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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Clash (1)
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The atmosphere, which had just begun to thaw, rapidly froze over again.
"Junior Brother, you certainly have a talent for infuriating people."
The tension between Jinmyeong and Mok Jagyeong was palpable.
The sheer force of their auras made the onlookers feel a prickling sensation all over their bodies.
Mok Jagyeong was known as the Blood-Laughing Demon, a man who smiled anytime, anywhere.
But whenever he spoke with Jinmyeong, his face threatened to contort.
"Have you decided to speak so informally to me now?"
"Hmm. I'm thinking about it."
Jinmyeong found it perplexing himself.
After all, in his modern life, he had always used honorifics when necessary.
In his professional life, he often spoke formally even to those younger than him.
'But for some reason, it's so easy here.'
The only people he naturally spoke to with respect were the Heavenly Demon and the Mad Demon.
With everyone else, he had to make a conscious effort to be polite.
That was true not only for Mok Jagyeong but even when he spoke with Shin Yehyang.
"What on earth happened? Did you change after losing your memory, Junior Brother?"
Mok Jagyeong stared at Jinmyeong with a puzzled expression.
What could have possibly happened during that missing year to change a person so drastically?
"Or is this your true nature? Were you deceiving the world all this time?"
"There you go again with the deceiving talk. If this kid were that smart, I'd already have a faction of my own by now."
As Jinmyeong jeered, Mok Jagyeong let out a deep sigh and lowered his head.
"So this is your true nature."
Mok Jagyeong muttered softly, but his words were clearly audible to the others.
And they, too, agreed with his assessment.
As did Jinmyeong himself.
'If my personality were truly timid, I wouldn't be able to speak so casually like this.'
On the contrary, speaking informally would have been more difficult.
In the end, the timid demeanor the former Jinmyeong had shown was a product of his weakness.
The old Jinmyeong must have gritted his teeth and put on that act just to survive.
"It seems gaining strength has made you lose all sense of propriety."
Mok Jagyeong concluded that Jinmyeong's true personality had emerged because he had grown stronger by learning martial arts over the past year.
And Jinmyeong had no intention of denying it.
"Seems that way."
If Jinmyeong hadn't learned martial arts, and if he hadn't known how strong he was, he wouldn't be acting like this.
He would have been just like the old Jinmyeong, bowing and scraping before everyone, desperately trying to survive.
'I'm still lacking, but at least I won't die easily.'
He had defeated Gye Buil, and his skills had been acknowledged by the Mad Demon.
Perhaps that was the source of the confidence that allowed him to behave this way.
"Indeed. In our Cult, strength is justice. If you are strong, you can do as you please."
The Heavenly Demon, the Cult Leader himself, had said as much.
"Shall we see if you are worthy of that privilege, Junior Brother?"
"Hmm. Here?"
At Jinmyeong's question, Mok Jagyeong finally looked around and sighed.
'I got too heated.'
Everyone else was watching them.
Moreover, the headless corpse of the Kunlun Sect Taoist lay on the floor.
'It's not good to keep drawing attention.'
It seemed Jinmyeong's taunts had gotten him worked up.
Normally, he would never have lost his composure, but with Jinmyeong, he was easily agitated.
It was surely because his youngest junior brother, once too weak to even warrant a thought, had become so arrogant.
"Tsk. Then we'll have to settle this when we get back. I trust even you won't interfere with that, Lady Shin. It is my duty as the eldest senior brother to correct my youngest junior brother's manners."
Shin Yehyang nodded at Mok Jagyeong's words.
She, too, wanted to see Jinmyeong's skills for herself.
'The skills my father praised so highly.'
It would have been better to experience them firsthand, but she thought watching wouldn't be so bad either.
"Of course, if Young Master Jin is in danger, I will have to step in."
"Don't you worry. Do you really think I would kill my own junior brother?"
Mok Jagyeong replied with a smile.
But that smile felt incredibly cold.
"Listen to them, deciding the fate of someone else's life all on their own."
At Jinmyeong's remark, a vein bulged on Mok Jagyeong's forehead.
"Innkeeper. Come here."
Suppressing his anger, Mok Jagyeong called out to the innkeeper, who was watching them with a nervous expression.
"Y-Yes?"
"I won't harm you, so you can come over."
The innkeeper seemed frozen to the spot, called by the man who had just killed someone and was now seething with anger at his own companion.
But the thought that he might lose his own head if he didn't comply spurred him on. He forced his trembling legs to move toward Mok Jagyeong.
"My apologies for the trouble. Use this to clean up the inn."
Mok Jagyeong handed the innkeeper a considerable amount of silver.
The innkeeper's face brightened instantly upon receiving it.
"Please take care of the body as well. And if the Kunlun Sect asks, tell them the ones responsible are at the Wu Manor."
Leaving the dumbfounded, nodding innkeeper behind, they left the inn.
'This turned out well.'
A smile played on Jinmyeong's lips as he walked behind Mok Jagyeong in the chilly atmosphere.
He intended to use this situation to its fullest.
'I can finally gauge the true extent of my current abilities.'
Among the Heavenly Demon's disciples, Mok Jagyeong was currently the strongest.
He wanted to see just how effective his martial arts would be against him.
After all, Mok Jagyeong was his biggest obstacle at present.
'And I need to test the Asura Sword Forms.'
