Chapter 33

Chapter 33

It was a thought that came anew, but Dan Riyeon was quite fast on her feet.

Even if you considered not just all of Muryeon Hall but Mujeong Hall as well, you couldn’t easily find anyone faster than Dan Riyeon. If it was pure running ability, there was no one who could beat Dan Riyeon, and even within the category of body techniques rather than Qinggong, Dan Riyeon maintained a position considerably ahead.

The person who’d taught Dan Riyeon martial arts in the first place was the Muryeonggaek, said to be difficult to even chase his shadow, and since what she’d learned was only footwork, wasn’t it natural?

Her footwork was already sufficient. So she just needed to supplement it by learning more of the lacking leg techniques.

Dan Riyeon had thought so.

Until now.

“Seueu. Seueueueu.”

Dan Riyeon, straightening her legs that felt like they’d tear from excessive movement, exhaled rough breaths. The forest where only the sound of Dan Riyeon’s breathing echoed as if time itself had stopped.

It was quiet. It felt like she could fall into a comfortable sleep if she closed her eyes like this. But she couldn’t actually close her eyes. Because.

A predator was targeting her from within the darkness.

—One gak ahead.

Since he’d said half a shichen until dawn, she’d thought she could endure.

No matter how much of a skill difference there was, winning and enduring were different things. The space wasn’t limited either. No matter where she fled, she just needed to be standing on two feet after half a shichen, didn’t she?

She’d thought so, and acted accordingly. The result.

In the first one gak, three fell.

Now that two gak had passed, only three remained.

—Use everything you possess. If you don’t, you’ll surely die.

Slowly.

A voice carried on the wind tickled her ear. A calm tone as if reciting poetry.

But she couldn’t tell which direction it came from. She couldn’t tell how far away it was either.

There was no information. All she could know was the fact that he was watching this side. A state of complete ignorance, unable to know from where or how he was watching.

In that situation, the moment Dan Riyeon felt a sudden chill and turned her gaze, a silver flash split the air.

Swaeaeaek!

“Dan Riyeon!”

Simultaneously with Seomun Cheok’s warning cry dropping, Dan Riyeon gritted her teeth and lowered her body. At that moment, sword energy in the shape of a half-moon cut through the air, passing over her head.

Kwadeudeudeudeuk!

It wasn’t simply an appearance meant to subdue. Though he’d lowered the power to match their level, the sword energy contained a sharp edge that wouldn’t be strange if something got cut off if she relaxed her tension and failed to evade.

“Heueu.”

Dan Riyeon, who’d barely avoided the attack, tensed her toes in preparation for consecutive strikes.

‘The sword energy is threatening, but…….’

Wasn’t that sword energy just now a sharp strike that could cut down a large tree in one blow?

Large attacks ‘inevitably’ had long follow-up motions. At least she should have enough time to watch the situation in this space and prepare for the next attack.

Judging thus, Dan Riyeon gathered her internal energy and pictured in her mind where to move her body.

However, at that moment.

“──What you must be most wary of in a battle with an expert is familiarity.”

At the calm voice heard at her ear, Dan Riyeon, who felt a chill, moved her body forward to leap out, and—

Immediately had her nape grabbed and was slammed into the ground.

Kuuuung—!!!

“Heuak!”

Her back, which had struck the ground roughly, cried out in pain as if her back muscles would shatter, and the shock forced her contracted lungs to steal her breath. A shock so intense that even Dan Riyeon, accustomed to pain, momentarily stopped thinking.

Death descended in an instant. Feeling silver light filling her vision, Dan Riyeon unconsciously squeezed her eyes shut. However.

Death hadn’t come yet.

Kaaaaaaang—!!!!!

“……Hm.”

Baek Riyun, who’d blocked Seonwoo Gang’s strike that flew in like lightning, stepped back one pace while releasing Dan Riyeon and let out a chuckle. And Seonwoo Gang stood blocking the front.

“Have you finally decided to do it properly?”

There wasn’t a single uninjured spot. Torn fabric and clothing ripped with threads all pulled loose. Hair disheveled like a criminal’s.

But they hadn’t died. Seonwoo Gang, Dan Riyeon, and Seomun Cheok still hadn’t fallen.

And they were gradually realizing what this test was for.

“Dan Riyeon. Are you okay?”

Dan Riyeon, who nodded to indicate her safety, bit her lip and kicked the ground to stand up. Her body screaming as if her ribs had broken.

But there was no problem with moving. She could endure a little pain. More important than such small pain was this.

Whether they could endure for the remaining time.

“……Listen well. Seonwoo Gang. Dan Riyeon.”

During the time Baek Riyun briefly paused, Seomun Cheok joined them from the side and quietly lowered his voice, and Seonwoo Gang and Dan Riyeon opened their ears.

“Four were hit in two gak. At this rate, we’ll definitely be defeated before half a shichen passes.”

“……I know.”

[Agreed.]

The superiority in strength was too clear. Though he only delivered attacks they could block or evade at a level they could handle, that was ultimately a matter of strength, wasn’t it?

They were losing in the number of moves. While they couldn’t read even one move ahead, the opponent read two moves, no, four moves ahead and responded. That divine unpredictability as if reading the future would inevitably break through if they kept responding to it.

So.

“We counterattack.”

Seomun Cheok decided to deliberately break the conditions.

“Not enduring but counterattacking…….”

“If we only endure, there are too few options. We’ll inevitably be led to being broken through. Fortunately, the other side is also matching the power. It’s fully possible to block or deflect.”

Wasn’t there a saying that the best defense is offense? A hedgehog with bristling spines isn’t easily touched even by predators, but a turtle that’s pulled in its neck also becomes a predator’s toy.

