Chapter 58: The Five Venomous Siblings-4
Chapter 58: The Five Venomous Siblings-4
Cheon Ju-eun knew full well that she was the weakest member of the Seventh Squad.
She also knew that every other squad member was a person so exceptional they were beyond comparison to her.
She wasn't just talking about Seol Pung, Hae Cheong-yeon, or Na Seo-yu, who had already been first-rate warriors or higher when she first met them.
There was Seonwoo Jin-gongja, who had been a second-rate martial artist just like her when she first came to the front line, but who had developed so terrifyingly—as if his talent were a different species from hers altogether—that he had finally become a peak-level master.
And Bi Sa-yeong-gongja, who, though not quite to the extent of Seonwoo Jin, had also grown at tremendous speed to become a fine first-rate warrior, and even forced Seolpung Squad Leader to yield a step when it came to movement techniques alone.
Even Bae Jong-gwan-gongja, who could be considered her equal if judging purely by martial realm, but who, unlike her own inability to handle even a single liver demon, could toy with dozens of liver demons at once as if they were playthings.
Every single one of them was someone she couldn't hope to catch up to.
She alone was mediocre, while all those around her were geniuses.
'No, mediocre? Calling myself a dullard would be too generous.'
That was why she had struggled so much.
Because in the Seventh Squad, where everyone else was a comrade, she alone was the one needing protection.
She had thought many times that she was a useless existence, that everyone would be far more comfortable if only she weren't there.
But despite that, she never stopped striving.
She had always gritted her teeth and struggled desperately, trying to move forward even just a tiny bit at a time.
She might not be able to put in several times more effort than Seolpung Squad Leader or Seonwoo Jin-gongja, but she was determined not to become someone who put in less effort than them, at least.
And all the squad members had cheered her on.
The day she shed tears for the first time, so frustrated at her useless self, people had secretly come to visit her one after another, as if they'd all arranged it beforehand.
The first to come was Seolpung Squad Leader.
Unable even to properly meet her eyes, he had said this to her:
'Cheon So-jeo, in my view, your family heirloom art, the Heavenly Silver Saber Technique, seems rather unsuited for a woman. If you don't mind, would it be alright if I refined it somewhat for you?'
That Seolpung Squad Leader, the strongest peak-level master of the Thirteen Squads, would offer to refine her saber technique—it could not have been a more overwhelming proposal.
Because her father, Cheon Ga-sang, had died early in the Emperor's Tomb Blood Incident, she had never properly learned her family's martial arts, and moreover, as a woman of small stature with short limbs, she struggled greatly when executing them.
It was, without exaggeration, like sweet rain after a long drought.
The second to come was Seonwoo Jin.
'Ah, Cheon So-jeo. This is an internal energy cultivation method I happened to pick up on the road. It's a method meant for women anyway, so I can't learn it. What I mean is, if it's alright with you, would you consider trying to learn it? It's called the Supreme Yin Heart Method.'
Again, because of her father's early death, it was precisely something she desperately needed, having never properly learned a proper internal energy method.
The third to come was Bi Sa-yeong.
'Hm, hm. Cheon So-jeo may not know this, but our Bi Sect's Cheonpung Movement Technique is truly the foremost under heaven. It's somewhat embarrassing to say with my own mouth, but even the Squad Leader and that bastard Jin acknowledged it as truly the greatest movement technique. So what I'm saying is, though originally it absolutely must never be transmitted to an outsider, since I'm practically the sect leader of the Bi Sect now, if Cheon So-jeo absolutely wishes to learn it, I think I could specially teach it to you, something like that. Hm-hm. Do you, do you understand what I mean?'
Besides them, all the squad members had always spared no advice, always embracing and encouraging her as if doting on a real youngest sister.
That was why Cheon Ju-eun could say with confidence.
That she herself was the joint heir of all the Seventh Squad members.
And today was the day she would show the first fruits of that training before the very comrades who had raised her.
So she absolutely could not show them a disappointing performance.
