39. The Spring and Autumn Period of Martial Arts

“Hehehe. You guys think you can kill me? You must be Chinese, your boasting is no joke.”

 

As Yoo-eun scoffed, the men became even more enraged, grinding their teeth as if they would charge at any moment.

The only one with a semblance of sanity was Namgoong Hyeok. But even he was consumed by desire for Seo-hyun, so it was a bit embarrassing to call him normal.

He was just holding on with a shred of responsibility as the leader.

 

 

He watched Yoo-eun’s hand constantly fondling Seo-hyun’s chest, his blood pressure rising.

 

 

“Lowly bastard…! It’s only a matter of time before the entire martial world knows your true colors.”

“So what? What are they gonna do if they find out? Huh?”

 

Yoo-eun, already world-famous back on Earth, wouldn’t be scared just because his true nature was revealed in some martial world.

He’d probably be happy to be able to run wild without any restrictions now that the game was over.

 

 

“I don’t care if they know or not. All the beauties of the martial world will soon be mine anyway. Bota… I mean, Boji-mun is already like that.”

“…Miss Seo-hyun, when I first met you, I thought you were a virtuous and intelligent woman, but seeing you with a guy like that, I guess not.”

 

Thinking that Yoo-eun was beyond reasoning with, he spoke to Seo-hyun.

She was still being touched by Yoo-eun, and she was extremely displeased that he not only spoke to her so suddenly but also insulted her master.

 

“Did you not brush your teeth?”

“What?”

“Don’t breathe. You stink.”

“….”

 

 

That’s what came out.

It was a phrase that didn’t exist in Namgoong Hyeok’s mind, and an insult he never thought he’d hear in his life.

Who would dare to hurl such words at the elder of the great Namgoong Clan, the current Clan Head’s brother, and someone who might inherit the Clan Head position?

 

 

But Seo-hyun, in a bad mood, was relentless. No, this was actually a very sweet remark by her standards.

She only let him off with such a mild comment even after he insulted Yoo-eun.

 

 

 

But Namgoong Hyeok was quite shocked by that alone. More than anything, it was too different from the Seo-hyun he had known.

 

 

He felt like his brain had short-circuited for a moment, unsure of what to say, but he knew exactly what he had to do.

No matter what, he would kill Yoo-eun and capture Seo-hyun.

The problem, however, was that Seo-hyun was too strong. As an elder of the Namgoong Clan who had even been dispatched to the Martial Arts Alliance, he was still no match for Seo-hyun.

 

 

“Wow. You’re putting up with this after hearing those words? Are you a Motae Solo?”

 

 

Yoo-eun’s words followed.

He had no idea what Motae Solo meant, but he felt quite offended.

 

“Judging by the looks of it, you’re not that handsome, your skills don’t seem that great, and you have no pride, so of course you’d be a Motae Solo. Tsk tsk tsk. You’ve wasted your life. How pathetic.”

 

Yoo-eun continued to provoke Namgoong Hyeok.

But Namgoong Hyeok didn’t fall for the provocation as easily as he thought, and he even took a deep breath to calm his anger in this situation.

 

It was an unexpected performance.

As expected of a martial artist, he was different.

 

 

 

“But you know what? Once you’ve caught my eye, you’re all dead meat, you know? But since I have some compassion as a fellow human, I’ll give you one chance.”

“Hmph. A man who only raises his voice from behind a woman.”

“Yeah, whatever, just listen to me. I have a compassionate heart, you see. So if you make me feel good, I’ll let you go unharmed.”

“Shut up!! You’re just showing off your face and talking too much!!”

“I’ll separate your head from your body!”

 

 

The martial artists of the Namgoong Clan shouted loudly and cursed Yoo-eun. This time, the female martial artists also joined in. Words like “the beauty of the entire martial world is mine” greatly reduced his favorability. Besides, he didn’t even give them a glance.

 

 

“You guys are making a fuss without even listening. It’s not that difficult. What… what was her name again?”

“Namgoong Yoo-i, -yo.”

“Oh. Right. So, hand her over… and her mom too, I guess? Hand over those two.”

 

 

He didn’t know much about Namgoong Yoo-i’s family, and he just said it with a vague thought of ‘since she gave birth to Yoo-i, she must be pretty too,’ but it caused a huge ripple.

The warriors of the Namgoong Clan, led by Namgoong Hyeok, were all shocked and opened their mouths, then began to tremble and scream.

 

 

Moreover, this time even Namgoong Hyeok, who had been holding back his anger, was greatly enraged.

 

“You bastard!!! Are you really crazy!!”

“What’s with all the ‘really really’ all the time? Just say ‘really.’ Why use such difficult words? Anyway, does Yoo-i have a mom? Is she pretty?”

“You crazy bastard!!!”

 

 

Deep breaths and all, Namgoong Hyeok couldn’t hold back his anger at Yoo-eun’s words about his family.

He kicked off the ground strongly and charged.

 

Sword energy enveloping the sword, scattering brilliant light.

It was a momentum that seemed like it would cut him down immediately, but unfortunately, it didn’t work at all.

 

 

 

Kaang – !

 

 

 

 

A sharp sound.

Namgoong Hyeok’s eyes widened.

 

 

What blocked his sword, filled with overbearing momentum, was none other than Yoo-eun’s finger.

It wasn’t even a finger imbued with strong energy, just a normal finger.

 

 

But it was blocked.

The sword.

 

 

“Wh…at…!”

