Chapter 60

All living beings inherently possess considerable resistance to supernatural abilities.

This is because the life force that every living being possesses prevents artificial changes from external interference and tries to maintain its proper form.

Unless it was created with a special purpose from its origins like a curse, even a mage who can create house-sized flames cannot create even a tiny spark inside a living being.

‘That’s why this cumbersome process is necessary.’

If he could freely create thorny vine inside a healthy living being’s body, thorny vine would deserve an SSS rank rather than just C rank.

That’s why Yuseong deliberately allowed Seo Dohyeong’s attack in the previous match, and the moment the match with Sa Taeryeong began, he secretly created Thorny Vine under his clothes and stuffed it into the wound.

“To think you’d use black magic so cowardly… Urgh!”

“You! Get up this instant instead of trying these strange tricks!”

“Stop!”

Hwangbo Seong’s furious shout swept across the area.

Sa Taeryeong frantically waved his hands with a pale face at this appearance completely different from before, one that wouldn’t seem strange even if called an incarnation of Asura.

“Th-there’s a misunderstanding! This is all that guy’s…”

Bang!

Hwangbo Seong, who had landed on the arena, stared at Sa Taeryeong with blazing eyes and said.

“Did you not hear what I said?”

Sa Taeryeong closed his mouth.

Though he was about to go crazy from the absurdity and unfairness, he felt that one more word against Hwangbo Seong’s mood would result in his fist instantly smashing his face.

“Are you alright?”

“I-I can endure.”

Though he said that, his twisted expression and the sweat pouring down his entire body like a waterfall showed that wasn’t the case at all.

“Hmm.”

A small groan escaped Hwangbo Seong’s lips as he lifted the shirt and checked the wound.

The vines that were violently writhing and randomly tearing up the wound.

It would have been shocking even if centipedes or snakes were doing this, but to see mere plant vines moving like living beings – this was a first even for Hwangbo Seong who had been through everything.

“Bear with it a little.”

Without hesitation, Hwangbo Seong grabbed the vines and immediately applied force to his arm.

Though the vines wrapped around and squeezed his arm, mere thorns couldn’t pierce Hwangbo Seong’s skin hardened through external martial arts, and soon the vines were simply pulled out.

“Huh?”

“W-what is that thing?”

“Black magic! It’s black magic!”

Screams burst from people’s mouths as they saw the vines, almost as thick as a child’s forearm, writhing around.

In terms of shock level, it was no different from seeing an alien burst out of someone’s chest.

Whoosh!

After instantly turning the vines to ashes with the Meditative True Fire technique, Hwangbo Seong looked at the audience and shouted.

“The match between Jincheon Martial Arts family and Five Great Sects will be suspended here!”

“N-no! I can still fight!”

“Stay still.”

“I cannot! The fate of Jincheon Martial Arts family rests on my shoulders! I cannot give up here!”

Seeing the young martial artist repeatedly trying to stand on trembling legs only to fall, people from Jincheon Martial Arts family, the audience, and even Five Great Sects expressed admiration.

To think he would fight to the end for his sect despite being hit by such terrible black magic.

He was the very image of a loyal martial artist, to the point where it seemed like a skilled actor was performing.

“Don’t worry.”

Hwangbo Seong smiled contentedly and turned his gaze to the high seats where the leaders of Jincheon Martial Arts family and Five Great Sects were gathered.

“Listen! As black magic was confirmed to have been used in what should have been an honorable match, as the head of the Murim Alliance Inspection Division, I will temporarily suspend the match and postpone it until Jincheon Martial Arts family’s Wi Jinmu recovers!”

“Hmm, that’s…”

“Could it be you have objections to my judgment?”

The Five Great Sects people lowered their heads.

While Hwangbo Seong’s strength was one thing, in this case the matter of justification was more problematic.

For ordinary issues it might be different, but this involved black magic – one of the things martial artists despise most.

