Chapter 256

“What the fuck are you?”

At the question, which contained so much meaning in so few words, Jongni Chu’s eyes curved like half-moons.

“Do I need to say it again?”

“Jongni Chu from Yunnan. Yeah, I know. So…”

The voice that followed was calm enough to surprise even me.

“Who are you? You.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to catch that friend of yours behind you first?”

Jongni Chu was right. I caught Cheongpung’s arm as it began to crumple.

There was a little bleeding from the shallow cut across his chest, but it was nowhere near enough to bring down a master of Cheongpung’s caliber.

“What did you do?”

“Nothing. His mental strength was merely injured.”

“If anything happens to Cheongpung…”

“You worry too much. It was only a feint. Nothing like what you’re thinking will happen.”

“A feint? That strike just now?”

“If you don’t believe me, I can’t help that. Friendship is a wonderful thing.”

As I watched Jongni Chu smile gently, my stomach burned as though I had swallowed a ball of fire.

I was completely fooled.

I remembered our first meeting.

A cheerful loudmouth who had asked to become friends, saying that even brushing sleeves was enough to create a connection. He had been annoying, but I hadn’t disliked him.

Now, however, I didn’t know what to think. From beginning to end, everything about him was shrouded in mystery.

My grip tightened around White Flame.

“W-Wait!”

The judge had hurriedly cut in. He was visibly flustered by the unexpected turn of events.

“Both of you, step back. And Young Hero Jin, entering a duel in progress violates the rules of the Star-Array Grand Banquet.”

Without taking my eyes off Jongni Chu, I answered,

“Then you want me to stand there and watch while someone nearly gets killed?”

“B-But he said it was only a feint!”

“That’s what he says.”

At my firm reply, the judge bit his lip.

“If you don’t withdraw now, you may be disqualified according to the rules.”

“Disqualified?”

“Of course. You don’t want to be disqualified with the final still ahead of you, do you?”

I let out a short laugh.

Winning the Star-Array Grand Banquet would certainly earn me a huge amount of EXP and Fame, or perhaps an even greater Reward.

Jin Wikyung would hug me for raising the family’s reputation, and Jeok Cheongang would be pleased as well.

But that’s all it would be.

The year I had spent in Fire Gate Cavern had not been for the sake of winning the Star-Array Grand Banquet.

And the same was true of the sinister bastard standing before me.

“Let’s fight.”

Jongni Chu deliberately widened his eyes.

“Now?”

“Yeah.”

“Good grief. If you don’t withdraw immediately, you’ll be disqualified.”

“I don’t give a damn about that.”

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I’ll be able to win easily and make my name known throughout the world.”

“Cut the crap. Stop the terrible acting and tell me what you really think.”

Jongni Chu paused, then grinned.

“I was right about you. You really are an interesting friend.”

“Friend? That’s not what you say in a situation like this. Especially not between you and me.”

“It does hurt a little, but… well, it can’t be helped.”

“So what’s your answer?”

“I did want to fight you at least once.”

The judge, who had been listening to us, cut in with a rigid expression.

“Did you not hear what I said? And according to the rules, the Star-Array Grand Banquet final must take place tomorrow.”

At that moment, a low voice pierced everyone’s ears.

“Then change those rules. Starting today.”

“How dare you!”

The judge spun around, roaring, and froze in place.

A tiny old man had approached like a ghost.

“G-Great Hero Jeok?”

The Fire King, Jeok Cheongang. His reddish, fever-bright eyes passed over me and Jongni Chu before settling on the judge.

“That’s right. It’s me.”

“I-I apologize. I misspoke.”

“Forget it and move on. Proceed with the next duel immediately.”

“B-But…”

“But?”

The judge swallowed hard.

“To change the schedule, we must hold a meeting and receive the presiding chair’s approval.”

“The presiding chair of the first Star-Array Grand Banquet was the Martial God. After he disappeared, it became the Abbot of Shaolin, who could be considered the organizer. Is that correct?”

“Y-Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then it’s settled.”

“Pardon?”

“Hong Dao had to step away for an urgent matter. Considering seniority and standing in the Murim, I am the presiding chair now.”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the seats of honor a hundred zhang away. Just as Jeok Cheongang had said, the seat where Dharma King Hong Dao should have been sitting was empty.

No. There was one more person missing.

Song Ho, the Thousand-Faced Fox.

Two important people had left at the same time. What was going on?

A question flashed through my mind, but it soon disappeared. That wasn’t what mattered right now.

“Now we can forget about those damn rules or whatever they are. Am I wrong?”

The judge hesitated, then nodded.

“No. We’ll proceed.”

“Good. And you.”

Jongni Chu, who had been watching the scene with great interest, pointed at his own chest.

“Me?”

“Yes, you, the one whose tongue has been cut in half.”

“My tongue hasn’t been cut in half, but I understand.”

Even though he clearly knew who he was dealing with, he remained completely unruffled.

Jeok Cheongang fixed Jongni Chu with a grave, steady glare.

“I’ll ask you directly. Did you come from Tianshan?”

The Tianshan Mountains. The headquarters of the Demonic Cult.

The judge flinched as though he had touched a flame, while Jongni Chu wore a faint smile, as if enjoying the situation.

“I’ll postpone my answer to that question.”

“If you don’t want to die young, you’d better think carefully before answering.”

