‘Truly an outrageous amount of inner energy.’
By the standards of the Central Plains, William estimated the man’s inner energy wouldn’t be less than a hundred years of cultivation. William, feeling a bizarre form of wealth disparity from this unusual place, drew forth his aura from his mana core.
Since childhood, Peng Jeoksan, due to the advantage of washing with bull semen and consuming medicinal herbs daily, was brimming with abundant inner energy. With a confident look on his face, he declared,
“Let me see your true abilities!”
The inner energy rippling from his body exuded a fierce, tiger-like momentum. His oversized sword levitated slightly, with a blade of energy extending approximately a yard.
The mark of a peak master—the visible manifestation of this sharp, intense energy.
“Wow!”
“To think I’ll see spirit blade energy with my own eyes!”
With the rare opportunity to witness a peak master’s spirit blade firsthand, the spectators’ interest reached its peak. Peng Jeoksan, conscious of these looks, grinned and spoke to William.
“Indeed! The ability to wield blade energy—just as expected, you are quite extraordinary!”
“Expected?”
William, tilting his head in curiosity as to what Peng Jeoksan meant, still managed to envelop his sword with equally potent blade energy. Though his blade energy was rather modest compared to Peng Jeoksan’s, it was enough that Peng Jeoksan didn’t dare to take it lightly.
“Father once said those who use others’ strength also know how to utilize even a blade of energy. Hence, carelessness is forbidden!”
Mastery of energy isn’t everything.
Although energy might symbolize power, in the end, its consumption is incredibly taxing. Once both parties coat their weapons with their energies, it’s as if they aren’t using them at all.
Ultimately, the turning point of the fight rests in refined martial skills.
“Let’s see what you’ve got!”
Leaping off the ground like a tiger stalking its prey, Peng Jeoksan lunged at William. As the grand sword descended with the intention of slicing him in half, William deftly sidestepped, avoiding the attack.
A simple yet clean move.
Taking advantage of the moment when the sword was embedded in the Martial Arena floor, William swung his sword. Had it been a match between common fighters, the confrontation would’ve ended at this point.
However, Peng Jeoksan opted for a bold retreat.
Bang!
‘To deliberately explode the blade energy to use the shockwave as a getaway—what extravagance. I must say, this is rather frustrating.’
The act of violently injecting energy into the blade to purposefully detonate it astonished William due to both its extravagance and the sheer amount of inner energy.
“Hmm”
“Haa!”
Once again, the grand sword cleaved through the air. William smoothly intercepted the sword with his, aimed at his waist. The two weapons, with their blade energies clashing, formed a perfect equilibrium.
William, as always, tilted his sword slightly, redirecting the force.
The upward motion of the sword halted abruptly as it collided with the hilt of William’s sword, encased in aura. Even Peng Jeoksan, with all his brute strength, couldn’t overpower William easily due to the more efficient transfer of force from a weapon’s base.
“To think your sword’s hilt would stop my grand sword… I didn’t anticipate that!”
The sight of the small hilt intercepting and stabilizing the grand sword amazed Peng Jeoksan. The clash was anticipated to be blade against blade, not hilt against blade. Moreover, the weapons of the Central Plains weren’t crafted with such an application in mind.
‘I should start applying some pressure.’
If the fight dragged on, the situation would benefit Peng Jeoksan, who possessed a vast inner energy reserve.
William’s sword tilted forward, centered on the grand sword. Confused but quick to retreat from the sudden threat of the sword, Peng Jeoksan stepped back out of range.
“You’re fierce!”
“It’s only just begun.”
Retreating, Peng Jeoksan was immediately pursued as William swung his sword downward.
A straightforward strike, devoid of any intricate techniques or rationale. Confused by the rather plain attack, Peng Jeoksan blocked it with his grand sword. A mild force transmitted through.
‘Scarcely any strength behind this?’
Perplexity crossed his face, but he soon realized this was no ordinary encounter.
William’s sword slid along the grand sword before flipping his blade upward to slash. With his massive weapon, Peng Jeoksan had no choice but to lean backward to evade, as there wouldn’t be enough time to retrieve and swing his sword.
‘Probably a continuous attack. I must be cautious…’
William’s sequence of attacks continued, but Peng Jeoksan struggled to find an opening to counterattack. William’s relentless offensive, coming from above, below, or the side, coupled with his ability to strike after blocking or using thrusts, pressured Peng Jeoksan thoroughly.
“Ox stance. Foot thrust. Fluke stance. Ox stance. Foot thrust. Ox stance. Albert stance. Ox stance. Albert stance. Fluke stance. Ox stance. Foot thrust…”
With any attempt to counterattack, William effortlessly returned to a defensive posture, tightening his stance, leaving Peng Jeoksan frustrated.
