Chapter 79

"Seol-ah, what are you doing here? I'm curious what happy event has happened that a smile doesn't leave your face."

At Dokgo-ryeong's question, Lee Jin-seol approached her with a lively and cheerful movement reminiscent of a doe. In her eyes, like the morning star, the excitement had not yet subsided and remained with a fever.

The cause of that excitement was also what Dokgo-ryeong was curious about.

"I succeeded! Sister, I finally succeeded."

Dokgo-ryeong felt the need to calm down the girl who was jumping up and down like a child. Otherwise, she felt that she would not be able to have a proper conversation because she would be distracted. Lee Jin-seol's excessive liveliness was sometimes burdensome to her. It could be said that her personality was the exact opposite of the always quiet Na Ye-rin.

But Dokgo-ryeong also did not dislike being by the side of the girl who always brightened up her surroundings. It seemed to be the same for her junior sister, who was the owner of a super-ultimate beauty that could easily topple a country or two with just her silent beauty, although she did not like to talk much. Although she was not expressing it in words, Dokgo-ryeong could tell.

"Come on, calm down and tell me what you succeeded in. It seems that it will be difficult for me to understand your words if your two feet are not on the ground for a long time."

Only then did her feet, which had been constantly trying to escape into the air without being attached to the ground for a moment, touch the ground. And then she said in a voice excited with fever.

"I'm saying that I finally succeeded in that. Success."

"Seol-ah, you haven't told me what you succeeded in yet."

Realizing that her words, excited with excitement, had omitted the object and had skipped a lot, cutting off the beginning and end, Lee Jin-seol began to quickly rectify her mistake.

"So, I'm saying that I finally succeeded in that."

But the rectification of the situation was still somewhat lacking. At this point, even she, who was thick-skinned, could not help but be fed up. But she decided to exercise her patience once more.

"So you haven't told me what that is yet. Calm down a little."

"The Twin Sword Two-Linked Twelve Slashes! I'm saying that I finally succeeded in that technique late last night. I did well, right!"

"What?"

For a moment, the One-Eyed Phoenix doubted her ears. But looking at her eyes, which were shining with vitality, it did not seem like she was lying.

Calming her surprised heart, Dokgo-ryeong honestly congratulated Lee Jin-seol's success. It was still a difficult, high-level technique for her. To have succeeded with her still lacking skill, even ten carts of praise would not be a waste.

In the eyes of Na Ye-rin, who had been listening quietly from the side, a slight strange light was also pushed up to her two eyes by surprise.

"Are you really saying that you succeeded in that technique?"

As if she still couldn't believe it, Dokgo-ryeong asked once more.

"Of course!"

Lee Jin-seol nodded her head without hesitation. The One-Eyed Phoenix's astonishment was natural. The Twin Sword Two-Linked Twelve Slashes was a high-level, advanced technique that emitted a total of twenty-four sword kis, twelve from each of the two clones divided through the acceleration of movement using an enormous movement technique.

It was a technique like a gateway for a martial artist who used twin swords to advance to a peak master, and it was not a skill that Lee Jin-seol, a first-year student who had just entered the academy, could use. If she had succeeded in that, it would not be a great exaggeration to call Lee Jin-seol a genius. It was a matter that proved that her talent was not ordinary.

"Congratulations, Junior Sister Lee. You were so attached to that technique, and you finally succeeded. I can't help but admire your tenacity for martial arts every time."

The One-Eyed Phoenix sincerely congratulated her on her enlightenment.

"Congratulations, Junior Sister Lee."

Na Ye-rin, who had always been quiet with her red lips closed, also congratulated Lee Jin-seol. Not only Lee Jin-seol, but even Dokgo-ryeong was surprised by her unexpected praise. Lee Jin-seol showed an expression that she was more surprised to have received her congratulations than to have realized the secret meaning of the twin swords.

For Na Ye-rin, it was a courtesy to a martial artist who had gained enlightenment on one secret meaning today. Today, Lee Jin-seol was more than qualified for that.

"Right, it seems you didn't spare the trouble of coming all the way here to boast about that."

"That's also true, but..."

