Chapter 51

Chapter 51.

From early morning, the area around the Black Dragon Inn was so noisy that it seemed ready to turn upside down.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—! PEEEEEP—!

The drumbeats battered the eardrums, and the blare of sharp horns rang out.

The heat breathed out by the crowd that had gathered like clouds seeped through the inn windows.

“Ugh... What is all this commotion so early in the morning?”

At the raucous noise leaking in through the gap in the window, Yayul Hui frowned and opened her eyes, still groggy.

“They say the Black Dragon Gang’s Young Gang Leader is holding a public sparring match.”

She flung the window open with an irritated hand.

Then her mouth fell open at the sight spread out before her eyes.

On the street leading from the inn to the Black Dragon Gang, the Black Dragon Gang’s flags fluttered, and a hastily built sparring stage had been set up in the front yard.

A cloud-like crowd surrounded it.

“...A sparring stage? What is all this?”

Yayul Hui doubted her own eyes.

The street, which had been perfectly normal until last night, had turned into something resembling a marketplace overnight.

“If you are going to place a bet, hurry up! Betting closes soon!”

“Who in the world is his opponent? I have never heard of him.”

“I am putting two silver taels on the Young Gang Leader!”

She hurriedly turned her head and looked around the room.

In the middle of the room, Uncheon sat cross-legged.

Paying no attention to the uproar outside, he was finishing his breathing and qi circulation while faint cold energy rose from his entire body.

“Uncheon! This is no time to sit there so calmly! There’s chaos outside! It looks like the Young Gang Leader of the Black Dragon Gang is holding a public sparring match!”

At Yayul Hui’s urgent shout, Uncheon slowly opened his eyes.

A cool jade-green light flickered and vanished deep within his pupils.

“...You are finally awake? You slept well.”

“Is sleep the problem right now? What if some random bastards beat us to it? We have to go check what those Black Dragon Gang bastards are plotting....”

“There is no need to hurry. I paid a visit to the Black Dragon Gang last night.”

Yayul Hui’s eyes widened roundly at the unexpected answer.

“What...? You went to the Black Dragon Gang? What happened?”

“It is exactly as it looks. I agreed to have a public sparring match with Little Dragon.”

Uncheon calmly got down from the bed and strapped the Black-Steel Cold Iron he had taken off back onto his wrists and ankles.

CLANK. CLICK.

The heavy metallic sounds echoed through the room.

“What?! You are the Young Gang Leader’s sparring opponent?!”

“Yes. Fortunately, it seems he kept his promise.”

Yayul Hui looked as if she could not understand it at all.

That was when it happened.

Knock, knock—.

“Great Hero, I have come to escort you.”

When Uncheon opened the door, an unexpected figure revealed himself.

It was Little Dragon, the Young Gang Leader of the Black Dragon Gang.

He had come in person.

“...What is with that outfit?”

Little Dragon was dressed in solemn, splendid white ceremonial robes, like a general about to attend a departure ceremony.

His hair had been stiffly slicked back with oil, and he had even belted a fist-sized jade girdle around his waist, making himself look thoroughly impressive.

It was hard to believe he was the same bastard who had crawled on the floor last night, begging to be spared.

“Great Hero, the preparations are complete. The fellow martial artists of the martial world are waiting for you.”

Little Dragon spoke with a respectful clasped hands greeting.

Instead of servility, his voice was overflowing with solemn grandeur.

Uncheon burst into a faint laugh as he looked at him.

“You have some talent. To set up a stage like this in a single night.”

“You flatter me. This is the stage you will be stepping onto, Great Hero. Should we not at least prepare this much?”

Little Dragon answered with a sly smile, but when his eyes met Uncheon’s, he flinched and lowered his gaze to the floor.

It seemed the fear from last night had not yet faded.

“Th-Then I will go ahead and stir up the atmosphere first! Please come at your leisure!”

Avoiding Uncheon’s gaze, Little Dragon vanished in a flurry as if running away.

Uncheon leisurely rose from his seat and moved his feet.

“Let us go. We may as well play along with this clown act.”

Yayul Hui shook her head and followed behind Uncheon.

