Chapter 29
Eon Juhye narrowed her eyes even more venomously.
"Who do you think you are, calling my name so carelessly? You traitor!"
"Juhye, it's not like that..."
"I told you not to call my name so carelessly! And if it's not like that, then what is it? Can you still say such things after seeing my older brother Namgung over there?"
At Eon Juhye's mention of Namgung Seocheon, Zhuge Yeon shut her mouth.
However, Eon Juhye, as if she had no intention of doing so, shot back even more cruelly.
"Is that all you can do after being accepted into the Five Great Families, you girl from a collapsing family with weak martial arts? Do you even know what the word 'ingratitude' means? Ah, right. You wouldn't know. Even a dog doesn't bite the hand that feeds it. How would a bitch worse than a dog know."
Zhuge Yeon had learned that reason should come before emotion.
In fact, she had tried hard to do so.
However, her training was not deep enough to maintain her composure even after being cursed at by a younger sister she had known.
Zhuge Yeon bit her lip.
"Are you going to keep talking like that?"
"Why? Did I say something wrong? And who told you to speak to me so informally? How dare you!"
Eon Juhye charged fiercely.
However, Zhuge Yeon had a sneer on her lips.
'Foolish.'
A sword is longer than a fist. To face a sword with a fist, you have to close the distance by looking for gaps little by little.
Charging in foolishly like Eon Juhye was no different from offering your neck to be killed.
'It would be best to end it in one move, right?'
There were many others to face besides Eon Juhye.
She had to save her stamina.
Moreover, Eon Juhye had even set the table for her. It was foolish not to eat what was given.
'A little more.'
Zhuge Yeon watched the rapidly approaching Eon Juhye and measured the distance.
Eon Juhye soon entered Zhuge Yeon's range.
Zhuge Yeon used her strength carefully without being careless in the slightest.
And that became a disaster for Eon Juhye.
Thwack!
"Ack!"
Eon Juhye, who was hit in the right hand, spun around in the air and then fell to the floor.
Thump!
The momentary impact took her breath away. But that wasn't the problem.
"Huh? Huh? My, my hand!"
Her fist was completely shattered. Bone fragments protruded from her flesh, and blood flowed out.
At the sight of the screaming Eon Juhye, hesitation appeared on Zhuge Yeon's face for a moment.
"Did I? Huh? Huh? That's..."
Joo Jinsung, who had arrived late, did not miss the opportunity.
"You vicious bitch!"
Joo Jinsung's wooden sword thrust fiercely.
At that moment, Cheon Youngyoung, who had quickly intervened, barely deflected Joo Jinsung's wooden sword.
Thwack!
"What are you doing!"
Joo Jinsung, who had taken a step back, glared at Cheon Youngyoung.
Cheon Youngyoung, without taking her eyes off Joo Jinsung, urged Zhuge Yeon.
"Get a grip! Is this the time to be dazed?"
"B-but..."
"What do you mean, but? If you hadn't knocked her down, you would have been in the same state! So hurry up and get a grip!"
However, that was as far as it went.
Cheon Youngyoung still did not have the luxury to take care of Zhuge Yeon. Even this much was a stretch.
Cheon Youngyoung thrust her wooden sword at the charging Joo Jinsung and rushed out.
And at that moment, wooden swords flew in from all directions, aiming for Zhuge Yeon.
"Now! Get her!"
"Die!"
***
So Moogyeol's wooden staff moved brilliantly. As if it was deflecting the swords flying in from all directions with a swift rotation, it suddenly extended and struck eight places at once.
And the Dragon and Phoenix Inn student who had received it was sent flying without even being able to scream.
"Yes! I got five of them!"
So Moogyeol, excited, swung his wooden staff here and there.
Each and every movement was light and rhythmic, moving smoothly. It was truly a state of self-forgetfulness.
Now, the Dragon and Phoenix Inn students surrounding So Moogyeol did not even dare to approach.
"You brat!"
"Stop it!"
Peng Gahyeok and Baek Unseol, who could not watch any longer, rushed out at the same time.
The wooden sword and wooden saber flew in sharply from the left and right.
However, So Moogyeol was not shaken in the slightest.
