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Chapter 17: Let’s Take Good Care of Our Brothers
In an instant, Yeon Jeokha's eyes shone with intensity.
From the opponent's murky eyes, a deep murderous intent emerged.
‘Hmph! So that's what this is.’
Yeon Jeokha’s Dao came out of its sheath.
Although Yeon Jeokha unsheathed a moment later than Hwang Yomyung, his slash was faster.
With a sound like breaking ice, Hwang Yomyung's Dao was cut in half.
Hwang Yomyung looked at Yeon Jeokha with wide eyes.
He had swung his Dao to the end, so why was Yeon Jeokha standing there unscathed?
“Huh!”
Finally noticing his shortened Dao, Hwang Yomyung hurriedly stepped back.
“Stop. I’ve lost.”
With those words, Hwang Yomyung hastily threw his Dao to the ground, fearing Yeon Jeokha would attack.
Yeon Jeokha looked at him intently and murmured.
“Wow, you have great endurance, old man.”
“…?”
Not understanding what he was saying, Hwang Yomyung turned his head and looked at Shim Yanggak and Baek Kyo, whom he considered allies.
Shim Yanggak pointed to his left arm with a peculiar expression.
Without thinking, Hwang Yomyung looked at his own left arm.
“Aaaah!”
The part of the elbow was half cut and hanging.
Hwang Yomyung grabbed his half-cut arm with his right hand and ran down the mountain like a madman. He was probably heading for a doctor in the nearby village of Hagachon.
After a moment, the gazes of those present turned to Shim Yanggak and Baek Kyo.
Everyone knew those two were the instigators of this conflict.
Shim Yanggak and Baek Kyo looked at each other.
Both were waging a final psychological battle to decide who would step forward.
In fact, both Shim Yanggak and Baek Kyo were somewhat intimidated by the skill Yeon Jeokha had shown.
Yeon Jeokha had moved his Dao only once, from bottom to top.
Both had seen how Yeon Jeokha's Dao had cut Hwang Yomyung's Dao.
The problem was that neither of them knew how the cut at Hwang Yomyung's elbow had occurred.
Shim Yanggak frowned.
Could it be that he had launched two attacks in one?
That would require being at the level of freely handling the Dao's qi.
But that was something not even he, who had spent over sixty years training, could do.
‘Has that young man really reached that level? It can’t be.’
Maybe if it were an elder of one of the Seven Great Sects or a master of Five Peaks Mountain, but a young thief on Obong Mountain reaching that level was absurd.
‘I hope Baek Kyo is strong enough to make the opponent show all his cards...’
Shim Yanggak hoped Baek Kyo would step forward first.
But Baek Kyo was no fool. A veteran of the martial world, he had no intention of fighting for Shim Yanggak's benefit.
Watching the hesitation of the two elders, Yeon Jeokha spoke indifferently.
“It seems you’re having trouble deciding. Should I choose?”
After hesitating, Shim Yanggak nodded.
He didn't want to exhaust his strength in a fight with Baek Kyo before facing Yeon Jeokha.
Realizing Shim Yanggak's intentions, Baek Kyo responded with a loud laugh.
“Hahaha! Brother Yeon, let’s do that. Actually, there's not much difference between the two of us...”
Yeon Jeokha interrupted Baek Kyo.
“Enough. You first.”
An uncomfortable smile appeared on Baek Kyo's face.
He blamed himself for having spoken too much and drawing attention.
However, he soon put those thoughts aside and approached Yeon Jeokha.
“Jaja, we’re all part of the same family, so let’s try not to hurt each other too much.”
Baek Kyo had never said something like that in his life.
In fact, if it hadn't been for Shim Yanggak, he probably would have bowed his head and withdrawn. He didn't want to risk losing a limb for a position in the hierarchy.
“I’d prefer that too, but I'm not very skilled with the Dao, so I can't promise anything. Before coming to the mountain, I had never fought.”
Baek Kyo moved his uneasy eyes.
He could sense that Yeon Jeokha had little combat experience.
That young man didn't seem evil or ruthless. The truly wicked, regardless of their age, had a dark look.
Instead, Yeon Jeokha's eyes were so clear they could belong to a noble from a prestigious family. If it weren't for his arrogant tone, one might believe he was a young man from a good family.
“Ahem, that’s why I won’t use the Dao. It’s too dangerous a weapon.”
With those words, Baek Kyo pulled a black steel fan from his waist.
Shim Yanggak, who was watching from afar, shook his head.
‘Shameless old man.’
Baek Kyo, known as the Invisible Spirit, was famous for his prowess as a thief.
His other nickname was the Lord of the Roofs, as he used the steel fan with the same skill a noble used a paper fan. But his steel fan was so dangerous it could cut down a tree with a single stroke.
‘Is he trying to prevent him from using the Dao, taking advantage of the young man's inexperience?’
As expected, when Yeon Jeokha saw the steel fan, he threw his Dao to the ground.
A malicious smile appeared on Baek Kyo's lips.
Baek Kyo unfolded his steel fan and advanced towards Yeon Jeokha.
Swish, swish.
The steel fan emitted a strange, sharp sound every time it moved.
When Baek Kyo unleashed his master technique, the Windstorm Technique, Yeon Jeokha was surrounded by fan images.
Some of those images headed towards Yeon Jeokha's face.
Yeon Jeokha quickly tried to strike the fans heading towards his face with his palm.
Thunk.
For the first time, Yeon Jeokha frowned.
His hand hurt as if it had been hit by an iron bar.
If it hadn't been for the Nine Heavens Energy in his body, his bones might have broken.
