Chapter 187 – Spar (3)

“Ah!”

Jong Rimi jumped up.

Something flashed, and Shin Yeon flew back.
It was to the point where it was hard to ask what happened as he did not move anymore.

“How…”

It was the same with Jong Ri-heon.

Even when he saw the scene unfolding in front of his eyes, he had an expression of disbelief on his face.

“Physicians!”

“What are you doing there! Hurry up!”

One person was done from the side of the family.
A few physicians on stand-by rushed out, and seeing that, Jong Ri-heon’s face brightened.
He came to a realization that this was not a dream.

“What the hell happened! What is even happening!”

On the other side, it was a mess.
The woman in the middle, Jabi, shouted in her high pitched voice.

At her shocking scream, the men sitting in front lowered their heads in shame, and it was because they were the ones who recommended this man to her.

“Huh…”

On the other hand, the Namgung Family was the referee.

Namgung Min, who followed the lord, directly asked about this.

“Hyung.
What is this…”

“Yes.
Judging from the kick, it seems like he is someone who learned martial arts.
And the one he showed at the end seems like a technique he is quite practiced in as well,”

Namgung Hun mumbled.

He was not sure of the details, but this kicking technique Imugi used felt familiar to him.
North Punch South Kick, was something used very frequently in fighting.
And many in the south used it.

As martial arts was derived from close combat, it was difficult to learn it as proficiently as that.

One of the reasons why Imugi ran away every day from training was because it was difficult.

“Then the technique?”

His younger sister, Namgung Hye asked.

“No.
Punches and kicks were all just means to defeat Shin Yeon, but…”

It was Namgung Min who answered, turning to Imugi,

“Judging from the muscles on the arms and how he clenches them, it seems like he is someone who uses a sword.”

“Ah!”

Only then did the woman nod.
She too had an insight in close combat, so she tried to figure out what the discrepancy she felt was.

“We can see him as a warrior who is extremely skilled.”

Namgung Hun nodded.

The first match, there was a blow which struck the opponent to the side, and the speed at which it came surprised them all.

And the technique of kicks was amazing.
What was unusual was that it was impossible to tell which clan or sect he belonged to since he did not use a specific martial art.

And for this Namgung Hun recognized Imugi as a strong warrior.

“Hey, aren’t you going to say something?”

Meanwhile Imugi turned to the First Elder.

Standing there with a dazed expression, he turned to the other elders and they waved their hands.

“The next opponent….”

Tak

But before he could speak, the person on the other side came up.

Swish

A man with a sharp look came before he was even introduced.

“It is Kang Won-tae.”

“…Kang Won-tae?”

“Wait.
He is one of the top three swordsmen, and he’s here?”

“Ohhh! Don’t push! I want to see too!”

And the quiet place began to get noisy again.
It was not just the people watching who were surprised, even the Namgung Family seemed shocked.

“That… Kang Won-tae.”

“Yes.
A first rate warrior and a person more famous than I expected is here.”

Namgung Min asked Namgung Jun and looked around.

Kang Won-tae was known to be an amazing swordsman with his Phantom sword technique and it was the first time he was seeing the man in person.

“Wow.
For the best to come… it seems like this is a bigger issue than I thought?”

Namgung Hye intervened to say it

“…Hye.
Do not speak ill of the Jong family.
Now they may have lost their status but their potential did not die down.”

Namgung Hun shushed her.

“In the past it was a majestic family with officials and scholars in the royal court every year.
In particular, when it came to education in each prefecture, they made everyone aware of them.”

“Oh my…”

Namgung Hye covered her mouth at his words.
It was because she showed an unsightly appearance.

“Then let’s start!”

The First Elder immediately backed away to let the fight begin.

The man was here and the warriors would not like to waste time either.

That… he seems like a strong man.

Imugi evaluated the man.

Who was this man? One of the strongest around.

