Chapter 31
"Ah, really!"
Jo Iljang was cunning.
When Woonhyun fought surprisingly well, he did not bother to face Woonhyun.
Instead, he moved the Martial Tiger Class students to aim for Zhuge Yeon.
Because of that, Woonhyun was having a hard time.
It was because he had to constantly move to protect Zhuge Yeon in the open space.
"These cowardly bastards! Just come at me!"
However, no one listened.
From the moment a hundred people decided to face six, they had already put on a thick skin.
They thoroughly aimed only for Zhuge Yeon, and when Woonhyun blocked, they retreated without overdoing it.
"This is driving me crazy, really!"
Woonhyun's face contorted even more.
Although he was blocking quite well by relying on the profundity of the Great Void Sword Art, there were too many spaces to block.
Spinning around Zhuge Yeon and deflecting the enemy's swords was a seriously stamina-consuming task.
At this rate, he would be exhausted before long.
No, before that, Zhuge Yeon would be taken down first.
The situation was bad.
"Hey! Get a grip! Huh?"
But Zhuge Yeon, with foolish eyes, was still just following the back of the departing Eon Juhye, and she did not even move at Woonhyun's urging.
It was amazing that she was still fine.
However, that did not last long.
Finally, something happened. Jo Iljang had approached Zhuge Yeon from outside of Woonhyun's range.
"Hey, you punk! Don't do it!"
But Jo Iljang didn't even pretend to listen.
It was a hard-won opportunity. He had to subdue Zhuge Yeon first.
"Take this!"
Jo Iljang's fist extended in a straight line. There were no profound changes like Woonhyun's sword, nor was there a powerful ki that distorted space like Jeonggak's fist. And it wasn't fast either.
However, Woonhyun's face turned pale.
"That crazy bastard!"
Woonhyun had recognized the Kongtong Sect's secret ultimate technique, the Seven Injuries Fist.
Although the Seven Injuries Fist looked ordinary on the outside, it was a type of internal injury technique where seven true ki would penetrate and shatter the muscles and veins the moment it hit.
Even if Jo Iljang's skill was not yet deep, if it hit properly, it was more than enough to make Zhuge Yeon a cripple.
Woonhyun shouted with an urgent face.
"It's the Seven Injuries Fist! Dodge it!"
However, Zhuge Yeon just stared with a foolish face. Jo Iljang showed a triumphant smile.
'I got her!'
It was the moment he finally caught one.
And just as he was one step away from her.
"D-don't do it!"
Zhuge Yeon stumbled, raised her sword, and swung it at Jo Iljang's fist.
Jo Iljang, who had clearly seen how Eon Juhye had been defeated, his heart sank.
"Hut!"
He sucked in a breath and tried to quickly pull back his fist.
However, Zhuge Yeon's sword was faster.
Jo Iljang, with the color drained from his face, squeezed his eyes shut.
Thump.
However, there was no expected impact. There was only the feeling of his arm being pushed back.
Jo Iljang cautiously opened his eyes.
"D-don't come!"
Zhuge Yeon stumbled back with a face that looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.
Woonhyun's eyes widened.
"You...!"
However, the Martial Tiger Class students did not miss the opportunity.
After exchanging glances, they aimed for Zhuge Yeon all at once.
"Attack!"
"Th-this!"
Woonhyun raised his voice in a fluster. However, Woonhyun was a step too late.
The six wooden swords that had approached Zhuge Yeon's nose in an instant aimed for different vital points and thrust in.
It was a situation where anyone would be in danger.
"I said don't do it!"
Zhuge Yeon, still with a tearful voice, took a step back and then drew her wooden sword.
She dodged three swords in one step, and deflected three swords with one swing of her sword.
Although it looked simple, it was so clean that one could not even dream of imitating it.
"Huh, huh?"
"Huh? What is this?"
Seeing the flustered students, Woonhyun let out a hollow laugh.
"Wow... well, who was I to protect whom..."
It was Zhuge Yeon, whom he had never once won against.
Let alone winning, the number of times he had received more than twenty moves could be counted on one hand.
Woonhyun's face contorted.
"Aish. If you had done that from the beginning, I wouldn't have had to go through this. No, by the way..."
Woonhyun glared at Jo Iljang, who was looking at Zhuge Yeon with foolish eyes.
