Book 8 Chapter 6

Master vs. pupil

-Sibling Prolongation Decision War (弟子延長決定戰)

Yesterday evening!

In the depths of night, when even the stars are asleep! Two men stand face-to-face in an unassuming indoor performance hall. They are Yeomdo and Byuryeon. A subtle tension was pulling at the air between them.

"I promised!"

Ryuyeon Bi said.

"Sure."

Yeomdo nodded with a determined face.

"You're ready for this, right?"

"Of course!"

There was nowhere to go but up. Already, his body was racing with excitement.

"Well, I guess I won't have to worry about paying for drinks tomorrow."

Bi Ryuyeon's mouth was already watering, and he was not currently considering the position of the rice cake maker.

"You don't know that until you try."

"Oooh, great confidence!"

Bam!

Bi Ryuyeon clapped her hands in admiration. Yin was not pleased at all.

"It's not like I've been playing around."

He hadn't been playing around for the past six months, either. He'd been a good practitioner, and he'd never been satisfied with his training, and he'd devoted himself to it, but she seemed to think he was too good for her. Now he was going to prove with his whole body that he was not Bob.

"There are a lot of things in the world you can learn without doing."

Bi Ryuyeon smiled brightly.

It seems that every creature in the world has a real enemy. This thorough, cold, and brutal food chain is not something that humans can escape.

Humans certainly had their natural enemies, based on their own power dynamics.

Yeomdo thought he had only one enemy in this world, the icy Bing Sword. But it had only been a short time, less than two years, that he had realized that there was an even more terrifying foe. It was on that nightmare day, almost two years ago, that he first met Bi Ryuyeon.

In the face of his nemesis, he was as thoroughly underdog as a frog in the face of a snake. He wanted to say he wasn't a lunchbox, but his argument didn't work.

Whereas Binggum's tense confrontations and psychological battles kept him on his toes, Bi Ryuyeon was simply outmaneuvered.

It was too much for the proud, short-tempered salts to bear. It was a story so embarrassing and humiliating that he dared not even mention it to anyone else.

How much effort has it taken to end that story…….

"Definitely today!

I will risk my life to raise the banner of the Deserters.

"You'll see!

The previous fight was a three-game sweep, but Yeomdo hasn't been playing around.

He vowed to himself that today he would defeat Wen Shu in front of him and end the life of his time-limited disciple.

Grasping the hilt of the mourning red flame that was still in the dao house, Yeomdo's eyes were cautious.

The periodic battles between the two, fought every six months for a natural period of time, were originally part of a promise made between Bi Ryuyeon and Salt Lake. It was a contingency plan, a way for Bi Ryuyeon to escape if the escape route was completely blocked. The promise was as follows. If he fulfilled his duties as an apprentice for six months, he could decide whether or not to extend his apprenticeship by fighting her. If he wanted to quit, he could settle it with his fists. Three fights over the course of a year and a half - three fights that forced him to admit one thing for sure. He had to bitterly admit the terrible truth that he had not lost to Bi Ryuyeon by mistake, but by skill. After this, Yeomdo became even more dedicated to his cultivation, only to see Zhu Zhaodan and Yun Junho, his targets of training and anger, die.

The Yeomdo burned my stomach.

How futile it was to be defeated before I could even draw my red flame, just like the very first challenge……. Only the bodies of the targets of his anger suffered. All the anger had been poured out on them. This does not mean that the next two fights were good. If those two battles had turned out well, Yin Dao wouldn't be here now, fighting with Bi Ryuyeon. It was a nightmare I don't even want to think about. But then again, a two-year nightmare was too long.

'If you do this and you lose again, you're going to…….'

If the time-limited scar was removed and a permanent disciple scar was placed on me, I'd rather bite the bullet and die, but the initiative of the current interim master, Bi Ryuyeon, who had even included a suicide clause in the memorandum of agreement for discipleship, to explain how he knew the true nature of Yidao, was so unbelievable that it sent chills down my spine.

Yin Dao had been cautiously building up her power as if she were facing the foe of a lifetime. He knew now, with the bitterness of a mother who had taught him the hard way through a few failures, that if he didn't go in at full strength and at the top of his game, he would never come out victorious.

"Aren't you taking too long this time? You're being too cautious. Cautiousness out of character can be poison."

She pretended to be concerned about the Yeomdo during the confrontation. Thankfully, tongue-in-cheek doesn't cost money, which is why she was able to afford to do this.

"I think we've had enough of being taken advantage of, and I think we've been taken advantage of a time or two, and I think we've had enough of being taken advantage of by now, and I think we've had enough lessons learned."

It was a declaration that even though he was angry, he was capable of learning.

"Alas, that learning ability has caused me to drink the bitter cup of defeat three times, and I didn't even realize it because I was so inattentive!"

"Boom!"

Hearing Bi Ryuyeon's words, Yan Dao's face contorted into a grotesque curve. Her chest was cold. No, it was hot.

With three undefeated matches under his belt, he had plenty of experience. Even without telling you how vulnerable he is to speed, the pain he's suffered is enough to make you realize how much he's been trying to compensate for his lack of speed. …….

The previous three losses were also ridiculous one-sided affairs, as he was unable to withstand Bi Ryuyeon's momentary breakthrough.

Yeomdo had never practiced this hard before, not even when he was defeated by the dastardly Kwan Cheol-soo.

"This time, this time, this time, this time!

I vowed that I would win, that I would be freed from this pathetic and hopeless state of discipleship.

Yeomdo had already recognized Bi Ryuyeon's strength too clearly. It made no sense to him why the bastard had such monstrous strength, but he was skilled. He felt an inflammation in his very being that he couldn't help but recognize it.

