Daoist Yin-Yang Manual (13)

Unlike our previous sparring match, this one involved internal energy. The outcome could be different from when we had fought using swordsmanship alone.

I put some distance between us and faced Jin Myeong-woo.

As I faced him, the Jin patriarch and Jang Seo-yeong appeared. They were watching us. Jang Seo-yeong's cold gaze was directed this way, while the Jin patriarch looked at us with an impassive face.

The atmosphere in the training grounds grew even heavier. It felt as though this had ceased to be a simple spar between brothers and become a battle with the future of the Jin family at stake.

Jang Seo-yeong's gaze turned toward Jin Myeong-woo. Expectation showed in her eyes. She seemed to want her son to defeat his wastrel older brother.

Nothing could be read from the Jin patriarch's expression.

Seol-hee stood apart from the Jin patriarch and his group. Her gaze was fixed solely on me.

The spar began amid the tense atmosphere. Jin Myeong-woo made the first move.

His sword moved swiftly. The blade flying at me like lightning cleaved through the air.

I blocked his sword with ease. Sparks flew with a clang of metal. Jin Myeong-woo's eyes widened. He hadn't expected me to stop his strike so easily.

-CLANG! CLANG!

A succession of attacks followed. His sword moved as though dancing, attacking from various angles.

-KAAANG!

Our swords met and sparks flew. A spar using internal energy was certainly different from before.

The exchange continued without pause. Jin Myeong-woo's swordplay had changed. He must have trained hard in the meantime. Perhaps spurred on by the shock of his previous defeat, he had progressed even further, and his strikes infused with internal energy were sharp.

Imperfect blue energy spurted from his sword. It collided with mine and sent sparks flying.

'I could lose if I make a mistake.'

But I still had room to spare. The physical abilities I had gained from raising my stats compensated for what I lacked. This was the moment the Strength and Agility I had raised to 45 truly shone.

-SWISH!

I attacked at an even faster speed. My sword sliced through the air and grazed the hem of Jin Myeong-woo's clothes. His eyes couldn't keep up with my movements.

"Urk…."

Jin Myeong-woo staggered. Sweat beaded on his forehead. But he soon recovered his stance and unleashed an even more powerful attack.

A barrage of sword strikes poured forth. His sword danced like a living snake as it attacked. Strikes infused with internal energy cleaved through the air above the training grounds.

I fended off each of his attacks. A trace of impatience crossed Jin Myeong-woo's face.

"Haaah!“

With Jin Myeong-woo's battle cry, blue sword energy cleaved through the air. The internal-energy-infused strike flew toward my face at lightning speed.

I guided my sword aside at an angle and twisted my body to the side. I heard the wind brush past my ear. His attack tore through the empty air and passed by.

But Jin Myeong-woo's attack did not end there. He immediately spun the sword that had missed and launched a follow-up attack aimed at my side.

-SWISH!

I heard the sound of fabric tearing. I pulled my body away by a hair, but the spot grazed by his sword bore a shallow cut.

Jin Myeong-woo's gaze grew fierce. He seemed to gain confidence from landing his first attack. His attacks grew even sharper.

The successive attacks continued. The arcs traced by his sword grew faster and faster, and the internal energy grew stronger as well.

The exchange continued for some time. Swords collided and sent sparks flying, while the sound of internal-energy-infused sword energy cleaving through the air filled the training grounds.

Gradually, the outcome of the match began to reveal itself. Jin Myeong-woo was panting as though exhausted. Sweat beaded on his forehead and ran down his chin.

By contrast, I stood at ease. Thanks to my increased stats, I wasn't suffering much physical exhaustion. If anything, it seemed I could press him even harder.

'It's about time I finished this.'

I could see Jin Myeong-woo's ragged breathing and faltering swordplay. Maintaining his imperfect sword energy continuously seemed to be consuming a great deal of his stamina. It was time to deliver the decisive blow.

Perhaps he knew this was his last chance as well, because he unleashed an all-out strike with a great battle cry. The energy pouring from his sword grew even more intense. It was an attack filled with the resolve to decide the match.

He had more internal energy than I did. Meeting him head-on would be foolish.

I mixed feints into my attack, making it seem as though I intended to fight him head-on.

I dodged the straightforward attack aimed at my chest. My stance became unstable for an instant, but I launched a counterattack from that very position.

My sword flew toward the back of his neck.

Jin Myeong-woo's pupils widened. His expression was as though he had seen the shadow of death.

My sword stopped at the back of his neck.

The training grounds fell silent. Jin Myeong-woo stood there, cold sweat running down his face. The match was over.

"…I lost."

Jin Myeong-woo's voice trembled. His face was filled with the frustration of defeat.

"Good work, little brother."

I said as I withdrew my sword. The training grounds were silent. Jang Seo-yeong stared at us in shock, while the Jin patriarch's impassive face was turned toward us.

Seol-hee stood some distance away, watching us. She smiled as though she had expected my victory.

I approached Jin Myeong-woo, placed a hand on his shoulder, and whispered softly.

"You'd be shocked if you knew how tightly Seol-hee's pussy squeezes. It's quite fun fucking the woman you've longed for so desperately every night. Every night, Young Master Myeong-woo, she cries out like this—she cries and cries."

