Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special
Chapter 144: Baek Seojun (1)

Chapter 144: Baek Seojun (1)

0% “The winner of the duel is—!”

The Abbot’s voice rang out.

Seojun with his foot on Ju Cheoryak’s head, poised to crush it, casually lifted it up.

Damn it.

Even if he tried to crush the man’s skull here, the Abbot would intervene.

There was no need to antagonize the Abbot just to kill this bastard.

If he really couldn’t stand it, Baek Seojun could just kill him later.

“Elder of the Namgung Clan and Successor of the Divine Sword Geum Clan, Lee Seojun!”

WOWWWW────────!!

Thunderous cheers erupted with his declaration.

For ordinary people, this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness a duel between Transcendent Realm masters, and the spectacular, overwhelming display left them breathless with admiration.

Though the speed had been too fast for them to see anything but flashing lights, who wouldn’t be amazed by flames erupting and golden dragons bursting forth?

In contrast, martial artists who had reached a certain level grew quiet.

Seojun’s overwhelming performance was shocking enough, but even more so was the counter technique.

The sight of him perfectly defeating another sect’s martial art and toying with his opponent so effortlessly was...

“Dangerous...”

An elder from the Tang Clan looked at Seojun with sunken eyes.

Though others didn’t voice it, they shared similar thoughts.

Of course, no one was naive enough to believe he had created the counter technique on the spot.

Whatever the means, he must have prepared them in advance.

That raised two questions:

How exactly had he obtained the Imperial Family’s Heavenly Sun Emperor Supreme Fire Divine Art, and how had he created a counter technique based on it that could render Ju Cheoryak completely helpless?

“Looks like I won?”

Seojun didn’t care.

The people could show strange reactions if they so desired; none of that mattered to him as he grinned down at the man.

“You didn’t forget our bet, did you?”

The loser kneels and apologizes.

Ju Cheoryak struggled to rise, his expression stiff.

His face burned with rage as if he might draw his sword at any moment, but he knew.

Failing to accept a graceful defeat and throwing a tantrum here would bring shame to the Imperial Family’s honor.

His jaw muscles bulged with tension, his eyes bloodshot. Trembling all over, Ju Cheoryak finally knelt.

“...I apologize for insulting the Geum Clan.”

“The Divine Sword Geum Clan.”

“I apologize for insulting the Divine Sword... Geum Clan...”

“What kind of apology is that? You’re talking as if we’re equals! Where’s the proper respect?”

Crack.

An ominous sound came as blood seeped from between Ju Cheoryak’s lips. Even tears of blood were streaming down from his bloodshot eyes.

Anyone could see he was on the verge of qi deviation.

After breathing heavily for a while, he demonstrated superhuman patience and apologized once more.

“This... this lowly one... begs forgiveness... from the esteemed Divine Sword Geum Clan... for the grave offense...”

Seojun pondered briefly.

In truth, he wanted to make him apologize about twenty more times, starting with ‘Why should I accept an apology?’ but there were too many watching eyes.

“There, there. Watch your behavior from now on.”

He ultimately compromised, patting the kneeling man’s head.

Though killing intent that might explode at any moment tickled his skin, it wasn’t even amusing.

Seojun chuckled and looked at the Abbot.

“That’s the end of it, yeah?”

“...Yes.”

The Abbot looked at him strangely.

Ever since he had observed and copied the Hundred Steps Divine Fist’s principles, but now even the counter technique demonstrated in this duel was also beyond common sense.

That young man would surely bring great storms to the martial world in some way.

Fortunately for us.

If the Demonic Cult or Black Serpent had produced such talent, his headaches would be ten times worse.

In other words, his head was already aching now.

“Haah...”

The Abbot sighed.

*Kneeling and apologizing before countless people.

It was enough to not just crack one’s pride but completely shatter it.

This was especially true for a supremely confident Transcendent Realm master.

I knew this would happen.

As Seojun descended from the arena, he clicked his tongue at the killing intent stabbing his back.

It was Ju Cheoryak’s killing intent. The man could barely control his body due to overwhelming rage combined with mild qi deviation.

It would have been wonderful if his broken pride led to him sulking in a corner, but he was so prideful that even after apologizing, he still harbored such killing intent.

With so many witnesses to this incident, he probably wouldn’t dare cause trouble directly, but it was still quite troublesome.

What if he stabbed him in the back at a crucial moment?

Only masochistic perverts who enjoyed getting backstabbed would leave such a threat alone.

Any normal person would decide to handle it preemptively.

Huh?

A strange thought occurred to Seojun, and he shook his head.

Nah, no way. That’s too far.

He believed that even big sis Suah wasn’t that much of a pervert.

Right?

There was no way to know for sure.

*Henan was in an uproar.

- Heaven-reaching True Qi completely crushed the Heavenly Yang Great General!

Rumors spread instantly.

Bottom-tier martial artists who knew nothing simply chattered about a new master emerging, but those from the Sixteen Great Sects were different.

Anyone who didn’t know that Heaven-reaching True Qi had used a counter technique for the Heavenly Sun Emperor Supreme Fire Divine Art and completely neutralized the martial art had problems with either their head or ears.

Naturally the person involved, Ju Cheoryak, heard these rumors until he was sick of them.

Just listening briefly to street conversations, he could hear stories about Heaven-reaching True Qi, and the Imperial Family interrogated him about whether the Heavenly Sun Emperor Supreme Fire Divine Art had truly been countered.

