Chapter 43: Plum Blossom (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 43: Plum Blossom (1)
“Oh, my apologies. But wow, they really are quite huge.”
“Hehe, you’re a funny one. I think so too.”
The woman offered a light fist-and-palm salute.
Flustered by her unexpected response, Seo-jun hurriedly returned the gesture.
“Ah… yes.”
“Young hero, you shouldn’t be the one getting flustered after saying it out loud yourself.”
“Um… I suppose so.”
As he awkwardly scratched his head, the woman gave a soft laugh and bowed her head slightly.
“Hehe, anyway. I saw a familiar face and couldn’t help but strike up a conversation. You’re participating in the martial arts tournament too, right?”
“Uh, yeah. That’s right.”
Seo-jun subtly stepped back and pushed Chun-bong forward.
In theory, she was an invincible shield. As long as one possessed a human heart, it was physically impossible to harbor ill intentions while facing their Geum Chun-bong. In exchange, he had to endure Chun-bong’s sharp glare, but it was a fair trade.
“Oh my, I’ve been wanting to say hello. How are you?”
“Ah, yes.”
Chun-bong accepted the greeting, caught completely off guard.
Seo-jun leaned down and whispered into her ear. “She’s someone who recognizes that Geum Chun-bong is the cutest in the world. She probably isn’t a bad person.”
“Please, stop talking bullshit.”
After her sharp retort, Chun-bong offered an awkward smile and a fist-and-palm salute.
“We’re a bit busy right now. I think we should be going.”
“Oh dear, I’ve been holding up busy people.” Letting out a small giggle, the woman waved her hand gracefully. “Make sure to say hello if we see each other again, okay?”
“Yep.”
Seo-jun, having blurted out an answer and fled, wiped his brow once they were far enough away.
“Phew, well endured, Lee Seo-jun.”
“Endured what? Huh? Why? Did you want to go and squeeze those massive tits?”
“Whoa, Geum Chun-bong! Where did you learn words like that!”
“Don’t change the subject!”
Her gaze was sharp as she glared daggers at him.
Seo-jun scratched his head and gave a goofy grin. “I prefer them petite.”
“That… oh, for fuck’s sake, my head.” Chun-bong smacked her forehead and clicked her tongue. “Fine, just don’t do something crazy like that again. It’s rude.”
“Sorry, sorry. I really didn’t do it on purpose. I just get startled every time I see them.”
Good grief. It wasn’t like she was Cerberus or something. If that woman had a nickname, it would probably be something like the Three-Headed Witch.
“Ugh…” Seo-jun shuddered in disgust.
Chun-bong looked at him as if he were a total freak. “Have you seriously been traumatized by a woman before?”
“Gwaaaa?”
“What a weirdo. Usually, men like it when they’re big.”
“Ahem. I only need our Chun-bong.”
Seo-jun hoisted Chun-bong up and gave her a shoulder ride.
Tap, tap—Chun-bong patted Seo-jun’s head, and for some reason, her touch felt satisfied.
“As long as you know. Let’s move, Lee Seo-jun.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
* * *
The woman, who had been quietly watching the two depart, exhaled softly through her nose.
“Hmm… who are they?”
There weren’t many martial artists of her generation who could deceive her eyes. But those two? Even with her vision, she couldn’t easily see through them. They were surely from the Nine Great Sects or a Great Clan, yet she had never heard of them.
Especially the man.
She had a rough idea of the level the cute little girl had reached, but she couldn’t get a read on the man at all. It was like staring into an endless abyss, or perhaps looking at nature itself where nothing existed.
“Well, we’ll meet soon enough.”
With a chuckle, the woman turned away.
* * *
According to the news, a total of 128 people had passed the preliminaries. Since the main tournament would likely proceed in a bracket format, one would have to win seven times to claim victory.
“Since it’s once a day… if I win, does that mean I have to do nothing but duel for a whole week?”
“That’s right.”
Chun-bong sipped her tea, tilting her body side to side.
Was this ‘Chun-bong-gazing’? Just staring blankly at her, like one would at a campfire, made time fly by.
“And the main tournament starts next week. Can’t they just do it right away?”
“The Mount Hua Sect needs time to prepare too. It’s better to wait a bit than to ruin things by rushing, right?”
“I guess… that’s true.”
Hmm. Seo-jun nodded and picked up the teacup in front of him.
What kind of tea was this again? He couldn’t remember the name, but it was quite expensive.
Slurp—
He took a sip, and it just tasted like regular tea.
‘I’m craving coffee. I wonder if they sell it?’
Of course, there was no way they did. Though, seeing as that kind Mount Hua disciple from the first day knew about pizza, it seemed possible. Surprisingly, despite many people knowing English, Western culture didn’t seem to have permeated much.
Well, it wasn’t like he particularly cared.
— Did you hear about that?
Seo-jun, who had been spacing out while watching Chun-bong, tuned into the nearby conversation to kill time.
“I heard Dam Je-il of the Powerful Tyrant Blade entered this tournament.”
“What? Powerful Tyrant Blade? Who’s that?”
“My, how can you be so out of the loop!”
As a familiar name came up, Seo-jun leaned in a bit closer.
“Haven’t you heard the rumors that Dam Je-il saved those women by facing a group of Evil Sect members all by himself?”
“Ah, ahh. I have heard that.”
“That very Dam Je-il entered this tournament.”
“Oho. That’s interesting.”
That old guy faced a group of Evil Sect members alone?
Seo-jun recalled the martial artists from the Black Snake Faction he had met before.
‘He’d probably get his ass kicked.’
That man who seemed to be the leader—if he and Dam Je-il fought, Dam Je-il’s head would likely roll within ten moves.
“But that Dam Je-il was eliminated in the preliminaries.”
