Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 101

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 101. Primordial Energy Pill Transformation (1)

“So, how was it?”

“I couldn’t determine his exact skill level.”

Yeong Geom Jin In frowned at Woon Juk’s words.

“You couldn’t determine his skill level?”

“That’s correct.”

“Do you mean he’s so strong that even your discerning eye can’t assess him?”

“It’s not that…”

Woon Juk seemed particularly cautious.

“He defeated all his opponents with a single strike.”

“Hmm?”

“Since there weren’t any particularly outstanding martial artists among them, it’s difficult to evaluate his martial prowess.”

“I see.”

A single strike.

That wouldn’t be possible unless there was an overwhelming difference in skill.

“Even so, I thought someone of your caliber would be able to read him sufficiently.”

“I apologize. Not only did everything end in an instant, but he concealed his aura so well that I couldn’t properly sense even a trace of his internal energy.”

“…Is that so?”

Woon Juk was the second-generation disciple of the Wudang Sect, with considerable skill for his age.

He had already been taught the Three Desolate Swords, Wudang’s supreme technique. There weren’t many cases of someone his age receiving instruction in the Three Desolate Swords.

Such a talent couldn’t assess his skill level?

‘It seems he really does have some ability.’

When he investigated the martial prowess of the Ten Swords Sect Leader, it was at a level that could be easily subdued by just one second-generation disciple.

That made sense. Wuhan was the center of Hubei’s economy where enormous amounts of money changed hands. If a powerful major sect occupied such a place, Jianghu’s public opinion wouldn’t be favorable.

Moreover, it hadn’t even been thirty years since the war ended.

The best method was to roughly grasp the flow, then establish a proxy sect to gradually take control bit by bit. In fact, weren’t the Wudang Sect and the Zhuge family keeping each other in check while monitoring Wuhan’s situation?

It was a structure where mediocre people had no choice but to step forward claiming to lead until the ‘real ones’ made their move.

It was natural that the Ten Swords Sect Leader’s martial prowess was only at that level.

In other words.

‘Does this mean Moyong Bi’s martial arts might be similar to or even stronger than a second-generation disciple?’

Honestly, it was hard to believe.

The Wudang Sect’s second-generation disciples were the rising stars who would become the pillars of Wudang in the future.

While there were many rumors about who among the late-stage experts was stronger, Yeong Geom Jin In was confident. If Wudang’s second-generation disciples entered the world, the late-stage expert rankings would change from the ground up.

Probably several other old sects had similar thoughts.

‘What kind of martial arts did he learn? No, even if he learned the world’s greatest martial arts, is it possible to gain that level of martial prowess in such a short time?’

Woon Juk had been training with the sword for fifteen years already.

Including internal energy cultivation methods and basic fist and foot technique training, it was nearly twenty years.

But Moyong Bi was reportedly on the verge of death just a month ago. Since he had even learned the Strength Draining Technique, it was natural that he wouldn’t have learned a single internal energy cultivation method, let alone martial arts.

‘Could it be… does Moyong’s secret place really exist?’

The funny thing was that even if the secret place was stocked with various spiritual medicines, it still wouldn’t make sense.

If one could become strong quickly by consuming large amounts of spiritual medicine, Jianghu would have long been dominated by physicians.

Moreover, the process of absorbing spiritual medicine to suit one’s body also takes a long time.

‘The more I think about it, the more suspicious it becomes. It’s not like he fell from the sky, so how could that be possible?’

After pondering, Yeong Geom Jin In nodded.

“I should watch that fellow’s match today.”

“Yes.”

“By the way, what happened with Woon Guk?”

“He’s on a winning streak. Senior Brother Woon Guk also brought all his opponents to their knees within three moves.”

Yeong Geom Jin In smiled.

“Indeed.”

He could have finished it in one strike. Yet he deliberately used up to three moves out of consideration for the defeated.

“In martial arts talent alone, he’s certainly worthy of being the next sect leader.”

“…”

“Anyway, I understand. You’ve worked hard keeping watch.”

“Ah, and there’s one more thing I should mention.”

“What is it?”

“It seems the organizers deliberately scattered the contestants from famous sects…”

Yeong Geom Jin In nodded.

“I wouldn’t know, but the main mountain and Zhuge wouldn’t have mixed them randomly.”

The late-stage expert tournament was both a festival and a money-making venue.

Regardless of who won, spectacular fights had to unfold in the main tournament for good rumors to spread.

Since this wasn’t a one-time tournament, they had to create matchups that would make the audience’s hearts race. The Gold Flower Trading Company would feel the same way.

If main tournament candidates faced each other in the preliminaries, the main tournament would become boring by exactly that much.

They absolutely had to avoid overlaps as much as possible.

“Senior Brother Woon Guk is naturally counted as a main tournament candidate, so he’ll definitely win and advance, but the problem is Moyong Bi.”

“Why? Is there a possibility he’ll face another main tournament candidate in the preliminaries?”

“If he keeps winning, he’ll face Senior Brother Woon Guk.”

“Oh ho.”

This made the story even more interesting.

“Actually, that works out well. If he’s facing Woon Guk, I won’t need to follow that fellow to every match. I can just go watch then.”

“Yes.”

“Good, you’ve worked hard. Go rest.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

After sending Woon Juk away, Yeong Geom Jin In yawned and looked east.

The sun happened to be rising.

Around the morning sun greeting the bitter cold winter, an eerie haze was visible.

* * *

“Phew.”

Finally, my breath doesn’t smell of alcohol anymore.

“As expected, an expert is an expert.”

I woke up at dawn and ate three bowls of rice soaked in soup.

After that, I slept for one hour, went to the outhouse to empty everything, then ate meat soup and drank lots of water before sleeping another hour and waking up.

