Chapter 57. Misdirected Fighting Spirit (1/2)

Chapter 57. Misdirected Fighting Spirit

Shi Yup had been wary of Chi Xie Ming from the time Neng Ha Young entered the teahouse.

‘This is troublesome.’

The strong fighting spirit emanating from Chi Xie Ming was making Shi Yup’s pupils tremble.

‘About 15 steps.’

It was annoying, but the enemy’s aura was far too big. The radius of the area, based on Shi Yup’s estimation, should be about fifteen steps. Stepping into that man’s aura would probably reveal his presence.

That was why he had been being extremely cautious all this time. But then, Chi Xie Ming’s aura suddenly expanded by an extremely large amount. As Shi Yup had never seen such a thing before in his life, he was a little slow when it came to adapting to the situation.

‘He noticed me.’

Chi Xie Ming was looking around carefully. Neng Ha Young might’ve not known, but Chi Xie Ming’s aura currently encompassed the whole teahouse.

Shi Yup erased his presense as much as he could for now, as he felt cold sweat roll down his back. He was using his teacher’s signature stealth technique.

‘Hidden Qi Technique (氣遁法).’

When Shi Yup used this, no one would be able to notice his presence even if he stood right in front of someone. He would be completely invisible to the world.

But even a technique like this wasn’t perfect. After all, there were always abnormalities like Chi Xie Ming existing in the world. When meeting a being like this, the user of this technique had to expertly control the distance from the person with wise decisions.

Thankfully, as Shi Yup managed to somehow pull away from Chi Xie Ming before things got out of hand, he managed to keep himself from being completely discovered.

The problem was Neng Ha Young. She was exposed. Because of that, Shi Yup had to quickly make a decision.

‘Ten steps.’

This was his current distance from Neng Ha Young. If he were to move away even further from her, he wouldn’t be able to protect her from Chi Xie Ming.

While Shi Yup kept distressing over what to do, Chi Xie Ming moved. Shi Yup had no choice but to move with the man.

‘Nine steps, eight steps…….’

The distance between Shi Yup and Chi Xie Ming kept shortening until Shi Yup was right next to Neng Ha Young. If Shi Yup wasn’t at least this close, he wouldn’t be able to fully protect her.

‘How long would I be able to last?’

A drop of cold sweat ran down Shi Yup’s forehead.

The more the distance between Shi Yup and Chi Xie Ming shortened, the more energy Shi Yup would have to expend in order to keep himself hidden. In the end, Shi Yup had to spend an enormous amount of energy to keep himself hidden.

And as Shi Yup was extremely close to Chi Xie Ming at the moment, making even the tiniest mistake would give him away.

’This is dangerous.’

Countless warning bells were going off in Shi Yup’s head.

Even standing in front of an expert like this took energy. But then Shi Yup had to protect Neng Ha Young at the same time. This was why Shi Yup was focusing all his attention in controlling his breath and energy.

If the Hidden Qi Technique faltered here for even a millisecond, Shi Yup would be overcome with danger. He could start hearing Neng Ha Young talk with Chi Xie Ming. It seemed that they were just making small talk.

Shi Yup closed his eyes and began to focus. He had never pushed himself beyond his limits like this with the Hidden Qi Technique.

The sense of responsibility Shi Yup had for Neng Ha Young’s safety was what enabled Shi Yup to overcome his limits like this.

Once he overcame the initial feeling of tiredness and discomfort, Shi Yup was overcome with a feeling of satisfaction. This was a new experience.

His heart, which had been beating slowly moments ago, began to beat with great speed, and his glands were opened up as his senses began to expand greatly. Surprisingly, Shi Yup’s understanding of martial arts had suddenly improved at a crisis like this.

Right then, Chi Xie Ming’s sharp killing intent touched his senses. When Shi Yup opened his eyes, he could see Chi Xie Ming smiling at Neng Ha Young.

‘It’s coming.’

Shi Yup made his decision. At that moment, the air around him fluctuated as Chi Xie Ming’s hand moved like the wind itself.

Paan—!

Chi Xie Ming shook his hands painfully as he frowned when an ear-piercing sound shook the surrounding area.

“What the hell? There really was someone here?”

“…….”

surawang_57

Neng ha Young took a look at Shi Yup’s arm. She didn’t know what was going on, but she knew that Shi Yup had just saved him. When she figured out what just happened, she became furious.

“How impolite.”

“You’re the one who’s impolite here.”

Chi Xie Ming clenched his fist and looked at Shi Yup. When he attacked Neng Ha Young, he could clearly see the background shatter next to the girl with Shi Yup emerging out.

Chi Xie Ming, who felt significant danger from this, put more strength into what was previously just a playful jab. But in the end, he was the one to get injured.

“That’s an interesting technique. What was it?”

Shi Yup didn’t say anything, and just stared at Chi Xie Ming. He soon confirmed something about the man.

’This person……. is hiding something.’

The things that he couldn’t see before clearly came into view. Even harmonious experts had rankings between them.

One could easily figure this out by seeing how even the fifteen guests were ranked into the three sovereigns, five emperors, and seven kings.

Shi Yup slowly put the hand he used to block Chi Xie Ming’s blow down. He then clenched his fist. He had improved quite a bit by getting to a new degree of understanding, but he still couldn’t clearly predict who’d win in a battle.

The only reason he managed to beat back the opponent that easily was because the man had underestimated him by a lot.

‘I can’t hope for such a thing to happen once more this time.’

When Shi Yup kept his mouth closed with an anxious face, Neng Ha Young spoke.

“Let’s stop playing here. We’re leaving.”

“Where do you think you’re going? We’re just getting started.”

Chi Xie Ming looked at Shi Yup and smiled. He didn’t even look at Neng Ha Young anymore. The man in front of him. That man clearly wasn’t normal.

That man had strength that was completely different from Gu Hui’s. He was young, to boot. Young enough to be his age. This person was surely someone who was biding his time for the next generation to come.

‘I can’t let him go.’

The reason why Chi Xie Ming couldn’t let Shi Yup leave ultimately lay in the fact that Shi Yup used a sword.

“It wouldn’t be fun with just our hands, right? How about it? Let’s have a go with swords!”

He could tell with the previous exchange. The calluses that were on Shi Yup’s hand wasn’t just for show.

‘How strong would he get with a sword?’

Chi Xie Ming fondled his sword hilt. He had never considered losing to anyone other than his teacher.