novelraw Chapter 90 : As Always
Chapter 90 : As Always
Cheon Yerang's sword drew a half-moon.
The white light that had formed at the tip of the sword flickered as if it were dancing, leaving a white afterimage.
In the next moment.
Jong Ryeo'ak's Splitting Light Great Flow, which was supposed to kill the opponent with ten fast sword strikes, was all deflected.
"Ugh!"
Jong Ryeo'ak, who had been pushed back three steps, swallowed a dry breath.
"Heup!"
A white light rushed before his eyes.
It was the brilliant and lonely light emitted by the half-moon in the black sky.
'I have to block it!'
Jong Ryeo'ak, who instinctively thought he had to block Cheon Yerang's sword, chased after Cheon Yerang's sword, which held the moonlight.
But her sword had already passed by Jong Ryeo'ak.
'When... did it come?'
Jong Ryeo'ak's two knees bent quickly.
A tremendous fast sword that he didn't even know when he had been hit.
Jong Ryeo'ak, who had been completely defeated in speed, could not believe this situation.
But the sword that had been bent once could not be raised again.
Jong Ryeo'ak barely moved his head and looked up at Cheon Yerang.
A swordswoman with blue eyes, wearing a white robe.
Cheon Yerang was standing with an emotionless face, as if she did not even feel the joy of victory.
"This... damn it..."
He had broken through the wall. No, should he say he had overcome it?
No. What did that matter?
He, who had gained a new enlightenment and was confident that he would not be defeated by anyone, had been broken by Cheon Yerang's sword.
But his heart was not broken.
"Next time... I will win."
"..."
Cheon Yerang nodded her head slightly and then turned her back.
Behind her, an official from the Jongnam Sect came running and supported the kneeling Jong Ryeo'ak, helping him down from the training ground.
"Damn it!"
Jong Ryeo'ak, who had come down from the training ground, could not even lift his head.
Although he had boasted that he would bring victory, he too had been defeated.
By just one person, Cheon Yerang.
"Now there's only one left..."
"Are we going to lose like this?"
"I couldn't even fight properly!"
The officials of the Red Team were angry, but there was nothing they could do.
Unlike the Red Team, which was in a miserable state as if it were a funeral home, the Blue Team was in a festive mood.
"You've worked hard! Young Lady Cheon! Thanks to you, the Blue Team has already won three times!"
Zhuge Ming greeted the hard-working Cheon Yerang.
But Cheon Yerang was not happy.
"The real fight will begin from now on."
"What you mean is... as expected..."
"From now on, my brother will step up himself."
"In that case, how about we go for an all-out battle this time? If we win just one more time, we will win without a match between the team leaders."
Cheon Yerang could not easily answer.
Even if the entire Blue Team stepped up, she could not guarantee victory.
"First, we still have three chances left, so Young Lady Cheon, please rest for a while."
Zhuge Ming gave Cheon Yerang a time to rest and then called all the remaining team members except for Jin Sohyun.
"The Red Team has no place to retreat now. So Young Hero Cheon will probably come out."
"Ugh..."
Yu Useon trembled as if he were afraid just from hearing Cheon Gaseong's name.
This was the same for the rest of the team members.
They were afraid of Cheon Gaseong, who had defeated Go Durim with an overwhelming martial might.
"All we need is one more victory. So Young Hero Cheon Gaseong will come out from the Red Team. We have to drain his strength as much as possible."
Zhuge Ming's strategy was excellent.
A strategy to defeat him with Cheon Yerang and Jin Sohyun after succeeding in draining Cheon Gaseong's strength by waging an all-out battle.
The officials of the Blue Team moved according to Zhuge Ming's strategy.
In the fourth sparring match that followed, all the team members except for Zhuge Ming, Jin Sohyun, and Cheon Yerang came up on the training ground.
And their opponent was, as expected, Cheon Gaseong.
Yu Useon gritted his teeth as he saw Cheon Gaseong, who had come up on the training ground by himself.
"W-We can win, right?"
"Don't be scared from the start. We just have to drain his strength."
Huang Seohyang tried hard to calm her heart and compared Cheon Gaseong's strength with their own.
