Book 8 Chapter 3

One-upmanship (一騎勝負)

"Get out of the way!"

Yumusang said.

"I'll do it myself."

Finally, Wimusang was able to find a solution to the

I agreed that it wasn't that bad.

It was his role to correct the mistakes of his men. He could no longer stand by and watch the Ironclad's reputation slip away.

"Is that okay?"

It was none other than Bi Ryuyeon who worried about his safety on behalf of the Iron Scaffold. Wei Mu Shang felt deeply insulted, but he didn't dare to be disrespectful as he was facing a deadly battle. Whether he liked it or not, he never wanted to admit it, but he had to recognize this man's skill. He couldn't allow it.

He gingerly crossed his steel spear. A fierce determination burned in his eyes. As expected of a troop leader, his fighting spirit alone set him apart from the men below him.

"Is it finally your turn?"

Bi Ryuyeon smiled. Wei Mu Shang said.

"It's only now that you can tease me with your insolent tongue. In one fell swoop, I'll shove it down your throat. Never again will you tease that blasphemous mouth of yours……."

"…gulp!"

He was careful to sound fierce and intimidating enough on the outside, but a dry lump formed in his throat. Prudence, rather than the life that had once enveloped him, now ruled him, and it was a sign that Wei Mu Shang was nervous enough about Bi Ryuyeon's status that his quick temper had caught him off guard and pressed against his own nature.

Now, even he was unsure of the outcome. He wasn't sure if he could handle the power he'd shown just moments before.

It was then.

"I'll take this fight!"

She knew very well who the voice belonged to, rough and gruff with no hint of delicacy. She turned her head to greet Yin Do, who was coming up behind her. He was trudging along with a mourning sash slung over his shoulder.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Weren't you just going to sit on the sidelines?"

"What nonsense, of course I'm here to help!"

Yeomdo was hot on the inside, but he kept a straight face on the outside. Gu Tianhua's eyes widened as she recognized his identity. He had a feeling that he might have done more harm than good today. However, the damage to the Iron Scaffold was already too great for him to retreat.

"Who are you?"

Here, Yumusang made the mistake of not recognizing the Yeomdo again.

Compared to Yeomdo, Wei Mu's martial ranking was near the end of the spectrum, with some exaggeration. This is because, with the exception of the Grandmaster, the Iron Circle is strong as a group, not as individuals.

"Who?"

The twin wings of salt water immediately shot up into the sky.

"Who are you to say that?"

"You… you!!!"

Wei Mu Shang gasped. It was obvious that he had neglected to memorize his usual list of powerful people.

"Be patient, he is the salt of the earth."

It was Koo Chun-hak who stopped Wei Mu-sang, who was poised to pounce.

"You mean the author is the famous flaming dog chaser?"

"Kahahahahahahaha!"

Bi Ryuyeon laughed hysterically. Yidou's face turned into a night car.

"What?"

His eyes sparked. It had been quiet in the academy for a while, and the number of arrogant bastards seemed to have increased.

Gu Tianhak nodded.

"Red salt (赤髥), red catch (赤髮), red rice (赤眉)! With such a distinctive physical characteristic of a single red color as mine, who else could be a powerhouse besides Yeomdo?"

His primary colors certainly stood out, but his identity did not dampen his fighting spirit. Gu Tianhua could tell by the momentum emanating from his entire body.

"Do you want to try it?"

Honestly, the Yeomdo was too much for Wei Mu Shang. He wanted to avoid a confrontation if at all possible. He didn't want to push his trusted subordinate to the brink. But Wei Musang showed no signs of backing down.

"Leave it to me!"

It was a declaration of his determination. Gu Tianhak was inwardly satisfied that Yue Mu Shang was not intimidated by the mention of Yan Dao's name. No longer did he harbor any thoughts of stopping him.

"Even if the author is one of the Five Great Swordsmen of that sect, the Fire Spirit Flame Heavenly Demon Sword?"

"I'm not afraid."

Wei Mu Shang's gaze locked with Yeomdo's, unwilling to look away. Behind the path Yeomdo had walked, six pillars of iron armor sizzled alongside their masters.

"Great! Great!"

