Chapter 575: A Few Bruises on the Chest Are Fine, Aren't They?

TL: FoodieMonster007

The next day, as they made their way to the White Dragon Class, Seo Jin asked with a worried expression.

"What if that man tries to use us as hostages again to kill the Young Cult Leader?"

Lee Ahn glanced at Geom Mugeuk's back, who walked ahead of them, and answered nonchalantly.

"The Young Cult Leader will stop him."

However, Seo Jin remembered just how volatile the situation had been yesterday.

"If you're thinking of staying because of me, I'll be fine."

Seo Jin was concerned that Lee Ahn might be forcing herself to remain because of her revenge.

Lee Ahn stopped walking, and Seo Jin halted with her.

"You asked me what kind of person the Young Cult Leader is, right?"

"……"

"If he had decided we needed to go back, the Young Cult Leader would have packed our bags himself and sent us away. Honor? Justification? Pride? He's not the type to overdo it for things like that. If the Young Cult Leader doesn't say anything, it means we're fine."

After they returned from class yesterday, Geom Mugeuk had gone out and come back later. Lee Ahn hadn't asked where he went, but she was certain the trip was to prepare for this exact situation.

Then, at dawn, she heard the window in Geom Mugeuk's room open. He had been awake the entire time.

Lying on her bed, Lee Ahn gazed at the stars visible through her half-open window. She imagined Geom Mugeuk was probably looking at those same stars.

"If the Young Cult Leader said he didn't think the sun would rise tomorrow, I'd bet my entire fortune that the sun won't rise."

That was the depth of Lee Ahn's absolute faith in Geom Mugeuk.

"When you place that bet, please be sure to let me know."

"Are you going to bet with me that it won't rise?"

"No, I can't do that. I have a lot of expenses now that I've left home, you see."

Lee Ahn and Seo Jin looked at each other and shared a laugh.

Just then, Geom Mugeuk, who was walking ahead, glanced back at them.

"What are you two doing? Hurry up!"

The two women resumed walking. As they did, Lee Ahn proposed another optimistic theory.

"The Young Cult Leader isn't just any master. With his skill level, I don't think hostages would mean anything against an opponent strong enough to threaten him. It's like this. If it's someone the Young Cult Leader can beat, he'll win even if they take us hostage. And if it's an opponent he can't beat, they wouldn't need to take hostages in the first place."

Seo Jin had lived her life as a blood relative of the Ghost Sect, wanting for nothing. But now, she was feeling an unfamiliar yet intense desire.

"I want to become stronger, too. I truly do."

She wanted to fight alongside them in this world of the strong, not as a hostage, but as a protagonist.

How could Lee Ahn not understand those feelings? She herself had once felt that same desire and had thrown herself into training like a madwoman.

Being with Geom Mugeuk made you become like this without even realizing it. It wasn't because anyone forced you. It was probably because the path that man walked was one you couldn't walk with him unless your heart was pounding to the point of bursting.

"If you want that, then don't you dare doze off in class!"

The Sword King's second class began.

He looked slightly different from the day before. The shabby martial arts uniform, the tightly bound hair, and the single iron sword were the same, but today he was barefoot.

"Try walking barefoot sometimes. You can feel the energy of the earth, and it's great."

The trainees laughed at the sight of his shoes, which dangled from his waist on the opposite side of his sword.

He had also dragged a large box with him.

"I brought it from the warehouse."

When he opened the dust-covered box, it revealed a full stock of wooden training swords.

In the early days of the Yellow Dragon Academy, trainees would practice with wooden swords for the first few years.

However, as the Yellow Dragon Academy became famous and began selecting trainees through exams, the wooden sword classes disappeared at some point.

"Alright, each of you take one."

Until now, they had all trained with their own real swords, so the trainees were bewildered when he suddenly handed out wooden ones.

"You rascals, who do you think you are, using real swords already? Wooden swordsmanship is more than you deserve."

