Chapter 61
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Revival of the Ice Arts
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As Seol-young ascended the stage, Jeon-pung shifted his gaze from Pung-un to glare at her briefly.
I thought even Jeon-pung couldn't resist Seol-young's beauty, but that wasn't the case.
Jeon-pung clicked his tongue at the sight of her, then turned to Pung-un and spoke.
"Hmph, predictable."
"..."
"You must've been distracted by this woman even at the Inmu Academy, slacking on your training."
Despite the insulting words, Seol-young remained unfazed, silently preparing for the match. But Pung-un seemed irked, his brow twitching.
"..."
Jeon-pung placed his hand on the sword at his waist as he eyed Seol-young.
"I'll defeat you first, then face Pung-un."
An ominous aura emanated from Jeon-pung.
He slowly drew his sword, gripping it with both hands and positioning the tip before his solar plexus.
His stance was rock-solid from legs to shoulders, without a hint of tremor.
"This is the Thirty-Six Swords of the Zhongnan Sect."
As I stared blankly, Namgung-hyeok answered my unspoken question in a quiet voice.
"A sword style that defends and slices through everything around him."
He added that, for pure defense, it might surpass any other renowned sword arts combined.
In contrast, Seol-young's posture was... well, relaxed.
Her entire body seemed devoid of tension.
Shoulders dropped, sword pointing downward.
She looked almost like someone who'd given up on the match in lethargy.
This wasn't the stance I knew from her Inmu Sword Style.
"...A different technique?"
Come to think of it, I knew little about Seol-young's martial arts.
I only assumed she used yin-based techniques tied to her North Sea Ice Palace background and Nine Yin Meridian Blockage.
White breath escaped Seol-young's lips.
I worried her condition had worsened, but it hadn't.
Faint steam rose around her.
Frost began forming on her blade.
"Ice arts?"
Pung-un shot to his feet, murmuring with wide eyes.
Seol-young was about to use the ice arts she hadn't been able to wield due to her Nine Yin Meridian Blockage.
"...Oh ho..."
Jeon-pung's eyes narrowed.
"Ice arts, huh? Interesting."
Grinning like he'd found a fun new toy—his first glimpse of ice arts—Jeon-pung dropped his stance and charged at Seol-young.
There was a reason he abandoned his rigid form to rush in.
And it was a big mistake on his part.
He believed, 'I'm far stronger.'
A common delusion among talented late bloomers.
Something straight out of a wuxia tale.
But was Jeon-pung truly stronger than Seol-young?
Doubtful.
Having clashed directly with her yin energy, I couldn't see it that way.
Even just enduring it on my back would've been tough without the Sun Heart Method—that chill was no joke.
If she attacked with it outright...
For Jeon-pung, lacking extreme yang inner energy, it'd be unbearable cold.
Chaeng!
The swords clashed in midair.
Jeon-pung's face twisted in shock.
His full-powered two-handed strike was effortlessly blocked by Seol-young's single-handed parry.
Shiiik.
Seol-young withdrew her sword with graceful ease, like a dancer, forcing Jeon-pung to retreat.
His sleeve tore under her swing.
He'd dodged quickly, but her blade was a fraction faster.
Leisure vanished from Jeon-pung's expression.
He adopted a serious stance, facing her down.
Yet Seol-young moved fluidly.
Her motions evoked a dancer's sword dance—elegant, but laced with strikes too sharp and swift to ignore.
Chaeng!
"Kuhk..."
Jeon-pung blocked her attacks well, but that was it.
Unpredictable swings kept him from countering boldly.
And moreover...
'As expected.'
I nodded, watching Jeon-pung.
His hands trembled faintly.
At first, I thought it was from blocking, but his nose had reddened, and his movements grew clumsy.
The Nine Yin Meridian Blockage and ice arts' yin energy were getting to him—chilling him to the bone.
Shiiik!
Finally abandoning defense, Jeon-pung attempted a reckless attack.
He realized staying passive would only let the cold stiffen him further.
Seol-young dodged his onslaughts with dance-like poise, but he pressed on relentlessly.
