Turns Out To Be a Genius Duelist

Chapter 272 Parallel Lines (1)

The Sword Sovereign, Mo Yongbi. It would be a lie to say he had never thought about whether it would be good to recruit him as a teammate when he heard that the Master of the Moorim League had asked to meet him. After all, no ordinary person has risen to this position in Moorim.

Of course, that prediction was correct. He wasn’t ordinary at all in several senses.

“…”

Yoon-seok was shocked. It was good that the Master of the Moorim League of this era wasn’t a Challenger.

‘He’s so strong, but he’s not a Challenger…?’

Yoon-seok was convinced. This old man was by no means under the duel rankers. No, rather…

‘He’s stronger than me in terms of magic alone.’

His body contained a vast amount of Inner Qi that had surpassed the system’s limitations.

“…Are you not a Challenger?”

“I guess you don’t know anything about me.”

“Right.”

To be honest, Yoon-seok couldn’t believe it, but…

‘…Is everyone this strong?’

Yoon-seok felt his skin prickle. If the Sword Sovereign was like this, how strong were Cheon-ma and the Celestial Buddha, who were one level higher than him? A year had passed since they were summoned to the Tower, but they even thought that they might not have regained their former strength.

“Rather than that, why don’t you introduce yourself first?”

As Yoon-seok stared at him with a firm look, the Sword Sovereign gently opened his mouth. Only then did Yoon-seok reveal his name in a hurry.

“Ah, my name is Choi Yoon-seok.”

The Sword Sovereign smiled kindly and nodded.

“I heard that you were a young man who wasn’t yet in his thirties, but I didn’t know you’d be this young… it must have been sudden but thank you for agreeing to meet me.”

Aside from his mana, in many ways, he was just like a neighborhood grandpa.

“Why did you ask me to meet you?”

“You’re the Co-Sect Leader of the Demon Sect, aren’t you? And you aren’t even from Moorim? Since I heard the news, I’ve been waiting to meet you.”

“…I see.”

“My, my. But don’t be too nervous. There is no way this old man will strike you first just because you are from the Demon Sect.”

He spoke as if he were throwing out a joke, but the content was too heavy to laugh at. As Yoon-seok stared intently to see what he was thinking, the Sword Sovereign gave him a look of disappointment.

“Hmm. Now that I see it, I was not considerate, and it may have sounded different from Young Man Choi’s point of view…”

“…”

“The words I just said didn’t mean anything else, so would you consider it to be a mistake of an old man who felt excited after a long time?”

“…I am ignorant of Moorim’s hierarchy, but I know that there’s a long grudge between the Political Factions and the Demon Sect.”

“Oh my, this is embarrassing. However, the world has reached a turning point. Isn’t it funny to divide sides by saying Political Factions or Demon Sect, right? There will be no harm done to Young Man Choi in our League. I promise.”

“…All right.”

Yoon-seok didn’t relax even though he said so. He wasn’t a Challenger, but… no, that was why this old man was even more dangerous. Yoon-seok, who had fought many fierce battles, had no experience competing with such a being. If he had known that the League Master was like this, he would have thought a little more about visiting.

“I heard that you are looking for the Namgoong family. It will take a little while for them to come, so why don’t we chat until then?”

“Sounds good.”

Yoon-seok readily accepted his proposal. First of all, it seemed that all he wanted was a conversation, and as soon as he saw this old man, several questions arose.

Flop.

Yoon-seok, sitting in the seat opposite the Sword Sovereign, started.

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“There is something I want to ask you first.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you regret you weren’t chosen by the Tower?”

“Hmm, how could the young Co-Sect Leader ask me such a question?”

“Because only challengers can kill the Invaders.”

He was called the League Master before the Tower appeared. However, the Tower appeared, and the world changed. The world was running towards the end, and only the challengers could stop it.

Yoon-seok was curious about his thoughts on this. However, the Sword Sovereign made a slightly bizarre statement instead of answering.

“Do you know? More than 50% of the warriors here were called to a place called the Tower and became challengers.”

