Chapter 31: Left Minister of the Sunghwa Palace 2

Baek Moo-jin told So-ah he had business to attend to and would be back shortly, then returned to the main hall and said to Lee Gon.

“Let’s go.”

Lee Gon still glared at Baek Moo-jin. Reading that look, Baek Moo-jin could somewhat anticipate what was about to unfold.

‘He didn’t come to deliver a message. He came as the vanguard.’

Baek Moo-jin’s prediction proved correct.

Lee Gon had come to Bukcheonmeng personally not only to deliver the Young Palace Lord’s message, but more significantly to observe Baek Moo-jin’s military prowess.

This was a matter of great importance to both the Holy Fire Palace and Lee Gon.

But no matter how hard Lee Gon tried to gauge Baek Moo-jin’s intent, or how much he provoked him with killing intent, he couldn’t be certain of the depth of his power.

‘I thought a closer look would reveal something different… The situation isn’t looking good. Perhaps I should test him after all.’

The young princess he served was the future of the Seonghwa Palace.

Sunghwa Palace had compiled and imparted all its martial arts knowledge to her, and used its accumulated wealth to purchase every kind of elixir to support the young princess. All this effort was because the young princess was the one destined to carry on Seonghwagung’s aspirations.

Lee Gon was lost in thought.

‘If, by any chance, this man is stronger than the Young Princess… I must find a way to postpone the martial contest until later.’

Before guiding the Young Palace Master, Lee Gon had already made arrangements to verify Baek Moo-jin’s martial prowess.

Baek Moo-jin, though aware of Lee Gon’s thoughts, pretended ignorance and followed him out. However, Baek Moo-jin himself did not know exactly how Lee Gon intended to verify his martial arts. It could be an open challenge, or it could involve some kind of trickery.

The two men, each lost in their own thoughts, left the North Heaven Alliance.

Lee Gon left the North Heaven Alliance and headed somewhere in silence. Baek Moo-jin was also silent. The only sound was their footsteps, and it was quiet. But because unsettling thoughts gripped both of them, the situation was filled with tension.

But Baek Moo-jin welcomed this tension.

Wasn’t this the very faction he had intended to seek out in the first place?

They had come to him of their own accord, arranging a martial contest with the Young Princess. For Baek Moo-jin, it was actually a fortunate turn of events.

Thinking they had slightly left the North Heaven Alliance’s territory, Yi Gon suggested to Baek Moo-jin.

“Let’s move faster from here. It’s quite a distance. Using lightness skills should be fine, right?”

Baek Mujin nodded.

“Of course.”

“We’ll give you time to rest once we arrive quickly. Don’t misunderstand.”

“Do as you wish.”

“Heh heh. That confidence… quite impressive. Tell me if it gets too hard. I’ll slow down.”

As soon as Baek Moo-jin agreed, Lee Gon shot forward.

Baek Moo-jin merely blinked once, and already Lee Gon was far ahead. Baek Moo-jin, who had been staring expressionlessly at Lee Gon, took a couple of slow steps before suddenly dashing forward like a whirlwind.

Lee Gon was a formidable man, powerful enough to be the Left Minister of the Sunghwa Palace and the tutor to the young palace master.

Especially regarding lightness skills, he had few rivals even within the Seonghwa Palace. If there was one, it would be the Palace Master himself. Such a man had increased his speed to make Baek Moo-jin chase him. Knowing Baek Moo-jin’s pride was immense, this would be a lightness skills duel bordering on provocation.

Suddenly, Lee Gon, who had been running ahead, encountered a fork in the road. Deciding to wait for Baek Moo-jin, who was still far behind, he paused briefly and looked back.

“Where is this guy…?”

He seemed about to say, “…has he arrived yet?”

But Baek Moo-jin was already within Lee Gon’s sight. Not only that. He stopped right in front of Lee Gon, kicking up wind and dust so violently it seemed he could have arrived almost simultaneously.