Then I miraculously became fine. Even though I drank as much as the first time, I felt much more refreshed.

Thanks to that, I was able to come out right at noon.

“Oh, Su Hyang’s here!”

“So So.”

“How’s your body?”

“Refreshed. That fool was right. If you eat well, sleep well, and relieve yourself well, hangovers clear up amazingly.”

“I-Is that so?”

“Especially relieving yourself is important. One good dump and my stomach felt completely cleared.”

Namgung So So smiled awkwardly.

She sometimes got scolded by Mother and her elder brother for speaking roughly, but somehow Moyong Su Hyang’s free-spiritedness seemed to be on a different dimension.

“By the way, where’s Brother Gwan?”

“Ah, he just won. His next match is in half an hour?”

“He must be hungry, so he should eat something.”

“He actually bought some skewers and went over there.”

“Over there?”

“Bi’s match arena.”

Moyong Su Hyang shrank her neck like a turtle.

“Don’t misunderstand and listen. By any chance, Gwan…”

“….”

“No.”

“I know what you’re trying to say.”

“Really?”

“But it won’t be that.”

“Right?”

“It won’t be, right?”

“….”

“Let’s go.”

“Yeah, I woke up and I’m hungry again.”

“You really eat a tremendous amount too.”

“Must have pig’s blood, the Moyong Clan.”

When the two arrived at the duel stage.

Thwack!

Moyong Bi’s knee struck his opponent’s jaw.

The opponent whose jaw was twisted collapsed immediately. The broad sword he swung with all his might didn’t even graze Moyong Bi’s collar.

“Group A, Number Seven wins!”

“Wooooah!”

The crowd cheered enthusiastically.

“My goodness… did you see that movement just now?”

“I didn’t see it. Suddenly there was a whoosh sound, then a thud?”

“Even so, how could he think to strike the jaw after entering the embrace of an opponent swinging a sword with determination? Wasn’t he scared?”

“Hey now, isn’t he the person who’s finished everyone with one strike so far? Honestly, I’m rooting for Young Master Moyong.”

The world can seem complex yet simple at times.

Just as there are people whispering behind, there are also those who cheer for the appearance of a new young master.

Among them were people who truly supported Moyong Bi without any prejudice. Setting aside past events, since he had knocked down all his preliminary opponents with one strike, the exhilaration was bound to be tremendous.

After all, Murim Warriors naturally look up to and revere the strong.

Moyong Bi’s philosophy that strength is as important as spirit might have come from witnessing this instinct of Murim Warriors more than anyone else.

“Congratulations. That was truly a magnificent strike.”

Moyong Bi shrugged at Namgung Gwan’s congratulations.

“He just brought his face right to me, what’s the big deal.”

“Didn’t you position your knee exactly where he would bring his face?”

“Must be nice knowing so much.”

“Hahaha!”

Namgung Gwan, who was laughing heartily, was startled and tried to suppress his laughter. Though the opponent had fainted, he thought it might be rude to him.

“Anyway, I’m damn hungry.”

“You’re bound to be especially hungry the day after drinking. I knew this would happen, so I bought some skewers.”

“Just one.”

“Please have three. I already ate.”

“You eat surprisingly little.”

In the end, Moyong Bi received three skewers and chomped away at them.

“Oh, it’s Su Hyang.”

“So So came too.”

Moyong Su Hyang smiled softly.

“Another one-strike today?”

“Today’s the third one-strike.”

“Is this okay?”

“What?”

“You know that saying. Since Murim Warriors never know when or what enemy they might face, they should hide thirty percent of their strength. Something like that proverb?”

Moyong Bi snorted.

“That kind of timid nonsense ultimately blocks growth.”

“Timid?”

“Murim Warriors are beasts.”

“What kind of ridiculous talk is that?”

“Of course they’re beasts. There are no humans living in a world as primitive as Murim Warriors. What nobility is there in people who fight for honor, to become stronger, or just to engage in sword fights?”

“Well… that’s true, but.”

“Hide thirty percent? Would you give up the benefits you could gain right now because of hiding that thirty percent? Rather, you should exaggerate by thirty percent.”

“Exaggerate?”

“If it’s ten but they think it’s thirteen, the opponent will be scared.”

“There might be guys like that, but there would also be people who approach more cautiously, right?”

“Most will be scared, and cautious ones are less than a handful. Besides, if they’re cautious, that’s good in its own way. You can buy time.”

“Ah?”

“In the end, it depends on how you think about it. As you said, there are times when you need to hide your strength. But if you can’t be confident anywhere, it’s better to go into deep mountains and valleys and train hard alone.”

It was a statement that directly shattered the proverbs of Jianghu’s martial world.

While thinking it might be sophistry, there was a refreshing taste that made you nod, but then again, you’d think this might be too ignorant.

Namgung Gwan nodded repeatedly and said.

“In other words, rather than facing enemies while hiding your strength, if you’re going to fight anyway, it’s better to display your power so enemies retreat on their own?”

“If you insist on connecting it, you could interpret it that way.”

“Remarkable. Your insight is truly extraordinary.”

“What insight. I just thought about this and that randomly. No, but anyway.”

Moyong Bi looked around.

“Come to think of it, where did that chatterbox go? I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”

“People from the Zhuge Family came. He was called over there.”

“He’s probably feeling extremely frustrated.”

“Probably so.”

“Still, not hearing that noisy sound makes it feel a bit empty…”

Moyong Bi, who was speaking, hardened his expression.

In the distance, there was a Taoist Priest standing with his hands behind his back.

An elderly man whose perfectly controlled aura made him appear very ordinary.

‘That’s the one.’

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