Chapter – 50
Kang Yu followed behind Yeon Gyeom, organizing the situation in his head.
First, the culprit was someone willing to commit high treason by attempting to assassinate a top-ranking figure of the imperial family.
Such a person could not possibly be weak.
And as was evident, Yeon Gyeom—walking ahead of him—was an absolute master.
According to the beggar elder, he was hiding his true strength and winning matches while adjusting himself to the level of ordinary martial artists.
Even their earlier conversation suggested his name was fake.
“Is your name Yeon Gyeom?”
“For now.”
“For now?”
“……”
At first, Kang Yu had thought that because they met near the village, perhaps he and the beggar elder had misjudged things. But looking back, the leader of the culprits—Old Man Jin—had also originally been from the village.
Whether someone lived nearby or had come as a guest, being connected to Jangbaek Village did not exclude them from suspicion.
An absolute master.
A false identity.
Concealing his strength while competing in the tournament.
“Remember—the appointed day is near. There must be not the slightest lapse in vigilance.”
“Of course.”
Putting aside the suspicious conversation among the guards, all evidence so far pointed toward this man called Yeon Gyeom as the culprit.
It was then, as Kang Yu followed him while sorting through his thoughts—
A sharp tearing sound cut through the air.
“!”
A powerful force surged from ahead.
Kang Yu twisted his body in haste, and strands of severed hair fluttered before his eyes.
“……”
Kang Yu landed atop the tip of a bamboo stalk.
Straightening his cut bangs, he glared at Yeon Gyeom.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Yeon Gyeom was also standing atop a bamboo stalk.
At some point, he was holding a dark-colored sword.
“Ah, sorry. I meant to greet you out of fondness, but I seem to have gone a bit too far.”
He curled his lips into a smile.
“It’s been three months, hasn’t it? Since we met in Jangbaek Village.”
“That sounds about right.”
Yeon Gyeom’s gaze swept over Kang Yu.
“So you left the village to attend the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly after all?”
“No.”
Kang Yu adjusted his hair and continued.
“I came out to get married.”
“Married?”
“Yes.”
“……”
Marriage.
Judging by the term, it wasn’t a Daoist art—was it some kind of spirit technique? Or perhaps a southern barbarian art?
Was there even a martial manual from outside the Central Plains among the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly’s rewards?
“I came out to find a bride. The villagers told me to.”
Yeon Gyeom’s eyes briefly lost focus.
“…A bride?”
“Yes.”
“They told you to leave Jangbaek Village to find a bride?”
“That’s right.”
“……”
What nonsense was this?
Anyone from Jangbaek Village could have the greatest marriage prospects in the world lining up for them.
Even an imperial princess of the Great Ming would be beneath his station.
Unless it were the emperor himself—but since the current emperor was male, there was no suitable match in the world.
“Do you take me for a fool? You’re disguising yourself and participating in the Assembly.”
“This is work.”
“Work?”
“Yes.”
“What work?”
“I’m working as a porter for an escort agency.”
“……”
Yeon Gyeom’s expression sank.
So let him summarize:
Someone left the village of the world’s strongest to find a bride.
An absolute master trained jointly by the greatest martial artists was working as a porter for an escort agency.
And even if all that were true, why would a mere porter participate in the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly?
It was absurd.
Yes—this was a firm declaration that he would reveal nothing.
And just then, Kang Yu drove the point home.
“Our escort agency is really struggling right now.”
“……”
“Anyway, this time it’s my turn.”
Then Kang Yu asked:
“Why are you participating in the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly? Even going so far as to hide your identity.”
Yeon Gyeom snorted.
“You speak nonsense, yet expect me to answer—”
“Aren’t you curious why I snuck into the manor?”
“……”
Yeon Gyeom subtly tightened his grip on the dark sword.
The longer this went on, the more he felt like he was being drawn in.
“If you answer my question, I’ll tell you why I went into the manor.”
“……”
“Why are you participating in the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly?”
Yeon Gyeom licked his upper lip.
He wasn’t gifted at verbal sparring.
And it wasn’t something he particularly needed to hide.
“To prove myself.”
“Prove yourself?”
“Yes.”
“To whom?”
The words reached Yeon Gyeom’s throat—but he swallowed them back down.
“To anyone.”
“Then why hide your strength in a martial tournament? Shouldn’t you reveal it to prove yourself?”
“You dare mock me again? This is the heart of the orthodox sects. You’ve crossed blades with my grandfather—you should understand better than anyone why.”
“Your grandfather?”
Kang Yu recalled the hiking elder he had fought when he first left Jangbaek Village.
Then he remembered Namgung Gu of the Namgung Clan.
“One of the Ten Dragon Lords. That Heavenly Demon Divine Art—no, your lie detection and mouse-fire techniques must never be used in public.”
“Why not?”
“Your eyes change when you use your power. Black turns white, white turns black.”
“That’s true. Otherwise it doesn’t work well.”
“It’s terrifying. Even I was shaken—imagine how others would react.”
Now that he thought about it, that hiking elder’s eyes had also changed.
An absolute master indeed—able to use such techniques as casually as warm-ups.
“Hmm.”
