A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 182

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 182
Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!
In an instant, five exchanges unfolded in mid-air.
“I won’t yield so easily!”
“Hah!”
The final kick aimed at Dang Yi Woon’s ribs lost its trajectory against his ghostly footwork.
“So you’ve mastered the Wind Display Step! How about this then!”
Hong Seol, who had blocked every avenue of attack, drew power from her dantian.
She was about to unleash her specialty.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
A clear thunder crackled through the air.
“Not so fast!”
Dang Yi Woon, gritting his teeth, swiftly extended his hands.
Recognizing the form and method, Hong Seol’s eyes widened.
‘Moonlit Twelve Hands!’
A technique unique to the Sa Cheon Dang Family—a movement that neutralized an opponent’s actions.
And there was something else.
‘I need to retreat!’
The Moonlit Twelve Hands was renowned for releasing hidden weapons with every technique.
Hong Seol quickly withdrew as she had been taught.
Fortunately, it seemed Dang Yi Woon had not released any hidden weapons this time.
‘What? Did my brother go easy on me?’
Thud!
The moment Hong Seol landed back on her original wooden post.
The heavenly thunder that had slipped from Hong Seol’s grasp fell into the flowing river below.
Crash-splash-splash-splash!
Water spray erupted as high as Hong Seol was tall.
“Ugh!”
The instant Hong Seol squinted against the rising droplets.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Countless feathered needles poured from Dang Yi Woon’s sleeve along with the spray.
“It’s over, Seol Ah!”
It wasn’t the Ten Thousand Heavenly Flowers Rain that attacked from all directions.
Yet it was a hidden weapon technique so exquisite that none her age could withstand it.
Whoosh!
In that brief moment as the water spray settled, Dang Yi Woon hurled himself forward.
It was to catch Hong Seol before she fell into the river from the feathered needles.
‘The rule was that whoever fell into the river first loses, but I can’t let her plunge into that cold water.’
Yet something was strange.
Hong Seol, who should have been falling from the wooden post, had vanished without a trace.
“Huh? Huh huh?”
Dang Yi Woon twisted his body mid-air in panic.
“…Above!”
“Haaah!”
Dang Yi Woon’s head snapped upward. Hong Seol’s hand descended from above with terrifying speed.
Her nails were bared like a wild beast’s claws—the momentum was anything but ordinary.
‘I have no choice but to evade!’
Whoosh!
Instead of deploying the Moonlit Twelve Beasts, Dang Yi Woon swiftly sidestepped.
The wooden post where he had been standing on one leg moments before was now split as cleanly as if an eagle had raked its talons across it.
“The Heavenly Claw Technique!”
Dang Yi Woon gasped in admiration, witnessing the Yang Family’s legendary martial art in actual combat for the first time in ages.
“Tch.”
Hong Seol clicked her tongue in disappointment and kicked the post, now reduced to a stump, launching herself toward the adjacent one.
Yet doubt still lingered in Dang Yi Woon’s mind.
‘How did Seol manage to evade those feather needles that came through the spray?’
The answer came swiftly.
“So that’s why you never drew it from the start.”
Dang Yi Woon’s gaze fixed on the object in Hong Seol’s hand.
It was an oil-treated paper umbrella—the very item she had originally wrapped in cloth and carried on her back like a sword.
Countless feather needles were embedded in it, barely visible.
“You deflected the water droplets while trapping the feather needles that flew alongside them…I see.”
Still the clever little cat.
“That’s why I told you not to go easy on me!”
Hong Seol snapped at him.
“….”
I never went easy on you.
A wry smile flickered across Dang Yi Woon’s face, though it faded quickly.
He adjusted a sharp flying blade between his fingers.
“Forgive me in advance, Seol Ah. I simply wanted to grace the opening of the Murim Five Families Tournament alongside you.”
So watch this!
Whoooosh!
As he swept his sleeve, dozens of flying blades soared skyward, their target unmistakably Hong Seol.
“Ah!”
Hong Seol crouched, tensing to leap into the air.
Shiiing!
The blades curved in unison, shifting direction as if alive, like serpents responding to command.
“…The Qi-Guided Sword Technique?”
Hong Seol’s eyes widened.
The legendary realm of wielding blades without touching them, commanding them with pure will alone.
Dang Yi Woon was demonstrating this technique right before my eyes.
Whoosh!
While Hong Seol, caught off guard, failed to respond, the flying blades each severed the base of their respective wooden posts.
In an instant, the split logs were swept away by the river current.
