Battle for Strongest First-Year in Combat Department

Monday.

The match that could be considered the finals of the first-year combat department martial arts competition was about to begin.

The two martial artists were staring at each other in the waiting room.

“In the end, we’re fighting again.”

Baek Hwayeon smiled.

“Indeed.”

Lee Dojin also smiled. He hadn’t imagined that Baek Hwayeon would end up facing him like this. And he couldn’t help but admit that it was quite a rude inference and an arrogant judgment.

-First-year students Lee Dojin and Baek Hwayeon, please come up to Arena A.

“Let’s go.”

It was time to settle the match between Baek Hwayeon and himself.

Baek Hwayeon nodded at Lee Dojin’s words.

“Okay.”

---

The audience seats were filled with students. Not only combat department students, but also quite a few magic department students were seated.

This was probably because the martial arts match about to take place was quite a big match.

“The person who wins this becomes the strongest first-year in the combat department, huh.”

“Hasn’t it already been decided, though?”

“You never know. Baek Hwayeon, she turned around matches that seemed lost at the last minute.”

Students gathered in groups, chattering about the direction of the martial arts match.

Sword Empress Yoo Seol-ah, one of the Four Superhumans, was sitting at the back of the audience seats. And next to her sat Ten Venerables Fist King Kang Taejin and Spear King Lee Jigwang side by side.

Kang Taejin opened his mouth.

“Do you think the Sword Empress’s disciple has a chance of winning?”

The Sword Empress was 34 years old, much younger than Kang Taejin. But the hierarchy in the hunter world is determined by martial power. That’s why he used such respectful language.

It was respect for those who had achieved high martial arts.

Yoo Seol-ah drew a smile with her eyes. Her face was radiant, but no one in this audience took her lightly.

“She didn’t have much of a chance in the last martial arts match either. She’ll have even less this time.”

Kang Taejin nodded at the Sword Empress’s honest words. Those words were right. It was already surprising that she had snatched victory from Ryu Jia in the last match.

‘That plum blossom sword brat’s last plum blossom move. It momentarily far exceeded her own limits.’

That’s how she was able to break through that blind swordsman’s wave of swords.

But this time, even if such an insight was demonstrated again, it was an opponent where victory couldn’t be envisioned.

Kang Taejin swallowed hard.

Lee Dojin.

The more he looked at that guy, the more he couldn’t gauge his limits.

Last Friday’s battle with his youngest son Kang Changhyung was still vivid in his mind.

Kang Changhyung had the most outstanding talent among his three sons. But Lee Dojin was the one who effortlessly overwhelmed that talent.

The domain deployment that Kang Changhyung had unfolded then was a technique called ‘Heavenly Destruction Formation’. When the caster threw a punch, the energy circulating in that formation simultaneously threw punches.

Dozens, hundreds of fists striking down at the enemy simultaneously.

But he easily destroyed such a technique. This was partly because Kang Changhyung’s Heavenly Destruction Formation was still clumsy, but even with such a clumsy Heavenly Destruction Formation, it would be normal for someone encountering it for the first time to be flustered. But Lee Dojin conquered everything without a hint of confusion.

‘…I don’t know.’

Still, he thought there was no way he would lose to Lee Dojin. After seeing the battle with his youngest son, that certainty was shaken. If it came down to a life-and-death battle, he couldn’t confidently declare victory or defeat.

There were about 1000 people in the audience seats.

That was just the number of people sitting, and there were even more people standing to watch the match.

It was a natural progression, as most students had finished their own martial arts matches and reached the semi-finals for each year.

Ryu Jia was staring at the martial arts arena with her eyes closed. She focused all her energy sense on the arena. Terrain features were drawn in her mind’s eye, and two human figures were vaguely drawn.

Even without trying, Lee Dojin’s figure could be glimpsed as a halo of light, but she wanted to perfectly grasp the aspect of the match.

