Chapter 149: Round of 32 (3)

Namgung Suah steadied her breath as she stood on the arena.

The Dragon Phoenix Tournament. Round of 32.

She calmed her nerves and composed her mind.

It’s fine.

Though she’d rarely shown her face outside the clan until now, that didn’t mean she never should.

She was just a little nervous, that’s all.

Appearing for the first time in front of so many people…

Namgung Suah relaxed her somewhat stiff expression, then drew her sword.

Schwing.

As her gigantic sword came into view, Cheongsong grinned and placed his hand on his sword’s hilt.

“Please treat me well.”

“…Fufu, with pleasure. Please take care of me as well. You won’t go easy on me just because I’m Myeong’s friend, will you?”

“Of course not.”

Once both sides were ready, the referee raised his hand.

— Begin…!

With the signal, Namgung Suah charged forward.

SCREECH!

The gigantic sword dragged against the floor.

She twisted, her greatsword carving a devastating arc through the air.

CRACK!

Faint electrical currents sparked through the air, making Cheongsong’s lips curve upward.

“Impressive!”

Click. His thumb nudged the sword free from its sheath, steel flashing in a lightning draw.

CLANG!

His quick-drawn blade flashed upward, colliding against her greatsword.

BOOM!

An explosive boom sent Namgung Suah soaring through the air.

Watching her float gracefully through the air with her greatsword, Cheongsong exclaimed in admiration.

“They call you the Flower of Namgung, and indeed it is like watching a butterfly.”

Laughter rang out as he kicked off the ground, kicking through the air to soar higher, sword drawing back for the strike.

“Hup…!”

The Azure Wind Sword Technique burst forth.

Swift as a painted azure wind, his blade carved through the air in relentless strikes, driving toward Namgung Suah.

She watched the storm of swords unfold, calmly gripping her greatsword with both hands.

As both fighters were suspended in midair…

Namgung Suah’s eyes slowly opened, revealing brilliant blue irises.

CRACKLE!

A flash of light.

Azure lightning tore through the sky.

RUMBLE────────!!!

Cheongsong’s body blasted away, accompanied by the sound of roaring thunder.

CRASH! His body slammed into the ground, raising clouds of dust.

Namgung Suah flipped several times in midair before landing gracefully.

I can reach it.

Her blue eyes gazed into the distance.

Dark skies. A castle shrouded in storm clouds. Azure lightning crackling within.

She still didn’t particularly enjoy standing boldly before others.

She had never bothered to think about those reasons in detail, merely assuming it was her innate nature.

Nonetheless, now that she had taken the first step, shouldn’t she see it through to the end?

“Well now…”

Cheongsong emerged, brushing away the dust.

Still smiling, he dusted off his clothes.

“I wonder what flows in Namgung blood. First Myeong, now Young Lady Namgung.”

WHOOSH!

He unleashed his qi, the wind rising in command.

Azure wind wrapped around his body, and then crimson qi began rising from his sword.

Azure Wind Crimson Sunset Sword Technique.

It was an advanced form of the Azure Wind Sword Technique, one that he hadn’t been practicing for long.

However, despite his insufficient mastery over it, its power far exceeds the basic form.

He took the preparatory stance and bared his teeth.

“Here I come.”

“Anytime.”

Thud!

Cheongsong charged forward.

Namgung Suah slowly inhaled as she faced him.

The direction of my mental image.

Somewhere far in the distance. A goal to finally reach.

Imagining it, containing it—she imbued lightning into her sword.

CRACKLE!

Her greatsword erupted in azure current, sweeping through the air. Cheongsong didn’t retreat as steel met steel.

COLLIDE!

The moment their blades collided, Cheongsong moved. He dispersed the impact into thin air, circling her with the persistent grace of creeping twilight.

Namgung Suah wielded her greatsword like a second body.

Sometimes she controlled the blade, sometimes the blade controlled her.

Using her greatsword as leverage, she launched skyward in a spinning motion, raising the massive blade high.

Azure Lightning Thunderlight Cultivation Art.

The fundamental art Seojun created. She glimpsed the lightning within it.

Faster and more intense than anything else.

