Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Martial Artist
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"See? My eyes didn't deceive me. With skills like these, why have you been hiding them all this time?"
Dang Gyujin deflected all my attacks without showing the slightest sign of strain, grinning wickedly all the while.
"But there's a problem."
"What is it?"
"You're still lacking experience! Way too much!"
With a sharp hiss!
In an instant, Dang Gyujin's sword flicked away my hand blade and then vanished.
A trick similar to the one I'd used. It was the Shadow Phantom Step.
The difference was that it was based on the Qingcheng Sect's Secret Stream Step.
A fusion of Qingcheng martial arts and Tang Clan techniques. I wondered if such a thing was even possible, but Dang Gyujin made it work.
That must be the true talent of the Blue Face Ghost Muscle.
Her depth in handling martial arts seemed far greater than mine.
How could I bridge that gap?
As I said before, I couldn't resort to sorcery. That was my trump card for emergencies only.
So what else was there?
My unique advantage, something Dang Gyujin didn't have.
I racked my brain for the answer while trying to track her movements.
I didn't follow the sword with my eyes.
I felt the wind.
...
Behind me!
Whoosh—
I spun my body sideways in a semicircle with my right foot, and her sword barely grazed past the spot.
I quickly curled my splayed right fingers like a tiger's claws, aiming for Dang Gyujin's chest.
She had closed the distance tighter than I expected, so I narrowed the sword's range even further and turned the close-quarters fight to my advantage!
Fierce Tiger Twelve Strikes
Tiger Claw Rend
Wild Wind Dance
Wild Wind Chaos
As the wild winds swirled into a vortex toward my palm's center to amplify the power, Dang Gyujin leaped back to maximize the distance, extending her empty left hand wide to clash directly with mine.
Ultimate Heart Palm. It collided with the savage Qingcheng palm technique, named for its ability to rip out a heart.
Boom!
Rumble—
The brutal impact and rebound force sent me staggering back several steps. In that moment, Dang Gyujin's sword swept at my lower body.
Screee—
Instead of dodging, I countered with a spinning back kick.
She was right—I lacked experience.
I'd only formally begun training in martial arts two months ago.
I might know the theory inside out, but actual combat was worlds apart from theory.
Even when I tried to incorporate the teachings from Dang Gon, entirely new moves I'd never seen before kept appearing, driving me into corners.
But I trusted in my own abilities.
I might be a novice in martial arts, but I was someone who had reached a high realm through sorcery.
My reputation as one of the Ten Masters of the World wasn't built on nothing.
All those accumulated experiences, insights, and discernment from before—that was my unique edge, something Dang Gyujin lacked.
Melting all of it into the Wild Wind Dance.
That was the task I absolutely had to accomplish here!
Wild Wind Dance
Demonic Wind Severing Kick
My shin whipped out like a drawn blade, striking the sword flat and sending sparks flying everywhere.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Attack upon attack.
Impact upon impact.
After countless clashes where neither side yielded an inch, the heated winds clawed wildly at the ground.
Dang Gyujin now mixed in not just Preliminary Flash Sword from her bizarre footwork blending Secret Stream and Shadow Phantom Steps, but also hand and palm techniques at intervals.
Ultimate Heart Palm, Three Yang Finger, Crimson Lotus Divine Palm, Wind Thunder Palm, Shredding Rain Thousand Layer Palms, even capturing hands like Eagle Claw Universe.
When she displayed Tang Clan martial arts, they were insidious and sharp; when she showed Qingcheng swordsmanship, they rang with purity and righteousness.
It felt similar to my first impression when facing her.
A heavenly spirit and a demon were both dwelling within her.
The seamless, signless shifts between utterly opposing martial styles made it feel like I was fighting two Dang Gyujins at once.
In contrast, I relied solely on white strikes powered by wild winds.
There was no room for rest.
Any break in the flow, and I might get cut by her sword at any moment.
Whenever she tried to break through or slip in, I overwhelmed her with sheer force, pressing down relentlessly.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
Then, our full-power strikes crossed paths.
Boom!
Swoosh—
As if by prior agreement, Dang Gyujin and I leaped back, creating distance between us.
The metallic tang of blood filled my mouth.
"Haa— haa—"
"Huuu—"
And then.
"Ehehehe! Hehehehit!"
Unlike my calm gaze, Dang Gyujin burst into roaring laughter.
Each peal was accompanied by an eerie demon's wail, creating a cacophony.
"The more I see, the more amazing it is! So amazing! Just what are you, Unhwi? What the hell happened in the last five years!"
Kieee!
Her eyes gleamed wildly. Dang Gyujin was nearly consumed by instinct.
"It's definitely your first real spar like this, right? You've got so many rough edges. But every now and then, those clever tricks make you look like a seasoned old master?"
She was sharp, as expected.
Dang Gyujin had pierced straight to my core.
"And it feels like you're hiding something—"
Even my trump card.
"But I know you're going easy on me too, sis. You haven't even used Azure Clouds Heaven-Earth Sword yet, have you?"
Azure Clouds Heaven-Earth Sword was the signature ultimate technique of the Qingcheng Sect's leader.
A supreme sword art said to blanket the heavens and earth with its sword momentum alone.
I'd heard that despite being a lay disciple, her talent was so exceptional that the sect made an exception and taught it only to her.
"It's not fully mastered yet. Nothing's more dangerous than a sword technique you can't control, right?"
"Is that so?"
