Chapter 159: Marriage Duel
Chapter 159: Marriage Duel
Before Seonwoo Jung could even answer, Jegal Ji-yong smiled gently and asked Jegal Seoyul.
"Seoyul, is there any difficulty in conducting the duel right now?"
Then he immediately sent a telepathic transmission.
- Say it's fine, Seoyul! We must hold the duel now. This may be our final opportunity. Quickly answer that you can do it!
Jegal Seoyul's mind grew complicated.
Because she thought she understood what her uncle Jegal Ji-yong was mistaken about.
He believed that she would definitely defeat Seonwoo Jin. She had to correct that misconception.
- Uncle, I am...
But the impatient Jegal Ji-yong refused to listen to her words.
- Enough, I said answer that you can do it!
That was when it happened.
Seonwoo Jung interjected and spoke.
"Jegal Sojeo's complexion does not look very good. It seems that conducting the duel today would be too taxing."
At that, Jegal Ji-yong reprimanded her through telepathic sound transmission.
- Am I not telling you to say you can do it?!
Jegal Seoyul now had no choice.
She squeezed her eyes shut and answered.
"I am fine. It seems I will have no problem conducting the duel today."
At that, Seonwoo Jung let out a troubled sigh.
And he asked Seonwoo Jin.
"Things have come to this, Jin. Will you also be fine with this?"
At his question, Seonwoo Jin smiled brightly and answered.
"It seems unavoidable. As the young family head, I will do my best not to bring shame to the Seonwoo family's reputation."
That was the moment when the duel between Seonwoo Jin and Jegal Seoyul, where the winner could take what was precious from the opponent, was decided for the present.
***
The duel was held immediately.
The two faced each other in the same space where Seonwoo Jin and Seonwoo Seong had stood just before, but unlike then, since they were not family, a bit more formality was required.
Jegal Seoyul raised her sword first, offered a fist-and-palm salute, and spoke.
"I am Jegal Seoyul, the direct-line only daughter of the Jegal family. I have been bestowed the excessive sobriquet of Heavenly Wisdom Sword Peak by my peers in the martial world."
Then Seonwoo Jin also raised Mukrang, offered a fist-and-palm salute, and spoke.
"I am Seonwoo Jin, young family head of the Seonwoo family. I am called by the excessive sobriquet of Flying Sky Black Wolf by my peers in the martial world."
Jegal Ji-yong was smiling softly as he watched the two.
At least, that was the case until he heard Seonwoo Jin's introduction.
But the moment he heard his introduction, Jegal Ji-yong's face hardened completely.
'Flying Sky Black Wolf? The Flying Sky Black Wolf Seonwoo Jin?'
It was a sobriquet Jegal Ji-yong had clearly heard before.
He had simply failed to associate the Flying Sky Black Wolf Seonwoo Jin with the Seonwoo Jin who was the disgrace of the Seonwoo family.
Jegal Ji-yong's brain began to spin furiously.
'If it's the Flying Sky Black Wolf Seonwoo Jin, then clearly....'
The next moment, Jegal Ji-yong's sharp mind was able to recall how the Flying Sky Black Wolf Seonwoo Jin had made his name renowned.
'If it's the Flying Sky Black Wolf Seonwoo Jin, then clearly he killed Heuksangbang's peak-level master, Heuksalpyo Dong Paegyeong, and thereby gained his sobriquet...?!'
The shocked Jegal Ji-yong's eyes widened massively.
Heuksalpyo Dong Paegyeong was a martial artist at the initial stage of the peak level, equal to Jegal Seoyul.
But he was also a far more experienced and seasoned warrior than Jegal Seoyul.
Yet that Seonwoo Jin had supposedly killed Dong Paegyeong.
Jegal Ji-yong's face was now completely colored an ashen hue.
He sharply turned his head to look at Seonwoo Jung's face.
And then he was able to discover it.
The face of Seonwoo Jung, which had looked extremely troubled just moments before, was now smiling comfortably....
Jegal Ji-yong could only scream internally.
'No!'
Meanwhile, Jegal Seoyul was looking at Seonwoo Jin with complicated eyes.
She had originally wanted to come to the Seonwoo family first and ask him about this.
