Little Demon Reversion to Youth

Chapter 118

Baekji said to the four men, "Good, as expected of people who live by the sword. Of course, I have also prepared a chapter for a martial arts contest."

A chapter for a martial arts contest?

Is he performing a play right now?

Baekji pointed outside.

"The martial arts stage is over there. Let's go and have a bloody time."

And he shouted to the scribes, "Write that the leaders of the 'Four Hegemons of Shaanxi' have decided to have a sword discussion before the meeting."

Everyone's expression changed at Baekji's words.

Although they had been engaged in secret strife, the leaders themselves had never crossed swords. This was because if the leaders fought and one side lost, they would have to kneel immediately.

Therefore, it was difficult to predict who had the upper hand.

Although they were all listed among the top hundred masters, the lower rankings were unlikely to be accurate.

Ha Wonjo frowned. He had been confident that the Zhaoling Sect would be the most advantageous if it were a battle of forces. So there was no need to have a martial arts contest here.

Although he called it a martial arts contest, would it really be a martial arts contest? A brat like Guan Wuhyeok would try to kill him immediately if he gained the upper hand.

Ha Wonjo suddenly shouted, "Is this why you didn't let our subordinates in?"

Since he had shouted with his internal energy, it echoed loudly. It was a scheme to call his subordinates.

Baekji laughed.

"Either you haven't been beaten enough, or you're stupid. It must be one of the two."

Ha Wonjo immediately closed his mouth.

Just before, he had been dragged to the back of the main hall and beaten without making a sound. With his mute acupoint pressed, only the places that wouldn't show were concentrated on.

No matter how excited he was, he couldn't have forgotten the situation where he had just been beaten.

'Th-this kind of humiliation...'

He regretted leaving his subordinates behind, but on second thought, it seemed they wouldn't have been of any help even if they were there.

Ling Yunchan said in a grave tone, "I understand the Honored One's intention. However, we are the leaders of our sects. We are not pawns on a chessboard to be moved around at the Honored One's will. There is a saying that you can kill a martial artist, but you should not mock him. Just get to the point."

Wu Tai and Guan Wuhyeok glared at Baekji with expressions of agreement.

Baekji sighed.

"There's something I heard... would you like to hear it? A mantis and a cicada were fighting each other, and a sparrow was watching..."

Everyone knew. There was no way they didn't know the story of the mantis stalking the cicada.

"But you know. Who do you think was above the sparrow's head? A hawk was watching. The hawk, of course, didn't know that a hunter was aiming for it. The hunter also didn't think that a tiger would be licking its chops behind him."

Was the story of the mantis stalking the cicada this long?

"What's more surprising is that behind the tiger hiding in the bushes, a serpent was slithering. That serpent didn't know that a yellow dragon flying by was watching."

Baekji finished speaking and asked, "Who are the mantis and the cicada here, and who is the yellow dragon?"

Ling Yunchan and the others could not hide their anger. He had treated them like mantises and cicadas and had called himself a yellow dragon.

Baekji shamelessly fanned the flames.

"The yellow dragon can't even see the mantis or the cicada, so how could it mock them?"

The hot-tempered Guan Wuhyeok fell for Baekji's goading tactic.

"I can't listen to this anymore!"

He drew his half-moon saber like a thunderbolt and struck down at Baekji.

Shwik―!

Cheok!

The sword that was about to split Baekji's head with great momentum stopped.

The sword that Guan Wuhyeok had struck down with was caught between Baekji's two fingers.

"Heok...!"

"It seems you can't believe it..."

Baekji grabbed the collar of the dumbfounded Guan Wuhyeok.

"Eot."

"Let's go and talk for a moment."

Guan Wuhyeok was dragged to the back of the main hall.

"..."

"Eu..."

Only a heavy silence flowed in the main hall.

As Ha Wonjo stealthily moved back to escape, Baekji's words were heard.

"I'm saying this just in case... any brat who runs will be hung upside down outside the main gate."

Ha Wonjo stopped.

A moment later, Baekji came out, dragging Guan Wuhyeok.

Strangely, his face was fine, but his eyes were slightly unfocused.

"Well then, shall we have a martial arts contest?"

"..."

No one answered.

Baekji said, "I see. You said not to mock a martial artist, right? Do you feel like you're being mocked? So you don't want to do it?"

"..."

"Who would want to enter a life-and-death battle?"

"..."