The trainees picked up the wooden swords, inwardly dumbfounded. From his behavior yesterday to his bare feet and the out-of-place wooden swords, he was the very picture of a slacker instructor.

As Lee Ahn picked up a wooden sword, she sent a telepathic message to Geom Mugeuk.

[This is unexpected. I thought he'd create a terrifying atmosphere with a class that felt even more like real combat.]

An unexpected telepathic reply came from Geom Mugeuk.

[I'm more scared, though?]

[Huh? Why?]

[He'll be able to swing it freely since it's a wooden sword, won't he?]

[!]

In the Sword King's hand, that wooden sword will be sharper than a treasured sword, Lee Ahn.

Geom Mugeuk looked down at the wooden sword in his hand.

Anyway, I wonder how long it's been since I last held a wooden sword.

He had once recalled the day he first held a real sword in his father's training hall.

Come to think of it, he had considered the day he first held a real sword to be special, but he had completely forgotten the day he first held a wooden one. That moment might have been even more important.

The martial art taught at the Yellow Dragon Academy was the Yellow Dragon Sword Technique.

The Yellow Dragon Sword Technique had played the biggest role in making the Yellow Dragon Academy the number one martial arts academy in the Central Plains, but not because the swordsmanship was overwhelmingly powerful. It was a martial arts designed to be performed without conflicting with any inner arts one might have learned.

"The Yellow Dragon Sword Technique is composed of a total of twenty-six techniques."

The trainees corrected him.

"It's twenty-nine."

"Oh, was it?"

The trainees gave him looks that said, 'I knew it,' but the Sword King wasn't the least bit embarrassed.

"If you master this sword style properly, you can give the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult a good spanking on his butt."

The trainees laughed at his words. The one who laughed the loudest was Geom Mugeuk. He didn't feel any displeasure at all and was enjoying the Sword King's joke.

Lee Ahn could feel it. The two men were engaged in an invisible battle of wills, and both of them were enjoying it.

"Alright, today we'll learn the first three techniques of the Yellow Dragon Sword Technique."

The Sword King stood before them all, holding his wooden sword.

Only Geom Mugeuk properly sensed it. Though it was a wooden sword, the moment the Sword King held it, his presence changed completely. What kind of presence would he exude if he drew a real sword? The Sword King with a sword in hand felt like a different person, to the point that it naturally inspired such fear.

"You know, I don't usually go around teaching this kind of stuff."

The trainees took it as the instructor just making a boastful joke, but Geom Mugeuk focused on his every word and gesture. The trainees would never know who they were currently learning swordsmanship from.

The Sword King's movements were incredibly smooth. It looked as if he wasn't using any strength at all, so much so that he seemed to be dancing.

Everyone tilted their heads in confusion. The Yellow Dragon Sword Technique they had learned so far was a martial art performed with fast, powerful movements.

So everyone thought the same thing. It looked like he was planning to slack off and get through it carelessly, just like yesterday.

He even changed the movements while performing the technique.

"Ah, it's better to do it like this."

Everyone shook their heads, but it looked different to Geom Mugeuk's eyes.

He could see that the Sword King had reinterpreted the fierce and powerful Yellow Dragon Sword Technique based on softness.

How could he have properly learned the Yellow Dragon Sword Technique for a long time? He must have only glanced at the manual to become a temporary instructor, yet he had reinterpreted one martial arts and presented it as a different one.

After performing the technique, the Sword King sat on the edge of the box he had taken the wooden swords from and dusted off his feet.

"Did you all see that?"

As he said this, the Sword King's gaze turned to Geom Mugeuk.

From the look in his eyes, Geom Mugeuk knew.

The fight has begun.

This is how I performed it, so how will you perform this Yellow Dragon Sword Technique?

It was a probe to test Geom Mugeuk's skill, the amusement of one who had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship, and also the beginning of a fight where he could take his opponent's head at any moment.

"Alright, everyone, try it!"

The trainees all thrust their wooden swords at once. As if to say, 'This is the Yellow Dragon Sword Technique,' they executed the technique quickly and powerfully, just as they had been taught.

