Chapter 345

The flames of wrath flicker in Wang Cheol-gun’s eyes.

Oh, what’s this? Does getting mad make you bigger?

“No words needed, everyone—”

“Wait! Why do you keep dragging innocent people into a one-on-one duel? Are you not confident? Afraid you’ll lose, and that’s why you’re bringing your lackeys along?”

What nonsense.

No one willingly chooses to take on disadvantages while tossing aside advantages.

Anyway, if Seomun Qing can exhaust even a fraction of her stamina with just one swing, it’s worth it, right?

And above all, he’s not confident alone.

He can barely hold back the urge to split someone in half right now; if they go one-on-one, chances are he’ll rip them to shreds immediately.

But he can’t do that, so he’s trying hard to rein himself in.

“If you keep it up, you’ll die today. I promised my children I’d make you regret being born. A father who can’t keep a promise should at least uphold his end of the deal.”

Qing’s eyes sparkled.

“Wow! Look at the old bastard’s words! Everyone! So you’re saying you want to have some fun with your revenge by shoving your lackeys into danger? Wow, you still call yourself ‘brother’? What kind of brother are you? You’re just an old dog!”

The bandits from the Green Forest couldn’t ignore that remark.

As she said, isn’t killing him just wrapping it up?

Isn’t all this fuss about capturing him?

If he messes up and kills Seomun Qing, he’ll end up making a real enemy!

It’s only then that Wang Cheol-gun realized he had messed up.

But the instant he backs out of a one-on-one, any excuse falls flat.

Scared? You cowardly bastard.

Is this a benefit? Letting your lackeys die to gain from this? That’s your idea of a brother?

Trying to capture him? That’s what happens.

The strategy was wrong from the start.

He handed a long tail to an expert at grabbing the words by the end, and the way to deal with such an annoying person? Simply, ‘you keep barking while I handle my business’—there’s no choice but to ignore.

In the first place, engaging in conversation is only a loss.

Wang Cheol-gun realized this a beat too late.

“I can’t find value in responding. Everyone cross over and take that reckless girl—”

“Wait! Just one last thing! I’m innocent! It sounds like I’m guilty of killing your kids! I didn’t do it! Why am I the enemy right from the start?”

Wang Cheol-gun resolved to ignore anything said.

But words he couldn’t ignore flew in.

“What? You didn’t do it? You didn’t harm my kids?”

“Wow, really. This is so unfair. Let’s start with the first young master. I promised to spare him, and I kept that promise! I broke both shoulders, shattered a leg, and cut off all his fingers; I just didn’t kill him!”

“You, you—do you call that a reasoning?”

The bandits listening were dumbfounded.

So how about that father?

Regardless, Qing continued to protest.

“No reason to treat the bastard who tried to rape me with any mercy, right? He begged and cried, really sobbing for his life. The nerve! The son of the Great Chief of the Green Forest, groveling on the ground, pleading like a little child—it was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. So in pity, I let him go, but he fell into a puddle and drowned while trying to escape.”

Wang Cheol-gun trembled at the image.

Suddenly that brutal scene was so vivid in his mind.

Flailing helplessly with broken limbs, in that situation, desperately crying for his life, only to gulp down the muddy water.

“The second one is genuinely wronged. I didn’t even touch a single hair on him. He pushed his men ahead to die and tried to flee by himself, tripping over a stone! Do you know how fast he was running? I’m not joking when I say he hit the rocks hard, like ten meters in the air!”

Qing smacked her palm with her fist, the sound echoing so clearly even across the river.

“Thinking about it, isn’t that the son of the father? The father, who is now pushing his men to die for just one capture, right? Who taught you such cowardly acts? Looks like you learned from your papa. Anyway, the second one is truly innocent. The first might have some moral responsibility, but the second died because he was scared and ran away.”

“I’ll kill you!”

Qing yelled urgently.

“Hold on! I still need to speak! The wild forest girl, I’m talking about her.”

He tried to leap out, but his feet hit the ground flat.

My daughter, my dear daughter.

“Did you not see your daughter’s corpse? It was marked on her belly and back. I am Unyeonjeong of the Jiangshi King Blood Sect. Why am I being blamed for killing her?”

“You! It’s you! How else would you know!”

“I won’t tell you. Want to know? It’ll cost you five hundred gold.”

Qing casually extended her hand.

“You! You did it! Just the fact that you know is—! Ugh! You were the one!”

“Ah, what if you don’t even know how she died? A really pitiful end befitting a girl who feasted on people. She screamed for her life until her voice went hoarse. Later, she might have cried out for her father, ‘Daddy, help me! You said you’d protect me!'”

“What did that father do? It’s you! You killed her! You killed your own daughter! You old bastard! Why are you blaming me for revenge!”

Blood tears streamed again from Wang Cheol-gun’s eyes.

His azure irises mixed with purple resentment, gradually flowing out in a dangerous hue.

No matter; Qing kept babbling.

“To sum it up, blaming me for the death of your kids is going too far. Were they not natural deaths? If a bastard does bad things and dies, isn’t it just the heavens punishing him!”

“You, you!”

“In any case, whether I die or not, I’m going to the Pure Land! Unlike your kids! Murder means going to the poisonous hell, got that? Your kids will suffer even after death! Screaming while being eaten alive by spirits for a thousand years! If you miss them so much, die! Your father will go there too, so you’ll have a family reunion!”

“I’ll kill you!”

Finally, Wang Cheol-gun exploded.

A pair of blazing eyes began to wildly swirl and rapidly approach.

Qing, from having experienced various challenges, knew exactly how tough this was.

If someone were to ask why she attempted the skill so many times, it would be because how could she stand not bouncing on water?

