Blood Widow.

A name given for her resemblance to a blood-engorged spider. Just as a spider delicately handles its legs, so did the fingers of the Blood Widow.

Her elongated fingernails were soaked with vigor, appearing crimson. When her fingers moved with an insect-like clatter, lethal red trajectories appeared in all directions.

Shashashashashak!

“I’ll give you a good thrashing!!”

“Kuh!”

“Ming, be careful!”

With the Blood Widow’s aura swelling threefold, Nangong Ming and Nangong Sheng, who had been barely holding on with their erratic movements, were greatly pushed back.

A mere graze from her nails would split bones asunder. It was then that the Nangong siblings finally drew their swords. It was to hold on a little longer.

The demon Hei Yingxian yawned inwardly at the farce.

From noble mtl dot come

The created beings were mechanically interlocking like gears to fulfill their roles. Those called Nangong or Blood Widow were created for such battles.

It was obvious. They would stagger in the fight until the participant Qinghui arrived, then they would open a gap for him to make a dramatic entrance.

So whether Hei Yingxian helped or not, the outcome would be the same.

Tuktuk.

Scattering daggers carelessly was enough. This much would prevent any scolding later. The development would not seem strange either.

“Try messing around once more!”

“Sister, below you!”

Puppets tangled chaotically. The sound of knives and nails clashing, and with sparks flying, it was the knives that were being cut. The Nangong siblings were in peril.

There is a proper use for every tool.

Blades exist to kill, and books exist to be read.

They existed for the puppet show, and he… he was created to plunge humans into the abyss of pain and despair. Of that, there was no doubt.

I don’t know why. It’s just the way it was made.

So, it was inevitable that this situation would be boring and tedious. How could it not be dull when Calder is told to read a book?

Why does the mad wizard only use me this way? He had me subdued a long time ago, and even personally put a bomb necklace on me so I could be eliminated if necessary.

There was no need to go far.

If I had thrown myself into Roderus’s mind, I could have driven him mad in three days. If I were released among the students of the academy, it was entirely possible to brainwash them into fanatically serving the mad wizard.

If I hated the sword enough not to want to use it, why didn’t I just smash it to pieces?

Muttering to myself won’t solve the question. Hee Yeong-hyeon, with his arms crossed, spoke to Cheonghwi, who was preparing for an ambush.

“What do you think, Taoist?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“I mean the tool. Using a knife that cuts through people so well to trim plants, does that make any sense?”

“You’re asking something odd in this situation…?”

Hee Yeong-hyeon’s question seemed out of place. Cheonghwi was momentarily flustered, but then he gathered his thoughts and replied.

“Speaking of the Dog-Beating Staff technique. Why do you think the martial art is named after a method for catching dogs?”

“It must have been created while catching dogs.”

“But the name is rather shabby, isn’t it? If it represents a martial art of a clan, wouldn’t names like Infinite Dog-Killing Staff or Mount Tai Crushing Staff be more… embellished and fitting?”

However, there was a reason why it was specifically named the Dog-Beating Staff technique. Cheonghwi had his answer.

“The meaning is not important.”

“Meaning?”

“Why did the beggars need to catch dogs? Clearly, it was to welcome new family members. They caught dogs because there were more mouths to feed. So, killing the dog wasn’t the important part.”

“……”

If you ask why the Dog-Beating Staff technique was the foundation of the Beggars’ Sect, wasn’t it because at its heart was the spirit of welcoming family? That’s what Cheonghwi thought.

In a harsh world, only fellow beggars could comfort each other, becoming a tight-knit family due to their shared misery.

They welcome a new beggar. A skinny, gaunt beggar, nearly dead. The Beggars’ Sect boiled a dog for the new family member, trying to keep them alive. They share and care for each other.

“So, even if it’s a knife that cuts through people very well, if the person wielding it intends it so, there’s nothing strange about it.”

“That’s a laughable notion. The essence never changes, after all.”

“But what builds upon that essence can change.”

With that, Cheonghwi leaped into the fray between the Blood Elder and the Nangong siblings. The sound of metal clashing followed, and the dance of blades unfolded.