A few tried to imitate what the Sword King had done, but they soon felt like they were doing something foolish and reverted to performing the martial arts in the original way.

The only ones here who followed the Sword King's demonstration exactly were Geom Mugeuk, Lee Ahn, and Seo Jin.

Of course, the only one who truly understood the Sword King's reinterpretation was Geom Mugeuk.

Geom Mugeuk's movements were identical to the Sword King's.

Softly, like flowing water.

He poured all his sincerity into each and every movement, executing the three techniques of the Yellow Dragon Sword Technique.

A peculiar light flashed in the Sword King's eyes as he watched Geom Mugeuk.

He really got it in one go?

"Geom Yeon, step forward."

The Sword King called Geom Mugeuk out.

Lee Ahn was inwardly nervous, but Geom Mugeuk walked forward fearlessly with his wooden sword in hand.

"Show us a demonstration."

Geom Mugeuk perfectly replicated what the Sword King had shown.

He did not add his own interpretation to this martial art. He performed the martial art exactly as the Sword King had taught.

One's own interpretation is something to be done only when one can perfectly execute the original.

Knowing that originality can sometimes be a trap that hinders the perfection of the original form, Geom Mugeuk strove to be faithful to the basics.

Laughter erupted from here and there. To the trainees' eyes, it looked ridiculous. The instructor's demonstration had been strange to begin with, and they thought he was just imitating those clumsy movements to get on the instructor's good side.

Some trainees sneered openly. This was especially true because he was being subjected to jealousy and hatred after becoming Shield Geom Yeon, not just the newcomer Geom Yeon.

After the demonstration was over, the Sword King asked the trainees.

"Now, who wants to try a promise duel using the technique we learned today?"

While everyone was glancing around, one person stepped forward.

"I'll do it."

It was Yoo Gwang. He had no personal grudge against Geom Yeon.

He stepped forward for two reasons. Half was the desire to catch Lee Ahn's eye, even just a little, and the other half was curiosity about why Lee Ahn kept this friend so close to her. What was so special about him?

"Alright, face each other and perform the technique you learned today."

The two men performed the technique.

While Yoo Gwang executed the technique quickly and powerfully as he had always practiced, Geom Mugeuk moved with supreme softness, just as he had learned today.

The problem was that Yoo Gwang's speed was faster, so it seemed the promise duel wouldn't be synchronized.

However, the two men's promise duel matched perfectly.

When Geom Mugeuk performed it alone, he looked incredibly slow, but when he actually matched forms with Yoo Gwang, he wasn't slow at all.

So everyone thought that Geom Mugeuk had performed slowly before but was now executing the technique quickly.

However, Lee Ahn alone saw it clearly.

His speed is the same as before. It only looked slow because it was so fluid.

But what truly surprised Lee Ahn happened next.

When facing each other and performing the Yellow Dragon Sword Technique, their swords were supposed to clash on the third technique.

The moment the two wooden swords clashed in mid-air.

"……"

The wooden sword Yoo Gwang was holding was sliced cleanly through.

Not only Yoo Gwang himself, but also those watching were startled.

For a wooden sword to break, it should have made a snapping sound. Instead, it really sounded like paper being cut by a knife.

Yoo Gwang himself was the most shocked. He looked down at his severed sword. The cut surface was as smooth as if it had been sliced by a real blade.

There wasn't even an impact when the swords had clashed.

Was it cut from the beginning?

He could only understand the situation that way.

Besides the Sword King, the person who noticed the secret was, as expected, Lee Ahn.

Geom Mugeuk's movements were as fluid as water, and that water was something that could never be ignored.

The moment this water was focused on one point, it became water that could cut through anything. It was the kind of water whose gushing speed was so fast that it appeared to be standing still.

The Sword King's reinterpretation, which planted extreme power within softness, was contained in the technique Geom Mugeuk had performed.

A thrill flashed in the Sword King's eyes. With just a single demonstration, Geom Mugeuk had perfectly accepted his interpretation.