If they didn’t actively attack, the opponent would just toy with them. Judging thus, Seomun Cheok gripped his spear shaft tightly.

“Seonwoo Gang. You take defense.”

“……Will you be okay?”

“There’s no other way. Dan Riyeon isn’t suited for defense, and I have the longest reach here. If you don’t defend, there’s no method.”

“What about you?”

“Restraint. I’ll create openings.”

The opponent was strong. He used bizarre moves that made you wonder if he was a monster. But in the end, he was human. A human who couldn’t escape from the principles of martial arts.

Then ‘openings’ would definitely appear. Even a weakness that couldn’t be called an ‘opening’ in one-on-one combat would be a different story if it were two against one, three against one.

And.

“Dan Riyeon, you stab.”

The moment they widened that opening, they’d drive the fastest strike into the opponent.

This was the maximum strategy Seomun Cheok could devise at this point.

The three, who briefly confirmed each other’s intentions while meeting eyes, nodded and readied their fighting spirit. And looking at that sight, Baek Riyun loosely lowered his sword edge.

“It seems you’ve finally decided to try.”

Not using secret voice transmission was probably so that Baek Riyun himself could also hear that conversation. The reason was simple.

Because then he would be wary of their counterattack.

It wasn’t strange. History was that way, and the world was that way.

In the first place, the way prey survived from predators was either to have armor the predator couldn’t penetrate or to have one decisive blow that could even knock down the predator, wasn’t it?

When the predator realized the prey could threaten them, the predator would hesitate to hunt. That’s why attack was also the best defense.

Realizing they couldn’t defend, counterattacking was correct. At the sight of the Muryeongwando who’d realized that, Baek Riyun smiled with pleasure, and—

“But it’s too late.”

Simultaneously, Baek Riyun’s sword edge, which rushed forward, instantly stabbed Seonwoo Gang’s glabella.

Kaaaang—!!!

Seonwoo Gang’s sword strike, which reacted reflexively, clashed with the sword and spewed intense sparks. Seonwoo Gang, pushed back in strength, barely deflected the sword edge. And targeting that moment, Seomun Cheok’s spear immediately pushed through the air.

From heaven to earth, from earth to the front.

The spear, which extended containing the principle, again occupied Baek Riyun’s six harmonies and moved away. The spear moved dazzlingly like imprisoning the opponent, pressuring Baek Riyun.

But there were no effective hits. It couldn’t satisfactorily restrict his movement either. Realizing the purpose, Baek Riyun immediately pushed the sword edge into the spear shaft to change its trajectory and simultaneously dug one step further forward. And.

“Shall we finish this soon?”

“What……!”

The distance where fists could reach.

Once, light exploded from the sword edge.

Kwaaaaaaang—!!!

Seonwoo Gang’s defense shattered helplessly in the overwhelming power. The Muryeongwando flew and scattered like porcelain striking the ground.

“Didn’t I tell you? To be wary of familiarity. I never said I’d keep matching your level. You’re ridiculously optimistic.”

In combat, one inch of blade length determines life and death. When even making assumptions in a direction unfavorable to oneself was dangerous, to assume the opponent would definitely match their level?

It was foolish. Just because he’d matched their level for barely two gak, they’d misjudged that Baek Riyun would fight matching their level.

While completely erasing the memory of the three Muryeongwando that Baek Riyun had eliminated first with one strike.

“It’s over.”

Looking at Dan Riyeon and Seomun Cheok, who were twitching from the shock while collapsed on the ground, Baek Riyun leisurely moved his steps as if he were a judge pronouncing sentence. Fallen leaves screaming under his toes.

There was still over one gak of time left until sunrise. If he pressed their vital points like this, the test would end.

It was regrettable. Wasn’t this work he’d accepted to raise Uicheonmun’s name in the first place? Eliminating them like this would be unfortunate.

However, he had no intention of retracting what he’d said. For those who didn’t even have the proper mindset, his education would be something they couldn’t follow.

Slowly.

Internal energy gathered at his extended fingertip. The moment he pressed the acupuncture point, the test would end, and the Muryeongwando would have no choice but to return without gaining anything. In other words.

The test ends here.

Thinking thus, the moment Baek Riyun extended his hand.

Hwaaaaaaak!

──Blood-red sword energy split the sky.

“Just now, that was……?”

Baek Riyun, who reflexively evaded the incoming sword energy, looked at Seonwoo Gang holding his sword and let out an empty laugh. Seonwoo Gang was looking at him with eyes full of hesitation.

“……This is also unexpected.”

He’d thought they weren’t using their full strength. Because compared to the spirit he felt, the attacks and defense had no substance. But who would have known its identity was something like this?

“It’s familiar martial arts. Very distinctive too. Right.”

Martial arts he’d seen somewhere before. Very characteristic sword energy. A tyrannical path that couldn’t be felt from orthodox sect martial arts.

Baek Riyun, who revived buried memories, smiled faintly toward Seonwoo Gang.

“Daesageom Hyeong Seo.”

A swordsman who shared fame with the Sword Emperor Baek Rigang, one of the Ten Heavens. The Great Evil Sword.

“To risk your life just to pass training…….”

Baek Riyun, who glanced beyond the mountain, tapped the sword hilt with his finger and chuckled.

“Pass.”

“The test is over. With that kind of resolve, you’ll at least follow the basics.”

Having finished speaking, Baek Riyun sheathed the sword, turned his back, and headed toward Uicheonmun. And soon after, a voice was heard.

“Gather your peers and come to Uicheonmun.”

Dawn had not yet broken.