I Was Mistaken for a Coincidence Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Brush with Death(4)

In the martial arts world, be wary of the elderly and children.

This is a maxim that anyone who often reads martial arts novels would have heard at least once. In the world of martial arts novels where people draw their swords at the slightest provocation, if someone has survived until old age? No explanation needed.

Then conversely, why should one be careful of children? Though extremely rare, it could be because they might be masters who have taken a child’s form through body transformation. Or they could be unbelievable prodigies.

Murong Sua, who was glaring at me in the courtyard, belonged to the latter case. In the center was Murong Hyun, who had the role of determining the winner of the duel. How did it come to this?

Ah, right. That ill-mannered girl Murong Sua insisted on confirming my skills. And I had no choice but to accept if I wanted to maintain my connection with the Murong  family.

The reason I was troubled was because I had no idea how to handle the outcome of this duel. Before the duel began, Murong Hyun urgently called me over and said:

“Great hero, Sua is a prodigy born with talent that will never again be seen in the Murong  family. However, because her talent is so exceptional, she has become too arrogant and shows a tendency to look down on others too easily.”

“It seems so.”

“As expected of a great hero. You’ve seen through to the essence at a glance. So it would be good if you could properly teach Sua a lesson.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“But please don’t inflict too deep a wound. I beg you.”

Which tune am I supposed to dance to?

It’s true that my opponent is young. However, according to Murong Hyun, the head of the Murong  family, she’s an unprecedented prodigy in the history of the Murong  family. If she’s such a magnificent prodigy, then…

Even for someone of merely first-class skill like me, there should definitely be an exchange of offensive and defensive moves. But don’t inflict too deep a wound? If I go easy on her, I might end up losing. Is that what he’s aiming for?

No, if that were the case, he wouldn’t have added the request to teach her a lesson. Then that means he wants me to make her acknowledge defeat without inflicting a deep wound…

‘Who would deny one of the Five Great Families? What a complicated request.’

But what can I do? After all, I’m the one at a disadvantage. They may grandly call me a lifesaver or whatnot, but I don’t have the comfortable thought that I can live off that alone for the rest of my life.

Connections are maintained because they’re mutually beneficial. My opponent was the Murong  family, one of the Five Great Families that supported the Orthodox martial arts world. And me?

If I had at least reached the peak, I could somehow present my credentials. But unfortunately, I’m merely of first-class skill, commonly appearing as a minor character in recent martial arts novels. And I don’t even belong to any martial arts sect.

What can I do? The one at a disadvantage has no choice but to yield. I sighed and sheathed my sword. Murong Sua, who had been watching me sheathe my sword, clicked her tongue and said:

“Are you acknowledging defeat before even fighting?”

“How can one use a knife for slaughtering cattle to kill a chicken?”

“…You’re looking down on me.”

Murong Sua’s expression, which had held a smirk at the corners of her mouth, quickly changed to anger. At least the provocation worked properly. Now the remaining question is the level of Murong Sua’s skill.

‘But Murong Hyun did say she’s a prodigy that will never again be seen in the Murong  family. She should be at least first-class, right?’

Considering her age, that’s nonsensical. But in overpowered martial arts novels, there are those who surpass the peak and reach supreme-peak before the age of 20. Some even reach the enlightened state.

It would be advisable to approach the duel with a baseline of at least first-class. If Murong Sua is above peak, it means my abilities were never enough from the start, so it doesn’t matter.

“Begin!”

With Murong Hyun’s energetic shout, the duel began. And as soon as it started, Murong Sua kicked off the ground and instantly dove towards me. Not even engaging in exploratory moves?

Was it because my provocation worked so well? Or is she that confident in her talent? I’m not sure which it is, but I was inwardly shocked by her speed.

While diving towards me, she immediately drew her sword and swung it. There were no feints in her sword imbued with anger, so the girl’s sword swung diagonally.

It was too slow.

I took two steps back. Just that much was more than enough to avoid the girl’s angry sword strike. Perhaps she didn’t think I would dodge this sword strike?

Murong Sua’s face began to bloom with the emotion of bewilderment. But contrary to Murong Sua, I gained confidence. If it’s just this level, it’s quite manageable?

