Chapter – 81
“Gasp!!”
A sharp sword rushed toward his eyes.
His cut bangs fluttered in the air.
Kang Yu barely avoided Hyeonje’s sword and rolled away, barely escaping.
He retreated far and breathed heavily.
“Hu… Hu!”
In a remote forest near Poyang Lake.
The fight between Hyeonje and Kang Yu had already lasted a long time.
The battle situation was overwhelmingly in Hyeonje’s favor.
Kang Yu grabbed his sword again with his injured hand.
He was greatly shocked.
Of course, Hyeonje was a top master, so he knew he would be strong. But since he had not stood out much in Shaanxi, Kang Yu did not expect him to be this strong.
It felt like fighting Grandpa Jinhwa.
It felt like being thrown into a maze with his limbs tied.
“As expected.”
The blurred figure of Hyeonje suddenly appeared behind Kang Yu.
KWAANG—
A heavy explosion echoed through the mountains.
Kang Yu barely blocked the sword aimed at the back of his neck.
But Hyeonje’s attacks continued without rest.
Clang clang clang clang—
As he pushed Kang Yu back, Hyeonje spoke.
“Strength. Speed. Reading moves. Reflexes. There is nothing to criticize. But you lack the most important thing.”
Even in the chaos, Kang Yu answered.
“W-What… is it?”
Hyeonje’s sword energy thickened.
“Gasp!”
Kang Yu was shocked again.
It was that again.
The sword was not the problem.
There were moments during the fight when Hyeonje became strange.
More accurately, it felt like he suddenly appeared right in front of him.
The rhythm felt strange.
There was clearly distance between them, yet in an instant, he was already within arm’s reach.
It was not about speed.
In fact, Kang Yu was faster.
It felt like the space itself was shrinking.
He had never experienced such movement even against other top masters.
At that moment, a sword thrust reached his neck.
“Ugh…!”
The sword clearly pierced through his neck.
But Hyeonje felt no impact in his hand.
Kang Yu, who had blurred using his footwork, appeared ten steps away.
Hyeonje calmly retrieved his sword.
“Shifting Form and Position. Your footwork is excellent as well.”
“……”
Kang Yu touched his neck.
A thin line of blood stained his fingers.
He swallowed dryly.
Overall, Hyeonje was weaker than Grandpa Jinhwa.
But that one movement—shrinking space—canceled out all of it.
Wiping the blood on his clothes, Kang Yu asked,
“What is it? That one most important thing I lack?”
Hyeonje lowered his sword.
“Temperament.”
“Temperament…?”
“Yes. A personality that cannot endure losing. The fierce will to crush your opponent. At least the aggressiveness to bump shoulders. Even a street thug has the temperament to fight.”
Hyeonje slowly looked over Kang Yu’s body.
“But you do not have it. You were born talented, but basically you dislike fighting. No… you fear it. I cannot say that is wrong. But in combat, it becomes a shackle.”
“You’re saying I fear fighting…?”
Kang Yu wanted to argue.
But it was not wrong.
He hated fighting.
No—if he were honest, he was afraid of it.
He had fought top masters only when someone was in danger. Never once out of competitive spirit.
In the past, he would have asked what was wrong with hating fights.
But after leaving the village, reality was different.
Even if you did nothing, people threatened you.
Many valued their own benefit over others’ lives.
He had been lucky to win until now.
If he had lost even once, he and those around him could have been injured or killed.
Even escort work meant protecting goods from bandits.
He had to grow stronger.
He wanted to grow stronger.
Kang Yu raised his head.
After a storm of attacks, Hyeonje always gave him a short moment to breathe.
It was clear.
Though harsh, Hyeonje was trying to teach him something.
“Is there a way to change that temperament?”
“Hmm…”
“Is something you’re born with impossible to change?”
Hyeonje looked at him quietly.
“There is a way. Even a three-year-old child can do it. But a supreme master who has surpassed realms might not.”
The words sounded strange.
“A three-year-old can do it, but a supreme master cannot?”
“Reduction.”
“—!”
Hyeonje blurred and appeared before him again.
His sword aimed at Kang Yu’s pale neck.
“Ugh!”
White sword energies poured down.
Clang clang clang—
Hyeonje shouted while striking endlessly.
“Don’t dodge—look at it properly! Aren’t only your heels worn out!?”
“Ugh…”
Of course he didn’t want that.
He wanted to look straight, but Hyeonje’s strikes were too fast and powerful.
But the biggest problem was that strange movement.
That odd rhythm and the feeling of space shrinking.
Again, Hyeonje crossed space and appeared in front of him.
Clang—
And then—
“!”
As Kang Yu blocked the sword, something changed in his eyes.
After seeing the movement several times, he began to notice a pattern.
Hyeonje’s space-shrinking step always appeared right after Kang Yu attacked.
Even while frantically blocking, he confirmed it.
The movement always followed his own strike.
Grasping this small clue, Kang Yu took a deep breath.
Until now, he had focused only on that strange movement.
—Don’t dodge—look at it properly! Aren’t only your heels worn out!?
He widened his vision for the first time.
Then he saw something interesting.