Ju Cheoryak couldn’t bear it.

Why should he suffer such humiliation?

That bastard had dared insult the Imperial Family, and he had simply stepped forward because he couldn’t tolerate injustice.

Though he knew the saying “justice will ultimately prevail” was often empty rhetoric, he had no way to resolve this burning injustice.

“Damn it!”

CRASH.

The thrown bottle shattered against the wall.

Ju Cheoryak exhaled deeply, before the rage in his chest could consume him.

“That fucking brat...”

Wasn’t there some way?

If things continued like this, he would die.

A martial artist who lost a duel and died of rage? Even he found it pathetically laughable.

Ju Cheoryak didn’t want to remain as such a disgraceful figure.

“I must have revenge...”

At least for the sake of his own survival.

A ghostly flame blazed in his eyes.

*The postponed Dragon Phoenix Tournament resumed the very next day.

There were no mediocre participants by the time they reached the top thirty-two of the tournament.

All three previous duels had been quite good, and Seojun lounged half-sprawled in his chair waiting for the fourth and final duel.

Should I do it tonight?

As he killed time with other thoughts, the referee’s voice soon echoed:

— Yang Sohong of the Dragon Tiger Sect!

He’d never heard this sect’s name even once in his life.

However, since he remembered the name Yang Sohong itself, Seojun casually sat up.

WOOOO!

A man stepped onto the arena amid people’s cheers.

Quite handsome with a tall stature. His long limbs gave him physical advantages for street fighting.

Facing him as he drew a spear from behind his back was a woman stepping onto the arena.

— Tang Soso of the Sichuan Tang Clan!

A woman with a gloomy complexion.

The two faced each other on the arena and bowed formally.

Seojun watched briefly before clicking his tongue at the surrounding stares.

Man they’re gonna dig holes through my skull.

These were the gazes that followed him everywhere since the duel with the Great General.

It was only after receiving all those stares did he realize.

Ah, so martial arts masters do the whole cold and mysterious roleplay for a reason!

Famous masters often projected dignified images. That made dealing with attention much easier.

How was that relevant here?

Well, when people around you murmur and stare, you can just emit some pressure and give them a look, and everyone behaves themselves.

Those who chose the friendly neighborhood master concept instead...

Wouldn’t they lead quite troublesome lives?

If everyone were considerate enough to maintain proper boundaries, it would be a wonderful world, but sadly, the world doesn’t work that way.

All sorts of strange people abound.

To prevent such an unfortunate future, Seojun subtly released his qi.

“Kugh...!”

“Shit, guess we stared too much.”

People around him looked away. A few shameless individuals still stared, but that couldn’t be helped.

It was easier to let it slide, figuring they were all masters from the Sixteen Great Sects.

Reasonably satisfied, Seojun watched the duel that had already begun.

While he’d been distracted, the duel had reached its midpoint.

Yang Sohong stood firm among hidden weapons and daggers scattered across the ground.

“Huu...”

Tang Soso observed Yang Sohong calmly.

Lethal poisons couldn’t be used due to the nature of the Dragon Phoenix Tournament, but paralysis poisons without aftereffects were permitted.

If she dragged this out, Tang Soso’s victory was highly probable.

Yang Sohong knew this too.

His fingertips were gradually stiffening. Taking only minimal breaths, Yang Sohong stepped forward boldly.

Thump!

He planted his foot. The force traveled up to his waist and his coiled waist snapped back, driving the spear forward.

Swoosh!

The spear shot out rapidly, aiming for Tang Soso’s chest.

Tang Soso retreated while swinging her dagger. Just as the dagger was about to strike the spear and deflect its trajectory, Yang Sohong’s wrist rotated.

Whoosh!

The spear curved with his wrist, the red tassels attached below the blade fluttering wildly.

The fundamentals of sportsmanship, intercepting, parrying, and thrusting. This was intercepting.

The spear drew a circle, entangling and deflecting Tang Soso’s dagger.

“Ah...!”

Caught off guard by the unexpected move, Tang Soso’s arm shot upward.

Yang Sohong immediately advanced while retrieving his spear and spinning it half a turn.

The spear blade withdrew, and the opposite end shot upward, striking her jaw.

Thwack!

Tang Soso’s body flew into the air.

After a brief moment airborne, she collapsed to the ground motionless.

— Winner! Yang Sohong of the Dragon Tiger Sect!

A martial artist from a small sect had defeated one from the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Though the Sichuan Tang Clan was disadvantaged in tournament-style competitions due to their use of poisons and hidden weapons, others didn’t need to account for that.

People found joy in watching the weak overcome the strong.

The result was an eardrum-bursting roar that shook the arena.

WOOOOOOOOW────────!!!

Higher than the arena, where members of the Sixteen Great Sects gathered, Seojun stood up.

Didn’t appear today either.

He could see that Yang Sohong was impressive. Talent combined with fierce effort was evident in his spear work.

However, that was besides the point. He had come to watch Chunbong and Namgung Suah’s duels, not other matches.

I wonder if the Abbot would tell me the tournament brackets if I asked?

It seemed like a very great idea.

He should only come to watch matches of people he knew.

*That night.

Seojun quietly left the Namgung Clan courtyard house.

Step.

Treading on snowflakes that bloomed in the air, he arrived at the Imperial Family’s courtyard house.

Seojun checked his own face one final time.

Not bad.

Baek Seojun’s cold eyes curved slightly.