Eight Corners Society (5)
Eight Corners Society (5)
While Taijiquan focused on deflecting an opponent's force, the Hengshan Sect's sword technique emphasized blocking attacks and exploiting openings. If Taijiquan seemed to dance with the opponent, the Hengshan Sect's hallmark was its solid movements—as though one blade served as both sword and shield.
In other words, both martial arts excelled when fighting on the defensive.
As a result, a peculiar scene unfolded in the arena. After the match began, both fighters held their stances and did nothing for a count of ten. A stalemate as each guarded against the other's movements was common, but because both waited for the other to attack, an awkward standoff ensued.
It was like a race where the first to start loses. The referee merely glanced at both fighters, while the spectators looked around the arena with bewildered expressions.
After hesitating for a moment, Im Seo-ryeon spoke to Hong Ye.
"...I'll cede the first strike."
Hong Ye replied.
"...Isn't this match disadvantageous for the one who strikes first?"
"...Then I'll strike first."
For some reason, today every remark she made was countered by Hong Ye, and she seemed to be losing the psychological battle. Conscious of this, Im Seo-ryeon hardened her expression, assumed her stance, extended her sword far forward, and sprang ahead.
"Oh...."
A murmur of admiration came from somewhere. Her movement was clean and free of superfluous motion. As if drawn by her own thrust, Im Seo-ryeon slid across the arena, her blade aimed at Hong Ye's chest. As though she had been waiting, Hong Ye adjusted her posture, thrust her palm forward, and attempted to deflect the sword.
"Not there!"
But with a movement half a beat faster, Im Seo-ryeon drove her foot into the ground. Along with the sound of the dirt floor caving in, the thrusting sword stopped right in front of Hong Ye's palm, then changed trajectory and flew toward Hong Ye's neck.
The spectators cheered at the unorthodox sword path, while someone clicked their tongue. But Hong Ye, unperturbed, charged forward. Would she be cut by the blade?
"Whoa! What's that?"
No. In time with that bewildered cry, Hong Ye spun her body along the flat of Im Seo-ryeon's outstretched sword and slipped inside her guard. Faced with this bizarre evasion she had never seen, Im Seo-ryeon's sword wavered, and Hong Ye's hand drove into her stomach. There was a flash of light as her palm pressed against it—
Peong!
"Kkeuk!"
With the sound of an explosion, Im Seo-ryeon's body was forced backward. Clutching her stomach and grimacing, she dry-heaved once and wiped her mouth. Hong Ye, sweeping down her arm, resumed her stance. Though she had evaded the attack with a bizarre method, Hong Ye's sleeve was torn and a cut remained on one arm.
As soon as Im Seo-ryeon raised her head and fixed her gaze on Hong Ye, Hong Ye leaped forward and stretched out her hand. It was a deliberately rough rush to give her no time to recover. But after tilting her head back to evade Hong Ye's hand, Im Seo-ryeon readjusted her sword. The moment Hong Ye bent to avoid the sword's path, Im Seo-ryeon's foot flew in from the opposite direction.
Kung!
"Kheu...!"
It was no ordinary kick. A heavy blow loaded with her entire body weight struck Hong Ye squarely on the arm. Hong Ye barely managed to raise her hand and block, but her body was sent flying backward. She spun through the air, raised one foot, and landed in her stance. Hong Ye pressed her hands against the arena floor and gasped for breath.
"Did the Hengshan Sect have fist and foot techniques?"
"I heard they do learn how to fight without a sword."
The murmurs of the spectators could be heard. After taking that unexpected hit, Hong Ye's hand was trembling.
Im Seo-ryeon, still in her stance with one leg raised, held her sword in a reverse grip and extended her other hand forward. Then, taking a deep breath, she raised two fingers and wiggled them. This time, Hong Ye twitched and flinched. She twisted the corner of her mouth into a grimace and charged forward again.
Zhuge Yeong-yu said.
"Madam Yang is getting aggressive."
I nodded.
"It seems she figured she'd lose the decision if it went on like this, since the damage she just took was substantial."
If a bout dragged on without a decisive outcome, the referee would immediately halt the match and determine the winner by judgment. From Hong Ye's perspective, having been hit squarely a moment ago, she had to fight and score points no matter what.
Hong Ye's hand shot forward impatiently. As Im Seo-ryeon blocked the palm with the flat of her blade, Hong Ye, without retracting her hand, pressed it against the blade, put her weight into it, and charged. To push her away, Im Seo-ryeon tilted her sword sideways and twisted her body. Hong Ye, who seemed about to topple forward, kicked her rear leg forward forcefully, shifted her center of gravity, and spun around.
