Chapter 126
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: I Lost
After the duel between Sa Pyeong-ju and Dan Mok Un-roe concluded.
The excitement of the Autumn Combat Festival began to heat up once more.
As if the somber mood had never been there at all.
The disciples started focusing intently on the matches.
Then, all eyes turned to one particular arena.
It was inevitable.
Two women were ascending the stage, facing each other.
Both wore face veils.
One of them was a figure renowned beyond measure.
A name every Dragon Training Pavilion disciple knew.
Yet someone no one could easily approach.
Namgung Ji-yu, the Warm Orchid Flower among the Five Flowers of the Martial World.
It was her appearance.
Murmurs and cheers erupted from all directions.
Not even the face veil and loose martial robes could hide her beauty.
The other seven arenas faded from the disciples' attention.
All gazes converged solely on the stage where she stood.
Namgung Ji-yu showed no reaction to the crowd's response.
Her eyes fixed on just one thing.
Her opponent.
The other veiled woman who had stepped up.
Some disciples murmured, their eyes drawn to her instead.
Even facing Namgung Ji-yu, she was a beauty who didn't pale in comparison.
A stunning woman unknown to the Hidden Dragon Corps and Wa Dragon Corps disciples.
There were rumors of a beauty in the Fierce Dragon Corps who could rival Namgung Ji-yu.
Yeon Ha-min from the Fierce Dragon Corps' Seventh Squad.
But she was currently with her squadmates, including Dan Mok Un-roe, who had just displayed incredible skill.
An unknown disciple from the Fierce Dragon Corps had emerged.
"Ha Seol-ran..."
Namgung Ji-yu murmured her opponent's name ever so softly.
She had heard about her from her younger brother.
The sister of Instructor Ha Mu-baek, and apparently quite talented in martial arts.
Well, she was the sibling of that monstrous instructor, after all.
No, why did she even think of Instructor Ha Mu-baek as a monster?
It was all because of her brother, Namgung Ji-hu.
Whenever they were alone, he wouldn't stop talking about that instructor.
Why would recounting a single flick on the forehead and defeat take half a shichen?
As idle thoughts began to creep in, Namgung Ji-yu shook her head lightly to dispel them.
She fixed her deep gaze on her opponent.
She truly was beautiful.
Though veiled, her beauty shone through undimmed.
And she seemed awkward.
Her tension was so palpable, it made one wonder how she had reached this stage.
'How did she win her previous match?'
The question floated into Namgung Ji-yu's mind.
She focused her inner energy on the distant bracket board and soon nodded in understanding.
Ha Seol-ran's first opponent had been a Hidden Dragon Corps disciple.
And that disciple had just been dragged off to the Thunder Citadel.
Without even fighting a single match.
So, Ha Seol-ran was stepping onto the arena for her very first bout in the Autumn Combat Festival.
'Wh-what do I do?'
Ha Seol-ran's mind went blank.
This was her first real combat tournament against another person. She had faced demonic beasts in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
'But mindless beasts that just lunge and bite are different from people...'
Besides, when facing those demonic beasts, her big brother or an instructor had always been nearby watching over her.
This was the first time she had to face an opponent entirely on her own!
That anxiety had wiped her mind clean. She couldn't objectively assess her own abilities.
And to top it off, though she had climbed the stage for her turn, her opponent was Namgung Ji-yu.
The eldest daughter of the Namgung Clan head.
An unparalleled powerhouse beyond even demonic beasts.
Ha Seol-ran had heard tales of her fame.
Moreover, she had witnessed Namgung Ji-hu's prowess firsthand every day.
How often had she marveled at his strength?
She had only prepared mentally for the Hidden Dragon Corps disciple who was supposed to be her first opponent.
This was the Autumn Combat Festival, entered just to gain experience, after all.
She had assumed that first match would be her last.
But due to a sudden commotion, she had advanced by walkover, and now she faced Namgung Ji-yu.
Ha Mu-baek watched his sister's predicament from the rooftop.