Humans always have too many unnecessary thoughts.

The evil deity paused to think for a moment, then returned to Hee Yeong-hyeon and drew a dagger. The play wasn’t over yet, and as a character, he had a role to perform.

Thoughts can wait for later.

Clang! The screeching clash──!!

The red nails shredded the blade of the long sword, slicing it down its length. Slowly, the sword split in half, and at the end of its trajectory was Namgung Myeong’s body.

Namgung Myeong, overwhelmed by the disparity in strength, could not evade and trembled with the sword handle gripped in his hand. And just before he was about to be cleaved in two along with his sword──

Clang-!!

Cheonghwi struck from below, forcefully batting away the hand of the Blood Elder.

“Master Cheonghwi!”

“I have arrived!”

“Sister has lost consciousness after being struck by the Elder’s technique!”

“I’ve seen it. I’ve moved her near Huiyeonghyeon, she’s in a safe place now. You should retreat as well!”

At Cheonghwi’s words, Namgung Myeong bit his lip and shook his head vehemently. He had been saved and received help until now. How could he possibly turn and run again?

“I, I want to be of help too. I was able to buy some time just now, and my energy center has recovered, so surely⋯⋯!”

Cheonghwi read the stubbornness in Namgung Myeong’s eyes. Perhaps the accumulated burden had become too great. It seemed that words like ‘You’re young, it’s okay, you can repay later’ wouldn’t suffice.

Fighting alongside Namgung Myeong would surely be of help, but if he were to get hurt again, who knows what would happen.

As an elder brother, one must protect his younger sibling, mustn’t he? Cheonghwi, summoning the most unpleasant tone he could remember, grabbed Namgung Myeong and flung him far towards Huiyeonghyeon.

“⋯⋯You’re in the way, commoner!”

“Ugh⋯⋯!!”

It felt odd trying to imitate Roderus.

After seeing Huiyeonghyeon take care of the Namgung siblings, Cheonghwi dodged the flying nails with his insight and swept the ground low with his legs.

The Blood Elder leaped back, creating distance. Seeing Cheonghwi arrive unscathed, he furrowed his deeply wrinkled face.

“⋯⋯You mean the Arrowhead Chief has fallen?”

“He was a master, but I was able to strike a vital point with a surprise attack before he could fully exert his skills. So, it was easy to win.”

“You, despicable old man!”

“Who are you to speak such slander⋯⋯.”

Swoosh-!

The Blood Elder’s nails sent a spray of blood energy flying. Seeing the Elder manifest his energy physically, it was clear he had reached the pinnacle of mastery.

While Cheonghwi avoided the blood energy, the Blood Elder closed the distance in a flash, wildly swinging his nails. Cheonghwi aimed not for the nails but for the hand. His tightly clenched fist shot out.

“Explosive Fist!”

Pop, pop-pop!

Wrapping bare hands around a blade would cause injury, so the strategy was to strike at the source of the nails, the hand and arm, to disrupt the trajectory of the attack.

As Cheonghwi’s swift strikes repeatedly foiled the attacks, the enraged Blood Matron’s face turned crimson with fury, and she drew her bamboo flute.

“Uaaah! Circle Hand Flying Claw!”

Swoosh!!

A menacing aura spread out in a circular net pattern, leaving no room to escape. But Cheonghwi, with composure, stepped back and drew his rapier, swinging it deftly.

A flash of light sparked. He repeatedly pierced and tore through the net’s weak spots, then hurled himself through the gap.

At the same time, he threw his rapier like a javelin, aiming for the Blood Matron’s head.

Slashhh!!

“Gasp…!!”

The Blood Matron twisted her body in desperation, but couldn’t completely avoid the attack and was stabbed in the shoulder.

It was doable. He could fight.

He didn’t feel like he was going to lose. And then, suddenly.

[Pursuit of Power: Ascend to the Pinnacle Master (Answer, Fulfillment, Tuning Achieved)]

Answer, reading movements through sensory perception and insight.

