Sword God Reborn

Chapter 76 : The One-Eyed Serpent, Neung-heo

"Well, when did they say to catch those Blood Ghost Valley guys? Why did they get involved in a fight like this?"

Im Hong muttered as he sat down in the prepared seat.

A subordinate who had followed him looked around and said.

"It seems all of Shaanxi's martial world has come."

"Well, that's right. A duel between Zhongnan and Mount Hua. In fact, although they've been at each other's throats, isn't this the first time they've actually clashed?"

"When I was young, Mount Hua was the best, and no matter how much Zhongnan flew and crawled, they couldn't reach Mount Hua."

"That's all in the past. It's monstrous that Mount Hua boasts such a healthy state even after suffering that much damage in the righteous-demonic war."

"What do you think will happen?"

At his subordinate's question, Im Hong was silent for a moment.

The direction of the duel.

To be honest, it was not easy to predict.

But Im Hong was the head of the Hao Faction's Shaanxi branch.

At least he knew the trends of the Shaanxi martial world inside and out. Naturally, he also knew the martial arts level of the Shaanxi martial artists very well.

"If it were as usual, it would be a narrow victory for Mount Hua..."

Cheonghyeonjin would probably defeat Zhongnan's Three Treasures True Man.

Among the remaining first-generation disciples, one would surely win, and the other was also a 50-50 chance.

The confrontation between the Plum Blossom One Sword, Gukbo, and the Zhongnan Wind Sword, Jeon-hyeon, was up in the air.

If Gukbo won, Mount Hua would barely win by a score of 3 to 2.

That was Im Hong's prediction.

Mount Hua had openly received spectators, and the martial artists gathered here had also made similar predictions to Im Hong.

And as befitting the people of the Central Plains who liked to gamble, a penny or two was bet on this matter.

In general, the probability of Mount Hua's narrow victory and Zhongnan's victory was about half.

This was the general public opinion.

But.

"The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, that person is here."

The appearance of a variable.

The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero had interfered in this fight.

Those who did not know would ask why the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero would interfere, but it was after all the circumstances had been revealed.

On the contrary, people were bursting with admiration for Cheon Mubaeck.

"Isn't he a madman?"

"In terms of justification, he can claim ownership."

"But where in the world is there a guy who actually claims ownership and wants to have a match against Mount Hua and Zhongnan?"

"There is, isn't there? Cheon Mubaeck..."

"Wow. Really. His guts are...!"

The subordinate clicked his tongue.

It seemed that the younger generation among the people gathered at the platform was secretly cheering for Cheon Mubaeck.

The martial world, which had been so peaceful after the righteous-demonic war.

The successors who had appeared during that time were too obvious.

The great young master of the Namgung family, the Plum Blossom One Sword of Mount Hua, or the Zhongnan Wind Sword of Zhongnan...

Even the eldest son of the Wudang Sect or the second daughter of the Zhuge family.

Weren't they all the type who had been born and raised in a prestigious orthodox sect and had followed the orthodox procedure?

"The Fighting Ghost of Chongqing is a little different."

"What about the Beast of the Southern Barbarians?"

"Right. Those friends are a little peculiar, but it's true that they were also born and raised in a prominent family, right? They're guys who ate elixirs for meals while learning the family's secret techniques."

That's right.

If you were a successor of the current martial world, there was nothing that particularly stood out.

But Cheon Mubaeck was different.

A family that was not special, being the youngest son of an escort agency.

But the following groundbreaking moves.

He had saved Shaolin and had saved the two great sects, Mount Hua and Zhongnan, from a trap.

Just this alone was the appearance of a typical hero, but people were even more enthusiastic about the news that was revealed later.

"He's a real hero who single-handedly beat up the black-way guys who were harassing the commoners in Bong-gu County, Henan."

"He's a divine doctor who can't just leave the people who have been infected with the plague."

"My goodness. To think that a hero like this has appeared."

Cheon Mubaeck's moves so far had been like that.

So in the eyes of the people, Cheon Mubaeck was the very image of the hero they had only heard about in stories.

Moreover, people cheered even more at his guts to interfere in the fight between Mount Hua and Zhongnan alone and to fight against the two great sects.

"I think the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero can win."

"No, I hope he wins."

"Although Mount Hua and Zhongnan are not bad people... the reason why that hero wants the Primordial Root Scripture is because he has to use it where it's really needed, isn't it?"

"Right. It must be. A hero wouldn't fight two sects for his own greed."

"I hope the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero wins!"

The young martial artists showed their ardent support for Cheon Mubaeck.

"Hmm. Hey."

"Yes, branch head."

Im Hong, who had been quietly watching the situation, said.

"How much money did we bring?"

"Uh... we have quite a bit."

"Do you trust your hyung?"

"Pardon?"

"Bet it all on Cheon Mubaeck winning."

"...Huh?"

"No, bet all the property we have here in Hwayin County."

"Are you crazy?"

