Chapter 49: Top-Tier Swordsmanship-1
Chapter 49: Top-Tier Swordsmanship-1
The military headquarters of the Murim Alliance.
Jegal Ji-gang reviewed the report that had come up from Sak Mu-heun.
It was a report stating that Hae Cheong-yeon had been dealt with, but due to her powerful comrades, all other squad members had been lost.
In particular, his report spoke highly of Seol Pung, the squad leader of the Seventh Squad of the Thirteen Squads.
"Hmm, Seol Pung. He killed two at the initial stage of peak-level and seven at the upper tier of first-class by himself?"
Then he also checked the regular report that had come up from the front line.
A report had come up stating that Cheong-yeon had been kidnapped by Blood Cultists. Jegal Ji-gang confirmed the report, nodded, and then this time looked into Seol Pung.
"His origin and sect are unknown, I see. This fellow is also a target for elimination after discharge. A pity. And it won't be easy either."
For a moment, Jegal Ji-gang pondered whether a person of that caliber could somehow be persuaded.
It seemed like it might be worthwhile to personally visit the front line once more.
While there, he could check whether Seol Pung was a talent worth persuading, and also verify the handling of Hae Cheong-yeon.
But there was no time to deliberate for long.
Because his attendant had rushed in to report.
"Elder! The Sword Saint Elder Hae Un-baek has come to see you!"
Jegal Ji-gang, slightly surprised by the name, asked.
"The Sword Saint? What business does he have?"
"I do not know. However, his face was extremely furious."
'It couldn't be...'
Jegal Ji-gang spoke with a deliberately unhurried attitude.
"What trouble has that man caused now. Show him in."
"Yes! Elder!"
A moment later, the Sword Saint burst in with a furious face.
"Ji-gang!"
Jegal Ji-gang asked with a smile.
"Welcome. What matter has caused the Heavenly Robe Sword Saint, daehyeop, to be so angry again?"
Thereupon, the Sword Saint held out a crumpled letter and shouted.
"My daughter! Cheong-yeon has been kidnapped by the Blood Cult's demon heads!"
'A letter?'
Jegal Ji-gang, who had glanced at the letter in the Sword Saint's hand, urgently asked again.
"Cheong-yeon was kidnapped by the Blood Cult's demon heads?! What is this sudden talk about?!"
The story the Sword Saint vented in his fury was this.
In the same squad as Hae Cheong-yeon, there was a close comrade who knew she was the Sword Saint's daughter, and as soon as she was kidnapped by the Blood Cult's demon heads, that comrade had immediately sent a letter to the Sword Saint using the courier system's secret mark.
Upon hearing this, Jegal Ji-gang inwardly thought it fortunate while simultaneously feeling regret.
It was fortunate that the Sword Saint did not know the full story of the matter, but of all things, there had been a comrade who knew her identity.
Trusting only Hae Cheong-yeon's word and thinking no one would know, and not anticipating that a letter would be delivered through a secret mark—both had been his own failures.
The Sword Saint shouted.
"I shall go to the front line at once! I also intend to take the White Tiger Squad with me! So be informed!"
The White Tiger Squad was composed of those among the Murim Alliance's armed forces who most fervently followed the Sword Saint.
Since their commander, the White Tiger Gentleman Sword Dong Bang Mu-geuk, was an ardent follower of the Sword Saint, the other members went without saying.
Jegal Ji-gang tried to dissuade him with a troubled face.
"If that is true, it is truly a regrettable matter. But Un-baek, you also know that the Alliance Leader has signed a mutual non-aggression pact with the Blood Demon. Surely you do not intend to be the first to disregard it?"
Hae Un-baek, the Sword Saint who lacked political sense, had always followed Jegal Ji-gang's advice in such matters.
Therefore, Jegal Ji-gang intended to try persuading him this time as well.
But Jegal Ji-gang could realize that he had once again made a mistake. He had taken too lightly the heart of a father who had lost his daughter.
The Sword Saint snorted and spoke with a fierce glare.
"Hmph! A mutual non-aggression pact, you say? If I investigate and find that Cheong-yeon first attacked the Blood Cult and that is how it happened, then I will have nothing to say. But! If the Blood Cult's demon heads came first and kidnapped our Cheong-yeon, then is that not precisely a violation of the non-aggression pact?! If that is the case, I can never forgive it! I am going to the front line right now to find Cheong-yeon! Do not try to stop me!"
Having said this, the Sword Saint stormed out again like a tempest.
There was no time to say anything more.
Jegal Ji-gang's head began to ache.
It already seemed an impossible task to stop him.
Of course, even if he went to the front line, Hae Cheong-yeon could no longer be found. But...
