Chapter 187: Who Said You Could Call Him Senior Brother?

TL: FoodieMonster007

A woman in pure white robes stood beneath the moonlight. Her noble beauty made her look as if she had just descended from the heavens.

Cheon Sohwi wiped her tears with her sleeve, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her, but the beautiful woman before her smiled brightly and introduced herself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Lee Ahn," she said energetically. "I used to be the young master's bodyguard."

Lee Ahn had always been a bright person, but she seemed even more radiant lately. Her every action overflowed with confidence.

"I'm Cheon Sohwi of the Black Fists from the Eastern Fist Garrison."

"Ah! It's an honor to meet you."

"Do you know of me?"

"Of course. Aren't you the number one iron fist of the Eastern Fist Garrison?"

Cheon Sohwi's mood lifted. It was not just the praise. Lee Ahn's compliment lacked the usual undertone she often heard, the one that said, 'A woman practicing fist arts? How unusual.'

"What I said when I came in earlier was just a joke to tease the young master," Lee Ahn explained. "Please forgive me if you were offended."

"It's alright."

"Well then, I'll let you two talk. I'll come back later."

As Lee Ahn bowed and turned to leave, Geom Mugeuk stopped her.

"Since you're already here, stay and talk for a bit."

Lee Ahn carefully asked Cheon Sohwi, "Would that be okay?"

"Of course."

Cheon Sohwi felt a growing curiosity about this beautiful woman.

The two women were a stark contrast. Lee Ahn possessed a noble, graceful beauty, while Cheon Sohwi had a toughness that suggested she could survive anything.

"Please don't misunderstand," Cheon Sohwi said. "I wasn't crying because of the Second Young Lord."

"Really?"

"Pardon?"

Lee Ahn's eyes sparkled as she asked again. "Are you sure you weren't crying because of the young master? I cry because of him all the time."

Lee Ahn looked at Geom Mugeuk. "He makes me cry every time."

With a woman's intuition, Cheon Sohwi sensed it. She was in love with Geom Mugeuk.

"You were the Second Young Lord's bodyguard?"

"Yes, though I've been kicked out now."

"Why were you kicked out?"

"He said it was for my own happiness, but that's just an excuse, right?"

"It's an excuse," Cheon Sohwi agreed. "Be careful. Womanizers are smooth talkers."

"He's the best talker in all of murim."

Geom Mugeuk laughed. "How long have you two known each other to be hitting it off so well already?"

The two women felt a mutual liking for each other.

Lee Ahn had always admired strong women like Cheon Sohwi. She wanted to become that kind of person herself.

Cheon Sohwi, likewise, had a good first impression of Lee Ahn. A woman so beautiful might normally be unapproachable or unpleasant, but Lee Ahn was neither.

Lee Ahn asked Geom Mugeuk, "Is your training going well?"

"If the news reached someone like you, who's holed up training all day, then there must be no one in our Cult who doesn't know."

"Yesterday, even the kitchen cooks were talking about you passing the Red Fists test. I even heard people are betting on whether you'll become a disciple or not."

Indeed, Geom Mugeuk learning fist arts at the Eastern Fist Garrison was the talk of the entire garrison.

Lee Ahn asked Geom Mugeuk with a gentle gaze, "How is it?"

"It's fine."

Cheon Sohwi watched Lee Ahn smile at Geom Mugeuk's answer. She could feel their deep trust and felt a pang of envy. She did not have anyone like that.

"But what brings you here so late?" Geom Mugeuk asked.

"I was training and suddenly wanted to see you, young master."

Geom Mugeuk stared at her intently before asking abruptly, "Did it come?"

Lee Ahn nodded with a serious expression. "I think it has."

At that, Geom Mugeuk shot up from the rock and strode into the yard.

"Let's have a duel."

Lee Ahn gave Cheon Sohwi a slight bow before walking into the yard. It was rude to suddenly start a duel, but this was too important for her.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Cheon Sohwi quickly rose from her seat.

"I should get going now."

Geom Mugeuk stopped her. "You can watch. No, you should watch. This duel will be of great help to you, Young Lady Cheon."

It was a lesson from Geom Mugeuk for the person who would become the next Fist Demon.

"Is it really okay?"

"You shed such precious tears. You should at least get your money's worth before you go."

At the words 'precious tears', Cheon Sohwi's eyes grew hot again.

What's wrong with me?

