Scholar Demon Venerable

At the sudden words, the men who were gathered stared at Cheongun with puzzled expressions.

"Are you talking to us?"

"Haha. Kid. Did you eat something wrong?"

"Did you suddenly get tired of the world?"

The men sauntered over to Cheongun.

They had been bored, and their expressions said that this was just what they needed.

"No, not you guys, I'm talking about that ugly guy in the back."

The two men were still in their original positions. The man in front of Cheongun glanced back and then threw a punch at Cheongun's face.

"You son of a b*tch!"

Whoosh.

Cheongun slightly lowered his head and deflected the punch upwards.

With a thwack, the body of the man who had attacked Cheongun flew back and fell to the floor.

Immediately, the others also attacked Cheongun.

Cheongun shook his upper body to dodge the attacks and quickly extended his fist to knock down his opponents.

The fallen men groaned in pain.

Cheongun turned his head and said to the two men who were still remaining.

"Hey, how long are you going to just watch?"

The slightly thinner of the two men stepped forward and attacked Cheongun.

The man was skilled at using his feet. A sharp sound was heard in the air.

Unlike the first attackers, he had learned martial arts.

Cheongun, who had been dodging here and there, was hit in the chest by a kick that cut through the air.

Thwack.

At the surprisingly powerful blow, Cheongun staggered back three steps.

A wry smile appeared on the lips of the man who had attacked Cheongun.

He took a big step forward and immediately attacked with his feet.

Unlike the first time, Cheongun did not dodge and took the man's attack with his whole body.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

[You have to exhale when you get hit. Concentrate your internal energy on the part that is hit and let the shock flow away.]

Every time the man attacked, the Blood Emperor gave him advice.

For a short time, Cheongun avoided his vital points and got hit here and there.

The Blood Emperor nodded his head and then said in a tone that suggested there was nothing more to see.

[This one is done, so get rid of him.]

Cheongun slightly dodged the attack of the man who was raising his foot high towards his face. Then he immediately lowered his upper body and struck the man's side.

Thwack.

"Ugh."

The shock was great, and the man clutched his side and staggered back.

He was about to attack again with a scowl, but the man who had been watching from behind grabbed his shoulder.

"He's not your opponent. Step back."

A new man stepped forward, but Cheongun didn't pay him any mind and smiled. The pain was great at first from being hit by an attack with internal energy, but as time passed, a feeling of refreshment washed over him.

Cheongun smiled at the feeling of refreshment that wrapped around his entire body.

If it weren't for the pain, getting hit was bearable.

But Cheongun's smiling face provoked the man who had stepped forward. He felt as if he were being laughed at.

"You're laughing? Hehe... you have some skills, but I'll make you regret messing with the Jankyeol Gang."

The Jankyeol Gang was a fairly large force among the evil factions based in the imperial capital.

They were based in the southern part of the imperial capital. Most of the gang members were third-rate warriors, but the leader of the Jankyeol Gang, the Five Swords of Jankyeol, Cheon Jin-ak, was a top-level master of the evil faction.

Skilled evil faction masters gathered in the Jankyeol Gang because of his fame.

Although it had not yet grown into a major sect, it was a place that had a name for itself among the small and medium-sized forces.

Woong.

A rumbling sound was heard from the man's body, and a gust of wind swirled around his body.

Cheongun swallowed dryly as he looked at the man's fluttering clothes. The Blood Emperor also looked surprised at the man's fierce momentum.

[Look at this? Not bad, huh?]

He was an opponent that was still too much for Cheongun's skills to handle.

But he couldn't make him back down. It didn't seem bad to check how far Cheongun's body could endure on this occasion.

That way, he could adjust the intensity of the training.

[Try fighting him first, and if it seems impossible, retreat.]

Cheongun steeled his resolve and took a stance.

The man also took a stance and assumed a ready position.

He extended one hand forward and placed the other hand on his chest.

The man's eyes glinted like a viper's.

The gaze of the man, like a beast of prey aiming for its prey, caught the Blood Emperor's attention. A thick killing intent was even imbued in the man's eyes.

Shik.

At the sharp sound that cut through the air, Cheongun hurriedly bent his upper body back.

Seogeok.

"Gasp."

Cheongun swallowed a breath of air. The hem of his chest clothes had been slightly cut.

If he had been a little late, he would have gotten a sword wound on his chest.

Sparks flew from Cheongun's two eyes. When he looked at the man, he was holding a dagger in his hand.

"You bastard! How cowardly to draw a sword!"

"Keke. Cowardly? I'll take that as a compliment. Keke"

A terrible killing intent rose from the cackling man's entire body.

Cheongun tensed up and lowered his stance as much as possible.

The Blood Emperor was also furious. He hadn't expected him to draw a sword there.

But he couldn't tell Cheongun to run away. It was a situation where he would get a sword in his back if he just turned around.

When he first saw him, there was no one with a sword. That was why he had picked a fight, but to think he had a short sword hidden in his bosom.

Shwaek, shwaek!

"You dodge well like a rat."

The man licked his short sword with his tongue with a wry sneer.

Cheongun lowered his stance as much as possible and prepared for the man's attack.

The man's body became blurry and he immediately charged in. Cheongun quickly stepped on his footwork and tried to get away from the man's attack range.

Shik, shik, shishik.

A silver light that cut through the air quickly swirled, aiming for Cheongun's vital points. At the attack that was on a different level from the opponents he had faced so far, the hair on Cheongun's entire body stood on end.

Seogeok.

Cheongun dodged as much as he could, but his right arm was slightly cut. The skin was tough, so it wasn't a deep cut, but the stinging sensation was bothersome.

Blood flowed down his arm.