"It means I can do it properly now..."
***
"You!"
Joo Jinsung, who was struck in the lower abdomen by Cheon Youngyoung's sword, his eyes shot open.
However, he soon bent his waist and clutched his lower abdomen.
His face contorted at the extreme pain that seemed to take his breath away.
Seeing that, a weak heart stealthily raised its head.
However, Cheon Youngyoung bit her lip and forced down her weak heart.
And then, she raised her sword and struck Joo Jinsung hard.
Thwack!
He collapsed weakly without even being able to scream.
Only then could Cheon Youngyoung let out a sigh of relief.
"Haa..."
The word that represented the sacred ground of Qingcheng, the Qingcheng Sect, was 'the highest good is like water.'
It means that the highest good is like water, which in the end means not to go against the flow.
Therefore, the martial arts of Qingcheng pursued extreme naturalness.
That's why they valued connection more than anything else.
They focused on the sword path flowing naturally like water.
Although it had the disadvantage of being predictable due to the lack of surprise, it was difficult to find a gap because the connection was so excellent.
And that was the reason why Cheon Youngyoung had not been able to gain the upper hand against Joo Jinsung for quite a long time.
"It's hard..."
Cheon Youngyoung leaned on her wooden sword, her body staggering.
Cheon Youngyoung had faced a total of nine, including Joo Jinsung.
Not only was she tired, but she had also allowed quite a few attacks because she could not deflect all the countless attacks that poured in, so her whole body ached.
If she took off her clothes, she would be covered in bruises.
In particular, a small bloodstain had formed on her left arm, where she had allowed a sword from Joo Jinsung.
However, as if she could not hide her proud feelings, a small smile hung on Cheon Youngyoung's face.
"Is it over now?"
At the familiar voice, Cheon Youngyoung turned her gaze.
Moyong Gi, who was squatting on the floor, grinned and waved his hand.
"Good work."
So Moogyeol, who was squatting next to Moyong Gi, grumbled.
"What? Are you discriminating against people? You didn't even look when me and Myung Jin took down over seventy..."
Myung Jin, who was standing a step behind with his arms crossed, glanced down at So Moogyeol.
And then, with an indifferent face, he said as if brushing past.
"I caught more."
So Moogyeol's face contorted as he spun around.
"You're so great, you bastard. You're so petty about useless things."
"It's not being petty, it's telling the truth."
"Ah, I get it."
So Moogyeol pouted his lips. And he took out his anger on an easy target.
"By the way, is that one going to take all day? Just to face one Jo Iljang?"
"He's doing well for himself. You were worse than that."
"Hey! No matter what, I wasn't that bad!"
So Moogyeol got angry.
Moyong Gi chuckled and then stood up, brushing off his buttocks.
"Let's go. It's about to end."
***
Thwack!
As the tip of Woonhyun's sword struck Jo Iljang's chin, his eyes blurred and he drooled.
"Ah, really! So dirty!"
Woonhyun was terrified and sheathed his wooden sword.
The figure of Jo Iljang, who had lost his support, collapsed.
Thump!
However, Woonhyun still did not let go of his vigilance.
From a step away, he just extended his wooden sword and poked Jo Iljang.
"Hey. Is it over?"
Jo Iljang did not move. Even after poking him three or four more times, there was no movement. It was clear that he had fainted.
Only then did Woonhyun sigh and sit down on the spot.
"Ah, I'm going to die."
Woonhyun rubbed his bruised eyelid.
"Aish, so uncool. Of all places, he had to hit me here."
"Why? It suits you."
As Woonhyun spun around, Moyong Gi approached with a grin.
"Are you saying that as if it makes sense? Whose fault is this."
"Whose fault. It's because your skills are lacking. Am I wrong?"
"I'm not!"
Woonhyun, with a sullen face, glanced back at Zhuge Yeon.
However, he had been hit in the eye by Jo Iljang after Zhuge Yeon had started to protect herself.
Because of that, he just let out a groan and shut his mouth. Instead, he glared at So Moogyeol and Myung Jin.
"What are you guys doing, not even showing your faces? Didn't you hear me asking for help?"
"We were busy too. I alone took down three times as many as you."
"You're so great, you bastard."
Woonhyun and So Moogyeol growled at each other.
Moyong Gi, who shook his head at that sight, passed the two and approached Zhuge Yeon.
