The Birth of the Ice Dragon Sword Dance
Fortunately, the blade had not yet fully cleared its scabbard.
I quickly lifted the scabbard at my waist with my left hand.
Then I drew the sword in a slash from the upper left to the lower right.
Of course, my draw cut did not reach Namgung Hyeongeom.
As if he had been waiting for this moment, Namgung Hyeongeom brought his sword down once more.
His sword came down with savage force.
But I hadn’t drawn my sword to attack Namgung Hyeongeom.
My blade cut through the air, and its momentum did not stop there.
I twisted my body along the diagonal arc of the slash.
Then I drove the sword down into the ground.
The rotation of my body did not stop; using the blade planted in the earth, I spun through the air.
And with that force, I drew the sword again, slashing upward from the lower left to the upper right.
Spinning Slash
My wit blended with the sudden change in circumstance, turning it into a spinning slash unlike any I had used before, and yet its power was even fiercer than before.
It had not lost the force of the draw cut, but by adding rotation, the power had become stronger.
Namgung Hyeongeom seemed momentarily flustered by my new movement.
And then, at last, my spinning slash and Namgung Hyeongeom’s Thunderfall collided.
More powerful than the draw cut, the spinning slash easily drove back Namgung Hyeongeom’s Thunderfall.
Overwhelmed by my momentum, Namgung Hyeongeom lost his grip on his sword, and it was knocked flying.
Where my blade had passed, frost-laden mist fluttered through the air like blossoms.
I won.
The winner is Han Yugang of the North Sea!
At Namgung Taeseong’s shout, the silent arena erupted into the cheers of the crowd.
“Did you see that? That strike was like a dragon ascending to the heavens!”
“The North Sea has a new dragon!”
“North Sea Divine Dragon! North Sea Divine Dragon!”
In the end, the spectators were no longer calling me by the title of the North Sea’s White-haired Dragon, but by the nickname I had once been given in the North Sea: the North Sea Divine Dragon.
I was being called North Sea Divine Dragon again, but this time, the title didn’t feel embarrassing at all.
Because I could see Sohui smiling proudly among the sea of spectators.
I clenched a fist toward Sohui, then walked over to Namgung Hyeongeom.
“That was a good match, Namgung young master.”
“To think you could improvise like that in such a situation... I’m truly astonished.”
Namgung Hyeongeom still sounded as if he were in shock.
“To alter the forms of a martial technique so freely... As expected, the world is vast.”
We finished the match by shaking hands in the center of the platform.
When the crowd’s cheers had died down somewhat, Namgung Taeseong, who had been watching from above, leaped down from his seat and landed in the center of the platform.
“Then I’ll present the prize to the tournament winner!”
Prize? There was a prize for the tournament?
I hadn’t cared much about prizes, so I hadn’t been curious, but now that he was saying the winner would be given one, my interest began to stir.
“The prize is a dagger forged from black steel and engraved with a dragon, presented in the spirit of the finest among the current generation’s young heroes!”
Namgung Taeseong held out a single dagger to me.
The scabbard had a rather ornate design, but the dagger itself was shaped for combat, with a keen edge.
I had never really used a dagger before, but just wearing it at my waist would make me look impressive enough, and I rather liked the scabbard.
“Thank you!”
“Come by the alliance sometime. I have something important to tell you.”
After saying that, Namgung Taeseong declared the tournament over.
I fastened the awarded dagger to my right hip and headed for the stands.
When I reached the seating area, everyone was too busy cheering to pay attention to anything else.
I quickly found Sohui and led her out.
“It’s a little overwhelming, isn’t it?”
“You’re the winner of the Martial Arts Tournament, so it’ll be noisy wherever you go for a while. You’re the North Sea Divine Dragon, after all.”
“So that nickname really stuck, huh. And on top of that, the prize dagger even has a dragon engraved on it... Was that deliberate?”
“The prize had already been decided in advance. How could it be deliberate? The dagger simply found its rightful owner.”
Sohui looked extremely pleased. Seeing her like that made me feel absurdly proud.
“By the way, Alliance Leader said to come to the alliance. Did you hear anything about why?”
“Hmm... maybe he just wants to spar with you? Alliance Leader really likes fighting... no, I mean sparring.”
“Ah, no way.”
Namgung Taeseong was one of those figures who never failed to appear in any discussion of the strongest martial artists in the world, so I couldn’t imagine he’d call me in merely to ask for a sparring match after I’d won the young heroes’ tournament. But the next day, after we visited the Martial Alliance, I learned that Sohui’s guess had been exactly right.
Sohui had come with me to the Martial Alliance to see her father as well.
When we reached the entrance to the Martial Alliance, the guards opened the doors as if they had been waiting for us, then escorted us to the Alliance Leader’s office.
“You’re finally here! Come along.”
Namgung Taeseong took me to the Alliance Leader’s private training ground.
