Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Left Envoy - The Summer Sky is Steamy Hot
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Contrary to the two women's expectations that their disciple—or daughter—would dominate overwhelmingly, the sparring match remained evenly matched.
One side had the advantage of a sturdy body, while the other excelled in technique.
'Tch. She said technique wasn't necessary...!'
Seeing Hee Yeon's fiercely thrusting sword momentum, Geum-gang thought she shouldn't have listened to Ha Jin.
And rightly so. Contrary to Ha Jin's claims that technique was useless, the girl's sword was incredibly sharp.
It might not pierce her body completely, but a blade infused with that much keen energy was quite threatening.
Of course, Hee Yeon was thinking the exact same thing.
'She said technique was everything...!'
Her body was so tough that no matter how much she stabbed, the sword wouldn't penetrate.
Even channeling inner energy or striking vital points relentlessly had no effect.
The Hee Clan of South Heaven.
A sword family that, while not neglecting external martial arts, inevitably focused more on internal energy.
They revered technique over physical conditioning.
Yet the girl before her denied all of that...
"Hup!"
She was deflecting the sword with her shoulder.
A motion similar to parrying in modern combat sports.
It was akin to a highly refined technique, but Geum-gang had no way of knowing that.
She was just blocking on instinct.
The moment she deflected the sword with her right shoulder, she instinctively drove her fist deep into Hee Yeon's side.
Somewhere near the lungs, no doubt.
With her iron-crushing strength, there was no way Hee Yeon could breathe properly after that punch.
"Kuhk...! Guk...!"
Hee Yeon collapsed to one knee from the unexpected pain.
A single blow that shattered the delicate balance.
She gripped her sword in a reverse hold to counterattack, but Geum-gang didn't miss the opening and smashed her elbow down onto Hee Yeon's shoulder.
That shoulder that had been bothering her from the start.
Once she seized the momentum, Geum-gang began pummeling every vulnerable spot with a flurry of strikes.
Right fist to the abdomen.
Pulled back and then to the solar plexus.
Left palm to the throat.
Back to the left side.
This time, right shin to the hip.
Geum-gang was striking whatever irked her without even realizing it.
Except the face. She just couldn't bring herself to hit that.
'She's still a girl, after all...'
What if she marred her face?
Of course, she thrashed everywhere else without mercy.
Hee Ji-jae, unable to watch any longer, tried to intervene, but Hee Yeon propped herself up on her sword, signaling she could keep fighting.
"Hoo. Hoo. Hoo."
A true warrior's spirit.
She regulated her breathing and assumed her stance once more.
'Her attitude is something my disciple could learn from.'
In Ha Jin's eyes, Hee Yeon's demeanor as a martial artist was already near perfect.
Fighting spirit.
Endurance.
And most importantly, respect for her opponent.
Geum-gang had only recently begun learning martial arts.
For a girl of fourteen or fifteen to swallow her pride and acknowledge that Geum-gang might be stronger...
'Even old veterans struggle with that.'
"Here I come again."
Hee Yeon's eyes flashed as she charged.
Pulling out one of her trump cards.
One Point Sword.
A secret technique that thrust at a single point.
This seemingly simple move was the pinnacle of the South Heaven Hee Clan's swordsmanship.
Sword strikes landing precisely and repeatedly on the exact spot.
No shield, no matter how sturdy, could withstand repeated thrusts.
One thrust pierces wood.
Ten thrusts pierce steel.
A hundred thrusts pierce anything.
It was the epitome of an unrelenting piercing demon sword.
The One Point Sword embodied the identity of South Heaven.
Being able to execute ten thrusts marked mastery.
Hee Yeon could manage four.
Enough to easily pierce Geum-gang's body, which hadn't fully refined the Golden Body Art.
Her target: the center of Geum-gang's chest.
No matter how tough the body, a person collapses without breath.
'Think of it as a siege. To breach that hunk of meat...!'
What started as a simple clash of pride had become a life-or-death duel for Hee Yeon.
A worthy rival she had never seen among her peers.
Her fighting spirit boiled over.
And if she lost here, her father might be humiliated.
Hee Yeon, who adored her father fiercely, could never endure such shame.
A wooden sword about two and a half feet long.
'This length should be enough...'
It was feasible.
While Geum-gang briefly lost sight of her, Hee Yeon closed in and prepared to thrust right in front of her nose.
Like a beast instinctively shying from fire, Geum-gang sensed the danger with her body.
This would hurt if it landed.
It would definitely penetrate.
'Wait, wait...!'
Geum-gang had never learned how to block an unblockable attack.
The Golden Body Art had no specific forms for that.
She always just relied on her body and instincts.
'Geum-gang.'
Then, a useful teaching from her master finally surfaced in her mind.
'Geum-gang. If it feels like you absolutely can't block an attack with your body—and that rarely happens, mind you—then...'
She had dismissed it as nonsense back then, but now it felt like the most natural solution.
'Smash the weapon somehow. Your fist is stronger anyway.'
Hee Yeon's sword came charging fiercely.
