The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 267

Originally, Qilin’s soft stance had thrown Jae-Hyeok for a loop.

Qilin had opted to kick Jae-Hyeok off the stage rather than aim for his life—from this alone, it was clear his priority had been on keeping Jae-Hyeok and his sword as far away from Zhang Soso as possible.

By interfering in the duel, Qilin had conceded the match as Jae-Hyeok’s win; that was a great humiliation to his Black Dragon Guild, yet he’d done it anyway.

Their master-disciple relationship was clearly genuine.

Realizing this, Jae-Hyeok had quietly redoubled his resolve to kill Zhang Soso.

“You...! You damn...!”

“I told you I’d make you suffer a pain like no other. There’s nothing worse than losing a family member.”

“Vile spawn!”

Rage smoldered in Qilin’s eyes.

All his life, he’d stood head and shoulders above all, and as such, he’d naturally cultivated a patient and relaxed air in his later years—just an adult might when surrounded by children.

Yet now...

Zhang Soso lay in a pool of blood at the edge of the arena.

Fine veins burst in Qilin’s eyes.

For the second time in his life, he felt true rage—the first being eight years ago, when he’d trapped the Yaksha and almost got killed in reverse.

“I’ll kill you!’

“I, Jin Yong, declare this! Kang Jae-Hyeok! You killed three National Treasures and six National Treasure candidates of China, as well as tried to harm my successor. You will pay with your life!”

The Qilin’s furious cry was broadcast all over the world.

The impact was huge.

Before this execution... duel started, Black Dragon had pegged Jae-Hyeok with the crime of killing six Chinese National Treasure candidates, yet even that lacked evidence aside from Jae-Hyeok’s own admission.

No one really believed it was true.

After all, even if Jae-Hyeok had used traps and tricks inside the Twilight Kingdom, how could he, a young boy, kill six candidates alone?

In the first place, China was a superpower when it came to players. They had an abundance of talent, which led to fierce competition and, in turn, produced some of the greatest players on the Asian continent.

Many Chinese believed that some of their candidates could even contest the National Treasures of weaker countries. So the idea that Jae-Hyeok, a nobody from backwater Korea, had not only killed six of China’s candidates but also three of its top-ranked National Treasures, was simply absurd to the ears of the Chinese.

“No way!”

“Absurd! Among the three National Treasures that went missing in Korea, Phoenix was one of them! The Phoenix!”

“T-that’s right. Qilin must’ve exaggerated to justify his involvement as a senior.”

Phoenix was China’s top ranker, even greater than Qilin; there should have been no way for him to meet his end at the hands of a kid like Jae-Hyeok.

That’s what they wanted to believe, but...

The eyes of the crowd shifted to Zhang Soso.

Her torn dress was soaked in blood, and her once beautiful face was webbed in sword cuts, looking like hattered porcelain.

It was pure luck that her life was saved.

Could he really be responsible?

Jae-Hyeok’s skills had exceeded everyone’s expectations, and after their initial knee-jerk resistance faded, they began to seriously consider if Jae-Hyeok had actually killed the Phoeonix.

Meanwhile, in the arena, Jae-Hyeok clicked his tongue.

Shame she’s not dead.

He’d hoped to kill Zhang Soso in a single stroke, inflicting mental anguish on Qilin while also leveling up in the process.

However, he failed.

No, it isn’t too late yet.

Thump!

Jae-Hyeok took a strong step forward, shooting off toward Zhang Soso. However, Qilin was on guard this time.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Jae-Hyeok could only take a few steps before he was forced to block.

“Kuock!”

Despite gritting his teeth, he couldn’t help groaning. The power contained in Qilin’s fists was as heavy as a mountain, so much so that Iyarugt might’ve shattered then and there if it weren’t a legendary weapon.

Qilin also seemed to notice Iyarugt’s peculiarity.

“Is that an heirloom of your Kang family? Good sword. I’ll take it as a trophy!”

Qilin’s massive fists moved so fast that they multiplied into hundreds of after-images, driving Jae-Hyeok back.

A swordsman’s stance was the root of their power. There wasn’t a single swordsman who hadn't trained their lower bodies—and that included Jae-Hyeok; he'd been training his legs since he was a child, and he’d then further honed his footwork under Reinhardt’s farmers.

Yet despite this, he was still driven back under Qilin’s onslaught.

Dammit!

Jae-Hyeok eventually reached the other end of the stage, with nowhere else to go.

One more step, and he would fall. By then he would be a sitting duck for Qilin.

