Chapter 222: Building a Friendship with Seol-hyang - 2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 222: Building a Friendship with Seol-hyang - 2
"Are you... are you really just in the Super-Peak Realm?"
Seol-hyang spoke to Sun-woo, her face etched with pure astonishment.
She couldn't understand it. She, who had been so overwhelmingly suppressed.
She was a master who had reached the Super-Peak Mid-Stage.
'And yet, I was suppressed this easily by a fellow Super-Peak master?!'
Even for her master, Guwol Shin-ni, the Sect Leader of the Emei Sect, such a feat would have been impossible.
At her question, Sun-woo wore a look of realization. He had tried his best to control his strength while fighting, but it seemed his true level had been exposed.
'Damn it.'
Sun-woo cursed inwardly.
He had made a firm promise not to reveal his true realm, so he couldn't exactly come clean now.
"I am at the Super-Peak Upper Stage," Sun-woo lied with a brazen expression.
"Liar."
Perhaps she had seen right through his bluff, as Seol-hyang spoke firmly.
"I am a master of the Super-Peak Mid-Stage. There is no way someone at the Super-Peak Upper Stage could suppress me with such overwhelming skill."
"Don't you think your sword skills were simply lacking?"
Sun-woo offered a rebuttal. It was a comment bordering on a reproach—suggesting her swordsmanship was the problem—but what else could he do? He had to survive this situation first.
"No."
Seol-hyang shook her head and continued.
"It wasn't just the skill. I was outmatched in power, in Qi, and in speed. I couldn't keep up with anything."
Seol-hyang revealed her inner thoughts with a determined look. Though it had been a brief match, she could feel it. There wasn't a single area where she held the advantage.
Sun-woo was strong. Incredibly so.
It wasn't just technique. She was lacking in strength and outpaced in speed. What did that imply? It was proof that even the internal energy she used to activate her body couldn't reach his level.
She was certain. Sun-woo was in the realm above the Super-Peak.
"Whew."
Hearing her words, Sun-woo let out a long sigh. Looking at the conviction in her eyes, it seemed she had moved past suspicion and into absolute certainty. He realized that if he kept denying it, he might only provoke a backlash.
"Lady Seol."
"Yes?"
"Can you keep this a secret?"
"Of course!"
At Sun-woo's question, Seol-hyang nodded with a bright smile.
"Actually, I recently had an enlightenment and ascended to a new realm."
"A new realm? You mean...?"
"The Transcendent Realm."
"The Transcendent Realm?!"
Seol-hyang's eyes widened in shock. Even though she had expected it, hearing it directly from him made it feel real in a whole new way.
The Transcendent Realm.
What did that even mean? Was it not the absolute realm that only those with blessed talent could reach? A realm that even a talented martial artist might never reach in a lifetime of training, yet he had achieved it before even reaching the age of thirty.
It was nothing short of miraculous.
"Ah..."
She let out an exclamation of awe as she looked at Sun-woo. She couldn't help it. That was the kind of weight the Transcendent Realm carried.
"I can't believe it... I never imagined it was actually the Transcendent Realm."
"Shh."
Sun-woo placed a finger to his lips.
"Lady Seol, please, keep this a secret."
Sun-woo spoke with a troubled expression. Tang Seo-yoon had strictly warned him to hide his true realm. Now that he had failed to control his strength and got caught, he felt quite awkward.
"Don't worry. I'm not the type of person to go around blabbing secrets."
At Sun-woo's earnest request, Seol-hyang replied with a radiant smile. Since hiding one's martial arts level was common in the Murim, she readily gave her word. Besides, she didn't want to see Sun-woo, for whom she felt a great deal of affection, in a difficult spot.
"Thank you, Lady Seol."
Only after hearing her assurance did a smile touch Sun-woo's lips. And seeing that smile, Seol-hyang's face flushed slightly.
She already liked him quite a bit. Learning that he had reached the Transcendent Realm only made her heart flutter more.
Thump, thump.
Her heartbeat grew louder.
'I told you to stay calm!'
She scolded her heart inwardly. After barely managing to compose herself, she looked up.
"Um... I don't know if I should call this a condition, but..."
She trailed off hesitantly while looking at Sun-woo.
"A condition?" Sun-woo asked, puzzled.
"Could I... ask for a martial duel occasionally?"
She finally mustered the courage to ask.
"A duel?"
"Yes... masters of the Transcendent Realm are rare. I'd like to receive your guidance every now and then."
"...Hmm."
