novelraw Chapter 136 : Something Very Big and Tough
Chapter 136 : Something Very Big and Tough
The third day of the Four Daoist Assembly.
The ten disciples who had won the first round lined up on the sparring stage.
They were.
Cheon Yerang, Jong Ryeo'ak, and Hyeok'ugun from the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple.
Namgung Seoru, Namgung Seong, and Mujin from the White Tiger Daoist Temple.
Dohye and Gongson Cheong from the Black Tortoise Daoist Temple.
Cheong Seung and Tang Mae from the Vermilion Bird Daoist Temple.
A total of ten martial artists.
All of them were martial artists from the Nine Great Sects and One Union or the Five Great Clans, but there was one who did not belong to either.
It was Gongson Cheong.
The grandson of Gongson Su of the Thunderclap Kick School, he had proudly made a name for himself in the Four Daoist Assembly as a disciple of the Black Tortoise Daoist Temple.
Jin Sohyun, who recognized him, even felt a sense of gladness.
“He’s made it this far.”
Dokgo Jeokmyeong, the External General Manager of the Martial Alliance, came up to the platform with an Alliance warrior in front of the ten people gathered on the sparring stage.
“From now on, we will draw the tournament bracket for the individual competition of the Four Daoist Assembly.”
The tournament bracket for the second round was drawn by Dokgo Jeokmyeong’s hand.
The names of the martial artists were drawn one by one, and the tournament bracket was completed.
The person who made it to the first match was Gongson Cheong.
And his opponent, coincidentally, was the most anticipated late-stage prospect from the Namgung Clan.
It was Namgung Seoru.
The disciples who had each confirmed their matches left the sparring stage.
A short while later, Gongson Cheong and Namgung Seoru came up to the sparring stage.
“It is an honor to meet you again. I am Gongson Cheong!”
Gongson Cheong greeted Namgung Seoru, whom he had reunited with after a long time, warmly.
“I am Namgung Seoru.”
Namgung Seoru’s voice was stiff.
He knew she didn't have an affectionate personality, but today, Namgung Seoru’s appearance was even more blade-like.
Gulp—!
After swallowing dryly, he took a deep breath.
Gongson Cheong used a leg technique, a martial art that used both legs, so he had wrapped armor around his legs to protect his insteps and shins.
Although small in quantity, the armor, made with a mixture of profound iron, was so sturdy that it wouldn't even be scratched by an ordinary sword.
As Gongson Cheong, who had finished his preparations, took his starting stance, Namgung Seoru also slowly raised her lowered sword.
As she gripped the sword, her aura became even sharper.
“Both sides, are you ready?”
At the referee’s question, the two disciples nodded their heads.
“Then we will begin the first match of the second round.”
With the referee’s shout announcing the start of the match, Gongson Cheong and Namgung Seoru clashed.
Kwaaang!
Gongson Cheong’s right kick and Namgung Seoru’s sword met in mid-air.
Gongson Cheong, who had learned the Heavenly Thunderclap Kick which emphasized speed, withdrew his extended right kick and at the same time swept around Namgung Seoru with lightning-fast movements.
As the name of the martial art, Heavenly Thunderclap Kick, suggested, a thunderous roar echoed from the tip of Gongson Cheong’s foot.
“That’s amazing.”
“They say he’s the one and only grandson of Great Warrior Gongson of the Thunderclap Kick School.”
“Go for it! Gongson Cheong!”
“Go for it!”
In the Four Daoist Assembly, which was no different from a festival for the Nine Great Sects and One Union and the Five Great Clans, Gongson Cheong, the only one who did not belong anywhere, had at some point become an object of envy for the disciples from minor sects.
Receiving their cheers all at once, Gongson Cheong raised his internal energy.
‘Let’s go all out from the beginning! So there are no regrets!’
How surprised he had been when he heard the news that the Jin Clan had been attacked by a heretical faction a while ago.
He had waited anxiously for news, worried that Jin Gahyeon might have been hurt.
Fortunately, the members of the Jin Clan were safe, but in the process, he heard the news that Jin Sohyun had been seriously injured and could no longer live as a martial artist.
It was from then on.
‘After winning the Four Daoist Assembly with dignity… I will go to the Jin Clan!’
To become the winner of the Four Daoist Assembly and stand before Jin Gahyeon more proudly than anyone else.
That was Gongson Cheong’s goal.
“Haap!!”
The ultimate technique of the Heavenly Thunderclap Kick unfolded from the tip of Gongson Cheong’s foot.
Gongson Cheong’s left kick, which advanced with a thunderclap, pressed down on Namgung Seoru from above.
Kwang!!
With a rough explosion, Namgung Seoru’s sword flung Gongson Cheong away.
But Gongson Cheong, who was already preparing a follow-up attack, dug the tip of his foot into the ground.
The next moment, Gongson Cheong slid forward as if gliding.
His speed was as fast as lightning.
