[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 295

“Come at me. I’ll snap your neck and wash away Dan Ryeong’s disgrace.”

“Hah. And what’s a lowborn like you supposed to be? Ah, lover, was it? How admirable—our noble of the Four Heavens, so full of charity! Ahahahahaha!”

Hearing such vile contempt, there was no way she could stay still.

“Gu Hwan!!!”

At last, unable to endure it, So Wuryeong drew her sword and charged him. Gu Hwan, as if waiting for this moment, pulled out his weapon and met her head-on.

To be honest, while So Wuryeong’s talent was considerable, it wasn’t enough to defeat Gu Hwan in an instant.

Still, her skill was more than enough to push him back, and it was plain to see that Gu Hwan was slowly being forced on the defensive.

Then it happened.

Something seemed to go wrong with her skin mask.

So Wuryeong suddenly flinched, reaching to touch her cheek.

Her eyes widened in horror.

With trembling pupils, she took one, then two steps back.

“Have you, worthless woman, thrashed about enough?”

“You… what did you coat your blade with?!”

“I’ve no idea what nonsense you’re spouting.”

Panicked, her footwork faltered, and she began losing ground to Gu Hwan.

He pressed harder than before, driving her back ruthlessly.

Each time their blades clashed, an almost invisible dust scattered from Gu Hwan’s sword, touching So Wuryeong’s human skin mask and causing it to corrode.

“Filthy bastard.”

Lispa Elde muttered beside me.

With every clash, So Wuryeong grew more shaken, flinching like a frightened child.

“So this is the great candidate of the Four Heavens? I heard she’d reached some lofty realm, but seeing this… were those just empty rumors?”

No one stepped forward to intervene.

Backed into the far wall, So Wuryeong grew desperate, fending off attacks only to protect her crumbling mask.

“Where did all that bravado go?! Come then—take the strike of Gu Hwan!”

Kaang!! Kaaang!!!

“Ugh?!”

Such passive defense, of course, only left openings.

Though her cultivation seemed higher, with such a fatal weakness exploited, the flow of battle could no longer be decided by mere levels of skill.

Her footwork tangled, and So Wuryeong was thrown to the ground.

Gu Hwan rested his sword on his shoulder with a gruesome grin.

Even with memories of my past life, I never judged the Eastern Continent as resembling wuxia.

Because here, there were no righteous or demonic sects—only massive guilds clashing for profit.

And when even young prodigies of this generation were twisted like this, what more needed saying?

“Oh? Come to think of it, So Wuryeong—your face looks a little strange.”

Gu Hwan reached out, as if to seize her face.

“N… no!!”

“Well, well. So it’s an human skin mask. Then you are So Wuryeong, aren’t you? Or perhaps that haughty, exalted So Wuryeong uses a mask to hide something? I’ve heard the rumor: that the unbearably ugly So Wuryeong, unable to overcome her inferiority, wore a mask shaped like a beauty’s face.”

“Stop!”

She tried to resist, but Gu Hwan, as though waiting for this very moment, moved to tear away her mask.

All eyes fixed on her, like spectators watching a trapped animal cry out in vain.

No one stepped in.

How could this be?

If she’s of the Four Heavens, shouldn’t someone intervene?

I glanced around.

The members of her clan were already locked in standoffs with other factions’ warriors.

Some among them radiated particularly formidable power.

“A trivial clash between juniors isn’t something elders should interfere with.”

“Stand aside! The duel is already over!!”

“Then it’s time for the victor to claim his rights. Or is the precious flower of the Four Heavens hiding some defect?”

“Hahaha!!”

It seemed the her clan hadn’t brought many warriors here.

Earlier, their patriarch had rushed out with all the elders in tow, likely due to some disturbance outside.

And so, just as Gu Hwan’s hand reached to rip away So Wuryeong’s mask—

Thump.

I was suddenly there, seizing his arm.

“Familiar scene, isn’t it? The situation’s a bit different this time, though the roles have shifted.”

Confusion flickered in his eyes.

“You… who are you…?”

“What, face blindness? Surely people with different hair or eye colors aren’t that common to you lot.”

I lifted my bamboo hat slightly, smirking.

“……”

“Let’s end this rotten game here.”

With my sudden appearance, every gaze turned toward me.

‘A foreigner? ‘

‘Who’s that?’

—the murmurs grew louder.

“Oh-ho. You’re that beggar brat from the inn. How’d you crawl in here—come to beg?”

“Do you not understand human speech?”

I looked straight into his eyes, unflinching.

“It’s over. Step back while I’m asking nicely.”

A chilling aura swept out.

Gu Hwan jolted, instinctively retreating a step, then another.

He was horrified to realize he’d backpedaled without meaning to.

The onlookers, who didn’t understand what had just happened, only whispered—Why did Gu Hwan suddenly back off?

I ignored them.

I had words prepared for this moment.

“If it’s a fight you want, we can do it.”

“…What?”