Even while aiming at his neck, Hyeonje’s back foot was passing his front stepping foot.
Instead of dodging, he was stepping into Kang Yu’s space.
Kang Yu had always only thought of blocking or dodging.
He believed Hyeonje was inferior to Jinhwa in everything, yet that one move made up for all.
And that method was simply taking half a step forward even while seeing the opponent’s attack.
Clang—
Instead of retreating as usual, Kang Yu shifted his weight forward.
Their stepping feet collided naturally.
Left foot against left foot.
Hyeonje’s pupils widened.
‘Already…!’
Though his goal was teaching, his warrior’s pride surged.
“Impressive, but talent alone is not enough!”
When both their back feet passed their stepping feet—
Clang—
With a sharp sound cutting the air, the two appeared a hundred steps apart under trees.
A low voice echoed in the forest.
“At the crossroads of life and death, borrow the opponent’s strength.”
Hyeonje’s voice continued from behind Kang Yu’s shoulder.
“To go beyond your inborn nature, what you need is…”
“……”
A method a three-year-old can do, but a supreme master may not.
A single step taken at the edge of life and death.
Kang Yu finally understood.
He clenched his fist.
“Courage.”
At the same time, a thin red line appeared on Hyeonje’s cheek.
For the first time since the fight began, Kang Yu’s sword had touched him.
Hyeonje sheathed his sword.
“I didn’t expect you to grasp it so quickly.”
Having achieved his purpose, he walked out of the forest.
Half-step was the ultimate weapon and secret technique he had trained his entire life to master.
“Please take good care of Cheonghwan…”
Kang Yu bowed toward the direction he disappeared.
A single step at the crossroads of life and death.
“……”
The blue sky filled Kang Yu’s eyes.
It was time to face the fear he had avoided.
Wi Yeon did not take long to regain consciousness.
The Middle Recovery Pill Kang Yu made was inferior to Baek Buseong’s Great Recovery Pill, but it was still an excellent medicine.
As soon as Wi Yeon opened his eyes, he heard:
“What? You’re going to search for the Bishop yourself?”
“Yes.”
“……”
There was a vague memory.
It became clear recently.
Unlike the villagers who always made him do chores, Jinhwa used to carry Kang Yu on his back and wander mountains and fields.
As Wi Yeon once said, before they reunited, he had only good memories of him.
“Live well, Yu.”
One dawn long ago,
Jinhwa left the village with a short farewell.
That was fifteen years ago.
Kang Yu wanted to ask why he suddenly left, and what revenge he meant after they met again.
“For some reason, the Bishop put eliminating you before that bald monk. Even though he ignored you all this time!”
From what the Mosan Divine Elder said, it was clear Jinhwa’s feelings had changed.
It was frightening.
But he could not avoid it forever.
He had to meet Jinhwa.
Wi Yeon said nothing.
He was bound to the Escort Agency.
And this was personal.
Kang Yu spoke again, quoting something he learned from Grandpa Hak.
“Xiang Yu subdued the governor of Kuaiji and said, ‘He who acts first controls others.’ The best defense is offense. We can’t keep being pushed around.”
Wi Yeon stared at him.
Hyeonje shook his head slightly.
“Easy to say.”
“Huh?”
“Ten years. For nearly ten years there wasn’t even a trace. The truth appeared only four months ago. If even the tail was that hard to find, how will you suddenly find the head?”
Wi Yeon answered instead.
“There must be a way.”
“What?”
“He must have a way if he says so. If it’s Squad Leader Kang, then surely.”
Hope appeared in Wi Yeon’s eyes.
He had seen Kang Yu’s brilliant schemes countless times.
Sure enough, Kang Yu said,
“Of course I have a method.”
“What?”
Hyeonje straightened from the wall.
“You truly have a way to find this Bishop?”
“Yes.”
“!”
“Not ten out of ten like Leader Sohyeon says. But almost that high.”
Wi Yeon’s eyes trembled.
The Five Elements Sect was clearly small and elite.
Their total strength was lower than the Central Plains.
The problem had been their hidden guerrilla tactics.
If they found the Bishop behind the curtain, the war could completely change.
Even a one-in-ten chance was worth it.
Wi Yeon looked toward the window.
“It should be time for a reaction…”
A pitch-black night, clouds covering the moon.
Neigh—!
A horse stopped on a remote mountain road.
A figure dismounted and climbed alone.
Far ahead was a small cave.
Inside, expensive night-shining pearls lined the walls.
In their glow, the figure’s face was revealed.
The Mosan Divine Elder, who escaped Shaolin with ghostlike techniques.
He had come to another hidden coordinate point.
“Damn brat…”
Standing before a pearl, he ground his teeth.
That wretched child.
Anhui’s Five Elements Cave, Eight Trigrams Formation, Strange Illusion Formation…
But above all, losing the Manhon Wine was unforgivable.
He would join the Bishop and tear him to pieces.
He scattered talismans into the air.
“Mosan Ghost Vanish!”
His vision blurred.
But something was strange.
The Mosan pearl was intact.
It should have shattered at the start of the technique.
“Why…?”
The Mosan Divine Elder scattered like smoke.
