That’s Not How You Use Martial Arts

Chapter 5
Years Later (3)

『 Translator – Divinity 』

Shweeek!

The sword, pulled back as she charged, gained momentum and flew towards my neck.

At the attack, much faster than I expected, I hurriedly lowered my body.

Junior Sister Jang’s sword narrowly passed over my head, slicing off a few strands of hair.

Hair fluttered to the ground.

Newly realizing that I was facing a real sword meant to cut a person for the first time, I swung horizontally at Junior Sister’s lower body.

The second move of the Three Talents Sword Technique, Horizontal Sweep of a Thousand Armies.

It was a move with a rather impressive name, implying sweeping away a thousand soldiers with a horizontal swing, but in the end, it was just a simple horizontal cut.

Junior Sister Jang jumped to evade my attack and then aimed for the top of my head with a downward strike.

The force was so fierce that it was hard to believe it came from her slender hands.

I didn’t even dare to block it and moved my body to the side.

Kwaang!

My decision to dodge instead of blocking was the right one.

As Junior Sister Jang’s sword, missing its target, plunged into the ground, a powerful explosion occurred.

“……”

…If I had blocked that, both the sword and my head would have been shattered.

The power was hard to believe, coming from her slender arms.

She definitely used internal energy.

“Uh, Junior Sister? This is a spar, right? Am I mistaken, is this a fight to the death?”

“It’s a spar. But we didn’t specifically agree not to use internal energy, did we?”

“Hmm… Should we establish that rule now…?”

Whizz!

My cautious question was met with a sharp sword attack.

Ah, so no talking allowed!

If she was using internal energy, I had to use it too.

Circulating the meager amount of internal energy in my dantian throughout my body, I clashed swords with Junior Sister.

Clang! Clang!

Crimson sparks flew every time our identical swords collided.

I swung my sword with all my might, but it was immediately deflected upon impact.

I had a hunch, but it was as I expected.

The difference in our internal energy was immense, so clashing head-on only resulted in more damage on my side.

Moreover, for the same reason, I couldn’t drag the spar on.

My internal energy would run out first.

In the end, there was only one answer. A swift victory.

I retreated a good distance from Junior Sister’s sword, took a deep breath, and pulled my sword back, pointing the tip towards her.

A thrusting stance with the sharp tip aimed at the opponent.

It was the preparatory stance for the third move of the Three Talents Sword Technique, Sage Pointing the Way.

“…Are you still going to face me with only the Three Talents Sword Technique even at this point?”

Junior Sister Jang asked in a dispirited voice.

Seeing her eyes filled with disappointment, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

It couldn’t be helped. I hadn’t created a new sword technique yet.

Whether she knew my inner thoughts or not, Junior Sister’s gaze sharpened.

Her aura also intensified, making it feel like the air was pricking my entire body.

She clearly wasn’t happy.

I could sense her determination to force me to reveal what I was hiding, and from my perspective, it was frustrating and unfair.

Just what kind of person did she think I was that she wouldn’t believe my words and react like this?

Sighing inwardly, I bent my legs, which were spread wide apart.

As if responding to me, Junior Sister Jang assumed the same stance she had at the beginning of the spar.

With her sword pulled back and her upper body lowered, she looked like a predator ready to pounce on its prey.

I recalled Junior Sister’s attack from earlier.

A high-speed approach followed by a swift acceleration to deliver a neck-slicing blow.

An ordinary martial artist would have had their head severed in an instant.

The problem was that it probably wasn’t her full speed. There was a sense of ease in her movements.

But not this time. She would definitely come at me with full force.

Although Junior Sister wouldn’t actually try to kill me, I might get seriously injured if I was careless.

My instincts were telling me so.

Seriously, wasn’t her attack a bit too lethal for a spar?

As I grumbled inwardly, Junior Sister asked, as if giving me one last chance.

“As you may have already sensed, this is the fastest attack I can use. If you’re hiding anything, you should reveal it now. Otherwise…”

I didn’t need to hear the rest.

She was probably saying it would hurt a lot.

But my answer was already decided.

“Junior Sister, I’ve said it many times, but the only sword technique I know is the Three Talents Sword Technique. I haven’t learned any other martial arts.”

“…We’ll soon find out if that’s true or not. At least the sword technique I saw in the last spar wasn’t the Three Talents Sword Technique I know.”

…Sharp observation.

She was right.

“Hmm…”

The sword technique I was using was indeed the Three Talents Sword Technique, but it was certainly a bit different from the original.

It couldn’t be helped. If she wanted to see it, I had no choice but to show her.

The air was thick with tension.

As we both focused all our senses, a lone leaf fell between us.

The moment the leaf touched the ground, we simultaneously lunged at each other, and—

Kwaang!

The match was decided instantly.

“……”

“Junior Sister. You just died once. How about it? Want to continue?”

My victory.

Before Junior Sister Jang could even swing her drawn-back sword, my sword grazed her neck.

She must have seen it.

