Chapter 151. Leader of the White Forest Alliance (3)
What the Demon Venerable had taught Kang Yujin was how to recognize the boundary between life and death more clearly.
“Kang Yujin, you possess an innate talent.”
“When even the slightest mistake could cost you your life... when you are standing on the absolute brink of death, you possess the animal instinct to take one step forward and deliver the decisive blow. That is one of your greatest weapons.”
“But that instinct can fail.”
“You already experienced that when you fought the Japanese Contractor last time. You were lucky enough to survive then, but if the same thing happens again someday, you will die there.”
“Then what should you do?”
“Should you become cautious from now on so that such a thing never happens?”
“No. That would be a terrible mistake. Throwing away your greatest weapon would be truly foolish.”
“You need to sharpen that instinct.”
“At the boundary between life and death, you need to learn more clearly how to act in order to survive, and how to act in order to win.”
“Remember this, Kang Yujin.”
“No matter how powerful the enemy you face, if you master this properly, you can win.”
Remembering the Demon Venerable’s teachings, Kang Yujin endured Yang Weizheng’s relentless assault.
“Yang Weizheng! Yang Weizheng!”
“White Forest Alliance! White Forest Alliance!”
Every spectator around them was cheering for Yang Weizheng.
Their own leader was beating down the Korean Contractor who had recently become such a hot topic.
Of course they were excited.
Go ahead and shout all you want.
Kang Yujin ground his teeth.
He wanted to shut every last one of them up.
Then what did he have to do?
The boundary between life and death.
There was no way he could match Yang Weizheng with pure technique.
Yang Weizheng’s skill was completely suppressing even Kang Yujin’s superior physical abilities.
Then, just as the Demon Venerable had taught him...
should he use his greatest weapon?
But this isn’t a fight to the death. There’s no way I can use it.
What Kang Yujin and Yang Weizheng were doing right now was just a match.
Neither of them was using internal energy.
Neither was using Skills.
They were fighting barehanded without weapons.
There was no way Kang Yujin would genuinely feel that his life was in danger.
But...!
Kang Yujin stepped forward without hesitation.
[A-rank Constellation ‘Knight of the Cart’ is startled by the reckless charge.]
[C-rank Constellation ‘Maid of the Chain Stratagem’ screams.]
Yang Weizheng’s Spear Hand shot toward him.
It was far sharper and faster than the one Kang Yujin had experienced from Jegal Geum in the past.
Of course, Yang Weizheng wasn’t using it as a finishing blow.
It was only meant to keep Kang Yujin in check while wearing down his stamina.
But Kang Yujin deliberately moved even farther forward and took the attack directly in his chest.
"...!"
For an instant, surprise appeared on Yang Weizheng’s face.
An attack he had only intended as a light thrust had dug a fairly deep wound into Kang Yujin’s chest.
It hurts.
Pain.
And blood loss.
Those sensations snapped Kang Yujin’s mind into perfect focus.
Danger.
A threat to his life.
His entire body was warning him.
Of course, this is an illusion.
Yang Weizheng had no intention of killing him.
So the sensation was false.
But think about it.
Hadn’t every sensation Kang Yujin experienced during the Demon Venerable’s training also been false?
“Haaah!”
He tricked himself with that false sensation and twisted his body with a shout.
Yang Weizheng hurriedly withdrew his hand and took a stance.
But Kang Yujin’s senses, sharpened by the imagined boundary between life and death, perceived Yang Weizheng’s movements in far greater detail than before.
That was why he could see it.
No Skills.
No internal energy.
All he would use were the instinctive senses and fundamentals he had honed over the past few days...
and this body.
BOOM!
The Hwaseong Sect Shoulder Crash exploded forward.
Yang Weizheng was sent flying.
The audience had fallen silent.
They couldn’t understand what had just happened.
It had looked like Kang Yujin suddenly suffered a deep wound...
only to counterattack and send Yang Weizheng flying far away.
“Tch...”
Kang Yujin frowned and placed a hand over his chest.
His internal organs hadn’t been injured, but he was bleeding quite heavily.
Even he had to admit that what he had just done was incredibly dangerous.
Still...
In the distance, Yang Weizheng was getting back to his feet.
He looked completely fine.