“Aha! So all that talk about the Evil Sect was just a baseless rumor!”
“That remains to be seen. I heard his opponent finished every single match with just one move.”
“Isn’t that just another rumor?”
“A friend of a friend supposedly saw the duel himself.”
“Is that the truth?”
Hearing that much, Seo-jun’s lips curled into a smirk.
“Hey, Miss Geum. Did you hear?”
“Whut?”
Munch, munch. Chun-bong, who had ordered something else in the meantime, was chewing with her mouth full.
This little hamster.
Seo-jun considered pinching those cheeks but decided against it and slumped back. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”
“Hey, what is it!”
“Ebebe.”
He wasn’t going to tell her.
* * *
He played to his heart’s content for a week. Even though he stayed up all night training while Chun-bong slept, he didn’t feel tired at all.
He was in peak condition.
“Feeling great.”
Humming to himself, he did a final check on his sword.
“Hmm.”
Not bad.
It was a sword he’d bought quite a while ago, but since reaching the First-rate stage, the blade hadn’t really suffered any damage. It felt less like cutting with the sword and more like cutting with the Sword Qi emitted from it.
Sword Qi Harming Others. He had reached the stage where he could injure opponents using nothing but his Sword Qi.
“Hey! We’re going to be late! Let’s go!”
Chun-bong, her face completely hidden by a bamboo hat and a veil, stomped her feet impatiently.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Seo-jun stood up.
The feel of his crisp, new martial arts uniform was satisfying. To set the mood, the bamboo hat he’d matched with Chun-bong was painted black, making him feel like a true Murim master.
“Martial Arts Master Lee Seo-jun, heading out!”
Finally, it was the main tournament.
* * *
The moment he arrived at the venue for the main tournament, the first thing Seo-jun felt was that these Mount Hua Sect bastards were filthy rich.
“Whoa, this is insane.”
It was like looking at the Colosseum. There were several large sparring arenas in the center, surrounded by densely packed seats. Since it was impossible to provide seats for every spectator, many people were standing in the back to watch, but it was impressive nonetheless.
After showing his tag marked with the number seventy-eight and entering, people in blue robes guided him as he looked around.
“You may wait here.”
“Got it.”
He chatted with Chun-bong for about ten minutes. Amidst the buzzing of the crowd, someone stepped onto the arena.
“Greetings, everyone. I am Un-jak, a second-generation disciple of Mount Hua.”
His voice, infused with internal energy, spread clearly to the far reaches of the venue.
Seo-jun poked Chun-bong in the side at the familiar face. “It’s that guy from before. The one who scolded you.”
“You got scolded twice.”
“I was just trying to stop the fight!”
“Whatever.” Chun-bong scoffed.
He immediately retaliated with a cheek-pinch.
“First, let me introduce Elder Jong-in, who graces us with his presence today.”
It felt like a typical opening ceremony.
Seo-jun watched the man introduced as a Mount Hua Elder intently. He could feel the flow of Qi circulating leisurely around him. It wasn’t intentional; rather, it seemed the Qi, drawn by his sheer presence, was swirling around him of its own accord.
‘Is that the Super Peak Realm?’
Just looking at him made the hair on his arms stand up.
The moment Seo-jun unconsciously licked his lips, their eyes met.
“…….”
Why is he looking at me like that? Is he annoyed?
When Seo-jun slightly furrowed his brows, the Elder looked away. As he smacked his lips in disappointment, Chun-bong poked him.
“What are you doing?”
“A staring contest?”
“With who?”
“That Elder over there.”
Chun-bong’s jaw dropped. “…Are you insane? He’s a Mount Hua Daoist, so he’s letting it slide, but if you did that to someone with a nasty temper, you’d get stabbed.”
“Ah, that would be bad.” Seo-jun chuckled.
Meanwhile, Un-jak continued speaking, his voice dropping to a lower, more resonant register.
“Then, humble as I am, I shall open the curtains for this tournament.”
Shring—
The faint sound of a sword being drawn. That minor friction caused the entire arena to fall silent in an instant.
In the center, Un-jak began to swing his sword with deliberation. Slowly at first. The speed of the sword, which had been navigating the air leisurely, gradually increased.
Swish, swish—
Just as the thought occurred that the sunlight shattering against his swinging blade looked like flower petals, the crowd began to murmur as they caught a whiff of a thick floral fragrance.
“As expected of…”
“So this is Mount Hua…”
While they smelled the fragrance, Seo-jun saw the flow of internal energy.
The internal energy that had been raging like a wildfire inside Un-jak began to scatter, petal by petal, unable to withstand the sheer momentum of his movements.
“Whoa…!”
“Is that…!”
Red petals fluttered and spread in the wind. The tip of the sword guided the fragments of internal energy, and soon the blade traced countless flower buds as if painting with fluid strokes.
Fwoosh—!
And so, the plum blossoms bloomed.
The buds traced by the tip of his sword embroidered the air, finally bursting into pale red blossoms. The crowd couldn’t help but let out gasps of genuine admiration.
“The 24-Move Plum Blossom Sword Technique…!”
The brilliantly blooming flowers scattered back into petals, reaching their end. A single life, and the entire lifespan of a plum blossom, had been captured within a mere sword technique.
Seo-jun watched Un-jak silently amidst the cheering crowd.
The sword scattering brilliantly. The fluttering petals. The blooming plum blossoms. Standing there was not just a swordsman, but a single plum tree.
‘So this is Mount Hua.’
It was astonishing. That such a thing was possible with a sword.
But on the other hand, it felt lacking. If it were him, he could make them bloom even more spectacularly. He might not be able to replicate that incredibly precise swordsmanship, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t make plum blossoms bloom.
“Chun-bong.”
“Yeah.”
“If I copy that, will the Mount Hua Sect come after me to crack my skull open?”