Im Hong snorted.

"When there's a chance to make money so openly, should I just stand by?"

"No..."

It was then.

"Oh my. Then I should also bet some money on the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero."

Im Hong flinched at the old voice that suddenly came from the side.

He had not felt any presence, but an old man in shabby clothes was sitting next to him.

'A beggar?'

In an instant, a thunderbolt struck Im Hong's mind.

"If the branch head of the Hao Faction is investing directly, then I can also feed the beggar kids a meal for the first time in a while."

Im Hong glared at him with a hardened face.

Seeing the three knots tied at his waist, Im Hong sighed.

It was the Beggars' Sect.

* * *

"Since this duel is an unprecedented three-way battle, I will first explain the simple rules."

The person in charge of the proceedings was a person named the Scholar Elder, who was quite famous in the Shaanxi martial world.

Although he claimed to be a Confucian scholar, he was also the protagonist of a vicious rumor that the folding fan he was holding had broken the heads of several demons.

"The first duel will be a duel between the first-generation disciple ranks of each sect. The rules are simple. The one who cannot hold a weapon, the one who leaves the circular training ground, and the one who can no longer fight is defeated. Just no killing. You must absolutely not take the opponent's life. Only one of the three will take the victory."

The Scholar Elder unfolded his folding fan and soon shouted with internal energy in his voice.

"First-round!"

From Zhongnan, a first-generation disciple named O Gwang-ryong came out, and from Mount Hua, a young man named Yu Cheong-hak, whom Cheon Mubaeck had also met a few times, came out.

Their momentum was not ordinary.

"Indeed."

"They say they are the geniuses of Mount Hua and Zhongnan."

On the other hand, the person who came out from Cheon Mubaeck's side was none other than Neung-heo.

When Neung-heo appeared, the surrounding atmosphere became strange.

"That person?"

"I heard he's the one who's with the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero..."

"Hmm. He looks a little old."

"Didn't he say it was the first-generation disciple rank?"

"Although he's old, his martial arts lineage might be short."

"Looking at him, he looks like a black-way member."

"A black-way member?"

"Look at his walking posture and his impression. And what about his posture?"

"Heo... a black-way member."

"My goodness."

Even though people were whispering here and there, Neung-heo stood in his place with a shameless face.

The three of them stood in a triangular shape.

O Gwang-ryong and Yu Cheong-hak glared at each other and soon focused their gazes on Neung-heo.

"What are you looking at, huh! Just."

"..."

"Heo."

Although Yu Cheong-hak just narrowed his brow, O Gwang-ryong let out a hollow laugh without even realizing it.

"Hey. Where do you think you are to crawl in here?"

Yu Cheong-hak frowned at O Gwang-ryong's sharp words.

But Neung-heo raised his chin as if a dog were barking.

"This is Mount Hua, so what are you, a Zhongnan bastard, doing crawling in here?"

"Wh-What?"

"Pfft."

O Gwang-ryong, who had been hit hard by a single blow, grabbed his scabbard with a red face.

"I'll cut off your remaining arm too."

"Wow. Are you trying to balance my center of gravity? I'm so grateful for this. Then I'll also cut off the thing on your shoulder and balance your center of gravity."

O Gwang-ryong mumbled with a red face and soon turned his head.

How could he, who was a brat, win against Neung-heo's way of talking, who had rolled around in the black-way?

At that sight, Neung-heo felt quite pleased.

'Right. This is normal.'

That Cheon Mubaeck guy is strange, not fitting his age.

'Still. I have to be careful about this.'

Neung-heo looked at O Gwang-ryong and Yu Cheong-hak. The momentum that both of them were emitting was not ordinary.

If it had been the Neung-heo before he had met Cheon Mubaeck, he would have been the type of guy to avoid them, saying 'Do you avoid shit because you're scared of it? You avoid it because it's dirty!'. Although he was confident of winning if it went to a mud fight, they were not guys he wanted to fight.

'Looking at them, it seems the two of them will attack at the same time.'

Perhaps the two of them knew each other well, but Neung-heo was unknown.

So they would probably try to defeat Neung-heo, who could be a variable, first.

Before the start, seeing the gazes of O Gwang-ryong and Yu Cheong-hak intertwine, Neung-heo guessed.

'Shit. Kids these days don't respect their elders at all.'

Neung-heo bit his lip.

"Are you all ready?"

Although the Scholar Elder was a great elder in terms of rank, he said in a polite tone.

When everyone nodded their heads, the Scholar Elder took a step back and shouted.

"Start-the-battle!"

Paat!

At the same time as the shout, O Gwang-ryong kicked off the ground.

He rushed at Neung-heo with a truly formidable speed. A sword strike that cleanly cut his waist from left to right.

Neung-heo also reacted immediately.

He did not block but slightly twisted his body and let the sword flow past.

At that moment, Yu Cheong-hak, who was on the right, aimed for his lower body and stabbed his sword in a straight line.

