SMACK!
A sharp sound echoed across the battlefield.
"...Hah." Ak Bi touched his cheek vacantly. Given the stinging pain, it wasn't hard to conclude that a clear, red handprint now adorned his face. Licking his lips, he realized that his left lip was also split and dripping blood.
The Spear King grimaced in shock and fury the moment Namgung Su's hand, which was supposedly reaching for his dropped sword, connected with his cheek.
Still, as a peerless master, he could exploit even a fraction of a second. He immediately deployed his defensive enhanced qi, shielding his face while shaping the qi into sharp, saw-like blades for a counterattack.
Damn bastard!
Ak Bi's eyes gleamed with killing intent as he glared at Namgung Su. Even as the palm struck his face, the spate of 'accidents' was not yet over.
I'll tear that palm to shreds!
Approaching with a sly smile, he said, "I was just going to watch, you know, but when a man called one of the Ten Supremes gangs on a murim junior along with his underlings, I just couldn't stand by and do nothing."
He stopped trying to evade Namgung Su's palm. Instead, he braced himself, tensing his facial muscles and trusting in his enhanced defensive qi.
Within moments, Namgung Su's palm would be so mangled he could never hold a sword again. Not only would the tendons and muscles in his fingers be torn, but if he was unlucky, even the bones would be fractured.
Truth to tell, deploying defensive enhanced qi was forbidden in a sparring match. However, he could always claim that he had unconsciously used this technique to protect his face. After all, they were in a situation where both sides were repeatedly making 'mistakes'.
Reap what you sow for trying such a despicable trick on me!
Namgung Su sighed and shook his head.
Unfortunately for him, Namgung Su was still making mistakes.
CRACKLE!
Ak Bi's eyes widened as far as they could go upon seeing lightning enhanced qi erupt from Namgung Su's palm.
The bodyguards swallowed dryly, but Baek Suryong ignored them and continued nonchalantly, "Haha! It's a joke, a joke!
Fuck, I've been had...! This Namgung Clan bastard even took my instinctive reaction into account!
SMAAAACK!
Namgung Su's lightning-wreathed palm struck Ak Bi's cheek with all his might, snapping the Spear King's taut face to the side. As if caught in a gale, Ak Bi flew several meters before he finally skidded to a halt.
Still, as a peerless master, he could exploit even a fraction of a second.
"...Hah." Ak Bi touched his cheek vacantly. Given the stinging pain, it wasn't hard to conclude that a clear, red handprint now adorned his face. Licking his lips, he realized that his left lip was also split and dripping blood.
All this was the result of an almost instantaneous battle of wits that, to others, would appear to be nothing more than a series of unfortunate coincidences.
"......" Ak Bi's instincts as a martial artist screamed of danger. They told him that the moment he clashed with the Azure Dragon Hero, he would not be able to escape ruin.
"Patriarch!"
"You scumbag!"
After recovering from their momentary shock, the Spear King's bodyguards rushed forward. When they saw the blood dripping from the Shandong Ak Clan Patriarch's split lip, however, they froze in place, gripped by indecision.
They were too afraid of their Patriarch to approach him when he was obviously upset. As such, they could only direct their anger at Namgung Su.
"You won't get away with this!"
"How dare you lay a hand on the Patriarch...!"
The Spear King, Ak Bi, was one of the Ten Supremes. He was a renowned martial master who should never have been slapped by someone young enough to be his son, even if he had given himself a handicap by limiting his power.
"...Hah." Ak Bi touched his cheek vacantly.
If word of this incident spread, not only would a huge crack appear in his reputation, he would also have to endure all sorts of ridicule. Even worse, his status as one of the Ten Supremes could be called into question.
For this reason, Ak Bi remained silent, tenderly caressing his cheek. The slap had not only embarrassed him, but also reminded him how easily he could lose everything he had built in mere moments.
"Uhm... P-Patriarch? A-Are you alright?" Namgung Su stammered, looking absolutely dismayed. "The moment your spear grazed my chest, I, uh, inadvertently channeled too much qi into my hand. As a result, I embarrassingly dropped my sword..."
Ak Bi glared at the young martial arts instructor. Namgung Su's uniform was soaked with blood. His injury was much more severe than a mere slap to the face. Before long, even the bodyguards who had been denouncing Namgung Su had no choice but to shut their mouths.
Namgung Su continued, "I've never dropped my sword during a duel before, so I panicked. I unconsciously reached out to grab it and... made a grave mistake. I'm really sorry!" he apologized, seemingly too embarrassed to speak of what happened next. Of course, he made sure to glance worriedly at Ak Bi's swollen cheek and split lip. "As I said before, I think it's best if we kept this duel a secret."
Still, he felt surprisingly calm.
Eloquence was one of the basic requirements for a Star Instructor. Namgung Su was implying that the blame for the 'accident' lay with both of them, and he was suggesting that they quietly bury the hatchet. In other words, he was saying, 'I won't spread rumors about you getting slapped by a murim junior, so you should back down quietly without making a fuss.'
"I'm grateful for your consideration and compromises, which allowed me to learn a lot. Thank you so much for your invaluable guidance!" Namgung Su bowed respectfully, then picked up his sword and sheathed it. "If that is all, this junior will take his leave."
He turned around, intending to quickly walk away, but a chilling voice stopped him.
"...Who said you could decide this is over?" Ak Bi growled.
The bodyguards who had served him for decades immediately surrounded Namgung Su, understanding their lord's wishes even without orders.
Namgung Su frowned and asked innocently, "W-What is the meaning of this?"
Ak Bi clenched his teeth. To him, Namgung Su's stereotypical young orthodox hero act was repugnant. However, he did not let himself get angry. After all, why waste emotions on a person he had already decided to kill?
"I want to see the famed Lightning Dragon Hero's true skill."
ROAAAAAAR!
His aura magnified several times over. As if the spearmanship he had displayed thus far were mere child's play, a deadly maelstrom spun into existence from his spear, threatening to engulf everything in its path.
At the eye of the storm, the powerfully built spearman's eyes blazed with killing intent. "This time, let's duel without any handicaps."
"...You'll regret this," Namgung Su warned coolly.
The bodyguards swallowed dryly, but Baek Suryong ignored them and continued nonchalantly, "Haha! It's a joke, a joke! You're not an unorthodox thug, are you? How could the respected Patriarch of the Shandong Ak Clan, the Spear King of the Ten Supremes, possibly try to kill a young man for slapping him by accident? You were probably just going to rough him up a bit to vent your anger, right?"
Ak Bi shrugged and let out a dry laugh. The endless insults hidden behind a pretense of politeness, uttered by a direct descendant of the Namgung Clan, had rekindled his repressed inferiority complex. "I don't think I could regret it any more than I do right now."
"......"