Chapter 122

The sound of footsteps echoed softly.

A man with a white-haired, feminine appearance, dressed neatly and carrying the Emperor’s bestowed sword at his waist, entered the abandoned building with an air of killing intent.

At the appearance of Baekho (White Tiger), Unmu Yong, the Tenth Elder of the Ilwol God Sect, stepped forward to show respect.

“Grand Master, first, I would like to express my gratitude for your presence here today…”

“Shut up.”

Baekho cut him off sharply, his cold gaze fixed on the nameless figure standing beside Unmu Yong.

“Nameless and Invincible… You shamelessly show your face in the martial world again.”

“Well, it’s a shameful life. But I was hired as a bodyguard, so here I am.”

The carefree response, which could be seen as treasonous to the royal family, made Baekho’s face stiffen further, veins popping on his forehead.

“But if you think about it, the current Emperor only became Emperor because I killed the Crown Prince, Hwabong. So, rather than being a traitor, shouldn’t I be considered a hero?”

At Nameless’s words, Baekho’s beautiful face froze in pale anger.

“You… what are you… babbling about?”

“It’s… not a difficult story.”

Nameless, trembling slightly, explained kindly with a pointed finger.

“Hwabong’s death benefited the current royal family the most. You should be thanking me.”

“Thank… you…?”

The image of his pitiful disciple, tormented by nightmares every night, flashed through Baekho’s mind.

Before being the Emperor he had to protect, he was a disciple Baekho had to guard.

What crime had Hwaseon committed to suffer such guilt and pain?

The reason was right before his eyes. That man, Nameless and Invincible…

“Enough, stop your nonsense.”

He was someone who should never have existed.

“A demon who should never have been born… a ghost who insulted the royal family over a bowl of chicken porridge.”

Baekho’s killing intent surged, as if he was about to draw his sword and charge.

“Is it strange to kill a prince over a bowl of chicken porridge?”

…Just as Baekho couldn’t understand Nameless, Nameless couldn’t understand Baekho either.

“People always ask me. Did I really kill a nation’s Crown Prince over just a bowl of chicken porridge?”

Lacking eloquence, Nameless rubbed the back of his neck and pondered for a moment before asking honestly.

“Have you ever been hungry?”

“…What?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Baekho was momentarily stunned. But Nameless was serious.

“I mean, have you ever been so hungry you couldn’t move a finger, so hungry you could die?”

“……..”

Silence was the answer.

Because their lives were so different, one could never truly understand the other.

“Just a bowl of chicken porridge.”

Thus, Nameless calmly took his stance, as he had when he turned the royal family, the martial world, and the world itself against him.

“That’s enough for me.”

The tension was palpable, like a spark creeping into a powder keg.

“Hey! Don’t provoke him for no reason!”

Unable to bear it any longer, Unmu Yong, who had been silent under the pressure of their auras, intervened.

“Grand Master! I apologize for the rudeness. But please calm down. If you fight Nameless and Invincible, even you, sir, will suffer great injuries. Who will then assist His Majesty the Emperor-?!”

“It’s no use. He came here ready to fight.”

Nameless stepped forward, cutting off Unmu Yong’s words and shielding him with an outstretched arm.

He shifted his gaze toward the direction where he sensed a hidden presence.

At the same time, Baekho coldly glared at them and spoke in a calm tone.

“Indeed, Nameless and Invincible… fighting you, whether I win or lose, I will suffer great injuries.”

Both were masters who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts. Whether they won or lost, the damage would be great.

Before being a martial artist, Baekho was the Emperor’s sword. He couldn’t recklessly jump into such a battle.

It wasn’t that he valued his life.

If something went wrong and he was incapacitated, the martial artists and traitors who had been cowed by the reputation of Baekho, the Heavenly Strategist General, would run rampant and insult the royal family.

“That’s why I invited a very precious guest from the palace to this place today. A guest as precious as a dragon.”

“…A dragon guest?”

At the puzzling words, Unmu Yong frowned and asked again.

Thud- thud-.

At that moment, someone who had been hiding their presence and watching from a few steps back entered the circle of light created by the lanterns.

“A man like a ghostly yaksha who kills and eats people.”

