Chapter 17: I Dominated the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly (2)

Dancheon Myeong and the lead group ran together for about five li.

A new person had joined the lead group. Most of the Dragons and Phoenixes couldn't help but be conscious of Dancheon Myeong, even if they tried not to. Even while using their movement arts, their gazes constantly flickered towards Dancheon Myeong.

Similarly, Dancheon Myeong also moved his gaze here and there as if observing those Dragons and Phoenixes.

And soon, as if he had come to some conclusion, Dancheon Myeong smirked.

“I’ll go on ahead. Keep up the hard work.”

Simultaneously with those words, Dancheon Myeong's figure disappeared. It was because he had leaped a great distance ahead with his supreme movement art.

Ssaeng.

Dancheon Myeong instantly overtook everyone in the lead group and ran at the very front. As if to prove that he had been deliberately matching their pace until now, his speed was incomparable to before.

“……!”

The leading Dragons and Phoenixes, who had been overtaken by Dancheon Myeong, hurriedly increased their speed, but Dancheon Myeong's back grew farther and farther away.

“Heo.”

“This is…….”

It was because all of them had been exhausted for a while.

“Chiit!”

Only Dancheon Hak and Namgung Tan fiercely chased after Dancheon Myeong.

But Dancheon Myeong was seemingly catchable, yet uncatchable.

“Heok. Heok.”

Namgung Tan, who had been running recklessly beyond his capacity with anger as his fuel, quickly depleted his stamina. He had failed in his management.

Nevertheless, he did not give up. It was because his lofty pride could not tolerate losing to that bastard.

However.

There were things in the world that couldn't be done with willpower alone.

“Heok. Heok.”

No matter how much he ran and ran, Dancheon Myeong could not be caught. The ever-widening distance eventually became so far that it could no longer be seen.

Dancheon Hak, who had closely followed Dancheon Myeong and disappeared with him, felt resentful for some reason.

“Heok. Heok”

The rough breathing of the lone Namgung Tan was all that echoed harshly in the empty air.

Dudududu.

Not long after, the group that had been running in the lead also quickly overtook Namgung Tan.

It was because his speed in movement arts had become as slow as a snail due to his failure in stamina management.

“Shit…… Heok.”

Nevertheless, Namgung Tan did not stop his feet.

It was because of the pride of the prestigious Namgung, and because of his anger towards Dancheon Myeong who had humiliated him and disappeared with a sneer.

With pride and anger as his fuel, Namgung Tan was able to keep going.

Extreme anger could be said to be expressed in two ways.

Some would lose their reason and run wild, while some would become extremely cold and calm.

Namgung Tan was able to realize for the first time that he had the latter tendency.

Unlike his rough breathing, his cooled head spun rapidly.

And Namgung Tan was soon able to draw one conclusion.

There was still a chance.

Turning at the turning point visible in the distance, that bastard from the Dancheon Clan would return.

“Hoo-”

Namgung Tan's steps slowed down.

Naturally, his breathing gradually stabilized.

He had not given up.

He was conserving his stamina for the most important moment.

Although he had fallen behind the lead group, he was still quite ahead.

Having seen the turning point even when there was still a long way to go before a shichen passed, it was also quite possible to cover the distance within half a shichen.

If so, there was a chance.

A way to contort that hateful face. As he managed his cooled anger, Namgung Tan waited for an opportunity.

Not much time had passed before a figure running rapidly towards him came into view.

It was Dancheon Myeong. He was running back after turning at the turning point. Perhaps he had even left Dancheon Hak behind, as he was completely alone.

It was a good thing.

The reason being that what he was about to do, no one should know.

As Namgung Tan and Dancheon Myeong ran facing each other, the distance between them narrowed in an instant.

The moment he passed him, he saw Dancheon Myeong's smiling face. That was clearly a sneer at him.

The moment the two crossed.

Namgung Tan's eyes glinted coldly.

His hand quickly went into his bosom and came out.

A weapon that would never be tolerated in the fair and just Namgung Clan, a hidden weapon, was held in his hand.

Pat!

It was something he had prepared for in advance. The hidden weapon, thrown without hesitation, flew swiftly.

