Chapter 46
"The finals of the Dragon Phoenix Gathering! The last two contenders have been decided!"
Cheon Cheonmu raised his voice until his throat nearly burst. As he spoke, the tournament's excitement visibly intensified.
"They are the Seongyeong Gate and the Ice Dragon Flower Banquet!"
The Seongyeong Gate (先境門), meaning "Past Boundary Gate" in Chinese characters, was established by Bing Seolhwa, who was being controlled by an Outer God.
The Ice Dragon Flower Banquet (氷龍化緣), using the name Ice Dragon received as a title, was created to make the final bosses of the original work happy.
The names of these sects with opposite meanings seemed to indicate where their opposing points were directed.
"The first person to take the stage is the fist master said to possess the Vajra Fist! Kim Hyul!"
Waaah─!
Along with Cheon Cheonmu's introduction, a black-haired boy with a bare upper body walked forward with heavy steps.
"And facing him is the swordswoman known as the favorite disciple of the famous Ice Dragon! Bi Wol!"
At the same time, a girl with equally black hair stepped forward, glaring at her opponent with apparent displeasure.
"Who will take the first victory! I think it will be a breathtaking contest of strength! After all, the opponent is Kim Hyul, who has shattered even swords and iron maces!"
In this place where numerous late bloomers gathered to test their strength and skills against each other, the spectators who had glimpsed what the ultimate realm of martial arts might be were raising their voices, discussing who would ultimately win.
"The Seongyeong Gate will win. He showed that even the Sacheon Party's hidden weapons couldn't pierce him, as if he had mastered the Indestructible Diamond Body."
"No way! It has to be the Ice Dragon Flower Banquet! Didn't you see how they defeated all the late bloomers so far using only the simple Three Disasters Sword Technique?"
Because many people had received help from Bing Yeon during the Great War between righteousness and evil, the majority of the martial artists in the audience were clearly inclined to support one side.
"Moreover, she's the disciple of that Bing Yeon! There's no way an individual who has been hiding until now and suddenly sent out would be ordinary!"
Although Bing Yeon was inherently in poor health and avoided showing himself in the martial world because unnecessary attention and high positions would reduce the number of people he could save,
"If they didn't have the skills, they wouldn't have made it to the finals."
"That's exactly what I'm saying!"
The martial artists who couldn't know this fact were highly evaluating Bi Wol for various reasons. There were two people listening to these praises more intently than anyone else.
"Infinite Sword Emperor, what do you think?"
"Well, the opponent is the one who defeated that Poison Dragon's child."
Right before the finals, Namgung Do-hun, the head of the Namgung Family, and Tang Wen-xue, the head of the Sacheon Party, who had been Bi Wol and Kim Hyul's opponents, were stroking their beards and trying to gauge the outcome.
These two knew better than anyone about Bi Wol and Kim Hyul's strength. As if their moves had been read, they had witnessed their disciples' trump cards being blocked.
"I thought the paralysis poison would work for sure."
"Ha! It's the fault of those fools who thought the opponent would take the Sacheon Party's hidden weapons and poison without any preparation."
Tang Wen-xue frowned, showing his displeasure. Using gaseous poison because the opponent had the Indestructible Diamond Body turned out to be a mistake.
Kim Hyul had pretended to stagger as if poisoned, and with one strike while holding his breath, all their prepared moves crumbled helplessly.
"If it were me, I would have mixed it with something like water and thrown it! Even if just a little got into the mouth or nose, it would have been successful!"
"If it were you, you wouldn't have been fooled by the act either."
"Hmph! Originally, poisons work differently depending on the constitution. How many times have I said that there are even humans who can eat poisonous plants used for execution poison as if they were medicinal herbs and not die!"
Tang Wen-xue was grumbling and expressing his dissatisfaction, but in fact, he was expressing his regret over the elimination of the children he had raised more than anyone else.
His stomping feet and suppressing his anger showed that he had an insincere side.
"So, what do you think of that young lady called Bi Wol?"
Tang Wen-xue, not wanting to be the only one embarrassed, asked for Namgung Do-hun's opinion, who also had a late bloomer eliminated in the main tournament.
The Three Disasters Sword Technique, considered merely a third-rate martial art.
She had shown the ability to defeat the Namgung Family, known as the world's best swordsmen, with a simple technique that only consisted of horizontal slashes, vertical slashes, and thrusts.
"Hmm? It's surprising that she could grasp the essence of the Three Disasters Sword Technique at such a young age, but it still doesn't seem to fit her body well."
Namgung Do-hun had found a flaw in Bi Wol's swordsmanship. Originally, if the intent (意) and focus (念) of the sword were properly aligned, it could cut through even steel as if it were paper, but...
"Why do you think so? Her movements perfectly express heaven, man, and earth, don't they?"
"In martial arts, there's something more important than form (形). It's intent (意)."