WHOOSH! Deep azure sword qi bloomed along the colossal blade.

Then came the Thirteen Stormflash Swords.

CRACKLE! The rising sword qi transformed into lightning qi.

To follow his teachings, she first needed to understand him.

The lightning Seojun had envisioned was originally influenced by Namgung Suah herself.

The electricity he had shaped and drawn now found its home in her sword.

“Huup…!”

She squeezed every ounce of strength from her body and swung the greatsword.

Following the path of the Sword Form of the Emperor, the technique she unleashed came crashing down towards Cheongsong’s head.

RUMBLE!

Countless bolts of lightning hammered the area. The Sword Form of the Emperor’s signature crushing pressure had transformed into pure electricity.

Against that raging azure storm, Cheongsong laughed heartily and imbued his blade with the crimson sunset.

“I shall not lose…!”

The moment their swords met, Namgung Suah saw it.

A gap narrow as a needle’s eye. Azure lightning threading through that space.

Her eyes were stolen in an instant, her sight flooded white as her soul seemed torn away, bewitched by that scene.

FLASH─────────!!!

Suddenly, she found herself beyond the wall.

Stone crumbled behind her back.

She looked at Cheongsong’s broken sword and another blade blocking her own greatsword, then smiled brightly.

“How was that?”

“Fucking incredible.”

Having leaped from his seat to block her strike, Seojun grinned.

“Congratulations. You seem to be ready now.”

She should be able to use it now.

The Life and Death Breakthrough Art.

The peerless technique that opens the Conception and Governing Vessels.

Namgung Suah had finally reached the threshold to the Transcendent Realm.

Her match concluded the Round of 32 for the Dragon Phoenix Tournament.

With four days of rest before the Round of 16 began, Seojun and his group pondered how to spend their break as they left the arena.

“Today’s match was truly impressive.”

Cheongsong followed behind them, grinning as he cupped his fists.

“I was fortunate. Truth is, I hadn’t completely grasped the key myself…”

He shook his head to refute her words.

“This Cheongsong does not believe his training to be worthless enough to be defeated by mere luck. I humbly offer my congratulations.”

“Fufu, I’m grateful.”

After a brief exchange with Namgung Suah, Cheongsong introduced a man who had come with him.

“Myeong, you haven’t met this one before, have you?”

The man casually cupped his fists.

“As you remember… I am Eun Wiryong of Diancang.”

His voice carried a listless, deflated tone.

He seemed thoroughly uninterested in the Dragon Phoenix Tournament, not in any meaningful way, but like someone who just wanted to escape the situation quickly.

As if confirming this, Eun Wiryong departed after brief introductions and perfunctory greetings.

Cheongsong watched his retreating figure with a bitter smile.

“He used to be so full of enthusiasm.”

Namgung Myeong asked.

“Did something happen at Diancang?”

“No, nothing of the sort. He is just… wandering a bit, I suppose.”

It wasn’t uncommon.

Those raised in the Sixteen Great Sects from childhood naturally stepped onto the martial path.

But at some point, many found themselves lost, having forgotten their purpose.

What did they truly want to do? Should they continue walking the martial path?

Surprisingly many struggled with these questions.

Hearing this, Seojun thought.

So it’s basically career anxiety?

If you roughly compared the martial path to modern times, it’d probably be like medical school. There was nothing held in higher regard in the Central Plains.

Essentially, these were teenagers torn between dreams and reality.

Maybe some hadn’t even found their dreams yet.

“How cute.”

They’re just little kids, aren’t they?

Seojun chuckled.

“Good times indeed. Yep, for sure.”

Watching him, Chunbong sighed.

He’s thinking something stupid again.

By now, it was painfully obvious.

The tiresome meeting began.

But today was different.

Today’s agenda was brand spanking new!

How should they respond to the North Sea Ice Palace’s outrageous, shameless act of brazenly infiltrating Henan to assassinate an Imperial Great General…

“This matter cannot be taken lightly. The fact that those Black Serpent bastards crawled all the way to Henan and succeeded in an assassination is a disgrace to the Orthodox Faction.”

About thirty to sixty minutes into the meeting.

Progress remained sluggish.

Everyone knew this was serious business, but no one understood what methods the assassin had used.

