Chapter 9
Bad Blood Always Draws Blood (2)
Who on earth is targeting me…?
Kang Yongwoon narrowed his eyes in the direction from which the murderous intent had come.
It’s him.
He recognized the man instantly.
Kwon Junghyun, wasn’t it?
The man who had once tried to cut his throat—the second disciple of Sonwi, elder of the Great Tiger Sword Sect.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Yongwoon’s heart began to pump, a hot surge of heat spreading through his body.
I won’t dodge this time.
Things were different now. He had a sword in his hand.
Step.
Yongwoon advanced.
A grin spread across Kwon Junghyun’s face.
“Well, isn’t this a stroke of luck?”
He looked almost delighted.
“I’ve ground my teeth just thinking about the scolding I took from Master because of you. And now you show up on your own? Hahaha! Pathetic brat!”
Junghyun threw his head back and laughed, exposing his throat as if it were the funniest joke in the world.
How ridiculous. To come swaggering toward him just because he was holding a shabby iron sword, thinking himself something more than he was?
“Fine, come then. Follow me.”
He spun on his heel and led Yongwoon behind the wall that separated the main quarters from the annex, to a shadowy, secluded spot.
“Heh, perfect.”
“…!”
The two faced each other.
Junghyun drew his blade first.
“I’d rather not risk another lecture from Master for killing you outright…”
He leveled his sword at Yongwoon. The technique he had trained under Sonwi for the past two weeks—Tiger-Form Swordsmanship—pulsed with the inner force of the Tiger-Form Cultivation.
“I’ll just take an arm. Kekeke.”
He crooked his fingers at Yongwoon as if beckoning a stray mutt.
But Yongwoon’s eyes weren’t on that mocking gesture.
Flash.
Still the same.
All he saw was the thread of qi rising from Junghyun’s dantian into his blade.
His energy hasn’t changed since he attacked me back at Cheonhwa Pavilion. His qi is the same. His unstable breathing, his trembling sword tip—it’s all exactly the same.
“That time I was barehanded, wasn’t I?”
Schring—
Yongwoon unsheathed his iron sword at last, his voice burning with confidence.
“If I’d had this then, you’d already be dead.”
I’ll show you!
He summoned the Grand Heaven Divine Art, carefully chanting the incantation to marshal every last drop of his inner force.
“Kekeke. And you think a cheap sword makes you a man?”
Junghyun’s killing intent thickened, his voice venomous.
“Forget the arm. I’ll take your head—ahhhh!”
He lunged, slashing his blade down diagonally.
But—
Clang!
Yongwoon parried it with ease.
No—more than ease.
There was a recoil, a rebound force, almost as if the secret of Reversal was hidden in his block. Junghyun’s arms flung upward, his chest exposed.
“Ugh—!”
It was the same opening as when Yongwoon had punched him in the pavilion.
But this time, instead of striking back, Yongwoon spoke calmly.
“I’ll hold off for now. Show me everything you’ve got, so you won’t regret it later.”
Even with Junghyun’s glaring weakness in front of him, Yongwoon didn’t rush in.
[Huh? What’s this—another swordsman?]
[They’re fighting?]
[What? A duel?!]
[Hey! Come quick! Our Woon is locked in a death match with some worthless fool!]
[Worthless fool? Who the hell’s that supposed to be?]
The spirits of the firmament, linked through the resonance of the Grand Heaven Divine Art and the incantation, all chimed in at once.
Damn it!
Yongwoon had only meant to fight at his best, but the chatter was so distracting he almost shut his eyes in the middle of the duel.
Not good!
Unable to disperse the art mid-battle, he hissed aloud:
“Could you all—please! Just stop chattering when you see the situation?!”
Silence fell at once.
[Oops!]
[Quiet, everyone! Our Woon’s getting flustered—silence, silence!]
To Junghyun, though, Yongwoon’s composure looked like the smug confidence of a victor.
And that—
…set him off.
You dare act relaxed against me?!
The memory of his master’s scoldings over the past fortnight flared in his mind.
“Y-you bastard! Haaaa!”
His eyes rolled half-white as he charged, sword howling with Tiger-Form energy.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll tear you apart!”
But—
Head. Waist. Heart.
Every target Junghyun aimed for was already laid bare in Yongwoon’s inner vision.
“Too predictable.”
Clang, clang, clang-clang-clang!
Yongwoon deflected every strike without yielding an inch.
“No—no way—!”
Junghyun raved, his sword dancing frantically through the forms of Tiger-Form Swordsmanship.
