## Chapter 63 – (14)
“Wow…”
“Who will win?”
“I wonder…”
Namgung Hyuk, Jung Sun, and even Seol Young. Because they had shown such excellent performances in the martial arts contest, the audience no longer felt certain of their victory, of Chunmu Academy’s victory.
Instead, they were enjoying the anxiety and unease of possibly losing, which they had long forgotten, as they watched the arena.
And the man who would amplify that trembling feeling came up onto the stage.
It was the appearance of Poong Un, who had shown great promise even in Chunmu Academy in the past.
Even amidst all that, I kept dwelling on Namgung Hyuk’s words.
“To say he’s never lost to a man…”
“How does Namgung Yu seem to you?”
When I subtly asked, Namgung Hyuk asked me a question in return.
What did he mean by asking how she seemed to me?
“If it’s not related to Poong Un, she seems innocent…”
I hadn’t seen Namgung Yu for long, but that was my impression.
Although, right now, she was making a terrifying expression at Poong Un on the stage, so she was far from innocent.
Normally, that is, when Poong Un wasn’t around, she was quiet, and her gestures and tone were feminine.
Even when I provoked her, she got angry, but she didn’t forget to use polite language.
Even if she had a slightly prickly side, her appearance and behavior seemed rather innocent.
“Right now, I’m called a troublemaker, but in the past, it was different.”
“…”
So, right now, Namgung Hyuk was being called a troublemaker?
Namgung Hyuk, who had suddenly revealed his shame, continued his story.
I focused on the story accordingly.
In the context of the story, the troublemaker of the past Namgung family was—
“Namgung Yu was the troublemaker in the past?”
“Yes, and it was very serious.”
“…Could it be that back then, there were man problems like with Poong Un…”
“No, Namgung Yu was young back then. It’s just that Namgung Yu was violent in the past.”
“Violent?”
That was hard to imagine.
Even though she had an obsession that was a little excessive, she didn’t seem violent.
“In the past, Namgung Yu seriously injured her peers, as well as some of the men of the Namgung family.”
Namgung Hyuk was speaking wistfully as if recalling precious memories, but the content was terrible.
“Strangely, it was only towards men.”
Hearing those words, the wall I had seen in Namgung Yu before came to mind.
Sadist and destructive desires.
It was an uncommon perversion, so it remained vividly in my memory.
Perhaps her violent personality in the past was related to Namgung Yu’s perversion.
If so, it made sense that she only did such things to men.
Namgung Hyuk said that the Namgung family took this seriously and eventually made a decision.
Just like in modern times, violent and hyperactive children are sent to baduk academies or calligraphy classes.
At the time, the Namgung family sent Namgung Yu to the Ami Sect, which only had women, to calm her mind.
And whether it was effective or not, a year after being sent to the Ami Sect, Namgung Yu returned to the Namgung family looking remarkably calm.
However, whenever she had a martial arts contest with a man, her violent and ruthless side from the past resurfaced.
Rather, because she had been suppressing it usually, she showed an even more merciless and violent side in the contest.
This was the birth of Namgung Yu, who won in martial arts contests if the opponent was a man.
“…Gaga.”
“…”
Namgung Yu called out to Poong Un wistfully and took her stance, and Poong Un nodded and raised his sword.
The two rushed towards each other without either one taking the lead.
Clang!
A rough metallic sound rang out each time the two people’s swords collided.
Even after exchanging blows several times, the two did not back down even a step.
“Huh.”
Honestly, I didn’t think Namgung Yu would hold out this well.
I knew Poong Un’s skills well since we trained together.
Indeed, she was worthy of being Chunmu Academy’s fourth competitor.
Namgung Yu was mixing swords with Poong Un on equal terms.
No, as time went on, she was gradually gaining a slight advantage.
Very small scratches began to appear on Poong Un’s body, and the corners of Namgung Yu’s lips slowly rose upward.
Clang!
And the end of the fierce battle arrived.
Their swords collided, but this time they did not separate their swords.
Poong Un infused his sword with internal energy and began to pressure Namgung Yu with the swords pressed together, as if to crush her.
It was an amount of internal energy reminiscent of Jung Sun.
Namgung Yu would have a hard time with that.
“This will be decided soon, right?”
“That’s right. You should start preparing to go up.”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t know why Poong Un made that choice. Even though he’s a swordsman of the Hwasan Sect.”
I was certain of Poong Un’s victory, but Namgung Hyuk’s thoughts seemed different from mine.
And indeed, Poong Un, who was superior in strength and internal energy, was gradually being pushed back in the power struggle.
Even looking at it, I couldn’t understand.
“How…”
“…”
When I asked, he looked at me with slightly cold eyes this time.
“…Come to think of it, you said you’ve only been learning martial arts for about a month? I keep forgetting.”
Then, he chuckled and explained it in a way that was easy for me to understand.