The target was Dancheon Myeong's calf muscle.

Namgung Tan knew well that even a slight injury to the calf muscle would make it impossible to even run, let alone use movement arts.

Since it was a very common occurrence for the calf muscle to be injured while recklessly using movement arts, he wouldn't be able to be questioned without some definite proof.

And.

Ting!

The hidden weapon that hit Dancheon Myeong's calf muscle bounced off helplessly.

“Eh?”

Namgung Tan could not understand what had happened.

The unresolvable question made Namgung Tan's steps stop without him realizing it.

Like that, Namgung Tan stood there blankly, like a person who had fallen into despair.

“…….”

Dancheon Myeong was already running far away and disappearing.

A moment later.

Dancheon Hak passed by the stopped Namgung Tan with a puzzled expression.

Following behind Dancheon Hak was a person dressed as a wanderer.

***

Although he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud, Dancheon Hak simply couldn't understand the recent situation.

That fellow was definitely his younger brother, Dancheon Myeong. Although they weren't close, he wasn't so foolish as to not recognize his younger brother who had lived under the same roof since childhood.

But he had changed. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he had definitely changed.

Yes.

The first time he recognized that fact was at the Dancheon Clan.

Never mind the fact that the fellow who had always been intimidated was looking at him straight, how could he not know, when he had dared to declare in front of him that he had intentions for the position of Clan Head. The fact that Dancheon Myeong had changed.

However, he had dismissed it as the confidence of someone who had just entered the Peak realm.

Wasn't it something he himself had also experienced and passed through, the folly of an up-and-coming prodigy who had just reached the Peak thinking he was the best in the world?

But when he came to the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, he had changed again.

This time too, he couldn't put his finger on it, but the fellow's appearance and the atmosphere he exuded had strangely changed.

Upon closer inspection, he was definitely the Dancheon Myeong he knew, but strangely, the fellow's appearance looked quite handsome.

It was common for the young ladies of the Jianghu to blush at him, but not his younger brother. It had definitely been that way.

However, the fact that the young ladies were comparing the fellow and himself and chattering about who was superior came to his ears, and he didn't like it very much.

Dancheon Hak did not know the level of Dancheon Myeong's martial arts. To be precise, he was not interested.

He had never watched his younger brother's martial arts, nor had they ever trained together, so it was a natural thing.

However, the elders had always underestimated Dancheon Myeong's martial talent and praised his own, so he was just confident that he was far superior.

But today, that confidence was also shaken.

He just couldn't catch up to that Dancheon Myeong fellow who was running in the lead.

Unlike himself, who was squeezing out every last bit of his strength, that Dancheon Myeong fellow was full of leisure, as if his internal energy was gushing out like a bottomless pot.

Thinking about the reason, one hypothesis came to mind.

Since the most proficient in the Stepping on Clouds Gait in the Dancheon Clan was Uncle Yeo Baek, he speculated that he must have received some great teaching from him.

He thought that he should have persuaded his mother and brought Bang Yeo-baek to his side.

Well, it was alright. Now that he had realized the value of Bang Yeo-baek, it could be said that it wasn't too late.

And it wasn't over yet.

He admitted that the fellow was unexpectedly nimble, but he knew that sword strikes and internal energy could not be compensated for by a short-term stroke of luck.

Could he, who had consumed spiritual medicines like meals as the treasured child of the clan, and Dancheon Myeong, who had grown up being despised in the clan, be the same?

Although he had lost in the first test, the second and third tests would be different. Thinking so, he calmed his anger.

Finally, the pavilion where they had started came into his view.

Dancheon Myeong, who had arrived long ago, was in his sight.

First place was Dancheon Myeong.

And he was second place.

It was frustrating, but objectively speaking, it wasn't bad.

He had overtaken the up-and-coming prodigies of Kunlun and the Beggar's Gang, who boasted the best movement arts in the Jianghu, so it could be said to be a remarkable achievement.

It was just before Dancheon Hak reached his destination.

Ssaeng.

Something fast brushed past him.

What he caught a glimpse of was familiar. It was the dirty hem of the wanderer he had looked down on.

