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Chapter 106. Five Dragons Fight for a Pearl (2)

Yu Cho didn’t respond. However, his silence was more than enough of an answer for Woo-Moon

“If you want the captain position, I’ll give it to you. I’ll do more than that, whatever you want. Just please. I’m begging you to keep this a secret. The honor of the Mount Hua Sect and the main branch of the Red Blossom Bank are at stake. Please.”

Although his words made Woo-Moon’s stomach churn in disgust, and anger welled from his very core, Woo-Moon endured it.

“I’m not interested in being whatever fucking captain. You can shove that position right up your gold-plated ass. What you will do is keep your mouth shut, be a good kid, and send my younger brother, Woo-Gang, as the second representative against the Hegemon Clan.”

Yu Cho’s eyes widened. Naturally, he had assumed that Woo-Moon wanted the position of power that he had just acquired. What else would anyone want?

“Of course, that’s easy. But, is that really all you want?”

“Listen here, asshole. Not everyone is willing to do the disgusting things you’re doing for status and fame. Even if you’re a lay disciple, to think someone from the Mount Hua Sect, a Daoist Sect, would act like this...”

Clicking his tongue, Woo-Moon turned around and left.

***

The following day, led by the Righteous Warrior Squadron Captain Yu Cho, the squadron set out to meet with the Hegemon Clan.

“Why do you look so sullen?” Baek Yo asked while struggling to stifle her laughter.

Woo-Moon puffed out his cheeks in response to her question.

“What do you mean, sullen?”

However, his pouting was so cute that she ended up unable to hold her laughter in.

“Hahahaha! Have you looked in the mirror? You look like a pufferfish. What’s wrong? Is it because you couldn’t find out who those bastards who kidnapped Ryeon-ie were?”

“Who knows...”

However, Baek Yo continued to tease him, seeming to have fun picking on Woo-Moon.

Watching this, Baek Ryeong smiled. It was good, as she had been struggling to show any glimpse of joy due to the shock of being kidnapped.

Eun-Ah had been next to her since she had returned, playing with her as much as possible. Woo-Moon had asked the baby tiger to do that, trying to lighten Baek Ryeong’s mood.

The Righteous Warrior Squadron steadily advanced toward the meeting ground with the Hegemon Clan without any incident, with no one daring to challenge their march forward.

***

“Gun-Ha, are you doing okay lately?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“Have you heard any strange voices or seen any visions...”

Gun-Ha shook her head with an innocent expression, and her hair, tied in two pigtails, shook along with it.

“Really? I see...”

“Forget about me, unnie, are you okay? You’re really pale, and you seem like you lost weight.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I guess I’m just a little tired.”

Si-Hyeon shoved her worries right into the back of her mind and didn’t tell Gun-Ha any of the strange phenomena that had occurred to her lately. These things had started the day she had met the warrior from the Heavenly Demon Cult. To be exact, they had started from the moment she had swallowed the Heavenly Demon Egg. However, neither Si-Hyeon nor Gun-Ha could remember that moment.

“Hehe. I guess it’s because you miss Young Master Song, isn’t it? Yes, yes, you miss him so much, don’t you?!”

Si-Hyeon’s face turned red and she lightly slapped Gun-Ha’s shoulder with her palm.

“What does a little thing like you know? It’s not that.”

“Hmpf! I know what I need to, even though I’m young. You like Young Master Song, right, unnie?”

Si-Hyeon tried to deny it, but she couldn’t get out the words easily.

In the end, she tickled Gun-Ha in order to avoid answering.

“Now you’ve done it!”

“Ah!!!! Kekeke, unnie, stop, stop!!!”

As they played, the image of Woo-Moon popped up in Si-Hyeon’s head.

‘Come back quickly, senior brother. I need you.’

***

“Hmpf! These Righteous Faction snails. To think they didn’t arrive until this late in the afternoon,” So Myeong-Chan groaned.

So Myeong-Chan was so sincere in his desire for battle that he had arrived three days earlier than the scheduled date. He had spent the past few days harassing his subordinates in his impatience while waiting for the Righteous Warrior Squadron.

His gaze burned with fighting spirit as he looked over at his opponents, who had arrived without incident and entered the simple barracks erected on the other side.

