Chapter 106

Chapter 106

Those who stepped outside the inn were not only the martial artists of the Tang Clan and Youngho’s group.

Those who had been eating inside the inn also abandoned their meals and came out, wanting to witness the sparring match.

At the sight of Tang Gunhyeon glaring at her with a chilling gaze, Kang Chowon let out a faint scoff, just like Youngho would have.

Seeing that, Kang Hosan clicked his tongue.

‘I knew she’d be like that. No one in the world copies the Young Master better than she does.’

After locking eyes for a brief moment, Kang Chowon and Tang Gunhyeon began to widen the distance between them.

Before the sparring began, Tang Gunhyeon asked once more.

“Are you truly certain it is acceptable for me to use poison?”

Kang Chowon nodded as though there was nothing to deliberate. Though the situation made her grind her teeth, Tang Gunhyeon maintained his composure.

If one was not calm, even a winnable fight could not be won. It was a very natural principle.

Despite Tang Gunhyeon’s murderous tone, Kang Chowon loosened her body and said,

“Do as you please.”

As if idle chatter no longer mattered, Youngho immediately moved to begin the sparring match.

“Very well, prepare yourselves.”

Youngho took a step back and declared,

“Begin!”

The moment Youngho made his declaration, the saliva from Tang Gunhyeon’s mouth shot toward Kang Chowon.

Swish!

Along with the sound of hidden weapons slicing through the air, Kang Chowon’s sword left its sheath.

Clang!

Upon seeing the poison gathered at the tips of the needles, Kang Chowon bared her white teeth in a smile that sent chills down the spines of onlookers.

A swordsman’s mind must always remain cold. Needless to say, so too must the heart.

The tip of her sword did not waver. Like a starving wolf charging its prey, Kang Chowon’s body shot forward at high speed.

‘Fast!’

Though the speed far exceeded his expectations, Tang Gunhyeon’s hands continued to launch hidden weapons even in that moment.

But…

‘What is this!’

They did not hit.

As if she knew exactly where his hidden weapons would fly, Kang Chowon’s body moved a step ahead, evading the incoming projectiles before they reached her.

‘She’s reading my movements?’

If that were true, then Kang Chowon would truly be a terrifying monster. Tang Gunhyeon prided himself that among the junior generation, there was no one in the world who could match him in hidden weapons.

That was a belief shared by all who had seen Tang Gunhyeon fight.

‘And yet she avoids my hidden weapons this easily?’

Unless there was at least a difference of one major level, such a thing should not have been possible.

However, there was something Tang Gunhyeon had overlooked.

Kang Chowon was not reading his movements. To her, the hidden weapons he hurled simply appeared exceedingly slow.

She merely watched and avoided them. That was all. Who would be foolish enough to be struck by an attack plainly visible?

Lightly dodging the projectiles, Kang Chowon gradually introduced subtle variations into her footwork.

Unable to predict her occasionally bizarre changes in direction, Tang Gunhyeon’s hidden weapons once again sliced through empty air.

Before long, the distance between them had grown quite close. Tang Gunhyeon immediately scattered Dissipating Skill Poison into the air.

It was a perfect trajectory. The poison exploded precisely in front of Kang Chowon.

At that speed of charge, she would inevitably be poisoned by the Dissipating Skill Poison.

There was no other conclusion to draw. Yet from Kang Chowon’s sword burst forth a powerful sword wind.

Whoosh!

With the wind pressure of her sword wind, she easily blew away the Dissipating Skill Poison and charged at Tang Gunhyeon with even greater speed.

There was not the slightest hesitation in her movement. Anyone would flinch, even slightly, at the sight of poison before their eyes.

Faced with Kang Chowon’s response—completely unlike any ordinary reaction—Tang Gunhyeon felt nothing but bewilderment.

However, he had no time to simply be shocked. Her movement was faster than he had anticipated.

‘I’ll end this in an instant!’

From Tang Gunhyeon’s hands unfolded the secret martial art of the Sichuan Tang Family.

From somewhere unknown, Twelve Throwing Knives burst forth from his body as if exploding outward.

Now the throwing knives had left his hands. They were beyond his control.

If Kang Chowon failed to evade or block the Twelve Throwing Knives, she would suffer grave injuries—or at worst, die.

