Heir: Jongchil 27
"Senior Brother! Hang in there!"
Namgung Sehan, a branch family member of the Namgung Clan, shouted his encouragement at Namgung Ho. As if his cheers had reached him, Namgung Ho's movements grew even swifter, like a soaring azure dragon. The sight of him scattering blue lightning qi while pressing his opponent filled the other young experts with awe.
The match was completely under Namgung Ho's control. At least, that's how it looked to Namgung Sehan's eyes. The guy named Jongchil was barely managing to dodge the Emperor Swordsmanship. Not to mention, his fists couldn't even graze Namgung Ho.
Jongchil tried to close the distance, but Namgung Ho maintained half a jang gap while dancing his sword dance.
It was clear who would be standing at the end of this fight.
"Hmm…!"
But Namgung Jigon, the senior elder sitting beside him, furrowed his brow like an earthworm and let out a faint groan. Namgung Cheolsan next to him wore a bitter smile far from his usual hearty grin. Neither looked like they were predicting Namgung Ho's victory. Growing impatient, Namgung Sehan asked them.
"Elder! Martial Aunt! Why the long faces? Isn't Senior Brother dominating right now!?"
Namgung Cheolsan spoke up in place of the silent Namgung Jigon.
"It only looks that way."
"Only looks that way? Then what do you two see?"
Namgung Cheolsan eyed Jongchil, who raised a fist infused with power to face off against Namgung Ho. It seemed crude at first glance, but every motion was perfectly measured—no excess, no shortage.
He was a truly bizarre martial artist. From seeing him yesterday in person, Namgung Cheolsan hadn't sensed any special talent. His intuition was as reliable as his martial prowess.
The man now exchanging blows with Namgung Ho in the arena seemed like a completely different person from yesterday's. From the aura he exuded to every action, it made him doubt if it was the same guy.
"Can you see the lightning qi scattering from Brother Ho's sword?"
Namgung Sehan nodded vigorously at Namgung Cheolsan's question, booming back.
"Yes! The clear, sky-blue lightning qi is plain as day, like the autumn heavens. And that Jongchil punk's too busy dodging it. He hasn't even mounted an offense."
"Wrong. He's already seized a perfect offense."
"What!? To my eyes, Jongchil looks desperate just avoiding Senior Brother's lightning…"
He turned back to the arena. The powerful lightning from the Emperor Swordsmanship crashed toward Jongchil with an unnatural roar.
Jongchil dodged the lightning with exquisite footwork and lunged toward Namgung Ho. Namgung Ho stepped back, widening the gap again.
Namgung Ho kept foiling Jongchil's attempts to close in. No matter how he looked, Senior Brother was leading the duel.
"Even looking again, he seems like he's just toying with Senior Brother's attacks."
"How many chances do you think Young Master Jong had to land a solid hit on Ho?"
"Huh?"
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Namgung Sehan shut his mouth. He hadn't seen a single one.
"W-Were there really that many?"
"Thirteen in total. If Young Master Jong had wanted, this fight would've ended ages ago."
The bitter smile on Namgung Cheolsan's lips widened.
Namgung Sehan couldn't believe it. If he'd had thirteen openings, why were they still trading blows?
Namgung Jigon, who had stayed silent, finally spoke.
"He's analyzing our Emperor Swordsmanship."
"Analyzing the swordsmanship? You mean he's dragging out the match just for that?"
"Regrettably, yes. How could this…"
Jongchil was deliberately not ending the match. To him, it was already a coin in his pocket. His reason for prolonging it was surely for the Namgung Hyeok he might face later.
Namgung Jigon's cold eyes spat fury at Jongchil's audacious, insolent behavior.
"For a nameless wild man to humiliate the Namgung Clan like this. I can't even remember the last time I felt this indignant."
"Senior Elder, don't get too worked up. The guy's just freakishly strong—out of spec. Honestly, I couldn't have built up that kind of cultivation at his age either. The jianghu always spits out monsters that defy common sense."
Namgung Cheolsan chuckled heartily. Of course, it was a half-hearted consolation for soothing Namgung Jigon.
"Still, we can't just be his stepping stone! This is about the Namgung Clan's pride!"
Namgung Jigon snorted, glaring at the arena. Good thing he'd taken out insurance just in case. That Jongchil punk would regret his arrogance.
Namgung Jigon felt his predicament around one gak after Jongchil and Namgung Ho started clashing.
Clearly, he had the opponent on the defensive. The guy was hopping around like a cat caught in a downpour, hiding desperately.
Yet the match dragged on. His strikes, aimed at openings, were all blocked by Jongchil's every move. Namgung Ho began to doubt his advantage.
"Looks like I've seen all there is to see."
The guy's relaxed words were impossible to ignore.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You still haven't noticed? I had high hopes since you're the Namgung Clan's eldest son."
Jongchil smirked unpleasantly.
In the next instant, his body sliced through space like a blade, closing in front of him. The half-jang gap he'd never allowed before crumbled in a heartbeat.
