Chapter 15

"Did Yong-rin do that? Wasn't it the other way around?"

Gently stroking the snake's head, Dang Ran-yeong openly mocked him. Lim Jeong's face turned pale. When he recalled it properly, the Venomous Horned Serpent had only slithered nearby and hadn't actually attacked. It was Lim Jeong who had swung his sword first out of fear.

But who wouldn't attack when seeing such a long and thick snake in the middle of the night? The situation was already tense, so Lim Jeong's reaction was understandable. However, it seemed different for Dang Ran-yeong, as he stepped out from the snake's coil and gripped his whip in his hand. A cruel smile appeared on his face.

"Since you hurt our Rin-a's scales, you'll have to pay the price. I'll cut off the arm that swung the sword at Rin-a."

"Th-That's absurd! That snake approached me first, so I had no choice! Anyone in that situation would..."

"I clearly said there wouldn't be a second time if you laid a hand on what's mine. I don't break my word once it's spoken. I can't make an exception for the likes of you."

Recalling Dang Ran-yeong's notoriety, Lim Jeong's face turned ashen. He knew well that he was no match for Dang Ran-yeong. The Dragon Gate Sect's martial artists tensed at Dang Ran-yeong's sudden outrage, unable to simply watch a disciple from their parent sect being attacked, but they couldn't intervene due to Shim Ryang's silence.

In this situation, Lim Jeong's arm was in imminent danger of being crippled. Cheong-ra stepped forward in front of Lim Jeong. Feeling everyone's gaze on him, he calmly spoke.

"The junior brother's mistake is also my fault for not teaching him properly. So, I will take responsibility for the junior brother's mistake instead."

"S-Senior Brother! No, you can't take responsibility for my mistake..."

Raising his hand to stop Lim Jeong's words, Cheong-ra continued.

"However, cutting off an arm for a few scratched snake scales seems like an excessive punishment to anyone. Does Young Master Tang have no leniency at all?"

Cheong-ra's gaze turned to the Venomous Horned Serpent, which was flicking its tongue. Its scales were hard enough to deflect the sword Lim Jeong had swung. He didn't see any major damage. It was clear that Dang Ran-yeong was just finding fault to torment them. As if savoring Lim Jeong's pale and anguished face, Dang Ran-yeong grinned widely.

"Leniency, you say. Well, if I incur Moon Lake Sect's resentment, I might have to close down my business in Central Plains. Either way, it's just a loss for me."

As if he would show leniency, Dang Ran-yeong raised his whip. Even with a light swing, it made a terrifying whooshing sound. In an instant, Lim Jeong's face, which had brightened, turned pale again.

"Alright, if Young Master Baek Ri can satisfy me, I'll forgive that thing's mistake."

At those words, Lim Jeong gasped. A smile appeared on Dang Ran-yeong's face. It seemed like he was showing leniency, but it was not the case at all. His face openly displayed a cruel nature that enjoyed people's confusion, anger, and suffering. Even though everyone was hostile towards him, he didn't bat an eye.

"I understand."

Cheong-ra readily accepted the other party's proposal. To others, it seemed like he didn't have a shred of fear or hesitation. Everyone present sighed at the sight of him taking responsibility for the mistake to protect the junior brother and fearlessly facing the vile enemy. It was the very picture of righteously upholding chivalry and justice.

However, Cheong-ra's heart was far from upholding chivalry and justice. Even though he knew it was wrong, a feeling close to joy surged in his chest at this moment.

His intention to protect and cherish Lim Jeong from harm was sincere, but he was also genuinely happy to have a plausible and justifiable reason to engage in a fight with Dang Ran-yeong. Dang Ran-yeong's outrageous and cruel nature, which shocked many people, only made Cheong-ra's heart race. Since he had to protect the junior brothers from that person's violence anyway, it was a welcome development for him.

To conceal that emotion, Cheong-ra's expression once again became extremely cold. Whatever meaning Dang Ran-yeong took from it, a deep smile appeared on his face. His gaze slowly and blatantly looked Cheong-ra up and down. His green-tinged eyes shone with interest.

"I'll let you have the first move."

Even among those of similar age, it was a situation that hurt one's pride to be given the first move, but Dang Ran-yeong taunted him with a tone as if he was showing mercy. However, Cheong-ra's pride wasn't hurt at all. Instead, he unhesitatingly raised his sword and charged at Dang Ran-yeong.

Normally, when a whip and a sword clash, the whip loses. This is because the whip cannot withstand the sword's hardness and sharpness, causing it to be cut or severely damaged. However, Dang Ran-yeong's whip was flexible and bendable yet as hard as metal. When Dang Ran-yeong's whip collided with Cheong-ra's sword, it made a sound that was hard to believe it had hit leather.

