Chapter 46

## Chapter 46. Do it here?

Namgung Su was busy blocking Myeongil Oh's relentless attacks, his mind in a whirl.

‘What’s going on all of a sudden!’

An inexplicable situation was unfolding before his eyes.

The new lecturer applicant, who couldn't even brush against his collar, was now pressing him with a transformed level of skill.

Clack clack clack clack!

The wooden swords and staff clashed repeatedly. From the moment Namgung Su's posture wavered, Myeongil Oh launched a barrage of attacks without taking a breath.

‘Damn it...’

Until now, he hadn't broken a sweat after over a hundred exchanges, but now, in just a dozen moves, his back was drenched in cold sweat.

‘I can’t retreat any further.’

Clenching his teeth, Namgung Su stubbornly held his ground and swung his sword.

If he took a few steps back, he could catch his breath and counterattack.

But Namgung Su couldn't do that.

A virtual circle.

Although he hadn't told anyone, he had decided that the moment he stepped out of this circle, he would be considered the loser.

“Haaah!”

For the first time, a battle cry erupted from Namgung Su's lips.

Whish.

As his wooden sword drew a large, soft circle, Myeongil Oh's rain of attacks were all deflected within that trajectory.

Immediately, Myeongil Oh hurriedly retreated.

“Wow! As expected, Teacher Namgung!”

“It can’t end like this!”

The lecturers and students marveled at Namgung Su's brilliant move.

However, Namgung Su's expression was far from pleased.

‘...He read my attack and retreated just now.’

Originally, he planned to use the previous attack to deflect Myeongil Oh's assault and then step forward to counterattack.

But Myeongil Oh had withdrawn his attack a half-beat earlier and quickly retreated to create distance.

“Huff... huff...”

Watching Myeongil Oh slowly catch his breath from outside the circle, Namgung Su realized he was trapped within his own virtual circle.

“I will attack again.”

“...”

Myeongil Oh, aiming his wooden staff, charged again. Namgung Su hadn't fully caught his breath yet.

Clack clack clack clack clack!

Myeongil Oh's attacks were fierce. He cleverly exploited the fact that Namgung Su couldn't leave the virtual circle, repeatedly striking and retreating.

Whish! Whish whish whish!

At first, his timing wasn't very accurate, but as time passed, his attacks became as precise as if measured with a ruler, and they were increasingly threatening.

Moreover, his weapon was a wooden staff, which was much easier to control in terms of distance compared to a wooden sword.

Namgung Su felt like he was in a desperate situation.

‘Is this guy really the same as before?’

This wasn't just about hiding his skills.

It was as if someone else was controlling Myeongil Oh's body and fighting in his place.

‘No, it’s not just a feeling... someone is actually helping him.’

At first, he was merely surprised, but as he became more familiar with the situation, he grew increasingly certain.

Whish!

Once again, Myeongil Oh avoided Namgung Su's attack by just turning his head.

Coincidentally, a young man's figure was visible behind Myeongil Oh.

‘Baek Su-ryong?’

Smirk.

The moment their eyes met, Baek Su-ryong's lips curled into a smile.

‘It’s you!’

Seeing the smile on Baek Su-ryong's lips, Namgung Su understood the entire situation.

Grinding his teeth, Namgung Su's body trembled with anger. Flames of fury erupted from his eyes.

But in that split second, a gap appeared.

“Where are you looking during a sparring match?”

“!!”

Baek Su-ryong and Myeongil Oh didn't miss it.

Whish!

In one swift move, Myeongil Oh invaded the virtual circle, blocked Namgung Su's wooden sword with his staff, and tripped his legs. Namgung Su's body leaned backward.

Myeongil Oh, facing the flustered Namgung Su, smirked.

“This is the end.”

And Myeongil Oh poured all his strength and inner energy into his staff and swung it.

Boom!

Namgung Su's back slammed into the sparring mat as he fell backward.

Or so everyone thought.

The moment of victory was Myeongil Oh's only mistake that day.

“What do you mean, the end?”

Namgung Su hadn't fallen. He was using his legs to maintain balance, his back arched backward, blocking the staff.

An incredible technique, the Iron Plate Bridge, which required exceptional balance, leg strength, and abdominal power.

“The moment a sparring match ends is...”

Muttering in a chilling voice, Namgung Su took two or three steps back, then sprang forward, straightening his back.

“Damn it!”

Myeongil Oh hurriedly tried to retreat, but at that moment, Namgung Su was already infusing his sword with inner energy.

“I will decide.”

Sizzle, sizzle!

A dazzling white sword aura enveloped his sword.

* * *

Not long after the bet began, Jeongaso Yeong asked me with a dazed look.

“...What exactly did you do?”

“What do you mean?”

Jeongaso Yeong pointed at the two people fighting on the sparring mat with her long, white fingers.

“That. How can the applicant Myeongil Oh press Teacher Namgung like this?”

“He must have been hiding his skills.”

I shrugged and answered calmly, but in reality, I was constantly giving Myeongil Oh instructions through telepathy.

[Move one step to the left. A slash will come from the right.]