His brows furrowed.
There was no need to be so tense.
She could have a bit more confidence in her own abilities.
Everything was so difficult and clumsy the first time, it seemed.
"Isn't that your sister?"
Gongson Mu-oe asked, gazing at Ha Seol-ran.
"Yes."
Ha Mu-baek nodded in response.
"Then, will you leave her like that?"
Gongson Mu-oe had noticed Ha Seol-ran's state as well. That was why he asked.
"Duels must be fair. Once she's on the stage facing her opponent, she has to overcome it herself from here on out."
A cold, rational statement.
But Ha Mu-baek's true feelings were the exact opposite.
'Ran-ah. Get a grip. You're strong too.'
How shocked he had been when her qi sense had awakened before.
"It seems winning her preliminary by walkover has backfired."
Ha Mu-baek added calmly. Skipping a suitable opponent to gauge herself against had led straight to facing someone far too strong right away.
If she could just perform at her normal level, she could hold her own against Namgung Ji-yu.
Though she wouldn't win, of course.
"Begin!"
At the referee's shout, Namgung Ji-yu drew her sword.
Ching!
And charged straight at Ha Seol-ran.
Whether her opponent was clumsy or not didn't matter.
This was a duel—a real fight.
In real combat, one gave their all.
A lesson learned from the Fierce Dragon Corps' Seventh Squad at the Summer Combat Festival.
Namgung Ji-yu's sword traced a graceful arc toward Ha Seol-ran.
The Celestial Arc Freedom Sword unfolded from her fingertips.
It was the same sword art as her brother Namgung Ji-hu's, yet it felt entirely different.
'Ah, so beautiful...'
Ha Seol-ran thought as she watched the blade approaching her.
The sword's motion was beautiful, and so was the one wielding it.
When she had first met Yeon Ha-min, how stunned and awed she had been by that beauty.
Now, on the blank stage where her mind had gone white, she encountered yet another kind of beauty.
Ha Seol-ran stared blankly at the oncoming sword, it seemed.
Then, in an instant, she stepped aside, twisting her body.
Namgung Ji-yu's sword passed through the space she had just vacated.
Namgung Ji-yu's eyebrow twitched.
'She dodged?'
Namgung Ji-yu had unleashed the Celestial Arc Freedom Sword at full power.
Yet her opponent had evaded it.
With clumsy footwork and dazed eyes.
'How?'
Doubt flickered, but it was irrelevant.
If one strike was dodged, she would follow with two, three, endlessly.
Her body spun, the sword sweeping low before rising high.
Namgung Ji-yu's blade flew toward Ha Seol-ran's chest as if to cleave it in two.
Ching!
But.
When had she drawn her sword?
Ha Seol-ran parried Namgung Ji-yu's strike.
Focus was slowly returning to her eyes.
'I can see it.'
Yes.
She could see the motion of Namgung Ji-yu's sword.
Not just see it.
She could see how it would move next.
It was probably because.
'It's like Young Master Namgung's sword motions.'
Countless spars with Namgung Ji-hu in the Fierce Dragon Corps Seventh Squad's training grounds.
The familiar patterns of the Celestial Arc Freedom Sword she had grown accustomed to seeing.
Though Namgung Ji-yu's version carried a different aura, it was ultimately the same techniques.
They had no choice but to follow the same trajectories.
"In-incredible..."
Dang Jin-san muttered in astonishment from below the stage, watching the exchange.
It couldn't be helped.
He had heard Ha Seol-ran had only begun learning martial arts around the start of the second semester.
"The instructor's sister, huh..."
Nak Woo-jin murmured softly.
It was development speed beyond belief for them. They could only chalk it up to extraordinary talent.
Ha Seol-ran had been constantly training her qi sense.
Even now was no different.
Though the tension of her first real combat bout had left her dazed, her qi sense had instinctively activated.
The result?
She could vividly feel the presences of everyone around her.
But.
'Ugh... I can't make sense of it...'
It was overwhelming her senses chaotically.
