Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Sore Finger
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"Match 9 of the main tournament! Mount Hua Sect's Yi Yi versus Qingcheng Sect's Gwak Mujin!"
The judge's resounding call echoed through the air, and the Qingcheng disciple opposite me drew his sword.
His blue robes fluttered as he assumed the starting stance of the Seventy-Two Celestial Swords, his posture solid and without flaw.
He was truly a master who had made it to the main tournament.
The moment his sword tip pointed at me, sharp killing intent stabbed at my skin.
My heart pounded wildly, and the more I tried to steady my breath, the drier my mouth grew.
My mind spun chaotically, calculating when and where the enemy before me might thrust his blade, sketching out thousands of possibilities.
Every moment felt like walking on thin ice...
Suddenly, Peng Soyeon's figure from moments ago flashed through my mind.
'Why was she...'
How could she tremble in such anxiety after overwhelming her opponent like a child?
I was barely holding on through even a single exchange, my blood running cold, yet she had victory in hand and wept like the loser.
"Hah!"
Gwak Mujin moved first, before I could afford to lose myself in stray thoughts.
His sword undulated like rippling waves, covering my upper body.
It was a dazzling swordplay laced with feints and truths.
The old me would have panicked and stumbled back, but now my eyes pierced through the complex trajectories to reveal a single solid line.
'I see it.'
It was the instant his breath faltered, when the momentum at his sword tip scattered ever so slightly.
My body reacted first.
Ching—!
My sword lightly flicked up his blade.
Beyond mere clashing, it traced a gentle curve, riding his force like a leaf floating on flowing water and sending it scattering.
Gwak Mujin's eyes widened in shock.
His swordplay dispersed into the air, his stance crumbling.
I didn't miss the opening.
Slipping forward like silk, I halted my sword tip right before his throat.
"......!"
A sharp intake of breath, and Gwak Mujin's movements froze.
The chilling aura from my sword tip pressed against his neck.
Just one exchange. No flashy techniques or grand inner power needed.
Simply reading the flow and cutting through.
The judge's voice rang out over the hushed training grounds.
"Victory! Mount Hua Sect's Yi Yi!"
I sheathed my sword, savoring the lingering thrill in my fingertips.
Gwak Mujin formally cupped his fists in concession, and I returned the courtesy with equal respect.
Cheers of victory poured down from behind as my steps descending the training grounds stairs felt as light as walking on clouds.
"Yi Yi!"
"Senior Disciple!"
Senior Disciple was waving from afar as she approached.
Her face brimmed with relief and pride toward me.
A smile bloomed naturally on my lips as I quickened my pace toward her. That was when it happened.
Thud. Thud.
A heavy footfall pierced through the crowd's murmurs, imprinting itself in my mind.
A massive shadow wedged itself between us.
The suffocating pressure made me halt involuntarily.
"Hoh..."
His lips twisted into a strange smirk.
"Mount Hua's sword is quite sharp. Or rather... not just sharp, but those eyes that read the flow are no ordinary thing."
He fixed his gaze on me intently, as if peering into my soul.
I swallowed dryly, glancing at Senior Disciple.
She furrowed her brow in confusion, her eyes darting between Peng Jeongbo and me.
"A fine talent. Too precious to waste."
Peng Jeongbo stepped closer.
His enormous frame's shadow swallowed me whole.
The moment his overwhelming presence bore down, Senior Disciple slipped to my side like the wind.
She shielded me with an arm around my shoulders, greeting him with impeccable courtesy laced with taut tension.
"It's been a while, Great Hero."
At her words, Peng Jeongbo's gaze shifted from me to her.
His eyes narrowed, then lit with recognition, as if dredging something from the depths of memory.
"...So it was you after all. Hwa Yeon, the junior lady. That sword path looked familiar—it's your disciple, isn't it? That supple yet relentless sword tip is just like yours."
"Not quite a disciple..."
Senior Disciple seized my hand.
