Chapter: 706
The main event of the martial arts competition was a proper match, unlike the rather dull preliminaries.
The audience filled the surrounding stands.
Inside, two large fighting stages were set up.
After two pairs of matches, the winner moves on to the next round.
It was a refreshingly simple and convenient method.
“Start.”
With the referee’s low voice, excitement surged immediately.
“Whoa!”
“Ugh!”
Boom-!!
The clash of formidable energies created a shockwave.
Wow-!
With each impact, the cheers grew louder.
This was a battle between peak martial artists that was not easily witnessed elsewhere.
The audience seemed entranced, captivated by the speed and power on display.
“… It’s intense right from the beginning.”
“Who did you say that was? That guy is Wufengssangdo (武風雙刀)?”
A giant wielding a hammer charged recklessly, but the man with twin swords effortlessly dodged.
Even someone unfamiliar with martial arts could see that his movements were relaxed and free.
“Wufengssangdo? That’s a nickname I haven’t heard before…?”
“He’s someone who is gradually becoming well-known in Hubei.”
Little by little, eyes began to shift toward the man with the twin swords.
“He’s amazing. To handle that big guy, Daecheolheuktae, so effortlessly!”
The warrior with the hammer was considered a renowned fighter from Sacheon.
It was said that he often relied on overwhelming strength to overpower his opponents.
And yet here he was, completely outmatched and looking pitiful instead.
The crowd found this matchup intriguing.
A lesser-known contender unexpectedly displayed impressive strength.
This is the kind of martial artist that spectators love to see.
“It’s the Windless Twin Swords. I must remember that name.”
“I feel like he’s going to become a big deal in the future.”
A lone warrior was starting to gain fame.
Before long, the master known as Wufengssangdo would surely be recognized in people’s minds.
Clang-!
A fierce energy tinged the blade of the Windless Twin Swords.
“Ugh!”
Seeing this, Daecheolheuktae hurriedly swung his hammer.
“You’re too late!”
Wufengssangdo had already penetrated his defenses and was swinging his sword.
Smash-! Whoosh-!
The hammer never even came close to reaching Wufengssangdo.
The cool edge of the sword was already hovering at Daecheolheuktae’s throat.
“… Guh…! Damn it!”
The giant trembled as he realized the situation and relaxed his body in defeat.
At that moment, the watching referee raised his hand and declared,
“Match over. Sixteen wins.”
“That was a good match.”
“…Thank you for the lesson.”
The fight concluded with a victory for Wufengssangdo, leaving the audience somewhat disappointed.
Although battles were still taking place on the adjacent stage, it only highlighted how impressive Wufengssangdo’s performance truly was.
“What a shame. I wanted to see more.”
“Now that he’s in the finals, shouldn’t he show us something even more spectacular?”
“Exactly! I know my nephew is a top-tier fighter, but it feels like Wufengssangdo hasn’t shown his full strength yet.”
No one questioned what his nephew’s status as a first-class warrior had to do with any of this.
“It seems Maeng really prepared hard. I had no idea it would be this impressive right from day one.”
“I didn’t hold high expectations for the first day… But Wufengssangdo and that Gunjeonggeom (珺正劍) we just saw are both unexpected surprises, aren’t they?”
“I had no clue there would be so many amazing martial artists.”
The emergence of previously unknown brilliance.
Nothing could capture the excitement of the Central Plains more than this.
Perhaps, in the not-so-distant future, we might witness the next generation of teenage masters from the Central Plains.
The history of martial artists begins anew. Everyone in the audience focused intently on this dream.
At that moment…
“Next! Seventeen and eighteen.”
New figures emerged in the arena where the previous fighters had exited.
One was a robust individual with a similar build to Daecheolheuktae, while the other was a comparatively smaller and far leaner martial artist.
Seeing the giant, someone in the stands shouted loudly.
“Phew, it’s the Wind Forest and Fireball!”
“What!?”
“Did you say the Wind Forest and Fireball?”
Pungrimwitankwon Myeongcheongseok.
A direct disciple of the prestigious Guangdong lineage, now known as a rising master.
It was said that he surpassed maturity at the peak before reaching the age of forty.
A handsome man with sun-kissed skin and chiseled features, standing nearly eight feet tall.
The women in the audience gazed at him as if entranced by his feral charisma.
“I never imagined I’d see Pungrimwitankwon come out so soon…”
“This is a score!”
Men, too, gasped at the appearance of this renowned martial master.
“So, who’s his opponent? The kid looks young.”
“You mean really young, right?”
“The opponent… Ah!”
The contender was also a relatively well-known figure.
“Soyeomra! That young man is Soyeomra.”
“Soyeomra?”
Upon hearing that, everyone turned to the young man.
With a fierce look that barely masked his youth.
Dressed entirely in black from hair to toe.
“If it’s Soyeomra… he’s not the son of some ruffian, right?”
“That’s from the Shinryongwan incident…”
People murmured among themselves, indicating they had some vague knowledge, though the noise paled in comparison to Pungrimwitankwon.
Even this much chatter might have been a stretch.
“Isn’t Soyeomra the kid who had a spat with the Yutan Sword?”
“Correct! He reportedly clashed swords with him.”
“…Wait, did a kid just beyond his teenage years actually throw down with the Yutan Sword?”
The famed Yutan Sword, a master among the top ten warriors of the Central Plains.
Rumor had it they had faced off a few days prior.
“Of course, the Yutan Sword must have gone easy on him.”
While many believed the Yutan Sword was being considerate, others took a different view.