In the middle of the large garden behind the Martial Alliance’s main building stood a full-sized arena.
Namgung Taeseong leaped onto the platform with energetic steps and called out to me.
“Come on up! Let’s see what you’ve got!”
“Pardon?”
“A sparring match! No, wait, I mean I’ll teach you something!”
No matter who looked at him, it was obvious he had no intention of teaching me anything.
He really is the same kind of person as Lord Kwon.
It was obvious he wouldn’t let me leave if I refused, so I climbed onto the platform.
Even Jegal Jinhyeon, the chief military advisor, had somehow gotten the message and was already standing beside Sohui, ready to watch.
“I’ll yield the first strike! Show me that blow you used yesterday!”
Namgung Taeseong drew his sword and spoke to me.
I gripped my blade and took my stance.
If he’s talking about yesterday’s blow, then he means the spinning slash I altered.
I drew a calm breath and focused my internal energy.
The temperature around me fell, and my senses turned even colder.
Unlike yesterday, this time I was not improvising. I was beginning with preparation.
I charged at Namgung Taeseong.
Draw Cut
Unlike yesterday, the movements flowed together naturally.
Rather than using the draw cut as an attack, I used it only as the driving force for the rotation, then followed through with the spinning slash.
“So yesterday was the first time you’d ever used that form, and you improvised it on the spot? Hah, this is much sharper than yesterday. In that case, I should return the favor.”
Namgung Taeseong raised his sword the way Namgung Hyeongeom had done.
Then he brought it crashing down.
It looked similar to the Thunderfall from the Boundless Sky Sword Art that Namgung Hyeongeom had shown yesterday, but its power was on an entirely different level.
If the Boundless Sky Sword Art felt fierce and storm-driven, then the Imperial Emperor Sword Art was overwhelming, exuding the very bearing of an emperor.
The instant our swords met, I knew it.
I can’t beat this.
But I couldn’t give up so easily.
Part of it was because Sohui was watching, but more than that, I simply didn’t want to lose, even if my opponent was the Alliance Leader.
I’m the winner of the young heroes’ tournament too, you know. I can’t just lose helplessly!
But no matter how determined I was, there was no way to overcome that crashing Meteor Sword with willpower alone.
Was this the feeling of those who couldn’t stop my draw cut?
As that thought crossed my mind, Paeng Hosik’s blade technique suddenly came to me.
Right. There’s no need to clash head-on with one overwhelming strike.
Without retreating, I slipped into a trance-like state and swung my sword wildly in a relentless flurry.
The cold carried by the blade froze the surrounding air as it scattered around me.
“It’s like frost flowers are dancing,” Namgung Taeseong murmured, and something flashed in my mind.
I poured even more internal energy into the blade.
My sword, infused with energy, began to gleam with a sharp, icy light.
After driving in my internal energy, when I swung the sword, the steam in the air along its path froze into tiny shards of ice that scattered everywhere.
I tried launching a frenzied chain of attacks in that trance-like state, but Namgung Taeseong blocked them with ease.
After a long stretch of swinging my sword, my internal energy finally ran dry, and the blade lost its luster. My arm, which had been flailing so recklessly, was beginning to ache.
“Huff... I lost.”
In the end, I had no choice but to admit defeat.
Still, I felt oddly refreshed.
I had given it everything I had, and in the process I had gained a new understanding: how to infuse my sword with internal energy, and how to create a new technique in the middle of battle.
Because of that, I didn’t feel disappointed by this loss.
“You weren’t holding back yesterday?”
Namgung Taeseong smiled as he helped me to my feet.
“I was giving it my all yesterday too.”
When the sparring ended, Sohui ran over to me.
“That was amazing! I thought I was watching a sword dance! The way frost flowers were scattering along your sword path was gorgeous!”
“You said your martial art didn’t really have a proper name yet, right? Then how about Ice Dragon Sword Dance? It suits your swordsmanship very well.”
Jegal Jinhyeon added as he approached us.
“Ice Dragon Sword Dance...”
It was a little embarrassing that the word dragon kept getting attached to me, but if I looked at it purely as the name of a martial art, it was actually a pretty cool one.
In truth, it also matched the title of the North Sea Divine Dragon, so after some thought, I decided to name my martial art Ice Dragon Sword Dance.
Names should have style. Compared to something like the Boundless Sky Sword Art, Ice Dragon Sword Dance is definitely cooler.
Just as I was thinking that, Jegal Jinhyeon spoke up.
“Ahem, Alliance Leader? You didn’t call Han-gongja just for a sparring match, did you?”
“Ah! Right! I’d completely forgotten.”
“So sparring wasn’t the point?”
“There’s another reason I called you here. Let’s go back to my office before I explain it. There may be ears listening.”
What on earth could it be that he was worried even other people might overhear it in secret?
With that question in mind, we all headed back to the Alliance Leader’s office.