Her long-blocked tear ducts seemed to have burst open, and tears threatened to fall again. The new experience flustered her, but thankfully, Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn were facing each other, about to begin their duel.

"I'm going to fight you with my fist arts."

"……"

"Hey, Lee Ahn! Aren't you worried that I'm fighting without my swordsmanship?"

"Worried? Young master, even if you fought with no hands and no feet, I still wouldn't be able to beat you."

"That's true. As long as I have this mouth."

Watching from the side, Cheon Sohwi nodded slightly in agreement.

Geom Mugeuk, his back still turned, said to her, "Don't nod your head."

Cheon Sohwi then nodded even more emphatically. He must have eyes in the back of his head. For him, the presence or absence of a sword truly did not matter.

When the duel began, Lee Ahn could not focus. Though she said she trusted him, she worried Geom Mugeuk might get hurt fighting with his bare hands.

After a few blows, she concluded her worries were completely unfounded. Geom Mugeuk was just too fast. It felt like even ten swords would not be enough to touch a single hair on his head.

Seriously, who is worried about whom!

Geom Mugeuk relentlessly pushed her back.

A fist flew toward her face, powerful enough to shatter her jaw. She barely dodged it, only for another fist to fly at her side. She twisted her body and narrowly avoided the attack, which would have broken all her ribs.

WHOOSH! WHOOOSH!

Each time Geom Mugeuk's fist flew, it cut through the air with a sound as sharp as a sword.

She barely blocked and dodged, trying to create distance, but Geom Mugeuk stuck to her like a shadow. Once he got close, it was not easy to shake him off.

Ah, so this is how I die!

Lee Ahn was having a new experience, fighting against a master of fist arts.

She could not secure any distance, so she could not even use half the power of her swordsmanship. In contrast, Geom Mugeuk's fists mercilessly aimed for her vital points. She had to use everything she had just to dodge.

Thinking she would eventually be hit if she only dodged, Lee Ahn searched for a way to counterattack. At a critical moment, she found an opening in Geom Mugeuk's defense and used it to create distance.

"……"

There was only one chance.

Her sword embroidered the empty air. She unleashed the Soaring Sky Sword Art Second Technique, the Erratic Sky Strike, and her sword created twelve variations.

A gasp that Cheon Sohwi had been holding back finally escaped her lips.

"……"

Geom Mugeuk dodged the seemingly unavoidable attack using the movement arts of the Black Fists.

That movement art is THAT movement art?

Cheon Sohwi realized anew just how incredible the fist arts she had learned were. Her heart felt like it would burst. She wanted to jump in and fight alongside them. She wanted to perform the techniques just as Geom Mugeuk did.

The duel's impact on her was not just that.

Geom Mugeuk, a supreme master and the Second Young Lord, came to the Fist Demon to learn martial arts. Lee Ahn, whose beauty could be called the world's number one, came in the dead of night to learn swordsmanship.

A sense of shame and respect washed over her simultaneously. The image of these two was etched into her mind like a painting.

"Well done!"

Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly at Lee Ahn. He had pushed her into an extreme situation while giving her a chance to escape, and she had not missed it. It was the fruit of her harsh training.

"I still feel a sort of tingling sensation."

Geom Mugeuk could tell. She had almost reached the ninth stage and was searching for its entrance.

"Come find me every night starting tomorrow."

"Thank you, young master."

Just as his father had forcibly guided him to mastery of the Four Strides of the Wind God, Geom Mugeuk planned to throw her Soaring Sky Sword Art into the ninth stage. Once her sword art reached that level, he could rest easy no matter where she went.

When Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn finished their conversation, Cheon Sohwi spoke in a trembling voice.

"To be honest, the sword the Second Young Lord aimed at me was so surreal that I wasn't scared, but the sword that Martial Artist Lee wielded tonight, while everyone else was asleep, that was terrifying."

Could I ever win against a sword that is trained with so late into the night?

She had been secretly confident she was the strongest woman her age in all of murim. After watching the duel, she realized that was nothing but arrogance. Not wanting to lose, she clenched both her fists tightly.

A fire was lit in her heart as well.

Feeling the intense heat, Cheon Sohwi blurted out, "Please teach me too. Senior Brother."

Senior Brother.

She must have known the great trouble she would be in if those words reached the Fist Demon. She would have no excuse even if she were expelled. She had bet her life on that single phrase. Senior Brother.

Perhaps she would regret saying those words all night long when she returned to her quarters.

