Chapter 137 : The Boy and the Little Bird

Unlike the previous matches, the one between Dohye and Cheon Yerang was quiet.

The two faced each other without moving, as if they were sizing each other up.

“Amitabha… it’s astonishing.”

Dohye said in admiration as he faced Cheon Yerang.

The strength of the White Moon Palace had already been revealed to the entire martial world by the White Moon Divine Lord, Cheon Yusin.

However, there was no information about his children that had been revealed to the outside world.

In such a situation, Cheon Yerang, the daughter of Cheon Yusin whom he now faced, was strong.

‘I can’t see any openings.’

Although she wasn't in any particular starting stance, Cheon Yerang showed no openings at all.

‘In that case.’

There was only one way.

If there are no openings.

Create one.

Dohye’s footsteps echoed quietly on the silent sparring stage.

Dohye, who was approaching Cheon Yerang with light steps, spread his hands wide.

A golden radiance flowed from Dohye’s body.

A warm energy, similar to Namgung Seoru’s, but slightly different.

A golden energy that even felt cozy approached Cheon Yerang.

Cheon Yerang, who was watching this with a calm gaze, raised her sword.

—We are the children of our father. As long as we are participating in the Four Daoist Assembly, we must win. With overwhelming power.

It is a form that will be revealed someday.

If so, show it in front of everyone.

That the White Moon Palace has come here.

Cheon Yerang’s eyes, which were mulling over Cheon Gaseong’s words, began to shine like jade.

At the same time, the air began to freeze.

“Full Moon Moonlight Flash.”

Her sword moved as if it were crossing the sky.

Like a star falling with the full moon in its embrace.

Dohye’s eyes, who faced this, widened.

‘Good heavens!’

What else could he say besides that she was strong?

What had appeared before him now was a completed form of the sword.

Realizing that he couldn't block this with ordinary strength, Dohye spread his hands forward.

A golden palm force met Cheon Yerang’s sword, which was approaching before his eyes.

The clash of palm force and sword.

Dohye’s Golden Cauldron Great Luo Palm, which he had unleashed with all his might, clashed with Cheon Yerang’s Moonlight Flash.

Kwagagagagang—!!

The Golden Cauldron Great Luo Palm was a very powerful palm technique.

As a palm technique intended for defense rather than offense, its hardness and solidity were so strong that it could not be broken by any martial art.

But a crack appeared in Dohye’s Golden Cauldron Great Luo Palm.

Through it, Cheon Yerang’s energy pushed in.

A baptism of cold moonlight poured down through the cracked golden palm force.

Thud—!

A sword fell in front of Dohye.

Drip—

As blood flowed from the sword wound on his forehead, Dohye wiped the blood flowing down his face with his fingertips.

“I have lost.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

After finishing her words, Cheon Yerang turned around, maintaining the same expression she had when she came up to the sparring stage, without any sign of joy.

An overwhelming victory achieved with a single sword strike.

The quiet venue of the Four Daoist Assembly was filled with hot cheers.

“It’s the White Moon Palace, as expected!”

“Strong… incredibly strong!!”

“Shouldn’t we call the White Moon Palace the best in the world now!?”

“One Palace above the Nine Great Sects!”

The disciples let out cheers.

It was the moment when the prestige of the Nine Great Sects and One Union and the Five Great Clans, which had never been broken before, was cracked, and it was the moment that declared that the White Moon Palace was above them all.

“To defeat Shaolin in a single move… astonishing.”

“The might of the White Moon Palace is tremendous.”

“There was a reason the White Moon Divine Lord sent his children out into the martial world.”

Cheon Yusin knew.

What the reason for the establishment of the Daoist Temples was.

And using this, he had declared to the righteous martial world.

That the White Moon Palace was above everyone.

The temple masters were also shocked.

‘Son of a bitch!’

Yeom Yoa bit her lip and glared at the sparring stage.

Dohye, along with Mujin, was the best late-stage prospect of the White Tiger Daoist Temple.

