ISS-Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The next day.

“How’s your condition?”

“Yes.”

I spoke to Seohua, who had made it to the semifinals and was facing a showdown with Woogyeom.

“Don’t be too nervous. If you lose your composure, you won’t be able to display your true skills.”

I smiled faintly at the sight of Seohua taking a deep breath and brightening her eyes. It seemed like just yesterday she was making a tearful face while holding a horse stance, but now I could see she couldn’t hide her excitement about the sword match.

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Just stay calm. If you do as you’ve learned, he’s not an opponent you can’t beat.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Common sense would say.

Woogyeom, who had trained in martial arts for several years, is stronger than Seohua. If they clashed, Seohua would lose nine times out of ten. That’s natural. Seohua had only been learning martial arts for a month.

However, losing nine out of ten times means winning once out of ten times. And.

I planned to use that one chance in this martial competition.

—The next match is Uicheonmun disciple Seohua versus Baekgeommun disciple Woogyeom! Both competitors, please come up to the stage!

“Ah, they’re calling me. I’ll go!”

“Before you go up, Seohua. What did I say was the most important thing in martial arts?”

When I tapped my chest with my fist and asked, Seohua looked at me blankly, then grinned and answered.

“Confidence!”

“Right. Don’t be nervous and do your best.”

“Yes!”

She nodded and instantly leaped onto the training ground. I smiled at her figure and crossed my arms. And at that moment, a voice came from beside me.

“Already the top four?”

“That’s right… I’m quite surprised.”

I answered, startled at the familiar face visible under the bamboo hat. It was Iryang’s face, someone I hadn’t expected to be here.

“What brings you here? Do you have business with Baekgeommun?”

“No. Since Haun Trading Company’s main base is in Hwayong, we don’t have much business with Baekgeommun.”

“Then, why…”

“Haha, why are you being so cold between us? Of course I came to watch Young Lady Seohua’s match. I finished my work and came to watch for a bit. I’ll leave after seeing just this match.”

At the sight of Iryang putting on a brazen act with a hearty laugh, I too smiled slightly.

“Thank you for coming to watch. I thought I’d be cheering alone, so this is fortunate.”

“Of course I’ll cheer… but alone?”

Iryang looked around briefly and gave a bitter smile. Soon after, a huge cheer erupted.

“Waaaaaaah!”

“Uicheonmun, win! Young Lady Seohua, win!”

“Young Lady Seohua! Please win! We’re cheering for you!”

At the cheers made up entirely of men’s voices, I too gave a bitter smile. The sight of disciples from eliminated sects sweating as they cheered.

“Not quite alone, I suppose.”

“Matches of martial artists with outstanding looks are always popular. More than that, I’m surprised. To come this far in just a month.”

Iryang, who had glanced at the tournament bracket, let out an exclamation.

“You even defeated disciples from Igasanjang and Haeilmun. What methods did you use to achieve such growth in just a month?”

“How much could I have done? It’s thanks to Seohua’s talent.”

When I spoke casually, Iryang gave me a peculiar look.

“No matter how talented one is, reaching this level in just a month isn’t a normal speed. It’s an impossible speed unless the teacher’s ability is outstanding.”

“…Well, that’s…”

It’s not wrong, though.

“Excessive humility is poison. Don’t lower yourself too much. It doesn’t look good as someone who’s been with Uicheonmun since its establishment.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Hmm. Anyway, then after this match ends, you can return with me. Will you watch the finals?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Pardon?”

“We have to compete in the finals tomorrow, so where would we be returning to?”

At my question, Iryang blinked and gave a bitter smile. And then came an apology.

“Ah, I see… predicting defeat and making plans before the match even happens does seem heartless. My apologies.”

“That’s not it.”

“Pardon?”

I chuckled at the sight of Iryang bowing his head as if it were a matter of etiquette.

“It seems Merchant Leader Iryang thinks Seohua will lose.”

“…Even so, isn’t it difficult to beat someone at that level in just a month?”

“If we’re talking about skill alone, yes. But was Kangho ever a place decided by skill alone?”

“Then…”

“Just watch. This match.”

I cut off my words and raised the corners of my mouth as I watched Woogyeom and Seohua slowly taking their starting positions.

“Seohua will definitely win.”

There’s no way she can lose, right?

—The most important thing for a martial artist is momentum.

“Sssssss, ha.”

Seohua, who had taken her starting position, let out a deep breath before the referee’s signal and steadied her sword tip while glaring at her opponent. Then her opponent spoke to her playfully.

