Chapter 180
Chapter 180
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Shocking Stalemate
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The elders of the Five Great Families, seated in the guest of honor section, gaped as they watched Nangong Hyeok and Peng Zhonghe locked in their sparring match.
They were utterly bewildered by the bout unfolding in a direction completely unlike what they had anticipated.
“...It seems the Peng young master has achieved more than we thought. To think he's holding his own against Nangong Clan's second young master...”
Unlike the other elders, whose faces were stiffening, the corners of Peng Cheonwi's mouth were nearly reaching his ears.
Peng Cheonwi sipped his tea leisurely and smiled faintly.
“Hahaha, hahahaha! Our Zhonghe said he'd had some recent insights, but he's fighting even better than I expected.”
His booming voice echoed through the guest section.
The Five Great Families' elders let out low groans.
Doubt and bewilderment crossed their faces as they alternated their gazes between Peng Cheonwi and the sparring platform.
‘The Earth Dragon's skills surpass Mount Wudang's divine arts? They've already exchanged over thirty moves!’
‘...But aren't his movements too exaggerated, with too many openings?’
‘Hmm! Something feels off...’
‘What the hell is with those sloppy motions? Huh? Did he just let that one pass?’
‘...No way?’
The elders' faces twisted as they turned to glare at Peng Cheonwi.
Peng Cheonwi sipped his tea and naturally averted their stares.
“What a shame! Don't you think these two met too early in the same bracket? Hahaha!”
There wasn't a trace of regret in his voice.
Nangong Uigyeong simply smiled at Peng Cheonwi.
Instead, inwardly, he clenched his fists repeatedly and sighed.
‘Aigoo, Hyeok-ah! You should have targeted his side! Why! Damn Hebei Peng Clan brat, Hebei Peng Clan! You should have slammed him to the ground and stomped until he passed out!’
Nangong Uigyeong watched the spar with even greater regret.
It was at the moment when the other elders' suspicions peaked.
Smack!
“Keuaaack!”
Peng Zhonghe, struck on the head, tumbled forward, ending the grueling bout that had surpassed fifty exchanges.
“Waaaaah!”
“Amazing!”
“Earth Dragon, great fight!”
“No way! He didn't even need a stretcher!”
Thunderous cheers erupted.
It was no exaggeration to say they were the loudest since the tournament began.
The cheers swept away the awkward atmosphere in the guest section.
Peng Cheonwi smiled faintly and subtly raised a thumbs-up toward Nangong Hyeok, who was looking his way.
A complex expression flickered across his face.
‘Excellent, excellent...’
Elevating the Hebei Peng Clan's prestige while protecting his son—for eight hundred thousand silver taels, it wasn't a bad deal at all.
Eight hundred thousand taels...
Yes, no matter how precious money was, it couldn't compare to the family's honor.
‘...Yes, it's fine. As long as it's over. Ha, haha!’
Something moist hung at the corners of Peng Cheonwi's eyes, but no one in the guest section paid it any mind.
The elders were simply dumbfounded by the absurd outcome of the match.
Peng Cheonwi chuckled hollowly as he stared at the back of Nangong Hyeok's head descending from the platform.
* * *
Nangong Hyeok stretched as he stepped down from the sparring platform.
“Aigoo, I'm dying! Why is this more exhausting?”
Holding back was tough.
It felt several times harder than just beating him outright.
It drained his concentration too.
‘If it weren't for the money, I would've just...’
The eight hundred thousand silver taels made Nangong Hyeok endure.
Geum Cheomsang rushed over at his groan and offered a towel.
With a flushed face, Geum Cheomsang said,
“Congratulations on advancing to the round of sixteen, Young Master!”
“What's so great about that? I said I'm going to win it all.”
“It's amazing! Advancing to the round of sixteen from the main branch that everyone looked down on! The Orthodox Heaven Alliance will be buzzing about the main branch all day today.”
Nangong Hyeok let out a hollow laugh at the excited Geum Cheomsang.
Geum Cheomsang said with a slightly worried expression,
“But Peng young master must have been pretty strong. If even you're tired...”
“What are you talking about?”