The man had sword scars between the eyebrows and was a little over six feet tall.
And it seemed like the clothes were made of leather, and the sword on his waist showed what he was, along with the sense of elegance and dignity.

Wheik!

Unlike a moment ago, Imugi took a firm stance.

A curved blade was pulled out, the weapon which Seol-Hwi bought as soon as he arrived in Hangzhou.

Flimsy but well balanced.

And the understanding of the opponent was the same for Kang Won-tae.

It was just previously good form, but looking at the eyes of the person he could also see composure.

Wheik!

As the two stood motionless on the stage, the audience fell silent.

“A staring match? Then I should attack.”

In the end, Imugi moved first, and he jumped two times in the air before touching the floor.

Pat!

He moved with great speed.

It was the special footwork of the Hidden Truth Corps and something which controlled the timing of movement.

Clap!

Kang Won-tae, who realized the opponent was coming, spread his sword out.

Paaak!

The movement of Imugi turned to the side, and the sword energy was shot at him.

Ching! Ching!

The sword moved to the horizontal side of charging.
And Imugi changed his direction.

This is tricky.

It was a situation where the opponent was prioritizing defense first, and he was able to handle the situation.
Kang Won-tae did not allow him access to get close to attack that easily.

Imugi changed his decision.

A fight without having to close the distance—

Ching!

A blade movement thinner than the sword, and he slashed the air.

Ching!

Kang Won-tae, who blocked it with the sword, hesitated and moved back.

If it were blade qi, he would have avoided or countered, but this was a simple slash.

But it felt strange at the same time.

It felt weaker, and it was embarrassing that he had to block such an attack.

The basics are good though.

If the opponent continued to do this from a distance, blocking would turn tiresome.

Tatak!

He moved.
It was to abandon the defense and close the distance.

“Okay.
Come on!”

Chang! Chang! Kang!

When the distance between the two was close enough to extend their weapons, they fought.

However this was what Kang Won-tae was most confident in.

Chchang!

After sharing a few clashes, the feelings the two felt were the same

Their speed was similar.
Then the skills might have been a little stronger for Imugi, but Kang Won-tae was ahead in terms of technique and experience which was why he had a higher chance to win.

Pack! Swish!

As soon as the speed began to increase, the expression of Imugi hardened.
It was not speed that could be matched as it was difficult to imagine.

But for a moment.

The sword which disappeared.

This is…?

Imugi hurriedly stepped back as this was not something he was familiar with, but the opponent was not going to let this opportunity slip.

Papapat!

He quickly clung to it and began to push Imugi.

Chik! Chik!

“Kuak!”

In the end, Imugi had his shoulder cut by the Shadow Phantom Sword.

Of course, he fought back as much as he could.

“Aaah!”

The best defense is the greatest offense.
Imugi aimed at the blood points of the enemy.

Swish!

But the opponent seemed ready to move, and in an instant, he twisted the body halfway to avoid it.

A chance.

Imugi extended his blade ahead at the opening he noticed.

Jirit!

However, in an instant, the opponent did something shocking.

Actually, it was close to impossible to defend between the constant pouring of blades.
However, Kang Won-tae managed it.

“Uh!”

As a result, Imugi had his thigh cut and in that moment—

“It is done!”

Kang Won-tae approached to see the end of it, and Imugi retreated this time.

Now Imugi was on defense.

“Oh!”

“We win this time!”

As Imugi was pushed back, the people began to cheer.
There were also people who voiced how great Kang Won-tae was.

That would be the case because the current situation deserved such reactions.

“Ah, such a pity…”

When Jong Rimi was worried, Jong Ri-heon shook his head.

“No.
Not yet.”

Was it because of the martial arts he showed at the start? He still held hope.
In addition, the memory of the young shaman saying he knew the best warriors was clear in his mind.

“Master.”

Meanwhile, Songhwa who was watching this seemed worried.
It was because Imugi was looking cornered.

“Yes, he is struggling quite a bit.”