“No matter how considerate one might be, the fact that the later-index fighter exchanged moves with the Yutan Sword shows his level must have been solid.”
“True that! Just making it to the finals is a testament to his worth.”
Though dubbed Soyeomra, it was said he had drifted far from the later index.
Even so, to the onlookers, he was still treated as a kid just barely coming of age.
“Tsk… And that’s what makes it all the more regrettable. He must have been lucky to come this far…”
“Why did his opponent have to be Pungrimwitankwon?”
Pungrimwitankwon was someone who had achieved mastery and was now fully developed at his peak.
An experienced figure who was said to be rapidly rising through the ranks of the best martial artists, not just reaching the Hwagyeong level.
That was a huge wall for a young boy to confront.
“The young man must be gaining valuable experience from this.”
“Sure! They say sparring with a senior is an incredible opportunity for a junior. This will be a wonderful gift for that young man.”
No one dared to predict Soyeomra’s victory.
That was the prevailing perception.
Thus, the two faced each other.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“I’m ready.”
Pungrimwitankwon announced as he took his fighting stance.
Soyeomra nodded in response.
The referee momentarily frowned at their attitudes. But first, a match had to take place.
“…Then let’s begin.”
He lowered his hand.
“Fighting.”
As he spat out the words, the referee lifted his hand.
“Start.”
The moment the referee uttered those words…
Rumble—!!!
“…!!”
“Gah!?”
An overwhelming force erupted from Pungrimwitankwon’s body.
Battle energy.
A heavy, coarse energy began to assert its dominance over the surroundings.
“Ugh!?”
The fighters next to them, engaged in their battles, faltered in their movements.
Though they had kept some distance, the impact reached across the other arenas.
An immense force.
A mighty energy that altered the very flow of air.
As cracks began to manifest from Pungrimwitankwon, someone in the crowd shouted.
“Wa, wait! It’s Hwagyeong…! Pungrimwitankwon is an Hwagyeong warrior!”
That cry created a tremendous uproar.
“Hwagyeong…? But Pungrimwitankwon was said to have reached the peak of mastery…?”
“Are you saying he was hiding his strength…?”
No matter how you looked at it, the overwhelming aura was unmistakable.
Normal folks might not grasp it, but in the audience were seasoned warriors who quickly understood the gravity of the situation.
Pungrimwitankwon had been concealing his true realm.
He entered the tournament as is, revealing himself right from the main event.
“Unbelievable… The birth of a new Hwagyeong martial artist.”
“I never thought I’d witness this with my own two eyes!”
The dawn of a new chapter in history.
Reaching the Hwagyeong stage before turning forty suggests he is more than capable of joining the ranks of teenage masters in the future.
The value of Pungrimwitankwon soared dramatically.
Ggrrrrr-!
As his energy continued to swell, Pungrimwitankwon took his fighting stance.
Looking directly at the young man before him, he spoke up.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Hmm?”
Soyeomra, also known as Gu Yangcheon, cocked his head at the giant’s words.
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t intend to showcase this in front of such a much younger junior. I apologize for how this situation unfolded.”
Having suppressed his power until now, he unleashed it completely.
This was to ensure that everyone recognized his prowess.
In the reverberation, the entire audience fixed their gaze on Pungrimwitankwon.
“Ah.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Yangcheon smirked and replied,
“It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize for that. I actually appreciate it.”
“…”
Pungrimwitankwon chuckled softly at Gu Yangcheon’s attitude.
Did he give up after witnessing such strength?
Pungrimwitankwon felt a bitter sense of regret.
He had aimed to showcase his prowess for reputation, which just so happened to be in front of someone so much younger.
A feeling of embarrassment surged up.
But he must endure it.
“I’m so sorry.”
He hoped that his light wouldn’t overshadow the path of this young martial artist.
With a clenched fist, he wished to not become a barrier to the young man’s future efforts.
At the very least.
“I must show him my very best strike.”
He needed to demonstrate the skills he had earned by overcoming obstacles.
To show it to many, while also packaging it as a teaching to comfort the youth.
Pungrimwitankwon slowly gathered his energy.
Hoo-!
Foom-fwoosh-!
As the energy condensed, a mist began to rise from Pungrimwitankwon’s form.
“This amount of energy….”
“It’s absurd….”
If this continued, Pungrimwitankwon would surely one day rise among the top ten martial masters of the Central Plains.
If the three great powers are the heavens, then they rule the earth.
They are the absolute figures of martial artists.
This was the birth of one who would ascend to such heights.
Crack.
Thud.
Those about to cheer fell into a stunned silence.
“Huh…?”
“Uh…?”
It was inevitable.
He knelt down.
Pungrimwitankwon, who had been bursting with energy, suddenly dropped to his knees on the fighting stage.
And it didn’t stop there.
Swoosh-.
Gradually, the giant’s form toppled toward the ground.
Boom-!!! The floor shook with a deafening impact.
“…”
“…Uh? Uh?”
Pungrimwitankwon had collapsed.
The vibrant sounds that had filled the stands moments before now fell silent.
Only one sound echoed in that space.
Tap-tap.
The soft sound of footsteps.
Someone was walking past the fallen Pungrimwitankwon.
It was Gu Yangcheon.
Before anyone noticed, the young man had slowly walked back to his original spot, resuming his place.
No one realized it.
No one noticed that Gu Yangcheon had been right beside the collapsing Pungrimwitankwon.
Returning to his original position, Gu Yangcheon bowed slightly.
“It was a good match.”
He lowered his head toward the unconscious Pungrimwitankwon.
“…”
“…”
The only sound from the audience was total silence.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.