Chapter 20
Things One Shouldn’t Dare to Touch (2)
“You piece of shit.”
Gu Jeolyub initially thought he had misheard, but the vile curse burrowed into his ears was undeniably real.
“What did you say, Young Master?”
“…Haa, why is it that whenever I try to live quietly, something keeps bothering me? Just let me be; I promise I won’t cause any trouble.”
Whoosh!
The heat that brushed past Gu Jeolyub intensified. This was a clear sign that Gu Yangcheon’s fire Qi was growing stronger.
“Second Elder.”
Gu Yangcheon called out to the Second Elder.
“What’s wrong?”
“May I start the duel?”
Was it a misunderstanding? To the Second Elder’s ears, it sounded as though Gu Yangcheon was asking, “Can I kill him?”
‘Has he gotten stronger again?’
It couldn’t be. It was only a few days.
No matter how talented he was, such explosive growth in such a short time was impossible.
‘Then that means he must have always had this strength.’
How effectively one wielded their Qi depended heavily on training and experience as a martial artist. Yet, the level of skill Gu Yangcheon displayed seemed far beyond that of someone who had only trained for a short time. It was reminiscent of someone who had trained for decades!
‘How… bizarre.’
Gu Yangcheon’s Qi and martial prowess were considerably lower than Gu Jeolyub’s—at least that’s what the Second Elder perceived. Still, there was no sign of him being overwhelmed. It was a deadlock, almost as if they were at parity.
‘Why?’
The one most shocked by all this was Gu Jeolyub himself. The training ground was heating up from both their Qi, yet nothing was one-sided.
The shame of the Gu Clan—a son of a once-collapsed leader who had been hunched over and vomiting just last year—was now standing before him, apparently on equal footing.
His thoughts were interrupted by a voice.
“The duel begins now.”
With the Second Elder’s announcement, the duel commenced. Gu Jeolyub raised his wooden sword, taking a moment to scrutinize Gu Yangcheon, who was merely staring at him blankly.
Red Dragon Sword, a signature style of the Gu Clan. It perfectly matched with Gu Jeolyub’s Swift Flame Arts, known for its sharp and fast-moving Qi, rooted in sword-drawing techniques.
As he observed Gu Yangcheon, who seemed to be standing there dazed, Gu Jeolyub thought to himself,
‘What was I even worried about?’
From head to toe, Gu Yangcheon looked clumsy. He must be using all his Qi just to fend off Gu Jeolyub’s pressure. With just a few exchanges, Gu Jeolyub could easily strike.
This is a fight he cannot win. He just started learning how to fight! I’m only distracted by that servant, Wi Seol-Ah. I can’t forget my main target.
No matter how I approach, I will aim for his vitals; he won’t even be able to defend himself. I’ll defeat him in the most humiliating way possible and get to take that beautiful servant with me. This is a total win-win!
Suddenly, Gu Jeolyub found himself puzzled shortly after the duel began.
‘Why can’t I get close to him?’
He couldn’t wrap his head around it. All he needed to do was sprint in and start attacking—it was simple enough! In every attribute: Qi, speed, strength, he was ahead. Yet, he couldn’t even close the distance.
Droplet.
A bead of sweat dripped from Gu Jeolyub’s cheek and hit the ground.
It’s that damn heat!
Gu Jeolyub rationalized that it was simply the heat causing his dilemma. Surely, Gu Yangcheon couldn’t overpower him!
“Hey.”
Gu Jeolyub flinched at the sound of Gu Yangcheon’s voice.
“What are you doing?”
“…What do you mean?”
“What are you standing around for? Are you just going to stare?”
“…It’s common knowledge that in a duel, the stronger person lets the weaker person attack first.”
“Weak? Who? Me? So, is that why you’re this scared?”
Gu Jeolyub bit down on his lips at Gu Yangcheon’s words. Even he could admit that his own behavior was strange.
Then Gu Yangcheon said out loud, “Didn’t I tell you I was bedridden for a month after our last duel?”
Gu Yangcheon twisted his neck side to side, cracking it ominously.
“What… Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”
“I just thought that would be enough.”
…?
Suddenly, all the heat radiating from Gu Yangcheon vanished.
‘Why did he turn it off?’
In a flash of realization, Gu Jeolyub smiled internally,
He’s out of Qi. He can’t use it anymore—what an idiot.
With his Qi removed, Gu Yangcheon would struggle to even take a step.
