Return of the Mount Hua Sect

“This insolent wench……”

Who wouldn’t be angry if a young sword warrior, who doesn’t seem to have lived half of his age, speaks such words right in front of his eyes?

The eyes of Ganam Pyeong began to glisten.

“Let’s see if you can say the same thing even after your whole body is beaten.”

There was a cold tension between the two.

“Tha- That….”

Jo Seung, who had somehow clung to Chung Myung’s side, said in a trembling voice.

“Da- Daehyeop! No, Dojang! I think we need to intervene.”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung tilted his head as if asking, ‘Why are you here?’ and stared at Jo Seung.

“Why?”

“That man is Ga- Ganam Pyeong. Turbid Current Blue Snake, Ganam Pyeong! He’s quite famous in the whole region of Yangzte!”

“…Huh?”

“He uses the sword well like a ghost, and his hand-to-hand combat techniques are equally renowned. Many Water Fortresses tried to recruit him in any way possible, but he refused all offers, saying he didn’t want to serve under anyone… Who would have thought that he would form his own Water Fortress…”

Jo Seung’s face, swallowing dry saliva, was full of tension and nervousness.

“That Ganam Pyeong is different from run-of-the-mill wanderer around the Yangtze River. In the past, when he had a quarrel with a martial master of the Ten Great Sect, he killed his opponent and avoided the pursuit of the Ten Great Sect. That’s how strong and dangerous he is.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes! I was wondering how the Water Fortress got so many people… It seems that Ganam Pyeong must have had his own followers.”

“Hmmm.”

Chung Myung looks at Ganam Pyeong with strange eyes.

“He doesn’t seem to be that remarkable though?”

“That’s what I’m wondering too. As far as I know, Ganam Pyeong was a man of great prowess but he doesn’t seem to have been very resourceful… When did he make such an arrangement…….”

“Does he have a lot of money?”

“Huh?”

“Is he rich?”

“…How could a wanderer have any money?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Chung Myung’s eyes narrowed meaningfully.

‘A wanderer without money managed to obtain so many Hundred Thunder Cannons, and also managed to feed and accommodate this many people?’

If the Water Fortress starts to roll on its own, the members can feed themselves with the money they earn. But at the start, they need to pour in a lot of money.

But they’re running this new Water Fortress with such a large number?

“It wouldn’t make sense unless he has a quite significant source of funds?”

Chung Myung tapped his cheek.

“Well, we can find out about that later… More than that, this terrain here is quite strange. I thought it was some kind of sandhill, but it’s really an island.”

“Do- Dojang! This isn’t the time to be observing such things. That man is going to die!”

“Who? Sago? Or that man who calls himself Ganam Pyeong?”

“…Yes?”

Chung Myung grinned.

“You seem to worry about everything. Sago is not the kind of person who will lose to him if she shows her skills.”

“I- I think it’s because Dojang doesn’t know much about Ganam Pyeong….”

“Are you familiar with our Sago?”

“…Yes?”

“You don’t know her either, do you?”

Doubts crossed Jo Seung’s face. Despite the look that seemed to ask, ‘What is this nonsense?’, Chung Myung casually shrugged his shoulders.

“Do- Dojang, are you sure she’s all right?”

“Who do you mean… Ah?”

Then Chung Myung tilted his head.

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“Wait a minute.”

“Yes?”

“Weren’t you the guy who cursed me and ran away earlier?”

“…Yes?”

“Haha. I almost forgot. Come here.”

“….”

Sometimes… A well-intentioned act can have unfortunate consequences.

“Huup!”

Ganam Pyeong took a short breath and swung his dao.

Basically, his dao is a weapon that is closer to a blunt weapon that strikes rather than cuts. However, the horizontal dao of Ganam Pyeong, which is close to the shape of a sword, was specialized for stabbing.

Those who have mastered the martial arts must keep in mind the possibility of fighting underwater. Heavy and thick dao do not exert their full power underwater.

Heavy dao are suitable for wanderers who often fight in melees, while a sharp stabbing weapon is suitable for a pirate who has a lot of fighting in the water.

His horizontal dao was a weapon that considered both aspects.

Hwiii!

A chilling sound gushed out through the hole at the end of the dao every time he moved it.

Ganam Pyeong, who stabbed his dao at a horrifying speed, stabbed it again in succession. About ten strokes in a blink of an eye. It was so precise and powerful that it was hard to believe it was the work of a wanderer.