So Yoo-eun, a woman with sky-blue hair, was sitting in the audience with a stern face. Unlike the combat department, the final exam for the theory department was replaced with a short thesis presentation. So Yoo-eun, who was in Class 1 of the theory department, was likely to receive the top grade there.

But even so, she didn’t feel good. Probably because Lee Dojin was standing on that martial arts arena right now.

In So Yoo-eun’s mind, the voice of her father, Sword Emperor So Daecheol, echoed.

-Confirm with your own eyes. How I should deal with him.

-Whether he’s someone you can grab by the neck and possess again.

-Or whether he’s someone who needs to be crushed.

She could see Lee Dojin still holding his wooden sword.

He’s smiling. In a situation where all these numerous spectators are staring straight at him alone.

Fighting spirit envelops his body. So Yoo-eun had to feel her whole body stiffen as soon as she encountered that fighting spirit.

Prey before a predator.

An ordinary person before a genius.

That is.

Not the kind of human that can be possessed.

So Yoo-eun bit her lip tightly. Her hands trembled.

The judge’s voice announcing the start of the martial arts match echoed through the arena.

Kwak!

Lee Dojin and Baek Hwayeon simultaneously stomped on the ground of the martial arts arena. Baek Hwayeon’s light pink hair fluttered.

“I know.”

Baek Hwayeon’s voice flowed into Lee Dojin’s ears.

“I probably can’t beat you.”

Lee Dojin silently listened to those words.

“But, there will be more times in the future when we have to fight even knowing we’ll lose, right?”

White sword energy bloomed on Baek Hwayeon’s sword. And plum blossoms bloomed. Brilliant plum blossoms.

She pours everything out from the start. That was the strategy Baek Hwayeon had come up with.

Baek Hwayeon’s sword was dazzling. To the point where it was indistinguishable what was real and what was feint. At least to the eyes of the first and second-year students in the audience. Third and fourth-year students could distinguish to some extent.

Kang-

Lee Dojin.

Kaang!

Distinguished all the real and feint sword moves. With his naked eye. Without borrowing Mistilteinn’s power. Just with the sense of his whole body utilizing the Heaven Defying Inner Power.

Kagagagagang!

Torn plum blossom petals from the wooden sword embroidered the air. Baek Hwayeon didn’t despair. Because she was already aware that this was the level of difference.

Astonishment rippled in the eyes of the Ten Venerables.

Can’t he do it? No, he can. That level of illusory swordsmanship was very easy to see through. However, at that age, they couldn’t do it.

That’s what’s frightening. The years that this young swordsman will advance through.

They couldn’t even imagine how much of a monster he would become, this guy who was already spending time at a density different from others.

The sword strikes towards each other didn’t cease.

Baek Hwayeon poured out the forms she had refined to the extreme among the 24 forms of the Twenty-Four Seasonal Plum Blossom Sword Technique on Lee Dojin.

Plum Blossom Scattering was blocked.

And the 8th form Plum Blossom Wind and Rain, which gathered plum blossoms and rotated them in a spiral, was crushed by Lee Dojin’s 1st form Soul Chasing.

Jjeoeng-!

“Kuhek!”

The sword power of Soul Chasing that pulverized the plum blossoms struck the center of the white armor suit Baek Hwayeon was wearing. A fishy taste rose in her mouth.

“Haa… haa.”

Baek Hwayeon’s rough breathing reached even the people in the audience seats.

“You’ve improved a lot.”

Lee Dojin praised Baek Hwayeon’s swordsmanship that had become even more versatile. While dazzling, it preserved Baek Hwayeon’s inherent sharpness.

“That’s right. I’ve improved a lot.”

At Lee Dojin’s praise, Baek Hwayeon grinned, showing her white teeth. Her light pink hair was already soaked with sweat.

“But it’s too far. To stand side by side.”

“…”

Lee Dojin slowly shook his head at those words.

“You and I are side by side.”

Such self-deprecation wasn’t necessary.

“That’s why we’re standing here now. That’s why you and I are exchanging swords.”

Lee Dojin adjusted his grip on the wooden sword.