『Ehehe! My little Unhwi, you've got a lot of secrets, huh? Sneakily changing the subject like that.』
Damn, that didn't work?
I'd thought she was half-eaten by instinct, but apparently not.
Was the Heaven-Earth One-Qi Gate that profound?
Even as she surrendered to instinct, her reason made precise judgments.
She was definitely no easy opponent.
So I just smiled in response.
『Fine! If my little brother says it's a secret, big sis won't pry! It's not a big deal anyway!』
『I suppose I should say thanks...?』
『Buy me a drink! That'll do!』
Looks like I'd gained a new drinking buddy after Dang Gon.
"Unhwi, you know what?"
"What?"
"You're smiling right now."
Me?
I touched the corner of my mouth with my hand.
It was true.
My lips were curved upward, without me realizing.
"Having fun?"
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
My heart was still pounding fiercely.
What should I say to that?
"Yes. It's fun."
So I decided to be honest with my feelings.
In my past life, my body was too frail for such extreme exertion.
Even when I did move, it was always under the protection of my guards.
But now was different.
I stood on my own two feet, clashing directly against the enemy with my own arms.
My heart raced like a broken engine, blood surged like wild stallions, leaving me breathless.
My heightened senses devoured every bit of information around me.
Dang Gyujin's breathing, footwork, fingertip movements, pupil shifts, the flow and depletion of my internal energy—everything entered my view at once.
—I am alive.
This moment was so exhilarating I couldn't bear to let it slip away.
My blood boiled.
The thrill of combat filled my heart to bursting.
Ecstasy wrung my lungs so tightly I feared drowning in it.
"You're a pervert. Liking fights this much."
"...Doesn't that apply to you too, sis?"
"Of course it includes me! Think it's just me? Everyone here feels the same!"
Dang Gyujin giggled and spread her arms wide.
I took in the surroundings at a glance.
Dang Yuchang staring in a daze, the red-clad warriors looking stunned, the white-clad servants frozen in shock, and far off, Dang Gon and his friends giving me thumbs up.
"Family, servants, warriors, officers... Anyone with the Tang surname is a pervert. Why? Because normal people could never enjoy something like this!"
In that instant, an indescribable emotion welled up in me unbidden.
Mellowness?
Emotion?
Euphoria?
I didn't know.
What to call it.
But one thing was certain.
The thrill of fighting firsthand was matched by the electric stimulus of so many eyes watching with heated gazes.
Dang Gyujin was teaching me to savor it all to the fullest.
"And do you know what we call people like that?"
"...What do you call them?"
Dang Gyujin suddenly stopped laughing and spoke in a serious tone.
"Martial artists."
"!"
"We call them martial artists."
Dang Gyujin bared her fangs in a wide grin.
Martial artist, martial artist!
It felt like a hammer blow to the back of my head.
Yes. She was right.
The reason I wanted to spar with Dang Gyujin.
To change the family's view of me, to catch the Dark Lord's eye... I came up with all sorts of excuses, but the root reason was just one.
The thrill of combat.
Hadn't I felt it the first time our auras clashed?
I wondered who would win if we fought now.
That's all I wanted to check. Me.
And the moment I realized that, I finally understood something new.
In this moment, I had become a true jianghu warrior, just like them.
"A martial artist isn't just someone who uses martial arts. Precisely, it's someone mad for martial arts."
"So you have to be crazy to master it."
"Exactly. Otherwise, what could you ever master properly?"
"Yes. You're right."
I was grateful to Dang Gyujin.
Thanks to her, I could reframe my mindset.
While I'd approached martial arts only as a 'tool' to save my master and revive the cult, she advised me to make it a joyful part of life.
Was that why?
Click!
Something shifted in my dantian.
It wasn't like gaining a new insight or breaking through to a higher realm.
It felt like something had become natural.
What had been subtly off-kilter finally clicked into place.
I wanted to check what had changed, but there was no time.
Dang Gyujin wouldn't give me that luxury.
"So since we've drawn our blades, let's go all the way! To see whose martial arts are better!!"
Tss-tss-tss—
A pure white energy, like starlight gathered on the Azure Steel Sword, rose and danced in waves.
"Sword qi!"
"The First Lady has reached the peak realm!?"
"At her tender age of around twenty—"
They called her the greatest prodigy of Sichuan.
It seemed true.
To open a realm that numbered fewer than a hundred even across a province, at just twenty years old.
The problem was that sword qi shredded everything.
Even my wild winds.
"Isn't that a bit unfair?"
"If you challenge me to a fight, you should've expected this much! Ehit!"
Tss-pt!
Dang Gyujin laughed cheerfully as she scattered sword qi wildly.
Amid that tidal wave of momentum, I ignited the Violet Radiance Net.
A world dyed purple.
I drew out my ghostly energy to its maximum, amplifying it fully, and unleashed the Demonic Wind Severing Kick once more.
The sword qi shattered completely, allowing me to close the gap with Dang Gyujin in one breath. I gathered both hands to my chest's center and thrust forward like a battering ram piercing a castle gate.
Roaring Wind Cannon.
Among the Wild Wind Dance's many forms, it boasted the greatest destructive power—a one-strike kill attack.
Kwaaaaang!
Crack—
The Azure Steel Sword, resisting the attack along with the sword qi, shattered entirely.
Amid the scattering fragments, Dang Gyujin and I unleashed kicks and retreats without waiting for the other.
The final strike.
Fwaaak!