His talent and strength were so dazzling that only Mujin of the Wudang Sect could face him.

Yeom Yoa, who had naturally expected Dohye’s victory, was in a foul mood at the overwhelming defeat.

“It is certainly the White Moon Palace.”

Heonwon Hu and Beom U admired Cheon Yerang’s skill.

Beom U asked.

“You sent Cheon Gaseong out for the group competition. Was it because Cheon Yerang was stronger than him?”

At his question, Gwak Myeong shook his head.

“In terms of strength alone, his older brother, Cheon Gaseong, is stronger. However, he was sent out for the group competition to fill what he needed.”

“How relaxed.”

Yeom Yoa said with her arms crossed.

“Are you saying you’re confident of winning the Four Daoist Assembly even without Cheon Gaseong?”

At Yeom Yoa’s voice, which felt hostile for some reason, Gwak Myeong had to shake his head again.

“As you know, the use of the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple is different from the other temples. So we just divided them to teach each what they needed. There is no other meaning.”

At Gwak Myeong’s attitude, which seemed to have no interest in the Four Daoist Assembly, Yeom Yoa became even more angry.

‘How dare you look down on me and the White Tiger Daoist Temple? You, the master of the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple!?’

Yeom Yoa turned her body sharply.

At her attitude, Gwak Myeong was on the verge of sighing.

‘In a situation where our enemy is clear, to think they would try to antagonize each other within the same righteous path.’

Competition for development is important, but envy and jealousy are not good.

Gwak Myeong looked at the sparring stage with a bitter gaze.

Today’s final match had begun.

***

The ones who stepped up for the final match were Namgung Seong and a martial artist named Tang Mae from the Sichuan Tang Clan.

He pressured Namgung Seong by throwing all sorts of hidden weapons.

Namgung Seong brandished his sword in all directions to block the hidden weapons coming from all sides.

In the meantime, Tang Mae’s sleeve stiffened and then spewed out a poisonous gas from the front.

‘Poison!’

It was the first time poison had appeared in the Four Daoist Assembly.

Although it wasn't a poison dangerous enough to threaten life, it was a poison that could paralyze the entire body in a single breath.

Namgung Seong infused his sleeve with internal energy and swung it with all his might.

No sooner had he driven away the poisonous gas with the wind pressure created by his sleeve than a hidden weapon that had approached silently grazed Namgung Seong’s shoulder.

“Keuk!”

Namgung Seong, who had failed to dodge the hidden weapon, felt the sensation in his left arm grow dull.

‘Was there poison on the hidden weapon too?’

His left arm was being paralyzed due to the poison-laced hidden weapon.

“Hooop!”

Tang Mae relentlessly threw hidden weapons and at the same time threw a fist-sized pouch he had taken out from his bosom over Namgung Seong’s head.

A hidden weapon thrown subsequently pierced the pouch, and sand fell from within.

Namgung Seong, who saw the sand falling over his head, readjusted his grip on his sword hilt.

‘Sand poison!’

Noticing that the sand was mixed with poison, Namgung Seong swung his sword in succession to create a sword wind.

The swift sword wind blew the sand poison away.

Even though he had succeeded in shaking off the sand poison, Namgung Seong’s expression was not good.

“This is…”

While shaking off the sand poison, a hidden weapon that had approached silently was stuck in his thigh.

“You can call me cowardly. I have to win this match.”

“What’s cowardly about a fair match. Haha.”

As Namgung Seong laughed good-naturedly, Tang Mae’s gaze became even colder.

‘It’s always like this.’

The Sichuan Tang Clan, which mainly used poison and hidden weapons instead of swords or sabers, was far from being fair and square.

In the first place, the martial world’s evaluation of poison is not good.

Because in the righteous martial world, which values pure martial arts, poison and hidden weapons are evaluated as weapons used only by cowards.

Therefore, this Four Daoist Assembly was a very important occasion for Tang Mae from the Sichuan Tang Clan.

