The Peng Clan’s Son-in-Law?
The force behind Paeng Daeung made it clear there was no way to refuse a spar.
Since I’d already fought through the semifinal and the final in succession, I was starting to worry about my diminishing inner energy and stamina.
But perhaps sensing my concern, Paeng Daeung made an offer.
“Show me that one-strike technique you used before! I won’t attack at all.”
It was a pretty decent offer.
Baedo was, after all, a technique that didn’t consume much inner energy, and if this match ended with only me attacking, then win or lose, it would be over in a single exchange. I agreed without hesitation.
“I heard my son lost to that technique in one move at the martial arts tournament. Now I’m really curious!”
It seemed Paeng Daeung had heard rumors about Baedo and the spinning slash.
And just like that, a spur-of-the-moment spar between Paeng Daeung and me was set.
“Now then, an impromptu match between the North Sea Divine Dragon and the Blade King! Can the North Sea Divine Dragon break through the Blade King?”
At the announcer’s declaration, the crowd only burned hotter. I slowly lowered my stance and steadied my breathing.
There’s no attack coming from him anyway. I only need to show my best Baedo.
Under normal circumstances, the preparation stance ended almost immediately, but this was different.
I kept my inner energy circulating without pause, concentrating it into the White Moon Blade.
As if responding in kind, the White Moon Blade hummed and trembled.
A chill seeped out with my breath, and even the air around me began to freeze.
“So this is the North Sea Divine Dragon’s strongest strike!”
Paeng Daeung began gathering his own energy, clearly intrigued.
The world around me seemed to slow.
Even the cheers of the crowd and the cold wind brushing my cheek felt vivid and distinct.
My body grew a little lighter, and I felt as if I could cut through anything.
Now.
I burst toward Paeng Daeung like a bolt of lightning.
He didn’t panic. Instead, with an amused look on his face, he focused on me.
He slowly raised the wooden sword and swung it down toward my charging body.
[Five Tigers Cleaving Gate Blade, First Form: Tiger Claw]
It was the same form used by Paeng Hosik, but the power behind it was on a different level.
The shape of a tiger’s paw swiping forward was visible in the force itself.
But right now, I could cut through it.
I drew the White Moon Blade and swung along the grain of the strike.
[Baedo]
Paeng Daeung’s wooden sword collided with my White Moon Blade.
His Tiger Claw carried far more force than Paeng Hosik’s.
Even though it was only a wooden sword, it was far sharper and more ferocious.
It seemed Paeng Daeung had wrapped it in inner energy, because it was much harder to overpower than I’d expected.
Still, perhaps because it was still only wood, a faint crackling sound, like timber splitting, reached my ears.
No helping it.
[Spinning Slash]
I twisted my body and turned with the motion.
Paeng Daeung seemed startled by the sudden change, but he immediately slammed his wooden sword into my spinning slash.
This time, though, it was different.
The wooden sword, trying desperately to follow my spinning slash, was split cleanly in two, and my White Moon Blade passed through like a trail of icy grains scattering across the Milky Way.
Even the audience, which had been cheering so wildly, fell silent for an instant.
The broken tip of the wooden sword dropped to the ground, and I slowly sheathed the White Moon Blade.
“The... the winner is the North Sea Divine Dragon!”
When I looked back, Paeng Daeung was staring at the broken sword with a dazed expression.
A wooden sword was no match for a divine blade like the White Moon Blade, after all.
If it had been a real blade, I doubt I could have won this way.
Paeng Daeung was lost in thought for a moment before walking over to me.
“Even better than I expected! Incredible!”
Then, with that same booming laugh, he hoisted me up.
“I recognize you as the Peng Clan’s son-in-law!”
“What?!”
The moment he suddenly declared me his son-in-law, the crowd’s cheers rose louder than ever.
“Kahaha! Our son-in-law is the strongest!”
I protested with every part of my body, but nobody was interested in hearing me out.
By the time the cheers finally died down, Paeng Daeung set me back on my feet and said, “When should the wedding be?”
“I have no intention of getting married!”
Just then, Paeng Hoyeon edged closer and spoke in a small voice.
“Do you really dislike me that much?”
With her eyes looking so moist and pitiful, I couldn’t bring myself to voice a refusal.
“It’s not that...”
“Then that settles it! If you don’t dislike me, then marry me!”
Paeng Hoyeon and Paeng Daeung laughed heartily as if they had won something and headed back to the Peng Clan.
I felt drained by the sheer force of the father-and-daughter pair.
I should’ve just lost.
I regretted, a little, going all out and winning out of some pointless competitive pride.
Once the tournament at the arena had ended, I was about to return to the Ice Palace, but at Paeng Daeung and Paeng Hoyeon’s persistent urging, I ended up staying at the Peng Clan for a few more days.
