Chapter 15. Sparring Match (2)
Only the three of us—Tang Sowol, Tang Cheong, and I—stood in the empty training grounds.
At the center of the grounds, Tang Cheong stood a few steps back, loosening his wrists as he began to speak.
"Let's briefly go over the rules. Since this is just a sparring match, poison and lethal strikes are forbidden. I also won't use any sharp weapons or hidden weapons with blades. Given the disparity in skill, we should probably limit the use of internal energy as well. What level do you think is appropriate? I'll follow your lead, little brother."
"Let's stick to the level of a first-rate martial artist, and we'll refrain from using sword energy. Does that sound fair?"
"Very well. The spar will end when one of us fully subdues the other or if either of us concedes. Agreed?"
"Let's start right away."
"Haha! You're in quite a hurry, aren't you, little brother?"
"That's how eager I am."
After saying that, I glanced to the side. Tang Sowol, now relegated to the sidelines, looked sullen, seemingly displeased with her current situation. I couldn't help but smile at her expression.
"What's with that face? What's bothering you now?"
"Bothering me… well, I suppose I can't complain too much. It makes sense that things didn't go according to my plan. After all, you're no longer just a kidnapper or a benefactor—you're my fiancé now. It's true that I wanted to get to know you better, but I'm also genuinely happy to see my brother again."
"If it's all right with you, I'll make time for you after the sparring match, until sunset… or even after, if you'd like."
"Fufu, thank you. But that's not what I'm upset about."
"What is it, then?"
"You're getting a bit too excited, don't you think? I could get you a sword, too, and I'd spar with you anytime you wanted."
As she said that, Tang Sowol averted her gaze slightly and added in a softer voice,
"Please… enjoy spending time with me a little more, like I did with you."
For a brief moment, a strange sensation stirred deep in my chest. It wasn't quite anger, but something warm and prickly that resembled it.
However, I didn't know what to say in response. After a moment's hesitation, all I could manage was a small nod.
Tang Sowol seemed to understand, as she nodded in return. Yet, the atmosphere remained awkward, and neither of us could do much to break the tension.
Apparently, Tang Cheong didn't appreciate the awkwardness.
"Let's get started already."
With a displeased expression, he furrowed his brow, clearly eager to move things along. The playful aura he had earlier was gone, replaced by a sharp, refined presence.
As soon as I reflexively drew my sword and assumed a stance, Tang Cheong's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
"Unlike Sowol, I'll be quite the difficult opponent."
"I figured as much, judging by your moniker."
Although Tang Sowol had mastered hidden weapon techniques to a high level as a Tang Clan warrior, her true specialty lay in poison arts.
That's why I had been able to deal with her relatively easily before, simply by preparing an antidote in advance.
However, judging by Tang Cheong's title, Dark Dragon, it was clear that he primarily used hidden weapons. Given that he was already a fully matured peak-level master, even without poison arts, he would be a formidable opponent.
Still, this was a sparring match, not a life-or-death duel. That gave me a chance.
I gathered my internal energy, letting out a faint killing intent that naturally seeped from my body. Normally, I would have concentrated it on a single target, but this time, I spread it across a wide area.
"What's… this?"
Tang Cheong's expression stiffened slightly as the faint killing intent filled the surroundings. However, once he realized it wasn't directed at him but merely diffused outward, he let out a small laugh.
I took half a step forward with my left foot and asked,
"Do seniors offer their juniors three chances in sparring matches?"
"For a warrior like you who takes sparring seriously, that would be an insult. No such courtesy here."
"Too bad."
With a faint smile, I kicked off the ground.
Tat!
Thanks to my slightly widened meridians, my energy flowed more smoothly, allowing me to move faster. The scenery blurred as I rapidly closed the distance.
However, closing the distance didn't mean I could reach Tang Cheong.
As soon as I approached, Tang Cheong retreated, leaving only hidden weapons behind in his wake.
Due to the short distance, I couldn't discern exactly where they were aimed.
Fortunately, I had prepared for such situations by spreading my killing intent throughout the area. Anything moving within range would inevitably disturb the energy field of Raging Wave Death-Stealing Art.
I spotted the incoming hidden weapons with my eyes and sensed them with my energy perception, then swung my sword.
