Chapter 87: The Rising Stars. -02
A swift sword that far exceeded the anticipated range made Gongsun Hyeok instinctively raise his blade.
Perhaps by luck, the tip of Murong Cheok’s sword struck the blade he had lifted toward his chest.
Unfortunately, that luck ended there.
With the follow-up strike from Murong Cheok, Gongsun Hyeok’s white martial robes were instantly reduced to tatters.
Ssk. Ssk!
Gongsun Hyeok strained to block somehow, but after the first exchange, no sound of metal rang out.
Instead, only the sound of his robes tearing could be heard.
Murong Cheok deftly swung his sword through the gaps between Gongsun Hyeok’s sword forms, so only the clothes were shredded.
“Ghh!”
Unable not to grasp what that meant, Gongsun Hyeok bared his fangs.
Yet no matter how fast he swung his sword, there was no clash.
He simply could not keep up with Murong Cheok’s clean yet dazzling technique.
“Damn it!”
Knowing that better than anyone, Gongsun Hyeok roared.
At the same time, he drew up all the power from his dantian.
If he could not match him with swordsmanship, he intended to crush him with inner power.
No matter how exquisite the technique, it was bound to crumble before overwhelming force, and so Gongsun Hyeok poured all the power he possessed into his sword.
Woooong!
Inner energy accumulated over twenty-five years was condensed into the blade in a single moment.
It took form beyond sword energy into sword aura, yet it failed to advance into sword force.
The peak realm—the first wall a martial artist faced—was one Gongsun Hyeok had yet to overcome.
Even so, sword aura alone was formidable.
Boom! Booo om!
Sword auras surged forth from the blade, swirling to form a sword barrier.
It was a barrier forged by compensating for a lack of technique with raw inner power.
As a result, the sound of collision rang out for the first time.
He had finally blocked Murong Cheok’s strike.
“Chahap!”
But Gongsun Hyeok was not satisfied with that.
Considering the humiliation he had suffered until now, even returning it in kind would not have been enough.
He needed to collect interest as well to feel satisfied, and so, with a face flushed deep red, Gongsun Hyeok swung his sword, the sword aura writhing violently.
With so much force packed into it, he intended to send Murong Cheok flying in one blow.
“Hmph.”
Yet even as Gongsun Hyeok’s strike surged in with murderous momentum, Murong Cheok did not tense up.
No—he snorted derisively.
Watching someone grow arrogant over mere sword aura was simply laughable.
So Murong Cheok showed him personally.
Thoom.
Murong Cheok’s sword flashed in an instant.
Like a single streak of light, it cleaved through the air and returned to its place.
At the same time, a sound of something falling split the hall.
It was the sound of Gongsun Hyeok’s sword blade, cut clean in half, crashing into the floor.
“Khk!”
Along with it, Gongsun Hyeok—who had frozen in the posture of his charge—spewed blackened blood.
Though it was only an instant, the shock of the clash had inflicted internal injuries.
By contrast, Murong Cheok, who had neatly severed Gongsun Hyeok’s sword, remained calm in expression.
He stood there with an imposing air, as if this much was nothing at all.
“It seems I have won.”
Murong Cheok spoke arrogantly as he looked at Gongsun Hyeok, who could not answer due to his violent coughing.
It was as though he had known from the start that this would be the outcome.
Yet no one found it unpleasant.
Everyone had been shocked by the sight of Gongsun Hyeok collapsing without resistance.
“He’s making a flashy comeback.”
“Indeed.”
“Young Master Gongsun isn’t bad at all.”
“It’s just that Cheok is stronger. And that’s what matters most in victory and defeat.”
Watching the two lay bare the ???? of winner and loser, Ban Hojin spoke.
Yet there was not the slightest trace of concern for Murong Cheok in his tone.
He had known from the beginning that Murong Cheok would win.
However, Seonwu Bang looked at Murong Cheok from a different perspective.
“His pride’s going to shoot through the roof, isn’t it?”
“When has it ever not?”
