Yongbong Tournament Main Round (2)
The second opponent I faced in the main round was a ronin known by the moniker Blood Wolf for the first time. He was a warrior who mainly made his living by hunting bandits for bounties or teaming up with the authorities to catch criminals. They said he got that ferocious nickname because once he set his sights on a target, he wouldn't let go even if they were drenched in blood.
The martial arts that Blood Wolf practiced weren't anything special. At best, he had second-rate swordsmanship and barely peak-level internal energy. So how had a guy like that made it to the main round? The answer was simple: he was just strong. His blade, honed through countless real battles, was razor-sharp, and his tenacious assaults into the slightest openings were downright intimidating.
However, neither his strikes from blind spots nor his relentless pursuits could touch me. Instead, Blood Wolf, growing impatient and overextending himself, made a basic mistake and lost to me. It was something I'd felt during my fight with Eon Ju-won too—I'd grown far stronger than even I realized.
Both Paeng Soso and Hong Yeonhwa also claimed their two wins without much trouble. Paeng Soso's skills were unparalleled among the younger generation of the Five Great Families, and since she hadn't been active outside much, she was treated like the Paeng family's secret weapon from Hebei. In Hong Yeonhwa's case, it was total chaos. Her first opponent was the youngest son of the Sacheon Dang family, so everyone predicted her defeat, but she stylishly deflected all their hidden weapons and seized victory.
From Hong Yeonhwa's perspective, she'd just gone easy on him, but to onlookers, it looked like some mysterious newcomer from nowhere had overwhelmed a warrior from one of the Five Great Families. And with her being the world's most beautiful, cute, kind, and busty girl to boot, her popularity skyrocketed to the heavens after just one match. Hell, the defeated Dang family youngest even sent a subtle marriage proposal letter. Of course, Hong Yeonhwa rejected it outright, and Paeng Ojin stepped in personally to ensure no backlash, so it was fine... but seeing her strut around with her nose in the air, boasting about how great she was, was kinda annoying in a weird way.
...So that night, I took the risk and snuck into her room past the maids, tormenting her all night long. Until she finally gasped out, "Th-this lady... hngh! belongs to you... ah!"
Anyway, we smoothly advanced to the round of 16, where the remaining participants were mostly warriors from the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families. So it was perfectly plausible that my third opponent would be a familiar face.
"Hmph! The chance for revenge came sooner than I expected."
"Whoa... you'd think someone hearing you got the raw end of the deal."
"Ha? You think I wouldn't know that your flat-chested big-boobed companion stole Hwi-rang's wallet?!"
"Ahem..."
This opponent was none other than Jegal Yeongyeong, whom we'd run into by chance in Luoyang and who had generously enriched our wallets.
"But did you come alone? Where's that Mo Yong Hwi guy?"
"Grr...! Hwi-rang... Hwi-rang got eliminated in the preliminaries! Making me say it with my own mouth... how far do you plan to humiliate me?!"
"Nah, I had no idea..."
Everything's an insult these days. Still, Mo Yong Hwi was weaker than me back when we were in Luoyang, so in a way, it was inevitable. She knew that too, so why was she fuming like this? According to Paeng Soso, she wasn't a bad seed at heart, but at some point, she started bossing Mo Yong Hwi around to her whims and picking fights whenever she saw Paeng Soso. Probably some backstory there. Not that I needed to care.
"That's enough. If you're warriors, settle it with swords, not words. And we have this fine stage ready."
With those words from Byeok Jin-un, the Azure Dragon Unit leader officiating both prelims and main round, Jegal Yeongyeong let out a deep sigh and regained her composure after all her earlier posturing.
"Hoo... You're right, Azure Dragon Unit Leader. No need to waste energy now."
She snapped her fan open with a shwick!, covering her mouth as if to say she was done talking. Looking closer, that fan's ribs weren't bamboo—they were steel. I'd thought she was unarmed, maybe a fist fighter, but was she planning to fight with an iron fan? It suited the Jegal family well enough. The problem was, I couldn't imagine how she'd use it. Could she even block a sword with that? It wouldn't shatter since it was iron, but a fan wasn't made for combat. It wouldn't transmit force properly, so clashing weapons would put her at a disadvantage every time...
Yet she pulled it out so confidently, so she must have some trick up her sleeve. I raised my wariness toward Jegal Yeongyeong another notch.