Jin Myeong-woo's body froze. His shoulders trembled. The expression of mingled rage and despair on his face was quite amusing.

"And it wasn't long before she was panting and gasping with pleasure. Her mouth is so lewd… If you had seen how happy she looked while drinking my semen, your fantasy of the woman you loved so dearly would have been shattered."

My whisper was so quiet that only he could hear it. But the weight of my words sank into his heart more cruelly than a sword.

Jin Myeong-woo's face turned pale. The hand gripping his sword trembled. It was the moment even the last shred of his pride was shattered.

Without saying a word, he left the training grounds. His retreating back looked forlorn.

"Your skills have improved beyond recognition."

The Jin patriarch approached and spoke. A faint trace of satisfaction crossed his impassive face.

Jang Seo-yeong stood behind him, her expression cold. The disappointment of a mother who had seen her son lose showed on her face. But an even greater wariness lingered in her eyes.

"I still have a long way to go."

I answered, feigning humility.

"You've really changed a lot. Take this."

The Jin patriarch took a small box from inside his robes and handed it to me.

"What is this?"

"An elixir. I originally intended to give it to Myeong-woo, but it seems you need it more now."

Jang Seo-yeong's expression twisted. She seemed displeased that the elixir prepared for her son was being given to that wastrel.

"Thank you, Father."

I accepted the elixir. The small box in my palm felt heavy. It was a precious medicine capable of increasing my internal energy.

Jang Seo-yeong looked at the Jin patriarch. Her eyes were filled with resentment and discontent. But he ignored her gaze and left the training grounds.

'I didn't expect this…'

I knew the elixir existed, but I hadn't expected it to fall into my hands so easily.

The Jin patriarch led Jang Seo-yeong out of the training grounds. Her gaze remained fixed on me until the very end.

"Young Master! Are you hurt anywhere?"

Seol-hee ran over and examined me. Her pale hands carefully touched my arm and chest.

"I'm fine."

"Phew, you have no idea how anxiously I was watching!"

Relief filled her voice. I tucked the elixir into my robes, wrapped an arm around Seol-hee's waist, and pulled her into my embrace.

"Ah… Young Master… Isn't it dangerous here…?"

"Shall we go to my room?"

"Yes…!"

Quiet anticipation colored Seol-hee's answer.

With an arm around her waist, I left the training grounds. As we passed through the corridor, Seol-hee kept her head lowered shyly, but her body heat was steadily rising.

***

Man Chu-sam, leader of the Black Dragon Sect, listened to a report while being attended by naked women.

"So. How is the Jin family of Jilin?"

"There has been no significant movement. They don't seem to have noticed anything."

"Hmm, I hear that bastard Jin's wife and daughter are exceptionally beautiful. I want to taste them as soon as possible."

Man Chu-sam's hand stroked the waist of the woman beside him. Her body trembled with fear.

"And, Sect Leader, we discovered an extraordinary beauty in the Jin family."

"Oh? Explain in detail."

"She was an extraordinary beauty with softly gleaming white hair and pure-white skin. Her beauty surpassed even that of the Jin family's wife and daughter, to the point that I doubted my own eyes."

"Ha ha. From your description, she sounds more beautiful than the Four Beauties of the Murim."

"I thought you might be curious, Sect Leader, so I had a subordinate with a skilled hand draw the beauty's likeness. Here it is."

Man Chu-sam examined the drawing his subordinate handed him. It depicted a delicately rendered beauty. Boundless greed appeared in Man Chu-sam's eyes.

"…What a face worth coveting…"

His voice grew increasingly rough. The women around him trembled in fear.

"Heh heh… I tried to savor devouring her as slowly as possible, but I simply can't endure it. To think such a beauty is in Jilin! Call the Black Wolf Unit Leader right now."

"Yes!"

The subordinate quickly left. Man Chu-sam greedily gazed at the drawing of Seol-hee and licked his lips. A cruel madness gleamed in his eyes.

"Sect Leader… This differs from our plan…"

The voice heard from behind Man Chu-sam was difficult to identify as male or female. A figure with its face concealed by a black mask stood like a shadow.

"Don't worry. Do you really think we'd lose to a mere Jin family and Jangbaek Sect? The Black Dragon Sect, led by me, Man Chu-sam of the Iron-Ore Twin Axes, could trample such a tiny frontier family and sect with ease."

Man Chu-sam spoke while still gazing greedily at the woman in the drawing.

The masked figure looked at Man Chu-sam as though he were pathetic. Even Black Dragon Castle was ultimately just a frontier power. Though the Black Dragon Sect ruled all of Black Dragon Castle, it was not a particularly strong force when viewed against the Central Plains as a whole.

'It can't be helped. This man is beyond my control.'

With a deep sigh, the masked figure took a small box containing elixir pills from inside their robes and handed it to Man Chu-sam.

"Hm? What's this?"

"The elixir I mentioned before."

"Oh! So this is the medicine that is supposed to increase one's cultivation realm!"

Man Chu-sam opened the box and peered inside greedily. The red-tinged pills gleamed softly. Endless greed overflowed from his eyes.

"I put in plenty, so you can give them to disciples or subordinates you trust."

"Ha ha ha, I'll put it to good use!"

Man Chu-sam's laughter echoed through the room. The masked figure merely watched without expression.