[Take one step back and block the upper left. Immediately aim for the opponent's thigh.]

[Move three steps to the right, then one step forward. Thrust!]

[Hold it for a long time and deflect. The opponent won't chase you anyway.]

Myeongil Oh generally followed my instructions, though he was sometimes a bit slow.

On the other hand, Namgung Su was fighting with a significant disadvantage he had imposed on himself.

‘The virtual circle is becoming visible.’

The virtual circle.

The compulsion to stay within it was preventing Namgung Su from using his full potential.

It was a foolish move.

I could fight the academy's brats using only external techniques because I had practiced them countless times in the past and used only external techniques.

But Myeongil Oh could freely use inner energy.

‘He dug his own grave.’

I could see Namgung Su's movements becoming increasingly disordered as he grew more flustered.

Whish!

The moment Myeongil Oh dodged Namgung Su's sword by tilting his head, our eyes accidentally met.

I gave him a smirk to shake him psychologically.

“!!”

As expected, his expression contorted in a way that was worth seeing.

I immediately sent a telepathic message to Myeongil Oh.

We were nearing the fifty exchanges I had bet with Jeongaso Yeong.

[End it with this attack.]

Whish!

Myeongil Oh closed the distance, blocked Namgung Su's sword, and tripped his legs, pushing him back.

Simultaneously, he swung his staff, infused with powerful inner energy, from top to bottom.

Whoosh!

I smirked and nodded.

“It’s over.”

But even monkeys sometimes fall from trees, and unexpected things can happen in life.

Boom!

The moment Namgung Su used the Iron Plate Bridge technique to block the staff, my brows furrowed. When he sprang up by straightening his back, I clicked my tongue. Seeing Myeongil Oh retreat in shock, I sighed deeply.

‘Why are you retreating in shock? You should have continued attacking with the resolve to kill.’

To be fair, Myeongil Oh had performed much better than I expected.

But I never imagined Namgung Su would infuse the sparring wooden sword with sword aura.

Sizzle, sizzle!

It was a clear white sword aura.

The moment it appeared, someone, whether a lecturer or a student, shouted.

“Heavenly Thunder Sword Technique (天雷劍法)!”

One of the famous and powerful techniques of the Namgung family, among the best in the Five Great Clans.

I also shouted and leaped onto the sparring mat.

“What a lunatic!”

But I was a step too late.

The white sword aura exploded, turning the sparring mat white, and shortly after, Myeongil Oh's scream echoed.

“Keh!”

Myeongil Oh was sent flying, spitting blood. I leaped into the air and gently caught his body before landing on the ground.

“Brother... Keh!”

“Don’t speak.”

Myeongil Oh's body was covered in blood. The wooden staff had shattered into pieces, embedding splinters in various parts of his body as he barely managed to block the sword aura.

He seemed to have defended his vital points, but it wasn't an injury that would heal in a day or two.

Snap!

I pressed a few acupoints and meridians on Myeongil Oh.

I handed the unconscious Myeongil Oh to Jeongaso Yeong, who had run over.

“Is he... okay?”

“He will live. Just keep him here until the doctor arrives. I need to have a word with that guy.”

Handing Myeongil Oh to Jeongaso Yeong, I turned to face Namgung Su.

Namgung Su was also looking at me.

“Did you intend to kill him?”

“...I apologize. In the heat of the moment, I unconsciously used sword aura.”

Namgung Su sighed with a troubled expression, but I knew it was just an act.

“Apologize?”

I chuckled and strode onto the sparring mat.

Without realizing it, my tone had reverted to that of my Blood Sect days.

“Does an apology end it? If Myeongil Oh had died from that attack, would you have just said sorry at his grave and called it a day? You really live in a convenient world.”

“...What are you trying to do?”

I stopped a few steps away from Namgung Su.

Namgung Su didn't back down and glared at me.

The tension rose due to the unexpected injury.

Everyone's eyes were on us.

‘Do it here?’

I stood there, gauging Namgung Su's skills.

Indeed, the martial arts he had just displayed were stronger than I had anticipated.

He was skilled at hiding his abilities.

Perhaps he was hiding even more.

But that doesn't mean I can't win...

“Enough!”

A loud, powerful voice, infused with inner energy, shook the sparring mat.

Old Jun Sang, who had appeared on the mat like a gust of wind, scolded us with a stern gaze.

“Applicant Baek Su-ryong. Lecturer Namgung Su. Both of you, return to your positions. I will not tolerate any further disturbances.”

“...”

“...”

We didn't move, and our actions irritated Old Jun Sang.

“Did you not hear me?”

Thud thud thud thud!

The aura emanating from Old Jun Sang's body pressed down on us with a suffocating pressure.

“Grr...”

“Ugh...”

The overwhelming pressure distorted both Namgung Su's and my expressions.

Not only that, but the pressure also made some of the surrounding lecturers and students in the audience pale.

“This is your final warning. Both of you, return to your positions.”

At the stern voice, Namgung Su turned his body first.

‘Brat. Consider yourself lucky.’

I glared at Namgung Su's back and slowly turned around.

For some reason, I had a premonition that my rivalry with that guy would last a long time.