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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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“Hmm.”
Today, I told Black Cat to get requests through intermediaries.
Although I had some doubts about whether she was really aiming to be the best Sacheon outcast, seeing how she was following me well, it seemed she was seriously living the outcast life.
The comradeship with Black Cat was also good for me.
That a transcendent or near-transcendent peak martial artist was listening to me was beneficial and unusual.
If I could manipulate Black Cat well, I could touch all the options I couldn’t choose due to my lack of martial arts.
Black Cat had been obediently following my words so far.
Errands unrelated to outcasts.
Things like distributing flyers, putting up phrases in the Outcast Inn, or acting as a magic assistant.
No, come to think of it, I really did use her like an errand-runner.
I hope she didn’t stab me with a poison needle because she was angry about being sent to fetch firewood.
It’s scary that I can’t completely deny it.
“Ta-da, I’ve prepared these requests that we can take today.”
My suspicion wasn’t wrong after all.
The distance between the Black Cats has decreased since Tang Do-gyeong’s incident.
Not the emotional distance but the physical distance.
Black Cat was now close enough that our shoulders would touch if I moved a little.
Since that day, her sense of distance has decreased like this.
I used to flinch occasionally because of her beauty, but now she’s so close that it’s startling.
There’s undoubtedly fondness in Black Cat’s attitude towards me, but why?
“Senior?”
“Ah, yes, let’s see…”
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[Request to attack Da Jeryong, the master of pork cutlets at Gyeongyang Restaurant]
[Difficulty: Low]
[Risk: High]
[Special note: A large-bodied user of the Extreme Yang Fist. If hit by his giant hammer-like fists wrapped in fist energy, flesh instantly turns golden brown. A formidable master.]
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[Retrieve the lost snow leopard]
[Difficulty: Low]
[Risk: Low]
[Special note: My heart aches that they still haven’t found the cat. A request I personally really want to do. Easy because I know the ways of cats well.]
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[Pressure the Taeran Road fabric shop]
[Difficulty: Low]
[Risk: None]
[Special note: Just stand before the fabric shop and drive people away. Do we really need such a request?]
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The requests themselves were ordinary.
“No, the snow leopard isn’t just a cat, you know.”
“It’s just a big cat, isn’t it?”
To a peak master, a cat and a tiger might be similar.
No, a snow leopard is a cat with a tiger-sized body, so is it a cat?
If a cat is as big as a tiger, isn’t it just a tiger?
It’s suddenly confusing.
“Hmm.”
In fact, the snow leopard request would be doable if we could just subdue the snow leopard.
Since the client is large and they haven’t been able to find the cat for quite a long time, we could probably extort a hefty additional fee on top of the request fee.
However, for today, it’s Da Jeryong.
“What do you think about Da Jeryong? Do you think we can handle it?”
“Hmm… I think it wouldn’t be difficult if we take him down with a surprise attack. They say he commutes daily from his residence to his sect. The route is also consistent.”
Regardless of the truth about the Tang Do-gyeong incident, one thing that had become certain was this: It didn’t seem like Black Cat would quickly leave my side.
She follows my instructions well, and if I could clarify one thing, I could probably do various things with Black Cat.
That was the authority to give instructions during combat.
Generally speaking, it didn’t make sense for a second-rate martial artist to give instructions on how to fight to a peak master.
So now I needed to gain that authority to give instructions through agreement and experience.
Da Jeryong was a martial artist who had just reached the peak realm.
In fact, the reason I remembered Da Jeryong, an unremarkable martial artist in this Sacheon, was because of his name.
To these Central Plains people who don’t know about Western-style restaurants or pork cutlets, it would be a name without any unique characteristics, but…
“Can you move according to my instructions in battle?”
“What do you mean? Don’t we just need to take him down? If so, I think it would end with just a surprise attack.”
“That might be true, but let’s try to subdue the enemy efficiently, even if it’s a bit troublesome.”
In fact, my argument was close to being forced.
