A Predictable Path
A blade pressed against a neck. The chilling sensation of sword qi, and a sudden, heavy silence.
The moment the duel began, the entire crowd fell dead silent.
All I could feel was a gaze looking down on me.
A pair of stiff, tense eyes locked onto me. It was Seo Pyeong—the Cloud Dragon and the future of the Wudang Sect.
A genius of the realm, widely known to be the guaranteed successor to the sect leader's seat.
The glare he directed at me was incredibly fierce.
His sword hovered, perfectly still.
As I glanced at it, I sensed someone approaching from the side.
It was the referee.
He stepped toward me, about to say something, but—
Slide.
I raised my sword and stepped back, widening the distance between us.
"...Huh?"
The referee looked at me in confusion. The match should have been over.
The moment a blade touched a neck, the duel was officially decided.
However, I had no intention of letting it end like that.
I looked at Seo Pyeong, who stood frozen like a stone statue, and spoke.
"You talk a big game, but you're not much to look at. Consider that a warning."
I offered him a slight smirk, and Seo Pyeong's eyes narrowed sharply.
Watching his reaction, I continued.
"What's wrong? Surprised?"
"What... did you just do?"
Seo Pyeong seemed completely unable to comprehend the current situation.
What did I do?
"Why ask the obvious?"
Spin.
I twirled my sword in a light circle.
"You just lost. Like an idiot."
"...!"
"If you'd spent less time flapping your gums and more time paying attention, this wouldn't have happened. But since you couldn't, you ended up like this."
I tilted my head. As I exchanged words with him, the silent crowd began to murmur once again.
"What just happened?"
"Didn't the Young Sword Saint's blade just touch the Cloud Dragon's neck?"
"...No, how could that happen in such a split second...?"
"Does that mean the Cloud Dragon lost?"
The noisy chatter drifted over.
As the whispers from the spectator stands reached his ears, Seo Pyeong's face contorted with rage.
His grip on his sword tightened, and he bit his lower lip so hard it nearly split.
"Hey, you're going to bleed if you keep doing that."
I chuckled softly and raised my sword to face him.
"Get a grip. I told you, it was just a warning."
"..."
"The world isn't always what it seems."
It didn't matter how great Seo Pyeong's eyes were.
Or how quick-witted he was.
None of it mattered.
If he couldn't see it in the end, it was over.
"Are you just going to stand there?"
I asked as I backed away to a comfortable distance. His face twisted further.
"If you don't want to fight anymore, you can just step down."
I pointed the tip of my sword toward the edge of the arena.
His face flushed crimson as he gripped his hilt.
It seemed he had no intention of stepping down.
Grind.
A harsh, grating sound escaped his gritted teeth.
"I'll make you regret this."
He wrapped himself in whatever pride he had left.
How amusing.
I smiled, seeing right through him.
There were always guys like him in my past life.
Back when I lived as Kim Min-chul, the people who hated me always reacted the exact same way.
Did I leave them be? Or did I...
...get rid of them?
I don't really remember.
It was a useless memory, so I didn't dwell on it.
After all, my past life didn't matter right now.
"Whew."
Tension filled the air.
Seo Pyeong's attitude had changed. It seemed the recent shock had snapped him back to reality.
His momentum surged.
Whoosh.
The air grew heavy, as if reacting to his presence.
It felt somewhat different from ordinary energy.
Was this...
...Taoist Qi?
The pure internal energy that could only be felt from Taoist sects.
It was a refreshing yet dense sensation, carrying the distinct essence of Wudang.
Heavy.
Yes, that was the perfect word for it.
Seo Pyeong's Taoist Qi was incredibly heavy.
I readjusted my grip on my sword as I watched him.
Just then.
Yoo Chun-gil asked, his voice laced with amusement.
Honestly, it was tempting.
I was already regretting my decision a little.
Ah, I should have just ended it there.
If I hadn't shown off and just finished the duel, things would have been much easier.
Although I regretted not doing so...
Well, nothing I can do about it now.
I still had to go through with this.
Besides,
I need to test it out anyway.
The things I had gained during my closed-door cultivation.
I needed to test them properly in a real fight.
A tense moment.
Screeech!
"Ha!"
With a sharp shout, Seo Pyeong's sword lunged toward me.
