A top-tier expert is someone who can slaughter dozens of ordinary men without getting a single scratch.
Although there are countless experts in the Central Plains like stars in the sky, a top-tier expert can walk with pride wherever they go.
Perhaps that’s why Goat Beard was overflowing with confidence.
“Brat, let’s see if your skills match your big mouth!”
“Suryong! Step back!”
Clang!
My father, who had already drawn his sword, stepped in front of me to face Goat Beard.
But from the other side, Namgung Wook, who had also drawn his sword, charged at my father.
“Hey! Let’s have a chat, old man!”
Kaaang!
My father was pushed back by Namgung Wook’s strength, and a look of defeat flashed across his face.
“Hahaha! A magistrate should stick to being a magistrate!”
“You bastard! Move aside! Suryong!!”
Perhaps because he was worried about me, my father couldn’t fully unleash his strength and became flustered.
While Namgung Wook tied up my father’s movements, Goat Beard smirked and charged at me.
“Kekeke. Let’s see you struggle!”
I took a step back, wearing an expression of sheer terror.
Seeing this, his grin widened even more.
“Hahaha! You look like a rat with its tail on fire!”
‘He’s openly underestimating me.’
His movements were unnecessarily exaggerated.
He spread his arms wide, as if showing off, and stepped forward with a flashy footwork.
His face was filled with a smug smile.
‘I should be thankful.’
He was being overconfident because he knew I was no match for him.
Of course, it was natural for him to let his guard down.
A top-tier expert versus a brat who couldn’t even use internal energy? It was a fight he would win a hundred times out of a hundred.
But there was one thing he could never know.
‘This isn’t the first time I’ve lived without internal energy.’
In the harsh Blood Cult, I had taught martial arts to late-stage disciples for over 20 years without being able to use internal energy.
Were all the disciples I taught obedient and diligent? Were there none who ignored the words of a martial arts instructor who couldn’t use internal energy? Were there none who, after growing up and improving their martial arts, dared to challenge me?
Not a chance.
Countless people had underestimated me.
Yet, until the day the Blood Demon summoned me to the underground prison, I was the best—and worst—martial arts instructor in the Blood Demon Cult.
‘I’ll show you.
How to take down a top-tier expert without internal energy.’
“Don’t be too scared. I’ll kill you slowly while enjoying myself!”
Whoosh!
Goat Beard’s hand transformed into an eagle’s claw, aiming to slash my chest.
It was threatening, but his movements were too exaggerated.
I leaned back as if falling and kicked upward.
Sssk!
His claws tore through my clothes, but at the same time, my kick landed on his stomach.
Thud!
Goat Beard, caught off guard, stumbled back a few steps.
“You brat?”
His eyes widened slightly.
The impact had little effect, but his expression showed confusion and annoyance.
“Hmph. You got lucky once…”
He couldn’t finish his sentence.
At that moment, he had to hurriedly raise his arms to block the coins I shot at him like hidden weapons.
Swish swish swish!
I scattered the small coins I had hidden in my robe, aiming for his head and eyes.
“You think such cheap tricks will work on me?!”
Because we were so close, he naturally raised his arms to protect his head.
At that moment, his elbows were exposed.
‘Got you.’
With a confident smile, I aimed the last coin I had hidden at the Quchi acupoint on his elbow.
Thud!
The Quchi acupoint is a crucial point where the energy of the arm gathers.
If struck precisely with enough force, it can numb the arm.
“Ugh…!”
Given my current weak strength, the numbness in a top-tier expert’s arm would last only a split second.
‘But that split second is enough to decide the outcome.’
I immediately charged at him, his arm still stiff.
His eyes widened in panic.
“Ugh!”
He tried to dodge, but his arm was still numb, slowing his reaction.
I formed a sword finger with my index and middle fingers and struck the Jianjing acupoint near his shoulder.
Thud!
The Jianjing acupoint is a major meridian where turbid energy accumulates.
Stimulating it with the right force can paralyze the entire body.
“Ugh…!”
He trembled as a sharp pain shot through him.
I grabbed the back of his head with both hands and grinned.
“You’re done for, you bastard.”
I pulled his head down with all my strength while simultaneously kneeing him in the face.
Crack!
Once wasn’t enough.
Crack! Crack!
Twice was too cruel.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Three, four times—I kept kneeing his face relentlessly, determined to finish him.
“Ugh…! You… bastard…!”
True to his status as a top-tier expert, he had a strong constitution.
Staggering, he swung his arm to shake me off.
Whoosh!
Though it was a clumsy, unrefined move, even a graze from it would be dangerous in my current state.
I narrowly dodged and circled to his left.
Thud thud thud!
