Chapter 266: The Festival Must Continue (5)
Crossing my arms, I continued to watch the matches. Right now, in baduk terms, it was as if I was studying countless game records all at once.
“…Brother, why don’t you have something to eat while you watch?”
“I am fine.”
Though Peng Chae-hyang spoke out of concern, I kept watching the tournament.
Perhaps because I stared too intently, some of the participants felt pressured and even made mistakes. That was how passionately I was watching.
Yet no one could criticize me for it. In the first place, watching matches was not wrong.
I spent the entire day watching the tournament like that. Today, half of the Earth group’s schedule concluded, and the remaining matches, including the finals, were scheduled for tomorrow.
‘Let’s organize this.’
After sending Peng Chae-hyang and Namgung Hwi back, I sat cross-legged in the Association Master’s office. Since I had locked the door from the inside, I wouldn’t be disturbed.
The function of my upper dantian was blazing as intensely as when I was watching the matches.
With the matches I had watched all day and the numerous scenarios I had conceived of running simultaneously, it was no surprise that it was overheating.
Thousands, tens of thousands of sword paths served as my inspiration. With that inspiration, I created new sword paths and devised counters for them.
To describe my state right now, it was indeed samadhi.
What I had lacked so far was a sliver of actual experience. It was the consensus that mental cultivation could not completely replace actual combat.
Because controlling one’s mind in a state of tranquility and moving one’s body in actual combat are entirely different realms.
However, the inspiration of the upper dantian allowed me to directly experience it. Thus, the scenarios occurring simultaneously in my upper dantian were virtually actual combat to me.
When the mental image of myself charged with a blade, I felt the threat of death, and when I deflected a variation of a sword path and countered, my pleasure pathways burned hot.
The void of experience I lacked was rapidly being filled. Although it was the function of the upper dantian, fundamentally speaking, it was likely the function of the Martial Talent Shop.
‘If a Grade 3 talent is this broken, I can’t even imagine what a Grade 1 or 2 would be like.’
The forms of the Hunwon Muhui Sword Art also gradually took shape one by one.
Even in that state, the Heavenly Demon Heart Art continuously circulated internal energy. Since my Conception and Governor Meridians were clear, there were no obstructions.
The internal energy I possessed now was not accumulated through slow cultivation but rather through consuming elixirs.
As a result, the purity of the internal energy was low, and even the quantity was insufficient to fully support my sword forms. Furthermore, because I had consumed too many elixirs, the effect of any further elixirs would be halved. From now on, I truly had to dedicate effort to steady cultivation.
“Whew.”
Having finished organizing his thoughts, I opened my eyes. Looking out the window, it was already dawn. Though I hadn’t slept at all, I felt no fatigue.
As long as the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was maintained through active cultivation, I felt I could easily go without sleep for a fortnight.
A knock resounded on the door. I raised the latch and opened it, and Peng Chae-hyang stepped inside.
“…Did you not sleep?”
“Hmm? Somehow it turned out that way.”
“Do not push yourself too hard. The New Justice Festival is not the end of the New Justice Association, after all.”
“I am fine. I do it because I can.”
Peng Chae-hyang looked slightly displeased, but since I said I was fine, she couldn’t force me to lie down.
Today’s schedule was equally tight. Peng Chae-hyang put on her face veil.
“Let’s go.”
Today’s first match was also my turn. It meant it was the moment I would face Cho Hae-ryang.
As I walked out from the office to the arena, a massive crowd had already gathered around the arena despite the early hour.
In the middle of that crowd, Cho Hae-ryang stood waiting for me.
When I reached the arena, Cho Hae-ryang spoke with an arrogant expression, as if he had been waiting only for this moment.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“I know you as Wudang’s lay disciple. Do you not even know your martial generation?”
“Is there any reason for the New Justice Association Master to use polite speech to a fresh novice who has just debuted in the jianghu?”
“Hmph. A mere puppet.”
Cho Hae-ryang turned around and stood on the arena as if he didn’t want to converse further. I also slowly stepped up.
