Little Demon Reversion to Youth

Chapter 89

"Are you Mado?"

"How dare you call my master's moniker so carelessly. Do you want to die?"

"Master? Ah! So you're a disciple. I thought... you had undergone 'rejuvenation'."

Baekji, 'tong, tong', tapped his own head with his bamboo staff.

Fool... do you think anyone can do it just because you did?

Baekji, who had muttered inwardly, gestured with his bamboo staff towards the girl and said, "Tell your master to come out."

"You crazy brat!"

The girl swung the saber in her hand and rushed at him.

Ssaeaek!

The saber came straight at him, but the saber energy came down from the sky.

"Ugh!"

The girl's martial arts were unexpected.

Baekji was surprised and raised his bamboo staff, stirring the empty air.

Kkagagang!

The saber energy that was coming down, caught by the bamboo staff, shattered.

A saber technique where the saber is visible but the saber energy is not.

'I know this.'

A somehow familiar feeling.

Ssaek, ssaeaek!

This time too, the saber came cutting straight.

But saber energy flew in not only from the sides but also from behind.

"Heaven-Shattering Divine Saber?"

Baekji shouted in surprise.

In an instant, the saber energy, 'ssak', was withdrawn.

The girl looked at Baekji with a puzzled look.

"How did you know?"

Baekji, staring blankly at the girl and the 'Heaven-Shattering Divine Saber', said, "That's right. How did I know?"

The girl tilted her head.

She had said that very few people recognized the saber technique.

And that most of those few people called it the 'Heaven-Shattering Demonic Saber'.

Her master had told her to ask for the name 'Madeung' if someone called it the 'Heaven-Shattering Divine Saber'.

"Madeung!"

"What?"

"Madeung!"

"What are you talking about?"

The girl tilted her head and glared at Baekji.

The boy in front of her had said 'Heaven-Shattering Divine Saber'.

It was the original name of the saber technique that her master had told her.

And he had even blocked it.

But he didn't know Madeung.

And...

"Do it again."

Baekji, who had become interested, gestured with his bamboo staff.

It meant to come at him.

"You think I can't?"

The girl shot forward in an instant and thrust her saber.

From the saber that was thrust like a sword, a pure white saber energy exploded in all directions and then flew towards a single point, Baekji.

It was faster than sound.

"That's right! It was like this. Heaven-Shattering Divine Saber! You're quite something!"

Baekji laughed loudly and stirred his bamboo staff in all directions.

Although it was like a clumsy net, it deflected all of the girl's saber energy.

"Good, good."

Baekji, who had met a martial art he knew after a long time, was greatly pleased.

'It was a good thing I came.'

Baekji suddenly thrust his bamboo staff towards the pure white saber that had sprung up in front of him.

Thwack-!

The pure white saber was stuck in the bamboo staff.

"Ugh!"

Although the girl tried to pull out the saber that was stuck in the bamboo staff, it wouldn't budge.

Rather, she was pulled forward by Baekji's bamboo staff and staggered.

Thwack!

Baekji stretched out his left hand and flicked the girl's forehead.

"Aack!"

The girl, with a shock as if her forehead were splitting, staggered and let go of the saber.

In an instant, the pure white saber was in Baekji's hand.

"Hmm. Heaven-Shattering Divine Saber... it's handsomely made. The saber and the saber technique have the same name, right?"

Baekji, 'hwik, hwik', swung the saber.

The girl rushed at him like a madman.

"Give it back. You bad brat!"

"I'll give it back after I've had a look."

Baekji stretched out his arm to stop the girl and imbued the 'Heaven-Shattering Divine Saber' with his ki.

Sook.

Like a living creature, the 'Heaven-Shattering Divine Saber' gently accepted the ki.

"As expected, a divine weapon is different."

Baekji, 'hwik', swung the saber and released the imbued ki.

A pure white saber energy flew towards the place where Quan Bai was hiding.

Boom!

A large rock and a huge tree were blown away.

"That brat..."

It seemed a low voice was heard.

"Gasp!"

The girl's eyes widened.

Although it was not strong ki but saber energy, its power was enormous.

"Take it. It's a good sword, so use it carefully."

Baekji, as if handing over his own thing, was generous.

"You, what are you?"

"Me? I'm Baekji. What's your name?"

"..."

The girl, who had received the sword, hesitated and retreated, then tried to enter the illusion formation.

"Go and tell your master to come."

"Hmph!"

As the girl snorted, a cold ki rushed from the valley.

"Ah! Master!"

The girl was startled.

Baekji was also a little surprised.