It seemed that Lee Jin-seol had another business besides self-congratulatory boasting. As a strange, playful energy appeared in her eyes, like the morning star, the One-Eyed Phoenix flinched. Because she felt as if an ominous premonition was sweeping down her smooth back. She, who had known Lee Jin-seol for a long time, knew well what that look in Lee Jin-seol's eyes meant. A bad memory of having suffered quite a lot of measles from that look in the past was still in her mind.

"You... you don't mean..."

Without caring about her stuttering words, Lee Jin-seol vigorously nodded her slender, jade-like neck.

"Yes. Of course, sister! Surely you won't refuse?"

Her ominous premonition seemed to have hit the mark unfortunately. Dokgo-ryeong felt as if a headache, which she rarely had, was suddenly attacking her. At the unpleasant feeling of her head throbbing, she brought her jade hand to her forehead.

"Can't I decline?"

She tried to plead once, but the possibility was slim.

"No!"

Lee Jin-seol refused firmly.

"If it's not you, sister, who will receive my technique this time!"

I thought so, but as expected, her premonition had hit the bull's-eye of the target of ominousness.

From a young age, Lee Jin-seol had used Dokgo-ryeong as a test bed for her techniques whenever she learned a new one. Of course, it was true that there was no one around her age who could receive her sword other than her. Her talent was exceptionally outstanding, so there was no one in her family who could receive her technique, even if one searched with one's eyes wide open. The only exception was Dokgo-ryeong, who occasionally visited her house. Before she became one-eyed, from the time when both her eyes were fine, whenever she visited, Lee Jin-seol would unleash the martial arts forms she had learned by clinging to them tenaciously against her. If Dokgo-ryeong's talent had also been as ordinary as others, she might have ended the game with a single defeat, but reality was not so.

Dokgo-ryeong's talent was equal to or greater than Lee Jin-seol's, so Lee Jin-seol had never once surpassed her wall. Although three years had been added to her equal or greater talent, her twin swords had never once been able to drive Dokgo-ryeong into a corner. Lee Jin-seol had become persistent and had come to her whenever she learned a new technique. For Dokgo-ryeong, since it was not a duel with malice, and it was also stimulating and helpful for her own martial arts training, she had never particularly refused. Her challenge was that pure. But this time, the situation was a little different.

The Twin Sword Two-Linked Twelve Slashes was a technique of a different class from what she had learned so far. It was a technique that could be dangerous if one made a mistake. Of course, it was not that she could not block it with her current skill, but this time, even she had to take some risk.

"Can't I decline just this once? It seems a little dangerous."

The One-Eyed Phoenix, who was called the Rakshasa Woman or the Witch, showed a rare weak side.

"No!"

Lee Jin-seol said firmly. She seemed to have no intention of reversing that decision. The challenge to Dokgo-ryeong was one of her most enjoyable pastimes. She could not just give that up.

"Anyway, you can avoid my technique, sister."

It seemed that Lee Jin-seol was also well aware of the fact that her skill could not yet surpass the wall of her martial arts. The attitude of not being conceited about her own skill was a praiseworthy, upright attitude for a martial artist.

As Lee Jin-seol came out like this, Dokgo-ryeong was at a loss. At that moment, a good idea came to her mind.

"Alright, fine."

She, who could not hide the impression of stepping back, suddenly readily agreed.

"Really? Really? Sister, you're going to receive my technique again this time, right?"

She seemed really excited about the One-Eyed Phoenix's consent. It was a peculiar taste.

"But the opponent is not me."

"Huh? What do you mean all of a sudden? If it's not you, sister, who am I supposed to face?"

As a woman, she did not say, "What kind of nonsense is that?", but used a more refined language, but there was no great difference in the meaning contained in it.

"Try your sword ki on Junior Sister Na here."

Not only Lee Jin-seol was surprised by the unexpected proposal, but Na Ye-rin also, although slightly, looked at the person who had made the unexpected proposal with the utmost surprise she could muster.

"Wow, really? Can I really compete with Sister Rin, the master of the Heart Sword, who is called the Ice Soul Phoenix?"

Lee Jin-seol seemed to be excited like a boy. Her greed for martial arts was not without a somewhat excessive side.