Cheng! Chae-chaeng!
I deflected the iron coins flying toward my right shoulder and stepped back to avoid the metal ball aimed at my foot, but it didn't end there.
Behind the metal ball was another small projectile, hidden from my view. It ricocheted off the first ball and flew toward my wrist.
Ah, it's a Mother-Child Sphere. Hidden weapons designed to confuse the opponent by using two projectiles of different sizes.
While the initial projectile could be used as a simple distraction, it was rare for someone to consider the angles so meticulously. Even among unorthodox sect warriors, such precise hidden weapon techniques were uncommon.
I swiftly pulled back my sword and gripped the hilt tightly, twisting it so that the pommel protected my wrist.
Kaang!
The small sphere struck the pommel and bounced off into the distance. If it had hit me directly, my wrist wouldn't have broken, but it would have gone numb, making it difficult to hold my sword.
If that had happened, the spar would have ended right there.
After regaining my stance, I saw Tang Cheong narrowing his eyes from a distance.
"You're skilled."
"The Tang Clan's martial arts are certainly impressive, but the techniques themselves are similar to those I often saw used by unorthodox warriors."
"Ah, that's right—you're from Zhejiang Province, aren't you?"
"Yes"
To the unorthodox martial artist, martial arts are nothing more than a tool for winning. Poison and hidden weapons are common, but so are methods like taking hostages, bribery, and pretending to be friendly before stabbing someone in the back.
There's even a saying that "the one who gets tricked is the fool," which should tell you all you need to know.
Well, it was especially bad during the period when orthodox martial artists had disappeared, leaving only the unorthodox sects. Things improved somewhat once the Black Lotus Sect firmly established itself and secured control over Zhejiang Province.
Even unorthodox organizations need some degree of order if they want to maintain stability.
As I nodded quietly to myself, Tang Cheong grinned and said,
"Then, be on your guard. What I'm about to show you is a martial technique you've never seen before. Although I haven't sharpened my weapons, once a hidden weapon leaves my hand, there's no way to stop it."
"Please be careful as well, brother. Unlike your hidden weapons, I can stop my sword mid-swing, but I'm not very good at holding back."
"Haha, you're quite provocative once you draw your sword, aren't you, little brother?"
"It's just a habit. No deeper meaning."
"Ah, yes. Among unorthodox martial artists, there are plenty who act like they'll die if they're looked down upon. It seems you've picked up some bad habits too."
Clicking his tongue in mock disapproval, Tang Cheong suddenly swung his arm.
This time, he openly threw his weapons, but it was impossible to tell exactly what he had thrown, where they were aimed, or even when they had been thrown.
The loose-fitting robes characteristic of Tang Clan attire concealed the contours of his shoulders, and more than half of his hands were hidden.
Sswaeaaek!
Because of the peculiar shape of the iron coins, they flew in erratic trajectories. The Mother-Child Sphere skimmed low across the ground, appearing as though it might hit the floor at any moment. Meanwhile, a needle—Umoh-chim—was hidden among these weapons, aiming directly for one of my pressure points.
The last weapon, the needle, would have been difficult to detect without using my dispersed killing intent as a form of sensory feedback.
Even being able to sense it didn't guarantee I could respond to everything.
If Tang Cheong had imbued his weapons with killing intent, I might have been able to read their trajectories more easily… but this was a sparring match. Without the aid of killing intent, I had to rely purely on my eyes and senses to track his hidden weapons—and Tang Cheong's skill was impressive.
The Mother-Child Sphere, in particular, would have been nearly impossible to predict, even if there had been killing intent attached to it.
With that in mind, I decided to do what I did best.
I hurled myself directly into the barrage of hidden weapons.
"What the?!"
Tang Cheong's shocked voice reached my ears, but I ignored it. Focusing my internal energy into my legs, I unleashed it all at once.
Paaang!
The sudden burst of energy from my Yongcheon-hyeol (a vital acupuncture point on the sole) made my feet tingle, but I didn't care. I swung my sword in a wide arc.
Chaeng!
With a clear metallic clang, the iron coins bounced off my blade and clattered to the ground.
I hadn't precisely aimed my swing; if I had tried that, I wouldn't have been able to deflect even half of the weapons. Rather than directly targeting the hidden weapons, I had simply placed my sword where I predicted they would fly.
