Chapter 97
"Just one thing... may I ask?"
"Speak."
After today's meeting, the next time he would see Jeul would eventually be on the battlefield.
Jeshin had a story he wanted to hear before that.
Although the words did not come out of his throat easily, he might not have a chance in the future if it weren't for now.
"Why are you so strict only with me? Why are you so stingy and harsh with me?"
Jeshin asked a question he had been curious about his whole life but had never once asked.
It was a question he had intended to ask confidently after being acknowledged by him. He had not intended to say it with such a miserable heart.
Jeul was silent for a very short time and then opened his mouth again.
"Do you think you are receiving special treatment?"
"Have I ever once received special treatment? I am just curious about the reason why you are pushing me away so much."
"Don't be mistaken. Isn't that also a special treatment? Do you think you have reached that level yourself?"
Jeul's sharp words came into Jeshin's ears one by one.
"Then why did you pass on the Ten Variations True Art to me..."
When he had passed on the Ten Variations True Art, the supreme martial art, when he was young, Jeshin had thought that he had been chosen by his father.
He had thought that he, not his older brother Jejeong, was the master of the Black Contemplation Fortress and had been chosen as the hegemon of Sichuan.
He had to become the next Mo Guangdi to achieve the evil path under heaven.
It was none other than his father, Jeul, who had caused a ripple in his ambition, which had been quiet until then.
"In order to cultivate a large and beautiful orchid, one must constantly stimulate and to train it. I let loose a punishment to warn the flower, but isn't it as if you think you are the flower yourself?"
Crack!
At Jeul's answer, the floor of the Paecheon Pavilion, where the prostrating Jeshin had put so much strength into his fist, began to crack around him with a loud noise.
"Jeshin! How dare you!"
Jejeong, who was startled by the sound of the floor breaking, stretched out one hand, and a group of fine qi like a thread of thread spread out at once.
Ten Variations True Art, Supreme Six Variations.
Since Jejeong was also a successor of the Ten Variations True Art, like Jeshin, it was difficult to determine the superiority of their training depth.
However, the finger art of the Ten Variations True Art that Jejeong displayed was thin and was divided into hundreds of strands, so it was flexible and its changes were free, while the finger art of the Ten Variations True Art that Jeshin displayed was large, straight, and strong.
This was a difference that appeared due to the influence of the two's personalities and their different understandings, and it could be said to be an example of how a supreme martial art could be revealed in various forms depending on the interpretation.
Although Jejeong's intention was to subdue his surroundings rather than to attack Jeshin.
The Berserker, who was standing behind him, reacted nimbly, seeing the finger art that was pouring towards Jeshin.
Thump! Thump!
With the sound of something breaking, the Berserker, whose physique had grown three times in an instant, swung the huge saber he was carrying and blocked the Ten Variations True Art that Jejeong had displayed.
Clang! Clang!
A loud metallic sound was heard as the Berserker's great saber, which was moving as nimbly as a cat despite its huge size, and the finger art collided.
No matter how thin it was, since the finger art of the Ten Variations Finger Art, which could pierce even steel, was blocked, a look of difficulty appeared on Jejeong's face. He hurriedly got up.
Since his move had been blocked in front of his father, Jeul, he could not stop after showing such a disgraceful appearance.
"How dare a guy like you interfere!"
"..."
As Jejeong began to move his fingers in earnest, the thread-like energies drew a curve and were shot at the Berserker, not Jeshin.
The speed and power of it were so strong that the sound of the finger art cutting through the wind was like dozens and hundreds of arrows flying past his ears.
Swoosh!
But the Berserker did not waver and began to strike down the finger art that was flying towards him, swinging his huge saber freely as if he were chasing away a troublesome swarm of flies.
Although each and every movement seemed shabby, its power and speed were enough to be called a supreme master.
Even if he were to be surrounded by a protective qi, if he were to be hit by that huge saber, his whole body would be shattered and he would face death.
Even though a fight was taking place right in front of them, Jeul and Jeshin were not moving from their positions.
Jeshin was still prostrating as if he were frozen, and Jeul was watching them, using the fight between Jejeong and the Berserker as a side dish.
Clang! Pfft!
Immediately after the huge saber cut through dozens of strands of finger art and was swung, the Berserker's clothes were torn, and red drops of blood flew up.
No matter how great a strength he had, since he was not displaying a protective qi or a sword membrane, and was simply swinging a saber, he could not withstand the Ten Variations True Art that Jejeong had displayed.
But as the Berserker was injured, his movements became even faster, and now steam even began to rise from his body.
"Grrr!"
With a sound like that of a beast, the Berserker, who had been busy defending until now, threw himself at Jejeong.
Jejeong, who had been cooking the Berserker with a triumphant expression while displaying the Ten Variations True Art, had to display his divine footwork to the outside of the Paecheon Pavilion to avoid the Berserker who was throwing himself at him.
Crash!
As the railing broke, the two's figures flew out.
Even though the railing had broken right next to him and Jejeong and the Berserker had been thrown out of the Paecheon Pavilion, Jeul was still looking at Jeshin without blinking an eye.
"Your subordinate's education is a mess. Or is this your answer?"
"It seems that he doesn't know his place, just like his master. Please withdraw your anger."
Jeshin, as if the anger that had been in his chest had been sucked into the Berserker, answered Jeul with a heavily sunken voice.
Although it was a sarcastic answer, Jeul did not care about it.
"A dog that doesn't know its place needs to be beaten... since it doesn't know its new master and is showing its teeth, it needs to be educated."
Putting down his wine cup, Jeul got up heavily.
