Are You the Blue-Eyed Lion? (4)
All roads lead to Rome (Omnes viae Romam ducunt).
Anyone familiar with European history has heard this proverb at least once.
The great empire that once ruled most of the European continent now only reveals its presence through ruins, yet its legacy survives and extends its influence throughout Europe.
Therefore, Roman gladiatorial arts, even a thousand years after emerging into the world, continue to develop and serve as evidence of how the once-great empire conquered the continent.
And now.
The martial art of the thousand-year empire, gladiatorial arts, has appeared in the Central Plains.
‘An attack?’
He channels power into his muscles.
His arm, swollen taut, traces a circular arc following Eon Cheolsan’s command. It is to block William’s charge, which rushes forward like a massive beast.
‘Is he finally looking to settle this!’
Eon Cheolsan’s eyes followed William’s movements.
If he missed even a moment, he would be the one in trouble.
Like a seasoned martial artist, he observed William’s movements and predicted the trajectory of the swinging arm. His legs naturally followed the predetermined path, drawing the footwork of the Eon family’s Flowing Star Step.
“Both of them have formidable auras.”
“Which side do you think will win?”
“You’d have to clash directly to know.”
The spectators’ voices tickled the ears of the two martial artists. But neither paid attention to the outside, instead glaring at each other and advancing without hesitation.
Collision of straight lines.
When Eon Cheolsan’s distance closed in, William suddenly poured strength into his right foot and stomped the ground. Dust from the clearing rose to knee height, causing the spectators to squint.
‘Is it the True Step!? No, similar but different!’
A somewhat familiar foot technique revealed by the western martial artist.
But Eon Cheolsan’s eyes, realizing it was fundamentally different, rolled upward in an instant. In his restored field of vision, he captured William’s fist approaching.
Startled by the unexpected technique, Eon Cheolsan reached out toward William’s fist.
Surprise was surprise, but his body wouldn’t stiffen from mere surprise.
Soon, the hands of the two martial artists collided.
More precisely, palm and fist.
William’s fist slid over the palm.
The most effective defensive method in a fight against a fist user is to deflect. It unfolded from Eon Cheolsan’s hand.
“Quite heavy.”
“Yours too.”
Soon, a barrage began with the distance between them breached.
Block, block, block, and block again.
Strike, strike, strike, and strike again.
William repeatedly thrust and retracted his fists at a terrifying speed, as if an Asura were wielding six arms.
A feast of punches that seemed haphazardly swung.
But if it were a simple barrage, he would have been countered long ago.
‘All of them look like real moves yet fake moves; what a dizzying fist technique. Moreover, if a joint-locking technique like the first move unfolds, it would be disastrous.’
Yet he couldn’t not block because of the tremendous force in the fists. Every time Eon Cheolsan’s palm deflected a fist, a tingling sensation ran from his palm to the back of his hand, making it throb.
Eon Cheolsan, at a crossroads of choice, met William’s eyes.
Should he give flesh to take bone?
Or wait for an opening that would eventually appear?
Even in this moment, damage accumulated little by little through his hands.
Pressed by the powerful fist technique befitting his massive frame, if he weren’t the master of the Eon family’s fist technique that could break rocks with bare hands, he would have rolled on the ground long ago.
‘So this is Chinese fist technique.’
Recalling a scene from a Chinese martial arts movie he had seen in his childhood, William admired Eon Cheolsan, who continued to block his attacks.
The way he deflected the fist sideways with his palm was quite impressive.
‘Learning it someday if the opportunity arises wouldn’t be bad.’
Whether such an opportunity would come or not, he kept moving his fists without rest even while thinking. Stopping the offensive would be the most foolish thing.
In a fight, the most important thing is to hold the initiative and constantly pressure the opponent.
The battle between an unbreakable shield and a spear that pierces everything ultimately comes down to making the shield bearer drop the shield.
No matter how sturdy the shield, it is a human who holds it.
‘Decide the match in one go.’
William suddenly stopped his offensive and swung a hand blade he had never used before. It looked like a large motion at first glance.
Eon Cheolsan cleanly caught the hand blade aiming for the neck with the back of his hand.
Though his hand was pushed inward by the force, there was no major damage.
The time for counterattack had come.