If he, his mind filled entirely with chivalrous spirit, were to learn of the situation at the front line, would he truly stop at merely searching for Cheong-yeon?
There was no way he would.
He would probably turn the entire front line upside down.
Just thinking about it was an unavoidable headache.
Moreover, he was taking the White Tiger Squad, and there would surely be warriors from the Shadow Unit among them.
If by any chance he were to learn of the Shadow Unit...
Jegal Ji-gang immediately rushed out and ran to the Mancheong Pavilion, which was the intelligence department and unofficially the headquarters of the Shadow Unit.
He had to somehow exclude at least the warriors of Shadow Unit origin from the White Tiger Squad.
Suddenly, Jegal Ji-gang considered the possibility of eliminating the Sword Saint.
'Would it be possible to eliminate one of the fifteen people known to be the strongest in the world?'
Coldly assessed, it did not seem impossible.
After all, there were many ways to kill a person.
But regardless of whether eliminating him was possible, his standing within the orthodox faction was too great.
To ordinary warriors, he was a figure with even greater influence than the Murim Alliance Leader, the Chivalrous King.
Furthermore, since he said he was taking the White Tiger Squad, people's attention would be even more focused.
It could only be unfavorable for a covert attack.
In many ways, it left a bitter taste.
To give him such a headache like this.
The thought occurred to him that perhaps all of this was deliberate.
But he soon shook his head.
As far as Jegal Ji-gang knew, neither the Sword Saint nor anyone around him was the type to use their head in this manner.
To him, Hae Cheong-yeon was simply his daughter's somewhat unusual friend.
***
Shhhk!
The sharp spear tip drew circles fluidly like a snake and thrust in.
It was a sight as if a snake with several heads had grown and was attacking.
I swiftly shook my sword, striking the spear tip left and right to deflect it.
Ti-ti-ti-ting!
Thereupon, the spear-wielder let out a martial shout and powerfully struck down with the spear tip that had bounced upward.
"Got you!"
Bwaaaaang!
The spear tip was powerfully driving down like an axe in an instant.
A powerful momentum that seemed as if it would split one in two from the head.
But my gaze was still coldly observing it.
Then, at the precise moment, I lightly pushed it aside with my sword and moved one step to the side.
Thereupon, the spear strike was softly diverted as if a rapid current had changed direction—the exquisite application of the Bi Sect's Cheonpung Step.
Kwaang!
The spear tip struck the ground with powerful force.
At the same time, my body was approaching the opponent like the wind.
It was a complete opening revealed after a large attack.
The greatly alarmed opponent spun like a top with both his body and spear simultaneously. It was a move to block my approach.
Wiiiing!
But having already entered within the sword's range, I lightly lifted my body, deflected even that, and thrust my sword at him like a hawk diving from the air.
The third form of the Seonwoo Thirteen Swords.
Divine Eagle Descending River.
Shhhk!
His greatly widened, startled eyes were visible.
It seemed like this would be the end.
"Kugh!"
But the thrust I had thought would be the finishing blow was ultimately blocked.
When he urgently rotated his spear, his sword-like spear blocked my sword with a motion as if a snake were writhing.
Wiiiiiiing!
Ti-ti-ting!
As expected of the Four Shadow Spear Technique, the ultimate technique of the Mount Qingcheng Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects.
Of course, since it was a hastily deployed technique, I had not yet lost the initiative.
If I continued pressing the offensive like this, I could sufficiently defeat him.
But I did not do so.
I frowned once, then stepped back again and gave him time to regain his stance.
Thereupon, Dok Su-gwang, the spear master from the Mount Qingcheng Sect and squad leader of the Fifth Squad who had been sparring with me, glared at me with an enraged expression and asked.
"What is that expression? Did you, by any chance, just frown because you couldn't defeat me with that one sword strike?"
At his words, I hurriedly relaxed my expression and made an excuse.
"Ah, it's not that—I was just disappointed in myself for not succeeding with the attack even though I thought I had perfectly created an opening. Please resolve the misunderstanding, Squad Leader Dok."
But he still spoke with an enraged expression.
"Frowning because you couldn't successfully attack me—isn't that exactly what it means?! There is no end to your arrogance just because you've earned a bit of a nickname!"
Then, as if he was no longer in the mood to spar, he glared at me and turned away abruptly.
I was momentarily flustered, then soon smiled bitterly and offered a cupped fist salute toward his back.
"A good spar, thank you. Squad Leader Dok."
"Hmph!"
These days, during our squad's evening sparring time, numerous people from other squads would visit and request to spar together.
Since being able to spar with various people was naturally a good thing, we would also gladly accept the sparring requests.