Since this was a sparring match, we were only aiming for non-lethal areas, and there were only so many spots where one could aim to safely subdue the opponent. I had simply swung my sword toward one of those areas.
"Hup!"
Instead of withdrawing my sword after the swing, I spun my body around in sync with its position. This time, I focused my internal energy into my arms and the fabric of my sleeves.
Puhong!
The wide sweep of my sleeve tore through the air, creating a loud whooshing sound accompanied by a gust of wind.
Naturally, Tang Cheong had imbued his needle with internal energy… but the delicate weapon couldn't withstand the sudden shockwave I created. Its trajectory wavered, and its power diminished significantly.
This wouldn't have been possible if Tang Cheong hadn't agreed to limit his internal energy use.
With its course disrupted, the needle either veered off target or lost its momentum entirely, allowing me to catch it harmlessly on my back and arm.
Since the needles weren't coated in poison and weren't aimed at my pressure points, there was no reason to be overly concerned.
Other than a slight sting, they didn't impair my movements at all.
Next, I turned my attention to the Mother-Child Sphere flying toward my lower body. The large and small spheres, which had seemed like they might hit the ground, instead collided with the floor and each other, spreading out over a wide area.
They covered a range too large to block with a single sword, and dodging wasn't an option either—I was too late, having focused on deflecting the previous hidden weapons.
However, the more intricate a technique is, the more it falls apart once it's disrupted.
I extended my right leg forward and twisted my body sideways. At the same time, I stretched out my arm, slipping my sword between the scattered spheres.
Thung!
A solid impact traveled through the hilt. I had targeted one of the spheres I had taken note of earlier and struck it with my sword tip. The sphere bounced away and collided with another one.
That sphere, in turn, hit yet another, and the sequence continued, causing the spheres to ricochet wildly off each other.
This was similar to how Tang Cheong had scattered the spheres widely earlier. The only difference was that instead of spreading them out in a controlled manner, I had aimed to create as much chaotic collision as possible.
Tadadak!
A fierce series of clattering sounds, like crackling sparks, echoed as the spheres scattered in all directions.
Some flew overhead, others hit the ground, and still more bounced away into the distance.
I succeeded in dispersing most of the attack, though I couldn't block everything.
I twisted my body sideways, minimizing the area exposed to the incoming spheres, but a few still struck my forearm and thigh.
Fortunately, since they hit me at an angle rather than head-on, the impact was manageable.
That should be enough.
Smiling faintly, I steadied my trembling legs and kicked off the ground once more.
Tat!
As I closed the distance again, Tang Cheong threw more hidden weapons. I dodged what I could, deflected what I couldn't, and braced myself for those I couldn't avoid.
This time, I didn't pause—I kept using my movement technique to close the gap.
While Tang Cheong could easily throw one or two hidden weapons on the move, launching dozens at once required him to stop for a brief moment.
By pressing forward without stopping, I gradually reduced the distance between us.
One step. Another step. Each time I drew closer, my body accumulated more cuts and bruises, but none were serious enough to stop me.
Finally, I reached striking distance. Tang Cheong gave a wry smile.
"You know, little brother…"
"I don't. And if you don't mind, I'm tired, so please don't talk to me right now."
"The Tang Clan prefers people with tenacity—people like you."
"Then how about letting me land a single hit?"
"Please don't say scary things while holding a real sword."
Tang Cheong, realizing that there was no more room to throw hidden weapons at such close range, shifted his stance into a ready position for close-quarters combat. He adopted the primary posture of the Fist Arts of the Tang Clan, a style designed to deal with enemies in melee range.
"Close-range fighting, huh? That's something I'm confident in as well," I thought, as I readied my sword, intending to target just the edge of his robes—nothing too serious.
Clang!
"…Huh?"
My sword clattered to the ground. No, more accurately, only the hilt remained in my hand. The blade had broken off mid-swing and tumbled to the floor.
With all the fights I'd been through lately and the sheer number of hidden weapons I had deflected during this sparring match, the accumulated stress on the blade had reached its limit. It wasn't entirely surprising that it couldn't withstand one last powerful swing.
"Ha…"
Still, of all times, I hadn't expected it to break now.
