Chapter 25

At Seon Woo-baek’s words, Jang Woon threw down the massive rock he had been carrying on his back, frustration evident in his voice. "Damn it! Hey! Just be honest with me. What the hell did you do to him to make him cower every time he sees you?" Before coming here, Jang Woon had coaxed Seon Woo-baek into talking about how strong Yeon Woojin was. But Seon Woo-baek, his face filled with terror, had fiercely shaken his head, refusing to speak. "What exactly are you curious about?" "Just admit it—you're insanely strong, aren’t you?" At Jang Woon’s question, Yeon Woojin smirked. "Did it bother you that much?" "From the way Woo-baek acts, I can tell, but I can’t get a sense of how strong you actually are." Yeon Woojin glanced at Seon Woo-baek. "What do you think? How strong am I?" "Huh?" Seon Woo-baek was caught off guard by the sudden question. After a brief pause, he finally answered. "I think... in our age group, there’s no one who can match you." Jang Woon’s eyes widened at Seon Woo-baek’s words. "Th-that much?" His expression was filled with disbelief as he looked at Yeon Woojin. "What’s with that look? It’s pissing me off." "Then show me. Just a little bit. Show me how strong you really are." "How exactly do you want me to show you?" "You know, those techniques that only high-level warriors use. Just show me one of them." "Techniques used by high-level warriors?" What would that be? As Yeon Woojin pondered, something Jeok Seong had once said came to mind. "If anyone else sees this, they'll freak out and run away." That’s what Jeok Seong had told him back then. So if I show them that, will it be enough? Yeon Woojin looked at Jang Woon, who was staring at him expectantly. "Fine. It’s not even that difficult." "Really? What are you going to show us?" "Let’s see." Yeon Woojin glanced around. Training weapons were scattered all over the place. He reached out his hand in that direction, and suddenly, the weapons began to tremble. Clatter— Clatter—. "The w-weapons are moving. It’s faint, but it looks like Hogongseobmul (虛空攝物)!" Jang Woon, seeing them twitch slightly, assumed that Yeon Woojin was using Hogongseobmul. Even that alone, at his age, was an incredible feat. But that wasn’t the end. Rattle— Rattle—. The trembling of the weapons grew stronger until, eventually, they floated into the air. "Gasp!" "N-no way!" It wasn’t just one. Dozens of weapons were slowly rising into the sky. "Am I really seeing this?" "I-I see it too." "To lift that many weapons at once... what kind of level do you have to be at?" "Even to lift just one that smoothly... at the very least... y-you’d have to be at the Five-Star Hyeongyeong Realm..." "Then that means Woojin is at least Hyeongyeong Realm!" Impossible. But the shock didn’t end there. The floating weapons all turned to aim directly at Jang Woon and Seon Woo-baek. "Huh?" Whoosh—! The sword at the front shot toward Jang Woon with terrifying speed. Swish—! It was so fast he couldn’t even think about dodging. Seeing the blade flash past him, Jang Woon stumbled back in terror. "Ugh!" It wasn’t enough that he could lift them—he could attack with them too. As they reeled in shock— Whoosh— Whoosh— Whoosh—! The sound of slicing air didn’t stop at just one. Jang Woon and Seon Woo-baek watched in horror as all the weapons came flying toward them. "Aaaargh!" Is this how I die? At that moment— Pah-pah-pah! The weapons stopped just inches from their faces. "You scaredy-cats. Did you really think I was going to kill you?" "Y-you... what... what the hell is this...?" "Why? You asked me to show you." Whirr— Whirr— Whirr—. The weapons that had stopped in front of them now moved to circle around Yeon Woojin, spinning slowly. "This isn’t just Hogongseobmul! Could this be Igigeogeom (以氣馭劍)?" Jang Woon asked in shock, and Yeon Woojin grinned. "What? Want an answer?" "This is Hogongseobmul." Rumble—! Yeon Woojin extended his hand, and a massive boulder was uprooted from the ground and floated into the air. "Ugh!" Even lifting a person required immense internal energy, but he was casually raising a boulder that large—without