Seven days until the Heavenly Martial Tournament. Only five days until the first selection for the Outer Hall warriors. On her way to the Red Dragon Squad’s training ground for morning practice, Seolhwa pondered.
‘What kind of training would be good for today?’
Five days could be long, but it was far too short to achieve anything significant. The most one could do in five days was strengthen their external training a little more.
‘Gaining experience through a sparring match would be good too. But I feel like I can do something more….’
“How did you do it?”
The question came as soon as they crossed the threshold of the Inner Hall and entered a place where no one was passing by. Seolhwa stopped and looked back at Ryeong.
“What do you mean?”
She had a somewhat frustrated expression.
“Yesterday. The Three Talents Sword Technique….”
“…”
The truth was, Seolhwa knew that Ryeong had been acting like a puppy needing to relieve itself since yesterday. Ryeong was a master of the Supreme Realm. It was impossible for her not to have recognized that the sword technique shown in front of the Red Dragon Unit Leader yesterday was not just simple swinging.
It seemed she had wanted to ask all along, but given her attitude so far, she hadn't been able to. It looked like she couldn't hold it in any longer. Seolhwa tilted her head and stared at her.
“This is unexpected. You seemed to have no interest in me at all.”
To be more precise, it was more like she was trying not to be interested.
“Weren't you dissatisfied with me?”
“That's….”
Flinching as if embarrassed at being hit right on the mark, she eventually avoided Seolhwa's gaze. Seolhwa watched her for a moment before starting to walk again instead of answering. Ryeong did not ask again and followed behind her.
When they arrived at the training ground, the members of the 11th squad were already there, warming up. They greeted Seolhwa cheerfully.
“Young Lady, look at this! I added another hundred pounds yesterday!”
“I warmed up just as you taught us yesterday, Young Lady, and my body feels so light!”
Perhaps because the results of their training were visible to the eye, the squad members' morale was at its peak.
“Good. It seems you've all worked really hard.”
Though it was also thanks to their fundamental strength and talent.
“Today, I’m thinking of showing you some special training.”
“Special… training?”
“Ooh… she said special training.”
“Hasn't it been special enough already?”
Seolhwa turned to introduce Ryeong, who was behind her.
“This is the warrior from the Black Dragon Unit who is in charge of my protection.”
Ryeong, momentarily flustered by the sudden introduction, gave a slight nod to the Red Dragon Squad members.
“Namgung Ryeong of the Black Dragon 1st Unit.”
Inner Hall warriors were fundamentally the superiors of Outer Hall warriors, so her informal speech was natural. The Red Dragon Squad members, stiff with nervousness, introduced themselves in turn. The squad members, in fact, already knew of her.
The Black Dragon 1st Unit, known as the legend among Namgung warriors. Among them, the top combatants of the Black Dragon 1st Unit, whom no Namgung warrior could fail to know: the Three Swords of the Black Dragon. Ryeong was one of those Three Swords of the Black Dragon.
They had been in awe ever since Seolhwa appeared with one of the Three Swords as her escort.
‘The Young Lady left so quickly yesterday, we couldn’t ask….’
‘It was real… Namgung Ryeong….’
‘…No wonder her presence felt extraordinary….’
Leaving the squad members to their thoughts, Seolhwa spoke to Ryeong.
“Ryeong. You said you were curious about that sword technique from yesterday, right?”
“Yes? Ah… yes.”
“I’ll show you. Right now.”
Ryeong nodded her head.
‘So she was planning to tell me in front of the squad members she’s training,’ she thought, but Seolhwa suddenly walked toward the weapon rack.
Seolhwa brought back two wooden swords and offered one to Ryeong. Ryeong took the wooden sword with a bewildered look.
“There’s no answer more certain than experiencing it for yourself, is there?”
“Ah….”
So, she was proposing a sparring match right now? Between the Young Lady and herself? Ryeong’s expression faintly creased into a frown.
“Young Lady, I….”
“Why, are you worried you'll lose to a child like me in front of everyone?”
“…Pardon?”
She had been about to say the opposite. That it would be different from the Red Dragon Unit Leader. Though one was a Unit Leader and the other a mere squad member, the Three Swords of the Black Dragon of the Black Dragon 1st Unit had already surpassed the skill of a Unit Leader.
The only reason they remained as squad members was because it allowed them to go on more missions and have more freedom. Seolhwa raised her blade. A swordsman becomes sharp before a sword.
Ryeong’s expression also grew serious and sharp.
“That sword from yesterday. Don’t you want to face it yourself?”
In that moment, Ryeong’s heart pounded. It was the sword that had made her unknowingly clench her fists while watching from the side. As if she had truly achieved some kind of enlightenment in the Three Talents Sword Technique, called the most inferior of low-class martial arts.
