Chapter 635: Are You Talking About Yourself?

Every peerless master had an unpredictably unique personality.

Well, that was putting it nicely. To be brutally honest, finding a sane master was nearly impossible.

Perhaps that was only natural. No one became a peerless master through talent alone. Even with relentless obsession, grit, and a fair share of bad karma and good fortune, a martial artist might only barely scrape into that realm.

For this reason, every peerless master had something they were obsessed with, whether it was a hunger for new martial arts, a sense of duty to justice, blind faith in someone, revenge, or the need to repay a debt.

Baek Suryong had known these things for a long time, yet today they struck a chord in him all over again. The reason was the man in front of him who had lost the inner arts he had spent his whole life cultivating yet still awaited the upcoming duel with sparkling, childlike eyes.

The problem was...

Baek Suryong stared at the old man who had positioned himself in the middle of the Five Young Azure Dragons in disbelief. “Why are you sitting here?”

So Jigwang answered without a shred of shame. “I was looking for the best spot to watch a duel between two promising young bladesmen, and I heard Hyonwon Kang’s seat was free.”

Baek Suryong’s jaw dropped. Is he out of his mind...? The former Chairman of the Black Snake Alliance, sitting with a bunch of green orthodox prodigies?

The Five Young Azure Dragons might be used to unorthodox martial artists, but anyone would feel awkward just breathing next to the world’s greatest bladesman.

However, he’d seriously underestimated his students’ guts.

“We don’t mind. He’s like an older version of Hyonwon Kang, so he feels familiar,” Yeo Min said.

“Elder. From the perspective of the world’s greatest bladesman, who would you bet your wallet on?” Geo Sangwoong asked.

“Hyung-nim, can I touch your back just once?” Ya Suhyeok chimed in.

The three of them chatted with So Jigwang so casually that they could have passed for old friends.

“Hahaha! All of your students have the nerve to become peerless masters!”

So Jigwang seemed thoroughly amused that juniors so far beneath him in the murim were striking up conversations with him so nonchalantly. Back at the Black Snake Alliance, this was a rare experience. Thanks to them, he felt right at home among the Five Young Azure Dragons.

“Good grief... Do whatever you want.”

Shaking his head, Baek Suryong plopped onto the seat next to So Jigwang. It belonged to Wiji Cheon, who had left to have his injuries treated and regain his energy.

He glanced at So Jigwang. “Isn’t the view from Unorthodox Alliance section good enough?”

“For some reason, I can’t focus over there. Talking freely is a bit awkward, too...”

Translation, he had come over here because he was afraid of the Soul Hunting Bow Phantom.

Baek Suryong’s eyes filled with pity.

“Ahem!” So Jigwang coughed and added confidently, “There seems to be an unfortunate misunderstanding. I am not that henpecked.”

“Sure you’re not. Just don’t get too excited during the duel and start yelling. You’ll bother everyone else.”

“Mm, I’ll try.” So Jigwang folded his arms and nodded, though his tone made it clear he could promise nothing.

Hyonwon Kang and Peng Sahyuk stood facing each other on the duel stage. Just the two of them were enough to make the stage feel crowded.

The Heavenly Martial Principal stood between the glaring boys, grinning smugly as he spouted some nonsense about giving it their all, as though the boys were about to start a life-or-death battle.

Baek Suryong ignored the lunatic and scanned a particular section of the stands.

...Where did those two go?

Number Two and Number Three were still in their seats, but he couldn’t find Sagon or Number One.

Of course, all four of them wore human skin masks, but disguises meant nothing to him once he knew who he was looking for.

Noticing his gaze, Number Two and Number Three visibly stiffened.

“......”

“Getting distracted right before the match of the century? Did you spot an old flame in the crowd?” So Jigwang chided.

Baek Suryong slowly pulled his gaze away from his former trainees. “Well, it’s a similarly heartbreaking story.”

So Jigwang studied the martial arts instructor’s strangely sorrowful eyes for a moment, then snorted. “You have a way of making absurd things sound plausible. Can a person like you even find romance?”

“Why not? As far as peerless masters go, I’m one of the saner ones, aren’t I?”

“By orthodox standards, not a chance. By unorthodox standards, you’re borderline.”

The two men bickered as they turned their attention to the upcoming duel.

Hyonwon Kang took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Hoo...”

Between the deafening cheers from the stands and the students screaming themselves hoarse in support, his ears were ringing.

“Fuck, it’s loud,” he grumbled for no real reason, scowling.

He would be lying if he said he was not nervous or feeling the pressure. For the past year, he had swung his blade with nothing but this very moment in mind.

SQUEEZE...

He clenched his fist and felt the hard calluses packed into his palm. His body was in peak condition.

Since the preliminaries of the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament, he hadn’t faced a single formidable opponent. Well, he vaguely remembered encountering someone who had made it to the Dragons and Phoenixes last year, but he couldn’t remember his name.

Did I have it too easy?

The thought crossed Hyonwon Kang’s mind for a moment. He shook his head, acknowledging that he probably didn’t have the ability to remember anyone as long as they were not his schoolmates or Peng Sahyuk.

CRACK! CRACK!

Peng Sahyuk stood across from him, cracking his neck from side to side and giving off the aura of a mighty beast.

When their eyes met, goosebumps prickled Hyonwon Kang’s arms. For some reason, though, he could not stop grinning.

Peng Sahyuk snorted. “What are you grinning about? Scared out of your mind?”