Tang Je Woo’s fierce and overwhelming aura swelled to the peak master level. It seemed he had passed the peak master level a long time ago, and he was several levels beyond Myeong Jin, which was the strongest student Baek Woo Jin had fought so far.
It would be strange if he were weak.
He was the personal guard of Tang Seon Yeong and someone who was recognized by the head of the Tang Clan.
Unless the Tang clan head, who led one of the top five clans in the entire martial arts world of the Central Plains was blind, Tang Je Woo’s abilities were definitely high.
Tang Je Woo’s figure scattered like black smoke. He began to move with the Tang Clan’s famous movement technique, which was one of their proudest arts along with the clan’s famous poison arts and hidden weapon techniques.
Swiish!
Whizzz!
After blending into the darkness, he flicked his hands and sent a variety of hidden weapons across the night sky.
Some of them were so small that they were almost invisible, but Baek Woo Jin was able to detect the incoming weapons not only with his eyes, but with all his senses, and he swung his sword without a problem.
“They say that the Tang clan’s movement techniques are the best, and it is so indeed.”
Baek Woo Jin admired the movement technique displayed before him with genuine appreciation.
Unlike other martial artists who clashed blades up close, the Tang Clan’s warriors relied on poison and hidden weapons and so needed to keep a distance.
Since establishing its roots in Sichuan, the Tang Clan had rigorously studied movement techniques, and over long years, the accumulated skills in their movement and flying techniques had rightfully earned them a prestigious reputation in the martial arts world.
The darkness that settled with the night only enhanced the Tang Clan’s movement arts.
Tang Je Woo, who was clad in black martial robes that created the illusion of swirling shadows, continuously pressured Baek Woo Jin from all directions. He then suddenly appeared to his right and swung a dagger.
Clang!
Baek Woo Jin quickly raised his sword to block it, but just as quickly, Tang Je Woo used his movement technique to vanish back into the darkness.
However, Baek Woo Jin didn’t allow this to continue.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Though he had struggled at first, Baek Woo Jin’s eyes were beginning to adapt to the mysterious movement technique, which allowed him to catch the slight shift in weight each time Tang Je Woo tried to disappear.
He accurately recognized the direction of the black smoke that was scattering like a mirage, and thrust his sword precisely to break through Tang Je Woo’s movement technique and hold him in place.
“……!”
The shock was evident in Tang Je Woo’s wide eyes as he realized his movement technique had been seen through.
And this wasn’t the only reason he was taken aback.
Like a stream blocked by a massive boulder, Baek Woo Jin’s energy began swelling without limit at some point.
“Ugh…!”
Tang Je Woo jumped back and used his movement technique once more as an overwhelming force, far beyond his imagination, bore down on him.
Even from a distance of three jangs (9 meters), the sheer pressure reached him without losing intensity.
“…Who are you?”
Tang Je Woo began to wonder if the man before him might be someone else wearing Baek Woo Jin’s outer shell.
Now that he was in his fourth year, he had achieved the middle stage of the peak master level through hard work and bloodshed.
This was an incredible feat that could be counted on one hand even in the academy where the most famous people gathered.
And yet.
“How is it that a mere second-year student is nearing the late peak master …?!”
The energy Baek Woo Jin was radiating went beyond that. While it lacked the fullness of the late stage, calling it middle stage would overlook the significant gap between Baek Woo Jin and Tang Je Woo.
“Who knows?”
Baek Woo Jin shrugged with a playful expression on his face.
The figure he had underestimated had suddenly expanded to fill his vision.
Faced with that same irritating tone and careless gestures, Tang Je Woo found himself unable to respond.
He began to feel psychologically intimidated, and in his eyes, Baek Woo Jin started to appear as something entirely different.
This is like…!
Tang Je Woo had felt this kind of emotion toward someone his age only once in his life.
That someone was Dokgo Cheon, who was now a fourth-year like him. This guy had caused a storm with his overwhelming talent from the moment he entered the academy. Ever since Dokgo Cheon had drawn everyone’s attention with his extraordinary abilities, he had widened the gap between himself and the other students to such an extent that he was now called a “heaven beyond heaven”.