It was to somehow make a name for himself in the Four Daoist Assembly and change the evaluation of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

‘I will definitely win!’

For this, Tang Mae used all the hidden weapons and poisons he had.

Even if he was pointed at and called a coward, he had to become a winner rather than a loser.

“Haap!”

Twenty hidden weapons poured out from Tang Mae’s two hands.

At the barrage of hidden weapons flying on the wind, Namgung Seong held his sword straight.

“Hooooo—!”

Exhaling a hot breath, Namgung Seong moved.

‘There’s no time. I have to settle this as quickly as possible!’

He had to see the match through before his body completely stiffened.

Namgung Seong swung his sword left and right to create a sword wind.

While the hidden weapons were scattered here and there, unable to find their way, Namgung Seong rushed right in front of Tang Mae.

“Keuk! But…!”

He already knew that he couldn't stop Namgung Seong with just this many hidden weapons.

Tang Mae, who had hurriedly put his hand into his bosom, stretched his hand toward Namgung Seong, who had come within reach.

At the same time, he unleashed a palm force.

Namgung Seong’s eyes, which faced this right in front of him, shook greatly.

‘This is!?’

It wasn't an ordinary palm force.

It was a poison palm imbued with poison.

A poison palm was something that could only be unleashed after training one’s hands with poison sand, a sand mixed with poison, for a very long time, and then putting one’s hands into a jar filled with poisonous water to let the poison seep into the blood.

But Tang Mae had directly put poison into his hand and unleashed a palm force.

At the unexpected blow, Namgung Seong swung his sword in succession to block the poison palm.

Peong—!!

With the explosion of ki, Namgung Seong’s face, poisoned by the poisonous gas, turned blue.

‘My vision…’

His vision was blurry.

His breathing also became rough, and his whole body trembled like an aspen tree.

Nevertheless, Namgung Seong did not back down.

Rather, he moved forward.

In the blurry world, he felt Tang Mae clearly and extended his sword forward.

Screech!

As the tip of Namgung Seong’s sword touched the spot below his neck, Tang Mae couldn't even breathe properly.

At that moment, Namgung Seong grinned.

“It was a good… match…”

“…How!?”

Tang Mae couldn't understand at all.

He had used more than five types of poison on Namgung Seong.

At this point, even if it wasn't an extreme poison, he should have felt tremendous pain.

But Namgung Seong was smiling.

“The Tang Clan’s poison is indeed spicy. Hahaha.”

At his appearance, smiling even after being covered in poison, Tang Mae bitterly admitted defeat.

“Oh no!”

No sooner had the match ended than Dang Dok flew from the spectator seats and examined Namgung Seong’s body.

Feeling all sorts of poison from his body, Dang Dok glared at Tang Mae once and then took out an antidote pill from his bosom and pushed it into Namgung Seong’s mouth.

“Don’t chew, just swallow.”

“Thank… you.”

Namgung Seong, who had swallowed the antidote pill as advised by Dang Dok, was carried down on a stretcher.

The disciples watching the final match gave Namgung Seong generous applause and booed Tang Mae.

Because he had lost despite using cowardly poison-laced hidden weapons and all sorts of poisons.

Dang Dok approached Tang Mae, who had dejectedly stepped down from the sparring stage.

“Why did you use poison!”

“I wanted… to win. To raise the name of the Tang Clan…”

“You foolish bastard!”

Dang Dok’s head throbbed.

To make matters worse, the Hao Sect and the Poison Sect had used the recipe for the Formless Earth Killing Poison to create a similar exterminating poison.

What if the Heretic Path's Alliance used this to inflict great damage on the righteous martial world?

And what if it became known that the reason for that was because someone had stolen the recipe for the Sichuan Tang Clan’s Formless Earth Killing Poison?

‘Even if we avoid the disaster of annihilation, we cannot avoid sealing the sect.’

In the future, the Sichuan Tang Clan might have to seal itself as if dead for half a century.