Her unfamiliar, uncontrolled qi sense was turning into a poison.
Thanks to the familiar sword motions, she dodged instinctively, but she was lost as to what was happening.
Namgung Ji-yu might have faltered at her opponent's unexpected skill, but she remained cool and composed, pressing Ha Seol-ran with her sword art.
Had Ha Seol-ran not known the Celestial Arc Freedom Sword's patterns, the match would have ended long ago.
Whoosh.
Clang.
Swish.
Only the sounds of swinging swords and clashing steel echoed.
The disciples watched the two in silence.
The other arenas, where matches had already ended, stood frozen. No new bouts began.
Instead, every eye was locked on Namgung Ji-yu and Ha Seol-ran.
The reason was simple.
It was beautiful.
Indescribably so.
It was as if two moon palace fairies were dancing a sword dance in harmony.
No one could look away.
Not a duel between two peerless beauties, but a sword dance.
That's how it appeared.
In truth, it was Namgung Ji-yu's one-sided assault.
As their veils fluttered with fierce motions, glimpses of their stunning faces made the Dragon Training Pavilion's male disciples swallow dryly.
Ignoring the reactions, Namgung Ji-yu furrowed her delicate brows slightly.
'She's blocking?'
Ha Seol-ran had parried her sword several times amid dodges.
That was what bothered her.
At her current level, she shouldn't be able to block Namgung Ji-yu's strikes.
"Tahat!"
With a mighty shout, Namgung Ji-yu swung her sword wide.
Then she briefly created distance from Ha Seol-ran.
As she reset her stance and raised her sword, realization dawned on Namgung Ji-yu.
'I was the clumsy one.'
She had vowed after the Summer Combat Festival to always give her all.
Yet even now, she had underestimated her opponent and held back.
She had resolved to go full force, only to subconsciously ease up without realizing.
Probably because of her opponent's awkwardness.
Had she truly gone all out, Ha Seol-ran couldn't have blocked her strikes.
Namgung Ji-yu circulated her inner energy.
Her martial robes billowed. Her veil whipped in the wind.
Glimpses of red lips and a pert nose melted the hearts of the watching male disciples.
'Wh-what do I do...'
Ha Seol-ran panicked once more.
She barely understood what was happening even until now.
Namgung Ji-yu drawing up her energy was beautiful, yet.
Terrifying.
'B-Big Brother... M-Master...'
She thought of her two greatest pillars of support, but here, she was alone.
Her opponent, radiating immense energy toward her: Namgung Ji-yu.
With no choice, Ha Seol-ran focused her mind on her. Otherwise, she'd be swept away by that swirling aura and lose her senses.
Her qi sense locked fully onto Namgung Ji-yu.
Then, a change occurred.
The chaotic presences from all around vanished, leaving only Namgung Ji-yu in sharp focus.
'Th-this is?'
Shock was brief.
Namgung Ji-yu kicked off the ground.
Her sword gleamed faintly with infused sword qi.
The blade closed in on Ha Seol-ran.
'Wh-what?'
Ha Seol-ran was startled again.
With her qi sense fully on Namgung Ji-yu, the sword's motion felt even clearer.
Not just its current path, but where it would go next!!
'H-here?'
The final trajectory targeting her.
She saw it and moved her sword to block—
Bang!
She was sent flying back by Namgung Ji-yu's sword strike, brimming with sword qi.
"Aak!"
A scream escaped Ha Seol-ran involuntarily.
Yet she somehow held onto her sword—or so she thought.
The second strike flew in.
Bang!
This time, Ha Seol-ran's sword was knocked far away.
Blood seeped from a gash on her palm that had gripped the hilt.
And then, Namgung Ji-yu's sword tip hovered before Ha Seol-ran's face.
"Hoo. I lost."
Ha Seol-ran accepted reality, closing her eyes and conceding defeat.
"W-whoa!"
At that moment, cheers exploded around the silent arena.
It was the roar of those who had been utterly entranced by the duel.