Chapter 346

“Facing off against a master is one thing, but showing your back to an even better one? That’s just asking for trouble.”

But then again, since the opponent is also turning their back, I guess it’s kind of fair?

Why do we always have to turn our backs before jumping into a fight, anyway?

As soon as Qing shows up, I quickly turn around.

Even as a bandit leader, he’s already quicker than Qing, claiming to be a martial artist.

Wang Cheol-gun has already taken a step towards Qing.

This is a massive difference.

When a warrior takes a step, it’s like stomping the ground with all their might.

Three steps bring you close to your max speed, so we’ve already halved the distance.

That’s the issue with Nengpa Mibo.

If instead of spinning around at the start, you just charged forward—now if you were charging recklessly with your back to the enemy, that would still count—but in a match like this, you’re effectively conceding a move every time.

Qing grits her teeth and draws the Moonlight Sword.

Wang Cheol-gun’s weapon is the Noble Heavy Staff, both hands on it.

The Noble Heavy Staff is a weapon with a metal end.

Most have a pointed mace on it, but this one uniquely has a hammer head instead.

Though I can’t help but think, doesn’t a spiked mace have way more destructive power?

Is this staff like a special weapon, or something like a mystical martial art?

Wang Cheol-gun created this weapon to capture Qing alive.

Getting hit by that broad, flat hammer won’t be fatal like getting impaled by spikes; it’ll just shatter and crumble.

Wang Cheol-gun’s hatred, wanting to make her regret being alive, is quite real.

Three steps, and Wang Cheol-gun raises his arms high.

Even though there are blades stuck in his forearms, his rage makes him numb to the pain.

The hammer head is hidden behind him.

In Qing’s view, all she can see are his arms up to the elbows, with the lower arms out of sight.

In Qing’s mind, countless versions of Seomun Qing wield their swords.

This is a future imagined, but a horrifying one.

The hammer head crashes down, splitting heads, and some Qing get hit, crushed by their elbows; ribs cracking.

One Qing goes flying after getting hit in the stomach, another loses a forearm below the elbow.

This is how the view of a king, whose every gesture can change the world, looks.

But among countless Seomun Qing, a few.

One Qing tilts her sword, deflecting the hammer head.

Another has her sword sliding down the staff, aiming for Wang Cheol-gun’s hands—

Yes, that’s the sword to use!

Qing takes the stance for her imagined future.

At the moment Wang Cheol-gun’s feet hit the ground for the second, third, and fourth time, an infinite calculus unfolds.

This is the laziest sword of the world but one that suppresses the world with a single move.

Five steps, and Qing’s eyes shine.

Just one more step!

But Wang Cheol-gun is a master of the realm.

He slams his feet down, stopping and the hidden arm continues his speed, stretching out—

His right hand, it’s the right hand!

The right hand grabs the very end of the Noble Heavy Staff and swings it from seven paces away.

If she dodges? No, it’s too late, damn it.

Qing abandons the trajectory she prepared and raises her hand to support the blade’s face.

The overwhelming wave of True Energy threatens to break the Moonlight Sword, vibrating menacingly.

Still, it’s fine. If I let that hammer fly into the sky, it might create an opening—

But in that instant, suddenly, her hidden left arm grabs the Noble Heavy Staff, altering its path.

Clashing at a right angle against the blade, it goes bang!

Wang Cheol-gun intended to break her sword.

But Qing’s Sword Aura, being less condensed, still holds an absolute quantity and when you add weight, her sword is twice as thick as a normal one.

Even after being accurately struck by the hammer, she manages to hold on.

However, the force of that impact travels through to her.

Qing’s body is not just any body; it transmits the shock into the ground, but the ground she stands on is just ordinary rubble.

With a crunch, Qing’s foot sinks into the stones and gets pushed back by three inches.

In an instant, her body’s center of gravity sways forward and back, throwing her off balance.

Then Wang Cheol-gun takes one more step, sweeping his other foot low to trip Qing at the ankle!

“Ack!”

Yet instead of a scream, Qing lets out just a surprised sound.

Her ankle is solid.

Not just solid, but tougher than most humans, surpassing the durability of normal bones.

