Chapter 48: Friendly Sparring (2)

For a moment, it felt as if lightning had struck from a clear sky.

But it was not that at all.

The deafening roar shaking his eardrums was none other than the sound created by his opponent, Daewoong.

He had no idea how Daewoong had perfectly read his sword path.

Shuaa!

The arrow Daewoong loosed shredded the air apart as it flew straight at him in the shortest, most direct line.

Beom Pyeong’s earlier prediction was completely off.

Not only had the arrowhead not slowed after being shifted—it had grown even faster, carrying within it a destructive qi.

By twisting the bowstring to add rotational force, Daewoong’s arrow flew at a level that far surpassed what Beom Pyeong had thought possible of him.

‘……I was wrong.’

The thought that he could block or dodge it didn’t even come to him.

If he were hit by that arrow, only two things could happen.

Either the bones where it struck would shatter, or the unbearable pain would make him faint.

In that moment of despair, a single question flashed through his mind.

‘……But when did that guy reach the level of a First-Rate Martial Artist?’

Most of the Dark Flower Unit warriors, himself included, were at the level of First-Rate.

But because their clan had declined, with no teachers to instruct them or martial manuals to study, nearly all of them had remained stuck at the threshold of the realm.

Just ten days ago, Daewoong—still a new recruit—wasn’t even that. He had barely been lingering at the tail end of Second-Rate.

It was only because he was judged to have the potential to cross into First-Rate after about half a year of training that he was accepted into the Dark Flower Unit.

Yet now, the internal qi contained within his arrows and the perfection of his archery far surpassed the entry-level, brushing against the stage of complete mastery.

‘……What kind of miracle did Young Master Sewoon pull off again in such a short time?’

At another miracle wrought by Sewoon, Beom Pyeong felt the strength drain out of his body.

He had been thoroughly outplayed.

In the end, was this really all they amounted to?

As that familiar sense of defeat welled up in his chest—

—Will you show Young Master your spirit broken before even fighting?!

“-!!”

Suddenly, the voice of Tang Bi, which had roared countless times during their harsh training, rang in his ears.

That was right. Even if he were to lose, he could not lose so pathetically!

Snapping back to his senses, Beom Pyeong gripped his sword tighter.

By then, the arrow had already reached him.

Shwaak!

Beom Pyeong swung reflexively.

He had meant to use Green Phosphor Sword, one of the rare sword arts of the Sichuan Tang Clan—but in that dire moment, his body had simply moved by instinct.

The sword and arrow clashed in midair.

In terms of internal qi infused, Beom Pyeong was lacking.

But knowing that, he had not attempted to meet it head-on.

Instead, he turned the blade sideways, striking with the broad face rather than its edge.

Paaak!

He didn’t slice through the arrow but instead struck it fiercely to deflect it aside.

It was the wisest choice he could make in that imbalance of strength—the best possible option.

Clang!!

‘-!’

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to turn the tables.

Beom Pyeong’s eyes shook as if the ground itself trembled beneath him when he saw fragments of his blade fly high above his head.

The arrow had indeed been deflected aside, just as he intended.

But his sword had also been snapped clean in two.

The force behind that arrow had been too overwhelming for the weapon to endure.

‘Kgh!’

The shock of his weapon breaking traveled straight into his arm, making it go numb as if struck by lightning.

Yet even through the sharp pain and rapidly spreading paralysis, Beom Pyeong gritted his teeth and clutched the broken sword hilt.

“Haaaah-!”

His eyes gleamed as he charged in desperately with his half-blade.

One way or another, he had blocked the attack.

And he had succeeded in closing the distance to Daewoong.

Now it was time to counterattack.

Shwaak!

His broken sword, now more like a club than a blade, swung toward Daewoong’s abdomen.

But just then—

As Beom Pyeong closed the distance—

The mutterings Daewoong had been whispering to himself all along suddenly reached Beom Pyeong’s ears clearly.

“……Beom Pyeong. Follow-up strike. Left rib.”

“?!”

What?!

For an instant, it felt as if the blood in Beom Pyeong’s body froze.

His own attack was going exactly where Daewoong had murmured.

But whether he was shocked or not, Daewoong began dismantling his every move with ruthless precision, having already seen through his sword path completely.

Shlak!

Gripping his bow like a sword, Daewoong thrust it forward with one hand, perfectly mirroring Beom Pyeong’s swordsmanship.

And as if it had always been destined that way—

Beom Pyeong’s broken sword slipped neatly into the space between the bowstring and the bow’s frame.

The moment Beom Pyeong realized something had gone wrong—

Whiik!

‘-!!’

Daewoong drew a great half-circle with the bow and, without a moment’s hesitation, released his grip.

Whoosh!!

Both bow and sword flew out of bounds together.

Like a hawk seizing prey, Daewoong had snatched the broken sword clean from Beom Pyeong’s grasp.

Crunch!

Deprived of his weapon, Beom Pyeong clenched his fists.

For a moment, the thought crossed his mind—maybe this was actually better.

Now that both were unarmed, surely he would hold the advantage…

“Taah!”

‘?!’

But Daewoong roared, charging at him like lightning.

He held an arrow reversed in his hand, gripping the fletched end like a handle.

With the iron bead-tipped arrowhead pointing upward, it looked just like—

‘N-no, that’s not even an arrow. It’s just—’

A blunt weapon.

Beom Pyeong couldn’t even finish his last thought.

Puck!!