She couldn't block or dodge it entirely, but deflecting it with her hand seemed possible.
Not with her fist, but her palm—still, Geum-gang struck the flat of the wooden sword like a ghost, shattering it.
"Wha...!"
Staring at the completely splintered wooden sword, Hee Yeon sensed her defeat.
"I learned something good. Thank you."
Geum-gang formed a fist and assumed a familiar stance to Hee Yeon.
Not as masterful as Hee Yeon's four strikes, but...
Two times.
She drove her fist twice in succession into Hee Yeon's side.
Just as Hee Yeon blacked out and collapsed, a mix of admiration and curse escaped Hee Ji-jae's lips.
He slammed the table and shot to his feet, unable to hide his shock.
"Insane...!"
"What did I tell you? A gift from the heavens."
She had replicated one of the family's secret ultimate techniques after seeing it just once.
And an imperfect execution at that!
"You've picked up a monster, Left Envoy."
"A monster? To my precious child."
'Tch...'
Geum-gang felt a stinging pain in her abdomen.
She thought she had blocked the One Point Sword completely, but she couldn't neutralize all its momentum.
That keen energy had reached her belly and finally pierced the Golden Body.
'Ow...'
Geum-gang tensed her abs and walked primly over to Ha Jin.
"Master. Your disciple won."
The beastly figure that had pummeled Hee Yeon was gone; now she gazed up at her master with bright, sparkling eyes.
Somehow, her wounds were already stanched, the bleeding stopped.
"Good girl. Did you learn a lot?"
Ha Jin stroked her cheek, and Geum-gang leaned in familiarly.
"Yes, I learned a great deal. Especially... Ah! Sorry, Patriarch. She was so fierce..."
Geum-gang suddenly remembered she had beaten his daughter and hastily made excuses.
Of course, Hee Ji-jae wasn't petty enough to take it personally from a spar.
"Nonsense! It was a rare spectacle. As promised, here's the inner dan."
Seemingly worried, Hee Ji-jae handed over a small box and rushed to his daughter.
Geum-gang eyed the box with concern, but Ha Jin reassuringly stroked her cheek.
"Worried?"
"Yes. Did I go too far?"
"It's fine, dear. Hee Ji-jae isn't that narrow-minded. He might worry about his daughter, though."
Only then did Geum-gang relax a bit at her master's words.
Even in a spar, the kid who knocked out his child wouldn't look kindly upon.
"Even if he says it's fine, the Patriarch is one of the few good souls in the cult. Anyway, what about that? Should we really trade it for snacks? Open it up."
Opening the box revealed a bead glowing with a cool blue light, accompanied by a warm summer scent.
"A true Summer Sky."
Ha Jin gazed at the luminous inner dan and asked,
"Shall we sell it and buy you medicine? Or keep it?"
Geum-gang pondered deeply before revealing her long-held ambition.
A fantasy she'd always indulged in.
An aspiration anyone who reads novels could relate to.
What on earth did a self-igniting dan taste like?
What scent did Clear Spirit Oil have?
This inner dan before her...
"Could I... just eat it myself?"
"Hm?"
Not selling it, not gifting it.
An bewildering proposal from her disciple.
"Selling or storing it would bring various benefits. You know that, right?"
"Yes."
"Fine, it's yours to do with as you please. But why eat something we don't even need?"
Ha Jin eyed Geum-gang suspiciously.
Geum-gang fidgeted with her hands, then bowed her head deeply.
"I... I'm curious about the taste... and the smell is so good..."
"Ah?"
She'd always wondered.
The taste of inner dans from wuxia novels.
Some said spicy, others refreshing energy spreading through.
What did the summer sky taste like?
"Aha! Ahahaha! Right, you're curious about the taste. Of course, dear. If you're curious, eat it."
"Then..."
*Pop.*
Without hesitation, Geum-gang popped it into her mouth.
"Hm?"
A strangely subtle flavor.
Refreshingly cool, with a minty freshness surging in.
'It's kinda warm.'
Some spicy warmth seemed to linger?
Containing the summer sky, perhaps that's why.
Her body heated up slightly.
From her fingers to her toes.
Geum-gang felt the sensations in her extremities growing hazy.
'Sweat?'
Cold sweat drenched her as her head spun.
Her head.
Heat rising to her head.
As if she were suffering a severe cold in an instant.
This sensation was new since refining the Golden Body.
"Master. I feel sick."
With those words, Geum-gang collapsed.
As her consciousness blurred, she caught sight of Hee Ji-jae rushing over in her fading vision.
"What happened...? Crazy...! Left Envoy!"
Does that uncle have a habit of cursing?
The Patriarch curses all the time.
"Dear! My disciple! Geum-gang!"
Ha Jin caught Geum-gang's limp body and shouted something, but it didn't register.
Ah.
It hurts.
Heat boiled furiously from Geum-gang's body, and then her consciousness snapped.
Geum-gang did.
Ha Jin did.
Hee Ji-jae did.
Hee Yeon did.
None of them noticed the grain-of-rice-sized something wriggling in her stomach.