Yan Dao smiled inwardly with satisfaction. It was their combined attacks that he feared on the Iron Scaffold, not a one-on-one battle. In a one-on-one match, it didn't matter if you rode a horse or not, if it was armored or not. I was past the age where I was intimidated by the size of a horse, let alone an underdog.

CHANG!

The first of Wei Mu's spears and Yin Dao's sword clashed head-on. Unknowingly, Yeomdo's massive charge was met head-on by the charging horse.

Geeeeeeeeep!

Unable to withstand the breakthrough power of the Demon God, Yeomdo's body was knocked back nearly a zhang, causing a deep furrow the length of a zhang to be dug, but his body did not fall backwards.

"Tsk tsk! Ignorance is……."

Bi Ryuyeon clicked her tongue at the sight.

He had the skill to dodge or deflect it, but he forced himself to come at it and block it from the front. It was a very salt-of-the-earth behavior, to try to break it with a head-on collision…….

"That's pretty good!"

Yin Dao said as he blocked his opponent's spear with the sword he held firmly in both hands. Wei Mu-sang leaped backward with his horse. The gap between them was wider than the gap between their spears, and Yin tried to catch his breath. It was at this moment that Wei Muxiang was aiming.

Bam, bam, bam!

Three blows in quick succession! The attacks ignored the gap. Yin was caught off guard.

The sides of his body were torn and bare. It was the work of two quick stabs.

"You are indeed the saltiness of rumors. You have defeated my three-stage disease storm head-on……. But how do you intend to overcome this gap?"

This attack seemed to give him some confidence. Before he knew it, the spear he was holding had doubled in length and turned into a 10-foot (about 3 meters) long spear. It seemed to be a tactic to gain the advantage of distance.

But the tactic soon proved futile.

"Huh? Huh? Huh?"

For a moment, Wei Musang was frightened. A rush of searing heat shot up from his spearhead. It was the Sword Flame Qi of Yan Dao.

"Boom!"

My palms felt like they were on fire. I felt like I was going to miss the window if I held on any longer.

"Hap! Take it!"

Once more, the harsh sting of the trident style erupted from his spear. Three large holes were simultaneously blasted into the untouched ground, not wide but nearly half a zhang deep. This showed that Wei Mu's spear had tremendous penetrating power. The ground that the spear pierced was drawn in a swirling spiral centered on the holes. This was evidence of the enormous rotational force that pierced the earth. In other words, the spear was not only fast, but it also had a tremendous rotational force.

It was also said that he had just blocked a stabbing blow head-on. The monster judgment committee gave him a little more leeway. No matter how powerful a blow was, it was useless if it didn't hit.

"Did you think you'd get hit by the same number twice?"

His voice came from the top of Yumusang's head as he sat on his saddle. Before he knew it, he had jumped to a place higher than the top of Wei Mu's head.

Then Yin Dao sat down on the second spear pole that Wei Mu Shang had set up. It was a long spear, about ten feet (three meters) long, but he used it as a foothold to steady himself.

"Bam!"

She applauded Yidou's stunt. He politely dismissed them.

Eek!

Yin Dao was fast and light on his spear, slicing through the air toward Wei Mu Shang. There was nowhere for him to dodge. He didn't even have time to draw another spear to defend himself.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Lender, I'm sorry.

In that moment, for the first time, Yumusang recognized death and humbly accepted it.

Get it!

With a flash of red, Yeomdo slammed his ejaculatory sword into Wei Mu's neck.

In the normal course of events, Wei Mu's neck would have been separated from his body, soaring high into the air, before falling to the ground and rolling around five times.

But to his surprise, that didn't happen. What was even crazier was the fact that Yumusang's neck was still in place and fully functional. So, Yudo was about to lose his mind.

"Isn't that cheating?"

Bi Ryuyeon turned her gaze to where Gu Tianhak stood. One of Gu Tianhak's favorite weapons, the Five Star Silent Dragon Spear, which had been strapped to the back of Jilfeng's harness just moments ago, was now empty.

It was now in the hands of the original master, Gu Tianhua, and it was the culprit that had interrupted the crucial moment just moments before, when Yidao's sword had slit Yue Mu's throat.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't let a valuable subordinate die, and people like him are hard to come by."

"Lord!"