The man, perhaps because he had succeeded in his attack, stopped for a moment and opened his mouth with a wry smile.

"I don't know what kind of dog bone you are, but you should look at the person before you attack."

Twitch.

Cheongun's brow narrowed. He had to counter the opponent's attack, but he couldn't find an opening. He had to deflect the short sword, but the Blood Emperor stopped him.

[Your wrist will fly off. Don't aim for his wrist. That guy, he's skilled with a dagger.]

The movement of the man's wrist was beyond his expectations.

He stopped him, saying that if he tried to use the Golden Capture Hand aiming for his wrist, he would get injured.

If he had come with a sword, it would not have been difficult, but it was too much with his bare hands.

The man teased Cheongun, who was only dodging.

"You brat. Are you just going to dodge? I haven't even started yet. Keke."

The man began to mock Cheongun with a wry smile. Like a cat playing with a mouse, he slowly made small cuts on Cheongun's body.

Fortunately, there were no deep wounds.

The Blood Emperor suppressed his surging anger. If he left it like this, Cheongun would be seriously injured. It didn't seem like it would end with just an arm or a leg.

But there was no way. Even if he gave him advice, the opponent's attack was too fast, so there was no time to respond.

'Damn it, I should have properly assessed the guy...'

As the Blood Emperor was regretting his belated mistake and didn't know what to do, a strange phenomenon occurred.

[Huh?]

The blue light that was swirling around Cheongun's body faded and then brightened again repeatedly. It flickered like a firefly in the night sky.

[What is this?]

The identity of the blue light that was wrapping around Cheongun's body was the energy of lightning. The culprit that had prevented him from occupying Cheongun's body.

A change had occurred in the energy that always circulated in Cheongun's body.

Every time Cheongun was in danger, the blue energy would disappear and then reappear.

Seogeok.

"Keuk."

What he had feared finally happened. Cheongun's chest was cut long by the man's short sword.

Cheongun clutched his chest with his hand and stepped back three or four steps.

The man still smiled wryly and slowly approached Cheongun. A thick killing intent was imbued in the face of the man who was approaching step by step with a swaggering gait.

"Keke. Brat, are you ready to die?"

A sense of ecstasy was emanating in the face of the man who spoke as if giving a final notice. It was the madness seen in murderers.

The man, who had been spinning the short sword in his hand, snatched it from the air and delivered the final blow to Cheongun.

The man's attack was so fast that Cheongun had no time to dodge.

Shwaek.

Puk.

The short sword dug into his chest.

But... it couldn't pierce even half a chi and suddenly trembled.

"Uwaaaaaa!"

A blue energy rode the short sword and covered the man's entire body.

The man's hair, which was trembling, stood on end in all directions.

And finally,

"Keuk!"

With a single scream, he fell backward.

Cheongun barely got up and tilted his head.

"What happened?"

[Let's get out of here first.]

At the Blood Emperor's words, Cheongun got up and left the place.

There was no one blocking Cheongun's way.

Cheongun, who had arrived at a place where there was no one, collapsed as if he were falling.

"Keuk. It hurts so much."

[It's okay. You won't die. It's normal for a sword wound to sting at first and then burn and hurt later.]

"But what happened?"

[It seems the lightning energy moved because you were in danger. In a word, that guy was struck by lightning.]

"You mean the energy that is spread throughout my body?"

[Yes, the energy that was absorbed when you were struck by lightning.]

It was an absurd thing.

For the lightning energy to move in such a way.

In any case, he was grateful that he had escaped the crisis thanks to it.

The Blood Emperor, who was sitting blankly, threw a word at Cheongun.

[You've grown up a lot. You even got stabbed.]

"Keuk. Those are very grateful words."

The Blood Emperor didn't care about Cheongun's words.

From what he saw, the wound on his chest was not that deep. It was a wound that would heal in a day or two after applying some wound medicine.

[Let's rest today in commemoration of your first sword wound.]

"Ugh. Yes"

* * *

A month since he came to the imperial capital.

"Ha, that's refreshing."

Cheongun smiled even after being beaten to a pulp.

It wasn't that his body didn't hurt. There wasn't a single place on his body that didn't ache.

But the feeling of refreshment that was transmitted after the pain was so cool that he felt good.

Lately, he had been fighting against opponents with quite strong martial arts.

When he fought with them and was hit by an attack with internal energy, the pain was great, but the feeling of refreshment was even greater.

As the opponent's internal energy spread throughout his body and touched the sleeping energy, a thrill ran through him.

Another reason he felt good was that after feeling such a thrilling refreshment, his internal energy increased.

The true energy that had been awakened by the shock was sublimating into internal energy.

[Let's go back quickly. It's almost time for Xiaojian Jeong to come.]

"Can't we just fight one more guy and then go?"

Cheongun felt a little disappointed.

But the Blood Emperor was cold.

[You know you can't, right?]

"Yes. But I don't see that guy today. I was determined to smash him to pieces if I met him."

The Blood Emperor smirked.

Cheongun had been fighting with a man lately until his head was about to burst. He was a very big guy, and like Cheongun, he was a madman, so no matter how much he was beaten, he would get up and fight.

In terms of skill alone, that man was stronger than Cheongun.

At first, he could only hit him once for every ten times he was hit. At least now, he was used to the opponent's movements and was not beaten one-sidedly.

[Let's give up for today and go back quickly. I hope Xiaojian Jeong brings good news.]

"I understand."

Xiaojian Jeong came to see Cheongun almost every day. Perhaps because his job was to serve someone, Xiaojian Jeong took good care of Cheongun's trivial matters.

Thanks to that, Cheongun was not feeling any inconvenience in his life.

Sure enough, when he went to the detached house of the inn, Xiaojian Jeong was already there.

"You're here now."