Chapter 67
“……”
I am a possessor of composure, deep thought, and a coolness that rarely loses reason.
In other words, I’m a man as solid as a rock, rarely surprised.
However.
Even so, the current situation surprised even me.
Even if I decided to have a life-or-death duel with the Sixth Guardian.
The Demonic Cult Leader himself is coming to this remote corner of Shaanxi, Chang’an?
To watch my duel?
What’s even more surprising is the Demonic Cult Leader’s behavior.
As soon as he appeared, he burst into laughter like a madman, and his voice was so loud that I initially thought he was using the Six Harmonies Technique or something.
Moreover, judging by the tense and wary look, tone, and behavior of Cheongmun Sword Master and Won-il Master when they looked at the Demonic Cult Leader, he seemed like an unpredictable and erratic person.
“You are the Demonic Cult Leader.”
But……
I thoroughly concealed my bewilderment.
What does it matter if he’s the Demonic Cult Leader or the Martial Alliance Leader in this situation anyway?
Besides, it’s a fair duel held in front of the leaders of both the righteous and evil factions, so nothing would change even if the Demonic Cult Leader came.
“Khahahahahaha! I’ve heard stories about you. They say you’re quite an interesting fellow? And that your martial arts are quite impressive for your young age? Show me a good duel.”
“Before that.”
“What?”
“By any chance…… you’re not planning to exert external pressure or interfere in my duel with the Sixth Guardian, are you?”
Still.
Just in case, I wanted to hear confirmation from the Demonic Cult Leader.
Because it would be a headache if he backtracked later.
“Sect Leader Jin. I don’t know what you take me for, but don’t worry about that. Even if you beat the Sixth Guardian to death, I won’t intervene. Got it?”
“Good. Then watch closely.”
“???”
“The scene of the Dawn Heaven Sect’s Sect Leader beating the Guardian Messenger of the Demonic Cult to death.”
◈ ◈ ◈
Amidst the bustling crowd.
The Sixth Guardian and I faced each other, silently staring at each other for a moment.
The Sixth Guardian’s appearance in my eyes……
I felt a sense of arrogance and pride, as if saying, ‘You think a young punk like you can defeat me?’ But in reality, the more he acts like that, the more likely he is to be scared inside.
On the other hand, I stared at the Sixth Guardian with dry eyes that held no emotion.
Of course, I wasn’t really thinking anything special while looking at the Sixth Guardian, I was just eager to start fighting.
“Sixth Guardian.”
“What?”
“You know the way of the martial world, right?”
“???”
“You’re not going to give me a three-second head start…… or anything like that?”
“Hmph. You little rascal. You’ve never treated me like a senior from the beginning, so why should I do that?”
“You’re scared.”
“What?”
“If you thought I was easy, you would boast that you could win even if you gave me a three-second head start. You’re scared to give me a head start because you think you might lose, right?”
“……I thought you were unusually quiet today. You’re spouting nonsense again, Sect Leader.”
“If you don’t want to, then don’t.”
“……Fine. I’ll do it, I’ll give you a head start.”
As soon as the word”head start”came out of the Sixth Guardian’s mouth, I bowed to him for the first time and performed a fist salute.
“Thank you, Senior Yuk.”
“You’re truly a crazy bastard.”
The Sixth Guardian shook his head with a bewildered look, and before he could shake off his confusion, I launched my attack.
Papapang━.
As usual, the first attack began with Fast Whale Steps.
The distance between me and the Sixth Guardian was about 3 jang , but when I used Fast Whale Steps at full power, his face suddenly came right in front of me.
Bang━!
My first attack was a fist technique.
As I breathed in the ‘Force’ attribute, I added immense power to my fist, so my single punch would have the weight of an iron lump.
The Sixth Guardian quickly crossed his arms to block the punch.
But I saw his arms trembling from the force of the punch.
“One more time.”
Kwaaaaaang━!
