The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

Chapter 294: Who Is The Best? (1)

ding- dididing- ding.

an unexpected sound of a guqin echoed through shaolin temple.

the guqin, an instrument with seven strings, was admired for its sleek, black lacquered body.

expensive ones were adorned with white mother-of-pearl inlays, exuding an elegant and refined charm.

surprisingly, playing the guqin was considered a sophisticated hobby among martial artists.

this refined aesthetic and its beautiful sound likely made it popular.

it was also one of the most loved instruments for mastering sound-based martial techniques, second only to the flute.

dididing- ding—

however, it was unthinkable that shaolin monks would be playing the guqin within the temple.

the melody came from a successor who had brought their own guqin to the guest hall.

that successor must have been a particularly carefree individual.

to be playing an instrument during this time, when other successors were on edge, was unusual.

moreover, it was when the successors of the seven great clans were entering the guest hall.

an intriguing coincidence unfolded.

it created quite a memorable scene.

“hoho.”

even hwa mu-cheon muttered softly in admiration.

in late summer, the leaves swayed in the strong, unseasonal wind as if welcoming the successors.

a group of successors walked in step with the rhythm of the wind.

their strides were confident, their clothes and hair fluttering in the breeze.

at the forefront was a tall young man with a stern expression.

this was baek ha-jun, newly bestowed with the nickname iron-blood sword dragon.

“so, the young clan head of the baek noble clan has finally appeared,” noh shik muttered quietly.

so woon and noh shik had rushed down to the guest hall upon hearing that the seven great clans’ prodigies had gathered.

beside baek ha-jun stood a woman, not particularly tall, but carrying an unusually long sword.

if someone wielded such an excessively long blade, their identity was obvious.

“blade maiden peng mu-ah. i heard she gained quite a reputation on the unorthodox union’s side recently.”

her appearance could be described as cute, but her gaze resembled that of a fierce predator.

“faithful sword wolf moyong jin is here too.”

moyong jin, who once sought to become a lone wolf, had achieved his wish by following his older brother and earning the nickname sword wolf.

“even namgung clan’s blue sky sword dragon, locked behind closed doors at the jegal clan, and even the on clan’s fist, have all come.”

noh shik, still awestruck, pulled something out.

it was a small notebook and a fine brush. true to the beggars’ gang’s nature, he was collecting and recording information.

in the meantime, the successors of the seven great clans entered the guest hall, drawing everyone’s attention.

with this, it could be said that most of the successors under the age of 25 who were renowned in the orthodox faction had now gathered at shaolin.

“huh?”

noh shik, while scribbling something in his notebook, scratched his head.

so woon leaned in slightly and asked, “who do you think will make it into the top five?”

“hold on.”

so woon had hoped to hear noh shik’s opinion as a member of the beggars’ gang, but noh shik stopped him with a serious expression.

he then unfolded his notebook, densely filled with barely legible handwriting, and carefully reviewed it again.

feeling bored, so woon leaned his back against the wall.

after a moment, noh shik chuckled faintly.

“this is kind of fascinating.”

“huh? what’s fascinating?”

“you asked who would make it into the top five, right?”

“yeah, that’s right.”

“take a look.”

“uh...”

noh shik’s notebook was incredibly grimy and worn.

furthermore, the text was written in what seemed to be a cipher, making it unreadable.

“i can’t read this.”

“hey, no matter how bad my handwriting is, it’s not that unreadable. look closely.”

so, was it not a cipher but simply terrible handwriting?

so woon, suppressing his disbelief, scanned through the notebook.

indeed, it was chinese characters. he could decipher some of the writing.

“ten grand... masters...”

“exactly. it’s not just the successors of the nine sects and the seven great clans gathered here. even the disciples and prodigies of the ten grandmasters are here.”

“is that a big deal?”

“is it a big deal? of course, it is. the ten grandmasters are usually... ahem.”

noh shik had begun to ramble excitedly but then cleared his throat awkwardly.

after all, even so woon standing before him was none other than the son of so jin-gong, the nine spear king.

so woon nodded with a wry smile, understanding noh shik’s point.

it made sense. there were plenty of extraordinary masters not affiliated with the nine sects one gang or the seven great clans.

these masters led their own sects, and even though the murim alliance might host the event, such individuals rarely participated willingly.

after all, their pride was often at stake.

noh shik, perhaps feeling apologetic, began to explain kindly, “let’s assume the sword emperor has passed away, and if we exclude those from the unorthodox union or the demon cult among the ten grandmasters... first, there’s the divine monk.”

the divine monk, who was overseeing this event.

