Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Fan and the Tiger
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Seol Ha-ryeong formed a sword seal with her hand and pointed it at Lee Baek. The shattered ice fragments in the air began to clump together. The coalesced ice soon took the form of swords, resembling beautiful ice crystals that reflected a brilliant, five-colored light.
About a hundred ice swords, shining like beautiful crystals, followed Seol Ha-ryeong's sword seal and aimed at Lee Baek.
“Open!”
At Seol Ha-ryeong's first cry, the tips of the ice swords sharpened, their edges honing.
“Strike!”
With her second cry, they rained down upon Lee Baek.
Lee Baek immediately countered with the Tiger's Roar, but it only shattered about half of them, merely slowing the rest.
In the end, right after unleashing the Tiger's Roar, Lee Baek focused his energy into his legs and leaped away, dodging the ice swords, but he still took several hits to his legs, waist, and shoulders.
“My, that must be quite chilling. You're still jumping around so well, aren't you?”
Seizing the opportunity, Seol Ha-ryeong taunted the injured Lee Baek.
“...If you think this is enough to defeat me, you are sorely mistaken.”
But as he retorted, Lee Baek calmly summoned his protective energy to push out the cold qi seeping into his wounds.
“Huhu, for someone who only runs, you talk a big game.”
“...I'll show you.”
As if Seol Ha-ryeong's taunt had worked, Lee Baek focused his energy into his legs and hands.
“Fierce Tiger Claw.”
He then shrouded his fingernails in powerful energy, turning them into sharp claws, and destroyed all the ice swords that followed.
In an instant, he used the shattered ice fragments as footholds to leap through the air.
The spectators couldn't even see Lee Baek's form; they only saw the shattered debris left behind after he leaped off the ice.
In a flash, Lee Baek closed the distance to Seol Ha-ryeong.
“Fierce Tiger Pierces the Mountain!”
Lee Baek's fists converged on a single point, seeming to distort the space around them. It was the same technique he had used on Un-pyo.
*CRACK!*
The sound of the air tearing echoed across Heaven and Earth Lake, and a shockwave spread throughout the arena. But unlike Lee Baek's swift leap, Seol Ha-ryeong moved gracefully, as if gliding on ice, and dodged his 'Fierce Tiger Pierces the Mountain' by a hair's breadth.
Literally by a hair's breadth. While still in extremely close proximity, Seol Ha-ryeong spun around and swung an ice fan at Lee Baek's back.
It was a fan technique that unleashed a powerful, chilling wind.
However, the protective energy emanating from Lee Baek's back withstood the wind, and the tiger, turning in an instant, lashed out with its sharp claws.
*KWAAANG!*
A thick cloud of dust rose, and for a moment, the two vanished from the spectators' sight.
When that moment passed and the dust settled, the scene revealed was Lee Baek's sharp hand-blade piercing through Seol Ha-ryeong, followed by a violent shockwave.
*'H-Has Seol Ha-ryeong been defeated?!'*
A sight that made everyone in the audience hold their breath.
*'This is on a different level from the matches so far.'*
The audience was predicting Lee Baek's victory, but his expression was not bright.
“Tch.”
*Tink, shatter!*
The image of Seol Ha-ryeong pierced by the hand-blade shattered, and she reappeared at the edge of the arena. Brushing the ice from his hand, Lee Baek looked at the distant Seol Ha-ryeong and spoke.
“Did you use ice to maintain the form of an afterimage left by your illusionary movement technique?”
“You know your stuff.”
Seol Ha-ryeong was still smiling.
“Shut up!”
“You're the one who asked...”
Lee Baek's internal energy exploded, and a golden aura surged forth. Arms of a tiger, manifested from his energy, sprouted from his shoulders and then merged with his own.
With patterns reminiscent of a tiger appearing on his face, he truly looked like a golden tiger in human form. A ferocious and fierce aura enveloped the entire arena.
The crowd watched in astonishment, realizing Lee Baek had not yet been fighting at full strength. Baek Mu-heun, too, was impressed by his skill.
But Seol Ha-ryeong did not lose her composure.
“Hoho, a golden tiger? I prefer white tigers, myself.”
“I told you to shut up.”
“Were you raised in a barn...? Cursing since the beginning... I'll be the one to shut you up. Yin Demon's Funeral Chime.”
*CRACKLE!*
As if to suppress Lee Baek's surging energy, a frigid blue chill rose across the entire arena, creating ice. Lee Baek, having no intention of waiting for the ice to form, immediately launched an attack.
“Rampaging Tiger Claws.”