Then today, Dok Su-gwang, the squad leader of the Fifth Squad and spear master of the Mount Qingcheng Sect, had come requesting to spar with me, so I had joined him, but it ultimately ended like this.
"This really is something."
As I stared at his retreating back with an uneasy expression, Na So-jeo came up to me and offered comfort.
"Don't worry about it too much. It was unavoidable. He probably would've picked a fight anyway, even if you hadn't looked like that. Maybe he said that and walked away because he realized he couldn't win."
Bi Sa-yeong also approached and spoke.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Dok Squad Leader is a disciple of the Cheongseong Sect, but he's completely different from Han Gyo-seong of the First Squad and Won Cheong-won of the Sixth Squad—he's very authoritarian and rigid."
"Alright, thanks."
Come to think of it, the Cheongseong Sect was originally famous for being the most eccentric among the Nine Great Sects.
It was just that among the people in our generation, there were more who weren't like that.
Of the three Cheongseong disciples in the Thirteen Squads, Han Gyo-seong, the First Squad Leader, had little interest in anything besides the sword, and Won Cheong-won, the Sixth Squad Leader, had such a good personality that he was friendly with everyone.
That was why they never really got into conflicts with others.
Only Dok Su-gwang, the Fifth Squad Leader, was a bit sensitive and authoritarian, but even he wasn't that bad by their standards.
Because among the disciples of the Nine Great Sects, there were apparently quite a few who were unbearably arrogant and eccentric.
Na So-jeo also nodded and continued speaking.
"That's right. And he's also famous for not liking Seolpung Squad Leader very much. He probably showed up out of the blue and challenged Seonu Gongja to a spar to try to make our squad look bad. He likely has no confidence to beat Seolpung Squad Leader, but thought that Seonu Gongja, who's recently become famous, would be easy prey. Well, it turned out he was mistaken."
Na So-jeo grinned as she said that and looked at me with a fresh perspective.
"Anyway, you weren't even fighting at full strength earlier, were you? You completely overwhelmed Dok Su-gwang, a Cheongseong disciple and the Fifth Squad Leader, while only half-heartedly engaging him. Your rate of improvement is truly astonishing, Seonu Gongja."
I shook my head, laughing awkwardly at her praise.
"I wasn't exactly half-heartedly engaging him. I just had a few things I wanted to test."
I hadn't told the squad members yet, but my physical abilities and reaction speed had vastly increased after recently stepping into the Peak Realm.
And the internal energy I could now accumulate up to seventy years upon reaching the Peak Realm had been completely filled up with spirit medicines.
So the reason I had fought Dok Su-gwang, who was still at the first-rate upper level, as I did was indeed because I had only exerted the power of the first-rate upper level.
Of course, even though I hadn't announced my attainment of the Peak Realm, the squad leader and Miss Cheongyeon had already noticed my level.
Both had smiled meaningfully and sent me telepathic messages.
- Congratulations, Jin.
- Congratulations, Seonu Gongja.
And it was then that I realized Miss Cheongyeon had already ascended to the Peak Realm.
In hindsight, if I'd seen her handling me with such composure when I was at a level where I had no room to rise further from first-rate, I should have noticed it back then....
It was rather late on my part.
In any case, the reason I sealed my abilities and sparred with Dok Su-gwang was to compare the martial superiority of the Cheongseong Sect's Four Shadow Spear Technique against the Seon-woo Thirteen Swords as purely martial arts.
The superiority as martial arts, not based on the user's level.
And throughout the match, I was able to clearly achieve that objective.
'The Seon-woo Thirteen Swords suffered a complete defeat.'
I had roughly expected it, but realizing so clearly that I was at a disadvantage left me feeling dejected.
The fact that I couldn't finish it earlier when his weakness was fully exposed told me everything.
Throughout the match, even when opportunities arose, I couldn't seize them, and I spent the entire time having to compensate for the inferior stances through improvisation.
It was a moment where I once again felt the limits of the Seon-woo Thirteen Swords that I had first realized while fighting Ma Yu-gyeom.
The Seon-woo Thirteen Swords, counted among the best sword techniques in Guizhou, was actually a martial art that fell short in many aspects compared to the ultimate techniques of the Nine Great Sects.
Of course, it might be different if I completed the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Forms. But stances that were so taxing to use even after reaching the Peak Realm couldn't be used in regular combat—only as a hidden trump card.
It troubled me.
Suddenly, the past fight with Ma Yu-gyeom came back to me.
A one-sided match, unbelievable given that we were both supposedly at a similar entry level of the Peak Realm.
My survival back then was nothing short of heaven-sent luck.
And if I remained in this state, meeting Ma Yu-gyeom again would end the same way.