This was because Dang Ran-yeong had infused his internal energy into the whip. Wherever the tip of the whip struck, the ground or trees were deeply gouged, and fragments flew. Moreover, the range was wide, causing the martial artists standing nearby to assist to retreat in fright.

The weapons mainly used by martial artists are swords, sabers, spears, or staves. In contrast, the whip was a difficult weapon to master due to its nature, so few experts used it. It was so difficult that it was better not to learn the whip techniques haphazardly.

Yet, when mastered to the extreme, there was no more powerful weapon, making Dang Ran-yeong's whip techniques truly formidable and challenging to deal with. Despite being given the first move, Cheong-ra was more focused on defense than attack.

If it weren't for Moon Lake Sect's Falling Flower Illusory Footwork, he wouldn't have been able to evade the whip at all. Irregular and swift martial arts techniques were required to counter the whip's erratic and fast movements. Cheong-ra calmly deflected the whip strikes coming from all directions, waiting for an opportunity to attack.

"Senior Brother! You must win!"

Lim Jeong cheered loudly for Cheong-ra. The other martial artists also shouted their encouragement. The only one with a stern face was Sect Leader Shim Ryang. With his deep experience, he immediately realized after the first exchange that Dang Ran-yeong's martial prowess was higher than Cheong-ra's.

The evidence was that while there were dozens of footprints from Cheong-ra's footwork on the ground, Dang Ran-yeong hadn't moved at all since the start of the attack, even without using the Tang Clan's poison arts and only wielding the whip.

Before long, sweat began to bead on Cheong-ra's face. Just when he thought the whip was coming from above, its tip would bend and attack from the right or left, making it difficult to anticipate the strikes.

Even so, Dang Ran-yeong didn't aim for the face. Even if the whip headed towards the face, he only attacked in a way that could be sufficiently blocked. In a situation that ordinary martial artists would find humiliating, Cheong-ra instead felt a deep sense of relief. As long as his face wasn't injured, he didn't mind sustaining any other bodily harm.

The attacks from the other party were like a light drizzle. The long whip rained down in dozens of forms from all directions. Facing the strikes so fast that it was difficult to follow with the eyes, Cheong-ra's breathing became increasingly rapid. As time passed, it became clear to everyone that Dang Ran-yeong was toying with Cheong-ra, and Lim Jeong's cheering gradually grew quieter.

"It's most enjoyable to break those who act so arrogantly."

Dang Ran-yeong spoke as he grazed Cheong-ra's side with the whip's tip. His eyes were rippling with excitement. It wasn't from the fight, but rather the eyes of someone feeling ecstasy from the other's suffering. A vile and joyful smile that could only be seen on a celestial demon spread across the man's lips. Cheong-ra leaned his upper body back, narrowly avoiding the strike, but a searing pain spread instead.

He then barely approached Dang Ran-yeong and swiftly thrust his sword, but Dang Ran-yeong dodged it by a paper's breadth as if mocking him. Unexpectedly, the whip whipped around from behind, forcing Cheong-ra to hastily lower his body.

"I want to see you whine with your pride hurt."

"Ugh!"

Cheong-ra groaned as Dang Ran-yeong's fist struck his shoulder, even though he had avoided the whip from behind. It was a clear demonstration that he was skilled in unarmed techniques as well as the whip. Although it was only a glancing blow, the impact was substantial, but he didn't drop his sword.

"Young Master Baek Ri at least has the basics down. You're not completely hopeless."

As if praising his performance, Dang Ran-yeong swung his arm widely as if to slap Cheong-ra's cheek. When the startled Cheong-ra hastily retreated, hidden projectiles flew out from his fluttering sleeves. He narrowly avoided those as well, but the whip immediately followed with a vicious sound, striking his thigh.

No matter how much he protected himself with hardened internal energy, he couldn't completely block the impact from clashing with an equal or even higher level of internal energy, causing a blade-like pain to pierce his leg. Suppressing a groan from the unbearable pain, Cheong-ra distanced himself from Dang Ran-yeong. His eyes shone as if he was furious at being on the receiving end, but contrary to what others might think, it wasn't out of anger.

If he approached close, he had to deal with unarmed techniques, and if he kept his distance, he was attacked by the whip, making Dang Ran-yeong an extremely difficult and formidable opponent. Cheong-ra was well aware that if Dang Ran-yeong set his mind to it, he could easily be killed. An ordinary martial artist's will would have been broken in this situation.

Yet, despite experiencing Dang Ran-yeong's overwhelming strength firsthand, Cheong-ra felt no despair. Instead, his heart pounded rapidly, and a chilling thrill unlike fear coursed through him. Rather than anger, excitement surged within him, and the area between his legs felt like it was melting with heat at the situation of Dang Ran-yeong toying with him.

It was a kind of rapture he had never experienced before.