Chapter 169: Finals (2)

The Dragon Phoenix Tournament that felt both short and long was reaching its finale.

Abbot Deokseong of Shaolin had finished a brief speech congratulating the two rising stars who had advanced to the finals.

The arena was packed with more spectators than ever before.

Standing on the stage, Chunbong’s clear eyes sparkled.

“I won’t lose, big sis.”

“Yes. I won’t go easy on you either.”

Namgung Suah smiled faintly as she drew her greatsword.

— Begin!

Neither martial artist moved rashly at the declaration.

They each knew each other’s skillset well, and even Namgung Suah who was relatively ahead knew she could suffer an absurd defeat from a single mistake.

In that moment of suffocating silence,

Whoooosh────────

A light breeze blew. The instant the delicate balance shifted, Chunbong charged.

Thud!

She launched herself forward, keeping Seojun’s advice in mind.

There was no doubt. Her big brother was never wrong about these things.

Flying forward, Chunbong immediately unleashed her sword.

Blue Dragon Parts the Clouds.

Her sword, imbued with the Principle of Swiftness, blurred as dozens of slashes instantly engulfed Namgung Suah.

Swish swish! Seeing the sword strikes fill her view, she smiled.

“You’ve improved this much already…”

Much sharper than the sword she’d seen just days ago. Crack! Lightning suddenly sparked across Namgung Suah’s entire body.

Rumble!

Her long greatsword cleaved through the air ahead. Chunbong’s sword strikes scattered under the tremendous force.

Namgung Suah immediately advanced, and using the momentum from lifting her greatsword, she spun forward.

She then unleashed the Sword of the Boundless Azure Sky in perfect sequence.

In the face of that powerful greatsword descending upon her, Chunbong poured strength into both hands and swung with all her might.

Blue Dragon Splits the Heavens.

BOOOOOM─────────!!!

The power of the two swords was evenly matched, but Chunbong was faster.

Chunbong steadied herself from being knocked back and immediately followed with her next technique.

Blue Dragon Ascends.

Her sword extended in nine directions, targeting Namgung Suah’s entire body.

Chunbong Divine Art?

Namgung Suah frowned, unable to tell even after looking closely. That was the terror of the Chunbong Divine Art.

Finally, she gripped her greatsword tightly.

The Chunbong Divine Art was a technique created by Seojun. Trying to discern it through qi detection at her level was a bad move.

She could only rely on her five senses and her knowledge of Sister Geum’s psychology.

If it’s the Sister Geum I know…

She would use the Chunbong Divine Art here.

Swish! The sword qi gathered on her greatsword transformed into lightning qi. Speed over power. She quickly swept away the feints and followed up with another attack.

Rumble──────────!!

Namgung Suah’s greatsword was swung with unbelievable speed for its length.

The lightning greatsword clashed with Chunbong’s sword.

CLANG────────!!

And was deflected.

“Urgh…!”

It wasn’t a feint! Blue Dragon Ascends engulfed Namgung Suah’s entire body.

She hastily twisted her body to dodge and pulled back her parried greatsword to defend her body.

Clang!

Blood spurted out with a splash. Among the nine sword strikes, the one she couldn’t block grazed her side.

Gritting her teeth, Namgung Suah spun around. She turned in the direction of the sword to minimize damage, then extended her foot to strike Chunbong’s chest.

Thunk! Chunbong blocked with her arm and was pushed back.

“Hehe.”

A laugh resembling Seojun’s. Chunbong shook off her numb arm and pointed her sword.

“Now we’re getting started!”

The arena shook from the impact of clashing swords.

Chunbong targeted openings with quick, light movements while Namgung Suah fluidly moved to parry her strikes while counterattacking.

As time passed, wounds accumulated across Namgung Suah’s body.

Though Namgung Suah was ahead in pure skill, she kept losing in psychological warfare.

From her perspective, she had no choice but to be wary of the Chunbong Divine Art. Compared to Chunbong, she had twice as much to worry about, and that was why she was falling behind.

“Haa… haa…”

Namgung Suah caught her breath while looking at Chunbong.

In today’s match, Chunbong hadn’t used the Chunbong Divine Art even once.

Everything she’d thought were feints had been real strikes, and she had suffered losses each time from pointless assumptions.

Watching her while catching her breath, Chunbong said with a pouty expression.

“Big sis, don’t half-ass it.”

—Half-ass it? It sounded like provocation to disturb Namgung Suah’s composure, but upon thinking about it, she smiled bitterly.

“Does it look that way?”

“Yup. There’s no way big sis would be pushed back this much, not possible.”

“Is that so?”

It’s not like there weren’t ways to counter the Chunbong Divine Art.

The Chunbong Divine Art was ultimately based on illusions. It couldn’t possess physical force.

The strikes that she had to parry could only be a result of the Blue Cloud Divine Sword in the end.

Without lowering her guard, Chunbong said.

“I want to win, of course… but I don’t want to win in a cheap way.”

“…Yes.”

“I’ll elevate the Geum Clan’s name fair and square.”

Getting advice from Seojun was fine.

That guy’s abilities are my abilities.

Geum Chunbong and Lee Seojun were inseparable, half-unified beings.

However, Namgung Suah not giving her all was different. It hurt her pride.