He was so overwhelmed with emotion that he looked like he might burst into tears at any moment. Luckily, that didn't happen.

'For this man I will surely give my life one day!'

That's what Wei Musang decided. It was a romantic notion for a warrior. His life here was the same life that had just been cut short by Yidou's sword.

"Chet! It's leaking!"

Yeomdo grumbled. He felt like he'd been to the bathroom and left his behind unwiped.

Ryuyeon Bi said.

"A foul is a foul, no matter how you slice it, and fouls come with penalties. What would you pay for a foul?"

Bi Ryuyeon's gaze was still fixed on Gu Tianhak. Gu Tianhak returned the gaze wordlessly.

"Bet!"

Gutcheonhak said.

"I bet……. That's a very interesting story, and it's pretty much my kind of story."

Bi Ryuyeon was intrigued by Koo Chun-hak's words.

"That's a good thing, because if you had refused, it would have been all-out war until one of us was wiped out."

Gu Tianhua's words were sincere. It meant a great deal to him to leave himself the option of returning without completing his mission.

"So what's the bet?"

"One and done!"

Upon hearing Gu Tianhua's words, a hue of surprise rippled across the faces of Yin Do, Na Yerin, Mo Yonghui, Qing Heng, Baek Muyoung, Jang Hong, Hyo Ryong, and Zhu Jia Dan.

Also known as hand-to-hand or grand combat, it's a method of fighting in which a single representative decides the outcome of a contest. In other words, the entire contest is decided by the strength of a single person.

"That's an interesting way to do it."

Bi Ryuyeon seemed quite pleased. Gu Tianhak seemed to be quite satisfied with his method.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Well, that would be you, obviously… and ours would be……."

With his vice lord Wei Mu Shang now dead, the only hand left in the Iron Sculpture Corps was his overlord, Gu Tianhua. He was the outcast. Bi Ryuyeon took a quick look around and began to search for a representative.

"Where are you looking? You're the head of the organization, of course."

"Me?"

Bi Ryuyeon looked nervous. It was a look of reluctance.

"Why? Is something wrong? You don't mean to tell me you're scared now?"

"No, I don't think so, it's just a pain in the ass and I was thinking of passing it off to someone else."

Boom!

A devilish grin crossed Bi Ryuyeon's lips. He didn't want to be the one to take the blame, Zhu Zhaodan and Yin Dao thought, and they began to think about how to gracefully decline. If they didn't come up with five or six reasons, they might be at a disadvantage later. Cheong Hyeon and Baek Moo-young were still wide-eyed, not knowing English. They were probably lulled into a false sense of security, thinking that Bi Ryuyeon was joking, but Zhu Zhaodan and Yin Dao were well aware of the fact that it was a "ten million words!

It was Koo Chun-hak who rescued them from the brink.

"Who else is going to take your place? You were the one who stood in our way first, so shouldn't you be the one to finish the job?"

Gu Tianhua's will was steadfast and majestic. A tycoon was indeed a tycoon.

"Bam, with your support, we can't do that."

When Bi Ryuyeon agreed, Yidao and the rest of the cast breathed a sigh of relief.

Ting, ting, ting!

The gruff Kucheonhak finally stepped forward. He could feel the weight of the mountain shifting.

"Whew, that's a good one."

"Let's call it the Muksung!"

Muksung, the stallion of Kukcheon, was covered in a mane of jet-black hair, and his entire body emitted a ferocious energy that was almost like a roar. The enormous horse body, which looked half as big as a normal horse, was a great way to instill intimidation in people. In addition to the horse theme, An Guang's eyes were also fierce, as if he was about to spit out fire. At this point, it was hard to call it a horse.

"Is this the beginning of the end?"

"If you defeat me, this will be our last fight. But if you don't, all your hard work will be for naught, and you'll have to settle for a diary."

Kuo Tianhak realized that further engagement was a useless sacrifice; already they had been swept away by the aura of the monster with the face of a young boy. It was an inescapable quagmire. Unbeknownst to them, they were drowning to the end of their rope, and it was now up to them to expose the bottom of the swamp, to break it.

Boom!

The whiter-than-white jade tugged at Bi Ryuyeon's arm. Its owner was none other than Na Yerin. Bi Ryuyeon stared at Na Yerin with a puzzled expression on her face.

