Chapter 34
Again, Lee Rin asked with a trembling voice.
"... Why are you trying to form a master-servant relationship? What do you want from me...?"
At Lee Rin's question, Jaseong answered with a composed face.
"To catch that monster you just mentioned."
"W-what did you say?"
"Help me take down Number One. I'm planning to defeat him and win this tournament."
"......!!"
At Jaseong's utterly unexpected answer, Lee Rin's pupils shook like an earthquake.
In contrast, after uttering such an outrageous statement, Jaseong remained completely unfazed.
The reason he wanted to establish a master-servant relationship with the young mistress of the North Sea Ice Palace, as he had mentioned before, was manifold.
Right now, having almost entirely depleted his internal power with the Celestial Gate Opening Art, immediately engaging in another fight was a heavy burden.
He also considered taking this opportunity to form ties with the North Sea Ice Palace and gain them as protective allies.
But for the immediate objective, it was to make the young mistress of the North Sea Ice Palace an ally to capture "the madman".
'If I win this tournament, I'll receive the Evil Path Association's special prize.
And the way to win is by collecting the most numbered tokens.
Therefore, to do that, number One—who's been going around the entire forest stealing tokens from every participant—must be defeated.
If I defeat him, all the tokens he's collected so far will naturally become mine.'
Of course, number One's might must be formidable.
Given that he was strong enough to terrify both Number Two, Lee Rin, and Number Five, the first disciple of Biweol Gate to this extent, it was clear he was extremely powerful.
He would absolutely have to use the Celestial Gate Opening Art, and might even have to open six or more gates.
And since he hadn't yet mastered the Celestial Gate Opening Art, opening six or more gates would require preparation time.
So it was better to make the young mistress of the North Sea Ice Palace his ally.
As the contestant possessing the second greatest internal power, Lee Rin could surely buy him enough time to open the six gates.
Naturally, upon hearing Jaseong's words, Lee Rin was left speechless.
'... I barely escaped from that guy, and now you're telling me to go find him and fight? Are you insane?'
But Lee Rin couldn't bring herself to say it aloud.
She knew well that she had no real choice.
If she refused these terms, she would be eliminated right there.
Those words were clear in Jaseong's eyes as he looked at Lee Rin.
* * *
After that, Lee Rin accepted Jaseong's proposal and the master-servant relationship.
Jaseong then buried Lee Rin's numbered token in a spot underground known only to himself.
With this, whether Lee Rin passed the Dark Path Duel Banquet was now entirely in Jaseong's hands.
Meanwhile, Lee Rin retreated deep into the cave and healed her internal injuries through meditative breathing.
Thanks to Jaseong standing guard, she was able to focus on her recovery with peace of mind.
For that reason, her ashen face gradually regained its vitality.
Roughly six hours later,
Having finished her meditative breathing, Lee Rin slowly opened her eyes and spoke.
"Hoo... Thank you, young hero, for saving my life."
Even though he had forced her into a master-servant relationship half in threat, she was expressing gratitude.
She was far more polite than one might expect of the noble young mistress of the North Sea Ice Palace.
"I am from the North Sea Ice Palace. My name is Lee Rin, and as I've only recently arrived in the Central Plains, I don't really have a nickname yet. What about you, great hero, where are you from?"
"Hao Clan."
"... Hao Clan?"
"Why are you surprised?"
"I didn't expect to hear the name of a clan so closely connected to the North Sea Ice Palace from your lips. That's why you wore a human-skin mask, isn't it?"
To recognize the human-skin mask at a glance...
She had keen eyes.
"Besides that, there's something I want to ask."
"?"
"Is Number One really that strong?"
Upon Jaseong's question, a dark shadow passed over Lee Rin's face.
"Half a day ago, there was a fierce melee in the northern forest. Several higher-ranking experts, including myself, fought tooth and nail to seize tokens.
Even Number Five, the first disciple of Biweol Gate whom you defeated, was there.
But in the midst of the melee, that monster, number One, suddenly appeared.
The moment we felt his overwhelming might, all the top experts, myself included, stopped fighting and joined forces to attack him.
But even with seven experts attacking at once, number One easily defeated us.
That's why the first disciple of Biweol Gate surrendered early and tucked his tail, handing over all his tokens to Number One.
Because of that, I was the only one left fighting Number One to the death. Fortunately, by the slimmest luck, I barely managed to escape...."
... So that's why there wasn't a single token on Number Five.
"I'm from the distant North Sea, so I don't know what sect Number One belongs to. But those who have faced him seemed to know his true identity well...."
Unlike Lee Rin, who trailed off, Jaseong had now fully grasped Number One's identity.
'It seems clear that the 'madman' Hyang-I mentioned is Number One.'
Jaseong recalled Hyang-I's information once more.
[This year's strongest candidate at the Dark Path Duel Banquet is Kang Ryong, famously renowned under the title "Mad Blood Young Master".
He is the third young master of the Twin Dragon Clan, one of the leaders among the Four Great Clans and Seven Sects.]
The Four Great Clans and Seven Sects are the eleven pillar sects of the Evil Path Association, powerful families and sects with a central role in the Evil Faction.
And the Twin Dragon Clan was a clan founded by one of the Evil Faction's Three Great Villains, the Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor.
[Kang Ryong is said to have inherited the Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor's blood the most strongly.
He is said to have an enormous physique like the emperor himself, and his prowess far exceeds what's expected of his age.
Rumor has it that, at the young age of eighteen, he crippled an elder of the Twin Dragon Clan.]
An incredible introduction that was hard to believe, but not impossible.
After all, he was the inheritor of the Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor's blood.
Not only had he been born with extraordinary talent,
As the son of a colossal evil faction clan, he must have been fed all sorts of elixirs growing up.