This wasn’t like the occasional misunderstanding where a low-level practitioner fails to recognize a master’s refined technique and reflexively shouts “black magic” – this was a situation where real black magic was used.

They couldn’t risk getting strange false accusations by speaking up unnecessarily.

“Jincheon Martial Arts family’s Wi Jinmu, quickly get treatment for your injuries! And as for Green Clothes Martial House’s Sa Taeryeong, for using unspeakably cowardly black magic in a sacred match…”

“This is a false accusation!”

Sa Taeryeong, who could no longer hold back, let out an almost screaming voice.

Facing Hwangbo Seong’s fierce glare after being suddenly interrupted, and the hostile gazes pouring in from all directions, Sa Taeryeong swallowed dryly and continued speaking.

“This makes no sense! The opponent is merely a later-stage practitioner! Why would I use black magic in a fight I was clearly going to win? Even if I were to use it, with so many people watching, why would I use such an obvious and horrific black magic instead of something more subtle?”

For something that came out so suddenly, it was quite a convincing argument.

People who were initially too shocked by the moving vines to think of anything else began murmuring as if they felt something was strange about Sa Taeryeong’s words.

Even the murderous Hwangbo Seong frowned for a moment, and naturally, Yuseong had no intention of quietly watching the atmosphere change.

“You said it was a fight you were clearly going to win? Senior, did you look down on this junior so much that you could be certain of victory without even fighting?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“Yes. Of course. Haven’t you been living as a martial artist since before I was born? Obviously someone like me wouldn’t catch your eye. That’s understandable.”

“W-wait! Your tone is somewhat…”

“But in the end, you have to measure to know what’s long and what’s short! Though I might look pathetic to a senior of the rising Green Clothes Martial House compared to the aging Jincheon Martial Arts family, I too am a proper martial artist! A martial artist, I say!”

Yuseong thoroughly seized upon the words Sa Taeryeong had carelessly uttered.

He expanded what was simply a slip of the tongue from an individual versus individual issue into a sect versus sect issue, and the process of making it seem like Sa Taeryeong had such intentions from the start flowed naturally.

Throughout this process, he didn’t mention a single word about the Thorny Vine.

That was because if they delved deeply into that issue, some people might start feeling that Sa Taeryeong’s claims were correct.

When arguing, you shouldn’t attack the correct parts of your opponent’s claims.

You should only grab onto the wrong claims to damage the opponent’s overall credibility, and further make even their correct claims seem untrustworthy.

“W-what is this. Why is everyone looking at me like that?”

A young warrior with handsome features whose every word stirred people’s hearts.

A middle-aged warrior with a vile appearance who only spouted excuses and criticisms of others whenever he opened his mouth.

There was no need to ask which of the two seemed more trustworthy.

Confused by how even the people of Green Clothes Martial House were looking at him with contemptuous gazes, Sa Taeryeong soon made an expression like a evil spirit and began charging at Wi Jinmu who was lying on the ground.

“Y-you dare use sophistry to…”

Crack!

Hit by Hwangbo Seong’s fist, Sa Taeryeong flew off the arena without even being able to scream.

“As Green Clothes Martial House’s Sa Taeryeong is suspected of using unspeakably wicked black magic in a sacred match, we will detain him and conduct an interrogation. Furthermore, Green Clothes Martial House will also be investigated, so if you wish to clear your name, I hope for your active cooperation.”

At Hwangbo Seong’s stern announcement, the Green Clothes Martial House people could only quietly nod their heads.

* * *

“Are you really alright?”

“Master checked personally and the doctor said multiple times it’s not a serious injury. It’s truly not serious so please don’t worry.”

“Anyone who saw that monster being pulled from your body would surely worry.”

Jin Giwoo shook his head and soon opened his mouth with a strange expression.

“It’s been such a long time.”

“What has?”

“Having a conversation like this with you. When you were young we used to chat often, but at some point you gradually spoke less until we stopped talking about anything except martial arts.”

