Chapter 51 – The Wind Rises from Below

Chapter 51 – The Wind Rises from Below

For a swordsman, a broken sword meant defeat.

It was the moment Do Yi-gyeom opened his mouth to declare the end of the duel.

Clang!

Far from retreating, San-ho lunged forward with his broken sword, digging deep into the inside in an instant.

"……?!"

The distance closed in an instant. Do Yi-gyeom quickly raised his sword sideways and began to block San-ho with the flat of his blade.

Clack! Clang!

'Even if the close combat continues, the result won't change.'

He harbored a slight doubt at the attack rushing in like a final struggle.

It was a sword strike that could not be fully blocked even with an intact sword. However, San-ho was determinedly closing the distance with the broken blade, even at the cost of his own flesh.

Screeech!

As sword met sword, sharp sparks flew. With the crossed swords between them, the eyes of the two swordsmen met in midair.

At that moment, San-ho's eyes, which seemed capable of swallowing everything in sight, gleamed ominously.

'What kind of eyes…!'

Losing his composure for a split second at the chilling gaze, Do Yi-gyeom pressed down on the clashing sword even more roughly.

Clang!!

Unable to withstand that force in the end, the sword in San-ho's hand shattered completely.

Once the sword blocking the sword path vanished, Do Yi-gyeom's sharp sword strike flowed without hindrance.

"Ugh…!"

The blade that drove down in that manner deeply slashed San-ho's shoulder. An intense pain rushed in, enough to make his arm lose all strength in an instant. San-ho grit his teeth once more to drive away the pain.

He could not give up.

Because he had known from the beginning that it would turn out like this.

In a situation where adding just a little more strength would sever San-ho's shoulder, Do Yi-gyeom tried to withdraw his sword.

In that split second.

San-ho threw the broken hilt into the air and lunged a step deeper.

"What…!!"

A swordsman without a sword no longer had a chance of winning. Do Yi-gyeom's eyes widened at San-ho's action of narrowing the gap instead of retreating when he should have.

Grip-

Without missing that moment, San-ho grabbed his arm with his free hand.

There was only one chance.

Past memories affect the future. That fact is fair to everyone. Thus, it was natural to predict that San-ho, who had held a sword throughout the past seven duels, would repeat the same action this time as well.

A blue flame sparked in San-ho's eyes as they met.

"…?!"

Swish!!

A hand reached out along with a sharp sound of tearing wind.

Flash!

A trajectory that slashed the neck at an invisible speed before one even had time to be astonished.

Red blood trickled down from Do Yi-gyeom's neck, which had been touched by that trajectory.

"………!!!"

It was a flying dagger thrown from San-ho's other hand.

'So that's why, from earlier…!'

Closing the distance so desperately. Giving up his own shoulder and throwing the blade. All to steal the gaze at that brief moment and bind his movements…!

Holding his neck, where blood was welling up, Do Yi-gyeom stared at San-ho with astonished eyes. Had it been a real battle, he might have drawn his last breath from that final flying dagger.

It was clearly he who held the upper hand.

However…….

"Ugh……. I, sigh… won, right?"

For him, it was a duel; for San-ho, it was a life-and-death battle.

San-ho, barely catching his breath through the pain racking his entire body, wore a small smile.

'He held the sword from the very beginning with the intention of doing this.'

Just once.

For this last, single attack, he had thoroughly planned everything from the beginning.

'To make me think he had no other weapon. To let my guard down after breaking his sword…'

Throwing the hilt to make him hesitate when the sword broke was also part of it.

"……Indeed. This is truly a method that I, who have lived my entire life as a swordsman, could never have thought of."

It was a method solely for victory. A result obtained by sacrificing his own body and sword. A method of victory possible only for San-ho, a warrior of the Tang Clan.

Do Yi-gyeom got goosebumps for a moment at that tenacity.

"I admit it. It is your victory."

Once he finally confirmed his victory from Do Yi-gyeom's own mouth,

"Haha… I really almost died………"

Thud-

Wearing a satisfied smile, San-ho collapsed straight onto the floor of the training ground.