Even over those extra days, Paeng Hoyeon’s aggressive pursuit continued.
She acted everywhere outside the Peng Clan as though we were already engaged, and I couldn’t stop her.
Paeng Daeung joined in too, treating me as though I were already his son-in-law, and before long, rumors had spread through Hebei that I had become the Peng Clan’s son-in-law.
While I was staying at the Peng Clan, a letter arrived addressed to me.
The sender was the Jegal Clan.
Could it be Sohee?
With a flutter of excitement, I opened the letter.
As expected, it was from Sohee.
[Brother, are you doing well? I’ve finally settled down.]
It was a relief to hear she’d settled down.
[From the rumors I’ve heard, it seems like you’re doing very well too, don’t you think?]
Something about the way she wrote that left a sting behind it, and chills ran up my spine.
Could the rumors from Hebei have spread all the way to the Jegal Clan?
The scarier part was that the letter ended right there.
In the end, I began making preparations to visit the Jegal Clan in person and clear things up.
My resolve was firm, so this time even Paeng Daeung and Paeng Hoyeon couldn’t stop me.
I hurriedly finished getting ready to leave, and just as I was about to step out of the Peng Clan, Paeng Hoyeon followed after me.
“You don’t need to see me off.”
“I’m not seeing you off.”
Paeng Hoyeon had a small bundle and her twin blades with her.
“I’m coming too.”
At that unexpectedly troublesome situation, I glanced at Paeng Daeung, but he only looked at me as if to say there was nothing to be done.
“Well... I suppose there’s no helping it.”
No matter what I said, Paeng Hoyeon looked determined to follow, so I gave up quickly and decided we’d go together.
She trailed behind me, brimming with excitement.
“This is my first trip, and it’s with my beloved. My heart’s pounding.”
“You’re not my beloved.”
Paeng Hoyeon looked so thrilled, as though this were her first time leaving Hebei for a journey.
I was just like that when I first set out for Anhui Province.
As I thought that and headed toward the Jegal Clan, it turned out to be more enjoyable than I’d expected.
Paeng Hoyeon was blunt about everything, but that honesty was part of her charm, and she had a pure side to her. The journey was familiar to me, but watching her eyes shine with excitement over everything she saw made me feel excited too.
As we headed for the Jegal Clan, we grew a little closer and naturally started speaking informally.
“Hoyeon, let’s get going.”
“Okay!”
And at last, we arrived at Mount Bokryong, where the Jegal Clan was said to be hidden.
We’d reached the foot of Mount Bokryong, but I couldn’t help wondering whether a clan really existed in a place like this.
Every clan I’d visited so far had governed a city and been located in its center, but Mount Bokryong, where the Jegal Clan was supposedly hidden, was so quiet there wasn’t a single sign of life.
The mountain was eerily still, as if not even an animal lived there.
“Mount Bokryong isn’t even that high, but I still can’t see the clan anywhere.”
At my question, Paeng Hoyeon tilted her head, equally puzzled.
While searching the entrance to Mount Bokryong, we found an old man offering prayers before a stone statue.
“Hello. Sorry to bother you, but may I ask you something?”
“Hm? What brings young people here?”
“Do you happen to know where the Jegal Clan is?”
“Why are you looking for the Jegal Clan?”
“There’s someone I want to meet.”
At my words, the old man stared at me intently.
He looked for a long moment before speaking slowly.
“Why don’t you try praying to the statue?”
With that, the old man shuffled away.
“He’s really strange. To say ‘I don’t know’ like that...”
Paeng Hoyeon looked doubtful, but for some reason I had the feeling that the old man was no ordinary person.
“Still, just in case, let’s try praying.”
I clasped my hands and prayed toward the stone statue.
Please let me find the Jegal Clan.
But the surroundings remained just as quiet as before.
With a sense of inevitability, I slowly opened my eyes.
There’s no way something like this would work.
But what I saw when I opened my eyes wasn’t the small statue at all, but a mansion with a nameplate that read Jegal.
“What?”
I looked around.
But Paeng Hoyeon was nowhere to be seen.
Could it be that praying to the statue really is how you find the Jegal Clan?
With that question in mind, I walked into the Jegal Clan residence.
Once inside, Sohee was waiting for me.
“It’s been a while, Brother.”
“It has.”
Fortunately, Sohee’s face was bright as she welcomed me.
It seemed I had misread the contents of the letter entirely.
While we were exchanging greetings, I sensed movement behind me and turned around. Paeng Hoyeon was standing there with a baffled look on her face.
“Praying to the statue is really the way to find the Jegal Clan?”
“Not just anyone can do it. Only those permitted by the guards can pass through the formation.”
“Then the old man from before was a guard?”
The old man praying before the statue came to mind.
“Come inside first.”
I followed Sohee farther in.
Paeng Hoyeon, having finally caught on, hurried after me.