As Moyong Gi approached, Zhuge Yeon flinched and hesitated.
"Huh? Huh?"
And then, she unknowingly raised her wooden sword.
Moyong Gi stopped walking and chuckled.
"Why? Are you going to make me like Eon Juhye?"
"Hut!"
Zhuge Yeon was terrified and threw her wooden sword.
Her face quickly turned pale.
So Moogyeol approached Moyong Gi and clicked his tongue.
"You have a really nasty personality too. She seems to be out of her mind, do you have to say it like that?"
Moyong Gi glanced back at So Moogyeol and said.
"If not? It's fine when I'm here, but if she does that when I'm not here, she's the one who will get hurt. It's a relief if she just gets hurt, if she's unlucky, she'll die."
"Wow..."
So Moogyeol let out a hollow laugh. And then he shook his head.
"You're really taking good care of her. So what are you going to do? Something like that won't be easily fixed."
So Moogyeol was right.
Innate nature is not easily fixed. There is even a saying that you can't fix a person.
'Looking at what she did before my return, it means she's not beyond redemption.'
Still, it wasn't that there was no hope.
It was a problem that would be fixed with time.
But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't think of a way to reduce that time.
Moyong Gi, who was looking at the pale Zhuge Yeon, soon let out a groan.
"Aish! I don't know. It'll work out if I keep doing it."
"Wow. Is that all?"
"Then what do you want me to do? I can't just grab anyone and beat them to death."
"You foolish bastard."
So Moogyeol looked at Moyong Gi with a look of disbelief.
However, he couldn't just stay like that.
The problem at hand was more important.
So Moogyeol looked around the training ground.
"By the way, what are we going to do about this?"
"What?"
"What do you mean, what? I'm talking about the kids who are lying down. Should we wake up a few and match the numbers?"
The quota for the Dragon and Phoenix Inn's Ascending Dragon Class was twenty.
But now, there were only seven standing on their own two feet. It was far from enough.
"Why would we do that? It's good that there won't be any noisy things from now on."
"That's true, but... our master told us not to cause trouble."
"Hey, you punk, will this be undone if we wake up a few? And they're the ones who caused the trouble, not us. Stop worrying."
Moyong Gi replied indifferently.
So Moogyeol shut his mouth.
However, Woonhyun, who was approaching late, asked again.
"By the way, why did you leave that guy alone?"
Woonhyun gestured with his chin towards Tang Somun, who was being very wary.
So Moogyeol answered for him.
"He's this guy's in-law."
"Wow... that damn bloodline..."
Moyong Gi looked at Woonhyun, who was shaking his head with a look of disbelief.
"Are you saying such things with your mouth?"
Woonhyun could not find a reply for a moment.
This was even more so for the prestigious great sects.
The word 'more' was far from enough.
As if he was embarrassed by that fact, Woonhyun, who had blushed for a moment, stealthily changed the subject.
"By the way... I guess we can say this is an unprecedented event, right? Seven Ascending Dragon Class students... I think it's the first time since the Dragon and Phoenix Inn opened..."
But this time too, he was wrong.
As soon as Woonhyun's words ended, Baek Unseol, who had been lying on one side, fidgeted and sat up.
Moyong Gi, who had confirmed Baek Unseol, who was getting up from the floor, looked at Woonhyun.
"It's eight. How is it that you're not right about a single thing?"
At Moyong Gi's chiding, Woonhyun's face contorted.
Moyong Gi lost interest in Woonhyun and looked at So Moogyeol.
Then, So Moogyeol, with an embarrassed face, said as if making an excuse.
"I guess I hit her too lightly. I still can't control my strength..."
And then, he stealthily scratched his cheek and looked away as if he didn't know.
Baek Unseol looked around with a foolish face.
"Huh? Why are they like this?"
Then, as if she had a thought, she had a startled face.
"Huh? Where am I? Huh? Who was I?"
Baek Unseol muttered with a flustered face.
Woonhyun chuckled and looked at So Moogyeol.
"No. I think you hit her too hard. It seems you can't control your strength."
Moyong Gi looked at So Moogyeol with a pathetic expression.
So Moogyeol, with a troubled face, could not even make an excuse.
That day, the mid-term examination, which had left eight Ascending Dragon Class students, ended like that.
(End of Chapter)