"Haat!"
Jeon-pung lunged, exploiting an opening with an extended arm.
His sword flew toward her abdomen, but Seol-young spun, circling the flat of his blade as if passing through it, evading neatly.
Jeon-pung faltered, trying to retract, but...
Seol-young's sword sliced his shoulder well beforehand.
Not deep, but enough for her yin energy to seep into his body.
"...What's your name?"
"Seol-young."
"...I'll remember you."
Jeon-pung sensed defeat but didn't yield.
Gripping his sword two-handed, he charged for one last assault.
Seol-young swung her now frost-coated, pale white blade.
"No way..."
As Pung-un's voice trailed off, her sword struck true. Jeon-pung flew back—
Thud!
—crashing off the stage.
Frost from her blade scattered like snowflakes, drifting down slowly where she'd swung.
Worried Jeon-pung might be badly hurt, I stood, but Seol-young looked down and said,
"I hit him with the flat."
"Phew."
I should've guessed from the instructor not intervening.
I wasn't concerned for Jeon-pung, but I didn't want Seol-young dragged into trouble.
Pung-un approached her slowly from beside me.
"H-how... the ice arts?"
He was stammering, asking how she could use them in her condition.
Seol-young glanced at me slowly.
Pung-un followed her gaze.
"Seonghan helped."
"The Sun Heart Method...?"
I nodded.
No reason to hide it.
"Impossible. You already mastered the Sun Heart Method?"
"I just alleviated it somewhat."
We were far from curing her Nine Yin Meridian Blockage completely.
But easing it a bit was within reach.
Pung-un's face crumpled further at the news it wasn't fully cured.
"Then why risk the ice arts...?"
I turned to Seol-young at his question.
I wondered the same.
Her body wasn't fully healed—using ice arts might set her back.
No need to win this friendly match so desperately.
Seol-young met my eyes and said,
"I wanted to show you I've gotten better."
"..."
I couldn't help but smile.
Her thanks earlier was enough, but she wanted to prove her recovery to me in her own way.
Foolish, but it filled me with a touch of pride.
Pung-un's expression shifted oddly.
He murmured to her softly,
"...You two seem close."
His eyes wavered as he glanced between us.
Close, huh.
Yeah, I suppose we were.
Seol-young sighed, perhaps tired from using ice arts in the match.
"Can't continue."
She raised her hand to the referee at the stage's center, signaling a light forfeit.
Despite her momentum victory, wielding ice arts strained her.
Naturally, it was Pung-un's turn next.
"S-Seol-young—"
"Pung-un, your turn."
As Pung-un opened his mouth, Instructor Cheol-woong cut in, silencing him as he mounted the stage.
I wondered what he wanted to say, but Seol-young just calmly sat beside me, watching.
As Pung-un stepped up, Namgung-yu promptly rose from the opposite side.
"Gaga, you're here."
"...But you're fourth?"
"Yes, exactly..."
Namgung-yu grimaced, clearly reluctant to explain, and drew her sword.
I scanned the opponents, wondering who the Inmu Academy's final fighter was, but one was missing.
Where'd they go?
"You were talking to that woman for quite a while?"
"...As comrades..."
"Is she Gaga's new lover?"
"No, nothing like—"
Pung-un was uncharacteristically flustered.
Weak to forward women, or to Namgung-yu specifically? He looked troubled either way.
Her expression darkened with every delayed reply.
Where was the beauty from her entrance?
"If so, we'll die together with Gaga."
"Don't say that."
Pung-un wore a pained look as Namgung-yu declared a life-or-death duel in a friendly match.
"Begin!"
With the booming start signal, they locked eyes like a psychological standoff.
"Who do you think wins?"
Namgung-hyeok asked me then.
"Pung-un, obviously."
I answered without hesitation.
The protagonist, fresh off a fortuitous encounter.
Namgung-hyeok shook his head.
"My little sister will win."
Family bias? As I eyed him, he sighed at my gaze and explained.
"My sister has never lost a duel to a man since birth."
"...?"
I could only stare at the stage in disbelief.