‘It's not a simple fan.’
Yeon Jeokha realized he had been deceived.
Baek Kyo’s narrowed eyes seemed to be mocking him.
‘Old man! Now you’ll see who’s stronger.’
Yeon Jeokha gathered all the Nine Heavens Energy in his fists.
Yeon Jeokha began to strike the fans surrounding him.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Every time his fists collided with the steel fans, it sounded like metal against metal.
Baek Kyo couldn't believe it.
When he was cornering Yeon Jeokha with his fans, he thought the fight was over.
The fact that Yeon Jeokha was striking the fans with bare hands seemed like his last desperate effort.
It was like hitting swords with bare hands.
He thought he had the victory assured and continued to strike Yeon Jeokha's fists with confidence.
However, for some reason, the one getting hurt wasn’t his opponent, but himself.
At some point, he started losing sensation in his wrist.
His steel fans were almost an extension of his body. The impact of hitting the fans first affected his wrist, and now he felt a slight pain in his dantian.
‘Stop hitting! I'll die at this rate!’
Baek Kyo gritted his teeth and endured.
He hoped Yeon Jeokha's fists would be destroyed before his own body.
But the heavens didn’t hear his prayers.
‘Ugh!’
He felt something hot and metallic rising up his throat.
At that moment, Baek Kyo realized he had suffered a serious internal injury.
The Windstorm Technique, which was supposed to be continuous, stopped.
Finally, when he managed to retrieve the fans in front of his face, Baek Kyo paused for a moment. His hands were so weak he almost dropped the fans.
Then, a flash of light crossed his vision.
Bang.
With the steel fans still in his face, Baek Kyo was sent flying backward.
Plaf.
A group of bandits hurried to lift Baek Kyo.
The place where Baek Kyo's head had been was soaked in blood.
Shim Yanggak looked at Baek Kyo’s shattered face and shuddered slightly.
‘That young man is ruthless.’
No matter how much of a bandit he was, to shatter an old man's face like that with whom he shared food...
Both Baek Kyo and he had been deceived by Yeon Jeokha's innocent appearance.
In any case, there were no good people in this world.
The opponent wasn’t a lucky young man but a true master of the Nokrim.
While Hwang Yomyung was only a county-level master, both he and Baek Kyo were provincial-level masters, but the young man's skill was unfathomable.
‘He brought down Baek Kyo in ten seconds...’
Although it was said to be ten seconds, in reality, Yeon Jeokha had only attacked once.
That single strike was enough to bring down Baek Kyo.
If Yeon Jeokha had had more experience, he wouldn’t even have needed to hit the fans nine times.
Shim Yanggak knew he was no match for Yeon Jeokha.
He was similar to Baek Kyo, perhaps a bit stronger.
‘If I fought Baek Kyo, it would take about a hundred moves to decide a winner...’
That young, frail-looking man destroyed Baek Kyo in ten seconds.
He had mastered the protector demon technique but was also a master with bare fists.
Shim Yanggak, a veteran of the Murim, vaguely understood the secret behind Yeon Jeokha's strength.
‘Damn it. Now I see he’s a master in internal technique.’
Without that, he couldn't have brought down Baek Kyo with a single blow.
It wasn’t something that could be achieved by chance or luck.
He felt his mouth dry.
‘What is such a young man doing on Five Peaks Mountain?’
‘Is it possible to reach such skill at such a young age?’
‘That doesn’t matter now. What will I do?’
While Shim Yanggak was lost in thoughts about how to handle Yeon Jeokha, the latter approached with the Dao on his shoulder.
“Are you going to use your sword?”
Shim Yanggak was startled and waved his hands.
“No, no. I’ve changed my mind. I'm not going to fight you.”
“You’re not going to fight?”
“That's right. Baek Kyo's skill and mine are so similar that it’s hard to determine a winner. Since Baek Kyo was defeated, I don’t need to fight you to know the result. I’m not going to challenge you.”
Yeon Jeokha looked with disgust at Baek Kyo, who lay unconscious.
‘Is that how it ends?’
In the morning, he was irritated, but now that his opponent was surrendering, he felt deflated.
He looked towards Pung Yeoncho and Tak Gomyung, who nodded repeatedly as if to say ‘it’s enough.’
Without saying anything more, Yeon Jeokha began to lightly tap the ground with his dao.
It was a habit he had when thinking deeply.
The twenty bandits watched Yeon Jeokha’s feet tensely. Although he was the youngest, no one dared to tell him what to do.
Finally, Yeon Jeokha spoke.
“Old man.”
Shim Yanggak looked with wide eyes.
He wasn’t used to that term and had trouble recognizing that it was directed at him.
“You’re not answering? Do you want to fight?”
When Yeon Jeokha looked at him intently, Shim Yanggak finally realized the term ‘old man’ referred to him.
“No, that's not it.”
“It’s not? Shouldn't losers serve the winners?”
“No, of course.”
Although his pride was hurt, Shim Yanggak endured.
In this world, strength rules.
“Take good care of the brothers. If I hear you’re doing otherwise, I won’t forgive you. Understand?”
The mix of formality and informality in his tone irritated Shim Yanggak.
‘This damned kid. Can’t he decide whether to use formality or informality?’
It seemed he was mocking, saying: ‘You’re older, but I’m stronger, so I’ll talk to you however I want.’
“You’re not answering?”
“Yes, I will take good care of them.”
Shim Yanggak closed his eyes and bowed.
The humiliation of being lowered in front of the other bandits made him grit his teeth, but he had to endure.