Chapter 38: Can He Really Not Do It?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 38: Can He Really Not Do It?
Song Jun-ho was a Rising Star who carried the full expectations of the Taiji Sword Sect.
Born in November, he had taken his Constitution Test relatively late. As soon as his Grade 1 Constitution was confirmed, all sorts of media outlets reported the fact with great fanfare.
<Second Grade 1 Constitution Rising Star Appears This Year! Exclusive Interview with Song Jun-ho!>
Not only news interviews, but also various programs and major Nertube channels constantly sought him out.
All Eight Great Sects approached Song Jun-ho with the best possible offers. Torn between the Changcheon Sword Sect and the Taiji Sword Sect, Song Jun-ho ultimately signed with the Taiji Sword Sect, whose Sect Leader personally came to teach him the sword.
A complete reversal of fortune.
A guaranteed future.
A candidate for the Taiji Sword Sect's next Sect Leader.
From an ordinary Rising Star, he became the Eight Great Sects' most anticipated talent overnight, adorned with all sorts of accolades.
There were criticisms, too, calling him a bubble that would soon burst, but Song Jun-ho tried not to pay them any mind.
'No need to bother with the jealousy of losers.'
...But there was one thing that bothered him.
His height of 163cm, which even the media pointed out as Song Jun-ho's only flaw.
Recalling his complex, Song Jun-ho's eyes hardened.
'They said I could still grow another 10cm even if my growth plates closed. My father said he grew taller in the military, so I definitely will too...'
Some fans liked Song Jun-ho, calling him cute, but he personally hated such remarks.
That's why he had special custom-made insoles in his sneakers today.
His self-esteem was soaring, having discreetly added over 5cm to his height.
"Ah, I've learned a thing or two."
"The pleasure was all mine."
Though different from what the Taiji Sword Sect had taught him, he had dominated his opponent in the first test, Weapon Seizure, proving his skill.
Song Jun-ho felt the gazes around him shift from doubt to admiration.
Feeling pleased, he joined the winners' group and followed the Black-White agent.
'They're going to be even more surprised later, aren't they?'
He felt no tension at all, even when he encountered an unfamiliar group approaching from the opposite side.
In fact, he was eager for the second test to begin.
[The second event is 'Tag Removal'. From now on, I will randomly attach number tags to your backs.]
[Among the Martial Artists you see opposite you, you must challenge the person wearing the same number tag, snatch their tag, and bring it back.]
'Any test is fine.'
Song Jun-ho was confident he wouldn't lose, no matter who he faced.
Though he had only joined the Taiji Sword Sect two months ago, he had received direct martial arts instruction from the Sect Leader himself.
Moreover, his Dantian, having absorbed Spiritual Medicine, was brimming with Internal Energy.
[However, you may not use weapons in this event. Poisons or throwing weapons are also prohibited. You must use only your body to snatch your opponent's tag.]
After finishing the explanation, the Black-White agent showed the examinees their number tags, then affixed them between their shoulder blades.
"Number 7, huh..."
With his tag affixed, Song Jun-ho looked at the Martial Artists opposite him.
He was confident against anyone, but there were still opponents he'd rather avoid.
Especially the moment he saw Ki Mu-hyeok, his body unconsciously tensed up.
'I really don't want to fight that guy.'
It wasn't because Ki Mu-hyeok's gaze was scary or because he looked strong.
The reason he'd been annoyed ever since seeing him at the Martial Alliance main gate was that towering height.
'If we stand together, I'll look too short!'
What's more, Ki Mu-hyeok wasn't just tall; his proportions were ridiculously good.
He had a small head, a large frame, and long, well-proportioned limbs.
He wasn't as bulky as Shin Kang-heon, but his arm and leg length seemed similar.
He didn't want to imagine how he'd look to others standing next to him.
'Envious bastard...'
Muttering to himself, Song Jun-ho tried to find his opponent by circling as far away from Ki Mu-hyeok as possible.
But as if by a trick of fate, they soon found themselves standing face to face.
"Number 7, by any chance?"
"Ah, surely not...?"
The two, facing each other with the same number tag on their backs, exchanged troubled glances.
Of the two, Ki Mu-hyeok was the first to speak, a reluctant expression on his face.
"Your reach is short, so you'll be at a disadvantage. Are you sure you want to go against me?"
"You...!"
"It's fine if you ask the Black-White agent to change your opponent. The second event is inherently unfair if there's a big height difference."
He's provoking me right from the start?
"You bastard—! I'll make you regret what you just said!"
"I was just being considerate because your physical conditions seemed disadvantageous..."
"I don't need it!"
Thump!
Song Jun-ho stomped his foot hard and shouted, his thick eyebrows twitching.
"The Sect Leader said that insulting me is like insulting the sect! I'll defeat you, on the honor of the Taiji Sword Sect!"
