The Tiger of Hebei (2)
A low, guttural chuckle echoed across the training ground. “Khhuhuhu...”
It was the kind of laugh that made one question whether the creature producing it was truly human. Peng Dowei stroked his beloved blade with the tender affection one might show a lover, his fingers gliding along its edge as though caressing living flesh. I could understand his excitement—after all, he had finally achieved his long-cherished wish—but this was pushing it. The man looked half-mad.
“Hah...”
How had I ended up agreeing to this spar? My own fault, really. I’d let my heart waver.
Resigned, I turned to face Peng Dowei and quietly drew Mukrin from the sheath at my waist. The legendary blade slid free with a soft, almost reluctant whisper.
“Hand me the scabbard.”
The moment the sword left its sheath, someone tapped my shoulder from behind. Namgung Seha had already arrived, having heard the news somehow. I passed her the empty sheath without a word. She took it, then spoke as she turned to leave the training grounds.
“I’ll be watching closely. You could have refused, but since you’ve decided to fight… make sure you win.”
With those words, she stepped away. Peng Dowei’s laughter grew even rougher, more unhinged, as he settled into his stance.
“Heh heh. Thank you, Extreme Sword Dragon. I won’t forget this.”
Could you please do something about that creepy laugh? The words nearly slipped out, but he looked far too innocent for me to say them to his face. Instead, I simply mirrored his stance in silence.
“Are both of you ready?”
One of the Hebei Peng Clan’s retainers glanced nervously around before speaking. It was understandable. In front of him, his young clan heir was half-deranged, caressing his blade and cackling like a lunatic. Behind him, the three siblings of the Namgung Clan were chatting casually as they watched the spectacle.
“Then let’s begin.”
I couldn’t tell if the retainer was deliberately ignoring the awkward atmosphere or simply oblivious. Either way, it was a mystery that would likely remain unsolved even after today turned into tomorrow.
“B… Begin!”
The moment the retainer declared the start of the match, Peng Dowei began slowly drawing inner energy from his dantian. A crimson aura began to rise from the tip of his blade.
“The Five Tiger Severing Gate Blade…”
The aura carried a savage, predatory pressure—like a ferocious tiger about to pounce. Peng Dowei showed no sign of restraint as he swung his weapon. The crimson blade carved continuous diagonal lines through the air, rushing straight toward me.
His form was somewhat crude and simplistic, making it easy to read. Yet charging in recklessly would have been foolish. A single misstep would have invited a devastating counterattack. Instead, I planted my feet, used the force to launch myself behind him, and struck at his rear.
“Oh. As expected…!”
Peng Dowei twisted his body with visible effort, barely blocking my strike with the Five Tiger Severing Gate Blade. The instant our weapons met, he used the Miheo Divine Step to retreat several paces.
“Hmm…”
Not bad. Of course, as he himself had admitted, Peng Dowei had only recently entered the Peak Realm. His blade technique was still unstable, and his decision to charge aggressively from the very beginning despite knowing the gap in skill wasn’t particularly wise. Yet his lacking areas were surprisingly compensated for by his cultivation method.
The Five Tiger Severing Gate Blade was an aggressive, offense-oriented style designed to close the distance and overwhelm the opponent. It naturally filled in the openings created by his reckless judgment. Even his unstable blade energy seemed to blend into the wild nature of the technique, reducing the number of exploitable gaps.
“…Hmm.”
It had been a while since I faced a blade technique. Most blade arts leaned heavily toward aggression rather than defense, but the Five Tiger Severing Gate Blade embodied that tendency even more intensely. Earlier, he had said he wanted to learn something from this spar. I felt the same way. There was definitely something here for me to take away.
I adjusted my grip on Mukrin. Unlike before, Peng Dowei no longer rushed in carelessly. He held his stance firmly, raising his aura and watching me with caution.
“Huu…”
Pressing the attack right now would be the fastest and most effective way to secure victory. His Five Tiger Severing Gate Blade couldn’t keep up with the speed of my sword strikes. But that wouldn’t benefit me. Instead of overwhelming him with attacks, I would receive his. While blocking his blade, I would experience firsthand what it truly meant for a sword to have form.
“I won’t move first,” I told him.
