Chapter 85
Kill Me (1)
Yeom Sa-won’s rude question, thrown out before he had even bothered to exchange greetings despite this being their first meeting, could itself have served as the answer to why Meol Ji-ryun had rejected his matchmaker.
Fortunately, Meol Ji-ryun was not as rash as Yeom Sa-won.
She smiled as she answered.
“I’m a pacifist.”
Yeom Sa-won barely managed to suppress the words that almost burst from his mouth.
What kind of nonsense is that coming from the successor of the Blood Cult?
“What do you mean?”
“If the two of us marry, war will break out, won’t it?”
Now that the Cheukcheon Alliance and Blood Cult had joined hands, people throughout the martial world were saying war was practically inevitable.
“You don’t want a war to happen?”
“That’s right.”
“You understand one thing but not the other.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you marry that Baek So-cheon, the war will break out even sooner.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t looking at me right now enough to tell you?”
His meaning was obvious.
Wasn’t the fact that he had rushed all the way here in a rage proof enough?
Meol Ji-ryun looked directly at him.
“Very well. Then may I ask you one question?”
“Ask ten if you want.”
“One is enough.”
She asked a question that went straight to the heart of the matter.
“If I marry Young Hero Yeom, can you prevent the war from happening?”
Yeom Sa-won flinched.
He had no power to stop the war.
More than anyone, he knew how badly his father wanted to unify the martial world under his rule.
When he failed to answer, Meol Ji-ryun smiled.
“That’s why I sent a matchmaker to the Martial Alliance. If the war cannot be prevented anyway, then my thought was to at least balance the power between both sides and try to stop it that way.”
Whether she meant it sincerely or not was impossible to tell, but in any case, she cleverly slipped out from under Yeom Sa-won’s pressure.
But Yeom Sa-won was not the type to retreat meekly just because he had lost an argument.
“Fine. I understand perfectly well that you’re some self-important pacifist. But that’s your opinion. I cannot accept it.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
Yeom Sa-won turned his gaze toward Baek So-cheon.
“Let him and me fight. Whoever wins will marry you.”
“So you intend to completely ignore my wishes.”
“You were the one who ignored me first.”
Baek So-cheon listened to their exchange with interest.
Whether intentionally or not, both of them were selfish.
Neither considered anyone else’s position at all.
They thought only of themselves.
Of course, perhaps the blame lay with their parents.
They had struggled desperately to seize and preserve power, but apparently had not put the same effort into raising their children properly.
Yeom Sa-won raised his voice toward Baek So-cheon.
“What do you say? Let’s settle this properly in a fair fight.”
“Fairly? Do you intend to fight without using internal energy as well?”
Yeom Sa-won snorted.
“Of course not. Weren’t you once the strongest man under heaven? I use internal energy, and you don’t. That should be fair enough.”
Silence fell for a moment.
Baek So-cheon had to accept this proposal.
Not because of Yeom Sa-won.
Because of Yeomhwasin.
Yeomhwasin had used the Black Banner to draw him out and had now even sent his son here.
He had spread rumors throughout the martial world as well.
It was pressure.
A demand that Baek So-cheon accept this challenge.
And if he refused?
Yeomhwasin would undoubtedly make an example of someone.
The greater problem was that the example probably would not be Baek So-cheon himself.
He would choose something that would hurt Baek So-cheon.
He would kill innocent people merely to wound him.
If Baek So-cheon had to accept anyway...
“Very well. I accept.”
Everyone present was startled by his answer.
However, Ak So-gun and Zhuge Hyeon trusted Baek So-cheon and assumed he had some plan in mind.
Sure enough, Baek So-cheon added one condition.
“But I’ll wager something else.”
Meol Ji-ryun’s expression immediately hardened.
The “something else” Baek So-cheon referred to clearly meant something other than her.
“What do you mean by something else?”
“If I win, promise that no war will be started for the next year. Of course, your father, the Cheukcheon Alliance Leader, must personally announce this to the martial world.”
“What?”
“If you refuse this condition, there will be no duel.”
“People in the martial world will laugh at you as a coward.”
“Let them laugh. I’ve been laughed at more than enough already. But do you think I’ll be the only one they laugh at?”
“What do you mean?”
“If a duel against a man with no internal energy is canceled merely because one additional condition was added, imagine how much they’ll laugh at you.”
