Chapter 65

• The Encounter with Jin Seong-gon and Im Seong-jin

"Tsk tsk, they have so much energy to spare, they're really wasting it on useless things."

As a thick voice was heard from behind them again,
only then did Bi Ryu-yeon, Hyo-ryong, and Jang Hong's heads turn back.
There, a man of huge build, holding a darkish staff in one hand,
was standing.
His thick and short neck was impressive.

"Who are you?"

Hyo-ryong, who was standing next to Bi Ryu-yeon, asked.

"Me? I'm Im Seong-jin, the Jin Seong-gon, a third-year at the academy. Nice to meet you."

The man introduced himself, exuding an overwhelming power with his log-like forearms and legs, thick neck, and huge face. Looking at the black staff in the man's hand, it was surprisingly made of steel, and it looked very thick and heavy.

"You're holding a peculiar weapon, aren't you? It must be heavy, right?"

Unable to hold back his curiosity about the special and crudely made weapon, Hyo-ryong asked. There were many people in the Jianghu who used a staff as a weapon, but there was no one who used a staff as thick and heavy as this man's. It was common to make it from a hard type of wood.

"Not really, it only weighs about 30 kilograms."

The man said in a nonchalant tone. A confidence that he could swing this much weight as if it were a willow branch could be seen.

"30 kilograms?"

"It's really no big deal."

The exclamation of admiration came from his friends' mouths, but the next words were Bi Ryu-yeon's. The man noticed that Bi Ryu-yeon really thought it was no big deal. An unexpected reaction, a very interesting expression appeared on Im Seong-jin's face.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Bi Ryu-yeon."

Bi Ryu-yeon answered with a faint smile.

"Right, that's a cool name. But why are those punks fighting again? It's not a one-or-two-day thing, but for some reason, it's particularly dangerous today compared to other days."

The emotional conflict between the Sword Soul Society and the Saber Soul Society was not a one-or-two-day thing, but there had been no recent time when it was as full of killing intent as today.

"That's something we wouldn't know. But if you were to ask for the trivial beginning, you could say that the issue of this friend Hyo-ryong's club membership was the starting point."

"What? Membership!"

Im Seong-jin showed an expression of being very astonished. And then he quickly said.

"It's better to quit. If you join a place like that, you'll spend your days and nights in gang fights. What fun would there be in life then? It's the best policy not to join such a boring and tedious place. Yes, that's right."

Im Seong-jin said with a skeptical attitude, shaking his head continuously. His tone was full of concern.

"Is that so?"

"Of course, joining a place like that is what they call digging your own grave. In other words, it's also called jumping into a fire with gunpowder."

Im Seong-jin dissuaded him in a chiding tone. And he passionately argued, giving 22 reasons one by one, that those two places were clubs that should absolutely be refused.

"Do you get it now?"

Anyone who had just heard Im Seong-jin's passionate speech would have been convinced. Bi Ryu-yeon and Hyo-ryong nodded their heads. Only then did a satisfied smile appear on Im Seong-jin's lips.

"Then is there any place you would recommend, senior?"

Before Bi Ryu-yeon's words were even finished, Im Seong-jin said as if he had been waiting for those words.

"Of course. Join our club. We are the best club in the academy. It's a place that sets a man's heart on fire."

"Where is such an amazing place? If there really is such an amazing place, I'd like to go there by any means necessary. As long as it's not for a fee."

Bi Ryu-yeon asked, his eyes shining like stars with excitement. Originally, Bi Ryu-yeon had an infinite interest only in things called free, or complimentary, or clearance. The problem was that other things were outside his interest.

"Of course, it's not something that costs money, so don't worry. You'll know when you follow me. Before that..."

Im Seong-jin's gaze turned to So Cheon-gun and Gu Chang, who were still wasting their energy uselessly. They were still consuming a huge amount of energy with sweat beading on their faces, without yielding an inch. If it continued any longer, it seemed that neither side would be safe.

"I have to end that unsightly thing."

After finishing his words, Im Seong-jin approached them. It was an extremely dangerous act. Im Seong-jin, who had advanced right up to the front of the place where Formless Ki was rampant, thrust his staff into that space without hesitation. The staff was slowly extended forward. Soon, Im Seong-jin's staff slowly encroached into the shimmering Formless Ki.

He was now stepping into a space where Formless Ki was rampant, one of the things that martial artists were most reluctant to do. If one made a mistake, one could suffer internal injuries or, in severe cases, even lose one's life. It was an act that could not be called anything but great guts and courage.

Although he was not a peak master and was not emitting a fatally powerful Formless Ki, it was a dangerous act. It had enough power to cause bodily harm.

Regardless of such facts, his iron staff passed through between the two very slowly. There was no hesitation or reluctance. In an instant, the space began to vibrate. As a third party intervened in the two-sided formation that was in a tense tug-of-war, a change occurred in the battle situation. Im Seong-jin's staff trembled violently. Passing through between the two was the same as being completely covered by their Formless Ki. Im Seong-jin extended his staff, which had been slowly entering like the flow of time, forward like a flash of light.

Boom!

A loud roar that shook the heavens and the earth erupted, and a thick cloud of dust rose and surrounded the area. A powerful roar that felt like it would tear the eardrums swept through the area, and a shockwave hit the bodies of Bi Ryu-yeon's party.

"Will they be safe?"

Hyo-ryong, who was curious about the result in the middle of the thick cloud of dust, looked at Bi Ryu-yeon and asked.

