The Red Tiger and the Fierce Tiger
When the match ended, Mu-seung collapsed onto the spot and sat there with a thud.
"That was a good match."
I held out my hand to him.
"So you really are the champion of the Martial Arts Tournament... the North Sea Divine Dragon..."
Mu-seung took my hand and got to his feet.
Then he shuffled out of the arena.
"Did you see that just now? That speed was incredible!"
"No way anyone could have blocked that."
"Is that what the strongest of the younger generation looks like?"
The crowd was in an uproar after my overwhelming victory.
'At this level, it's definitely a step below the Martial Arts Tournament.'
The fighters in the arena were a cut below the ones who had made it through the preliminaries of the tournament.
Of course the Martial Arts Tournament had been held across a far wider stretch of the Central Plains, so it made sense that the level was higher.
And since I had grown even stronger after the tournament ended, the whole thing felt almost a little too easy.
Still, I had high expectations for Paeng Hoyeon and Paeng Hosik. If they were as strong as I thought, then the semifinals and finals should give me something worth watching.
I beat my Round of Sixteen opponent and my quarterfinal opponent in the blink of an eye as well.
Like Mu-seung, they couldn’t even react to my footwork, so the wins came effortlessly.
And so, after those boring matches were over, it was finally time to face the Peng siblings I had been waiting for.
My opponent in the semifinals was Paeng Hoyeon.
I was a little curious about her dual-blade style.
Because of the waiting room setup, I couldn’t watch anyone else’s matches, so I was fairly excited to see what kind of blade art she used.
"And now, the semifinal match everyone has been waiting for! On one side, the red tiger of Hebei! Red Tiger, Paeng Hoyeon!"
At the announcer’s call, Paeng Hoyeon walked in from the far side of the arena.
"And standing against her, this tournament’s strongest dark horse. The man of a single strike. The North Sea Divine Dragon, Han Yugang!"
As I walked toward the center of the arena, Paeng Hoyeon quietly drew her two blades.
"Then let the semifinals begin!"
The moment the announcer finished, Paeng Hoyeon charged straight at me.
"I’ll take the first move!"
She rushed in with her blades crossed in an X.
She was faster than I expected, so it was already too late to meet her with my katana draw.
I quickly drew White Moon Blade and my short blade, preparing to meet the attack.
[Flame Tiger Blade Art, Second Form: Fierce Tiger Combo]
Whether because of Paeng Hoyeon’s internal energy or not, her blades glowed red.
The heat from them shimmered so fiercely that the air around her seemed to waver.
Feeling that fierce pressure, I wrapped my own internal energy around my swords as well.
I parried the crossing barrage with White Moon Blade and my short blade, then stepped back.
"I’ve heard about that terrifying opening of yours from my older brother! I’m not giving you any chance to settle in!"
Paeng Hoyeon kept coming.
She spun both blades and accelerated even more.
The rotation grew faster and faster, and then flames licked along the edges under the force of her inner energy, turning the two blades into wheels of fire charging straight at me.
[Flame Tiger Blade Art, Third Form: Flame Wheel]
[Ice Dragon Sword Dance, Third Form: Ice-Flower Riot]
I blocked the two fire wheels with White Moon Blade and my short blade.
The more I met them head-on, the more their speed and power seemed to bleed away.
But Paeng Hoyeon showed no sign of giving up and kept forcing her attack forward.
To kill the force of the Flame Wheel, I stopped thinking about offense and focused on defense, sweeping my swords in steady, measured motions.
Her charge continued, but little by little her spinning blades began to slow.
Then, in an instant, Paeng Hoyeon’s twin blades lost their force and were knocked aside.
'Now.'
Using the strength I had held in reserve, I closed the distance in a flash and pressed my short blade to Paeng Hoyeon’s throat.
"That was a good match, Miss Paeng."
"The winner is the North Sea Divine Dragon! Han Yugang!"
"You really are strong."
Paeng Hoyeon looked oddly relieved.
Then her eyes widened, and the way she looked at me changed a little.
"I’ve decided!"
"Decided what?"
Her sudden declaration left me wondering what on earth she had decided.
"Marry me!"
Her abrupt proposal sent the arena into an uproar.
Apparently Paeng Daeung had heard it too, because his jaw dropped and stayed that way.
"Out of nowhere?"
"Your looks are good! And after watching you for a while, I’ve got to say your character is excellent too, don’t I? More than anything, you’re stronger than me! You’d be the perfect husband!"
Paeng Hoyeon stepped closer to me.
"It’s not like you’re already engaged to Lady Jegal yet, right? Marry me."
Her sudden, aggressive pursuit left me completely flustered.
Unable to stand by any longer and watch Paeng Hoyeon’s blunt courtship, Paeng Daeung rushed into the arena.
"What are you saying like this without even consulting anyone first?"
"Why not? This is what I want!"
"There are too many eyes on you right now, and the tournament isn’t over. Come with me."
Paeng Daeung forcibly dragged Paeng Hoyeon away.
After the noisy semifinal ended, I returned to the waiting room.
I was still dazed by the sudden public proposal.
Still, I couldn’t say I disliked it when Paeng Hoyeon came at me that boldly.
On the contrary, I felt pretty good.
Across both my lives, there had never been a woman who came after me so openly, and having a beauty like Paeng Hoyeon propose so boldly was a new experience entirely.
While I was still savoring that feeling, the final match finally began.
