Chapter 197 – Top Hundred Masters (4)

Doto had no doubt that he won. What he just attacked with now was strong.

What Doto’s original skills can be thought of are sword skills, but his love for money and war had changed him to help him become more powerful.

Throw in ten percent of internal energy into the divine weapons bought with money and they give a return of 20 or 30.

Sword energy and enhanced energy are different. Enhanced energy could not be blocked by armor or other weapons.

The core of the energy would destroy everything the moment it comes into contact with it. Since it was widely spread when using, it was judged to kill the opponent right away.

But—

“Uh… Uh?”

Something was wrong. His body which had suddenly turned hazy like a ghost split into six different ones.

Swish!

The illusion vanished with the enhanced energy touching it, and they continued to multiply.

Swish!

And then, it combined back into one again.

“Hmm, did you believe in that and thought it had destroyed me?”

He asked with arms crossed.

Did he avoid it? At this range?

Doto’s expression changed.

This was a mental shock. He thought that with his strength he could kill the man.

“Surely it was a fairly advanced movement… you cannot be too confident though.”

Yet, he managed to calm himself down.

Doto obviously could not use such footwork, but he surely had things better than the opponent. The strong skill he used was not even his best.

“On the contrary I should thank you, I actually wanted to try this in person.”

The guy got his stance right. With this confidence being displayed, Seol-Hwi changed his gaze too.

What is this?

A divine weapon which seemed long and the armor around the body.

He wondered what the man was so confident about, but it seemed like the time had come.

And the expression of the man softened.

“Paradoxical Footwork!”

Shh!

In an instant the form of Doto changed like Seol-Hwi, and Seol-Hwi, who realized this was strange, wanted to distance himself.

But the distance had already been reduced too much.

“Huh!”

Seol-Hwi was surprised. Not only was this fast, but it was like an illusion. This was something one could not do unless they used a huge amount of internal qi.

And he made this look so easy.

Shhh!

And with a jagged knife, he continued to pour out skills.

This… what!

Sword energy—

Previously he used a one-hit-kill all-in kind of attack using his energy and now he was using the minimum necessary amount of internal energy to attack. As he had the divine weapon, he could stop at the level he wanted.

And if the sword clashed with it, it was like his own knife would feel maximized with the outcome and Seol-Hwi would be pushed back.

Shhh! Shhh!

“Are you going to continue avoiding it like a rat?”

The battle between them lasted for quite some time. Seol-Hwi continued to avoid and Doto attacked. Honestly, neither wanted to overdo it.

A bunch of sword energies were thrown at him at close range. How could each one be knocked away and blocked despite dozens being thrown?

In the midst of that, it would be a fatal wound if one was not handled right, the problem was, however—

Both the one defending and attacking would take some damage. And this made both sides not overdo it.

Chik!

Although he continued to be on defense, Seol-Hwi rather tried to have more composure. The opponent’s attacks came at him like a shower and the main thing was, the feet.

That… shoes!

Seol-Hwi frowned. In the fight earlier, the opponent did not make such attacks. Precisely he would do what he could and never cross the line of control he held.

Did he say it was Paradoxical Footwork?

The continuous shower of sword energy, there was no way one could do this without having their internal energy depleted. Then, if one was making a rain of sword energy—

There had to be something which was enhancing their internal energy and making their body move fast, so it had to be the shoes. The method he was using now came with this.

Shhh. Papal!

Realizing the connection between them, Seol-Hwi’s eyes naturally moved to the feet of the opponent and the toes.

Run, roll, and dodge constantly.

Shh

“Haha. Did you give up?”

When Seol-Hwi stopped moving back, Doto’s form stopped close. He looked at the opponent, sure of his win.

“Such nice footwork, but I guess you reached the limit?”

But what came back was an answer which surprised him.

“It’s the opposite. Because I found out what the trick is.”

Seol-Hwi sighed and wiped the sweat off his face.

“A total of 64 directions which change with a series of eight movements. That is referred to as Paradoxical Footwork.”

“…What?”

“The 64 trigrams reversed. But now it won’t work since I learned it.”

Doto was not able to understand what this meant.

Step. Shh.

And soon after seeing Seol-Hwi’s movements his eyes widened.

“How is this?”