In the meantime, Yidou has been focusing solely on improving his speed. He knew in his bones that at his current speed, he would never be able to keep up with the inhuman speed of Bi Ryuyeonon. It took a month for the bruises to heal. The lesson is to use it as a springboard to make a new leap.

The past year has been a busy one for Yaldo. He has been busy teaching Jujakdan and Yoon Junho. Teaching Jujakdan has helped him in many unexpected ways.

From that point on, confrontation with the master became the most efficient part of his training, which is why his teaching was always radical. Each time, he practiced martial arts with the assumption that his opponent was a Bi Ryuyeon. And sometimes, he would even target them with anger.

Unless a ghost or ghosts can outrun the monstrous speed of Bi Ryuyeonon, who might as well be a cousin, there is no path to victory.

"Great……."

His scarlet flame had not yet been drawn. His waist bent as he gripped the hilt to the point of bleeding, and a tremendous pressure crushed his entire body, as if his shoulders would break. He couldn't help but wonder why he had to cower in front of him, and he couldn't forgive himself for instinctively cringing. He had a strong feeling that he would lose himself if he continued to stand in front of Bi Ryuyeon.

He was so contaminated from being around her all the time.

"Sum!"

Flash!

A crimson glow split the atmosphere.

It was a lightning-fast sword technique. The speed was unparalleled. But it failed to achieve its ultimate goal: cutting the enemy. He had clearly spaced himself out, but it was all for naught. Before Hong Guang could slice him in two, Bi Ryuyeon had barely pulled himself back. A split second saved his life.

'Chet! Is this a failure…….'

He was disappointed, but he didn't let his guard down, for he knew from experience that the most frightening and powerful counterattack was the one that would come after the first strike had failed. Yeomdo poured all his energy into his defense.

Boom!

After taking a step backward, Bi Ryuyeon's body shot forward as fast as an arrow, using a technique called Gungshin Tan Ying, which involves curving the body like a bow and then shooting forward as if it were a bolt.

Dozens of shots rained down from Bi Ryuyeon's fist as he pounded away at Yidao.

"Hot!"

Pah-bah-bah-bah!

Yeomdo furiously swung his dao, forming a dao barrier to protect himself from Bi Ryuyeon's ignorant fist.

Poof! Poof! Poof! Pow!

The red membrane did not tolerate a single punch from the invading Bi Ryuyeon. Three times was enough. Four was too many.

"Ho-ho, that's faster!"

Bi Ryuyeon was truly impressed. This was a huge improvement from last time. A slug had become as fast as an ant. Bi Ryuyeon smiled inwardly with satisfaction.

"Because I haven't been playing around either!"

Yeomdo forcibly hid the trembling in his hands with an easy smile.

The Yeomdo healed the redness. He made his body stand upright in suspended animation. In this brief moment, Feng Dao had achieved the state of Shinto unity, where the sword and the body are one. His entire body was already like a single sword. He was about to use it.

The Crimson Seventy-Seven (眞紅十七炎) Righteousness

Sword Flame (Sword Flame) Great Fury (Great Fury)

A vision of roaring flames enveloped his entire body. His eyes began to glow as red as carnelian.

"Oh no, we're going to go until we get there, that's not fair."

Ryu-yeon Bi burst out laughing.

It is a legendary fire that is said to have the power to purify all things, as it is said to have been originally created by the Great Salt Yellow Fudong Ming King to burn away all the fraudulent energy in the world. Of course, it is highly unlikely that such a power is contained in the Dao of Yeomdo, but even so, its power is too fanciful to ignore.

Boom! Kwagwagwagwagwag!

It was an ignorant technique. Flame's nails clawed at the earth, tearing it to shreds.

Bi Ryuyeon quickly focused her attention on getting out of the Great Flame's range. It wouldn't be fun to get caught up in such an ignorant technique.

"Phew, I made it out alive……."

Bi Ryuyeon breathed a sigh of relief. One wrong move and she could have burned all of her hair off. It was a dangerous moment. Lately, she'd been feeling like her hair had been suffering. There seemed to be a lot of people who resented her beautiful locks.

I felt the need to finish the year. If she kept going, she could end up with a fatal accident. She didn't want to lose such a valuable student to an accident.

Non-Lightning Sword Poisonous Tattoo Technique

Phoenix Dance Righteousness (奧義)

Secrets (秘鏡)

Boom!

Her body split in two, as if reflected in a transparent mirror of space.

Pow! Pow!

The two alter egos that split off from Bi Ryuyeon's body attacked both sides of the island.

"Huh!"

Yeomdo was stunned. No matter how much energy he had expended just now, he could not allow himself to be defeated like this.

Yeomdo stabbed his alter ego on the left side of the road in his good water, and with his left hand he created a red flame field and struck a blow at Bi Ryuyeon's alter ego, which was aiming for his right.

Voila!

"Huh!"

Despite all the poking and prodding, I felt nothing. I felt like I'd hit a ghost.

"False!"

Puck!

Suddenly, he felt his vision go black, and a tremendous jolt from the back of his head rattled his brain: the two alter egos he'd thought were real were actually decoys. Neither of them was real. The real thing was separate.

'back…….'

With that last thought, he buried his face in the floor with a lump as big as a mountain.

"And when I woke up, I was in bed.

Yeomdo let out a sigh of despair.

The bulge in the back of my head was still showing no signs of going away. The back of my head was still burning and tingling.

'Next time, definitely…….'

Yeomdo is now back to counting down the days to the next 181.