Chapter 22 : Jaseung, Turns the Situation in His Favor

Chapter 22: Jaseung, Turns the Situation in His Favor

The next day, the nineteenth arena was in utter chaos packed with people who had come after hearing the rumors.

In just one day, the rumors had grown and grown until Lee Jaseung and Hae Ryang were said to be bitter love rivals, ready to risk their lives over Baek Seolyoung.

The Lord of the Northern Sky Clan Baek Seolyoung, the strongest clan protecting the Orthodox Faction. Hae Ryang of the Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan, another protector of the faction, and the great disciple of the fallen Flying Dagger Sect.

It was a perfect setup for all sorts of over-the-top drama.

Lee Jaseung and Dan Woobin entered the stage.

“I’m sorry.”

In the end, Dan Woobin had failed to find a way to stop Hae Ryang from participating in this match.

He had even considered something drastic such as ambushing several businesses run by the Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan by sending the Divine Sword nearby.

Surely if their base was under attack, then Hae Ryang wouldn’t be able to participate so leisurely.

But of course, the consequences of such an action would be far too great which is why he hadn’t gone through with it.

“Don’t worry too much. No matter the outcome, we’ll be able to handle it.”

Over the past seven years of war, Dan Woobin had experienced times when he couldn’t come up with any decent plan, or worse, when a poor plan had caused serious risk.

Even then, Lee Jaseung said the same thing.

“Don’t worry, we’ll overcome it no matter what.”

And just like he said, they had overcome everything and made it this far.

Dan Woobin glanced at Lee Jaseung. Seeing his unchanged profile made him feel reassured.

‘Yes, I won’t worry. We’ll make it through this too.’

When Lee Jaseung stepped onto the stage, he was met with cheers and applause.

Then came murmurs and whispers. The crowd’s chatter was mostly along the lines of where the Flying Dagger Sect was, him looking younger than expected, handsome, him having fought well so far, unfortunate that he was met with this opponent today.

No one person believed that Lee Jaseung was going to win.

However, many rooted for the underdog, hoping he could pull off a miracle and defeat Hae Ryang.

A roar erupted from the other side. The crowd made way for someone approaching. It was Hae Ryang walking through.

Even louder cheers exploded compared to when Lee Jaseung stepped up. Hae Ryang was far more popular. After all, he was a rising master of the world, known as the Young Sword Saint.

He stepped onto the stage.

The air became tense as the two faced each other.

Hae Ryang asked politely.

“I’ll ask again. What is your relationship with her?”

All eyes turned to Lee Jaseung.

“None of your business.”

The crowd let out gasps of awe, thinking that Lee Jaseung was taunting him.

Hae Ryang smiled leisurely. It wasn’t a bad thing that his opponent lacked manners. It was only going to raise his own prestige in comparison.

He was excited to use this opportunity to show his feelings for her publicly in front of everyone. No one asked, but he spoke his thoughts.

“I would do anything for her.”

The crowd erupted again in cheers.

Riding the momentum, Hae Ryang asked with a loud voice.

“Can you risk your life for someone?”

Lee Jaseung stared at him coldly and asked.

“Are you really risking your life for her?”

“What?”

“You sure it’s not for yourself?”

Hae Ryang flinched for an instant. Lee Jaseung had struck him at his greatest weakness.

Moreover, how could he not know? He knew that Baek Seolyoung wasn’t fond of how he entered the tournament. He was currently standing here because of his emotions.

With a cold smile, Hae Ryang drew his sword. It was crisp and precise, as expected from a blood relative of a noble clan.

‘Arrogant bastard! I’ll make sure you can never use martial arts again.’

A dark malice that he wouldn’t normally have, burned inside him.

But he was now blinded by love, jealousy, and public attention.

This time, Lee Jaseung drew his Asura for the first time in the tournament.

Of course, he could have fought barehanded, but that would have drawn too much attention.

Hae Ryang gestured that he would let Lee Jaseung make the first move.

Lee Jaseung scoffed inside. Hae Ryang was clearly caring about the eyes on him.

