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There are several ways to counter the Namgung Emperor Sword.
One is to shatter it head-on, meeting strength with strength.
Martial arts that directly clash with the Namgung Clan's techniques include the Dokgo Clan's Dugu Nine Swords and the Hebei Paeng Clan's Five Tiger Door-Breaking Blade.
To date, the Dugu Nine Swords have shattered the Sky Palace Unhindered Sword Art, while the Five Tiger Door-Breaking Blade has yet to overcome the Emperor Sword.
Another way is to deflect and wait for an opening by applying the subtle principle of softness overcoming hardness.
Most Daoist-type martial arts block fierce attacks through similar methods, the prime example being the Taiji Sword.
There is no particular basis for comparing Wudang and Namgung, but if you compare Sagong Hee and Namgung Yurin, the gap is so vast it is almost unfair to Sagong Hee.
And then there is one more method.
The Mount Hua Sect's Plum Blossom Swordsmanship is a representative example—you layer feints onto your blade, cloud the opponent's mind, and confuse the path of the Emperor Sword.
"Hyaa—!!"
The Cold Soaring Jade Woman Sword I was watching right now was a textbook case of the Illusion Sword. The phantom ice flowers filling the arena scattered a frigid chill sharper than plum blossoms and concealed the wielder's body.
"Aaaah!"
Namgung Yurin cursed and wildly smashed the ice flowers blooming like mirages. Sword qi ricocheted from her blade like agitated sparks of lightning.
'She's already charging her sword with Heavenly Thunder Qi? That girl really is something.'
No metaphor suits the Namgung sword better than lightning. When it comes to a crisp, destructive sword style, the Namgung Clan is peerless.
'A strong sword art doesn't make the martial artist strong, though.'
But the one wielding it was like that, so it was utterly hopeless.
If someone guided her from the sidelines, she could at least reach the peak realm, but I had no desire to stick by a woman like that and help.
'Unless she beats Ice Demon, that is.'
Even if Ice Demon was hiding her true identity and wearing an ill-fitting disguise, she was a peak expert.
The fact that Namgung Yurin was being pushed back even while Ice Demon was using the Cold Soaring Jade Woman Sword—not even her own art—meant Namgung Yurin was still far, far from ready.
"Haaam."
Ice Demon gave a short yawn and withdrew her sword. The ice flowers scattered in all directions, clearing the mist from the arena, and everyone in the audience fell silent as they confirmed the state of the two women.
"Haak, haak, haak!"
Frost had settled all over Namgung Yurin. Her brows and hair were frozen stiff, and white steam burst roughly from her mouth.
"How about yielding?"
Compared to that, Ice Demon was utterly at ease. She had unleashed the ultimate technique of the Cold Soaring Jade Woman Sword, Snow Flower Flurry, from the very beginning, and had been overwhelming Namgung Yurin with an illusion sword.
'She subtly activated the Ice White Divine Art, but no one would ever notice.'
The Emei Sect's Cold Soaring Jade Woman Sword is an art similar in essence to the Northern Sea's Ice White Divine Sword. Therefore Ice Demon handled it freely, and even Namgung Yurin, the person she was fighting, didn't catch on.
"If this continues, one of you will be seriously hurt."
The woman standing in the arena was not Ice Demon.
Ice Demon, Yoo Seol-ra, was perfectly acting the part of a righteous orthodox woman. True to her nature—usually spaced out but sharply focused when it mattered—Yoo Seol-ra was a flawless Emei martial artist.
"Victory and defeat are decided. Please lay down your sword."
She carried the pride and dignity of a representative of the Nine Sects and One Gang, yet she did not wish to settle a life-and-death duel with a member of the Eight Great Families. About sixty percent of the audience nodded at Yoo Seol-ra's words.
But.
Yoo Seol-ra knew her own background well, but she had no idea about her opponent's temperament.
"Shut... up!"
"I cannot lose here!"
Crackle—!!
Blue electricity truly began to leap from Namgung Yurin's sword. Everyone tensed and swallowed at the tingling sword qi that made their skin prickle.
'Namgung Yurin isn't a woman who admits defeat easily.'
She would later enter the First Tears Victory Sect, turn it into her own private organization, and cause great damage to the Alliance during the fight with the Blood Cult, yet shamelessly insist it wasn't her fault.
'Pride can be a foundation for growth, but like this it's nothing but poison.'
There were only two ways to break Namgung Yurin's pride. Smash her nose bone so completely she couldn't hold her head high, or thoroughly fix her thoughtless defiance.
"Hmph... don't regret this."
Yoo Seol-ra roused her internal energy again and bloomed ice flowers. It was my fault that she'd gotten to know a member at a time she should have been gathering intelligence, but Yoo Seol-ra didn't know Namgung Yurin in detail.
"That fooling around will get you put in your place badly," Yoo Seol-ra warned.
"You...!"
Namgung Yurin had already fainted hard once after being tricked by me disguised as the Sword Demon. And her reason flew away in that rage.
"Yaaaa——!!"
