Chapter 49: Chunbong’s Fierce Battle (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 49: Chunbong’s Fierce Battle (3)
The duel between Chun-bong and Namgung Su-ah began with Chun-bong seizing the initiative.
Slash—!
Completely unlike her usual self, Chun-bong lunged forward with explosive speed. She dropped her stance low, sweeping her blade toward Namgung Su-ah’s legs.
Whoosh—!
In response, Namgung Su-ah planted her sheathed greatsword into the ground, using it as a pivot to vault high into the air.
Chun-bong immediately spun, thrusting her sword in a rapid flurry at the airborne Namgung Su-ah. But Su-ah simply twisted her body mid-air, keeping a firm grip on her greatsword's hilt as she effortlessly dodged every strike.
Then, pressing down on the scabbard's protruding ornament, she drew the massive blade while still in flight.
Clang—!
The empty scabbard clattered to the arena floor. As gravity pulled her down, Namgung Su-ah twisted her frame and brought the greatsword crashing down in a devastating overhead strike.
"Tsk."
Clicking her tongue, Chun-bong raised her sword above her head.
Vroom—!
The heavy sound of tearing air warned her instantly—a direct block was out of the question.
Making a split-second decision, Chun-bong pressed her blade against the falling greatsword and shoved with all her might, redirecting the colossal force sideways.
Screeeech—!
Metal ground against metal in a shower of sparks—
Boom—!
The deflected greatsword slammed into the arena floor, shattering the stone.
Chun-bong retreated from the terrifying impact, her lips twitching.
Adjusting her bamboo hat, she let out a short breath and began to bounce lightly on the balls of her feet.
Tap, tap.
Her footwork was coiled with springy tension.
Opposite her, Namgung Su-ah stood tall and composed, letting the tip of her greatsword rest against the ground.
After a few more rhythmic bounces, Chun-bong shot forward with blinding speed.
Clang, clang, clang—!
She fluttered around her opponent, her sword dancing like a butterfly.
In contrast, Namgung Su-ah was like an immovable mountain.
She shifted her footwork behind the upright greatsword, using its sheer width as a shield, or pushed the heavy blade forward to intercept the trajectory of Chun-bong’s relentless strikes.
Then, in a flash—
────────────
Namgung Su-ah spun on her heel, swinging the greatsword in a massive horizontal arc.
Startled, Chun-bong quickly traced a circle in the air with her sword.
Screeeech—!
The long greatsword was smoothly parried upward.
For a while, the pattern held steady: Chun-bong maintained a fierce offensive, while Namgung Su-ah focused on an impenetrable defense, occasionally launching heavy counterattacks.
"Mmm, this might take quite a while," Namgung Su-ah noted.
"…You’re awfully relaxed."
"Hardly."
Namgung Su-ah offered a faint smile as she easily blocked a rapid thrust.
Their blades locked, and for a brief second, their eyes met. Then, Namgung Su-ah suddenly lashed out with a sweeping kick.
Chun-bong blocked it with her knee, used the momentum to leap into the air, spun, and delivered a rapid series of kicks to Namgung Su-ah’s abdomen before kicking off to create distance.
The audience, who had been watching the spectacle in a daze, erupted into deafening cheers.
"Waaaaah—!!!"
"Incredible...!"
"Hey, can you even see anything? All I see are flashes of light!"
"Even a layman can tell it’s amazing!"
"That... is true."
The martial artists in the crowd, however, had completely different reactions.
Those skilled enough to read the fierce psychological warfare and the rapid exchange of techniques kept their eyes wide, terrified of missing a single moment. Those who realized the insurmountable gap in skill hung their heads in despair, while those burning with a sense of rivalry stomped their feet in excitement.
Seo-jun was among those staring intently at the duel, his hands clenched tight.
However, his reasoning was entirely different from the rest.
‘She’s already so tiny that I’m worried, but if she gets hit by that massive thing, won't she be crushed...?’
Of course, before that could happen, Namgung Su-ah would pull her punch, or Elder Jong-in or the referee would intervene. But worry was worry.
He had to be ready to jump in and stop the fight at a moment's notice.
—Number seventy-eight!
"Tsk."
Of all the times.
Clicking his tongue, Seo-jun stood up and walked mechanically toward his designated ring, his eyes still glued to Chun-bong’s fight.
The opponent waiting for him offered a formal Fist and Palm Salute.
"I look forward to our match. I am Ouyang."
"Right."
Seo-jun returned the salute half-heartedly, his gaze still lingering on the distant duel.