“the divine monk’s successor can be considered to be shaolin’s first fist, jeong myung.”

“he’s not exactly a disciple, is he?”

“does it matter? after all, the greatest master of shaolin martial arts, practically an ancestor, is grand master mu myung. his teachings would naturally reach jeong myung, the most outstanding of the jeong disciples of shaolin. it’s said he’s close to reaching the pinnacle as well.”

it made sense.

“azure forest’s forest lord’s disciple is your sworn brother, the immortal divine dragon, baek yi-gang.”

“hmm...! both of you, come here!”

a shaolin monk, beop man, who had been observing, stepped in to mediate.

according to the rules, a duel with real swords required shaolin’s supervision.

under beop man’s mediation, the duel was prepared.

an open space was cleared in the center of the training ground, and the spectators formed a circle around it.

“though it is a duel with real swords, this is intended for the successors of the orthodox martial world to hone their skills and exchange techniques. killing is forbidden, and defeat is determined by admitting loss, being incapacitated, or stepping beyond the marked boundary.”

ha-jun and ok yeong-cheol stood facing each other.

“i hope both of you gain valuable lessons from this.”

both raised their swords.

ok yeong-cheol looked slightly tense, while ha-jun, who had initiated the duel, appeared emotionless.

the spectators speculated about the outcome of the match.

“i wonder how much the iron-blood sword dragon has improved...”

“you can’t underestimate the heavenly wind noble.”

“well, his past achievements are impressive too.”

overall, more people predicted ok yeong-cheol’s victory.

“the baek noble clan only sent their young clan head. there must be a gap in real combat experience.”

“not to mention, he has a higher ranking...”

ha-jun’s absence from the martial world had been quite prolonged.

beop man then announced the start of the duel.

“begin!”

the spectators’ eyes sparkled with excitement.

“hah!”

ok yeong-cheol took the initiative with the first move.

in such duels, it was customary for the senior to allow the junior to attack first, but this time, that custom was ignored.

yet, no one could mock ok yeong-cheol’s choice.

to be precise, there wasn’t even time to mock him.

kaang-

blades clashed.

even the spectators’ eyes reflected the brilliant sparks.

“hooh.”

“oh!”

the swords crossed, and their movements formed a dazzling dance.

“incredible...”

“wow...”

fast. and faster still.

the swordsmanship of the qingcheng sect and the baek noble clan was equally formidable.

however, as the duel progressed, the spectators’ jaws dropped, and confusion filled their eyes.

ka-kang- kang-

“ugh!”

a gasp escaped ok yeong-cheol’s lips.

ka-kang!

the sharp, metallic sound rang out as if a blade had snapped.

after about ten exchanges of techniques—

“ugh!”

ok yeong-cheol stepped back, letting out a pained groan.

the sword in his hand trembled uncontrollably.

blood dripped from a wound on his wrist, forming droplets at the tip of his sword.

drip, drip, drip.

the drops of blood falling onto the ground told the story of the duel’s outcome.

incredibly, the duel had ended swiftly.

“baek ha-jun, wins!” beop man declared.

everyone was stunned.

“waaaah!”

“the iron-blood sword dragon...! how on earth?!”

the victory was that overwhelming.

even ok yeong-cheol, a renowned master of the qingcheng sect, had been defeated in just ten seconds.

baek ha-jun wiped the blood from his blade with his sleeve before sheathing it.

then, he gave a light fist salute.

ok yeong-cheol couldn’t bring himself to meet ha-jun’s gaze.

as ha-jun was about to leave, leaving ok yeong-cheol behind—

“iron-blood sword dragon baek ha-jun, please come here.”

—beop man, who had mediated the duel, called out to ha-jun with a satisfied smile.

ha-jun quietly approached beop man.

“take this and keep it safe. make sure no one takes it from you.”

“...”

ha-jun looked down at the object beop man handed to him.

in his hand was a single yellow bead.

it was the same bead tang eun-seol had been tossing earlier.

ha-jun immediately placed it into his robe and disappeared.

“did you see that?”

“that’s it.”

many of the observing successors caught on.

that bead was the key to the trial.