The Heavenly Demon Who Reigns

'What on earth was that just now...?'

Soyeon Sang was still looking at Cheon Myeong with a dazed face.

To think there was a sword technique that delivered a blow while rotating the body like that.

Although he had been somewhat careless, that blow just now was quite threatening to Soyeon Sang as well.

'I'm glad it turned out well.'

On the other hand, Cheon Myeong thought so to himself as he looked at Soyeon Sang.

The move he had just shown Soyeon Sang was a technique called the Mad Dragon Tail Splitter Slash from a sword technique called the Mad Dragon Demonic Sword.

Although it had the disadvantage of having a rather large motion, it was a technique that had the advantage of being able to put enormous power into the sword strike.

Didn't he just see its power?

Originally, with Cheon Myeong's strength, he couldn't have made Soyeon Sang retreat that far back.

However, because he had put power that surpassed his limits into the sword strike due to the Mad Dragon Tail Splitter Slash, a power that could surprise even Soyeon Sang had come out.

'But it's still far from enough.'

Of course, what he had just done could not be called a perfect Mad Dragon Tail Splitter Slash.

Since his body was still like this, there were many restrictions in performing the sword technique, and Cheon Myeong's understanding was also lacking.

Since he had only reproduced the technique by recalling the memories of the previous owner of the body, there were still many points to be supplemented.

But still, it was because it was Cheon Myeong that he was able to reproduce it to this extent.

If it had been an ordinary person, it would have been common not to be able to produce this much power in the first move, let alone follow it properly.

"..."

But anyway, wasn't the first move quite successful?

Since he had made Soyeon Sang move his feet, Cheon Myeong was quite satisfied with the result.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

As Soyeon Sang continued to look at him without a word, Cheon Myeong asked again.

Then, as if he had come to his senses, Soyeon Sang answered.

"Uh... what did you say?"

"I made you move your feet, so I won, right?"

"..."

Soyeon Sang looked back and forth between his own feet and the place where Cheon Myeong was standing.

And he belatedly realized that he had moved.

'Did I lose...?'

He hadn't actually lost the duel, but since he had said beforehand that he would lose if he moved even a little from his spot, it was true that he had lost.

"..."

An unexpected defeat.

If he had known that Cheon Myeong had a hidden move, could he have withstood that blow?

Soyeon Sang suddenly had that thought, but he soon shook his head.

'It is also the Young Master's skill to have made me so careless.'

Although it was just his own guess, didn't Cheon Myeong lose so pathetically in the first duel for the sake of this one move?

In fact, because of that, he had looked down on Cheon Myeong and had accepted such unfavorable conditions.

To think he would be hit so hard by Cheon Myeong like this.

Soyeon Sang decided to admit that he had been defeated by Cheon Myeong.

"That's right. I lost."

"Then you'll humor me anytime from now on, right?"

"Of course."

Soyeon Sang was a person who kept his word once he had spoken it.

Although he had been defeated due to a combination of various complex factors, since that was also a defeat, Soyeon Sang decided to keep his promise.

Even if that wasn't the case, Soyeon Sang already had the intention of cooperating with Cheon Myeong.

'As expected... the Young Master still has something I don't know about.'

Seeing Cheon Myeong's resourcefulness that had led to his defeat, Soyeon Sang's expectations grew again.

A fight with no chance of winning, no matter who looked at it.

But Cheon Myeong had won that fight with dignity by using his resourcefulness.

Wasn't that the appearance he had hoped for from Cheon Myeong?

Soyeon Sang thought so and decided to put his hope in Cheon Myeong.

"Good. Then let's continue the duel right away."

Cheon Myeong said with a light smile.

There were still too many techniques he hadn't shown yet.

Cheon Myeong was planning to show them all while facing Soyeon Sang before the sun set today.

"Are you going to proceed right away?"

"Yes, don't complain since you lost the bet."

"...It's rather what I was hoping for."

A curve was drawn on the lips of the gruff Soyeon Sang.

Soon, the sound of swords clashing began to be heard in the yard, and that sound continued without rest until the sun set.

* * *

Recently, sharp sounds were heard one after another in the yard.

A sound that could by no means be called small.

Moreover, since it was heard continuously at intervals of less than thirty minutes from morning until sunset, it was to the extent that complaints could have come from the neighbors.

However, fortunately, the house where Cheon Myeong lived was located in a secluded place.

From the beginning, in order to hide Cheon Myeong's identity, they had chosen a place that was as out of people's sight as possible.

Because of that, no matter how noisy they were, there were no complaints from the surroundings.

Clang- clang-.

Even now, Cheon Myeong was having a duel with Soyeon Sang.

It had been almost three months since they had been conducting duels in this way.

In the meantime, the changes that had occurred in the duels between the two were considerable.

Whoosh-.

The sight of Soyeon Sang blocking all of Cheon Myeong's swords from his spot was no longer seen.

Now, he was moving his two feet busily and putting his heart and soul into each and every move.

Soyeon Sang no longer had any room for leisure.

'A terrifying growth rate.'

Soyeon Sang thought so as he looked at Cheon Myeong swinging his sword at him.

Did Cheon Myeong say that there were things that could be gained from defeat?

Now, Cheon Myeong was proving those words with his own body.

"..."

Duels were held countless times a day.

But although the number of times was many, the content of the duels was not all the same.

Whether Cheon Myeong was constantly gaining some kind of enlightenment from the duels he lost, he would come at him with a different move the next time.

Each time, Soyeon Sang personally felt that it had become more difficult to deal with Cheon Myeong than before.

