A Father's Gift
It had been a while since I’d worn a wooden sword lighter than the blade I usually used, and the unfamiliar balance felt awkward in my hand.
Even so, I’d been curious how much stronger I’d become through sparring with my father, so there was no reason not to fight.
And honestly, now that I’d crossed hands with the Martial Alliance Leader, I was curious just how strong my father really was compared to him.
“Then I’ll take this chance to learn a move or two from Father after all.”
“Let’s see what our youngest North Sea Divine Dragon can do. I’m curious whether you really deserve to be called a dragon!”
My father laughed heartily as he spoke.
“Then the rules are the same as before. If both sides are ready, we’ll begin.”
At the Sword Demon Lord’s announcement, I lowered my stance and drew up my internal energy.
My father knew my drawing techniques, so he immediately wrapped himself in internal energy as well.
Ice Armor Technique
Draw Sword
I released a burst of cold and charged straight at him.
“It’s my youngest son’s opening attack. I’d be rude not to take it head-on.”
Cold White Divine Palm, First Form: Cold Shade Palm
An extreme yin force rolled off the palm my father thrust out.
So this is the palm art that sent my second brother flying in one shot.
The moment my wooden sword met his right hand, I felt it. His internal energy was so overwhelming I nearly had the instinct to be flung backward instead.
I twisted my body quickly, avoiding a direct contest, and turned the momentum into a spin.
Rotating Slash
From here on, these were techniques even my father had never seen before.
My blade swept from the lower left to the upper right, slipping past my father’s right hand.
He didn’t look flustered in the slightest. Instead, he thrust out his left hand.
“A new form built on the draw-sword technique? Very inventive.”
Cold White Divine Palm, Third Form: Rebound Palm
Before the sword could even touch my father’s left hand, the force of his internal energy sent it bouncing away.
Yeah, that’s not going to work on Father either.
I quickly reset my stance and charged again.
What about this time?
Draw Sword
“You’re using the same move again?”
My father thrust out his right hand once more.
Cold White Divine Palm, First Form: Cold Shade Palm
“Of course not!”
Before his Cold Shade Palm could even reach me, I drew my sword and slashed through the air.
Then, using that momentum, I spun in midair.
Rotating Slash
The evolved Rotating Slash that had made me the champion of the Martial Tournament clashed with my father’s Cold Shade Palm.
This time, it felt like I could at least hold my own a little better than before.
Even so, I still had the distinct feeling I couldn’t win.
I immediately drew the dagger with my left hand.
Ice Dragon Sword Dance, Third Form: Ice Flower Frenzy
My katana and dagger began to glow a deep, icy blue.
My father started to give ground, inch by inch, under the pressure of my relentless barrage.
With an amused expression, he blocked my strikes with ease.
Ice crystals scattered through the air along the path of my sword.
Even my father’s ice armor began to chip away bit by bit.
“A level of skill worthy of winning the Martial Tournament!”
My father said it with a slightly excited voice.
Cold White Divine Palm, Third Form: Rebound Palm
Noticing that my slashes were slowing, my father used his Rebound Palm to shove me to the opposite side.
“At this rate, you’d even be worth sparring with your second brother.”
“This still isn’t everything I’ve got.”
I scattered my internal energy around me, feeling the ice crystals drifting and floating in the air.
Ice Dragon Sword Dance, Fourth Form: Ice Rain
At my gesture, the ice crystals all shot toward my father at once.
The spectators were utterly stunned.
“What is that?”
“He’s making ice rain with internal energy?”
“That’s practically a sword-control technique!”
In truth, all I was doing was striking the crystals in the air with internal energy and sending them flying in one direction, but to anyone seeing it for the first time, it must have looked like I was controlling every single crystal myself.
But my father seemed to catch on. He drew up his internal energy and hardened his ice armor even further, meeting the ice rain head-on.
“Flashy and sharp, yes, but it still isn’t enough to pierce my Ice Armor Technique.”
It was enough to cut through jiangshi without much trouble, but breaking through my father’s hardened Ice Armor Technique was another matter entirely.
The number of ice crystals flying toward my father dwindled little by little, and the ice rain finally came to an end.
“Hoo... I’ve lost.”
I admitted defeat, having poured everything I knew into that exchange.
But I didn’t regret it.
“You can’t get away that easily.”
My father smiled faintly and closed the distance in an instant.
Cold White Divine Palm, First Form: Cold Shade Palm
His palm struck my abdomen.
In that instant, my breath caught, and my body lifted off the ground before flying backward.
Fortunately, the Sword Demon Lord caught me before I crashed into the wall.
“Whew... thank you, Sword Demon Lord.”
The extreme yin force still clung to my lower abdomen, leaving it numb with cold.
“Kahaha. I’d better give a gift to my youngest son, who showed such skill, and make it a celebration for winning the Martial Tournament while I’m at it.”
My father didn’t say what the gift was right away. Instead, he announced that the banquet was over.
And so the storm of a banquet came to an end, and the guests began to leave one by one.