It was like trying to persuade a hunter who could shoot a rabbit with a bow to use a trap to catch the rabbit because arrows were precious.
It was natural for a hunter who could shoot a rabbit to object to this…
“Alright. Then what do you plan to do?”
“Huh?”
Honestly, I had been preparing various words in my head, expecting Black Cat to object, but all that flew away immediately.
“You said you had a strategy, right? Let’s give it a try.”
Would she have agreed if I had just asked?
Such a thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head.
Since I decided to change, I needed to be sure.
She might be able to nod lightly now, but trust in my instructions was needed to make her follow my instructions even in an actual emergency situation.
And that trust comes from achievements verified in actual combat.
I needed to imprint the achievements of my strategy at least a couple of times.
“So…”
I explained the strategy to Black Cat.
“Wow, he looks really strong.”
Black Cat let out a light exclamation upon seeing Da Jeryong in person.
His imposing presence was indeed extraordinary.
You could call it the typical muscle pig appearance.
Burly muscles with well-rounded fat.
His arm thickness was greater than most men’s thighs.
His palms looked twice as large as those of an average man.
With those hands, he definitely wouldn’t need a hammer when making pork cutlets.
Befitting a cook, or rather unlike a martial artist, his expression looked kind.
He’s the type of person who would fit in without discomfort if standing in a butcher shop.
“Let’s go.”
Black Cat nodded and came out onto the street.
This was, after all, a request to tarnish Da Jeryong’s reputation.
So naturally, there needed to be witnesses.
Losing an official duel with an outcast is a massive blow to one’s reputation. But is it easy to get on an official duel stage?
There are so many requests to deliver duel letters because people rarely agree to a duel with just one letter.
Continuous disturbances need to occur for people’s attention to gather, and it’s common for sects or individuals to accept a duel when they can no longer bear the attention.
It couldn’t be done in just a day or two.
That’s why there are such attack requests.
Although Sacheon people consider it a surprise attack when evaluating, one’s reputation inevitably takes a hit regardless.
Da Jeryong flinched when Black Cat suddenly blocked his path.
“Da Jeryong. I request a duel.”
“I refuse.”
Da Jeryong refused very calmly.
Judging by his reaction, it seemed he knew who Black Cat was.
There was only one female among the Sacheon outcasts – Black Cat.
If he had heard rumors about the female Sacheon outcast, who matched Yeo Il-ye, Da Jeryong would have known he could not win.
“I will only display my martial arts on an official duel stage. If you want to duel me, send an official duel letter.”
In fact, Da Jeryong had no reason to attack first.
But why did she make such a mild duel request instead of suddenly attacking?
She was confident she could make Da Jeryong charge at her.
Black Cat gazed at Da Jeryong’s head, reflecting the bright summer sunlight.
“So that’s why you have no hair.”
“…What?”
“A martial artist shouldn’t avoid challenges. What’s the use of just having a head that resembles the sun? Your heart isn’t nearly as hot.”
Most practitioners of Yang energy techniques… lose their hair due to the heat of their bodies.
Heat is the enemy of hair roots.
Black Cat delivered the finishing blow to Da Jeryong, who was trembling with anger.
“Ah! Using the Sun Fist technique! You say you won’t duel but then attack first, how cowardly!”
“I’ll kill you!”
Da Jeryong, who had transformed into a raging demon, charged forward.
As I watched Da Jeryong unleash a fierce attack on Black Cat, wrapping his fists in flames and exuding killing intent, I climbed onto the roof.
Sacheon has a subtropical climate.
Befitting a subtropical climate, sudden showers often occur, and it’s also an area with abundant average annual rainfall.
So, among the houses where people live, many have large barrels attached to collect rainwater.
Drawing water from a well is hard labor, so if you install a barrel, you can just use the falling rainwater.
Of course, the most suitable place to attach a heavy and oversized barrel is the first floor.
Still, some houses installed water barrels on the first-floor ceiling to catch water from the second floor.