“But not here. The banquet hall’s already in shambles. I hear a regional assembly will be held soon.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

I smiled, and he scowled.

“How about we settle it there?”

“You think you can just barge into the assembly without even knowing where it is…?”

He sneered, about to mock me further.

But I threw in the killer line:

“What’s wrong, are you scared? Well, it makes sense—at your level, the world’s still a terrifying place.”

His eyes turned murderous, and in an instant he lunged at me.

He was a martial artist, and his pressure was intense.

But I casually kicked a wooden table into his path, tangling his steps.

The moment his stance faltered, my will surged forth, carrying a shockwave that tapped his chin.

No one saw me strike him.

Normally, I would have crippled his limbs.

But if I turned Gu Hwan into a bloodied mess here, it would ruin the plan.

At the same time, Gu Hwan’s body staggered.

“Uh… uhh?”

His brain rattled, and he couldn’t keep his balance.

As he stumbled, murmurs spread among the crowd.

He stood there blankly, seemingly unable to grasp his own condition, before frowning.

“Damn this drunken haze…”

“Ah… drunkenness, is it? Well, Gu Hwan did drink quite a lot.”

“But… just a moment ago he looked perfectly fine, didn’t he? He even cornered that girl, So Wuryeong, who had such rumors surrounding her.”

“You idiot. Once you use inner strength, the intoxication hits you all at once.”

What nonsense.

The way they twist things for their own convenience was amusing, though apparently Gu Hwan heard it differently.

“Damn it, I made such a ridiculous mistake because of the drink… consider yourself lucky. And make sure you show up at the Assembly. I’ll rip you to shreds with my own hands.”

“Oh. By the way, would it be possible to reserve a spot for me in the Assembly’s applications?”

“…What kind of lunatic are you?”

“Well, if you’re too scared, I suppose there’s nothing I can do.”

“You… you bastard! I’ll kill you!!”

The effect was undeniable.

Now all that remained was to convince the head of the clan to accept this sudden declaration that I would be fighting in Dan Ryeong’s place.

Suppressing his fury, Gu Hwan stormed out of the banquet hall.

I turned to So Wuryeong, who was still crouched behind me.

“What are you doing? I drew all the attention for you. Get moving already.”

Startled at my words, So Wuryeong vanished in a flash, using a subtle footwork technique.

From the half-melted human-skin mask I glimpsed a complexion that could hardly be called human.

Seeing it directly, I understood—it was indeed a curse.

A sorcerous curse.

The same cause, perhaps, that five hundred years later, in the world I lived in, would bring the downfall of the Four Heavens Clan, including the Tang main house that was slain by Cheon Rryeong, Hwa Ryeong, and myself.

I did not bother chasing her.

When it came to curses born of sorcery, I was no expert.

I couldn’t help her even if I wanted to—and I had no obligation to do so either.

The mask’s shape may have once mirrored her real face.

That cold expression was likely a result of the mask’s inability to reflect delicate changes in emotion.

How suffocating it must be.

To live one’s whole life hidden beneath something like that.

Because of the incident at the banquet the previous night, I found myself sitting across from the head of the Clan, who quietly sipped his tea as I met his gaze.

“I have heard the story. First of all, I must thank you for helping Wuryeong.”

“It was nothing.”

“However, I also heard you expressed your intent to participate in the Assembly.”

“It turned out that way, yes.”

I kept my composure before the clan head, though the elders around us looked at me as if to say, Who is this fellow?

And it was no wonder—he wasn’t even pressing down on me, yet that heavy pressure peculiar to the truly strong weighed upon the room.

“Last night, we discovered signs that someone had secretly infiltrated the clan grounds. Their cultivation level was no trivial matter. To commit such a deed while I was away… It seems some rival clan intends to take advantage of this opportunity to bring harm to us.”

“Clan head, Wuryeong has already begun to fall into heart demons. Though I am suppressing them for now…”

“….”

When I remained silent, one of the elders cautiously whispered something into the clan head’s ear.

His expression hardened as he contemplated, so I spoke.

“Truth is, I made a pact with that man, Gu Hwan. We agreed to resolve this grudge at the Assembly.”

“Hm.”

“But with the Assembly so near, the registration period is already over. I had no way of entering.”

Helping So Wuryeong had been nothing more than building a justification—an excuse to step into the arena.

“If it does not cause trouble, might I be granted the right to participate in the Assembly?”

The clan head regarded me quietly.

“The Assembly is a competition for late-stage prodigies from all around. And yet, I sense no internal energy from you at all.”

In other words—You are too weak, I cannot accept you.

“If that is the only reward for aiding your daughter, it is enough for me.”

“Mm… You could be gravely injured. To be honest, under normal circumstances, I would never accept such a request.”

“Will you allow me to uphold my pact? As you said, if I am truly lacking, I will be eliminated in the preliminaries before ever facing the strong.”

At this, he gave me a look of utter incomprehension.

[Translator - Night]

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