"Argh! All you who want to die, come out one by one!"
"Well done, Hyang-i! Freeze them all just like that!"
Seol Ri-hyang huffed as she brought down a giant who looked twice her size with a single wave of her hand.
Seomun Hwa-rin was clapping and cheering for Seol Ri-hyang.
"…?"
What was this now.
It took me a moment to understand what was happening, and Tang So-wol and I both stopped in our tracks.
An inn, an unfamiliar place, two women, martial artists… Once my thoughts reached that point, I had a rough idea of what was going on.
It wasn't just me—Tang So-wol hastily pulled me into a corner and hid.
Then she whispered in a small voice.
"Young hero Cheon, young hero Cheon. This is that thing, isn't it?"
"Yeah. There's a high chance you're right."
Martial artists are, fundamentally, beings that only burn through money and time.
No matter how much you train your martial arts, money doesn't fall from the sky. However, martial artists are also people who live among others.
Unless you completely sever ties with the mundane world, money is something you can't avoid needing, isn't it?
That's why martial artists take on work that requires their martial arts—bodyguard jobs or something like a fixer—to keep their income flowing.
The problem is that there aren't that many occasions where someone's willing to pay good money to hire a martial artist.
Places with a name get people coming to them on their own, so they don't have to worry, but most are sensitive about their territory in order to protect their own income.
That's exactly why even a third-rate gang of black path thugs puffs up their chests with all their might in their own territory.
Add to that the exclusivity toward outsiders that comes from living in the same neighborhood for a long time, and if you throw in something like a woman with a beautiful face… interesting things tend to happen from time to time. Like right now.
"A dispute between martial artists breaking out at an inn! I thought that only happened in stories and books, but it's actually real, young hero Cheon!"
"It's actually quite a common occurrence. It's just that usually they recognize the Tang Clan's uniform and back off on their own, and the ones who still come at me—I chased them off beforehand."
Just letting a sliver of killing intent leak out was enough to make most of them tuck their tails and run the other way.
"Ah? Then this time…"
"Look at that bright smile on senior Seomun Hwa-rin. They're clearly not dangerous opponents, so she's definitely enjoying herself."
Judging by the ones who've already fallen, their level is only around Third-Rate to Second-Rate.
Literally a neighborhood black path. Barely stronger than street thugs.
Seol Ri-hyang may have the lowest martial level among us, but she's still a Peak Realm Martial Artist, isn't she?
There's no way she'd lose to opponents like that, so I'll just leave her be to build up some experience.
…Though it does look like she's genuinely having a lot of fun.
To be honest, I'm not much different from Tang So-wol either. Watching a fight is always exciting, isn't it?
As I watched with bated breath, one of the remaining black-clad martial artists, grinding his lips in frustration, shouted at the other one who was quietly observing from behind.
"Brother! Are you just going to stand there and watch?! All our men have been taken down!"
"…Hmm."
A deep scar ran from his forehead down to his chin. A long straight sword hung at his waist, and he nodded with a grave voice.
Judging by the look of him, he must be the leader of the group of black-clad martial artists who had picked a fight with Seol Ri-hyang.
His appearance, not to mention every single one of his mannerisms, showed signs of someone who had carved his way through the martial world for a while… but there were also oddly sloppy spots here and there.
This is exactly the kind of feeling you get from someone of ordinary talent who never learned proper martial arts and instead relied on experience to forge his own style.
In fact, his martial level was only first-rate at best.
Still, if he was first-rate, then he should have realized that Seol Ri-hyang was at least a rank above him in martial arts.
Yet the reason he didn't immediately flee or beg for forgiveness was simple.
His other subordinates were watching. And the ones who had fallen first—though they had broken something here and there and lost consciousness—weren't dead.
Having apparently finished his calculations, the bastard curled his lips into a sly grin.
"You're quite something. However, since things have come to this, you'll have to pay the price for my younger brother's blood. Don't hold it against me."
"What's this? Scared, are we? Just a moment ago you were going on about 'woman this, woman that,' and now suddenly you're all long-winded?"