Having a reputation throughout the vast Yangtze River, which runs halfway through Jungwon, means that one’s skills are guaranteed. And Ganam Pyeong’s dao was proving that his reputation was not mixed with exaggeration.

One.

Hwiiii!

The sword that he extended did not reach a step further right before Yoo Iseol. To a stranger, it was as if he deliberately stopped his sword right in front of her neck.

However, while Ganam Pyeong’s expression was distorted, Yoo Iseol’s expression was rather calm. It meant that the situation was different from what it seemed.

‘This punk!’

Ganam Pyeong’s eyes were a little more cautious.

Half a step back.

Every time he extended his sword, Yoo Iseol was stepping half a step back more than the reach of his sword. She is completely aware of the trajectory he creates and was neutralizing his dao with minimal movement, without any waste.

It was something one could not dare to do without complete confidence and courage about the martial arts one was unfolding.

The fact that she was showing such a leeway against him further distorted Ganam Pyeong’s mood.

But rather than getting angry, he calmed his breath. Losing reason on the battlefield is more dangerous than offering one’s neck to the enemy’s blade.

‘After all, she’s a young woman with little experience.’

This exchange of blows alone determined the opponent’s skills. If they fought ten times, he would only win twice at most.

But wasn’t experience and skill exactly about making those two times into a probability of ten?

Hwiii!

Ganam Pyeong’s dao once again targeted Yoo Iseol’s neck.

Yoo Iseol steps back half a step light footwork beyond his reach.

Hwiiii! Hwiiii!

The seemingly meaningless stabbing poured out one after another.

The ear-splitting sound and the continuous attacks of fast thrusts were not even visible to the eye. It was a rough and flashy attack, but it seemed to lack substance.

“Hm?”

Then Chung Myung, who was looking at the scene, let out a strange smile.

“He’s resorting to tricks.”

As if he heard him, Ganam Pyeong’s eyes glowed and he stretched his sword once again. This time, Yoo Iseol stepped back as if it was natural.

At that moment, however, Ganam Pyeong’s dao, which should have stopped in the middle, seemed to increase in length, and in an instant, it charged as if to pierce Yoo Iseol’s neck. Yoo Iseol, who opened her eyes wide, immediately flung her body back.

“Taaaat!”

But he didn’t let her step down easily. The sharp energy of the dao flew toward her neck at an incredible speed.

Yoo Iseol swung a sword like an island war to block my way.

Kagagagak!

The energy of the dao that clashed with her sword and scraped the metal deviated to the side.

Udeuk.

She avoided injury, but the energy of dao was enough to leave Yoo Iseol with a dull pain in her wrist.

Paaat!

Ganam Pyeong didn’t give her any room and rushed straight forward. Then he kicked the sand under his feet. The sand flew with enough force to cover Yoo Iseol.

“Keuk.”

The expressionless Yoo Iseol’s face smeared with a glimmer of bewilderment.

And Baek Cheon, who watched the spectacle, was also taken aback.

‘What is this? Why on earth Samae…?’

Of course, the man named Ganam Pyeong isn’t a pushover, but Yoo Iseol now seemed not to be overpowered by his skills right now, but because of something else that was stopping her from utilizing her skills.

Just by seeing the bewildered look on Yoo Iseol’s face, who was always calm and cold in any situation, it was clear.

“It’s about distance.”

“Huh?”

Baek Cheon asked back without turning his gaze at Chung Myung’s voice.

“The sound coming from the hole at the end of that sword. That’s Sound Art (??(音功)). If you keep hearing that sound, it shakes you inside.”

“….”

“And that guy, he’s been adjusting the distance of his sword since a while ago. He’s messing up her eyes and ears at the same time. He’s smarter than I thought, isn’t he?”

The same was true for the sand he kicked up.

Ganam Pyeong wouldn’t think such tricks would work for someone like Yoo Iseol. But what if you consider all those things accumulated? If you constantly mess up their ears and keep confusing their vision, they will eventually make a mistake.

“Dirty….”

“There’s no such thing as dirty in a fight. It’s a hundred times better to live shamefully than to die cleanly.”

“….”

Baek Cheon silently nodded his head. Although he criticized him reflexively, from the standpoint of someone who had experienced countless real battles, he had to agree with this.

“How about it? Don’t you want to go help?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

When Chung Myung asked casually, Baek Cheon firmly denied it.

“She’s not the type to lose so easily.”

“Hmm.”

Chung Myung quietly rolled up the corners of his mouth.

“How is it!”