Hey, you should focus only on your opponent if you are risking your life.

With controlled speed and force, Lee Jaseung struck first.

Clang!

A sword and a dagger clashed with great force.

Hae Ryang was shocked inside after their first exchange.

‘He’s stronger than I expected.’

The heavy impact was delivered to his wrist. To others, it only looked like a light clash.

Hae Ryang drew more of his inner Qi.

His sword grew sharper.

Swaaaash!

Lee Jaseung leaped backwards and barely dodged the sword. With Lee Jaseung continuing to dodge in succession, Hae Ryang drew even more Qi.

Another close call occurred.

Of course, Dan Woobin knew that it was all staged.

‘So he’s planning to win by the narrowest margin possible.’

But even Dan Woobin didn’t know Lee Jaseung’s true intention. He was planning something.

Papapapak!

Lee Jaseung rolled on the ground.

As the battle seemed to be turning against Lee Jaseung, the two were distanced.

As if he had waited for this moment, Lee Jaseung threw a dagger, not Asura, but a normal one for throwing.

Shing-!

It cut through the air with a sharp sound of wind.

Clang!

With a sound of metal clashing another, the dagger dropped beside the stage.

Everyone looked at the stage, shocked.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Hae Ryang who deflected the dagger. Between the two fighters, stood a middle-aged man. It was Ham Muhong, Hae Ryang’s bodyguard.

It wasn’t only the crowd that was shocked. Hae Ryang behind him was the most shocked of all.

“What do you think you are doing?”

He yelled furiously.

“Booooo!”

Jeers erupted from all directions. A bodyguard interfering in a duel was unheard of.

Ham Muhong said nothing. He just stared at Lee Jaseung with his eyes trembling.

Ham Muhong was a much stronger fighter than Hae Ryang was, and his decision was correct in truth.

When the dagger flew in, he noticed that it wasn’t an ordinary one.

It secretly contained a massive amount of Qi inside. It was the technique Lee Jaseung had been refining up until yesterday.

Hidden nearby, Ham Muhong noticed this and rushed in.

He knew just how dangerous it was, but he wrapped himself with a protective Qi layer, preparing to die to block the explosion with his own body.

But when he deflected the dagger, the Qi inside had vanished.

‘What happened?’

Ham Muhong wasn’t able to understand. Retrieving Qi from a thrown dagger was impossible in his mind.

‘Was I perhaps mistaken?’

This is what Lee Jaseung had aimed for.

From the moment he stepped onto the stage, he had sensed Ham Muhong’s presence.

He always kept Mook Young by his side, the greatest bodyguard one could have, and a master of stealth above anyone else.

This whole fight had been a setup to lure him in.

“Booooo!”

The crowd’s jeers intensified.

Basically, it became a situation where Hae Ryang pushed his opponent to the brink, only to have his bodyguard intervene when it became dangerous for him.

The judge shouted with a loud voice.

“Hae Ryang of the Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan, disqualified! Victory goes to Seop Mu-pyeong of the Flying Dagger Sect!”

An incredible amount of jeers and cheers exploded. The jeers were for Hae Ryang, while all cheers went to Lee Jaseung.

Hae Ryang was furious.

“What the hell are you doing!?”

He grabbed Ham Muhong by the collar. His outburst only fueled the crowd’s anger. The jeers on him only grew.

Lee Jaseung stepped down from the stage.

Dan Woobin’s eyes were trembling.

Now, Lee Jaseung’s win was seen as him being lucky, and all attention would shift to Hae Ryang and his bodyguard.

Dan Woobin didn’t think that he would use such a clever method.

My Lord!

His heart swelled.

The faint smile on Lee Jaseung’s face as he walked toward him made it seem as if he was saying: Look, we overcame it like always.

* * *

The news of Hae Ryang’s disqualification spread rapidly not only throughout the Heaven’s Gate, but the whole Jianghu.

Of course, that news reached Baek Seolyoung as well.

“What? That man won?”

