Reversing the Sword's Momentum
It seemed Yeopun was giving it his all, driven by his desire to catch Taeheo Jin-in's eye and become his disciple in earnest.
His sword movements and footwork weren't quite at the level of manifesting form on the blade, but they were far from ordinary.
Yet.
'This…… actually works?'
Ryeon caught a glimpse of the fierce gouge her released momentum had carved into the ground.
Of course, Yeopun's sword came flying at her right away, forcing her to block swiftly.
Even as his sword grew faster and more precise—perfectly predicted and guided into her induced path—she deflected the overflowing power by channeling it away, repeating the exchange over six times. That's when the thought struck her.
What if I load my momentum onto it and strike back just like that?
With the thought, Ryeon's wooden sword twisted at an odd angle.
And just as Yeopun's blade closed in on her throat, she swept it away with the exact opposite motion—mirroring his force perfectly.
Boom!
Taeheo Jin-in's eyes widened.
To a man who'd seen it all, a spar between children might seem like mere child's play. But perhaps because one was the disciple he cherished like his own, and the other the daughter of his late friend, the sight stirred fresh emotions in him.
He hadn't anticipated—hadn't even hoped for—a display like this.
The little girl had taken the offensive first, and her sword path was impressive. It was as if she'd studied Kunlun's swordsmanship for years.
It was a bit surprising. An unexpected match like this, yet she'd prepared meticulously in the interim. And relying solely on what she'd gleaned from books, she was holding her own.
But as their exchange intensified, Taeheo could no longer sit still, his body twitching with tension.
He noticed Yeopun, fully immersed, beginning to circulate his neigong, but he couldn't intervene—not when Ryeon met it head-on like she'd been waiting.
There was no hesitation in the girl's sword. Clearly judging after observing with her eyes, yet it flowed seamlessly without a single pause.
Like a sparse Milky Way with no breaks in its starry stream, Ryeon's sword was the same.
'Channeling away the…… momentum?'
Taeheo narrowed his eyes.
The instant their swords clashed, he glimpsed the faintest dissipation of the power riding Yeopun's path—like a stream merging into the sea.
A few more exchanges, and he might discern the exact mechanism. But then the girl's eyes sparkled, and the sword opposing Yeopun's shifted in a peculiar way.
At that precise moment, Danmok Cheon-gi—his senses honed by decades of training to near precognition—and Taeheo both leaped forward.
Boom!
No sooner had the two men shielded the children than both wooden swords shattered into splinters.
"Yeopun!"
"Ryeon!"
Danmok Cheon-gi wrapped one arm around Ryeon while gently waving the other.
The exploding fragments of the wooden swords halted mid-air, then rewound as if time itself flowed backward, slowly settling to the ground.
'Seizing from the void……!'
It was divine-level mastery of internal energy.
As gasps rippled through the onlookers, Danmok Cheon-gi flashed a mischievous grin at the astonished Taeheo.
"More importantly, the children look quite shaken. Are you two alright?"
"Y-yes…… I'm fine, but is Daoist Yeopun okay?"
Ryeon, who'd sparred with him several times in the training hall but never ended like this, peered anxiously at his face, her own flushed with surprise.
It had been a good experiment—testing if she could counter and redirect his externally projected internal energy. But she hadn't expected the wooden sword to shatter under the strain!
A thin red scratch marred Yeopun's cheek.
"I told you not to use your neigong, yet you acted rashly. Why, Yeopun?"
"I-I'm…… sorry. I got ahead of myself…… Forgive me, Miss Ryeon."
Yeopun clasped his hands and bowed in apology.
Danmok Cheon-gi, watching quietly, shook his head.
"No. In this case, it seems you should be the one apologizing, not my child."
"Yeopun used his neigong first, giving the opening……"
"And she flaunted it by countering, causing this mess? Danmok Ryeon, apologize at once!"
Ryeon obediently clasped her hands and bowed deeply without protest, but Taeheo pursed his lips, twitching.
Listening closely, the grandfather's tone was scolding, but the content was pure boasting.