'Mado was a woman?'

She was a beautiful woman with a pure white face, as if she had never been in the sun, and her age was hard to guess. Not only from her eyes, but from her entire body, a chilling coldness flowed out.

'How absurd...'

He thought he should also find out the gender of the top ten masters.

"Cho-hye, come here."

The girl, called Cho-hye, stood next to Mado.

Mado's cold gaze swept over Baekji.

"A strange brat."

It was a flat voice without any high or low, and no emotion was carried in it.

"Umm. You're stranger than me. How can a person have only two emotions?"

At Baekji's unexpected words, the proportion of doubt in Mado's abyss seemed to grow for a moment, but then it subsided.

Mado's gaze passed Baekji and turned to the dark forest.

"What do you mean?"

At the cold voice that seemed to pierce the lungs, a person walked out from the darkness as if in answer.

A presence that seemed to push away the darkness with every step.

A soft yet irresistible ki spread.

"A-Alliance Leader..."

From somewhere, Quan Bai appeared and prostrated himself before the Alliance Leader.

"I was rash. I never thought that brat would lie..."

"Enough."

The Alliance Leader gestured for the prostrated Quan Bai to rise, glanced at Baekji, and then said to Mado, "I'm sorry. I came to tell you that that brat was coming, but it seems I was late."

Mado's expressionless face stared at the Alliance Leader.

"That brat wanted to see you. Do you know him?"

Mado's gaze turned to Baekji.

Although no emotion was carried in his ice-like expression, Baekji could feel it.

Unresolved anger, an indelible grudge... and a little doubt.

For some reason, Baekji felt a chill.

"..."

After observing Baekji for a moment, Mado shook her head and turned her body.

From her back as she entered the small valley, a sense of emptiness flowed, as if all the affairs of the world were irrelevant to her.

Just then, the Alliance Leader said, "This year, we'll do it with that brat instead."

Mado, who had heard those words, 'uttuk', stopped.

Then she slowly turned her body and looked at the Alliance Leader.

Although her face was expressionless, one could feel her bewilderment.

The Alliance Leader said, "It has no special meaning."

A look of puzzlement flashed across Mado's face again.

"..."

The Alliance Leader, with a gentle smile, nodded silently and then said to Baekji, "You wanted to see Mado, right? I don't know the reason, but would you like to have a match?"

"?"

For things to be resolved so easily.

Did he read my mind?

Baekji rolled his eyes and then nodded.

"Yes. I'll do that."

"..."

When Baekji accepted, Mado stretched out her hand to her disciple.

Cho-hye handed her the pure white saber.

Mado, who had received the saber, slowly approached.

Mado stopped at a distance of about three zhang.

A cold chill was released.

It was not a keen energy or a killing intent, but a pure coldness.

'A grudge?'

Baekji could feel the deep grudge engraved in Mado's ki.

Mado was an absolute master.

Her soul was carried in her saber.

"Weapon?"

Baekji held up his bamboo staff.

Mado, without asking further, immediately took a step forward.

In the darkness, a pure white light flashed.

The person was not visible, but a sword came thrusting.

At the same time, Baekji's bamboo staff disappeared, and a blue bamboo shadow formed a sphere and surrounded Baekji.

The movements of the two were so fast that the surrounding objects seemed to have stopped.

Then, a series of blows were heard.

Papapat!

The sound of the bamboo staff and the saber energy colliding was heard first, and then, 'shiik', the sound of the saber energy cutting through the empty air was heard.

Finally, as the ki and the ki collided, a roar exploded.

A cold chill froze the darkness, and a sharp saber energy split the space.

The figures of Mado and Baekji were not visible, as if they had assimilated into the darkness.

Kkagang! Kkagagagagang!

After a clash of an uncountable number of moves.

"..."

Although Mado and Baekji were still standing in the same place, their appearances were completely different.

Mado was in the same posture as before, as if she had not moved at all, but Baekji's clothes were tattered.

The bamboo staff was broken, and the remaining half was also chipped here and there.

Anyone could tell who was superior.

'Ah... is that the martial prowess of the second in the ranking of the top ten masters?'

Quan Bai, who had seen the martial prowess of the top ten masters directly, was moved.

At the same time, he felt a sense of emptiness.

A sense of despair that he could never reach that level, no matter how hard he tried, washed over him.

'It's unfair. Is that a human's martial art?'

Unlike the Quan Bai who was mired in self-loathing, the Alliance Leader was calmly watching the two.

Ki gathered in Mado's saber again.

"Wait!"

Baekji raised his hand.