He tilted his head slightly, confused. I abandoned any offensive posture, adopting a purely defensive stance, and repeated myself.
“Come at me. I’ll give you all the time you need.”
Immediately, Peng Dowei stepped forward using the Miheo Divine Step and unleashed the Five Tiger Severing Gate Blade without hesitation. For a brief moment, his blade energy took on the shape of a savage tiger as it hurtled toward me.
I tracked it with my eyes, wrapped my sword in sword qi, and met the strike head-on. We exchanged dozens of blows like this. His crimson blade energy clashed against my translucent sword qi. Every time our weapons met, sparks of red flame burst from his blade like embers.
“Hmm…”
So this was what it felt like to face a sword with fixed forms. It did feel slightly restrictive and uncomfortable. But that was all. I would grow used to it soon enough. Surprisingly, it felt far more stable than I had expected.
Just three more exchanges. Let’s see how it goes.
The warriors of the Hebei Peng Clan murmured among themselves as they watched the spar. They had all expected the Extreme Sword Dragon to dominate, so they were clearly shocked that Peng Dowei was holding his own so well.
Namgung Hye seemed to share their thoughts. She grabbed the hem of my clothes, frowning as she spoke to me.
“Does it look like he’s struggling to you?”
In my eyes, it didn’t. Sowoon still hadn’t revealed his full strength. Moreover, he was deliberately using his normally aggressive swordsmanship in a defensive manner.
The moment those words left my mouth, an old man approached from the side.
“Tsk. How utterly stupid.”
He clicked his tongue in disapproval. Short but coarse white beard. A towering frame that rivaled even Namgung Jehyun. A massive blade hanging at his waist.
It was someone I had definitely seen in my previous life. The greatest blade master under the heavens and the strongest expert of the Hebei Peng Clan. Despite being well over seventy, he proudly occupied one of the seats among the Ten Venerables. The Tyrant Sovereign—Pa-jon. Peng Yeon.
Why would someone like him show up here…?!
Everyone turned to him in shock at his sudden appearance. He watched the spar for a moment before shifting his gaze toward me.
“Not a bad eye at all.”
With that, he turned his attention back to the match and continued speaking.
“It looks as though Dowei is fiercely pressing the Extreme Sword Dragon with the Five Tiger Severing Gate Blade.”
Looks as though. In other words, he wasn’t.
He crossed his arms, looking down at the fight with a critical eye, then muttered once more.
“Dowei will lose.”
“He has learned the Five Tiger Severing Gate Blade quite properly. However, his skill in handling blade energy is still immature.”
“It may seem like Dowei holds the initiative, but the initiative has belonged to that dragon from the very beginning. He could show that initial movement whenever he wishes, yet he chooses not to.”
After offering his assessment, he spoke again.
“Is he deliberately matching his sword to the blade? What is his purpose? Analysis?”
The Tyrant Sovereign watched the match with an expressionless face for a while before the corners of his mouth curved into a faint smile.
“…A boy with truly astonishing talent.”
His words seemed to act as a trigger. The tide of the spar began to shift dramatically.
Sowoon’s Mukrin gradually pushed Peng Dowei’s Five Tiger Severing Gate Blade away, expanding its domain. At the same time, Mukrin danced wildly through the air. The relentless sword qi overwhelmed his opponent.
Peng Dowei made a rather decent decision, using the wider surface of his blade to block by raising the flat of the weapon. But it wasn’t enough. When Sowoon employed the footwork he called Heaven-Suppressing Divine Step, Peng Dowei’s entire body staggered, making it difficult for him to even block properly.
Yet strangely, both Sowoon and Peng Dowei were smiling.
The Tyrant Sovereign couldn’t tear his eyes away from the two of them. As he absentmindedly stroked his great blade, he spoke in a tone that sounded almost like a scolding.
“Looking at it now, it seems I was the one lacking when it came to Dowei.”
He turned around. Then, in a voice just loud enough for the nearby warrior to hear, he gave an instruction.
“That boy called the Extreme Sword Dragon—tell him that I will be here whenever he wishes. Have him come see me before he leaves.”
With those words, the Tyrant Sovereign departed. As he left, a single blade flew through the air, spinning before it plunged deeply into the ground with a heavy thud.