Chapter 18: Bet (2)

“Kuak!”

Leader Oh, who was suffering, coughed blood and trembled as he collapsed.

Well, he was the one who ignored the warning, so this was bound to happen. As of today, it felt like the eccentricities of the old man were unmistakable.

At the same time, it made me think.

‘This is what true strength is.’

It was difficult to even estimate the level of martial arts skills Hae Ack-chun had to take down a first-rate warrior like this.

Then what about the South Heavenly Swordsman who defeated this monster? It made me realize just how difficult the Murim actually was.

I needed to have strength.

-If you want to become as amazing as that old man, bleeding to death will not get you those results.

I know you don’t have to put it like that.

“Ugh, damn...”

Just then, the trainee Dohyun woke up. He seemed to have come to his senses since I didn’t hit him with innate qi.

But as he just woke up, he couldn’t understand the situation.

“I was talking to you bastard...”

Pak!

Hae Ack-chun lifted him up by the nape.

“Uh?”

He was startled by the enormous savage-like man who lifted him up. And it felt like a child being lifted.

“W-who?”

“Me? Hae Ack-chun.”Cheêck out latest novels at novelhall.com

“Eik! E... elder!”

When he realized the situation, he felt shocked.

“Who are you? Did you follow him?”

The trainee looked at the prone figure of Leader Oh. He wanted to answer, but he couldn’t say it out loud.

“T... that... I... i... I... with... Le...le...leader.... Oh...”

And there was just one answer.

“Stuttering? Tch. Well, you and I are an upper-rank trainee?”

Pak!

“Ugh!”

The old man threw him away in annoyance. No matter how soft his throw was, the guy rolled on the ground and stumbled.

Tatata!

I heard the sound and looked at the twins coming back up. However, seeing them skillfully descend, it felt like they had learned what Hae Ack-chun was teaching them well.

-They are getting things too easily. Right?

Right.

Some got it by winning a bet, and some got it from luck like them. Then Hae Ack-chun asked me.

“Why did these ones come up today?”

And I spoke the truth.

“They brought new talent to help you.”

“Is it that one? Ha!”

He arrogantly evaluated the trainee. That was bad luck for him. He only received training below, so he was bound to suffer here.

-Yes.

Short Sword smiled, knowing that even if that guy was better, there was no way I would be replaced. Hae Ack-chun approached me and asked.

“But why are these ones attacking you?”

It felt like he’d seen the situation since the upper-rank trainee fought with me. Well, annoying things kept happening when Leader Oh was involved.

How do I explain this? At that time, Song Jwa-baek said,

“That’s because Leader Oh seems to be involved in a fight with Wonwhi. It feels like there are bad feelings between them.”

Song Jwa-baek looked at me and winked. Was he actually saying, ‘Thank me for talking on your behalf?’... Thank you.

“Who told you to answer?”

At Hae Ack-chun’s shout, Song Jwa-baek went silent. Man, this old man is really crazy.

“Kulkul, a replacement guy? Once I get my hands on someone, I need to finish the task with them.”

Anyway, I was curious to see how this old man would react to this. It was expected that no one could go against him. I didn’t want him to know things from another source.

So I told the truth.

“I killed two people under Leader Oh.”

“What?”

Hae Ack-chun’s eyes lit up. Even Song Jwa-baek, who didn’t know this, becomes shocked. Unlike them, who were caught running away, I had killed two people before being captured.

“Ha! Killed his subordinate?”

“At that time, they were wearing masks, so I had no idea. He recklessly tried to catch me, and it was self-defense.”

In any case, it was self-defense. Of course, I knew they were from the Blood Cult, but it was still a defense. And I couldn’t have let myself be kidnapped.

-In the end, you were kidnapped.

‘I came back on my own two feet.’

-Right, right, you did.

In any case, I killed two. I looked at Hae Ack-chun’s eyes.

No matter how crazy he was, I thought he would take the side of Leader Oh as he was a high-ranking member of the cult.

However, this was unexpected.

“Kuahahaha! I see that we have such stupid people? Getting hit by a kid with no internal qi? Even death would be better than they deserve.”

Hae Ack-chun seemed happy? It’ll only make things weird if I tried to understand a mad man. The man laughed and said,

“It is only natural for people without power to die. I. Am. Not that.”

