Moyong Yeon-hwa’s training was going smoothly.
As befits the later generation of the Moyong Clan, Moyong Yeon-hwa had a solid foundation and picked up skills quickly.
Even though she had only trained for three days, she had already absorbed the techniques for responding to explosive attacks quite well.
However, even with Moyong Yeon-hwa’s training going well… there was one concern that kept swirling in my mind.
What on earth!
What do rats actually like?
The reason for this worry was the Iron Blood Rat right in front of me.
Squeak.
I had dug a hole in a suitable hills after moving away from the passage and hid the Iron Blood Rat there. Perhaps because it was clever, it seemed to understand my intention to hide, but it showed no signs of eating anything.
“Hmmm.”
Although there were traces of my diligent efforts to bring back a bag of nuts from the market, the quantity hadn’t changed.
This is troublesome.
No matter how much of an entity it was, hunger is hunger.
While it was following my orders well now, expecting it to endure hunger and follow my commands was too big of an expectation.
If it couldn’t withstand its hunger and dashed out of the hole, a troublesome situation would unfold. A low-grade 1st tier rat roaming about would obviously cause chaos, and it might provoke the seniors of the Shengsu Faction who would be curious about the whereabouts of the missing Blood Person and the Iron Blood Rat.
No matter how I thought about it, I didn’t think any good would come from the Iron Blood Rat running around, so it was necessary to provide it with a satisfactory dwelling from my perspective.
“Come on, come on, meat. Meat.”
It didn’t seem very interested in nuts, so I wondered if maybe it preferred meat and caught a passing mountain rabbit, but it sniffed it once and then returned its head to the ground, disinterested.
Man, taking care of an entity is hard.
I couldn’t just fetch cheese in this martial world; what was I supposed to do?
While the Iron Blood Rat could be a creature that only eats specific food, if it really were of that kind, there was nothing I could do.
Also, it looked kinda weak, which was subtle, yet worrisome.
As I stroked its snout, the Iron Blood Rat perked up its ears and looked at me.
Squeak!
At least it let out some kind of sound, as if it knew I was worried.
“Tsk.”
There’s a saying that you should eat even if you can’t.
Right now, the Iron Blood Rat was something that had to be swallowed, even if it couldn’t eat.
It was uncertain what would happen if the seniors of the Shengsu Faction encountered the Iron Blood Rat, and it was a crucial link with the Blood Sect.
Honestly, such calculations didn’t matter that much.
There was an opportunity to tame an entity before me; how could I hold back from that?
I decided while looking at the curled-up Iron Blood Rat.
No choice, guess I have to push myself.
It seemed I needed to find a clue to take care of the Iron Blood Rat.
*
The exit I came out of with the Iron Blood Rat connected right to the Moyong Clan’s forest. There were enough traces of the Iron Blood Rat passing through the exit, making it highly likely it was getting its meals from this region.
By observing the signs of its hunting or foraging spread across this forest, I could deduce what it was feeding on.
After confirming that my night gear, mask, and hood were in good order, I cautiously began to scout the woods.
During the day, I was taking care of Moyong Yeon-hwa, and at night, I was taking care of the Iron Blood Rat. My infiltration mission had ended, yet somehow I felt busier now.
As I rummaged through the dark, moonless night in the forest, a peculiar feeling swept over me.
How should I put this? When I go about naturally under the cover of darkness, it felt like I was overcoming the curtain of night.
Some memories of past conversations with Hyeok Gi-rin from my chaotic Yongji Maeng days surfaced.
After reaching a certain realm, he somehow felt he conquered the night and enjoyed moonlight walks.
Although I hadn’t been completely devoid of nocturnal activities, being alone like this somewhat made one sentimental.
Is this what nighttime vibes are?
However, unlike the charm the darkness provides, my search was not progressing at all.
Essentially, the Iron Blood Rat’s movements were seeped with stealth. As a representative of creatures that move quietly, the Iron Blood Rat left extremely minimal traces for its size.
After searching through the night, I found a few traces that were likely left by the Iron Blood Rat, but they just seemed to feel like territory markings rather than anything related to food.
“Tsk.”
Today was a complete wash. I found no clues about the Iron Blood Rat’s diet and failed at fishing too.
What a risky move I took for Moyong Yeon-hwa and the Iron Blood Rat, only for it to come to nothing.
As dawn began to break, I figured it was about time to withdraw and hope for tomorrow.
Just as I thought to make my move, I felt a presence.
“A suspicious one, aren’t you? What are you doing here?”
I slowly turned around.
There stood a masked individual, also covering their face.
The realm seemed roughly at the Peak Stage, and they appeared to be ready to use force if necessary, as their fingers curled slightly like claws.
Being familiar with the situation of the Shengsu Faction, I could clearly see the identity of the masked individual.
A senior member of the Shengsu Faction.
To be precise, one of the two seniors who probably wouldn’t be engaging in matches.
Looks like I got caught.
I gazed at the senior guarding the forest and recalled my training with Moyong Yeon-hwa in my mind.
The more I trained Moyong Yeon-hwa, the more doubts lingered in my mind.
Was my special training really being conducted correctly?
The only clue I had about my opponent was the martial arts method engraved in the Training Hall.
Was it truly the right choice to conduct special training aimed at facing a senior based only on such crude information?
As I pondered this, it seemed I would have to go back into the forest where the Iron Blood Rat’s feeding problem had opened an exit, so while I’m at it, why not try to catch the seniors?
It wasn’t hard to anticipate that the seniors would be closely monitoring this forest.
Suddenly the Blood Person and the Iron Blood Rat had gone missing right before an important match.
Missing for three days already is a timeframe that could raise suspicion among the seniors of the Shengsu Faction.
