Chapter 134: Entangled Martial Duel (2)

When Shangguan Mijong stepped forward, I quickly turned my body and looked at Eom An.

“What reason do you have for requesting a duel with me? Is it revenge you seek?”

Even I knew that the Demonic Blade Master Eom An was the top disciple of the Iron Cry Blood Blade.

“That’s right. I want a life-and-death duel with you.”

I knew that if I rejected Eom An’s challenge here, the reputation I had built so far would plummet in an instant.

And judging by how he had followed me all the way here for this, avoiding him wasn’t going to solve anything either.

In that case, there was only one answer.

“Very well. I accept your challenge.”

“A life-and-death duel.”

I nodded at his words.

As word of our life-and-death duel spread, people rushed about in every direction.

In no time, more than twice the number of spectators who had gathered for the duels between the Do and Sword families had flooded in.

Even the high-ranking members of the Namgung Clan came to witness the match.

It was already astonishing that a warrior from the Demonic Path had the audacity to request a duel at the Namgung Clan’s grounds, but the fact that he was a renowned expert of the Six-Six Demonic Fiends and a disciple of the Iron Cry Blood Blade—as well as the fact that I had recently risen as a rising star in the Murim—caused rumors to spread like wildfire.

“Is that the Heavenly Central Sword Hero, Yong Hwarin?”

“Looks like it. From what I saw, Master Pang seemed to be chatting quite warmly with him, so I think that’s correct.”

“He doesn’t really look that impressive, though, does he?”

“How can you judge a warrior by his appearance? Even if he looks like a scholar, I’ve heard his martial arts are truly exceptional.”

“Well then, shall we see if those rumors are true? That Demonic Blade Master is quite well known in the Demonic Path, and he gained fame even before the Heavenly Central Sword Hero did.”

In Henan, my name as the Heavenly Central Sword Hero was already well established, so there weren’t many who doubted me, but in Anhui, my fame hadn’t yet spread as widely.

Moreover, since the Namgung Clan—reigning at the peak of reputation—was based in Anhui, they had a tendency to dismiss experts from other regions.

The duel proceeded exactly the way Eom An had hoped.

From the Namgung Clan’s perspective, both Eom An and I were guests.

And no host would sit idle while guests dueled in their front yard.

Namgung Soomyung understood that if one of us were to die or get injured during the life-and-death duel, the Namgung Clan’s reputation would also suffer.

Furthermore, if a figure from the Demonic Path caused a disturbance and the Namgung Clan failed to restrain him, rumors would spread that they were afraid of Eom An and dared not intervene.

So, before the life-and-death duel could happen, it was most prudent for Namgung Soomyung to step in and subdue Eom An himself.

If he simply stood by and watched, it would amount to admitting that he was inferior in skill to the two of us.

With all this in mind, Namgung Soomyung had no choice but to act.

Besides, he had recently mastered a martial art through his focused training and had full confidence that he could defeat someone like Eom An.

“You show up at our clan without notice and try to engage in a life-and-death duel with one of our guests. As the heir of the Namgung Clan, I cannot just sit back and allow this to happen.”

Eom An responded as if he had been waiting for this.

“Then what do you propose?”

“You’ll have to duel me first. If you lose, I expect you to leave quietly. Since Young Master Yong is our guest, I have every right as host to protect him.”

“Now that I hear it, that does make sense. Very well. But if I win, I will duel the Heavenly Central Sword Hero in a life-and-death battle, and you must ensure I can leave here peacefully.”

Namgung Soomyung’s face twitched slightly.

“Do you take us for Demonic Path members? If you win a fair duel, no one will stand in your way.”

Satisfied that he had extracted all he could, Eom An seemed content.

He had cornered a greenhorn like me into his scheme and now even secured his escape.

I said to Namgung Soomyung, “Young Master Namgung, that man is dangerous. Please allow me to face him in a life-and-death duel myself.”

Namgung Soomyung shook his head.