In short, he was a genius who had lived a life completely opposite to someone like Jaseong, who was from rock bottom.
The idea that a boy from the Red Light District would be the one to capture such a monster...
It would have sounded utterly absurd to any spectators watching from the treetops.
But in the next moment, Lee Rin's face suddenly hardened.
"What's wrong?"
"Didn't you notice?"
"......?"
"About fifty jang from the cave entrance. A melee is taking place there."
... To perceive an aura fifty jang away.
There had always been rumors that North Sea techniques held many mysteries, but could they even sense a distant opponent's energy?
"Is Number One among them?"
"Hmm... I'm sensing several auras tangled together, so I can't say for sure. But what matters is...."
"?"
"The ones brawling are headed this way. About fourteen people in total."
... Fourteen enemies are flocking our way.
It was a situation worth worrying about.
Jaseong had recovered about half of his internal energy with the Celestial Gate Opening Art,
but Lee Rin, due to her internal injuries, was in no condition to fight.
If a fight broke out, it was a situation Jaseong would have to handle alone.
'What should I do? If there's a higher-level expert among them, strong enough to require my Celestial Gate Opening Art...'
At that moment, Lee Rin spoke again.
"For now, let's let them fight among themselves and hide."
"Hide?"
"There's a North Sea martial art that's useful at times like this."
Right after she finished speaking, Lee Rin acted unexpectedly.
She pressed close to Jaseong, then suddenly placed her hands on his chest and lower dantian, channeling her cold energy into him.
"... What are you doing?"
"It's a technique used by North Sea hunters when they stalk northern beasts. A martial art to minimize signs of life and hide one's presence from the enemy. According to Mother, it's better than the stealth arts used by the Central Plains' assassins."
By controlling the flow of ki with the unique cold energy of the North Sea Ice Palace, she forcibly stilled his internal energy and even lowered his heartbeat,
this was the technique Ice-Blood Sealing Pulse.
Thanks to that, Jaseong felt an eerie sensation, as if his entire body were frozen solid.
"... The North Sea's martial arts are truly mysterious, just as they say."
"Breathe as slowly as you can. And don't utter a word. You must hide your ki thoroughly."
With Lee Rin's energy flooding into him, Jaseong's heartbeat became as still as if he were in a deep sleep.
And about half a later—
Clang! Clang! Kaaang!!
Piercing sounds of metal rang from outside the cave.
Just as Lee Rin had said, the fifteen or so enemies who had been fighting their melee had come right up to the entrance.
Because this was a shallow cave, there was a chance that Jaseong or Lee Rin could be discovered by one of the fifteen enemies.
But perhaps thanks to the mystical nature of Lee Rin's Ice-Blood Sealing Pulse, not a single one noticed Jaseong or Lee Rin's presence, even as they came to the entrance.
Because of that, Jaseong and Lee Rin could observe the melee as if watching a fire across the river.
Somewhere along the way, this thought occurred to Jaseong.
'... If they beat each other bloody and collapse, maybe I should ambush them and steal their tokens then.'
It would be a stroke of luck—he might be able to gain a huge amount of tokens with little effort.
However, soon enough, this thought became meaningless.
KUA-BOOM!!!
* * *
Suddenly, there was a tremendous roar as though the rocks had shattered into pieces.
Next, the cave was filled with the panic-stricken voices of people.
"It's Kang Ryong!"
"D-damn it...! Why did that monster suddenly come here...?!"
"Run for it! Aaaargh!"
The screams of people in sheer terror.
At the same time, Lee Rin spoke with a rigid face.
"... Number One has appeared."
Jaseong's fist tightened in tension.
As they say, speak of the devil and he shall appear—the very prey he was aiming for, the third young master of the Twin Dragon Clan, Kang Ryong, had entered the scene all at once.
"Gyaaaah!!"
"Guhak! Uuwaaagh!!"
"Khahaha! You're dropping like ants!!"
Kang Ryong's enormous frame let out a mad laugh and emerged from the darkness.
A gigantic physique over ten cheok tall.
Muscles bulged as if about to burst, veins writhing atop them, and his bloodshot eyes radiated a beastly, savage light.
And, living up to the nickname Mad Blood Young Master, Kang Ryong's fist technique was vicious.
The Infinite Black Emperor Fist, a martial art passed down only among the bloodline of the Twin Dragon Clan, engulfed Kang Ryong in a gray aura, unleashing destructive force capable of splitting boulders in a single strike.
In his presence, contestants disappeared in a flash.
At one point, one contestant even ran into Jaseong's cave in an attempt to escape.
'Why the hell did you have to run in here?!'
Lee Rin bit her lip hard.
She was worried that the escapee would draw Kang Ryong into the cave where they were hiding.
Unfortunately, Lee Rin's fear soon became reality.
"A foolish rat runs to a dead end even when fleeing. Heh."
Chasing after the one who escaped, Kang Ryong entered the cave where Jaseong was hiding.
As he did so, Lee Rin's face hardened even more.
Her Ice-Blood Sealing Pulse was a stealth art said to amaze even the top assassins of Killing Valley,
but if the enemy came within five jang, there was a risk of being discovered.
Even having hidden behind a small boulder, with Kang Ryong's level of cultivation, it was obvious he would sense both Jaseong and Lee Rin instantly.
But unlike the tense Lee Rin, Jaseong remained calm.
At that moment, a strategy unfolded in his mind.
'... It's sooner than I hoped, but Number One was always my target anyway.
And in the darkness of a cave, he shouldn't be able to defend against a sudden attack very well.
So before his eyes fully adjust to the darkness, I'll rush out and take him down.
I'll push the Celestial Gate Opening Art to the limit, and finish it in a single strike.'
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
1 jang is ≈ 3.03 meters.
1 cheok is ≈ 0.303 m
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