And the ambush point was precisely where such a water barrel was located.
Summer had just begun, and showers had started, so the large water barrel was full.
“Here we go!”
Splash!!!
The large water barrel, big enough to fit several adults and still have room, tipped over, and water poured down like a waterfall.
“Puhehehehe!”
The water bomb hit Da Jeryong’s head while charging at Black Cat, having lost his reason.
Steam rose momentarily when the water touched him, but that was just for an instant, and in a flash, Da Jeryong was soaked from head to toe!
“Ugh, ugh…! You bastards!”
Da Jeryong clenched his fists and tried to get angry, but unlike before, no flames rose.
In martial arts novels, the human body is often referred to as a microcosm (小宇宙), and this isn’t just Chinese exaggeration or hyperbole.
Depending on what kind of internal energy is used, what technique is employed, and through what path it’s circulated, truly infinite results can occur.
Yang and Yin’s internal energy are the same.
As the Yang internal energy, with its heating property, circulates along the meridians, the heat gradually intensifies, and the power also goes through the qi-filling phenomenon, becoming flames.
If the first-rate realm can handle qi-filling, what realm is the peak?
It’s the realm that can handle qi-emission (發氣).
Martial artists who use weapons can imbue their weapons with qi, and those who use fist and palm techniques can leave palm shadows or wrap fist energy around their fists.
“Th-this is…!”
On Da Jeryong’s fist, there was only a small fire that was embarrassing to even call a flame.
Steam was continuously rising from his arms, but until all the water evaporated utterly, it would be challenging to emit proper fist energy.
For users of the Extreme Yang Fist, the internal energy cultivation method results usually start appearing from the shoulders.
Finally, the internal energy turned into flames travels down the arm, concentrating in the fist.
So, the heat that should have flowed from the shoulders down the arms to the fists was absorbed mainly by the wet body and clothes, leaving only a tiny flame.
Suppose Da Jeryong had reached a mature stage in the peak realm and could perfectly control qi-emission. In that case, such a dramatic effect might not have occurred, but he had just reached the peak realm.
When it came to fist energy, he was a beginner whose qi was leaking from his shoulders.
“Aha.”
What was the actual effectiveness of the Extreme Yang technique?
It was in defense. Unless holding a weapon, if an opponent was barehanded, just blocking or grabbing with fists that had hot flames rising from them could inflict burns on the opponent.
Those two fists, exceptionally large compared to his big build, were Da Jeryong’s advantage.
He hurriedly crossed his two fists to block Black Cat’s extending palm technique, but the heat that could only be found in a campfire about to go out couldn’t inflict any damage on Black Cat.
Da Jeryong’s large body flew into the air using Black Cat’s palm technique, filled with abundant internal energy.
Thud!
Da Jeryong fell and didn’t get up.
It was the end of today’s request.
As I watched the fight’s conclusion, I couldn’t help but feel satisfied with how our plan unfolded.
Black Cat had executed her part flawlessly, and my strategy had worked precisely as intended.
It was a small victory but essential in establishing trust between us and proving the value of my tactical input despite my lower martial arts level.
“Well done,” I said as I approached Black Cat.
“That went even better than I expected.”
She nodded, a hint of a smile on her face.
“Your plan was sound, Senior. Though I still think a simple ambush would have sufficed.”
I chuckled.
“Perhaps, but where’s the fun in that? Besides, this way we’ve weakened his reputation more effectively. People will talk about how the great Da Jeryong was defeated by a clever trick rather than just brute force.”
As we prepared to leave the scene, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement.
This successful mission was just the beginning.
With Black Cat’s strength and my strategies, we could take on more challenging requests and perhaps even uncover some leads about my condition.
The sun was setting as we returned to the Outcast Inn, casting long shadows across Sacheon.
The city buzzed with the usual evening activities, unaware of the minor drama unfolding.
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Hey guys, hoping that you like how the story is developing. We see a lot of interactions with side characters and some good world building, hopefully that piques your interest 🙂
