Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Are You Alright?
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A crooked stance and that swagger. It's the kind of posture that only comes from long-ingrained habit.
On top of that, the corners of his mouth were turned up in a smirk.
*He has such a smooth, clean-cut face...*
Was it an act, deliberately put on to avoid showing any weakness to his opponent? But if so, there wasn't a trace of tension to be found.
At a glance, he could have passed for a common street thug. But the referee was the Anhui branch chief of the Martial Alliance.
Meaning, he was a considerable master.
He wasn't the kind of person who couldn't tell a real scoundrel from a pretender.
He might be young, but he was still a Namgung, wasn't he?
*He does carry the air of a skilled warrior...*
But his attitude toward the duel was utterly disgraceful. There was no way he didn't know how crucial this match was for the Namgung Family.
He wondered why the Namgung Family had sent out someone like this.
The spectators in the stands felt much the same as the referee.
The warrior from the Baekri Family, on the other hand, exuded a slight tension. He was wary, for though his opponent was a decade younger, he was still a Namgung.
No matter how far the Namgung Family had fallen, their name was still etched into the minds of the entire martial world, far beyond Anhui.
Five years was far too short a time to erase the name Namgung from their memories.
The member of the Baekri Family's White Flower Sword Brigade spoke to Namgung Hyeon-u.
"Your attitude toward this duel is pathetic. I suppose this is how the Namgung Family teaches its disciples these days. Or perhaps, there's no one left to teach you."
Namgung Hyeon-u wasn't about to take that kind of talk lying down.
"What a load of shit."
"..."
*Hah, honestly.*
Even the referee was flabbergasted by Namgung Hyeon-u's single remark.
He had expected the situation to be the other way around.
Namgung Hyeon-u continued without missing a beat.
"That's not something you bastards who conspired with the Martial Alliance Leader to bring our family to this state should be saying. My attitude? What was your attitude like during the War of Orthodox and Demonic Factions five years ago? Let's hear it. I'm dying to know."
"...You son of a bitch..."
"Correct. So you do know your Baekri Family's attitude was dog-like. What a relief."
Even the referee nodded, agreeing with Namgung Hyeon-u's words.
The White Flower swordsman, displeased with the referee's attitude, shot back.
"Referee. What do you think you're doing?"
He meant that since the referee was from the Martial Alliance, he should be on the Baekri Family's side—their side.
The referee suddenly flared his aura, even though he wasn't the one dueling.
"Referee? Am I your friend? Where do you get off speaking to me so informally...?"
Namgung Hyeon-u cut the referee off.
"Honorable Referee."
The referee turned his head toward Namgung Hyeon-u, as if asking why he'd called.
"He's mine."
"Ah. My apologies."
"Not at all. You were justified. Don't you worry. I'll take care of your share of the satisfaction for you."
"Haha. I like you. I'll be counting on you."
"You can count on me."
The referee, finding this amusing, curled his lips into a smile and spoke to Namgung Hyeon-u and the stunned White Flower swordsman.
"Take five steps back."
Namgung Hyeon-u and the White Flower swordsman each took five steps back.
The White Flower swordsman was in a foul mood because of what had just happened with the referee.
*Just you wait!*
The Head of the Baekri Family himself had bestowed upon him an elixir, ordering him to crush the Namgung bastards in today's duel.
An elixir that would grant a full five years' worth of internal energy.
*Namgung...*
I'll break you!
I'll make it so you can't even think of getting back up!
The referee nodded, signaling for the duel to begin.
*Kuuung!*
The sound of a drum announced the start of the match.
The drumbeat should have been met with cheers from the crowd, but instead, it grew even quieter. They clenched their fists, praying desperately.
They didn't even wish for a victory.
Please...
They prayed and prayed to the sun peeking through the clouds, begging it to show them that the Namgung were not dead.
For if the Namgung lived, Anhui would know peace, and happiness would return to their lives.
*Tadadadadak!*
The White Flower swordsman charged toward Namgung Hyeon-u with all his might.
Seeing the swordsman, Namgung Hyeon-u offered a brief smile.
