Became a God-Level M Chapter 206 : Kind Eyes

Chapter 206: Kind Eyes

When Jin Seong-un challenged him to a duel, the shoulders of Sword Dragon Moyong Hyeon jolted dramatically. Instantly, all eyes converged on them.

Now that the situation had arrived, a creeping sense of doubt began to set in.

Moyong Hyeon spoke in a softened tone.

"We're currently carrying out a mission. How could we possibly duel..."

"Is that so."

Jin Seong-un nodded with a disappointed look.

He had obtained the secret technique of the Black Wolf Saber Art and now held a broadsword he quite liked in his hands.

Naturally, he had wanted to test it out in a real fight at least once and quickly grow accustod to it.

Then again, the Special Task Force was still part of the Murim Alliance.

From what he’d seen over the past few days, they didn’t seem to be doing anything in particular, but still, it wasn't ideal to waste energy on a duel during a mission.

That was when—

"There’s no clause banning duels during a mission, right? Even back in Yichang, that Sword Phoenix lady and Baek Sang were dueling at night, weren’t they? Gasp! Could it be they broke the rules?"

Tang So-yeon asked the Sword Dragon with a wide-eyed innocence. Moyong Hyeon dearly wished he could clamp her mouth shut.

Regardless, Tang So-yeon continued on.

"Right? Just a short duel should be fine, right?"

Cold sweat ran down Moyong Hyeon’s back.

Everyone was waiting for his answer.

"...There’s no such clause. But we’re in a situation where combat could break out, so I was just saying it would be wise not to waste unnecessary strength."

"If that’s the reason, then that’s a relief. We’re planning to keep moving for the next few days."

Jin Seong-un spoke with a pure tone.

In other words, it ant there would be no combat for the ti being.

Tang So-yeon and Huamyeong both tried hard to suppress the smiles creeping up their lips.

They had always wanted to arrange a duel between Jin Seong-un and the Special Task Force martial artists—and now, the opportunity had presented itself.

"In that case, there shouldn't be any major problem."

Moyong Hyeon nodded and stepped forward.

His steps looked unusually heavy.

He glanced around, wondering if he could use the civilians as an excuse, but the area was already deserted.

With nearly twenty ard martial artists appearing all at once, the commoners had long since fled.

Moyong Hyeon exhaled deeply and drew his sword.

Srrrng—!

The North Star Sword of the Moyong Clan revealed its radiant blade before all.

Everyone stood spaced out, watching Jin Seong-un and Moyong Hyeon with eyes full of anticipation.

So inwardly bet on Moyong Hyeon's victory. That was because the rumors about Jin Seong-un were wildly inconsistent.

In fact, the rumors had largely downplayed his true prowess.

Jin Seong-un himself didn’t care, but Sima Baek, White Cloud Sword, and the Poison Lord didn’t want his martial prowess to beco widely known.

The reason was simple.

Once everyone recognized his value, they wouldn’t be able to acquire him at a “low price.”

For that reason, all the martial artists of the Special Task Force focused intently on this duel.

Those who didn’t know Jin Seong-un watched with curiosity. Those who did, watched with anticipation.

"Will you yield the first strike?"

Jin Seong-un asked.

Moyong Hyeon looked dumbfounded.

At the sa ti, Seo Yu-gyeom’s voice transmission rang in Jin Seong-un’s head.

— Are you insane?

— Isn’t it Murim etiquette for the older party to yield the first strike?

— Well... yes, but... fine, do as you please.

Once again, Jin Seong-un realized he didn't know much about Murim customs.

As Jin Seong-un confidently requested the first move, Moyong Hyeon fell into deep contemplation.

But Moyong Hyeon was nearly thirty, while Jin Seong-un had just passed his early twenties.

Had the topic not been brought up, it might have passed, but now that it was ntioned, yielding made sense.

With effort, Moyong Hyeon spoke.

"I’ll yield three strikes."

"Oh."