But her face was devoid of even a trace of what might be called emotion, and she spoke only one word.

"Be careful."

These words were enough to satisfy her. It was something she would never have done under normal circumstances. Even now, Na Yerin could neither understand nor explain what she had just done. An unknown emotion had driven her to do it.

"Hahaha, it's my lucky day to hear all that from you or Sojae, that alone will make this fight worthwhile, don't worry!"

Bi Ryuyeon smiled broadly. Then she replied with a straight face.

"Who's worried now?"

"Of course I'm Sojae!"

"I've never worried about it."

She declared firmly. But she failed to disappoint Bi Ryuyeon.

"Really?"

"Really."

Na Yerin's answer made Bi Ryuyeon smile again.

"I'm sure you are, but … thanks for your concern!"

That's enough, Bi Ryuyeon thought. Maybe the mindless priests will be able to get their act together later with enough mental training.

Bi Ryuyeon relaxed her limbs and let her whole body relax.

An unspoken bell rang silently in their minds, signaling the beginning of the duel. It was time to begin.

Get it!

For a moment, Gu Tianhua's right arm flashed forward.

Boom!

A thunderous roar that seemed to pierce the atmosphere! The atmosphere swirled as it was caught in a powerful spear.

Pavavavavavavat!

In an instant, an invisible spirit spear swept through the air and grazed Bi Ryuyeon's left ear. A few strands of hair were caught in the force of the spirit spear and scattered into the air.

My ears perked up at the loud blasting.

"Nothing… nothing! Void wound!"

Yeomdo exclaimed. It had been a long time since he had seen such a perfect empty air attack. Air power that could skip ten feet and injure an enemy was not something that could be found everywhere.

"And it wasn't even power!

It was clear that he had things in his hand. At this point, Tian Guandao's side was understandably uneasy.

"Mr. Nosa, do you think your big brother can win?"

Namgungsang asked in a worried tone.

"Maybe!"

Yeomdo's gaze shifted forward, as if he couldn't be bothered to say more.

Boom!

Bi Ryuyeon smiled.

"Ho-ho? Is that a greeting? Be nice."

He was intentionally aiming slightly off to the side instead of straight on.

"You're the kind of person who can't even say hello properly."

I had no intention of going for the jugular against a younger junior. My pride as a senior would not allow it. However, he had thought about taking an earful. And even that was narrowly avoided by Bi Ryuyeon.

"What do you mean, you didn't see it?

Gu Tianhak denied the suspicion that had arisen in his mind.

Chuck!

Gu Tianhak raised his spear with both hands and pointed it straight ahead, intending to go for it now. Just a moment ago, it was just a taste. Now was the real thing.

The atmosphere felt like it was being pulled taut, and a tension reigned everywhere that chilled the hearts of those watching.

"Purr! Purr!"

Only the occasional silent grunt could be heard in the eerie silence. More and more, the tense protests were pulled back.

"Sum!"

Gutian kicked the horse in the stomach with his foot, and Muksung bounced back, wild and ferocious, as if he had been waiting for a gale. The earth screamed as it tore beneath Muksung's hooves.

The earth's soil flew wildly in all directions. It was as if the human horses were united in a gale that swept everything away.

"Hot!"

Boom!

Gu Tianhua stabbed the air with his spear. An invisible and intangible penetrating force flew towards Bi Ryuyeon with a fierce rippling sound. Mu Yingqiang's Spiritual Void Attack was once again on display. However, there was a marked difference in its power.

What's wrong is that what we showed earlier was one penetration, and now we have five.

Secrets of the Shadowless Window

Void gap injury (虚空隔傷) Five-pointed star (五星擊)

But no matter how many times one became five, it wasn't like they couldn't escape what they had dodged once.

Grrrr!

As Bi Ryuyeon's body swayed like a willow branch, the five penetrating powers quickly passed through her body and crashed into the bare ground.

Boom!

Five huge pillars of earth rose from the ground as a deep hole was dug. When the Five Star Sword was no longer effective, Gu Tianhak quickly turned the reins and drove his horse to the right of Bi Ryuyeon, to the left of where Bi Ryuyeon could be positioned on his right, so that his superior strength could be used to attack Bi Ryuyeon.

