Seol-Hwi felt a sharp pain, as the bones in his face rearranged themselves after reversing his technique.
He soon returned to his own appearance, and took out the mask of Sang Cheon-jang from his sleeves.
And only after he put on the mask, did he breathe a sigh of relief.
“Phew…”
The situation was more dangerous than he expected. Kwang Sewong even managed to get past his defense.
If there was any other mistake, the enemy’s sword might have managed to pierce his abdomen.
“And that sudden increase in combat power…”
It was wholly unexpected.
Combat power rising in the middle of a fight? Previously, there was a <+> mark, so he went into battle considering it, but this time, even such a mark didn’t appear.
“Is it because of the level of their martial arts?”
Come to think of it, that’s a possibility.
They used some of the most deadly techniques in the Plum Blossom swordsmanship.
Unlike Seol-Hwi, who trained himself with a martial art just once, his opponents trained for years and understood it deeply.
So the comprehension they had was different from Seol-Hwi’s.
There may be more I don’t know yet.
Seol-Hwi realized things because of this battle. Information and talent take time to learn.
How much more was hidden from him currently…he wasn’t sure. It’s a situation where one doesn’t know how far his growth is, and how much this would impact his life.
“Don’t get eaten by the system.”
Seol-Hwi suddenly remembered what the AI Seol-Hwi had told him.
A warning.
In other words, it means that he shouldn’t just accept what was shown to him as enough.
“Anyway, the goal now is…”
Seol-Hwi turned his thoughts to his next course of action: Lee Gu-myung.
He had to be killed.
Then what about Sang Cheon-jang?
He didn’t have to do anything further. The traces of the Demonic Sect were left here.
The Blue Dragon Sect leader, once he sees the bodies of his subordinates, will get rid of Sang Cheon-jang.
A quiet place.
There, two men were talking.
One side had a serious expression, and the other had an uncomfortable one.
“I would have preferred to avoid such kinds of meetings.”
The voice was quite harsh.
Lee Gu-myung.
As the third disciple of Goo Jong-myung, he was the one who came to this place in a hurry at the sudden call from Sang Cheon-jang.
But…
“I’m sorry I called you like this, but there is something I need to check.”
Lee Gu-myung thought he was called because of an important matter, but it was just a personal reason?
Seeing Lee Gu-myung’s face, nevertheless, Sang Cheon-jang continued talking in a serious tone.
“All my men are dead.”
“And?”
“And we checked the cause of their deaths. Certain sword marks could be seen on their bodies.”
“What marks?”
“From the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.”
“…!”
This time, Lee Gu-myung’s eyes widened. They showed that he was shocked at the sudden news.
Now he realized why he was called here. The swordsmanship of his sect was the reason for the deaths of Sang Cheon-jang’s men. Even someone from the Blue Dragon Sect could have done it.
However, he didn’t understand one thing.
“Was there such a master? Aside from their sect leader, there are no shockingly strong warriors…”
“That’s why I’m asking you. There’s no one who knows the Plum Blossom Sword Technique as well as you do.”
Lee Gu-myung stared at him. And after a moment’s silence, he smirked, stroking his chin.
“Kekekek!”
“…?”
Sang Cheon-jang frowned at the laughing man, who just as abruptly stopped.
Lee Gu-myung had a sardonic smile on his face.
“So, you’re suspecting me?”
He grinned broadly, showing the whites of his teeth.
The previously soft eyes were now hard.
“No! Don’t get me wrong, I only called you here to see if you knew anything!”
Sang Cheon-jang shook his head, but there was still wariness in Lee Gu-myung’s eyes.
However, he soon returned to his old self and nodded.
“Well, since you lost all your subordinates, you might think so.”
“…”
“But, this is something I have no relation with. I haven’t been out lately, and my sahyungs haven’t been too active around either…”
“I see.”
“Right. And when something like this happens, shouldn’t you ask the Lower District? They’re the experts at sniffing such things out.”
“True. However, those who use the Plum Blossom Sword Technique might be more familiar to you.”
“I know them well. I’m one of them.”
“Lee Gu-myung. I…”
“Sang Cheon-jang.”
Lee Gu-myung slowly stood up from his seat, and looked at the man with narrowed eyes.
“I will give you a piece of advice. If there is a problem, you are someone who can handle it yourself, right? Don’t tell me to come and go out when I am resting.”
“That…”
“And.”
He said, patting Sang Cheon-jang’s head.
“You know this, don’t you? You don’t even have the right to call for me.”
Sang Cheon-jang’s face stiffened.
“Anything you do needs to be done moderately. If you cross a fine line, you too can turn out like your subordinates.”
“…”
Sang Cheon-jang didn’t answer.
He just bit his lip.
Lee Gu-myung lightly tapped his forehead, and then turned around.
Sang Cheon-jang’s sharp gaze was directed at him, but he couldn’t even speak out or protest Lee Gu-myung’s actions. Be it martial arts, position, or politics. He had nothing to fight with against this man.
“Cheeky…”
Lee Gu-myung, who came out of that secret room, spoke in an annoyed tone.
After meeting with him a few times for business affairs, today he even called him for his own reasons.
“This is why we can’t work together. I guess I should discuss this with my master.”
