Reincarnation of the Fist King Chapter 48

< The King of Kwon, give him special treatment >

Dokgo Han, who had stepped down from the stage, approached Hwa Eun-wol. The man who had accepted the bet was with another contestant, so he couldn't help but be curious. Furthermore, the other members of the household had already revealed the identity of the contestant. Despite this, Dokgo Han tilted his head in confusion.

'No way? You bet thirty thousand nyang because of that guy?'

Dokgo Han, who had approached, looked at Danwoo Sung and Hwa Eunwol with a dumbfounded expression and asked.

“The Confucius of Fire.”

"why."

“Did you really bet a lot of money on the top son?”

Hwa Eun-wol put her hand to her ear as if she was deliberately unable to hear well.

"what?"

When Hwa Eun-wol blatantly ignored him, Dokgo Han shook his head and said.

“You’re the next general of the Imperial Council? That’s ridiculous.”

When Dokgo Han openly mocked Hwa Eun-wol's judgment, Cheol Myeong-ho muttered without fear.

“What are you talking about, you idiot.”

Cheol Myeong-ho's harsh words also reflected Dan Woo-seong's true feelings. Given the circumstances, he simply remained silent, but Cheol Myeong-ho had no such courtesy.

Although they were quite far apart, a cold silence flowed as Dokgo Han, with his keen ears, stopped in his tracks.

“······.”

Not only the Hwa siblings, but even Dan Woo-seong stared blankly at Cheol Myeong-ho.

It was definitely abusive language that crossed the line.

In a way, he was truly a great idiot. He was a man who needed to cause an accident at least once a day to feel satisfied.

Cheol Myeong-ho spoke to the people who were staring at him blankly.

"Why? You didn't say who the idiot was. Is that a problem?"

Dokgo snorted as if he was annoyed by the attitude of “there is no subject.”

Cheol Myeong-ho glared at Dokgo Han and then took in the black heavy sword he was holding.

'Similar?'

It was a longsword that somehow seemed similar in weight and atmosphere to the iron umbrella he was holding.

Meanwhile, a Baekryongdae warrior with a leisurely expression stopped Dokgo Han from walking towards Cheolmyeongho and spoke.

"Dokgo Gongja, please don't make a fuss during the Yongbongdaeyeon. If you make the elders dislike you, you might be eliminated. Aren't you here to win?"

The Baekryongdae's unmanned response was clean. This was because they were secretly supporting Dokgo Han.

Dokgo Han looked at the stage.

As expected, the elders of the Murim Alliance, including the judge, were all looking at this place with disapproving expressions.

As Dokgo Han barely managed to suppress his anger and retreated, it suddenly felt as if Cheol Myeong-ho's level had become equal to Dokgo Han's.

Dokgo Han left a word as he returned to his temporary barracks.

“See you offstage.”

Cheol Myeong-ho responded in a smaller voice, as if muttering.

"Oh, I didn't participate. Where does that rotten bastard get the vibe?"

Cheol Myeong-ho responded by taking a punch from the Baekryongdae warrior who had stepped forward appropriately.

“I will be careful.”

Even a crazy person is polite in times like this.

The Baekryongdae warrior smiled. He didn't have much to say, as he wasn't on good terms with the Emperor's Association.

Danwoo-seong sighed and looked at Cheolmyeong-ho.

“You too, you too, Hori.”

"I know."

Danwoo-seong and Cheolmyungho locked eyes. With nothing to say, Danwoo-seong gave Cheolmyungho a thumbs-up.

'Well done, you little shit.'

It was an expression of this kind of feeling. Then Cheol Myeong-ho responded with a thumbs-up.

'Don't mention it.'

Only after seeing that did the Hwa siblings burst into laughter as if their moods had improved.

"ha ha ha······."

I thought that these two people who didn't seem to get along at all were actually friends.

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“Namgung Jeildo and Yu Ja-saeng are on the stage.”

Danwoo-seong watched the performer ascending the stage.

Who would use such an arrogant nickname?

The letter of recommendation sent by the Namgung family, Namgung Wi. Danwoo Seong immediately thought of this upon seeing Namgung Wi's face.

'He is the grandson of the Sword Emperor.'

He was a man who named his grand ambitions Yongbongdaeyeon.

The aura was reminiscent of the apprentice's bloodline. His robust physique, seemingly splayed out, and his thick chin, in particular, were strikingly similar. As a force vying for the top spot in the world, his skill, despite his young age, seemed high.