Whether he truly intended to duel her.
And... whether he ultimately intended to take her as his wife.
But in the end, due to various circumstances, she had been unable to ask, and the situation she had only imagined was now abruptly upon her.
Her mind was too complicated.
She herself could not even tell what this feeling was.
Just then, as Jegal Seoyul continued to stare at him, Seonwoo Jin spoke first.
"Will you not draw your sword, Sojeo?"
Startled into focus, Jegal Seoyul bit her lip and asked quietly.
"What exactly is your scheme? Do you truly intend to...."
It was when Jegal Seoyul could not bring herself to speak the rest.
Seonwoo Jin smiled faintly and said.
"Scheme, you say.... I wonder what you could be talking about? Anyone listening would think I forced this duel. I am well aware that my father clearly suggested we postpone it, and it was Senior Jegal who pushed it forward."
At that, Jegal Seoyul bit her lip again.
That was true.
On the surface, his words were clearly correct.
But she wanted to deny it.
She wanted to shout, asking if even that was not something he had orchestrated.
And... she wished he would say so.
That, in truth, he had orchestrated everything for this.
Not with an attitude that he was forced into this duel, but that he had pushed everything forward to take Jegal Seoyul herself as his wife.
But even now, faced with this situation, his attitude and gaze remained as if looking at a complete stranger, which made Jegal Seoyul incredibly angry and also hurt.
Finally, she gritted her teeth and drew her sword.
Sreureung!
Jegal Seoyul resolved herself.
She would face him with everything she had.
She would show him that she, too, was not entering this marriage willingly.
At that, Seonwoo Jin also smiled faintly, drew Mukrang, and spoke.
Sreureung!
"You may come at me first."
But Jegal Seoyul sneered and answered.
"It seems my reputation in the martial world is the superior one. Gongja, you come first."
Jegal Seoyul gritted her teeth.
She did not want to concede a single thing.
She had no intention of yielding this match easily either.
And in truth, the Jegal family's Eight Formation Sword Technique was a sword art more excellent at defense than offense.
At that, Seonwoo Jin smiled brightly, aimed his sword, and said.
"Then I shall come first."
Simultaneously, Seonwoo Jin's form shot forward.
Paaang!
Jegal Seoyul gritted her teeth.
It was a movement she had seen many times in the last fight.
But observing it from outside and experiencing it directly felt completely different.
It felt as though he had closed in right before her almost at the same instant he moved.
"Eik!"
Jegal Seoyul swung her sword desperately.
Eight Formation Sword Technique, first form.
Departure Memorial.
Chwaaaak!
Then the Jegal family's Eight Formation Sword Technique, designed to plunge the attacker into dire straits, revealed its form.
An ironclad defense and a minute gap.
Furthermore, that gap was actually a trap.
The Departure Memorial, the first form of the Eight Formation Sword Technique, was a form designed so that if the opponent aimed for the gap and thrust their sword in, they would inevitably face a counterattack.
But Seonwoo Jin's choice against it was a frontal breakthrough.
Seonwoo Thirteen Swords, third form.
Divine Eagle Descending River.
Like an eagle diving to the river, Seonwoo Jin's sword plummeted swiftly toward that gap.
It was a stance intended to attack at a speed Jegal Seoyul could not even react to and end the fight with a single sword strike.
But Jegal Seoyul was not to be taken so lightly.
She gritted her teeth and unfolded Changing Grass.
'Don't underestimate me!'
Shuhaak!
Her sword sealed off Seonwoo Jin's sword that had squeezed in through the gap.
And simultaneously launching an immediate counterattack was the subtlety of the first form Departure Memorial....
Jegal Seoyul could not seal off his sword.
Because just as her sword was about to clash with his, Seonwoo Jin's sword vanished like a phantom.
Seuseuseuk!
"!"
She did not know it, but it was the subtlety of the Seonwoo Thirteen Swords' fifth form, Form is Emptiness, employed with such perfect timing.
And the moment she was caught off guard and panicked, Seonwoo Jin's sword shadow unfurled giant wings.
Hwaaaak!
The great wings formed of sword shadow were enveloping Jegal Seoyul's entire body.
