Ch.33Chapter 33 – How Can One Forget Without Getting Drunk (2)

Han Do-hyeon had a notoriously bad drinking habit.

It was so bad that Yoo Seol-hwa would advise him never to touch alcohol.

First, he would lose all inhibition. The hesitation that was usually visible in his cautious demeanor would completely disappear.

Second, when he drank, he couldn’t write. It was as if a white fog settled in his mind, blurring everything he wanted to put down.

That’s why in reality, Han Do-hyeon abstained from alcohol except on the anniversary of Seol-hwa’s death.

“Hehah…!”

But now, he had broken that rule.

The man exhaled hot breath and smiled. Watching Bing-yeon move as if dancing, Azazel Blackheart sighed.

“…”

Was it really the right choice to become this man’s disciple? Initially, she had followed him because there had been no news about Kang Si-woo for years, even after waiting at the monastery.

“So I just need to take away his alcohol jar. I’ll take that to mean I can break it if necessary.”

The task seemed too simple. Subduing someone who was drunk and incapacitated should be straightforward.

Azazel immediately moved her black tentacles to target the jar, but at that moment, Bing-yeon tilted his body slightly and narrowly avoided it.

“I raise my cup to invite the bright moon, and with my shadow, we become three.”

This verse meant: raising a cup to greet the bright moon, with one’s shadow making three people.

Bing-yeon recited this poem about drinking under the moonlight while leisurely pouring alcohol into his mouth. Seeing this, Azazel thought it was just luck and tried to attack more quickly.

“Try targeting the pressure points instead. If you hesitate to break someone’s limbs, that would be a better approach.”

“You’re just… *hic*… all talk!”

“That’s something… *hic*… I hear too often.”

Bing-yeon continued smiling despite his alcohol-induced hiccups.

He wasn’t using external energy to block his disciples’ attacks, but rather displaying an odd movement where his upper and lower body moved independently.

It was the epitome of fluidity—like trying to cut water with a blade.

“Urgh…! Why can’t I hit you?!”

“Because you’re too predictable. You’re trying to find openings by thinking hard, but variables that don’t come from real combat experience are just armchair theories.”

Bing-yeon yawned widely as if bored. His face, relaxed from the alcohol, was enough to infuriate his opponent.

“Sister, let me help too.”

Bi-wol joined in response to this provocation. She tried to grab Bing-yeon from behind to restrict his movement.

She figured that no matter how good he was at deflecting attacks, he wouldn’t be able to do anything if his limbs were restrained.

However…

“Bi-wol, didn’t I just tell you that if you’re going to approach, you need to conceal your energy?”

As if anticipating her strategy, Bing-yeon tripped her and made her fall. It happened because she couldn’t read his sudden movement.

“To catch me now, you’d need to call at least the Patriarch of the Opening Sect. So don’t worry too much about it.”

Thud! Bi-wol barely managed to roll her body to avoid a critical injury just before her face hit the ground. She gritted her teeth and looked up.

Why couldn’t she reach her master? She had thought they were at the same level.

‘Even at the same early stage of Transcendence Realm, is there such a difference…?’

Bi-wol couldn’t understand the reason for her weakness. She had defeated the Inner Demon with her master and had become honest about her hesitant feelings.

Perhaps that had become her poison instead?

“Will you just keep dodging or counterattacking until we realize our weaknesses ourselves, Master?!”

“Yes, because the enemies you’ll face in the future will see through all these weaknesses.”

Bing-yeon laughed loudly as if her words were correct.

In the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament, they would face protagonists who could fight final bosses. Plus, they would surely have Seol-hwa’s support.

They needed something that even an Outer God who claimed to be an avid reader couldn’t read—settings or foreshadowing that only the author knew, not the reader.

“This is what we call breaking the mold.”

Reciting words that Seol-hwa often told him, Bing-yeon was passing on teachings to disciples who were like daughters to him.

“Don’t just stand there watching—help us, Sister!”

Bi-wol shouted at Verdandi. Unlike the two who were fighting hard against Bing-yeon, she had been standing still, just observing their movements.

“Hmm, you need my help!”

After watching the evenly matched battle for a while, Verdandi raised the corners of her mouth gently and joined the fight.

She had been reading Bing-yeon’s movements to understand the profound principles of the Drunken Fist, which consisted of many feints.

“Oh, you’ve reduced unnecessary movements. You’re targeting the northern opening with a vertical slash…”

Clang—!

Verdandi’s holy sword aimed for Bing-yeon’s head, and he blocked it with a wall of ice.

“Swordsmanship of the Six Harmonies would suit you.”

Bing-yeon’s eyes curved into crescent moons as he observed her clean sword path.

What he was trying to teach now was the exclusive swordsmanship of Mount Hua Sect, which used the Six Harmonies to block attacks from all directions.

Surprisingly, Verdandi was the first to complement her weakness. She was the only one who had purely accepted Bing-yeon’s advice.

“After reading the direction of your opponent’s attack, focus on the basic sword movements: blocking, thrusting, slashing, and deflecting. If you want to add variations to your sword, use footwork.”