Baekji tapped his temple with his finger.

"Sect masters, you'd better think carefully. The hegemony of Xi'an is at stake. If you win, you can take it."

"..."

"What's the reason your subordinates fight, risking their lives? It's because of the few coins you give them. This is not on that level. Xi'an is at stake. You become the hegemon of Shaanxi."

"..."

"Surely you're not thinking of taking Xi'an with your mouths."

"Mouths... I have obtained everything with only my sword."

Guan Wuhyeok immediately retorted to the insulting words.

As expected of the leaders of sects, they didn't break just because they were hit a few times.

"Aigoo... think carefully. You've been fighting with your mouths until now. It's your subordinates who fight, getting hit by swords. You guys are in the back, ordering them to attack here, attack there. You just moved your mouths. When was the last time you fought properly with a sword in your hand?"

Ling Yunchan suddenly looked back at himself.

The ambition he had held when he left Zhongnan, to look down on the world, had faded with the years.

A few had joined forces to establish a sect, and as that sect grew to what it is today... his own life became more important day by day.

Because if the leader fell, the sect would also collapse.

So he surrounded himself with two or three layers of guards and commanded the war from the rear.

He had taken it for granted as the master of a sect.

But Baekji said no.

"I have always stood at the forefront."

Guan Wuhyeok muttered in a dissatisfied tone.

"Against small fry who look like inferiors at a glance? Is that a martial artist? It's a slaughterer."

"..."

Everyone closed their mouths. They understood what Baekji was saying, but they could not agree. But Baekji, as if he had looked into their hearts, said...

"You're thinking that there's a soldier's fight and a general's fight, right? Well, it's not for me to say anything about you comforting yourselves like that. But not in this place."

"..."

"You want the hegemony of Xi'an, right? Take it. But this time, don't risk many lives..."

His voice grew cold.

"Risk your own necks."

"...!"

Wu Tai, after thinking for a moment, said, "I have no interest in the hegemony of Xi'an. However, I will show that the power of the Meixian Fang is still strong. Sect Master Ling, come out."

"Very well. I have long wanted to witness Senior Wu's Huashan sword."

Ling Yunchan stood up, gripping his sword.

"Good, Zhongnan versus Huashan. Then are the remaining two going to fight?"

Ha Wonjo and Guan Wuhyeok glared at each other as if they would eat each other.

"Let's go."

Baekji led the way to the martial arts stage built next to the main hall.

"There are no rules. Once you go up, whether you live or die is up to you."

Baekji said. It really meant to fight with their necks on the line.

Wu Tai and Ling Yunchan went up to the martial arts stage.

The two faced each other for a moment and then rushed at each other at the same time without a word.

It was a fight with the fate of the Namil Sect and the Meixian Fang, and the pride of the great sects of Zhongnan and Huashan, on the line.

Chaeng―!

Cha-chaeng!

The heavy sword of Zhongnan and the nimble sword of Huashan clashed.

Although they were from secular families, the two were prodigies recognized even by their main mountains.

Papat!

After about ten seconds, the probing was over, and the fight became fierce. At some point, the sword light that Wu Tai poured out fluttered like flower petals scattered in the wind.

"Plum Blossoms in Profusion!"

Ha Wonjo, who was watching, exclaimed in admiration. Could he block that one move?

Wu Tai was one generation above them, and he was a man who had fought on the front lines with Mei Zhongjun's sword.

In terms of martial prowess, he was one step above the other leaders.

Ling Yunchan stood his sword upright with a grave face. It felt like a single large tree was standing there.

The flower petals crashed against the large tree and scattered.

Chae-chae-chae-chaeng!

Paat―!

Wu Tai, after unfolding a flurry of sword light, retreated.

Ling Yunchan was still holding his sword upright, but his clothes on his waist, shoulder, and chest were torn.

If Wu Tai had been determined, Ling Yunchan would not have been safe.

"Hoo..."

Ling Yunchan let out a long sigh and lowered his sword.

"Senior Wu... you are seeing the 'flower realm'. This junior has lost."

Ling Yunchan admitted defeat cleanly. At the same time, something boiled up in his chest.

The past days when he had used his head instead of his sword to grow the Namil Sect felt fleeting.

'Have I lived as a martial artist?'

Although he had risen to the position of the Namil Sect Master of the 'Four Hegemons of Shaanxi', he was not the young Ling Yunchan who had climbed Zhongnan with the dream of a martial artist.

