Chapter 60

“My woman? I don’t understand what you’re saying… but I guess it’s okay to interpret it as a martial challenge, right?”

Wolhwa’s golden eyes sparkled with interest at the sudden, unexpected, and rude challenge.

Like a child who found a fun toy while bored, she gave me a mischievous smile.

“Hoho… daring to challenge me, the younger sister of the Ice Dragon, Seol Wonhwa, the Snow Phoenix. Truly a frog in a well!!”

I thought it should be a toad, not a frog, but that wasn’t important, so I let it slide.

What’s important now is that I challenged her, and she accepted.

Once decided, I quickly racked my brain, predicting how she might come at me.

Assuming her attendants can’t fight, the most dangerous thing would be the coordinated attacks of her guards. And…

I looked at the girl who called herself the Snow Phoenix, with her neatly tied hair, flowing clothes, snow-white hair, and sparkling golden eyes.

…Given that her nickname includes “Phoenix,” the white-haired girl, Seol Wonhwa, must be a top-tier martial artist. I need to be cautious.

As I observed Wolhwa and the guards around her, I worried about being surrounded.

“Worried about the guards? Don’t be. No matter the reason, we won’t gang up on someone who challenged us openly and honorably.”

Wolhwa, noticing my concern, let out an elegant scoff and then suddenly gave a cold smile.

“However, I will test whether your boldness in challenging me matches your skills.”

As she said this, she signaled to a guard, who stepped forward to face Mantian.

At first glance, it seemed like a one-on-one fight instead of a one-against-many. But in terms of advantage, I was still at a disadvantage.

The guard’s aura suggested he was far superior to the mediocre swordsmen I had recently faced.

Moreover, I was without my staff, rendering my main martial arts sealed.

…But it’s okay. No problem at all.

I quietly exhaled and inhaled, circulating my internal energy throughout my body, enhancing my physical abilities.

In a fight, what’s truly important isn’t martial arts.

Back when I didn’t even know what martial arts were, in a ruined house, a kind and upright voice always answered my questions.

‘Mantian, when a huge and evil enemy blocks your path, what’s truly important isn’t powerful martial arts.’

I observed every tiny movement of my opponent, paying attention to every detail.

‘It’s the attitude of never giving up and constantly seeking a way out. Never forget this.’

I took my stance, extended my left arm forward, and measured the distance. The path to victory. Seeking a way out.

The fight started for purely personal reasons, and the dice were cast.

From now on, it’s do or die. A time for quick thinking.

…And in the corner of the inn.

A man with dark circles under his eyes, otherwise unremarkable, watched Mantian intently as he faced the foreign martial artists.

“…Brother Sima?”

No, that’s not it. He looked similar but was much younger. Plus, he had more muscle. And Brother Sima wasn’t lame.

‘Wait… lame?’

The man’s eyes widened in surprise, and a hint of joy appeared.

“Is that Mantian…? You’ve grown so much.”

Who would have thought I’d see my senior’s child in a village inn I stopped by without much thought on my way to the Martial Alliance for business. The connections of people are truly amazing.

In the martial world, a master is like a parent, and fellow disciples are like siblings.

So, in terms of seniority, Mantian was like a nephew to the man.

Well, to be precise, he had been expelled by the master and had cut ties with his senior after becoming a martial outlaw, but considering his narrow social circle, it was still a precious connection.

…Thus, the man with dark circles, Nameless, considered helping Mantian but then shook his head.

If he, a martial outlaw, intervened and his identity was revealed, things would get very~ very~ complicated. And besides-

‘Thud-!!’ The dull sound of someone being slammed to the ground echoed.

Mantian stood, the guard lay on the floor.

-It didn’t seem like Mantian was going to lose.

Everyone in the inn, except Nameless, widened their eyes in disbelief. Nameless’s eyes gleamed like a snake’s as he admired his nephew’s skills.

His assassin-trained senses gauged the strength.

Even if he had lived hidden in the wild and was initially intimidated upon entering the world, a wolf is a wolf, and a tiger is a tiger.

Predators aren’t easily defeated.

…And in another corner of the inn.

Disguised with face-changing techniques, the Sima family servant, guard, and assassin, Jang Sam, watched Mantian.

‘Damn it- damn it- why is that guy here?! He didn’t recognize me, right? Buddha, please!!’

-He trembled at the appearance of Nameless, one of the Three Evils of the Martial World, considered the most dangerous, and cursed inwardly.

***

“Hmph, spineless brat.”

Wang Miaoyang puffed her cheek slightly as she thought of Mantian and grumbled.

