Hebei’s Fierce Tiger vs. North Sea Beauty Wolf
Namgung Hyeongeom said his piece and then drifted away as if nothing had happened.
He was exactly the sort of righteous martial artist I had imagined.
“He’s calmer than I expected.”
He felt completely different from Namgung Taeseong, Namgung Hyeongeom’s father.
“He really does have a different personality from the Alliance Leader.”
Sohui seemed to understand what I meant, because she let out a little giggle.
A little while later, the round of sixteen began.
I didn’t want to go back to the stands and stir up the commotion from earlier, so I stayed in the waiting room and waited for my turn.
The cheers from the audience swelled and faded in waves, and at last my name was called.
My opponent in the round of sixteen was said to be a strong fighter who had fought his way up through the preliminaries, but in the end, the match was over again with a single strike from my foot.
Are the people who get direct entry into the main bracket really that far above those who came through the preliminaries?
After beating Tang Ak, and then breezing through the round of sixteen as well, I was starting to feel just how strong I was compared to others my age.
My next opponent was also one of the preliminary survivors, but he must have seen my earlier matches, because he forfeited before we even fought, and I advanced straight to the semifinals.
With time left before the semifinals began, I ended up heading back to the stands with Sohui.
“Looks like he really didn’t have any confidence he could beat you, Yugang oppa! Thanks to that, you’ll have plenty of strength saved up for the semifinals.”
She seemed even happier than I was about the forfeit.
The tournament would run only through the semifinals today, with the final match taking place tomorrow, so having one less bout was a fairly big advantage.
Of course, for me, after winning my thirty-second and round-of-sixteen matches with a single slash, it hardly mattered.
When I returned to the stands, I was, as expected, swarmed by attention.
“Finishing every match with one strike is seriously so cool!”
“The sword strike was rimmed with frost too. It was chilling.”
“Aren’t you going to win the whole thing with one blow in the final, too?”
Under all that anticipation, I kept thanking people over and over and took my seat.
Since my quarterfinal opponent had forfeited, I was able to watch the remaining quarterfinal matches without worry.
Apparently there were still plenty of preliminary winners left, because the quarterfinal bouts also ended in crushing victories for one side.
The remaining names, just as Sohui had said, were Namgung Hyeongeom, Jinmu, and Paeng Hosik. Since the three of them had also won overwhelmingly without even showing much of their true arts, just like me, it felt clear that the real battles would begin in the semifinals.
Once all the quarterfinal matches were over, the first semifinal match at last began: Namgung Hyeongeom versus Jinmu.
“I know your reputation well, Daoist Jinmu. They say you are the future of Wudang, so let me learn a thing or two from you.”
As always, Namgung Hyeongeom greeted his opponent with proper courtesy.
“And I am honored to cross swords with Namgung’s Sword.”
“Then let the first semifinal match of the Junior Heroes Martial Tournament begin!”
At Namgung Taeseong’s shout, the match began.
Neither man moved rashly. They simply watched each other, measuring the other’s steps.
That brief exchange of pressure ended first with Namgung Hyeongeom making a move.
He closed the distance quickly and swung his sword.
Jinmu did not panic. He let the blade slide away in a soft, circular motion, as if flowing around a current.
Namgung Hyeongeom did not lose his cool either. He followed with a series of consecutive sword strikes, but Jinmu calmly guided every attack away as smoothly as water running downhill.
“So you can deflect a blade instead of dodging or blocking it.”
I was genuinely intrigued by the new way of dealing with an attack.
If someone stopped my draw slash that way, how would I even respond?
The thought crossed my mind for a moment.
Namgung Hyeongeom must have realized that this sort of mindless flurry wasn’t going to work, because he took a single step back.
“As expected of Wudang’s future. This much won’t be enough.”
His aura changed slightly.
He regripped the sword, and blue energy began to shimmer along the blade.
It was similar to the ice-cold energy of the North Sea Ice Palace, but also different. The inner energy of the Ice Palace was rooted in cold, but the blue force surrounding Namgung Hyeongeom felt like something else entirely.
As his presence shifted, Jinmu changed his stance as well.
Namgung Hyeongeom was radiating energy, while Jinmu released none at all.
If anything, the space around him grew even quieter.
And then, in an instant, Namgung Hyeongeom’s sword pointed toward the heavens before cutting straight down at Jinmu.
Boundless Sky Sword Art, First Form: Falling Thunder
As its name suggested, Namgung Hyeongeom’s sword struck like lightning.
The force split the air with a crackling sound that really did feel like thunder ripping through the sky.
Then Jinmu met the blade with a concise, measured motion of his own.
Taiji Sword, Third Form: Flowing Sword
Jinmu’s counter was an attack of softness.
With a gentle force that seemed intent on carrying the descending blade away, he met the strike head-on and dispersed it.
At first it looked as though Namgung Hyeongeom’s momentum was being swallowed by Jinmu’s flow, but then, all of a sudden, the sword’s force surged again.
“Lightning falls from the heavens along an unpredictable path.”