“I was aware.”

More than 50% of the warriors. However, the Sword Sovereign wasn’t included.

“At first, I thought it was fortunate, and then I felt regret and found the reason.”

Cheon-ma and Celestial Buddha. Why didn’t the Tower call him the next absolute master after them? The Sword Sovereign pondered the reason for a long time.

“The answer has not yet reached this old mind. But at some point, I started to think that this was a good reason. Do you know the reason, Young Co-Sect Leader?”

“Why?”

“Because I realized that if I had been brought there, more chaos would have come to Moorim.”

“I don’t understand.”

The Sword Sovereign sipped his tea and continued.

“Did you say earlier that only the challengers can kill Invaders? So how about this? Do you think only an Invader can kill a challenger?”

“…!”

Only now did he understand what Sword Sovereign was trying to say. Just look at the early Earth. The government-controlled the challengers with direct force, mainly with modern weapons. Of course, as time passed, it became impossible to threaten those who survived with firearms.

‘But this is Moorim.’

Bullets meant nothing. Even before the Tower appeared, Moorim was full of monsters that could easily cut through missiles with a single sword. When everyone was called to the Tower, the Sword Sovereign must have been the strongest in Moorim.

“After meeting her in person a few months ago, my thoughts have become more firm.”

“Her?”

“I mean Young Lady Zheng.”

“Young Lady Zheng?”

Who?

“…Can you understand if I say Cheon-ma?”

“Ah…!”

Come to think of it; there was Cheon-ma, Zheng So-wol. He never forgot, but he couldn’t immediately think of her because of the unfamiliar name Young Lady Zheng. [TL: Jeong = Zheng]

“What happened to her?”

“Nothing’s wrong. She stopped to converse a bit and parted. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“She’s so weak that I wondered if she was the same person. I suddenly thought of this. Maybe, if you put your mind to it, wouldn’t it be possible to do anything?”

A while ago, Yoon-seok asked if he was disappointed that he could not be a Challenger, but it could have been a blessing. To some people.

“Even though I didn’t have the slightest bit of ambition to do so, somehow, I felt chills down my spine. So I killed them as soon as I could. Those who can take advantage of this situation to develop their ambitions….”

“…”

“My, my. There’s nothing to be nervous about. I think I got it after seeing the Black Beast Master a while ago. Now the gap between the challengers and me isn’t that big.”

Yoon-seok was even more horrified by those words. That meant, if the gap had widened, this old man might have tried to kill him depending on the situation.

“Anyway, this is my answer.”

“…”

“I am proud to say that what I have done over the past few years has helped to stabilize this Moorim. That’s why I’m not at all disappointed at not being chosen by the Tower.”

“…I see.”

“I was wondering if this old man’s answer was enough to address the young Co-Sect Leader’s concerns.”

Was this really because of old age? He seemed to be aware that Yoon-seok wasn’t just asking out of curiosity. Yoon-seok expressed his gratitude without hesitation.

“It was helpful enough.”

“My, my. If so, that’s a relief.”

The Sword Sovereign stood.

“I would like to talk more, but it seems like this old man will have to step away from his seat.”

As Yoon-seok expanded his senses, he could feel the Namgoong family’s unique Qi coming from afar. Yoon-seok showed his manners and gestured. The Sword Sovereign flashed him a warm smile.

“Oh, come to think of it, I didn’t tell you something earlier.”

“I’ll listen carefully.”

“Killing an Invader is not necessarily something only a challenger can do. I hope you will understand.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

Did he know how to kill an Invader without being a challenger? When Yoon-seok asked, the Sword Sovereign laughed.

“I want to say something because you aren’t liked by anyone else since you’re Young Lady Zheng’s disciple.”

“…?”

“Think about what separates the real from the fake.”

It was an incomprehensible question-and-answer.

“One last thing.”

Yoon-seok could faintly hear the old man’s voice. Before he realized it-

“I want you to be careful of the Celestial Buddha.”