A strange whirring sound accompanied the dust that poured down on Lee Gon, who stood there. Lee Gon, looking displeased, waved his hand to disperse the billowing dust as he looked at Baek Moo-jin.

Baek Moo-jin’s expression clearly asked why he had stopped.

Baek Moo-jin blinked and looked at Lee Gon.

‘What? Why?’

That look on his face, you know.

Lee Gon had to clear his throat briefly to hide his flustered state.

“Ah… Ahem… I stopped for a moment at the fork in the road. I was worried I might take the wrong path.”

Baek Moo-jin gave a half-hearted nod.

“Is that so? Which way?”

Lee Gon, who had been nodding, blinked and asked Baek Moo-jin.

“But somehow, I didn’t hear any loud footsteps.”

“My feet are quite light. Let’s go.”

“Ah, I see. Then… this way.”

Baek Moo-jin raised his hand as if urging him to hurry, pointing the way.

‘Left Guard, run faster.’

2.

Lee Gon stared blankly at the road stretching ahead and nodded.

‘This level of skill alone in lightness technique is already a realm of its own… Should I investigate the Snow Mountain Hundred Schools?’

Taking a deep breath, Lee Gon surged forward again.

There was another reason Lee Gon had paused briefly at the fork he’d just reached.

‘This is where I must settle the score.’

Originally, reaching this point using lightness skill was part of the agreement Lee Gon had made with his subordinates.

But the next agreement was even more crucial.

He had ordered them to hide along the path he was now running on and throw hidden weapons if he passed by using his swift lightness skills.

Of course, those hidden weapons would target not only Baek Moo-jin but Lee Gon himself.

Lee Gon already knew the darts would be launched, and he could easily deflect darts thrown with full force by his subordinates.

Moreover, this was necessary to avoid arousing Baek Moo-jin’s suspicion…

This arrangement was based on the assumption that Bai Muzhen’s martial arts were truly formidable.

If Baek Moo-jin were injured by the hidden weapons while deploying his lightness skill, that too would not be a bad outcome.

It would mean Baek Moo-jin’s martial arts weren’t as formidable as his own. After treating the wound, arranging a duel with the Young Princess would perfectly conclude what Lee Gon had planned.

Lee Gon dashed forward, his expression growing even colder.

Just a little further, and the Jin Family Trading Guild where the Young Lady was staying would come into view.

3.

Baek Moo-jin, while impressed by Lee Gon’s extraordinary lightness skills, was keeping up without much difficulty. However, the endless stretch of dark road made him somewhat uneasy. He kept checking the moonlight and watching the movement of the clouds as he pursued Lee Gon.

‘He’s quite far ahead.’

It couldn’t be helped. A considerable number of people had followed the young princess, and it was impossible for all of them to stay near the Northern Heaven Alliance. However, the two men’s lightness skill was so incredibly fast that it ranked among the best in the entire martial world, allowing them to cover a considerable distance in an instant.

Even while racing at incredible speed, Baek Mujin was carefully observing Lee Gon’s lightness skill.

His internal energy was profound, and his running posture was stable. Baek Moo-jin couldn’t help but admire the martial arts of the Sunghwa Palace and the figure known as Jwa Sa.

But Baek Moo-jin was beginning to suspect that Lee Gon’s speed had slowed ever so slightly.

‘He couldn’t possibly be tired already.’

At that moment, a sound unrelated to lightness skill arose from both sides of the path.

Shushushushush!

“······!”

The moment Baek Moo-jin pinpointed the source of the wind sounds, he shot skyward. Propelled by his running momentum, the height he soared to was truly staggering.

Yet beneath his feet, Zuo Sha Yigong was effortlessly swatting away the incoming projectiles.

‘Hm?’

Even Baek Moo-jin, who usually maintained perfect composure, had been thoroughly startled by the surprise attack moments ago. Yet Lee Gon’s response was strangely calm.

Flying through the air at tremendous speed, Baek Moo-jin had already overtaken Lee Gon and landed on the ground. Immediately, a barrage of projectiles poured toward Baek Moo-jin once more.

