Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Soaring Sword Peak
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My entire body ached and throbbed. The shredded martial robe barely clung to my frame, soaked red with blood seeping from the gashes and slashes.
In the past, the metallic tang of blood would have stirred my instincts.
Not anymore. Reason overrode instinct. Yet reason burned hotter than instinct ever could. Paeng Yeonhwa bit her lip hard.
She had failed to break through Dang Seona's barrage of hidden weapons. It had been a brutal clash—one could even call it a mauling.
Paeng Yeonhwa's ferocious charge had lost momentum midway, and she'd been so fixated on the frontal assault that she'd ignored the weapons striking from behind.
In the end, she'd fallen right into Dang Seona's trap, dancing like a puppet on the palm of her hand.
"I'm sorry."
Paeng Yeonhwa turned away without a word. Dragging her throbbing body, she descended from the dueling platform. The wounds from the hidden weapons weren't deep, but there were too many of them.
Seeing the alarming blood loss, the physicians approached, but Paeng Yeonhwa shook her head. She pulled aside the torn collar of her robe to show them the injuries.
"I'm fine."
The slashed wounds were already knitting together, the bleeding stanched. The physicians recoiled at the eerie sight and backed away.
Even if they weren't deep cuts, this regenerative power defied human limits. Hwangbo Seongwu, another boneless warrior, had impressive healing too, but it paled in comparison to Paeng Yeonhwa's.
Still, the heavy blood loss had left her face deathly pale. Even so, Paeng Yeonhwa brushed off the physicians' protests with feeble hands.
Dang Seona looked up at the stands. Her gaze fixed on Cheonsal, seated beside her father.
Cheonsal met her eyes and simply smiled.
Crunch.
The dagger still clutched in Dang Seona's hand crumbled to dust.
She considered going to fetch her, but there was no need. Paeng Yeonhwa hopped over the railing from the platform straight into the stands and headed right for Wi Seongcheon.
The spectators said nothing to Paeng Yeonhwa as she staggered past, trailing the thick scent of blood. Their stares were still mostly fear and disgust, but not entirely—there were cheers and pity too. That lightened her heart a little.
"I lost."
She walked straight to Wi Seongcheon. He stood to receive her, his smiling face melting the tension she'd been holding.
Perhaps that's why her legs buckled. Even as her wounds healed rapidly, she'd lost too much blood.
A sharp headache pierced her skull, her vision swam, and Paeng Yeonhwa pitched forward.
"See? Resting would've been better, right?"
Wi Seongcheon stepped forward and caught her falling body. Her blood-soaked clothes were hot and damp against him, but he didn't let it show. Paeng Yeonhwa looked up at him through weary eyes.
Normally, she'd have blushed crimson and shoved him away, but she had no strength for that now.
To be precise, she didn't want to.
"...I'm okay."
Paeng Yeonhwa mumbled dazedly as she burrowed into his embrace. Maybe from the blood loss, her body shivered with cold. Wi Seongcheon hesitated at her actions, but Paeng Yeonhwa didn't waver—she leaned in fully, forcing him to sit down with her weight.
"Just... a bit of sleep... and I'll be fine."
Paeng Yeonhwa murmured, her voice already thick with drowsiness. After holding reason at the forefront for so long, the backlash had hit; she acted on instinct now. Cold, so she snuggled in. Hurt and tired, so she slept.
Wi Seongcheon looked down at her with a troubled expression. She'd curled up like a cat on his lap.
"...Sleep?"
Wi Seongcheon asked in disbelief, but no answer came. She was already asleep.
Her transformation slowly receded—arms and legs returning to normal—but her tail still swished lazily.
The crowd murmured, stealing glances at Wi Seongcheon and Paeng Yeonhwa.
"You heartless punk. Her clothes are soaked through—gonna leave her like that?"
"Then should I strip her?"
"You idiot. Just take off your own robe and cover her."
"She'd be more comfortable in the medical tent."
"Shut up and cover her with your robe."
"Is she really okay with those injuries?"
"Tch."
Wi Juseok reached out with an exasperated look. He checked Paeng Yeonhwa's pulse and nodded.
"She's fine. No internal injuries, and her vital energy is robust. Like the girl said, a good sleep will do it."