"I lost. Look at my bamboo staff. It's all broken. Ouch... it hurts."

Baekji, touching the wound that had been grazed by the saber energy, feigned pain.

Mado's expression wavered again.

Since he had already admitted defeat, she could not attack again.

Mado, who had withdrawn her saber, turned her gaze to the Alliance Leader.

"..."

The Alliance Leader, who had received Mado's gaze, gave a bitter smile.

"You two, you really don't know each other, do you?"

At the Alliance Leader's words, Quan Bai, 'hwadeuljjak', had a realization.

Quan Bai fiercely protested to Baekji.

"Hey. Is it right to use a person's goodwill like this? I begged the Alliance Leader to create this opportunity..."

"Yes. What did I say?"

"Didn't you say so? That you would ask Mado for permission to reveal your martial sect."

"I did."

At Baekji's shameless answer, Quan Bai could not close his mouth.

"So I'm trying to ask now."

Baekji asked Mado.

"The Martial Alliance Leader seems to be curious about my martial sect. He asked me through this chatterbox scholar. So I said. I'll ask Mado and then reveal it."

A look of bewilderment flashed across Mado's stone-like expression again.

Baekji's words were that strange.

"Why are you asking me to reveal your martial sect?"

For the first time, Mado's words were long.

"To be fair? I don't want to tell, but they keep asking. So I thought that if it was someone who had no connection to me, they would judge fairly."

Baekji looked at Quan Bai and said, "Now you can understand, right?"

"That shameless..."

The wronged Quan Bai felt like he was about to suffocate.

"Hahaha..."

The Alliance Leader suddenly laughed loudly. After laughing for a long time as if he were dumbfounded, he said to Quan Bai, "It reminds me of the saying, 'he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword'."

Quan Bai's face reddened.

The Alliance Leader also knew of Quan Bai's bad habit of playing with his opponents with his brilliant eloquence.

The Alliance Leader asked Mado, "A promise is a promise. Since that brat has admitted defeat, I will keep my promise. What will you do now?"

Mado looked up at the night sky silently.

She had been confined in a valley behind the Martial Alliance for over ten years.

It was a promise she had made to herself.

That she would not leave until she had defeated the Alliance Leader.

She had competed with the Alliance Leader every year and had lost.

It was not that she couldn't leave if she wanted to.

Nevertheless, she had stayed in the valley under the pretext of a match with the Alliance Leader and had raised a disciple.

Now the Alliance Leader had put forward another person for the match, and that person had lost.

Perhaps he had known it would turn out this way.

That meant it was time to go out into the world.

Where should she go?

Suddenly, a curious thought arose.

Mado looked at Baekji.

He came to see me?

Under the pretext of a ridiculously absurd reason?

Why?

Mado asked Baekji, "What is the reason you were looking for me?"

"I wanted to meet the second in the ranking of the top ten masters."

Baekji spread his hands to show that he had no intention.

"The top ten masters? The second in the ranking?"

Mado did not know that she was one of the top ten masters, nor that she was ranked second among them.

"You didn't know? They say it's Mado after the Sword King."

As Mado was thinking for a moment, Quan Bai suddenly cut in.

"What's important now is that brat's identity. For some reason, he used this cunning trick to meet a female warrior. So you should tell him to reveal his martial sect..."

Mado said to Baekji, "Don't reveal it."

At Mado's words, Quan Bai became impatient.

He had been thoroughly played by Baekji.

He could not retreat like this.

"Ha, just confirm one thing. A while ago, that brat recognized the 'Heaven-Shattering Demonic Saber'. Are you perhaps from the same sect?"

Mado did not even look at Quan Bai and did not answer the Alliance Leader's question.

She turned her body and headed for the small valley.

"..."

The Alliance Leader, who was watching the two enter the valley, disappeared into the darkness at some point.

Quan Bai glared at Baekji.

"Ugh... you swindler!"

Baekji spread his hands as if he were in a difficult situation.

"Oh dear. She said not to reveal it. What can I do?"

"You thought it would be like this from the beginning, right?"

"How would I have known that? I didn't even know that Mado was a woman. I was really surprised. For Mado, the second in the ranking of the top ten masters, to be a woman."

"Damn it!"

When Quan Bai, 'hwak', rushed at him, Baekji quickly retreated.

"Hey, calm down."

"Do I look like I can calm down right now! You can't reveal you're martial sect! You, what is your identity! Come here!"

In the dark forest, Quan Bai's shouts, which he was screaming at the top of his lungs, echoed.

(End of Chapter)