Chapter 161. Even If I Have to Paint Myself with Lacquer or Swallow Charcoal (7)

Chapter 161. Even If I Have to Paint Myself with Lacquer or Swallow Charcoal (7)

“Haha, I’m sorry. You were just so cute.”

“S-stop lying...”

Yeo-Seol felt so embarrassed by hearing Woo-Moon call her cute that she wanted to dig a hole and hide her burning face in the dirt.

“Now, we should move on to the next flag.”

Woo-Moon ran forward first, while Eun-Ah followed quickly behind with Yeo-Seol in tow.

Not long after, they arrived at a scene of eight pairs of young men and Snow Flowers entangled in a violent melee.

Some of the combatants had already been injured to the point of having to drop out of the competition, and one couple had collapsed due to serious injuries.

The pairs were so focused on fighting each other that none of them had noticed the arrival of Woo-Moon, Eun-Ah, and Yeo-Seol yet.

“Eun-Ah,” Woo-Moon softly called.

Their souls linked, Eun-Ah immediately understood and threw her head back.

ROOAAARRR!!!

It was the roar of the Silver Tiger!

Although it wasn’t as pervasive as an Absolute Master's Absolute Qi, it conveyed a much wilder and more destructive force.

“Eeek!”

The combatants all suddenly froze as if they had all been carved out of ice.

One of the combatants even suffered from her qi reversing course as Eun-Ah’s roar forcefully interrupted her technique, causing her to vomit blood.

Whoosh!

Woo-Moon suddenly appeared next to someone holding a flag.

“M-my flag...!” the man shouted, only now waking from the effects of Eun-Ah’s roar.

However, Woo-Moon was already running with Eun-Ah to find the next flag.

***

“You dirty bastards! To think you'd attack together”

“What about it is dirty? There weren't any rules against joining forces anyway!”

Geon Oh-Yeob, a lay disciple of the Mount Zhong Sect, took the flag from the grasp of the defeated opponent.

“Now, let’s go find the next flag.”

Right as he said that, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder.

“Y-you...!”

Although they weren't the best of friends, he and the attacker were still close. That was why Geon Oh-Yeob had even joined forces with him in the first place.

His attacker was Su Hwi-Cheon, a fellow lay disciple of Mount Zhong.

Thanks to their prior relationship, the two had joined forces and successfully attacked one couple who had gotten a flag first. But now...

“I'm sorry. It's just that we decided that it would be best to guarantee at least one flag in our possession first. After all, it would be a complete disaster if we ended up with nothing, right?”

The number of flags obtained in this competition determined one's status within the North Sea Ice Palace. In addition, it also affected the martial arts that they would be allowed to learn.

If a couple wasn't able to get any flags, they would be forced to start from the bottom.

After completing the Marriage of the Snow Flowers, each couple had to stay within the North Sea Ice Palace for ten years. Thus, it would be a great waste if one couldn't get anything during that period, which was why Su Hwi-Cheon had secretly attacked Geon Oh-Yeob from behind.

After piercing Geon Oh-Yeob’s shoulder and simultaneously striking his acupoints, Su Hwi-Cheon attacked Geon Oh-Yeob's Snow Flower together with his own Snow Flower, striking at her from both sides.

Still, not only was Geon Oh-Yeob’s Snow Flower very familiar with the insidious nature of the Marriage of the Snow Flowers, but she had also grown up in the barren and unforgiving North Sea from a young age. Thus, she admirably fought back without a word.

However, in the end, she collapsed with both knees cut out from under her.

"Good, good. We've gotten the first one, at least. Now, let's get out of here quickly!”

It was time for Su Hwi-Cheon and his partner to flee and avoid the other competitors.

Growl...

“W-what the hell? Is that a white tiger?”

Suddenly, Eun-Ah blocked Su Hwi-Cheon's path. Her red eyes flashed as she swung her front paw.

Bang!

As she had already been warned not to kill anyone, she didn't use her claws, but rather just smacked him.

