Chapter 34 : The Method to Conquer the Continuous Sword
The stage for the duel to prove the innocence of the Mysterious Profound Sect.
Two martial artists slowly ascended the training ground.
One was Jeongdo, a man in his twenties wearing the martial robes of Qingcheng.
The fourteen-year-old boy in the martial robes of the Mysterious Profound Sect ascending on the opposite side was, of course, Jang Baekseo.
As the two ascended the training ground, the Sect Leader of the Qingcheng Sect, the Blue Wave Nine Swords, Grandmaster Gwangseo, opened his mouth.
"This is a place to confirm the innocence of the Mysterious Profound Sect. Therefore, regardless of the outcome of the duel, if I feel that the Mysterious Profound Sect is innocent, I will stop the duel."
The audience nodded at the Sect Leader's words.
What was important now was, after all, to find the culprit who had assassinated Grandmaster Gwang Oh.
In this situation, the outcome of the duel was not important at all.
The two people on the training ground also nodded at the Sect Leader's words, and soon the Sect Leader gave the signal to start the duel.
"Begin!"
At the same time as the duel began…
"What!?"
"Huh! He's reckless!"
Jang Baekseo dug into Jeongdo.
Unlike in the duel with Jeongpung yesterday, where he had taken a defensive stance, this time he had rather jumped out first and seized the initiative.
This duel was not a duel where the outcome was important in the first place.
'What's important here is whether I learned the method to conquer the sword of Qingcheng last night or not!'
That's why Jang Baekseo decided to go with a bold, direct approach.
'The first method to conquer the continuous sword.'
"Keuk!"
At Jang Baekseo's sudden attack, Jeongdo's movements, which were deploying the Seventy-Two Wave Sword, stiffened.
'Weak against a surprise attack!'
The continuous sword, as its name suggested, was a sword whose essence was to pour out a series of attacks with an unbroken sword path.
Since it was a sword that focused on a continuous series of attacks in the first place, it showed a strong appearance in a long-term battle and in the middle and latter half of a fight.
But because of that, there was a weakness. Since the sword technique itself was created with a long-term battle in mind, there was no suitable form for a first move, that is, a fast preemptive attack or a surprise attack.
'That's why they teach fast swords as a secondary!'
That was the reason why they had to teach a fast sword like the Songfeng Sword as a supplementary.
If it were a second-generation or first-generation disciple, they would have dealt with a surprise attack like this flexibly using a fast sword, but…
Jeongdo, a third-generation disciple, could not.
"Ugh! You coward!!"
"Coward, my ass! It's your fault for not being able to deal with a preemptive attack that was clearly flying in front of your eyes!"
Saying so, Jang Baekseo continued to push Jeongdo.
Although Jeongdo tried to distance himself from Jang Baekseo somehow, Jang Baekseo thoroughly stuck to Jeongdo.
This was the second weakness of the continuous sword!
'Weak against getting close!'
Of course, most sword techniques could not be used properly if one got too close.
But the continuous sword was even more vulnerable to that, and the reason was simple if you thought about the subtlety of unfolding the continuous sword.
A swordsman, on the assumption that he was right-handed, would have his right foot forward.
And when extending the sword, most of the weight would be on the right foot that was put forward.
Of course, depending on the form and the situation, the weight would move flexibly, but basically, it would be like that.
But the Seventy-Two Wave Sword, a continuous sword, was different from other swords in its weight distribution.
If the weight was on the right foot that was put forward, there would be a bias in the weight distribution when continuing the series of attacks.
That's why the continuous sword mostly placed the weight not on the right foot that was put forward, but on the left foot that was behind.
By doing so, it gained stability in weight distribution and at the same time, it was able to firmly hold the center even in a series of attacks.
But if this happened, a problem would arise. As the weight was on the back, if the opponent dug in beyond a certain point, the power to withstand the opponent's attack would weaken.
A state where one foot is put forward and the weight is on it, and a state where the weight is on the left foot behind in the same posture.
There was no need to think about which one would be easier to withstand a pushing force.