“Seriously... what in the world did you spend the night doing?”

***

“He is coming out!”

“Is that man the challenger?”

The moment Uncheon stepped out of the inn, the murmuring crowd fell quiet all at once.

Unlike Little Dragon, who had gone up onto the stage in splendid attire, Uncheon’s appearance was strange.

A pitch-black martial arts uniform without a single ornament.

Rough Iron Weights fastened to his arms and legs.

And even a sword and a saber crossed on his back.

Anyone could see that their appearances formed a stark contrast.

CLANK, THUD.

Every time Uncheon moved, the heavy sound of iron shook the ground.

CLANK, THUD.

The dull sound carried the full weight of it.

“Are those... iron rings?”

“Insane. He is walking around wearing those? They look heavy.”

“Do not tell me... he plans to fight like that too?”

The spectators gulped dryly.

On the path Uncheon took toward the sparring stage, the members of the Black Dragon Gang were lined up on either side.

They looked as if they were standing normally, but Uncheon could clearly see their true state.

‘.......’

As if their ribs, which Uncheon had beaten last night, were throbbing, all of them were forcing their backs straight and sweating cold sweat.

Every time Uncheon came one step closer, he saw their shoulders twitch.

‘He must have thoroughly silenced them.’

They were probably holding on with all their might under Little Dragon’s strict orders.

Uncheon looked at the stage Little Dragon had laid out and thought.

‘Little Dragon, that bastard. Is he more talented at setting up spectacles than at martial arts? At least when it comes to petty tricks, he is no worse than Yuha.’

With an indifferent expression, Uncheon split the crowd and headed toward the training ground.

“So who exactly is his opponent?”

“Is it that bastard? He looks quite fine-featured.”

“He even looks younger than the Young Gang Leader...?”

The crowd whispered among themselves, each trying to predict the outcome.

And wherever a scene like this appeared, gamblers were sure to set up a table too.

“Now, now, predictions for the match are closing soon! You will not see these odds again!”

At the gambling table set up near the entrance of the inn, the odds stood at eight to two, with Little Dragon overwhelmingly favored.

“At this rate, even if the Young Gang Leader wins, it will barely be worth the stake.”

“If that... boy wins, the payout is sevenfold!”

“Sevenfold, huh... It is a chance to make a fortune in one stroke, but betting on some unheard-of bastard is the perfect way to lose everything.”

Most of the spectators predicted the victory of the Black Dragon Gang’s Young Gang Leader.

Even if Little Dragon had used all kinds of tricks, he was still someone who had maintained the one-hundredth place in the Wind and Cloud Ranking for quite a long time after entering it.

On top of that, the location was the front yard of the Black Dragon Gang, so it was only natural that the wagers would flow toward Little Dragon rather than Uncheon, whose identity no one knew.

“Hmm....”

Yayul Hui, who had followed behind, looked at the gambling table with shining eyes.

‘Somehow... this reminds me of when Yuha set up the night sparring match table.’

Without hesitation, she took silver taels from her pouch and threw them onto Uncheon’s side.

“Ten silver taels on the challenger!”

“Oh! Young lady, you have quite the nerve! To place such a large bet on a man whose identity you do not even know.”

“Hey, young lady. Martial arts matches are not fought with faces, you know?”

“Thinking that pretty-looking boy can beat the Young Gang Leader, who mastered Black Iron Steel Body? You must be planning to throw away your money.”

Uncheon’s tightly compressed muscles were hidden by his black martial arts uniform, so they were not very noticeable from the outside.

Little Dragon, on the other hand, had mastered an external art, and his build was also a full head taller than Uncheon’s.

“Young lady, there are no takebacks!”

“Hmph, just wait and see.”

While the gamblers laughed at her choice, Uncheon climbed onto the sparring stage.

Little Dragon spread both arms toward the spectator seats and shouted.

“Many challengers have come to the Black Dragon Gang to challenge me, but out of concern for accidents, I, the Young Gang Leader, have avoided matches as much as possible!”

Little Dragon’s voice rang out powerfully.