“Our clan’s reputation was not built on nothing. This is not a place where such men can rampage freely. I will handle this. Young Master Yong, please stand aside and watch.”

He subtly implied that he was stronger than me as he stepped forward to face Eom An.

Though the Namgung Clan’s elders were present among the crowd, none of them stopped him.

Because Namgung Soomyung’s argument made sense.

And because they knew that Namgung Soomyung had more than enough strength to subdue someone of Eom An’s level among the Six-Six Demonic Fiends.

Not long ago, he had even completed his new martial art and exchanged hundreds of strikes with one of the clan’s elders without either side emerging victorious.

That’s why they hoped Namgung Soomyung would win and elevate the clan’s reputation.

The only drawback he had was that he hadn’t made a name for himself through public duels, unlike Pang Giyok.

They hoped he would make up for that this time.

“Formality in duels isn’t my style,” said Eom An, drawing his blade.

“I don’t bother with formality for those who don’t show it themselves. I hope you understand,” Namgung Soomyung responded, unsheathing his sword.

As the two men drew their weapons, their auras expanded outward.

Sensing the intensity, the spectators instinctively stepped back a few paces.

Namgung Soomyung, having recently completed his closed-door training, had fully mastered the Sky Piercing Free Sword Technique and brimmed with confidence.

No one in the Namgung Clan had mastered that technique at his age before.

Only Namgung Bi, the Supreme Dragon of Henan, had been known to master it at such a young age.

The Namgung Clan was already in a stir, proclaiming the arrival of their second Sword King.

Seeing Namgung Soomyung’s confidence, Eom An smirked coldly.

‘No matter how lofty your technique, you’re still naïve enough to fall for a provocation. I’ll show you just how terrifying the Iron Cry Blood Blade’s techniques truly are.’

Eom An kicked off the ground and swung his blade in a straight line.

His form left afterimages, as if his body was stretching.

‘Fast!’

Seeing that, I grew worried—Eom An clearly possessed an extremely fast movement technique.

But surprisingly, Namgung Soomyung dodged at a similar speed and thrust his sword toward Eom An’s side.

Clang!

The blade struck the sword, and Namgung Soomyung immediately switched to a piercing thrust.

Though facing a heavy blade, his sword moved fluidly and nimbly.

For more than ten seconds, neither gave an inch as they exchanged swift, deadly strikes.

This showed that their martial prowess and skill were evenly matched.

‘Whoever reveals their hidden strength first will win this fight.’

But it was unclear which one of them had more yet to reveal.

“Young Master Yong, who do you think will break the stalemate?”

Jeong Suji quietly asked as she approached.

Immediately, several surrounding eyes turned coldly toward her.

Shangguan Mijong, Seomun Seoseol, and Pang Cheollyeon all glared at Jeong Suji, but Jeong Suji simply raised her chin as if to ask why they were looking at her, and moved even closer to my side.

Amused by her brazen behavior, I chuckled quietly and kept my eyes on the two fighters.

Clang! Clang!

The rhythmic sound echoed like several blacksmiths hammering away in a forge.

The two had entered a state of hyperfocus, as if nothing else existed except for each other.

‘As expected, both of them possess strength worthy of their reputations.’

But I couldn’t shake off a sense of dissatisfaction as I watched.

Ever since I had gained enlightenment on the Dao of Not Competing for the Flow from Namgung Bi, these types of fierce, back-and-forth clashes no longer impressed me.

To those watching, it might appear splendid—an intense, real fight.

I nodded slowly.

‘They’re slicing and stabbing at those who block the paths they’ve chosen. Cutting down those who stand in the way. But is there only one path to follow?’

A smile rose on my lips as I continued watching.

‘Ah, so those seemingly ridiculous movements of Elder Namgung Bi were born from trying to walk a path that isn’t a path at all.’

Seeing the duel affirmed to me that the realizations I had come to last night were not meaningless, and I felt joy.

“Why are you grinning like that?” Jeong Suji asked.