My master told me that my Swift Flame Arts could prevent even first-rate martial artists from moving. He also said that, given time, I would become the greatest genius of the Gu Clan, surpassing even the Sword Phoenix.
So there’s no way Gu Yangcheon could withstand my Qi now—he must be bluffing!
‘Or maybe he truly ran out of Qi? That means I can—’
“Didn’t I say I could go first?”
“…Huh?”
Gu Jeolyub’s eyes widened. Gu Yangcheon was looking at him, calm and collected. The signs of struggle Gu Jeolyub had expected were nowhere to be found.
“Let me ask once more, can I really go first?”
“The stronger person—”
“Right, then I’ll start!”
Gu Yangcheon interrupted Gu Jeolyub before he could finish.
In a split second, Gu Yangcheon, who had been right in front of him, vanished.
‘…!’
The vision of a martial artist was much clearer and more refined than that of an average person. Gu Yangcheon disappearing from the sight of someone about to become a first-rate martial artist signaled a few possibilities:
He either dove underground, shot up into the sky… Or he is simply faster than me.
Impossible!
The flames of the direct family unlocked explosive power. In contrast, his Swift Flame Arts focused on speed.
He can’t possibly be faster than me…
Bang!
“Ughh!!”
A sudden shock hit his face, blurring his vision and obliterating his focus on Qi entirely.
Gu Jeolyub staggered and dropped to one knee.
He noticed a warm liquid dripping down his face to the ground, spotting its color: red.
Upon wiping his face, he found himself covered in blood from his nose.
“What the hell…?”
My vision is still hazy. What just happened?
“You think you can duel but are preoccupied with other thoughts? How dare you!”
Standing before Gu Jeolyub was Gu Yangcheon—rather than pursuing his assault, he simply stood there, looking down.
“I purposely missed your chin, so why the hell are you playing weak? Get the fuck back up!”
With that, Gu Jeolyub quickly snapped to attention and swung his wooden sword, but a sword lacking Qi or power posed no threat.
Clap!
Gu Yangcheon caught the arm that swung the sword.
Within the blink of an eye, without the least hesitation, Gu Yangcheon punched Gu Jeolyub square in the face again.
“Gughhh…!”
The forceful strike sent Gu Jeolyub’s head flying upwards, and Gu Yangcheon flung him away, making him roll several times before finally coming to a halt.
Gu Jeolyub’s body shivered, unable to withstand the blows. Gritting his teeth and managing to rise, his face was a mess of blood from his nosebleed.
“I’ll ask one last time, are you absolutely sure I can go first?”
Gu Jeolyub’s eyes trembled upon hearing those words.
The Second Elder, watching from the sidelines, thought,
…You already went in.
But he didn’t voice that thought out loud.
Martial arts are supposedly taught to protect people. Whether or not that’s true elsewhere, it is in the Gu Clan. Ever since I was young, I’ve been taught that martial arts exist to protect the Gu Clan’s people.
Yet even as I grew older, I have still found that notion ridiculous.
In my view, martial arts exist for killing—to shred and demolish foes completely. It’s up to the individual on how they choose to use it for good or evil.
I’ve experienced so much of what I believe martial arts embodies. In its purest form, it’s about tearing and shattering. But I’ve endured that feeling so often that I never want to go through it again.
That damn piece of shit. Gu Jeolyub’s expression seems to scream that he’s convinced I’ve exhausted all my Qi.
But the heat hadn’t truly vanished. I had drawn it all inside myself.
Qi forced into the body revitalizes and empowers it. It was a skill only obtainable by reaching the fifth stage of flame arts.
But this didn’t necessarily mean I had surpassed Gu Jeolyub; it simply meant I understood my Qi better than he did.
This generation focused mainly on tackling monsters.
That makes facing humans tougher due to a lack of competitive sparring and knowledge. It’s also why I could overpower both Gu Jeolyub and Gu Yeonseo with ease.
While using this skill, I felt as though my insides were getting stirred up and torn apart, but I didn’t dare express it.
‘…This skill puts too much strain on me, considering I’ve only just reached the second stage.’
Whenever I inhaled, a puffy breath escaped—my Qi, not the cold air outside.
No matter how long I can sustain this, at most seven minutes; that’s my limit. Pushing beyond that would likely get me seriously injured.
That should be sufficient.
I gazed at Gu Jeolyub, who was wobbling, struggling to intake air—probably a consequence of the earlier impact.
“Get up while I’m feeling generous. Don’t whine about it being a sneak attack when this is done.”
The brat finally rose up, using sheer willpower. He retook his fighting stance, concentrating his Qi once again.