Impressed by Moyong Hyeon’s boldness, Jin Seong-un adjusted his stance.

"Let us begin."

"...I am ready. Co."

Despite his words, Moyong Hyeon stood in a relaxed stance with his sword hanging low.

Jin Seong-un glanced curiously at Moyong Hyeon, and Seomun Ak, who was watching, chid in.

"The Moyong Clan is always like that. Just go in and kill him."

"..."

Moyong Hyeon montarily doubted his ears, but the duel had already begun.

Jin Seong-un swiftly closed the distance.

Cha-chang—!

Two exchanges followed in rapid succession.

The North Star Sword, which had been lowered, surged upward and began to move rapidly.

Sothing strange flickered in Jin Seong-un’s eyes.

‘It’s similar to the Wudang Sect, yet different.’

Each ti the blades clashed, the reactive force felt oddly off.

Moyong Hyeon’s sword was reflecting the force of Jin Seong-un’s broadsword with greater strength than expected.

If the Wudang Sect’s sword gently absorbed and redirected the opponent’s force, the Moyong Clan’s sword directly rebounded it.

In the Murim, the Moyong Clan’s sword was often called the Reversal Sword.

"Impressive."

Jin Seong-un genuinely praised him and closed the distance once more.

Moyong Hyeon's complexion had already gone pale.

Every ti that brutally heavy broadsword struck his blade, it felt like his wrist was going to snap.

Thankfully, after two exchanges, Jin Seong-un backed off again, allowing Moyong Hyeon to catch his breath. If he could block one more strike, he’d have a chance to counterattack.

That was when—

Jin Seong-un shifted his stance.

At the sa ti, the atmosphere around them changed.

"What a lunatic."

Seo Yu-gyeom’s exasperated voice rang from behind.

Regardless, Jin Seong-un was determined to test out the newly learned technique.

His toes twisted, and his center of gravity lowered.

He pulled the broadsword—heavy as Mount Tai—close to his chest, eyes locked on the North Star Sword.

"Here I co."

Jin Seong-un declared, and Moyong Hyeon, caught off guard, nodded.

And the mont Jin Seong-un put strength into his toes—

The distance between the two vanished.

Startled, Moyong Hyeon quickly gathered his energy.

Anyway, he too was an heir of the Five Great Clans and a mber of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes. Regaining his composure swiftly, he swung the North Star Sword in a half-moon arc.

At that mont, the North Star Sword, responding to Moyong Hyeon's inner arts, exhibited a strange phenonon. It generated a pulling force, as if mimicking the sinister power known as the Absorbing Star Great Art.

Dujeonseongyi—Turning of the Stars.

True to its na, like the Big Dipper revolving around the North Star, it was a secret technique of the Moyong Clan that returned the opponent's force intact.

Moyong Hyeon executed Dujeonseongyi to its utmost precision.

For a brief mont, everything in the world seed to slow.

He felt the opponent’s broadsword pushing into the range of Dujeonseongyi.

Such imnse inner force. For a mont, he wondered how one could accumulate such power at that age.

He intended to return it calmly, delicately, and release it back entirely—

"Ah..."

An involuntary sound escaped his lips.

The broadsword pierced deeper into the range of the North Star Sword than expected. To be precise...

‘Is it... cutting through?’

Dujeonseongyi was severed.

It was incomprehensible, but there was no other explanation.

The opponent's broadsword did not stop there. It continued to cleave and slash through, pushing even deeper.

In that mont, Moyong Hyeon realized.

Death—it had arrived before him.

It was death he could neither evade nor block.

Moyong Hyeon dropped his sword on the spot.

Unable to face his own death, he slowly shut his eyes.

"......"

A few monts passed like that.

In the suffocating silence—

Moyong Hyeon cautiously opened his eyes again.

The broadsword had stopped just shy of his chest.

The North Star Sword he had held was already on the ground.

