Book 20 Chapter 25

The Curtain Rises

-Die if you don't recognize it

CHANG!

A bluish lightning bolt of a sword glowed in his hand, like the frost at dawn in winter, as his nervous gaze swept across the beautiful thirty-something woman who was one of the great pillars of the Martial Kingdom.

"That's a nice sword."

"Thank you."

Her name is Qin Xiaoling, and she is as beautiful as a celestial fairy and as regal as the Nine Heavenly Maidens of Yaoji. All who knew her honored her beauty and, more importantly, her sword skills, giving her the title of Amish Goddess.

The sword drawn from the scabbard was her alter ego, her very self. Qin Shaolin's beloved sword, the Jade Gen, glowed with an intangible sword power that radiated from its tranquil form, crushing the mind and body of the Southern Palace. Already, no one could stop it.

"We're finally here."

Namgungsang said to himself in a low voice. Qin Shaolin was equally impressed.

"I see I've finally crossed swords with you."

Namgungsang nodded and replied.

"Yeah, because there's been a lot more going on to get us to this point than we realize."

It's just there.

"But I didn't expect him to come back from the dead. It turns out he's got more tricks up his sleeve than I thought."

"Well, that was unplanned for me, too, Auntie."

In a polite voice, Namgungsang replied, his will reflected in the work, too tenuous to turn the tide.

"There you go calling me that again. As I said, I'm not your aunt yet. So you might want to save those words for now. Until you beat me."

Qin Xiaolong warned, quietly and dignified.

"So I can't be a dick?

I wouldn't have gotten to this point if I were someone who could do that.

Ever since the arrival of that cursed damned letter of despair, he had been forced to live with the landscape of hell hanging in front of him at all times. It remained to be seen if today would be the day of his liberation from that hell, or if it would be the day of his doom that would swallow him up into its depths.

One thing was certain: if he lost this duel, the Daishi would not leave him alone, and there was a strong possibility that this time, with one exception, the Jinling would be just like the Daishi.

"Are you ready?"

Qin Xiaoling asked in a low voice.

"We're ready. Please come."

Namgungsang tightened his grip on his dagger.

"You promised me you'd only use the Iguana Sword, and since that's what you said, I'll honor it."

There were constraints to this non-movement, and since they both agreed to it, they had to honor those constraints.

"Of course, you don't have to say no."

Actually, that was a lie.

"I already know your tricks. So you'd better take that into account."

The 'supersensory' realm that Nan Gongsheng had obtained and that Qin Xiaoling had admired. That was what she was talking about now.

"Of course. Don't worry."

Namgungsang replied dryly.

Amifa (峨嵋派) Solitary Sword Method.

Flaming Sword (亂花劍).

Secrets.

Ichigo Sword Ritual (以氣御劍術式).

"Flying Lotus!"

Blood!

Qin Shaolin's sword soared like a silver fish into the sky, drawing colorful patterns in the dizzying air. To be able to wield a sword so freely out of her hands meant that her fish sword technique had already reached the Harmony Sutra.

"Oooooh!"

Her brilliant swordsmanship was enough to inspire admiration in the ranks, but it carried with it a raw power that was infinitely beautiful to the beholder but felt like a kiss of death to the recipient.

"Hey, you're good at avoiding cooking!"

Watching the offstage battle between the two, Namgung Sansan exclaimed in admiration.

"Well, it looks like your training hasn't been in vain."

Hyunwoon, who was watching, replied.

Cookie-cookie!

That's when a finger jabbed painfully into her side.

"Ouch! What, what?"

It was a jinling.

"I've been fidgeting and can't see very well, Sansan, how are you doing now?"

Qin Lie asked, covering his face with his palms.

"Yay! That's great!"

"What, what?"

"You're still alive, Mr. Gongsang!"

Namgungsansan replied with enthusiasm.

"That, that's called a horse!"

Still blindfolded, Jinryung screeched.

"Why are you yelling at me? It hurts my ears. If you're so curious, look at it yourself. It doesn't make it any less real, and you'd be better off just facing it instead of fidgeting like that, wouldn't you say?"

"No!"

Qin Lie bellowed.

"Tsk, tsk, I feel sorry for Mr. Gongsang."

Namgung Sansan clicked his tongue.

"Why?"

Jinling couldn't help but ask why.

"Even your one true love doesn't trust you, and if you did, you wouldn't be so afraid, would you? So how poor is my sister?"

"No! I believe you!"

