The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

Compared to before, Mo Xihan had certainly become stronger. His messy energy was organized, his path of combat was precise, his momentum was sharp, and his movements were like the wind. He must have made blood-vomiting efforts after his crushing defeat at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, where he had participated relying only on his talent. That effort was commendable. But that was all. He lost again this time.

"Why! Why can't I win!"

Mo Xihan burst out in frustration. He had worked hard, even sacrificing his sleeping time, but the distance had not narrowed.

He had quit his favorite alcohol. He had avoided the woman he loved and had not gone on trips to enjoy the pleasures of life. He had distanced himself from everything he liked, loved, and cherished, and had stubbornly, just consistently, practiced the Hundred Changes Illusory Dance Sword. His father and the elders had said that the god of martial arts would not grant anything without sacrifice. He had trained his external arts during the day and had accumulated his internal energy at night, polishing his martial arts skills.

But to lose even so, what more did he have to sacrifice, what more did he have to do to win?

Mo Xihan slammed his fist on the floor of the duel stage and shouted.

"What more do I have to do! What more do I have to sacrifice to win!"

Bloody tears flowed from his two eyes. The reactions of those watching were varied. There were people like Jang So-gil, who had arrived late and was startled, asking, 'What's wrong with him?' not knowing the situation. There were people like the Luoyang Inspector Gwon Cheonhui or the Martial Alliance Lord Gu Munryong, who was watching from afar, who smiled with satisfaction, saying, 'The troubles of youth are helpful. It is called youth because it is a blue spring, and it is truly a good sight to see.' And there were also spectators who simply thought of it as a spectacle and happily watched the misfortune of others.

In the midst of that, Yang Gwan, who had been his duel opponent, calmly approached him. Mo Xihan's eyes shot up.

"Did you come to laugh at me?"

"No, I think you are greatly mistaken, so I have something to correct."

"What?"

"I acknowledge your efforts. You must have worked tirelessly."

"But I lost, didn't I!? It was a useless effort!"

"That's a matter of course. Just because you worked hard doesn't mean I didn't. Why do you think you are the only one who sacrificed? Think about it."

The god of martial arts gives strength in proportion to the effort made.

Yang Gwan had defeated Mo Xihan.

What was the meaning of these words?

"Of course, it means that I have devoted myself to training more than you."

"...!"

"Strive harder. I will also train harder so as not to lose, so let's polish each other."

He smiled coolly. It was a refreshing smile that made the troubled Mo Xihan feel like a fool.

"It was a good duel."

"I concede defeat. I will win next time."

"I will wait with pleasure."

Yang Gwan cupped his fists and greeted first, and Mo Xihan followed suit and bowed his head.

The crowd cheered at the desirable attitude of respecting the winner and considering him a rival.

Thus, the second duel also ended with Yang Gwan's victory.

* * *

"Ah, this is painful."

"Ah, this is painful."

Sama Hwi, who was waving his fan, and Jang So-gil, who was sipping his honey tea, muttered at the same time.

The two, unaware that they had spoken at the same time, muttered again.

"Aren't they embarrassed?"

"Aren't they embarrassed?"

"How can they say such embarrassing things?"

"How can they say such embarrassing things?"

The two were startled and turned to look at each other, their eyes meeting. It was because they had belatedly realized that the voice they had been hearing from the side was mixed with their own voice in the muttering so far.

"Don't copy me."

"Don't copy me."

"..."

"..."

They did not know the affection of a martial artist and were embarrassed to show their emotions to others. The sensibilities of Jang So-gil and Sama Hwi were as similar as if they were reflected in a mirror. If even the words they uttered unconsciously overlapped like this, they would have to admit that they were similar to each other. Jang So-gil handed the honey tea he had brought to Sama Hwi, and Sama Hwi took it and drank it, turning his eyes away.

"Ahem. Anyway, the situation has flowed as expected so far, but what are you planning to do from now on?"

"We only need to get 1 win out of the three of them, so isn't it all over?"

"Mo Xihan was stronger than expected, so Yang Gwan's strength has waned. His internal energy must be less than half, so in that state, he won't be able to withstand even three moves from Elder Seok Pacheon. And as for you..."

Sama Hwi clicked his tongue. Feeling his gaze, Jang So-gil nodded his head, "Yes, yes."