The Sword King strode forward toward Geom Mugeuk.

You, you are worthy of dying by my sword!

His steps were like those of a man about to draw his sword at any moment.

As always, the hardest part of a fight with the Sword King is the moment when you must do nothing.

Fortunately, there was no surprise attack this time either.

Instead, the Sword King, who had stopped in front of him, extended his wooden sword forward. His action was clear. It was an invitation to have a promise duel with him.

What were you doing here at this martial arts academy? With what thoughts did you show yourself before me, and with what thoughts…

After staring at the Sword King for a moment, Geom Mugeuk nodded.

Are you truly a man who keeps his promises?

As if by a prior agreement, the two men moved at the same time.

Their movements were identical. The position of their swords, their speed, the movement of their feet, it was as if they were performing the technique while looking in a mirror. If you were to superimpose their movements, it would look like a single person performing.

The wooden swords grazed each other's shoulders and faces. They executed the promised technique exactly. A slight change in the angle of their hands would have stabbed a face, but the two men performed the technique as it was. All the while, they stared only into each other's eyes.

Finally, when it came to the third technique, the two men's wooden swords clashed.

SHIIIIING!

The wooden sword in Geom Mugeuk's hand was sliced cleanly through, just like Yoo Gwang's had been.

With that momentum, the Sword King's wooden sword flew toward Geom Mugeuk's chest.

It was the wooden sword of none other than the Sword King. It was a fatal attack that could kill if it landed properly.

"……"

Before it could reach Geom Mugeuk's chest, the Sword King's wooden sword was sliced like paper and fell to the floor. It had only fallen a step later; both wooden swords had been cut at the same time.

"Aah! So close!"

The Sword King hopped on his bare feet as if it were a real shame.

What bloomed on his face was not anger. It was an indescribable ecstasy. The joy of having the person who cut his sword right before his eyes.

"I was only going to stab you three times with this wooden sword. A few bruises on the chest of a man trying to protect a woman are fine, aren't they?"

Would it have been just a few bruises?

If he had been stabbed three times by the Sword King's wooden sword, he wouldn't even be standing.

Geom Mugeuk smiled and replied.

"It's a good thing the wooden swords were old."

"Then shall we try it with real swords?"

At the unexpected suggestion, Geom Mugeuk returned the same words the Sword King had said to the trainees earlier.

"As a newcomer, who would I be trying to take down with a real sword?"

"That's why this instructor is offering to be your opponent, isn't it?"

SHRING.

The Sword King began to draw his iron sword.

"I heard that in this class, both an instructor and a trainee have died, right?"

At Geom Mugeuk's words, the half-drawn iron sword stopped.

"Then who will die this time?"

"If we're going by turns, it should be the instructor's turn."

The two men were smiling brightly at each other, but an invisible tension was escalating.

Just then, the bell signaling the end of class rang.

"……"

The Sword King's iron sword went back into its scabbard.

As soon as the bell rang, he spun around and left without a single look back.

"See you tomorrow!"

His cheerful departure was no different from the first day, the very picture of a slacker instructor just waiting for the bell to ring. All anyone saw were the shoes dangling from his waist.

The trainees gathered and examined the cut wooden swords.

"He must have cut them with a sword beforehand."

Because there's no way the instructor of the White Dragon Class could cut a wooden sword like this with another wooden sword.

"Ah, come to think of it, the instructor brought these wooden swords, didn't he?"

"It's obvious. So obvious."

Everyone concluded that the instructor had cut the wooden swords in advance.

They even looked at Geom Mugeuk with suspicion, as if wondering if they had planned it together. They believed the two had colluded to act like masters. After all, the conversation they had at the end was not a normal one between an instructor and a trainee.

However, Lee Ahn could see it.

The same ecstasy that had bloomed on the Sword King's face earlier was now blooming on Geom Mugeuk's. That face right now was not the face of the Young Cult Leader, but the face of a martial artist.

In a situation where everyone thought it was a prank they had planned in advance.

Those two… they're really fighting.