I……
I followed up with a reckless attack.
I struck the same arm that the Sixth Guardian had just used to block my punch with the same type of punch.
Actually……
This is a foolish move.
Well, most people would think so.
Using the same attack on the same spot in the same way after it’s already been blocked?
It’s like wasting two of the three seconds I gained from talking, so how could it be a good strategy?
As expected, disappointment appeared on the faces of the onlookers who had been watching my attacks with wide eyes.
However.
“How is it, Sixth Guardian?”
I asked the Sixth Guardian, who was still blocking the punch with his crossed arms.
“……”
“It probably feels like you got hit in the arm with an iron hammer. Right?”
“Shut up.”
“If not, then never mind.”
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaang━!
The next three moves.
Once again, I struck the Sixth Guardian’s arm with the same type of punch as the first and second moves……
‘……?’
Doubt began to appear on the faces of most of the spectators watching our duel.
“Why is the Sect Leader……”
“Wasting the three moves he gained like that?”
“What is he thinking?”
At that moment.
The whispers of the onlookers reached my ears.
Certainly……
People seemed to not understand the recklessness of my attacks.
Of course, I understood their questions.
But there was a reason why I kept using the same punch in the same way on the same spot.
“Huh? I think it’s broken?”
The reason I stuck to such a simple move was to seal the Sixth Guardian’s right hand.
“Sect Leader. You’re a cunning bastard.”
“That’s how I am. Merciful to allies, but a hellish demon to enemies.”
“I will tear you limb from limb.”
I sensed ‘fury’ in the Sixth Guardian’s voice.
It’s only natural.
My three moves just now.
I used the three seconds of attack I gained by getting on the Sixth Guardian’s nerves in the most efficient way possible.
‘I couldn’t break the bone, but……’
With the consecutive attacks just now, I succeeded in damaging the Sixth Guardian’s right arm muscles and tendons to a considerable extent.
From the beginning……
I didn’t even think I could inflict a fatal blow on the Sixth Guardian with the three seconds I gained.
First of all, to defeat the Sixth Guardian at my current level, I would have to seize the ‘opening’ that inevitably arises during our exchange and bite, tear, and exploit it.
But during the three seconds he was focused on defense.
I had no way of finding an ‘opening’.
If that’s not possible……
It was better to inflict even a little shock on his right arm and continuously irritate him.
For example.
Even though I just used a punch with the ‘Force’ attribute, I couldn’t break the Sixth Guardian’s arm.
It’s partly because his Protective Aura is thick, and there’s no way to break a defense-focused state with a single blow.
However, by damaging his muscles and tendons, the Sixth Guardian would feel a slight discomfort throughout the fight.
And that ‘slight discomfort’ will be a major factor in deciding the outcome.
Saaaaaeaek━.
At that moment, the Sixth Guardian drew his sword with his uncomfortable right hand and swung it with a lightning-fast strike.
I took seven steps back to escape the attack and drew the iron sword from my waist. Since Jin So-cheon is known for his Fast Sword, and Fast Sword is synonymous with Jin So-cheon, my sword drawing was as fast as the Sixth Guardian’s.
Chaechaechaechaechaechang━!
Suddenly……
My sword and the Sixth Guardian’s sword clashed over 50 times, creating a red sword flower in the arena.
‘Is the Sixth Guardian…… also a Fast Sword user?’
It was somewhat unexpected.
The Sixth Guardian I saw had a large and heavy build, and his overall impression was that of a solid person, so I thought he would use a sword technique based on the principles of the Heavy Sword rather than the Fast Sword, but contrary to my expectations, his sword was precise and incredibly fast.
“Huh. The change in attack and defense is incredibly fast.”
“The Sixth Guardian is amazing, but the Sect Leader’s unwavering martial arts are also impressive.”
“As expected…… he wasn’t all talk!”
As the Sixth Guardian and I clashed, exclamations of admiration erupted from the onlookers.
