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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: First Spar (1)
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"It's been a while."
"Hmm."
Jinmyeong recognized the man the moment he saw his face.
*One of the five faces that came to mind when I first opened my eyes.*
Gye Buil, the Heavenly Demon's fourth disciple, had come to the estate with his subordinates.
"It has been a while, Senior Brother Gye."
"Hmph! A bit late with your greetings, aren't you? Especially after I went to the trouble of visiting a useless brat like you."
Jinmyeong sighed, looking up at Gye Buil, who was a head taller than him.
*It seems I suffered quite a bit at this guy's hands.*
His body began to tremble as soon as he saw Gye Buil.
*To think I'm more terrified now than when I saw the Cult Leader and the Vice Cult Leader.*
It was truly ridiculous.
His body was trembling more violently now, facing Gye Buil, than it had when he faced the Heavenly Demon and the Mad Demon, the strongest in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Jinmyeong's body was instinctively rejecting Gye Buil.
"Why are you trembling like that? Anyone would think this senior brother came to bully his junior."
Gye Buil grinned and patted Jinmyeong's shoulder.
A sharp pain shot through his shoulder, the pats carrying considerable force.
"Could you please tell me why you're here?"
Jinmyeong said, swatting Gye Buil's hand away from his shoulder.
"Hmm. Junior Brother, I heard you returned after a year. Did you gain something impressive?"
Gye Buil's face twisted, clearly displeased with Jinmyeong's attitude.
"Or are you acting so arrogant just because the Vice Cult Leader is showing you a little favor?"
Gye Buil growled in a low voice.
He looked as if he was about to reach for the weapon on his back at any moment.
*It's shaped like a sword, but is it just a blunt weapon?*
The hilt looked like that of a sword, but below it was a massive, bladeless iron club.
It looked like it could shatter a man's skull with a single blow.
"Hoo. It seems you simply came here to pick a fight."
"Khuhuhu. Perhaps."
Gye Buil chuckled and glanced around.
"If you're going to keep this up, you should just leave."
"No, no. If I were going to leave just like that, I wouldn't have come in the first place."
Gye Buil said, glancing behind him.
A young man, nearly as large as Gye Buil, stepped forward.
"I just came to check on my junior brother's skills. It's been a while, after all."
He said he wanted to check his skills, but in the end, it was likely because he wanted to prove to the Vice Cult Leader, the Mad Demon, that his judgment was wrong.
All the Heavenly Demon's disciples wanted to win the Vice Cult Leader over to their side.
That alone would bring them one step closer to becoming the Young Cult Leader.
But the Vice Cult Leader had never taken anyone's side.
Because of that, everyone thought he had no interest in the competition for Young Cult Leader.
"And yet, he chose a nobody like you."
There were many other outstanding disciples of the Cult Leader, yet the Vice Cult Leader chose Jinmyeong, the least capable of them all.
Gye Buil couldn't understand it.
"I did hear you recently defeated some strange fellows. Though I can't be sure if that's true."
The rumor that Jinmyeong had killed the masked assassins had already spread.
But very few people believed it.
Not just Gye Buil, but everyone who knew about Jinmyeong thought the rumor was baseless.
"So, I want to see your skills for myself."
"Hmph."
He claimed he wanted to see if Jinmyeong had skills worthy of the Vice Cult Leader's choice, but in reality, it meant he was taking out his frustration for not being chosen himself.
"Still, it would wound this senior brother's pride to fight you directly right now."
But Gye Buil had no desire to fight Jinmyeong, whom he had always looked down on.
"So, fight this man."
Jinmyeong stared silently at the young man who had stepped forward.
*He seems a little stronger than the last guy.*
Jinmyeong recalled the masked man who had attacked him when he first returned to this estate.
The young man before him was clearly stronger than that masked man, but Jinmyeong didn't feel a significant difference.
"I have no reason to fight."
"Oh, but you will."
Jinmyeong intended to just turn away, but Gye Buil had no intention of letting him go.
"Don't tell me you're scared?"
"Hmm."
Jinmyeong could see through Gye Buil's childish ploy.
If he lost to a mere subordinate, not even a disciple of the Heavenly Demon, the Mad Demon would surely have to reconsider.
"Young Master, are you afraid?"
"..."
