Whose Sword is the Fastest? (4)
'I'll show you. The second round will be different.'
Namgung Ungwang clenched his fist tightly, steeling his resolve.
He had suffered a bitter defeat, but he vowed to mock Hyeon Yucheon personally in the second round based on this experience.
"Your temper is quite impatient. As I said before, the second match will be won by whoever hits the moving target first."
Namgung Ungwang nearly exploded in anger but, feeling the gazes of the crowd, feigned the demeanor of a magnanimous gentleman.
"So, what exactly is this moving target you're so curious about?"
At Hyeon Yucheon's urging, Namgung Ungwang pointed to the sky.
The bizarre duel unfolding today was taking place at Do Hwa Mountain, a location famous since ancient times for two things that could accommodate large crowds.
Along with the peach blossoms...
"Oh ho, you're talking about the geese."
It was the flocks of geese flying endlessly overhead.
Every certain season, crowds flocked to Do Hwa Mountain just to watch these migratory birds.
Hyeon Yucheon immediately caught on and turned his gaze to the geese wandering in the sky.
"Exactly. A true master of the quickest sword must prove it against moving targets, not stationary ones, wouldn't you say?"
With cunning words, Namgung Ungwang belittled Hyeon Yucheon's previous victory as not a proper win.
'Doesn't matter to me.'
Hyeon Yucheon wasn't fazed at all.
Namgung Ungwang seemed to be under some delusion, but Hyeon Yucheon didn't care whether his target was still or moving.
"Perfect, there are several geese flying over that peach tree. How about we both unleash our techniques simultaneously, and the first to hit them wins?"
To minimize variables from too wide a range, Namgung Ungwang deliberately pointed to a specific tree and the geese frolicking above it.
"Do as you like."
Hyeon Yucheon didn't refuse this time either.
The outcome was already decided anyway.
As before, Dang Bijan would give the starting signal.
"Who do you think will win?"
"The Demon Sword Young Master will win again, right?"
"Nah~ His opponent's the head of the Namgung family. He'll be careless this time."
The crowd's reactions were now evenly split.
Half predicted Hyeon Yucheon's victory, while the other half believed Namgung Ungwang would finally claim a win and save face.
Ku-grit!
Hearing all the murmurs, Namgung Ungwang gripped his sword hilt so hard it nearly shattered, lost in thought.
'I absolutely won't lose this time.'
He couldn't afford to lose.
If he lost again, it would be more than defeat—it would be a massive humiliation, and as the representative of one of the Five Great Families, he wouldn't have the face to challenge Hyeon Yucheon afterward.
He mustn't forget that this duel arose because he had killed a member of the Five Great Families.
"Ready!"
Dang Bijan, who knew Namgung Ungwang's feelings well, silently cheered him on with eyes full of encouragement.
To give him even the slightest edge, he dropped the iron ball with the wind at his back.
Booom!
As soon as the iron ball hit the ground signaling the start, Namgung Ungwang unleashed everything he had.
The ultimate technique from the later stages of the Emperor Sword Form, the pinnacle of true orthodox swordsmanship.
He poured every ounce of effort into it, and even without internal energy, Namgung Ungwang felt his stamina draining visibly.
Everything seemed to slow down in his vision.
Shwaaa!
Despite no internal energy, his sword—infused with pure sincerity—rushed toward the geese at dazzling speed.
The reason he limited it to the peach tree came into play.
The range of his Emperor Supreme Sword perfectly matched that height.
'I'm faster!'
Namgung Ungwang was already certain of victory before the outcome was clear.
His terrifying strike was hurtling toward the flock while Hyeon Yucheon remained still.
All conditions favored him without room for excuses!
The strongest technique in Formless Flash Quick Sword, excluding the Formless Mysteries.
Splaaaat!
Just as Namgung Ungwang had gone all-in, Hyeon Yucheon unleashed his own decisive move.
Even without internal energy, its power and perfection couldn't be hidden.
Moreover, it boasted speed beyond light.
It was so fast that it produced a sonic boom, overtaking Namgung Ungwang's quick start.
No—surpassing it utterly!
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
All the geese above the peach tree fell as if electrocuted, not a single one spared.
Dozens of geese plummeting was a spectacle worthy of legend.
Like autumn leaves drifting down in droves.
Woooaaah!
The spectators went mad at the once-in-a-lifetime sight.
Was this truly the power of a technique without internal energy?
They couldn't believe their eyes and doubted repeatedly.
Even using all their internal energy, they couldn't produce such results.