Shhhhh!

This time, Gu Tianhak swung the spear sideways, and it stretched out as if it were a whip, causing a ripple in the air.

Kwagwagwagwag!

Once again, Bi Ryuyeon narrowly avoided Gu Tian-hak's attack. This time, however, the blow took an unexpected turn. An enormous straight furrow appeared in front of her feet, along with a high wall of earth.

But it wasn't time to let our guard down yet. Once again, a swarm of rippling light flew toward Bi Ryuyeon. This time, it wasn't just one shot.

Infallible Misunderstanding

Blue Shatter (波浪粉碎擊)

Heat (裂地)

Terrifying window shadows rushing in like waves! Waves of chi!

Gu Tianhak circled around Bi Ryuyeon, casting the technique he had just used in succession. True to its name, the earth screamed as it was torn and shredded into pieces.

Boom! Boom! Boom! BANG! Bam! Bam!

Now, hidden from their view by the rising cloud of dust and the glow of the spear's blade, Bi Ryuyeon's form was a fierce, breathless onslaught, like a beast tamer's whip.

Heeeeeeeee!

Gu Tianhak's muffled voice was a pleasant surprise. After circling around and besieging Bi Ryuyeon, Gu Tianhak had returned to his original position.

But the dirt that had completely covered the spot where Bi Ryuyeon had stood had not yet been removed. Gu Tianhak was staring straight ahead, unable to relax.

"It was a perfect attack with no flaws, so what is this anxiety?

With an unknown anxiety, Gu Tianhak gripped the spear harder. It must have taken a hit.

"Waaaaaah!"

Already, cheers were erupting all around the iron scaffold. On the other hand, the faces of the Heavenly Martial Academy's students, who were all in favor of Yeomdo, were grim. They were solemnly waiting for the dust cloud to clear.

It was then.

"Kolok! Kolok!"

A dirt-covered Inyoung stepped out of a cloud of dust. He was coughing incessantly. Apparently, the dense dust had irritated his bronchial tubes. The blurry figure was, of course, Bi Ryuyeon. As if to show off her tenacious vitality, Bi Ryuyeon walked gracefully through the onslaught. Aside from being covered in dust, she was unfortunately unharmed.

"Oh no, I don't even have a spare pair of these, and I have to go wash them."

With a grunt, she shook off the dust that had settled on her body. A fine cloud of dust rose from her limbs.

"That's great!"

Gu Tianhua was genuinely impressed, the dormant martial blood within him boiling. A shiver ran down his spine, and he felt that a man of this caliber would not be a waste to bump into with all his might.

"Is there anyone like you in the world?"

"I don't think so."

That was a pretty brazen answer from Bi Ryuyeon.

"This is my last attack. I will put my whole heart and soul into this attack. If you can make it through this attack unscathed……."

Gu Tianhak paused for a moment before speaking. His mind was now completely clear.

"…I will admit defeat and return to the Black Heavenly League with my troops. Are you ready?"

A flash of light flashed in Gutian's eyes.

"Anytime."

She was always ready to go.

The serious-faced Gu Tianhua raised the spear, which he held in both hands, as if aiming upward. His left hand gripped the tip of the spear while his right hand lightly grasped the hilt. It was as if they had become a single blade.

"You are indeed a paleoconservative……."

Yeomdo was genuinely impressed. After all, this was a far cry from the Wei Mu Shang he had just fought. It was amazing that he could use a spear in a way that wasn't a spear at all.

Cha-ching!

Raised overhead, the spear slashed at an angle with processing speed.

Invincibility Mortality Wrongfulness

無影刃

In an instant, Bi Ryuyeon could sense that the formless sword Qi was aiming for him, flying like a hawk in the sky. A formless blade as fast as light!

Voila!

But Bi Ryuyeon managed to dodge even this single, deadly blow. Even as the atmosphere split in half, he ended up with a cut on the hem of his robe. He might not have been able to dodge it if he hadn't unwrapped the Silent Dragon Ring. The power of the spirit man was unrealistically fast and terrifyingly powerful.

A special move involves risking your own life to end the life of your opponent, and if it fails, the psychological toll on you is enormous. How can anyone be sane when their life has been expended in vain?