"The Namil Sect will not set foot in the Meixian Fang's territory from now on. However, I would like to cross swords with Senior Wu once again soon."

"This old man is losing his strength now. You'd better hurry."

Wu Tai responded calmly.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

Baekji clapped.

"It's a bit of a pity that no blood was shed... but it's good that it was decided cleanly. The lines were also cool. As expected of the disciples of the great sects. Good, good. Next!"

Ha Wonjo and Guan Wuhyeok went up to the martial arts stage.

The two, barely exchanging courtesies, glared at each other and immediately clashed.

"They're so hot-tempered. If the leader is like that, the subordinates will suffer."

Baekji muttered.

This time, it was a battle of sword against saber.

Guan Wuhyeok's half-moon saber was fast, unpredictable, and powerful.

Ha Wonjo used a straight sword, which was also a very fast sword.

Although they clashed as if they would kill each other right away, the fight dragged on boringly.

Ling Yunchan muttered, "Unexpected. Sect Master Ha's martial arts are better than I thought."

The world had generally considered Guan Wuhyeok's martial arts to be the highest among the 'Four Hegemons of Shaanxi'.

This was because he was still in his forties, and therefore had a competitive spirit and often went to the battlefield himself.

But unexpectedly, Ha Wonjo's martial arts were also formidable.

Usually, superiority and inferiority in a fight are determined in twenty to thirty exchanges. Even with evenly matched opponents, victory and defeat are usually decided in fifty to sixty exchanges.

But the two were approaching two hundred exchanges, having passed one hundred.

Baekji was so bored that he even yawned.

"Are you going to fight all day? Don't you have any secret moves?"

It seemed not.

Ha Wonjo and Guan Wuhyeok, while gasping for breath, rushed at each other tenaciously.

"Bring food. We're going to skip lunch at this rate."

Baekji said to Wu Ping.

The servants brought food.

Heok―!

Eu-heo-eok!

Ha Wonjo and Guan Wuhyeok felt like they were dying.

Four hours passed.

It became meaningless to count how many hundreds of exchanges they had clashed in that time.

They didn't even have the strength to lift their arms.

The two men's weapons had long been broken. Exhausted, they grabbed each other's hair and rolled around.

"You tiresome brat!"

"Let go of this! You petty bastard..."

The two, who had been entangled until sunset, exchanged punches and collapsed at the same time.

"Good. It was quite desperate in its own way. Scribes, did you see that well? The hair-pulling fight... refine it well."

.

.

.

Wu Ping opened the main gate and said to the subordinates of the 'Four Hegemons of Shaanxi' who had gathered, including the Namil Sect, "The 'Four Hegemons of Shaanxi Great Assembly' is getting longer. We will give you food and tents, so please wait."

* * *

The next day, they gathered again in the main hall.

Ha Wonjo and Guan Wuhyeok's eyes were hollow.

Baekji said with a troubled expression, "Now I know why the four of you have been bickering. Your skills are on par. Fang Master Wu is slightly higher, and the other three are about the same. This is also quite rare. Ah, right!"

As if he had suddenly remembered, he said to the scribes behind the folding screen, "The context of what I said yesterday is this. The 'Four Hegemons of Shaanxi', moved by the words of the Honored One of the Yang-Bai Merchant Sect, joined forces to form an alliance and decided to hold a meeting to determine their respective territories and roles. Before the meeting, they had a martial arts contest, and Meixian Fang Master Wu Tai was slightly ahead, and the others could not determine superiority or inferiority. Refine the dogfight well... it's not earth-shattering, but something like 'sword light and saber energy flew wildly' would be good."

"..."

As everyone looked at him with dumbfounded eyes, Baekji said, "The record is important. I didn't write down that the sect masters were beaten, so don't worry."

Guan Wuhyeok glared at Ha Wonjo, his eyes bulging.

"I will settle the score today."

"That's what I've been waiting for."

Ha Wonjo chimed in.

Baekji slammed the table.

"That's enough! That chapter has already passed. How long are you going to be like this? We have to move on to the next chapter."

Everyone closed their mouths. Now they clearly understood.

Baekji was performing a play.

With the fate of Xi'an at stake... using the 'Four Hegemons of Shaanxi' as actors...

'Eu...'

Power, I must build up power.

To repay... this humiliation.

(End of Chapter)