Intense domineering energy erupted from Namgung Yurin's body. The referee darted toward the arena in alarm, but Namgung Yurin's blade was far faster.
"Thunder Slash Flash!!"
Namgung Yurin became a bolt of light and dashed forward. The speed of her zigzag run slipped past the referee and reached Yoo Seol-ra in the blink of an eye. Tearing through the feints veiled by ice flowers, Namgung Yurin grinned and swung her sword.
"I won!"
"!!"
It was unmistakably a killing stroke aimed at the heart. An attack that could have severely injured Yoo Seol-ra if no one intervened.
"Snow Flower Flurry—"
Yoo Seol-ra tried to deflect the killing blow but gritted her teeth. The Cold Soaring Jade Woman Sword had no form capable of blocking the Thunder Slash Flash.
"Urgh...!"
But Yoo Seol-ra possessed formidable internal energy and immense combat experience. She twisted away from the heart-seeking blade and tried to deflect the attack by springing back slightly.
Fwoosh.
The lightning grazed Yoo Seol-ra's flank. A sword tip brimming with cold frost came to rest in front of Namgung Yurin's uvula.
"Ah."
"Urgh...!"
Namgung Yurin turned deathly pale. She nearly dropped her sword at the sight of the dark crimson bloodstains spreading beneath Yoo Seol-ra's underbust, where the blade had grazed.
"Enough——!!"
The referee flew urgently into the center of the arena. I also dashed forward, and at the same moment another figure leaped into the arena.
"Are you alright?!"
The Lust-Exorcising Abbess suppressed the prickling electric energy still lingering near Yoo Seol-ra's wound with her internal energy. She looked at me as if asking with her eyes.
— Did you expect something like this to happen?
I shook my head and visually checked Yoo Seol-ra's wound. The bone probably wasn't injured, but the gash was well over an inch deep.
"Miss Yoo, you must go to the infirmary immediately. Lust-Exorcising Abbess, may I ask for your help?"
"Understood, Physician Mubung. Referee, the outcome seems decided."
The Lust-Exorcising Abbess narrowed her eyes and pressured the referee and Namgung Yurin. Even if she had a taste for being ravished by the Sex Demon, in this regard she was a remarkably normal sect leader.
"She must be taken for treatment at once. Miss Yoo, lay down your sword."
"...Not until victory is decided."
Yoo Seol-ra glared at Namgung Yurin with bloodshot eyes. Under that gaze, tinged even with killing intent, Namgung Yurin had to retreat, the hand gripping her sword trembling miserably.
"......Quarterfinal match one! As Namgung Yurin used a killing stroke, Namgung Yurin forfeits!!"
Silence fell over the audience. Although many thought the match had already been decided while she was lost among the ice flowers, no one had expected it to end like this.
"Ah... Yurin...!"
Even Exploding Dragon Namgung Pae could not defend Namgung Yurin's actions. Throwing a killing stroke during a duel was the most fundamental taboo an orthodox martial artist must never commit, and a critical rule not only for the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering but for the Two Phoenixes Decisive Battle as well.
"Ah...."
Namgung Yurin had nearly pierced Yoo Seol-ra's heart. If Yoo Seol-ra's martial level had been just a little lower, she would certainly have been stabbed to death.
But was Namgung Yurin's defeat an unfair one?
No.
Yoo Seol-ra had been overwhelmingly beating Namgung Yurin. She had simply been flustered at the end by a surprise killing stroke that had no place in a duel between orthodox fighters.
And finally, Yoo Seol-ra had placed her sword before Namgung Yurin's uvula. Skin was cut, but she boldly proved that her blade could have beheaded Namgung Yurin.
A level of skill clearly a step above Namgung Yurin's.
The will not to let victory slip away.
And the fundamental attitude of a martial artist who does not release her grip on the sword until victory is confirmed.
Clang.
Namgung Yurin dropped her sword. Only then, under everyone's stares, did she realize what she had done.
"Wh-what have I...?"
"Winner, Yoo Seol-ra!!"
Waaaaahhhhh——!!
With the declaration of victory, Yoo Seol-ra collapsed toward me.
* * *
After the first match.
The Lust-Exorcising Abbess entrusted Yoo Seol-ra to me, the physician, and I earnestly appealed to the Murim Alliance Leader.
"To ensure Miss Yoo Seol-ra's wound doesn't scar, I must stay by her side for a day. However, if I leave the infirmary..."
Dokgo Ja-yeong, who was present, immediately said, "That's fine! My home has plenty of rooms!"
The Dokgo Clan truly had an overflowing abundance of guest rooms. Thanks to Dokgo Ja-yeong's consideration, I succeeded in bringing Yoo Seol-ra into the Dokgo estate.
"Well done, Ice Demon."
"Urgh, snif, soooo..."
Ice Demon lay on the bed and wept sorrowfully. The wound beneath her underbust had been neatly treated, but her heartache was something I couldn't soothe.
"I got stabbed by a wench far trashier than me... snif."