But—
Thigh. Wrist. Waist…
Clang, clang, bang!
Yongwoon’s parries cut them all down, so effortless it was as if Junghyun himself was pointing out the flaws.
“Is this all you’ve got?”
“You insolent—!”
“With this pitiful skill, you dared humiliate me and boasted you’d take my head?”
The battle might have looked even on the surface, but from the beginning it was tilting heavily in Yongwoon’s favor.
“Die!”
“I don’t need your head.”
Clang! Clash! Bam!
Junghyun stumbled back, utterly helpless before the rebound force and balance of the Triple Talent Sword.
“Dieeee!”
“Or should I do as you said—take just one arm?”
Unaware of the danger, Junghyun swung wildly—the very same technique he had used to try and cut off Yongwoon’s head at Cheonhwa Pavilion.
“Die, you bastard!”
But—
Crack!
With a single Transverse Heaven-Splitting strike, imbued with the essence of Reversal, Yongwoon smashed his sword aside.
“Argh—!”
Junghyun’s arms flew wide again, leaving his chest completely open.
This ends now.
Yongwoon closed the distance in a flash, his iron sword tracing a short arc.
“Stop—!”
“Don’t—!”
Panicked shouts rang out from somewhere.
Too late.
The match was decided.
Slice—
Yongwoon’s blade cut cleanly across Junghyun’s shoulder.
“Ghhk—!”
Clatter—
Blood spurted as Junghyun’s sword tumbled to the ground.
“Junghyun!”
“Brother!”
Two figures swept in like the wind, stepping between them.
Yongwoon eased back. His eyes sharpened.
Elder Sonwi of the Great Tiger Sword Sect. And his first disciple, Lee Hoyoon.
Sonwi rushed to his wounded pupil, pressing acupoints to stop the bleeding.
Meanwhile, Hoyoon planted himself in front of them, his reaction harsh.
“You cur! The duel was already decided—why did you strike so viciously at the end?!”
“Viciously? Me?”
Yongwoon almost laughed.
“If I’d truly been vicious, do you think it would’ve ended with just a cut to his shoulder?”
“What—?!”
“Hoyoon. Restrain yourself.”
Sonwi didn’t have the luxury to rise.
Junghyun was thrashing in pain, his cries half-furious, half-miserable.
“Hold still, Junghyun. You keep moving, the bleeding won’t stop.”
“Master… it hurts…”
Grimacing, he turned to his senior brother for help. His pitiful whimper struck a chord in Hoyoon’s heart.
“Hold on, Junghyun. I’ll punish this fiend in your stead.”
“Punish me?”
Yongwoon snorted.
“Let’s be clear. He drew first. He struck first. He threatened to take my arm—then my head. And yet you call me the vicious one?”
“Hmph. I don’t believe you.”
So stubborn—no reasoning would get through.
“My junior may be quick-tempered, but he would never stoop so low.”
“Hoyoon—!”
Even Sonwi was exasperated.
“Shouldn’t you focus on treating your brother first, before settling right and wrong?”
Hoyoon hesitated.
But Junghyun wailed again, forcing his hand.
“Brother! Don’t let him escape! If I have to, I’ll tell Father and make sure that bastard is killed!”
Hoyoon clenched his teeth. He couldn’t let this escalate further.
The Taehaeng Merchant Guild—his family is one of the five great houses of Shijiazhuang. If they step in… it won’t end with Master. The sect itself will be dragged through the mud.
His mind was made up.
“Master, he may try to flee. Please care for my junior. I will subdue this fiend.”
Schring.
He drew his sword.
“Prepare yourself, villain.”
“Good. If that’s how you see it, then I won’t hold back either.”
Yongwoon steadied his stance, calling forth the Grand Heaven Divine Art once more.
Heavens above…
Sonwi could only grit his teeth. With their auras blazing, either one might well kill the other.
And yet—no matter how he pressed his inner energy, Junghyun’s bleeding wouldn’t stop.
Why? His qi should’ve repelled the foreign energy by now… unless…
A thought struck him like lightning.
The boy’s sword. The Grand Heaven Divine Art—it must have flowed into the wound. Even if it was only a trace, such innate power isn’t something postnatal qi can easily push out.
He shivered.
Thank the heavens the boy held back. If he hadn’t, Junghyun’s life would already be beyond saving.
Now he understood.
So he really was merciful… just a cut for a lesson.
“Come then, fiend! Haaa—!”
Hoyoon prepared to strike.
But—
Whoosh!
Boom!
Something long and heavy crashed down between them, splitting the air like a thunderbolt.