“Yes, Young Master Hae was disqualified.”

Even Chu Sang-gi had a look of disbelief, the one delivering the news.

“It seems like Expert Seop’s attack was blocked by a bodyguard who intervened in the duel.”

“That’s absurd! Just how powerful was the attack to warrant that?”

She couldn’t understand.

“There’s a lot of talk about that as well, but I personally believe the bodyguard may have overreacted.”

Either way, it was a completely unexpected result.

“There’s a heavy criticism aimed at Young Master Hae and the Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan. It seems the Young Master is quite shocked as well.”

“He must be.”

She felt sorry for Hae Ryang, but his loss didn’t sadden her one bit.

“But you strangely seem relieved.”

“If Seop Mu-pyeong had died because of Hae Ryang’s jealousy, I would’ve been partially responsible, right?”

“Oh, that’s true.”

Suddenly, Lee Jaseung came to her mind.

She had been bothered by telling him to die, but now she felt relieved.

She quickly shook her head after.

He was someone completely inconsiderate of others. She didn’t want to care about someone like that anymore.

The annoying Hae Ryang was out of the tournament, and the bothersome Seop Mu-pyeong would soon follow him anyway. Among the swarm of master martial artists, luck wasn’t going to be on his side.

With a lightened heart, she asked.

“What’s the next schedule?”

* * *

“Wahahaha! Let’s drink all night!”

It was Mujin who was most excited by the news. Though it was mostly an excuse to drink himself silly.

“Just when did you even come up with that plan?”

“When I got on the stage.”

“Seriously, our Lord’s quick thinking is unmatched in the whole world.”

They were currently allowed to use the title ‘Lord’ as Lee Jaseung instructed Mook Young to guard the area.

“It was only possible because I sensed the bodyguard’s presence. As you know, I do this training at all times thanks to an incredibly talented person.”

It was a compliment aimed at Mook Young.

Mujin looked into the air and spoke.

“Must be nice.”

Then, Lee Jaseung looked in the opposite direction and replied.

“It’s that way.”

“Hahaha, when did you get over there?”

Mujin made an awkward expression.

But Lee Jaseung knew that he too felt Mook Young’s presence and that he was only pretending not to notice. Like himself, Mujin wasn’t revealing everything about himself.

Lee Jaseung saw it as a good thing.

As the second-in-command in the Black Way Alliance, it was better to be someone like Mujin, pretending to be careless but smart rather than some fool spilling all their secrets.

Dan Woobin spoke with a bright face.

“Thankfully, no surveillance has been placed on us.”

He had been most worried that the Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan would begin tailing them.

But with what happened, they focused all their energy on getting rid of the criticism. They were too afraid of worsening public opinion to consider watching or pressuring Lee Jaseung.

Hae Cheon-in planned to use this as a chance to teach his son a lesson.

Dan Woobin spread papers across the table.

“This is a detailed organizational chart of the Northern Sky Clan.”

It outlined the clan’s inner workings in detail.

Their power was centered around the Four Dragons of the Northern Sky, seven halls, and nine Elders.

Dan Woobin then dropped a shocking statement.

“On the day you win, my Lord, we will eliminate Yang Sebang and all his minions.”

Both Lee Jaseung and Mujin were stunned, and even Ma Young-gi who had been silently listening, looked shocked.

“Eliminate Yang Sebang that day? Won’t they suspect us?”

“Us? Who’s us? The disciples of a fallen sect?”

“Ah! That’s right. We have no identity.”

Then, Ma Young-gi suddenly asked.

“Then won’t Lord Baek be suspected?”

“Probably, but leave that to me.”

Dan Woobin was confident. Of course, they would run into difficulties in the way, but he was determined to overcome any challenge.

Just as Lee Jaseung had shown him today, it was now his turn to come up with a brilliant plan to repay him.

“Leave the rest to us. There’s only one thing you need to do, my Lord. No matter what unexpected variable occurs in this tournament…”

Dan Woobin continued with a serious expression.

“You must win.”

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