'Even if it's impossible to win, we should be able to drain his strength.'
No matter how much Cheon Gaseong was the strongest next-generation talent, his internal energy and stamina were not infinite.
Their goal was to consume Cheon Gaseong's internal energy and stamina.
"Is that all from the Red Team?"
"Yes."
"Then the fourth sparring match will begin."
The fourth flag rose, and the sparring match between the Blue Team, which was waging an all-out battle, and Cheon Gaseong of the Red Team began.
"An excellent judgment."
Gu Jucheol, who was watching the sparring match with interest along with Song'u and Gwak Myeong, smiled lightly.
"But the opponent is bad."
"Which side do you predict will win, Elder Gu?"
As Song'u asked with curiosity, Gu Jucheol tapped his ankle while sitting.
"The Red Team will win this sparring match, and if you're asking which team will win... that depends on one brat."
Although he did not say who, Gwak Myeong and Song'u could tell who the person Gu Jucheol was talking about was.
While everyone was focused on the sparring match, the man who was yawning with a bored face.
It was the lazy bum of Shanxi, Jin Sohyun.
***
"Ah... th-this..."
Zhuge Ming looked at the training ground with a miserable face.
His strategy was plausible.
The strategy of draining Cheon Gaseong's strength by pretending to wage an all-out battle seemed flawless.
He was planning to forfeit the fourth sparring match immediately if it became dangerous.
'Did he notice?'
But there was one fact that Zhuge Ming had overlooked.
That was that Cheon Gaseong was not such an easy martial artist.
As soon as the fourth sparring match began, Cheon Gaseong moved.
Since he had never made the first move until now, the confusion of the officials belonging to the Blue Team was even greater.
"H-He's coming!"
At Huang Seohyang's shout, the officials of the Blue Team all took a defensive stance.
But their resolve was meaningless.
Cheon Gaseong's sword strike, which contained a sense of anger for some reason, poured down on the officials of the Blue Team who were standing at the forefront.
Kwa-ga-ga-gang—!!
A bundle of sword qi, containing a cold chill, poured down like rain.
"Keuk!"
"Aaaak!"
"Bl...!"
In an instant, five officials were hit by Cheon Gaseong's sword qi and were sent flying, spitting blood.
Following that, Cheon Gaseong rushed at the officials of the Blue Team who had scattered to the left and right.
His sword was not a fast sword like that of Jong Ryeo'ak or Cheon Yerang.
And yet, it could not be blocked.
Every time the white light containing a cold chill flashed a cold light on the training ground, at least two officials would collapse, spitting blood.
There was no time to form a battle line.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Although Huang Seohyang was holding a sword, there was nothing she could do.
In front of her, her fellow martial artists were disappearing as if they were being swept away by a ruthless tsunami.
"Forfeit the sparring match! Hurry!"
Behind Huang Seohyang, whose head had frozen and who could not think of anything, Zhuge Ming's urgent shout was heard.
'Ah!'
Huang Seohyang, who had belatedly come to her senses, was about to raise her hand and shout something when Cheon Gaseong appeared.
"Ah... ah..."
The cold gaze of the handsome man with a cold impression.
That was Huang Seohyang's last memory.
Thud—!
As Huang Seohyang collapsed, the only martial artist left in the Blue Team was Yu Useon.
Although he had heard Zhuge Ming's shout to forfeit, he could not bring himself to say he would forfeit.
His mouth had frozen due to fear.
"If you forfeit, I will give you a chance."
At that moment, Cheon Gaseong lowered his sword and said.
"Trash."
Pupils filled with contempt for him.
Yu Useon gritted his chattering teeth.
'The reason I came to the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple... the reason I didn't go back to my hometown...'
To break away from his innate weakness and to stand shoulder to shoulder with the heroes of the martial world.
That was the reason Yu Useon had remained at the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple.
'To become stronger!'
Yu Useon aimed the sword he had re-gripped at Cheon Gaseong.
"You're not complete trash, then."
"I am weak... but I will not run away anymore."
The determined Yu Useon raised his courage and faced Cheon Gaseong.
And in the next moment, Cheon Gaseong's sword struck his abdomen.
Thwack—!!
"Kek!"