But I soon cleared my mind of such distracting thoughts.
First of all……
The Sixth Guardian’s martial arts were too strong to fight with distracting thoughts.
How should I put it?
The Sixth Guardian’s martial arts were like a well-organized posture, making it difficult to find even the slightest flaw or unnecessary movement, maintaining an exemplary form.
It wasn’t that the power in his sword was so overwhelming that there was no way to block it, or that it was so profound that there was no way to avoid it.
However, the fact that his posture was so thoroughly organized was a testament to how much he adhered to the basics, and it’s usually difficult to deal with people with such solid ‘fundamentals’.
Of course……
Since I was the person who adhered to the basics the most in the world, the Sixth Guardian would be the one who would find it more difficult.
“……”
Chaechaechaechaechaechang━!
Regardless.
The Sixth Guardian continued to unleash his Fast Sword with a momentum that seemed to overwhelm me.
Surprisingly, the storm-like consecutive Fast Sword attacks emitted even fiercer sword wind and sword light as time went on,
‘Whew…… His endurance is no joke either.’
I inwardly clicked my tongue at the Sixth Guardian’s tenacity.
That’s because……
To unleash powerful sword strikes like the Sixth Guardian continuously, the hand holding the sword would naturally consume a tremendous amount of strength.
That’s also why I poured all the three seconds I gained into his arm.
But the Sixth Guardian, without showing any signs of discomfort, was solely focused on cutting my throat, and his momentum was so ferocious that I was unknowingly forced into a defensive fight.
“Whew…… Jin So-cheon. As expected, you’re worthy of defeating Noh Jeong-ju. Impressive. The rumors about you were true.”
At that moment.
After about 70 exchanges, we were pushed back a few steps by the impact of a powerful blow, and in that moment, the Sixth Guardian caught his breath and spoke.
“Sixth Guardian.”
“……”
“There have been a few guys who said that to me. Boss Boar said that, and so did Gwak Protector and Baek Gui-ho of the Black Society. Even Noh Ho-yeong and Noh Jeong-ju, who are now the Dawn Heaven Sect’s training dummies, said the same thing.”
“What?”
“It’s strange. Why are you all so eager to praise your opponent? Is it because praising me makes you, the Sixth Guardian who is currently pressuring me, feel better about yourself?”
“You’re truly reckless. You have a personality that doesn’t match your martial arts. To be honest, I thought you were a shame. I didn’t want to kill a promising newcomer who appeared in the martial world like a comet with my own hands. But now that I see it, it’s a good thing. A guy like you, who doesn’t know his place and acts so arrogantly, would have died a lonely death someday even if I hadn’t killed you.”
“Sixth Guardian. That’s harsh. A lonely death? In this wonderful world, I can’t get enough of eating good food, wearing good clothes, and seeing good places. A lonely death? Me, dying a lonely death?”
“……”
“Yuk Gwang.”
“……”
“Oh, my dear Sixth Senior.”
“Crazy bastard.”
“Listen carefully.”
“……”
“It was just a warm-up until now. Well…… you probably didn’t use your full power either, but I really didn’t even use 1/1000th of my strength.”
“If what you say is true, you would be the best martial artist of all time.”
“That’s right.”
“What?”
“To be precise, not the best martial artist of all time, but……”
The greatest assassin of all time, Yuk Gwang.
Patstsutsutsutsutsutsu━!
I……
I adjusted my grip on the sword as I exhaled both the ‘Force’ attribute and the ‘Thunder’ attribute simultaneously.
Then, a terrifying roar erupted from my ten━ nyang iron sword, imbued with immense force and lightning.
“Wh-what is that……?”
“Huh…… Lightning from the sword……”
“It seems Sect Leader Jin is about to show us something amazing.”
Leaving the onlookers’ admiration behind……
Papapang━!
I stomped on the ground to start my sword dance in earnest.