Dozens of slashes from a giant golden tiger tearing through the arena rushed toward Seol Ha-ryeong, but a bone-chilling cold enveloped them as if to capture him.
The sounds of the beast clashing with the frost—freezing and exploding—reverberated throughout the arena. A massive chunk of ice descended upon the tiger, but its claws shattered it to pieces.
Mu-heun watched their duel with admiration.
“Incredible.”
Pa-sun clenched his fists as he watched Seol Ha-ryeong fight.
“She was holding back a lot during our match.”
Un-pyo, too, looked at Lee Baek and said.
“Even watching him again, I don't think I could win.”
Mu-heun smiled at the two of them.
“Don't be disheartened. The gap will shrink with time.”
*'Don't forget this mindset you have now. Then, time will be on your side.'*
Mu-heun told Pa-sun and Un-pyo to watch the match closely.
“Watch carefully. Lee Baek's attacks, which are tearing up the stage, are certainly fierce and destructive. He even strikes down all of Seol Ha-ryeong's ice swords and attacks without pause.”
“I've never seen such a strong tiger.”
“But he can't reach Seol Ha-ryeong. Why do you think that is?”
The golden claws aimed at Seol Ha-ryeong repeatedly failed to completely break through the frozen gates, and the arena was soon covered in the shattered debris of ice.
“Isn't it because Seol Ha-ryeong is dodging so quickly?”
“...That's why you are still at that level.”
“...?”
“Then, what is the reason?”
“Look at the state of the arena.”
Ice was rapidly accumulating on the stage. The ice shattered by the violent attacks fell like snow.
“The arena is freezing over?”
“Exactly. Lee Baek's movements are also slowing down due to Seol Ha-ryeong's yin energy. The rapidly accumulating yin energy empowers Seol Ha-ryeong and drains Lee Baek.”
“She's utilizing the space.”
“Precisely. Moreover, the lake right next to them is providing her with even more power. Even with the same martial art, the outcome can vary greatly depending on the user and the location.”
“Ah...!”
“Thank you for your teachings!”
While Un-pyo and Pa-sun gained a lesson from Mu-heun, Lee Baek, fighting Seol Ha-ryeong, was tasting the bitter cold.
“My lord, in that kind of situation, what should one do?”
“You either counter it with extreme yang energy powerful enough to overwhelm the extreme yin energy, or if not that...”
“...?”
“You must end it quickly.”
It seemed Lee Baek had also made his decision.
Lee Baek stopped his fierce pursuit of Seol Ha-ryeong and caught his breath.
*'I can't let her spread any more yin energy.'*
He drew upon all his remaining energy.
*'If this continues, I will surely lose. I have to pour everything into one attack.'*
“Kuaaaak!”
The fierce tiger's roar blasted the air, clearing away some of the yin energy in the arena.
“Hoho, it seems you've finally realized?”
Seol Ha-ryeong still did not lose her composure.
“Yes. I will kill you.”
“Huhu, in that state?”
Lee Baek also knew. If he couldn't defeat Seol Ha-ryeong with this one move, he would lose.
Therefore,
he bet everything.
“Eighteen Claws of the Iron Tiger!”
The fierce tiger's claws, sharp enough to tear through steel, stretched out in eighteen directions.
“Huhu, surely you didn't think I'd be hit by an attack like this?”
Seol Ha-ryeong glided on the ice, dodging all the incoming claws.
“Tiger Fang Soul-Stealing Claw.”
Just as Seol Ha-ryeong dodged the Eighteen Claws, Lee Baek instantly closed the distance and slammed his hand on the ground.
*CRACK!*
The floor shattered, sending ice flying, and Seol Ha-ryeong's gliding footwork became useless.
At that moment, the fierce tiger's energy materialized into claws and seized Seol Ha-ryeong. For the first time, the tiger's energy had made direct contact with her.
“Fierce Tiger Asura Killing Claw.”
Lee Baek sharpened his right hand, rotated his internal energy like a storm, and thrust it at Seol Ha-ryeong. The ferocious power contained in his right hand tore through the air as it flew, an unstoppable force.
Just then.
“A Thousand Miles of Flowing Snow.”
*Shwaaaaaa!*
A palm technique from Seol Ha-ryeong's hand.
The ice she had been spreading earlier turned to powder and shot out from her palm. A palm technique like a massive avalanche. Its immense mass slowed down Lee Baek's Fierce Tiger Asura Killing Claw.
*BOOM!*
The impact caused the tiger's energy surrounding Seol Ha-ryeong to waver, and she did not miss the opening.