Yu Useon, whose body had been bent by a single move, vomited and collapsed on the spot.
"Still, trash is trash."
Cheon Gaseong, who had succeeded in defeating even the last Yu Useon, looked at the instructor.
"It's over."
"Ah, the winner of the fourth sparring match is... Cheon Gaseong of the Red Team!"
A cheer of joy burst out from the Red Team, which had won its first victory.
Whatever the process, a victory was a victory.
And it was a victory won against the Blue Team, which had waged an all-out battle.
Thanks to that, Zhuge Ming was dizzy.
"This is a disaster... now what's left is..."
As most of the team members had collapsed, the only ones left were himself, Jin Sohyun, and Cheon Yerang.
At this rate, the match between the team leaders could not be avoided.
Zhuge Ming had no choice but to approach Cheon Yerang, who was resting.
"Young Lady Cheon... I am very sorry to ask you this question... but is there by any chance a weakness in Young Hero Cheon?"
"There is not."
A short and clear answer.
Zhuge Ming lowered his head in despair.
He scratched the back of his head and woke up the dozing Jin Sohyun.
"Young Hero Jin."
"Huh, yes? What?"
"It seems the match between the team leaders cannot be avoided. I think you will have to face Young Hero Cheon, Young Hero Jin."
It was something he had expected anyway.
"Kkeung-cha! I understand."
Jin Sohyun finally got up.
At his movement, the officials of the Red Team, who had been watching the Blue Team closely, said with a slightly excited voice.
"The lazy bum has finally gotten up?"
"Why did the Blue Team put a brat like that as their team leader?"
"They must have been planning to end it before the match between the team leaders."
Behind the murmuring officials, Moyong Susu and Oh Seolhwa were very tense.
'Young Hero Jin is finally moving!'
'A fight between Young Hero Cheon and Young Hero Jin...'
They felt a strange excitement.
In fact, the sparring match between Jin Sohyun and Cheon Gaseong was no different from a fight between the strongest of the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple.
On top of the training ground, where various emotions were crossing, the martial artists of the Blue Team and the Red Team for the fifth sparring match now went up.
"No, don't tell me?"
"Th-This is..."
"Should I call this a civil war?"
Surprisingly, the protagonists of the fifth sparring match were the martial artists of the White Moon Palace.
Cheon Yerang of the Blue Team.
Cheon Gaseong of the Red Team.
The two martial artists of the White Moon Palace, who had defeated several officials by themselves, finally faced each other on the training ground.
"Why did you come up?"
"Because I am also a member of the Blue Team."
"Go down. The one I want is not you."
I knew it.
The one Cheon Gaseong wanted was Jin Sohyun.
Normally, Cheon Yerang would not have been able to go against his words and would have quietly gone down from the training ground.
But her footsteps were heavy, and she could not move.
She could not understand the reason.
She just silently drew her wooden sword.
"Yerang."
The voice of Cheon Gaseong, who was calling her, was dry.
No, it was cold.
"Are you going against my words?"
This time too, there was no answer.
At her appearance, who was silently taking a ready stance, Cheon Gaseong felt anger.
Cheon Yerang, who had never gone against his words, was aiming her sword at him.
"This is strangely unpleasant. Is it because of Jin Sohyun?"
"..."
"Why do you care about him?"
"I am a member of the Blue Team. It is only natural to help him, the team leader."
There was no problem with the logic she had conveyed with a similarly dry voice.
The problem was that she had dared to aim her sword at him.
That she had gone against his will.
"It's been a while."
In the end, Cheon Gaseong aimed his wooden sword at his own sister, Cheon Yerang.
"Coincidentally, this is our hundredth sparring match. Do you know that?"
"Yes."
At the same time as she answered, Cheon Yerang tilted her wooden sword and defended.
The sword of Cheon Gaseong and the sword of Cheon Yerang clashed.
The clash of the two swordsmen emitted a strong qi wave on the training ground.
Grind—!!
The figure of Cheon Yerang, who was facing Cheon Gaseong, began to be pushed back little by little.
The wooden sword of Cheon Gaseong, held in one hand, pressed down on Cheon Yerang.
"Kneel. As always."
(End of Chapter)