Fulfillment and Tuning, compensating for the lack of magical power and control due to injuries with matured skills.

[Achieved]

Cheonghwi realized that he had somehow crossed a barrier. His repeated encounters and experiences had pushed him up to the middle of a high mountain.

And it seemed that the Blood Matron opposing him felt it too.

“You young brat, how could you already be at the master’s realm…!!”

“Hmph!”

Cheonghwi closed the distance with a tactical step.

He had mastered various martial arts. Thus, his moves changed every time he extended his hand.

He stabbed fiercely with the technique to kill a sorcerer, grabbed and threw with the strength to catch a dragon, dodged and parried with the skill to read gazes, and struck with the technique to explode.

The Blood Matron tried to fend off the relentless barrage of strikes, but like rainwater seeping in, she began to allow one attack after another.

Thump, smack!

“Ugh…!!”

The Blood Matron counterattacked as well. Blood splattered with each brush of her nails, flesh tore apart. But Cheonghwi knew even before being hit that they were not fatal wounds.

He moved with confidence, analyzing the patterns and habits of movement. He reached out with precision, calculating the angles sharply. He danced like the moonlight flickering in his mind.

Like tributaries merging into the sea, all his experiences lined up to make a single stroke. Cheonghwi felt that flow.

It resembled the movement of a heavenly horse, yet the essence was different.

“I will infuse this movement with the meaning of progression. My martial arts will become the vessel that holds my heart.”

“aaah-!”

Thud.

The sound wasn’t loud.

Cheonghwi’s fist was deeply embedded in the solar plexus of the Blood Elder. The old monster spat out blood as he flew away, crashing to the ground.

The battle was over.

—

Namgung Myeong’s eyes were filled with sorrow. It was understandable, having been subjected to a personal attack.

“That’s too much…!”

“No, it’s just, in the heat of the moment… I couldn’t easily discern what to say. It wasn’t my intention to make a personal attack, it’s just that I have a brother who has a nasty way of speaking, and that—… ‘commoner’ wasn’t meant in that sense.”

Enbus had tried to act the part of a brother, but since the only brother he knew was Roderus, it turned out this way, he explained in a roundabout manner.

Namgung Myeong’s sorrow eased after about 20 minutes of grumbling, and Cheonghwi leaned back against the carriage wall with a sigh of relief.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

The party was on the carriage returning to the Namgung clan.

Heiyeonghyeon, who had a similar destination, was also on the same carriage. She looked out with a somewhat sullen expression.

Namgung Myeong left it to Namgung Seunga, and Cheonghwi spoke to Heiyeonghyeon.

“Please accept the Tagubong Method. Much time has passed, and it may differ from the openness you seek… But wouldn’t it serve as a reference?”

“…I’ll keep it somewhere. Perhaps one of the beggars, maybe even my successor as the Ark, could be such a meddlesome person. Give it to me.”

“Very well!”

[Flowing with History: Returning the Tagubong Method to the Open Hand]

[Achieved]

Cheonghwi smiled, his body wrapped in bandages.

However, there was one more task he had to do. He had to confront the dark force intent on killing Namgung Myeong.

Cheonghwi fiddled with the frayed edge of a letter inside his robe. It was a letter found on the body of the Arrowhead Chief, a clear piece of evidence.

The carriage wheels rolled diligently, like the flow of time.

—

The party returned with Namgung Myeong’s energy center fully healed, and they were showered with congratulations. How could they not be overjoyed with the return of the Namgung family’s prodigy?

Cheonghwi became a great benefactor to the Namgung clan.

Namgung Chaegong called Cheonghwi and the Namgung siblings aside to hear their story. After the tale was told, he casually asked,

“How about marrying Seunga?”

Cheonghwi answered sharply.

“Excuse me? No… I’d rather not.”

“…I don’t want to either?! Don’t talk as if you’re the one rejecting, Master Cheonghwi!!”

For the sin of not reading a woman’s heart, accept the punishment sweetly. Cheonghwi was grabbed by the collar and shaken by Nangong Seung-ah.