How could a martial artist of that caliber infiltrate Henan? How did they assassinate the Great General in such a short time and slip away without a trace, fooling countless martial artists?

It was enough to make ghosts weep.

“I question whether we should even continue the Dragon Phoenix Tournament. What if the young rising stars get massacred?”

An Elder from the Tang Clan asked with cold eyes.

The Eunuch Bureau Admiral added to that question.

“To add on, how does Shaolin plan to take responsibility for the Great General’s assassination in Henan?”

This was Shaolin’s Dragon Phoenix Tournament, and the assassination had occurred in Shaolin’s territory.

Though the Admiral questioned the Abbot accusingly, the Abbot remained calm.

“If the Third Prince had been assassinated, Shaolin would naturally have taken responsibility.”

“What are you implying…?”

“Must Shaolin protect even Imperial Generals? Wouldn’t that be insulting to the Great General?”

“Abbot…! How can you say such things…!”

The Abbot raised his hand, cutting him off.

“On the contrary, I believe continuing the Dragon Phoenix Tournament is the correct choice. To stop it now would severely damage the orthodox faction’s morale. They would say we have surrendered to the Black Serpent.”

The Tang Elder nodded reluctantly, despite his uncomfortable expression.

The Abbot continued.

“For now, one thing is certain. The assassin belongs to the North Sea Ice Palace, and they are skilled enough to assassinate an Imperial General in such a short time.”

The Abbot turned to the Tang Elder.

“Elder Tang, regarding assassination methods, you would be the proper person to ask.”

“Huu….”

Tang Clan and assassination. Though an open secret, the elder frowned uncomfortably when it came up directly.

“Assassination… Indeed, there are a myriad of methods. One comes to mind.”

“What would that be?”

“Assassinating the General in such a short timeframe is practically impossible. Only someone like the Ice Palace Lord himself could have such skill.”

The North Sea Ice Palace Lord. Leader of the North Sea Ice Palace within the Seven Malevolent Sects, and an Unrestrained Realm martial artist.

The Tang Clan elder ignored the attention focused on him and continued.

“However, I do not believe the Ice Palace Master would commit the madness of crawling to Henan.”

Most of the meeting agreed.

“Then the assassin must be someone raised from birth specifically to kill the Great General.”

A martial artist’s qi detection isn’t perfect.

Without transcending human limitations, they could not constantly process all information, so qi detection distinguished between unfamiliar and familiar.

This meant they might unconsciously overlook familiar qi signatures.

There was an assassination method that exploited this.

Raise an assassin from birth to match the target’s preferences, have them infiltrate and become extremely intimate with the target, then attempt assassination only when that relationship is established.

This method required investments of up to decades and often failed when assassins genuinely bonded with targets, making it rarely used.

“Elder Tang, how do you suppose the assassin broke through the encirclement and escaped?”

“I know nothing about that, but if I were to conjecture, perhaps their Shadow Concealment Technique has reached the pinnacle?”

“Hmm….”

Few seemed to agree with Elder Tang’s opinion.

Then Seojun, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

“From this incident, it seems the Black Serpent has an exceptional assassin. Didn’t this person cause trouble before? How about looking for clues there?”

Words from Heaven-reaching True Qi, whose influence had grown due to recent achievements.

People found this plausible and looked to the Red Face Beggar, since the Beggar’s Union was most famous for information among the Sixteen Great Sects.

“Similar incidents…”

The Red Face Beggar scratched his head and turned to Mount Hua’s elder.

The Mount Hua elder sighed deeply and spoke.

“As some may already know… Elder Jongin recently went missing.”

“By Elder Jongin, you mean the Ten Thousand Demon Slayer Jongin?”

“Correct.”

“Don’t tell me Elder Jongin was assassinated by the Black Serpent’s killer?”

Just as planned.

Seojun smiled wickedly.

“That is…”

Mount Hua’s Elder hesitated.

“Most traces of martial arts at the scene were erased, however, judging by the remaining sword marks…”

“Why are you drawing this out?”

Mount Hua’s elder finally continued.

“Well… Mount Hua has concluded those were traces of the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword.”

Gasp.