After the match between Baek Woo Jin and Hwangbo Jun Geol, the remaining three matches proceeded like everyone expected.
Namgong Soo claimed victory against Jeon Rang, who was a mere wandering martial artist and who astonished all by not only gaining entry into the prestigious Jeongmu Academy but also rising to the quarterfinals of the Dragon and Phoenix Martial Arts Tournament.
Meanwhile, Han Baek of the Wudang Sect emerged victorious after a fierce duel against a female swordsman from the Emei Sect, another sect of the esteemed Nine Sects.
Myung Jin from the Shaolin Temple won his match effortlessly as well. His opponent, Yoo Hwa Yeon, had sustained severe internal injuries in her previous match against Jegal Yeon Ji and couldn’t even exchange a few blows before coughing up blood and forfeiting.
And then the next day arrived.
With anticipation at its peak and everyone eagerly awaiting the real start of the tournament, the two warriors ascended the stage.
“I’ve bet my life on you!”
“Namgong Soo is the true champion!”
“Show them the power of the Namgong clan!”
A small group of gamblers shouted out Namgong Soo’s name in support; their desperation was evident in their voices since they had practically staked their lives on his victory.
However, aside from this handful, most chose to support Baek Woo Jin.
“Baek Woo Jin! Baek Woo Jin!”
“Young master Baek, win this!”
“The rightful successor to the lost Drunken Fist!”
“Defeat Namgong Soo!”
The reasons varied.
The female audience members were utterly captivated by Baek Woo Jin’s inhumanly handsome appearance, while the middle-aged and older generation began to view him as a grandmaster for reviving the Drunken Fist, which was a technique they had thought long lost.
Meanwhile, the gamblers who had staked their fortunes on Myung Jin or Han Baek rather than Namgong Soo joined in the cheers, hoping Baek Woo Jin would defeat Namgong Soo.
As a result, Namgong Soo found himself completely isolated, like an outcast at a feast.
“Well, what do we have here? People seem to love me, don’t they?”
And it was the perfect opportunity to mock Namgong Soo.
Damn it.
In truth, Namgong Soo was cursing furiously on the inside. Seeing the very people who had been chanting his name just yesterday now cheering for Baek Woo Jin, he felt an overwhelming urge to tear them all apart.
If he had never tasted popularity, it might have been easier to bear, but since he tasted it, the backlash was severe.
What infuriated him even more was the sight of Baek Woo Jin standing before him and mocking him with a smiling face.
Namgong Soo took a deep breath. He struggled to compose himself and drew his sword.
“Shut up and draw your sword.”
A faint killing intent seeped from his low growl. In reality, Namgong Soo had no intention of letting Baek Woo Jin leave the stage until he had drawn blood.
Though his expression and aura made this clear, Baek Woo Jin only seemed to find it amusing. And he chuckled as he drew his sword.
The surrounding noise gradually subsided. The volume of the crowd’s cheers remained the same, but as their senses sharpened, they began to filter out unnecessary distractions, thus reducing the overall noise.
“Begin the match!”
With a confident smile, Namgong Soo who had always allowed his opponents the first move took the initiative for the first time.
There’s no benefit in dragging out a standoff against him.
Based on the repeated encounters he had with him, he realized that his opponent would take any opportunity to spew nonsense and try to unsettle his opponent from the inside.
In his hands, the Limitless Sky Vessel Sword Technique unfolded.
If one were to ask martial artists to name one of the most representative heavy sword techniques in the martial arts world, seven or eight out of ten would choose the Limitless Sky Vessel Sword Technique.
Typically, heavy sword techniques are known for their destructive power at the expense of speed.
However, the Limitless Sky Vessel Sword Technique not only fully harnesses the strengths of heavy sword techniques but also elevates speed to a considerable level.
The secret lies in the control of timing and force.
The Limitless Sky Vessel Sword Technique doesn’t rely on brute force from start to finish. Instead, it unfolds with a relaxed approach in its initial movements, only to unleash explosive power at the critical moment when the blade approaches the opponent, adding weight to the strike.
The sword that approached Baek Woo Jin did just that. It flew at him like a swift blade, and in an instant, it carried a heavy force.
“Oto!”
Baek Woo Jin leaned back to evade the attack, then took a step back to regain his stance.
At first, he tried to block it, but when he realized the force behind the sword was heavier than expected, he opted for a late dodge instead.
He’s more troublesome than I thought.
It was at that moment he understood why the Namgong Clan was called the First Sword Clan of a Thousand Autumns.
This kid’s a genius, no doubt about it.
Just by looking at it, the Limitless Sky Vessel Sword Technique was on a level so complex that most other sword techniques couldn’t even compare. Seeing how skillfully Namgong Soo wielded it, there was no denying his exceptional martial talent.
Another attack followed. Each attack came at him from difficult and unpredictable angles, leaving Baek Woo Jin too busy dodging to even attempt a proper counterattack.
The more this happened, the more a crooked smile spread across Namgong Soo’s face.
“Hehe! You won’t win by just dodging.”
As he grew more confident of his impending victory, his pride grew to the point of bursting.
Baek Woo Jin who was thinking deeply about something while dodging the sword attacks suddenly snapped back at the chattering Namgong Soo in front of him.
“I’m getting a feel for it, you brat. Stop babbling during a duel.”
“……”
To hear such a remark from someone who had talked the most during the match left Namgong Soo utterly dumbfounded, almost to the point of dizziness.
Namgong Soo bit his lip in frustration.
“Fine. I’ll shut you up after I’ve driven my sword into your shoulder.”
Once again, the Limitless Sky Vessel Sword Technique unfolded.
For the first time, Baek Woo Jin raised his sword as well.