"He must have intervened because he was confident. Surely he wouldn't have acted with reckless courage without any countermeasures? He didn't seem like a person who would show such bravado..."

Bi Ryu-yeon said, looking at the epicenter of the shock, where the dust was slowly clearing.

"If they die there, it would really be a dog's death."

"I agree with that."

Finally, the dust that had risen like a thick morning fog had all cleared, and the situation came into their eyes clearly. Fortunately, it seemed that everyone had been able to avoid a dog's death, but it was not that they had completely avoided a setback. Seeing the thin line of blood flowing from the corners of So Cheon-gun and Gu Chang's mouths, it seemed that both had suffered some internal injuries. But it didn't seem to be something to worry about too much.

Their clothes were tattered. The only person who was fine was Im Seong-jin. Indeed, he was a person with a trick up his sleeve. Seeing him standing proudly with his iron staff extended in one hand, Bi Ryu-yeon let out a short exclamation of admiration.

"He's really ignorant."

"It's radical, but it's very effective."

Im Seong-jin said with a grin. It seemed he had heard Bi Ryu-yeon's words. He had expected a thank you to come out, but So Cheon-gun and Gu Chang closed their mouths like clams and turned their backs. And then they each went their own way.

"Tsk tsk, they just leave without even saying thank you. I didn't think they were such rude people."

Jang Hong sharply criticized their rudeness. In any case, it was natural to express gratitude to Im Seong-jin, who had ended the confrontation between the two. But to disappear without a word of thanks to a person who might have been a lifesaver, there was no rudeness like it. Wasn't it a situation where their lives could have been lost if things had gone wrong? Jang Hong shook his head with an expression of not being able to understand.

Im Seong-jin didn't seem to be very upset about their rudeness. Im Seong-jin, who had finished his business, looked back at Bi Ryu-yeon and his party and said.

"Well then! Shall we go!"

• The Young Lady Lovers' Society

The Young Lady Lovers' Society was a representative example of one of the absurd clubs that had been created among numerous interests.
To explain its activities and founding principles,
it was a 'Beautiful Young Lady Lovers' Club'.
The name itself gave off a very suspicious smell.

The most important and essential skill there was the art of stealth and concealment. The skill of hiding one's body and concealing one's traces and presence while following a target was the root skill that had made the Young Lady Lovers' Society what it is today.

Then why did the survival of the Young Lady Lovers' Society and the art of stealth and concealment come to be in an inseparable, close correlation? The reason can be found in the main activities of the Young Lady Lovers' Society.

Here, if one's skill in the art of stealth and concealment (abbreviated as stealth art) was lacking, there was a high possibility of being stabbed or beaten up by women if one made a mistake. Therefore, those with clumsy skills, not masters of the stealth art, were being restrained from full-scale activities. Because if they were disliked by the entire female population of the academy, as they say, 'if a woman holds a grudge, frost will fall in May and June', there was a risk that the pillar of the club would be uprooted.

It was a place where one always had to be mindful of the resentment, curses, and revenge from women. What is the most important thing in the art of stealth? No, what is the best stealth art? It was harmony. One can hide oneself most perfectly when one becomes one with the world. Of course, it is by no means as easy and simple as it sounds. Stealth art using illusions like optical illusions was just the lowest level skill.

As you know, the world is made up of the yin and yang and the Five Elements that have split from the Supreme Polarity. In other words, all things, whatever their nature, are made up of a combination of ki and therefore emit a specific wavelength. Only a few people who had undergone special training could feel it.

The human body is also a small microcosm made of ki. Only when one synchronizes one's own ki with the wavelength of the ki that the world emits or possesses can one hide oneself right in front of the opponent. No, it would be a more accurate expression to say that it makes the opponent unable to notice or recognize oneself.

At first, this place was also a gathering of people who wanted to realize the law of harmony of the stealth art. The name at that time was also the respectable and normal name of the Stealth and Concealment Society.

But as the 8th vice-leader of the Stealth and Concealment Society, the Ghost King Byeon Tae-im, began to use the art of stealth and concealment he had learned for the constructive direction of his own hobbies—many had criticized it as a bastard child of the misuse and abuse of martial arts skills—its character changed rapidly, and it even changed its sign. He was a severe case of a beautiful girl fanatic.

After that, the Stealth and Concealment Society changed its name to the Young Lady Lovers' Society, and under the belief of sharing the beauty and fragrance of women with the many who were not blessed, it transformed into a club that devoted its efforts to obtaining the personal information and traces(?) of beautiful young ladies.

The place where Jin Seong-gon Im Seong-jin took Bi Ryu-yeon and his party was right in front of the door of this Young Lady Lovers' Society. He was one of the very diligent members of the Young Lady Lovers' Society. Jang Hong, as if he knew something, clutched his head in a headache.

A huge body that seemed difficult to even move, a plump face that seemed to bury the eyes, nose, and mouth, a small and flat nose, a mouth that seemed about to drool at any moment, a triple chin that looked hot just by looking at it. It was truly a face and body that tested the viewer's stomach and patience. It seemed difficult for a person with a weak stomach to even look at. Fortunately, Bi Ryu-yeon had a very strong stomach, and his curiosity was also very vigorous. A huge body that naturally gave the illusion that the fat was eating the body, he was none other than the vice-leader of this Young Lady Lovers' Society, Bi Yeon-tae.