Chapter 221

When Qing first stepped up for the Martial Competition, the audience was just casually checking out the shape of her body or peeking inside her veil.

But among the masters, the gasps were quite the show.

Originally, the new techniques were fast and high, making it easy to look valiant, but it was incredibly difficult to appear elegant and delicate.

As Moon Lady’s Step showcased its leisurely anti-gravity flight, those who prided themselves as masters couldn’t hold back their awe, letting out a collective “Whoa!”

Then, when Qing lightly touched down on tiptoes, maintaining a gracious equilibrium without a hint of wobbling, it was like a thousand gasps as everyone busily praised her.

Except for Master Yuha and Master Chae-Geon from the Wudang Sect, of course.

Imagining their bad luck, bumping into a strong opponent right in the first match could mean the early end of Wudang’s chances.

It looked like they were having a conversation, and then at the moment Qing gracefully pushed off the ground, it was infuriating. The warrior might not know the realm of others, but they should at least know their own; the Divine Maiden Sect disciple likely thought to concede, while Hwan-yuk, being clueless about his opponent, unwittingly gave her the first move. It was obvious without needing to be said.

To make matters worse, the chatter from Master Yuha doubled the irritation.

“I can tell! That kid is definitely going to lead the Martial World in the future. How could I not give her a nickname? Right?”

Master Yuha rambled on, sounding entirely like a Hwasan Sect disciple rather than a Divine Maiden Sect student.

In reality, the listeners were hoping he would just tone it down already, even if it was a display of his insight.

Judging from the evaluations of the match, the masters would praise Qing’s astonishing self-control and ingenuity.

It’s normal for someone with outstanding talent at a young age to be eager to show off their skills.

But by remaining composed, she observed her opponent and mimicked their techniques, highlighting not a desire to flaunt her skills but rather a robust eagerness to learn.

And what about the single move that decided the victory at the end of the ten exchanges?

Both fought softly, gliding, then suddenly severed the flow with a burst of strength; even if the Wudang disciple’s achievements were a few levels higher, the result would have been the same.

Besides, it was pure improvisation rather than some flashy technique, sharp like a seasoned warrior sharpened in real combat.

Qing also felt pride for the same reasons.

The powerful stomp down was to channel all her strength downwards and create speed from above, while the knife hand strike was merely an application of Seomun Sulin’s signature technique.

Though it strayed a bit from the intended smoothness from her training in Gaebong, making a victory based on her own judgment rather than a memorized form was surely a source of pride.

Hwan-yuk also accepted the outcome.

He did his best, but when reflecting on that eleventh exchange, he could see there was no way to counter with his skills.

If he had just collapsed on the iron plate bridge and rolled away, that might be another story, but unable to return an attack with the principles of the Wudang Taiji meant he fell short.

However, those outside the ring didn’t understand.

It wasn’t a clash of titans, but a battle of finesse, so their duel wasn’t fast-paced.

As Hwan-yuk hurriedly displayed his elaborate Taiji Sword techniques while Qing was on the back foot, struggling to cope, it looked like she was merely floundering rather than fighting.

Qing had trouble executing her techniques, clumsily attempting to mimic the elegance, which to the untrained eye made it seem like she was just flaunting her delicate figure.

Then came a moment when her knife hand delivered a light smack—

Yes! A smack!

Immediately, the judge blew the whistle, ending the match, declaring Myeonsanya the victor, leading the audience to collectively gasp in disbelief.

Of course, this sequence led to a wave of boos showering down for the “fight” being so ridiculous.

Not just boos, but half-eaten dumplings and noodles flew through the air.

Sure, the audience weren’t experts in throwing things, so the well-heeled guests in the front row had quite an unpleasant experience.

“Boo!! What’s this! What kind of match is this!”

“What’s this! Is there a joke in the competition?”

“Just because she’s a woman doesn’t mean you can go easy! Fight properly! What’s gender got to do with martial arts! Doggone it!”

“I bet twenty taels on this; what gives?”

Another big reason for the harsh criticism was how seriously low Qing’s odds were.

It was practically money for nothing, and Hwan-yuk had loaded up on big bets against her.

Some who banked on upset odds enjoyed a return of a whopping eleven-point-seven times, but since they were just having fun, it barely covered their pocket change.

By the way, about ten percent of all the funds lost went to the betting traders, while 천유학 pocketed a good chunk from the remaining.

For whatever reason, things kept escalating from there, with the audience’s booing growing louder.

“Quiet!! Quiet down!!”

The host was practically roaring with inner strength, but it seemed like a riot was brewing at this rate.

In the end, away from the competition, all those jeers reached Qing’s hyper-sensitive ears.

“This has turned out embarrassing. The reason the common people lack the insight to recognize martial arts is why you shouldn’t take it to heart, Young Lady.”

Upon returning to the waiting room, an elderly warrior affiliated with the Martial Alliance offered Qing consolation.

“I will promptly ask the elders for an explanation of the match; it will quiet down soon.”

To that, Qing shook her head.

After all, there was still a schedule to follow.

Weren’t there some sort of parliamentary meetings afterward? Weren’t they waiting for the master?

Getting further delayed by some trivial audience complaints was quite embarrassing.

And what kind of ridiculous explanation would they give for such a minor first match?

“It’s fine. It was just the first match, and as the tournament progresses, they too will realize the quality of their skills. This will resolve itself naturally; there’s no need to bother them on my account.”

“Indeed. Thank you for your generosity, Young Lady.”

Master Dagger Yu Seon-yeop, head of the Martial Alliance operations team, marveled and courteously bowed.

From a martial perspective, it was a noteworthy achievement, but even more appreciable was her mature demeanor at such a young age.