Now only six or so intact posts remained—the one I stood upon and the one Dang Yi Woon occupied.
“Well? Nowhere left to go now, is there?”
The shock didn’t fade from me easily.
This was the realm of the Ethereal Blade Technique—something even the masters of Hwagyeong rarely comprehend.
No matter how gifted one might be called, it was beyond reach.
‘How could my brother Yi Woon, barely sixteen years old, possibly achieve such a thing!’
Dang Yi Woon, watching me, silently lifted the corners of his mouth in a smile hidden from my view.
‘Caught you, Seol Ah.’
Of course, Dang Yi Woon had not truly reached the realm of the Ethereal Blade Technique.
This was, in essence, a stratagem of the mind.
It was designed to shock me and slow my response.
First, he threw the flying blade, then released invisible, minuscule silver needles.
When the needles collided with the blade’s edge, they subtly altered its trajectory.
‘To the opponent’s eyes, it would appear as the Ethereal Blade Technique. They’d panic. They’d be terrified!’
Only those who had mastered needle throwing to the point of striking targets in their sleep could employ such a stratagem.
‘How many grueling training sessions it took to master this.’
Dang Yi Woon ran his fingers between his knuckles, where scars had layered upon scars until calluses had formed permanently.
Yes, all of this was for that child and to perform the Dragon Phoenix Dance.
“Is it truly the Ethereal Blade Technique…?”
“If you doubt me, I shall demonstrate once more. However, this time you must be prepared to surrender the ground beneath your feet!”
Slash!
With those words, another sharp flying blade shot forth from Dang Yi Woon’s sleeve.
I didn’t dodge; instead, I stared intently at the blade, then suddenly leaped into the air.
“Hah!”
With my cry, I thrust forward an oil-paper umbrella.
Whoosh.
The blunt tip of the umbrella cut uselessly through the air between Dang Yi Woon and the blade.
‘Just as expected!’
Dang Yi Woon exulted inwardly.
Hong Seol had grown suspicious.
She wondered if Dang Yi Woon was controlling the blade with invisible threads.
Like how the Dang Sect’s twins had used the Diamond Soul-Severing Threads in the Dang Sect’s heir selection tournament.
‘But of course, there’s nothing there at all!’
After all, he wasn’t controlling the blade with threads in the first place.
“This can’t be!”
Savoring Hong Seol’s bewildered expression, Dang Yi Woon discreetly released the silver needles.
Once again, the trajectory of the hidden blades shifted as though he were wielding the Egoer Sword Technique.
Screech.
The hidden blades, infused with inner energy and razor-sharp, each severed a wooden post.
Now only two posts remained.
Thud.
One was where Hong Seol had just landed, and the other was supporting Dang Yi Woon’s body.
‘My victory.’
Dang Yi Woon checked the three hidden blades remaining in his sleeve one final time.
‘For the last move, I’ll target Seol’s post with all three simultaneously.’
Then Hong Seol would have no choice but to leap into the air, and with nowhere to land….
‘I’ll have to catch her.’
I couldn’t let precious Seol fall into the water.
“Now, watch carefully, Seol Ah! This is the final move!”
It was the moment Dang Yi Woon aimed the hidden blade in his hand.
Hong Seol smiled brightly.
A radiant expression that seemed impossible for someone on the verge of defeat in combat.
‘As if I were the one who had won!’
Suddenly, even the side of his ribs from yesterday throbbed painfully.
Unease.
The moment Dang Yi Woon’s mind wavered.
A clear voice rang out.
“Using silver needles to redirect the trajectory of the hidden blades and mimic the Egoer Sword Technique… quite an amusing idea.”
Dang Yi Woon’s face turned ashen.
Had his technique just been exposed!
No.
But Hong Seol’s expression was far too confident.
Yes, as if she had deliberately ignored his scheme from the start and deployed a different strategy in the meantime.
‘What on earth is it?’
As if reading Dang Yi Woon’s thoughts, Hong Seol answered.
“Did you forget? That I am the successor to the Twelve Beast Martial Art.”
Scratch-scratch-scratch.
At that moment, a sound erupted from beneath Dang Yi Woon’s feet. Cold sweat streamed down his spine.
It was an ominous sound, as though hundreds of chisels were scraping against wood.
And simultaneously, the wooden post upon which Dang Yi Woon stood snapped and fell.
“Young Rats!”
Countless small creatures came swimming over, gnawing at the base of the post.
“Damn it!”
Dang Yi Woon’s eyes widened as he tumbled backward.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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