In the end, as a result of these overlapping factors, Jeongdo was consistently being pushed back by Jang Baekseo, who was at the second-rate level (using only Jeongdo's strength).
"Ugh!"
But the opponent was also a third-generation disciple of Qingcheng, a corner of the Nine Great Sects. He did not just continue to be beaten.
"Haap!"
Even while being consistently pushed back, Jeongdo, who had somehow corrected his posture, deployed the fast sword of Qingcheng, the Songfeng Sword.
But!
"No!?"
The Songfeng Sword, which he had thought had caught him off guard, pierced the air in vain.
For a moment, what came to Jeongdo's mind was the scene of the duel between Jeongpung and Jang Baekseo yesterday.
'I've been had!'
Even though he had seen that grappling art once, he had thoughtlessly used the Songfeng Sword in his anxiety of being pushed back.
Jeongdo quickly twisted his body to avoid the grappling art that would follow.
But…
"…Why didn't he use grappling art?"
"This duel is not for winning, but for proving the innocence of the Mysterious Profound Sect."
At those words, Jeongdo felt his face heat up for a moment.
If this duel had been just an ordinary duel, Jang Baekseo would have surely used the same grappling art as yesterday, and if that had happened, Jeongdo would not have been able to avoid a shoulder injury.
While Jeongdo was thinking that, Jang Baekseo turned his head and looked at Grandmaster Gwangseo.
'Look at this? Is this not enough?'
He had thought that if he had done this much, he would have stopped the duel, saying 'Ah, you really trained hard last night!', but Jang Baekseo was dumbfounded at Grandmaster Gwangseo's attitude of just watching without doing anything even after coming this far.
'Ha… let's see if he still doesn't stop.'
Thinking that, Jang Baekseo took a stance again.
It was Jeongdo who was also flustered.
The moves that Jang Baekseo had just shown were simple, but they were very effective ways to deal with the Seventy-Two Wave Sword, a continuous sword.
Although it seemed easy at a glance to have caught the weakness of the first move, if he had shown a sign of unfolding a fast surprise attack before it even started, Jeongdo would have unfolded the Songfeng Sword before the Seventy-Two Wave Sword in the first place.
Nevertheless, the reason why Jeongdo had unfolded the Seventy-Two Wave Sword was because Jang Baekseo had not shown any such sign until the start signal came.
A ruthless surprise attack that was carried out at the fastest speed with the start signal, and a fighting style at an extremely close distance that suppressed the movements of the Seventy-Two Wave Sword.
Rather, it was surprising that he had learned these things in just a day and a half.
Jeongdo had thought that this would be enough to prove the innocence of the Mysterious Profound Sect, but for some reason, the Sect Leader was not giving the signal to stop the duel.
'Does he have something in mind?'
That was all that Jeongdo, who was just a young third-generation disciple, could think of.
In any case, if the signal to stop the duel did not come down, Jeongdo would just continue the duel.
It would be even better if he could repay the humiliation he had just suffered while he was at it.
Jeongdo, who had taken the stance of the Songfeng Sword, carefully approached Jang Baekseo.
To avoid becoming a meal for the grappling art like just now or when Jeongpung had been beaten, he had to avoid rushing in rashly.
Seeing Jeongdo approaching so cautiously, Jang Baekseo had no choice but to take a stance again.
'It seems that that nasty old man wants to see more of my tricks…'
Jang Baekseo decided to do so if he wanted to.
Against the approaching Jeongdo, Jang Baekseo deployed his footwork.
It was the Mysterious Profound Sect's basic footwork, the Original Sage Step.
As Jang Baekseo began to circle around Jeongdo using the Original Sage Step, Jeongdo also naturally turned his body to keep Jang Baekseo in front of him, matching his movements.
'The Seventy-Two Wave Sword would be better for this kind of movement, but to insist on the Songfeng Sword until the end, what a stubborn brat…'
Perhaps because he had been caught off guard by the weakness of the Seventy-Two Wave Sword once, Jeongdo insisted on the Songfeng Sword even though the Seventy-Two Wave Sword would be more effective against the Original Sage Step.
