Published at 18th of March 2026 6:28 am

Chapter 410

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"... Bang Sung-Yun, victory."

I won the duel and looked at Yu Yul at the same time. There was a faint but undeniable fighting spirit contained in his gaze.

It was a look I had never seen before.

There had always been a bizarre air in his ever-smiling eyes.

'Even that guy can show feelings like that, huh.'

It was fascinating, but not surprising. After all, it's not the only thing I'm seeing from Yu Yul now anyway.

'That eye.'

The eye lurking behind that bastard at this very moment. I clicked my tongue inwardly as I watched it.

'Tsk.'

It bothered me.

That thing that kept wandering around. That's why I had to deal with it.

'How should I handle this?'

I pondered. How could I deal with it?

No, actually...

'How could I...'

How could I take care of it without drawing attention?

Dealing with it isn't hard anyway.

'My whole life's been like this.'

I've been doing these kinds of things all my life. I might not know martial arts, but I was confident in this area.

'So as long as I get the chance, I can strike.'

The problem is

'It's not simple.'

That eye itself doesn't look easy to me.

It's stronger than I thought. I don't mean it has powerful spiritual ki or is perfect.

'It's hard to see.'

I can't clearly decipher the structure of the spirit making up that thing.

Just from that, I could sense it was a formidable opponent.

If nothing else

'If I can't catch it with my eyes'

It means the person behind that eye can handle spirits of an immortal grade, or

'It means they can handle evil god-level spirits.'

A higher god.

Unless you can wield that, you can't escape my gaze. No matter how much you shackle your spirit and kill off your karma...

'My eyes are special.'

Ghost Eyes. Of those, the ones that can perceive even the gods.

That's why even my grandmother spent her whole life trying to keep my eyes covered.

Tsk.

I pushed my sword back into its sheath. Then I turned and walked down.

***

Right after finishing my first duel, I met Chun Uijin and Yu Yun at the foot of the stage.

For some reason, the two were together.

Were they close? I didn't think so.

'If anything, Chun Uijin was always openly uncomfortable with Yu Yun.'

Yu Yun's personality is just not the type you can get close to. That's probably why, throughout our journey, Chun Uijin had looked uneasy around her.

That's how it had been.

"What brings you two together?"

I asked with a puzzled expression, and Chun Uijin reacted.

"Ah. It just sort of happened...?"

While speaking, he glanced briefly at Yu Yun. What's up with that?

'What's going on?'

He seemed to be checking her reaction. Just like

'He's lying.'

They clearly had a reason to be together, but were pretending otherwise. That's exactly what it felt like.

My eyes narrowed. I stared daggers at Yu Yun with a sidelong gaze, but

"..."

Yu Yun quietly turned her head. She was avoiding my gaze.

"Hey. Why are you avoiding my eyes?"

"..."

"Young master Chun?"

"Huh? Yes?"

"What exactly were you two doing?"

"I don't know. I meanno, I was watching."

"..."

Unbelievable.

'How can someone be this bad at lying?'

Stumbling and stammering halfway through the sentencepathetic. I was so dumbfounded I didn't ask any further.

'... Well, they must have their reasons.'

If they can't say it, there must be a reason.

Interrogating isn't in my nature.

"... Alright, whatever you say."

I nodded vaguely, and maybe thinking I'd let it go, the two let out a quiet sigh of relief.

'... What's that about?'

If you were this obvious, you never wanted to hide it in the first place, right?

I let out a hollow laugh, but just decided to let it go.

Even so

'Right now'

There was somewhere else I had to focus on, rather than those two. I turned my gaze to the duel stage.

Yu Yul was on stage now, along with his opponent.

Clang.

The two drew their swords. Watching them, I sensed something strange.

'His expression...'

Yu Yul wasn't smiling.

For the first time I saw him with a blank expression.

It was a completely different mood from when he smiled, causing me to subconsciously flinch.

'What is this?'

Why is the mood like this? As I wondered, watching

"Duel."

The referee's voice echoed.

"Begin!"

With that short shout

Clack.

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

The onlookers gasped. Something flew through the air. It was a sword. The broken tip of a sword spun through the air.

Clatter.

The shattered blade rolled across the ground.

"... Uh..."

The owner of the sword wore a blank expression. No wonder.

'Just now...'

What just happened?

Yu Yul stood motionless at his spot. The surprising thing was, the sword he'd unsheathed was already back in its sheath.

'In an instant.'

In a fleeting moment, Yu Yul had unsheathed his sword and sliced through his opponent's blade.

The meaning was clear.

'Before his opponent could even envelop his blade with sword aura.'

If sword aura wraps around the blade, its durability increases. It couldn't have shattered so lightly.

So, to have broken the sword before the sword aura could wrap around it

'I missed it.'

I didn't even see the moment when Yu Yul struck the sword.

'Ha.'

How fast is this guy? It was an astounding moment.

"..."

I felt a gaze. It was Yu Yul. He was looking directly at me.

He met my narrowed eyes, and I scowled at him.

How about that?

His voice echoed in my head.

Is this enough of an answer for you?

'Ha.'

Hearing his silent transmission, I snorted.

