novelraw Chapter 192 : Chapter 192
Chapter 192 : Chapter 192
Chapter 192 - Keep Your Promise
The quarterfinals of the martial arts tournament.
The opening match was between Jeong-i and Jin Hwi of Shaolin.
CLANG CLANG CLANG!
“Wooooooooooow!”
It was truly a feast for the eyes.
The Flowery Chaotic Dance Sword unleashed by Jeong-i was not like martial arts but a dance performance, and Jin Hwi’s Hundred Steps Divine Fist was also splendid, unlike typical Shaolin martial arts.
“Hoo…”
Jeong-i shook her head, flicking off the beads of sweat that had formed on her chin.
Two igak had already passed since the match began.
Countless exchanges had occurred during that time, but neither had suffered any injuries.
“Wow! Truly amazing!”
“To block that terrifying Sword Aura with his bare hands! It's astonishing!”
“I declare this to be the most intense fight of the tournament!”
“Are those two borrowing their internal energy from somewhere? They haven't stopped exchanging blows for two whole igak…!”
“Shaolin must be quite flustered. Who would have thought they would struggle so much against a female swordsman from the Diancang Sect?”
Struggling, he says.
Jeong-i’s lips moved, barely revealing a smile.
Seeing that enigmatic smile, Jin Hwi spoke to her for the first time during the match.
“Young lady, you seem to be enjoying this match quite a bit.”
Like a person carved and chiseled from a large bluestone, not a single gap could be found in Jin Hwi’s sturdy muscles.
His thick eyebrows, enough to rival Solbo’s, and full lips seemed to represent his firm resolve.
At Jin Hwi’s question, Jeong-i readjusted her grip on her sword.
“At first.”
“At first… you mean not anymore?”
“Yes. Because I’ve figured out your purpose.”
Shhhhhh…
Jeong-i pushed the circulation of her Profound Heaven's True Energy Unification Art to its absolute limit.
Two martial artists with formidable internal energy had clashed for over two igak, yet not a single wound was to be seen.
The meaning of this was self-evident.
Someone was deliberately holding back.
“You are strong.”
At Jeong-i’s words, Jin Hwi blinked his clear eyes.
“I realized it after we crossed fifty exchanges. Our internal energy might be similar, but in terms of external skills, there's a significant gap.”
A waist that could be spanned with one hand and slender wrists.
If she wore casual clothes instead of her martial arts uniform, Jeong-i would not look like a martial artist at all.
Of course, contrary to her appearance, her swordsmanship possessed destructive power.
It was enough to make one wonder how such monstrous strength could come from her delicate frame.
People naturally thought Jeong-i’s external skills were top-notch, but the reality was completely different.
Jeong-i’s external skills were at an extremely ordinary level.
It was just that her ordinary external skills were being supplemented by her immense internal energy.
CLANG CLANG CLANG!
At first, there wasn't much of a difference, but as they continued to exchange blows, a subtle gap began to appear.
Wrists and ankles.
Waist.
The circumference of the neck, and so on.
Jin Hwi was born thicker than Jeong-i, and on top of that, he had trained in external skills for a much longer time.
As their internal energy began to run dry, Jeong-i’s feet started to get pushed back little by little.
However, that was all.
Instead of pressing his advantage, Jin Hwi observed Jeong-i’s sword more intently.
At first, she also thought he was just catching his breath.
But now, after two igak had passed, Jeong-i could finally realize it.
‘This man is not looking at me right now.’
Jin Hwi was looking beyond Jeong-i, to what came next.
The man he would meet at the pinnacle of the martial arts tournament.
He was talking about Biyoung.
He was trying to engrave the Diancang Sect's sword into his eyes, even just one more time.
“It's a little regrettable.”
The smile on Jeong-i’s lips felt a bit more raw.
“Is it because I was not using my full strength?”
“No. On the contrary, thanks to you holding back, I was able to learn a lot about Shaolin’s martial arts. It's just…”
“…………?”
“It seems you won't gain much from this. My sword is a bit different from my fellow disciples' swordsmanship.”
Jin Hwi nodded his head in agreement.