That I twisted my wrist at the last moment, causing the sword to veer off course just before it pierced her neck.

“…No. I admit defeat.”

I had been worried that she might throw a tantrum or something, but fortunately, it seemed like she had no intention of doing so.

I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and sheathed my sword.

Whew, that was close. I was running low on internal energy, so if she had wanted to continue, it would have been a definite loss for me.

Anyway, since the spar ended with my victory, was it time to receive my reward?

“Junior Sister, then will you tell me now? About your circumstances.”

***

Jang Seol-ran, the second disciple of Bae Wang-sam, the master of Cheonpung Martial Arts School, looked at her nominal senior brother, Gun Ja-seong, who was staring at her with an expression full of anticipation.

Ja-seong didn’t notice, but Seol-ran’s mind was in turmoil.

‘…I lost.’

She could have made excuses for the spar two days ago, saying she didn’t use her true martial arts.

But this time was different. It was a clear defeat with no room for excuses.

This first-time experience of defeat naturally disturbed her.

—Your level of skill is unparalleled among your peers. If your lord had seen you like this, he would surely have been delighted.

The praise she had received from her master, Wang-sam, just a few months ago, felt meaningless.

She was ashamed of her past self, who had felt secretly proud upon hearing that praise.

‘…The reason for my defeat?’

After self-reflection, the next step was to analyze the cause of her defeat.

Actually, there was nothing much to analyze.

It was simply that Ja-seong was faster than her. That was all.

Although we had charged at each other simultaneously, Ja-seong’s thrust reached Seol-ran’s neck before she could even swing her sword.

It was a speed befitting the term “lightning fast.”

‘Was that really Sage Pointing the Way?’

The Sage Pointing the Way that Seol-ran knew was just a simple thrust.

The most basic attack in swordsmanship, so simple it was embarrassing to even call it a technique.

But Ja-seong’s Sage Pointing the Way was different.

Certainly, the stance was the same, but that was all.

Considering the momentum and speed contained in the sword, it could be seen as a completely different technique.

-Junior Sister, I’ve said it many times, but the only sword technique I know is the Three Talents Sword Technique.

Ja-seong’s words, which she had considered a blatant lie just moments ago, flashed through her mind.

‘Could it be that his words are true?’

As her thoughts leaned towards the possibility of Ja-seong’s words being true, Seol-ran immediately realized something and shuddered.

If it was true that he had only learned the Three Talents Sword Technique, it meant only one thing.

‘He didn’t learn another martial art besides the Three Talents Sword Technique, but recreated the Three Talents Sword Technique itself?’

Anyone who heard that would scoff.

A young man of barely twenty years old creating a new martial art? It was a ridiculous claim that would make even a passing dog laugh.

‘But, if that’s true…’

If he had truly recreated the Three Talents Sword Technique, then Gun Ja-seong, the youngest son of a rural landlord, was truly an extraordinary, once-in-a-generation genius.

Realizing this, Seol-ran firmly made up her mind. She would make Ja-seong hers.

And the method wasn’t difficult.

“Yes, as promised, I’ll tell you. About my, our circumstances. However, there’s one condition.”

Knowing Ja-seong’s personality from the past ten years, she was certain that he would want to join them once he heard their story.

***

The night of the victory against Junior Sister Jang.

I opened my eyes wide in the dead of night when everyone was asleep.

I carefully got out of bed, changed into my martial arts uniform, and secured the sword Junior Sister Jang had given me.

After finishing all the preparations, I took a deep breath and opened the door.

Creak

Oh dear, I forgot to ask Uncle Kang to oil it.

I was startled by the loud creaking sound of the opening door and looked around outside.

It was past the chuksi hour (11pm – 1am), nearing the insi hour (3am – 5am).

Perhaps because everyone in the house was still sound asleep, the manor was quiet.

After coming outside, I carefully closed the door this time so as not to make a sound.

Then, I approached the wall while looking around, jumped, and climbed over it.

“Hup.”

Having successfully escaped from the manor, I didn’t let my guard down and put some distance between myself and the house.

Only after getting a fair distance away did I let out a small sigh and grumble.

“She could have just told me then, why did it have to be at the school tonight?”

Indeed.

The reason I had suddenly made a thief-like escape from my room in the middle of the night was because of Junior Sister Jang’s request after our spar earlier that day.

—Please come to the school tonight at the insi hour (3-5 am). I’ll tell you about our circumstances then.

Tsk, keeping me from sleeping… It better be a worthwhile story.

Grumbling inwardly, I started walking towards the school.

I ran along the dark, lonely road and entered the town.

The town, which I usually passed through in the morning and evening, was filled with a silence that suited the late hour.

Breaking that silence, I ran along the road I had been walking for ten years and arrived at the school.

The moment I opened the door and stepped inside, my senses picked up the presence of others besides Master and my junior sisters.

What was this? Guests at this late hour?

Tilting my head in confusion, I headed towards the main building, when—

Shweeek!

One of the unfamiliar presences suddenly rushed towards me.