Sun-woo stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought.
"Oh! If it's a problem, you don't have to say yes! A duel would be nice, but I don't want to burden you, Young Master Jang!"
Seeing Sun-woo's contemplative expression, Seol-hyang spoke hurriedly. She wanted to get closer to him through dueling, but she didn't want to make things difficult for him.
"Very well."
A positive response finally came from Sun-woo.
"Really?!"
Seol-hyang asked back, her face filled with a look of deep moved.
"It's not like I have that much to do anyway," Sun-woo said nonchalantly.
In truth, Sun-woo intended to use this to get closer to her. Since it was only a verbal promise, he didn't fully trust her silence yet. But since she had proposed a condition herself, it actually made him feel more at ease. He figured that by building a stronger friendship through dueling, she would be even more careful about his secret.
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
She thanked him repeatedly, looking at him with gratitude. Guidance from a master who had reached the Transcendent Realm, the so-called Absolute Realm—how could she not be thrilled? Of course, for her, the opportunity to get closer to Sun-woo was even better than the lessons themselves.
'Is this really something to be this happy about?'
Sun-woo was puzzled by her intense reaction. But he soon understood. He figured that if a master a level above him offered to teach him, he would be very happy too, even if not quite as much as her.
"Young Master Jang!"
"Yes, go ahead."
"Let's try one more time."
Having said that, she slowly raised her sword. It seemed she wanted to continue the duel.
"Fine."
Sun-woo readily accepted her proposal and lowered his sword. The duel began.
*
Woooooooong.
As the duel commenced, Seol-hyang quickly began to circulate her Peerless Golden Light Divine Art. Golden energy surged and swirled around her.
'Oh.'
Sun-woo was slightly impressed. The energy was far more powerful than before. It seemed she intended to clash with him properly this time.
Woooooooong.
The golden energy shimmering around Seol-hyang soon gathered at her blade, shining brilliantly as it took form. It was Sword Astral.
Flash!
Having formed the Sword Astral, she kicked off the ground and lunged toward Sun-woo. The earth gouged as her body flew toward him.
Swoooooosh!
Her sword cut through the air, thrusting straight for Sun-woo. Her target was his neck.
Clang!
Sun-woo quickly raised his Dragon Tail Soft Sword to block her strike. The impact was significant enough to slightly crack the ground beneath his feet. A smile played on Sun-woo's lips. He was pleased that she was stronger than he had expected.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
After her initial strike was blocked, she began to press Sun-woo with a relentless flurry of attacks. However, Sun-woo swung his sword with ease, parrying each of her strikes one by one. The sound of clashing Astral Qi echoed continuously.
After some time had passed...
Thwack!
Sun-woo's kick landed squarely on her jaw.
"Ugh!"
A groan escaped her lips from the pain in her jaw. Sun-woo didn't miss the opening. He swung his sword, striking her arm with the flat of the blade.
Thwack!
"Aah!"
Clatter.
The sword she was holding tumbled to the ground. Sun-woo brought his sword to her defenseless throat.
"I win."
"That's cheating!"
Seol-hyang puffed out her cheeks, looking at Sun-woo as if he were the most annoying person in the world.
"Lady Seol, a swordsman must also be proficient in hand-to-hand combat."
Sun-woo gave a light chuckle as he looked at her.
"Uuuuuu..."
Hearing his words, Seol-hyang could only lower her head in defeat. Sun-woo smiled, finding her reaction quite adorable.
He was actually having a lot of fun. Initially, he had agreed to the duel just to keep her quiet and build rapport, but it was more enjoyable than he had anticipated. Seol-hyang was a very fast learner; a trick that worked once wouldn't work a second time. She was what people called a genius.
Teaching swordsmanship to someone like her was quite a thrill. How could he not be happy when she picked up everything he taught so quickly? He finally understood why the seniors of the Murim enjoyed teaching their juniors.
Furthermore, through her, he could calibrate his strength to match the level of a Super-Peak master. Now, he likely wouldn't have to worry about exposing his realm due to a lack of control. A satisfied smile formed on Sun-woo's lips.
"Shall we continue?"
"No," Seol-hyang replied, looking at him. "I desperately want to get my revenge, but if we duel any longer, I'll lose my sleeping time."
Seol-hyang mimicked a yawn as she spoke.
"Can't you just sleep in the carriage?" Sun-woo asked, confused.
"How could I sleep when there's a coachman driving the carriage?"
"............"
