Chapter 626: The Threshold of Genius

The Heavenly Martial Principal took a step back, wearing an intrigued smile. “You may begin when you are ready.”

THUD!

Something in his eyes changed as he swung.

Ilgak struck first. He stomped down hard, kicked off the floor, and shot toward Dokgo Jun like a loosed arrow, instantly closing the distance between them.

I’ll end this quickly.

Few in the stands properly caught the movement, including many skilled martial artists.

His eyes hardened with resolve. Since this was only the first of three duels he had today, he meant to finish up quickly and preserve his stamina.

His sword carved a smooth arc through the air. The Thirteen Swords of Bodhidharma—one of the few sword techniques practiced by Shaolin—and a golden aura wound gently around the blade.

SWISH!

Dokgo Jun tipped his head back and let the strike sail by. The sword swept across his line of sight, but his devilish grin never left his face.

“You’re obviously trying to wrap this up quickly. Do you think I’m going to roll over for you?”

Namgung Su shot Baek Suryong a withering glare, but said nothing more.

“That was the last warning I intend to give you, Sir.”

Although Ilgak was still smiling gently, his eyes were glaring daggers. As merciful as the Buddha’s teachings were, he was still a young monk. He was not yet disciplined enough to shrug off repeated provocation from an opponent.

“Is this about me calling you bald?” Dokgo Jun continued. As is he had become a different person, his taunts never stopped, not even while their swords were locked. “Everyone’s been propping you up as Shaolin’s greatest prodigy, and it went straight to your head, didn’t it?”

“I have done no such thing.”

The sword swept across his line of sight, but his devilish grin never left his face.

“Let’s be honest. Watching Wiji Cheon steal the show at this tournament really got to you, didn’t it? So you took it out on Soso and broke her arm.”

“That is absolutely untrue.”

“The sunlight bouncing off that shiny scalp is blinding me. Isn’t that a bit of a dirty trick?”

“That remark might be a touch excessive.

“Amitabha...!”

As the duel wore on, Ilgak’s face reddened. Whether it was his swagger or his jeering, Dokgo Jun toed the line relentlessly, never crossing it. Only a few people could hear any of it over the roar of the crowd, but he heard every word clearly.

He shot a glance at the Heavenly Martial Principal, as close to a plea for someone to silence Dokgo Jun as a monk could manage.

Unfortunately, the Heavenly Martial Principal was watching Dokgo Jun’s swordsmanship with obvious fascination. “Ehehe... The Nine Swords of Dokgo has finally found its true successor. It’s as if the style has finally found clothes that fit.”

He nodded along to his nonsense, thinning Ilgak’s patience even further.

CLAAANG!

Ilgak pushed Dokgo Jun’s sword away with all his might, took a few steps back, and took a deep breath. He had no choice but to admit that Dokgo Jun was no easy opponent.

The Sword Dragon, whom he was meeting again after a year, was a genuine powerhouse, worthy of a place among the Dragons and Phoenixes. His plan to conserve his strength and end things early had been too presumptuous.

Recognizing this, Ilgak’s gaze sank deeper. “Sir, stop wasting your mental strength on pointless words. If you truly want a duel with me that you won’t regret... then prove it with your sword, not your mouth.”

FWOOOOSH!

She fervently prayed for his victory, tears welling up in her eyes.

His monk’s robes ballooned outward and dust rolled off him in concentric rings. His golden-lit figure blurred.

An instant later, he stood in front of Dokgo Jun, his sword already coming down.

Unfortunately, the Heavenly Martial Principal was watching Dokgo Jun’s swordsmanship with obvious fascination.

“That’s the Vajra Indestructible Body!”

Few in the stands properly caught the movement, including many skilled martial artists.

CLAAAAANG!

A roar erupted, one that no two swords should have been capable of producing. A massive shockwave rocked the stage, and the ensuing gale forced the spectators nearest the front to raise their arms over their faces.

Ilgak’s bewildered voice emerged from the center of the collision. “How...?”

Namgung Su shook his head in disdain. The ones who are seeing this have disappointed him.

His expression hardened. The force rebounding into his arms was far heavier than he had anticipated, and he looked down at the sword that had stopped his head-on attack.

He had seen more than enough of the Nine Swords of Dokgo in last year’s duel. He poured the principles of the heavy sword he had learned from them into this strike, honed by a year of training in internal and external arts.

I swung that with everything I had! Even if his blade didn’t break, Dokgo Jun should have been driven back!

And yet, the Azure Dragon Academy Student Council President had not yielded a single step.

“The sunlight bouncing off that shiny scalp is blinding me.

Dokgo Jun bared his teeth in a savage grin and flicked Ilgak’s sword upward. “I told you this year wouldn’t be like last year, didn’t I? Now it’s my turn.”

Something in his eyes changed as he swung. His ferocity belonged wholly to a mercenary, and Ilgak refused to give ground, bringing his own sword around to meet it.

CLAANG! CLAANG! CLAANG!

The two boys abandoned finesse entirely, smashing their swords together head-on. The noise was loud enough to make people clap their hands over their ears. Neither of them would surrender an inch until the whole thing became a contest of pure stubborn pride.

“Hah! Was Shaolin’s swordsmanship always that hefty?”

Just then, Dokgo Jun howled and launched himself at Ilgak with everything he had left.

“That’s the Thirteen Swords of Bodhidharma! It incorporates the principles of the heavy sword.”

“The Dokgo boy is remarkable, too, but was the Nine Swords of Dokgo always such a brutish martial art?”

“My master told me about it long ago. The man who created the Nine Swords of Dokgo, Dokgo Pae, was a mercenary who climbed all the way to the top of the world. That’s why the Dokgo Clan’s sword was originally powerful and crude...”

Admiration spread across the faces of the martial artists murmuring in the stands as two swords collided repeatedly with the intent to shatter each other. Either boy could have pulled back to catch his breath, but both planted their feet and kept swinging.

Namgung Su shot Baek Suryong a withering glare, but said nothing more.

CLAANG! CLAAAAANG!