Cheon Ju-eun's eyes, focused more sharply than ever before, were fixed keenly on her opponent.
On the other hand, the third of the Three Daughters of Ji Sword, Ji Sang-im, inwardly sneered as she watched Cheon Ju-eun, who had coiled herself tightly, poised in a quick-draw stance.
From that stance, was there anything she could do other than a quick-draw with all her power?
'Showing exactly what she's going to do like that. How foolish.'
Clearly, she was a novice lacking in experience.
A saber technique, compared to a sword technique, was characterized by putting immense power into each individual strike.
Particularly, the quick-draw technique was a one-hit-kill method that required an even greater concentration of power.
However, that also meant that if she missed even once, a large opening would be revealed.
Ji Sang-im, knowing this fact well, decided to use feints to confuse her opponent.
Coincidentally, her signature ultimate technique, the Ji Sword Estate's Chaotic Sword Technique, was an illusion sword technique renowned even within Sichuan Province, which would be more than enough to rattle such a novice.
Ji Sang-im immediately unfolded her sword feints.
"Haap!"
Shhhk!
Her sword burst into three flashes of sword light, flickering around Cheon Ju-eun.
All three, not just two out of the three, were illusory feints. If Cheon Ju-eun was baited and drew her saber, she planned to target the opening immediately.
But contrary to Ji Sang-im's expectation, Cheon Ju-eun did not draw her blade.
She simply moved nimbly side to side, still in that coiled posture, and evaded the sword feints.
'Huh?'
Ji Sang-im was flustered.
Evading a sword by moving her body?
That was easier said than done—it wasn't something just anyone could do.
No matter how skilled one was in movement techniques, one could not move their body as fast as the speed of a sword.
Moreover, even if one could move like that, it was a feat impossible to pull off without eyes capable of precisely piercing through the opponent's sword feints.
And yet this underdeveloped little runt, without even stepping backward, was evading her sword feints by swaying left and right.
Ji Sang-im's pride was shattered.
"How dare you!"
Forgetting even her plan to lightly prod and lure out an opening, Ji Sang-im ground her teeth and began to unleash her sword feints in earnest.
"Haaaap!"
Pabababak!
Ji Sang-im's sword now flashed in five streaks of sword light, sweeping around Cheon Ju-eun.
At that dazzling, brilliant display of sword feints, the warriors on both sides spectating the duel burst out in admiration.
"Ooooh!"
"Such an illusion sword!"
"As expected of the Ji Sword Estate's Chaotic Sword Technique!"
But unlike those awe-struck warriors, Cheon Ju-eun's eyes held no emotion at all.
She simply stared coldly, piercing through the merely flickering light of the sword.
'What on earth is she doing?'
That was Cheon Ju-eun's honest thought at that moment.
Why was she just swinging her sword wildly in the air instead of launching a proper attack?
Was she seriously trying to display that as an illusion sword?
At first, she had thought it was just a maneuver to probe her.
But now, no matter how she looked at it, it didn't seem to be the case.
Didn't it look like she was honestly swinging with all her might?
Watching the duel as he moved stealthily, Bi Sa-yeong suddenly sent a telepathic transmission to Seonwoo Jin.
- Since she's always sparred against your Seonwoo Thirteen Swords, there's no way an illusion sword like that could catch her eye. Seems like the outcome is already decided?
Seonwoo Jin also smiled faintly as he watched Cheon Ju-eun's duel.
There seemed to be no need for worry after all.
The warriors of Jeonghyeopbang were still shouting in excitement.
"Waaaaah! Ji So-jeo!"
"What a splendid illusion sword!"
"Now finish it off... Keuk?!"
But the Jeonghyeopbang warriors cheering for Ji Sang-im were forced to freeze up like ice in an instant.
It was because Cheon Ju-eun, who had been evading the sword by moving her body nimbly between the flickering sword lights, finally moved aggressively.
Pabat!
Cheon Ju-eun's small body shot in an instant between the five streaks of sword light.