If that happened, the Tang Clan would no longer be called one of the Five Great Clans, and it would be impossible to regain its past glory.

“Damn it.”

Dang Dok felt dizzy and turned away.

Hoping that this Four Daoist Assembly would end safely.

***

After the final match, the remaining schedule for the Four Daoist Assembly was the semifinals and finals of the individual competition.

And the finals of the group competition.

Namgung Seong, due to being poisoned, had to give up the subsequent matches to treat his damaged body.

Now, there were four martial artists left.

Cheon Yerang and Jong Ryeo'ak from the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple.

Mujin and Namgung Seoru from the White Tiger Daoist Temple.

With all the representatives from the Vermilion Bird Daoist Temple and the Black Tortoise Daoist Temple eliminated, it had effectively become a competition between the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple and the White Tiger Daoist Temple.

For the finale of the Four Daoist Assembly, all the disciples took a day’s rest and then gathered at the grand sparring stage.

The disciples gathered in the spectator seats were filled with anticipation, intoxicated by the unexpectedly high-level matches.

“I’ll be counting on you until the very end.”

“Leave it to me!”

“Yes.”

At Dokgo Jeokmyeong’s request, Gam Ak and Jin Sohyun, disguised as the Hidden Shadow Unit Leader, answered forcefully.

“It’s almost over. Let’s do our best until the end! Hidden Shadow Unit Leader!”

“You too.”

After a short conversation, Jin Sohyun returned to his spot, checked the short spears he had prepared, and then examined the net that Gong Hu had brought.

In a short time, Gong Hu had obtained a capture net made for government troops to deal with martial artists.

And by weaving them together, he had succeeded in making a rather large net.

Gong Hu, who had completed the net, handed it to Jin Sohyun without asking for a reason and then returned to his spot.

“Being the Hidden Shadow Unit Leader is more comfortable than I thought?”

If the imprisoned So Soil had heard that, he would have thrown a fit, but in any case, Jin Sohyun was comfortable.

Of course, this was thanks to Gong Hu, who would get him anything he asked for.

“Once this is over, I can be comfortable too!”

Jin Sohyun looked at the four martial artists gathered for the finale of the Four Daoist Assembly and the ten martial artists gathered for the group competition finals.

There were familiar faces too.

They were listening to the congratulatory speech of the Alliance Leader, Gwak Doyeop.

Meanwhile, in the spectator seats, Moyong Susu and Peng Sopyeong were waiting for the match with Oh Seolhwa and Hyeok'ugun, who had joined them at some point.

“Ugh… I’m so nervous! Who do you think will win, Young Master Peng?”

“I think Young Lady Namgung will win. Her sword has become much sharper and more exquisite than in the past!”

“I’m for Miss Cheon! She defeated the great Shaolin in a single move!”

As Oh Seolhwa said forcefully, Peng Sopyeong nodded his head.

“I can’t deny that either!”

As the gazes of the three people naturally turned to Hyeok'ugun, he showed a troubled expression and then said softly.

“I… honestly don’t know.”

“How boring… at times like this, you should say you think Miss Cheon will win! We’re comrades, aren’t we?”

“Umm… then…”

While the three were cheering for Cheon Yerang, Moyong Susu greeted Ju O, who had come to the seat next to her, warmly.

“Young Master Ju! Oh? But Nani isn’t here today?”

At Moyong Susu’s question, Ju O smiled faintly.

“I left Nani behind for a while. She doesn’t like crowded places very much.”

“Aah, I see. Ah! Who do you think will win, Young Master Ju?”

Ju O’s gaze moved to the sparring stage.

On the sparring stage stood the four individual competition representatives gathered to decorate the finale of the Four Daoist Assembly and the ten martial artists gathered for the group competition finals.

Ju O, who was watching them with a strange gaze, opened his mouth.

“Well. I really don’t know who will win.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Ju O, who was watching the sparring stage, smiled faintly.

Like a mischievous boy waiting for a fun prank.

(End of Chapter)