Though clearly illusionary swords, it was a form imbued with a dreadful sense of reality that could not possibly be ignored.
Jegal Seoyul swung her sword desperately.
"Haaat!"
Eight Formation Sword Technique, third form.
Three Divisions of the World.
Then jade-colored energetic force explosively erupted from Jegal Seoyul's sword.
Chwaaaak!
It was a powerful sword qi that divided the space around her into three parts.
Under that powerful sword strike, the wings of sword shadow that had covered her along with the surrounding space were torn apart.
Then, behind the torn wings, Seonwoo Jin was looking at her, smiling as if to say she was quite impressive.
Seeing that smile, Jegal Seoyul could feel fury boiling up.
Because his expression, which seemed to look down on her, made her incredibly angry.
Somehow, she wanted to make that face harden.
"Taaaat!"
Eight Formation Sword Technique, seventh form.
Seven Captures and Seven Imprisonments.
Shuhaak!
Her sword thrust toward Seonwoo Jin.
It was Seven Captures and Seven Imprisonments, the Eight Formation Sword Technique's most powerful offensive form that relentlessly pursued and pierced the opponent.
Then Seonwoo Jin, who had seemed to step back as lightly as air, swung his sword in response.
Seonwoo Thirteen Swords, thirteenth form.
Illusion Sword Realm.
In that instant, Seonwoo Jin's sword split into dozens, hundreds of copies, filling the entire space.
Hwaaaaak!
Jegal Seoyul could thrust her sword no further.
It was because she had lost the target for her sword, and Seven Captures and Seven Imprisonments had been rendered powerless.
But even aside from that, she felt she could swing her sword no more.
She looked around dazedly.
Every space visible to her eyes was filled with a soft-violet sword shadow.
It felt as if her body was floating within a nimbus of soft-violet light.
In the end, with her sword lowered, she could only murmur blankly.
"Beautiful."
When that nimbus of light disappeared, Seonwoo Jin's sword, which had at some point moved behind Jegal Seoyul, was aimed at the back of her neck.
The match was over.
***
Jegal Ji-yong had now completely frozen like a stone.
He had dreaded this possibility, but Jegal Seoyul had truly lost.
Thus, according to the agreement, Jegal Seoyul now had to marry Seonwoo Jin and become a member of the Seonwoo Family.
But that was something absolutely unacceptable.
'No way. That can't happen. Send Seoyul to a place like the Seonwoo Family? Absolutely not!'
Jegal Seoyul was an immensely important talent in the Jegal Family.
A unique talent incomparable to anyone else, in fact.
The Jegal Family had traditionally possessed one of the strongest power bases in the martial world, yet because of their relatively lacking martial arts, they had repeatedly failed to claim even the lowest seat among the Five Great Families.
That was the situation Jegal Seoyul was born into.
She was a rare case among the sons and daughters of the Jegal clan, possessing exceptional martial talent.
And having reached the peak realm in her early twenties, she had finally become the hope of the Jegal Family.
Their one and only hope in this generation.
That was why the Jegal Family had absolutely no intention of marrying Jegal Seoyul off somewhere.
Even if a marriage were to happen, the husband would naturally have to be a warrior of the highest lineage and martial arts, and above all, anyone marrying her would absolutely have to become a matrilocal son-in-law.
This was a sentiment shared by everyone in the Jegal Family.
And yet now, they found themselves in a situation where they might have to send that very Jegal Seoyul off to some place like the Seonwoo Family.
And what's more, it was because of a matter that Jegal Jiyong himself had pushed for.
Jegal Jiyong bit his lips until they turned white.
'Absolutely not! This absolutely cannot happen!'
He had to prevent this, no matter what.
Even if it meant erasing the Seonwoo Family entirely...
It was while he was having such thoughts.
Seonwoo Jung spoke to him with a relaxed smile.
"It seems the outcome has been decided, Jegal Daehyeop."
At that, Jegal Jiyong silently stared at Seonwoo Jung with a stiff expression.
He was now at a point where he could no longer maintain even a pretense of a smile.
But Seonwoo Jung, as if oblivious to that sentiment, continued speaking.
"Then, from now on, Jegal Sojeo will be a daughter-in-law of our Seonwoo Family..."