Her warmth thawed my chilled fingertips.
She wore a deliberately relaxed smile, but her grip held subtle strength.
"He's my cherished junior brother. Still so green it's embarrassing."
"Green? You're too modest."
Peng Jeongbo shook his head and turned his eyes back to me.
This time, raw curiosity burned beyond mere interest.
"Young hero."
He addressed me directly, his giant's deep voice rumbling in my ears.
"How are you so strong?"
"Pardon...?"
His abrupt question left me blinking blankly.
Peng Jeongbo leaned forward, as if my answer were the most fascinating thing.
"You severed it in a single exchange. Speed alone couldn't do that. Nor was it brute force... At your young age, that courage and insight to read the breath and strike the gap—where does it come from?"
His gaze was relentless, as if he wanted to dissect me and unearth the source of my strength.
"If you're asking how I'm so strong..."
I hesitated, then answered while lightly squeezing Senior Disciple's hand.
His presence was immense, but her nearness bolstered me.
"Mount Hua has senior brothers far older than me. From the moment my sword was unripe, they've endlessly sparred with me and guided me."
I glanced sideways at Senior Disciple, who had led me these past fifteen years, and continued.
"I've crossed blades countless times, slashed thousands upon thousands, learning their breaths with my body. Struggling to mimic their strength skin-deep, before I knew it, I could see an opponent's every breath, the slightest shoulder twitch."
Peng Jeongbo's pupils quivered oddly at my words.
"Together... you trained?"
He muttered as if hearing an alien tongue for the first time.
The Peng Clan's way was ruthless survival of the fittest.
In a world ruled by the law of the jungle, even blood kin were mere rivals with blades at each other's throats.
No such thing as brotherly bonds, sweating together and lifting each other up.
That was the void Peng Soyeon had desperately proven with her strength—the absence of such natural camaraderie.
"...I see. Together."
Peng Jeongbo nodded with a bitter smile tinged with self-mockery.
"Your words confirm one thing for me."
He stared straight at me again.
His eyes now held a warrior's earnest respect, beyond mere curiosity.
"With your skill... you might just beat my youngest sister, the sorest finger of them all, Soyeon."
"What?"
His unforeseen words made my eyes widen.
Peng Soyeon was the Hebei Peng Clan's young lady and the top favorite to win the tournament.
For her own brother to predict her defeat...
"That child is still overworking herself, honing her arts at the cost of her body. But that's just piling up power—far from true strength."
Peng Jeongbo's voice sank low.
"A blade is sharpest when swung alone, but cutting a person is ultimately perfected through communion with others... She hasn't realized that yet. Trapped in her own world, fighting invisible foes."
He paused, then clapped my shoulder firmly.
"If you meet in the finals... teach her with your sword. What true martial prowess really is."
Peng Jeongbo's heavy hand lifted from my shoulder.
His words landed like an iron mace of a thousand catties on my chest.
True martial prowess, indeed.
What could a lowly disciple clinging to Mount Hua's fringes possibly teach?
"......"
Senior Disciple said nothing.
She stared at Peng Jeongbo's retreating back, then gripped my hand tighter.
"Let's go, Yi Yi."
She led the way.
We pushed through the crowd toward our lodging, Purple Cloud Pavilion.
Under Wudang's sunset sky dyed red, our shadows stretched long.
As we entered the forest path to Purple Cloud Pavilion, Senior Disciple spoke up.
"Great Hero Peng is right."
"Senior Disciple?"
"What that child needs is another who can cut her—a 'someone else' to shatter the solitude of her solitary blade. And that... might be something only you can do, Yi Yi."
The wind rustled the leaves.
The weight in her words struck me anew.
It went beyond victory or defeat—a tale of warrior communion and salvation.
"So don't run from it. Knock on her closed door with the sword you've learned from Mount Hua. Got it?"
Her eyes were more serious than ever.
I could only nod, entranced.