“You exchanged eighty moves, didn't you? It's no wonder you're worn out. You struggled.”
“Struggled? What struggle?”
“No, I meant you worked hard.”
“Ha!”
Nangong Hyeok snorted, then soon clicked his tongue lightly.
“Forget it. Telling you would just hurt my mouth.”
If Geum Cheomsang knew how much those eighty exchanges were worth in silver, he'd foam at the mouth and collapse.
Nangong Hyeok turned to look at Nangong Ryong.
‘What has he been doing since earlier?’
Nangong Ryong was staring intently at some point in empty space with a grave expression.
His face was rigid like a statue, his eyes deeply sunken...
Huh?
Come to think of it, wasn't he in this pose even before the break?
Nangong Hyeok asked,
“Hey, brother. What are you thinking about so deeply?”
“......”
“Really serious face?”
“......”
No response.
Nangong Hyeok turned to Geum Cheomsang, who shook his head.
“He hasn't said a word.”
“...Really?”
“Totally serious.”
“Who asked you?”
“......”
Nangong Hyeok lightly ignored the muttering Geum Cheomsang and scanned Nangong Ryong up and down with an intrigued look.
‘Definitely...’
If he'd been like this since before the break, it was an immersion and endurance beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
As expected of the Sword King's descendant—he wasn't blessed with average talent.
He had clearly entered a trance state, something most people never experience even once in a lifetime.
And that trance had already lasted for hours.
For a single casual remark from him to spark enlightenment and immersion—that alone showed extraordinary talent.
Interesting.
What would the Sword King say about this?
‘He'd say it's not as good as mine.’
That guy had done it plenty too.
Nangong Hyeok grinned and watched Nangong Ryong closely.
Watching his growth stirred a strange feeling.
The three members of the Thunder Dragon Squad flinched at Nangong Hyeok, whose lips curved in a faint smile.
In their eyes, Nangong Ryong looked like his next victim.
‘...The eldest young master has it rough now. That guy's targeted him.’
‘How many forms will it take this time before he skips training?’
‘Who knows. Hey, don't make eye contact. Look down. Don't get splashed with the fire.’
‘Yes.’
The three Thunder Dragon Squad members quietly backed away.
* * *
Nangong Ryong fell into deep thought. Soon after, the surrounding clamor faded away.
From the moment Nangong Hyeok tossed a few words at him after returning from crushing Jeomchang's Jong Cheon, his mind had been filled with replays of the sparring match.
His mind began to trace Jeomchang's Four Days Sword Technique.
The Four Days Sword Technique connected dot to dot, line to line, vividly as if he had returned to the scene.
Four Days.
The sword that drops the sun.
Its sharpness and ferocity brushed against his skin.
His mind filled with the lines created by the Four Days Sword Technique, and Nangong Ryong clashed against them.
Nangong Hyeok's teachings overlaid them.
One, two...
The Imperial Sword Form erased the lines one by one.
Repetition upon repetition.
He collided again and again.
Silently, endlessly, Nangong Ryong erased the lines produced by Jong Cheon's Four Days Sword Technique.
After a long while.
When not a single line from Jong Cheon's technique remained, the Four Days Sword Technique of Jong Baek from three years ago surfaced in Nangong Ryong's mind.
Just as with Jong Cheon's, Jong Baek's Four Days Sword Technique began filling his mind again.
‘Jong Baek's sword is faster.’
The Jong Baek from three years ago had a faster, stronger sword than Jong Cheon's.
It might be an illusion, but Nangong Ryong fought it anyway.
He fought and fought again.
And naturally, he pursued Nangong Hyeok's movements, unfolding the Imperial Sword Form.
Unfolding it again and again.
Nangong Hyeok's elusive movements, graspable yet ungraspable.
But Nangong Ryong did not give up.
He kept chasing them, over and over.
When he finally caught up to Nangong Hyeok's movements, everything around Nangong Ryong vanished.
Jong Baek's Four Days Sword Technique disappeared, and his own Imperial Sword Form was erased.
Bewildered by the bizarre phenomenon he'd never experienced before, Nangong Ryong calmly accepted the situation.