It was at that moment.
As Jegal Jiyong revealed a killing intent he could no longer hide, and Jegal Seoyul bowed her head deeply to hide her flushed face, Seonwoo Jin suddenly knelt before Seonwoo Jung and spoke.
"Father, I am sorry!"
At that sudden turn of events, Seonwoo Jung glanced at Jegal Jiyong and asked with a puzzled look.
"Sorry all of a sudden? What do you mean?"
Then Seonwoo Jin bowed his head deeply and confessed in a loud voice.
It was a voice loud enough for everyone gathered in the training grounds to hear.
"I failed to tell you beforehand! I actually have another woman to whom I have promised my future! Therefore, I cannot marry Jegal Sojeo!"
"!"
It was nothing short of a shocking confession.
Everyone present lost their words and stared blankly at his face.
Of course, the fact that Seonwoo Jin had a woman he'd promised his future to was entirely possible.
But to refuse marriage with Jegal Seoyul, the one called the Heavenly Wisdom Sword Peak, because of her?
For those who had witnessed her beauty and martial arts firsthand, it was something they absolutely could not understand.
At his bombshell declaration, all the warriors of the Seonwoo Family looked at each other in utter surprise.
At the same time, a glimmer of hope spread across Jegal Jiyong's face.
And Jegal Seoyul raised her deeply bowed head and stared at Seonwoo Jin with a look of shock.
At that moment, family head Seonwoo Jung, who had been momentarily speechless, asked again with an angry expression.
"...What?! You call that proper talk?!"
Then Seonwoo Jin answered in a voice full of earnest emotion.
"The reason I returned home this time was originally to receive Father's permission for my future with her! But so many things happened at once, and fearing your heart would be troubled, I could not speak of it! I am truly sorry for not telling you beforehand, but she and I are already inseparable! Please grant your permission, Father!"
At that, an irrepressible smile crept onto Jegal Jiyong's face as he listened.
This Seonwoo Jin brat, whom he had wanted to kill just moments ago, had never looked so endearing.
But Seonwoo Jung did not seem to share that view.
He cried out in a resolute tone.
"Absolutely not! This is an agreement between families! Do you think your personal affairs can be a reason to dare ruin the relations between our two families?! I absolutely cannot permit it!"
Then Jegal Jiyong's face darkened again.
He felt a desperate urge to interrupt and say something.
It was then that Seonwoo Jin raised his head again and shouted in a determined voice.
"If you will not permit my marriage because of the two families' promise that the successor of the Seonwoo Family must marry Jegal Sojeo, then I shall step down from the position of young family head!"
That could truly be called a genuine bombshell declaration.
So much so that his earlier statement now seemed like nothing in comparison.
Everyone listening was shocked, and Jegal Jiyong could not help but let out an exclamation.
"Oh!"
Then Seonwoo Jung, now seemingly thoroughly enraged, shouted.
"You wretch! You intend to drag the honor of the Seonwoo Family through the mud! Does the position of young family head look so laughable to you?! Does the promise with the Jegal Family look so laughable?!"
But Seonwoo Jin did not back down either.
He too shouted in a loud voice.
"The promise with her is not laughable either, Father! I also gave her father my word to formally submit a marriage proposal!"
The voices of the father and son escalated to a fever pitch, neither giving an inch.
People now looked back and forth between the two with anxious eyes.
Then Seonwoo Jung cried out as if frustrated.
"Just who is this woman?! Who is she, that she is as important as a promise with the Jegal Family?!"
Then Seonwoo Jin answered briefly.
"She is a woman of the Sichuan Tang Family."
At that answer, Seonwoo Jung's expression stiffened for a moment.
"...What?"
As he asked back with a flustered look, Seonwoo Jin answered again, enunciating every syllable clearly.
"She is Dang Yeoeun Sojeo, a direct descendant of the Sichuan Tang Family. I returned home having given my word to the head of the Sichuan Tang Family, Dang Jeonghu Daehyeop, to formally submit a marriage proposal!"
Then the people who had been quiet as mice briefly began to murmur again.
"Th-the Sichuan Tang Family?"
"You mean the Sichuan Tang Family of Sichuan Province?"