While everyone was watching Gongson Cheong’s offensive with bated breath, Jin Sohyun showed a pitiful expression.
“That’s going to hurt.”
The moment Namgung Seoru, who had been silently watching the approaching Gongson Cheong, raised her sword.
A golden radiance burst forth.
The Emperor Sword Form, which was said to be passed down only to the successor among the direct descendants of the Namgung Clan, revealed itself.
At this, not only the disciples watching the match, but also the temple masters and even the Alliance Leader were surprised and shot up from their seats.
“The Emperor Sword Form!?”
“And such a clear Emperor Sword Form at that…!”
Namgung Seoru’s sword, which appeared, emitting a dazzling radiance, fell toward the approaching Gongson Cheong.
Its energy was so intense that the referee watching the match was contemplating whether to stop the fight.
‘What’s coming?’
Gongson Cheong’s mouth automatically fell open as he faced the Emperor Sword Form right in front of him.
His vision turned completely white due to the golden radiance.
Thud—!
Gongson Cheong collapsed on the floor of the sparring stage.
He gasped for breath repeatedly, and next to him, Namgung Seoru’s sword was stuck.
When he turned his head and looked at the sparring stage, a long sword mark was deeply engraved.
‘I would have died.’
If Namgung Seoru hadn't twisted the path of her sword.
If she hadn't controlled her strength.
Gongson Cheong would have been cut in two and died on the spot.
“I have lost.”
With Gongson Cheong’s admission of defeat, the first round came to an end.
The following second match was between Hyeok'ugun, a disciple of the Huashan Sect from the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple, and Mujin, a disciple of the Wudang Sect from the White Tiger Daoist Temple.
A meeting between the Huashan Sect and the Wudang Sect.
“Senior Brother! Go for it!”
“Young Master Hyeok! Go for it!”
Mujin stood in front of Hyeok'ugun, who had come up while receiving cheers from Oh Seolhwa and the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple disciples.
‘The Wudang Sect…’
The number one Daoist sect, called one of the two great mountains of the Nine Great Sects and One Union along with Shaolin.
The number one late-stage prospect of the Wudang Sect, Mujin.
Hyeok'ugun gripped his sword hilt tightly.
‘This is a good opportunity to test my enlightenment.’
If it were the past him, he wouldn't have been able to guarantee victory in a match against Mujin.
But now it was different.
His closed eyes had opened, and he had reached a new realm.
“Hoo! I am Hyeok'ugun of the Huashan Sect. I look forward to a good match.”
“I am Mujin of the Wudang Sect.”
Hyeok'ugun and Mujin drew their respective swords.
The aura of Mujin, whom he faced right in front of him, was calm.
His appearance was like watching a lake in a deep forest where not a single breeze blew.
“We will begin the second match!”
With the referee’s shout, the match between the two swordsmen began.
***
“Heok— Heok—!!”
Hyeok'ugun’s sword dropped.
It was because he had exhausted all his strength.
In contrast, Mujin was still the same as he was at the beginning.
‘Is this… the sword of Wudang!’
It was strong and solid.
It felt like hitting a gate made of steel with a tree branch.
It felt like he was cutting a stream of water that could never be cut with a sword.
Mujin, who had confirmed that Hyeok'ugun’s momentum was broken, finally moved his steps.
He rushed to Hyeok'ugun in just three steps, and the momentum of Mujin, which had been silent until now, surged through his sword blade.
“Azure Dragon Exits the Sea.”
From bottom to top.
Like a dragon that had been swimming in the sea ascending to the sky.
The blue sword energy that erupted from Mujin’s sword engulfed Hyeok'ugun.
“Keuk!”
He tried to block it by making plum blossoms bloom, but the size of the internal energy the two possessed was already different.
“Keuaak!”
Hyeok'ugun’s body, which had failed to block Mujin’s sword energy, floated up and then crashed to the ground.
“The winner is Mujin of the White Tiger Daoist Temple!”
Mujin, who had won against Hyeok'ugun without much difficulty, stepped down from the sparring stage.
As the unconscious Hyeok'ugun was carried down on a stretcher, Jong Ryeo'ak grimaced.
“You said you’d see me at the top, what’s this?”
Jong Ryeo'ak, who was looking at the unresponsive Hyeok'ugun with displeasure, stepped up to the sparring stage.
His opponent was Cheong Seung, a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect from the Vermilion Bird Daoist Temple.
Cheong Seung held his hands together on his sharply raised sword and offered a greeting.
“I am Cheong Seung of the Qingcheng Sect. I have heard much about the Zhongnan Sect since long ago. It is an honor to have a match with you, Young Master.”
“Honor, my ass.”
Cheong Seung’s lips trembled finely.
“Let’s just fight quickly without long words.”
As Jong Ryeo'ak said, the match proceeded quickly.
The silently enraged Cheong Seung’s sword unfolded the Qingcheng Sect’s unique swordsmanship that flowed like water and relentlessly pressured Jong Ryeo'ak.