And now, Baek Woo Jin reminded him of that very prodigy, a genius said to come only once in a hundred years.
Are you telling me this guy is a monster like Dokgo Cheon?
Two years ago, by chance, he had ended up in a duel with Dokgo Cheon and suffered a devastating defeat.
The memory of that day came flooding back, along with the bitter sting of humiliation.
Now that he was overwhelmed by Baek Woo Jin’s aura, a fierce storm of defiance erupted in his heart.
Do you think I’ll suffer the same humiliation again?!
Tang Je Woo gritted his teeth and tore open the front of his robes to reveal an arsenal of concealed throwing weapons packed tightly into the folds.
After that disgraceful defeat, he had abandoned all arrogance and climbed to even greater heights through relentless dedication. In recognition of his achievements, his clan had gifted him a secret technique.
Since he had mastered it, he had never used it in real combat. He had been saving it for a chance to take revenge on Dokgo Cheon, but he knew now was no time for restraint.
“Hup!”
Tang Je Woo drew in a sharp breath and spun his body furiously.
The force of his rotation grew so intense that his form began to blur until he looked like a small, whirling storm.
Then from within that whirlwind, the throwing weapons began to pour out.
The rotation and the layered sword energy now contained a strength incomparable to just moments before.
This is serious.
Feeling a faint sense of danger, Baek Woo Jin’s expression turned serious as he began to deflect the throwing weapons.
Clang! Clang!
The tremendous force and energy behind each weapon made his wrist throb every time he blocked one with his sword.
He’s putting everything into this one move.
Dozens of throwing weapons poured out, and it was clear Tang Je Woo was pulling in massive reserves of internal energy to sustain such a furious rotation.
The moment this secret technique ended, Tang Je Woo would have no strength left. Not even to lift a spoon. In other words, if Baek Woo Jin could hold off this attack, he would secure victory; otherwise, Tang Je Woo would claim it.
If used in actual combat, this technique would end with one of them dead, making it perfectly suited to the title of a “finishing move”.
In that case, I should bring out one of my own moves.
Against a secret technique, one must respond in kind.
Baek Woo Jin straightened his sword, drew all his energy, and released it.
As if breaking free at last, the energy surged out rapidly. It then settled in place as if it was blocked by an invisible wall.
This was the manifestation of spatial sword technique he had shown Namgong Soo at the Dragon and Phoenix Martial Arts Tournament.
Then, his previously halted steps moved forward.
The rain of throwing weapons was no longer a threat. His sword which was moving slowly but precisely, intercepted their paths and denied any from approaching him.
Wh-What… what kind of sword technique is that…!
Even amid the fierce rotation, Tang Je Woo kept his eyes fixed on Baek Woo Jin while screaming inwardly.
The slowly moving sword was blocking every one of his lightning-fast throwing weapons.
He couldn’t understand it. How could this sword predict the direction of his attacks and move in advance to intercept them?
“Agh… Aaah!”
A strained scream came from within the small whirlwind.
Although Tang Je Woo had initially reserved enough internal energy to move after the technique ended, he now poured every last bit into it. As he did so, his rotation sped up even further, and his throwing weapons flew out with even more force.
But they couldn’t reach the opponent. While they did manage to slow Baek Woo Jin’s steps a little, that was all.
Baek Woo Jin’s sword, which had been inflated to a huge size, was now aiming straight at him. If it swung down, he would be sliced in two.
“Die!”
He too had unleashed his deadliest attacks to kill Baek Woo Jin, so there was no guarantee that Baek Woo Jin wouldn’t kill him in return.
With death at hand, Tang Je Woo played his last card. He shook out his sleeves and released the last of his throwing weapons in a single, concentrated shot.
It’s done! At this range…
This time, he was certain of victory.
There was no way even that astounding sword technique could block all the weapons pouring in from this close.
Indeed, quite a few of them brushed past Baek Woo Jin’s arms, legs, face, and other parts of his body.