He leaped up to the sparring platform, holding an enormous sword almost as tall as himself. Pointing the sword at the Righteous Warrior Squadron, he said, “You’re late. We need to kick your asses and go rest, so can we please start now?”

The Beggar Gang’s Sa Cheol-Gang, who had a fiery personality to begin with, got pissed. “Shut your mouth before you stink up the place. Your mouth is dirtier than my feet, and I’m a beggar.”

So Myeong-Chan frowned as he pinched his nose. “Hey, beggar bastard, I was wondering what smelled like shit in here. Be a good piece of shit and go back to the cesspit you belong in.”

“You bastard!”

Although Sa Cheol-Gang couldn’t hold back anymore and rushed So Myeong-Chan, Yu Cho stepped in and stopped him before addressing the Hegemon Clan representative.

“I’m the Righteous Warrior Squadron Captain Yu Cho. We also don’t have anything to prepare, so we might as well start immediately.”

“Righteous Warrior Squadron Captain? Who died and made you a hero or whatever? As expected, you Righteous Faction bastards always take any chance to bluff and insult us or the Black Hand. Fine, then get started right now.”

Before they could begin the spar, the Righteous Warrior Squadron had to decide who would serve as their vanguard. Among their ranks, Sa Yong-Jin, a disciple of the Hainan Sword Sect, stepped forward.

The Hainan Sword Sect, while not a part of the Nine Sects and One Gang, was on par with them in terms of strength.

“Can I go first?”

Although he had arrived late and thus hadn’t participated in the tournament to select their captain, Yu Cho nodded immediately as he knew Sa Yong-Jin’s skills weren’t far behind his own.

“I would be grateful if you could come forward and ease the burden for us. I’ll leave it to you.”

“Understood.”

As Sa Yong-Jin walked up to the stage, a young man holding a spear walked forward from the Hegemon Clan’s side.

After cupping fists and exchanging greetings and titles, the two began their spar.

Sa Yong-Jin’s opponent was Gong Do, known as the Hegemon Clan’s Divine Army Spear. As he thrust his spear forward, it seemed to split into dozens of spears that took the form of dragons. They surrounded Sa Yong-Jin on all sides, pressing in.

‘I have to narrow the distance!’

Sa Yong-Jin knew it was only natural for the reach of his sword to be shorter than his opponent’s spear. He quickly swung his sword in all directions and calmly deflected Gong Do’s spear thrusts one by one as he moved forward one step at a time.

Suddenly, Gong Do materialized his qi around his spear as he cleaved the ground with his spear tip. The force of his swing rushed toward Sa Yong-Jin, the intangible aura pressing down upon him again.

In response, Sa Yong-Jin held his sword in a reverse grip and spun it with incredible speed, crushing Gong Do’s spear qi and instantly closing the distance.

As his sword flew at Gong Do’s heart, Gong Do’s hand suddenly slid up the shaft of his spear and pulled it back. His high grip allowed him to use his spear like a staff and block Sa Yong-Jin’s attack even at this close range.

Making use of Sa Yong-Jin’s momentum, Gong Do raised his spear with one hand and pierced forward with three thunderbolt-like strikes while using a finger technique with his free hand to aim for Sa Yong-Jin’s Gyeongjeong acupoint.

Pushed back by the waves of attacks, Sa Yong-Jin had no choice but to give up the distance he had worked so hard to obtain and retreat. Their subsequent back and forth reminded Woo-Moon of the battle between the Night Spear Devil and his grandfather.

‘Of course, the scale of their skills is completely different.’

At first, he watched with interest. However, after a certain point, Woo-Moon could barely hold back a yawn. As a minute had passed and the spar neared two minutes, Baek Yo turned to Woo-Moon.

“Who do you think will win, Uncle?”

She seemed very sure that Woo-Moon was able to make an accurate prediction.

“Their side is going to win. There’s some difference in their skills.”

“Really? Even though they seem evenly matched?”

“The spear guy is just pretending, and he’s conserving his strength. It seems like he’s setting a trap.”

“Really?”

At that moment, Sa Yong-Jin had once again narrowed the distance and attacked with a tremendous roar, showing off his best technique.

All of a sudden, his sword was wrapped in a sword aura as bright as daylight. Now that he had finally gotten close again, he was determined to end it in one move.

However, he would have never expected his opponent’s next action.