“Nice to meet you. Young Lady Seohua. I’m Woogyeom.”

“…I’m Seohua of Uicheonmun.”

“I watched your matches. Is it really true you’ve only been learning for a month? Your development speed is remarkable.”

Seohua blinked for a moment at Woogyeom’s brazenness, which she had expected to be hostile, then smiled broadly and answered.

“Pretty fast, right?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I was truly shocked. To achieve semifinal results in just a month has deep significance.”

“Hehe. Thank you. But I don’t plan to be satisfied with semifinals. I’m going to win.”

“Well. I wonder about that.”

“Pardon?”

At Seohua’s question, Woogyeom, who had been taking his starting position casually, showed a slight sneer.

“I can see what you’re thinking, Young Lady, but with your skills you can’t grasp the finals. In the end, all those you’ve defeated to get here are nothing but riffraff.”

“…Riffraff?”

“From the start, Young Lady, you can’t win the finals, much less even beat me. That’s a clear fact. Even if lightning struck from the sky and I was disqualified, Senior Brother Jingwang is stronger than me. The probability of you grasping victory is roughly, hmm, one li?”

At Woogyeom’s words, Seohua didn’t answer and stared at him intently.

“I see you think that way.”

“Everyone would think that way. Even if it weren’t me. That’s right, how about it? I heard Uicheonmun hasn’t even held its establishment ceremony yet.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The fact that you’ve risen to this level in just a month means you have martial talent, doesn’t it? Abandon Uicheonmun and come under Baekgeommun’s banner. Then, well, you could aim for somewhere around the Black and White Twin Phoenixes, couldn’t you? Hahaha!”

At the sight of Woogyeom mocking Uicheonmun, Seohua looked at him with cold eyes. She knew this was a psychological warfare tactic.

Usually, when someone speaks so outrageously on the match stage like this, the referee would stop them. But wasn’t this the heart of Baekgeommun?

No restraint would come. This place was enemy territory, and the environment surrounding them was entirely on the enemy’s side.

So.

“I’ll correct just two things.”

Seohua opened her mouth.

“First, you said everyone here thinks I’ll lose, but that’s not true. Because our Sect Master believes I’ll win.”

“Uh, um… that’s quite, hard to say anything about. Well, fine. What’s next?”

“The second is simple, but do you even need to hear it?”

“What is it?”

“Mm!”

At the sight of Seohua grinning, Woogyeom was momentarily dazed and looked at her face. And immediately after.

“Today’s match, I’m going to win.”

The moment Seohua’s words cut through the air.

“Begin—!”

With the referee’s signal, Seohua kicked off the ground.

“Huh…!”

Seeing Woogyeom involuntarily miss a breath, Seohua gripped her wooden sword tightly and charged forward.

Thud! Kakakakakak!

The clashing wooden swords caught on the sword guards and emitted a violent noise. Woogyeom’s posture crumbled in confusion.

‘I can’t match his strength…!’

Realizing the difference in strength the moment they clashed, Seohua lowered her body and swept at his legs. And the moment she tried to dig in forward.

“Are you done?”

At the words mixed with laughter and the trajectory of a wooden sword cutting before her eyes, Seohua hurriedly pulled back.

Swooooosh!

Seohua broke out in cold sweat as she watched the wooden sword pass right before her eyes by a hair’s breadth. A strike that would have knocked her flat to the ground if it had hit.

In strength, speed, and judgment, she still fell short. This was someone who had properly entered martial arts.

A martial artist.

“Your reactions are fast. But that’s as far as it goes. You need time to go beyond that.”

At the sight of Woogyeom casually shaking his sword tip while not letting down his guard, Seohua gritted her teeth.

‘I can see openings. But.’

Seeing an opening and being able to strike it are separate matters.

She lacked speed and strength. Even if she struck at an opening, the probability of succeeding with an attack was low. Then what should she do?

—If you’re at a disadvantage, you must pull it into an advantageous scenario. Remember this, Seohua. A martial competition is…

‘A martial competition is design…!’

Tadadat!

“I said it’s useless.”

Watching Seohua dig in instantly, Woogyeom swung his sword as if annoyed. A wooden sword instantly taking three directions and thrusting.

Fast. At the sword strikes aiming for her arm, shoulder, and neck, Seohua frowned and raised her wooden sword to sweep it aside. If she couldn’t dodge, she’d block. A situation where she couldn’t distinguish which was a feint and which was real. Then what should she block?

