Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Investment for the Future
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(15)
An investment for the future.
That explanation alone didn't make any sense.
"Just a friendly match, and you're going to kill me?"
"Kill you? I'm just going to cripple you."
The man said that as he drew his sword.
It was quite a large sword.
A greatsword, you could call it.
"...You don't need to regret your answer. Even if you'd said you forfeit, I still planned to cripple you."
He'd intended to attack me from the start.
But why?
Was it because losing to Inmu Academy in front of so many people was too embarrassing?
It didn't seem like that simple a reason.
"Do you know how Heavenly Martial Academy became the top academy?"
"...?"
The man spoke as if granting me one final act of mercy.
Explaining why he'd ambushed me.
"As you saw in the matches, aside from a few exceptions, Heavenly Martial Academy isn't all that different from other martial academies."
I had to nod at that.
Jeon Pung and Namgung Yoo were clearly on another level, but the Tang Geon who'd lost to Jeong Seon before them, and that one male cadet...
Honestly, they weren't much different from Namgung Hyeok.
They weren't weak, but they felt a bit lacking to represent Heavenly Martial Academy in the exhibition matches.
And apparently, this wasn't the first time.
It was the first time they'd struggled so publicly in an open friendly match like this, but in private ones attended only by academy affiliates, they'd barely scraped by wins or even lost sometimes.
"And every time after that, Heavenly Martial Academy would poach the cadets."
Heavenly Martial Academy had stolen away the cadets who'd beaten them in friendly matches.
Then used that strengthened roster to dominate real tournaments, not just friendlies.
But this time was different.
The problem was that the opponent was Inmu Academy, forcing a public match.
If it had just been among academy insiders, they could've silenced things with money or elixirs, buying off whatever was demanded.
But with so many spectators watching the matches, poaching cadets was impossible.
On top of that, Pungwoon—the core strength of Inmu Academy—was a cadet they'd driven out themselves for various reasons.
There was no justification to bring him back.
So Heavenly Martial Academy had decided.
If they couldn't have him, they'd destroy him.
Using their fifth match entrant as the tool.
And I'd become the target—the fifth entrant.
"We considered Seol Yeong, but the North Sea Ice Lord's doting on his daughter is famous."
Come to think of it, Seol Yeong had said something like that.
That there were people who'd do anything for her sake.
Being the fifth entrant, having no notable connections, and various other factors had made me the mark.
Skipping over Pungwoon... probably because of his strength?
"...Are you stronger than Namgung Yoo?"
"...I'd lose in a formal match. But not in a real fight to the death."
His eyebrows twitched as if offended by the comparison.
Then he thrust his menacing sword toward me.
"At the very least, I won't lose to some weaponless punk."
"Weaponless?"
I let out a small chuckle at that.
Right—they'd lured me to this warehouse factoring that in too.
A situation where only he had a weapon.
I raised my hand into empty air.
The man grimaced and charged forward sword raised, as if to slice off my arm before I could do whatever I was attempting—
"What..."
But his steps halted abruptly.
His mouth fell open, and he stared blankly at me.
His lips trembled, his pupils shaking wildly left and right.
"What..."
His face was filled with shock.
And rightly so.
Shring.
No one had ever seen someone pull a sword from thin air before.
Not even peak masters—or the Heavenly Demon himself—could do it.
I slowly drew the jungle knife from my inventory.
My longtime partner had made its appearance in the murim world.
The man, who'd been brimming with momentum, began trembling violently.
Pulling an unfamiliar weapon from nowhere terrified him.
"W-What are you?!"
The tip of his sword, aimed at me, shook uncontrollably.
Better this way.
If he really matched Namgung Yoo's level, now—engulfed in fear—was my chance.
I gripped the jungle knife tight and recalled Inmu Swordsmanship.
Then entrusted my body to Weapon Technique.
Leaving the sword's path to Weapon Technique, I focused solely on my qi.
More precisely, I recalled how Namgung Yoo, Pungwoon, and Seol Yeong infused their swords with qi.
Seol Yeong's display was etched deep in my mind especially.
Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang were like mirror images.
If I just mimicked what she'd shown, I felt like I could manage something similar.