Yeom Sa-won’s face twisted.
This damned bastard!
Baek So-cheon quickly flattered him before he could react.
“I heard you’re the only person capable of persuading the Cheukcheon Alliance Leader. If it’s you, I’m sure you can make him accept this condition.”
With so many people watching, Yeom Sa-won could hardly admit that he could not.
“And if I win?”
“You marry Young Lady Meol.”
This time, Meol Ji-ryun burst out angrily.
“Why are you deciding that?”
Baek So-cheon looked at her.
“You were the one who sent a matchmaker however you pleased in the first place. You created this situation. I have to wager my life, so shouldn’t you wager at least that much?”
It was a fair point, leaving Meol Ji-ryun unable to answer.
Instead, she asked something else.
“If you win, what happens to our marriage?”
“You said you wanted to preserve peace, didn’t you? Peace in the martial world is far more valuable than our marriage. Let’s postpone our marriage for one year.”
Because of what she herself had said, she could not object.
Besides, she had been the one to send a matchmaker to a man she had never even met.
“I’m not saying we won’t marry. I’m only saying we should postpone it for a year.”
Of course, Baek So-cheon had another intention.
He would train himself to death for the next year and somehow bring the supreme martial arts of all ages to Great Accomplishment.
His plan was to cut down every person who so much as mentioned starting a war, then leave the martial world.
Meol Ji-ryun and Yeom Sa-won, who had no way of knowing his true intentions, both fell into thought.
Baek So-cheon casually provoked Yeom Sa-won.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. If you win, everything is settled.”
As expected, Yeom Sa-won took the bait.
“I’m not afraid of someone like you!”
He glared at Baek So-cheon.
That’s right. There’s no way I’ll lose anyway.
Yeom Sa-won was confident.
According to everything he knew, a man without internal energy could neither block nor evade his attacks.
He would simply kill Baek So-cheon during the fight.
He was not seeking this duel because he wanted to marry Meol Ji-ryun.
He was doing it because he wanted to kill Baek So-cheon.
“I’ll send a message to my father and discuss it with him.”
“Very well. We can speak again once you have his answer.”
Yeom Sa-won left with Jan Baek and Go Goeng.
He was so caught up in his own emotions that he even forgot to bid farewell to Ak So-gun.
Meol Ji-ryun, on the other hand, politely greeted everyone before leaving.
Only after everyone else had gone did Ak So-gun ask,
“What are you planning?”
“I intend to delay the war somehow.”
“Do you think Yeomhwasin will actually keep his promise?”
“I don’t know that either.”
Even after publicly announcing it to the entire martial world, he could simply break the promise and start the war anyway.
Baek So-cheon was merely trying to make the most of this opportunity.
On Byeok-hwa joined their conversation.
“But can you win?”
Since she did not know that Baek So-cheon had regained his internal energy, that was what worried her most.
“I’m confident.”
If the duel took place, Baek So-cheon genuinely intended to fight without using internal energy.
There would be too many witnesses.
And if he absolutely had to use it, he planned to do so without letting anyone notice.
The crucial problem would be avoiding Jan Baek’s eyes.
“For now, let’s see whether Yeomhwasin accepts the proposal.”
Everyone nodded.
***
“We must not accept it.”
Yeom Sa-won reacted irritably to Go Goeng’s words.
“Why?”
“We’d be playing straight into their hands. The fact that he accepted the duel means he must believe he can win.”
“I know that much!”
But Yeom Sa-won could not back down.
From the beginning, this fight had been almost fated.
He knew how his father felt.
That wish that Baek So-cheon, rather than Yeom Sa-won himself, had been his son.
If his father had simply screamed outright,
Instead of an idiot like you, I wish Baek So-cheon were my son!
perhaps the wound in his heart would actually have been shallower than it was now.
I’ll definitely kill him!
No matter how formidable Baek So-cheon had once been, if he truly had no internal energy now, Yeom Sa-won was confident he could defeat him.
“The wager is one thing, but if we alter the conditions, the Alliance Leader will be furious.”
“My father may think differently. Send the message immediately.”
Go Goeng glanced at Jan Baek.
His expression clearly asked him to help talk Yeom Sa-won out of this.
Jan Baek ignored the look completely, pretending not to notice.
“Send it immediately!”
Yeom Sa-won strode away first.
Go Goeng asked Jan Baek,
“Are you simply going to stand by and watch?”