Tang Gunhyeon curled his lips into a sinister smile and glanced at Youngho’s expression. Then, involuntarily, he let out a hollow laugh.

‘Expressionless?’

No—if anything, it seemed closer to indifference.

The reactions of Youngho’s companions were much the same.

Kang Hosan was yawning, while Horyeung watched the sparring with a bored expression.

Grit!

He knew he must not grow agitated, yet for some reason he felt wronged.

It was as though he had failed to draw any proper reaction from his opponent.

Killing intent flickered in Tang Gunhyeon’s eyes.

Meanwhile, Kang Chowon calmly observed the twelve throwing knives flying toward her with a cool gaze.

First, she lightly tilted her head to avoid the knife flying straight toward her face.

Then, after effortlessly dodging the hidden weapons aimed at her thigh, chest, and shoulder, her eyes flashed.

With a movement like a weasel’s, Kang Chowon leapt into the air.

Swish!

At that moment, accompanied by the sound of air being sliced apart, a throwing knife that had appeared from nowhere passed through the very spot she had just occupied.

Had she not leapt, that knife would have pierced through her back and reached her heart.

At this point, one might have felt danger—but Kang Chowon did not tense in the slightest.

Clang!

Though she had clearly leapt into the air and should have evaded it, a throwing knife curved in an arc and shot toward her jaw as if to pierce through it.

Deflecting it with her sword, Kang Chowon avoided the other incoming knives with movements akin to a Divine Technique, all the while remaining wary of what would come next.

Then she saw it. A throwing knife flying noticeably slower than the others.

To an ordinary person it might have seemed fast, but to a seasoned martial artist like Kang Chowon, that knife was far too slow.

If one were to describe the sensation—it was like an ordinary person watching an ant sprint at full speed.

Precisely because of that, Kang Chowon grew even more cautious of that knife. Youngho had taught her that if doubt arose during battle, one must be wary without exception.

And her judgment proved correct.

Boom—!

With a thunderous explosion, the slowly flying knife suddenly accelerated explosively.

It moved so fast that for an instant it seemed to vanish from sight.

Clang!

She swiftly swung her sword to deflect it, but her wrist tingled with numbness, and without realizing it, Kang Chowon released her killing intent.

A chill—!

A sharp and dangerous killing intent, as though a sword were pressed against her throat.

‘Please!’

But it was fine. No matter how swift the Swift Severing Sword might be, he could not possibly have anticipated this strike.

Bang!

The moment the throwing knife exploded, yellow dust scattered from within it.

The explosion was so sudden that Kang Chowon focused solely on deflecting the fragments of the knife and failed to pay attention to the poison itself.

‘Damn it!’

She hurriedly swept away as much of the poison as possible with sword wind, but more than a certain amount had already entered her body.

Just as Tang Gunhyeon was about to cry out in delight—

Whoosh!

Suddenly, Kang Chowon’s body ignited in flames. For a brief moment, Tang Gunhyeon’s eyes widened at the sight of her burning figure, then he could not suppress his shock.

“Samadhi True Fire?!”

Samadhi True Fire was a technique that could only be wielded after reaching at least the Transcendent Peak Master level.

There was no way he would not recognize it. Tang Gunhyeon himself had focused more on hidden weapon techniques than poison arts precisely because of that damned Samadhi True Fire.

Samadhi True Fire ignited one’s internal energy into flames, allowing the poison within the body to be eradicated.

If it were an extreme poison of the highest order, it might not be completely removed—but regrettably, the poison Tang Gunhyeon had used was strictly for sparring.

It was not meant for a life-and-death duel. And giving Kang Chowon the time to use Samadhi True Fire had been a clear mistake on his part.

It had been no more than a fleeting instant, but for masters, that was enough time to swing a sword ten times—or for Tang Gunhyeon to launch several more hidden weapons.

In an instant, Kang Chowon kicked off the empty air and charged toward Tang Gunhyeon, descending from above with the majesty of a wolf.

After that, Tang Gunhyeon did his best to endure, but having already used the Twelve Throwing Knives, he could do little more than hold out.

Even the whip technique he employed as a temporary expedient was easily broken.

Without even wiping the beads of sweat running down her forehead, Kang Chowon spoke.

“Do you acknowledge your defeat?”

“……I acknowledge it.”