Hearing that the leader had entrusted a young girl with Muchen Pavilion, now meeting her in person, they thought she could surely become a prominent figure in the righteous sect of the future.

Qing thought he was just an official from the operations team since she didn’t recognize him at all, but Master Dagger Yu Seon-yeop was actually the resource manager of the Martial Alliance.

After Qing unknowingly dazzled Yu Seon-yeop with her graceful moves, she returned to her seat in the Divine Maiden Sect, where Seomun Sulin was displaying a subtle hint of anger.

“Sigh, my long absence from the world was to avoid seeing such sights. My disciple, look at the way people view female warriors. If you were a man, those fools wouldn’t dare utter such ignorant words.”

“Oh, don’t worry. After my disciple wins the competition, will they keep saying such things?”

“Is my disciple not angry at all?”

“Not really. Those who aren’t even a match won’t matter. After all, once we reach the finals, they’ll change their tune altogether.”

Seomun Sulin clicked her tongue at that.

“You’re quite the sharp one, girl.”

“Hehe.”

“That’s not a compliment. Just because you’re clever doesn’t mean it’s useful.”

Then Qing slyly broached the subject.

“By the way, is there any reason for me to stay here longer? Didn’t you say something about a parliamentary meeting?”

“It might be better to keep an eye on your opponent, but why? Do you have something else to do?”

“I need to urgently consult with my second master about something related to martial arts.”

“Well, that can’t be helped. There’s nothing else you can reasonably attend anyway. I thought to take you for a quick round of greetings, but I guess we can postpone that.”

It wasn’t to extend formal greetings.

When it came to someone like Seomun Sulin, she wouldn’t simply flaunt her disciple; it was the leaders of the major factions who should come to pay their respects.

“Hehe, I’m sorry.”

To that, Seomun Sulin smiled softly in response.

“What’s there to apologize for? You’ve got your own arrangements to make, there’s no reason to set aside time to greet me. If you need to consult urgently on martial arts, then it’s more crucial than anything else.”

—-

Having finally gotten out in front of Gaebong District, uh, where to go now? Finding my master in this vast Gaebong territory seems utterly hopeless.

However, I overheard someone muttering about selling medicinal tonics, so my plan was to first scout the market for any suspicious merchants.

But luckily, I didn’t have to go far before hearing a familiar voice.

“Hey! Where ya going?”

“Wow, just as I was looking for you, what a coincidence!”

“What coincidence? I had your Qingzhajian dipped in Follow Fragrance; how could I just stumble into you?”

“Follow Fragrance?”

“Slow down. We need to cover the basics before I can teach you. Don’t rush it. So, you sought me out? Why?”

“It’s about Awakening Skill.”

“What’s up? Isn’t it impressive?”

“That’s the thing; it’s so…ahem, it’s rather stimulating.”

Upon hearing this, Cheon Yu-hak let out a huff of disbelief.

“For crying out loud, are you really making a fuss over something trivial? Your entire body’s senses just awakened; how could that not be stimulating?”

“Still, daily life should be manageable, right? Look at this. I can’t walk around bundled up like this every day.”

Qing rolled up her sleeves to reveal her tightly bound forearms.

Cheon Yu-hak snorted again.

“What, are you going to dull your senses just because you’re afraid of the sharp edge? You silly girl. Do you think a chef would dull a knife out of fear?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“When a chef uses a sharp knife, it’s natural to cut themselves at first, but that’s how they improve. So why would you wrap up your awakened senses?”

“Because it’s too—”

“Stop whining. Wanna live your life wrapped up forever? Then why awaken it in the first place? Naturally, it’s uncomfortable at first, but you need to gradually get used to it.”

That was basically saying to just tough it out.

Of course, Cheon Yu-hak hadn’t achieved it all in one go with medicinal tonic; he had gradually honed his senses over time, thus struggling to understand the immediate achievement Qing was experiencing.

Moreover, he was entirely unaware of the existence of the girl joy skill.

Cheon Yu-hak thought it was pretty simple—Qing’s sudden achievement was probably overloading her skin sensitivity.

The truth was, the instinct of sensory perception in the early stages adjusts to the same stimuli if it’s repeated.

So he merely insisted that she needed to endure and get accustomed to it.

“You’ve already achieved the eighth level of Awakening Skill; there’s no point in doubting it now. Plus, understanding what it means for your body to be highly responsive? It’s like having eyes everywhere.”

Once you fully mastered reading the air currents with your skin, you’d be able to vividly picture a certain radius even without looking.

“No way, really?”

Qing, easily swayed and starry-eyed at that notion, sparkled with excitement.

Now that she was his disciple, Cheon Yu-hak had no reason to exaggerate or hide flaws.

“Well, there may be some downsides to picking the right attire.”

But the more tightly fitted the clothing, the less effective the benefit.

So wearing tight sleeves and trousers could block her flow or render it pointless.

On the contrary, the broader the exposed skin surface area, the more extensive her perception range would be.

This is why merchants also focus more when the cold wind starts to blow. After all, nobody needs to be sneaking around in the cold.

“Hmm, but according to your explanation, wouldn’t that come across as a bit indecent…?”

To that, Cheon Yu-hak nodded in agreement.

“Think about it; there are definitely some unfair aspects to it for women, but isn’t it unnecessary to shy away from it? Yes, maybe a thin fabric like ‘Na-sam’ would be appropriate.”

“Ugh, Na-sam? Please…”

Anyway, Cheon Yu-hak’s point was clear.

You’ve chosen Awakening Skill; just tough it out.

Looking back, Qing didn’t seem to have really made a conscious choice.