Chapter 127
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Start!
"Heh heh. So you are human after all."
Ha Mu-baek turned his head toward Gong Son Mu-oe at the remark accompanied by a hearty chuckle.
"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"
Ha Mu-baek asked with a look of genuine confusion.
"Ever since I met you, that was the most colorful expression I've seen on your face just now. It was so... human. Up until then, I thought you weren't even a person."
At Gong Son Mu-oe's words, Ha Mu-baek's expression turned a bit sheepish.
He had been so focused on his younger sister's spar that he hadn't even considered what kind of face he might have made.
"Still, your little sister is truly remarkable. You said it hasn't been long since she fully recovered from Blocked Meridians Disorder, so her training time must have been short. To hold her own against Namgung Ji-yu's Heavenly Dance Sword to that extent..."
"She did better than I expected."
A broad smile spread across Ha Mu-baek's lips.
He was simply pleased to hear praise for his sister.
"Amazing! Truly amazing!"
The cadets from Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven and Joo Woo-myeong, who had come down from the sparring platform to greet Ha Seol-ran, showered her with exclamations of awe.
She had displayed far greater skill than anyone anticipated.
In truth, Ha Seol-ran hadn't sparred much during training.
Her late start in martial arts was the reason.
That said, she had gone to the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest with them and even fought the jiangshi there.
Despite her late entry into martial arts.
That alone was talent enough to be astonishing, but what she showed today went beyond even that.
"How on earth did you respond to every single move of the Heavenly Dance Sword?"
Dang Jin-san asked in disbelief.
"I-It... I could see it."
Ha Seol-ran replied, her face still a bit dazed.
"Huh? See it?"
Dang Jin-san echoed, looking equally baffled.
The other cadets wore similar expressions.
"Well, I've watched Young Master Namgung spar so many times that I could see all the sword movements."
Her explanation followed.
Dang Jin-san stared at Ha Seol-ran in utter disbelief.
Then, as if realizing something, he glanced at Dan Mok Un-roe.
Didn't that guy say something similar, though in a different way?
"They've gathered nothing but monsters here... ha..."
Dang Jin-san muttered in a hollow tone, trudging off at the call of his name.
It was his turn to spar.
"Even so, calling me a monster..."
Ha Seol-ran looked a little hurt. As a flower-like young woman, the word "monster" had stung her a bit.
Moments later, the other cadets' names were called one by one.
They each ascended to their assigned sparring platforms at their turns and fought.
The results were shocking.
The round of sixteen.
The sixteen strongest in the Dragon Training Pavilion.
Five cadets from Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven were all included. Joo Woo-myeong was, of course, among them.
Out of the remaining sixteen powerhouses, six were from Fierce Dragon Corps.
It was an enormous upset.
The other ten spots were split evenly, five each between Hidden Dragon Corps and Wa Dragon Corps. In the end, Fierce Dragon Corps had the most entrants in the round of sixteen.
Sang Gyeong-mun and Neung U-dam wore grim expressions at the outcome.
They had believed Wa Dragon Corps and Hidden Dragon Corps would dominate overwhelmingly, but the results were entirely different.
They had only been wary of Joo Woo-myeong from Fierce Dragon Corps, but no.
Seven from Fierce Dragon Corps had advanced, and six made it to the round of sixteen.
Unbelievable.
"Heh heh. What an unbelievable result."
Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul let out a hearty laugh as he checked the completed bracket.
Sang Gyeong-mun and Neung U-dam scowled as if they'd bitten into raw liver at his chuckle.
It felt like he was saying it for them to hear.
"Corps Leader Moyong, looks like you're buying drinks tonight?"
Pang Do-yul said to Moyong Jin-ho with a sly expression.
Moyong Jin-ho simply shook his head.
"It's all Instructor Ha's doing. Every cadet who advanced to the Winter Solstice Tournament was one he's trained."
Sang Gyeong-mun and Neung U-dam bit their lips at Moyong Jin-ho's response.
Instructor Ha.
Ha Mu-baek.
What the hell kind of guy was he?
Thinking back to the humiliation they suffered because of him in last year's Summer Combat Festival.
They had requested information on Ha Mu-baek from their sects, but nothing came back.
Where the hell did this guy drop from?
Judging by how the Pavilion Lord treated him, he clearly knew something, but wouldn't share a word.
And seeing Moyong Jin-ho attribute all the credit to Instructor Ha, he probably knew something too, yet always played dumb.