Quietly sheathed her sword, Kang Chowon cupped her fist in salute and said,

“I have learned well.”

She turned and walked back toward where Youngho stood. Tang Gunhyeon watched her retreating figure and muttered,

“……Strong.”

Neither Kang Chowon nor Tang Gunhyeon had displayed a sparring match befitting mere junior disciples.

In particular, the onlookers were astonished by Kang Chowon’s Samadhi True Fire, yet not a single person dared to cheer.

Even if the members of the Orthodox Sect had caused a disturbance at the inn, Kang Chowon was still a member of the Unorthodox Faction.

They could not raise a cheer.

To praise a member of the Unorthodox Faction in front of the Sichuan Tang Family—one did not need to see it to know it would end in tragedy.

Whether aware of the crowd’s thoughts or not, Youngho’s group headed back into the inn.

They left Tang Gunhyeon standing there, staring blankly at their backs.

At that sight, Youngho formed a bitter smile.

Kang Hosan aside, Kang Chowon was almost like a granddaughter to him.

Before the Regression, Kang Chowon had not existed. After returning in time, nearly everyone appeared to him as children.

The problem was that even those he had known before now felt like grandchildren.

‘Their mental age is so low, after all.’

The resulting loneliness was not insignificant. Still, loneliness meant little to Youngho…

‘But not for Chowon.’

Kang Chowon’s level was already that of a seasoned martial artist. Yet inside, she was still a tender girl.

Until now, she must have endured extremely harsh days. Keeping up with Youngho’s training alone was worthy of praise, yet on top of that she had endured all manner of contempt simply for being part of the Unorthodox Faction.

If Youngho himself had been placed in Kang Chowon’s position before the Regression, he might never have been able to display his talent.

Seeing how well she endured, he felt deeply proud of her.

Youngho shook his head sharply. To continue thinking this way would only be an insult to her.

No matter how young she was, Youngho’s group already recognized Kang Chowon as a martial artist in her own right.

To pity her now made no sense.

Perhaps the others shared his thoughts, for each cast aside their stray emotions in their own way.

And above all—

“Poison is harder to deal with than I thought….”

At that moment, Kang Chowon was not thinking about her identity. She paid no mind to being part of the Unorthodox Faction or the Unorthodox Alliance.

She was simply replaying her sparring match with Tang Gunhyeon in her mind.

Youngho lightly struck the crown of her head with his hand blade.

Thwack!

“Ow!”

Rubbing the top of her head, Kang Chowon glared at him.

“Why did you do that?!”

“Excess is as bad as deficiency. You Sword Ghost brat—being wary of poison is good, but do not set limits on your opponent.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Glancing toward where Tang Gunhyeon stood, Youngho replied,

“You won overwhelmingly this time, but if that fellow Tang Gunhyeon had fought in earnest, you would have had to prepare yourself for death.”

Kang Chowon’s eyes grew sharper than ever.

“The Tang Clan possesses several extreme poisons that even I cannot ignore. And Tang Gunhyeon did not use all of his strength either.”

“What? I can understand about the poison, but he didn’t fight at full power?”

“Yes. Strictly speaking, he would only go all out in a life-and-death duel.”

Kang Hosan tilted his head.

“I don’t understand.”

“Poison flows in that bastard’s blood. No—his entire body is poison.”

“What? Poison flows in his blood?”

“Yes. He seems to have a unique constitution even within the Tang Clan… If you had been splashed with even a little of Tang Gunhyeon’s blood, his victory would have been certain.”

“Hah….”

As Kang Hosan let out a breath of astonishment, Youngho spoke with a hardened expression.

“From now on, you must pay much more attention to poison. The journey through the Martial World we are undertaking is not an ordinary one.”

The group once again realized the true purpose of Youngho’s journey through the Martial World and nodded with firm expressions.

“But, Young Master.”

At Hyeon-gang’s call—he who had been silent until now—Youngho responded.

“What?”

“Why are those Tang Clan fellows here?”

“How should I know? If you’re curious, go ask them yourself.”

“Ah, right.”

And so Hyeon-gang immediately went to ask Tang Gunhyeon the reason for their presence before returning to the group.

At Hyeon-gang’s nonchalant expression, every one of Youngho’s companions thought the same thing.

‘What in the world happened over the past year for a screw to come loose in his head?’