No matter how busy she was with information gathering and other tasks, leaving her little time to oversee his training, she never expected him to wag his tail at a girl named Sososo and ask for help with training.

In the end, the training efficiency improved… but it was still irritating.

He lacked the awareness that he was the direct disciple of the Jeonjin Sect’s leader.

Wang Miaoyang sighed as she looked at Mantian’s staff, which showed signs of long use.

…And he needed to break the habit of relying on staff techniques.

At first, it was for training, but was it okay to forcibly take the staff from a lame person? Seeing his reaction after taking it, it was the right decision.

Having lived his whole life with a staff, his dependence on it was high.

If Mantian were just an ordinary lame person, it wouldn’t matter, but as someone learning martial arts, it was a habit that needed to be corrected.

Moreover…

Wang Miaoyang’s eyes darkened as she looked at the staff. A shadow fell over her doll-like face.

He had already learned the excellent martial arts of Jeonjin. Relying on other sect’s martial arts was very irritating.

“I told him Jeonjin’s martial arts are the best in the world… yet he only uses staff techniques…”

Thinking about it, Wang Miaoyang’s cheek puffed up again.

Truly an irritating disciple to make his master’s cheek puff up.

***

The North Sea Ice Palace guard, lying flat on the ground, blinked.

He thought he needed to quickly end this mock duel caused by the young lady’s whim. So, he aimed for the legs first.

And as Mantian predicted the first move would be a leg attack, he countered, causing the guard to lose strength and collapse to the ground.

He exposed a weakness, creating an opening, and lured the enemy into a direction of his choosing.

A bland conclusion no one expected. But it was a natural result.

After all, the guard underestimated his opponent, and Mantian did not.

“…So, do I seem qualified to issue a challenge?”

Mantian’s low voice directly addressed Wolhwa.

He threw her earlier words back at her. A clear provocation to draw her into a one-on-one fight.

“Hoh, hoho… Yes! I admit it! You! As the opponent of the Snow Phoenix, Seol Wonhwa, you are not lacking!!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Wolhwa stood up, extended her snow-white hand towards Mantian, and the attendants and guards hurriedly distanced themselves to avoid getting involved.

The performance and cheap provocation Mantian showed had truly irritated the proud princess.

“I’ll give you a special opportunity to witness the martial arts of the North Sea Ice Palace!”

It was a supernatural ability that destroyed common sense and physical laws under the name of martial arts, now familiar.

From her boldly extended hand, cold energy gathered, greedily stealing the surrounding temperature.

“If you want to live, roll on the ground like a cute baby seal!!”

A snow-white storm, as cold and rough as the North Sea, revealing itself, poured down.

Ice White Divine Palm

Stunned by the first area attack I had ever faced.

The given time was a moment. The choices were to lie down and live or stand and fight.

Without hesitation, I stepped forward with my left foot, extended my right hand forward, and released my energy.

I don’t even know why I made this choice.

Maybe it was a pointless stubbornness, or perhaps I sensed someone behind me.

…But one thing was certain: the image of Guhae enduring pain to protect a little sparrow, even when she was about to be hit by a stone, came to mind.

‘No one… helps me… not even the little bird… so… I’ll help.’

The moment her pure blue eyes left me speechless came to mind.

Rolling on the ground like a baby seal wouldn’t stop those who belittled and insulted Guhae without even knowing her.

I needed to show them a taste so severe they wouldn’t dare think such thoughts again.

Exhaling frozen white breath, I mercilessly whipped my dantian, squeezing it out.

Through the Mystical Taoist Inner Energy Technique, I refined and refined my pure internal energy, pulling it out long and weaving it with other threads.

Using the Thousand Jin Pull, I increased the weight of my lower body to resist the pushing force. I grabbed my trembling right wrist with my left hand and forcibly fixed it.

My legs were the cannon, my hand the barrel. One eyebrow was frozen, slightly affecting my aim, but I was ready.

A technique I had never successfully used before. I didn’t know what would happen now.

I just released a beam of energy from my fingertips into the world.

Frost Shattering Palm

The line of energy created from Mantian’s hand split the space, spreading like a spider’s web.

Shattering the world like a broken glass window.

Crack-crack-crack-!!

Devouring the snow-white storm, it mercilessly advanced, crushing and destroying everything in its path.

The secret technique of Jeonjin, once called the Star of Death, now revealed itself again.

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The aftermath of the palm technique left half the wall destroyed, letting in warm sunlight and sparkling snowflakes into the inn.

“Huh? Huh…?”

A girl who couldn’t comprehend the situation.

From the Snow Phoenix, Seol Wonhwa’s secret technique, clear water, as if the snow had melted, flowed out.