"Damn it!"

Neung-heo's hand became dizzy.

A continuous attack that followed at the same time.

Moreover, Neung-heo had the fatal weakness of having only one arm.

In a word, even if he blocked one attack, he had to dodge the other.

It's easy to say.

How could that be possible?

"It'll be over soon."

"As expected, there's nothing to see other than the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero."

"Isn't it just that he put him forward because it's hard for the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero to fight five times in total?"

"That's right."

The people who had been watching muttered in a disappointed voice.

But soon their eyes widened in shock.

Kkagagang!

"...!"

He blocks.

And he counterattacks.

Although it was a simple expression, Neung-heo was steadily doing it. He blocked, dodged, and counterattacked.

Since it was a duel, it was naturally a wooden sword. But from the sword that Neung-heo was swinging, a sharpness greater than that of a real sword flowed out.

There were no flashy variations. Instead, it was fast and sharp. It was so terribly aggressive. Each and every sword shadow went from left to right, and from right to left.

It poured down like crazy.

"Th-That's!"

"How can he do that!"

Everyone could not hide their shock. Neung-heo was fighting quite well.

Breaking everyone's expectations.

But... Cheon Mubaeck clicked his tongue.

'Still, he's putting up a good fight.'

If it had been a one-on-one duel, Neung-heo would have won by a landslide.

But in the process of blocking and counterattacking the fierce attacks that came from both sides, bruises were gradually appearing on Neung-heo's body.

They were all bruises from being hit by attacks that contained internal energy.

It must be putting a severe strain on his body.

To end that, Neung-heo had to finish off one side.

But it was not easy to do so with the attacks that were pouring down like flowing water.

As if reflecting Cheon Mubaeck's thoughts, Neung-heo's face crumpled.

'Shit.'

Neung-heo did his best.

He stomped his foot and poured out his sword. He staggered and dodged the opponent's attack, and if he could not dodge, he endured it with his body.

Even if the shock transmitted to his wrist twisted his bones and the energy penetrated his insides, he endured it.

'When you pour out your sword, your body should be light, but your mind should be serious.'

The words that Cheon Mubaeck had said every time he had given him teachings came to his mind.

'Your body should be light.'

As if you were walking on air, lightly jumping up.

'Your mind should be serious.'

Even if this sword form fails, your mind should be serious so that you can prepare the next sword form without being shaken.

'Your lower body should be firm, and your center of gravity should be free.'

To not be shaken, your lower body should be firm.

And to match the opponent's attack, you should freely move the center of gravity of your one and only arm.

Neung-heo, while blocking and counterattacking the pouring attacks, felt a shiver run through his body.

It was a thrill.

It was the pleasure of a blocked wall collapsing with a bang!

It was then.

Yu Cheong-hak struck the front, and O Gwang-ryong attacked from the left.

Neung-heo put more weight on Yu Cheong-hak in front. As a result of clashing a few times, Yu Cheong-hak was much more threatening.

Especially this attack was a terrifying attack that made Neung-heo's face turn pale.

An attack that was so threatening that he would not have dared to block it if it had been a real sword.

'This is! An attack from the side too... huh?'

Neung-heo's eyes widened.

The attack of O Gwang-ryong, which had been coming from the side, was aimed at Yu Cheong-hak's back.

'This guy?'

Neung-heo's eyebrows twitched. Yu Cheong-hak was currently using a finishing move on him. But O Gwang-ryong was hitting Yu Cheong-hak's back.

In other words, while he was being defeated by Yu Cheong-hak, he intended to deal with Yu Cheong-hak at the same time.

Looking at O Gwang-ryong's eyes, Neung-heo's face hardened.

"Shit. Where did an orthodox sect guy learn to fight like a black-way member?"

Neung-heo's sword spun.

"Huh?"

A question appeared on the face of Yu Cheong-hak, who had been attacking.

'He's not blocking?'

Only then did Yu Cheong-hak recognize O Gwang-ryong, who was rushing in from behind.

His mind went cold.

He could not withdraw his sword. It was already too late.

He sensed his defeat. O Gwang-ryong had intended to finish off both Neung-heo and Yu Cheong-hak at the same time without even lifting a finger.

Kwadeuk!

A terrible tearing sound as if a bone had broken.

But...

"Huh?"

There was no shock transmitted. On the contrary, his wooden sword had struck Neung-heo's abdomen hard. It was a direct shock to his dantian.

Neung-heo staggered.

Yu Cheong-hak flinched and stepped back at the sight that unfolded before his eyes.

O Gwang-ryong, who had been hit in the throat by Neung-heo's one blow, was collapsing, foaming at the mouth.

On top of him, Neung-heo let out a laugh.

A terrible poisonous qi flowed out.

"Hehehe... I'm Neung-heo."

Neung-heo laughed and staggered, leaning on his sword on the floor.

"The One-Eyed Serpent, Neung-heo. You bastards!”

(End of Chapter)