Ganam Pyeong roared like a tiger. It wasn’t a sign of excitement. His deep, rumbling voice was just another means to disorient Yoo Iseol.

There are two ways to defeat a superior opponent: either become stronger yourself or bring the opponent down to your level.

Using a sword with a bell attached to confuse the opponent with Sound Art is a martial arts technique with quite a long history in the Evil Faction.

His Wailing Ghost Dao (???(鬼哭刀)) could be considered an advanced form of that technique. Whenever he moves, a wave of energy-infused sound naturally bursts from the dao, greatly disturbing the opponent’s internal strength.

If one has a lot of experience with Evil Sect’s martial art, they will find a way to deal with it, but there is no way that a young sword warrior in front of him now could have such experience.

Moreover, if she were used to exchanging only the most precise and effective attacks, she would undoubtedly be bewildered by Ganam Pyeong’s sword, each of whose attacks were launched with a different force and direction.

As proof of that…

Paaat!

His dao grazed the area just below Yoo Iseol’s shoulder. The split garment was soon slowly soaked with red blood.

Paaat!

Another wound appeared on her side.

The dao, which had not even touched her before, was now firmly grazing Yoo Iseol’s body.

‘Just a bit more.’

When hunting, one must be cautious.

If one gets carried away in such a situation, a clumsy counterattack can lead to a huge defeat. Time is on his side, so there’s no need to rush, he can take her down slowly..

‘I’ll kill you first!’

A cold murderous intent flickered in Ganam Pyeong’s gaze.

“Haaap!”

It was the moment when Ganam Pyeong stabbed his dao again, adding his internal strength as he shouted.

Kaang!

Before his dao stretched to its limit, it was twisted, hit by Yoo Iseol’s sword.

“Keuk!”

However, Ganam Pyeong calmly recovered his sword and stabbed again without showing any panic.

Kaang!

But the same thing happened this time too.

Before it reached out, Yoo Iseol’s sword preempted the trajectory that the dao should draw and pushed it away.

Kaang! Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!

No matter how many times he stretched his sword, the same thing happened. Yoo Iseol swung her sword as if she knew it and bounced his dao off before it could even stretch halfway.

Ganam Pyeong, who stepped back in fright, looked at Yoo Iseol with astonished eyes. She had somehow regained her emotionless face and said,

“I figured it out.”

“….”

“Sound, distance, sense. They all matter only when the dao stretches fully.”

“Wha- What….”

So she’s gonna strike before his dao stretches?

Does that make any sense?

For such a thing to be possible, her sword must be at least twice as fast as Ganam Pyeong’s.

To Strike First. (????(後發制人))

It means that a sword that has been stretched out late since the attack began flies a greater distance than his province.

“Tha- That’s impossible! Euuaaa!”

Ganam Pyeong screamed and stabbed once again. This wasn’t Sonic Art. It was literally a scream, driven by desperation.

Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!

But his dao still couldn’t complete its course. Every time he stabbed, his dao that flew like a ghost bounced off one after another.

Even though he squeezed all his remaining energy to stab his dao faster, her sword was always there, ready at the place his dao was headed.

“Euuuaaaa!”

Now, Ganam Pyeong’s movement to stab him seemed similar to a seizure.

If she blocks it, he just needs to push with his power!

There’s no way to lose in the confrontation of internal strength. That young one….

At that moment.

Round and round.

Yoo Iseol’s body rotated and softly deflected the dao of Ganam Pyeong to the side.

Then, like a butterfly, she lightly floated in the air and stretched her sword.

The world seemed to flow slowly.

Ganam Pyeong, who felt his fate, realized one thing at that moment.

‘She’s gone…’

He couldn’t see Dark-Haired Ghost.

Dark-Haired Ghost, who had clearly joined the battlefield earlier than him, was nowhere to be seen.

‘Whe- Where?’

Gone.

Someone of Dark-Haired Ghost’s caliber should stand out anywhere. But not only him, even his subordinate who had joined the battle with him was nowhere to be seen.

“You son of a….”

Sogok.

Yoo Iseol’s sword cut through Ganam Pyeong’s throat before he could even finish his sentence.

Thump.

Without any noise, Ganam Pyeong’s head soared into the air.

In the spinning world, Ganam Pyeong clearly saw.

On the other side of the island.

He saw Dark-Haired Ghost and his group drifting away from the island, carried by the river’s current.

‘He tricked me….’

The world rapidly darkened.

Anger and hatred belong to the living.

Ganam Pyeong no longer had the right to be angry.