"Now then. It’s the final match everyone has been waiting for! Hebei’s pride! The mighty tiger of the Peng Clan! Paeng Hosik!"
Paeng Hosik was working the crowd, soaking up the cheers and encouraging them to keep it going.
"And opposing him, the North Sea Divine Dragon who tamed Hebei’s Red Tiger! Han Yugang!"
"Haha."
I walked in with an awkward laugh.
As I stepped into the center of the arena, Paeng Hosik asked in a voice full of excitement, "Since when were you and my little sister like that?"
"Since when? I’m the one who was just shocked by it."
"No matter how useless my little sister may be, I can’t hand her over to someone weaker than me!"
From the way he acted, I finally understood why not a single marriage proposal had ever reached Paeng Hoyeon until now.
The words, "I’ve beaten you before," rose all the way to the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t bother saying them aloud.
"Then both sides get ready! The match begins now!"
At the announcer’s cry, Paeng Hosik charged at me just like Paeng Hoyeon had.
"I can’t lose again!"
[Five Tigers Cleaving Gate Blade, Third Form: Fierce Tiger Assault]
It was similar to my own sword draw, but far rougher, a headlong rush that carried the ferocity of a wild beast.
By giving up the initiative in the semifinal and again now, I was finally feeling the weakness of Ice Dragon Sword Dance, which had no form devoted to defense.
Without being able to seize the first strike with my draw, I could feel myself losing ground in momentum, and handling the assault was undeniably difficult.
Still, I quickly drew White Moon Blade and wrapped my body in internal energy.
'Think of the Ice Armor Technique my father or my second brother uses.'
I spread my internal energy around my body as if I were forming armor.
It was an improvised technique, so it didn’t take on the proper shape of my father’s or second brother’s Ice Armor Technique, but it was enough to blunt Paeng Hosik’s charge with my internal energy and stop it.
Even so, Paeng Hosik refused to surrender the momentum and kept attacking with relentless force.
"I’ll never hand over my little sister!"
[Five Tigers Cleaving Gate Blade, Second Form: Fierce Tiger Frenzy]
I tried to meet the savage rain of strikes with Ice-Flower Riot, but I didn’t have time to draw my short blade.
I did my best to deflect everything with White Moon Blade alone, but the power behind Fierce Tiger Frenzy showed no sign of breaking.
'I can’t stop this by colliding with it head-on. Paeng Hosik is definitely strong right now.'
Paeng Hoyeon was the one who’d made the proposal, but Paeng Hosik had awakened with such anger that he looked like the one I’d robbed blind.
At this rate I’d lose the battle of momentum and go down just like that.
'Think... think...'
As I was gradually forced backward, the collar of my clothes was cut apart by the blade storm.
Then something flashed in my mind.
Jinmu, the Taoist priest’s Taiji Sword from the Martial Arts Tournament.
That sword art was built on such soft technique that it let every attack slide harmlessly away.
'Right. No need to meet him head-on.'
I sent my internal energy not into the blade edge, but into the body of the sword, strengthening it.
Then I began to gently redirect Paeng Hosik’s barrage along the sword body.
Since Paeng Hosik was swinging with abandon, in a daze and with nothing in his eyes, there was no difficulty in leading his strikes away.
[Ice Dragon Sword Dance, Fifth Form: Gentle Flow Sword Dance]
I gradually neutralized his attacks and wore down their momentum.
Paeng Hosik also looked flustered, his face plainly showing his confusion as every swing seemed to carve only empty air, without ever meeting my blade with real force.
But he still refused to give up, grinding his teeth and keeping the blade moving.
[Five Tigers Cleaving Gate Blade, First Form: Tiger Claw]
It seemed he had burned through a great deal of strength and meant to finish it with one crushing blow, but even that was swept away by my Gentle Flow Sword Dance and lost its power.
'Now.'
With Paeng Hosik’s momentum finally broken, I drew my short blade as well and pressed the attack in a frenzied burst.
[Ice Dragon Sword Dance, Third Form: Ice-Flower Riot]
In the end, with his strength spent, Paeng Hosik could not block all of my strikes and dropped to one knee.
"The champion of the tournament is the North Sea Divine Dragon, Han Yugang!"
At the announcer’s declaration, the crowd erupted so loudly it seemed the whole arena would shake apart.
"North Sea Divine Dragon! North Sea Divine Dragon!"
I walked up to Paeng Hosik and held out my hand.
"That was a good match."
"You really are strong... Still, that doesn’t mean I’m approving your marriage to my sister!"
I still didn’t understand why a marriage I hadn’t even seriously considered kept getting rejected, but being refused like this left me feeling oddly strange all the same.
'Am I really that bad?'
I had won, but Paeng Hosik looked thoroughly relieved.
"I can’t beat you yet. I’ll have to work harder."
With that, Paeng Hosik left the arena, and I remained alone, listening to the cheers of the crowd.
Then, from somewhere overhead, Paeng Daeung flew down and landed in front of me.
"Hahaha! As expected of the North Sea Divine Dragon! At last, the final match of this tournament is here!"
"Pardon?"
I was more than a little stunned by Paeng Daeung suddenly appearing and demanding a match.
"I need to find out whether you’re a man who can take responsibility for my daughter!"
I tried to explain myself, but Paeng Daeung clearly wasn’t listening anymore. He was already taking a wooden sword from inside his robes.
'Why is that coming out of his robes...'