Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Unexpected Opponent
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Joo Ho-jeong, grinning ear to ear despite claiming my words were rude.
He leaped back far to completely dodge the eight sword shadows flying straight for his upper body.
Sword Shadow Covering the Sky sliced through nothing but empty air.
Hm, so you can dodge an opponent using footwork enhanced with internal energy release this easily.
It might be fine now, but later on, this kind of thing will happen more often.
Looks like I need to incorporate pursuit footwork when executing techniques.
I etched the improvements for Sword Shadow Covering the Sky into my mind, then let out a sly chuckle.
Through my duel with Joo Ho-jeong, I'd already spotted more than one or two ways to refine the Soaring Palace Freedomless Sword.
Apply those, and the Soaring Palace Freedomless Sword would become even more powerful.
One reason I craved a duel with a worthy rival I couldn't just brush aside.
I'd gained more from this spar with Joo Ho-jeong than from all my previous countless battles combined.
And one fact I'd realized alongside him.
I could become stronger. No, I had to become stronger.
If I stagnated, that monster might overtake me at any moment.
“I can't allow that.”
No matter how astonishing a genius Joo Ho-jeong was, my mind held the imaginations of countless wuxia authors.
And yet, if I fell behind that annoying bastard? That would be... no, it'd piss me off big time.
“What are you thinking about in the middle of a duel?!”
Joo Ho-jeong's sword flew at me again.
In that brief moment, his swift sword had grown even faster.
“Tch.”
Too late to block.
I stepped aside with footwork, but Joo Ho-jeong's sword ultimately grazed the sleeve of my uniform.
-Shrrk
A sharp slicing sound, and the tip of my severed sleeve.
Seeing it, Ho-jeong smirked.
“Does this mean I win a round?”
...What, you punk?
My blood boiled in an instant, and I immediately charged with Soaring Palace Single Flash, slicing a long gash through Joo Ho-jeong's sleeve.
Clearly much longer than mine.
Heh, victory's mine.
With triumph in my voice, I said to Joo Ho-jeong,
“If we're being precise, I cut way longer, but I could call it a tie.”
“Ho?”
Joo Ho-jeong grinned as if amused.
“Haha. Well then, shall we see who ends up more ragged first?”
“Not something I'd recommend. If the Young Fortress Lord of Tyrant Heaven Fortress ends up half-naked in front of all these people, it'd be quite the embarrassment, wouldn't it?”
“Length is proven in the cut!”
And so began mine and Joo Ho-jeong's sleeve-slicing duel(?).
Even fully aware it was childish and idiotic, I had zero intention of stopping.
Am I getting too excited?
Feels like something dumbass buddies would do.
Giggling inwardly, I traded blows with Joo Ho-jeong when I suddenly sensed someone approaching the arena.
A quick sidelong glance: five men in the Heavenly Radiance Corps' white uniforms were closing in with a menacing aura.
They didn't look like they had good intentions.
I frowned at them, and with a whoosh, Joo Ho-jeong's sword came flying.
“Opening!”
I tried to dodge late, but it was just a tad too slow.
My collar sliced long.
And with it, something small slipped from my bosom and flew out.
“...!”
That small something was the talisman pouch Hwa-ryeon had given me.
Confirming it, I dashed straight for the pouch and snatched it just before it hit the trashed arena floor in a precarious moment.
Whew, that was close.
Letting out a sigh of relief inwardly, I suddenly realized the attacks had stopped.
“...That.”
Turning to look at Joo Ho-jeong, he stared at the pouch in my hand with trembling eyes.
His reaction suggested he recognized it, and I had a bad feeling.
Joo Ho-jeong and Hwa-ryeon were once the son and daughter of Tyrant Heaven Fortress's top two experts.
Plus, given their Joo surname, it wasn't hard to guess they were both imperial collaterals.
What if, during Hwa-ryeon's childhood, they were close enough that he knew about this talisman pouch?
If so, I'd basically just exposed Hwa-ryeon's whereabouts to the Tyrant Heaven Fortress side.
“......”
My mind went ice-cold, like I'd been doused with a bucket of water.
All sorts of worries swirled through my head, like backlash from forgetting all context and just enjoying the spar too much.
What do I do? What should I do?
Ah, you idiot. No need to start some weird sleeve-slicing contest...!
