Chapter 60
'Min, your Falling Star Sword technique has reached a new level. If you consistently practice the Eight Destiny Sword Technique, within ten to twenty years, there will be very few in the world who can match your swordsmanship. Of course, even among the current young generation, those who can withstand your Falling Star Sword are likely to be rare.'
Surely that's what he had said.
Jo Min felt like he was dreaming.
His master was neither one to speak nonsense nor make rash statements.
In fact, Jo Min's Falling Star Sword had been perfectly effective against every opponent he used it on.
Every single opponent had fallen like autumn leaves before his Falling Star Sword.
But now, a man appeared before his eyes who deflected the Falling Star Sword as easily as if it were wielded by a child.
A man who until recently had supposedly been nothing more than a scholar!
Without any sign of impact or struggle.
So very lightly.
'This, this can't be happening!'
Jo Min tried to quickly unleash the Falling Star Sword once more.
But,
"Hey now! It's my turn this time!"
Before he could react, Yeo Un-hwi closed the distance with a grin and swung his blade.
It was a simple downward strike, not even an ultimate technique like the Falling Star Sword.
Jo Min didn't realize, but it was a downward strike that formed the basic move of the Boundless Blade Art, slightly different from an ordinary downward strike.
'This damn bastard, to the very end!'
Jo Min felt irritation and anger rising at the fact that after deflecting his ultimate technique, the Falling Star Sword, this man's attack was merely a downward strike.
He felt like he was constantly being toyed with by his opponent.
He didn't know that this was how everyone who had faced him until now had felt.
But he already knew from the earlier sparring that this downward strike was extremely dangerous.
Still, a downward strike could simply be dodged.
The speed wasn't as fast as he expected.
But then,
Kuuung.
"...Kuhek!"
Suddenly, he felt his breath catch in his throat.
No matter how he tried to move, he felt as if some kind of wall was pressing in on him from all sides, preventing any movement.
'What, what is this?'
Before he could even process his confusion,
Kugugugugugu.
Though it should have been a wooden sword, what was slowly descending towards his head at an ordinary speed was a weapon larger than a massive tree.
Sounds ridiculous? That's what I'm saying!
He couldn't understand why he was unable to move, why he felt this suffocating pressure, or why this enormous wooden sword was coming down towards his head.
The only thing he could do was one thing:
Simply suffer in agony from this pressure, this terror.
Kuoooooo!
Soon, terrified that the massive wooden sword would crush his head, Jo Min let out a scream.
"N-Nooooo! Aaaaaaaargh!"
He unconsciously squeezed his eyes shut.
But when nothing happened afterwards, he cautiously opened them.
"Let's stop here."
Tok.
Yeo Un-hwi's wooden sword lightly tapped Jo Min's head.
Thud.
Jo Min's legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.
A yellow stain was spreading on his pants.
And so, all the sparring matches came to an end.
It was the Scholar Forest Group's defeat.
"Good work."
"What work?"
The White Wolf Unit approached Yeo Un-hwi as he came down after finishing the match.
Yeo Un-hwi smiled at the White Wolf Unit.
Among them, Peng Do-hwan was grinning from ear to ear.
Though his injury was certainly not one that would heal quickly, he had returned to the sparring ground after only receiving hasty first aid, unable to wait.
It was fortunate in a way, since it meant the wound was bearable.
Shaking his head as if to say he couldn't be stopped, Yeo Un-hwi asked:
"Are you that pleased?"
"Haha! Isn't that a terror that only I know about here?"
He too had experienced it at Yeo Un-hwi's hands before.
Almost exactly the same way.
So Peng Do-hwan alone knew very clearly the pressure and fear Jo Min must have felt.
That's why he felt good about it.
After all that arrogance, he ended up in such a state.
Moreover, for a martial artist to wet himself during an ordinary sparring match was a humiliation that would follow him for life.
It would be even more shameful for a man always praised as a genius and the top disciple of a Murim Alliance elder.
So he felt extremely pleased.
It was utterly delicious.
He thought that man deserved even worse.
To be honest, he even felt a bit disappointed.
That it was ending like this.
But judging by the atmosphere, it didn't seem like the other side would continue the sparring either.
And so the matches came to an end.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Perhaps shocked by their unexpectedly ugly defeat, the Scholar Forest Group quietly disappeared from the sparring ground.
"Haha! The White Wolf Unit's reputation will surely rise even higher now."
Peng Seo-jin, who had been watching the sparring the whole time, approached.
The servants and warriors beside him were staring blankly at Yeo Un-hwi with their mouths hanging open.
It seemed they were shocked by the incredible martial prowess Yeo Un-hwi, whom they had thought to be a mere scholar, had shown against Jo Min.
Peng Seo-jin looked at Yeo Un-hwi with a gentle smile.
"Congratulations on your victory in the sparring."
"It was nothing."
Yeo Un-hwi naturally used formal speech with Peng Seo-jin in front of others.
"How can you say that after so easily defeating a man called one of the talents who will be responsible for the future of Murim?"
A talent responsible for the future of Murim? That guy?
Well. That remained to be seen.
For some reason, Yeo Un-hwi made a strange face.
"Actually, I have something to tell you."
Yeo Un-hwi looked at Peng Seo-jin with a rather serious expression.
Soon, Peng Seo-jin made a puzzled face.
