CHAPTER 14

Martial Artist

"I knew my eyes weren't wrong. With skills like these, why have you been hiding them all this time?"

Dang Gujin deflected all my attacks without a hint of being overwhelmed, smirking as he spoke.

"But there's a problem."

"What is it?"

"You're still too inexperienced! Way too much!"

Tsupat!

In an instant, Dang Gujin's sword, which had just been knocking away my hand strikes, suddenly vanished.

It was a technique similar to what I had shown earlier—Shadow Step.

The difference was that his technique was rooted in Cheongseong School's Flying Willow Steps.

A fusion of Cheongseong and the Tang family's martial arts—was that even possible?

Yet Dang Gujin made it work.

That must be the true talent of the "Blue-Faced Demon."

His depth in martial arts was far greater than mine.

How could I close this gap?

As I mentioned before, sorcery was not an option. That was my trump card for emergencies only.

Then what could I use?

Something unique to me, something Dang Gujin did not have.

I quickly considered my strengths while tracking his movements.

I didn't follow his sword with my eyes.

I felt the wind.

.

.

Behind me!

Paaa—

As I spun sideways, tracing a half-circle with my right foot, his sword barely missed me.

Swiftly, I curled my outstretched right fingers like a tiger's claws and aimed for Dang Gujin's chest.

I narrowed the distance even more than he had, restricting his sword's range and forcing the battle into close-quarters combat!

Ferocious Tiger Twelve Strikes

Tiger Claw Rend

Raging Wind Dance

Tempest's Fury

As the whirlwind of my technique converged toward my palm, increasing its power, Dang Gujin widened the distance and struck my hand with his open left palm.

Piercing Heart Palm—a brutal palm technique of Cheongseong School, named for its ability to tear out a heart.

Paaang!

Rumble—

The violent impact and recoil sent me stumbling back several steps, and in that moment, his sword swept toward my lower body.

Shwaaak—

Instead of dodging, I countered with a spinning kick.

He said I lacked experience, didn't he?

He was right.

I had only formally started martial arts training two months ago.

I had a deep understanding of theory, but actual combat was completely different.

Even as I tried to apply the teachings of Master Dang Gon, new, unseen variables kept putting me in a difficult position.

But I trusted in my skills.

I might be a novice in martial arts, but I had already reached great heights with sorcery.

My reputation as a near-equal to the Ten Great Masters of the world wasn't built on nothing.

The experience, insights, and vision I had accumulated—these were things Dang Gujin did not possess.

I poured all of that into the Raging Wind Dance.

That was the only way I could overcome this battle!

Demonic Wind Cleaving Kick

Like a blade being drawn, my shin struck the flat of his sword, sending sparks flying.

Tadang! Tadatadatang!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Attack against attack.

Impact against impact.

A storm of heated wind whipped across the battlefield as neither of us backed down.

Dang Gujin's bizarre movement technique, blending Flying Willow Steps with Shadow Step, now incorporated not just Lightning Swordplay, but also palm techniques and hand strikes.

Piercing Heart Palm, Three Yang Fingers, Fiery Lotus Palm, Thunderclap Palm, Shattering Sky Hands, even Heaven-Earth Seizing Grip—an advanced grappling technique.

When he used Tang family martial arts, his attacks were insidious and sharp.

When he used Cheongseong swordsmanship, his strikes were righteous and grand.

It felt as if I were fighting two different people at once.

Meanwhile, my approach remained singular—pure hand-to-hand combat powered by raging winds.

I couldn't afford a moment's rest.

If I hesitated even for a second, his sword would find me.

If he tried to break my momentum or find an opening, I had to overpower him with sheer force.

Kwaaang!

Finally, after a series of full-power exchanges—

Booooom!

Sshhh—

We both retreated to create distance, as if by mutual agreement.

I tasted metal in my mouth.

"Haa… Haa…"

"Hoooo…"

And then—

"Ahahaha! Hahahaha!"

Unlike my calm demeanor, Dang Gujin burst into laughter.

His eerie laughter echoed, filling the air with a ghostly noise.

"The more I see, the stranger you get! Just what are you, Woon-hwi? What happened in the last five years?"

His eyes gleamed, his instincts taking over.

"It's obvious that this is your first time in a real duel. Your movements are too unrefined. But every so often, I see techniques that only a seasoned master should know. Why is that?"

He had sharp instincts.

Dang Gujin had seen right through me.

"You're hiding something, aren't you?"

Even my trump card.

"But you're holding back too, aren't you? You haven't even drawn the Cheongun Red River Sword yet."

That sword was a secret technique of Cheongseong School.

A sword art said to cover both sky and earth with its overwhelming might.

Despite being an outsider, Dang Gujin had been granted this ultimate technique due to his extraordinary talent.

"It's still incomplete. An uncontrollable sword is as dangerous as a reckless one."

"Is that so?"

『Hehe! You sure have a lot of secrets, don't you, Woon-hwi? You're even changing the subject so cleverly.』

So he saw through that too?

Even while half-consumed by instinct, he maintained clear judgment.

His mastery of Heaven and Earth Unification Art must have been extraordinary.

He was no simple opponent.

I responded with a smile.

『Fine! Since you're keeping secrets, I won't pry! It's not a big deal anyway!』

『Should I… be thanking you?』

『Just buy me a drink! That's enough!』

It seemed I had gained another drinking companion, just like Dang Gon.

"Woon-hwi, you know what?"

"What?"

"You're smiling right now."

…Was I?

I touched my lips.

It was true.

The corners of my mouth were lifted. Without even realizing it.

"It's fun, isn't it?"

Thump-thump-thump-thump!

My heart still pounded wildly.

How should I answer?

"Yes. It is fun."

I decided to be honest.

In my past life, my frail body had never allowed me to move so recklessly.

Even when I did, I was always under my guards' protection.

But now, it was different.

I stood on my own two feet, fighting with my own two hands.

My heart raced, my blood surged, my senses sharpened.

I was alive.

I didn't want this feeling to end.

"You're a real freak, enjoying a fight like this."

"Doesn't that apply to you too?"

"Of course! Not just me—everyone here is the same!"

Dang Gujin spread his arms wide.

The crowd came into view.

A stunned Tang Yuchang.

The dumbfounded Red Faction warriors.

The shocked White Faction servants.

And even Dang Gon, giving me a thumbs-up from afar.

"The Tang family is full of martial arts fanatics. Do you know what we call people like that?"

"…What do you call them?"

Dang Gujin's grin widened, revealing his fangs.

"Martial artists (武人)."

Boom—

The word struck me like a hammer.

Yes.

That was it.

That was why I wanted to fight Dang Gujin in the first place.

Beyond all the reasons I had given myself—

It was simple.

I wanted to know who was stronger.

And now, at last, I understood—

I had become one of them.

A true martial artist.