***

"…Ugh."

Amidst the fatigue that made him unable to even wiggle a single finger, San-ho barely blinked and looked at the bandages wrapped around his body.

"I…"

"To think you dared believe I wouldn't kill you."

Do Yi-gyeom's low voice cut San-ho off. San-ho replied awkwardly.

"…Did you know?"

"Wasn't that the prerequisite of this plan?"

The shopkeeper wouldn't kill me. It was a plan that started from that single belief.

Slicing into the sword path without hesitation and throwing the blade at the final moment. San-ho could not have been unaware of the fact that if his opponent had been anyone other than Do Yi-gyeom, his breath would have already been cut off. A crazy method that could not have been attempted without trust in the opponent.

"……"

After a brief silence, Do Yi-gyeom spoke calmly, as if talking to himself.

"In the future, you will meet opponents you cannot defeat. The common sense you knew won't work, and the situation won't go easy on you."

"………"

Do Yi-gyeom's gaze, which had been fixed on San-ho's injured shoulder, turned toward a distant place.

"Never forget today, no matter the moment. Use everything you have, by any means necessary. Whether it is the situation, martial arts, or even people. Use everything that can be used…"

Finally, San-ho's figure was reflected in Do Yi-gyeom's eyes.

"Make sure to survive."

Strength entered the hand clutching the blanket.

"…Well done."

The first praise he had ever heard from Do Yi-gyeom's mouth. As if it were a reward for the arduous training in the meantime, he felt as though the fatigue of his entire body was vanishing.

Of course, it was only a feeling.

San-ho barely raised his body to sit up though it still did not budge.

"Then tell me now."

"Why are you looking for that guy?"

At the question returned to him, San-ho closed his mouth with a slightly troubled expression.

"……"

"Even if I say it's dangerous, you won't change your mind, will you?"

"If I don't take risks now, I will be swept away later without even knowing it is coming. If it is something I must experience someday, I want to face it in a situation I chose, at least."

"And you won't tell me what that danger is even if you die."

"……Haha…"

"Insolent fellow."

Do Yi-gyeom sighed deeply.

A great red river, Tae Ju-ha.

There would be fewer than ten people in the entire Jianghu who knew that name. It was natural that San-ho had not been able to find a single clue with that name so far. Because he, too, was called by a moniker instead of his name, just like Do Yi-gyeom.

He finally opened his mouth, facing San-ho directly.

"The Chief Stronghold Leader of the Eighteen Waterway Forts of the Yangtze River. The one called the Fist Demon is none other than Tae Ju-ha."

"……!!!"

At the unexpected identity of Tae Ju-ha, San-ho's face stiffened. It was a moniker he, too, knew well.

The master of the Yangtze River that cut across the Central Plains.

Fist Demon.

One of only two members of the Unorthodox Faction among the Ten Venerables of the Martial World.

Generally, the martial arts of the Unorthodox Faction allowed for rapid achievement up to a certain level, but it was difficult to rise to the highest heights. This was because the risk of falling into Qi Deviation was several times greater due to the nature of their martial arts.

However, as if laughing at the world's perception, the Fist Demon proudly rose to the supreme position as the leader of the Waterway Fort Leaders.

The nature of the Unorthodox Faction was that obeying the strong was the truth. Among them, if he was the Chief Stronghold Leader of the Waterway Forts who had unified the Yangtze River, his strength was bound to surpass everyone's imagination.

While San-ho could not close his mouth at the identity that was even more massive than expected,

Do Yi-gyeom handed San-ho an object he had placed on the table.

"……?"

"It is the Black Cloud Sword."

Unrolling the wrapped silk, a pitch-black sword was revealed. However, its shape was quite different from an ordinary sword.

It was shorter than an ordinary longsword and longer than a dagger. Above all, the most peculiar aspect was the absence of a handguard between the leather-wrapped hilt and the sharp blade. In addition, the black blade did not reflect light.