"Since I'm a baby who has just started walking, it's best to give up if I don't want to die."

"Yes. So in the end, it's a one-on-one duel between a fully prepared Elder Seok Pacheon and me. The odds are that I might win three times out of ten, so it can be called a crisis. What on earth is your secret plan?"

"You'll see soon enough. Wow, he really can't stand it."

With a cool "thud," Yang Gwan was thrown out. It was because he had been hit by Seok Pacheon's leg, and even though he had blocked it with his staff, he had no way to withstand it because he lacked the internal energy to support it. Yang Gwan got up with difficulty and bowed his head. It was a gesture of thanks for yielding the first three moves and for not using a killing blow.

Sama Hwi said with a reluctant expression.

"It seems Elder Seok also likes Yang Gwan. Well, everyone likes a righteous young man like that."

"Except for people with a twisted mind like you, brother Hwi?"

"Hmph. Anyway, it's your turn now. Are you going to give up?"

"What do you mean, give up? It's time for the secret plan to explode."

Jang So-gil said that and headed to the duel stage. It was because the second challenger from the Martial Alliance side was Jang So-gil himself. When he appeared, the surroundings became noisy.

"Is that the newly appointed inspector?"

"The one who found the corruption of the Hakseo Escort Agency!"

"He's young..."

"He doesn't look like he has practiced martial arts..."

He's really making a mark in front of all these people of Luoyang. Jang So-gil grinned and went up to the duel stage. Contrary to the cheers and favorable gazes from the surroundings, Seok Pacheon's eyes were cold.

Jang So-gil felt better with that gaze than with the gaze of the crowd. The person I hate hates me. How thrilling is the hostile gaze sent by someone you hate? When you receive such a gaze, you feel a sense of accomplishment, thinking, 'I'm doing my job properly, I'm using the right method, I'm amazing-!'

Enjoying the shiver that ran down his spine, Jang So-gil greeted first.

"Isn't the weather really nice today?"

"What?"

"The sky is blue, and all things under heaven are as beautiful as if flowers have bloomed. It's a really good day to clean up the shit that you've so generously shat, Elder. It's also a happy day because I can clean up tens of thousands of taels of shit."

"Hahahaha. This little child is driving people crazy with his three-inch tongue. Alright, let's see if you can still chatter like that when your head is cut off."

"Will you be alright? I believe it is customary to yield the first three moves."

"Yes. There is such a custom. It's a truly troublesome thing."

If he had his way, he would have immediately smashed that little mouth with his palm, crushed his larynx, cut off his femur, and pierced his heart with his hand, but this was a very public place. There were officials, the Alliance Lord, and the people of Luoyang. It would have been fine to do that to a Demonic Cult member, but that fellow was an inspector.

"Tsk."

Although he didn't like it, as an elder of the famous Orthodox sect Hengshan, he had to follow the customs and etiquette. Seok Pacheon clicked his tongue and took the stance of the Hengshan's fist technique, the Ape Duke Palm. Originally, he was a master of the sword who had learned the Seven Kills Sword Technique and was called the Autumn Wind Sword, but a sword was not needed here.

'To kill that fellow, a fist technique is perfect. I can pretend it was a mistake, and I can take his life more effectively.'

The Ape Duke Palm was a type of animal-form fist that was said to have been created by imitating the appearance of a beast. It was a fist of illusion that moved strangely like a monkey and attacked the enemy from an unexpected place. The attack was not only fast, but it also had the function of making the opponent not even realize they had been hit after being hit.

'If you're hit by the Ape Duke Palm, the pain is less, and you can't even notice the injury even if it's a fatal one. That's why it's a scary fist technique.'

Seok Pacheon had once shown off the presence of Hengshan to the Demonic Cult members by hitting a Demonic Cult member with this Ape Duke Palm, causing him to vomit blood from his seven orifices and die a day later.

It was the same trick this time. He would hit him and make Jang So-gil die suddenly a day later. After that, he could just deny it.

Chuckling, Seok Pacheon said.

"I'll yield the first three moves. Come."

"Then-!"

It was the moment he said "three-".

Jang So-gil was already preparing to attack.

'You were careless, old man! Did you think I brought the White-Clear Divine Sword for nothing?!'

A real sword cannot be used in a duel. But if you don't draw it, it's fine to bring it. Because a sword, if not drawn, is no different from a club.

Jang So-gil had wrapped the White-Clear Divine Sword in linen so that it could not be drawn from its scabbard, and had brought it up to the duel stage. The reason was to use the true qi imbued in the White-Clear Divine Sword.

'The true qi of the White-Clear Divine Sword is about three years' worth. And my internal energy is about half a month's worth!'

He scraped together all the true qi imbued in the White-Clear Divine Sword and the millet-sized internal energy he had cultivated by eating spiritual medicines. The Soul-Stealing Flash was not a sword technique, a palm technique, or a fist technique. It was an ice art. Because the ice art suddenly spewed out cold energy, it was extremely difficult to avoid, and since the form of the attack was like light, it was also difficult to block.

The prestige of the three great heavens of the outer martial world came from how difficult they were to deal with.

Right after coming up to the duel stage, when his body was not warmed up.

The carelessness that comes from the opponent being a clear underdog.

The yielding of the first three moves that had to be given because the opponent was a subordinate.

The peculiarity of the ice art, which was not something one could easily encounter.

If all these situations were combined, even Jang So-gil, who had just started learning martial arts, could hit Seok Pacheon just once. So he would use all his strength in that one time. He would forget about the distribution of force he had learned from Yang Gwan and bet his soul on this one shot.

'Eat this-! The ultimate Soul-Stealing Flash!'

A blue light flashed from the White-Clear Divine Sword, which was wrapped in linen. The attack was instantaneous, and Seok Pacheon, with a sneer on his face, was caught up in the Soul-Stealing Flash.

"...!?"

Crack, crack, crack, the ice freezes. Since it was an ice art, it could not be blocked with external arts. The cold energy pierced through the skin and penetrated into the body.

Seok Pacheon hurriedly raised even his innate true qi to drive out the cold energy. Because he had raised it in a hurry, his qi and blood flowed backwards.

"Keoheok-!"

He had been properly struck. He vomited a mouthful of blood. The moment he spat it out, the blood froze and became an icicle, hitting the duel stage. A cracking sound was heard, and fragments of blood flew up.

This was the ice art of someone who had just started learning martial arts? It was a shocking blow. At this level, he was at least as good as Yang Gwan. He was not an opponent to be taken lightly.

"To think you were hiding such a move."

Seok Pacheon was astonished, his complexion changed, and he corrected his stance.

He had been hit once because he was careless. But there would be no second time.

He gritted his teeth.

"The lucky move ends here. You have two moves left. Come at me."

With this potential, that fellow was definitely a genius of the ages.

He had to kill him now. He would become an obstacle to the Hengshan Sect in the future.

He made that judgment and prepared a killing blow.

Then Jang So-gil raised his hand high.

"I give up."

"Yes? What did you say?"

The official asked back, as if he couldn't believe it.

Seok Pacheon also asked back, as if interrogating him.

"What did you just say!"

"It seems you didn't hear me. Elder Seok Pacheon is so amazing that I can't win. Rather than fighting a losing battle, it's better to give up coolly. I lost. Then, I'm leaving."

He didn't even wait for an answer. Jang So-gil hurriedly got off the duel stage.

That back, running as if he would be caught if he stopped! Seok Pacheon shouted.

"Stop there! Where are you going in the middle of a duel! Didn't I tell you to stop!"

"I lost! Hahahaha! Elder Seok Pacheon is so strong. Please live a long and healthy life!"

"You bastard! If you don't stop, I'll attack!"

"I haven't used my three moves yet. If you attack, you'll be the bastard, Elder Seok Pacheon. Puhahaha!"

"Hey-! You mad dog! Can't you stop there?!"

"Alright, alright, everyone. The next duel will begin right away. Young Master Thousand Li, Strategist Sama, is entering!"

Sama Hwi passed by Jang So-gil and went up to the duel stage.

His expression was not very good.

"Is this your secret plan?"

"Yes. It's effective, isn't it?"

"..."

It was a mad dog-like method, but it was so effective that he had no words to refute it.

So Sama Hwi looked at Seok Pacheon with pitiful eyes.

Seok Pacheon stared at Sama Hwi in a daze.

It was the eyes of a man whose back of the head had been properly smashed.

(End of Chapter)