“First move, three exchanges, I will yield. I will face you with only my left hand, with my little and ring fingers off the hilt, and I will not use my internal energy.”

At Jeongmuk’s words, Zhuge Cheonwu stood with his sword in a vertical stance and looked at him.

It looked like he was just standing there, but Zhuge Cheonwu knew instinctively.

There was no opening to exploit. Zhuge Cheonwu endured the suffocating pressure and imbued his blade with mana.

‘I’ll bet everything on this one blow.’

The words ‘yield the first move’ usually mean yielding the first attack in a duel.

But in a guided sparring session like this, it implies that he will properly receive whatever move Zhuge Cheonwu make once.

So this moment was the first and last chance for me to land a proper blow on Jeongmuk.

A strange light appeared in Jeongmuk’s eyes as he looked at the tip of Zhuge Cheonwu’s sword. It was a reaction of considerable surprise. Zhuge Cheonwu ignored him and prepared for the next attack.

Zhuge Cheonwu’s circle pulsed like crazy. The mana that flowed along the mana circuit strengthened all the muscles in his thighs, calves, forearms, and wrists.

‘I can’t hold on for long.’

Zhuge Cheonwu slowly raised his sword, focusing all his nerves on the front.

The form he was about to perform was Taishan’s Crushing Weight. It was the most basic cut, with a name that meant it could even crush Mount Tai.

Zhuge Cheonwu took a step forward.

Thump-

A heavy step that made the training ground floor vibrate.

At the same time, the Heaven-Defying Cultivation Method manifested in his lower dantian, and the flow of his body, which had been crudely enhanced with mana, became much smoother.

The chain of acceleration that flowed gracefully from his thighs to his waist, shoulders, and forearms—the talent of [Limitless Martial Body]—was manifested without fail.

Soon, the sword, imbued with the strength of his entire body, shot towards Jeongmuk.

Kiiing!

In an instant, Jeongmuk drew his sword and blocked it. He raised an eyebrow as if interested in the unexpectedly heavy blow.

But that was only for a moment. Jeongmuk’s eyes widened at the strange sensation that followed.

“What?!”

The surrounding scenery was slowly receding. As if the world alone was moving far ahead.

‘No way…!’

Jeongmuk couldn’t help but be flustered. Because he was being pushed back with tremendous momentum.

“I was pushed back?”

By a mere junior student? He muttered to himself without realizing it.

He had blocked it perfectly. It wasn’t a bad blow, but his own internal energy was far superior to his opponent’s.

And yet to be pushed back like this. The chief instructor had been pushed back by a mere junior student.

Jeongmuk, taking advantage of the gap as he was being pushed back, blocked Zhuge Cheonwu’s next attack and realized his mistake.

‘There was no support.’

The floor was too slippery. It was as if he were fighting on a sheet of ice melted from snow.

‘What in the world happened?’

But just then, he felt the strength drain from the back of his knees. As if someone had struck the back of his knees from behind.

“What?”

Jeongmuk, whose stance had momentarily collapsed, looked at Zhuge Cheonwu rushing towards him with a bewildered expression.

* * *

I brought my sword down on Jeongmuk with all my might. But in an instant, Jeongmuk’s sword, which was drawn as if bent, blocked it.

I felt a tremendous repulsive force, enough to make the sword scream.

‘He’s damn strong.’

It was indeed a great power and technique. To think that a blow into which I had poured all my mana and internal energy, magic and martial arts, could be blocked so easily.

But this was not all I had prepared.

‘Grease.’

A first-circle magic that reduces the friction of the floor by thinly spreading mana like ice water.

Before I even took the first attack and rushed in, I had already cast the Grease magic under Jeongmuk’s feet.

Thanks to that, Jeongmuk was pushed back significantly. I could clearly see his surprised eyes over the sword.

If this were a real battle, it wouldn’t have worked. Because I had a record of being caught just by using mana before.

But this time, it was a guided sparring session. Jeongmuk was focused on analyzing my every move, so he hadn’t noticed the change that had occurred around him.

Since it wasn’t a force that directly acted on his body, it would have been even more difficult to detect. And the fact that I had openly coated my sword with mana to divert his attention also played a part.