With those words, Namgung Hyeongeom’s sword broke through Jinmu’s flow and cut into him.
Jinmu hurriedly tried to evade, but the edge still caught the hem of his robe, and his sword was knocked aside.
“Hoho. It seems my flow couldn’t stop a thunderbolt after all.”
Jinmu’s defeat sent the stands roaring.
Namgung Taeseong was looking down at the match with obvious satisfaction.
“That’s Namgung’s Sword for you! He’s a powerful favorite to win!”
“Namgung’s Sword! Namgung’s Sword!”
The crowd chanted Namgung’s Sword over and over.
Since most of the spectators were, naturally, residents of Anhui Province, Namgung Hyeongeom’s popularity was through the roof.
I was called by one of the attendants and headed toward the waiting room, leaving the cheers behind me.
Sohui gave me a playful wink and silently cheered me on as I walked away.
My opponent was Paeng Hosik of the Hebei Peng Clan.
I wondered what kind of martial art he used as I stepped up onto the stage.
When I got there, it seemed Paeng Hosik had already been waiting for quite a while.
“So you finally came up. I’ve wanted to fight you, North Sea Beauty Wolf!”
Huh? North Sea Beauty Wolf?
I stared at him blankly, not understanding what he meant.
North Sea Beauty Wolf? So I’ve already got a nickname? Still, I guess it’s better than North Sea Divine Dragon. That one would’ve felt a little too worshipful.
As I was thinking that, Paeng Hosik shouted again.
“I am Paeng Hosik, known as the Hebei’s Fierce Tiger!”
He introduced himself with pride.
Wow. How can someone announce such a cheesy nickname with that much confidence?
“I heard you use a strange-looking sword, but it’s still a blade, right? Let’s find out who the true master of the blade is!”
“Well... my sword is technically a blade, but...”
There was no easy way to explain a Japanese katana to someone in this world.
So I just gave up on explaining it.
More than anything, I had the feeling that no matter what I said, this lively guy wouldn’t really understand.
“Then let the second semifinal match of the Junior Heroes Martial Tournament begin!”
At Namgung Taeseong’s shout, the match began.
Again, I lowered my stance and gathered my energy.
“That’s the same sword strike you showed in the earlier match! A man should be able to take it head-on!”
Paeng Hosik was also gathering his force.
But I didn’t pay it much mind.
The moment the air around us turned cold, and I felt that now was the time, I lunged straight at him.
Draw Slash
My sword swept forward as always, radiating a chill that seemed to bite into the air itself.
At that same moment, Paeng Hosik brought his blade down to meet mine head-on.
Five Tigers Cleaving Gate Blade, First Form: Tiger Claw
Paeng Hosik met my sword with a ferocious burst of power.
But I didn’t feel even slightly like my draw slash was going to lose.
Paeng Hosik seemed to sense the same thing, because he took one step back and brought his blade down again.
“It’s a much sharper strike than it looked!”
Five Tigers Cleaving Gate Blade, Second Form: Fierce Tiger Storming Blade
He kept hacking down with the same savage force as before.
With each successive flurry, I could feel my draw slash slowly losing momentum.
So it really is too much to expect to beat the heir of a famed house with just one draw slash.
As the power of my sword strike began to falter, Paeng Hosik seemed to think he had the upper hand and kept pressing down on me.
The instant his blade came down over mine, I leaned my body to the left and, using my right foot as a pivot, rotated my sword along the force of his attack.
Then I turned and cut across in one motion.
Rotating Slash
With the speed of the rotating slash amplified by the momentum of the Fierce Tiger Storming Blade, Paeng Hosik didn’t even have time to react.
His clothes were cut cleanly in two, from the lower left to the upper right.
“The winner is Han Yugang of the North Sea Ice Palace!”
At Namgung Taeseong’s declaration, Paeng Hosik accepted the result.
Then he dropped his head and looked closely at the line where he’d been cut.
“So you were still holding back after all, huh? That’s a shame, but it can’t be helped!”
Paeng Hosik quickly brightened up and held out his hand to me.
I liked that straightforward personality, so I reached out and shook his hand.
“I thought I was the strongest blade user around my age, but the world really is wide!”
“It was a good match. Paeng Hosik, right? I’d like us to get along from here on out.”
My words made Paeng Hosik very happy.
“Friends? That’s great! I’ll introduce you to my little sister later too! I think she’d really like you! Haha!”
He shook my hand vigorously and then stepped down from the stage.
After he left, I looked around and heard the crowd beginning to roar again.
“North Sea Beauty Wolf! North Sea Beauty Wolf!”
The nickname sounded a little too feminine to me, but it was still better than North Sea Divine Dragon.
The divine dragon one felt a little too much like putting me on a pedestal.
Anyway, from among the sea of spectators, my eyes met Namgung Hyeongeom’s.
He smiled at me and moved his lips.
See you tomorrow.
That was what his mouth seemed to say.
At last, tomorrow’s final match of the martial tournament would begin.
---