-In a way, it is the same, but he speaks coldly.

Short Sword clicked their tongue. But from my point of view, I could understand it.

‘This is the essence of the Blood Cult.’

The Blood Cult was indeed a cult and not a sect. The reason why the Murim Alliance had come after it was because of this. But the Unorthodox Faction was colder in this regard.

I returned the words straight to him.

Hae Ack-chun had planted the idea, and it was probably the right choice to kill him. Then I heard...

“What did you say?”

“Uh?”

Shit! He didn’t seal the blood points correctly, so Leader Oh was waking up.

“Damn it!

Song Jwa-baek hurriedly tried to break the leg, but the opponent was a first-rate warrior.

Leader Oh kicked Song Jwa-baek in the ribs.

Puck!

“Kuak!”

It must have been very painful to be hit, but Song Jwa-baek endured it and twisted the leg in the opposite direction.

Clench!

“Ouch! You bastard!”

Leader Oh became angry and hit him in the chest again. Song Jwa-baek’s body bounced back almost ten feet this time!

Tatak!

I ran behind and tried to stab Leader Oh in the head with my short sword.

And Leader Oh rolled to the left.

The lazy donkey roll. Surviving was more important than the pride of a first-rate warrior.

Phat!

He threw the dagger in his right hand, and I caught it with my left.

-Right! That is it!

This was the trick I learned from Short Sword. A dagger technique that used both hands freely, and although I only learned it recently, it was successful in practice.

Holding the dagger with my left hand, I tried to stab him again.

“Kuak! You!”

Pak!

He grabbed the dagger with both hands. Man, he was skilled.

Although this was not a favorable situation, he responded well.

Tak!

To kill him, I did the best I could as he spoke in a sneering voice.

“Do you think a bastard with no internal qi like you can stab me?”

He wasn’t wrong. His qi was so much greater that I couldn’t handle it.

He was even trying to turn the short sword’s blade towards me.

‘Tch. You are nothing.’

There was no way my strength could be hidden. I began to use the Xing Ming cultivation, and as I did, the blade stopped turning towards me.

Leader Oh was shocked when I could stop him.

“W-who are you?”

He was surprised, but I was having a hard time too. It was difficult to withstand his strength.

“Uhhh.”

And with his life at stake, he held onto the short sword. It felt like my stomach was doing rounds at this moment.

It was then.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Song Jwa-baek, who ran in like a bull, smashed the head of Leader Oh with a kick loaded with internal qi.

Crash!

“Kuak!”

As his head was being crushed, he lost the strength in his hands.

“Kuak!”

The short sword pierced Leader Oh’s chest. The guy opened his mouth in shock. The kick also damaged him enough to the point where blood dripped down his face.

The top of Leader Oh’s head looked quite wounded.

“Kuak!”

Song Jwa-baek held on to his hurt side.

“Fuck.....”

I was exhausted too, so I tried to get back up. Now we have to deal with the corpse. I looked at Song Jwa-baek and said,

“It has to be your first kill, huh?”

It had to be his first murder because I could see it from his kick.

“Don’t act up. Bastard. You owe me your life.”

I smiled bitterly and nodded. As he said, if the fight lasted a little longer, it would not have ended well for me. A first-rate warrior. A position that was not given to just anyone. As I was trying to catch my breath, Song Jwa-baek said.

“What about our fight later?”

It’s like he didn’t understand it till now. Or, it could be that he didn’t think of saying it out loud.

“It is unfortunate, but I will win. That is how I can become a disciple of that crazy old man.”

Hae Ack-chun made a suggestion to me. He would abandon me if I failed and teach me if I did well. And seeing Song Jwa-baek, they too seemed to be getting something out of this.

“Are you sure?”

“It is natural. You think you can even grab my hair if you and I are together?”

Confidence.

Did he not see things after he got beaten? He didn’t understand my skills at all.

Right, and I told him.

“Should we make a bet?”

“Bet?”

He frowned, and I smiled as I looked at him and said.

“The one who loses is the servant to the one who wins. What about it?”

The notorious Black and White Twin Swords will become my subordinates.

And I was already craving it.