novelraw Chapter 187 : Chapter 187
Chapter 187 : Chapter 187
Chapter 187 - A Strange Fellow
“Darn it…!”
He thought he had managed to avoid it somehow, but in the end, they had to face each other.
In fact, it was a relief that an internal match had occurred only once in the round of 16.
In the worst-case scenario, one side of the bracket could have been filled with the five names of the Diancang Sect.
Of course, this was not a story that resonated much with Uma and Jeong-i, the parties involved.
“Don’t look so down. It was something we had to face someday.”
Biyoung grinned at the two swordsmen.
Uma retorted with a blunt face.
“You look damn happy.”
“Hey. Happy? My heart is breaking.”
“Really?”
“Hey.”
With a face that did not inspire much trust, Biyoung made a request to the two.
“I’m saying this just in case, but there’s no such thing as going easy. Fight each other with all your might.”
“You arrogant brat. Is that something a junior should say to a senior?”
Although he said that, Uma had no intention of fighting half-heartedly either.
Although they had occasionally sparred within the Diancang Sect, this was the first time they were seriously competing in skill.
‘Can I… really defeat Senior Sister Jeong?’
From their time in Simao, Jeong-i had shown an outstanding talent for martial arts.
So much so that even the prideful Eung Gajin would yield to her in swordsmanship.
Moreover, the rare spiritual medicines she had obtained while working at the Blue Pavilion were a bonus.
And recently, she had even awakened to the Profound Heaven’s True Energy Unification Art and possessed a monstrous amount of internal energy.
‘A giant world tree hidden by flower petals.’
Uma would often use that expression for Jeong-i.
Anyone who had ever crossed swords with her, even once, would never dare to engage in a battle of internal energy with her.
‘But it’s not just Senior Sister who has changed.’
Uma thought so and clenched his fists.
Like all the swordsmen of the Diancang Sect, Uma had also raised his lacking internal energy through Hyeokri Chong’s Cradle-to-Grave Pill.
One more thing.
Uma had an ability that had blossomed when he fought against the Ghost Face Four Shadows in Hunan.
The extreme point that he had been so angry about not seeing at all in the martial arts tournament.
It was the Life-or-Death Extreme Point.
“With this, all the group draws are finished. I wish good fortune to all the participants who have advanced to the round of 16. The round of 16 will begin today at noon.”
Once the group draws were finished, the atmosphere became even more boisterous.
From stories about the Diancang Sect swordsmen who would have an internal match, to predictions about the champion, and even stories about Biyoung who had met the Mount Hua Sect.
If there was one thing in common, it was that the Diancang Sect was at the center of all those stories.
Namgung Chu, who had been observing the bracket for a moment, asked Biyoung.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
Biyoung answered with a bright face.
“I don’t want to.”
“…At least pretend to think about it for a bit. Or at least feel sorry.”
“I’m saying no because I really don’t want to.”
“Even if you don’t want to, you have to! I have something I must say!”
Namgung Chu grabbed Biyoung’s hand and forcibly dragged him away.
Biyoung flailed his hands for help from the Diancang Sect members, but unfortunately, no one took his hand.
***
In truth, he could have escaped using force if he wanted to.
But Biyoung did not bother to do so.
If it were just some trivial matter, he would not have asked to speak with him alone.
“Who do you think will win? Senior Sister Jeong and Uma.”
Biyoung answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“Senior Sister will win.”
“Ho. You’re quite certain?”
“The matchup is bad. For Senior Brother Uma.”
“Really? In what way?”
“It’s a long story to explain. Unlike you, Brother Chu, I’m not a chatterbox. And…”
Biyoung’s expression turned serious for the first time in a while.
“That’s not what you wanted to ask, is it?”
“……!”
In response, Namgung Chu’s voice also lowered.
“Young Hero Biyoung would have felt it. There’s one fellow who gives off a strange feeling.”
“Yes.”
Among those who had reached the round of 16, there were many from famous sects and families, but there were also a few unknown prospects from the wilderness mixed in.