How can we distinguish between power and status alone?

If you think back to Jin So-han and Baek Mu-jin, who were the best in the world in their twenties, that level of achievement was not surprising.

Danwoo Sung thought Dokgo Han and Namgung Wi had similar expressions. Could that be why their relationship wasn't good?

'I'll give you two special treatment.'

Looking at Dokgo Han's attitude, it was even more so. Rather than simply winning, he intended to make them realize the gap.

Also, since there was no way that the apprentice would have trained the man he was raising as his successor so carelessly, it was ineffective to deal with Dokgo Han and Namgung Wi only with the 'Iron Wall' technique of honing their internal energy.

Is it because he is conscious of Dokgo Han's secret?

As soon as the fight began, Namgung Wi rushed in and broke the opponent's weapon in one blow, sending it flying.

Namgung Wi glared at his opponent while stamping a heavy sword with blue dragons engraved all over it onto the ground.

Since Dokgo finished it in one go, he was of the mindset that he would also finish the fight with this one attack.

But Namgungwi had a sly smile on his lips, one that thoroughly disparaged his opponent. This sly smile was invisible to many, but it was clearly visible to Woo Ja-saeng.

'Shit!'

So, Woo Ja-saeng didn't give up. He gritted his teeth and charged again, holding the broken sword.

That was the root of the problem.

Namgungwi dodged several of Woo Ja-saeng's attacks as he lunged at him, then struck his left foot, knocking him off balance. Before he could even fall, he mercilessly struck his opponent in the forehead with the handle of his sword.

puck!

As the man collapsed, the leader of the Yu Jeong-hong movement spoke in a voice filled with inner strength.

“That’s excessive. Namgungwi, is that what your disciple taught you?”

Namgung Wi quickly took the lottery ticket from Yoo Jeong-hong and answered in a calm voice.

“I apologize, Your Majesty. I overdid it.”

The host looked at the expression of the leader Yoo Jeong-hong with a nervous expression and then said.

“Namgung Jeildo, victory.”

Namgung Wi went down the stage with a blank expression on his face.

'Bimoo is no child's play.'

Hwa Eun-wol looked at Namgung-wi with a laughable expression.

"You arrogant bastard. I hope you meet the Grand Duke or Dokgo Han."

I thought that if Namgung-wi met Dokgo-han, he would make a life-or-death decision for Baekri-eon, and if he met Danwoo-seong, his superficial courtesy and the arrogance inside would be revealed to the world a little more.

Although Hwa Eun-wol was originally a member of the Imperial Council, he didn't care much about who belonged where. This was because he had been taught that way since childhood.

Due to the organizers' trickery, most of the first round between A and B went quickly.

There were no surprises because the referees had a lot of experience.

The martial arts of Danwoo Seong, Dokgo Mubong Dokgo Han, Namgung Jeildo Namgung Wi, Geumsageom (Golden Sand Sword), Maehwa Yurang (Plum Blossom Flowing Waves), and Jeomchang Sokpil (Dotted Blue Speed Brush) ended in a short time.

Since the independents didn't participate this time, the field of contenders for the championship was narrowed down to these six. The skill gap among the late-comers was so stark that it was almost polar opposites.

It is not called a prestigious school for nothing, nor is it called a powerful martial arts school for nothing.

In that sense, the eldest son at the top was truly a strange man among strange men, and gave the impression of a heretic appearing in the martial arts world.

After the nicknames of the winners of the main event were called out one by one, a short break was given.

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Namgung Wi sat alone in a makeshift barracks, surrounded by the Namgung family's warriors. Everyone was visibly cautious, as Namgung Wi was the man most likely to become the next head of the Namgung family.

Namgung-wi, who had often been glaring at Dokgo-han, said.

"Where does that guy keep looking? Is Baekriyeon there? No."

As Namgung Wi followed Dokgo Han's gaze, he saw the Hwa siblings. Then, he locked eyes with a man named Kwon Gaek.

“Why are the top son and Hwa Eun-wol together?”

“I don’t know. I guess we’ve known each other for a long time. Hwa Gongja didn’t participate in the Yongbong Daeyeon.”

Namgungwi nodded.

"There are fewer strong players. We only have to face Dokgo Han in the finals."

At this moment, everyone looked at Yu Jeong-hong, the leader of the martial arts world. Yu Jeong-hong rose from the throne, held up the nameplates of the finalists, and then, in front of everyone, reached out to the bracket.

The host explained.