A middle-aged man with black hair tied back loosely, wearing a loose rosary around his neck.

To anyone, he looked like a disheveled monk who had abandoned his vows.

But realizing who he was, Unmu Yong’s face twisted in shock, and he let out a groan.

“The First of Goryeo… Dragon Guest Wang Yun!”

An elder of the Goryeo royal family, descended from the Dragon King of the West Sea, truly a dragon guest.

“Why… is he… here…?”

“I had some business nearby. Baekho, this man brought up an interesting topic.”

Wang Yun answered Unmu Yong’s question with a sly voice, then looked Nameless up and down with an intrigued gaze.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. You’re the infamous Central Plains’ top assassin, Nameless and Invincible.”

“…Step back.”

Instead of introducing himself, Nameless slightly turned his head, signaling Unmu Yong to stay out of harm’s way.

No further words were needed.

No matter who the opponent was, nothing had changed.

Since things had come to this, they just had to fight.

…And the opponent knew that very well.

That was the only common ground between two people who could never understand each other—being martial artists.

Nameless and Wang Yun.

Nameless moved first.

Bang-!!

He kicked off the ground, accelerating instantly, and threw a punch straight at Wang Yun.

A simple, powerful thrust.

A strike that had taken the lives of countless masters, powered by the Diamond Body and the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique, was unleashed toward Wang Yun.

…And it was easily blocked.

Wang Yun’s palm softly caught Nameless’s fist and stopped it.

“What are you doing? Showing off your strength?”

“……!!”

At Wang Yun’s calm question, Nameless’s eyes widened in surprise.

There had been many in the martial world who had blocked his attacks, but never so effortlessly.

No, something was clearly off. There was a secret here.

It wasn’t like the soft martial arts of the Empty Clarity Fist or Taijiquan, which used yielding to counter strength.

It felt like hitting an immovable, solid mountain.

Nameless judged it dangerous and tried to quickly create distance.

“Then it’s my turn now.”

Dragon’s Nine Sons Technique – Jiaotu

Wang Yun’s index and middle fingers swiftly pressed on Nameless’s left shoulder.

‘Pressure point…?’

Nameless tried to circulate his internal energy to block the pressure point, but his energy wouldn’t flow.

“……?!”

The meridians from his left shoulder to his arm closed, and he lost all sensation in his left arm.

The gap created by the paralysis of his left arm.

…And into that gap, Wang Yun’s basic form unfolded.

Dragon’s Nine Sons Technique – Bixi

As Wang Yun raised his right hand and brought it down.

A massive, invisible pillar shaped like an elephant’s foot or a land turtle’s leg formed above Nameless’s head.

Crack-!!

It struck Nameless with the force to crush him.

Normally, such a blow would shatter his skull and crush his body.

Fortunately, his Diamond Body held. His sturdy neck and legs supported his body, enduring Wang Yun’s strike.

Drip… drip….

Red blood flowed from his broken forehead, staining his face and dripping to the ground.

It had been a long time since he had been injured.

Though injured, Nameless remained calm.

“Blood… pierced the Diamond Body?!”

Unmu Yong, watching from behind, was horrified, as if his own body had been pierced.

But his shock was justified.

In the martial world, half-jokingly, half-seriously, there was a saying about the three conditions of the world’s number one.

First – Escape the Heavenly Net cast by the elite masters of the Martial Alliance.

Second – Break through the 108 Arhat Formation of the Shaolin Temple’s abbot.

…And third.

Make a martial artist who has reached the Diamond Body bleed.

Unmu Yong’s pupils shook as if an earthquake had struck.

One of the strongest martial artists in the current martial world.

Nameless and Invincible had his left arm subdued and his Diamond Body pierced in the initial exchange.

“That… man… has the potential to be the world’s number one…”

There was no way to win. Fear magnified the opponent before his eyes.

“You can win. Don’t be afraid.”

And Nameless reassured Unmu Yong with a firm voice, different from his usual casual tone.

“There’s no such thing as an invincible martial art, and being the world’s number one doesn’t mean you can’t die.”

He was injured, but he was still alive.

Nothing had changed.

He wiped the awkward smile off his face and revealed his true expression.

“Just… it seems like I’ll have to fight a bit harder. Stay further back.”