Fierce Dragon Corps:
Joo Woo-myeong, Baek Ri-pyeong, Dan Mok Un-roe, Yeon Ha-min, Nak Woo-jin, Dang Jin-san, and one more—six in total.
Hidden Dragon Corps:
Namgung Ji-hu, Namgung Ji-yu, Yeong Ho-jun, Cheong Wu-ja, Jegal Woong—five in total.
Wa Dragon Corps:
Mok Cheong-san, Beom Il-so, Ma Rip, Hwa Tae-ak, Gwan Ha-gyeong—five in total.
Thus, the bracket of sixteen was set.
The bracket was arranged so that no two from the same corps would meet until at least the quarterfinals.
Pang Do-yul let out a hollow laugh upon noticing this.
"Heh, what a exquisitely arranged bracket. This has to be that friend Gi Yu-chan's handiwork, right?"
"Yes, Pavilion Lord."
The response to his musing came from beside him.
It was Deputy Pavilion Lord Yeon Baek-jin. His face was haggard with exhaustion.
Probably tormented by Gi Yu-chan.
It was inevitable.
Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul had only returned yesterday, so Gi Yu-chan must have squeezed Deputy Pavilion Lord Yeon Baek-jin throughout the Winter Solstice Tournament preparations.
The western sky was gradually turning red.
Pang Do-yul gazed up at the sky and murmured.
"Looks like these will be the last matches of the day. It was quite fierce this year. I wonder how many years it's been since the Winter Solstice Tournament spilled into a second day."
Indeed.
The Winter Solstice Tournament, held on the winter solstice—the shortest day of the year.
If the spars dragged on intensely, it wouldn't end before sunset.
It would have to carry over to the next day.
But in recent years, the winner had always emerged just before dusk.
Probably due to some scheme.
Pang Do-yul's eyes grew cold as that thought crossed his mind.
Recalling the morning's commotion.
This year had its share of disturbances, and the spars had been intensely competitive overall.
The eight round-of-sixteen matches seemed destined to be the last of the day.
The sixteen cadets had taken their places on the eight sparring platforms, facing their opponents.
Baek Ri-pyeong vs. Jegal Woong.
Namgung Ji-hu vs. Nak Woo-jin.
Namgung Ji-yu vs. Dang Jin-san.
Yeon Ha-min vs. Ma Rip.
Joo Woo-myeong vs. Gwan Ha-gyeong.
Yeong Ho-jun vs. Hwa Tae-ak.
Dan Mok Un-roe vs. Mok Cheong-san.
Beom Il-so vs. Cheong Wu-ja.
"Begin!"
The referees' shouts rang out simultaneously from all eight platforms, and the matches commenced.
Baek Ri-pyeong's opponent, Jegal Woong, was a disciple of the Jegal Clan. As a Hidden Dragon Corps Squad Three cadet, he had shown consistent excellence to reach the round of sixteen.
His weapons were a spear and shield.
Uncharacteristic for the Jegal Clan.
A spear was one thing, but a shield?
Considering Instructor Jegal Myeong, who always emphasized the utility of shields as weapons, it made sense.
Being from the same Jegal Clan, he must have been influenced.
The moment Baek Ri-pyeong learned his opponent was Jegal Woong, he picked up a shield for the first time in the Winter Solstice Tournament.
He too had learned shield techniques from Jegal Myeong.
And he had been through the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
Knowing full well the usefulness of a shield, he chose to wield one against an opponent doing the same.
Jegal Woong looked dismayed at his opponent armed with sword and shield.
'He's only used sword until now...'
Jegal Woong had studied his potential opponents closely.
How impressed he had been by Baek Ri-pyeong's swordsmanship from the Zhongnan Sect.
Since the man only used a sword, Jegal Woong had confidence.
He thought his spear-and-shield style could handle it.
But!
His opponent came out with sword and shield. That threw off his plans.
Jegal Woong shook his head to clear stray thoughts and thrust his spear first.
"Taat!"
A short kiai accompanied the straight thrust.
Clang.
Baek Ri-pyeong lightly deflected the spear with his shield.
In that instant.
Jegal Woong sensed his defeat. His opponent's shield handling was superior to his own.
About half a gak of exchanges later.
"I yield."
Jegal Woong dropped both spear and shield, admitting defeat. Just as he had foreseen.
Namgung Ji-hu vs. Nak Woo-jin.
Nak Woo-jin swallowed dryly as he eyed his opponent.
