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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“It seems the Blue-Eyed Lion hasn’t learned any Qinggong techniques.”
“What do you mean?”
“A martial artist of that level hasn’t learned Qinggong? Does that even make sense?”
Jegal Hyeon-sang’s sudden statement made Namgung Hwi and Paeng Jeok-san stare at him in disbelief.
It was a natural reaction.
To them, a martial artist who hadn’t learned Qinggong was like a baby who crawled without learning to walk.
In this era, even a third-rate martial artist would have mastered at least a third-rate Qinggong technique.
It was unbelievable that a man who appeared to be around the same age as the Elegant Sword, Namgung Cheol, hadn’t learned any Qinggong, unless he was a complete novice.
“Maybe Qinggong doesn’t exist in the West…”
“That’s impossible. Even the Potala Palace is famous for its Vajra Steps.”
“Look at the Blue-Eyed Lion’s feet. He doesn’t have the characteristic footwork of a martial artist who has learned Qinggong. At least, he hasn’t learned any Qinggong that we know of.”
“Huh…”
At his words, Paeng Jeok-san and Namgung Hwi looked at William’s feet as he exchanged blows with Yang Seoyu.
As he had said, William’s footwork showed almost no sign of the formalized movements typical of those who had learned Qinggong.
He was simply moving his feet to where they needed to be for the fight.
“He’s right…”
“To think a martial artist of that level doesn’t know any footwork techniques…”
“But I don’t think it’s a problem for him. A veteran like him wouldn’t be unaware of that fact, and he’s clearly dominating the fight.”
“Ha! Hearing Brother Jegal’s words makes me want to fight him even more!”
“If the Blue-Eyed Lion rises to the top… you’ll get your chance.”
Jegal Hyeon-sang, the White-Haired Scholar, hid his face behind his fan and smiled enigmatically, as he always did.
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‘How flashy.’
The spear slid along the blade of his sword.
Yang Seoyu gritted his teeth as he witnessed the same scene unfold for the umpteenth time.
‘It feels like I’m fighting my father.’
He recalled sparring with his father, who had taught him spear techniques. Even back then, his attacks weren’t easily deflected.
The current situation was no different.
The only difference was that his opponent was a Westerner, not a Central Plains martial artist.
‘Central Plains spear techniques have substance hidden within their flashiness.’
It was different from the efficient, practical movements he had often seen on the battlefield.
It was only natural that spear techniques created for efficiently killing people on the battlefield differed from those created for honing one’s skills in civilian life.
Through this experience with the Pear Blossom Spear Technique, William was able to study Central Plains martial arts once more.
‘Central Plains martial arts and Western arts are definitely different. I’m almost grateful to him for allowing me to clearly understand those differences.’
He wouldn’t voice his gratitude, as it would be an insult.
William, his gaze softening, deflected yet another attack with his sword and closed the distance once more.
The same composition and situation as before.
This time, Yang Seoyu calmly retracted his spear and, with a twist of his wrist, aimed for William’s legs. William chuckled, seeing Yang Seoyu’s attempt to block his approach.
‘Nice try. But I’m not sure if it’s effective.’
The spearhead, tracing a diagonal trajectory, slashed towards his legs. William lifted his leg slightly and stomped on the internal energy-infused spear, channeling his aura into his foot.
A loud explosion echoed as dust and debris flew into the air.
As the dust settled, the spearhead was embedded in the ground, and William stood triumphantly, his foot planted firmly on the blade.
“It wasn’t a bad choice to aim for my lower body since you were afraid of being counterattacked if you aimed for my upper body, but you aimed too low.”
“…I concede.”
There was nothing Yang Seoyu could do now that his spear was stuck in the ground.
He could buy some time by rolling on the ground pathetically, but who would throw away their pride in a mere sparring match?
“Good work.”
They clasped their hands together in a gesture of respect.
As their match came to an end, cheers erupted from the arena.
William frowned slightly at the deafening noise and sheathed his sword.
Yang Seoyu slung his spear over his shoulder and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
He glanced at William.
‘He’s barely even sweating. Is this the difference in our realms?’
Realizing the vast gap between their skills, he looked at William with gratitude for deliberately dragging out the match and allowing him to display his full potential.
“The winner of this match is! The Blue-Eyed Lion, Wi Lieom!”