He took a large step to the right, completely out of Baek Unseol's range, and received only Peng Gahyeok's saber.
The moment the saber and staff clashed, So Moogyeol twisted his staff diagonally. Peng Gahyeok's saber slid off.
"Damn it!"
Peng Gahyeok let out a flustered voice, but it was already too late.
So Moogyeol swung his staff and struck Peng Gahyeok's side.
Thwack!
"Ack!"
Peng Gahyeok clutched his side and rolled on the floor.
So Moogyeol, whose eyes were sparkling as he was about to finish him off, soon took a step back with disappointed eyes.
It was because Baek Unseol's sword wind was thrusting in fiercely.
So Moogyeol looked at Baek Unseol with troubled eyes.
"Hey, can't you just back off and watch?"
"No."
Baek Unseol bit her lip. So Moogyeol let out a groan.
"This is difficult to do as I please..."
As So Moogyeol glanced at Moyong Gi, he was smiling brightly and waving his hand.
"What is that guy thinking... hut!"
So Moogyeol, who was contorting his face, sucked in a breath at Baek Unseol's sword, which had suddenly thrust in, and took a step back.
"Aish! Don't you see I'm thinking?"
"Are you saying that as if it makes sense? Who thinks of something else while fighting?"
"It's because of you! You just had to intervene and make things difficult for people."
"What's so difficult? We just have to fight."
Baek Unseol thrust in, occupying four directions at once.
It was the Plum Blossom Dots move of Mount Hua's Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art.
It was to control So Moogyeol's brilliantly moving staff.
However, So Moogyeol, unshaken, calmly thrust his staff.
With a thwacking sound, Baek Unseol's sword spun around.
At that moment, the other three swords disappeared as if they had been washed away.
So Moogyeol had accurately caught the real one.
"Huh?"
When Baek Unseol could not hide her flustered face, So Moogyeol quickly closed the distance and struck with his wooden staff.
Thwack!
"Ack!"
Baek Unseol, who was hit in the lower abdomen, reflexively bent her waist.
So Moogyeol did not miss that and lightly struck the back of Baek Unseol's neck. With a thud, Baek Unseol collapsed weakly.
"This should be enough, right? Just rest for a bit for now."
So Moogyeol muttered as he scratched his cheek.
However, he soon took a step back and swung his wooden staff.
Peng Gahyeok's wooden saber, which was coming in with a fierce momentum, was pushed back.
But that wasn't the end of it.
So Moogyeol spun his wooden staff and rotated one more time.
The wooden swords of the Martial Tiger Class students who were rushing in a step later were deflected with a thwack, thwack, thwack sound.
"These cowardly bastards!"
Although his face was panting as if he was excited, his eyes were not like that at all.
He calmly used his staff, observing his surroundings with cold eyes. And then he steadily reduced the numbers.
Thwack! Thwack!
"Ack!"
"Ugh!"
The Martial Tiger Class students were sent flying. Peng Gahyeok, who had taken a step back to catch his breath, felt a chill on the back of his neck.
'When did that guy get to that point...'
It was clear that just a few months ago, there was no big difference between him and himself.
He had even looked down on him inwardly.
Although he had taken the sword examination against the incompatible Namgung Jinsaeng, it was also a fact that he had been assigned a low rank.
But in just a few months, he had become a different person.
Peng Gahyeok clenched his jaw.
'I have to cut him off here.'
He had thought that Moyong Gi alone would be the end of it. But that wasn't the case.
Myung Jin and So Moogyeol were also too great a threat.
Perhaps Zhuge Yeon, Woonhyun, and Cheon Youngyoung could be the same.
"What are you doing? Attack all at once!"
Peng Gahyeok shouted at the Martial Tiger Class students and continued to push them in.
So Moogyeol, while facing the Martial Tiger Class students, glared at Peng Gahyeok.
"You cowardly bastard! Then you step up!"
However, Peng Gahyeok did not react at all to So Moogyeol's provocation and followed So Moogyeol's movements with cold eyes.
'Just once!'
In the first place, the saber of the Peng family lacked the technique to face the Dog Beating Staff Technique.