"We'll be changing the matchup order due to a player withdrawing due to injury. Kwon Gaek, who was originally a walkover, will replace the player who withdrew."

It was a natural progression, but Yoo Jeong-hong suddenly turned around and stared blankly at Dan Woo-seong.

'Thank you for your hard work.'

There was no ill intent. I had expected Danwoo to be stronger from the beginning.

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After winning the second main match against an unknown man using only martial arts, Dan Woo-seong took a break, but was called out for the next match that was sure to be a huge crowd.

“Dokgo Mu-bong and Kwon Gaek are on the stage.”

Danwoo Seong was originally a winner by default, but was called up as Dokgo Han's opponent in place of the man who had forfeited.

He said this while glaring at Dokgo Han and the leader of the martial arts world, Yu Jeong-hong.

'Oh, thank you. Okay.'

If he defeated Kwon Gaek, his next opponent would unfortunately be Namgung Wi. He had hoped to face him in the final, but it was only in the semifinals that he met.

Hwa Eun-wol also looked at the situation board with a sour expression.

"Your Highness, if this continues, your next opponent will be Namgung Wi. I thought you'd advance by default."

Since the point of the sword has fallen to Namgungwi, Geumsa Sword and Plum Blossom Rang will advance to the finals if they win just once.

Danwoo Sung replied briefly and headed towards the stage.

“Good. I’ll be back.”

Cheol Myeong-ho spoke as if asking for something.

“Can’t you just smash it?”

Danwoo Seong remained silent. The princes of the Imperial Council would have done everything they could to defeat him. Even without Cheolmyeongho's request, that would have happened.

Danwoo Seong and Dokgo Han stood facing each other on the stage.

The host said.

"yes."

After the two people had finished their conversation, Dokgo-han smiled and added some useless words.

“Hwaeunwol is unlucky.”

Danwoo Sung replied curtly, as if he didn't want to bother with the conversation.

“······Spout.”

The moment the tendons on Dokgo Han's forehead thickened, the heavy sword quickly slid into Danwoo Sung's face.

Wedge!

'I'll crush that beak.'

Dokgo Han handled the heavy Dokgo Heavy Sword as if it were a light sword. It was a completely different performance from his previous performances in the Dragon and Phoenix Festival.

Even the sound of the wind was different.

Because he had shown his skills and inner strength from the very beginning. The son of the Galaxy's top class was the man who had defeated Gu Yang-saeng, Dokgo Han was determined to give it his all, regardless of whether his opponent died or not. Only then would he have a chance against Namgung Wi.

The swift swordsmanship with the heavy sword was both refreshing and powerful.

Danwoo Sung, who was kicking the ground and retreating, stretched his left hand into the air.

An invisible wind blew diagonally into the sky, making a loud bang before colliding with Dokgo Han's barely recovered heavy sword.

'uh?'

The hand holding the heavy sword felt cold. A gust of wind, something I'd never used before, blew at me, and I couldn't help but panic.

'I haven't used this yet.'

If that were the case, then other martial arts techniques also needed to be cautious. Dokgohan rushed forward again and swung his heavy sword. However, the sword could only track Danwooseong's movements.

The body's movements and speed were completely different from what Dokgo had expected.

Danwoo Seong, lowering his posture, made a surprise attack, deftly pushed away the heavy sword with his left hand, and at the same time, stretched out his right hand and grabbed Dokgo Han by the collar.

Then, Dokgo Han, startled, kicked the ground and leaped backwards while floating in the air.

It was an evasive maneuver that seemed a bit excessive.

Dokgo Han, without realizing it, caught his breath. It wasn't the depth of his opponent's attack that was frightening, but rather the smoothness with which he responded to the engagement that surprised him.

I was deeply embarrassed, as I thought it was impossible for a merchant's son, not even a warrior, to do something like this. When Danwoo-seong grabbed the heavy sword, I intended to raise my internal energy, but the follow-up attack was too fast to respond in that way.

'Gu Yang-saeng wasn't treated for nothing.'

Dan Woo-sung glared at Dokgo Han with his hands in a strangling position, then smiled. As if this was just the beginning, Dan Woo-sung closed the distance between himself and Dokgo Han again and spoke.

“Dokgo Gongja, the stage seems too narrow to run away.”

Dokgo Han narrowed his eyes. Namgung Wi wasn't the problem; the man before him was the problem.

<The King of Fists, Give Special Treatment> End

ⓒ Eugene Sung