He had lost the desire to work with Sang Cheon-jang. If the guy he works with is so insignificant, what can he even do?
If his subordinates got defeated by the Blue Dragon Sect’s warriors, how weak were they?
“… in other words, I need to stick with a stronger guy.”
In front of Lee Gu-myung, a strange sight suddenly appeared.
Next to the road he was walking, a man with a bamboo hat leaned against the wall.
“… you, who are you?”
Normally, he would have missed it. But today, he couldn’t let it slide.
And the sword which the man was holding stimulated his senses.
“Who are you?”
A second warning.
The man straightened himself, and then opened his mouth, while gently lifting up his hat.
“Lee Gu-myung, the disciple of Goo Jong-myung. I don’t know how old you are… but you go hand in hand with Sang Cheon-jang.”
“…!”
“If anyone comes from the Demonic Sect, there’s a promise to work with Sang Cheon-jang to get rid of them. And the price is to take over the Blue Dragon Sect.”
At these words, Lee Gu-myung’s expression strangely brightened.
“Something is weird with my luck today. I keep getting caught up with flies.”
He picked his ear with his index finger, and then grinned.
In the blink of an eye, like lightning, he sprinted and stabbed his sword at the man in the bamboo hat.
Ching!
The man in the bamboo hat managed to block, but Lee Gu-myung smiled like he expected it.
“It’s you.”
“…?”
“The one who killed Sang Cheon-jang’s subordinates.”
The man in the bamboo hat didn’t answer, and that alone was good enough.
Ching!
Lee Gu-myung began his sword technique. If the way he narrowed the distance between him and his opponent was surprising, the swordsmanship he was using now was also surprising.
The sword’s speed was so fast that it felt like flickering light.
But…
He stopped this?
The opponent defended against it perfectly. And then, the distance between the two widened.
“That’s right.”
The man threw away his hat.
“It was me.”
<Lee Gu-myung [Goo Jong-myung’s disciple] > Body: Normal Health: 4.4 million Internal energy: 4.5 million Combat power: 12 million
Le Gu-myung’s information window and info about his combat power.
Combat power…
Seol-Hwi thought of something. The moment he returns to the sect after his warrior training, a bigger problem will come.
In the meantime, he has to increase his combat power.
At the very least, if he could figure out how to grow it, it would be of great help.
<Combat Method, Simulation Level 2 > <Analyzing Seol-Hwi’s number of martial arts... > <Analyzing Seol-Hwi's technique… > <… > <Analysis complete. >
Even in extreme cases, he chose this.
If he let his opponents actively use their skills, then he thought maybe he could increase his combat power.
<Which simulation do you want? >
“Make it possible to raise the opponent’s combat power!”
He knew the risks were great.
But, if he didn’t find it out like this, it’ll be even more challenging to find out such things in the future.
He could see it happening.
This time, it wasn’t about defeating the enemy, but about making them use all their skills. The number of illusions gradually decreased, until only one was left.
This seems quite dangerous?
Three to four moves that defend, while stepping back. Then an attack. And surprisingly, the attack included was the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, not another martial art.
Well, let’s do it anyway.
Seol-Hwi held his sword diagonally and took a defensive stance.
Lee Gu-myung rushed in, as if he was waiting for that.
Shhing!
One stab.
Swish!
Five to six cuts.
Now!
Seol-Hwi followed the movement the simulation had shown him, the third form of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique. A mixture of fierce slashes and stabs.
Lee Gu-myung looked shocked. He immediately realized what this was.
And, he responded by avoiding it instead of countering.
At the end of Seol-Hwi’s movement…
“Haah!”
This time, Lee Gu-myung also attacked with the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
<Combat power: 15.4 million (↑3.4 million) >
It changed!
Seol-Hwi saw it.
The Plum Blossom Sword technique which fiercely pursues him, and increases the opponent’s combat power.
Moreover, looking at this, it wasn’t exactly the same as what Seol-Hwi had done.
Can it be avoided?
He felt the hair on his body stand on end. He could think of many martial arts in his head, but he couldn’t devise a plan.
Then, I’ll use…
<Combat Method, Turn-Based >
The sword coming for him stopped as he chose turn-based.
<Warning! Lee Gu-myung discovered a gap in Seol-Hwi! How will you respond? >
Of course, the warning window popped up.
With that in mind, Seol-Hwi decided to give it a try.
Choices he hadn’t used recently but will give good results.
<You have selected to ‘Defend’. >
As soon as it was chosen, Seol-Hwi lost control of his body, then began to move freely once more.
Swish!
He avoided the first attack, and then defended against the second attack.
Phwish!
The powerful sword technique changed.
Shhing!
Seol-Hwi’s body was pushed back by three feet.
And then there were no more attacks.
Seol-Hwi dropped his sword, and grabbed his shoulder.
Lee Gu-myung’s sword energy had pierced it.
“Kekekek.”
Lee Gu-myung laughed. It was because his attack had worked.
He sneered at his opponent.
“I found it.”
However, the reaction of the opponent was strange. He was smiling even more brightly than Lee Gu-myung.
“Why combat power increases. A practical sense for martial arts…In other words, it is enlightenment.”