The old man was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

As the Namgoong family’s unique Qi approached, Yoon-seok’s pocket began to writhe.

“Rowl, growl!”

Asura, now climbing from the pocket, rushed forward with his tiny body. The little monster jumped into a woman’s chest and hugged her.

Push.

“…Su-Sura?! why are you here… the fact that you’re here…!”

She was embarrassed for a moment to see Asura, but she hurriedly looked up. And when she met Yoon-seok’s eyes, she hardened in place.

“Long time no see.”

No answer came back from Namgoong So-so.

‘He must not have told her that I was here.’

As he waited for her to come to her senses, the answer came from someone else instead of her. It was none other than her twin sister, Namgoong Jin-jin.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

“Yes, I heard that there was a change in the family. Are you okay?”

“…Yes. Thanks to the help provided by the League both physically and mentally, we don’t have any major problems right now.”

‘I didn’t ask about that….’

Yoon-seok smacked his lips. Could it be only the two of them who survived the disaster? Other than the haggard Namgoong So-so and Jin-jin, there were no other people in sight.

“How is the late head of the family doing?”

The answer he expected returned.

“My grandfather passed away.”

“…Did it have something to do with the Blood Heaven Light Sword?”

“No. He went to the Tower a long time ago and never returned. When I asked a ranker from the League, he said that his nickname had also disappeared.”

That meant he died in the middle of a duel.

“Can I hear more about it?”

“As you please.”

Namgoong Jin-jin calmly recited what had happened in chronological order, even though it was a difficult memory. Namgoong Hu, the only ranker of their family, died during the ordeal, and his absence welcomed the Blood Heaven Light Sword which dreamed of revenge toward the Nangong family.

“If it hadn’t been for the League Master coming to help, he would’ve escaped, and we wouldn’t be here.”

Only So-so and Jin-jin survived among the direct descendants, and most of the rest were dead or scattered.

‘I think that Blood Heaven Light Sword guy was also a Duel Ranker…’

Hearing the story, there was nothing like a battle. The Blood Heaven Light Sword, who was invading the Namgoong’s territory all by himself like Lu Bu, was overpowered by the League Master’s blade.

“That’s all. So, did you satisfy your curiosity?”

Namgoong Jin-jin looked at Yoon-seok. She was different from when they had traveled together before. She was graceful and polite but also a bit sharp. She’d been through a lot, so she couldn’t be the same as she was back then. When Yoon-seok nodded, Namgoong Jin-jin immediately asked.

“May I ask why you’re looking for us?”

“A long time ago, Young Lady Namgoong… no, I mean Young Lady So-so?”

There were two people with the surname of Nangong, so that name wasn’t appropriate.

“Please call me So-so.”

“Yes. Anyway, I wanted to keep my promise with So-so, so I was looking for you.”

Meanwhile, Yoon-seok happened to hear about what had happened.

“Promise…?”

At Yoon-seok’s words, Jin-jin shifted her questioning eyes to So-so. However, Namgoong So-so looked as if she had no idea.

“What do you mean promise…?”

“Didn’t you ask me to do something when I met Namgoong Zhe?”

“Ah, did you meet him?”

“Yes. I met him. And I heard about the location of what you’re searching for.”

“I-is that true!”

Namgoong So-so came closer with her eyes shining. Then, Asura, who clung to her chest, peeked up.

“Growl?!”

Yoon-seok used his mana to remove Asura from her, then tucked him back into his pocket and continued to explain.

“The place where the Azure Dragon flew up. He said that the origin of the Azure Dragon Energy was hidden in the deepest part.”

“Ah!”

Did that make sense? So-so exclaimed, and Jin-jin looked surprised.

“Oho, if what you say is true, the Namgoong family, who was shrouded in extinction, will regain their roots after 500 years. So this is the virtue of the Buddha!”

“…!”

Yoon-seok immediately widened his senses and turned at the new voice cutting through the air.

And he soon found its owner.

“It’s been a long time, Demon King!”

The Celestial Buddha Fa Zhen was there.