“This humble monk also had a similar thought while we were exchanging blows. However, the one sword strike that is slow yet thrust out at a decisive moment was the classic quick sword of the Diancang Sect. It certainly felt different from the swords of other sects.”
Indeed.
This man was dangerous.
Jeong-i gripped the handle of her sword a little tighter.
She didn't think Biyoung would lose, but she had no intention of showing him the Diancang sword as he wished any longer.
“It was nice meeting you.”
“Amitabha.”
With Jeong-i’s internal energy pushed to its limit, the body of the sword emitted a light so bright it seemed about to explode.
Flowers created by the sword's path bloomed around her.
However, they were quite different from the elegant and gentle petals from before.
Sharp, pointed leaves that looked like they could cut.
Each and every one of them gathered together to form the shape of a great horn.
Flower Thorn Siege Strike!
A giant wedge of flowers shot out towards Jin Hwi.
KWWAAAAAA!
“!”
Even the ever-composed Jin Hwi was startled at this moment and corrected his posture.
‘To think she still had a move like this left.’
This time, he had to give it his all to block it.
Having made up his mind, Jin Hwi poured his internal energy into his right hand with all his might.
Then, he began to create countless fist shadows in the air.
“Great Heaven Guanyin Hand!!”
A few of the Shaolin masters gasped.
The Great Heaven Guanyin Hand was an ultimate technique of the Hundred Steps Divine Fist that even high-ranking monks two generations above Jin Hwi found difficult to master.
It was surprising that he could execute it so cleanly, and at the same time, they were astonished by the fact that he had to resort to the Great Heaven Guanyin Hand against Jeong-i.
Soon, the Flower Thorn Siege Strike and the Great Heaven Guanyin Hand collided in mid-air.
CRASH CRASH CRASH BOOM!
A whirlwind of petals approached as if to pierce through everything in existence.
The flower wind and fist shadows clashed an innumerable number of times.
Amidst the back-and-forth power struggle, a few surviving fist shadows finally broke through the flower wind and moved forward.
FWIP!
Jin Hwi’s fist stopped at the tip of Jeong-i’s nose.
“………….”
Looking at the fist with a face drenched in sweat, Jeong-i soon closed her eyes with a relieved expression.
“I lost.”
With those words, Jeong-i’s body collapsed.
***
“Huff…! Huff…!”
Tang Gogwi felt like he was having a nightmare.
The throwing dagger, the flying snake iron fan, and the Flying Locust Rock that left his hands had all been blocked.
“Gah!”
His initial composed demeanor had completely vanished.
Tang Gogwi even let out a yell as he unleashed his final weapon, the Moon-Chasing Twin Flights.
CLANG!
However.
It was the same this time as well.
The Moon-Chasing Twin Flights spun in the air, struck by the sword Biyoung wielded.
“Absurd…!!”
Biyoung's words about it being okay to use poison skills were not just arrogance.
How could the poison on the hidden weapons take effect if they didn't even graze him?
Amazingly, Biyoung had shattered every single hidden weapon Tang Gogwi had thrown.
It was a first in Tang Gogwi's life.
“What was that?”
“What's going on?”
“Did Young Hero Biyoung block it again?”
The crowd couldn't even properly grasp what was happening.
That was because Tang Gogwi's hidden weapons were so fast they were invisible to the eye.
All the audience could perceive was the sight of Biyoung swinging his sword and the ear-splitting ‘clang’ sound.
Oh, and one more thing.
The miserable face of Tang Gogwi, who was desperately flailing both his arms.
Although the situation was unclear, the tide of battle was obvious just by looking at their expressions.
Biyoung was full of leisure, while Tang Gogwi was full of despair.
‘He must feel like he's possessed by a ghost.’
Biyoung wore a devilish smile.
The power of a hidden weapon is inversely proportional to information.
If you don't know, you get hit; if you know, it's easier to deal with.
In that sense, Tang Gogwi was facing the most difficult opponent in the world.
In the past, the World's Fastest Sword had fought a great battle with Tang Gogwi's grandfather, Tang Yepung.
Compared to Tang Yepung’s vicious hidden weapons, Tang Gogwi’s skill was…
‘No different from a school talent show.’
