Episode 14: Talent in the Spotlight (5)
The moment I faced the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit, I felt as if every hair on my body were standing on end.
It was not out of fear or intimidation toward him.
The ecstasy of finally meeting the opponent I had so long sought, and the tension I had not felt when killing his subordinates.
‘This is the feeling.’
That taut tension, as if it would snap at any moment, which I had experienced in the memories of the Saber Emperor from my past life, was now gradually creeping over me as well.
The Poison Ghost Yin Bandit looked me up and down and opened his mouth.
"So you're a greenhorn from the Nangong Clan."
"I am Nangong Rim."
"To think a brat like you existed in the fallen Nangong Clan. The hidden strength of an old noble house, or else."
The Poison Ghost Yin Bandit pointed his sword at me.
"The death throes of a single mantis."
From behind me, the voices of Jin Museong and Jin Arin, who had arrived late, could be heard.
"Brother, aren't you going to step in?"
"We did come here to execute the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit, but for now, as a fellow martial artist, I simply wish to watch Brother Nangong's fight."
This way, Jin Museong would not intervene either, and Nakilgun was currently injured.
It was truly the perfect stage for me to face the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit.
Toward the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit who had pointed his sword at me, I, too, raised Changse to middle guard.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Silence fell.
Tat!
The sound of a foot stamping on the ground shattered that silence.
It was simultaneous.
Both the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit and I charged at each other.
His sword thrust in, writhing with nimble changes like several snakes.
With instantaneous judgment, I slashed my sword down in a large vertical arc.
Boundless Azure Heaven Sword Technique, Second Stance: Hangnyeo Jongdan.
Kwang!
The sharp variations were all destroyed in an instant by the ferocious impact.
His attack rendered useless in a single move, the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit stepped back and looked at me.
"As expected. That mighty sword which slew two of my subordinates earlier was no lie."
But he was neither flustered nor surprised.
Arrogance surpassing mere composure still hovered on his face.
"Kekeke. It seems you wish to defy the times. Young ones always love to overestimate themselves!"
The Poison Ghost Yin Bandit charged at me once more.
His sword stance that rent the air grew ever fiercer.
It was incomparable to the sword of Wunnakhwa.
Because the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit before me now was unleashing nothing but killing moves meant to slay me.
The thought that I could die.
It was the first thought to arise since my birth.
My soul plunged into and immersed itself, again and again, in that desperate battle where life and death crossed in a moment's mistake.
My mind was silent. Serene, as always.
But the senses throughout my body ran wild, bestowing upon me thrilling tension and ecstasy.
Cha-cha-cha-chaeng—!
Realizing something amidst swinging my sword frantically.
My breathing grew rough.
In contrast, the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit's breathing remained utterly calm.
The smile tugging at the corner of his mouth came into view.
A smile that had noticed my internal energy was falling into disarray.
The difference in inner power was unavoidable.
But.
I steadied my breathing. And with the Changgung Daeyeon Divine Art, I slightly calmed the flow of internal energy rampaging through my body like a stampede.
‘So that it moves only when I will it.’
The flow of internal energy subsided quickly, as if responding to my intent.
And I made that flow erupt explosively only at the moment I unfolded the Boundless Azure Heaven Sword Technique.
Kwang—!
My rough breathing returned to normal, and my sword strikes grew ever more destructive.
Surprise settled on the face of the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit, who had been smiling.
"At such a young age, you already know how to distribute your internal energy?"
But the initiative still lay with him.
Cha-cha-cha-chaeng—!
His sword, which had taken the lives of countless martial artists, was truly like a cunning serpent brimming with venom.
It cleverly evaded to avoid clashing with my sword strikes and persistently sought to bite my throat.
I narrowly dodged that serpent with razor-thin movement.
And the serpent eventually brushed past my arm.
Before I could even feel pain, the serpent changed its trajectory.
A final dash containing the absolute will to sever my life headed straight for my throat.
In that instant.
The senses enveloping my entire body expanded to their limit.
I extended my right foot half a step forward to use as an axis and rotated my body.
The single strike aimed at my throat barely missed.
And riding the momentum of my spin, I swung a great horizontal blow as if to cut him in two.
Kwang!