"Seo Pyeong. You are the future of Wudang."
That was the phrase Seo Pyeong had heard almost every single day since he entered the Wudang Sect.
"One day, you must surpass even the Sword Saint."
His master had drilled those words into his ears until they practically bled.
The Sword Saint, the greatest martial artist of all time.
He was told he had to surpass him and raise Wudang to even greater heights.
Despite hearing such heavy, burdensome expectations constantly, the young Seo Pyeong hadn't minded.
Back then, he had believed without a shred of doubt that he was capable of it.
He was a genius.
A once-in-a-generation talent, hailed as the hope of Wudang.
If it was him, he could do it.
He would surpass even the legendary Sword Saint and become the world's greatest.
He had lived his life never doubting that destiny.
The moment Seo Pyeong's pride shattered...
...was when he first attended the Yongbong Association.
Even then, Seo Pyeong had carried himself with immense pride.
There was no one in Wudang of his age who could match him.
He had firmly believed the young geniuses of other sects would be no different when he arrived at the tournament.
But that belief was shattered in no time.
"Cough...!"
Coughing up blood, Seo Pyeong had fallen to his knees.
Standing before him was a massive man with a look of disappointment on his face.
Despite his giant build, his face showed he was a youth of similar age.
He had spoken with deep dissatisfaction.
"What? You're weak."
"...!"
"I expect more since the Wudang Heavenly Sword praised you so much. What a letdown."
The youth who defeated him was Pae Do-jun of the Pae Clan.
Those were the words he used to judge him.
"An ignorant fool. That's all you are. Well, at least you're better than that idiot from the Tang Family."
Pae Do-jun had already fought Dang Cheon-il of the Tang Family.
Dang Cheon-il had been lying unconscious on the ground, still as death.
Seo Pyeong was at least better than him.
At least he hadn't collapsed without even lasting a single exchange.
He was better, but...
"Damn it...!"
There was no way Seo Pyeong could find comfort in that.
He was the genius of the century.
No one should have stood above him.
So how did monsters like this exist?
To make matters worse, Pae Do-jun, who had toyed with him, was later defeated by a much younger girl from Mount Hua.
There was always a heaven above heaven, and another heaven above that.
That day, Seo Pyeong realized his talent was not the absolute best.
He also realized how vast and heavy the expectations of the Wudang Sect Leader, the Heavenly Sword, truly were.
"...This makes no sense."
He couldn't believe it.
Why?
"Why...?"
It wasn't that he lacked talent.
As if to prove it, Seo Pyeong eventually earned a place among the Seven Great Talents, but...
...that was the limit.
The upper echelon of the Seven Great Talents.
Pae Do-jun, who had crushed him, was known as the Black Great Blade and remained at the top.
The Sword Peak, who had defeated the Black Great Blade, was considered the absolute best of the young generation.
Even Wol Mu-hee, who had never once participated in the Yongbong Association, was ranked above him.
He could not reach that level.
No one considered Seo Pyeong to be part of the elite tier.
"Me...?"
Why?
Why couldn't he join them?
He was praised as Wudang's greatest genius and hailed as its future.
Even the Sect Leader, the Heavenly Sword, had promised him that the seat of the next leader would be his.
"Why are you all..."
Was the well he lived in really so narrow?
Or was the sky simply too high for him to see?
Seo Pyeong could not accept reality.
"Not yet."
So he swung his sword. He swung it desperately.
He did not give up.
He forged a belief that he could climb higher.
I will show you.
I will show you what the future of Wudang looks like.
I will prove that I am the best.
Driven by that single desire, Seo Pyeong spent years training.
And the time to show the fruits of his labor had finally come. It was this Yongbong Association.
He would wash away the disgrace of being called second-rate.
He would claim the title of the greatest genius. That was his sole focus when he arrived at the tournament, but...
"Did you hear? Cheongwol Gate is participating in the Yongbong Association this time."
"Ah, I heard. Apparently, the Young Sword Saint himself is attending."
Ominous rumors reached his ears.
The Young Sword Saint.
Seo Pyeong knew of him. He had caused such a stir recently that it was impossible not to know.
The world's greatest, the strongest of all time.
The successor of the Sword Saint, Yoo Chun-gil, and a young genius who had achieved great feats in Sichuan.