The fact that he had chosen the saber itself meant that he would see the match with strength rather than technique.
But because his understanding of the Dog Beating Staff Technique had become quite high, Peng Gahyeok's strength did not work on So Moogyeol.
Although the Peng family's Five Tiger Breaking Gate Saber was not an inferior martial art compared to the Dog Beating Staff Technique, it was because there was a difference in the people who used it, So Moogyeol and Peng Gahyeok.
Then there was only one way.
To aim for a single gap.
And the wait was not long.
The moment So Moogyeol turned his gaze to the Martial Tiger Class student who was coming in from behind, Peng Gahyeok kicked the ground.
And then, he lightly stepped on the shoulder of the Martial Tiger Class student who was blocking his path and leaped.
"Huh?"
The Martial Tiger Class student, who had contorted his face from having his shoulder stepped on, his eyes widened for a moment as he raised his gaze.
Peng Gahyeok had soared to a height of nearly two zhang.
"You brat!"
Peng Gahyeok shouted loudly.
So Moogyeol, who was quickly turning his gaze, his face contorted.
'You foolish brat!'
Even at a glance, a monstrous force was contained.
It was the most tyrannical move of the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Saber, the Bear Tyrant's Crushing Mountain.
If he tried to block it carelessly, his staff would break.
However, So Moogyeol was not worried in the slightest.
'If you're foolish, your body suffers.'
So Moogyeol, with his back to the falling Peng Gahyeok, took a step forward. And then he just extended his staff backwards.
So Moogyeol's staff struck Peng Gahyeok's leg. That was enough.
The center of the falling Peng Gahyeok collapsed.
"Huh?"
However, there was no time to be flustered. The black dirt floor was first.
Thump!
"Gasp!"
His breath was taken away.
He desperately tried to open his airway, gasping.
After a long time, he barely opened his airway and caught his breath, and he belatedly remembered So Moogyeol and shot up his head.
So Moogyeol looked at Peng Gahyeok with pitiful eyes.
"Why did you have to jump?"
Peng Gahyeok's face turned beet red.
"You bastard!"
Finally, a curse came out of the mouth of the gentlemanly Peng Gahyeok.
However, So Moogyeol was not moved in the slightest. Rather, he showed a faint laugh.
"Rest now."
So Moogyeol's staff struck Peng Gahyeok's head squarely.
Thwack!
With the sound of a gourd breaking, Peng Gahyeok went limp.
So Moogyeol, who had clicked his tongue once, soon turned his gaze and glared at the Martial Tiger Class students surrounding him.
"You've waited a long time, right? Let's do it properly now."
At So Moogyeol's words, someone swallowed hard.
***
At the sight of Baek Unseol collapsing, Johwasim, who had stood up with a cold face, left the place.
However, Hong Sochen, without even giving him any attention, was busy giggling as he watched his disciple handle the staff brilliantly.
"That's right! That's the Dog Beating Staff Technique! It's the best for catching dogs!"
Peng Domyung shot up from his seat.
"Are you calling the child of the Peng family a dog? Even if you are the Beggars' Sect leader, aren't your words too harsh?"
Hong Sochen looked at Peng Domyung.
"My words are harsh? Me?"
"Then are you saying they're not? Apologize right now!"
Peng Domyung panted and raised his voice.
But Hong Sochen shook his head with a look of disbelief.
"If that's harsh, then what about a hundred people attacking five? Is this not harsh?"
Peng Domyung was at a loss for words for a moment.
Hong Sochen, who was looking at him with cold eyes, continued.
"If you're wronged, file a formal complaint. If it becomes a problem, I'll accept a life-and-death battle or whatever."
"Th-th-!"
As Peng Domyung trembled with anger and his eyes became bloodshot, Lee Cheonggang stepped forward and stopped him.
"Elder Peng, please calm down."
"Are you saying that to me now? After seeing this?"
"But we can't have a fight with Sect Leader Hong here, can we? Let's talk formally later."
Lee Cheonggang said lowly, glancing at Hong Sochen.
Tang Hwagi, who was next to him, also pulled Peng Domyung.
"Elder Lee is right. Please endure it for now. Let's talk later."
(End of Chapter)