‘Now is my chance.’

Towards Jeongmuk, who was sliding back, I continuously unleashed the second form of the Three Talents Sword Art, Sweeping a Thousand Armies. A series of fast horizontal cuts.

“Huh?”

“No way!”

The other students who were watching from the side were also showing surprised reactions to this scene.

Kiiing!

But even though I had struck a weak point, the sword strike was blocked.

Even in an unstable posture, Jeongmuk even managed to deflect the attack. As if he had never been surprised, he was already responding calmly.

‘But there’s still one move left.’

Jeongmuk, who was being pushed back by my second blow, at some point, bent his waist back in the same posture he had been sliding in.

It was because of the shield I had set up in the air. I had activated a shield in the air around his knees, in line with the direction Jeongmuk was sliding.

‘No matter how strong the opponent is, if they are sliding on an ice rink and their knees are unexpectedly caught from behind, they have no choice but to fall.’

Jeongmuk’s eyes were colored with bewilderment, and his upper body lost its balance and swayed.

The balance of his two legs and waist, which is the basis of swordsmanship, was disrupted. The tip of his sword, which had been clear, also lost its original path and was wandering in the air.

I instinctively felt that I had to decide the match here. My mana and internal energy were already at the bottom from these two blows and the use of magic.

‘This is the last one.’

I raised the edge of my sword, which was blocked in the air, and aimed it directly at Jeongmuk.

In the decisive moment, my consciousness accelerated. As if in slow motion, the tip of my sword slowly tilted towards Jeongmuk’s heart.

Straight to the Yellow Dragon. The simplest thrust and the final form of the Three Talents Sword Art, which was simply fast because it contained no artifice.

I unleashed all the mana and internal energy in my body and thrust the tip of my sword.

Bang!

With the sound of the air being torn, the tip of the blade disappeared into an afterimage. And at its end was Jeongmuk’s heart.

And the moment the blade was about to pierce his body. A ray of light cut through the space between them.

Swish!

Soon, at the light sensation I felt at my fingertips, I momentarily lost my balance and staggered. My body was already in a state of having accelerated to its limit.

Because I had squeezed out the strength of both my legs to the extreme, I couldn’t recover my collapsed posture and just fell with my supporting foot’s knee bent.

But even as I fell to the floor, I couldn’t help but fix my gaze on the fingertips I had thrust out.

What was there was the hilt of the sword with not an inch left, the blade soaring into the air, and the expression of Jeongmuk glaring at me with a chilling look.

The sword was cut.

Realizing that fact, I couldn’t overcome the recoil from the thrust and rolled on the floor.

* * *

“Did you see that just now?”

“The top student sent Chief Instructor Jeongmuk flying, didn’t he?”

“It wasn’t for nothing that Do Sogi lost in one blow.”

The voices of amazement that came belatedly. Soon, my accelerated consciousness returned, and I was about to get up from my seat when I paused as my eyes met with Jeongmuk, who was looking down at me.

“…Thank you for the lesson.”

I barely stood on my trembling legs and cupped my fists. It was a clean admission of defeat.

I had done everything I could. My sword was also cut, and I was barely standing, so it was right to end the duel here.

But Jeongmuk seemed to have a different idea from me.

“The duel is not over yet.”

His fighting spirit had not been broken. His eyes were still full of the thought of having another round. It felt as if a switch had been pressed. As proof of that, the blade he was holding was tinged with a faint yellow color.

‘Sword qi.’

That was the identity of the devastating power that had made that eccentric feat possible just now.

Not a fake that I could only imitate with light magic or coat with mana, but a genuine sword qi that could cut through a lump of iron.

If that had been shot directly at me, I would have become a lump of meat by now. I couldn’t face something like that twice.

“I think I’ve already shown you everything I have. My sword is also in this state.”

“What?”

I swallowed dryly at the presence pouring out from the front.

I don’t know what Jeongmuk was fixated on, but the mana in my circle and the internal energy in my dantian were at the bottom.

Since the circle in my heart could be called the middle dantian and the dantian area the lower dantian, it meant that I had consumed everything except for my innate true qi.

I was at the point where I couldn’t even move because I had fought unreasonably. Jeongmuk, who saw my state, threw his sword at me.