So Yeon Gyeom hid his strength simply to avoid frightening people.
Could someone that considerate really be planning to assassinate the imperial family?
Had Kang Yu been mistaken?
But too many circumstances still pointed to Yeon Gyeom.
Then there was only one way.
“I’ve answered your question—now it’s your turn to explain why you infiltrated the manor—”
A crushing pressure suddenly descended.
“…!”
Yeon Gyeom twisted his body just in time, a red line appearing across his cheek.
Barely regaining his balance, he stared at Kang Yu.
Kang Yu held up one hand.
“Ah, sorry. My hand slipped.”
“Ah, sorry. I got carried away while greeting you.”
“……”
Yeon Gyeom tightened his grip on the dark sword.
* * *
The bamboo forest trembled.
Bamboo stalks were blasted apart, scattering in all directions.
“Hundred-Step Divine Fist…!”
Yeon Gyeom panted heavily after barely deflecting the Shaolin secret art.
His face was swollen, his clothes torn.
He was utterly battered.
Kang Yu, by contrast, bore only minor scratches.
“Huuk…!”
He was strong—truly strong.
Even within the Divine Cult, only a few elders could rival this level.
And the martial arts of the world’s strongest, proven by history, were overwhelmingly powerful.
“So? Compared to the one standing behind you?”
“……”
Now he fully understood his grandfather’s evaluation.
Anyone could see that defeat was imminent.
Yet Yeon Gyeom laughed.
His bloodied lips moved.
“Have you heard the saying ‘Water dripping through stone’?”
Kang Yu stopped three paces away.
“It means even falling droplets can pierce rock with enough time.”
“Correct. Even something insignificant can bore through stone if focused long enough.”
“Why bring that up now?”
“……”
Yeon Gyeom grasped his dark sword with battered hands.
The opponent held the advantage—overwhelmingly so.
But it wasn’t despair.
If Kang Yu had truly used the full depth of the world’s strongest martial arts, Yeon Gyeom wouldn’t still be standing.
That meant the techniques were numerous—but not perfected.
Which made sense.
Each master of Jangbaek Village had reached the pinnacle with a single art.
To fully master them all at such a young age was impossible.
Inevitably, they would be superficial.
The fact that Yeon Gyeom had only external injuries after fifty exchanges barely proved it.
“I am a drop of water.”
Yeon Gyeom withdrew his qi.
Even the sword returned to its sheath.
Among the Heavenly Demon Secret Records were many arts ranked as supreme.
But Yeon Gyeom had rejected the temptation of immediate strength, focusing solely on the Meteor Sword that aligned with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Through that alone, he had risen to become the next Cult Leader.
And one year ago, he had finally begun learning the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—long believed to be exclusive to the Heavenly Demon himself.
Like water piercing stone.
All those years of focused effort were ready to erupt.
Yeon Gyeom’s sclera reversed color.
“If I cannot break you… then I will shatter myself.”
Vast power condensed along his sword aura.
“!”
Even Kang Yu had rarely faced such overwhelming force.
His momentary carelessness vanished as his eyes also reversed color.
Demonic energy burst forth from Yeon Gyeom’s sword sheath.
Two colossal forces collided in midair.
In an instant, the bamboo forest within a hundred-zhang radius vanished.
A thunderous roar reached even Chang’an.
The ground where the forest stood revealed molten, discolored rock.
At the center of a spherical crater stood a single man.
He looked at Kang Yu, collapsed unconscious, and bared blood-stained teeth.
“Kuahahahaha!”
Laughing madly, Yeon Gyeom turned and left.
Victory belonged to natural law.
His grandfather’s judgment had been wrong.
* * *
Some time after Yeon Gyeom left the bamboo forest—
“……”
Kang Yu lay unmoving at the bottom of a five-zhang-deep crater.
One quarter-hour passed. Then another.
After nearly half an hour—
“……”
Kang Yu peeked his head up.
“…Did he go?”
Confirming Yeon Gyeom was gone, Kang Yu jumped to his feet.
Unlike Yeon Gyeom, who had left half-dead, Kang Yu showed no serious injuries.
“Hm. Then he wasn’t the culprit.”
Sitting in the crater, Kang Yu sorted his thoughts.
“Ah, sorry. My hand slipped.”
If Yeon Gyeom truly were the culprit, he shouldn’t have accepted the fight.
And if he had, he shouldn’t have won—this wasn’t during the tournament.
If he were the culprit, his true goal would be standing before the imperial family.
And after winning, he should have killed Kang Yu while he was unconscious.
But instead, he simply celebrated his victory and left.
“Hmm.”
No matter how he looked at it, that wasn’t the behavior of someone who had to conceal his identity until the end.
“Then who is it?”
Still, there were gains.
He needed not only convincing victories—but convincing defeats.
To flush out the culprit, the culprit had to win the tournament.
“Kuahahahaha!”
Even now, the act had been flawless.
If even Yeon Gyeom was fooled, the real culprit wouldn’t suspect a thing.
“Man, that hurt.”
Massaging his aching limbs, Kang Yu climbed out of the crater.
If this mission succeeded, he’d have to demand a raise.
At least one more tael of silver.