"That's true! But with sword skills like that, it seems she would be incredible even if she used other martial arts."
Tang Wen-xue replied indifferently, crossing his arms. Relying on technique makes one forget the original sharpness and weight.
What is easily built up is easily forgotten. That's why the ascension of realms should be achieved through constant repetition of martial arts.
This clearly showed signs of being hastily learned for the Dragon Phoenix Gathering. Although her movements were close to textbook perfect, as if Bing Yeon had been constantly correcting her posture,
"A sword without freedom is bound to break."
"You mean she's weak in application."
Rather, this point was becoming an obstacle in facing Kim Hyul, who had mastered the Indestructible Diamond Body.
Bi Wol had to figure out how to overcome a body so hard that it didn't allow any blade to approach.
"So you want to say that the fist master Kim Hyul will win? That would make me feel a bit better!"
Hearing this, Tang Wen-xue let out a big breath, showing relief. If the person who defeated his family became the final winner, he could console himself that he lost to the eventual champion.
"Well, I'd like to say that, but..."
The Infinite Sword Emperor, Namgung Do-hun, carefully chose his words while scratching his chin. Originally, one might easily think that there's no way in this world to break the Indestructible Diamond Body.
However,
"...Being the disciple of that Bing Yeon, won't she show an achievement that will surprise us?"
If one completely discarded that frame of thought, Bi Wol's chances of winning were not entirely non-existent.
Namgung Do-hun, who had dedicated his entire life to the sword, focused his sharp gaze on the arena with such thoughts.
As Bi Wol stepped onto the arena, her first thought upon seeing Kim Hyul before her was this:
'Even at a glance, he's a strong opponent.'
Like prey standing before a predator, the trembling in her hands wouldn't stop. She realized through the difference in internal energy that she couldn't defeat this person.
Her exceptionally keen sense of energy had now become shackles binding Bi Wol's ankles.
'Don't tremble, you have to win here to support Master.'
Bi Wol shook her head vigorously to shake off the fear. She had to win here to obtain the inner pill said to contain ten thousand years of condensed yang energy.
Even with Azazel and Verdandi, if she lost the initiative once, the chances of losing were high. The opponent's sect had someone who could see through everything, just like her master Bing Yeon.
As soon as she heard the ominous name of the Seongyeong Gate, she gritted her teeth.
'If I lose, my sworn sisters will have to win both of the remaining two matches.'
When she heard from her master Bing Yeon, he said Bi Wol currently had the lowest chance of winning. Even if she had mastered the Three Disasters Sword Technique, there was currently no way to break the Indestructible Diamond Body.
But there were too many eyes watching to use the Heavenly Demon Divine Technique mixed with demonic energy. If she showed such an ominous energy, there would surely be people who would suspect Bi Wol's origins.
'...Originally, it would be okay to lose, but I don't want to.'
Recently, even Azazel had been scheming to claim the master. She didn't know what was happening between them, but it seemed they had grown closer again when she wasn't around.
Her master Bing Yeon was specialized in unconsciously charming women. His handsome face and kind attitude were enough to melt even the coldest hearts.
"Are you Bi Wol? We finally meet."
Kim Hyul spoke to Bi Wol, who was lost in thought. How strong would the disciple of Bing Yeon be, who was rumored to be so powerful that no one in this martial world didn't know of him?
Competitiveness, exhilaration, heart-pounding excitement.
He felt his blood boiling throughout his body.
"...You know me? You speak as if we're old acquaintances."
"It's my first time seeing you in person, but that guy who calls himself my master made such a fuss about having to kill you."
Kim Hyul was casually telling Bi Wol about the Outer God's scheme. Seeing her in person, he became even more convinced that she shouldn't be killed.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I hope you don't become like me."
That child, unlike himself, is not hungry for blood. She has never killed anyone, nor has she ever hated someone enough to want them dead.
Fallen for the Outer God Shub-Niggurath's trick, with the lives of family and friends held hostage under the pretext of salvation.
Even if he killed Bi Wol, it was doubtful whether that capricious Outer God would keep its original promise.
"Come at me with all you've got. That way, I can think later that my judgment wasn't wrong."
The best Kim Hyul could do now was to gauge how skilled Bing Yeon's disciples were, and if they seemed capable of defeating the Outer God, to side with them.
It was a planned betrayal first conceived by Sieghart.
One of the reasons was that he no longer wanted to move with Kang Si-woo, a trash-like man who frequently changed women.
'It would be better to join this side and fight against the Outer God.'
Kim Hyul swallowed his anxiety and hoped that Bi Wol would defeat him. If she couldn't even break through the Indestructible Diamond Body, they wouldn't be able to repel the Outer God that even he couldn't defeat.
- Now, let the final match of the Dragon Phoenix Gathering begin!
As Cheon Cheonmu announced the start of the match, Kim Hyul threw a straight punch towards Bi Wol.