The Poison Ghost Yin Bandit's eyes widened as he quickly retracted his sword to block my horizontal strike.
Meeting his eyes, I slowly opened my mouth.
"How dare you."
Continuing my words, I brought the sword I held down to a low guard.
"To think you would wield such trickery-like swordsmanship."
"...What?"
Unwittingly, arrogant words spilled from my mouth.
I charged at him from that same posture with my sword lowered. Once again, lethal sword stances poured before my eyes.
The senses of the Saber Emperor, raised to their absolute limit, transmitted to me a golden radiance of enlightenment.
Diagonal trajectories were drawn in my mind.
The Saber Emperor's trajectory capable of destroying the opponent's sword stance with a single blade.
Following that trajectory without hesitation, I raised Changse and struck.
Kwang!
I closed the distance once more toward the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit, who frowned and took two steps back.
Our eyes met. At a distance close enough to feel the rage contained in his pupils.
And his sword stance squirmed like dozens of snakes, swallowing me up at once.
I did not think for long.
In a fleeting instant, I followed the trajectory drawn through the enlightenment that my unconsciousness pulled me toward.
‘This isn't the Boundless Azure Heaven Sword Technique. It's a new stance conveyed by the sensation of enlightenment, capable of destroying that sword stance.’
A descending slash from above.
Without hesitation, I raised my sword above my head and brought it down, exploding all my internal energy.
The rampaging internal energy loaded onto Changse split apart, giving birth to a new sword strike.
Kwarurung—!
Three lightning-like slashes instantaneously tore apart the horde of snakes.
"Keoheok!"
After the dust settled, the figure of the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit, horrifically wounded, was revealed. His right arm was severed, and blood gushed from three gashes across his body.
I approached the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit, who looked at me with eyes of disbelief.
"...You, you..."
But I raised my sword and immediately cut his throat. There was no longer any reason to listen to his words.
As the tension that had dominated my entire body released, sounds from the surroundings reached my ears.
"Is that the sword of the Nangong Clan, famous for its heavy sword and mighty sword...?"
Jin Museong answered Jin Arin's murmur.
"I cannot say. I have never seen it myself. But it reminds one of saber arts."
Nakilgun, who had finished stanching his wounds at some point, approached me.
"Your name."
It seemed he was only now in the mood to exchange names. I sheathed Changse on my back and answered.
"Nangong Rim."
"Is that martial art the Nangong Clan's sword technique?"
He was asking about the final slash.
But it was not the Nangong Clan's sword technique. Because it was a stance created instantly from the enlightenment conveyed by the Saber Emperor's senses.
"No."
"No? Then what is the name of the sword technique?"
"It is Nameless (無名)."
It was the most honest answer I could give right now.
Even so, Nakilgun appeared utterly baffled.
Then Jin Arin opened her mouth with an urgent voice.
"But where is the woman of the Wolha Sect whom the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit kidnapped?"
I had met the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit, fought him, and achieved enlightenment.
I had accomplished the goal I desired, but I had decided to finish things cleanly nonetheless.
I propelled my body along the path where the lingering traces of sinister energy could be felt.
* * *
The lingering traces of sinister energy led me to a cave that seemed impossible to discover with the naked eye.
I entered the cave after pushing through the undergrowth.
And after going in a short distance, I discovered the sight of a woman sitting half-naked.
The woman's eyes widened in surprise upon seeing me.
And the densely packed writing covering the woman's back came into view.
I realized intuitively.
‘It is a martial art mantra.’
The situation before and after became clear through instantaneous judgment.
‘So the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit kept her alive because of the martial art mantra written on this woman's body.’
The eyes of the woman looking at me were dyed with fear.
Sarak.
A light blue outer garment fell upon the woman's body.
It was the garment I had been wearing.
"Do not worry. I have slain the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit."
Relief finally welled up in the woman's eyes.
Shortly after, the people of the Shandong Jin Family who had followed behind appeared.
Jin Arin looked at the clothes covering the woman's body, then glanced at me once.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
Jin Arin supported the woman, released her acupoints, and properly dressed her. Then she helped her up and exited the cave.
We returned to the place where Nakilgun had been. And there was a group of women there.
The women clad in snow-white robes seemed to have arrived not long ago, surveying the area and grasping the situation. And soon they took away the woman whom Jin Arin had assisted.