Jan Baek replied,
“If the Alliance Leader had wanted us to stop him, I don’t think he would have sent him here in the first place.”
There was no refuting that.
Go Goeng could only nod.
***
Baek So-cheon and Cheon Geuk were sparring.
Cheon Geuk’s figure vanished and reappeared as she thrust out her dagger.
Swoosh!
But Baek So-cheon, who had been standing there, was already gone.
Two streaks of sword light once again cut through the air.
Sword and dagger collided.
The impact of the blow, reinforced by powerful internal energy, produced an ear-splitting crash.
Whenever they had time, the two came to this secret place for practical combat training.
These real-combat spars stimulated and benefited them both.
Through the process, Baek So-cheon was able to accurately assess her ability.
There was a difference of roughly two to three levels between her and the top four figures in the Ranking Register.
That was simply how powerful Yeomhwasin, Meol Saeng, and Ak So-gun were.
Baek So-cheon wanted Cheon Geuk’s martial arts to advance by just one more level.
If she did, the gap between her and the very top would shrink to one or two levels.
At that point, she would not be easy to kill in any situation.
For her part, Cheon Geuk did everything she could to help Baek So-cheon.
She fought him as though they were truly engaged in a life-or-death battle.
After one intense spar ended, the two lay side by side on the ground.
“Haa... haa...”
Cheon Geuk’s rough breathing echoed through the air.
She turned to look at Baek So-cheon.
“Are you even human? How are you this calm?”
“You’re right at the boundary.”
“The boundary?”
“Yeah. If you rise just this much higher, even my breathing will become rough.”
Baek So-cheon held his thumb and index finger close together to show how small the remaining gap was.
“You can see that? You think I’ll break through if I improve just a little more?”
“I can see the wall blocking your path.”
“And you’re looking beyond that wall?”
“Mm.”
“Can I break through it?”
Baek So-cheon nodded.
Cheon Geuk’s heart surged.
“I had already given up on ever improving again. I thought reaching this level meant I’d already used up all my luck.”
“Looks like you still have some left.”
“You really mean I can get stronger?”
Baek So-cheon answered with certainty.
“Yes.”
He could be so certain because both of their martial arts pursued extreme speed.
After repeatedly engaging in spars that resembled real combat, Baek So-cheon had been the first to see the wall obstructing her.
He had also figured out how she might break it.
“You have to break through it in real combat.”
“In real combat?”
“Your martial arts are assassination techniques based on extreme speed. You’ve probably trained in ambush tactics your whole life.”
“That’s right.”
“Now you need to smash through that wall not with a surprise attack, but through a proper head-on fight. But you’ll have to take a serious risk.”
“How serious?”
“A normal duel won’t be enough. This won’t be like our spars so far. I’ll genuinely try to kill you. If you survive my attacks, you may be able to break through the wall.”
Her martial arts were based on extreme speed, but at the same time they were practical combat arts.
The method of surpassing their limits likewise had to be found through actual combat.
“I might kill you.”
“...!”
Cheon Geuk’s voice trembled because she knew he was not joking.
“You’re only saying that to make me nervous, right? If it’s you, you can stop before that happens, can’t you?”
“No. If I could, I wouldn’t have told you. I would’ve already done it without warning you.”
“Ah... I see.”
“There’s one more problem.”
“What?”
“Even if you survive, you still might not break through the wall. The odds are fifty-fifty.”
“You mean I could risk my life and still fail?”
“You’re already at such a high level that advancing even one more step is extremely difficult.”
“Can I think about it?”
“Of course. It’s something you could spend months considering.”
“No. Just one quarter-hour.”
Cheon Geuk sank into thought.
She was a martial artist too.
Naturally, she had the desire to become stronger.
But that desire had never been strong enough for her to wager her life on it.
Now, however, her feelings had changed.
If war broke out against the Cheukcheon Alliance, there was no guarantee what fate awaited them.
What if she could become stronger than she was now?
If anyone else had made this offer, she would have refused.
She was not someone who wagered her life on uncertainty.
But because Baek So-cheon was the one who had said it, she found herself seriously considering it.
Cheon Geuk had said she would think for only a quarter-hour, but half an hour passed while she remained immersed in thought.
At last, having made her decision, she sat up.
“All right.”
She looked at Baek So-cheon.
“Kill me.”