The Return of the Sword God

Chapter 51: The One Who Gives the Answer. -03

If it had been a real battle, it would have been a strategy of giving flesh to take bone.

However, Ban Hojin was above Pang Hwayeong’s head.

As if he had known she would come at him like this, Ban Hojin merely twisted his wrist slightly and flicked away Pang Hwayeong’s Geopae Blade.

Then he moved his sword again.

Srrrk.

This time, instead of lightly tapping with a sword thrust, he moved it as if cutting.

Yet there was no wound.

Even her clothes were perfectly intact.

Despite the sword energy clinging to it, it had caused no effect whatsoever.

“Haap!”

If it had been real combat, she would have died long ago, but fortunately this was a sparring match.

Because of that, Pang Hwayeong did not hesitate and continued to unleash the Qiankun Continuous Chain Soul-Seizing Blade.

She poured out everything she could do.

And that sight became good stimulation for Seonwu Bang and Seo Joun as well.

“Huff, huff, huff!”

From early morning, Pang Hwayeong ran around the open clearing.

But she was not alone.

Since the lodging had been set at the inn where Ban Hojin’s group was staying, they were doing morning training together.

However, Pang Hwayeong could not keep up with the physical training of the three of them.

“If you are tired, you may rest a little.”

Seonwu Bang, the gentlest in disposition among the three, quietly approached and said so.

Just because they were training together did not mean she had to do exactly the same routine.

“Do you do this kind of physical training every single day?”

“Yes.”

Gulp.

Pang Hwayeong made a weary expression.

Hearing that they trained their stamina at this intensity every day left her drained just thinking about it.

Yet, at the same time, she could understand it.

Unlike her, who had collapsed in exhaustion yesterday, Ban Hojin had been perfectly energetic.

No, he had even sparred consecutively with Seonwu Bang and Seo Joun.

Even after facing her, he had shown no sign of fatigue at all.

‘Have I been training too comfortably?’

For a moment, Pang Hwayeong reflected on herself.

She engaged in some self-examination, wondering if she had trained too comfortably as the daughter of the Peng Family of Hebei.

At the same time, her father’s words came to mind.

That for a martial artist, first, second, and above all else, the most important thing was stamina.

“Joun as well, but Miss Pang must not overdo it either. Your physical growth has not yet finished. You are eighteen this year, correct?”

“Huh? How do you know my age?”

As Pang Hwayeong seemed lost in thought, Ban Hojin approached in place of Seonwu Bang, who had quietly stepped aside.

Unlike Pang Hwayeong, who was drenched in sweat, he spoke with a fresh, dry face.

“There are many ways to find out. I also met Young Master Pang at Shaolin.”

“Ah.”

Pang Hwayeong nodded.

Even if she was not particularly close to her eldest brother, he would at least recognize her, so it would not have been difficult to learn her age.

Besides, her age was not some great secret.

“They say women stop growing a bit earlier than men, but even so, some people continue growing until twenty.”

“I really hope I stop growing. Truly.”

Pang Hwayeong spoke in a tone more serious than she had during the sparring match.

As if, if possible, she wanted to reduce her height.

“Whether you grow more or not, only heaven knows.”

“If I get any taller than this, I won’t be able to get married. I’m already tall as it is.”

“Then you could meet a tall man, could you not?”

“I don’t really like big-built men.”

Pang Hwayeong said firmly.

Just seeing her brothers and family was more than enough when it came to large men.

“Well, everyone has their own preferences, so I will respect that.”

“But the two of you seem amazing. Especially Young Master Seo—you said you haven’t been properly introduced to martial arts for very long, right?”

“Yes. I had been ill for a while.”

“Indeed, heaven-bestowed talent really seems different.”

Pang Hwayeong’s eyes shone.

Today’s targets were the two of them.

Since she had already sparred with Ban Hojin yesterday, she planned to spar with Seonwu Bang and Seo Joun today.

“Miss Pang’s talent is also tremendous.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You yourself know it best.”

“Hearing that from Young Master Ban doesn’t quite make it sink in. You’re the strongest one here, after all.”

“I am sincere.”

Ban Hojin shrugged.

As if he found it faintly sorrowful that his sincerity was not being conveyed.

“The saying that the world is vast and masters are many comes to mind anew.”

“There are many who have yet to reveal themselves.”

“You speak as if you know something?”

“Joun alone was practically living in seclusion.”

Pang Hwayeong nodded.

Indeed, Seo Joun had been an undiscovered talent.

However, had his Nine Yang Severed Meridians not been treated, his talent would not have blossomed as it had now.

“Ah, actually, there was something I wanted to ask you, Young Master Ban.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“How did you grasp all my feints and variations?”

“Rather than grasping them, I simply did not fall for them. Feints and variations are, in a way, techniques meant to deceive the opponent, are they not? To hide the real strike. So if you do not fall for them, blocking them is not particularly difficult.”

“Th-that’s……right?”

Pang Hwayeong slowly blinked her eyes.

She was flustered by how obvious and orthodox the explanation sounded.

“To put it simply, this belongs to the realm of experience. If you go through countless martial arts, you begin to sense similar flows. Moreover, I watched Miss Pang’s Qiankun Continuous Chain Soul-Seizing Blade from beginning to end.”

“Ah, could it be!”

“Yes. I observed it once. Variations and feints ultimately come from the basic forms. There are those who break that framework, but that level is something only the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven can achieve.”

Pang Hwayeong’s eyes sparkled.

It felt as though she had glimpsed the realm of the Murim Ten Kings, if only through words.