Seol Ri-hyang shot back, propping one leg up and tilting her head askew.
She had improved a lot during her time with the Tang Clan, but at her core, Seol Ri-hyang was still a girl from the back alleys.
Having even spent time in Haomun, a veritable gathering place for the dregs of society, albeit briefly, it was only natural that such a posture slipped out of her without her realizing it.
The gang leader, startled by her swagger, which seemed even more practiced than his own, shook his head.
"Th-That wasn't me, it was that younger brother over there…"
"Hey. This inn isn't so big that I couldn't hear you just because you spoke quietly, even without a Qi Barrier. You're the one who sent him! And if the younger brother messes up, doesn't the older brother get hit too?"
"…"
The gang leader, seeing the situation unfold differently than he had expected, clamped his mouth shut and could only sweat cold bullets.
In front of him, Seol Ri-hyang kicked at a black blade at her feet and continued.
"Let's see. It was definitely… 'woman.' 'If you're from outside, you should greet us first. Come pour a drink, and take off a layer of clothes.' Was that it? If you wanted that, why not go to a gisaeng house instead of causing a ruckus at an inn?"
Seol Ri-hyang lowered her voice to a mocking whisper, as if imitating someone. Her deliberately ridiculous act drew chuckles from here and there in the inn, but one man was not laughing—his eyes were rolling around nervously.
Seol Ri-hyang kept taunting that gang leader without pause.
"So that's it, is it? No money, a face that's been smashed to pieces, and so pathetic in bed that you've been banned from the gisaeng houses? Hmm. Now that I look at your mug closely, that seems about right."
"…You wench! Words won't settle this!"
Even as he said that, his expression showed he'd rather die than do it. The man drew his blade toward Seol Ri-hyang.
He was just putting on a show in front of his underlings, and would probably take a few hits and end up on the ground anyway—he must have figured that listening any longer would only ruin his reputation.
It was a judgment worthy of a black path veteran who had survived long on mediocre skill. That itself wasn't bad.
The problem was that Seol Ri-hyang, unlike with others, had no intention of letting this one slide.
It could have been because the man was their leader, or perhaps because, unlike the black path fighters who had fallen earlier, he had drawn his weapon.
Either way, one thing was certain—Seol Ri-hyang had made up her mind.
The corners of her mouth, twisted in that infuriating smirk, slowly flattened. Her eyes turned cold and sharp. Then her lips parted.
"————!"
Unlike before, when she had simply dealt with her opponents using palm techniques and a whip, Seol Ri-hyang now began to use her Yin Art in earnest.
The chill that rode along the sound coiled around her opponent's arm.
The black path fighter's arm, which had been mid-swing, gradually slowed, then froze completely. A portion of his arm, along with his clothes, had frozen solid.
"S-Sorcery…!"
"Hmph!"
Seol Ri-hyang's fingers caught the flat of the straight sword that had stopped right in front of her, as if to show off in front of the one who had been praising her.
Her hand then gave off a white haze. The immense internal energy concentrated within it sank straight into the man's blade.
Clang!
The sword shattered on the spot.
The blade clattered to the floor along with the burst of cold air.
"…!"
The black path fighter's eyes flew wide open in disbelief—it seemed this was the first time he had ever seen a Peak Realm martial artist in person.
Seol Ri-hyang thrusts her palm toward his abdomen.
Thump.
"Kugh!"
He spits blood but still collapses. His arms remain stiff, so he falls in a strange posture. She must have shattered his Dantian.
Seol Ri-hyang gazes down at the man, who can't even speak properly from the pain, only wheezing, then tilts her head.
"What are you waiting for? Take all of them and get out. Or do you want a taste too?"
"A-absolutely not!"
The man who, just moments ago, had been urging his captain to step forward now shakes his head vigorously, standing alone and unharmed, and begins dragging the fallen ones outside one by one.
There were no deaths, but today would be the last day of their organization.
One of them had been utterly crushed, and the one who had shown some skill had his Dantian shattered. If he didn't treat his arms in time, the frostbite would worsen and leave lasting aftereffects.