Gong Do propped his spear against the ground and pulled himself up with both arms so that he was parallel to the ground—he and his spear looked like a flag for a moment. Then, he curled up into a ball and kicked out with both feet at a tremendous speed.

“Heaven-Flipping Lightning Strikes!”

Gong Do even shouted out his technique\'s name as if he were mocking the way his opponent had roared.

The strikes caused Sa Yong-Jin’s sword to not only lose its aura but also leave his hand, dropping to the ground. And Gong Do did not stop there; he followed up with not just one, but ten, twenty, thirty kicks. By the twentieth kick, Sa Yong-Jin was bloodied all over, and once Gong Do’s thirtieth strike landed, he vomited an entire bowlful of blood as light left his eyes.

“Stop! This spar is over!” shouted Bukgoong Jo-Yoon, a member of the Bukgoong Family and a close friend of Sa Yong-Jin. He directly stormed onto the stage so Gong Do reluctantly stopped his attack with a cold snort and stepped back.

“Yong-Jin!”

Bukgoong Jo-Yoon quickly caught Sa Yong-Jin before he collapsed and promptly took him to the Justice Coalition physician who had come with their squadron.

However, Sa Yong-Jin’s wounds were so severe that it seemed even his survival was in question.

“That bastard!”

It was clear that Gong Do had continued attacking even after the spar had been decided, intentionally trying to kill Sa Yong-Jin.

As his nieces and nephews shouted angrily, Woo-Moon looked over at Yu Cho with a cold expression. It was time for the second representative to step forward.

Yu Cho shifted his gaze to Woo-Gang with a heavy expression.

“Third brother... go ahead. You’re the second representative.”

Bi Yeo-Jeong subconsciously clenched her fists as she stood beside her fiance, Yu Cho. She couldn’t help but be worried for Woo-Gang.

‘How could he send senior brother Song against someone so strong?’

Of course, Woo-Gang was still one of the Mount Hua Sect’s Three Legendary Plum Blossoms. However, everyone in the Mount Hua Sect considered that as the youngest of the Three Legendary Plum Blossoms, his martial skills had to be inferior to those of his two senior brothers.

Bi Yeo-Jeong knew that Yu Cho hated Woo-Gang even more because of her. She was desperate, as it seemed Yu Cho was deliberately sending her former partner Woo-Gang as a representative out of jealousy.

The other disciples of the Mount Hua Sect were also surprised by Yu Cho’s sudden decision, while Hyeon Mu-Cheol secretly smiled.

‘As expected of our eldest brother. He must plan on using this opportunity to get rid of that infuriating bastard Woo-Gang.’

“Did you mean me?” Woo-Gang asked.

Yu Cho turned his gaze toward Woo-Gang and repeated his answer.

“Yes. You’re the second representative.”

Although Woo-Gang had some doubts about Yu Cho’s sudden decision, as it was an order from not only his eldest sect brother but also his captain in this mission, he quickly settled himself and walked up to the stage.

Watching Woo-Gang walk forward, Yu Cho snorted inwardly.

‘This is all something your idiot brother wanted. Tsk tsk, to think he willingly sent his own little brother to his death. What a truly admirable family.’

Yu Cho had clearly forgotten how grateful he had been to Woo-Moon for letting him live just the day before.

“I am Song Woo-Gang, the fourteenth disciple of the Mount Hua Sect.”

“You probably already heard my introduction earlier.”

Woo-Gang nodded, and the two sparring partners each took their stance. He calmly reviewed the movements and techniques Gong Do had shown earlier, while also thinking about his own Plum Blossom Sword. Moreover, he also contemplated how he could include the Transcending Flash Sword.

“That brat is apparently the Palm Martial Emperor’s grandson, right?” So Myeong-Chan said as he watched on.

His right-hand man, Cheol Ryeon, nodded. “That’s right, Young Master. That’s Song Woo-Moon’s younger brother. Song Woo-Moon is also right there, watching from behind.”

“So he’s Song Woo-Moon...”

The warning his younger brother, So Geom-Rak, had given him came to mind.

‘Song Woo-Moon is really strong, so be careful.’

“Hmpf. Just look at them, they’re both useless idiots. Whether it’s that flower boy or the other miserable fool who only knows how to flirt with women.”[1]

1. Mount Hua literally means “flower mountain,” hence the flower boy thing. ☜