Faced with a devastated Gu Tianhua, Bi Ryuyeon unleashed a final blow.

Flash!

A flash of light shot straight through space.

Tsk!

His helmet snapped in half, and his hair fluttered in the wind. His vision was briefly obscured by the loose hair. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that Bi Ryuyeon had somehow managed to get on top of his steed, and a bared-toothed thunderbolt glowed with chilling foreboding around his neck. It was a complete defeat for Gu Tianhua.

"Lost."

And that was the end of the fight.

By now, the sun was sinking into a deep twilight in the western mountains.

"Is that all there is to it?"

Na Yerin said.

"You've lost too much blood."

In this fight, Bi Ryuyeon was unforgiving and unrelenting. It was a very bloody fight.

"I'm not afraid of blood once I've decided to see it; it's a shield of determination that protects my heart. If your mind is eroded by the fear of blood and killing, you're never going to be at twelve percent power. Not that I ever needed power, of course, but……."

Bi Ryuyeon said in a calm voice. Na Yerin looked at him with a quiet gaze. But she didn't open her mouth to say or do anything, just watch in silence.

The sight of the famous and powerful Iron Scaffolds turning their horses' heads and heading back to the edge of the horizon, pushed back by the force of a single man, was a sight that would stay with Qing Shui for the rest of his life. Qing Shui and everyone around him listened to the hooves of the horses echo through the hollowness of the earth and watched in disbelief as they disappeared over the horizon, kicking up dust.

The sound of horses' hooves resonating between heaven and earth pounded in my ears, but the eerie silence filled the space in all directions, making the figures seem even more unreal.

Only after confirming that the entirety of the Iron Carving Scaffold had disappeared beyond the horizon of the vast plains did Qing Shui's gaze turn to Bi Ryuyeon. Just like the lie, the Iron Carving Scaffold had indeed returned. Without a single person's sacrifice!

He glared at Bi Ryuyeon, the cause of this, the embodiment of recklessness, the master of hasty actions, and a habitual criminal. It was a pity that he lacked the cultivation to dissect and see through her.

"Who the hell is this person?

Who in this powerhouse is capable of raising such a man, such a monster?

A dozen or so of the ironclad horses that had once boasted of their invincibility, their speed faster than the wind, lay dead and bloodied on the ground. And… the rest of the Ironclad turned their horses' heads and rode back to where they had come from.

'Has the head of the iron scaffold ever been turned in the last thirty years?'

I assure you, there was no such thing. Where the Iron Scaffold, one of the most powerful symbols of the Black Heavenly League's invincibility, passed, there was only victory and the ruin and destruction they brought.

That day, Qinghun was lucky enough to witness a single exception, though he wasn't sure if it was good luck or bad luck.

And everyone was silent about what they had seen that day, as if they had made a promise. Not only the priests and servants of Bi Ryuyeon, but also Zhu Jia Dan, Jang Hong, Hyorong, Bai Muyoung, and Cheng Heng.

The last thing I wanted to do was be labeled a lunatic by my peers for speaking my mind. Thankfully, not everyone is a pervert who finds pleasure in such things.

"Hey! Hey! Blueprint! Blue!"

Cheong-hyeon's reminiscences of the past are interrupted by Baek Moo-young's call.

"Huh? Ah! Moo-young, is that you?"

His eyes finally focusing, Qinghui stared back at his best friend. The one who had followed him with all his might and returned safely without doing anything.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

Baek asked.

"Alas, nothing."

"Are you thinking about that time?"

He was a quick thinker, after all. Cheong Hyeon didn't say much, but it wasn't hard for Baek Moo Young to guess what he was thinking.

"Don't think about that day anymore. It's not good for your mental health."

When I think back to that day, I'm not sure if I'm in the real world or if I'm wandering around in a fantasy world. It's like a lucid dream……. The events of that day still seemed very dreamy and unreal to them.

"Yeah, that's good, I'll seal it away in the back of my mind for now and don't open it, I might go crazy if I think about it anymore."

Baek enthusiastically agreed with his idea.

"Excellent choice. Good thinking, good thinking!"

When he regained his composure and looked around again, Bi Ryuyeon was already gone. Qing Shui gave up trying to think about it anymore.