With the body reinforced by training in the Divine Maiden Sect, her skeleton is tougher than muscles so it isn’t damaged.

Pain does wash over her, but that’s about it.

However, the lack of friction on the rubble means her feet float off the ground, leading to a rather mystical experience as the world tilts.

The strength of a warrior typically comes from the ground.

In this floating state, nothing is effective.

Oh no, this can’t end well.

Through Awakening Skill, her sensitive skin reads movements, mapping her surroundings.

Wang Cheol-gun’s left foot stomps the ground, followed by the right, then his knees.

So where is it going? Towards my side.

In that brief moment, Qing extends her left arm.

And splash!

Breath catches in her throat.

The world spins around her chaotically.

After being kicked, Qing is hurled like a thrown stone, bouncing twice on the ground before splashing into the water!

“Aaaah!!”

The scream erupts.

But it’s not Qing’s scream.

Wang Cheol-gun screams, grasping his forearm.

Once up again, Qing stands tall.

Now she holds a fearsome-looking hook dagger in her left hand.

From the slimy blade, you can tell it’s been buried in a body.

While suspended in mid-air, there’s no ground to push from, and striking becomes pointless, but as long as the body absorbs impacts, the burden remains minimal.

Thus, she gambles on taking a hit while reaching out to grab the handle of Wang Cheol-gun’s arm.

Seeing Wang Cheol-gun’s gaze mixed with hatred and pain, Qing can’t help but chuckle.

“What are you looking at? Wow, that’s unfair. I didn’t draw this weapon. I just grabbed the first thing I could because you kicked me. Do you think it’s like ripping out teeth? Do they often kick like that in the Central Plains?”

“I’ll kill you!”

Wang Cheol-gun rushes at her again.

Qing learns from being hit the first time.

Depending on where you grab the staff, you can adjust the distance.

Though it’s meant to be a two-handed heavy weapon, she realizes she can manipulate it with just one hand.

Wherever she grabs dictates how the hammer head moves; it’s much trickier than the swords she’s used.

If she tried to merely read his stance to block, she’d end up in a serious pickle.

She might leave with just a few bruises at the sides and count herself lucky.

Wang Cheol-gun charges.

Instead of making a half-hearted counter, Qing keeps her eyes fixed, dodging a step to the right, another back, quickly tilting left to avoid the Noble Heavy Staff.

Wang Cheol-gun’s hammerhead slices the air just in front of her chest.

This is her chance!

It’s the moment Qing’s eyes light up.

Bang!!! The hammerhead smashes down onto the ground, sending dirt flying everywhere.

Qing doesn’t resist the force pushing her; she kicks off and rolls away, hands and feet digging into the ground for an impressive escape.

“Sweet lady, is this how it goes? If you don’t block, it just knocks me back!”

What a dirty move!

Wang Cheol-gun erupts.

“You little rat!”

“I’m the rat? Did the old man’s kids get bit by a rat? Bam! Your kids! Off to Hell! How’s that for a touch of karma?”

“I’ll kill you! I swear I will!”

There’s no white left in Wang Cheol-gun’s eyes now.

He’s gone completely red with rage, veins threatening to burst.

In a frenzied state, he lashes out at Qing’s vital points.

Thanks to his fury, his strikes are powerful and growing more rapid, but unlike before, it’s clearer where they’ll land, making them easier to dodge.

“Bam! This old man can’t catch even a rat!”

“Kraaaak!”

“Dad! Hang in there! We don’t have! Son! Missing! Daughter! Gone!”

“Aaaah!!”

Now Qing is ditching her sword entirely and focusing on getting away.

She has a belief, after all.

It’s common sense to coat a dagger in poison, right?

Searching through Yangsan Park, all she found were suspicious vials, no secret manuals or treasures.

They just stuffed them with herbs, making a gooey mess.

Right now, her blood boils with anger while she ignores her poisoned body, knowing that if she comes to her senses even slightly, she will immediately take off to purge the poison out.

This is why she keeps digging for more reasons to escape.

Honestly, she feels a bit guilty about constantly bringing up the dead kids, but we all gotta live, right? We can’t share the same sky anymore!

But, has the poison lost its potency?