It might be an arbitrary standard, but that’s what Chunbong thought.

So what if she was being unreasonable?

Chunbong grinned mischievously.

“Here I come…!”

She shouted and charged. Namgung Suah observed her approach.

Sister Geum. A child no different from being her cute little sister.

Her face was flushed red with excitement, and a bright smile graced her entire face.

Though she’d said she’d do her best— was it because she knew how much Sister Geum wanted to win?

Sister Geum seemed to have noticed the hesitation that had unknowingly taken root.

I don’t want to ruin that expression.

Steeling her heart, Namgung Suah reached beyond her limits.

Rumble────────!!

Lightning struck down. The Sword Form of the Emperor unleashed, wrapping the area in thunderbolts, and Namgung Suah in the center stared at Chunbong with flashing blue eyes.

“Very well.”

She stepped forward, gripping the greatsword with both hands.

“I won’t lose.”

Lightning burst out from her wide-open eyes, azure lightning sparking all around her body as she swung her greatsword with all she had.

Crackle────────!!

Chunbong ducked under the path of blue and charged forward. Namgung Suah stomped her foot.

Flash! Lightning sparkled before Chunbong’s eyes. She quickly turned her body and leaped into the air.

In an instant, all the expanding lightning ceased. Namgung Suah raised her greatsword high. All the lightning gathered in her sword as azure sword qi stretched to the ends of the sky.

The spectators trembled at the dark clouds that suddenly covered the heavens. Not one person could speak.

Rumble!

The master of lightning brought down her greatsword. There seemed to be no way for Chunbong, still floating in the air, to avoid that strike.

In other words, the Chunbong Divine Art appeared to be sealed.

But Namgung Suah knew her. She was similar to her big brother Seojun. She would find a way to strike at her weak point in any situation.

This time for sure.

She would find a way to use the Chunbong Divine Art.

However, Namgung Suah was careful. She didn’t bet everything on one possibility.

Rumble─────────!!!

She swung down her greatsword half a breath early to execute a feint, then gracefully rotated on her front foot, unleashing her lightning with full force.

It was a suboptimal move that could handle both the Blue Cloud Divine Sword and the Chunbong Divine Art.

Watching the surging lightning, Chunbong smiled.

As expected of my big brother.

She never doubted him for a second.

His advice was simple: Don’t use the Chunbong Divine Art. Not in any situation.

Someone as mindful as Namgung Suah would be wary of the Chunbong Divine Art and use suboptimal rather than optimal moves.

Though Namgung Suah was one step ahead, if she used suboptimal moves while Chunbong used optimal ones, there was a chance for victory.

But…

This is stronger than I thought?

The lightning filling her eyes was certainly no less than her own best. She had grown once again during this match.

There would be no conclusion at this rate, and if the fight dragged on, her strategy might be read.

“Hup…!”

Chunbong steeled herself. She would end it with this final sword strike. To do that, she had to surpass her own limits.

Her big brother’s advice had been enough support, so now was the time for her to move forward on her own.

Chunbong saw the path before her. There were branching paths she couldn’t even see the end of, yet she didn’t hesitate. She simply followed the path she had already chosen.

In her mind, she temporarily pushed aside Lee Seojun… and awakened the dragon coiled in the center.

The platinum dragon awakened from slumber and roared toward the heavens.

The time that passed was but an instant.

Looking at the blinding azure lightning, Chunbong whispered.

“Blue Dragon Awakens from Dreams and Roars Throughout Heaven and Earth.”

Chunbong’s irises glowed with a soft platinum light. The robe draped over her body fluttered as the dragon’s eyes on her robe came to life.

The surging azure lightning.

With her sword extended out, she moved forward in silence, piercing through the lightning that filled the world. Like a dragon commanding the clouds as it traversed the thunderstorm.

The lightning she cleaved gave way before her.

Cry────────

The sword resonance from Chunbong’s blade roared like a dragon.

“…”

An awful silence descended. No one dared make a sound.

Namgung Suah smiled bitterly.

“Congratulations, Sister Geum.”

Chunbong’s sword, extended straight and true, touched Namgung Suah’s throat.

— Winner! From the Divine Sword Geum Clan…! Geum Hee……!

The referee’s declaration sounded like a scream. Chunbong exhaled her heated breath and raised her sword high.

Her breath, filled to the brim, burst forth, and her chest stirred strangely with the vague realization that she had won.

Cry────────────

Her sword once again released a sword resonance. Her chest trembled with the vibration she felt at her fingertips.

“Ah…!”

Her head went white hot after suddenly realizing something.

Chunbong smiled brightly, feeling the presence of the dragon settled in her chest, moaning with euphoria, and releasing the old resentment lodged in her throat.

“Father! Mother! Grandfather! I, Hee…! Hee…… the Geum Clan’s… status……!”

Unable to finish her words, tears poured down the victor’s face as thunderous cheers that shook heaven and earth erupted.

WOOOOOOOOO─────────!!!

Everyone present seemed to be celebrating the Geum Clan’s revival.

Chunbong bit her lip hard while crying profusely with a loud sniffle while thinking to herself.

…Thank goodness.

This time I didn’t mix up the names.

“Let Geum Hee of the Divine Sword Geum Clan come forward!”