Jongni Chu rubbed his smooth chin.

“What will you do if some unfortunate accident occurs before you hear my answer?”

“An accident?”

“You never know what might happen in the Murim. For example, a certain master might lose his only Disciple.”

At that moment, a deathly silence pressed down on the surroundings.

Jeok Cheongang stared at Jongni Chu with emotionless eyes before opening his mouth.

“If such a regrettable thing were to happen… the master who lost his Disciple would become very angry.”

“Would you kill the culprit even if you had to cast a net over heaven and earth?”

“Of course not. I’d burn him alive. You have my word.”

“Aren’t you making quite a promise? You don’t even know who we’re talking about.”

“Coincidentally, it’s someone I know very well.”

“Oh, dear.”

Jongni Chu burst into cheerful laughter.

“Then I suppose I’ll have to go easy on him.”

“Are you underestimating my Disciple?”

“I’m looking forward to it, but he probably won’t be a match for me.”

“That’s what he says. What do you think?”

At Jeok Cheongang’s question, I tightened my grip around the spear shaft and answered,

“That bastard’s got a warped way of thinking.”

Jongni Chu looked at me with amusement.

“I can’t tell whether what you’re showing is confidence or arrogance.”

“Neither. I want to live a long, full life. But there’s one thing I do know.”

I continued, enunciating each word clearly.

“You don’t know anything until you try.”

“Good thinking. But will that be enough this time?”

“I hope it is.”

“You could die.”

“That’s why I have to give it my all. If I die after that… well, it’ll leave a bad taste in my mouth, but someone will avenge me. Won’t they?”

Jeok Cheongang nodded.

“Go in peace. I’ll avenge you, so don’t worry about what comes after.”

“Seriously? You call that comforting?”

“So stop talking nonsense and remember one thing. If that bastard kills you, I’ll kill you myself.”

“If I don’t want to die twice, I’d better work hard.”

Jongni Chu, who had been listening to us, burst into loud laughter.

“Ha-ha-ha! What an interesting Master and Disciple pair.”

I stared at him and muttered inwardly.

Before we fought, I needed to peel back even a little of the veil surrounding him.

Skill, Qi Sense.

A chime rang.

System

• You have used Qi Sense.

• Since you are currently at the eighth stage, you can detect targets at Level 100 or below within eighty zhang.

I possessed two kinds of Qi Sense: the Qi Sense that existed as a Skill, and the Qi Sense I had developed as a martial artist.

Early after coming to the Murim, I had relied entirely on the former. But as time passed, I realized that Level and strength were not directly proportional, so I gradually reduced how often I used it.

The Murim had too many variables to judge people by Level alone.

Show me something. Even a little. Show me what you really are.

Whoosh!

Once Qi Sense reached the eighth stage, I could focus it entirely on a single person.

A blue line visible only to me shot forward without hesitation and reached Jongni Chu.

No—just as I thought it had reached him—

Beep!

System

• Qi Sense has failed!

• Unable to identify the target!

• An unknown force is rejecting the Skill!

“…”

What?

My eyes flew open at the unbelievable System notification. I looked at Jongni Chu in confusion.

The blue line of Qi Sense had seemed to hit something, circled around him, and then disappeared.

“What the hell did you do?”

“That’s what I’d like to ask you.”

Jongni Chu had stopped laughing. His gaze, filled with interest, turned toward me.

“You have quite an interesting trick.”

His words suddenly brought an old memory to mind.

It was a memory from a year ago, of the first person who had ever detected my Qi Sense.

Well, aren’t you an interesting fellow?

The Fire King, Jeok Cheongang.

As befitted a Supreme Peak master, he had been able to control his qi freely. Through that encounter, I had first realized that the System was not omnipotent.

But even Jeok Cheongang couldn’t make the Skill bounce off him.

And now an unknown force had rejected the Skill. I had never heard of anything like it.

The more I saw Jongni Chu violate common sense, the more one word floated through my mind.

Demonic martial arts.

Martial arts that defied reason.

My suspicion hardened into certainty. I finally understood the meaning behind the question Jeok Cheongang had asked him earlier.

“You really are from the Demonic Cult, aren’t you?”

“Beat me and I’ll tell you. What kind of trick did you use?”

“Even if you beat me, I won’t tell you.”

“That leaves me at a considerable disadvantage. It can’t be helped.”

Sssrk.

The rusted sword slowly rose and pointed at the space between my eyebrows.

A humming voice followed, utterly at odds with the suffocating edge of his sword.

“Come on. Let’s have some fun.”

I raised White Flame and answered,

“Yeah. Let’s have a brutal good time.”

Whoosh!

The fire dragon curled within my dantian awoke from its sleep and stretched.

Give it everything you’ve got.

Jeok Cheongang used Seizing an Object Through Empty Space to pull Cheongpung toward him, then stepped through the air as he retreated. At the same time, the judge’s frantic voice rang out.

“According to the revised schedule, the Star-Array Grand Banquet final will begin immediately! The Life-Sustaining Sword—no, the Always-Victorious Sword, Jongni Chu, and the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi, Jin Taekyung…!”

The judge’s announcement became meaningless.

We were already charging toward each other.

Screeeech!

One step. The distance disappeared.

Boom!

Two steps. Two streaks of light bursting from our hands collided in midair.