“…!”

<You have learned the Paradoxical Footwork.>
This was the reason Seol-Hwi continued to avoid the attack. The unusual foot work of the opponent, the more he looked at it the more he felt like he was recognizing something.

He was convinced.

No matter what kind of shoes were being worn, if the footsteps can be noticed, then the movement can be copied regardless of the shoes.

So… those shoes only amplified the movement three times.

Eight times the Bagua symbol, a total of 64 times.

It took him a long time to figure it out.

At first, it was too fast to be known, but after seeing it happen again and again, he could see that it was fast but had certain required movements.

And once he got to that point, it felt easy. It was just a bunch of the same movements.

“You tend to pull the right foot wide and left one shorter. Is it because of the weight of your weapon?”

“…!”

Doto could not always execute them properly.

He moved in the direction he was used to. And that was why his movement felt familiar. In a way, it was a natural thing to do.

“H-how…”

“Right hand and the weight of the weapon, above all.”

Seol-Hwi folded his fingers and showed one, two, and three.

“You said you wanted to try it. This must have been the first time you are using this against a person then?”

“…!”

Doto was also unfamiliar with it. He was skilled, but his opponent was not some weak man either.

It was Seol-Hwi on the other side. And he is someone supported by the system.

“F-fucking… what kind of fucked up… hahah!”

Swish!

Was his pride hurt? Doto began to attack with reckless abandon.

Wheeing!

The strong wind began to move as he moved alone, and even if his footwork was known, stopping it was another thing entirely.

He believed in his sword energy, because he used divine weapons and had their assistance. However, he did not know that the person called Seol-Hwi was fully aware of all this.

<Martial Supreme Peak Wind God is being used.>
Wheik

Seol-Hwi already knew that Doto would come rushing in,that his swift movements would now be stiff. And with the wind being used, he grabbed the body and lifted him in the air.

“Kuaaak!”

Doto soared high in the air and then fell down like a heavy stone.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He bounced back two to three times before stopping. Even then, he was not dead. Was it because of those divine weapons and the armor?

This was good. Seol-Hwi had knocked him unconscious.

<Should the golden zagged knife be placed in the toolbox?>
<Should the Strong King Armor be placed in the toolbox?>
<Should the Heavenly Shoes be placed in the toolbox?>
And this allowed Seol-Hwi to immediately place the divine weapons and armor into the toolbox.

Meanwhile

Uh? This… hyung is being pushed?

Songhwa stuck his tongue out.

The fight continued to happen, and he felt concerned as he looked at Imugi. Of course, Seol-Hwi did not have to be cared for.

Because the outcome was decided.

“Kuaak!”

Imugi and the other man’s battle continued to drag on.

The clashing of weapons continued to happen with one being on defense and the other on the offensive. Imugi failed to counterattack and Songhwa went wide eyed.

Is that some trick?

Strange things happened.

The stones on the floor were moving randomly to attack Imugi right when he moved to attack, and the stone wall blocked some of his attacks as well.

Or, he could see the wind moving around his hand.

Not sorcery… then it has to be a divine weapon.

Songhwa was a Fangshi and was also one of the best out there despite his young age.

If he could not feel the energy of sorcery from within even when close like this, the only thing left that it could be was a divine weapon.

Chak!

Uh! Dangerous!

Right then, Imugi’s thigh was cut with blood splattering. The moment he could not stand it anymore, Songhwa jumped the fence.

“Stay here.”

There was a hand which pulled him down.

“Master…”

It was Seol-Hwi, who had disposed of the body of Doto and had come to watch this fight.

“It is a fight with pride on the line, intervening will not do us any good, you will never get a good result from going in.”

Seol-Hwi shook his head.

“But he is in a dangerous…”

“Euk!”

Before Songhwa could end it, Imugi groaned in pain. Gyeol Hyo was stubbornly attacking him, and this felt like it would be Imugi’s loss.

Wheing!

He had the huge wheel around which brought in too many restrictions on the martial arts.

Up close, it was a shield with thorns, and at a distance it was a wheel.

“The compatibility of the two isn’t good. But… the opponent is higher than him from the start.”

Seol-Hwi let out a sigh as he watched Imugi get hurt.