As he glanced around, Moyong Hyeon realized he had been holding his breath and finally exhaled sharply.

"Haa..."

His shoulders shook with a heavy tremble.

Once the relief of survival faded, sha followed—sha from having dropped his sword and closed his eyes.

His face flushed red.

Jin Seong-un watched Moyong Hyeon with detached eyes, then retrieved his broadsword.

"It was a good duel."

"......"

Montarily at a loss for words, Moyong Hyeon forced a nod. A quick glance at the Special Task Force martial artists revealed so of them wore expressions as dazed as his own.

Jin Seong-un returned to his spot with a refreshed face. Seo Yu-gyeom asked,

"How’s the broadsword?"

Without a word, Jin Seong-un gave a thumbs-up. Seeing that, Hwa Yeon-seol smiled with fresh satisfaction.

Soon, Hwa Yeon-seol handed pouches one by one to Jin Seong-un, Seo Yu-gyeom, and Seomun Ak.

Inside were salves for wounds and spiritual dicine to restore vitality.

"I hope it helps, even a little."

"Thank you."

Jin Seong-un nodded.

Seomun Ak gazed quietly into the pouch for a mont before speaking.

"I wonder how I could ever repay this kindness. If the young lady would allow, perhaps a al soti..."

Seomun Ak’s words didn’t get to finish.

It was because his eyes t Seo Yu-gyeom’s halfway through.

He had just witnessed what happened to the Mad Dragon who had looked at Hwa Yeon-seol with questionable eyes.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Seomun Ak turned his head.

At that, Hwa Yeon-seol let out a curious smile and clapped her hands.

"If you ever need help from the Hwa-un Trading Company, let us know—whether it’s a trivial matter or one that threatens the fate of the company itself. We’ll help you without hesitation, young master."

The Special Task Force martial artists stared at Hwa Yeon-seol and Jin Seong-un.

It was already revealed that the cook at Seong-un Inn was the sibling of the Master of Hwa-un Trading Company, but Hwa Yeon-seol’s attitude now couldn’t be explained by that alone.

Only Tang So-yeon among the Task Force knew the full story. That was because the Tang Clan and Hwa-un Trading Company had deliberately suppressed the information at the ti.

Sword Dragon Moyong Hyeon, still rubbing his tingling wrist, fixed his gaze on Jin Seong-un.

‘This is no minor issue.’

At first, he thought the boy was rely an outlier disturbing the established order of the Orthodox Murim.

But now he realized that was a misjudgnt.

His martial prowess was beyond words—sothing that couldn’t be captured by the word “strong.” He had truly ascended to the realm of the incomprehensible.

Moreover, those around him were no ordinary figures.

From Mad Rooster Elder of the Beggars’ Union who doted on him fanatically, to Shin Mok, one of the Two Great Master Artisans of the Central Plains, and the Hwa-un Trading Company, one of the Ten Great Trading Companies.

On top of that, it was widely known that Elder White Cloud Sword of the Wudang Sect cherished him deeply.

Likewise with the Seomun Clan.

When the Murim Alliance turned Guest Dragon into an enemy, Tang Clan would take his side, not the Alliance’s—that’s what Poison Phoenix had said, and now it didn’t sound like a joke or exaggeration.

‘This isn’t just a crack.’

That man was shaking the entire board.

One thing was certain: the current tremors were a disadvantage to those in power who upheld the order of the Orthodox Murim.

Who among them could stop him right now? Several nas and faces flashed through his mind. It was only natural, given that a generational shift had yet to occur in the Murim.

But ten or twenty years from now—would anyone be able to stand in his way?

No answer ca to mind.

Moyong Hyeon's gaze sank low and calm. Originally, the Five Great Clans and the Nine Sects One Gang—no, all powerful people—did not welco new power.

‘Perhaps...’

For a mont, Moyong Hyeon t Jin Seong-un’s eyes.

At the sa ti, the severity in Moyong Hyeon’s gaze softened just a little.