Sun-woo fell silent, at a loss for words. He remembered how he had done nothing but snore and sleep regardless of whether there was a coachman or not. It seemed that whether in the Murim or the modern world, sleeping while someone else was driving was considered quite rude.
"You worked hard today."
Seol-hyang bowed her head in greeting.
"You worked hard as well."
Sun-woo also bowed in return. Satisfied smiles were etched on both their faces.
*
Glance, glance.
Seol-hyang kept stealing glances at Sun-woo as they walked side by side. Her curiosity about this man, who was far too strong, was beginning to grow uncontrollably.
'What kind of training does he usually do? Which muscles does he focus on? What style of swordsmanship does he primarily use? Illusion Sword? Face Changing? Strong Sword? Dominant Sword? Fast Sword? Heavy Sword? What kind of food does he eat? A meat-based diet? Or a vegetable-based one?'
A mountain of questions began to fill her head. She wanted to ask them all, but she kept her mouth shut. It was her way of being considerate to the man who had humored her childish whims. She settled for stealing glances at him.
"Lady Seol."
Sun-woo suddenly called her name.
"Ye-yes?!"
Startled, Seol-hyang quickly responded.
"Do you have something to say?"
"How... how did you know?"
"Weren't you glancing at me this whole time?"
"Uuuuu..."
Seol-hyang's face turned red with embarrassment. She thought she was being discreet, but it seemed her intentions were completely transparent.
"If you have questions, feel free to ask."
"Really?"
Seol-hyang's eyes sparkled as she looked at him.
"Of course."
"How can you be so strong, Young Master Jang?"
"I trained hard."
"Do you focus on upper body training? Or lower body?"
"I do both."
"Then what kind of swordsmanship do you mainly use? Illusion Sword? Face Changing? Strong Sword? Heavy Sword? Fast Sword?"
"I mainly use the Fast Sword."
"Then..."
"Then..."
And so, Sun-woo was only able to escape her barrage of questions after answering more than he could count. By the time she was done, they had already reached the campsite.
"Oh my, we're at the tents already."
"So... we are."
Sun-woo replied with a slightly exhausted expression. He had been asked so many questions that his head felt like it was ringing.
"That's a shame."
Seol-hyang looked genuinely disappointed. She still had a mountain of things to ask; how could they have reached the camp so quickly?
"Please, go inside."
Sun-woo spoke to her, intending to send her off quickly so he could go rest.
"............"
However, despite his words, Seol-hyang stood still with no sign of moving.
'Sigh.'
"Is there something else?" Sun-woo asked, sighing inwardly.
"Um... you see..."
Seol-hyang suddenly called out to him.
"What is it?"
"Can I call you Orabeoni?"
She asked, her face flushing deep red with shyness.
"No."
Sun-woo refused flatly.
"Why... why not?!"
Seol-hyang asked, taken aback by his blunt rejection. She hadn't expected him to refuse so decisively.
"If you act overly friendly, Lady Seol, it could lead to scandalous rumors."
"I don't mind!"
"I do."
Sun-woo shook his head and spoke firmly. He was currently Tang Seo-yoon's fiancé. If Seol-hyang used such a friendly title for him, people would definitely talk. He had to prevent such a situation from the start.
"Uuuuu."
At Sun-woo's firm refusal, Seol-hyang's expression turned gloomy.
"Is it... really not allowed?"
She asked again, her eyes welling with tears. She looked so pitiful, like a fragile flower in the rain.
"Hmm."
Sun-woo fell into thought. She wanted it so badly that he felt bad for repeatedly refusing, and he worried that being too cold might cause her to rebel.
"Fine. But only when we are alone."
"Really?! Thank you, thank you!"
At Sun-woo's permission, Seol-hyang beamed and thanked him.
'Is she really that happy?'
Sun-woo couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. Seeing her so delighted over something so small made him feel good in spite of himself.
"Then, Sun-woo Orabeoni, good night."
Seol-hyang gave him a polite bow.
"Good night to you too, Lady Seol."
Sun-woo also bid her goodnight.
"No! Not Lady Seol! Please call me Hyang-mae."
Seol-hyang's face turned bright red as she made her request.
"Hyang...mae... you sleep well too..."
Sun-woo gave a reluctant reply. He felt like she wouldn't leave unless he gave in.
"Yes!"
At his words, Seol-hyang wore a radiant smile. Then, she immediately turned around and ran toward the Emei tents. She was likely quite embarrassed herself.
Sun-woo stood there for a moment, blankly watching her run away.