I pressed several acupoints with my sword finger, but the effect was much weaker than before.
‘Acupoint strikes won’t work anymore.’
Goat Beard had started channeling his internal energy to protect his meridians.
With my lack of internal energy and physical strength, further acupoint strikes were impossible.
I retreated without hesitation.
“Gah! I’ll kill you!”
Enraged, Goat Beard charged at me.
But his momentum was much weaker than before.
Having taken several blows to the head, he was disoriented and struggling to maintain his balance.
He was driven solely by the desire to kill me.
‘If I get hit by that, I’m done for.’
Whoosh! Whoosh!
I minimized my movements, dodging his attacks by a hair’s breadth.
“There were many like you.”
“Gaaah!”
He wasn’t listening, but it didn’t matter.
“Those who thought they were better than me just because they had internal energy, because they had learned enough, because they had grown arrogant.”
“I’ll kill you!”
During my time as a martial arts instructor in the Blood Cult, I was looked down upon by countless disciples—and even fellow instructors—because I couldn’t use internal energy.
“…Those who thought I was inferior just because my dantian was intact.”
“Die! Die! Die!”
“Do you know what happened to all of them?”
Swoosh.
I deliberately left an opening, and he charged at me like a beast smelling blood.
At that moment, I took a step forward.
“Hup!”
As my foot landed where his foot was supposed to be, his stance faltered.
His breathing hitched, and his body stiffened momentarily.
Once again, that brief moment was enough.
“This is how it ends.”
Whoosh!
I dodged his attack and moved to his side.
A moment later, my elbow struck the back of his head.
Crack!!
With a resounding impact, Goat Beard collapsed like a frog.
“Ugh…”
I clutched my chest, catching my breath.
My weak body had pushed itself too far, and blood was trickling from one nostril.
As I wiped the blood with the back of my hand, I sensed movement nearby.
“Ugh…!”
Goat Beard was staggering to his feet.
It had only been a month since I woke up in this body.
It wasn’t enough time to properly train.
‘Damn it.
If only I could fix the Heavenly Yin Meridian…’
If I could master all the supreme techniques in my mind, I wouldn’t need to rely on such tricks.
Even if hundreds of them came at me, it wouldn’t be a problem.
“I’ll kill you—!”
Goat Beard, swaying unsteadily, charged at me with murderous intent.
He had completely lost his sanity, his eyes rolling back.
“Hoo…”
But I didn’t dodge.
I had bought enough time.
I glanced back and asked, “Are you done yet?”
“…It’s been a while since I’ve been in a real fight, so it took a bit.”
At that moment, a figure leaped out from behind me and swung a sword fiercely.
Whoosh!!
The arms of Goat Beard, who was charging at me, were severed and flew into the air.
Blood gushed like a fountain from the stumps.
“Gaaaah!”
As Goat Beard screamed in agony, my father stood before him, holding his sword with both hands, his expression resolute.
“Are you okay?”
“More or less.”
Looking back, Namgung Wook (self-proclaimed) was lying on the ground, battered.
On the other hand, my father was unscathed.
‘As expected, he’s a true top-tier expert.’
For some reason, my father, Baek Mu-heun, had been hiding his true strength.
Of course, I already knew that.
We had been living together for a month, after all.
I had provoked them because I was confident we could win.
I struggled to catch my breath and said, “We’ve got confessions and plenty of witnesses. If we capture them and hand them over to the Martial Alliance branch, they’ll take care of the rest.”
“We’ll have a lot to talk about when we get back…”
At that moment, a wave of cheers interrupted my father’s words.
“Wooaaah!”
“We’ve defeated the evil heretics!”
“Long live Baek Mu-heun, the great hero!”
“Long live Baek Suryong, the great hero! Long live Baek Mugwan!”
The people whose lives we had saved swarmed around us, cheering and crying tears of joy.
Among them, the expression of the snot-nosed kid from the fabric shop, Jang Yi, was particularly amusing.
“Master Baek! Our master is the best!”
That kid… Tomorrow, he’ll probably pester me to teach him martial arts again.
“Ah, what about the others…”
“They all ran away.”
The underlings who had been guarding the gate, including Yang Sam and the disciples of Jin Mugwan, had already fled.
As the situation settled, a wave of exhaustion washed over me.
“I guess it’s over…”
Stagger.
“Suryong!”
I felt dizzy.
As the tension left my body, my knees gave out, and I leaned to the side.
My eyes slowly closed.
This weak body of mine…
With my fading vision, I looked at my father.
He was holding me, his eyes filled with concern.
“…I’ll rest for a bit. Please handle the cleanup.”
Thud.
Amid the cheers of the crowd, I lost consciousness.