Jinling screeched again, her hands clasped down in protest.

"Ooohhhhhh!"

Then a shout rang out again. Qin Xiaolong's sword, which had been relentlessly pursuing the Southern Palace Lord, had suddenly split in two.

"Lee Bun-young!

Qin Ling could see firsthand how the two hilts of the sword made a threatening shift toward her lover.

"It's dangerous!"

Her eyes widened.

Her unleashed triggers were spectacular.

Stillness and silence descended upon the tip of her blade as she stretched it out horizontally. In the crushing silence, everyone's eyes traveled to the tip of her blade and stopped.

A moment later, a rain of flowers began to fall from the sky. The tip of her sword vibrated with a tremor that she didn't realize had begun. The next moment, twelve beams of light exploded. Unsure of how to counter it, Nan Gongsheng hastily raised his sword and deflected the sword qi flying towards him.

"Watch out, back……!"

Before the warning was over, a sword emerged from the back of the South King's head. Neither the scattering of snowflakes nor the explosion of swords were anything more than a cover for the sword's movement.

With a quick swipe of his sword, he creates a shield that narrowly blocks the blow, but that's not all.

It's an umbrella bunyoung.

"I'm not falling for this anymore!

It was a move he had practiced hundreds of times over the past week, to the point where it had become ingrained in his body. His body already knew the most appropriate move to avoid it, and he calmly executed it, dodging the two swords flying towards him.

Qin Shaolin was stunned to see how skillfully Nan Gongshang caught his technique.

"I can't believe you've been able to take this herb so easily."

Namgungsang replied with a bitter smile.

"I probably wouldn't have gotten it the first time, but after doing it a hundred times, I've got a knack for it. Human adaptability is a scary thing. I'm glad I managed to get it without dying."

"Ho-ho, you must have been trained by a master!"

There were not many people who could bifurcate the Iaido sword, no matter how strong they were.

"Nouns are fucking freezing!"

Hearing that, Yeomdo gritted his teeth and said something.

"If you're envious, say you're envious."

Bing'er scolded him in a blunt voice. But there was a hint of triumph on his cold face.

Qin Shaolin's expression turned even more serious.

"Your skills are certainly commendable. But it's not time to get cocky yet. It's not too late to get cocky after you get this."

She hadn't even scratched the surface yet. She was just getting started.

"Hey, he's faster!"

Hyun-woon, who was watching, muttered in a low voice, feeling uneasy about the gap between the two districts.

"Oh my God, I almost missed that one."

The ginseng was equally surprising.

"To be fast with a sword, you must be fast on your feet. If your sword is fast but your feet are slow, you're slow anyway."

Binggum looked at him and nodded, quite satisfied. It was confirmation that his training was paying off.

"If you can't close the distance between you and the other person, you're not going to get anywhere. I've told you over and over again that you have to bring the distance into yourself, but you don't seem to have remembered."

"Hmm, are you arguing with me?"

The man next to him, Yeomdo, rolled his eyes and said something.

"Ah, come to think of it, you were always pointed out by your master that your feet were slower than your sword!"

It's a shame I only thought of that now, because if I had thought of it earlier, I could have teased you for a much longer time," said Touro Bingum. His expression was still blunt.

"You icy bastard!"

Yeomdo's face turned grim.

"Hmph, but the scary thing about Iggy's sword is that it has a very large sword area. Can we just dodge and weave our way around it?"

"We'll see about that."

Qin Shaolin's index finger moved upward again.

"Can we get this one?"

Boom!

In midair, Qin Lie's swords split in two again, making a total of four swords.

"Okay, can I get this one too?"

Namgung Sang's eyes widened.

"Heck, quadrant!"

This was so unexpected that even Binggum was surprised.

"What do you think, Iceberg, do you have a plan for that situation?"

"……."

"Why no answer?"

"No, we're not prepared for quadrants."

Bing'er's voice was calm.

"I'll go then!"

Qin Xiaolong declared.

"No, I… I don't think you need to come."

Namgungsang replied.

But Qin Xiaolong didn't seem to hear him.

Amifa (峨嵋派) Solitary Sword Method.

Flaming Sword (亂花劍).

Secrets.

Ichigo Sword Ritual (以氣御劍術式).

Flying lily of the valley, Four Lilies of the Valley.

Four lotus flowers began to blossom into colorful blooms in the air.

"Go away, Saranhwa!"

The four scattered petals from the giant lotus were carried by a gust of wind and flew toward the South Palace statue.

