Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Unexpected Opponent
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Namgoong-hyeon and Cheol-woo's sparring match.
Followed by Ja-seong and Un-yeop's sparring match.
Watching those fights, Ho-jeong absorbed countless pieces of information through his eyes and ears.
And his mind immediately broke down the sensory input and reassembled it, fully integrating it into his own knowledge.
Just like when he had perfectly mastered the swordsmanship passed down from his father in a single day.
'It's impossible to achieve that speed just by stepping properly. There must be some other factor.'
'I think I saw dust being pushed away from around that guy's soles for a split second.'
'Wind coming from the soles...? No, it's internal energy. He expelled internal energy from his soles.'
'Expelling internal energy outside the body. How on earth?'
'...Acupoints! Among the six acupoints on the soles, it's... the Bubbling Spring. He released internal energy through the Bubbling Spring acupoint.'
'The amount of internal energy released through the meridians is never large. Is it because his internal energy reserves are insufficient...? Ah, if he released it with the same force as circulating it through his meridians normally, the power would be too strong.'
'You have to artificially weaken the flow of internal energy—meaning, alter the circulation method.'
In less than a quarter of an hourglass's worth of time, he grasped the concept of expelling internal energy and realized he needed to change his circulation method.
'That guy's sword is somehow different. Sometimes it's heavy, other times astonishingly fast. What's the difference?'
'The posture changes when he swings it. Why?'
'...Center of gravity. He's placing the center of gravity on the sword, using his entire body's weight to smash down.'
'That one... when swinging the sword, he's putting power from his waist. Not just internal energy, but channeling all the strength from the muscles connecting waist to arm, making the swing even stronger. That's why the sword moves faster...!'
After another quarter of an hour, he had even mastered the subtleties of heavy sword and fast sword techniques.
An understanding and perception incomparable to ordinary humans.
Ho-jeong sucked up Ja-seong's martial arts like a greedy demon.
And now, standing on the sparring platform and trying out what he had absorbed as his own knowledge, he couldn't stop marveling.
The concept of expelling internal energy from the body, of course, and the sword strikes infused with the subtleties of heavy and fast sword completely shattered his values regarding martial arts.
The martial arts Ho-jeong had known until now could be summed up in one simple phrase.
-It's all about having a lot of internal energy.
All victories or defeats, strengths or weaknesses, were determined solely by the depth of one's internal energy—a trivial pursuit. That was martial arts.
But Ja-seong's was different.
'That guy's internal energy level is probably lower than mine, not to mention even lower than Cho Ho-wi.'
Relatively low internal energy levels meant, relatively speaking, being the weaker party.
Until now, that had been common sense.
Yet Ja-seong ignored that convention and easily defeated Un-yeop.
It was as if he were rebuking all the martial artists of this world.
The depth of internal energy doesn't matter at all.
What truly matters in martial arts is something else.
In simple terms,
Martial arts aren't used like that—he was shouting it with his entire body.
'Then show me. True martial arts. True power.'
Admiration and desire flickered in Ho-jeong's eyes as he looked at Ja-seong.
Admiration for one who possessed true power,
And the desire to possess that power himself.
'If I had that power...'
Wouldn't I be able to soar freely?
Until now, he had been a parrot trapped in a cage.
A bird with flashy plumage and the ability to mimic speech, but unable to leave the cage.
But that man was different.
That nameless man was a hawk.
No matter what bound him, he shed it easily and soared through the vast skies.
'Give me those wings too.'
I want those wings as well, to fly freely like you.
Ho-jeong smiled brightly at Ja-seong.
*
Just watching was enough for Joo Ho-jeong to steal my martial arts bit by bit, leaving me feeling hollow.
I had never even imagined something like that was possible.
Meeting someone truly worthy of being called a genius made me feel not just indignant but outright unjust toward his irrational talent.
"......."
But something was off.
The emotion clearest in my mind right now wasn't just indignation or hollowness.
There was the exact opposite—joy.
If someone else knew this, they'd probably ask if I was crazy.
And I'd probably answer that yes, I am crazy.
The man before me was an enemy.
An enemy we could never coexist with.
Yet that enemy had just grown stronger because of me.
Feeling joy at that—what else could it be but madness?
Even thinking myself mad didn't feel so bad.
Probably because I knew the reason deep down.
Ever since first venturing into the martial world, there had been one longing in my heart.
That tiny speck of longing grew larger as I fought ronin bands, then the Heavenly Light Corps.
At first, I couldn't identify what it was and felt frustrated, but my fight with Cho Un-yeop made it reveal itself clearly.