"What...!"
Using the rotational force, her other hand came flying. The swift, irregular strike smacked straight across Im Seo-ryeon's face while she held her sword with both hands.
Jjak!
With the crisp sound, Im Seo-ryeon staggered, and with a dazed expression, she looked back at Hong Ye. Right in front of her, Hong Ye had regained her stance, gathering her aura and glaring at her. Even from a distance, a chilling pressure could be felt, and she could be seen channeling her inner energy into her hand.
She was about to unleash a powerful technique.
But she was too defenseless.
Im Seo-ryeon hurriedly extended her sword and thrust at Hong Ye, and the moment her gaze turned to the blade, the aura emanating from Hong Ye's body vanished completely. Even the spectators, who had unconsciously tensed up from the spreading aura, were so shocked that the arena fell utterly silent in that instant.
But both Im Seo-ryeon and the spectators knew what the disappearance of the aura meant.
She had been deceived.
It was a feint of gathering inner energy to make Im Seo-ryeon attack hastily.
"Wait...!"
Having deflected Im Seo-ryeon's blade with the back of her hand, Hong Ye smoothly slid her hand along the flat of the sword and extended it forward. Bringing her hand right up to Im Seo-ryeon's nose, she twisted her waist and thrust her hand forward with a jolt, as if firing a cannon.
Tung!
As if she had fired a cannon, the arena floor shuddered loudly. Dust spread in all directions, and Im Seo-ryeon's body flew through the air. Hong Ye, clutching her own hand, slid backward, leaving a long trail in the ground as dust rose.
"Haa... haa...."
Hong Ye, as if having poured everything into that one strike, collapsed to the ground and panted heavily. Then, staring into the air, she cast a desperate gaze.
It seemed as if Im Seo-ryeon, who had soared into the air like a bird, was fluttering back down to the ground.
Everyone thought Im Seo-ryeon had been defeated, and I clicked my tongue.
Zhuge Yeong-yu looked at me as if seeking my opinion, and Seon-go fidgeted, his face full of regret.
And then.
"Puh...!"
Im Seo-ryeon twisted her body in midair and landed on the ground in a stance. Blood streamed from her nose, her eyes blinking rapidly as she barely held onto consciousness, but staggering, she rose to her feet.
"...If this had been a real fight, I would have died."
Saying that, Im Seo-ryeon wiped her face. She shook her head clear, looked at Hong Ye again, and assumed her stance. She even smiled. Her body, which had been staggering moments before, was now steady as if it had never wavered.
"Too bad for you, I'm fairly sturdy."
Hong Ye's face was colored with dismay. It also looked as if her pride had been wounded. She had poured out every means at her disposal and still could not bring her down. Zhuge Yeong-yu muttered,
"Those with the blood of the Heavenly Demon truly are different indeed."
I didn't know what the blood of the Heavenly Demon was, but Im Seo-ryeon's recovery and resilience were terrifying. When she took that strike just now, not only I but the masters sitting in the honored guests' seats had clicked their tongues or winced.
Everyone but Im Seo-ryeon herself had thought that she would have fainted after taking that technique.
But Im Seo-ryeon had endured Hong Ye's attack. She blinked and aimed her sword, then opened her mouth.
"I didn't know that Taijiquan had such a feint. I apologize for claiming I knew it from just a few lines I'd read in my sect. In return for the lesson you just taught me, I'll also...."
"...I have lost."
Im Seo-ryeon tilted her head. Hong Ye staggered to her feet and said that while offering a fist-wrapping salute. But even as she held the salute, Hong Ye continued to wobble, sweat streaming from her forehead.
Im Seo-ryeon, sniffling, said,
"...You're conceding?"
"...Shameful as it is, I poured all of my inner strength into that last strike. I have no strength left to continue the match. In this state, I cannot withstand your special technique, miss."
She truly did look that way. After unleashing that one strike, Hong Ye had struggled to even get up, until Im Seo-ryeon rose again. She had rapidly exhausted her inner strength and was undoubtedly in a state of temporary exhaustion.
"...No, but still... um...."
"I'm sorry, Miss Im Seo-ryeon. And I truly learned a great deal. I realize once again how vast the world is and how lacking my own skills are."
The referee approached Hong Ye. He checked her pulse and nodded, saying,
"Hmm, you are indeed in a state of exhaustion. Continuing the match like this would be difficult. I will accept your concession."
"No, but..."
"The winner of this match! Im Seo-ryeon of the Hengshan Sect!"
"I mean..."
How to put it...
Im Seo-ryeon looked very aggrieved.