What if she could face that sword herself?
“…”
Ryeong felt her hand, which was holding the wooden sword, tighten without her realizing it.
“Understood. If the Young Lady insists. However, it will not be easy. My sword is not for training.”
A faint smile curved Seolhwa’s lips.
‘Not a sword for training.’
That meant it was a sword for real combat. A sword that had killed and cut people down.
“Yes. This should be fun.”
A few days ago. Ryeong had been horrified.
“Pardon? What… did you say I have to do? An escort?”
It was like a bolt from the blue.
An escort.
For a mere thirteen-year-old child, one who had just returned to Namgung and hadn't learned any martial arts!
“Why me? There are many other squad members, aren't there? I have a mountain of missions I haven't completed yet, so why me of all people…!”
“The Family Head cherishes the Young Lady very much.”
“…!”
She had heard the rumor that the Family Head had performed the Bone Marrow Cleansing on the returned child. But even so! No matter how much the Family Head cherished her!
“This is unfair! You know why I remain in the Black Dragon 1st Unit, Unit Leader! I want to go out into the Martial World and carry out missions!”
To make a name for herself in the Martial World while serving as a Namgung warrior. And thus, to be recognized as a master under the heavens. That was Ryeong’s goal.
And yet, she was being assigned an escort mission that would keep her cooped up in the family compound!
“It’s unfair!”
“Ryeong.”
The gaze of the Black Dragon Unit Leader, Namgung Hyuk, turned chilly for a moment. Namgung Hyuk was a man who had reached the peak of the Supreme Realm and was looking toward the supreme master level. The pressure from his gaze was considerable.
“It is an order from the Family Head. Do you not understand what that means?”
Assigning a key combatant of the Black Dragon Unit as an escort for a mere thirteen-year-old child. It meant that this was by no means a simple mission.
“But, what kind of danger could possibly….”
“If you won't take it, I will have someone else do it.”
“…No. I will do it.”
And so, she came to be Namgung Seolhwa’s escort. There must be a reason for the Family Head’s decision. There must be a reason for the Unit Leader’s decision.
‘Still, if she received the Bone Marrow Cleansing, does that mean she has a talent for martial strength?’
A slight curiosity arose. But that curiosity vanished the moment she first met Seolhwa. Namgung Seolhwa, stepping over the gate of the pavilion, was a child with the energy of a mere second-rate warrior.
Considering she was thirteen, one could say she was strong, but it was far from enough to pique Ryeong’s interest.
‘Only second-rate even after receiving the Family Head's Bone Marrow Cleansing….’
Ryeong’s feelings as she met Seolhwa were not pleasant. And they only grew worse as she watched her from the side.
‘Does she even realize she’s being ignored?’
Told to learn the Three Talents Sword Technique, she just pounded on the striking posts, and she didn't even report it to the First Young Master. Even after being treated with such contempt, she just went back to the training ground again.
‘Is she a fool, or is she just dull? Is it because she grew up outside? She has no pride as a direct descendant of Namgung.’
In Ryeong’s eyes, Seolhwa appeared only frustrating and pathetic. But that thought did not last long either.
‘What is this…?’
The Three Talents Sword Technique that Seolhwa demonstrated in front of the Red Dragon Unit Leader. The moment she saw that sword technique, Ryeong found herself mesmerized by Namgung Seolhwa’s sword without realizing it. It was just a motion of slashing horizontally and vertically, yet she couldn't take her eyes off it.
‘That’s… the Three Talents Sword Technique…?’
Was that a sword a second-rate warrior could display? She couldn't bear not to ask. She knew Namgung Seolhwa had noticed her dissatisfaction, but as a warrior, she simply couldn't hold back.
She just hadn't expected to be challenged to a sparring match.
‘Is it alright for an escort to do this?’
Standing face to face with Namgung Seolhwa on the sparring stage, reality began to sink in. To cross swords with the person she was supposed to protect. Then who would be the escort?
What if the Unit Leader or the Family Head found out about this?
‘…I should just play along moderately and end it.’
Whether she knew Ryeong’s thoughts or not, Seolhwa spoke calmly to the Red Dragon Squad members standing below the sparring stage.
“Watch carefully. Even if you can’t see, focus as hard as you can. Watching is also an experience, and this sparring match will become your flesh and blood.”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
Watching the Red Dragon Squad members answer in unison, Ryeong suddenly became curious. She hadn't realized yesterday, as Seolhwa had only stopped by the training ground to give instructions and then left.
‘Why do they follow the words of Namgung Seolhwa, who is only second-rate?’
Even though she was a Namgung young lady. Even though they were Outer Hall warriors. In terms of martial arts, shouldn't they, as Namgung warriors, be superior?
Why were they receiving Namgung Seolhwa's teachings?