The Hwaseong Sect Shoulder Crash had sent him flying, but he hadn’t suffered any visible injuries.
Meanwhile, Kang Yujin was bleeding from his chest.
At a glance, it looked like Kang Yujin was the one being pushed back.
But...
“R-Ring out!”
“He got knocked out of the ring!”
Yang Weizheng had landed outside the ring.
And this was a match.
Falling outside the ring meant losing by ring-out.
“Then...”
“Don’t tell me...”
“The Alliance Leader lost?”
Amid the murmuring crowd, Yang Weizheng climbed back into the ring.
“Kang Yujin, what exactly did you do?”
“I couldn’t think of any other way to beat you.”
“You’re a frightening man.”
Yang Weizheng shook his head and sighed.
“And...”
"..."
“I used internal energy instinctively while falling.”
That was right.
After being blasted out of the ring, Yang Weizheng had used internal energy just before hitting the ground.
That was why he remained unharmed despite being sent flying so far.
“If I hadn’t used internal energy, I’d probably look like someone who had just been hit by a truck.”
Yang Weizheng glanced toward the spectators.
“And other people might have gotten caught up in it as well.”
"..."
“Good grief. Not only did I lose, I also broke my promise not to use internal energy.”
He sighed.
“How embarrassing.”
“I used a trick.”
Kang Yujin shrugged.
“If we had fought a proper, fair match, you probably would have won.”
“Is that so?”
Yang Weizheng looked directly at him.
“But... what if this hadn’t been a match?”
“What if we had been fighting with our lives on the line?”
“Then...”
Kang Yujin shrugged.
“If it was a situation where I absolutely had to win...”
“I would have done everything I could to win.”
“Arrogant bastard.”
Yang Weizheng snorted.
But he didn’t look offended.
“Your victory, Kang Yujin.”
He grabbed Kang Yujin’s hand.
Then Yang Weizheng raised it high and shouted to the crowd.
“An excellent match!”
“Give this master from Korea your applause!”
Only then did the audience erupt into cheers.
[A-rank Constellation ‘Pilgrim Who Caught the Tiger’ applauds enthusiastically.]
[A-rank Constellation ‘Flower-Tattooed Monk’ laughs happily, saying it was worth watching until the very end.]
[A-rank Constellation ‘Naval Commander Holding a Pitchfork’ sighs in relief, saying he’s glad he arrived before it ended.]
[A-rank Constellation ‘Knight of the Cart’ sponsors you 2,000,000 Coins.]
[A-rank Constellation ‘Knight of the Cart’ sponsors Yang Weizheng 2,000,000 Coins.]
[B-rank Constellation ‘Golden and Silver Children’ sponsors you 3,000,000 Coins.]
[C-rank Constellation ‘Maid of the Chain Stratagem’ sponsors you 1,000,000 Coins.]
[C-rank Constellation ‘Maid of the Chain Stratagem’ sponsors Yang Weizheng 500,000 Coins.]
The Constellations also seemed satisfied.
Kang Yujin saw many names he had encountered repeatedly before.
Had they followed him all the way here to keep watching?
“Then take the prize, Kang Yujin.”
“Is that really okay? It was originally the tournament champion’s prize.”
“I prefer fighting barehanded.”
Yang Weizheng shrugged.
“Gloves like those would only become useless baggage for me.”
He glanced toward Zhang Siyuan below the ring.
Zhang Siyuan hurriedly picked up the Saint’s Divine Fist and climbed into the ring.
“Think of it as a gift from our White Forest Alliance to you.”
“If you’re calling it a gift, then I’ll gratefully accept it.”
Amid the cheers, Kang Yujin looked toward the VIP seats.
He saw the Fist Venerable nodding with a smile.
He had obtained the Saint’s Divine Fist...
and now he would also get to learn a finishing move from the Fist Venerable.
This victory had brought Kang Yujin a great deal.
“I would like to build a deeper relationship with you going forward.”
“I don’t know whether Zhang Siyuan told you, but cooperation comes after Ha Mina is captured.”
“Hmm. Ha Mina.”
Come to think of it, according to Ma Taesu, the upper ranks of the White Forest Alliance had also been connected to Ha Mina.
Was this scholar-like man secretly cooperating with her?
“I met her a few times in the past because of social contribution projects.”
“Social contribution?”