Honestly, the gap was more visible because of divine weapons being used, but even if it was not for that, Gyeol Hyo was pretty strong.

Even with Doto, the difference in skill is too great.

Even Seol-Hwi struggled against Doto because of their skills being on the same level, so it was natural for Imugi to struggle.

The more he does, the more I will be able to see the genius skills of Imugi.

Seol-Hwi decided to wait, looking forward to how the fight would be.

“Damn it! damn it!”

Imugi was being cornered. Skills were one thing… but the feet of opponents did not seem right.

“Hey, what happened? Can you not fight anymore?”

Wheing!

Was the fun of playing with Imugi something special? Gyeol Hyo did not hesitate.

If needed, the wheel could go up or down or any such direction as Gyeol Hyo wanted. The changes it brought were endless, to the point of forgetting that wheel was an assassin type weapon.

After tens and thousands of years of hard work, this wheel comes crashing down on things.

Papapapak!

There was a solid defense like some iron wall. The more he dealt with him, the more it felt like hitting a solid wall.

Ching! Ching!

No matter how hard Imugi tried to attack and stab, not a single attack would go through, that was how swift the attacks were being dodged. Surrey Imugi was faster, but the wounds were evening it out.

Just one hit.

The entire body was wounded, but the eyes of Imugi were bright. In times of crisis, it should be simple. There were words Elder Baekhon said in the past.

So what can be done in a simple way here?

Swish

The wheel moved again, but Imugi did not escape this time. Rather, he threw himself at it.

“Ah…!”

Songhwa was shocked. Imugi was throwing himself at that horrifying weapon. If this continued, then his body would be torn down.

“Master! That..?”

“Oh.”

What he witnessed was surely surprising.

Wheik!

When the wheel came close, Imugi went to stab with his blade.

Ching!

The blade seemed to have bent down to the right side and moved into the hole of the wheel which was used as a handle.

Tssss!

“Ahh…”

The hilt of the blade trembled at the mighty power this wheel held. Imugi had to put in all of his energy to stop his body from shaking at this.

Pung!

And the wheel was blown back.

“Simple thing… my ass..”

Using that force which got repulsed, he rushed for Gyeol Hyo.

“Laughing…!”

Tak!

Gyeol Hyo’s face held a change in emotions. He had a face which was laid back until then, but now he hurriedly stretched out his hands to protect himself.

About the time Imugi went close with all his might—

“Now! Now!”

He spread his legs wide and pretended to jump like a frog.

“What is this…?”

“…Uh???”

Songhwa’s mouth widened up. Imugi suddenly leaped into the air, within the reach of the hand. And this was shocking since he did not expect this.

“Oh my, this.”

Seol-Hwi laughed and touched his forehead! That! This was an absurd thing for anyone to see, but the fact that Imugi was this sincere and concentrating until the very end made it more amazing for him.

Come to think of it, this is before saving Ma Taryong.

Last time he saw how Imugi misunderstood how to use the special technique, and he had to teach it.

But this was later.

As Seol-Hwi returned much earlier than before, he could not teach how to do it, but Imugi himself still seemed to have walked onto the right path.

What is this? Is it sorcery?

And it was not just Songhwa and Seol-Hwi who were shocked at the bizarre thing Imugi was doing.

Gyeol Hyo, who had been running this down, suddenly looked at the opponent jumping like a frog and hesitated to jump back.

The force he held a while back isn’t normal and if I stop to run…

The smarter one was the more likely they are able to cope with things which are unexpected, and this one was the same.

This was obviously some kind of scheme, trying to activate something like a sorcery. Gyeol Hyo thought so and decided that he would not fall into the trap of Imugi.

And that was the decisive blow.

“Kuahahaha! Take this!”

As Imugi swung the blade, Gyeol Hyo reacted to it. There was a swiftness in the movement which had not been seen before. This was him at his limit.

Pat pat pat

“Auk!?”

But it was of no use. There were four Imugis who appeared from the north, south, east, and west due to the skill being executed.

For it was real and not illusions which appeared at the same time.

“Kuak!”

Papak!

Gyeol Hyo crouched down to protect his body, but he was struck down by the blades. Thankfully he did not bleed due to the armor on the body, but the shock he took was constantly building up.

“Kua. That… heavy…”

Thud!

