CLS-Chapter 138

Chapter 138

“I did receive the challenge, but…”

Wei Yan-ho couldn’t help but ponder.

When a hunter goes hunting, if they hunt a tiger, that could be called hunting. Even if they hunt a fox or rabbit instead of a tiger, it could still be called hunting. But if a hunter catches flies, should that be called hunting?

In the same context, Wei Yan-ho couldn’t help but wonder whether he should accept this challenge as a real challenge.

‘Would Master like me mixing it up with that guy?’

His master wouldn’t be pleased—he’d get angry asking why he was disgracefully dueling with such people, rather than being happy about it.

After all, Baek Mu-han’s personality was incredibly arrogant.

It was precisely his master Baek Mu-han who had berated those Wudang swordsmen, calling them incompetent fools who didn’t even know how to properly hold a sword.

‘This is also bothersome.’

Just as Wei Yan-ho was pondering what to do about this situation, Wei Su-ryeon suddenly stood up from her seat.

“I’ll apologize on his behalf.”

“Huh?”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Wei Su-ryeon with bewildered eyes.

Why is she suddenly acting like this again?

Sangguan Hong seemed to have the same thought as Wei Yan-ho.

“This is not a matter for a young lady to handle.”

“This concerns my older brother. So why shouldn’t I handle it? My brother doesn’t understand worldly matters very well. So I hope Young Master Sangguan will understand.”

“What the hell.”

Wei Yan-ho let out a sigh of disbelief. In an instant, he had become someone who didn’t understand worldly matters.

Of course, having been stuck in a cave for five years, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

“But if that still doesn’t satisfy you, I’ll face you myself. If you want to see the sword of the Guangdong Wei Family, my sword should be sufficient.”

Wei Yan-ho clicked his tongue.

“Ever since she was young, she’s been restless about not being able to train. Now that she’s older, she’s become like my eldest brother. Why do you like dueling so much?”

Wei Su-ryeon’s face contorted.

‘I’m not doing this because I like dueling.’

No matter how lazy and indifferent her brother was—someone who hadn’t contacted her once in five years—he was still her brother. On the day she finally met him again, she couldn’t bear to watch him get hurt by Sangguan Hong’s sword.

But whether he understood her feelings or not, Wei Yan-ho yawned, nodded, and spoke.

“It doesn’t really seem like a challenge, but well, it follows the principle at least. I’ll accept your challenge.”

“Brother!”

Wei Yan-ho held up one finger in front of Wei Su-ryeon and said:

“You’ve always been too nagging since childhood. Don’t interfere with what your brother is doing.”

“Sigh…”

Wei Su-ryeon let out a deflated sound and sat down helplessly.

Now that it had come to this, she had no choice but to watch and somehow stop it if it became dangerous.

She didn’t think her brother, who had been soundly beaten by her, could handle Sangguan Hong, but interfering here would damage Wei Yan-ho’s dignity.

‘If he gets even a scratch, I won’t let it slide.’

Lee Seol-hwa sighed quietly as she watched Wei Su-ryeon glare at Sangguan Hong with venomous eyes.

“Are you ready?”

The two stood facing each other in the earlier clearing. Instead of the duel between Wei Su-ryeon and Gong Mu-jin, a duel between Wei Yan-ho and Sangguan Hong was taking place.

Gong Mu-jin was grateful for this fact.

‘That was close.’

Though they claimed not to have seen each other for five years, judging by their current behavior, the relationship between the two seemed very intimate. If Gong Mu-jin had proceeded with the duel in his angry state, Wei Su-ryeon would definitely have been hurt…

‘That really would have been trouble.’

Knowing how strong Wei Yan-ho was, Gong Mu-jin couldn’t help but think about how terrifying he would be when angry.

Don’t they say that when someone who usually doesn’t get angry becomes angry, they’re even more frightening? If he tried to physically receive Wei Yan-ho’s wrath, not a single bone would remain intact.

Gong Mu-jin sent a pitying look toward Sangguan Hong, who would have to sacrifice his bones instead of him.

‘Why did he have to pick a fight?’

Maybe Gong Mu-jin was also at fault for not warning him beforehand. But even if he had sinned, Gong Mu-jin couldn’t say, “That guy would steam and eat me too.”

Sangguan Hong looked at Wei Yan-ho and spoke.

“I am Sangguan Hong of the Sangguan Family. Today I will witness Young Hero Wei Yan-ho’s swordsmanship.”

“Yaaawn, yes, yes.”

Wei Yan-ho kept yawning as if annoyed.

For Wei Yan-ho, who suffered from chronic fatigue due to his Dream Training Technique, this was an unavoidable physiological response, but naturally Sangguan Hong, who didn’t know the circumstances, couldn’t take it well.

“…You’d better be careful. My sword is fierce.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“I’m saying this again!”

Wei Yan-ho stretched his hand forward.

“Huh?”

Wei Yan-ho slowly brought his outstretched hand to his mouth, pretending to cover it.

“If you’ve drawn your sword, words aren’t necessary. I’m tired and want to rest, so I hope we can finish this quickly.”

‘Tired, my ass.’

Gong Mu-jin frowned.

It was this same line every time they dueled.

“…To the end.”

Sangguan Hong, truly heated now, drew his sword from its sheath and began slowly approaching Wei Yan-ho.

“If I properly crush you, Young Hero Wei San-ho might come looking for me. So I won’t hold back.”

Wei Yan-ho sighed.

He couldn’t understand why the man was acting like this when he was talking so much.

If you’re going to talk, why draw your sword and make a fuss?

“So…”

“Ah, that’s enough.”