‘The centerline!’

Kakakakakak—! Taaang—!!!

“Hup.”

When the sword strike that went in scraping the wooden sword collided with the sword guard and made a striking sound, Woogyeom reflexively stepped back and swung his sword horizontally. But Seohua dug in regardless of that momentum.

—Abandon the thought that a swordsman only uses the sword. The sword is just the most effective weapon for you, not your only weapon.

What’s needed is distance. And the boldness to dig into that distance.

—If the opponent uses the sword better, just dig into a distance where they can’t use the sword.

Peoooooook—!!!

“Kugh!”

Woogyeom grimaced and stepped back after taking a direct hit to his stomach from Seohua’s elbow. The momentum had already shifted.

‘I’ll press forward like this and end it!’

Seeing Woogyeom’s opening, Seohua took another step forward. Now her body had completely dug inside the distance.

As long as Seohua was here, Woogyeom couldn’t attack her with his sword. The odds were in her favor.

That’s what she thought.

Until Woogyeom put strength into his lower body and pushed Seohua away.

“Kyaaah!”

Thud—!

Seohua, who was thrown to the ground with a short scream, hurriedly performed Naryeotagon and got up. And watching that, Woogyeom grimaced.

“So you had one trick. Now I’ll go seriously.”

At the sight of Woogyeom clearly trying to check her digging movements, Seohua took a deep breath.

‘I can’t induce carelessness anymore.’

Now that her trick had been seen through, Woogyeom wouldn’t give Seohua the inside distance anymore. He would continue to check Seohua coming inside while steadily wearing down her stamina. And if that happened, all that remained was defeat.

A prolonged battle would be disadvantageous. For Seohua, whose stamina was still weak, a prolonged battle was no different from poison. Then?

“The next one will be the end.”

A single decisive match.

“Sssssss—.”

Seohua took a long, thin breath and extended her sword strike to aim at Woogyeom. The following thought.

If she digs in, he’ll strike it away. In a prolonged battle, there’s no chance of victory. However, there’s still one trick left.

“What the…”

Right foot forward, left foot stamping the ground at a right angle. And.

The moment Woogyeom, who couldn’t take that stance lightly, took his position.

Basic Qinggong Second Form

Vertical Severance

Seohua’s foot rotated.

Swooooooosh—!!!

Woogyeom, who couldn’t underestimate the strength and speed drawn up while rotating from the toes, gritted his teeth and shook his sword tip. The sword strikes instantly split.

The three paths from before split into two more, and five paths headed straight for Seohua. Soon the sword strikes clashed.

They were erased.

The possibilities that Woogyeom’s sword should have had crumbled upon contact with Seohua’s sword strikes. In that instant, two paths disappeared. But that was enough. Because.

With that defense, Seohua’s strength scattered.

And the scattered strength was at a level Woogyeom could block.

Taaaaaang—!!!

“I’ve won!”

Confirming that the perfect strike was blocked, Woogyeom slowly shook his sword strike. He had already seen Seohua’s maximum. Then he could just deploy sword techniques like this to eliminate Seohua, couldn’t he?

He would deploy Illusory Sword. The opponent wouldn’t be able to distinguish which was real. If he just kept wearing down her stamina, victory would ultimately be his.

So that’s what he tried to do.

—Just grab it. That’s how you win.

He simply couldn’t.

“…Wh-what is this!”

“Finally—.”

Clashing sword strikes, scattered strength. A hand that slipped in between them.

“Got you.”

That hand grabbed Woogyeom’s wooden sword.

“What the!”

At the sight of Seohua grabbing the sword strike with her bare hand, Woogyeom panicked and hurriedly tried to pull his sword out. But the sword wouldn’t come out easily.

“Let go of this! Th-that’s cheating…!”

“You’re called Woogyeom, right? Do you know this by any chance?”

“What…”

“There’s a technique called Gongsoo Ipbaekin. Catching a sword with bare hands.”

Seohua grinned and moved the hand holding her own sword while keeping strength in the hand holding the sword tip. And the blade instantly accelerated.

“It’s an existing technique, so it’s not cheating, right?”

“What kind of nonsense…!”

As Woogyeom protested while trying to snatch back his sword, he suddenly looked up blankly at Seohua’s blade as a shadow approached. And immediately after.

“…Ah.”

Bwaaaaaaak—!!!

At the sound of Seohua’s sword cleanly striking Woogyeom’s side.

The venue fell into silence.