"Still, better safe than sorry. I'll infuse her with some qi."
Wi Seongcheon's hair stood on end at the sudden voice from beside him.
"Ah, come on, seriously!"
"...?"
He wanted to yell, but with Paeng Yeonhwa asleep on his lap, he couldn't raise his voice. The Taiji Sword Lord gave him a puzzled look for glaring, but extended his hand to check her meridians anyway.
"You did well."
Looking at Paeng Yeonhwa's peacefully sleeping face, the Taiji Sword Lord smiled warmly.
The qi he sent flowed gently through her body, bringing color back to her pale cheeks.
"...Did you know, Taiji Sword Lord?"
"No."
Wi Seongcheon glanced at Cheonsal beside the Poison Righteousness Lord before asking.
"I didn't know Cheonsal was here either. But the Black Demon King must have. Cheonsal claims to be his right-hand man."
He said he didn't know, but no one believed it. They just couldn't question the Black Demon King about it.
"The Tang Clan contacting Cheonsal could be an issue, but the Murim Alliance won't hold them accountable."
"They can make excuses all day."
"Exactly. They could claim Cheonsal threatened them. Besides, it was Dang Seona herself who revealed his presence."
Of course, that wasn't the only reason. Cheonsal was one of the Ten Evils of the unorthodox paths and famed as the world's greatest assassin, but he'd never assassinated any orthodox figures.
Decades ago, when the Black Demon King was rising to prominence, he'd only targeted unorthodox leaders alongside him.
That earned him the moniker Heavenly Killer, and once the unorthodox world fell fully under the Black Demon King's rule, the killings stopped.
Or so it's known. With no real political rivals left for the Black Demon King, supreme ruler of unorthodox murim, there were still malcontents everywhere.
To them, the hidden Cheonsal was a massive threat. The fear of when he might strike. Even if the Black Demon King preferred public executions over stealth kills, Cheonsal's mere existence was terrifying.
"Cheonsal plans to pass his martial arts to the Tang Clan."
The Taiji Sword Lord murmured.
"No need to pressure them in that situation."
Why Dang Seona had relied solely on hidden weapons instead of her potent poison arts. Why she'd insisted before the match that she was superior to her sister.
It was obvious. Cheonsal's chosen successor was Dang Heeran, not Dang Seona.
Dang Seona hadn't liked that and tried to prove her superiority to change his mind.
But Cheonsal's decision stood firm.
The world doesn't always bend to our desires.
In that sense, "combat" is honest. The strong win, the weak lose. Even the weak can win with clever tactics and desperate effort. Isn't that fair?
Of course, heavenly fortune can turn an unwinnable fight.
The match following Dang Seona and Paeng Yeonhwa was decided not by luck, but by attitude.
Flame Flower Jeongmiju versus Sword Dragon Tae Huimyeong. Their prolonged deadlock ended with Jeongmiju conceding first. Their fight wasn't flashy.
Tae Huimyeong pierced Jeongmiju's flames with minimal movement, while she poured out more heat to keep him at bay.
That was her limit. Forbidden to kill, all she could do was hold him off.
The no-kill rule limited Tae Huimyeong too. In the end, Jeongmiju reined in her flames and accepted defeat. Her expression as she left the platform looked relieved.
'This was a good effort.'
Advancing to the second round of the preliminaries and losing to Sword Dragon Tae Huimyeong—not a shameful defeat. Unlike her, Tae Huimyeong's face showed dissatisfaction.
"He looks unsatisfied."
"His standards are too high."
The Taiji Sword Lord replied. Paeng Yeonhwa still slept curled on Wi Seongcheon's lap, undisturbed even by her injuries. Wi Seongcheon gently stroked her swishing tail.
"He wanted a convincing victory. But it's unavoidable. Flame Flower's arts burn anything that approaches. Huimyeong doesn't yet have a sword to cleave through that inferno whole."
High ideals breed dissatisfaction with reality. Unless one gives up in despair.
If they press on instead, their skill grows just as lofty. Knowing his disciple wouldn't quit, the Taiji Sword Lord smiled faintly.
The next bout between Muyun Jun and Hwangbo Seongwu brought no surprises.
