A chilling cold swirled along Seol Lihyang's bloodstream.

The Glacial True Qi she had cultivated was a martial art created solely to accept Cold Yin energy and to wield it.

It was not so powerful that it could shake heaven and earth, nor did it possess any miraculous capabilities.

However, in terms of the amount of internal energy she could unleash in one go, it stood second to none.

This was the one thing in which Seol Lihyang, lacking in physical strength, internal energy, and even years of accumulated training, surpassed Wi Ji-Su-Lian.

I need to make this a short battle...

Seol Lihyang threw herself forward, without hesitation, toward the only path where a sliver of victory existed.

Tadat!

She advanced. A basic, honest footwork unfolded from her, faithful to the fundamentals.

To bring out basic techniques at the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering? A martial artist who had reached the level of first-rate would not be unaware of the gap between herself and her opponent.

To deliberately use basic techniques here could only mean one thing—she anticipated defeat and was preparing an excuse in advance.

“What on earth is she...!”

Wi Ji-Su-Lian was about to speak, but upon seeing the eyes of Seol Lihyang, who was preparing to wield her whip, she could no longer say a word.

Eyes opened wide as if determined not to miss a single thing. Lips tightly pressed as though even the energy to let out a battle cry would be wasted. And, lightly gathering atop the whip—

A thin layer of frost.

That presence, though not exuding killing intent, was fierce enough to rival a martial artist ready to fight to the death.

That spirit seeped into her technique as well.

Her arm, swept back behind her shoulder, drew a wide arc and fell straight down.

Ssswaeeek!

Though she was wielding a whip, what Seol Lihyang chose was a simple trajectory stripped of all flair.

However, that did not mean it lacked variation.

Her shoulder, elbow, and wrist each accelerated in their own circular motion. And in the end, what received and unleashed all that power was a whip coated in white frost.

By the time the long whip had completed its arc, its tip had reached a speed even Wi Ji-Su-Lian's eyes struggled to track.

The fact that Wi Ji-Su-Lian could respond at all was purely the result of her accumulated training.

Thud!

Seol Lihyang's whip struck against the sword Wi Ji-Su-Lian had raised a half-beat earlier. Though she blocked it, it neither fully struck nor cut through.

The whip’s path had been obstructed, but the rotational force behind it remained, wrapping the whip several times around Wi Ji-Su-Lian’s sword.

The moment she realized that her whip was firmly entangled with the opponent’s sword, Seol Lihyang opened her mouth for the first time and let out a fierce battle cry.

“Haah!”

She activated her Glacial True Qi. At the utmost of her capacity—or rather, pushing past her usual limit, she poured internal energy into the whip.

Responding to her burning will, her internal energy surged through the whip. From the already frost-covered whip, a white mist began to rise.

Though it was inferior to the Nine Yin Pulse, the Pure Yin Physique was also a rare innate constitution.

Seol Lihyang’s natural Yin energy, following the incantation of the Glacial True Qi, gathered as thick, cold Yin Qi in her dantian, becoming an internal energy more refined than anything else.

If not properly countered, even Wi Ji-Su-Lian would not easily be able to fend it off. If she let it in even once, she'd suffer internal damage and collapse.

However, it was well known that practitioners of Yang or Yin-type techniques often transferred internal energy into their opponent via connected weapons to assert dominance with their unique energy traits.

Seol Lihyang had already demonstrated this technique in the preliminaries.

“You planned this from the start! But I won’t fall for it so easily!”

Seeing Seol Lihyang charging in with her full power, Wi Ji-Su-Lian drew up her internal energy with a pleased expression.

While it was true that Seol Lihyang, thanks to her Glacial True Qi and innate Pure Yin Physique, could wield far more internal energy than someone of her level typically could…

That was only within the context of a fight between those of equal standing.

Wi Ji-Su-Lian was already a martial artist with one foot in the Peak Stage. It was hard to consider her an ordinary first-rate martial artist.

“Hrrmph!”

With a short breath held in, Wi Ji-Su-Lian’s sword began to glow with a faint pink hue.

Too faint to be called sword energy, but too dense to be mere aura elevation.

Seol Lihyang’s internal energy was so pure even Tang Jincheon, the Poison King, had once praised it—but the martial arts of the Mount Hua Sect were not lacking in purity either.

Wuuuung—

Their internal energies clashed, and the whip entangled with the sword began to vibrate finely.

Neither had fully materialized their energy into visible form, so the silent struggle remained largely unseen.

However, being so close to Seol Lihyang’s intense Yin energy, both could observe the state of the internal energy struggle with their eyes.

Frost flowed along the whip and covered over half the sword blade. But that boundary was slowly retreating upward.

The frost, overpowered by the opposing internal energy, began to melt under the heat, and the remaining droplets were shaken off by the vibrating sword.