From that group, a woman who covered half her face with a silk veil appeared.
The woman who had been looking around soon directed her gaze to Nakilgun.
"So the Young Hero of the Meteor Sword has finally succeeded in executing that Yin Thief."
Nakilgun shook his head with a bitter smile.
"I did not do it. That friend from the Nangong Clan over there did."
Only then did the veiled woman turn to look at me. She had clear pupils that suited her clear, elegant voice.
However, in those pupils, a light of doubt had surfaced.
"Might I ask who the young master is?"
"Nangong Rim."
The veiled woman's gaze turned to the clothes the rescued woman was wearing. She seemed to realize they were the robes of the Nangong Clan.
Then the rescued woman quickly spoke to the veiled woman.
"That young hero covered my body with his own clothes without a moment's hesitation."
The veiled woman's pupils turned to me again. The doubt had vanished, but her eyes held a gaze as if she were looking at a strange person.
"I am called Eun Sobin of the Wolha Sect. I offer my gratitude to Young Master Nangong. I believe you have heard the rumors as well—that the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit's evil deeds this time are related to our Wolha Sect. Therefore, please speak without reserve. Might I ask what reward you desire?"
In that instant, everyone's gazes in the area turned toward me.
The honest envy in Jin Arin's eyes, and even the subtle sentiment from Jin Museong and Nakilgun, were palpable.
Eun Sobin was also looking at me quietly, as if she knew what reward I would ask for.
"I need nothing."
Her pupils shook for a moment, and Jin Arin's surprised voice was heard from the side.
"Wha-at?"
Eun Sobin's gaze regained its composure as if it had never shaken.
"If that is the case, so be it. However, our Wolha Sect will never forget a debt of gratitude. Never."
And they offered me their gratitude once more before turning away. The woman wearing my clothes sent me a look of gratitude until the very end.
Once the Wolha Sect women disappeared, Jin Arin asked me.
"Why didn't you accept it? Even if you had asked for the Heart Essence of the Huashan Sword Immortal, they seemed ready to tell you at least a little!"
"I said I don't need it simply because I don't need it. Besides, I came here to kill the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit anyway."
Enlightenment gained from a battle that crossed between life and death. That alone was what I had wanted.
"Young Master Nangong... You truly are a righteous hero."
Jin Museong, who was beside Jin Arin, also nodded.
"You are a brother from whom I have much to learn."
Then Nakilgun approached me.
"You said your name was Nangong Rim."
"I did."
"Soon, the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, where the young prodigies of the martial world assemble, will be held. I'll send you an invitation as soon as the detailed schedule is set. To those two as well."
As he turned his body to leave, he continued speaking to me.
"I owe you one this time."
Soon he too disappeared from the area.
I tore the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit's clothes and took his head. After all, I had to make it known that the Nangong Clan had done this deed.
Then Jin Arin approached from the side.
"Take this."
It was a letter.
"What is it?"
"When Young Master Nangong ran into the cave earlier, I searched the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit's body and found it. It seems he was planning to meet Jeokyeom Jugoe and receive something from him."
Jeokyeom Jugoe.
I had heard of this villain as well. They said he was a fiend who cruelly killed only the young prodigies who had recently appeared in the martial world.
"Our Shandong Jin Family was trying to catch him based on that clue, but seeing Young Master's righteousness, I realized my own foolishness. You are one who acts with pure chivalry without greed, yet I tried to take it from you."
If he had kept a letter received like this on his person, there was no doubt that whatever the Poison Ghost Yin Bandit was to receive was important.
I decided to read the letter later and put it in my bosom. And I smiled lightly, grateful for her honesty.
"My thanks."
Jin Arin waved her hands in slight fluster.
"Th-thanks?! W-well then, let's see each other again at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering!"
Jin Museong also extended his greetings to me.
"I learned much this time. Let's meet again later."
And so, I parted ways with the people of the Shandong Jin Family. After treating my wounds simply, I descended the mountain.
Now was the time to return to the Nangong Clan.
‘I told Jegeom Dangju to change the clan's sword technique.’
The Nangong Clan, reached after ten days.
It had not been very long, but much had changed in the clan upon my arrival.