He had trained so hard.
Really.
Blood, sweat, and tears.
And countless spars with his squad mates.
Even occasional bouts with Namgung Ji-hu.
The Hidden Dragon Corps guy would often show up, claiming no one else in Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven was worth sparring.
And every time, Nak Woo-jin lost to Namgung Ji-hu.
Even at full power, not a single win.
'Today, I win.'
Nak Woo-jin steeled himself.
He channeled his internal energy to its limit and kicked off the ground.
Recalling Ha Seol-ran's performance against Namgung Ji-yu.
He too had seen Namgung Ji-hu's sword more than enough to be sick of it.
However, the result was.
Over a hundred exchanges.
Nak Woo-jin's defeat.
"Ha, I should've used a shield..."
As he descended the platform, Nak Woo-jin glanced at Baek Ri-pyeong's still-ongoing match and muttered under his breath.
"A fine match."
Namgung Ji-hu left those words for him as he passed. His back was slightly damp with sweat.
Nak Woo-jin recalled the first day he met Namgung Ji-hu.
That day.
Namgung Ji-hu hadn't even twitched a finger. Not even one Dang Chu could touch him; everyone lost.
Yet now, he had pushed Namgung Ji-hu to nearly a hundred exchanges.
Enough to make sweat seep into that back.
'Next time, I win.'
Nak Woo-jin vowed silently.
"I'll avenge you. Watch closely."
Those were Dang Jin-san's words to Ha Seol-ran before ascending the platform.
His opponent was Namgung Ji-yu, who had defeated her.
Not exactly squad mates, but they had shared joys and hardships like one.
He would definitely get revenge.
Thus, Dang Jin-san went up onto the platform.
And came down.
"Sorry..."
Head hung low.
Drenched in sweat.
Dang Jin-san's defeat.
"It's fine, Young Master Dang."
Ha Seol-ran smiled brightly at him.
She had seen clearly how fiercely he fought.
None of the usual playful demeanor from training grounds.
He had poured out everything he had.
His tattered uniform and sweat-soaked state proved it.
That was why she could smile like that.
Though her face was veiled, Dang Jin-san could tell.
"Next time, I'll really avenge you."
Dang Jin-san lifted his head, squared his shoulders, smirked, and said.
Namgung Ji-yu, descending the opposite side, shook her head at the sight.
She too was a mess.
It had been that tough a fight.
"My opponent's a woman? My next one might be too."
Ma Rip said upon ascending and eyeing Yeon Ha-min.
His gaze briefly flicked to Namgung Ji-yu on another platform before returning.
Ma Rip from the Iron Cavalry Clan.
Bulging muscles, massive build.
Seemed like pure external arts practitioner, but his internal energy had reached a profound realm.
Yeon Ha-min watched him calmly.
Offensive words, but those muscles weren't built overnight.
She knew from her own external training under Ha Mu-baek.
How much blood and sweat it took to reach that level.
A massive cavalry spear was gripped in Ma Rip's right hand.
Iron Cavalry Clan.
Iron Cavalry.
A sect centered on mounted warriors.
Iron Cavalry swordsmen fighting on foot were said to lose half their strength without horses.
But this was the Winter Solstice Tournament—no choice.
Ma Rip's enormous spear whipped up fierce winds toward Yeon Ha-min.
A momentum meant to blow her away in one strike.
The old Yeon Ha-min wouldn't have known how to handle such ferocity. But now was different.
She had faced blood jiangshi in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
One slip, and she'd become a jiangshi herself. She had confronted that terror.
Yeon Ha-min stepped lightly aside.
Ma Rip's spear grazed past her.
Her sword flew toward Ma Rip.
"Hmph."
Ma Rip swung his spear to swat it away casually.
Clang.
A ringing deflection.
But the sword slid down the spear shaft unhindered.
Yeon Ha-min's footwork quickened.
Faster than anticipated.
"Tch."
Ma Rip shook his spear violently to shake her off.
Yeon Ha-min used the force to launch herself forward.
A fluid, graceful, beautiful motion.
Her veil fluttered, revealing a glimpse of her stunning face.
Ma Rip hurriedly spun his spear to counter, but Yeon Ha-min was faster.
Her sword now at his throat.
And.
Ma Rip lost.
He stared at Yeon Ha-min in disbelief.
"The moment you underestimated me as a woman, your defeat was sealed."
Yeon Ha-min left those rather lengthy words and turned to descend the platform.