"Sip..."
As I drew a deep breath in line with the principles of Martial Spirit Divine Art, I felt the familiar pillar of intent supporting my body like an extra spine.
"Hoo..."
Exhaling, my slightly heated breath mingled with overflowing internal energy and spilled from my mouth. Seeing my aura shift in an instant, Jegal Yeongyeong's eyes sharpened behind her fan.
"Seeing it up close confirms it. Your martial art... it's the burst-power type, right? That's why you've ended every match so far in short bursts."
"Hm..."
She'd figured out Martial Spirit Divine Art was reinforcement-based, but her conclusion was way off base. Logically, she'd be right. The issue was that Martial Spirit Divine Art wasn't logical. Well, if she was mistaken, that worked in my favor. I kept an ambiguous expression, neither confirming nor denying, and she took it as a hit, smirking triumphantly with a "fu fu."
I reined in my loosening focus at that typical small-fry reaction and tensed my muscles throughout my body.
"Good stances. You both know the rules, so no need for explanations. ...Begin."
Seeing us ready, the Azure Dragon Unit Leader retreated to the edge of the arena.
Ching—
The gong signaling the start rang out, and I lunged forward like I'd been waiting. Jegal Yeongyeong leaped back, widening the distance. I charged again, and she sidestepped to maintain it.
"You think I'd let you catch me?"
"Then how the hell do you plan to fight?"
"Who knows? Maybe that's your worry."
She was already sneering like she'd won. Burst-power arts typically had short durations and nasty backlash afterward. She planned to drag it out until I weakened... but it was pointless against me. With Martial Spirit Divine Art active, my stamina and internal energy only grew—I could fight all day if I wanted.
"Haaah!"
Boom! I kicked off so hard the ground shook. Jegal Yeongyeong furrowed her brow at my increased speed and swung her opened fan while evading.
Whoosh—
A fierce gust from what started as a simple fan wave pushed me back, slowing me down. I still couldn't touch her, but it didn't matter. In this war of attrition, I had the edge.
Pretending impatience, I launched at her again.
How much time had passed? Not long—an incense stick's worth at most? But enough for Jegal Yeongyeong to realize her strategy had failed.
"You! You tricked me!"
"Huff... what bullshit... huff..."
"Cut the crap acting! Your breathing's steady despite the noise!"
Tch... My exhausted act didn't land. I dropped the ragged breathing and grinned.
"It is bullshit. I never said my art was burst-type—you assumed and fucked up on your own."
"Grr...!"
She bit her lip in frustration but couldn't retort. Deep down, she knew she'd played herself. Too late now—spent stamina and energy wouldn't come back.
Should I rattle her more?
"Wow~ Even monkeys fall from trees sometimes, huh? The scheming Jegal family genius, done in by her own trap."
Crunch.
"Grr...! Fine, play it that way. As expected of Soso's man. Alright, I'll carve the reason the Jegal family proudly stands among the Five Great Families right into your body."
No idea how Paeng Soso factored in, but Jegal Yeongyeong ground her teeth and snapped her iron fan shut with a tak!. Pouring internal energy into it without restraint, a haze of tangible qi rose from the ribs.
Sensing her all-in desperation for one big hit, I knew: this was it. Whatever she was planning, block this, and I win. I steadied my stance and sharpened my focus.
Planning to end it before she could act, I lunged with a wide step.
Tap tap.
Shifting weight and using recoil for explosive acceleration. At my fastest speed yet, I readied Eight Directions Wind and Rain, my quickest technique.
One step, two. On the third, she was in range. My coiled arm muscles sprang forward like a spring—but she was a hair faster.
Her fan snapped open with a shwick!, revealing newly inscribed characters that hadn't been there before. Written in internal energy instead of ink, they resembled oracle bone script—unreadable. But I could guess: not a martial art, but a formation or Taoist spell. The Jegal family was more famed for those than fighting styles anyway.
My arm was already half-extended. Pulling back sloppily would mean eating it full-force. Eyes wide, I resolved to pierce whatever came.
Jegal Yeongyeong matched my glare with venomous eyes, lips parting for an incantation.
Then killing intent surged from all directions.
"What?!"
"Eh?!"
Both of us sensed the anomaly and aborted our attacks, but it was too late—round porcelain-like objects were already flying. Some at us, some at the stands.
What the fuck is that?