Unlike the swordsmanship of Huashan or Wudang, which was known as a sword of integrated offense and defense, the swordsmanship of Qingcheng continued relentlessly like a flowing river.
Jong Ryeo'ak continuously blocked Cheong Seung’s sword and tried to find an opening.
“For someone who said let’s fight quickly, all you’re doing is blocking!”
Cheong Seung sneered and thrust his sword at Jong Ryeo'ak’s brow.
Jong Ryeo'ak, who deflected Cheong Seung’s sword by drawing a semicircle with his sword, bared his teeth.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
“Stop bluffing… the sword of Qingcheng is the real deal from now on!”
Sword energy erupted from Cheong Seung’s sword, and the flow of the sword, which had been like a river, now became as intense as a falling waterfall.
It was at that very moment.
“Hyaap!”
Jong Ryeo'ak’s sword, which had been focused on defense, turned to offense.
A fast sword imbued with strong power struck Cheong Seung’s sword in succession.
Tadang—!!
“Keuk!”
For the first time since the match began, Cheong Seung was flustered.
‘The path of the sword is not connecting!’
The Flowing Cloud Sword of Qingcheng, whose flow never broke in any situation, was broken.
What had broken the Flowing Cloud Sword was Jong Ryeo'ak’s fast sword, which was like a sharp gust of wind.
His sword, which created afterimages and pressed in from all directions, blocked all the paths for Cheong Seung’s sword to advance.
As his territory narrowed, Cheong Seung was relentlessly pushed back.
“Where are you going.”
In the flurry of the storm-like fast sword, Jong Ryeo'ak’s sneering laugh leaked out.
“Yiik!”
Realizing that he had been pushed to the end of the sparring stage from the emptiness he felt at his heels, Cheong Seung gritted his teeth.
‘Even if I lose, I can’t lose disgracefully!’
The Four Daoist Assembly was, in the end, a place to test the capabilities of the sects.
As long as he was participating in the Four Daoist Assembly as a representative of the Qingcheng Sect, Cheong Seung could not lose like this.
“Haaap!”
With a thunderous shout, Cheong Seung swung his sword with all his might.
But his sword cut through the empty air.
His impatient mind had in the end blurred his vision.
“Idiot.”
Jong Ryeo'ak, who had at some point taken Cheong Seung’s side, struck his waist with the side of his sword.
“Keoheok!”
Cheong Seung flew with his back bent and fell below the sparring stage.
“Hmph.”
Jong Ryeo'ak, who had easily secured a victory, turned his gaze and stared at the Martial Alliance Leader who was watching the match.
“Hoh.”
Gwak Doyeop, who felt his intense gaze, smiled lightly.
“He’s full of confidence.”
Gwak Doyeop liked that confidence of Jong Ryeo'ak.
The main purpose of the Daoist Temples was to protect the young late-stage prospects of the righteous martial world from the Heretic Path's Alliance and the heretical path.
In the process, the renowned late-stage prospects from each region had gathered in one place.
They grew by stimulating each other.
And the place to test their growth over the past year was the Four Daoist Assembly.
Gwak Doyeop watched the confident Jong Ryeo'ak with a pleased expression.
Next.
Dohye of Shaolin Temple and Cheon Yerang of the White Moon Palace faced each other.
A meeting between the monk of Shaolin Temple, a pillar of the Nine Great Sects and One Union and with a long history, and the White Moon Palace, which was threatening the position of the Nine Great Sects and One Union and the Five Great Clans with the appearance of the White Moon Divine Lord, Cheon Yusin.
The disciples watching this shone their eyes and waited for the match with pounding hearts.
The match between Shaolin and the White Moon Palace was enough to gather the gazes of the Alliance Leader Gwak Doyeop and the temple masters in one place.
The daughter of none other than the White Moon Divine Lord.
“Now, we can finally see.”
Gwak Doyeop looked at the woman with a cold impression and dazzling beauty who had come up to the sparring stage.
Cheon Yerang drew her sword.
***
“It’s already Miss Cheon’s turn.”
The sparring competition showcased by the late-stage prospects was very interesting and enjoyable.
There were many martial arts he had never seen before, and every time he watched them, he felt like he was opening his eyes to something new.
Jin Sohyun’s gaze, who was waiting for Cheon Yerang’s match, automatically turned to the sky.
“It appeared again.”
This time too, a hawk was flying above the estate where the Four Daoist Assembly was being held.
“There’s probably nothing to eat, so what is it looking at?”
Jin Sohyun, who was watching the hawk’s movements intently, stood up from his seat.
Jin Sohyun, who had stood up, called for Gong Hu.
Gong Hu, who was always guarding the outskirts of the estate in the same place and in the same posture, came running at Jin Sohyun’s call.
“You called, Leader.”
“I need something.”
Gong Hu blinked his eyes.
“Please speak.”
“I need a net.”
Jin Sohyun’s gaze turned to the sky again.
“Something very big and tough.”
(End of Chapter)