"Taiji Sword Sect? Ah... So you're Song Jun-ho?"
He feigned a surprised expression, as if he hadn't known who his opponent was, but in truth, Ki Mu-hyeok knew Song Jun-ho better than anyone else there.
'Song Jun-ho, the Taiji Sword King. I've always wanted to face him if we met in this test.'
He was now facing the Rising Star days of the man who would later become the Taiji Sword Sect's top expert and notorious jerk.
Perhaps because he was coddled by the Taiji Sword Sect, the future Song Jun-ho was infamous for his arrogance.
He especially couldn't stand opponents taller than himself, and whenever a fight broke out, he would deliberately break their legs to make them kneel.
Within the Eight Great Sects, he couldn't act so recklessly, but among Mid-Sized Sects and Vagrants, there were countless victims.
'One of those victims was an acquaintance of mine.'
Recalling a colleague who had limped through missions for a while, Ki Mu-hyeok couldn't look kindly upon Song Jun-ho.
That was also why he had provoked his opponent further.
"It's too late to apologize, even if you know who I am now!"
Whoosh—!
As Song Jun-ho drew Internal Energy from his Dantian, waves of Qi swirled around him, making his martial robes flutter.
Grade 1 Constitution.
A blessed Constitution where Qi naturally accumulated in the Dantian, even without practicing any specific Internal Energy Cultivation Method.
He was a prodigy of talent, one who could only be granted this status by surpassing top-tier scores in all four categories: Qi accumulation, Qi accumulation speed, Qi and blood circulation, and explosive force.
"You'll regret underestimating me!"
"Why are you so heated?"
Song Jun-ho, his eyes gleaming with crystalline light, closed the distance in a single bound and extended his palm.
Ki Mu-hyeok quickly crossed his arms to block.
Thwack—!
With a sound like a drum bursting, Ki Mu-hyeok's body was sent flying.
The pain in his forearms, which had blocked the attack, was so intense that it made Ki Mu-hyeok's brow furrow deeply.
"...Didn't they say this was about snatching tags?"
"I'll take it after I've knocked you down!"
Song Jun-ho moved to Ki Mu-hyeok's left, employing the Taiji Sword Sect's footwork.
His palm, circling smoothly to target the flank, held enough power to dent even an iron plate.
"Eight Trigrams Palm?"
The Taiji Sword Sect was famous for its palm techniques as well as its Sword Techniques.
Its representative martial arts were the Eight Trigrams Palm and the Cotton Palm.
Both shared the subtle principle of subduing strength with softness, yet the martial art Song Jun-ho was currently displaying was overflowing with power, making that reputation seem almost irrelevant.
Thump-thump-thump!
The sound of air exploding erupted from the spot where Ki Mu-hyeok had just been.
As he narrowly dodged to the side, a kick aimed at his face flew towards him.
"Hyaap!"
The tip of the foot, swung like a whip, grazed the tip of Ki Mu-hyeok's nose.
At that moment, Ki Mu-hyeok reached out and snatched Song Jun-ho's ankle.
As if expecting it, Song Jun-ho swiftly spun his body and kicked Ki Mu-hyeok's flank with his other foot, keeping him at bay.
Clash-clash-clash!
After several exchanges of blows, the two stepped back, creating some distance.
"You're stronger than I thought?"
"Hmph! You too."
A faint smile played on Ki Mu-hyeok's lips, and Song Jun-ho's thick eyebrows twitched.
Then, without either waiting for the other, they simultaneously lunged at each other.
'I'm stronger!'
Song Jun-ho was confident he could defeat Ki Mu-hyeok.
In the past, he might have been intimidated by his opponent's large physique and gaze, but now it was different, having realized that his own weapon was far more powerful.
When a Martial Arts Practitioner's Constitution activates upon reaching adulthood, it greatly affects their physical body.
The analogy of the engine's output itself changing would be most appropriate.
"Forget who you were before. If you master the Taiji Sword Sect's unique Mind Cultivation Method, in two months, no Rising Star your age will be able to contend with you."
The Sect Leader of the Taiji Sword Sect, his Master's, bold promise.
At first, he had been half-skeptical, but after two months of intensive training, Song Jun-ho grew increasingly confident.
'I am strong! I can defeat anyone!'
A translucent aura shimmered around Song Jun-ho's body like a heat haze.
His overflowing Internal Energy was beginning to manifest visibly outside his body.
Clash-clash-clash!
Song Jun-ho's aggressive offensive movements were brimming with confidence.
With every clash of hands and feet, he felt himself gaining an advantage over his opponent.
"..."
Ki Mu-hyeok's expression, on the other hand, was subtly contorted with pain.
He seemed to be struggling just to keep up with Song Jun-ho's speed.
'See! I'm faster and stronger!'