*Tadadadak?*
Seriously.
How could he be so damn slow?
Namgung Urin, the man Namgung Hyeon-u had been dueling with for a while now...
*Swish.*
*Swish.*
*Flash.*
*Flash.*
That's how he moved.
But this?
*Tadadadak?*
It was utterly laughable.
The White Flower swordsman saw Namgung Hyeon-u's smile.
*How dare he!*
To smile at a moment like this!
I'll kill you!
It wasn't a death match, so he couldn't actually kill him, but the White Flower swordsman resolved to inflict a comparable blow. He raised his wooden sword in a high stance and brought it down on Namgung Hyeon-u with all his strength.
*Thwack!*
At the sound of the wooden swords clashing, the anxious spectators jumped in their seats.
The White Flower swordsman's full-powered strike was blocked by Namgung Hyeon-u's sword. And in that instant, the Baekri warrior was pushed back a full ten feet.
*Damn it!*
How could his internal energy...
be greater than his own?
He knew.
The reason he had been pushed back was that his internal energy was weaker than Namgung Hyeon-u's.
*Damn it all.*
Wasn't it obvious?
How could the internal energy of someone who had taken an elixir worth five years of power compare to that of someone who had taken one worth twenty-five?
Moreover, the Namgung Family's foundational cultivation method was a supreme art, the envy of many other clans. Of course, if Namgung Hyeon-u hadn't taken the twenty-five-year elixir, the outcome might very well have been reversed.
Namgung Hyeon-u's smile deepened.
*So light.*
The force transmitted through the wooden sword felt as light as a feather. And that was without him even using his full strength to block.
This time, Namgung Hyeon-u moved first.
*Taat!*
He kicked off the ground and leaped into the air. Using the momentum of his descent, he brought his sword down hard on the White Flower swordsman from a high stance.
The White Flower swordsman, confident he could block it easily, thrust his wooden sword forward to parry.
*Ttaak!*
He blocked it.
But.
*Crack.*
The White Flower swordsman's wooden sword broke.
*Thud.*
Namgung Hyeon-u's wooden sword struck the White Flower swordsman squarely on the shoulder.
"Keuk."
A considerable shock coursed through the swordsman. It felt as if his shoulder bone had been shattered.
*Damn it all.*
To be pushed back this far!
"Waaaaah!"
A roar erupted from the spectators, who had been watching with bated breath until now.
"Go, Namgung!"
"That's Namgung for you!"
"You're so cool!"
"What did I tell you! Didn't I say Namgung would win!"
"Didn't you bet on the Baekri Family?"
"It's just a few coins. If Namgung wins, I'll gladly count it as a loss. Puhahaha!"
The stands were descending into a frenzy.
The Baekri Family's camp, however, was as if doused with ice water in the dead of winter.
"...How..."
How could that young brat's internal energy be so high!
The Head of the Baekri Family could not mistake the cause of this situation. It was impossible without an extraordinary elixir.
He wondered how the ruined Namgung Family could afford such an elixir, but even if they had the money, obtaining one capable of bestowing so much internal energy would be incredibly difficult...
*Crrrack.*
The armrest of the chair where the Baekri Family Head sat crumbled to dust.
Did this mean they had acquired enough elixirs to provide for not just their Young Lord, but even their regular swordsmen?
The Baekri Head calmed himself. Getting agitated wouldn't solve anything.
All that mattered was that his son, Baekri Jang-won, killed the Namgung Young Lord. Besides, it was still unknown. It was possible that only the man currently on the stage had taken an elixir.
Elixirs weren't easy to come by, so he would have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, Namgung Hyeon-u could have immediately attacked the White Flower swordsman whose wooden sword had broken, but he didn't.
"Honorable Referee. Please toss that man another wooden sword."
"Are you sure?"
A broken sword was a reflection of the wielder's skill. In a typical duel, a broken wooden sword was considered a loss.
"We haven't even started yet."
"Very well."
With a look of great satisfaction, the referee ordered a waiting Martial Alliance warrior to give a wooden sword to the White Flower swordsman.
The White Flower swordsman received the sword, enduring the pain in his shoulder, and spoke.