"Kuhuk!"
A spicy pain pierced his thigh, drawing a groan from Namgung Ho. It was Jongchil's kick loaded with eachi. His body flew back.
If not for instinctively deploying his protective qi, his left thigh muscles would've torn. The bone might not have survived either.
Before he could raise his sword to counter, Jongchil moved again. The motion was utterly different from before. His agility had doubled in an instant—like sorcery.
"Damn it!"
He unleashed lightning qi wildly. It exploded outward from his body, flowing through the air to form a repulsive field. Anyone crossing it carelessly would get fried.
Pajijijik!
But Jongchil didn't stop. He wrapped himself in protective qi and leaped through the lightning field. The skill to generate it on the fly was no joke. In that moment, Namgung Ho felt the gap between them.
He had to counterattack. There was still distance.
"Yunryong Salpung (Cloud Dragon Wind Slash)!"
Blade winds laced with lightning tore toward Jongchil like shredding flesh. Enough to buy time, Namgung Ho thought. Unfortunately, dead wrong.
"I've seen that technique seven times already."
Jongchil's body weaved through with flashy footwork, evading the blade winds of Yunryong Salpung.
The guy wasn't clashing evenly out of matched skill. He was just treating the duel like training. Namgung Ho's belated realization.
And now, time to pay for that late epiphany.
"Straight Fist!"
No time for protective qi this round. Jongchil's fist slammed true into Namgung Ho's abdomen. His body soared back again.
Thud!
"Ahh! Finally, Young Master Jong's fist connects! A split-second opening decides victory—such is the way of battle!?"
As the duel neared its end, announcer Chwigulgae Bokgojon's voice boomed. The crowd's cheers swelled in response.
"Holy crap! Jong's actually doing it!"
"Nice! Lay him out! Give those Namgung smartasses a taste of fire!"
Namgung Ho rose. Luckily, he hadn't dropped his sword. But coughing up blood with his hacks—he was internally injured.
His opponent looked fine. Barely winded, even. Meanwhile, he'd burned massive inner energy sustaining the Emperor Swordsmanship.
With internal injuries now, no normal method could beat him. A shadow of desperate desire burned in Namgung Ho's eyes.
Sahaedan (Dead Blood Pill)—swallow it for an instant boost of half a gajin's inner energy.
Namgung Jigon's voice echoed in his ear. He glanced at the stands. Meeting his eyes, Namgung Jigon nodded subtly.
"Why not surrender before you embarrass yourself more?"
Jongchil needled him. Namgung Ho glared back with tiger-like ferocity.
"Don't make me laugh! I won't lose!"
He ducked his head, covering his mouth with his sleeve. He slipped out the Sahaedan hidden there and swallowed it. Chewing the pill with a crunch released a salty, iron tang—like concentrated human blood.
"Ughhh!"
The Sahaedan's effect was immediate. He felt his channels heating as inner energy surged through.
His channels expanded. The flow volume spiked instantly.
"Here I come! Emperor Swordsmanship Third Form, First Stance! Cheongcheon Byeokryeok (Azure Sky Thunderbolt)!"
Pure lightning qi, condensed like a drop of ocean blue, enveloped Namgung Ho's sword. The pinnacle of the Emperor Swordsmanship—Cheongcheon Byeokryeok. The simplest bisecting strike, yet it had incinerated every Namgung foe without fail.
Same doping as Gibosak! So the Namgung Clan supplied him the pill.
The explosive inner energy pouring from Namgung Ho defied common sense. Few orthodox sects dealt such pills.
His energy's unstable, overflowing like it's forced. Not something they refined themselves.
That pill involved the demonic cult somehow. Meaning a connection between the Namgung Clan and them.
Not in the original story. But this Extreme Sword Heavenly Immortal world had diverged from canon in many ways already. His actions were butterfly wings twisting the destined future endlessly.
The lightning on Namgung Ho's sword writhed like a thunder dragon. And that dragon's prey was none other than him.
Output's up.
Lightning's nature meant even a solid block could still sting. Plus, Namgung Ho was dumping every last drop of inner energy into this finishing blow.
Pajijijijik!
The Namgung thunder dragon bared its jaws and lunged. Simultaneously, blue lightning erupted from the ground. First to numb the foe, then devour them.
Jongchil, with protective qi up in advance, deflected the ground lightning. And he didn't dodge.
Like with Ubija—smash this head-on!
The best way to build fame? Taking the hard road on purpose. A fist fighter defying a thunder dragon? Perfect crowd-pleaser.
Toughen Up! Foot Kick!
Toughen Up 1Lv (D-grade)
↳ Body becomes slightly tougher.
True KHC - Foot Kick 4Lv (C-grade)
↳ Fires a spinning kick infused with inner power or mana.
He gathered inner energy at his foot's tip. Yielding to the turbulence from Namgung Ho's lightning, he spun his body around his left foot. A mighty technique formed at his glowing toe, ready to devour the thunder dragon.
Kukukukuku!