Jinmyeong looked at the young man standing next to Gye Buil and let out a smirk.
"Who are you?"
"What?"
The young man's face hardened at Jinmyeong's question.
"I knew you kept to your residence, but I didn't realize you were this ignorant."
But the young man forced a smile and spoke.
He was trying his best to get under Jinmyeong's skin, but seeing Jinmyeong's calm expression made him feel as if he had already lost.
"He is Young Master Cheol Mugwang, the second son of the Giant Demon, the Third Elder of the Divine Cult."
When Jinmyeong failed to recognize him, Yang Jeon quietly revealed his identity.
"The Third Elder's son is serving under one of the Cult Leader's disciples?"
"It's a bit different. It's a form of support, where Elders back a disciple they favor."
Just like how the Vice Cult Leader was supporting Jinmyeong.
"Are you scared?"
Gye Buil sneered when Jinmyeong didn't answer.
"I'm not exactly scared, but..."
Jinmyeong looked at Gye Buil and smirked.
"It seems I'll have to fall for your childish provocation this time."
At Jinmyeong's words, Gye Buil's smile widened.
"Let's go to your training grounds."
Jinmyeong soon led Gye Buil and his men to the training grounds.
"I never thought he'd actually accept. I thought he'd just run away."
It seemed Gye Buil hadn't expected Jinmyeong to fight Cheol Mugwang.
Cheol Mugwang was a peak martial artist on the verge of becoming a transcendent master.
Knowing Jinmyeong's skill level, Gye Buil could easily predict the outcome of this duel.
"I wanted to test it out myself."
He had always wondered just how powerful his martial arts truly were.
The Mad Demon had said few could block his techniques, but also that achieving victory would not be easy.
"Then let's do this."
Jinmyeong took the wooden box containing his sword from Yang Jeon and faced Cheol Mugwang.
*Why is he so full of confidence?*
The Jinmyeong of the past would have been terrified at the mere mention of a duel, but now he was completely at ease.
Gye Buil found it strange.
*Is it just a bluff? Or does he really have an ace up his sleeve? I'm curious.*
Gye Buil's eyes narrowed as he watched this completely different Jinmyeong.
"I'll let you have the first move."
Smiles appeared on the faces of the onlookers at Cheol Mugwang's words.
*The Cult Leader's youngest disciple is a disciple in name only; his skills are pathetic.*
It was a blow to one's pride.
It meant his opponent was looking down on him.
*Perfect.*
But not for Jinmyeong.
If his opponent was careless, all the better.
It meant he could win easily.
As Jinmyeong did not yet consider himself a martial artist, there was no pride to be wounded.
"Hmm?"
Cheol Mugwang looked puzzled as Jinmyeong pointed his index finger at him.
*Shwick!*
The moment he thought Jinmyeong's fingertip turned white, Cheol Mugwang hastily moved to the side.
"Kuh!"
Something grazed his cheek.
A thin line appeared on his cheek, and blood trickled down.
"Nice dodge. How many moves are you going to give me?"
Cheol Mugwang couldn't answer Jinmyeong's question.
He was too busy dodging the continuous barrage of Jinmyeong's finger technique.
"You idiot! Get in close!"
Gye Buil shouted at Cheol Mugwang, who was completely unable to advance.
*Tch. Easier said than done.*
Cheol Mugwang scowled.
*I should have brought my gauntlets...*
He hadn't thought something like gauntlets would be necessary to deal with Jinmyeong.
"The Cult Leader's disciple is quite cheap, isn't he? Attacking only from a distance."
"Does that matter? In the end, the winner is the stronger one."
Cheol Mugwang tried to get on Jinmyeong's nerves, but Jinmyeong's grinning retort only made his stomach churn.
"Why don't you try blocking it?"
"..."
Jinmyeong wanted Cheol Mugwang to try blocking instead of just dodging.
The power of his Sword Control Arts had been verified by the Vice Cult Leader, the Mad Demon, but he had yet to confirm the power of his Heavenly Demon Finger.
He wanted to confirm its power through Cheol Mugwang.
"Or are you scared?"
Cheol Mugwang looked at the blobs of energy Jinmyeong was firing.
They were incredibly fast, making them difficult to dodge.
And since he was constantly dodging, he couldn't advance.