‘The manipulation of the sword feels like a ritual of changing tactics. Is it an attack or not? In a peculiar sense, it’s stranger than the sword art of a Taoist sect!’
An ordinary martial artist would have been trapped in the endless loop of longsword techniques and rendered powerless.
However, Peng Jeoksan was no ordinary martial artist.
‘Even if it consumes a lot!’
An overwhelming surge of inner energy erupted from Peng Jeoksan’s body. The intense energy released shockwaves around him, forcing William to step three paces back and glare at Peng Jeoksan.
“Brother William, you’re truly formidable!”
“I don’t remember becoming anyone’s older brother.”
“Let’s skip that nonsense!”
The previous bout belonged to William, so now it was Peng Jeoksan’s turn. He commenced to unleash the techniques of the “Great Mountain Sword Art.”
“Rushing Onslaught!”
In response to his cry, the spirit blade expanded, splitting into three tiger-claw-like blades.
A troublesome situation where blocking one meant facing two more. Yet, instead of defending, William charged forward.
An aggressive defense is the best form of defense.
That was the essence of longsword art.
Rather than raising his sword to block the three fearsome spirit blades, William crouched, infused his feet with energy, and propelled himself forward.
The distance between them closed rapidly, and the moment the spirit blades were about to engulf him, William’s longsword entangled with the grand sword, pressing its side forcefully.
Such a seemingly inconsequential movement caused Peng Jeoksan’s grand sword to veer off its course due to the unexpected force.
And this meant,
“This hurts!”
Peng Jeoksan couldn’t block William’s elbow strike to his face. Though he managed to wrap energy around his face in an improvised defense, he still spat blood after taking a few steps back from the unexpected attack.
“Can’t remember the last time I felt such a strike!”
“Then you shouldn’t be saying that already.”
Without giving Peng Jeoksan any rest, William pressed his attack again.
Slashing, thrusting, and slicing repeated endlessly.
‘And yet these attacks keep coming from unexpected angles…’
Every time Peng Jeoksan thought he had blocked an attack, William would turn it into a spin and slash from an unexpected direction. He thrust when it seemed like a stab was incoming, only to slash around in a circle moments later. And despite Peng Jeoksan’s attempts to create distance, William followed like a ghost, making it impossible for Peng Jeoksan to evade.
However, Peng Jeoksan wasn’t idle. Using his footwork and sword techniques, he managed to counter every one of William’s relentless strikes.
The scene was nothing short of a perfectly balanced duel.
‘Enjoyable! Extremely enjoyable!’
How long had it been since he experienced such an invigorating combat sparring?
Among his peers, worthy opponents were hard to come by, and even when he did engage in duels, it was rarely this exhilarating. Thus, sparring with William alleviated his long-standing thirst for a challenging fight.
‘What a born combat enthusiast.’
Seeing Peng Jeoksan, smiling ferociously just like in the original story, William inwardly sighed. What a nuisance combat enthusiasts could be when involved.
But this was the path he had chosen.
It wasn’t something he could complain about now.
“It seems it’s time to bring this to a close.”
“Not quite done yet, are we?”
“Hmm. Everything, by its nature, must have an end.”
“Haha! That’s true! Tiger’s Momentum!”
Peng Jeoksan’s energy surged forward in the form of a tiger.
The magical application of energy left William in awe as he charged directly at this tiger.
A move that looked akin to suicide to the untrained eye.
As he charged toward the energy-formed tiger, all spectators’ eyes were on William.
Why didn’t he choose retreat or evasion but instead selected a direct offensive?
How would he break through this technique?
Some clasped their hands to their chests, some cheered, and others watched with sparkling eyes.
Responding to the audience’s anticipation, William began enveloping his entire body in aura.
‘This might be a bit brute, but it should suffice to withstand this.’
Following set patterns and experience, his aura started to mold into a shape akin to armor.
‘The energy consumption is dreadful.’
However, thanks to the refined energy from the ginseng, he could pull it off once.
Failure would mean defeat, but prolonging the fight would only lead to inconvenience.
‘No need to call out the technique’s name.’
Auric Armor.
The core and practically the sole advanced art of knighthood.
The epitome of defense for knights.
The meticulously polished mantle of aura crushed the tiger head-on, directly enveloping Peng Jeoksan.
A critical and perilous moment.
But Peng Jeoksan smiled as he swung his sword.
“That was a truly exhilarating duel!”
“You’re saying this now?”
Peng Jeoksan’s grand sword was pushed back effortlessly and simultaneously, William’s sword touched Peng Jeoksan’s neck.
“I concede.”
“The victor of the quarterfinal match is William!”
The first winner was decided.