Shouldn’t she be bleeding out or collapsing by now?

Her tongue feels numb—maybe it’s not poison but secret spicy seasoning?

Seeing Wang Cheol-gun still rampaging like this is just ridiculous.

But time is on her side.

“Hey, old man. Your kids—oh come on, let’s chat. I’m talking, here!”

“Die!”

“You keep saying that! Don’t like it? Then you die! Spring potatoes are tasty! Don’t you have kids at home?”

“Kraaaak!”

Even after over fifty exchanges, somehow the bandit leader shows no signs of collapsing.

Whoosh, the hammerhead swishes overhead.

Whoosh, it grazes her shoulder.

Whoooosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

But the speed is clearly diminishing now, and along with his furious shouts, labored breathing is mixing in.

He’s getting worn out.

With each successive attack slowing down and simplifying, dodging is becoming much easier for Qing.

When the hammerhead rushes past her face, swinging is either a smash or stab straight downwards; she concentrates on reading the staff’s unpredictable movements.

Suddenly, her senses kick into high gear from Awakening Skill; shadows from three directions rush in behind her!

Why! Why from behind!?

She thought perhaps someone across the river would launch an ambush, so she fought with her back to the forest.

Then suddenly, hands rush in from behind—oh no.

A moment before, Ajan Deok lowered his voice.

“Listen up, Heaven’s Kill.”

In the ranking of Yangsan Park Corps, Heaven’s Kill looks at Ajan Deok.

“You take your brothers and help the Great Chief. Looks like he’s barely dodging.”

“Seems like the older brother doesn’t understand. If you jump in there, you’ll die. You could end up dragging the Great Chief down too.”

“But with numbers, even if he trips, wouldn’t they ultimately win? Can’t you see the situation? If this goes on, even if the Great Chief wins, the Green Forest will be halved.”

“No one’s getting away anyway.”

“You fool. Is it just about taking out one person? If one of the two masters of that realm falls, would the righteous martial artists just sit back? They now have a justification to start a ruthless hunt; where could anyone hide?”

“You must capture her, then persuade the Great Chief or do something to hold off on letting him be their fool.”

“Damn it, you!”

“She’s too clever, so without anyone noticing, let’s cross the river separately and ambush from both upstream and downstream. Didn’t the Great Chief say? If we capture Seomun Qing alive, we achieve great merit, right?”

“Ha. Sure. I can take the hit, but let me set up my own camp first. Screw Heaven’s Kill and this garbage name, even if it’s Yangsan Park!”

And thus, right now.

Smack! A jarring pain hits her back.

A chunk of True Energy escapes her.

It’s quite the hefty bit too.

But the real problem is being pushed forward.

Wang Cheol-gun’s hammer barrels towards her temple!

Qing covers her head with both arms—oh no, I’m done for—

“Ugh.”

The Noble Heavy Staff swoops down.

The hammerhead plunges into her side, nearly piercing half a foot deep.

“Huff.”

The air inside her lungs is forcibly expelled from the compressing effects of her body being hit.

This is a blunt weapon wrapped in Qi.

It’s a blunt tool enhanced with mysterious energy properties.

After being struck, Qing flies off like a tossed stone, bouncing twice before splashdown in the water!

Late autumn’s ice-cold river!

Qing’s consciousness snaps back to attention.

Agonizing pain washes over her with an intense wave.

But against all that, her mind stays sharp.

In her hometown, one might expect to feel high after dodging death, but she wouldn’t know; she’s too much in the game.

Still, she knows that charging out now would be akin to suicide.

Qing clutches a rock on the riverbed, keeping still in the dark water.

She opens her mouth, forcing out the blood filling it.

Ah, it’s suffocating. I’m dying here.

All that breath left her when she got hit.

If only she could take a deep breath, she could probably hold her ground, but not right now.

What to do? How can she face the raging spirits of the martial world?

These scheming mountain bandits can just ambush?

How can they ambush with honor?

Serves those lowlife backstabbers right; they ought to be torn to bits.

So could it be that Qing is the first to be eaten alive?

But Qing has never ambushed a person, at most a savage creature that might resemble a human, so she claims innocence!

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