“I’ll give you my sword. This time, I’ll fight with my bare hands.”

The sword stuck into the floor of the training ground. It’s a good sword. No matter how much it was imbued with sword qi, its cutting power was considerable.

To want to fight even while giving me something like this. I felt that something was wrong and grabbed Jeongmuk’s sword.

‘Damn it, I even used magic to a minimum.’

What was he so displeased about? I had even attacked in the form of martial arts as much as possible to avoid being called a user of wicked arts.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Now, there’s no more orthodox way to deal with him. If neither magic nor martial arts work, there’s only one thing left.

‘I have no choice but to show the essence of a formation.’

Just as I was thinking that and about to fumble with the stones in my bosom.

“I’ve seen something interesting.”

Someone’s voice cut in. A low but powerful tone.

At the sudden appearance, everyone’s gaze turned to one side.

What was there was Gu Jabeom.

“Chief Professor?”

For a moment, a silence fell over the crowd. Because the chief professor was the person right below the academy head here.

The sword qi that had formed on Jeongmuk’s sword seal disappeared in an instant, and the energy that had been pressing on me also scattered.

“What brings you here?”

“It seems the match has already been decided.”

Gu Jabeom said, looking me over. In fact, my condition was not good right now. Due to the excessive use of power, my already poor complexion had worsened.

“Shouldn’t you refrain from using sword qi during a guided sparring session?”

“…I got too excited. I will end the duel here.”

Jeongmuk let out a quiet, deep breath and then approached me and asked quietly.

“It was a clean sword path. However, it lacked depth and the connections were straightforward. I have one question. The slippery floor and the trick with the leg, was that all your doing?”

As the person involved, he probably couldn’t understand it at all.

For him, who did not know the identity of magic, it would have felt as if he had been attacked by several people at once. That’s why I answered obediently.

“Yes.”

At my words, Jeongmuk’s gaze deepened. He, who had been silent, passed by me and added.

“Take that sword. I will give you another lesson next time. And about that day, I… ahem, I apologize.”

As Jeongmuk disappeared like that, the tension in my whole body was released. I felt like I would collapse at any moment because I had used up all my mana and internal energy.

Then, Gu Jabeom supported me by pretending to put his hand on my shoulder.

“An interesting manifestation. Is it a martial art you’re researching? I never thought you’d land a blow on Jeongmuk.”

“I was just lucky.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll look forward to it in the future.”

Gu Jabeom pushed my back, infusing his internal energy. Thanks to that, I was barely able to walk on my own.

“Thank you…”

I turned my head to express my gratitude, but Gu Jabeom had already disappeared.

Having been left alone in the training ground, the tension finally broke.

‘I don’t know if I’m really lucky or unlucky.’

In a way, it could be seen as having passed a situation where I could have lost disgracefully in a smooth, no, spectacular way, but I couldn’t be at ease.

‘It starts now.’

As I took a step with a resolve, the students who had been forming a large circle around me split to the left and right.

“As expected of the top student.”

“I thought it was unusual how he was slacking off.”

“But if I defeat Zhuge Cheonwu, doesn’t that mean I’m that strong?”

The way the people around me looked at me had changed.

‘This has become troublesome.’

Now that I had received official verification from the instructor, the real ones would start to flock. Because as fame increases, so do the sudden events.

I had thought it was inevitable from the time I first became the top student, but this was much faster than I had expected.

‘Now I’m not in a position to be picky about magic or anything else.’

If the top-ranking students came at me, I would have to fight for my life. But even so, I was worried about the certain forces that existed within the academy to use magic openly.

‘There are plenty of people who can’t get enough of special powers.’

If I got on their bad side, I might be kidnapped again like last time.

In the end, it meant I needed a clear excuse for magic. And I had a way to solve this.

‘The secret manual library.’

There was a formation book hidden there that was good to use in my current situation.

‘And I’ll properly study formations while I’m at it.’

I tried my best to ignore the curious gazes of Gu Dong and Lee Huimun from behind and moved my feet with difficulty towards the inside of the academy.

It was time to use the right to view the intermediate library, one of the qualifications granted upon entering as the top student.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep