Chapter 111
So Jeonghak's prepared decisive blow.
Thwack!
It went in properly. So Jeonghak, who had rushed into the opponent's arms, rammed the opponent's torso with his shoulder. The opponent was shocked and pushed back. The opponent, as his body was pushed back, was defenseless. So Jeonghak did not miss that and struck the guy's shoulder with his wooden sword.
"So Jeonghak wins!"
Mok Wigun declared.
"Woooah!"
Cheers erupted from the Zhongnan Sect's side. Even the guys who didn't particularly like So Jeonghak clenched their fists and shouted. The group competition has this kind of charm. It has the power to unite the members as one.
The head of the defeated martial arts hall also acknowledged it. If he had allowed such an attack, it was right that he had lost. Instead, the head grabbed the disciple who had come in and gave him a piece of his mind.
"Didn't I tell you not to be careless? Where did you sell your mind?"
"The guy suddenly came in..."
"Does the opponent say, 'I'm going to attack now,' and then attack? Get a grip!"
The head said to the other disciples.
"If you underestimate your opponent, you will be in danger. So do your best and finish it!"
"Yes. I understand."
The fortunate thing was that the first disciple who had gone out was a guy with slightly lower skills. A disciple who couldn't participate in the Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly. The real thing starts now. The head sent out a disciple who was participating in the Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly. And a guy with good skills at that. Since there was momentum, it would be troublesome if he lost this time as well.
'Hoo. This time, he sent out a guy who knows what he's doing.'
Mok Wigun sent out a guy who was a bit of a show-off this time. He was a guy who was quite cocky, saying he had gone to the Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly last year. And as expected, the guy lost.
"Woooah!!"
This time, cheers erupted from the Changhyeon Martial Arts Hall's side. And the head patted the shoulder of the disciple who had won and come in and smiled brightly.
"Yes. Our skills are a little better. Didn't we win last year too? So don't be careless and show your skills."
How happy had he been when he had won against the Zhongnan Sect last year? Although he hadn't passed the preliminaries, the head had thrown a feast. And he still boasted about winning at that time whenever something happened.
"Who should I send out this time?"
The head, thinking that since he had seized the momentum, he should push forward, sent out a guy who was participating in the Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly. His specialty was fist techniques, and he was a guy with quite a sharp fist.
Mok Wigun thought for a moment and then chose Deungroe. And before he went out, he called him and talked to him.
"You remember what Daeseongpyeong told you, right?"
Deungroe is quite huge. So Daeseongpyeong, who had a similar physique, had taken a particular interest and had given him guidance.
"Ah... I know."
Deungroe said with a blank expression and a somewhat slow tone. Mok Wigun patted Deungroe's shoulder and sent him out, and the match began.
The disciple who had come out from the martial arts hall also became very wary when he saw Deungroe's physique. At that age, physique plays a pretty big role. Because their internal energy is not that strong yet. But since a huge guy who seemed to be two heads taller than him had come out, he had naturally become tense.
"Let's go!"
The disciple of the martial arts hall put in a ki-hap and then attacked. He quickly closed in and threw a punch at the opponent's solar plexus and side. Usually, for the solar plexus, the fist should come from below, but since Deungroe was so big, he had to extend his fist upwards.
"Woooah!"
Deungroe shouted a strange sound and swung his arm. He showed the back of his left hand and swung it with a 'buung'. But the pressure was no joke.
"Ah, damn it."
The opponent was startled and stepped back. It felt like he was swinging a big log, not an arm. A feeling that if he was hit, he would faint or something would break.
But the disciple of the martial arts hall was not a complete novice either. Thinking that since the opponent's body was big, he would be slow, he began to move quickly. He was trying to confuse the opponent with speed as a weapon.
"Woooah!"
Deungroe shouted a strange sound again. This time, he reached out his hand and grabbed the opponent's collar.
"What is this..."
It was a surprisingly fast movement for his size. The speed at which Deungroe reached out and grabbed was so swift that the opponent couldn't possibly avoid it.
The martial arts disciple tried to get away by hitting and twisting the opponent's arm, but it was useless. When he hit Deungroe's arm, it was like hitting a stone. Only then did he see. The bulging muscles on the opponent's forearm.
And Deungroe showed a tremendous amount of strength. He held the martial arts disciple with one hand and moved him in the air as he pleased.
Thud!
Deungroe slammed the opponent onto the ground. The martial arts disciple who was spread out as he was. Deungroe was about to plant a fist in the opponent's face.
"That's enough!"
At Mok Wigun's words, Deungroe stopped his movement abruptly.
"Deungroe wins!"
This time, cheers came out from the Zhongnan Sect. On the other hand, the head had a slightly tense expression. It was because he thought that the disciple named Deungroe who had just participated was a guy who couldn't be taken lightly.
"He's an amazing guy."
"It seems he has learned external martial arts."
"His speed is not slow either. He's going to be quite tricky."
The instructors also all muttered that he would be a difficult opponent.
"For now, that guy is the person to watch out for."
But in the matches that followed, the martial arts hall's side had many victories. The younger brother of the Mun siblings, who was seen as having outstanding talent. Mun Geomyeong also lost. It was because Mok Wigun had deliberately matched him with the strongest guy from the martial arts hall.
"There's not much left now."
They had agreed to have fifteen people face each other, but in the meantime, only two were left.
While the match was in progress, the head carefully observed the disciples of the Zhongnan Sect as he had been requested. And one more person. A person from the Huashan Sect who had come in disguised as an instructor also carefully observed the duel.
'The disciple named Deungroe is the most noticeable. The child named Mun Geomyeong was also quite good. Other than those guys, there don't seem to be any particularly threatening disciples...'
And the duel just now also ended. This time, it was the Zhongnan Sect's victory. But the skill was just so-so. A level that didn't need to be paid much attention to.
"It's the last one. Do well."
The head encouraged the last disciple and sent him out. The martial arts hall was in a happy mood. Since eight people had already won, and there were six losses. The victory of the Changhyeon Martial Arts Hall was confirmed.
All the disciples who were participating in the Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly had come out. The disciples who were going to the Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly had also all won, except for the guy who had fought with Deungroe.
'I can look forward to it this year too. I hope we meet the Zhongnan Sect.'
The head thought that even if they didn't pass the preliminaries in the sect battle, they could expect a fairly high ranking.
"Our last one is Gwak Wol."
The guy that Mok Wigun was most looking forward to and also thinking about came out. Gwak Wol.
"That one is really eccentric."
Pyon Juksu approached stealthily and said. He was also paying the most attention to Gwak Wol.
"His senses are good, and his way of thinking is free. So there are also times when he performs a really ingenious technique."
But there were also times when he showed a ridiculous and out-of-place appearance. So there were times when he won against an opponent he couldn't possibly win against, but on the other hand, there were also cases where he lost absurdly. An unpredictable guy.
"Gwak Wol is a bit of a pity in terms of time. If he just gained a little more experience, he would be quite active."
If you force him to follow a mold, you can raise his results in a short period of time. But that's ruining Gwak Wol's genius.
"For the sake of Zhongnan, that guy has to be allowed to grow in his own way."
And Gwak Wol suddenly sent a sword to an unexpected place and lost. She muttered, tilting her head.
"Ah. This doesn't work."
Everyone laughed at the very eccentric technique. The person from Huashan also judged that the ones to pay attention to were Deungroe and Mun Geomyeong. The rest were nothing special. And so, the duel with the Changhyeon Martial Arts Hall was concluded.
After the people from the martial arts hall left, the training ground suddenly became quiet. A few disciples couldn't suppress their anger and were punching and kicking here and there.
"Are you angry?"
Pyon Juksu approached and asked. Usually, Mok Wigun would have stepped forward, but today he said he would speak. Mok Wigun also thought it would be better for Pyon Juksu to comfort them, so he agreed.
"Are we really going to be able to win?"
Mun Geomyeong asked as if he was challenging him.
"Do you think you can't win?"
"We lost today, didn't we?"
"We lost today, not at the competition."
Pyon Juksu said with a calm face.
"I must have said it continuously. That we are aiming to win at the competition."
The children began to listen to Pyon Juksu's words. Isn't he Physician Pyon, whom even the sect leader respects?
"From what I see, it's going well. Although there may be something suspicious, you'll probably know after the last selection match in a few days."
"Can we really do it?"
"If you don't run away."
Pyon Juksu gathered energy in his right hand and then struck the wall like lightning.
Kwa-jijik!
The palm force that crushed the stone wall like tofu and went in. A clear handprint was left there. The edges of the handprint were still sizzling and burning. The Five Thunder True Seal.
"At first, I also thought this technique was absurd. Is this possible? How can you send a palm strike with the energy of lightning?"
The disciples were more and more drawn into Pyon Juksu's story.
"At that time, the person who taught me this said. If you don't believe, you can't achieve."
Pyon Juksu said to the children.
"Believe!"
After saying that, Pyon Juksu left the place. Mok Wigun, who had come out of the training ground, approached Pyon Juksu and said.
"You've improved a lot."
"Since they're kids I've taken on, they have to do well."
Pyon Juksu said he was more worried about the last selection match.
"What if the kids we said were fine are eliminated?"
"Then we'll have to come up with a plan for that. We can't change the rules we've set, can we?"
If the principles are shaken, everything collapses. But Mok Wigun was positive.
"It's about time for the effects to start showing, so it will be fine."
"Do you think so?"
Pyon Juksu still had a serious expression, as if his worries hadn't disappeared.
* * *
There were disciples who were encouraged by Pyon Juksu's story, and there were disciples who were not particularly moved. But after the duel with the Changhyeon Martial Arts Hall, there was definitely a feeling of unity among the disciples. And as time passed, the day of the last selection match returned.
"Good luck. Mun Geomyeong!"
His older sister, Mun Soso, cheered for her younger brother. As Mok Wigun had expected, most of the disciples he had first chosen had entered the last selection match. So Jeonghak, after winning the duel and gaining confidence, had his skills rise rapidly and had easily obtained the qualification to participate.
"The problem is Gwak Wol and Jang Sogun."
Gwak Wol was still unpredictable, so he didn't know what would happen. And Jang Sogun was surprisingly not showing his skills. Perhaps because of that, he had become less talkative and was even getting annoyed, which he didn't usually do.
"Mun Geomyeong wins!"
Mun Geomyeong obtained the sixth qualification to participate. After hearing Pyon Juksu's words, his mental strength had become much stronger. He had been full of complaints and had been easily swayed by other people's words, but recently, he had shown a firm and solid appearance.
The next match was Gwak Wol. Gwak Wol, who was so happy about something, stepped forward with a bright smile.
"Alright. Everyone be careful not to get hurt. Start!"
And so, the duel to determine the seventh participant began.
(End of Chapter)