"Aaaaargh!"
Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaaang!
After changing clothes and coming out, Jo Min, overcome by the shock of defeat and the memory of his great humiliation, went berserk and smashed everything in the room.
"Damn it! Damn it! Aaaaargh!"
Seeing the fierce glint in his eyes, none of the Scholar Forest Group members dared to try to stop him or even open their mouths.
It was a shock to them as well.
It felt so unreal.
Jo Min's defeat was something they had never once imagined or even considered possible.
That's how much of an absolute figure of trust Jo Min was within the Scholar Forest Group.
For such a figure to be so pathetically and miserably defeated in a way that couldn't be more wretched.
It was a situation where no one knew what to say.
And that atmosphere made Jo Min even more crazed.
So he thought to himself.
He didn't want to stay here a moment longer.
"We're leaving this place immediately! Pack your things!"
Jo Min, having quickly made up his mind, ordered the Scholar Forest Group members in a low voice.
"Already? We just arrived and we're all exhausted from traveling. Shouldn't we at least stay for a day..."
Pueeeerk!
One of the members who carelessly spoke up was suddenly sent flying.
Jo Min's eyes were blazing with anger.
"From now on, if anyone dares to object to what I say even once more, I'll really kill you, so be prepared. There won't be a second chance."
For the members, it was almost the first time seeing Jo Min, who was usually the type to smile slyly while infuriating others, so furiously angry.
He had even lost the strange composure he usually maintained.
In the end, the Scholar Forest Group quickly left the Peng Family compound like that.
As if vowing never to return to the Peng Family again, they left while seething with anger.
They didn't even bother to say farewell to Peng Mugang, the Family Head.
They didn't know.
That someone was watching their departure.
"...Hah. Damn it. I'm dying of exhaustion."
"Hey, hey. Keep it down. The leader might hear."
The Scholar Forest Group members who had been traveling for a while all wore unpleasant expressions.
Their faces were full of discontent.
Of course, they understood why Jo Min wanted to leave the Peng Family immediately.
But that was one thing, and having to set out again without being able to rest and recover from the fatigue of their long journey to the Peng Family was truly the worst.
Their current state was naturally very different from when they first arrived at the Peng Family.
It felt twice as difficult now.
They had even participated in sparring because of their leader.
Though their grumbling and complaints were growing louder, no one dared to directly confront Jo Min about it.
Who knew what would happen if they said the wrong thing?
Anyway, their only desire was to quickly find a nearby village or somewhere to rest as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Jo Min had been silent ever since leaving the Peng Family compound.
He didn't want to say anything.
The memory of defeat was still too vivid.
It had barely been two hours, so perhaps it was natural.
It was too soon to overcome the shock of defeat.
No, one might wonder if it was even possible to overcome such a terrible defeat at all.
'Hah. Damn it. What will Master say when he hears about this?'
Surely he would be furious, deeply ashamed of such a disciple.
'Haah...'
This felt like being covered in filth when he had only meant to have some fun.
He shouldn't have messed with them in the first place.
But what good would regret do now?
Even if he could turn back time, he and the Scholar Forest Group would probably act exactly the same way.
Suddenly, the face of one man came to mind.
Yeo Un-hwi, the commander of the White Wolf Unit.
'Just who on earth was that guy?'
Then, as the man's piercing gaze vividly flashed in his mind, Jo Min's body trembled.
'No. No. Let's stop thinking about him.'
He didn't want to think about it anymore.
He never wanted to get involved with him again.
Anyway, he felt like dark clouds - no, destruction - had descended upon his bright future.
He thought he should stop at the nearest village and drink himself into oblivion.
That's when it happened.
While everyone's attention was scattered, something flew in front of their feet and between them.
Tok tok tok. Deguruuru.
They were black spheres about the size of an adult's fist.
"Hm? What's this?"
One of the members picked one up to examine it.
Seeing this, Jo Min shouted with a startled expression:
"It's a poison bomb. Throw it away quickly!"
But it was already too late.
Pueeeeng!
Pushishishi. Ssssssss.
Four or five poison bombs made small popping sounds as they burst, and the smoke inside quickly spread out.
"Ugh! P-Poison!"
"Can't... breathe."
"Everyone hold your breath! It's dangerous if you inhale it!"
Jo Min urgently shouted while covering his mouth, but it was already too late.
The Scholar Forest Group members had all already inhaled the smoke from the poison bombs.
Belatedly trying to use palm techniques to push away the smoke,
'Damn it! We've been had.'
His internal energy wouldn't gather.
Who on earth? What bastards would dare to mess with the Scholar Forest Group so fearlessly?
Using such poison, no less!
'Could it be the Peng Family? Or somewhere else...?'
Did they realize how much enmity they had earned from so many people?
Ridiculously, most of the places that came to mind were the prestigious families they had recently visited.
That's when,
"Keukeuk."
Those who would answer their questions soon appeared before their eyes.
"So it's you lot. Our targets this time."
A group in black cloaks looked at the Scholar Forest Group members, who wore urgent expressions after being poisoned, as if eyeing delicious prey.
The hideous symbols identically engraved on their foreheads caught the eye.
"The, the Demonic Cult?"
At the unexpected appearance of these people, the faces of the entire Scholar Forest Group, including Jo Min, turned pale.