‘Has he gotten impatient? Such an excessively large motion!’
In any fist technique, to deliver a meaningful blow with the hand blade, the motion inevitably becomes large.
Some among the spectators watching the duel clicked their tongues.
“Looks like he got impatient.”
“If he keeps getting blocked like that, it’s understandable to get impatient.”
‘...No. Now of all times?’
Eon Cheolsan, contrary to the spectators’ words, looked at William’s face instead. A face showing no sign of trouble.
At the same time, his vision flipped.
‘What?!’
Eon Cheolsan belatedly realized he had been grabbed by the leg and thrown down.
Takedown.
‘Attacks like this to throw someone don’t exist in the martial world.’
After all, martial artists of the martial world prioritize training their lower body, so they wouldn’t have thought of grabbing the lower body and flipping it like this.
“I have lost.”
“Good work.”
William grabbed Eon Cheolsan’s hand and helped him up. Eon Cheolsan grinned and took his hand to stand.
‘It was a duel with much to learn.’
“An unexpected outcome.”
“To think he’d grab the lower body and flip him over. That seems quite useful?”
“Still, if they had used inner energy, the result might have changed.”
“Where did only Eon Cheolsan use inner energy? That westerner doesn’t seem to have used it either.”
Amid the murmurs of many passersby, rumors about the Blue-Eyed Lion spread.
‘A master who uses peculiar powerful fists and joint techniques.’
“Uncle! Good work!”
Where did she get the towel again. He wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead with the towel Hye-ryeong handed him. Tsk.
“Thanks.”
“It was an impressive movement. To think you’d throw the opponent there. Western martial arts are truly fascinating.”
Mu-gwang poured out admiration. Perhaps because he had experienced something similar himself, he seemed to empathize with Eon Cheolsan’s appearance.
“It was an entertaining spectacle.”
“Blue-Eyed Lion! It was a good duel!”
Ugh, dizzying.
I turned my body toward the shout that came from among the many people speaking to me and cupped my fists toward Eon Cheolsan.
“It was a good duel, Young Master Eon.”
“Haha, for me as well, it was a beneficial duel to witness western martial arts. If you visit our main house next time, I will treat you.”
Fortunately, he doesn’t seem like the type to hold grudges. It would have been really troublesome if entangled with such a guy.
“Haha, then if the opportunity arises next time, let’s meet again.”
What? Did he really come just to have a duel?
I scratched my head while watching Eon Cheolsan’s retreating figure disappearing through the parted crowd.
How strange.
“By the way, Uncle, you’ll be incredibly bothered for a while!”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because martial artists who think they’re good at fist techniques will come looking to duel with you!”
At Hye-ryeong’s flapping words, I held my forehead.
So that’s not the end but the beginning.
“...It’ll really be bothersome.”
Obviously, most would be idiots coming to defeat the western martial artist.
Since he’s a martial artist from the west, there’s little risk.
Although I’m traveling with the Hainan Sword Sect, my position is ambiguous to be called a Hainan Sword Sect martial artist, and even if I lose fighting me, as a western martial artist, I can mentally win by saying I was flustered by unfamiliar martial arts and lost.
Ultimately, if they defeat me, even mediocre people can receive decent praise.
Since I don’t use assassination techniques, it probably looks quite tempting to the martial artists in the area. It might be better to catch one appropriately strong guy and beat him down.
Originally, among those learning martial arts, there are no ones who aren’t strong against the weak and weak against the strong.
Though I’m not sure if such guys exist.
“Then let’s go back and finish our meal.”
“The food must have gone cold...”
“We can order again.”
“Wow! Uncle’s rich!”
“Why is a guy who knows my pocket situation acting surprised all of a sudden.”
“Hehe.”
Hye-ryeong stuck out her tongue with a playful laugh. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the face that anyone would call cunning.
“Inadvertently, we may have to advance the schedule.”
“Don’t worry. The journey isn’t far now.”
...There’s still a month left, and you call it not far? As expected, because the land is vast, people of the Central Plains seem to have a generous sense of time.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the Wulin Alliance.”
“It will be beyond whatever you imagine.”
With a remark filled with anticipation, I followed them into the inn. Along with gazes different from when I first entered.