I felt the eyes of the crowd focus on us. Cho Hae-ryang had openly provoked me, and in terms of factions, he represented the Martial Alliance, which was in opposition to the New Justice Association.
Cho Hae-ryang’s goal from the start was likely to defeat me. If the Martial Alliance Leader’s disciple defeated the New Justice Association Master, the Martial Alliance would naturally stand above the New Justice Association.
And Su Je-heon sending Cho Hae-ryang meant he possessed that much confidence.
Cho Hae-ryang and I were ready, but Cheong-yu, who stood as referee, looked around nervously, seemingly tense.
Cheong-yu also knew how critical this match was for the New Justice Association.
“When does it begin?”
Only after Cho Hae-ryang asked did Cheong-yu stand in the center.
Cheong-yu took a deep breath and looked at Cho Hae-ryang and me.
“Are you ready?”
“I have been ready for a while.”
At my light reply, Cheong-yu frowned. It was a silent rebuke for joking at such an important moment. However, a joke at a time like this was a good medicine to ease anxiety and tension.
“Begin!”
With Cheong-yu’s declaration of the start, he quickly backed away.
Yet Cho Hae-ryang and I did not move a single step.
‘No sword path is visible.’
Cho Hae-ryang’s presence was different from when he faced Myeong-yeop and Jeon Rip-saeng. The pressure he had shown when cutting Jeon Rip-saeng’s shoulder was transmitted directly.
Sensing that pressure, I could be certain of one piece of information that I had verified through the functions of the upper dantian and judged based on long-standing suspicions.
Whatever else might be the case, Cho Hae-ryang could not constantly deploy that ‘strength’ of mysterious origin at all times.
In other words, the grand art that Cho Hae-ryang used, or had received, definitely possessed a restriction in ‘time.’
The shift in his aura was not like revealing a hidden strength but rather like turning a lamp on and off, burning intensely for a brief moment.
Even though Cho Hae-ryang hadn’t even reached the realm of returning to simplicity and truth, paradoxically, he felt as if he was mimicking it outwardly.
“…”
“…”
The reason Cho Hae-ryang stood still was likely the same as mine. He couldn’t grasp how to initiate the attack.
In such a situation, the one who moved first would inevitably create an opening. And I had no reason to move first. If there was a time restriction as I suspected, Cho Hae-ryang would be forced to charge first.
While only the sound of the wind eerily swept over the arena, even the sound of the spectators swallowing could be heard. Even those who knew nothing of martial arts could sense the tension flowing between us.
“I will yield the first move to you.”
I spoke with a smile. Cho Hae-ryang’s brow furrowed.
Since he had to initiate the attack anyway, my words made it seem as if he was obeying my command. It was a minor provocation.
“Even without you saying so…”
Cho Hae-ryang’s foot shifted slightly. I tightly gripped the hilt of Myeong-ah, which was still in its sheath.
In an instant, with a thunderous roar, Cho Hae-ryang’s figure blurred and vanished.
“I was going to!”
Clang!
When sword met sword, the vibration ringing in my palm was heavy.
Cho Hae-ryang’s movement art was swift and domineering. And I knew the movement to counter it. It was the Dragon Splendor Soaring Wind Dance that I had learned from Seo Jong-haeng, the Commander-in-Chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Of course, since it was a palace martial art, it conflicted with the Heavenly Demon Heart Art, but I had modified the formulas and forms slightly to make it usable.
“…Embroidered Uniform Guard?”
Astonishingly, Cho Hae-ryang recognized that martial art.
“You must not have done your research properly. I was also an Embroidered Uniform Guard officer.”
“None of my business!”
Cho Hae-ryang’s sword struck down as if to split my forehead. I raised my sword above my head to block it. My sword did not budge in the slightest.
“Is that truly a fight between those who have not even reached their thirties?”
“The Martial Alliance Leader has raised a monster.”
The muttering of the crowd could be heard.
Cho Hae-ryang was someone who had proudly occupied a spot among the Five Great Sword Masters Under Heaven in my past life.
At that time, his sobriquet was the Flawless Divine Sword. Although the level of the future Cho Hae-ryang and the current one could not be the same, I could already see why that sobriquet had been given.