Su Hwi-Cheon's sword was completely crushed and he spewed red blood and white teeth, spinning dozens of times in the air before landing in the snow.

"Ah... Ah...”

At the end of the day, a wild beast was still a wild beast.

Although the people of the murim viewed tigers as nothing special, even they would be terrified if all tigers showed the overwhelming power Eun-Ah had shown now.

Growl.

Eun-Ah let out a low, menacing cry as she glared at Su Hwi-Cheon's partner, the Snow Flower Bang Min-Yeon.

The moment she met Eun-Ah’s eyes, Bang Min-Yeon felt goosebumps cascade down her body as she found herself unable to move.

Woo-Moon walked over to the stunned Su Hwi-Cheon and snatched the flag out of his hand.

Before they knew it, Woo-Moon’s aura had encroached on the entire area.

None of them could withstand it.

‘I-I can’t move...’

Under the tremendous pressure, So Mu-Yong was reminded of a scene he had seen when he was young: an insect whose entire body was wrapped in a spider’s web, unable to move whatsoever and just waiting to die.

As that scene flickered before him, he was filled with an overwhelming despair.

He was no different from that bug.

However, in an instant, the terrifying pressure disappeared.

“Huff, huff...”

The gasps of everyone struggling to breathe filled the air.

They were only able to do so because Woo-Moon had restrained his aura.

“Well, if you want to attack me, then this is your chance. This way, none of you can say anything after.”

Woo-Moon’s words were incredibly arrogant.

However, none of them could move, regardless of whether or not Woo-Moon was pressuring them.

What Woo-Moon had just done was seared in their brain with a red-hot needle.

Fear, pure fear.

Even if they fought, there was no way for them to win.

In the midst of the crowd’s despair, there was one person who actually overcame it and attacked Woo-Moon.

“AHHHHHH!!!!”

Jeong Gyeong.

The hatred for Woo-Moon and jealousy for Yeo-Seol had fully suppressed her fear.

Seeing her “courage,” the others soon followed suit and rushed Woo-Moon as well. After all, the most difficult part of anything was the beginning.

After looking at them for a moment with a cold gaze, Woo-Moon kicked the ground.

BOOM!

The snow around them was incredibly light and soft.

However, as Woo-Moon kicked it, it turned harder than steel. It flew faster than any hidden weapon, hitting the four people running at Woo-Moon.

“Ugh!”

“Agh!!!!”

Ribs broke and blood spurted from four mouths.

It was such an absurd situation that people were sure to laugh if the scene was described to them and chalk it up to an overexaggerated rumor.

However, Woo-Moon had made such an impossible feat happen.

Moreover, it wasn’t just against any ordinary humans, but against fighters who had reached the Peak class.

With a single move, he had dealt with four people.

Afterward, roughly twenty people rushed toward him and attempted to attack him.

Woo-Moon took a step forward, his right foot twisting as if he was about to spin, and drew Inkblade.

The Black Inkblade stood out in vivid contrast with the pure white snow field.

Swish! Swiiiish!!!!

Woo-Moon made one single revolution as he struck the air twenty times.

As if time had stopped, everyone around him stopped moving.

Thwip, thwip, thwip!

“Cough, cough!”

All twenty people froze like statues, stuck mid-stride. Woo-Moon’s sword attacks had hit their acupoints.

Still, there were a hundred and four people left.

When Woo-Moon stretched out his hand toward the ground, all the snow around him flew out and condensed to form a long ice club.

The young men and Snow Flowers opened their mouths in surprise at the sight as Woo-Moon reinforced the ice club with an appropriate amount of qi and swung it wide.

Thwack, thwack, thwack!

He had adjusted his strength to the point where he wouldn’t break any bones but inflict some internal injuries.

“Ugh!!!”

“H-how is this possible?!!! Agk!!”

Both those stuck with their acupoints locked and those behind them were hit by the ice club and sent rolling on the ground.

“BLERGHHHH!!”

The sound of blood being vomited echoed from everywhere.

1. No one knows he's gotten the flags of the hidden pairs. ☜