Watching this, Song Jun-ho became increasingly certain.
Other Martial Artists had also stopped their fights and were watching the high-level close-quarters combat between the two.
Most of the admiration was for Song Jun-ho, the Rising Star of the Taiji Sword Sect.
"That's a Grade 1 Constitution..."
"The guy who beat Oh Jung-min of the Pine Moon Sect can't even move, can he?"
"That's just natural talent. I'm so envious."
From the moment a Martial Artist converts the Qi within their body into Internal Energy, accumulates it, and then moves that Internal Energy to project it outwards, they truly enter the realm of superhumans.
Among them, a Martial Artist who can freely manipulate Qi is called a First-Rate Expert in the Martial.
Song Jun-ho was now proving that a Grade 1 Constitution was a talent that allowed one to enter the First-Rate realm more easily than anyone else.
[Examinee Song Jun-ho seems to have already awakened his Qi Sensing Domain.]
The two Black-White agents also stood side-by-side, arms crossed, watching the duel between the two Rising Stars with interest.
The Black-White agent who had accompanied Song Jun-ho continued, an expression of admiration on his face.
[A sense that an ordinary Martial Artist would need over ten years of effort to acquire, achieved in just two months... Is he truly a Grade 1 for a reason?]
Qi Sensing Domain.
By spreading Qi around and establishing their own domain, a Martial Artist can experience absolute senses within it.
Avoiding bullets from behind or predicting the trajectory of a sword were not difficult for a Martial Artist with an expanded Qi Sensing Domain.
This was also why Song Jun-ho could gain an advantage in his offense and defense against Ki Mu-hyeok, despite their significant physical differences.
[He's certainly fast for a Grade 1 Rising Star. Even with advanced Mind Cultivation Methods, it usually takes half a year to a year... Could his Qi senses be exceptionally developed?]
The Black-White agent who had accompanied Ki Mu-hyeok also looked at Song Jun-ho with interest and spoke.
Then, the first Black-White agent to speak looked at him and said,
[Black-White 13. Aren't you concerned about the Rising Star you're in charge of? He seems quite promising too.]
The Black-White agents, wearing identical masks, referred to each other by number.
They could discern markings invisible to others.
[Not particularly? I'm not the type to easily grow fond of people, unlike Black-White 8.]
[...]
When Black-White 8 remained silent, Black-White 13 glanced at him and spoke in a voice tinged with amusement.
[Just kidding. But you're talking as if the match is already decided, yet this one isn't to be underestimated, you know?]
Black-White 13 chuckled, recalling what Ki Mu-hyeok had shown in his first match.
Thump-thump-thump!
It was clearly a situation where Song Jun-ho was unilaterally pushing the offensive.
The Grade 1 Constitution Rising Star, having mastered the Taiji Sword Sect's Mind Cultivation Method and martial arts, unleashed a fierce assault like a lion with wings, while Ki Mu-hyeok seemed to be desperately defending, just as Oh Jung-min had when facing him.
[The more I watch, the more he seems like a fox...]
But upon closer inspection, Ki Mu-hyeok's expression was completely different from Oh Jung-min's.
He only furrowed his brow occasionally, showing no signs of difficulty whatsoever as he fended off his opponent's onslaught.
On the contrary, Song Jun-ho, who had been overwhelming his opponent with his immense Internal Energy, visibly grew more and more exhausted.
[Perhaps...]
Black-White 8 also realized something was amiss and questioned Black-White 13.
[Has Examinee Ki Mu-hyeok also awakened his Qi Sensing Domain?]
Even as he asked, Black-White 8 tilted his head.
After all, Ki Mu-hyeok's officially known Constitution Grade was 4.
Not a bad talent, but his sensitivity to Qi would inevitably be too low to awaken a Qi Sensing Domain.
[That's not it.]
Black-White 13 shook his head decisively.
[That's a sense honed through the body. He's responding with physical reactions, not Qi senses.]
[...Doesn't that make even less sense? A Rising Star of that age possessing senses as sharp as those from a Qi Sensing Domain?]
[Haha! Wouldn't it be possible if he received surprise training from an Assassin every day?]
[What nonsense...]
Black-White 8 glared, asking if that was something to say about a mere twenty-year-old Rising Star, and Black-White 13 shrugged, saying it was a joke.
[Anyway, it's definitely not a Qi Sensing Domain. He's barely even using any Internal Energy, isn't he?]
[...]
[However, one thing I'm curious about is...]
Black-White 13, who had been observing Ki Mu-hyeok intently, muttered with a meaningful smile.
[Can he really not do it? If so, why...]
It should have been impossible, yet to the Black-White agent's eyes, it didn't seem like Ki Mu-hyeok couldn't do what Song Jun-ho was doing.
[...is that faint smile occasionally appearing on his lips?]