Although Su Je-heon hadn’t fought me in earnest, I had crossed swords with the Martial Alliance Leader once. It was when he suddenly visited Wudang.
If Su Je-heon’s sword arts back then were difficult to anticipate because he altered all the principles, Cho Hae-ryang’s sword arts now felt like facing an iron wall surrounded in all directions, as he had mastered all the principles.
However, kneeling down when standing before an iron wall was not the way of a martial artist. Even if the blade’s edge was chipped and one’s hands were torn, striking the iron wall with one’s sword was the virtue of a martial artist.
“Hah!”
With a shout, I stamped my foot in a shock step. It was the moment I deployed the first form of the Hunwon Muhui Sword Art, New Moon, without any preparatory motion.
Whoosh.
A sound like a gust of wind passing by. But that was merely a preview of the tearing roar that followed.
Boom!
“Oh!”
The New Justice Association experts who were maintaining the formation to prevent the force waves from scattering were astonished.
Because even though Cho Hae-ryang had deflected the sword and altered its trajectory, reducing the destructive power and speed by more than half, it was still sufficiently threatening.
Although the New Moon did not touch him directly, Cho Hae-ryang had failed to brace for the air-piercing sound when the atmosphere tore, and blood began to flow from his right ear.
“…Whew.”
It was a match where only breathing and shouts resounded.
Judging from the growing anxiety on Cho Hae-ryang’s face, a time restriction definitely existed. Thus, I could simply focus on defense, and once the time limit expired, switch to offense. That was indeed the method with the highest probability of winning.
However, sometimes, winning for the sake of winning is meaningless. This was the first direct clash between the New Justice Association and the Martial Alliance, and in this symbolic situation, I could not display a defensive posture.
Consequently, wounds were accumulating on my body as well. It was the price of choosing a method I didn’t need to choose.
Nevertheless, the balance of the match was tilting in my favor.
“Ugh!”
Eventually, Cho Hae-ryang made the mistake of displaying his anxiety outwardly.
Cho Hae-ryang’s strength lay in his mastery of all principles of swordsmanship. If I had remained with shallow experience, I would have sustained far greater injuries.
However, I had already experienced numerous principles and sword paths through the function of the upper dantian. While Cho Hae-ryang had certainly swung his sword more times than me in life, the more experienced one was actually myself.
From the moment Cho Hae-ryang revealed his anxiety, the outcome was already decided. I relaxed my pace, and as Cho Hae-ryang grew more hurried, he continuously exposed openings.
But I deliberately did not strike those openings. Because the openings were growing larger. Consumed by anxiety, Cho Hae-ryang did not seem to notice. Well, since it was his first debut in the jianghu, it was understandable. And he had likely never imagined he could lose.
For the first time, I backed away, receiving Cho Hae-ryang’s sword techniques.
When in a desperate situation, humans tend to think in their own favor. That was an insight I had obtained not as a martial artist but as a merchant.
And Cho Hae-ryang also seemed convinced that my backing away was due to exhaustion, not setting a trap.
Furthermore, his time limit must be running out. As expected, Cho Hae-ryang began to engage in a purely offensive onslaught.
“Oh!”
When I was grazed by his blade a few times, creating a perilous sight, the crowd cried out.
At that moment, Cho Hae-ryang squeezed out his final strength to unleash a decisive strike.
And that was the moment I had been waiting for.
Having backed away half a step at a time, I shot forward five steps at once. Cho Hae-ryang’s thrusting sword had already passed my back.
“You said it, didn’t you? That it wouldn’t end with just a shoulder.”
I whispered in Cho Hae-ryang’s ear. Cho Hae-ryang’s pupils dilated immensely.
Whoosh!
The Hunwon Muhui Sword Art’s form, New Moon, was deployed at point-blank range. Cho Hae-ryang likely didn’t even hear the sound of the New Moon.
Because the connection between his head and torso had already been severed.
With mouths agape in shock, everyone’s gaze rose to the sky. Cho Hae-ryang’s head was spinning in the air.