“And that’s why we can have this conversation.”

Lee Dojin smiled at his friend.

Baek Hwayeon smiled back, but slowly shook her head.

“It’s different.”

Everything Lee Dojin recited was correct, but.

It’s different from the essence of what she said.

Desire.

“You noticed, right?”

Plum blossom buds rose on Baek Hwayeon’s sword. Pink energy flow enveloped the martial arts arena like light.

Lee Dojin noticed.

That she was about to use Plum Blossom Full Bloom again, the sword technique she had deployed in their sparring at the beginning of the semester and the form that ended the martial arts match with Ryu Jia on Friday.

Lee Dojin nodded.

“That it hasn’t fully bloomed yet?”

“As expected, your eyes saw it.”

Sword Empress Yoo Seol-ah had shown it before. Although they hadn’t crossed swords even once yet. She had shown the plum blossom sword energy.

Deep red sword energy.

Compared to that, Baek Hwayeon’s sword energy was still close to white. White that had only recently started to have a light pink tinge.

Yoo Seol-ah said that was already an amazing talent. That it was proof of understanding the subtleties of plum blossoms.

But in her own view, the gap with her master was too large. Because the color of the Plum Blossom Sword Master’s sword energy isn’t determined by the achievement of inner power.

Because it represents the achievement of enlightenment.

While being able to understand the greatness of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique that emits this much power without even reaching pink sword energy.

It meant her own endless inadequacy.

“You know, I like you.”

Baek Hwayeon spoke softly. So quietly that only the Ten Venerables could vaguely hear.

“Puhup!”

The Sword Empress spat out the water she was drinking.

“So wait. Because you keep getting endlessly stronger, I’ll also get endlessly stronger and.”

From the white sword energy rippling on the sword, light pink haze rose.

And at its end, numerous plum blossoms bloomed.

“I’ll stand beside you.”

Inner power suddenly drained from Baek Hwayeon’s dantian. It was the plum blossom wave.

Pi──it!

Sword and body become one.

Plum Blossom Full Bloom (梅花滿開).

Centered on Baek Hwayeon’s body, plum blossoms bloomed endlessly.

Sharp and beautiful flowers made of light pink sword energy.

Plum blossom after plum blossom followed in succession. Hundreds, thousands. It was a festival of countless flowers. The whale wave (鯨波) of plum blossoms drawing concentric circles centered on Baek Hwayeon’s body continued to cover the martial arts arena.

To the eyes of spectators at the far end of the audience seats, it looked as if Baek Hwayeon’s body was blooming into one giant plum blossom.

And the petals of those thousands of flowers all poured down towards Lee Dojin at once. That sight was. Insufficient to describe as a downpour.

White light flowed in Baek Hwayeon’s eyes. Her whole body screamed. But she had to advance.

So that Lee Dojin would feel what she was saying.

Lee Dojin’s face was infinitely solemn.

A strike that gathered everything required that much respect.

Colorless sword energy took on a white light.

Jjek────

And from that sword energy, hundreds of white stems stretched out like lightning. A personally invented technique where each stem contained the group of the 1st form Soul Chasing.

Thorn Tree.

Thorns covered the entire front of the martial arts arena. To annihilate the plum blossom petals covering the entire arena.

They break.

The plum blossom petals.

Light pink sword energy fragments fluttered like flower petals across the entire martial arts arena.

The spectators stared blankly at the hundreds of petals that evaporated upon touching the audience protection barrier.

The traces of plum blossoms were annihilated.

The thousand or so students could now properly see the two figures.

Lee Dojin’s wooden sword was pointing at Baek Hwayeon’s neck. Baek Hwayeon’s sword was sprawled on the floor of the martial arts arena.

Drip.

A drop of blood fell from Baek Hwayeon’s right hand. Her grip had been torn. It was a scar from trying her best not to let go of the sword.

“I lost.”

The martial artist smiled bitterly.

The judge declared Lee Dojin’s victory.