It was a charge so fast and sudden that Ji Sang-im couldn't react even while watching it with her own eyes.
Then, brushing past Ji Sang-im's body like the wind, Cheon Ju-eun's saber became a cold flash of white light as its pale blade was revealed for the first time.
Shaaak!
But the ordinary warriors on both sides couldn't even properly witness the spectacle of that quick-draw.
All they could see was Cheon Ju-eun, who had slipped past Ji Sang-im and stood a full length behind her, slowly sheathing her saber once more.
Chalkak!
The moment Cheon Ju-eun's blade disappeared completely into the scabbard with a click, blood spurted from the abdomen of Ji Sang-im, who had been standing there blankly.
Puhwak!
"Aaaagh!"
As Ji Sang-im screamed and collapsed, the Mountain Sword Sect warriors who had been watching blankly burst into a roar of cheers in an instant.
"Waaaaaah!"
"She really won!"
"Defeated with a single stroke! That's incredible!"
"Cheon Ju-eun So-jeo! You're the best!"
Cheon Ju-eun smiled again, bade a fist-and-palm salute to both sides, and infused her voice with internal energy to shout toward Jeonghyeopbang.
- I didn't cut deeply enough to kill! Please take her quickly and get her treated!
Then, martial artists ran out hurriedly and carried Ji Sang-im away. Right behind them, the second of the Three Daughters of Ji Sword, Ji Sang-yeon, rushed out, her eyes fierce with rage, and shouted at Cheon Ju-eun.
"You dare do this to my little sister! I will avenge her!"
But she couldn't reach Cheon Ju-eun.
Because her elder sister, the eldest Ji Sang-hwa, blocked her path.
"Eonni?! Why...?"
Cutting off Ji Sang-yeon's words, Ji Sang-hwa spoke.
"This isn't your fight. Let me handle it."
The Three Swordswomen of Ji were, by nature, sisters with a considerable age gap between them.
The youngest, Ji Sang-im, was in her late twenties, but the second, Ji Sang-yeon, was in her early thirties, and the eldest, Ji Sang-hwa, was in her late thirties.
So for Ji Sang-hwa, who was in her late thirties, to face off against Cheon Ju-eun, who still appeared to be in her early twenties, was nothing short of a blow to her pride.
Ji Sang-yeon frowned and cried out.
"Eonni! How can you go against an opponent like...!"
But Ji Sang-hwa cut her off once more, scolding her firmly.
"I am the one who must step forward! How dare you volunteer when you cannot even gauge an opponent's skill?!"
Yet even after reprimanding her younger sister, Ji Sang-hwa, who had stepped before Cheon Ju-eun, ultimately could not face her in a duel.
This was because another person had stepped forward to block the way in front of Cheon Ju-eun.
She cupped her fist in a martial salute and introduced herself.
"I am Na Seo-yu, the third of the Doksu Five Siblings."
It was Na Seo-yu, who had come forward in Cheon Ju-eun's stead.
Seeing her step out, Seonwoo Jin and Bi Sa-yeong looked at each other and chuckled.
Unlike with Cheon Ju-eun, no sense of unease arose whatsoever.
The two briefly exchanged martial salutes and soon began their duel.
Ji Sang-hwa's sword split into over a dozen blades of light, brilliantly embroidering the empty air, while Na Seo-yu's sword whirled between them as softly as flowing water, as elegantly as if performing a sword dance.
It was a duel of the most exquisite beauty.
At this, the warriors who had been watching, witnessing a high-level duel the likes of which they rarely saw, had no choice but to be swept up in fervor.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
The sword of Ji Sang-hwa, the eldest of the Three Swordswomen of Ji, was certainly different from that of the youngest, Ji Sang-im.
She was a fully accomplished upper first-rate warrior, and her illusion sword was so sharp that one could hardly distinguish between the real thrusts and the feints.
But unfortunately for her, Na Seo-yu was a warrior at the pinnacle of the first-rate level.
Furthermore, she was a veteran who had dueled dozens of times against Seonwoo Jin and had cultivated a resistance to illusion swordsmanship.