“Well, true. It’s only because you and Iryong are around that he’s at least somewhat modest. If the two of you weren’t here, he’d be completely full of himself and running wild.”
“No. He’d still be holed up in his room, rummaging through this and that.”
“Is that so?”
Seonwu Bang nodded slowly.
Thinking it over, it did make sense.
And Murong Heesu, who had been listening quietly, nodded her head vigorously.
She fully agreed with Ban Hojin’s conjecture.
“I think the same as you, big brother. Without the shock therapy of you and Joun, he would still have been wasting his days.”
Jeong Iryong also spoke up, as if in agreement.
Because he was a friend, Jeong Iryong could be all the more blunt.
Given that Murong Cheok was a genius with an eccentric personality, it was more than plausible.
“For the peace of Jianghu, that might not have been such a bad thing. Brother Cheok has the kind of personality that would go around stirring up incidents everywhere.”
“Ah, it’s not that bad.”
Murong Heesu cautiously objected to Seo Joun’s sincerely meant words.
She knew Murong Cheok’s personality well, but this felt like going too far.
“Do you really think so?”
“Mm!”
At the words of Murong Heesu, who was the same age as him, Seo Joun asked pointedly.
As if asking whether she could say that with her hand on her heart.
At that gaze, Murong Heesu quietly turned her head away.
Clang! Cl-cl-clang!
Meanwhile, Murong Cheok was engaged in a sparring match with a rising junior of the Mount Hua Sect after Gongsun Hyeok.
He was facing a new challenger.
And astonishingly, the opponent was a Plum Blossom Sword Expert.
“At this rate, Cheok might earn a sobriquet right here.”
“It wouldn’t be a bad thing to have one. But what about you—won’t you?”
Ban Hojin casually asked Seonwu Bang.
As high-level sparring matches continued one after another, the atmosphere in the banquet hall grew scorching hot.
It was already a gathering of hot-blooded youth, and with Murong Cheok fanning the flames, the heat surged fearsomely.
Perhaps because of that, sparring matches were breaking out everywhere.
“Is it because I sparred with you? I’m not particularly feeling it.”
“What are you talking about now?”
“Exactly what you understood. I’ve reached a point where there’s no need to cling to sparring anymore. This kind of place is new for Cheok and Joun, but not for me.”
“I’m not particularly interested either.”
Jeong Iryong casually joined in.
Just watching was entertaining enough.
And Jeong Iryong did not even harbor the ambition of wanting to make a name for himself.
“Still, don’t be too harsh. There are probably people who worked up the courage to approach.”
“That’s something I’d like to say to you as well, isn’t it?”
“I’m not going to reject everyone outright either. It’s just that I have something to think about right now.”
At Ban Hojin’s words, Namgung Gwang, Tang Seogeon, and Zhuge Gi-jeong—who had still been holding their seats—lit up with sharp eyes.
Namgung Gwang’s gaze in particular was anything but ordinary.
Because he wanted to avenge his defeat at Shaolin, he had been observing the situation closely.
And when Ban Hojin left room for possibility, Namgung Gwang’s eyes gleamed like a ferocious beast that had spotted its prey.
“Something to think about?”
“Yeah.”
He answered, but Ban Hojin did not offer any further explanation.
Because it was something he could not tell Seonwu Bang.
‘In the war against the Four Tyrants of the World, especially in the fight with the Nine Heavens Gate, the existence of the Sichuan Tang Family is essential. If that’s the case, their downfall must be prevented…….’
Ban Hojin’s gaze shifted toward Tang Seogeon and Tang Seogon.
At the root, the cause was Tang Seogon, but in the bigger picture, it was right to say that both of them were responsible.
However, it made no sense for Ban Hojin to interfere in the affairs of the Sichuan Tang Family.
It was completely different from the situation with the Geum Family Estate.
‘This is troublesome.’
Ban Hojin smacked his lips inwardly.
He knew the future of the Sichuan Tang Family, but there was nothing he could do.
Unless they asked for help like Geum Hoyeon did, his current self was a complete outsider.