The problem was that among those unknown participants, there was one particularly peculiar fellow.
Namgung Chu called out the name he had been keeping in his heart.
“His name was Siban, was it? He was a really strange fellow. His martial arts were terrible, but his internal and external energy were not human-like.”
Siban.
A man about whom nothing was known except that he had come from the distant Qinghai Province.
His martial arts were so random that the expression ‘martial arts’ was embarrassing.
But whenever promising disciples from prestigious orthodox sects met this man, they would repeatedly be defeated after a long battle.
The spectators gave Siban a very positive evaluation.
It was because he had a cute face reminiscent of Sedong, and in every duel, he showed the perseverance and comebacks that people liked.
The sight of an unknown young man from the frontier achieving a narrow victory against the disciples of the Nine Sects One Union made the onlookers want to cheer for him.
However.
Namgung Chu’s thoughts were a little different.
“That’s not perseverance or anything, it’s just ‘abnormal.’ A normal human would be lying in the Medical Pavilion, not in the round of 16.”
“His injuries were certainly severe in every match.”
Biyoung did not disagree with Namgung Chu’s words.
The first time Biyoung had paid attention to the man named Siban was because of an unpleasant cracking sound.
CRACK!
If Biyoung’s senses were correct, Siban’s arm was definitely broken.
However, Siban swung both his arms as if he had taken no damage, and in the end, he subdued his opponent after a long battle.
“Even if he forgot his injury in the excitement of the match, it would have been normal for him to be unable to appear in the next round. But that fellow…”
Biyoung continued Namgung Chu’s words.
“He appeared in the next round with a perfectly fine body.”
“Right. Even if a great immortal had come, he could not have completely healed a broken arm overnight. He’s a strange fellow in many ways.”
In fact, just by his appearance, he was just a stout and sincere, hot-blooded young man.
His face was also cute, so quite a few spectators had a favorable impression of Siban.
An unexpected man who appeared from an unknown region on the frontier.
That was the current evaluation of Siban by the crowd.
“Do you have any ideas?”
At Namgung Chu’s words, Biyoung shook his head.
“No.”
“Tsk. I thought you might have some clue.”
“There’s too little information in the first place. Qinghai Province is a region farther from here than Yunnan is from Shaolin. And he’s a fellow with no affiliated sect.”
“Hmm. I guess we have no choice but to watch him a little longer.”
Namgung Chu clicked his tongue once and then made a request to Biyoung.
“If Siban keeps winning, he will meet Young Hero Solbo first among us. He is a swordsman who is far from careless, but it would be good to warn him firmly.”
“Huh. Senior Brother Solbo’s round of 16 opponent is from the Wudang Sect, isn’t it? Siban is in the quarterfinals after that.”
Then Namgung Chu snorted.
“I have eyes too. The likes of Wudang cannot stop the Gale Sword.”
***
“Haaap!”
“Tahat!”
Tang Gogwi threw his flying daggers, and Jin Dong of Shaolin narrowly twisted his body to dodge.
As befitting the martial artists who had reached the round of 16, a delightful exchange of offense and defense continued.
And on the other side.
In a place where the cheers of the spectators did not reach, the voice of an emaciated old man was heard.
“Wudang will have at least one, and at most two, in the quarterfinals.”
At the word Wudang, the young swordsman’s eyes shot up.
Excluding Shaolin, the strongest competitor among the Nine Sects One Union was Wudang.
Although he was a young swordsman participating in the rising stars’ martial arts tournament, the consciousness that he must defeat Wudang was firmly rooted in him.
“I will definitely defeat that arrogant bastard and reach the quarterfinals, no, I will seize the championship, Sect Leader.”
“Seeing your eyes puts my mind at ease.”
The sect leader of the Mount Hua Sect.
Mae Jisin lightly patted Hong Myeong’s shoulder and then walked toward the high seats.
After the bracket was announced, Mae Jisin had lightly clicked his tongue.
To think that Biyoung, who seemed the strongest in the Diancang Sect, would be his round of 16 opponent.