Although his heat was considerably diminished since before, Gu Jeolyub’s Qi was still undeniably expertly trained.
“I apologize for underestimating you, Young Master. I let my guard down.”
Gu Jeolyub seemed a bit more composed as he said this.
“I don’t need your excuses. Should I strike again?”
“…This time, I shall take the initiative.”
“Fine then.”
Gu Jeolyub wiped the blood from his face and assumed his battle stance.
Red Dragon Sword, beginning with sword-drawing techniques; movements had to flow seamlessly like water, demanding expertise in the Swift Flame Arts.
Gu Jeolyub swung his sword, unleashing his Qi energy around the weapon.
With focused eyes, I leaned my body slightly to dodge the strike.
A gentle warmth indicated that this second attack was the real one. Gu Jeolyub, now empowered, leaped forward with a fluid motion.
He spun halfway, storing power from the Swift Flame Arts into his sword. While not overwhelmingly destructive, his speed compensated for it.
‘He’s grasped the fundamentals quite well.’
His smooth and coherent movements revealed significant training, but the basics were still just that.
Without hesitation, I rushed toward Gu Jeolyub. He seemed taken aback, mistakenly expecting me to dodge rather than rush straight at him.
Nevertheless, Gu Jeolyub did not halt his strike.
Just as his sword was about to make contact with my head, I maximized my internal fire Qi output and released all the heat built-up within me.
The intense heat surged out, enveloping the training area in an instant. It was temporary, but it was enough.
However, being this close, Gu Jeolyub couldn’t remain unscathed by the wave of heat washing over him.
Most likely, it wouldn’t cause him severe harm, but it was enough to momentarily blind him.
In this world of martial arts, moments are precious enough to determine the winner.
With my fist, infused with Qi, I struck Gu Jeolyub right in the gut.
“Cough—Gugh…!”
Unlike before, I didn’t hold back. Even with the protective Qi surrounding him, my fist buried itself firmly.
Gu Jeolyub fell to his knees, retching violently.
“Cough… Cough… Gag…”
“Do you know what irks me the most?”
I mused while glancing down at Gu Jeolyub.
Should I kill him?
It had been a lingering thought throughout the duel.
I knew I shouldn’t, but the urge to quell my simmering rage felt impossible to resist.
Changing my volatile attitude proved notably challenging, yet this guy was persistently adding fuel to the fire.
“Whatever insults you throw at me, whatever stance you take, even if you want to usurp my position as Lord—it’s irrelevant to me.”
As he spewed on the ground, Gu Jeolyub’s eyes flickered wide as he sensed my threatening aura, quaking with trepidation.
“But you, who would dare reach for something you could never grasp—that is what enrages me.”
It bothered me that he would so brazenly groped for something out of his reach.
But killing him? At least not right now. My status mattered too much for that.
Instead, I’d hoped for just enough payback, like making him bedridden for a month as he did to me—nothing more, nothing less.
What to go for? Maybe a leg? No, perhaps the arm; it would make sense considering he wields a sword, breaking his arm would be ideal.
As I reached for his arm, someone halted my hand.
“That’s enough.”
It was the Second Elder.
Dumbfounded, I stared back at him.
“Why are you stopping me? The duel isn’t over yet.”
“Jeolyub… cannot continue anymore. Deep down, you know this better than anyone.”
Blood was dripping from his nose, and vomit clung to his mouth.
A direct hit to his liver—he was likely struggling just to breathe.
Yet ending this confrontation here did not feel satisfactory.
[There are many eyes observing.]
Compelled by the Second Elder’s telepathic warning, I reluctantly withdrew.
sigh…
With a heavy sigh, I distanced myself from Gu Jeolyub.
The First Elder definitely wouldn’t send him alone.
I closed my eyes in an effort to soothe my frayed emotions. Reckless actions driven by those feelings wouldn’t do.
“Inform the First Elder that if such insufferable antics occur again, I might consider becoming the Lord myself.”
I won’t tolerate any further annoyances. With that warning, I turned and walked towards Wi Seol-Ah.
Wi Seol-Ah didn’t spare a glance at the half-dead Gu Jeolyub, focusing solely on me.
“Young Master… did you win?”
She asked with a hint of nervousness.
Was she worried about being sent away if I lost?
“Yeah, I did.”
“Yayyy!”
Watching Wi Seol-Ah beam suddenly made me smile as well, and I gently ruffled her hair.
Just this…
This level of camaraderie was enough for me.
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