Someone had said:
"The Young Sword Saint looks down even on the Seven Great Talents."
As long as the Young Sword Saint was around, the greatest genius was him, not the Sword Peak.
A giant who didn't even need to be ranked among the Seven Great Talents.
That was the current evaluation of the Young Sword Saint.
Seo Pyeong despised it.
He had worked so hard to prove himself.
And you steal all the attention from me?
Instead of his own growth, all eyes were on the Young Sword Saint. Furthermore...
Why are the Black Great Blade, the Lightning Dragon, and even the Sword Peak acting like this?
Why were those monsters showing interest in the Young Sword Saint?
The Poison Dragon had his history in Sichuan, and Wol Mu-hee was from the same sect, so that made sense.
But those three? It was incomprehensible.
He hated it.
Young Sword Saint.
The successor of the Sword Saint, the man he was destined to surpass one day.
He had a handsome face, but looking at his frail build, there was no way he could be strong.
Even his senses told him:
That guy.
At best, he's only on par with the Poison Dragon.
I don't know what kind of trick he used in the preliminaries.
Splitting that massive boulder?
Seo Pyeong didn't believe it. Even the legendary Sword Peak had failed to split it completely.
Yet the Young Sword Saint had succeeded?
Seo Pyeong didn't believe a word of it.
He must have used some sort of trick.
He had to have done something else.
I don't believe in you.
Therefore, he would tear off that ridiculous mask.
And so...
I will engrave the name of Wudang's Seo Pyeong into everyone's minds.
He intended to show everyone exactly who Wudang's Seo Pyeong was.
Surely...
...that was how it was supposed to go.
Screeech!
Clang!
"Ugh!"
His lunging sword was deflected off its path, recoiling.
Feeling the pressure, Seo Pyeong gritted his teeth and forced his blade back on course.
He spun in a half-circle, his sword qi flaring as it temporarily vanished, but—
Clang!
"...!"
Before his sword qi could fully manifest, his blade was struck and thrown off balance once more.
Damn it...!
Seo Pyeong ground his teeth.
He executed consecutive footwork techniques to stabilize his faltering upper body.
He swung his sword again, but—
Clang! Clang, clang!
His strikes were blocked repeatedly.
A few exchanges.
Dozens of sword strikes.
He swung relentlessly, but no matter how fast he moved, his blade could not reach its target.
Before the sword could reach its destination—no, before it could even leave its starting point properly—it was deflected.
What in the world...!
Seo Pyeong gasped.
How could this be happening?
How could anyone do this?
Just what...!
Why couldn't he touch him?
Seo Pyeong stared at the youth before him, the Young Sword Saint Bang Seong-yeon.
His blue eyes were wide, scanning his opponent's movements.
Those eyes were tracking every inch of his body.
He wasn't even trying to hide his gaze.
That was normal; a martial artist's duel was naturally fought that way.
But still...
Even so.
How could not a single strike connect?
As Seo Pyeong's face contorted in sheer disbelief, unable to comprehend the situation...
"...Ah... recoil... left..."
Bang Seong-yeon was whispering in a voice so quiet that Seo Pyeong couldn't hear.
"Left... rotation... wrist internal rotation... half-step back. If the knee comes forward, upper body strength. Then the path of the sword will be..."
He repeated the words like a mantra.
He predicted everything by observing Seo Pyeong's body and movements.
These were things he had recalled and memorized countless times.
Twitch.
Seo Pyeong's wrist rotated inward.
His sword moved accordingly.
I looked at his knee. It bent forward ever so slightly.
My blue Moon Eyes flashed.
In that position, the sword would strike diagonally.
Before Seo Pyeong's sword could unleash its strike...
...Bang Seong-yeon's sword moved first.
Clang!
"Ugh!"
Seo Pyeong groaned from the shock that reverberated through his wrist.
His upper body was wide open.
Bang Seong-yeon closed the distance and threw a kick straight at the opening.
Thud!
"Urgh!"
Struck squarely in the solar plexus, Seo Pyeong was sent flying.
He tumbled across the arena floor, rolling to a stop far away.
Watching him, Bang Seong-yeon thought:
Wow, this actually works.
It went exactly as planned. A smile spread across his face at the realization.
This was what he had prepared for day after day.
Bang Seong-yeon's duel was pure memorization.