It was on another level from simply circulating qi through the body.
I had to think of the sword itself as my body to reach that realm.
If what I held was a proper sword, I probably couldn't have infused it with qi.
But this jungle knife—the one that had always protected me in the zombie world—felt possible.
A thin wisp of smoke suddenly billowed from the blade.
Both I and the man before me were captivated by that single strand rising from the sword.
Our eyes met.
"...Argh!"
The man charged with a shout that was half battle cry, half scream.
Terror drove his assault, but the attack itself packed unignorable power.
Kagak!
He scraped his sword along walls and floor without stopping his massive swings.
Just blocking drained my whole body, shaking me like that carriage ride—enough to make me nauseous.
But with each block, my breathing steadied, my heart pounded stronger.
Slowly, my qi began to swell.
The jungle knife's blade turned red, thick smoke now billowing from it.
The warehouse filled with haze.
"Th-That sword..."
Just parrying his blows had melted a bit of his massive blade.
Seeing that, the man halted his attack.
And instinctively, I knew.
Now.
"Hup!"
Paak!
I kicked off the floor, closing the distance.
Shiiik.
My blade shot toward his solar plexus.
I poured all my qi and strength into pure speed.
Yet he reacted.
Raising his greatsword like a shield.
But—
"How..."
Chiiik.
A massive hole burned through the greatsword, my knife piercing clean through to his shoulder.
I'd aimed for his chest originally, but it veered slightly penetrating the blade.
The flesh around the pierced shoulder blackened and burned.
I slowly withdrew the knife.
"Grk..."
He dropped the greatsword, clutching his shoulder instead.
Whether the piercing pain or the charred skin hurt worse, he bit down so hard blood trickled from his mouth.
His will to fight broken, he collapsed.
Clank.
Then came the sound of someone trying the locked door.
Bam!
When it wouldn't budge, they brute-forced it open.
"..."
Through the open door, I glimpsed a Heavenly Martial Academy instructor.
Cold sweat beaded on me instantly.
Considering what this guy had said before the fight, that instructor was likely in on it.
"Instructor!"
Sure enough, the fallen man called out to him hopefully.
But the instructor eyed him coldly and said,
"What the hell is going on here?"
"I-Instructor?"
Yet the Heavenly Martial instructor coldly cut ties.
I blinked in confusion, glancing between them, when a massive shadow loomed behind the Heavenly Martial instructor.
"Or maybe you explain it."
Instructor Cheol Ung lumbered in like a bear.
'I see.'
Now I understood why the Heavenly Martial instructor was abandoning ship.
Instructor Cheol Ung had come with him.
I nodded to Instructor Cheol Ung and explained everything that had happened.
The two instructors had noticed the massive smoke rising from the warehouse while searching for the next contestant and rushed over.
After hearing the full story from me, they decided to cripple the attacker's dantian.
He tried desperately to wriggle out with lies, but too many people—including Namgung Hyeok—had seen him lure me away.
The friendly matches ended inconclusively with Inmu Academy's victory.
Many grumbled, but once the reasons and outcome were explained, most understood.
"That scum—shatter his dantian!"
"Make sure he can never use martial arts again!"
People always enjoyed seeing villains get their comeuppance.
Especially in the murim world rife with betrayal and intrigue.
Pungwoon's role helped sway the crowd too.
After seeing his Plum Blossom Swordsmanship against Namgung Yoo, many had already sensed Heavenly Martial's defeat.
Matches over, I headed straight somewhere.
The Heavenly Martial Academy's waiting area.
The others had left, but Namgung Yoo lingered, gazing at Pungwoon.
Then, when someone blocked her view, she glared irritably.
"...Who the hell is blocking my..."
"Hey."
"..."
Namgung Yoo looked up at me in surprise.
Then bowed her head deeply.
Remembering her promise, no doubt.
That she'd do anything if she lost.
"Th-This doesn't count."
"Even if it had gone on, Pungwoon would've beaten him."
"...Gaga, how did you get so strong...?"
Namgung Yoo bit her lip, blaming Pungwoon for being too strong instead.
She scowled at my invitation to her room that evening but nodded anyway.