He blocked the sword that had been slashed diagonally from above to below, deflecting the force towards the ground a short distance away.
The misaligned blade sliced sharply into the ground of the arena, and the shock was transmitted directly through the sword to Namgong Soo’s hand. This caused his face to twist slightly.
“Oh, now it’s working.”
Baek Woo Jin said with a sly grin.
Even deflecting an attack requires preparation—how strong it is, how fast, from where and to where it is coming, and so on.
Up until now, his evasive actions had been to observe all these factors. This wasn’t just to deflect the attacks but also to prepare for the counterattacks that would follow.
Baek Woo Jin wagged his index finger with his empty hand.
“Now let’s clash swords, Gong Soo-ah.”
“You’re getting cocky just because you blocked one attack!”
From that moment on, the duel became something truly worth watching from the audience’s perspective.
Namgong Soo revealed his true skills.
No matter how superior the Limitless Sky Vessel Sword Technique was, that alone couldn’t earn the clan the title of the First Sword Clan of a Thousand Autumns.
The Thunderous Thirteen Sword Strikes, capable of overwhelming opponents with lightning-fast speed.
The Heavenly Wind Sword Technique, said to produce sword winds with each strike when mastered.
The Limitless Sky Swallow Sword, inspired by the swift movements of a swallow soaring through the sky.
The long years of accumulated strength and pride of the Namgong clan began to manifest one by one through Namgong Soo’s hands.
“What a feast for the eyes!”
“Who would’ve thought we’d get a chance to see so many of the Namgong clan’s sword techniques!”
Countless sword techniques, each with its own unique mysteries, started to overwhelm Baek Woo Jin’s vision.
His eyes began to burn.
In the fantasy world, it had taken him over ten years to slay the Demon King. Afterward, he returned to his original body on Earth and lived for another five years.
The five years spent in a peaceful world, with a body that had only ever been in fights against school bullies who teased him as an orphan, had been more than enough time to bury the sharp instincts of the previous ten years under layers of rust.
But now, those layers of rust that had accumulated over the five years were slowly starting to peel away.
“Oh my.”
Here it comes.
He thought so. Since the moment he had been waiting for arrived.
Just before he severed the Demon King’s neck, Baek Woo Jin had seen and understood countless things with his eyes.
If he were to describe the sensation from back then, it would be as if omniscience, one of the powers attributed to gods, had been transplanted into his eyes.
His vision widened, and everything in sight seemed to lose speed and slow down.
The eyes, burning with heat, started to greedily devour more and more of what they saw.
The sensation was far weaker than what he had experienced before, but even that small level of awareness allowed him to completely uncover the essence of Namgong Soo’s swift, heavy, and rapid sword techniques.
Namgong Soo, who had been continuously executing different sword techniques, suddenly stopped moving.
His eyes widened to the point that they seemed as if they might pop out of his skull if someone struck the back of his head.
“W-What did you…?”
The shock was so overwhelming that he couldn’t finish his sentence.
An unbearable sense of humiliation wrapped around his entire body, as if he had been stripped bare in front of countless spectators.
Every single sword technique he had demonstrated until now was not only the pride of the Namgong clan but also the source of his own confidence, which allowed him to acknowledge his arrogance yet remain unashamed.
But those very techniques were all blocked by Baek Woo Jin, as if he had known in advance where each strike would land.
“Why are you so surprised?”
However, to Baek Woo Jin, it was nothing remarkable.
From the start, this happened not because there was something wrong with the Namgong clan’s sword techniques, but because there was an issue with Namgong Soo himself.
“You botched your swordsmanship, that’s why.”
Namgong Soo shouted back in fury.
“Don’t spout nonsense! I’ve perfected every single sword technique I just used!”
Baek Woo Jin casually cleaned out his ear at such an outrageously arrogant statement.
“There are always those fools who think they’ve mastered an entire sword technique just because they’ve learned the basic forms, energy flow, and a few routines.”
“What…!”
Sword techniques are similar to the workbooks that students use on Earth. First, you’re taught the formulas and the basic methods of solving problems, then you’re given simple problems to apply those methods directly. Once you solve those, you’re faced with more complex problems that require creative thinking and application, making your mind work harder.
Swordsmanship is no different. Fully grasping the basic forms, the flow of energy, and the routines is equivalent to mastering the basic problems.
The path a sword technique can take after mastering the basics is limitless. You might develop variations to suit different situations or even modify the technique to better fit your own style. These correspond to the more advanced problems in a workbook.
But Namgong Soo ignored all of this. He was like a high school student who, after solving only the basic problems, claimed to have completed the entire workbook while puffing out his chest in pride.
“One or two at most is good enough, Gong Soo-ah. No matter how talented you are, that’s your limit.”
I’m telling you this from experience.
There’s a strange kind of time-wasting that only geniuses experience.
Because they grasp the basics so quickly, they waste time by repeatedly mastering the basics instead of moving on to advanced concepts.
This phenomenon never occurs with those of average or dull talent. They feel they don’t have enough time even when they invest everything into mastering just one thing, so the thought of diverting their attention elsewhere never even crosses their minds.
Embarrassingly, this was something Baek Woo-jin had also experienced during his days as a warrior.
“Hmph! Do you think I’d be swayed by your words?”
As if to show he understood, Baek Woo-jin spoke to Namgong Soo who was still staring at him with doubtful eyes.
“It’s okay, Gong Soo-ah. It’s understandable if you don’t fully get it yet.”
Baek Woo-jin raised his sword with an unpleasant grin on his face.
“Let’s start with a hit first. That usually forces most people to understand.”
Historically, there were times when this was the best remedy.
Gulp!
Namgong Soo swallowed dryly.
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