From a standing stance, Baek Moo-jin swiftly drew and sheathed his sword in rapid succession. The flying daggers collided with the white sword light, losing their trajectory and scattering wildly.

Simultaneously, Baek Moo-jin’s figure darted swiftly away.

A duel is one thing, but an ambush carries an entirely different meaning. As Baek Moo-jin’s figure suddenly appeared, the martial artists of Sunghwa Palace scattered in panic, fleeing in all directions. And no wonder—if captured by Baek Moo-jin, the Left Minister’s orders would be exposed, and the honor of Sunghwa Palace would be utterly ruined. Moreover, since it was a unilateral order from the Left Minister that even the Young Palace Master didn’t know about, the martial artists of the Sunghwa Palace began fleeing as if their feet were on fire.

But who could they possibly escape from?

Wasn’t it Baek Moo-jin, whose lightness skill was in no way inferior to that of Seonghwagung’s Left Commander?

At that moment, Left Commander Yi Gon was also pursuing Baek Moo-jin at breakneck speed.

Baek Moo-jin touched the ground two or three times, instantly catching up to the fleeing intruder. He extended his thumb and index finger, intending to strike with the Cold Moon Technique.

However, Lee Gon, who had pursued at incredible speed, judged that his subordinate might die and barely managed to grab Baek Moo-jin’s wrist. But simultaneously, as Baek Moo-jin seized the Left Minister’s wrist, their arms locked together, crossing like intertwined ropes.

Baek Moo-jin looked at Lee Gon and said.

“What are you doing?”

What could Lee Gon possibly say? In the meantime, his subordinates scattered, running for their lives.

Amidst the chaos, Lee Gon, still gripping Baek Moo-jin’s wrist, pondered what to say. But no matter what he said, he couldn’t deceive Baek Moo-jin in this situation.

‘First, knock Baek Moo-jin unconscious.’

Judging that the honor of Sunghwa Palace was more important, Lee Gon immediately summoned his inner energy and spat out.

“My apologies.”

Despite Lee Gon raising his energy, Baek Moo-jin flipped the wrist he was holding and twisted Lee Gon’s arm in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, Baek Moo-jin countered. Lee Gon’s entire body spun once in the direction his arm was twisted, then he stood straight again and began to unleash his palm strike.

Baek Moo-jin, a cold smile on his lips, immediately launched his counterattack.

‘What a mess.’

In an instant, both men, who had been exchanging palm techniques with their feet planted firmly on the ground, simultaneously clashed their palms, creating a deafening roar.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

The thunderous roar, like a bolt of lightning striking, made the trees surrounding Baek Moo-jin and Lee Gon tremble violently.

Pouring out his inner strength, Baek Moo-jin addressed Lee Gon.

“Was this the plan of the Left Minister? Why didn’t you just say you wanted to fight?”

A grinding sound escaped from Lee Gon’s clenched teeth. Simultaneously, his palm instantly turned crimson.

The martial art the young princess had unleashed before… The Heaven-Shattering Flame Technique activated within Lee Gon’s palm.

Baek Mujin watched as Lee Gon’s palms transformed, seeming to hold the essence of flames. Though he couldn’t pinpoint the reason, a shiver ran through his entire body.

Then, somewhere deep within his body, he felt a strange sensation… a snap, as if something had snapped.

For the first time since descending the mountain, Baek Moo-jin raised the White Flower Divine Art to the fourth level and began infusing the White Flower Palm into Lee Gon’s palm strike.

Since the fourth level wasn’t Baek Moo-jin’s limit, he could speak freely even while pouring out his energy.

Gazing at Yi Gon, who was clenching his teeth, Baek Moo-jin slowly opened his mouth.

“The flame of the Sacred Fire…”

As Baek Moo-jin spoke with unhurried ease, Lee Gon’s complexion darkened instantly. Baek Moo-jin continued.

“It will turn into a white flower.”

Then, the coldness emanating from Baek Moo-jin’s hand began to consume Lee Gon’s crimson palm.