“Ah, I believe the duel will be decided soon.”

“So, who do you think will win?”

“Eom An will win.”

“Why?”

“Because Young Master Namgung only knows his own path, while Eom An knows both his path and the shortcuts.”

Jeong Suji tilted her head at the vague response.

Just as I had said, Namgung Soomyung responded to Eom An’s incoming blade with straightforward defense.

But no matter how fine his sword was, taking on the heavy blade strikes like that would inevitably lead to accumulating damage.

On the other hand, Eom An avoided what he could instead of clashing head-on, sidestepping strikes with minimal effort.

That meant Eom An had greater awareness of the trajectory and flow of the techniques.

Sure enough, after about ten more seconds, Namgung Soomyung began retreating step by step from his original position.

Meanwhile, Eom An wore a sardonic grin as he pressed the attack.

Even after fully deploying the Sky Piercing Free Sword Technique, Namgung Soomyung couldn’t overcome Eom An, which clearly irritated him.

Stung in his pride, Namgung Soomyung gathered all his internal energy and channeled it into his sword.

A resonant hum rang out, and sword qi began to form.

He had reached the state of Sword Resonance.

Eom An’s grin deepened at the sight.

‘If I later say I had to respond with sword qi just to survive such an attack, who would object?’

He had deliberately drawn out Namgung Soomyung’s use of sword qi.

Because killing him in a less threatening scenario might provoke retaliation from the Namgung Clan—not just toward him, but even his master.

But in a situation like this, there would be no grounds for retribution.

Eom An had become the top disciple of the Blood Cry Blade because of his exceptional insight and calculations.

“This is dangerous,” I murmured, narrowing my eyes as I sensed Eom An’s intent.

As expected, Namgung Soomyung hurled himself forward, his sword clad in sword qi.

Eom An followed half a beat later.

In the meantime, I calculated where Namgung Soomyung would be thrown back and moved to that location.

Eom An’s sword exuded a thicker, longer sword qi than Namgung Soomyung’s.

‘That’s the level of Qi Threads. Namgung Soomyung is in danger!’

As I sighed, the two collided midair.

CRASH!

The sound was like a massive boulder being split in two. Both of them flew back with the same force they’d clashed with.

Namgung Soomyung fell through the air.

His face turned as pale as a sheet from the shock.

Thud!

He staggered and fell toward where the crowd was, and I moved behind him to catch him.

At that moment, Eom An approached again, swinging his blade downward.

It wailed with a sharp ringing sound.

It was a blow meant to cut us both in half.

In truth, I had gradually moved toward Namgung Soomyung for this very reason—to lure in such an attack.

As Namgung Soomyung struggled to lift his sword, I stepped in front and intercepted the strike with a sudden burst of qi into my palm.

CLANG!

Eom An was flung back and dropped three zhang away.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

From that single strike, he had already gauged my level.

I stepped forward and cupped my fist toward Namgung Soomyung.

“I apologize for interfering in your duel, Young Master Namgung. But the blade of the Blood Cry Blade was so fearsome that I felt compelled to experience it myself. I’ll ask your forgiveness later.”

I had chosen to preserve Namgung Soomyung’s dignity as much as I could.

My own reputation might take a slight hit for stepping in, but it was better than letting him be defeated.

I turned toward Eom An and walked up.

“You’re called the Severing Blade Demon, are you not? Then today, I will sever your wrist.”

“Haha, what an arrogant fool. I’ll be cutting out that overconfident tongue of yours.”

“That sounds fun. We’ll soon find out who ends up a mute and who ends up a cripple.”

Seeing me respond so calmly, Eom An grew wary.

He had tried to provoke me with words, but my composure rendered his attempt useless.

If anything, he was the one who had fallen for his own trick.

“If your wrist gets cut off, you’ll want to carry it with you. I’ll preserve it in salt for you. Wouldn’t want it to go to the dogs.”

“You bastard…!”

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