Wholehearted Devotion (C+)
The system chose my Agility.
Wholehearted Devotion (C+)
Selecting Agility Lv.30.
Ring.
Checking held stats.
Strength Lv.30
Stamina Lv.30
Magic Lv.30
Calculating combined experience value…
Agility Lv.30 → Agility Lv.60
Current state will last for 1 minute 30 seconds.
Effect amplified by Magic Lv.30.
Agility Lv.30 → Agility Lv.66
Current state will last for 2 minutes 17 seconds.
“Your eyes have improved,” Dang Huiso said.
I smiled and answered.
“Here I come.”
“Good.”
Any more words would have been a luxury. The time I had been given was at most two minutes. If I couldn’t settle the match within that window, there would be no more chances.
Tap.
I kicked off with every ounce of strength I possessed. My target was straight ahead. The right move was to end it in a single exchange before Dang Huiso could even register how much faster I had become.
Or perhaps I had underestimated myself.
An average stat of 30 on the second floor was already ridiculously high, and Agility at Lv.66 was not something that could be handled easily.
Whiiiir—!
“Wh-what…?!”
A violent roar erupted from my leap, and Dang Huiso’s face flooded with shock. The small storm that blew past him made his sleeves flap wildly, rattling his composure. But that only lasted a moment.
The instant I felt as if my vision had warped, my body had already reached the far edge of the arena.
“……”
The dust that rose where I had passed slowly settled, silencing the entire audience.
— ……
— ……
The spectators had all lost their voices. Even Dang Huiso, who had been enjoying the spar for the first time in a while, stood with his mouth agape. The judge beside him kept rubbing his eyes, convinced he was seeing things.
“Ugh…!”
I suddenly felt a sharp, electric pain shooting up from my ankle and glanced down at my leg. From the tutorial until now, I finally understood why the system had distributed my stats so evenly.
A full-power leap using agility that vastly outstripped my stamina. It was only natural that my ankles would suffer.
“That move just now… it didn’t look like Thunder-Chasing Footwork. Was that the martial art from the Cheonwol Sect you mentioned?”
Dang Huiso, having regained his senses, asked without hiding his astonishment. He seemed curious about the footwork I had used—something he had never taught me—executed with power beyond common sense.
Clack.
Instead of answering, I shook my head briefly and raised my sword. Of course, the move just now had been neither footwork nor a movement technique, and I didn’t have time to answer him properly anyway. What would be a brief conversation for him was my last chance to turn this situation around.
Yet despite my rude behavior of drawing my sword instead of replying, Dang Huiso burst into laughter and assumed a stance.
“Hah! That’s how a martial artist should act! My apologies. It was rude of me to ask about my opponent’s technique in the middle of a spar.”
Whatever wind my actions had stirred, even the people in the spectator seats began to rise slowly, fully immersing themselves in the match.
The breeze died.
There was no further conversation, but one thing was clear. The fleeting realm I had displayed moments ago had earned the respect of the audience, the judge, and Dang Huiso alike.
Thud!
I moved my feet once more. This time lighter, staying just below the line that would strain me, walking a dangerous tightrope.
“So fast!” Dang Huiso shouted.
The movement technique I had witnessed right before using Wholehearted Devotion began to unfold.
Thunder-Chasing Footwork.
Crackle—!
His form vanished. No—this time he had moved to the right. I could see it. I could finally follow the movements that had been impossible to track before.
Without slowing my charge, I thrust my sword toward the right where Dang Huiso had shifted. My blade, flying forward to drive the final nail into the match, met his hardened expression.
Clang!
Two small daggers—I had no idea when he had drawn them—blocked my attack. But I pressed the momentum, slamming down hard on the dagger caught at the tip of my sword.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
With a short groan, the dagger engraved with the Sichuan Tang Family’s seal was sent flying. Yet he was a warrior from the Sichuan Tang Family who stood at the edge of the peak of transcendence. Even as I drove him back, my instincts screamed that I must not approach any closer.
All I had to do was swing my sword. His hands were empty now; I simply needed to press the retreating man. But why?
I decided to trust the instinct warning me of danger. The Quick Understanding skill had never led me astray, and I had never regretted following these hunches before.
I planted my feet and braked with everything I had. The momentum from my insane speed was no joke. My body screamed from the sudden deceleration.
But the moment Dang Huiso swung his arm violently, I realized my gut had been right.
