Book 6 Chapter 3

The morning sun still rises on the day of the decisive battle.

- The Beginning of the Decisive Martial Arts Tournament

On the day of the decisive battle!

Bilyeon looked around at the members of the Vermilion Bird Squad with an undeniably coercive and threatening tone and said.

Bilyeon's face, unusually solemn today, was etched with a profound sense of gravitas.

"I believe in you all."

"Yes! Leave it to us, Senior Disciple!"

The members of the Vermilion Bird Squad replied with energetic voices, moved by Bilyeon's rare expression of trust. Bilyeon, as if wanting to further emphasize his trust, continued to speak.

"I have always watched with a warm gaze as you all worked tirelessly, cutting your teeth and grinding your hearts, to face the Azure Dragon Squad."

Come to think of it, what was the reason for the unavoidable showdown between the Azure Dragon Squad and the Vermilion Bird Squad? (It strongly feels like the influence of a certain Mr. Bi was involved back then…)

"Therefore, to prove my profound love for you and my trust, which is higher than the peaks of Mount Tai, I, myself, have wagered my entire fortune in front of you…"

While the beginning was confident and resounding, the end was spoken in a casual tone. Yet, to the ears of the Vermilion Bird Squad, that voice sounded louder than thunder. The smile he wore while delivering the most crucial message at the end seemed so obnoxious… It was obvious that the final part of his long speech was the most essential part of what they were hearing.

"If that's the case… if you lose, I will lose money! Right?"

Now, cold sweat was streaming down the bodies of all the Vermilion Bird Squad members like rain.

"If that happens, I will become a penniless beggar, ignored by everyone, and be driven out onto the streets… Then I might have to fight with the beggar boys for scraps of food… Then I would be very sad, wouldn't I?"

Bilyeon already wore a sorrowful and tragic expression, as if the misfortune of poverty was about to descend upon him in reality.

"If that happens, I don't think I'll have any reason left. I don't know what will happen then, and neither do you! It's just a small matter, isn't it?"

Bilyeon finished his words with a gentle smile, but it was by no means a trivial statement.

If it were Bilyeon, they knew for sure what would happen to them if such a situation occurred.

If such a situation occurred, their fate was certain.

Therefore, there was only one conclusion! The absolute imperative was that they must not lose this martial arts tournament, that they absolutely had to win. Even if it meant their flesh would be cut and their bones broken!

"So, you must win! But if you're curious about what will happen if you lose, I'll express my respect for your curiosity and offer to resolve that doubt in the grandest way possible after your defeat. You can look forward to it."

Although Bilyeon seemed to intend it as encouragement, the Vermilion Bird Squad members felt extremely uneasy. It was encouragement they absolutely did not want to accept, and each word only added a thousand pounds of burden to their hearts.

They keenly felt their Senior Disciple Bilyeon's unusual and excessive obsession with money. It was tantamount to a warning that if they lost, he would never let them off the hook. The mere words that Bilyeon's money was at stake depending on their victory or defeat plunged them into a fear greater than any other warning or threat. At the same time, a defiant spirit and conviction that they absolutely could not lose surged within them.

This was what Bilyeon was calling mental training.

"Remove them!"

"Yes!"

"Clank!"

"Thump!"

At Bilyeon's words, the Vermilion Bird Squad members, one after another, removed the ink rings they wore on their hands and feet.

"It's light!"

"I feel strange!"

"Wow! I feel like I could fly!"

As they removed the ink rings, which felt like the Five Elements Mountain weighing thirty-five million pounds that had crushed Sun Wukong for five hundred years, their bodies became as light as feathers, and their strength surged from their dantian. Their confidence soared, boundless and fearless.

"Go! And clash with all your might!"

"Yes! We're off, Senior Disciple!"

The Vermilion Bird Squad members replied with confident and resounding voices. It was finally time to test the results of their training.

People of all walks of life—monks, Taoists, and commoners—flocked around the specially built martial arts arena, designed to accommodate thirty-two simultaneous combatants.

They say the most entertaining spectacles in the world are fires and fights.

Humans possess a broad tolerance for enjoying the misfortunes of others from a safe distance, as long as it doesn't harm their own bodies or surroundings. That is, they could establish the formula: another's misfortune is my joy.

Even if it splashed, it wasn't their blood; even if it was cut, it wasn't their flesh. Humans are generally so insensitive to the pain of others that it's natural to think of it as watching a fire across a river.