And since the brothers’ conflict had not yet truly erupted, speaking up first would only be ridiculous.
‘Caught between advance and retreat.’
While everyone else had their attention fixed on the sparring taking place at the center of the banquet hall, Ban Hojin had no interest whatsoever.
After Murong Cheok, Seo Joun and Seonwu Bang also began sparring, yet Ban Hojin remained lost in his own thoughts.
“I didn’t know the Young Lord of the Seonwu Family would be this good.”
“Living together with my junior brother, he has grown a great deal.”
“Oh? Hasn’t it been that long since you were together?”
Oh Jung-geon, who was seated slightly apart from the rising juniors, kept letting out exclamations.
That was how remarkable Seonwu Bang’s growth was.
The last time he had seen him, he had been at an unremarkable level, but now it was different.
With solid fundamentals as a base, he was displaying martial prowess that looked like he would not easily lose to anyone.
“Time is important, but who one spends it with is just as important, wouldn’t you say?”
“That may be so, but still.”
Unlike the astonished Oh Jung-geon, Beopmu’s expression remained calm.
Having stayed at Shaolin, there was little for him to be surprised about.
He had also met them from time to time.
“The Young Lord of the Murong Family has completely revived. I thought it would be too late by now. No matter how outstanding one’s talent, isn’t there nothing to be done before time?”
“At nieen, it’s not really that late either. He only put down the sword in the middle; he’s someone who trained in martial arts from a young age, isn’t he?”
Oh Jung-geon’s gaze turned toward Murong Cheok.
There was a slight air of arrogance about him, but that much could be taken as confidence.
Moreover, since there was someone capable of keeping Murong Cheok in check, it was not a major concern.
What truly surprised Oh Jung-geon was Ban Hojin’s course of action.
“Why on earth did he even go to the Murong Family? Do you happen to know, Great Master Beopmu?”
“I don’t know the details either. He’s not the type to report everything to me.”
“Hm. Is that so.”
Oh Jung-geon stroked his chin.
Starting from the moment he received the cipher text of the Iron-Blooded Star, Oh Jung-geon had been closely observing Ban Hojin’s every move.
Not through background investigations, but by watching his actions over time.
Yet no matter how much he thought about it, he could not grasp Ban Hojin’s true intentions.
‘There is definitely a purpose. Otherwise, with that personality, he wouldn’t be roaming the Central Plains so frequently.’
Oh Jung-geon furrowed his brows.
Having known him for quite some time, he had already formed a decent understanding of Ban Hojin.
That was precisely why Oh Jung-geon was curious.
Just what Ban Hojin was thinking.
“Still, in the end, isn’t this a good thing? The more talented people there are, the better it is for the Central Plains Murim. Especially when the situation in the Neo-Outer Murim is far from stable like now.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Oh Jung-geon nodded.
There were no signs yet of an invasion of the Central Plains, but preparation was necessary.
Beginning a war without any preparation and waging one while prepared were completely different matters.
In that regard, the growth of Seonwu Bang and Murong Cheok was truly a blessing for the Central Plains Murim.
On top of that, the emergence of Seo Joun and Jeong Iryong was also a good thing.
The only slight concern was Jeong Iryong, whose sect lineage was unknown.
“Are you worried about Young Hero Jeong’s sect lineage?”
“To be honest, yes. It’s as if he fell straight from the sky—nothing about him has been revealed.”
“He has not learned demonic arts or heterodox arts.”
“I felt that way as well, but still, there’s always the possibility.”
“My junior brother wouldn’t have brought him along without thinking it through.”
Beopmu continued, his eyes filled with trust.
To others, he might look like someone who lived carelessly, but the reality was different.
Because Beopmu knew that better than anyone, he could speak with certainty.
If there had been any cause for concern, he would not have brought him to Shaolin in the first place, and if there had been even the slightest issue, he would have told him.
“I think so as well. Contrary to what people know, he has a very meticulous personality. Still, no matter how many times I look, it’s astonishing. Especially the growth rate of Young Master Seo.”
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