It was a longing for a worthy rival.
A desire for someone who could withstand everything I had.
I thought fighting Cho Un-yeop had somewhat satisfied that longing.
But I soon realized it was a massive delusion.
My longing couldn't be fulfilled by merely enjoying a brief fight.
The only thing that could satisfy it was an intense battle where even going all-out offered no guarantee of victory.
And now, someone with that potential stood before me.
How could I not be joyful?
Moreover, his potential wasn't just that.
My goal—to turn this bizarre martial world into the true one I knew.
Joo Ho-jeong held the potential to bring me one step closer to that dream.
This man, Joo Ho-jeong, was a butterfly.
Currently in a chrysalis, but one day he would break free and flap his wings more fiercely than any other.
His wingbeats would become an unparalleled storm, sweeping through this martial world.
The moment I realized that, I had no other choice.
I'll shatter your chrysalis for you.
So soar high into the sky.
Flip this bizarre martial world upside down with your mighty wingbeats.
I grinned at Joo Ho-jeong.
Smiling at each other like that, we raised our swords and clashed once more.
-Kaang!
Still not fast enough.
-Kang!
Put your whole body into the sword.
-Kaaang!
Yes, like that.
Sharp metallic clashes rang out repeatedly across the sparring platform.
*
-Klang! Kaang! Kang! Kaaang!
The ceaseless metallic sounds echoed.
Before they knew it, the tournament hall had fallen silent to everything but those clashes.
Those watching the power struggle between Namgoong sega and Tyrant Heaven Fortress, the martial artists, even the ordinary citizens of Hebi.
Regardless of why they had come to the tournament hall, all were absently captivated by the scene on the sparring platform.
And with good reason—the sight before their eyes was overwhelming.
-Kwang! Kang! Kaang!
Two martial artists darting across the platform like lightning bolts, colliding.
They switched positions in an instant, swords clashing, each impact sending powerful energy waves that shook the entire hall.
'It looks like a battle from myth.'
Everyone gathered in the hall shared the same thought.
Like the clashes of divine generals from legend.
Of course, there was one exception—one person harboring different feelings.
'...Indeed.'
The woman with her face covered by a mask, Chilji, nodded as she watched Ho-jeong match Ja-seong's movements almost evenly.
As expected, the "vessel" they had their eyes on.
A talent so irrational it could analyze others' martial arts and make them his own in an instant—calling him the incarnation of unreason would be no exaggeration.
Not long after Chilji was first assigned to guard Ho-jeong, she noticed his talent and was overjoyed.
The vessel she thought she'd have to search for over long years was right under her nose.
'Probably no such perfect vessel exists anywhere else in this world.'
In other words, to Chilji, Ho-jeong's safety was more important than anything.
Which also meant she couldn't let this deadly sparring continue.
Chilji's gaze turned to the several Heavenly Light Corps members still lingering near the sparring platform.
They immediately snapped to attention like puppets and turned to her.
The members were already linked to Chilji through telepathy.
She could control them just by sending her will, without words.
'Storm the sparring platform and protect the Young Fortress Lord. Even if it kills you.'
If the members intruded on the platform, it would mean defeat in the tournament, but the Young Fortress Lord's safety mattered more than that.
The members who received Chilji's orders advanced on the platform without hesitation.
Just three paces away, as they drew their swords, the metallic sounds suddenly stopped.
The two who had been clashing as if to kill each other had abruptly halted their attacks.
'...What?'
Sensing something ominous, Chilji held back the members for a moment.
She closely observed Ja-seong and Ho-jeong, now back in a standoff.
*
-Kaang!
"Haha—!"
How many exchanges had it been? A hundred? Two hundred? Maybe even over a thousand.
I couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
Who would've thought he'd block my attacks so well.
No, it wasn't just blocking.
-Kaang!
A downward strike aimed at my crown.
I raised my sword to parry, but the weight—uncomparable to before—nearly buckled my stance for a moment.
Seeing that, Ho-jeong's eyes gleamed as he withdrew his sword and thrust twice in quick succession.
-Swaaak!
Two sword strikes flying at me almost simultaneously.
Seeing him completely master not just heavy sword, but fast sword as well, a curse slipped out unbidden.
"You bastard, you're a real genius, huh?"
I deflected the two strikes toward my chest and countered with Sword Shadow Covering the Sky. In my ears rang Joo Ho-jeong's laughter.
"Haha—! Calling Tyrant Heaven Fortress's Young Fortress Lord 'you bastard'? How rude!"