Bing-yeon opened his mouth as if to praise her. Unlike cultivation techniques that required building internal energy, these third-rate martial arts could be learned by anyone, which made them formidable.

“Understood!”

Bang—!

Verdandi’s fierce kick grazed Bing-yeon’s side, and the air pressure disrupted his balance. Seizing the opening, she thrust her sword toward the alcohol jar.

“Where do you think—that’s too obvious. Targeting the north again.”

Pat-pat-pat—!

Using his palms to stand upside down, Bing-yeon retrieved the alcohol jar with a kick. His handstand was as natural as flowing water, making everyone around him widen their eyes.

“Sister, would you lend me that sword?”

Seeing the first effective hit, Bi-wol made a proposal to Verdandi. The holy sword in her hand was emitting a white light.

With that, she could imitate the swordsmanship she had shown when fighting the Inner Demon.

“Only the chosen hero can use this!”

Verdandi shook her head in refusal. If someone like Bi-wol, who was wrapped in crimson demonic energy like a demon lord, held it, something terrible might happen.

“The holy sword will surely react negatively! You might get burns on your hands!”

“Sister, don’t you want to defeat our master?”

For the first time, Bi-wol suppressed her emotions and chose to cooperate with others to defeat her master.

“To preserve Master’s body as much as possible, it might be better for us to win quickly.”

Even though he minimized his use of internal energy through the fluidity of the Drunken Fist, Bing-yeon was living on borrowed time due to his Severed Nine Yin.

Bi-wol used a standard counterargument to persuade Verdandi. If they succeeded, they might even be able to tease their master for doing something silly while drunk.

“That’s not a lie, so I like it!”

“Thank you, Sister.”

Whoosh! The thrown holy sword spun through the air several times before falling into Bi-wol’s hand. The sword, which had been emitting light, trembled as soon as it touched her hand.

Boom!

With a thunderous sound and a crimson whirlwind, it changed in color and form. It looked more like a demonic sword than a holy one.

“Oh, this is fascinating.”

“…”

Bing-yeon couldn’t help but close his mouth at the sight.

This was the form of the holy sword used by Verdandi after she became the Demon Lord in the latter part of “I Need To Kill The Hero.” But why did it transform as soon as Bi-wol held it?

“I’ll have to show more of my real skills.”

Thinking he could no longer win easily, Bing-yeon sighed as he poured all the remaining alcohol from the jar into his mouth.

If the worlds of different works were connected, perhaps this was possible too.

After all, there was a Bing-yeon who used both aura and internal energy.

***

Thus, I was using various tactics to teach Three Talents Swordsmanship to Bi-wol, Six Harmonies Swordsmanship to Verdandi, and Six Harmonies Fist to Azazel.

‘According to Seol-hwa’s hint, Outer Gods would find it hard to predict such variables.’

I was using character backstories that only the author knew, not the readers.

I thought that if they learned these third-rate martial arts and became stronger, they might have a chance to defeat Seol-hwa.

They are called third-rate because anyone can learn them.

They are called third-rate because anyone can become strong with them.

And they are called third-rate because ordinary people cannot easily comprehend them.

‘The Infinite Sword Emperor doesn’t know that there are people who have reached the ranks of the strong by solely focusing on Three Talents Swordsmanship.’

With my vision swaying and a floating sensation, I continued to dodge my disciples’ attacks.

But,

“I won’t miss this time…!”

“Quite sharp. Though you’re still too hasty…”

It seemed I had reached my limit.

Among them, Bi-wol was wielding the demonic sword against me. How was she using a weapon that should have been used by Verdandi after she fell into darkness as the Demon Lord?

‘This wasn’t something I set up. Is this the world adjusting for plausibility?’

I tilted my head and pondered.

The karma of the Star of Heavenly Murder, which meant Bi-wol had to kill to survive, made her comparable to a demon lord born to destroy the world.

“Now you’re engaging in hand-to-hand combat, Azazel. Good choice.”

“It’s because you won’t give up that alcohol jar!”

And now Azazel had also figured out how to use her tentacles.

Watching her bundle her black tentacles together to use as a blunt weapon, I paid even more attention to my movements.

If I made a misstep and my feet got tangled, I would lose immediately.

“…Verdandi, I have no more advice for you. Keep up the good work.”

“Thank you! But in the actual tournament, aren’t we not supposed to hurt people?”

That’s correct. That’s why there are rules about using wooden swords instead of real ones and not using lethal techniques, but…

“I doubt our opponents will care about such things.”

By my estimation, they will try to deal with the final bosses by persuading the original protagonists.

That would be the ending of the novels that the avid reader Outer God hadn’t seen. They would think it’s right for the original protagonists to win.

“They’ll try to kill you by any means necessary.”

I blocked Bi-wol’s demonic sword with my hand and released cold air around me, turning the floor into ice.

Then, using my ice-covered fist, I imitated someone.

“…This is the martial art of the one you’ll have to face, Bi-wol.”

It was the stance of the Six Harmonies Fist used by Kim Hyul, the protagonist of the original work “Diamond Fist King,” who would later be called the Fist King.