The Songfeng Sword, a fast sword, had many linear attacks, and among them, there were many forms that focused on thrusting.
Jang Baekseo, who had been circling around Jeongdo for a while, suddenly shot towards Jeongdo like an arrow.
In response, Jeongdo also deployed the forms of the Songfeng Sword.
Jeongdo's thrust shot towards Jang Baekseo's forehead with the force to pierce it, as Jang Baekseo rushed in like an arrow.
But Jeongdo's thrust never reached Jang Baekseo's forehead.
Jang Baekseo, who had been shooting like an arrow, had disappeared from Jeongdo's sight without him realizing it.
"No!?"
The secret was in the Left Flow, one of the movement methods of the Twelve Paths, Three Forms.
By applying the Left Flow, which moved using only the toes and knees, Jang Baekseo had lowered the center of his body through the movement of his knees the moment Jeongdo's thrust was shot.
Jeongdo, who had lost sight of Jang Baekseo's movements for a moment, instinctively stepped back… and that decided the outcome of this duel.
Aiming for the moment when Jeongdo stepped back, Jang Baekseo's sword aimed for Jeongdo's leg, and at that attack, Jeongdo had no choice but to roll on the floor in a pathetic manner.
And the moment Jeongdo, who had rolled on the floor, was about to hurriedly get up.
"Do you want more?"
The tip of Jang Baekseo's wooden sword was aimed at his forehead.
Jeongdo looked at the tip of the wooden sword with a calm look and then spoke.
"No, I have lost."
For a moment.
"Woooooow!!"
"Did that child of the Mysterious Profound Sect just defeat a third-generation disciple of Qingcheng!?"
"You're cool, kid!!"
Cheers erupted from the audience.
Leaving the cheers behind, Jang Baekseo looked at Grandmaster Gwangseo, the judge of this duel and the judge of the innocence of the Mysterious Profound Sect, with the tip of his sword aimed at Jeongdo.
Although it was just an exchange of gazes without a word, Grandmaster Gwangseo and Jang Baekseo understood what each other was trying to say.
'Let's stop at this point.'
'…Tsk!'
"As a result of watching this duel, it seems that the innocence of the Mysterious Profound Sect is a clear fact. Is there anyone who objects to this verdict?"
No one objected to the Sect Leader's declaration.
Thus, Jang Baekseo was able to prove the innocence of the Mysterious Profound Sect.
***
After the series of commotions had subsided to some extent, Jang Baekseo's party was able to return to their quarters.
The atmosphere in Qingcheng was currently serious.
All the participating sects had proven their innocence on the night of the incident, but this was by no means absolute.
In fact, even those who said they had not left their quarters had no witnesses. Who could know if they had actually stayed quietly in their quarters or had slipped out well without any witnesses?
As a result, Mount Qingcheng, which had been in a festive mood until yesterday, was now submerged in a funeral atmosphere.
In fact, since Grandmaster Gwang Oh had died, it was a real funeral.
"Baekseo, you're really amazing… did you think of that method of attack by yourself?"
While the entire Qingcheng was in a funeral, the atmosphere in the quarters where the party of the Mysterious Profound Sect was staying was friendly.
"W-well, that's about it. In fact, I was so ashamed of trying to win so cowardly in yesterday's duel that I was engrossed all day in how to break the Seventy-Two Wave Sword… I didn't know I would get to test it the very next day…"
Although Jang Baekseo said it, pretending to be as innocent as possible, he himself knew well how absurd the words he was saying now were.
Where in the world was there a person who could break a sword technique just by seeing it once? If a sword technique, and a high-level sword technique of Qingcheng, which belonged to the Nine Great Sects, could be broken just by seeing it once and thinking 'Ah, if I do this and that, it will be roughly broken,' then Qingcheng would not have been called one of the Nine Great Sects in the first place.
As Jang Baekseo was sweating profusely at his own lame excuse…
(End of Chapter)