The reason why Poong Un was being pushed back was simple.
It was because his opponent was Namgung Yu of the Namgung family.
The Namgung family’s representative swordsmanship, the Azure Sky Sword Technique, was a swordsmanship that emphasized strength and heaviness with a heavy sword.
On the other hand, the swordsmanship that Poong Un used was the Plum Blossom Sword Technique,
It was a deceptive sword technique that confused the enemy with flashy swordsmanship and feints, and aimed for openings.
For Poong Un to charge at Namgung Yu with strength was like a boxer charging at a judo player with judo.
He was attempting a disadvantageous fight himself.
And the price was high.
As Poong Un was pushed back by strength, the moment he twisted his sword to strike sideways, Namgung Yu pushed forward with her strength and inflicted a deep wound on his arm.
Cheers erupted from the audience, and at the same time, gasps were heard at the deep wound, the first one seen in this friendly match.
Namgung Yu saw the wound and her body trembled.
She looked at Poong Un with a blissful expression.
It was a deep wound, but Poong Un’s expression was calm.
He looked as if he was used to it.
Then, he slowly raised his sword and began to infuse it with internal energy.
The sword gradually turned pink, and the afterimage of the pink internal energy remained in the place where the sword was swung, as if it were—
“Plum Blossom Sword Technique…”
I nodded, hearing Namgung Hyuk’s muttering.
Yes, it looked like plum blossoms.
Then, as if she couldn’t be outdone, Namgung Yu also poured internal energy into her sword.
The blue sword roughly pushed away the surrounding air and made a humming sound.
Poong Un slowly swung his sword, creating plum blossoms around himself.
Namgung Yu was looking only at Poong Un, as if trying not to be deceived by the flamboyance.
It was an action possible because Namgung Yu liked Poong Un.
Even amidst those countless plum blossoms, she was looking only at Poong Un at once.
Poong Un even gave a slight bitter smile at that sight.
The compatibility wasn’t good here either.
Tap!
Namgung Yu charged first.
The distance was instantly narrowed, and Namgung Yu’s blue sword was swung.
Clang!
Namgung Yu’s sword was blocked.
I doubted my eyes.
It was because what had blocked the sword was none other than the plum blossom, which I had thought was an afterimage of the sword.
Namgung Yu seemed flustered by that, as her eyes widened.
And taking advantage of that gap, Poong Un lunged at Namgung Yu.
Plum Blossom Bloom.
From Poong Un’s sword, not afterimages, but a large amount of plum blossoms different from before bloomed, and they left numerous wounds on Namgung Yu.
“Keueuk…”
Even if she could avoid some attacks, she couldn’t avoid all those countless petals.
It was an overwhelming sword.
Even though Poong Un’s wounds might be deeper, if you looked at this exchange, it seemed that Poong Un could easily claim victory.
In the end, Namgung Yu hesitated and raised her hand.
“…I have been defeated.”
The audience became quiet, then erupted again with fervor.
I also applauded, satisfied with the high-level martial arts contest.
As I was applauding the two of them, an uninvited guest approached me.
A man wearing a hood stopped next to me and spoke to me.
“Are you the fifth competitor?”
“…Who are you?”
“I’m talking about Chunmu Academy’s fifth competitor. Let’s talk for a moment.”
“…”
At first, I tried to ignore him, but since he said he was Chunmu Academy’s fifth competitor, I couldn’t do that.
I glanced at the arena for a moment, then followed him somewhere.
He strode forward and arrived in front of a warehouse.
It wasn’t a large warehouse.
It was a warehouse where mops and other cleaning supplies were stored.
“Why did you call me here?”
Before I knew it, a blunt voice came out.
It was the result of feeling unpleasant towards the guy who was hiding his identity with a hood and speaking informally.
“Why aren’t you the last competitor instead of Poong Un?”
“…Poong Un’s martial arts are famous. It’s easy to prepare for him.”
“That’s nonsense. How can you prepare for the Plum Blossom Sword Technique?”
The man chuckled and denied my words.
Actually, I thought so too.
I realized it after seeing the plum blossoms blooming from Poong Un’s sword in the arena just now.
It was a martial art that couldn’t be dealt with by preparing for it.
What Cheol Woong had said must have been just an excuse.
There must have been another reason why they put me as the fifth competitor.
“It’s either one of two things. You’re stronger than Poong Un, or you’re a talent too precious to show in a friendly match.”
“…”
I couldn’t deny it.
Especially the second statement seemed plausible.
If they put me after Poong Un, Poong Un would win consecutively and prevent my turn from coming without revealing my skills.
“So why did you call me all the way here?”
The hooded man brushed past me, then closed and locked the warehouse door.
In an instant, the warehouse became a sealed space.
“What else, an investment for the future.”
He said, taking out a sword hidden in the corner of the warehouse.