He had wanted to test the Asura Sword Forms in a real fight against the Kunlun Sect Taoists, but unfortunately, that plan had fallen through.
So, he planned to test them against Mok Jagyeong.
'Mok Jagyeong has to be serious.'
He needed to compare his skills against Mok Jagyeong's full strength, which was why he kept provoking him.
Of course, he planned to continue jeering at him when they fought back at the Wu Manor.
'If things get dangerous, she'll help me.'
Jinmyeong glanced at Shin Yehyang.
This was a gamble that could cost him his life.
He wasn't just toeing the line; he had completely crossed it.
If Mok Jagyeong was stronger than he anticipated, he would die.
But Shin Yehyang didn't want him dead.
'This is a perfect environment.'
He had realized that after seeing Shin Yehyang block Mok Jagyeong's attack, which was what gave him the idea to orchestrate this.
He couldn't imagine creating a better opportunity than this.
"Tsk. Follow me, Junior Brother."
As soon as they arrived at the Wu Manor, Mok Jagyeong spoke directly to Jinmyeong.
Jinmyeong had thought Mok Jagyeong's anger might have cooled on the way, but that was not the case at all.
If anything, his voice was even lower and more menacing now that they were at the manor.
"Don't lower your voice like that."
Jinmyeong smirked.
"Lead the way."
At Jinmyeong's words, Mok Jagyeong gave a slight nod and started walking.
"Uh, Y-Young Master?"
Perhaps having been informed of the tense atmosphere between the two, the Lord of Wu Manor rushed out to meet Mok Jagyeong.
"Manor Lord. My apologies, but I'll need to use the training ground."
"Yes? Yes. Of course."
"And I would appreciate it if you could keep people away from here."
He had everyone in the training ground cleared out and prevented anyone else from approaching.
"I would prefer if Junior Sister and Lady Shin stayed away as well, but…"
"It seems Young Master Mok might make a mistake in his excitement."
But Shin Yehyang shook her head, and Mok Jagyeong had no choice but to concede.
"Is my youngest junior brother's life that important to you?"
"Who knows. If he dies from something like this, then that's all he amounted to."
She felt she should protect the man her father, the Mad Demon, had decided to help.
On the other hand, if he was that weak, she wondered if he was even worth helping.
"Still, I would like to see his skills for myself."
"Very well."
Mok Jagyeong nodded, permitting Shin Yehyang's presence, and then immediately looked at Biyoung.
"I want to watch too, Senior Brother."
"Hmph. Well, I suppose that's fine."
But that was it. He didn't want anyone else present.
Fortunately, it seemed his other senior brothers had not yet returned.
"Demonic Shadow Commander?"
When the four of them arrived at the training ground, they found the Demonic Shadow Commander, Neung Byeokmun, waiting there.
"I will be observing from here as well."
Having heard from the Lord of Wu Manor about Mok Jagyeong's unsettling mood, the Demonic Shadow Commander had come to the training ground.
"Is that an order from Master or the Vice Cult Leader?"
Mok Jagyeong seemed to assume that the Heavenly Demon or the Mad Demon had ordered the commander to protect Jinmyeong.
"It is not."
"Then is it because someone might get hurt?"
If either of them got injured, they wouldn't be able to depart tomorrow.
He thought perhaps the commander was here to prevent any disruption to the mission.
"No."
But Mok Jagyeong's assumption was completely wrong.
"We can simply leave the injured behind."
The injured would be left behind, and if someone died, that would be the end of it.
"However, I feel it is necessary to properly assess Young Master Jin's martial prowess."
Only then could they assign Jinmyeong a suitable role.
That is, if Jinmyeong survived his duel with Mok Jagyeong.
"…I understand."
In the end, Mok Jagyeong nodded.
The Demonic Shadow Commander was the leader of this party, personally appointed by the Heavenly Demon.
Even Mok Jagyeong could not continue to defy his words.
"Now, get ready."
It seemed the Demonic Shadow Commander had no intention of stopping him from killing Jinmyeong.
But Shin Yehyang would certainly interfere.
And Mok Jagyeong knew it wouldn't be easy to kill Jinmyeong with her in the way.
To be precise, he would have a hard time withstanding a combined assault from both Jinmyeong and Shin Yehyang.
'It doesn't matter if I can't kill him.'
Even if he couldn't kill Jinmyeong, or even break one of his arms, he could still instill in him a sufficient amount of fear.
'I need to teach him a lesson.'
He was confident he could make Jinmyeong obedient enough to listen to him, even if not to the same extent as before.
"Alright."
Jinmyeong placed the wooden box he had been carrying on his shoulder onto the ground.
Then, he drew only the sword from his waist.
"Hmm. Wasn't that your weapon?"
According to what he'd heard from Gye Buil, Jinmyeong used a peculiar martial art.
It was said that he could freely control five swords, a skill inferior to the Sword Control Arts, but impressive nonetheless.
"It is, but there's something I want to test right now."
"I see. So you are looking down on me, your senior brother."
Thinking that Jinmyeong was underestimating him by holding only a single sword, Mok Jagyeong immediately charged.
Unlike the others, he showed no intention of letting Jinmyeong have the first move.
*Swish!*
Without a hint of hesitation, Mok Jagyeong thrust his hand toward Jinmyeong.
*Clang!*
And Jinmyeong's sword, shimmering with a pure white aura, collided with Mok Jagyeong's crimson-stained hand.
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