"With this sword, you should be able to utilize all of your strengths."

A new type of sword that could be used for multiple purposes in San-ho's martial arts, which were not limited to swordsmanship.

"Since it is made of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, it will easily withstand even if you pour in your internal energy."

"Wow……"

At Do Yi-gyeom's words, San-ho let out a small exclamation.

Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.

True to its name, it was cold iron that had aged deep underground for ten thousand years. Its durability was so outstanding that it could not even be smelted by ordinary means, and when forged into a sword, it became a supreme sword under heaven. It was a treasure in itself, so hard to obtain that people lined up to buy it even if it cost a fortune.

"You are giving me something this precious?"

Feeling Do Yi-gyeom's heart contained in the gift, San-ho caressed the blade of the Black Cloud Sword with his fingertips.

A completely black blade that did not reflect even moonlight. The Black Cloud Sword, whose shape would be unidentifiable even in the dark, was a perfect weapon for San-ho, who used both swordsmanship and hidden weapon techniques. It was a sword in which Do Yi-gyeom's deep consideration and thoughts could be felt.

Hum-

When he gently infused internal energy into the sword, a soft sword hum vibrated from the blade. After swinging it a few times, it felt as comfortable and light as if he had been using it all along.

'It is perfect. The hilt wrapping around the hand, and the smoothly extended blade.'

"It was not mine from the beginning. Now that it has found its proper master, the owner of the sword will be satisfied as well."

The owner of the sword? Tilting his head, San-ho was about to speak after choosing his words for a moment, when—

Bang! Un-jo, holding a medicine box, burst through the door.

"Wait, what on earth did you two do?! What did you have to do to make such a mess? You're absolute ragtag wrecks!"

And then came a barrage of nagging.

"What is wrong with the shopkeeper's servant? Gosh, look at this tattered shoulder! If it went just an inch deeper, it would have been severed, severed."

Un-jo flew into a rage as he changed San-ho's blood-stained bandages.

Then, as he pulled out the medicine to apply to Do Yi-gyeom's neck, he let out a lamentation this time.

"Youngest. What is your shopkeeper thinking? Not only did he make his servant's body look like a rag, but his own neck is tattered?"

"Ahem, hem!"

Do Yi-gyeom cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Anyway, if you two go out looking like this, everyone will faint. What are you going to do now?!"

"……"

"………"

At Un-jo's voice filled with irritation, both San-ho and Do Yi-gyeom ended up avoiding their gazes.

"Like master, like disciple! Do you really need to take after each other in things like this?!"

Glaring sharply at the two of them, Un-jo shook his head and let out a sigh.

***

"So, what happened?"

"It is exactly as you see."

Having finished the treatment, Un-jo, who had dragged Do Yi-gyeom outside, asked as if pressing for answers.

"Is San-ho really leaving in the end?"

"……I suppose so."

Do Yi-gyeom replied with a somewhat bitter face.

"Does San-ho know? What it means to have learned the sword of the Flowing Cloud Sword."

"Is there a need for him to know? Don't go talking about useless things either."

Having inherited the sword of the Flowing Cloud Sword. That meant that the final successor of the Green Cloud Meteor Sword Art, which had been thought to be discontinued, had changed.

However, Do Yi-gyeom, who knew better than anyone how heavy that weight was, did not want to place such a burden on San-ho.

Even more so now when he did not know what kind of purpose he had that he could not even talk about the reason for seeking out Tae Ju-ha.

"Are you just going to let him go like this?"

"Then what can I do? I can't hold back someone who is leaving."

"Don't regret it."

At Un-jo's words, Do Yi-gyeom, who was looking at San-ho's room door, fell into deep thought.

"………"

And how much time had passed?

A long time later, as if he had finally made up his mind, he nodded.

"Yes, Un-jo. You are right."

Un-jo was able to guess Do Yi-gyeom's inner thoughts since he had watched him from the closest distance in the meantime.

'He will probably go along. Although he doesn't openly admit it, he is his only disciple…'

"You thought well."

"You just need to leave together with him."