“No, it can’t be…!”
But they had only brushed past him. Baek Woo Jin had deflected anything coming at critical points, while he let those aimed at less dangerous areas strike him without a second thought. It was a calculated focus on defense and attack.
Some of the weapons carried a fairly strong poison and left purple bruises that slowly spread across the affected areas. But it seemed it would take some time for the poison to fully take effect.
Baek Woo Jin stood tall in front of Tang Je Woo who had stopped without realizing it.
From a moment ago, that smile that had been grating on his nerves spread fully across his face.
“You remember the bet, right? Three months.”
A man’s word is his bond.
With those words, Baek Woo Jin lowered the sword he had been holding. Then, using the fist and kick techniques he had trained through beating Gu Wang Soo, he meticulously stomped down on Tang Je Woo’s entire body.
“Arghhh!”
In case he tried to break the promise, Baek Woo Jin left him battered enough to be laid up in the medical infirmary for at least three months.
***
Tang Seon Yeong couldn’t tell if the face hovering in front of her was part of a dream or reality.
Is this a dream…?
Thinking back, she did feel like she had been in a bit of a daze just a moment ago.
As she let out a wry smile at the thought of how badly she must have missed Baek Woo Jin for him to appear in her dreams, he, who was now perched on her windowsill, reached over and pinched her cheek.
“Ow!”
The brief but sharp pain snapped her back to her senses.
“It’s not a dream, so try to wake up a bit.”
With a weary movement, Baek Woo Jin climbed over the windowsill and slipped into the room. He then went straight for her bed and lay down on it.
“I came here because I had something to tell you… but first, can you treat me?”
“Hah…?”
Only then did she notice the wounds covering Baek Woo Jin’s body.
Though they didn’t seem particularly deep, the purple and green bruises made it obvious that he had been poisoned. Quickly, she opened her wardrobe and pulled out a bundle containing every antidote she had.
Tang Seon Yeong sat on the edge of the bed and dabbed her finger into the blood seeping from Baek Woo Jin’s wounds, then brought it to her lips.
The taste was metallic, followed by a sharp bitterness.
“Azure Snake Poison…”
How did the poison from the Azure Snake specially cultivated by the Tang Clan end up in his body?
She quickly pulled out an antidote and brought it to Baek Woo Jin’s mouth.
“Open.”
“Aah.”
The antidote flowed into his open mouth.
“Ugh, that tastes terrible.”
At his exaggerated grimace, Tang Seon Yeong couldn’t help but smile softly.
She missed him. His face, his expressions, his way of speaking.
She wanted to soak in his face just a little longer, but she forced herself to push aside her feelings and asked him,
“What happened on your way here?”
And so Baek Woo Jin’s elaborate story began.
“Well, I was on my way to see you, but then out of nowhere, this weird guy suddenly popped out from the women’s dormitory.”
Her expression stiffened slightly. The person who had just left this place was her guard… and watcher.
“So I grabbed him by the neck, but then, like a guilty man acting angry, he went all out and attacked me.”
“…So, what did you do?”
“What do you think?”
Tang Seon Yeong wore an expression filled with subtle anticipation.
Baek Woo Jin noticed this. He flashed her a sly smile and continued.
“I gave him a good beating. He’ll be laid up for a while.”
“……”
“About three months, maybe.”
“Hah.”
A strange laugh escaped her lips.
She didn’t know whether to embrace this unexpected taste of freedom or to tremble with dread over what might come next.
“So, Miss Tang, how about we go on a trip?”
“……”
“For about three months.”
“Ahahaha!”
Tang Seon Yeong burst into laughter. Unlike before, her laugh now brimmed with pure joy and exhilaration.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Rather than spending another stifling year here before returning to her family, a spirited adventure with him would leave a much stronger impression.
“Alright. Where shall we go?”
Wiping the tears from her eyes after laughing so hard, she looked at him expectantly, and Baek Woo Jin responded as if he had been waiting for the question.
“Sichuan.”
The warmth in her expression turned ice-cold in an instant.
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