In any case, that skill requires a high level of concentration, a full force stomp with the entire foot and then a powerful launch.

That means it’s a weak moment.

With that, Qing pulled with all her might.

Swoosh! With a sharp sound like a taut rope being pulled, she unleashed a technique she had shown several times already.

But Wang Cheol-gun was a master of the Realm of Transformation.

A mere stone would do the trick.

As he wrapped himself in vivid, visible protective energy, he swiftly twisted his body.

And with a whoosh, plunge.

The blade smoothly dug under his shoulder.

Clang. Sadly, it wasn’t a stone, but rather a thorny dagger that wedged in, and wouldn’t come out if it lodged in deep.

Was it necessary to worry about whether the protective energy would break?

Think about whether he lacked strength.

If one could smash someone’s head with a stone, throwing a star or dagger would hurt and kill much more.

So why would she throw a stone?

Because if she kept throwing stones, people would think that’s all she could do.

Qing’s ploy worked.

The azure light in Wang Cheol-gun’s eye dulled as his body sank slowly.

Plop! The sound of a giant falling into the water.

She aimed for the heart, but because he turned his body defensively, it struck his arm instead.

At best, it was an achievement that barely hit due to an exceptional speed.

“Got it! A grand slam! Seomun Qing scores!”

Anyone listening would know Qing didn’t know baseball.

Because she really didn’t know it; she had no clue.

With this level, could she lead giants to victory?

No stamina issues, so she could ignore all discussions on shoulder overuse; she could go solo and play all the games.

Well, the more she uses her shoulder, the stronger it gets, right?

Qing glanced at the water’s surface.

A master of the Realm of Transformation wouldn’t drown just because a dagger struck his arm.

Does he have a plan?

Is he aiming to ambush if she gets close?

With that, Qing recited the forbidden spell that resurrects the dead, the sutra of life restoration.

“…Did I defeat him?”

Then, sploosh! A pair of revived eyes leapt high into the sky.

Did she actually defeat him! How certain!

This is the duel she had longed for.

Drawing the Moonlight Sword, Qing triumphantly shouted.

“Come on! I’ll generously give you three moves because of my youth! You claim to be from the Realm of Transformation! Wouldn’t you let a Supreme Martial Artist have a chance too? What a petty loser!”

“Shut up! I’ll kill you!”

“Earlier you said you’d let me live, but now you want to kill me! Oh dear, dear bandits, did you see? This bastard is changing his words like he changes his underwear!”

“You jerk!”

Soaked and looking ridiculous, but her skills were real.

Wang Cheol-gun soared high into the sky, suddenly plunging down at a knife-like angle, swoosh! He shot down towards Qing like a meteor.

What the—how is this happening from the sky?

Startled, Qing immediately engaged her footwork.

Dividing into eight forms, running, jumping, and flying, her variations spread in all directions, and above them—bam! Wang Cheol-gun’s enormous hammer struck the ground.

The earth soared nearly ten feet high!

And behind that, a translucent Qing crawled in the air, smoothly appearing to erase her transparency, standing with her back turned.

But for a moment, she quickly turned back, eyes wide open.

What? Is that really a meteor fall? What crater is that?

That should be a meteor technique; no, I’m the meteor! So, shall I call it “Meteor Hit”?

Bandit Meteor Hit?

Screw that, sounds ridiculously strong.

But she had steeled herself for this.

Qing gritted her teeth.

This is what true transformation is.

Not some rookie stage but a genuine martial artist who has thoroughly entered the Realm of Transformation.

This is a thought? Where did science get thrown away?

No wonder the foundational science level in the Central Plain is in utter chaos!

Masters of the Realm of Reality truly seem not human.

They ride swords in the sky (flying with swords), walk slowly on water (walking on water), and through space-time wielding energy, yanking people and objects like they’re in a futuristic galactic age (telekinesis).

Supreme Martial Artist?

A Supreme Martial Artist makes starlight!

The nature of the Realm of Transformation has some ambiguities.

It’s way stronger with compressed energy?

There’s a long-range attack like the “Riptide,” but it’s not as powerful as weapons.

However, the fight between Supreme Martial Artists and those from the Realm of Transformation has a widening gap like the one between the top and supreme.

Because only in the Realm of Transformation do martial artists step into the realms of thought.

Establishing their own martial arts canon and walking their own path, defined by the Great Master Mucheondae as just someone who knows how to swing a sword with a baby’s first steps.

This is the very act of bending the world’s laws to one’s interpretation. The stage where an individual’s martial arts is depicted as natural laws throughout heaven and earth.

That’s why it’s Harmony.

Shortened to Transformation.

To establish one’s martial arts as the truth is “Transformation.”

When the logic of martial arts wields the individual, it’s the Entrance to Demon, shortened to “Entrance,” and that’s seen as half a step lower than Transformation.

Overcoming this requires a much larger enlightenment than Transformation and births a martial artist closer to thought, which is why the next stage of Escape from Demon is placed half a step above Transformation.

“Aah! Seomun Qing! I will kill you!”

A cry bursting with hot blood breaks Qing’s surprise.

Qing retaliated fiercely.

“Why the informal speech? The old bastard who’s dying today should respectfully ask a bright young lord to let him go!”

Before she could finish her sentence, the hammer’s head fell again like a meteor.

Qing split into eight again.

The Nengpa Mibo is supposed to be a martial technique that touches on thought.

Logically, she shouldn’t even be able to imitate it at her level.

But Qing uses her martial arts in a way that feels like a complete fraud, and it fits perfectly.

Bang! The earth flips once more.

This time, Qing bent her waist and stretched both arms behind her, running toward a fantastical posture, revealing herself in midair. As Wang Cheol-gun’s back was turned, she too stood behind him.

---