With a dull thud, his vision turned black.

Thud. Boom.

He collapsed unconscious on the training grounds.

Felled in a single blow.

“……??”

Shhh.

The great tragedy of it all ending in only two moves was so anticlimactic that—

The Tang Clan members surrounding the Grand Martial Training Hall could only blink their eyes, unable to react.

But only for a moment.

“I won!!”

At once, Yeo Seon began hopping with joy.

“T-the winner of the first sparring match is Daewoong of Young Master Sewoon’s group!!”

The bewildered Son Geon quickly declared the victor.

Waaaa!!

The clan members watching erupted in belated thunderous cheers.

None had expected such a dazzling display from Young Master Sewoon’s side.

The only ones not celebrating were the Dark Flower Unit members, stunned by their comrade’s crushing defeat—

And Tang Bi, whose mouth hung open in disbelief.

“N-no. This… this can’t be??”

Tang Bi was so flustered he couldn’t even string together words.

But unlike his uncle, Sewoon’s expression did not shift in the slightest.

‘Well, of course.’

He felt no surprise at the result.

From the very beginning, he had foreseen this outcome.

Wasn’t Yeo Seon, the Heavenly Instructor, the one who had dismantled and unraveled the bizarre demonic arts of the Blood Cult in less than a month?

He had deconstructed Daewoong’s and the Jang brothers’ martial arts completely and then rebuilt them to near perfection.

Amazingly, he had done it all in just one night.

‘Hmm. Daewoong’s hidden martial arts were Vulture Heart Formula and Black Hawk Arrow, weren’t they?’

Vulture Heart Formula and Black Hawk Arrow.

They were a unique cultivation method and archery technique modeled after the movements of golden eagles, which warriors of the great plains hunted alongside for life.

Not martial arts containing profound theories or philosophy—at best, if mastered completely, they might barely reach the threshold of Peak Master level.

But once refined under the hands of Sewoon and Yeo Seon, those arts had been completely reborn.

—Hmm, the Black Hawk Arrow is too focused on rapid fire right now. That’s no good.

—Yes, the founder’s original intent was a single, fatal strike.

—Then let’s restore it in that direction.

—Yes, then we’ll alter the flow of qi to…

Yeo Seon broke it down and provided the framework, and Sewoon supplemented it with imagery and insight.

Together, they were the perfect pair.

Even without practicing together before, they instantly grasped each other’s intentions and supplied the answers.

The repeated process resulted in Daewoong’s martial arts being—

—I-is this really my martial art?!

Recreated into something several levels higher.

And since the essence had not been altered, there was no discomfort or resistance.

Thus in only ten days, his martial prowess and realm had advanced swiftly.

Where before, with his unrefined archery, Daewoong could not escape the tail end of Second-Rate—

Now, he had surpassed the entry of First-Rate and was reaching toward complete mastery.

But Sewoon was not satisfied with merely this.

He squeezed even more talent out of Yeo Seon.

While he guided the martial arts of the three warriors, he ordered Yeo Seon to secretly observe the training of the Dark Flower Unit and devise countermeasures against all twenty-one of them.

—W-what if I get caught spying?

—Then you’d better run fast.

—……Eh?

Yeo Seon had whined in despair, nearly crying, that it was impossible.

But once again, Sewoon’s experience from his regression proved true.

Even dried fish will yield moisture if squeezed hard enough.

“……I won. I really beat Senior Beom. Instructor!”

“Hehehe, what did I tell you? Didn’t I say Warrior Daewoong would win?”

“It’s all thanks to you and Young Master Sewoon!”

“Ehehe. But this is just the beginning. Don’t relax. The moment your next opponent is chosen, prepare in your head right away… you understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

Daewoong, overwhelmed with emotion at his progress, nearly cried. Yeo Seon, too, rejoiced like a child.

Though Yeo Seon surely knew of his own talent, this was his first time seeing it proven in real battle.

Watching his bright smile, Sewoon couldn’t help but smirk faintly.

‘Good. The happier he gets, the less guilty I’ll feel about working him to death.’

Yeo Seon, of course, had no idea.

But within Sewoon’s plan, he would not be allowed a moment’s rest.

As Yeo Seon suddenly shivered from an inexplicable chill—

“Hm. Seems like just a simple fainting, but let’s move him to Heaven’s Medicine Hall anyway.”

“Yes, sir!”

Tang Jun, Hall Leader of Heaven’s Medicine Hall, had finished examining Beom Pyeong.

Unconscious, Beom Pyeong was carried away on a stretcher.

His appearance was a bit pitiful, yet Sewoon’s eyes glimmered as he watched him.

‘Beom Pyeong. I’ll remember your resolve.’

Sewoon did not think him pathetic in the slightest.

On the contrary, he respected the determination of someone who, despite realizing the difference in skill, had refused to yield.

He had believed that the Dark Flower Unit warriors were all rotted by defeatism after years of decline—

But now he saw that even they, too, had been gritting their teeth and struggling to improve during these past ten days.

The Dark Flower Unit were also members of the Sichuan Tang Clan, his blood relatives.

Sewoon’s intent was not to condemn them as miserably as he had Tang Hoyeol—

He only meant to knock each of them down once, hard enough to wake them up.

Since it was three against twenty-one.

Before the next sparring match, as the short break began—

‘Now then, I suppose it’s my turn.’

Crack.

Stretching his hands, Sewoon strode toward Daewoong.

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