Gyeol Hyo fell down.

The stab which only looked shallow had the force of a mountain behind it, and when it hit him in the stomach, he could not stand it anymore.

“Sigh… I… I… won…”

Swish!

However, Imugi was also at risk.

The wheel which he had bounced off was coming back at him.

“D-damn it!”

He cursed at this thing which he thought would not come back to him, and by the time he noticed it, the wheel was too close to avoid it.

Tssssss! Kwakwakwang!

The moment Imugi was close enough to be torn down, there was a shadow which appeared and blocked the wheel with the sword.

It was Seol-Hwi.

“You did good.”

“Ah, thank…”

Imugi tried to sound calm and collected, but it was not possible.

Thud

Going past his limit, he passed out before his body even touched the ground.

“I apologize. Even if we don’t have eyes we should have known the opponents and not carelessly move. Please forgive our mistakes and… No, I would appreciate it if you could return the divine weapons.”

Seol-Hwi’s place—

Doto, who was robbed of his weapons and armor, was apologizing by kneeling.

And then he looked at Gyeol Hyo next to him.

“What are you doing! Hurry up and apologize to these people!”

“…”

At those unexpected words, the young one frowned. His eyes were enraged as he looked at Imugi on one side and then calmed down when he saw Seol-Hwi.

“I… was short sighted.”

A short answer.

He admitted the defeat but in an unfair way.

“If you know then it is fine. And…”

Seol-Hwi did not take that kind of behavior as a problem and went ahead.

“How on earth did you get so many weapons?”

“We went all over the central plains to get them.”

Doto answered.

“And buying them? With money?”

“…Yes.”

“Huh…”

Looking at this absurd thing, Seol-Hwi sighed.

Each one was a weapon with tremendous skills, and years of wandering over the plains and accumulating money was now all right here.

A divine weapon was everything. Money is one thing, but this was the life line for Doto who was too dependent on this.

Aside from the money he had to pay, if he was asked if he would go through the same process again, he wouldn’t.

“Well. If you do what I tell you to, I will give them back.”

“…?”

“…!”

The two were shocked at this. They now had some hope. When they woke up after being unconscious, they thought they would have their limbs cut off.

So they would give up the weapons? So easily?

“What do you expect us to do?”

“Simple. First go to the one named Kang Yong and tell him the Great Virtue Pill was handed over to the Wudang Sect.”

“Uh? Was it handed down?”

“You people don’t have to know. You only need to do as I tell you to, not difficult right?”

“Um…”

Doto felt concerned. This was not a difficult task to do which was why he was not sure he could get those precious items which were worth a great deal of gold with one small errand.

But subduing these people with force was also impossible, so there was no way to believe it.

“Go now. Do not waste time.”

“Uh… right now?”

“Can we really go?”

At that, both asked, curious.

“Then? Do you want to stay here?”

When Seol-Hwi asked that, the two immediately got up. They wanted to leave this place and they did, swiftly.

“Master. Why did you suddenly…”

“Will you really hand over the weapons? And the pill to Wudang too?”

After they disappeared, Songhwa asked, curious about what he was intending.

“Not at all, why would the precious items be given away?”

“Then why…”

“If we use the weapons, they will move and Kang Yong will trust them only when he sees them in person.”

Seol-Hwi spoke calmly.

“Since the forces listen to those two, the elder would probably believe them, but the Wudang Sect didn’t receive it. Do you think they will be silent after knowing that?”

“…They will attack the Sleeping Dragon Forces.”

“It will be a mess.”

Imugi spoke and Songhwa continued.

“Then we can attack them later and take the money of the Forces.”

Seol-Hwi summarized it.

“…Oh god. Did you intend to do that from the start?”

Imugi was shocked.

“The Sleeping Dragon Forces will be finished. This is a good plan.”

Seeing the shocked faces, Seol-Hwi smiled.

But honestly he was worried.

The plan was to meet with Wudang and to use the pill to get the Taiji Wisdom Sword in return.

But the question is, would it happen?

I might end up dead…

The opponent was known to be skilled, and he would be at the risk of losing his life if he went there.

Still, it was a gamble.

Because the last thing he would need to rise up to the Supreme Demon level would be the Taiji Wisdom Sword.