That was why Geom Mugeuk spoke to her warmly.

"Alright, you come too. Junior Sister."

Regret could come later. For now, joy filled Cheon Sohwi's face.

Lee Ahn could have felt that this would interfere with her own training, but she welcomed her happily instead.

For one's martial arts to change, the person must change first.

Geom Mugeuk was certain that Lee Ahn's broad-mindedness would lead her to the position of a supreme master.

And so, following the drinking club, Lee Ahn created a second group.

"Welcome to the Midnight Training Club."

My training at the Black Fists continued.

In the meantime, I was engaged in a battle of wills with the Fist Demon. It was a fight to see who would raise the white flag first.

I was confident in this fight.

My life was constant preparation anyway.

Learning the Fist Demon's fist arts was not the only way to move to the next stage. The Fist Demon's fist arts were just one part of my simultaneous preparations.

I could learn the Fist Demon's fist arts now, tomorrow, or a year from now. Why? Because I had many things to do, many things to learn, and many people to take care of. I was endlessly preparing other things as well. You think you can beat someone like me?

Our eyes met from time to time with the Fist Demon. Each time, our gazes held a conversation. Give up. You give up. I can go all the way. So can I. I am young. That's why you won't last.

He probably thought I would eventually get bored of the training and give up, but that was the Fist Demon's miscalculation. I was no ordinary young man.

When night came, I taught Lee Ahn and Cheon Sohwi.

On the first day, Cheon Sohwi asked me, "Senior Brother, is it okay for me to be here while Martial Artist Lee is learning such an important martial art?"

Although she had desperately asked to be taught, it seemed she felt sorry now that it was actually happening.

I told her, "You are more important than that martial art. The current Fist Demon is Father's Fist Demon and my brother's Fist Demon. My Fist Demon is you."

The future Heavenly Demon and the Fist Demon.

A wave of emotion washed over her face. Soon, she asked about the worst-case scenario.

"Then what if I don't become the Fist Demon, and you, Senior Brother, don't become the Heavenly Demon?"

"Then the three of us will just have to open a soup and rice restaurant in front of the Murim Alliance and live there."

Perhaps imagining soup bowls flying from the kitchen via telekinesis and delivered by Teleportation, Cheon Sohwi burst out laughing. It seemed to be the first time I had seen her laugh so brightly.

"But why in front of the Murim Alliance?"

Lee Ahn answered for me. "There might be a woman he wants to see."

"……"

I shouted that it was not true, but the two of them were already nodding and discussing the characteristics of a womanizer.

On the fifth day of their midnight training, Lee Ahn finally found the gate to the ninth stage.

Her sword became faster, stronger, and produced brilliant variations.

There was no need for thanks or congratulations. Lee Ahn ran and threw herself into my arms. I held her tightly. You worked hard, Lee Ahn. Now there's only one more hurdle to complete mastery.

Just then, the sound of sniffling startled Lee Ahn and me. We looked over at Cheon Sohwi.

She was crying.

"I think my tear ducts opened up that day. I've never cried in my life, but the tears just keep coming."

When she cried, Lee Ahn started crying too.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because Martial Artist Cheon is crying."

The two women turned away from each other and cried.

"Why are tough women who could beat up every man in the world acting like this?"

Cheon Sohwi wiped her tears and said, "Senior Brother, please keep teaching me."

She was deeply disappointed at the thought of the midnight training ending.

Lee Ahn spoke up for her. "Young master, let's keep this midnight training club going."

It was at that very moment. Someone spoke coldly from behind them.

"Who said you could call him Senior Brother?"

Cheon Sohwi jumped in shock, her face turning pale.

The Fist Demon was entering the area, his face as terrifying as a demon's.

I greeted him with a calm expression. "Welcome."

In truth, I already knew the Fist Demon was there. He had come and gone twice before, hiding himself to watch secretly before leaving. I wondered what he was thinking as he watched.

The Fist Demon stood in the yard, glaring at me, Lee Ahn, and Cheon Sohwi.

Cheon Sohwi, in particular, was in a state of utter shock. The Fist Demon had heard her call me Senior Brother, so there was no room for excuses. Terrified she might be kicked out of the Eastern Fist Garrison, she hung her head low, her whole body trembling. She was probably praying he would not utter the words, 'You are expelled.'

With that demonic face, the Fist Demon uttered something completely unimaginable.

"Let me join this midnight training club too."