Especially for those who have no particular hobby in developing and cultivating their own abilities, the spectacle of a fight, the first in a long time since the Samsung War, was an incredibly exciting festival and a beneficial way to spend leisure time.

As if to show how many people were gathered within the Celestial Martial Academy, the black mass of people made it impossible to find a place to stand. Everyone gathered there, with eager eyes, focused all their attention on the upcoming martial arts tournament between the Azure Dragon Squad and the Vermilion Bird Squad, which promised a wealth of visual entertainment.

Especially the eyes of those whose pockets had been picked at the hastily organized Eye Appraisal Fair were unusually intense.

This martial arts tournament would be held in public, for all to see. It was to be conducted openly before everyone, as secret duels in hidden places could not guarantee fairness or external credibility.

"Woooooah!"

As a thunderous roar erupted, the main characters of today finally appeared amidst the surging crowd. It was the fifteen members of the Azure Dragon Squad, led by their leader, Cheonsuryong Okryongsingom Maeng Yeonho, and the fifteen members of the Vermilion Bird Squad, led by their leader, Noejeongyeomryong Namgung Sang.

Yeomdo and Binggeom Gwancheolsu, along with Cheon Gwanju Mujukcheolkwon Ma Jingga, watched their students from the special viewing seats with eyes filled with complex emotions.

Finally, the decisive battle, where the pride of two peak masters and the considerable fortune of one student were at stake, had begun.

The Vermilion Bird Squad members, steeling their resolve, clashed head-on with Azure Dragon Squad leader Maeng Yeonho and a few others whose names were not worth remembering. There was no room for trickery or underhanded tactics here. Only true strength, skill, and understanding of martial arts were recognized as valid measures of one's prowess.

The clash of strength against strength, and skill against skill, erupted magnificently in one place.

"Woooooah!"

Cheers that seemed capable of shaking the heavens erupted.

For the participants, it might have been a heart-wrenching battle, but for the spectators, it was merely an exciting match.

The pinnacle of martial arts clashing on the specially built arena, fifteen times larger than a normal martial arts stage, was a magnificent spectacle. Sword lights danced, and saber lights blazed.

The swordsmanship of the Azure Dragon Squad members, who had learned from Binggeom Gwancheolsu, was astonishingly precise and refined. Their movements were as sharp as a razor, and equally polished, approaching perfection in form.

In contrast, the Vermilion Bird Squad members, who had learned from Yeomdo, were unrestrained, free, and wild. And above all, they were explosively fierce.

It was a confrontation of extremes. And it was a duel of pride, fought on the edge of a ten-thousand-zhang precipice, with no one yielding an inch.

And for Bilyeon, it involved the most precious value in the world: 'money.'

Everyone, not just martial artists, values practical combat.

Everyone knows that practical combat is of utmost importance. However, Bilyeon's thinking was different.

In his dictionary, there was no such thing as practical combat. He would rather die than engage in practical combat. How could he possibly think of losing money and being punished…

For Bilyeon, even if death were to occur, losing money – an act of losing such a precious and peerless value – was an unforgivable offense.

The contrast was stark.

The skill displayed by the Vermilion Bird Squad members in the initial stages was dazzling. Unlike the Azure Dragon Squad, which focused on individual skill improvement, the Vermilion Bird Squad had always mastered the art of fighting in unison.

Under Yeomdo's relentless blade recently, and even on the bloody return path from Amisan, they had always supported and fought in unison. Therefore, it was only natural that the Azure Dragon Squad, which had focused on individual skill improvement, was at a disadvantage.

While the other members of the Azure Dragon Squad were not a problem, the last five remaining members were indeed the issue.

Although they were quite formidable individuals, that was merely a matter of the past. History was being rewritten today.

Indeed, the strength of the Azure Dragon Squad, having faced them directly, was beyond imagination. They clearly demonstrated through the refinement of their techniques today that they had not been idle under the tutelage of Binggeom Gwancheolsu, one of the Five Heavenly Sword Masters. However, this did not mean that the Vermilion Bird Squad members facing them were willing to be outdone. They too had undergone training with Yeomdo, one of the Five Great Saber Masters of the world, that was as brutal as actual combat, capable of shattering bone and flesh.

And they had one more, absolute reason why they could never lose. It was the burdensome, unforgettable encouragement given to them by their Senior Disciple Bilyeon, which weighed more than a thousand pounds.

When the Azure Dragon Squad members' arrogance turned into arrogance, the price they paid was immense.