Hwangbo Seongwu transformed into a bear at the start and charged, but Muyun Jun's explosive reinforced arts and body techniques forced him to his knees.
After defeat was declared, Hwangbo Seongwu's enraged roar startled the crowd into chaos.
Once the commotion died down.
"As expected of the Heavenly Person."
"Overwhelming even that brute Hwangbo Seongwu!"
"And just past thirty—truly the greatest Heavenly Person of our era among all history..."
The experts weighed in on the Heavenly Person's prowess they'd witnessed firsthand.
But the murmurs soon faded.
Sword Seal U Hayeon had ascended the platform.
At first, the crowd held little expectation for U Hayeon. Her beauty and Sword Seal moniker were famous, but her fights offered nothing to anticipate.
Bloodless victories. The experts sensed her sword had reached profound heights, but most spectators lacked the eye for it.
Even they realized her sword was "overwhelming" through her match with Wi Seongcheon.
The experts who knew her skill already saw her anew after that bout.
The sword she displayed then soared far beyond anything prior—and was no mere late-generation feat.
"That child's sword..."
The Taiji Sword Lord paused. On the platform stood Point Window Sect's Apex Sword Yeongjin and Volcano Sect's Sword Seal U Hayeon.
Though not on the Dragon-Phoenix List, Yeongjin had the skill to contend for it.
Especially in swift swordplay, he was among the elite at Yicheon Academy. Even Tae Huimyeong couldn't claim superiority there.
"...Has it reached the ideal? Or is she gazing beyond...? I can't tell. I just can't."
The Taiji Sword Lord shook his head. Called Sword Ghost before, now World's Greatest Swordsman—even he admired U Hayeon's sword.
Her sword transcended age. U Hayeon had already attained an ideal as a swordswoman.
He'd known it long ago.
Yet he'd paid her little special attention because of her nature. Despite such a sword, U Hayeon didn't crave victory.
Her sword was as gentle as her smile.
But against Wi Seongcheon, it revealed its other side. Still gentle, yet the "hesitation" she'd shown vanished the instant his movements sharpened.
In that moment, U Hayeon was pure.
Purely pursuing and enjoying the martial way.
'...Huimyeong.'
The drum signaled the match's start.
The verdict came instantly. Yeongjin's lightning-fast sword pierced U Hayeon's guard.
"...I lose."
Yeongjin said. His sword arm was fully extended, but it went no further. U Hayeon's blade had slipped under his arm to rest at his throat.
She'd read the ultimate speed. What subdued Yeongjin wasn't greater quickness, but immovability. Yeongjin let out a hollow laugh and sheathed his sword.
He clasped hands in respect and bowed deeply to U Hayeon.
"I received great instruction."
U Hayeon smiled silently.
Yeongjin descended; U Hayeon stayed. Today, she needed two victories for tomorrow's semifinals.
Her next opponent: White Orchid Cheong Ubin, close friend to Yeongjin. Her face showed she never imagined he'd fall so swiftly.
"...Unexpected, Senior."
"You can call me Sister."
She had no intention of doing so. To Cheong Ubin, U Hayeon was a romantic rival.
Though U Hayeon showed no interest in Tae Huimyeong, and it was his one-sided crush. Same for Cheong Ubin.
Rival or not, Cheong Ubin liked U Hayeon.
'From today... a little more...'
Light enveloped Cheong Ubin's body. She deployed protective aura from the start.
She had no plans to enter U Hayeon's range. Keep distance, pressure with reinforced arts—that was her strategy.
But U Hayeon's sword.
Wreathed in crimson sword aura, danced.
Each slash through Cheong Ubin's aura scattered fragments like fluttering red petals.
Soon after, Cheong Ubin squeezed her eyes shut and conceded.
'...Ah... Huimyeong.'
The Taiji Sword Lord let out a long sigh.
'Please.'
The semifinal bracket was set.
Heavenly Person Muyun Jun vs. Evil Fairy Dang Seona.
Sword Dragon Tae Huimyeong vs. Sword Seal U Hayeon.
'Don't be discouraged.'
The Taiji Sword Lord shook his head.
The Sword Seal who had spread her wings soared in heights the Sword Dragon could not reach.