*Ssssk*
She gracefully slipped out of the tiger's grasp.
But Lee Baek immediately turned and attacked again, and Seol Ha-ryeong met his weakened claw technique with a sword of snowy mist.
“Snow Cloud Sword.”
*KWAAANG!*
Lee Baek and Seol Ha-ryeong were both pushed back simultaneously.
The two stood at opposite ends of the arena.
However...
Lee Baek's expression hardened, while Seol Ha-ryeong smiled.
Because Lee Baek had exhausted all his stamina and internal energy, while Seol Ha-ryeong was still at ease.
Seol Ha-ryeong opened her fan and bestowed one last martial art upon the grim-faced Lee Baek.
“Twenty Snow Flowers,”
Seol Ha-ryeong brushed past Lee Baek, and twenty snowflakes bloomed around him.
“Th-That's!”
The same martial art that brought Pa-sun his end, but it was on a completely different level this time.
“Snowflake, Blanching.”
*Saaaaa*
Gasps of awe erupted one after another from the audience.
“Wh-What!”
“What in the world is that?”
“Ah, it's beautiful.”
“It's a flower field made of snow.”
The snowflakes filled the entire arena. The pure white snow flowers dyed the whole area, including Lee Baek, white, and even a part of the lake surrounding the arena froze over.
*Crack*
The atmosphere at Heaven and Earth Lake subsided.
The announcer had not yet declared the winner, but the whitened arena clearly showed who it was.
Seol Ha-ryeong of the Sacred Fire Palace.
Because the fierce tiger's eyes, nose, and mouth, not to mention his feet, legs, and shoulders, were all frozen white. Seol Ha-ryeong approached Lee Baek with her fan.
*Snap!*
With a flick of her wrist, she snapped the fan open.
*Snap!*
And with another flick, she folded it shut.
*Cra, crack*
The ice shattered to pieces, and Lee Baek lost consciousness, slumping to the ground.
Lee Baek collapsed the moment the ice encasing him broke, and medics carried him away. Seeing this, the crowd began to murmur, discussing what had just happened.
All the spectator seats in the arena grew noisy.
Until now, there hadn't been a match surpassing the Fourth Young Master of the Heavenly Dance Family, so everyone had been waiting for him.
However, the martial prowess Seol Ha-ryeong had just displayed was enough to potentially reach Baek Mu-heun's level.
No, if Baek Mu-heun's full power was only what he had shown before...
[ Baek Mu-heun cannot defeat Seol Ha-ryeong. ]
Such an opinion began to form.
The members of the Heavenly Dance Family and the Azure Dragon Unit began to worry about Mu-heun.
They wondered if the Fourth Young Master might lose to Seol Ha-ryeong.
However,
Mu-heun's thoughts were completely different.
*'The Sacred Fire Palace is clearly a faction that supports me. In that case, depending on how Seol Ha-ryeong grows from now on, she could become a reliable ally.'*
*'She seems a bit ill-mannered right now, but if she matures a little more, she'll become quite a useful asset. Especially since ice arts users are rare, yes.'*
Just then, the announcer, having confirmed that Lee Baek was being carried away, stepped back onto the stage and shouted.
“The winner is Seol Ha-ryeong of the Sacred Fire Palace!”
*Waaaaaaaaaaah!*
The audience responded to his shout with a roar.
“Seol Ha-ryeong!”
“Seol Ha-ryeong!”
“Seol Ha-ryeong!”
The VIP section was also abuzz with the Sacred Fire Palace's performance.
“Divine Maiden! You had such a disciple? Hahahaha! Let's have our Killing Palace interact with you more often!”
The Palace Lord of the Killing Palace laughed pleasantly.
“A-hem! Don't forget the Law Palace is also here.”
The Palace Lord of the Law Palace wasn't particularly pleased that the Sacred Fire Palace was outshining the Law Palace, but he had no choice but to acknowledge Seol Ha-ryeong's skill.
“Hoho, that won't be possible without the Cult Leader's permission.”
The Sun and Moon Divine Maiden spoke with a satisfied smile.
The members of the Heavenly Dance Family, the Commander of the Azure Dragon Unit, the heads of each family, and the Cult Leader's disciples all thought that Baek Mu-heun's only rival was Seol Ha-ryeong.
And then.
“The next match is Baek Mu-heun of the Heavenly Dance Family versus Ma Tae-pyeong of the Sword Demon Family!”
Mu-heun and Ma Tae-pyeong crossed the frozen lake and entered the arena.