“The Church carried out several volunteer activities in China.”
Yang Weizheng answered calmly.
“They were worthwhile activities, so I supported them.”
“Later, I found out they were doing similar work with the Black Dragon Society, so I eventually stopped.”
"..."
“To be honest, it still doesn’t fully feel real to me that Ha Mina committed such atrocities in Korea.”
Yang Weizheng frowned slightly.
“In my memory, she was simply a kind religious woman.”
Was it because he had only ever seen the saintly face Ha Mina presented to others?
Yang Weizheng didn’t seem to harbor any particular hostility toward her.
So Yang Weizheng himself probably isn’t connected to Ha Mina.
It was possible he was pretending ignorance...
but from appearances alone, he really seemed unrelated to her.
“In any case, I’ll order my subordinates to put even more effort into finding her.”
“Thanks.”
While they were talking, Zhang Siyuan approached and handed Kang Yujin the leather gloves.
Kang Yujin put them on, clenched his fist, and raised it overhead.
The venue erupted in another huge cheer.
[Equipment: Saint’s Divine Fist]
Rank: S
Gloves created to reproduce the combat ability of a saint said to have beaten even angels in ancient times. Grants a Blessing incomparable to the failed version.
Adds Divine Power damage (S-rank) to physical attacks.
“Wow. Lord Kang Yujin actually won.”
Number 49 stared at the screen.
“Yang Weizheng is considered one of the top one or two fighters in all of China.”
“Well, it was a match, not a real battle.”
The people watching probably didn’t think Yang Weizheng was actually weaker than Kang Yujin.
Kang Yujin was the one with the more serious injuries.
Yang Weizheng hadn’t been knocked out either.
He had only lost by ring-out.
In that sense, the match ended in a way that preserved Yang Weizheng’s reputation.
“No telling what would happen in a real fight.”
“You think Yang Weizheng would win in a real battle?”
“Who knows.”
Fundamentally, Yang Weizheng held the advantage.
Still, I could imagine Kang Yujin finding one decisive opening and stealing the victory.
But that prediction was so obvious that I didn’t bother saying it aloud.
“By the way, Number 49. Are you done with the work?”
“Ah! W-Wait a second.”
What Number 49 was working on right now was a collection of project proposals.
Recently, Number 49 had been busy planning ways to promote Seok Taejun and the others who remained in Korea.
I needed to pay attention to them separately from Kang Yujin.
But because I was concentrating on China, it was difficult for me to handle Korea personally.
So I had been dumping quite a lot of the work onto other people.
Of course, the one carrying the largest burden was...
Number 49.
“H-Here! I’m done!”
“Good. Nice work.”
I took the stack of documents Number 49 handed me and shoved them into a nearby slot.
“You’re not going to read them now?”
“I told you. I’m going out.”
“Then why did you rush me so much?!”
“Because if I don’t give you a deadline, you keep putting things off.”
“I-I’m busy too! I have work for other Constellations!”
“I know you handed most of the Constellations you were managing over to other Apostles.”
I glanced at him.
“And you collected referral fees while doing it.”
“Ugh, that’s...”
“Besides, I pay you generously.”
I moved my hand through the air.
“For the new keyboard you promised to supply today, I sent you ten million Origin Power points.”
“R-Really?!”
Of course, there was no way a keyboard actually cost ten million Origin Power points.
I had simply added a generous service fee for Number 49.
“Ah! It’s real! Nameless, you’re the best! I love you!”
“Then keep working hard.”
“Yes, sir! Leave everything to me! I’m an Apostle who will devote body and soul to working hard for you, Nameless!”
“I need to lock this place down now, so hurry up and leave.”
“Couldn’t you treat me a little more warmly?”
Number 49 grumbled as he left my throne.
Afterward, I secured the place.
Of course, by ‘locking it down,’ I didn’t mean literally putting a key in a door.
I activated a defensive system to prevent others from invading my throne.
After Bradamante attacked me, I had hurriedly installed a simple defensive system.
Recently, I invested one hundred million Origin Power points to upgrade it.
“Then... I suppose it’s about time.”
I checked the coordinates I had written down.
Today, I was going to meet the person I had arranged an appointment with.
The S-rank Constellation ‘Taoist of Transformation.’
Yang Jian.