'No, next time I'd definitely die. Even if I rise to an equal level, I'd be overwhelmed by the sheer quality of his martial arts.'
A desperate thought arose: this couldn't go on.
I needed a supreme first-rate martial art.
A martial art that wouldn't be inferior even to the Four Sun Sword Technique, the greatest ultimate technique of the Jeomchang Sect.
But such a thing was not going to simply appear out of nowhere.
***
Dang Yeoeun, who had been leading the squad members back to the lodging, had stopped walking and was observing Seonwoo Jin's match.
Watching Dok Su-gwang lose his temper at him, watching him exchange smiles and conversation with Na Seo-yu, and watching him sink alone into contemplation.
It was strange.
He wasn't Myeong Sa-hyeon, and he didn't seem to love her like Myeong Sa-hyeon did, yet looking at him made her heart pound the same way it did when she looked at Myeong Sa-hyeon.
And once again, she wanted to lean on someone.
To cast off the mask of coldness she always wore in front of others.
From behind her, she could hear the voices of the other squad members.
"That Seonwoo Jin is really something. He's surpassed even Squad Leader Dok Su-gwang now. How on earth can he improve so quickly?"
"Well, it's because he trained like his life depended on it. You know the training regimen of the Seventh Squad is famous even in our generation, right? And it's not just him—look at Bi Sa-yeong's improvement too. It seems he's become a full-fledged first-rate mid-level warrior now?"
"It's probably beyond that? That's just based on level alone, but think about that guy's movement technique. You have to consider him capable of matching even first-rate upper level opponents. Is that all? Bae Jong-gwan and Cheon Ju-eun Sojeo seem to be using sword qi too. And Na Seo-yu Sojeo already looks like she's become a first-rate upper level warrior."
"What? Really? What the hell, then does that mean every member of the Seventh Squad has reached first-rate or above?"
"Above it, even. Excluding Seolpung Squad Leader, it means they have four squad-leader-level experts: Miss Cheongyeon, Seonwoo Jin, Na Seo-yu Sojeo, and Bi Sa-yeong. They're literally the strongest squad in the Thirteen Squads."
"Huh, truly impressive. How did they manage that? Is it thanks to Seolpung Squad Leader?"
"Well, I asked Bae Jong-gwan before, and he mentioned Seonwoo Jin's name. Said that when he says something, all the squad members unknowingly immerse themselves in training?"
"What does that even mean?"
"I think he meant he motivates them. Actually, the Seventh Squad didn't have such a high reputation before he came, did they?"
"Well, you're right about that. Seonwoo Jin, that man is truly remarkable in many ways."
Dang Yeoeun, who had smiled faintly at her squad members' voices praising Seonwoo Jin, spoke to them again in a cold tone.
"How long are you going to just envy them? Shouldn't we push ourselves harder too? I think it would be good for us to set aside time to train together like the Seventh Squad. Let me know anytime you need help. I'll do my best to assist you as well."
At Dang Yeoeun's words, the Third Squad members' eyes widened, and then they grinned from ear to ear and answered in unison.
"Yes! Squad Leader!"
"We'll give it our all!"
For the Third Squad, where virtually every member was practically a follower of Dang Yeoeun, the prospect of training together with her was the ultimate motivation.
Dang Yeoeun also smiled lightly at their spirited response and spoke again.
"Then let's share opinions as we walk. What we should train and in what manner. And how we can make it more effective training."
And there was someone observing Dang Yeoeun with close attention as she walked off exchanging ideas with her squad members.
It was Hae Cheong-yeon.
Hae Cheong-yeon felt oddly bothered by Dang Yeoeun.
It hadn't been like this until recently.
No matter how much people clamored that Seonwoo Jin was in love with Dang Yeoeun, she hadn't given it the slightest thought, but now something seemed to have changed.
To be precise, it was since the day Seonwoo Jin had saved Dang Yeoeun from Ma Yu-gyeom.
After that, the glances Seonwoo Jin stole at Dang Yeoeun had begun to carry some indefinable weight and meaning.
Of course, it still didn't seem like the feelings of love he had when he looked at Na Seo-yu.
But the problem lay in the fact that Dang Yeoeun was also now looking at Seonwoo Jin with a similar look.
Just a moment ago, only Hae Cheong-yeon could recognize that the cold expression in Dang Yeoeun's eyes as she watched Seonwoo Jin's spar was not actually cold at all.
It made her feel strange.
She hadn't felt this way when she'd noticed he was in love with Na Seo-yu....
She had thought that just watching over him was enough, but the thought crept in that maybe it wasn't.
The thought that perhaps she had only been so composed about Na Seo-yu because she'd assumed it would never work out between them anyway.
It troubled her.