"Is that dangerous?"

There was a hint of tension in Bing'er's voice. He hadn't expected Qin Shaolin's skill to be at that level.

'I should have made it more challenging…….'

It was an ice sword that made me wonder if my training had been too watered down.

"See! Complacency has terrible consequences. If you lose, it's on you."

Yeomdo pointed out.

"Are you all right, Confucius of the Southern Palace?"

Na Yerin asked.

"I hope you're okay."

Ryuyeon Bi replied.

"I see it!

Even in the midst of his desperate situation, he didn't blink an eye as he watched the deadly petals fly toward him. His senses had been sharpened to the point of acute sensitivity as he had only just entered the early stages of his cultivation. His investment had not been in vain. Then…….

"There's only one problem!

The question was, could his body move beyond that speed?

"Hang in there, my body!

He moved his body at the fastest speed he could muster.

Namgungsega's solo walk method.

The secret to telegraphing.

Thunderbolt Scatter (雷光散亂).

The bird on the Southern Palace blurred for a moment, then moved swiftly behind him, its long tail twitching.

It was called Jeon Young-Bo, and it was as fast as a lightning bolt.

"Man, that's fast!"

Hyun-woon, who was one level below his friend, was horrified and had to put a knife to his own judgment.

"Me, I can't believe it!"

A sense of urgency overcame him, as he realized that he would only be left behind.

'They say if you don't take risks, you don't earn…….'

Suddenly, I felt a tightness in my chest.

"Is that the difference between those who take risks and those who don't……."

In the past, he had looked with watery eyes and a pitying heart at Namgung-sang, who was suffering and being persecuted, but now he found himself in the position of having to pity himself.

"I can't believe you avoided that!"

Qin Xiaoling was stunned to realize that his secret herbivory had been wasted.

"Well, you got lucky, because I wasn't really sure this time."

Qin Xiaoling shook his head at the Southern Palace Lord's humility.

"No, you've used your skills to avoid this herbivore. Excellent."

"Oh, no… that's a long way off."

He said, still humbled.

"I'm going to have to recognize you at this point."

"So, you're okay with that?"

Namgungsang replied with a smile.

"Great. One last thing, and then I'll recognize you."

"What do you mean… the last one?"

"This is one of my most recent accomplishments. I'm very excited to show it to you. I hope you'll forgive me for my inexperience, as I'm making my debut today."

"Not again?

I thought, "No way," and my expectations were crushed.

The swords of Qin Shaolin that were once one became two, then four, then eight.

As the eight swords flew through the air, eight beautiful lotuses bloomed in the air.

"Palindromes……."

It was an attack that could be considered the final transformation of an untrained swordsman, and the ultimate form of the Yi Yi Sword Art.

She seemed to be saying with her sword that the same Iaijutsu could take on different dimensions depending on the caster.

"What do you say, do you surrender? Admitting defeat now might save your life."

Namgungsang shook his head.

"I'm not giving up, and if I throw up my hands and surrender now, I'm going to die anyway, so I guess it's not a bad option to fight my fate to the end."

Namgungsang said proudly, his eyes shining with determination.

"Good guts, then take it."

Amifa (峨嵋派) Solitary Sword Method.

Flaming Sword (亂花劍).

Secrets.

Ichigo Sword Ritual (以氣御劍術式).

Flying Lotus (飛翔蓮花).

Eight Lianhua Lin, Nanhua Manchuan.

Eight lotus flowers bloomed in the sky, filling the blue void with sword light and scattering colorfully.

"What are we going to do now, Iceberg?"

Yeomdo asked.

"Maybe we should buy a bucket of incense."

Binggum replied in a nonchalant tone.

"Why the scent?"

"Shouldn't he be honored?"

Even the televised announcement that the speed was like a lightning strike was useless in the rain that filled the rain stage. No matter how fast you run in the rain, you will get rain on your body.

'If so, to the retina…….'

Namgungsang has hastily cast the life-saving herb, Tabernacle Wheat.

However, the sword shield of the Southern Palace was not a reliable umbrella in the rain, as each seemingly light petal hid a great deal of strength.

CHANG!

"Boom!"

The one and only sword in his desperate grip flew through the air, spinning like a pinwheel with the impact that tore his grip.

At the sight, Qin Lie's face fell. Despair filled her two lakes. A scream erupted from her.

"No, no, no!"

It was a death knell.

"That's it!"