"You'll regret this."
Namgung Hyeon-u's lips twisted into a sneer.
"Regret... You don't know."
No, you wouldn't.
You've never experienced it.
"For us Namgung, there is nothing to look back on, nothing left to regret. All that remains... is death."
"...Death..."
He couldn't understand. How could the word 'regret' lead to the word 'death'?
"That's right. You wouldn't understand. Five years ago... our Namgung... my Namgung died. The death of that day is carved into my blood! Into my bones! Into my heart! I died that day. All of us Namgung died. We, I... died every single day, waiting for today! For this moment!"
That was why he had gone mad. Because without going mad, he couldn't have survived a single day.
"...What..."
Faced with the aura of this still-young man, the White Flower swordsman's legs began to tremble.
"Regret? Lingering attachments? Do you think the dead have such things? I, we, are dead, so we know nothing of them. So grip your sword tight. I'm going to carve the heart of a dead man into your body. You'll leave here alive, but don't even think about walking out on your own two feet."
Namgung Hyeon-u turned to the referee.
"May I begin?"
*Namgung... Truly, they are the Namgung.*
When the Namgung Family re-emerged in the martial world after five years, everyone said it. Weren't they being too hasty?
They were wrong.
If they had spent every day with such hearts... he felt that for the Namgung, those five years must have felt like fifty.
The referee nodded silently, clearing the way for Namgung.
Namgung Hyeon-u threw a word at the White Flower swordsman.
"Here I come!"
The White Flower swordsman gripped his wooden sword with all his might.
*A direct confrontation won't work.*
His internal energy was weaker, so he had to evade and look for an opening. He had experience on his side, didn't he!
Namgung Hyeon-u's sword slashed swiftly toward the White Flower swordsman. The swordsman anticipated the direction of the blade and twisted his body to the side.
*Trying to dodge?*
The method was sound.
But he was far too slow.
Namgung Hyeon-u and the other four members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade had grown tremendously through their one-on-one duels with Namgung Urin. They had spent their days in such a frantic state that they hadn't even realized their own growth.
They had already become seasoned masters at the peak of their skill.
Namgung Hyeon-u's sword suddenly changed direction. It was a path the swordsman could never have predicted.
In the end.
*Thwack.*
The White Flower swordsman's side was struck hard by Namgung Hyeon-u's unexpected blow.
"Keok."
*Thump!*
"Aargh!"
Namgung Hyeon-u's sword showed no signs of stopping.
And so, the one-sided beating began.
The spectators leaped from their seats and began to scream as if they were witnessing the most joyous moment of their lives.
*Thud.*
Eventually, the White Flower swordsman collapsed onto the floor of the dueling stage. The referee then stepped in to stop Namgung Hyeon-u.
"Hold on a moment."
"He hasn't surrendered yet."
"I know."
The referee approached the fallen White Flower swordsman.
"Are you alright?"
Lacking even the strength to speak properly, the White Flower swordsman's voice came out as a crawl.
"Ughhh. I... I surrender."
"Come on, find your strength and get up."
"Ughhh. I, surren—"
"A man shouldn't be like this. Tsk."
Unbeknownst to the swordsman, the referee infused him with his own internal energy. His own precious, precious internal energy.
With that, the referee forced the White Flower swordsman to his feet.
"There, how is it? Feeling a bit better now, aren't you?"
Thanks to the internal energy the referee had forced into him, the White Flower swordsman thankfully had enough strength to stand.
However.
"..."
His voice wouldn't come out.
*Why... why!*
The referee said.
"He says he's fine. You may resume."
The White Flower swordsman's eyes widened. No. This wasn't right.
*No! This isn't right!*
He had clearly tried to say he surrendered, but his voice had failed him. He shook his head frantically, but the referee's eyes were not on him.
And so, the White Flower swordsman had to endure the beating until he passed out.
All because his voice wouldn't let him surrender.
Not that anyone would have heard him over the crowd's cheers anyway.
Before long, the white flowers that bloomed on the field had all melted away. In the sky, the azure heavens proudly showed its face.