Seol Ri-hyang, seemingly pleased with her own judgment, let out a satisfied snort and sat down.
I watched Seomun Hwa-rin pat her on the back and giggle, then quietly stepped out from the corner.
"I don't know what happened while I was gone for a moment… but haven't you gotten a bit stronger? At the very least, your control over your internal energy seems far freer than when I last saw you, and the power behind it feels stronger too."
"…You were watching? From where?"
"From the moment you told them to come out one by one if they wanted to live. I thought you'd become a lot more docile, but it turns out your mouth is just as rough as ever."
"Ugh! That's because I learned it from you, Cheon Hwi!"
"Me?"
At those words, I thought it over. The attitudes I'd taken toward my enemies when I was with Seol Ri-hyang.
No matter how much stronger the opponent was than me, or how old they were, if they were someone I had to cut down, I'd sneer and get under their skin.
"…True enough. It's not like there aren't similarities."
"Right?"
Seol Ri-hyang puffed up her chest as if to say, see? I let out a small laugh and shook my head at her.
"But all of that was done out of necessity."
"Huh?"
It's true.
This is a kind of strategy to shake the opponent's stance. It fails more often than it works, but when it does land, it makes the fight far easier to steer.
It works best on Demonic Cultists who carry deep wounds from the past.
The Agwibu and the Blood Flame Fist Demon were prime examples. At the most critical moment, their composure was clearly shattered.
Seol Ri-hyang's face began to flush as she listened to my explanation.
"I—I just said that because I was angry."
"Well. There's no benefit in a Martial Artist being looked down on, so it's fine, isn't it? What bothers me more is what you mentioned earlier."
"…What was that?"
He alternated his gaze between Seol Ri-hyang's hand, which was fanning her face, and the broken blade still embedded in the floor.
Only then did Seol Ri-hyang catch on, letting out a hollow laugh and nodding.
"It's nothing much. The last time you saw my martial art was only about a week ago. It's not like I had some enlightenment, so how could I have improved this much?"
"Then how?"
"It's just that, since it's winter, there's an abundance of cold energy around. I guess I roughly drew it in and added it to my internal energy as I went."
"?"
In simpler terms, wasn't she saying she used Natural Qi to supplement her own internal energy?
Absorbing Natural Qi and using it immediately without storing it in the Dantian was something most Martial Artists at the early Peak Realm could do, but the scale of it was utterly minuscule. It was, literally, just barely possible.
Seol Ri-hyang had raised it to a useful level… it must be thanks to the Glacier True Energy, which rivaled a divine art when it came to handling cold, and her own talent.
Of course, I didn't tell her that. It's human nature that once you become aware of something too early, you start wanting to take the convenient shortcut.
At least for now, it's time to build achievements steadily.
Whether she had the same thought or not, I nodded to Seomun Hwa-rin, who was desperately shaking her head behind us, and changed the subject.
"Anyway, you handled it cleanly. Traveling the martial world as a woman, you'll often get caught up in things like this, so it might be good to practice in advance."
"There hasn't been anything like that so far."
"That's because I've been blocking it in advance. …Come to think of it, something's a bit strange."
Just then, the food seemed to be ready, as a servant came carrying it over.
Judging by the fact that a few items I hadn't ordered were mixed in, these were fellows known as troublemakers in the area.
Which made it all the more incomprehensible.
I asked the shopkeeper, who was setting down the food with a polite attitude and words of thanks.
"Mind if I ask you something?"
"Hm? What is it, young master? Just say the word! I'm well-connected in these parts, so I'm up on all the gossip!"
"I know Jihwa County is the territory of the Diancang Sect. In fact, there should be a Diancang Sect building not far from here. Yet, is it common for black path scum like those just now to run wild as they please?"
"The Diancang Sect? Actually, it's been quite a while since they locked their doors and stopped engaging in outside activities. …This is just a rumor, mind you."
Lowering his voice, the shopkeeper glanced around and then continued.
"They say the internal strife within the Diancang Sect is severe enough to split it in two."
A state of effective seclusion. Internal strife. And the Heavenly Killing Star.
It seems something ominous is already brewing.