Had this been before my regression, I could have extended sword energy and compensated for the broken weapon. But this was only a sparring match. Tang Cheong hadn't gone all out with his internal energy, and he had been careful not to use lethal hidden weapons, so I couldn't exactly complain about my bad luck.
Admitting defeat was the only reasonable course of action.
With a long sigh, I sheathed the broken sword and politely cupped my hands in a gesture of surrender.
"I concede."
"Huh? Oh… oh. Yes, I see. That was a good spar, little brother."
Tang Cheong, looking somewhat bewildered by my abrupt surrender, relaxed his stance and returned my respectful gesture.
Thus, the sparring match ended with my defeat. Just as we were wrapping things up, Tang Sowol, who had been nervously watching from a distance, rushed over with an indignant expression.
"Brother! How could you turn someone who just finished recovering into a patient again?"
"P-patient?"
Tang Cheong, flustered, glanced at me while Tang Sowol pointedly gestured toward my arms and legs.
"Look at him! He's trembling like a drenched baby bird!"
"…It's not that bad."
I tried to protest in a calm tone, though I couldn't completely deny that my limbs were trembling slightly from the repeated impacts of the Mother-Child Sphere. Still, her comparison seemed a bit exaggerated.
Regardless, it appeared my words didn't reach Tang Sowol at all.
"I'll take Cheon Hwi-da to the medical hall. Brother, please take care of cleaning up here!"
"Well, you see, Sowol… little brother's martial skills were better than I expected, so I couldn't…"
"Hmph! Even so, you should have shown some restraint! You're older, more experienced, and much stronger. How could you bully someone younger like Cheon Hwi-da so harshly?"
Tang Sowol cut off her brother's excuse with a pout and pulled me forcefully toward her.
Pwoop.
She practically hugged me, holding me close to her side.
Truthfully, ever since I regressed and found myself back in this younger body, I'd been feeling quite dissatisfied with my physical state—being shorter, weaker, and lacking the strength I once had.
"…Hmm."
But now, as I felt the soft sensation pressing against the back of my head, for the first time, I didn't mind being in this smaller body.
Noticing my reaction, Tang Cheong's expression twisted into a scowl.
"Sowol, shouldn't you go and greet Father now that you're back?"
"Brother, I'll go see Father after I've taken Cheon Hwi-da to the medical hall. Isn't it proper to check on someone's health before anything else?"
"S-Sowol…?"
Ignoring her brother's protests, Tang Sowol simply turned away, pulling me along. Left behind, Tang Cheong slumped to the ground with a dejected look on his face.
Watching his pitiful figure, I buried my head a little deeper into Tang Sowol's shoulder and gave a subtle nod of satisfaction.
Molkang.
"…Mm."
Though I had lost the sparring match, I couldn't help but feel like I had won something.
Tang Cheong watched with a mix of frustration and bewilderment as his one and only younger sister held onto Cheon Hwi-da as if he were her precious child. He sighed, stood up, and tried to gather his thoughts.
As he brushed himself off, something caught his eye.
Swish.
"…Huh?"
His eyes narrowed as he noticed the cut in his sleeve.
Cheon Hwi-da's sword had broken before it could reach him, meaning the blade hadn't even touched his robe.
Then what was this neatly sliced fabric?
"…Sword wind?"
A gust of wind imbued with the sharpness of a blade. While it wasn't lethal, it was capable of slicing through clothing and hair.
This wasn't something just anyone could do. Only those who had achieved a state of Sword Unity or something equivalent could unleash such a technique.
"But… Cheon Hwi-da's level should be no more than first-rate."
This went beyond what Tang Cheong could comprehend with his current understanding of martial arts.
He continued to stare at his sleeve for a while, then scratched the back of his head.
"I have a lot to ask Father…"
Muttering to himself, Tang Cheong began walking toward the Patriarch's hall, where Tang Jincheon would be. However, after taking only three steps out of the training grounds, he abruptly turned back.
"…Might as well clean up before I go."
With a sullen expression, Tang Cheong started picking up the scattered hidden weapons one by one.
In the Tang Clan, hidden weapons were never left for servants to clean up, as there was always the concern of them being leaked outside the clan.
Sigh.
At that moment, Tang Cheong felt a little resentful toward the world.