“Brother Chun-baek, you've arrived?”

Dancheon Myeong spoke to the person who had arrived.

“Myeong, you were fast.”

“Haha. I've been confident in my running since I was young.”

Even though they had run two hundred li without a break, they were talking with a calm expression as if they had just been for a walk.

“Hoo-”

Dancheon Hak, who had arrived at his destination, composed his breathing.

He wanted to pretend to be calm, but the taste of blood in his throat and the breathing that squeezed his lungs disturbed his expression.

‘Damn it.’

He could see a Luohan monk recording the rankings.

One. Dancheon Myeong.

Two. Lee Chun-baek.

Three. Dancheon Hak.

Dancheon Hak had become third place.

Dancheon Myeong's gaze, which was looking at him strangely, was uncomfortable.

Lee Chun-baek originally had no intention of standing out.

It was because his master from the sect had even opposed his participation in the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly for the reason that a protruding stone gets chiseled.

Since it was the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly he had participated in after going against his master's will for the first time, he had no intention of doubling his master's worries by showing off his skills here.

However, he wanted to see for himself.

Where he himself stood at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, where the best up-and-coming prodigies of the Jianghu gathered.

Wasn't he also of a hot-blooded age?

But after meeting Dancheon Myeong, his thoughts changed a little.

He was a comrade born with the same stigma of being a bastard as himself.

Seeing Dancheon Myeong using his movement art freely, he just wanted to match his pace a little.

However, since Dancheon Myeong's movement art was superior than he had thought, as he matched his pace, Lee Chun-baek also overtook the lead group along with him.

‘Should I stop here.’

Third place could be said to be sufficiently eye-catching.

The second place running slightly ahead came into view.

He knew who that fellow was. He was the pathetic brother who looked down on his own younger brother for being a bastard.

In that fellow's appearance, he saw an overlap of the appearance of someone who had looked down on him in the past.

‘Second place or third place.’

Lee Chun-baek, only now with the destination in sight, deployed his full-speed movement art for the first time.

Ssaeng.

He instantly became second place.

It was a gift for his younger brother with whom he had gotten along with for the first time in a long while.

Dancheon Hak's crestfallen gaze was captured in Lee Chun-baek's sight.

He was satisfied.

***

“Kkeolkkeolkkeol. This is it. There are more people than I thought, so I am satisfied.”

Exactly half a shichen later, Great Monk Beomgak said.

The inside of the pavilion was full of up-and-coming prodigies who were lying around, gasping for breath. It was about two-thirds of the starting number. Namgung Tan was among them.

“Hmm. Should we wait for another quarter of an hour?”

Since they were busy composing their breathing, no up-and-coming prodigy answered.

Another quarter of an hour passed.

There were no up-and-coming prodigies who had given up or dropped out. As if to prove that they had reached the Peak realm with their own strength, all the up-and-coming prodigies had returned after reaching the turning point.

The sound of heavy breathing filled the inside of the pavilion.

The up-and-coming prodigies, who had thought it would be easy since there were no spars or duels, all changed their minds.

The tests of the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly were not as easy as they had thought.

“To think that no one has given up. The future of the righteous Murim is truly bright. The zero points will be considered as if they never happened.”

The voice of the greatly delighted Great Monk Beomgak grew a little louder.

“We have to announce first place, right?”

Saying so, Great Monk Beomgak walked with firm steps.

In front of him was Dancheon Myeong, who hadn't shed a single drop of sweat.

As Great Monk Beomgak took Dancheon Myeong's hand and leaped up, the two were on the platform in no time.

It was a sublime movement art that did not even allow for comparison with the up-and-coming prodigies.

“First place is the second son of the Dancheon Clan, Myeong.”

Saying so, Great Monk Beomgak took Dancheon Myeong's hand and raised it up high.

Everyone's gaze naturally gathered.

“The record is exactly one shichen.”

Everyone's gaze was filled with admiration and jealousy.

Having stood on the platform, Dancheon Myeong was able to look down on all the Dragons and Phoenixes he had once admired.

Dancheon Myeong and Dancheon Hak's gazes intertwined.

For Dancheon Myeong, it was not a bad feeling.