However, Ban Hojin was not finished yet.

“Returning to the main point, feints and variations are ultimately means to deceive the opponent and make one’s attack succeed. And all people have habits or tendencies. Some are aware of them, and some are not. If you are aware, you either correct them, or you make use of them.”

“So you deliberately show an opening. Like a trap.”

“That’s right. So in a way, it can’t really be called a weakness. But the problem is not knowing.”

“……Did you memorize all of that, by any chance?”

“Isn’t that only natural?”

At Ban Hojin’s reply, Pang Hwayeong made a stunned expression.

Even just the variations derived from a single move numbered in the dozens, even hundreds.

Of course, the main framework was the same, but even so, if there were only ten moves, they branched into thousands.

Hearing that he had memorized all of that left Pang Hwayeong at a loss for words.

“……Is that even possible?”

“Effort is making it possible.”

“…….”

Pang Hwayeong bit her lip.

It was such an obvious statement that she could not give any reply at all.

At the same time, she realized how half-heartedly she herself had approached martial arts.

“How much time you pour into training—of course, that’s important. But what’s even more important than that is how much you concentrated during that time. Quantity matters, but quality matters as well. Swinging carelessly a hundred times is less effective than executing it properly once. Wandering around and getting lost on many paths may seem productive, but in the end, taking the correct path is faster.”

“Ah…….”

At those final words, Pang Hwayeong let out an exclamation.

It felt as though they had been carved directly into her mind.

They were words she had known from before, but hearing them from Ban Hojin made them feel far weightier.

At the same time, she understood why her father was so obsessed with the basics.

“Of course, knowing something and executing it with the body are different matters.”

“You’re really strange, Young Master Ban. We’re only two years apart in age.”

“Our inner time is very different.”

“Two years?”

Pang Hwayeong laughed slightly, as if incredulous.

If it had been twenty years, perhaps, but making such a fuss over just two years felt absurd to her.

“If you express two years as twelve shijin, or as one dayang or one gak, it becomes enormous. Two years spent in idle waste and two years spent on the battlefield can never be the same.”

“Isn’t that comparison a bit extreme?”

“In a way, we are each standing on our own battlefield. Depending on how faithfully one has trained, winners and losers are decided.”

“For someone saying that, you seem to be living a very relaxed daily life.”

This time as well, Pang Hwayeong aimed for an opening.

However, just like yesterday’s sparring match, Ban Hojin flicked away her attack without difficulty.

“What matters is efficiency. In the end, what matters is the result.”

“It seems your verbal sparring is impressive too, not just your swordsmanship.”

“I don’t really like losing.”

“That just makes my stubbornness flare up even more. Whether it’s martial arts or verbal skill, I really want to win at least one of them.”

With a resolute expression, Pang Hwayeong clenched her fist tightly.

Yet unlike her bold words, her eyes were filled with fondness.

Not only was his skill remarkable, but he also spared no advice that felt like golden maxims.

Moreover, she and Ban Hojin had only met for the first time yesterday.

“A challenge is beautiful in and of itself.”

“That sounds like you’re saying you won’t lose.”

“That, I don’t know. I’ll make my own effort as well, so it won’t be easy.”

“Of course you should come at me like that. That way, my own passion will well up too.”

Pang Hwayeong grinned.

As if, just as Ban Hojin had said, the challenge itself was enjoyable.

And in truth, Pang Hwayeong liked this place very much.

She could challenge a strong expert like Ban Hojin, and with rivals like Seonwu Bang and Seo Joun threatening her fiercely, she once again realized that coming here had been an excellent choice.

‘If I slip up even a little, I could lose.’

Seonwu Bang, whose essence, energy, and spirit were harmonious, possessed the potential to surge upward fearsomely at any moment if given the opportunity.

In fact, he was a martial artist against whom Pang Hwayeong found it hard to confidently guarantee victory.

And Seo Joun was a genius she could not help but acknowledge.

It was the kind of growth that made the phrase “renewing oneself day after day” naturally come to mind.

‘But still, the best is Young Master Ban.’

After finishing the nausea-inducing physical training just moments ago, Pang Hwayeong glanced at Seo Joun and Seonwu Bang sparring, then secretly looked at Ban Hojin with sparkling eyes.

Getting to know Seonwu Bang and Seo Joun was a great gain, but the greatest gain of all was Ban Hojin.

Setting aside whether he was a man or not, Ban Hojin was, on a human level, a truly good person.

In particular, Pang Hwayeong liked the fact that he was strict even with her.

‘I don’t like it.’

Seo Joun, who had been sparring with Seonwu Bang and was resting briefly, puffed out his lips.

He did not like how Pang Hwayeong was clinging closely to Ban Hojin today, just as she had yesterday.

The one who always received teachings and advice had been himself, yet it felt as though Pang Hwayeong had snatched that position away.

What he disliked even more was Pang Hwayeong’s skill.

‘To think such a master was hiding.’

As for Seonwu Bang, it wasn’t that he lacked ability—he simply wasn’t widely known.

He had merely been overshadowed by the Four Dragons.

But Seo Joun thought that wouldn’t last much longer either.

Ever since Ban Hojin had come to the Seonwu Family, Seonwu Bang’s skill had been improving day by day.

‘Is she already laying the groundwork?’

Seo Joun narrowed his eyes.

Thinking it over carefully, it wasn’t an entirely unrealistic thought.

An Unregistered Disciple of the Shaolin Abbot, with skill great enough to shake the world.

So it wasn’t strange that the Peng Family of Hebei would covet Ban Hojin.

‘They don’t suit each other.’