'Look what my granddaughter pulled off!'
Knocking your opponent flying in a spar—was that a brag or a reprimand?
Unaware of the knowing glance between Danmok Cheon-gi and Taeheo, Ryeon looked sheepishly at Yeopun.
Even she felt she'd messed up. He'd gotten so focused he'd unconsciously poured in power, and she'd eagerly countered it……
'I never dreamed the wooden sword would shatter like that.'
But there were gains. It meant countering was possible even against neigong.
Even if she herself had not a scrap of it.
"But how did you……"
While Ryeon mulled over her revelation with delight, Yeopun stared at the sparring platform, his face flushed with disbelief, humiliation, and refusal to accept defeat.
Ryeon recognized that expression.
'He's never lost before.'
Taeheo had shown him the world, various experiences, yet never called him disciple. He planned to make him sect leader's disciple upon returning to Kunlun Peak.
With such prodigious talent, had he ever lost to a peer? Since learning the sword, he'd only known victory after victory.
"Th-this……"
Unable to find words, Yeopun's face burned red, his lips trembling endlessly.
He seemed angry, too.
"This can't be…… There must've been something wrong! If we go again……"
"Yeopun!"
Taeheo called his name softly but firmly.
Yeopun, glancing between his hands and Ryeon, snapped to attention and bowed deeper, his face even redder.
"It was an excellent match."
"B-but……"
"But?"
Yeopun couldn't concede it had been "excellent." After much lip-biting, he forced out the words.
"I…… lost……"
"Since when was victory a given for you?"
Taeheo shed his usual airy demeanor, his voice sharp.
Yeopun stared blankly before bowing his head again.
Danmok Cheon-gi interjected gently from the side.
"Daoist, don't push the child too hard."
"Elder."
Taeheo lowered his voice. Danmok Cheon-gi mouthed silently—transmitting voice.
—Didn't you assume Yeopun would beat Ryeon and teach her a lesson?
True enough; he had no retort.
"Only by accepting defeat gracefully does one show the makings of a true warrior. Harboring frustration is a quality too."
Taeheo clamped his lips shut.
Yeopun wiped his reddened eyes and straightened.
Belated shame hit him for his conduct.
"It…… it was a fine match, Miss Ryeon. I showed my inadequacy. I apologize."
Now Ryeon felt even more awkward.
No place was truly civilized if everyone just clapped for a clean loss.
"No, it's fine!"
She waved it off, but Yeopun seemed more embarrassed by his earlier behavior.
To break the mood, Taeheo cleared his throat loudly and approached Ryeon.
"Ahem! Hmm. That said…… might I ask exactly how you did that just now……?"
His tone was exceedingly cautious.
Even Yeopun, eyes still red, perked up his ears.
Ryeon nodded readily.
"At the end of the final stance Daoist Yeopun used……"
"The last form of Taecheong Sword. Like this."
Taeheo lightly moved his hand. His sleeve fluttered softly in the breeze, settling gracefully—unlike Yeopun's forceful flap.
Ryeon nodded eagerly and continued.
"Yeah, it seems like an amazing sword art. The footwork's like a dragon frolicking on clouds, the sword like lightning striking from those clouds, or a stream flowing over mountain ridges……"
She shared her impressions first.
Yeopun was clearly just starting Taecheong Sword and Yunryong Eight Stances, yet even through his tip, she felt Kunlun Peak's scenery.
"Ah! And the neigong rising along that path felt just like traversing those mountains."
She called it a "feeling" because strictly speaking, Yeopun hadn't infused true sword qi—just natural momentum aligned with the technique's principles.
"Like looking down from on high. Streams flow downward, rocks tumble from peaks. Reversing that is tough, like climbing a mountain. So I thought of it like using a lever to flick a rock upward……"
"……Lever?"
"Yes. Treating the sword as a lever, applying force from farther out around the clash point to redirect the momentum……? I figured leveraging from the sword's base would take less strength, but I didn't expect the wooden sword to explode……"
Taeheo's mouth gaped, then closed, repeating in stunned silence.