Whoosh!
White powder of unknown origin exploded from his sleeve. It was only because I had twisted my entire body to dodge that I avoided getting a face full of the stuff. Even so, my overly fast movement had churned the surrounding air. The white powder scattered in every direction.
Dang Huiso glanced at me, smiled faintly, and spoke.
“Hoo… Didn’t I tell you? Hidden weapons from afar, poison from up close.”
An unpleasant stinging sensation crept up my nose.
“Cough!”
“That was the energy-dispersing poison I mentioned earlier. I recently refined it into poison sand. Judging by your face, it seems to be taking effect.”
My lungs felt tight, and a ragged cough escaped. An unfamiliar, draining sensation spread through me… I immediately checked my status window.
My magic had dropped noticeably. Even the stats boosted by Wholehearted Devotion were being shaved away in real time.
“Since you inhaled the energy-dispersing poison, using internal energy will be difficult. It was only a light dose, so it should last about half a shichen.”
Dang Huiso caught his breath and indirectly declared that the spar was over. For a martial artist, being unable to use internal energy meant they no longer had the strength to continue fighting.
“You did well. It hasn’t been that long since you started learning the sword, yet you’ve already reached this level. I almost wonder if the heavens have granted us a true genius.”
As a long-time member of the Sichuan Tang Family, Dang Huiso knew exactly how powerful the energy-dispersing poison was. Since I could no longer use footwork or movement techniques, he believed the match could not continue.
It was my defeat.
But Dang Huiso had acknowledged me. I had displayed martial prowess that a mere junior could never dream of, and I had even given the Sichuan Tang Family a chance to show its dignity to so many people. That alone was a satisfactory result.
The fact that Dang Huiso was not disappointed in me was enough.
Yet I had no intention of ending things here.
Inhaling the energy-dispersing poison should make using internal energy impossible. That was common sense in the martial world, and it should have been that way. But I was the exception.
“Master, I know nothing about medicine.”
My words painted Dang Huiso’s face with confusion. I silently reached into my robe and took out one of the Kwaecheong-dan pills I carried.
“Kwaecheong-dan? Are you trying to recover your energy with that?”
Dang Huiso frowned at the pill in my hand. He probably thought I was throwing a tantrum, refusing to accept my loss. But the reason I had taken out the Kwaecheong-dan was completely different.
A medicinal pill containing a small amount of yang energy. It tastes unpleasant and has a terrible smell. When consumed by someone possessing yin energy, it amplifies yang to help neutralize poison.
Effects
— Increases yang energy.
— Temporarily strengthens the body.
— Neutralizes a small amount of poison.
(Only effective for martial artists who possess yin energy.)
This was the information about the pill that had appeared after I consumed the Kwaecheong-dan.
“However, there is one fact about this pill that even you, Master, do not know.”
When a person who has learned yin-based martial arts consumes the Kwaecheong-dan, it neutralizes the minute traces of poison inside their body. This was advanced information that Dang Huiso, who only practiced yang-based arts of the Sichuan Tang Family, could never have known.
Gulp.
Consumed ‘Kwaecheong-dan.’
‘Magic’ reacts with the Kwaecheong-dan.
The bitter energy that had paralyzed my dantian scattered, replaced by a hot surge of heat.
Srrrng.
I rose to my feet and drew my sword. The flow of internal energy—my magic—pierced through my entire body and raced toward the tip of my blade.
Cheonwol Divine Art. Moonlight Sword Art.
The cold yin energy flowing from my dantian wrapped around the sword.
Sichuan Black Tortoise Divine Art. Thunder-Chasing Footwork.
Right after, the hot yang energy I released spread throughout my body.
Shhhk.
The moment I raised my sword, Dang Huiso must have sensed something ominous; he drew the daggers he had hidden in his robe. But I took one step. Just one step forward.
Thunder-Chasing Single Flash.
Crack!
Booooom—!
In an instant, my form passed Dang Huiso. His dagger shot into the sky, and the sonic boom that broke the sound barrier spread across the entire arena with a delay.
Ring.
The ‘One Who Knows Nothing But War and Battle’ opens his eyes wide.
The ‘Star Who Likes to Adventure’ is flustered.
Multiple constellations are paying close attention to you.
Ring.
You have cleared ‘Floor 2 – The Pupil Surpasses the Master.’