—Begin!
Naturally, his blatant distraction left a massive opening.
Ouyang’s eyes gleamed as he coated his hands in Fist Qi and lunged at Seo-jun.
"Don’t resent me!"
His fist swung with a vicious sound that tore through the air.
The internal energy imbued in that punch was dense and refined. He was an opponent who had clearly put in significant training.
But conversely, the sheer density of that internal energy made it ridiculously easy for Seo-jun’s Qi Sensing to track.
Without even taking his eyes off Chun-bong, Seo-jun casually reached out his hand.
Swish—
His wrist rotated, tracing a small circle in the air. It was a technique he had learned the hard way after being subjected to it by Chun-bong countless times.
Whoosh—!
Ouyang gasped in shock as his heavy punch was effortlessly deflected.
"So easily...!?"
A palm rapidly expanded in his vision.
Ouyang desperately tried to twist his head to dodge, but the hand followed him as if anticipating the move, clamping firmly over his face.
"Wai—!"
Slam—!
His head was driven brutally into the stone floor. Ouyang’s body convulsed once before he went completely limp, losing consciousness.
—Winner, Lee Seo-jun!
As the referee made the official declaration, Seo-jun merely clicked his tongue.
—Winner, Soso!
The results of the other matches were being decided around the arena as well.
* * *
Back on the main martial arts arena.
Chun-bong lay flat on her back, a massive greatsword embedded deep into the floor mere inches from her neck.
As she lay there, dazed, a shadow fell over her.
"Are you alright?"
Namgung Su-ah reached out a hand.
At that exact moment—
Crack—
The bamboo hat Namgung Su-ah was wearing split perfectly in half and tumbled away.
"Oh dear..."
Chun-bong grabbed the offered hand of Namgung Su-ah, who was now smiling awkwardly with her face completely revealed.
"...I’m fine."
"It was a hair’s breadth away."
If Chun-bong’s sword, which had cleanly sliced through the bamboo hat, had gone just a fraction deeper, she would have been the victor.
"You weren’t using your full strength anyway," Chun-bong muttered grumpily as she was pulled to her feet.
Namgung Su-ah gave a soft laugh.
"Isn’t that true for both of us?"
"...Hmph."
"More importantly, please speak comfortably to me like you did before. I like it better; it feels like we’ve become closer."
"...I don’t want to."
"How stingy."
The crowd began to buzz as they watched the two converse.
Chun-bong’s face remained hidden from the general audience's view, but Namgung Su-ah’s stunning features were now fully exposed, drawing everyone’s rapt attention.
"Does anyone know who that woman is?"
"With beauty like that, she should be famous."
Neither the civilians nor the martial artists seemed to recognize Namgung Su-ah at first.
"Ah...! I’ve seen her! The Flower of Anhui! Namgung Su-ah!"
Finally, one martial artist recognized her identity.
Namgung.
At that single word, the arena instantly erupted into a frenzy.
"The Namgung Clan!"
"What is a member of the Namgung doing all the way in Shaanxi?"
Countless gazes, filled with awe, suspicion, and curiosity, locked onto her.
"This is exactly why I tried to hide it."
As Namgung Su-ah let out a weary sigh, someone marched onto the stage.
It was Seo-jun.
He scooped up Chun-bong, who kept her head bowed low, and stared silently at Namgung Su-ah.
"……"
"……?"
Namgung Su-ah tilted her head, puzzled by his piercing gaze.
Slap—
Seo-jun lightly patted his own cheeks and shook his head. His pupils, which had been glowing with a faint, eerie golden light, returned to their normal black.
"Chun-bong’s nemesis!"
"Pardon?"
"No, nothing. I’ll see you on the stage later."
"Hehe, are you confident? Now that my face is revealed, there’s no need for me to hide my true martial arts anymore."
"Confident?"
Seo-jun waved a hand over his shoulder as he carried Chun-bong down from the arena.
"Of course I am."
Namgung Clan or whatever, there was no reason he couldn’t win.
* * *
"Hey, are you okay?" Seo-jun asked as he quickly left the tournament grounds, heading straight for their inn.
Chun-bong, still cradled in his arms, said nothing.
Feeling a sudden dampness seeping through his martial arts uniform, Seo-jun gently patted her back.
"Does it hurt a lot? Let me see your arm."
"……"
There was a shallow sword wound on her arm. Since she had fought so fiercely and taken a solid kick to the stomach, she was likely covered in bruises as well.