I didn't think too hard about what answer he meant. The answer was obvious.

I didn't care much about Yu Yul's words.

I was just curious.

'Why.'

Why was that guy so fixated on me? That's what I wanted to know.

p>

Just then

Swish. Clang. Yu Yul slightly unsheathed his sword for a moment, then put it back in.

It was a small gesture, but it carried strong meaning.

"Rest is over."

"What...?"

"Let's move right on to the next match."

Yu Yul said with a smile. By resheathing his sword, he indicated the duel was truly over.

"... Right away?"

"Yes. Let's do it now. No need to wait. I'm not tired at all."

"..."

His opponent from the previous duel scowled at the words, but with nothing further to say, he just ground his teeth and left the stage.

"Hey."

At that moment Yu Yul looked at me.

"Get up here."

"..."

"It's time we do this, right?"

His calm words sounded unusually loud. Probably because the whole place had fallen silent.

All eyes were on me. It felt like I was getting that damned, pointless attention again.

'Ha.'

I sighed. Annoyance bubbled up, but my feet carried me onto the stage anyway.

"... Division Member Bang, are you alright?"

Now the referee addressed me. I nodded at his words.

"Yes. Well... It's nothing special for me either."

I said I wasn't tired.

That was a lie.

'I'm definitely tired.'

Even after using Moon Heaven briefly, the fatigue had built up in my body, bit by bit.

'Still'

I wasn't used to it yet. Even after reaching the Transcendent realm and remaking my body.

It was truly insane martial arts. The effects were definite, but the backlash afterward was brutal.

I was still feeling it even now.

"Should I have given you a longer break?"

Yu Yul said with a smile. I frowned at that.

"No need."

"Really? Hmm. You look like you need it. Am I mistaken?"

"..."

He was sharp. Did he notice my fatigue? How did he know?

"Are you sure you don't need it?"

"... I'm sure."

Was it my pride? Or just a stubbornness rooted in competitiveness?

If you ask me, it was closer to useless pride. Something that didn't suit me at all.

'Why do I'

Why did I act so prideful only around this guy?

I couldn't understand it.

"Alright. That's good then."

Ssshring.

Yu Yul drew his sword. I drew mine as well.

The surroundings grew quiet. They had been ever since we stepped onto the stage.

Even the lowest whispers faded away.

In that silence, I turned my gaze. Toward where the Small Moon Division leader and Virtuous Moon Sword sat.

The sharp, handsome man was staring down at us with calm eyes. His face gave away nothing, but if you looked carefully

'Interest.'

I could see there was interest in his gaze.

"Hoo"

I let out a deep breath. And just before we started

"Can I ask you something?"

I questioned Yu Yul.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you doing this to me?"

I was truly curious. What exactly did this guy want from me?

"I don't feel like I did anything. So why are you so interested?"

I didn't sense any malice from him. That's what made it worse. He was doing this without any malice at all.

"Hmm..."

At my question, Yu Yul scratched his cheek.

And then

"Do I really need a reason?"

"What?"

"If you want an answer... I was just curious."

Swish.

He pointed his sword at me. As I watched the glinting blade

"You took my place. I just wonder how valuable you really are."

"... What?"

His words drew my brows together. What did he just say?

"What do you mean, took your place...?"

"Your position, obviously."

"I don't have any position to"

"Sword Saint's successor."

Shh.

As he spoke, energy started to rise from Yu Yul's body. Aura faintly wrapped around him.

"That position. It was originally mine."

"...?"

I had never heard such nonsense before. What the hell was he talking about?

Speechless, my face went blank.

"Ahdon't worry about it. It's over now... I have no regrets or anything."

I couldn't focus on his beaming smile at all.

"I got everything I needed anyway."

By the time a blue heat had covered his sword

"So I'm just curious."

The smile vanished from Yu Yul's face.

"How capable is the one who sat in the seat I never took?"

Chill.

'What's this?'

Goosebumps swept up my back. The killing intent from Yu Yul's blank expression and blade forcibly awakened my body.

"So I want you to show me. And"

Yu Yul quietly added:

"I hope this time is different from last time."

"..."

With those words

"Duel!"

The referee raised his hand and brought it down.

"Begin!"

At that moment, Yu Yul's presence vanished.

'Lost him.'

I belatedly opened Moon Eye. I lost track, so I couldn't see him. Just then

Tingle.

'...!'

I felt a sensation from my left. I moved my sword, but instead of blocking to my left, I swept the blade to the right.

Clang-!!!

The blades crashed and sparks scattered.

"Oh!"

Yu Yul exclaimed. He had really appeared on my right.

"Nicely done. How'd you know?"

"..."

He grinned in satisfaction. I gritted my teeth at the sight.

'Damn it.'

'That seat. It was originally mine.'

Those words oddly echoed in my head.

No matter what, I'll win.

I steeled myself.

Gramps' Notes:

I'm guessing Bow Ghost told him that...

Yu Yul is saying the seat he never took, but it was never given to him in the first place...

Now that I think about it, Bow Ghost probably wanted Yu Yul to be the Sword Saint's disciple, but Sword Saint rejected her, hence, she got angry...

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