My second brother and the Heavenly Sect Master’s group said they were returning to the Ten Million Great Mountains, and they left the Ice Palace not long after.
After seeing the spar between my father and me, my second brother headed back to the Heavenly Sect, saying he’d train even harder now.
When the noisy banquet ended, the Ice Palace returned to its usual silence.
With nothing else to do, I went to the training grounds every day and swung a wooden sword pointlessly.
Wielding a wooden sword after such a long time brought back memories of when I was a child, and I found myself sinking into them.
After sparring with my father, I felt I could still become stronger, and I swung the wooden sword with a resolve to surpass him someday, to defeat him for certain.
But without some real trigger, it felt like my swordsmanship wasn’t improving at all.
Several days passed like that before my father called for me. At his summons, I headed to his office.
When I entered, my father greeted me with a broad grin.
“There you are, my youngest. It’s a little late, but I prepared a gift to celebrate your Martial Tournament victory.”
As soon as he finished speaking, my eldest brother came into the office carrying something in his arms.
“I had to go to some trouble to get this for you.”
“What is it?”
When my eldest brother unwrapped the cloth bundle, I saw a lump of something like stone, radiating cold qi.
“It’s Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, enough to forge your new weapon.”
“What’s Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron?”
Just hearing the name made it sound like something incredibly precious.
“Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron is cold iron that has been exposed to yin energy for an exceptionally long time and has absorbed it. It’ll suit your martial arts, which are based on ice techniques, beautifully.”
“Wow! Thank you so much!”
From the explanation, it seemed even more valuable than the black iron used in the dagger I’d received from the Martial Alliance.
“A weapon made from this should never break, and its edge won’t dull either.”
My father looked extremely pleased with himself as he said it.
“I’ll introduce you to the most famous blacksmith in the North Sea, so go and find him yourself.”
So I took the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron and decided to set out on a journey to find the blacksmith my father had told me about.
He said the smith was in Hebei, not all that far from the North Sea.
Hebei... wasn’t that where Paeng Hosik’s clan was?
Thinking I might as well stop by the Paeng Clan if I had time, I set off again.
My steps felt lighter than ever, eager for the new weapon I’d be getting as soon as possible.
Compared to Sichuan or Anhui Province, Hebei was relatively close to the North Sea, so I was able to arrive quickly.
Hebei had a very different atmosphere from Sichuan or Anhui Province.
The people of Hebei were noticeably more combative, with a rougher edge to them.
I headed straight for the blacksmith village and went looking for the man named Gang Cheol.
His name is literally Gang Cheol. He’s basically born to be a blacksmith.
With that thought in mind, I looked for him from the village entrance onward.
The people in the blacksmith village all warned me that Gang Cheol, who lived at the top of the hill, had excellent skills but a difficult temperament, so I should be careful.
Right. Master craftsmen always have some oddness about them.
Thinking that, I stepped into the forge Gang Cheol ran.
“Is the blacksmith named Gang Cheol here by any chance?”
At my voice, a broad-shouldered man with dark, soot-stained skin came out from inside, hammer in hand.
He was a man made of steel, fitting his name perfectly.
“And who might ye be?”
“I’m Han Yugang from the Ice Palace. I came looking for someone to take on a commission.”
“Hmm...”
Gang Cheol studied me carefully.
Then his gaze lingered on the dagger at my right hip.
“I don’t handle little daggers like that. If you want a simple sidearm, buy one down in the lower village or somewhere.”
Just then, someone kicked the door open and came marching in.
“Uncle, are you there?”
The person who had burst in was a woman who looked a little younger than me.
She had red hair and a face that suggested she had plenty of personality.
“What, a customer already? Are you busy, Uncle?”
“I’m not busy. What brings you here?”
At this rate, it looked like they might throw me out without even hearing my request, so I hurriedly spoke up.
“Hrm... I was told you were the blacksmith best suited to handle this, so I came looking for you, but perhaps I was mistaken.”
I casually pulled the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron from my robe and showed it to him.
Gang Cheol recognized it at a glance, and his attitude changed immediately.
“Ahem! Is that perhaps Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron?”
“Oh? You recognized it right away.”
“So what is it you want made?”
At Gang Cheol’s sudden change in demeanor, I held out the katana scabbard I’d brought with me.
Then I began explaining the shape of the katana.
“It’s the kind of blade that goes into a scabbard like this. It has a single edge, it’s thin and long, and it’s curved. Can you make it?”
At my explanation, both Gang Cheol and the mysterious woman bent their heads together and studied the scabbard.
“A curved sword? And only one edge?”
The woman asked me again, sounding intrigued.
At her bright, sparkling eyes, I nodded.
“Oh... so it’s neither a proper sword nor a proper saber.”
Gang Cheol touched the scabbard for a long while, even peering inside it.
“It’s a rather unusual shape. Unless it’s me, it wouldn’t be easy to make a blade like this out of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron. You came to the right place. I’ll make it.”