And with the decision to act, it would be natural to place surveillance in this forest, which had an exit or was already compromised.
As expected, while roaming the forest, a senior popped out.
I cautiously let out my aura and scanned the surroundings, nodding to myself.
Things were going well.
In the worst-case scenario, I had expected to be surrounded by either another Blood Person or several seniors, but right now, I didn’t feel anyone else nearby other than this one.
“Answer me.”
While I was surveying the situation, the senior arrogantly urged for a response.
Currently, I was exuding the aura of a newly risen martial artist at the Peak Stage. The senior, determining their power was overwhelmingly superior, radiated strong confidence.
I took a step back like a cornered person and opened my mouth.
“Well, you are wearing a mask, yet you call me suspicious? That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”
“Only those who must see blood will speak.”
The masked senior lunged at me immediately.
Swoosh!
Was it because I was wearing a mask that concealed my identity?
I felt somewhat embarrassed as the senior smoothly executed the martial arts I had learned from the Blood Sect without hesitation.
After all, they had probably intended to unleash their martial arts since it had been almost two years since they trained without any real combat opportunities.
Clang!
As our weapons clashed, I stiffened when I saw the senior’s fingers weaving through the blade without any hindrance.
I thought they would wield a powerful method ham-fistedly, but instead, they had unexpectedly agile movements that emerged.
Their hands twisted and suppressed the sword like a snake coiling around its prey, demonstrating a mastery of the Rising Martial Arts.
Trying to twist my sword to escape their unexpected agility was futile; their technique was flawlessly executed.
As I struggled to free my sword, the senior’s momentum surged.
“Ha! Do you think you can escape?”
Clang! Clang!
The clash of energies produced an unpleasant sound. The standoff between me—not able to wield my sword freely—and the senior, who wasn’t completely binding my sword, ended somewhat anticlimactically.
The senior simply let go of my sword.
Rather than feeling confident enough to completely subdue my blade, they might have just thought it’s easier to suppress me through other means.
Boom!
With that, a powerful attack came crashing down.
“Ugh!”
I frantically exhaled, rolling my body desperately.
Crash!
The massive blow struck the side of a nearby tree, leaving a deep gash in it that seemed large enough that I worried it would topple over.
Seeing the mark confirmed the devastating effectiveness of the attack.
I was inwardly astonished.
What kind of group was the Blood Sect to impart such refined martial arts to the branch members of the Shengsu Faction?
You’re really handing down such skills that could support a major clan?
So, rolling about desperately, I provoked the senior.
If such a fierce martial method existed, I had to uncover every detail of it.
“Ugh! Hold on! You’re trying to kill me!”
“You still have the cheek to speak!”
As it appeared that the somewhat unimpressive senior was getting flustered with every successful dodge I made, they started to unleash their martial arts without holding back, and techniques imbued with the essence of the Rising Martial Arts began painting the air.
The more I witnessed those techniques, the more struck I was.
They continually unleashed techniques that were overwhelmingly taxing to dodge while I was feigning being at the beginning of the Peak Stage.
Given that I was intentionally accepting certain impacts while maintaining my posturing, the cumulative strain was suffocating.
“Ugh, wait! Just a moment! This is a bit too much for co-workers!”
“Shut it!”
“Aren’t you here because you were told about the entity?”
The senior’s hands froze.
No matter how excited they were, the masked senior couldn’t miss the clues regarding the Iron Blood Rat and the Blood Person.
“Hah, I prided myself on having the fastest legs in this business, yet to think another could rival me….”
“Quit the nonsense and tell me what you know!”
“Recently, there were sightings of the entity nearby! Following those traces led me here, and, coincidentally, this territory belongs to the Moyong Clan. So I’ve been here to investigate.”
“…”
I could feel the senior’s mind boggling from this revelation.
With just a few days left until the important matches, a Blood Person has gone missing. And now the Iron Blood Rat was roaming around.
I shook up that senior’s mind once more.
“Hmm, it seems you have decent skills. Wouldn’t you like to join us?”
“… What did you just say?”
“I do have companions, but with how things have unfolded, we’re still short on manpower. You seem to belong to the same kind as me; how about joining us? We’re quite the famous entity hunting squad.”
Professional entity hunters are on our trail?
If true, it was a major disaster for the senior, who was supposed to keep the Iron Blood Rat’s secrets hidden.
In the midst of the senior’s confusion, I smoothly continued speaking while reaching into my own pocket.
“Let’s see, where did I put that?”
In a duel between peak experts, a significant move would rarely be allowed.
Reaching into one’s pocket.
Who would let a martial artist get away with possibly hiding secret weaponry in their pocket?
They would surely be ready to obstruct it.
Furthermore, the very act of reaching into one’s pocket exposes a crucial vulnerability.
In intense battles where any slight opening could lead to catastrophic outcomes, sealing off one’s own arm would be absurdly reckless.
However, the senior, having undergone continuous mental shock, didn’t come to their senses in time to hinder me from rummaging through my clothes.
And the result was just this.
“Take a look.”
It was a smoke bomb.
As Soon So-yeol’s specially crafted smoke bomb left my hand and the senior realized too late, they frantically retreated, covering their mouth and nose.
Boom!
The precision of this smoke bomb crafted by a future martial arts champion was truly top-notch.
In an instant, it erupted with an immense force, releasing clouds of smoke.
“Gah! Ugh! You bastard!”
It seemed there were even noxious ingredients mixed in as the senior let out pained cries. Though I had slight doubts about how a Peak Stage expert couldn’t control their breath, Soon So-yeol might have put something in there.
While the senior was busy dealing with the smoke bomb, I was already unleashing my full speed.
“Ugh! You bastard! I will kill youuuu!”
Hearing the furious screams of the irate senior, I safely made my escape from the forest.