“It just means you and I are on different levels. Different levels.”

 

Yoo-eun lightly flicked his hand while holding Seo-hyun in his arms, and Namgoong Hyeok was pathetically flung away.

 

 

“Elder-nim!!”

“You bastard!”

 

 

Warriors rushed in after him.

But they were even more futile than Namgoong Hyeok.

They each unleashed the techniques of the Sky Soaring Sword Art they had learned, but before they could even complete the second move, they were struck by a sweeping shockwave and collapsed with internal injuries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“You guys seem to think I’m weaker than Seo-hyun, but I think I need to show you some of my power.”

 

 

 

 

Yoo-eun put Seo-hyun down, put his hands behind his back, stroked his nonexistent beard, and continued arrogantly.

 

 

“I won’t move a single step from here, so attack me as much as you want.”

 

 

At those words, Namgoong Hyeok, who was buried in the ground with disheveled hair, stood up again.

His eyes were bloodshot.

 

 

“Sky Soaring Sword Art, 17th Form,”

“Scolding Gal!!! To shout out the name of a martial art in this chaotic situation. Are you also a show-off? Tsk tsk tsk. Your fighting posture is all wrong.”

 

 

Yoo-eun sighed as if he was truly pathetic, and Namgoong Hyeok gritted his teeth.

 

 

“Do you think I’ll lose to the likes of you!!”

 

 

A strong shout.

He realized it from the clash just now.

That he couldn’t beat Yoo-eun in his current state.

Seo-hyun alone was a huge mountain, but he might be an even bigger mountain.

 

 

But he couldn’t give up.

Not just because of Seo-hyun, but he had insulted the clan and dared to covet the clan’s daughters with his dirty mind.

If he couldn’t hold him accountable for that crime here, he wouldn’t have the face to see Clan Head Hyung-nim and the Namgoong Clan’s ancestors in the future.

 

 

“Uaaaaa!”

 

 

The moment he leaped towards Yoo-eun, he poured all his nerves and internal energy into his sword.

 

The ultimate mystery of those who have trained in the sword.

Sword Qi.

 

A stage that must be passed to enter the ranks of the super-strong, the pinnacle of mastery.

 

He had steadily trained his Sword Qi to overcome the wall of mastery.

But the Sword Qi he could create at his current level consumed too much energy, and even then, it was difficult to handle.

If he lost focus even a little, everything would collapse, and in severe cases, he would suffer internal injuries or be unable to use his arm for the whole day.

 

 

But now there was no time to worry about that.

 

 

He would create it no matter what.

He had to create it and blow that damn neck away.

 

 

 

 

Chwaaaaa.

 

 

 

 

A brilliant cluster of light.

Intense internal energy, gushing out for a moment like surging waves, solidified firmly in a fleeting moment to form Qi (氣).

 

“Oh. Is that what they call Sword Qi? It’s my first time seeing it in person.”

 

Yoo-eun was impressed.

 

Of course, it wasn’t because of its power. In the first place, at Yoo-eun’s level, whether Seo-hyun used Sword Qi or an ant used Sword Qi, it would feel the same.

He just felt it was purely cool.

 

 

 

 

“Dieeee!!!”

 

 

Namgoong Hyeok, who had instantly approached Yoo-eun, struck down at Yoo-eun.

A technique that exquisitely mixed speed and domination.

The power that seemed to split the sky and the speed that could never be avoided combined to emit a terrifying sense of oppression.

 

 

 

 

 

Taak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“It’s even cooler up close. I should learn it too. I wonder if Serin-i will teach me well?”

“What…?!”

 

 

Yoo-eun didn’t dodge.

Like before, he raised his finger too lightly to defend.

 

 

No, the expression ‘defense’ is not correct. Defense is an action taken ‘to minimize damage.’

Yoo-eun’s action was not that. He simply raised his hand to examine the Sword Qi from an appropriate distance.

 

 

“But don’t you have to train for dozens of years to do something like this? That’s too much of a hassle. It would be nice if I could make it a skill.”

 

Yoo-eun said nonchalantly.

Namgoong Hyeok was greatly shocked by that.

 

 

More than when he heard terrible insults from Seo-hyun, more than when his Sword Qi was blocked,

It was an incomparable shock.

 

 

How could he block Sword Qi with his bare hands? What is his identity?

Is this possible for the best martial artist in the world?

 

 

There’s no way! Why else would Sword Qi be Sword Qi?

 

 

 

Burp!!

 

 

Perhaps because of the shock, the brilliantly maintained Sword Qi was disrupted, and a mouthful of blood flowed backward from Namgoong Hyeok’s mouth.

 

 

“Ah. It’s gone.”

“!!!”

 

 

And only then did he recognize the situation and quickly retreat.

Since Yoo-eun wasn’t holding a sword, it wasn’t difficult to escape.

 

 

“….”

“Hmm… you’re still a beginner, aren’t you? I can tell you can’t maintain it properly.”

“You….”

 

 

Namgoong Hyeok wiped the blood from his mouth and glared at Yoo-eun.

 

 

“Why… didn’t you attack?”

“Huh? What?”

“Clearly… I was full of flaws just now! I fell into a momentary reverie due to the shock.”

“So?”

“If you had attacked then, I would have been a corpse by now, so whyㅡ,”

“Hey hey, what kind of stupid things are you saying right now?”

 

Yoo-eun said with a dumbfounded expression.

 

 

 

“You want me to exploit a flaw in the likes of you?”