Suppressing the anger simmering in his chest, Seo-jun gently bounced Chun-bong in his arms to soothe her.
"Oppa will get revenge for you. I’ll have to give her a real thrashing."
"...Hic."
Chun-bong flinched as a small sob escaped her lips, despite her best efforts to hold it in.
"Oh, boy...!"
Seo-jun hurried his pace.
Upon returning to the inn, Seo-jun entered their room and carefully set Chun-bong down on the bed.
"Why are you crying, our Chun-bong? Is it because it hurts?"
"Nooo..."
"There, there."
"Eek...!"
When he reached out to stroke her head, Chun-bong violently shook his hand off.
She was clearly incredibly upset.
Remembering the Golden Wound Medicine Namgung Su-ah had given them earlier, Seo-jun rummaged through their luggage and pulled out the small bottle.
"Give me your arm."
As he took her limp arm and applied a generous amount of the ointment, Chun-bong’s expression crumpled.
She looked like she was on the verge of a full-blown breakdown.
It didn’t seem to be from the physical pain, but rather because she was incredibly frustrated. She was surprisingly competitive.
Seo-jun crouched in front of her and opened his arms wide.
"Come here."
Her lips were pouted tight as she fought to hold back her tears. She clenched her tiny fists and shook her head.
"...I-I’m fine."
"So what if you cry? It’s just me here."
"Over... something like... this..."
Chun-bong widened her eyes, desperately trying to stop the tears from falling.
The sight was an endearing mix of funny and pitiful.
He pulled her into a forced hug and gently patted her back. Eventually, her tension broke. Her shoulders slumped, and she began to sob, soaking his shoulder.
"Sniff... Ugh..."
"Good girl, Chun-bong. Let it out."
"I... I wanted to win... and give you... a sword as a gift..."
"A sword?"
Come to think of it, wasn't a sword one of the prizes for the tournament?
The top four winners got to choose their prizes in order of their ranking, and it seemed she had wanted to secure a sword for him.
"No, you need to pick the spirit herb and get your body healthy quickly. What are you talking about?"
"...I don’t want to."
"What?"
Chun-bong’s tiny hands gripped Seo-jun’s shoulders tight.
"If I grow up... my cheek fat will disappear..."
"Hey, you brat!"
Was she actually managing her cheek fat this whole time?!
A laugh barked out of him; the reasoning was just too absurd.
"Miss Geum, getting your body healthy comes first. Who cares about cheek fat?"
"...As if you aren’t the one who cares the most."
"Ah."
She had a point. But regardless, skipping the spirit herb was out of the question.
He could always secure her cheek fat by making her eat more and gain weight later.
"You just sit back, relax, and eat a Tanghulu. Oppa will go and thrash them all for you."
A broken sword?
He was a martial artist, not a swordsman.
But he might as well try being a weapon master this time.
It would start with the Half-Sword.
Not a saber, but literally half of a sword.
He wondered if they had ever heard the legend of the "Invincible Half-Sword."
* * *
The tournament was one thing, but there was a much more pressing task to handle before that.
"Master Chun-bong."
"Yeah..."
Chun-bong’s eyes were still swollen, and her lips were in a deep pout. Her cheeks were adorably puffed out. Unable to resist the temptation, Seo-jun lunged.
"Come here...!"
Squish, squish.
Just kneading her cheeks a few times brought absolute peace to his heart.
This is life. Isn’t this the ultimate goal of being human? he thought blissfully.
"Gasp...!"
Seo-jun, who had been momentarily entranced and completely forgot what he was doing, snapped back to his senses.
"You wicked little thing!"
"...What are you even saying?"
"Anyway, I have an important announcement."
Seo-jun held up a single finger.
"The reason that Jong-in fellow recognized you was ultimately because of the energy signature of the Azure Cloud Divine Art, right?"
"Right."
"So, wouldn’t it be great to learn a martial art that can completely hide it?"
Chun-bong tilted her head in confusion.
"How would you even know a martial art like that?"
"Well... because I invented one yesterday?"
Chun-bong slapped her forehead in disbelief.
"...You’re a real madman."
"Ahem! Show some respect to your older brother, who is as vast as the heavens!"
Seo-jun puffed out his chest proudly.
"So, from today onward, you are no longer Master Chun-bong! I am Master Seo-jun! I’m the teacher, and you’re the student!"
Chun-bong let out a long, exhausted sigh.
"Haaa... Maybe it was better when you were quiet..."
Can’t he just be half-quiet, half-crazy?
Chun-bong seriously pondered the possibility.