even looking strained. Seon Woo-baek trembled as he muttered. "Wow, you sound like a full-on Woojin fanatic now." "I-it’s not like that..." At first, Seon Woo-baek had thought Jang Woon was the scariest person in the world. Not anymore. After being pushed to the brink of death together in training, he started to feel camaraderie. Even a sense of brotherhood. Seon Woo-baek felt the same. Now, they even spoke to each other like real friends. "By the way, it’s been quiet lately. Shouldn’t the other classes be making a fuss about determining the strongest lowerclassman by now?" "If they show up now, it’ll be a disaster. I don’t even have the energy to lift my arms." Speak of the devil. As they were talking, the door swung open. "Seon Woo-baek! Let’s settle who the strongest lowerclassman is!" Hearing his name, Seon Woo-baek shut his eyes tightly. Of all times. "Hey, someone’s looking for you." Jang Woon snickered beside him. He was annoying. "Haaah... This is my karma, huh." What was so great about being the strongest? He should’ve just let Gok Yang-woo have it. He was going to regret this for a long time. Seon Woo-baek turned to look at Yeon Woojin. His expression said it all. "Lose, and you’re dead." He wanted to cry. He really didn’t have the energy to move. "What are you doing? Hurry up and get going." "Gah!" Yeon Woojin’s voice rang clear in his head. "It’s fine if you lose. Just keep fighting until you win. Right?" Yeon Woojin smirked. That was even scarier. "Well, if that doesn’t work... we’ll just increase your training intensity." More than this? That wouldn’t be training. That would be torture. Seon Woo-baek jumped to his feet. His entire body screamed in agony, but this wasn’t the time to care. As he stiffly stepped forward, the challenger frowned. "What’s wrong? You look stiff." "My body’s just sore." "Are you making excuses? Preparing for your loss?" "That’s not it." Seon Woo-baek lifted his head and stared straight ahead. The man standing before him was Hur Wook, the strongest of the Baekho Class. "You came to me first?" "No. You’re the last one." "Meaning... the other classes are already done?" "Yeah. If I take you down, I’ll be the strongest lowerclassman." "So that’s why you took so long to show up." "You should be grateful. You only have to fight me." "Sounds to me like you’re desperate to win." "Of course. I hate waiting." "Alright then. Let’s go." "To the sparring grounds. I’ve already informed the instructor." Seon Woo-baek nodded. Since the instructor had already been informed, that meant today’s martial arts training would be canceled. Determining who was the strongest. That was the most important thing in Mushincheon’s academy. Through these duels, rankings were established, and the students watching them gained motivation. The academy instructors considered such challenges to be a valuable lesson. As Seon Woo-baek and Hur Wook stepped outside, the other students rushed after them. *** The students had gathered around the sparring grounds, forming a circle to watch the duel between Seon Woo-baek and Hur Wook. Hur Wook smirked. "I don’t show mercy. Just admit that I’m the strongest now and save yourself the pain." At his words, Seon Woo-baek let out a deep sigh. ‘I have a devil from hell watching my back.’ Losing here was not an option. Even if his body broke apart, he had to win. "Don’t worry about getting hurt. You know that, right? I’ll heal you." Yeon Woojin’s voice rang in his head. So if he got injured, he’d be healed. How kind of him. It was enough to bring tears to his eyes. There was no room for defiance. He had seen it. That monstrous power. There was only one path. Defeat Hur Wook. No matter what. A fierce determination flickered in Seon Woo-baek’s eyes. Hur Wook, noticing it, let out a low chuckle. "Oh? I can see the fire in your eyes. I like that. I would’ve been disappointed if you just gave up the top spot without a fight. Then let’s get started, shall we?" Seon Woo-baek nodded. Hur Wook shifted into position and declared, "The technique I’ll use against you is the true martial art of my sect—Langya Pungcheon Fist.