Clutching my throbbing, jumbled head, I heard Joo Ho-jeong's subdued voice.
“...That pouch. Mind if I ask where you got it?”
A question I couldn't easily answer.
Unsure what to say, I glanced around, then my eyes locked on Joo Ho-jeong's face.
More precisely, the emotions on it halted my gaze.
Longing, and a strange earnestness.
Not the expression of someone who wished Hwa-ryeon dead.
After staring at his face for a moment, I carefully opened my mouth.
“...I borrowed it. The owner said it's for protection, so take it.”
“...I see.”
Joo Ho-jeong nodded heavily at my answer, then immediately fired another question.
“Is she... doing well?”
A tone already convinced I was with Hwa-ryeon.
I half-resigned myself and spilled honestly.
“She's doing great. She'd have chewed me out big time if the pouch got dirty. Even more if I'd gotten hurt for no reason.”
“...Haha. Same as ever.”
Joo Ho-jeong gave a bitter smile, muttering 'I see. She's been well,' with a sigh, then abruptly turned to the referee.
“I forfeit.”
“...Pardon?”
“What?”
His sudden forfeit declaration left me and the referee both stunned.
“Ah, no. What do you mean all of a sudden...?”
“I got too carried away and burned through my internal energy. No point continuing when I can't win, so forfeiting makes sense.”
...You, stuffed full of good eats with tons of internal energy, complaining about exhaustion?
I shot him an incredulous look at the utterly unconvincing excuse, but Joo Ho-jeong just stepped down from the arena.
“H-Hey!”
Calling out to Joo Ho-jeong heading out of the venue, he paused and turned back.
“The duel was fun. Best fight of my life.”
“...What. No, that's not...!”
“No need to worry. I won't breathe a word about her.”
“...!”
Joo Ho-jeong pierced right through my heart, like some mind-reading technique.
At a loss for words, mouth flapping, he continued with a sly smile.
“Take good care of her. She acts cold because she's bad at being honest, but she's warm inside.”
“...I know that without you telling me.”
His tone, like he knew Hwa-ryeon best in the world, made my voice sharpen unconsciously.
The sudden surge of displeasure surprised even me.
Watching me, Joo Ho-jeong smiled deeper, yet more bitterly.
“You're truly enviable.”
“What's that supposed to...?”
I asked the meaning behind his cryptic words, but Joo Ho-jeong left the venue without answering.
The five Heavenly Radiance Corps warriors who'd approached the arena followed behind him.
And so my final duel ended.
-No way, forfeiting that abruptly? Why even...?
-Obvious. Tyrant Heaven Fortress's spoiled brat acted on his whims as always and dumped the mess on others. Impressive martial arts, but his character doesn't match.
-Speaking of martial arts, how does he even move like that...?
The crowd's murmurs rang louder than ever.
No one could accept Joo Ho-jeong's forfeit.
Among them, the pig whose heart had soared from hell to heaven and back at Joo Ho-jeong's appearance was especially furious.
“What is this...! Are you kidding me right now!?”
A whining voice from the platform.
Hapbi Ji-hyeon was jumping around madly, forgetting the branch leader was right in front of him.
Declaring it invalid, saying it couldn't end like this, squealing like a stuck pig.
He didn't even notice the branch leader frowning in displeasure.
I turned my cold gaze from him to the referee, who still hadn't declared.
“Going to declare the win or not?”
“W-Well...”
A troubled expression.
Worried about declaring now and getting on Ji-hyeon's bad side.
But the tournament was still ongoing, with countless eyes watching him oddly.
Even the referee couldn't stall forever and finally declared grudgingly.
“T-This duel goes to the Nangong Clan! With the Nangong Clan achieving three wins first, they are declared the winners of this duel tournament!”
No cheers followed the victory declaration.
Partly because the end felt so anticlimactic, but this uncomfortable silence had another reason.
I glanced sidelong at Nangong-hyeon with his bitter expression.
Most spectators here probably didn't think the Nangong Clan deserved the win.
Unaware of the full story, they still blamed the Nangong Clan for Hapbi's recent woes.
But that's over now.
Pushing thoughts of Joo Ho-jeong from my mind, I turned to the Nangong Family Head.
He nodded at my gaze and ascended the arena with the still-face-covered Jo Un-chil in tow.