“Huh?”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

At that moment, Wei Yan-ho’s form stretched out smoothly and appeared right in front of Sangguan Hong’s eyes.

“Hiiik?”

Sangguan Hong was startled and threw his body backward. But that was the beginning of true misfortune.

Wei Yan-ho’s foot, which had been aiming to kick his stomach, ended up precisely kicking his groin thanks to Sangguan Hong jumping backward.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

Sangguan Hong grabbed his groin and shot up into the air.

“Ah…”

Wei Yan-ho, seeing this scene, realized his mistake and stared blankly at Sangguan Hong.

“Oh no.”

“Ugh.”

Pang Do-hyeong and Eon Hyo, who belonged to the same Three Dragons, unconsciously grabbed their own groins.

“That’s, that’s too horrible.”

It was a scene they never wanted to see again.

“Ughhhh…”

Gong Mu-jin also shuddered while watching the scene.

He should have killed him cleanly instead—what a cruel bastard.

And Wei Su-ryeon couldn’t help but open her eyes wide.

The movement just displayed was clearly that of a master. It was a level of footwork that even she could never reproduce.

‘Shape-Shifting Technique?’

Wasn’t that a realm that even Wei San-ho could only recently achieve?

Yet Wei Yan-ho was demonstrating such a realm, and so easily at that.

‘Then why did he get hit before?’

With such footwork, he could have avoided all her attacks.

Wei Su-ryeon felt a mixture of joy that Wei Yan-ho had returned as a master, along with questions, relief, and tears that kept wanting to flow.

But even after accomplishing such a feat, Wei Yan-ho seemed more concerned about Sangguan Hong’s condition and carefully approached him as he writhed on the ground clutching his groin.

“Are you okay?”

“Ughhhhhhhh…”

“…I’m really serious about this. I didn’t do it on purpose. Really.”

Wei Yan-ho crouched beside Sangguan Hong and gently tapped his back.

“They say this helps.”

“Ahhh! Don’t touch! Stop! Don’t do it!”

“No, but they say this helps?”

“Don’t do iiiiit!”

Sangguan Hong’s desperate screams echoed through the clearing.

“Ahem.”

Sangguan Hong straightened his posture and raised his sword again.

“Sangguan Hong requests a duel with Young Hero Wei Yan-ho!”

Crack!

“I think I heard a strange sound from behind…”

“No such thing.”

Sangguan Hong’s face trembled. Usually, when someone showed such open hostility toward him, Wei Yan-ho would make them pay an appropriate price, but this time he fully understood his opponent’s hostility.

“But are you okay?”

“I’m, I’m fine!”

Though Wei Yan-ho was genuinely concerned, Sangguan Hong was showing an irritated reaction.

How could he not?

Having been directly hit there by Wei Yan-ho’s kick, which could kill a bull, it was miraculous that he was still alive.

After groaning for a full shijin, Sangguan Hong barely managed to get up, return to his room, practice qi circulation, and only then could he come back outside.

“Are you really okay?”

“I said I’m fine!”

“I know a skilled physician… She’s young but really good. Um, or there’s… it might be a bit embarrassing, but there’s a doctor with even better skills. But I think it might be hard to get treatment from that one.”

“…Why?”

Though he thought he shouldn’t get drawn in, Sangguan Hong’s curiosity got the better of him and he asked for the reason.

“The physician is a woman. Since the area is what it is, it might be a bit…”

“Waaah! I said I’m fine!”

“Yes, well, if Young Hero Sangguan is fine…”

Wei Yan-ho was speaking when he stopped and stared intently at Sangguan Hong’s area, then opened his mouth awkwardly.

“By the way, is it okay to call you Young Hero Sangguan? Should I call you Young Lady Sangguan?”

“Waaah! I’ll kill you!”

Sangguan Hong drew his sword and charged at Wei Yan-ho with full force.

***

“Sangguan Hong?”

“Mm, at that time he was famous by the name Sword Dragon.”

At Guangqushen’s words, the Historian tilted his head.

“Why? Haven’t you heard of him this time either?”

“No, sir. I know Sangguan Hong was quite famous at the time.”

“But?”

“I’ve heard about Sangguan Hong’s activities at the time, but I never heard anything about him being involved with the Radiant Martial Lord. But it seems they had quite a connection.”

“Quite a connection?”

Guangqushen formed a sneer at the corner of his mouth.

“In some ways, you could say Sangguan Hong was more entangled with Wei Yan-ho than we were.”

“What?”

The Historian asked blankly.

“Then why was that fact never known in history?”

“Mm…”

Guangqushen scratched his cheek.

“This is a bit of an awkward story, but if you promise to only listen and not write it in the records, I’ll tell you.”

The Historian pondered and nodded. What mattered was the Radiant Martial Lord, not Sangguan Hong.

“I’ll promise that.”

Guangqushen answered immediately.

“Actually, we could be considered Wei Yan-ho’s colleagues, you see. Me, that Blade Ghost bastard, that monk, we all got terribly scolded by Wei Yan-ho, but we were still friends of sorts.”

“Your friendship is famous.”

“That… friendship was also largely fabricated in later generations. Anyway, we were people who could call each other friends. But Sangguan Hong, how should I put it, didn’t have that kind of relationship.”

“What do you mean?”

Guangqushen shook his head.

“That’s why people need to button their first button properly. When you think about it, Sangguan Hong was really pitiful. If he hadn’t gotten entangled like that, he was talented enough to dominate the martial world of his time, but he had the misfortune of getting entangled with Wei Yan-ho.”

The Historian no longer wanted to hear more.

Now he could guess what kind of trouble Wei Yan-ho had been causing without even listening.

“So, what happened then was…”

A mischievous expression appeared on Guangqushen’s face.