Seol-Hwi also nodded.

Kang Won-tae’s actions were sharper than he thought.
In particular, the sword technique, the Shadow Phantom Sword was surely strong.

It was a sword which could not be seen.

It was not that the sword was disappearing, but due to the technique, there was less trembling of the sword and more enhanced movements.

The wrists must be thoroughly trained.

Concentrating on internal energy, the wrists were what were being moved.

Seeing the two or three changes at a time, the movement of the sword was occasionally hitting a blind spot.

“Huk, Imugi-hyung will…”

Songhwa blurted out the words.

It was not that he was worried that the flow of Imugi would be halted, but he was concerned that the demonic energy within would make its way out.

“It is fine.
Imugi isn’t stupid.
Also, the opponent isn’t that great.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes.
Did you know that Imugi was once called a genius?”

“Yes.
Because he learns fast…”

“If I had a person who was known to be a quick learner, I wouldn’t entrust him to anyone.
But even I recently found out.
He can be called a genius because of his ability to learn on his own.”

Seol-Hwi smiled, looking at Songhwa.

“In the past, I found out that the reason he learned martial arts to change the body structure was not because of his sexual desires, but simple curiosity.
Imugi you see… of the people I met is a clear genius.”

Seol-Hwi believed it.

Certainly, Imugi had an erratic way of doing things, but he would get over this hurdle.

Jjkkk!

The sword continued to defend due to the attacks from Kang Won-tae, and Imugi began to have wounds pile up.

This was a clear situation where who wins and loses would be figured out.
However, Kang Won-tae’s heart was completely different from those who were watching.

Damn it, just why!

He was using the Shadow Phantom Sword, but the enemy’s key points could not be hit.

Although the small attacks gradually increased the number of wounds, he did not manage to land a critical wound, and only skin was being scratched.

“Haah! Hap!”

Kang Won-tae made a decision while watching Imugi continue to avoid his attacks.

Now he was ready to move to the last form of the sword, and this was deadly to use.

Tuk

As he paused the sword and took a deep breath, Imugi said,

“Is this the final move?”

“…?!”

Creepy!

Kang Won-tae’s expression hardened.

He felt goosebumps spread over the body.

“Your technique.
I managed to roughly figure it out.”

Imugi grinned, making him provoke Kang Won-tae.

It was a situation where he should have been more calm, but he could not maintain his composure that well in a prolonged fight.

“Next is your mouth… the kind of suffering you didn’t have till now!”

“Well, whether or not I am right will be shown now.”

Kang Won-tae gritted his teeth.

He raised his internal energy and was ready to use the ninth form of the sword.

Swish!

Looking at the illusions of numerous swords, Imugi was focused.
It did not matter if the sword of the opponent was visible or not.

One of the ways to break this illusion was to reach the extreme, it was an accurate blood point stab with quick movement.

Chaa!

The two who leaped up in an instant moved.

Pil!

As blood gushed from Imugi’s shoulder, legs, and waist everyone mumbled.

“How… did you?”

Kang Won-tae waited for the noise to subside and asked in curiosity.

“Before the sword was used.”

He knew that his sword, the illusions, could not be stopped.
Therefore, Imugi chose to attack first.

First, he moved with footwork to touch the blood points.

It was aiming for the weakness of the sword technique, because the moment the sword is blocked, he will be defeated.

But that is easy to say, it was not a skill that could be implemented at the same level.

“Your realm seems to be higher than mine…”

“Of course.
Will my body be compared to you?”

Imugi was actually a step higher.
He was able to hit the opponent quickly and accurately.

And that was what he believed in.

Tuk.

In front of Imugi, Kang Won-tae collapsed.
Thanks to that, the crowd went silent again.

But it was different from before.

It was not a simple calm, but the calm before the storm.

“Ohhhh!”

“So cool!”

“Amazing, who is that man?”

An applause of admiration broke out.
And it was a bigger reaction than normal.