“Didn’t you want to avenge your father?”

Qilin’s roar, thick with mana and rage, echoed throughout the entire stadium.

“Then you should’ve surpassed him first!”

The truth was revealed.

“I killed the Yaksha eight years ago! Did you really think that being on par with the Yaksha would be enough to defeat me?”

From Qilin’s perspective, this was a truth that didn’t need to be hidden.

What he’d done eight years ago wasn’t a sin but rather a heroic feat in his home country. Korea’s domestic agencies, military, and politicians had worked from within to cover up the truth because they feared the public would rally behind the Kang family, preventing them from dividing the pie among themselves. But what did that have to do with Qilin or China, for that matter?

Since tensions had reached this point, there was no need to pretend. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“Even you’ve mastered your father’s every teaching, it’s usually before me. The Kang family’s techniques are nothing much for the man I am now.”

During his seclusion, Qilin had replayed the very moment he was seriously wounded by the Yaksha countless times, carefully dissecting the Yaksha’s sword-draw and honing martial arts to counter it.

“Here you die!”

Bang!

Qilin ducked low and delivered a one-inch palm strike to Jae-Hyeok’s chest.

“Cough!”

Jae-Hyeok flew off the stage while the blood trickling from his mouth trailed his arc.

“Die.”

Before Jae-Hyeok had even landed, Qilin appeared behind him and brought his heel down on Jae-Hyeok’s head.

Qilin felt Jae-Hyeok’s skull cave under his heel.

Instant death—

The Qilin believed in this result and had no doubts.

The Yaksha’s legacy ends here.

Just then, a column of light engulfed Jae-Hyeok.

“What?”

Qilin felt a chill go down his spine and reflexively shifted his gaze to another place.

There he saw it.

Zhang Soso’s head and body lay separated.

Her face was frozen in a mask of pain, as if her last moments had been filled with suffering.

Qilin stared numbly at his disciple's head.

“How...”

“Perhaps not in all regards, but Young Master has surpassed the Yaksha. I knew it the day he bested me.”

An eerie voice reached his ears, causing Qilin to tremble. Flashbacks of a blood-soaked skeleton wading through battalions of Chinese players played in his mind.

“Death Knight Theodore...”

“The one and only.”

Six jagged purple threads swept from Theodore’s greatsword, snaking toward Qilin like conscious lightning.

Theodore style: Hell Sword.

“Theodore! Why would you side with a brat like this?”

Qilin cried out angrily as he barely managed to dodge and block the sword threads.

Then, before anyone could react, the sky above darkened, wth clouds growing denser and darker by the moment.

Soon—

Rumble.

“Gasp!”

The crowd gasped, and Qilin grew nervous.

Thunder tribulation...

How could it be a coincidence? Zhang Soso had died, and Jae-Hyeok had just leveled up.

“I can’t believe that child...”

“He reached level 150? At the age of sixteen?”

“This is without question a world-first achievement...”

The crowd was in a daze, and even Qilin was momentarily slack-jawed. Not even he and the Yaksha had transcended before their twenties.

Qilin quickly gathered his wits and moved to strike down Jae-Hyeok, only for a looming figure to block his way.

“Don’t even think about it!” Theodore boomed, and Qilin’s expression twisted in anger and angst.

“Get out of my way! This is a disaster!”

Theodore was strong, but it was no match for Qilin. Its joints were damaged one after another, but Theodore remained steadfast, using its unfeeling body as a barrier to Qilin’s advance.

The exchange was brief but violent.

After losing both legs, Theodore grabbed onto the hem of Qilin’s pants.

“Qilin, are you afraid? Are you afraid my master will overcome his thunder tribulation!”

"......!"

Qilin stuttered in his steps.

Him? Afraid?

“That can’t be...” he muttered, but in the end, not even he believed his words.

He drowned out Theodore’s provocations and focused his mind. Soon, twin spheres of mana that were as bright as suns appeared in Qilin’s hands.

A Jin Yong Original Skill: King’s Inferno Fist.

This was his strongest attack. With it, he could turn anyone or anything into ashes.

Roaring, Qilin thrust his hands toward Jae-Hyeok, and the twin sphere soared toward Jae-Hyeok like planetary bodies moving through space.

However, it was too late.

Rumbleeee!

Lightning tore from the clouds, striking toward Jae-Hyeok and devastating the area. The ensuing ring of lightning energy swept past the twin suns and erased them as if they had never been.

Qilin trembled.

By all means. This boy must fail.