Watching Ji Sang-hwa's illusion sword, Na Seo-yu thought to herself.
'With Seonwoo Gongja's illusion sword, it wasn't that you couldn't tell the feints from the real thrusts—it was that everything you saw was a real thrust.'
Faced with Na Seo-yu's swordplay, as soft as flowing water—swordplay that pushed the concept of using gentleness to overcome strength to its very limit, akin to the Mudang Sect's Taiji Sword—Ji Sang-hwa eventually dropped her sword and was forced to let out a sigh.
She stared blankly at Na Seo-yu's sword aimed at her own neck.
"Uwaaaaaah! She won again!"
"Lady Seo is the best!"
"She's like a fairy maiden!"
With the Mountain Sword Sect seizing two consecutive victories, Hwang Jang-gon of Jeonghyeopbang wore a face that looked like he was chewing on dung, while Mountain Sword Sect Leader Heo Gyeong now burst into great laughter.
"Keuhahahahaha! Excellent! How excellent!"
Heo Gyeong's expectation that fights between women would hold little significance had been wrong.
Spurred by the consecutive victories of these beautiful young ladies, the warriors of the Mountain Sword Sect were now cheering ceaselessly, their morale so sky-high it was as if it had never been sunk in the first place.
In contrast, the warriors of Jeonghyeopbang merely watched the combatants in silence, their faces twisted in bitterness.
But a moment later, the cheering warriors of the Mountain Sword Sect froze where they stood.
The same was true for the warriors of Jeonghyeopbang.
Even their twisted faces slowly relaxed as they stared in one direction, mouths agape in a daze.
All of this happened because she was walking out.
The woman who seemed to have just descended from the heavens themselves, Hae Cheong-yeon, had finally revealed herself.
At this, Bi Sa-yeong, who had been searching for someone who appeared to be a peak-level master after arriving at the rear of Jeonghyeopbang, let out a scoff and sent a telepathic transmission.
[Tsk, men are truly hopeless creatures. Look at them all, losing their minds just because they saw a beauty. Tsk, tsk.]
Hearing that, Seonwoo Jin chuckled to himself as well.
He decided not to bother pointing out that Bi Sa-yeong had acted exactly the same.
He simply glanced at Hae Cheong-yeon's beautiful form and then urged Bi Sa-yeong.
[Just find them quickly. We need to finish this while Cheongyeon has their attention.]
[Tch, fine. Huh? Could it be those guys?]
While Seonwoo Jin and the others searched for the peak-level masters at the rear of Jeonghyeopbang, Hae Cheong-yeon deliberately walked slowly over to where Na Seo-yu and Cheon Ju-eun stood, then cupped her fist toward the Jeonghyeopbang side and introduced herself.
[I am Yeon Hae, the fourth of the Doksu Five Siblings.]
Only upon hearing her voice were many able to gather their senses.
It felt as if they had been dreaming.
It even seemed as if time itself had stopped while she slowly walked forth.
She continued speaking.
[If there is another female martial artist who steps forward, I would like to be her opponent this time. Is there no one else who will come forth?]
But even after a short while had passed, no one stepped forward before her.
Of course, there were other female martial artists in Jeonghyeopbang besides the Three Swordswomen of Ji.
But none of them wanted to go out and face Hae Cheong-yeon in a duel.
It was partly because they had already confirmed firsthand how formidable the skills of the women belonging to the Doksu Five Siblings were, but more than anything, it felt as if the moment they stepped forward and stood beside Hae Cheong-yeon, they would already be branded as the loser.
'I absolutely do not want to stand next to that woman!'
That was the common thought among the female martial artists of Jeonghyeopbang at this very moment.
The wily veteran Hwang Jang-gon was quicker than anyone to discern this atmosphere.
And he also knew that further duels between women would only bring harm to his side and confer no benefit whatsoever.
Hwang Jang-gon stepped forward, cupped his fist to Hae Cheong-yeon, and said.