“However, last night, a young man came to me and gave me enlightenment. Therefore, I swear here and now! As the Young Gang Leader of the Black Dragon Gang, from today onward, I will not avoid challenges. Whoever it may be! I will face them on this stage!”

“Waaaaaaa—!”

The spectators, having found an entertaining show, cheered.

Meanwhile, the challengers who had been waiting for their turn asked with suspicious gazes.

“Is that truly so?”

“Then will you accept challenges even after that boy?”

“Of course! If I am victorious, I will accept challenges on this sparring stage any number of times from now on. If I do this, the fellow martial artists of the martial world will have no complaints!”

When Little Dragon publicly declared it atop the training ground, the challengers also nodded.

Because he had made the stage so large and declared it in front of so many people, the weight of his statement was different.

“Good!”

“If the Young Gang Leader will accept matches instead of avoiding them, then that is enough!”

Even the challengers who had paid their challenge fees in front of the Black Dragon Gang and waited endlessly cheered.

The challengers had no doubt that after the boy, their own chance to challenge him would come as well.

‘...He is acting as if he will naturally defeat me. Is this so he can shift responsibility after losing to me?’

Having guessed his scheme, Uncheon said nothing and merely stood at the center of the sparring stage.

CLANK—.

“Are those... shackles?”

“Looks like he really is going to fight while wearing them.”

Amid gazes mixed with doubt and curiosity, Uncheon spoke quietly.

“Begin.”

Uncheon and Little Dragon faced each other at the center of the sparring stage.

Only then did the man sitting askew at the edge of the stage, with a liquor bottle tucked under his arm, rise to his feet.

A worn-out long robe, a shaggy beard, and hollow eyes.

Anyone would have seen him as nothing more than a street drunkard, but the single rusted sword at his waist hinted at his identity.

“I came because of a liquor debt, but... well, let us just do this roughly. Roughly.”

He yawned lazily, as if he found everything troublesome, and walked toward the center.

However, among the large crowd, there was someone who recognized him.

“Th-That man! He is the Drunken Sword!”

“What?! The Drunken Sword? Drunken Sword Yi Mok is overseeing the sparring match?!”

“That drunkard is the Drunken Sword? That makes no sense!”

The Drunken Sword raised his hand without caring what others said.

“Hmm... I did not expect anyone to recognize me. Tsk. This ruins the taste of the liquor. Anyway, I will be overseeing this sparring match.”

Drunken Sword Yi Mok mumbled as he poured the liquor bottle into his mouth.

“The rules are simple. If you fall below the sparring stage, or if one side declares surrender, the sparring match is over. What else is there?”

Yi Mok scratched his head roughly, then saw Little Dragon’s desperate gaze and added one more thing.

“Well. Since this is a sparring match, lethal moves are forbidden... That should be enough for the rules, right?”

Then the Drunken Sword announced the start of the sparring match.

“Begin the sparring match!”

Little Dragon took a starting stance with exaggerated movements.

Uncheon, on the other hand, merely let his arms hang indifferently while watching his opponent.

At that moment, Yi Mok’s eyes narrowed.

‘Oh... That brat. Even wearing Iron Weights of that weight, his posture is fairly natural.’

In his eyes, which had been blurred by liquor, a sharp light flashed for the briefest instant.

The spectators naturally expected Little Dragon to yield the first attack.

After all, it was customary in sparring matches for the stronger one to yield the first move.

However.

“Haaaaap!”

Breaking their expectations, the one who kicked off the ground first was Little Dragon.

‘If I act like I am yielding sloppily and take even one hit first, I am finished!’

Little Dragon was faithful to his survival instincts.

The moment the sparring match began, he threw off his upper garment and charged.

CRACK, CRACK—!

The muscles all over Little Dragon’s body swelled with grotesque sounds.

His bronze skin instantly turned black and began to gleam.

It was the secret inheritance of the Black Dragon Gang, and the external art that had placed him at the one-hundredth rank.

It was Black Iron Steel Body.

“Ohhh! He is going all out from the start!”

“That is the Young Gang Leader’s Black Iron Steel Body!”

“I heard blades cannot even pierce that!”