How much time passed?
To him, it felt like a long while.
Suddenly, a single ray of light split the darkness in two.
And finally, he defeated the Jong Baek sword from three years ago.
Boom!
With a heavy thud, Nangong Ryong snapped back to awareness.
Blink. Blink.
After blinking a few times, he looked around.
“Hyeok...”
...Flinch.
Nangong Ryong shuddered slightly under Nangong Hyeok's piercing gaze.
How long had he been there?
Flustered, he looked at Nangong Hyeok.
“The spar...”
“The spar ended a while ago.”
Geum Cheomsang, who had been tearing dried meat into strips for easy eating in Nangong Hyeok's place, answered.
Already?
Nangong Ryong looked dazed.
He'd only closed and opened his eyes briefly, yet Nangong Hyeok's round of sixteen match was over?
A bit disorienting.
He must have been too absorbed in thought.
Nangong Ryong shook his head and placed a hand on Nangong Hyeok's shoulder.
Pat pat.
“As expected...”
“As expected of my little brother, he says.”
As Geum Cheomsang translated while handing over the dried meat, Nangong Hyeok snorted.
Good grief...
Nangong Ryong patted Nangong Hyeok's shoulder contentedly a few times.
Pat pat pat, pat pat!
“Stop it.”
Pat pat.
“Hey, come on! Oof!”
“......”
“You don't know moderation, moderation.”
...That doesn't seem like something you should say, Second Young Master.
Geum Cheomsang, about to interject, quietly shut his mouth.
Nangong Hyeok tilted his head and looked at Nangong Ryong.
“It's your turn now, brother. Think you can win?”
Nangong Ryong's expression hardened slightly.
Nangong Hyeok chuckled.
“Don't chicken out.”
“......”
“With that kind of insight, you can't take down a punk like that?”
Nangong Hyeok's casual words strangely lightened his heart.
There was a peculiar power in Nangong Hyeok's voice.
Jeomchang's Dragon Jong Baek suddenly felt insignificant.
Nangong Hyeok said,
“What are you waiting for? Go pluck that Jeomchang punk's teeth.”
“......”
“Pluck 'em. Make sure you do. Got it?”
Nod.
Nangong Hyeok grinned at Nangong Ryong's nod.
“Good, go!”
“Got it.”
Nangong Ryong ascended to the sparring platform with a resolute face.
Geum Cheomsang sighed as he watched his heavy steps.
He made a fuss.
“Aigoo, how does he end up facing the same guy from three years ago? He won't get intimidated by those memories and fail to perform, right?”
“That's part of his skill too.”
“...But if the eldest young master just performs properly, he should win easily, right? You've put so much effort into him.”
Geum Cheomsang looked at Nangong Hyeok with expectant eyes.
Eyes pleading for reassurance in his words.
Nangong Hyeok shrugged.
“Not sure. The opponent's pretty tough.”
“What?! But earlier you said he was nothing!”
“When did I?”
Geum Cheomsang's eyes widened like he'd been scammed by Nangong Hyeok's shameless denial.
“N-No, you talked like he was no big deal!”
“That was by my standards.”
“...Wh-What does that mean? B-But then doesn't the eldest young master have the edge? That's why you said stuff like pluck his teeth and all.”
“That was just wishful thinking.”
“What?! Then all that training was useless? No, if he still can't win after that...”
Nangong Hyeok snorted.
“Did the opponent slack for three years? Stay in place? Even drinking water makes kids shoot up like bamboo shoots—think his martial arts stagnated?”
“......”
“You think a few days of my teaching can overwhelm three years of his?”
“......”
Geum Cheomsang's face turned ashen.
He stared at the sparring platform with a shocked expression.
The three Thunder Dragon Squad members listening nearby also looked at Nangong Hyeok with widened eyes.
It was the first time they'd heard him speak so negatively.
Nangong Hyeok gave a subtle smile at the stunned group.
“But I didn't say he'd lose.”
“Huh?”
“Just watch.”
What kind of wordplay is this?
Dumbfounded, their gazes followed Nangong Hyeok's to the two on the sparring platform.