Sagong Hee and Lee Si-a, who were nursing her, sighed at Ice Demon's sobbing. Under normal circumstances, Namgung Yurin wouldn't have been able to touch a single strand of her hair.
'It's natural to be angry when you take a hit from someone weaker than you.'
No matter how strong Namgung Yurin was, how could she so much as scratch a peak expert? Why on earth had a master of the Ice White Divine Palm, who prided herself on absolute defense, been stabbed near the heart?
"Ice Demon, why didn't you dodge at the end?"
"Snif... th-the Sex Demon deliberately told me through a telepathic message to take the blade..."
"Well done."
I praised Ice Demon greatly for precisely following my orders. Her wound was already completely healed, and I had plausibly crushed medicinal herbs and placed them on the affected area.
"With this, I'll be able to Absorb Yin to Nourish Yang until Ice Demon makes it to the finals. Hehe."
"......."
Ice Demon blinked and turned her head away. Sagong Hee and Lee Si-a simultaneously sighed, but as the ones growing stronger based on Ice Demon's internal energy, they couldn't bring themselves to say anything.
The ecstasy of the pleasure I give is intense, but the sense of accomplishment as a martial artist from growing your internal energy is also indescribably exhilarating.
If sexual desire is a pleasure that stimulates primitive nerves, rising to a higher martial realm is a pleasure akin to climbing to the summit of a high mountain and gazing at the natural scenery.
It would be best to gain the pleasure of a woman and the pleasure of a martial artist at the same time, but since we were guests in someone's home, we were controlling ourselves and releasing our sexual desires moderately. Because you never know when the homeowner might burst in.
"Excuse me."
The door opened, and in came the homeowner's daughter, Dokgo Yeon, not Dokgo Ja-yeong himself. Dressed in a martial robe the color of violets, she looked over Ice Demon, Yoo Seol-ra, with worried eyes.
"The matter between the Emei Sect and the Namgung Clan was concluded with the chief steward formally apologizing to the Lust-Exorcising Abbess."
"A sect disciple was nearly killed, so it's only natural."
Even though the Emei Sect Leader hadn't formally accepted her as a disciple, the Lust-Exorcising Abbess had still sprung into action over Yoo Seol-ra's injury.
It was already widely known that Yoo Seol-ra was practically an Emei member, and the chief steward of the Murim Alliance—effectively the Namgung Clan's representative among those stationed in Xuchang—had bowed his head to the Lust-Exorcising Abbess and apologized.
"Why on earth did Miss Namgung do such a thing..."
Even Dokgo Yeon couldn't excuse Namgung Yurin's behavior. She had committed a dangerous mistake that only third-rate warriors make, and effectively, her Dragon-Phoenix Gathering—no, her murim life—was over.
"Inferiority."
"Pardon?"
"When those weaker than yourself occupy the position you want, a demon naturally takes root in your heart."
Complete demonization. Namgung Yurin had been seized by the demon of inferiority, and her obsession with victory led her to misjudge.
"Senior Yoo Seol-ra, are you alright?"
"Ah, yes."
Yoo Seol-ra started glancing at me. Her eyes seemed to ask, 'Do you really mean it?', but I smiled and nodded at her together with Lee Si-a.
"...Mi-Miss Yeon. I need to begin the treatment now..."
"Tr-treatment?!"
Dokgo Yeon perked up her ears in surprise. Then, as if imagining something, she started to blush while looking back and forth endlessly between me and Yoo Seol-ra.
"Is the treatment not finished? Could it be..."
"What remains is treating her internal qi."
Rustle.
I abruptly dropped my pants. Dokgo Yeon covered her face with both hands, but through the tiny gap between her fingers, her light violet pupils were staring straight at my member.
"Miss Yoo, I will now administer the injection."
"Y-yes...! Snif."
Yoo Seol-ra spun her body and got on all fours like a dog. I slightly lowered the patient trousers she was wearing as a substitute for a hospital gown. She was, of course, wearing no underwear.
"I'll give you the fire injection, so regulate your internal qi well."
Smack.
I slapped her white buttocks with the Ice White Divine Palm. It was a subtle application of internal energy that Dokgo Yeon wouldn't detect, and I rubbed her white buttocks with my hand while aiming my fire injection.
"Aww, uuuu..."
Yoo Seol-ra buried her face in the pillow. She had already shown her tongue-lolling, breathless state to Sagong Hee and Lee Si-a, but she was deeply embarrassed to expose her private places so starkly to yet another new woman.
[You have to do it, right? Ice Demon?]
[B-But! How can you say that with everyone here?!]
[Should I just go kill Baekseup Gwang-a about a hundred years from now?]
"Urgh...!"
I, as the Sex Demon, pressured Yoo Seol-ra. With a trembling voice, Yoo Seol-ra barely forced her mouth open.
"P-please treat Seol-ra with the physician's hot long needle... snif...!"
Death by shame.
In order to treat Yoo Seol-ra, who was suffering from embarrassment, I inserted the fire injection below her.