognized that the disciple was sent to the Four Imperial Troops by Elder Gal Wi.” “Still, his attitude is arrogant, when he is just the captain of a lowly command unit.” “Refrain from insulting him. Isn't it just that he is confident? His subordinates were much stronger than we expected.” “The captain must be strong too then. His opponent is Elder Gal Wi’s disciple. He's different from the disciple of Elder Baekhon.” “What? Different?! Are you deliberately provoking me?! And as I keep saying, that brat Imugi is no longer my disciple!”
There seemed to be a confrontation happening among the Elders. And as for the other groups’ reactions,
[Seven Messengers] “He seems to have recognized whose disciple the opponent is. It doesn’t seem like a simple bluff. But both seem strong." [Fourth Army Squad] “The captain looks strong. Still, only three hits? Reckless. But maybe he has something up his sleeve.”
Yulsa had more to say to Seol-Hwi.
“If you can not end this fight in three hits, you, the captain of the command unit, will lose. And if you lose, you will have to be held responsible for making such a statement.”
Seol-Hwi responded to the warning with a nod.
<Select from the following choices.> ▶ Provoke the opponent ▷ Go ahead with the fight
Again?
It was as if the system enjoyed him being in trouble.
If it was in the past, Seol-Hwi would have just complied, while being worried and frustrated. But now things were different.
Seol-Hwi knew that a big reward would come to him after difficult circumstances. And the conclusion he came to after gaining more experience, was that the greater the benefit, the challenges he had to go through were harder.
<You have selected ‘provoke the opponent’.> <Congratulations! If you win this fight, a special event will open!>
Special event…?
Before Seol-Hwi could think on the matter further, he was once again speaking to Yulsa involuntarily.
“One hit.”
“…?”
“I think that’s enough. Isn’t three hits too much?”
No one spoke. No one except the disciple of Elder Gal Wi.
“Crazy bastard…!”
Cheon Gyun looked more than ready to attack Seol-Hwi. Meanwhile, Yulsa spoke to the silent audience.
“Hahahaha! Did you all hear that? The command unit’s captain said not three, but one! He will finish this fight in one hit! Only one! Haha… truly, he’s a great man.”
Wasn’t this too shocking?
The reactions of the various groups in the audience weren’t shown to Seol-Hwi this time, either because what he said was too absurd, or he came across as too arrogant.
“I’ll tear that mouth of yours to shreds!”
With green light shining in his eyes, Cheon Gyun looked like someone who was well suited for the demonic energy in his body.
Completely different from me…
Cheon Gyun was a person who had the right body to handle demonic energy.
The better someone’s body was able to channel demonic energy, the more powerful they became in a short period of time.
Seol-Hwi should have been anxious about someone who was blatantly expressing that they wanted to kill him, but he had already fought against a lot of strong people in the past.
Perhaps because he had been through so many deaths, he wasn’t afraid of Cheon Gyun’s killing intent.
My fighting style…
Seol-Hwi thought about changing his combat method, but then stopped.
If he tried to keep using the system against every opponent, he would never stop depending on it. Seol-Hwi wanted to stop relying on it, except for special circumstances.
Besides, doesn’t he already have powerful techniques?
If I want to take him down with one hit, that’s the only way.
A few came to mind, but there was one choice which would be the best.
Supreme Low Temperature Ice.
If Seol-Hwi wanted to defeat Cheon Gyun in only one hit, using the technique that could slow down time was obvious.
Meanwhile, Seol-Hwi’s subordinates were worried about him.
They were worried because Seol-Hwi was fighting a strong opponent, but then he suddenly changed the conditions of his fight, and everyone was puzzled by his decision.
“That guy is…”
And someone happened to recognize Seol-Hwi’s opponent.
“Do you know something?”
Seo Ryeong asked Imugi, who nodded at her question. He glanced back at their captain again, and then pointed to a certain place.
“See that skinny old man over on the Elders’ side? He is Elder Gal Wi. It seems like he brought in his disciple to work under the Earth Demon. Just like me.”
“For real?”
“How strong is he?”
Imugi’s face stiffened at the others’ inquiries, and then he opened his mouth to answer them.
“He is quite famous among the Elders’ disciples. There is a thing called the Socializing Group, where the Elders’ disciples exchange their martial arts and compete with each other. I remember that out of 50 people who participated, this guy was ranked 10th.”
“To be 10th among all the Elders’ disciples… Isn’t that like saying no one in the Hidden Truth Corps can take him on?”
“Probably, yes.”
Seol-Hwi’s subordinates thought that Imugi’s response made sense.
Disciples of Elders were chosen among many candidates in the Sect. After the disciples of the Heavenly Demon, disciples of Elders were the strongest. They had no choice but to have outstanding qualities.
“Then the Captain…”
“It won’t be easy. He might be in a bad situation.”
Jeok Song mumbled to himself, and Seo Ryeong was worried. Why would the Captain do such a reckless thing? She couldn’t understand.
Then, suddenly, Yong Jin asked Imugi after he remembered something,
“Which rank were you?”
Imugi answered without thinking for too long.
“Me? I don’t have a rank.”
“Why?”
Seol-Hwi’s subordinates stared at Imugi, curious for his explanation. While their eyes were on him, Imugi chuckled awkwardly.
“…I was kicked out.”
“Are you both ready?”
Cheon Gyun looked at Seol-Hwi. His expression was distorted because of the rage on his face.
Everyone knew about the Hidden Truth Corps command units. They were created to track down information, or work behind the scenes.
Therefore, no one cared to learn anything about the people within it. And it was the same for Cheon Gyun.
“Now then, begin!”
Yulsa signaled to start the fight. Seol-Hwi and Cheon Gyun stared at each other.
“…”
There was silence between them. Because neither of the two moved, everyone watched them intensely.
Their pride was on the line here, especially for Cheon Gyun. Since victory or defeat was dependent on one hit, there was bound to be pressure on the two.
Cheon Gyun felt complicated emotions. It wasn’t like he thought that he would lose, but if he did…
Losing would be a complete disgrace. And he couldn’t keep his anxieties about it away.
“So, after threatening to kill me, you’re too afraid to fight?”
Seol-Hwi of course felt no such thing.
“Command units are specialized in tracking. So we were always treated with less respect. It’s no different for captains.”
“…”
“But you see, now the positions have changed. Do you know why?”
Seol-Hwi looked at the man across from him, and confidently answered,
“Because I’m here.”
As soon as he said that, Seol-Hwi slashed his hand.
“You - What are you doing!”
“Ah, this?”
Seol-Hwi casually waved his bloodied hand at Cheon Gyun.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“…I will not let you win.”
Cheon Gyun grit his teeth, and stood up straight. Blaming himself for his momentary nervousness, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
And when he opened them,
Huaaaaa!
A raging energy surrounded Cheon Gyun.
This…?!
Seol-Hwi was surprised.
The nervous man from before was gone, replaced by a god of fighting.
But what was really frightening was that this guy was showing his move right away, and was ready to use it right at the start.
Oh! This is that martial arts!
Meanwhile, Yulsa, who was watching this from the sidelines, rapidly changed his expression.
What Elder Gal Wi’s disciple was now trying to use wasn’t the martial arts of the Four Imperial Troops. And it wasn’t one of Hidden Truth’s either.
It was the Blood Strengthening Demonic Martial Arts.
It’s known to be quite difficult to use, even for those who were walking down the path of Blood Arts. It was used to access power higher than the user’s own.
One hit? That man Seol-Hwi will have a hard enough time surviving this.
Yulsa concluded that Seol-Hwi would fail.
To see this martial art come out, meant the death of the opponent.