Receiving Jin Giwoo’s profound gaze, Yuseong smoothly deflected the conversation without being flustered.

“So are you displeased with your disciple’s current state?”

“How could I be? Rather, I’m happy. Even more than you winning the match and upholding Jincheon Martial Arts family’s prestige, more than Jincheon Martial Arts family getting to survive a few more days, I’m so happy to be having this face-to-face conversation that I can’t help but smile.”

“…”

“I’ll withdraw now as it might hinder your recovery. I’ll give strict orders so people won’t enter carelessly, so get plenty of rest.”

After confirming Jin Giwoo opening the door and leaving, Yuseong let out a small sigh and lay down on the bed.

‘How have you been living all this time for him to say something like that?’

-I was too focused on martial arts training to pay attention to my surroundings. I thought it was the only way to repay his kindness and meet his expectations, but hearing Master’s words today, I seem to have made a big mistake.

‘Kindness? Expectations?’

-As you might have guessed from my name, I’m merely an outsider, not a true member of Jincheon Martial Arts family. Master took pity on me, a mere outsider, accepted me as a direct disciple and generously taught me Jincheon Martial Arts family’s secret techniques. I thought the way to repay that kindness was to become a master and raise Jincheon Martial Arts family’s name…

‘Okay, stop there. I get the general idea.’

A cliché as cliché can be.

There’s no point in listening to such stories till the end.

Yuseong’s interest wasn’t in Wi Jinmu’s past or relationship with his master, but elsewhere.

“About the match earlier. It strongly felt like the opponents knew your martial arts.”

While there was a basic difference in skill level, Haun showed signs of predicting the movements themselves beyond that difference.

It wasn’t just Haun.

Seo Dohyeong’s swordsmanship was the same, and Sa Taeryeong’s palm techniques at the end were too.

They seemed to know in advance where he… no, where Wi Jinmu would move and dodge.

Thunder Fist, Sky-Splitting Kick, Meteor Step and other martial arts Wi Jinmu possessed didn’t work properly, and when he used Shadow Moon Style 16, they crumbled instantly as if hit in an unexpected weak point.

-You’ve seen through it. That’s correct. Five Great Sects knows the countermeasures to our Jincheon Martial Arts family’s martial arts.

That was the reason for the miserable result of seven losses despite being ahead in martial artist level.

Surprisingly, Five Great Sects knew what martial arts the Jincheon Martial Arts family martial artists would use and how to counter them all.

‘So that’s why the rank was like that.’

What does it matter if the client is strong?

The opponents are stronger and even know all their tactics.

Naturally this level of difficulty made sense.

“Are martial art countermeasures something that can be obtained so easily?”

-It’s very rare but it happens occasionally. Our Jincheon Martial Arts family’s martial arts have a very long history, and as they’re known to many people, it wouldn’t be strange for countermeasures to emerge.

Not just Wi Jinmu but all members of Jincheon Martial Arts family vaguely suspected their martial arts had been countered.

However, Yuseong thought differently.

“I wonder about that.”

-What?

If they only had countermeasures to the martial arts, Yuseong would have thought the same and moved on.

However, while conducting the matches, Yuseong felt the opponents knew more than just martial art countermeasures.

“Those guys didn’t just know about your martial arts, they knew about you yourself very well.”

Just as there are many differences between secret agent Philip’s combat technique and an academy student’s combat technique beyond just rank – from basic stance to style, rhythm, and habits – even skills with the same name have various differences when examined closely.

And Haun, the first opponent in this match, very skillfully dealt with Wi Jinmu’s C-rank Combat Technique but showed confusion when faced with academy student Leon’s E+ rank Combat Technique.

He handled Thunder Fist with composure but was instantly subdued when Shadow Moon Style 16 came out.

A subtle sense of incongruity that ordinary people could never notice – something only a user who could both be a third party and freely change styles could detect.

-Wait! Are you saying…

“Looks like there might be a traitor inside Jincheon Martial Arts family?”