"Yes, of course! Since Junior Sister Na is refining her sword ki these days, it would be good for the reckless, tomboyish sword ki to add an edge to Junior Sister Na's sword. What do you think, Junior Sister Na?"

At the One-Eyed Phoenix's proposal, who was looking at her with eyes asking for permission, Na Ye-rin fell into a dilemma for a moment. Lee Jin-seol was looking at Na Ye-rin with an earnest gaze full of longing, which was burdensome to refuse. Her clear eyes, like a puppy's, were even taking away Na Ye-rin's will to refuse.

The Ice Soul Phoenix, Na Ye-rin, along with the One-Eyed Phoenix, was a senior female swordswoman whom she admired. From the point of view of a follower who had her as a goal, the urge to cross swords with her at least once was also fully understandable.

"Alright."

After thinking for a long time, Na Ye-rin reached a conclusion.

"Hooray!"

Lee Jin-seol was excited like a child. She had finally gotten a chance to test her sword ki. And the opponent was the Ice Soul Phoenix, Na Ye-rin, one of the female swordswomen with the highest possibility of being chosen as this year's Sword Empress in the Three Sages Festival's Sword Empress Exhibition, one of the Seven Phoenixes. She could feel a pleasant excitement becoming a pleasure and sweeping through her whole body.

No matter how big the target was and no matter how strong the opponent was, she was not one to be discouraged. After all, she had a record of having persistently fought a duel for a long time against the One-Eyed Phoenix, Dokgo-ryeong, who was said to be the fiercest and strongest among the Cheonmu Seven Phoenixes. She had not accumulated a shallow training that would make her shrink in fear in front of any ordinary opponent. She had this pride.

But when she actually faced Na Ye-rin, the situation was completely different from the One-Eyed Phoenix. As soon as she had her in front of her, a strange sensation was wrapping around her whole body. It was, in a word, a sense of incompatibility.

A sense of incompatibility that her every action was caught in her sight and she could not escape. That was stimulating her caution and making her unable to act rashly.

"You've become excellent. Now you won't be ashamed as a swordsman."

It was the assessment of Dokgo-ryeong, who was watching from the side. The fact that she could grasp the existence of the Dragon's Eye that Na Ye-rin possessed, even if only by feel, in front of Na Ye-rin, showed that her skill was now not ordinary.

But the loud warning that stimulated Lee Jin-seol's instinct could not suppress her desire strongly enough to give up the stage and opportunity to test her new secret technique.

Lee Jin-seol could feel with her skin that the rumors about Na Ye-rin were not exaggerated in the field of martial arts proficiency, just as the praise poured out for her beauty.

"Be careful. The sword has no eyes."

Even in front of Na Ye-rin's presence, Lee Jin-seol still seemed confident. And that confidence was her strength. Under the premise that it would not fester and become arrogance due to an oversupply of confidence, that is.

"Don't worry. Even if your sword has no eyes, Junior Sister Na's sword has eyes. Be careful."

Dokgo-ryeong showed the kindness of dispelling Lee Jin-seol's worries in one breath from the side.

After Lee Jin-seol took her stance, she showed a sword salute. Na Ye-rin also returned the salute with a sword salute. It was the beginning. The one who attacked first was, of course, Lee Jin-seol, who was in the position of the challenger.

"Then here I come."

Lee Jin-seol's twin swords were swung, scattering a splendid sword flower.

The vanguard was from Lee Jin-seol's family's secret sword style, the Flying Swallow Twin Swords. Because it was a duel, Lee Jin-seol announced her attack and swung her sword. Her forms were unfolded to her.

"Floating Leaping Flying Swallow!"

She could not go in with a big technique from the beginning. To use a secret technique haphazardly from the beginning against an opponent with a skill that was clearly superior to her own was something that only fools would do. Although she was young, Lee Jin-seol knew that fact well, and she was also practicing it.

For now, the priority operation she had to perform was to induce a weakness in her perfect and thorough defensive barrier, which was so perfect that not a single weakness could be found. Although she had realized the secret meaning, to attack recklessly from the beginning was too dangerous and hasty a thing to do.