◇

In the past, the renowned general Sun Tzu, recommended by Wu Zixu and employed by He Lü, stated through his “Art of War” that the best victory is to win without fighting the enemy.

Anyone who has studied military strategy even a little would know this famous passage from the “Art of War.” But reading and understanding are different. And Murong Hyun initially did not understand that passage.

When the opponent is also full of morale and clearly has a reason to wield a weapon, how can one win without fighting? At least, that’s what he thought until today, until this moment.

But the moment the duel between Sua and the unnamed hero began, Murong Hyun perfectly understood the passage he had read in the military strategy book. Initially, when the unnamed hero put away his wooden sword…

Even Murong Hyun, who had unwavering faith in the unnamed hero who had saved his life, couldn’t help but be flustered. For what purpose did the hero put away his sword?

But only after watching the flow of the duel did Murong Hyun belatedly realize the hero’s intention. The hero was trying to show that he could win without directly clashing swords.

As evidence, none of Murong Sua’s techniques even brushed the hero’s collar. Yet, the hero hadn’t used dazzling lightfoot techniques either.

‘A master of the hero’s caliber would surely have mastered lightfoot techniques as well. Despite that, he’s avoiding all of Sua’s attacks with minimal movement. It’s like watching a ghost rather than a human.’

With just one step, or at most two or three steps, he perfectly avoided Sua’s techniques. Even a common citizen watching would immediately know who has the upper hand without being told.

‘Impossible, this can’t be happening!!’

But the one who was most shocked was none other than Murong Sua, who was facing the unnamed hero. At first, she thought her brother had been deceived by this insignificant old man.

She didn’t know how he had convinced her brother, but she was determined to make him pay for deceiving her brother, the Young Master of the Murong  family. But once they started…

None of her techniques were landing? Impossible. This can’t be true. What does he think my sword is? This is the sword I learned from the family head since I was young.

Since I first held a sword at the age of seven, I haven’t wasted a single day. This is the proud sword of the Murong  family, built through bone-carving training, diligently fulfilling each day.

‘This is not a sword of the Murong  family to be toyed with by some backwater old man!!’

Filled with anger to the top of her head at being properly toyed with, Murong Sua could no longer see anything else. The first to notice Murong Sua’s sign was Murong Hyun.

“Stop, Sua! Any more will become a killing move that doesn’t align with the purpose of the duel!!”

Originally, a duel is a competition where both parties exert their full strength without taking each other’s lives. In other words, ideally, it means gaining experience without becoming disabled.

But conversely, it also meant that depending on the opponent’s intention, it could immediately become a life-or-death battle. And Sua’s technique was so filled with killing intent that it could no longer be called a duel.

Murong Sua’s fierce eyes, which had lost their goodness like a demon, were directed at the unnamed hero in front of her. Another slashing strike was swung. But surprisingly, her sword wasn’t just one.

Even with just the flash from swinging the sword, it sought a swift sword that could split clouds. That is one of the secret martial arts and sword techniques passed down in the Murong  family, the Flash Cloud-Splitting Sword.

Flash Cloud-Splitting Sword, Second Form: Lightning Seven Strikes

A technique so fast it creates seven afterimages. Even Murong Hyun, who had stepped into the realm of first-class, was limited to five, yet Sua was already drawing four afterimages.

‘Let’s see if you can handle this too!!’

Swiftness is like dazzling deception to the eye. If one is confused by the suddenly increased slashes and misses the real one, what remains is only death. But at that moment, an incredible thing happened.

Murong Sua stared blankly at the scene unfolding before her eyes. Despite using the technique she was most confident in among the Flash Cloud-Splitting Sword techniques, it was too easily broken.

Like an adult stopping children from playfully swinging, Murong Sua’s wooden sword was caught in the unnamed hero’s hand. No, to correct that, it was caught between his fingers, not in his hand.

In front of Murong Sua, who was frozen by the shock of the Murong  family’s secret sword technique being broken by just the index and middle fingers, the unnamed hero looked at the wooden sword caught between his fingers and thought:

‘This works.’

The opponent’s sword was too slow, so I tried it to see if it might work. I didn’t expect it to actually succeed. So once one reaches the realm of first-class, this level of skill is basic.

Of course, if the opponent had been at the same first-class level as me, it might have been different.