[Regrettably, it seems we have no more female martial artists in our Jeonghyeopbang to step forward for a duel. My apologies to Lady Yeon, but I think it best we now move on to duels between the male martial artists!]
Hearing this, Heo Gyeong burst into exhilarating laughter and shouted.
[Hahahaha! If you have no more female martial artists to send out, why not just send out a male martial artist who looks like a woman, Hwang Jang-gon?! Uahahahaha!]
Throwing Hwang Jang-gon's own earlier words right back at him, Heo Gyeong felt an exquisite catharsis wash over him, as if pent-up indigestion had been cleansed away all at once.
It was a supreme, refreshing sense of release.
Conversely, Hwang Jang-gon gritted his teeth and suppressed his fury.
It wasn't that he hadn't actually considered sending out a male martial artist. But gauging the mood of the warriors around him, Hwang Jang-gon realized that no young martial artist would be able to fight seriously against Hae Cheong-yeon.
Weren't all the warriors around him already gazing at this Lady Yeon Hae with eyes that bordered on worship?
Hwang Jang-gon lamented.
'Heo, for such a situation to arise merely because of a woman's beauty... how utterly preposterous.'
Yet even he could not help but admire Hae Cheong-yeon's astonishing beauty once more—the very beauty that had created this situation.
Left with no choice, Hwang Jang-gon raised his voice and apologized to Heo Gyeong.
[If my earlier jest offended you, then I apologize, Sect Leader Heo! But how could we force great men into a duel with mere womenfolk! So let us now get to the main point and arrange a proper duel between true warriors!]
Even as he apologized, Hwang Jang-gon was artfully emphasizing that the duels between the women had held no real significance.
Heo Gyeong noticed what he was trying to do, but chose not to dwell on it any further.
He felt a sense of satisfaction simply because Hwang Jang-gon had apologized, and he too considered the duel between the male warriors to be the main event.
"Then we shall take our leave now."
When Hae Cheong-yeon said this, Na Seo-yu and Cheon Ju-eun began to slowly walk back with her toward the Mountain Sword Sect's side.
It was an act meant to buy time for their comrades who had infiltrated the Jeonghyeopbang's ranks, but at the slow retreat of these women—or more precisely, at the retreat of Hae Cheong-yeon—the warriors of both the Mountain Sword Sect and Jeonghyeopbang sighed in unison, their expressions filled with regret as they focused on her.
"Aah...."
"Lady Yeon...."
"You must not leave, miss...."
But no one realized.
While Hae Cheong-yeon bought them time and everyone's attention was focused on her, Seonwoo Jin and the others had finally located the peak-level masters whose identities had remained unknown.
Sak Mu-heun sent a telepathic transmission to Seonwoo Jin.
[Ready?]
[Yes, just give the signal.]
[Then we'll start on one, two, three. One!]
The two who appeared to be peak-level masters were watching the situation from the very rear of Jeonghyeopbang's formation, their postures arrogant.
It could not yet be confirmed whether they were demon heads of the Blood Cult or not.
For the moment, no demonic energy could be sensed outwardly, but among the martial arts of the Blood Cult, there were countless techniques that could conceal demonic energy.
[Two!]
However, one thing seemed certain: they were no chivalrous heroes of the orthodox faction.
Because even before Hae Cheong-yeon had stepped out, they had been fiddling with their lower parts while watching the dueling women.
And after Hae Cheong-yeon's appearance? They hadn't even bothered to hide their covetous gazes, drooling openly.
So even if they weren't Blood Cultists, there was no need to deliberate further.
[Three!]
From within the shadows of the two peak-level masters, the forms of Seonwoo Jin and Sak Mu-heun slowly rose up.
Puuuk!
"Hup!"
"Guk!"
Their entire minds focused entirely on Hae Cheong-yeon, the two men could not grasp, even at their final moment, what had pierced the back of their necks.
No one could have noticed that while Hae Cheong-yeon was retreating into the Mountain Sword Sect's side, two peak-level masters had made their permanent exit from this world.