*Where did he learn such a technique?*
Gye Buil watched Jinmyeong's martial arts silently, assessing them.
*It looks powerful.*
He had never imagined such a finger technique existed.
Normal finger techniques involved strengthening the finger itself for an attack.
*He's just dodging like that...*
Gye Buil fidgeted as he watched Cheol Mugwang make no attempt to block Jinmyeong's attacks.
"Hmph!"
Cheol Mugwang, too, decided he couldn't keep this up forever.
*Woooong!*
Cheol Mugwang circulated his internal energy.
A dark blue aura began to envelop both his arms.
"This is easier than pointlessly dodging!"
Dodging didn't suit his nature.
Cheol Mugwang swung his fist, wrapped in fist energy, toward Jinmyeong's incoming Heavenly Demon Finger.
*CRACK!*
He expected to deflect Jinmyeong's attack easily.
"Ugh!"
But instead, his arm was thrown back, and his body staggered violently.
"That packed quite a punch."
Cheol Mugwang frowned, realizing Jinmyeong's attack was stronger than he'd thought.
*But if it's just this much...*
It seemed he could block the attacks and approach Jinmyeong if he was a little more careful.
"Hmm. You don't look so good."
Feeling Jinmyeong's gaze, Cheol Mugwang looked down at his own hand.
"Huh?"
His hand was bent at a bizarre angle.
*Was my hand always bent like this?*
The thought crossed his mind.
He simply couldn't comprehend the situation.
"You can't even block that properly?"
"Kugh!"
Cheol Mugwang gritted his teeth at Jinmyeong's words, but he couldn't bring himself to charge at the man who was humiliating him.
It was because of Jinmyeong's index finger, still pointed at him.
"I'll be a little disappointed if this is all you've got."
He had stepped forward with such confidence that Jinmyeong thought he must have something impressive.
But in the end, he couldn't even block the Heavenly Demon Finger properly and ended up in this state.
- *Charge.*
Gye Buil's telepathic message reached Cheol Mugwang's ears.
He looked over with a bewildered expression, but Gye Buil's eyes were resolute.
*Damn it!*
Cheol Mugwang cursed inwardly and charged at Jinmyeong again.
And Jinmyeong continued to attack the charging Cheol Mugwang with his Heavenly Demon Finger.
*I have to dodge as much as possible!*
Even his arm, protected by fist energy, couldn't properly block that attack.
For him, who couldn't yet protect his body with a protective aura, each of Jinmyeong's attacks was potentially fatal.
"Kuh!"
But dodging all the continuously fired Heavenly Demon Fingers was a difficult task.
The Heavenly Demon Finger wasn't slow, but more importantly, a ceaseless stream of them shot from Jinmyeong's fingertip.
"Haa, haa."
Breaking through the storm of Heavenly Demon Fingers, Cheol Mugwang finally reached Jinmyeong.
He gasped for breath, looking down at Jinmyeong.
He was filled with the urge to smash Jinmyeong's head right then and there.
"Hyaaap!"
As if to vent his frustration for all the damage he'd taken, Cheol Mugwang threw a punch at Jinmyeong's head.
*BOOM!*
But Cheol Mugwang's fist never reached Jinmyeong.
A sword had appeared out of nowhere and blocked his attack.
"Kuh!"
Cheol Mugwang stared in bewilderment at the sword that had blocked his attack.
Before he could even process the sword floating in mid-air, Jinmyeong's voice pierced his ears.
"Let's see if you can block this one."
Jinmyeong extended his hand toward Cheol Mugwang's forehead.
Seeing this, a chill ran down Cheol Mugwang's spine.
*It'll go right through.*
It was a finger technique powerful enough to bend his fist-energy-clad arm at a bizarre angle.
If it hit, his forehead would be pierced.
*Can I dodge it?*
He was too close to dodge.
But he had to. If he couldn't, he would die.
"I am an Elder's son."
"So what?"
Despite revealing he was the son of the Giant Demon, an Elder, Jinmyeong's expression was unfazed.
*He's going to kill me.*
This wasn't just a threat.
There was no hesitation in Jinmyeong's eyes.
*Woooong!*
The moment a flash of white appeared at Jinmyeong's fingertip, Cheol Mugwang knew he was about to die.