With those cheers at his back, Little Dragon rushed right up to Uncheon.

His massive fist flew toward Uncheon’s face.

It had enough force to crush even a boulder.

But just before the fist reached him, Little Dragon’s lips moved very quickly.

It was a whisper close to Voice Transmission.

[Great Hero! I will pour out every form I have at full strength, so please block them properly for a while, then send me flying when you see an opening! That is the only way the scene will work!]

Uncheon’s eyebrow twitched.

‘...Even in the middle of this, he wants to do business?’

Uncheon was dumbfounded by Little Dragon’s trickery, yet at the same time, he felt interested.

The Black Iron Steel Body unfolding before his eyes.

It was not a low-level external art that simply inflated the muscles.

External arts that changed even the color of the skin were not common.

Moreover, even from the outside, its hardness was anything but ordinary.

‘Crude, but practical. His toughness alone is useful.’

Uncheon did not dodge.

THONG—!

Little Dragon’s fist was blocked by the wrist Uncheon raised.

To be precise, by the Black-Steel Cold Iron wrapped around his wrist.

“Ghk...!”

The one who swallowed a scream was Little Dragon, the attacker.

Uncheon did not even budge, but the bones of Little Dragon’s fist ached as if they would shatter from striking that lump of metal.

‘Th-This monster...! He really blocked that so lightly while wearing actual lumps of iron?’

Little Dragon retreated as if breaking away, sweating cold sweat, then unleashed another fierce assault.

“Taaaat!”

Chain Fist poured out.

On the surface, it looked as though Little Dragon was one-sidedly driving Uncheon back.

Brilliant fist winds raged, and the stone floor broke apart.

But the reality was different.

Uncheon stood as if rooted to the spot, knocking aside Little Dragon’s fists with the bare minimum of movement.

He seemed to be casually swinging his arms wrapped in Black-Steel Cold Iron, yet he deflected every attack.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANK!

The heavy metallic sounds struck the spectators’ hearts.

“Th-That boy... He is blocking the Young Gang Leader’s fierce attacks!”

“He is not just blocking them! Look at his feet! He has not retreated a single step!”

“Wow! The sound is ringing out so loudly! Is he all right after blocking attacks like that?”

The spectators’ astonishment was gradually turning into shock.

However, Little Dragon felt frustrated inside as he listened to the crowd’s voices.

‘It is my hands that hurt, you idiots! Damn it, what in the world are those Iron Weights made of? They do not seem to be ordinary metal.’

At the ongoing exchange, the hand of Drunken Sword Yi Mok, who had been fiddling with his liquor bottle, also stopped.

“...Huh?”

His muddy eyes had cleared sharply.

‘Those movements... It is not simple defense. He is reading the opponent’s power, redirecting it, and countering it.’

Even though he was wearing heavy Iron Weights, there was nothing unnecessary in Uncheon’s hand movements. They were fluid like flowing water, and at times, solid like stone.

‘...No wonder that bastard Little Dragon is struggling. He is using the weight of those lumps of iron not as shackles, but as weapons. That is the real thing.’

Yi Mok set down his liquor bottle and corrected his posture.

Life began to return to his previously bored eyes.

On the other hand, Little Dragon was burning up inside.

‘A clap only makes a sound when both hands meet! Please... at least pretend to be pushed back a little! At this rate, only my fists are going to break!’

It was a bizarre scene where the one attacking looked as if he were about to cry, while the one blocking was expressionless.

Little Dragon shouted an even louder battle cry to endure the surging pain.

“Kraaaaap! Die!”

Yet unlike his thunderous shout, tears were welling at the corners of Little Dragon’s eyes.

The pain of striking a lump of iron with his bare fists.

And since that lump of iron was Black-Steel Cold Iron, even Black Iron Steel Body could barely withstand it.

As he listened to that desperate battle cry, Uncheon gave a cold evaluation.

‘He is a fox wearing a bear’s skin.’

His ability from properly training an external art was not bad, but more than that, he excelled at reading the stage and inciting the public.

Uncheon’s eyes turned cold for an instant.

‘But... this play has grown dull. Let us end it now.’