On the other hand, Wudang had to face the direct descendant of the Namgung Family Clan and a swordsman named Solbo from the Diancang Sect.
Unlike Biyoung or Namgung Chu, the rising stars of Wudang had a high probability of easily subduing someone like Solbo.
It was already infuriating that Wudang had more members in the round of 16 than Mount Hua, but what if not even one of them made it to the quarterfinals?
‘Such a thing must never happen.’
They called it the Murim Alliance, but the current relationship between Mount Hua and Wudang was closer to that of sworn enemies.
The sect that was pushed back in this martial arts tournament would be ridiculed for a long time.
Thus, Hong Myeong absolutely had to defeat Biyoung.
‘Use the Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art with all your might from the start.’
Mae Jisin had personally visited Hong Myeong and told him so.
He did not think that Biyoung would be able to draw a plum blossom.
But that arrogant heart of his was worth exploiting.
The Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art was the essence of the essence that the Mount Hua Sect had polished for a long time.
If it were something that a rising star could imitate just by looking at it, the martial artists of Jianghu would never have feared the plum blossom.
If Biyoung tried to clumsily imitate the plum blossom, he would be defeated by Hong Myeong’s sword strike without even getting his money’s worth.
Mae Jisin was quite wary of Biyoung’s yet-to-be-revealed true skills, and so he had given direct instructions to Hong Myeong.
“You are the future Number One Sword of Mount Hua.”
Of course, he did not forget to light a fire in Hong Myeong’s heart.
***
“The winner of this duel is Tang Gogwi of the Sichuan Tang Clan!”
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
As the saying goes, a famous feast indeed has much to eat.
From the first match of the round of 16, Tang Gogwi and Jin Dong showcased martial arts unbecoming of rising stars and created a splendid match.
The winner of the match was Tang Gogwi, but it was a fight where it would not have been strange for either to win.
Their internal energy was similar, and the martial arts they had polished were excellent.
What decided the match was ‘initiative.’
Naturally, Tang Gogwi, who threw flying daggers from a distance, had an easier time taking the initiative than Jin Dong, who fought with his bare hands.
He was used to facing fists and swords, but his inexperience with hidden weapons also played a large part.
“Amitabha. I admit my defeat.”
Although his appearance was ghastly with deep cuts all over his skin, Jin Dong did not lose the dignity of Shaolin even in defeat.
Tang Gogwi nodded once and then wiped his face with a handkerchief offered by his servant.
Not just his appearance, but his every action screamed, ‘I am a nobleman.’
“He’s good, but… somehow he’s so annoying!”
That was the evaluation of the crowd regarding Tang Gogwi, who was leaving the fighting stage.
“We will now begin the second match!”
“Ooooooooooh!!”
Before the excitement of the first match had even subsided, the area around the fighting stage began to burn with excitement once again.
The best duel that everyone had been anticipating was now before their eyes.
Hong Myeong of the Mount Hua Sect.
And Biyoung of the Diancang Sect.
The two promising rising stars stood facing each other.
Since the martial arts tournament began, the most passionate cheers poured down onto their shoulders.
“Tahat!”
As soon as the opening stance was over, Hong Myeong moved his body like a thunderbolt.
Even without the sect leader’s instructions, he had intended to settle the match early on.
He did not want to see a brat who was not even a member of the Nine Sects One Union running rampant any longer.
Parrr…….
The end of the dazzling Sword Aura trembled, and then it began to embroider something in the air.
The sword path that Hong Myeong drew was sometimes elegant and sometimes sharp.
As the various sword paths connected, a clear shape soon blossomed.
“Ooh!”
A single, gracefully made plum blossom.
It was no false rumor that there was a rising star in Mount Hua who had mastered the Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art.
A single large plum blossom that dominated the space.
At that enchanting swordsmanship, the spectators’ mouths gaped open.
Swish!
One of the techniques of the Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art, the Solitary Plum Strike, flew toward Biyoung’s neck with ferocious momentum.
And,
‘…It’s been a while.’
A bitter smile appeared on the lips of Biyoung, who had been carefully watching the Solitary Plum Strike.