And as that continued to accumulate, Cheon Myeong had now become an opponent who could by no means be taken lightly.

'Was the Young Master's talent at this level in the past?'

Since he was crossing swords with him every day, Soyeon Sang could feel Cheon Myeong's growth from the closest distance.

Within the range of what Soyeon Sang knew, there had never been anyone who showed such a noticeable growth so quickly.

A talent that could truly be called a genius.

Soyeon Sang couldn't understand why this talent hadn't appeared in the past and was now blooming in this place.

'Was he hiding his talent to avoid the eyes of his competitors until now... or did something change inside the Young Master through that incident?'

One of the two was certain.

But whatever the answer was, it wasn't that important.

What was important was that the Cheon Myeong in front of him was showing such an outstanding appearance.

He had never imagined that he would be able to have a duel at a level comparable to his own in such a short period of time.

"I'll continue the duel until I beat you."

Cheon Myeong had said that to Soyeon Sang once.

No matter how much, he had dismissed it as impossible at that time.

But now, his thoughts had changed.

He suddenly began to think that he might really be defeated by Cheon Myeong.

"..."

It wasn't that Cheon Myeong's movements were faster than his or that the power of his sword strikes was overwhelmingly strong.

But because his ability to read moves was so outstanding, Cheon Myeong always attacked in tricky places.

Cheon Myeong always thrust his sword into the places where he thought it would be bad if an attack came in this direction at this time.

Since there was a fundamental difference in skill, Soyeon Sang had blocked all such surprise attacks, but he couldn't erase the feeling that it was always close from his mind.

'Is the Young Master's age really just a little over twenty?'

Soyeon Sang didn't feel that way at all.

It felt like he was dueling with an old master who had been in the martial world for a long time.

It seemed like he knew all about how to attack in a way that would make the opponent find it tricky.

"..."

This was not something that could be learned.

It was something that was gradually learned through long experience, or if not, it could only be called a natural talent.

Considering Cheon Myeong's age, it was lacking to have realized it through experience, so the latter would be the correct answer.

'A truly frightening talent.'

Soyeon Sang didn't know.

The reason Cheon Myeong could continue to come up with such tricky moves was not only because of his talent, but also because of his long-accumulated experience.

Although his appearance was appropriate for his age, the person inside him had lived almost twice as long as Soyeon Sang, so it was natural for Soyeon Sang to feel that way.

'But I can't lose.'

If one was a martial artist, it was natural to have the mindset of not wanting to be defeated by an opponent.

Soyeon Sang also belonged to the side with a strong competitive spirit, so even if it was a duel for Cheon Myeong's training, he hated losing.

However.

Because Cheon Myeong continued to thrust his attacks into tricky places, Soyeon Sang was busy blocking them.

Whoosh-.

At that moment, a sword strike came towards Soyeon Sang's chest.

'It's late...!'

He had been distracted by other moves, so he had reacted late this time.

Soyeon Sang moved to block Cheon Myeong's attack belatedly, but it seemed more likely that he would not be able to block it by a narrow margin.

Flinch-.

But at that moment, Cheon Myeong's sword stopped in the middle.

Thanks to that, Soyeon Sang was able to take a defensive stance before the sword reached him.

And Soyeon Sang looked at Cheon Myeong with a face that couldn't understand why he had suddenly stopped moving.

"Let's stop here."

Saying that, Cheon Myeong sheathed his sword.

Seeing this, Soyeon Sang had a thought.

'Did he sheathe his sword to be considerate of me?'

If he was defeated by Cheon Myeong, who had only started holding a sword again for about three months, Soyeon Sang's pride would surely be quite crushed.

No matter how much of a genius Cheon Myeong was.

Rather, wouldn't it feel more futile if his efforts so far were crushed because of talent?

Soyeon Sang was still confused as to whether Cheon Myeong had really thought that far and sheathed his sword.

"...Why didn't you see it through to the end?"

At that moment, Soyeon Sang asked Cheon Myeong.

Then, Cheon Myeong didn't say anything.

Seeing this, Soyeon Sang thought that his own thoughts were correct.

"It was ambiguous, but if you had pushed your sword all the way just now, it would have ended with my defeat."

"Is that so? I didn't know."

"Didn't you say you would beat me in a duel?"

"That's right. But if you fought properly, I wouldn't even be a handful."

"...?"

"You've been fighting me with your internal energy restricted until now. And you've never once used a proper sword technique, so even if I won here, it wouldn't really be a win."

Ah, so that's what he meant.

As Cheon Myeong said, Soyeon Sang had not used any internal energy at all, and when he attacked, he had only swung his sword with basic sword paths.

With that alone, it could be said that he had dueled with Cheon Myeong while carrying a considerable restriction.

If they fought purely without such restrictions, it would be truly impossible for Cheon Myeong to push Soyeson Sang this far.

"Let's have a proper fight later without such things."

Saying that, Cheon Myeong smiled lightly and left.

Soyeon Sang watched his back silently.

'I still don't know the Young Master's limits.'

To think that Cheon Myeong had been thinking about all those restrictions.

That means that he had the intention of sincerely trying to beat him in a duel.

In other words, the realm Cheon Myeong was already looking at was quite high.

"..."

Why did he have such a strong feeling that the time when Cheon Myeong would surpass him was not far away?

Of course, at that time, it would be a duel without the restriction of restricting internal energy or using only simple sword paths.

'I'm looking forward to it.'

The feeling of watching a tree whose end of growth is unknown.

Soyeon Sang was very happy that he could see such growth from so close.

(End of Chapter)