How must the Crimson Sky Sword King Namgung Ungwang feel, tasting bitter defeat twice already?
"No! This can't be!"
He wailed like a madman sunk in the swamp of defeat.
'How can such a martial art exist in this world?'
Namgung Ungwang couldn't accept it.
Or perhaps he refused to.
"I struck first! My sword reached higher! How...?"
His body trembled uncontrollably.
The respected elder of the martial world was gone, replaced by a quivering wreck.
"Do you really not know why?"
Hyeon Yucheon looked down at him with a sly smile, intent on driving him madder.
"Because your sword is slower than mine."
This wasn't even provocation—it was cold, undeniable fact, proven right before their eyes.
"What?!"
Namgung Ungwang's head throbbed as if it would explode.
'Without internal energy, he shouldn't be able to use Formless Flash Quick Sword.'
Then his Emperor Sword Form would dominate, and he'd defeat the Demon Sword Young Master, etching his name in martial history once more.
But what was this?
"As expected, the Crimson Sky Sword King and Namgung family head can't beat the Demon Sword Young Master."
"Tsk tsk, still don't get it? If Namgung could beat Hyeon Yucheon, he'd be one of the Heaven's Five Venerables, not six."
"'Crimson Sky Namgung's spirit soars to the heavens'—what a joke, heh heh heh."
Instead of respect or cheers, mockery echoed everywhere.
The crowd was merciless.
They'd praise you as the world's greatest for good showings, but mock you as the worst villain for a single slip.
Some even insulted the entire Namgung family or his kin.
"Ugh... uuuugh."
The Crimson Sky Sword King, who had lived on unwavering respect and lofty pride.
His reputation wasn't just muddied—it was shredded to rags.
"Well, will you admit defeat now?"
More infuriating than the jeering crowd was Hyeon Yucheon teasing him right in front.
The brat younger than his own son kept using casual speech, rubbing salt in the wound—he couldn't endure it.
"This! Childish games aren't a real duel!"
Namgung Ungwang's reason collapsed entirely, denying his own words.
He called these two duels childish, but hadn't he devised and proposed them?
"Then... what do you want?"
Hyeon Yucheon could've raged, but instead, he envisioned something grander.
'You dare propose a duel on terms favoring you? I can't just let you leave.'
This was why Hyeon Yucheon had provoked him relentlessly.
After such a cowardly, dirty challenge, how could he send him off easily?
He'd come all this way—might as well take a few beatings as the Demon Sword Young Master's courtesy.
"A real sword duel! Your swordplay may favor these tensionless spectacles, but in true combat, our Namgung family's secret Emperor Sword Form is superior!"
Namgung Ungwang bellowed with eyes rolled back, utterly unhinged.
Any Namgung warrior cherished the Emperor Sword Form, but now the scales had tipped clearly.
Insisting on real combat to the end was sheer stubbornness.
"Come on, after all your rolling in the martial world, changing terms again?"
Hyeon Yucheon pointed and laughed at his self-contradiction.
Hahaha!
The watching Demon Sword Sect members and crowd joined in unison.
Hyeon Yucheon had already seized control of the audience through two victories.
"Namgung family head, enough."
"No more is possible."
Unable to watch the ugliness, Mind Brain Divine Lord Jegallyong of the Jegal family and the Hwangbo family head intervened.
Hmm.
Dang Bijan of the Sichuan Dang family, however, stepped back as if urging him to continue if he dared.
Truth be told, Dang Bijan inwardly wanted to see Hyeon Yucheon's real combat prowess.
"See? What did I tell you? No matter what, it won't work."
Meanwhile, Heaven King Axe Pang Cheonhu of the Hebei Pang family stomped, saying he'd expected as much.
He was trying to persuade Namgung Ungwang to preserve his one life when—
"Come at me!"
Namgung Ungwang saw nothing now.
The more others tried to stop him, the angrier and more frustrated he grew.
'I can win for sure—why say it's impossible?'
Outsiders wouldn't understand.
One needed a proper head-cracking to know their limits.
"Fine, as you wish again. A one-on-one to decide whose sword is fastest and strongest—how about that?"
Hyeon Yucheon made no exceptions.
He'd accommodate every condition.
But if he lost again, Namgung Ungwang would be an eternal loser, unable to show his face in the martial world.
As the Namgung representative, his fall meant the family's honor too.
Much was at stake in this final bout.
"Yes! Good!"
Falling completely for it, Namgung Ungwang drew his sword eagerly.
"No more duels now."
One more request for another, and Hyeon Yucheon planned to take his head.
The moment had come to end this long, drawn-out finale.
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