Outside the Paecheon Pavilion, Jejeong and the Berserker were repeating a fierce clash.
Although Jejeong had the upper hand from beginning to end, the blood-soaked Berserker was swinging his huge saber at Jejeong without any sign of fatigue.
"Watch carefully. How to tame a dog."
Ten Variations True Art.
Supreme Nine Variations.
As he fluttered his black dragon robe and stretched out his hand, Jeul's face and hands turned black, and his qi began to surge.
The ultimate divine art with which he had dominated the world and had laid the foundation in Sichuan.
The Ten Variations Finger displayed by Mo Guangdi's Ten Variations True Art was not a simple finger art, but was itself a sword qi and a sword qi.
When he displayed the Ten Variations True Art, his body would become a diamond body and would block external attacks, and his finger qi, which was called the Ten Variations Finger Sword, would kill the enemy.
Jejeong and the Berserker found Jeul, who was looking down at them like a black-glowing statue of a benevolent king on the Paecheon Pavilion.
Although Jejeong realized that Jeul was displaying his martial art and hurriedly moved his body, the Berserker could not.
"Grrr!"
He let out a beast-like roar and threw himself at Jeul, holding his huge saber with both hands.
The momentum was so great that it seemed that the Paecheon Pavilion was shaking at his roar.
Ten Variations Finger Sword.
In an instant, as if an eclipse had occurred, the surrounding light disappeared.
No, it seemed to have disappeared.
A single black sword qi, which was stretching out as if it would suck in even the light, poured down on the Berserker, who was roaring and was jumping up to the Paecheon Pavilion.
The Berserker, as if there were nothing to stop him, swung his huge saber at the Ten Variations Finger Sword that Jeul had displayed.
Crash!
The roar was like a moment, and the darkness that had swallowed the light split, and the remnants of the light were scattered.
Clang!
The first thing that fell to the ground was the huge saber that the Berserker had been swinging.
"Ugh..."
The Berserker, who had fallen to the dirt floor with the saber, got up with difficulty, groaning.
The Berserker's skin was cooked red, and his whole body was covered in blisters and blood, emitting a disgusting smell in the air.
Sizzle!
But the Berserker did not stop and grabbed the red-hot saber.
Although smoke rose from the hand that was holding the saber and the disgusting smell of burning flesh flowed out, the Berserker's momentum did not seem to be broken.
"Huh."
Jeul let out a short exclamation at his appearance, who was trying to attack again as if he were not afraid of death, even though the superiority of their skills had been clearly revealed with just one move.
Jeshin closed his eyes tightly, looking at Jeul's huge back.
According to Shiyue's report, it was clear that Jeul's body had not been normal for several years.
But was the ultimate master who was standing in front of Jeshin's eyes now really the sick person he had been reported to be?
Jeshin felt the gap between Jeul and himself keenly.
And he felt his confidence waver as to whether he could subdue Jeul on the day of the great cause.
Moreover, his situation was like a lamp in front of the wind, just with the rudeness he had committed in front of Jeul and the rudeness of his guard.
But it was too far to turn back now. Jeshin bit his lip and said.
"It seems that there are also dogs that cannot be controlled even with a beating."
The one word from Jeshin, who was behind him, made Jeul's mood uncomfortable.
"If it can't be tamed, it must be killed."
Although it was a praiseworthy thing to have withstood a single sword displayed with the state of the Supreme Nine Variations, a dog that showed its teeth to its master was not needed.
As Jeul was about to display the Ten Variations Finger Sword again, a red mist began to rise around the Berserker.
"Hmm?"
Jeul, who was intrigued by the strange sight that was unfolding in broad daylight, stopped his move and watched the sight for a moment.
It was a leisure worthy of an absolute master.
Someone's figure was revealed in the red mist.
The man, who was covered in a red robe, had a similar attire to the Berserker at a glance.
He was surely his colleague.
"Who are you?"
"I am called the Red Mage. I, I greet the supreme of the evil path, Mo Guangdi."
His polite voice felt awkward.
Jeul, feeling that his accent was strange, tilted his head.
The Berserker, who had been rushing at him without seeing anything until now, as if he had regained his stability at his appearance, gradually began to shrink in size and returned to his original small appearance.
"Are you also Jeshin's subordinate?"
"I am not yet Young Master Shin's subordinate. And this foolish person by my side cannot be called his subordinate."
"Are you going to play twenty questions with me?"
At Jeul's one word, the Paecheon Pavilion shook again.
At his threat, the Red Mage bowed his head again.
"My master has come here, so please withdraw your anger for a moment."
"That is... that young lady of the So family manor is surely."
Jejeong, who had come up to the Paecheon Pavilion and was standing by Jeul's side, found a young lady who was walking as if a flower were falling, wearing a dress the color of a cherry blossom, and opened his mouth.
Jeshin was startled at the words that Daji had appeared and got up.
As Jejeong had said, Daji, who was accompanied by the Black Mage, was walking to the Paecheon Pavilion from a distance.
Daji looked back and forth between the two people who were looking down at her from the Paecheon Pavilion and Jeshin, who was looking at her with a bewildered expression.
Although she was angry when she thought of the Berserker, who was getting up, emitting a disgusting smell, and the Black Mage, who was bewildered by her side, for now, it was a priority to solve this difficult situation.
"I greet you for the first time. I am called So Daji, the daughter of So Ho."
As Daji's voice rang out, it seemed that all the mountains and rivers were trembling.
Although Jejeong also flinched and looked at her, who was covering her face with a veil, as if he were possessed, no emotion could be found in Jeul's two eyes.
(End of Chapter)