Someone called out. Everyone nodded. There are no more of them left. That's what everyone thought, except for two people.

"Not yet!"

Bi Ryuyeon exclaimed, jumping out of her seat.

Forced into the air, Namgungsang's sword suddenly moved as if it were an object of will. He was desperate, and he pushed himself to the limit, ready to die. And then he leaped.

"You know what the greatest use of the Iguana sword is? It's the surprise, the surprise that stabs you in the face, the unseen move, the unthinkable move!"

"Ooooooooooooo!"

Namgungsang stretched out his hands and pointed them at the sword, firmly believing that there was a bond between it and his arms, and he threw them out in front of him as if fishing. The lightning bolt rewarded his faith.

Shhhhhhhh!

Like a living arrow, like a silver smelt running down a valley, the sword spun and turned and accelerated across the vast expanse of the sky, until it reached the back of Qin Shaolin's neck and stopped dead in its tracks, and then, exhausting all its power, it plunged to the ground, leaving behind only a single symbol.

"Hmph!"

All of his energy had ebbed away, and his body was like dry, crunchy sand. Without a single drop of energy left to hold on to, his legs collapsed like sand on a beach swept by waves. At the same time, his body collapsed.

"Prize!"

Stunned, Jinling jumped up and ran. He thought he was dead, Qin Ling later recalled. The image of the Southern Palace statue looked like everything had been burned to the ground, leaving nothing behind.

A smile appeared on Bi Ryuyeon's face as she watched.

"Now that's one thing he's broken through, a keg he's been making and tinkering with for twenty years. What's the next thing he's going to break through?"

To the priest and disciple who had just completed a task, he seemed to be saying that this was only the beginning. It was fortunate that the voice was completely inaudible to the now stunned ears, but his subconscious was awake even in the depths of sleep, and his body stirred briefly in the warmth of Qin Lie's embrace. It had happened so quickly that no one could guess why.

"How… did this happen……."

The light of disbelief still shone like a star in a cloudy night sky on the face of Qin Xiaolong as he gazed upon the frightened, yet relieved, defenseless face of his beloved nephew, sleeping soundly in the arms of his beloved niece-or rather, stunned.

Neither did she. This was the last thing she had expected in any of the hypothetical confrontations she had envisioned. Namgungsang's behavior had surpassed her imagination.

It was Binggum who answered for him.

"Qin Wushuang, the best way to know what something is, no matter what it is, is to experience it with your own body. If you think that experience consists of merely dealing with the Yi Yi Sword, or receiving its techniques, you are sorely mistaken. That's just a scratch on the surface, and it doesn't get you to the essence of it. There's no better way to learn it than to wield it yourself, and that's the true experience of diving into it."

"You mean you taught yourself?"

"It is a feeble effort, infinitely short of your esteemed loftiness in creating the eight fish sword divisions… but it is so."

"That's amazing, that you went to that length to beat me. One of you had your numbers read and one of you didn't have your numbers read all the way through, so it's no wonder the one who had his numbers read lost."

"That's wrong."

Binggum shook his head.

"Why is that?"

"It's impossible to win by simply reading a culminating move of your caliber, so our focus has been on creating a body that can embody the possibility of that read victory."

"Uira……. To hear you say that, Iceblade Nosho, who has always been as solitary as an orchid in winter, makes me wonder who transformed you."

Binggum's face hardened slightly.

"You need not concern yourself with such things, for they are of no concern to the Jin League. They are trivial matters that will only waste your precious mind. It is better not to know."

Bing'er replied with a straight face. This reaction was even stranger to Qin Lie.

"I guess I'll just have to admit that I lost anyway."

Qin Shaolin looked at the sky.

"I'm so full of myself……. I was stuck in the mountains and forgot for a moment that there was another sky above me."

It was then that Namgungsang came to his senses.

"Sang, are you awake?"

"Hello, this is……."

"It's still offstage."

"Huh? Offstage? How's the game going?"

Namgungsang asked, bouncing to his feet, where did he get such strength?

"…It's yours, Sang!"

"My win?"

Namgungsang pointed a finger at himself. He was still in disbelief.

"Yes, you win."

At that moment, Qin Shaolin walked quietly up to Namgungsang and put his hand on his shoulder, saying, "I'm sorry.

"You are victorious, Southern Emperor. Take care… of the spirit."

"Go, thank you, Auntie!"

Jin didn't comment further on the title.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

A collective, offstage roar erupted from the stands.

Qin Ling broke down and cried.