"And moreover, Dang Jeonghu is the family head of the Tang Family, the Poison Rock Sovereign Dang Jeonghu Daehyeop, is he not?"
"Good heavens!"
The Jegal Family was also a powerful clan, with its own family head Jegal Jigang serving as the military advisor of the Murim Alliance.
However, no matter what, they were not on the level of the Sichuan Tang Family.
The Sichuan Tang Family was a martial clan that had not once fallen out of the Five Great Families for the past several hundred years, and because they manipulated poisons and hidden weapons, they were imprinted as an unconscious fear in the minds of martial artists.
And yet Seonwoo Jin had made a promise with the family head of that very Sichuan Tang Family.
It was inevitable that the weight of importance suddenly swung sharply in that direction.
Seonwoo Jung's face now turned troubled.
He then glanced sidelong at Jegal Jiyong.
Jegal Jiyong could instantly realize it.
That Seonwoo Jung was now giving him a chance to back out.
He was impressed.
'Even this was planned!'
Come to think of it, Seonwoo Jung, who had set up such an intricate scheme, could not possibly have acted on the excessive greed of taking Jegal Seoyul away.
Because he too would know well that would lead to a true catastrophe.
So, he must have now created a situation where Jegal Jiyong could retreat gracefully while saving face.
So that he could back out under the pretense of being forced to accept the broken engagement due to the Seonwoo Family's circumstances.
Jegal Jiyong had to be impressed once more.
'Seonwoo Jung, what a truly fearsome man.'
It seemed highly likely that the Seonwoo Family would be the one to seize supremacy over the Guizhou region in the future.
But that was a matter for another time; for now, this was a moment to gratefully accept the situation Seonwoo Jung had created for him.
Jegal Jiyong cleared his throat dryly and interjected.
"Hm, hm. As I hear it, it seems Seonu Gongja also has unavoidable circumstances."
"Jegal Daehyeop."
"Looking back, I wonder if we were not too hasty in deciding this betrothal without properly considering the feelings of the younger generation. If it is a marriage neither party wants, it would ultimately only make them unhappy. Is that not so, Seonwoo Gaju?"
In response to Jegal Jiyong's subtle smile and talk of breaking the engagement, Seonwoo Jung let out a deep sigh.
"Huuu, if the relationship between our two families is ruined because of my worthless son, I would not know how to atone for this sin."
Then Jegal Jiyong replied with a hearty laugh.
"Hohoho! How could that ever happen? If you truly feel it is a pity, could we not pair other children? Seonwoo Gaju has sons other than the young family head, and we also have girls in our collateral branches."
He was blatantly suggesting arranging a marriage with another son.
It was a proposal born from the calculation that there would be no harm at all, as the Seonwoo Family seemed poised to become the future hegemon of Guizhou City.
Then Seonwoo Jung answered with a relieved smile.
"That is an excellent idea! Truly, the wisdom of the Jegal Family's people is beyond compare!"
"You flatter me, hohohoho!"
Of course, this talk could not help but be completely contradictory to the earlier statement that marriages ignoring young people's feelings made them unhappy.
But neither side mentioned that. Because they both knew they had each gotten what they wanted.
At that, the martial artists of the Seonwoo Family, who had been watching the situation between the two families be resolved amicably, were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Not only did relations with the Jegal Family remain intact, but they could also keep the promise with the Sichuan Tang Family—there could be no better outcome.
Everyone was now smiling with expressions of relief.
Everyone, that is, except for a single person.
Jegal Seoyul stood with her head deeply bowed, her body trembling faintly.
Every word Seonwoo Jin had said was lodged in her heart like daggers.
That he absolutely could not marry her. That he had promised his future to a daughter of the Sichuan Tang Family.
It was miserable.
It felt as though she had never been so utterly miserable in her entire life.
Her vision had been blurring since earlier, and she had to exert all her strength to hold back her tears.
She clenched her fists so tightly that blood nearly drew from her palms.
'Seonwoo Jin, Seonwoo Jin, Seonwoo Jin!'
It was a moment when the name 'Seonwoo Jin', a name she would never forget for the rest of her life, was branded into her mind like a scar, letter by letter.