Moreover, there was one more reason why Tang Gogwi couldn't defeat Biyoung.
Swoosh.
Biyoung walked towards the shattered Moon-Chasing Twin Flights.
With all his hidden weapons gone, Tang Gogwi could only watch Biyoung’s actions, gasping for breath.
Biyoung picked up a fragment of the Moon-Chasing Twin Flights from the ground.
Then he stuck out his tongue and tasted it.
“!!!”
Tang Gogwi’s eyelids shot up to the sky.
“Th-That crazy…!!!”
Tang Gogwi had faithfully followed Biyoung's instruction to do his best.
The Moon-Chasing Twin Flights were coated with a poison that the Sichuan Tang Clan prided itself on.
Even the smallest scratch could paralyze the entire body, yet he brought his tongue to it?
‘That guy… Does he want to lose the match on purpose?’
That was the only way he could think of it.
Soon, Biyoung would lose consciousness, faint, and hover on the brink of death.
An antidote was, of course, prepared, but why would he do such a foolish thing?
Tang Gogwi's bewildered eyes turned towards Biyoung.
“…………?”
However, even after a considerable amount of time had passed, Biyoung was perfectly fine.
It was a potent poison that made even the White Great Tiger, called the guardian deity of Mount Qingcheng, writhe in agony with just a single drop.
Not to mention ordinary people, even martial artists should have collapsed within seconds.
Tang Gogwi, with owl-like eyes, asked Biyoung.
“Is… is your body okay?”
“It's a bit thrilling. And bitter.”
Seeing as he said it was bitter, he must have tasted it properly, so why was he still fine?
Staring at Biyoung with a dumbfounded expression, Tang Gogwi suddenly screamed.
“Could it be, immune to all poisons?!”
“Nah. Not to that extent.”
Biyoung scratched the back of his head as if embarrassed.
Despite his humble gesture, the words carried an enormous meaning.
No matter how much one trained in martial arts and purified their internal energy, overcoming poison in the body was no easy feat.
How many martial artists, called peak masters, had met their end by drinking a wrong cup of tea?
Being immune to all poisons was the object of every martial artist's admiration, an ideal state.
However.
Judging by Biyoung's attitude, it seemed he had a body that was close to being immune to all poisons.
‘No. It's not just close.’
He definitely had it.
Otherwise, he couldn't have sucked on the clan's deadly poison like candy and still be fine.
“Do you get it now?”
Biyoung turned the tip of his sword towards Tang Gogwi.
“The world is wide, and there are many masters. The Sichuan Tang Clan might wield some power in Sichuan Province, but if you don't unite with people and forces that can be of help, you'll end up like us.”
“Like you… Are you referring to Young Hero Biyoung's sect that was destroyed in the past?”
“Yes. So stop complaining and join the forces of the Five Great Families. We're in turbulent times, after all.”
“…Let me ask one last thing.”
Perhaps sensing that the end was near.
Tang Gogwi asked Biyoung with a transcendent expression.
“Let's say Young Hero Biyoung's words are right. But what does the Diancang Sect gain from that? Perhaps…”
A hint of suspicion remained in Tang Gogwi's eyes.
“Are you planning to unite the power of the Five Great Families and then stand above them?”
“Huh?”
This time, Biyoung's eyes widened like an owl's.
It was a reaction of complete surprise.
“Nah. I'm not interested in that stuff. I'm busy enough just taking care of the Diancang Sect.”
It was absurd to see such a young brat talking about taking care of a sect.
In any case, since Biyoung himself had declared it, he probably wouldn't go back on his word later.
That made him even more curious.
“Then doesn't Young Hero Biyoung gain nothing from this proposal?”
“Why not? Just by having powerful forces unite, those people up there will get nervous.”
Get nervous.
Who?
Tang Gogwi couldn't get the answer.
THWACK!
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!”
Because Biyoung had struck him in the chest with the flat of the Diancang Sect's sword.
CRASH!
Even though he was hit with the less destructive flat of the sword, Tang Gogwi's body flew all the way to the spectators' seats.
“Keep your promise.”
Towards Tang Gogwi, wondering if he was still conscious, Biyoung left his final words.