“Wi Lieom! Wi Lieom!”
The spectators cheered, impressed by the spectacular display of sword and spear, a match that wasn’t simply a one-sided victory.
‘Hmm.’
William raised both his arms in the air like a Roman gladiator, acknowledging the cheers of the crowd.
‘This is embarrassing. I can’t do this again.’
He lowered his arms and turned, disappearing into the waiting room.
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“Mister! That was amazing!”
“Benefactor, that was an incredible match.”
Could they stop staring at him with those sparkling eyes? It was overwhelming.
He had never seen human eyes shine so brightly.
“It’s nothing special. You can do the same when you reach my realm, so stop praising me so much.”
“If reaching the peak expert realm was that easy, half of the martial artists in the world would be peak experts.”
Hye-ryeong pouted and flapped her arms, contradicting him. Where did she learn to flap her arms like that?
From her parents?
“That’s true. Expert, no, the peak expert realm is not an easy realm to reach.”
“Many martial artists spend decades training and still remain stuck at the first-rate level. The first-rate level is nothing to scoff at, but… it’s not comparable to the peak expert realm.”
As Mokgyeong said, the peak expert realm was not something to be taken lightly.
It wasn’t just about strengthening one’s body and weapons with internal energy, it was the stage where one could materialize their sword energy.
Once they could create sword energy, they could cut down lower-level martial artists like slicing through ice cream.
…Though it wasn’t as easy as it sounded in the West, where everyone wore heavy armor.
Knights were difficult to damage with sword energy due to their aura armor, and the damned Mamluks were monsters who only reached the Expert realm at the very least.
They would immediately attack in groups once they realized their opponent was stronger than them.
Besides, aura wasn’t very efficient, so it was almost useless in prolonged battles.
“That’s right! It’s ridiculous that you’re a peak expert at your age! You’re not even the protagonist of a wuxia novel!”
…Did wuxia novels exist here as well?
Well, he supposed something like Water Margin could be considered a wuxia novel.
Where else would the tropes originate from?
“There are all kinds of people in the world.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone like you.”
…There was someone right next to him who could surpass him in the blink of an eye.
William glanced at Mokgyeong, then turned back to Hye-ryeong.
“Anyway, you should start preparing for your match.”
“Hehe, you’ll cheer for me, right?”
“Of course.”
Who was her opponent again?
Ah, the Green Plum Blossom.
The Green Plum Blossom… he didn’t know anything about her.
Since she wasn’t a character from the original story, he couldn’t recall any information about her.
Well, she was a Taoist priestess, so she would probably use the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique… No, wasn’t that a technique only Plum Blossom Sword Masters could learn? Or was he wrong?
“Mister?”
“Ah, sorry. I was just lost in thought.”
“If you have anything on your mind, tell me!”
“No, it’s nothing, so don’t worry.”
“Okay…”
Why was she looking so dejected? This made him feel like he had to come up with a problem to share with her.
William asked Hye-ryeong, who he couldn’t tell was more of a puppy or a human, a random question.
“Speaking of the White Plum Blossom, I’m curious about the Huashan Sect’s martial arts…”
“The Huashan Sect’s martial arts are famous for the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique. I heard that when it reaches its peak, the scent of plum blossoms fills the air with every swing of the sword, and the sword energy scatters like flower petals.”
Scattering like flower petals sounded a bit… strange.
It made him imagine her shouting “Scatter!” and attacking with flower petals.
“Have you seen it before, Young Master Mokgyeong?”
Was she putting emphasis on “Young Master”? Or was it his imagination?
“No, I haven’t seen the perfected Plum Blossom Sword Technique either. But I’ve heard rumors…”
Mokgyeong, who had kindly answered Hye-ryeong’s question, nodded as if something had come to mind, then looked up at William and said,
“Lady Hye-ryeong, isn’t it almost your turn?”
“Huh?”
As Hye-ryeong looked at Mokgyeong with a surprised expression, cheers erupted, and the referee’s voice announcing the end of a match could be faintly heard.
“It hasn’t even been fifteen minutes…”
“Hye-ryeong, go on.”
“I’ll win for sure!”
Hye-ryeong adjusted her clothes one last time and left the waiting room with her sword strapped to her waist.
“…Let’s head to the spectator stands.”
“Yes.”
William headed towards the spectator stands with Mokgyeong.
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