Returning to its original state as if nothing had happened—or rather, now gradually overlaid by a pink radiance.

Once Wi Ji-Su-Lian’s internal energy completely overwhelmed her opponent’s, the outcome would be obvious.

Yet, Seol Lihyang’s eyes remained calm.

“I figured it might come to this.”

Resolutely, she braced herself.

Originally, she might have disrupted the opponent’s focus by unleashing a bewitching technique here.

However, she had already revealed that trick during the preliminaries.

Unlike the unsuspecting judges then, Wi Ji-Su-Lian had remained vigilant from start to finish.

Using a bewitching technique here would likely have little effect and only waste her internal energy.

Since her only advantage was her internal energy, squandering it recklessly would be foolish.

So Seol Lihyang threw a gamble at a slim possibility.

Ugh.

She gritted her teeth. At the same time, her previously subdued gaze blazed with intensity.

Their weapons were already entangled, unable to move. Yet with the whip’s length, close-combat techniques like wrist strikes or joint locks couldn’t reach.

In such a situation, what Seol Lihyang chose over a bewitching technique—was a stealth technique she had learned from the Dark Soul Unit vice leader, her master.

The whip was a weapon wielded not through strength but through flexibility and wide joint movement.

Thus, most unconventional techniques involved using only one hand.

Naturally, Seol Lihyang had one hand free. In the brief moment it slipped into her sleeve and came back out, two small metal balls glinted between her fingers.

“Throwing weapons?!”

Wi Ji-Su-Lian’s eyes widened. Had she known of this beforehand like she had with Seol Lihyang’s Glacial arts, she could have been prepared.

But this was unexpected, hence her surprise.

“Take this!”

Seol Lihyang shouted on purpose. She swung her arm loudly and theatrically.

Each of her movements carried the intent to threaten, and the projectiles were aimed directly at Wi Ji-Su-Lian’s eyes.

A human being would reflexively flinch in such a situation. But martial artists trained their entire lives to suppress such reflexes.

Wi Ji-Su-Lian, raised in the Mount Hua Sect from childhood, might have been surprised—but not enough to lose her composure.

She stared straight at the flying projectiles and tilted her head.

It wasn't enough to fully dodge them, of course, and one of the metal balls grazed her forehead.

Puuck!

It wasn’t a blade, so her skin wasn’t cut, but the impact caused her head to jolt. Her bangs, now disheveled, covered one eye.

It must have hurt considerably. But even with one eye hidden by her hair, Wi Ji-Su-Lian wasn’t grimacing—she was smiling.

As if impressed by Seol Lihyang’s move, or perhaps anticipating what would happen next.

“Impressive, Heroine. Since you’ve shown me something good, I must return the favor.”

With those words, the tip of Seol Lihyang’s whip, which had been entangled with Wi Ji-Su-Lian’s sword, limply fell to the ground.

Thud.

What…?

Seol Lihyang’s eyes shook with disbelief.

Even while fending off the projectiles, Wi Ji-Su-Lian had managed to drive out Seol Lihyang’s internal energy and completely reclaim her sword.

Though not quite sword energy, the radiance from her blade was strong enough to slice clean through Seol Lihyang’s whip.

At the same time, the footwork of Mount Hua unfolded from Wi Ji-Su-Lian.

Light, graceful steps—but with each one, the distance between them shrank rapidly.

Before Seol Lihyang could even retrieve her whip, Wi Ji-Su-Lian surged forward with overwhelming momentum.

It was clear she intended to end things now, and Seol Lihyang could feel it in every fiber of her being.

If I try to retrieve the whip, I’ll be too late...

Choosing to retreat instead of reclaiming her whip, Seol Lihyang threw herself backward, just as Wi Ji-Su-Lian’s sword swung.

Ssskuk.

She wasn’t too late—the sword didn’t reach her yet. But what Wi Ji-Su-Lian cut wasn’t Seol Lihyang—it was her whip.

“Ugh!”

Seol Lihyang let out a pained grunt, her brow twisting.

The remaining length of the whip was barely longer than a standard sword. No matter how she swung it, its power would be greatly reduced.

And there wasn’t even time to swing it anymore.

Wi Ji-Su-Lian pressed the attack without pause, her sword dancing in fluid, unpredictable arcs.

The trailing pink traces her blade left resembled flower petals, but Seol Lihyang had no time to appreciate them.

The now-useless whip had already been discarded.

She had no chance to take out more hidden weapons, and even if she did, they’d be shot down easily.

Her gamble had failed—was it time to pay the price?

Seol Lihyang was helplessly being overwhelmed.

No…

Each swing of Wi Ji-Su-Lian’s sword left small cuts across her body. They stung slightly, but weren’t painful.

The bleeding was minor as well.

But that was only because Wi Ji-Su-Lian was deliberately holding back.

This was a martial duel—not a life-or-death battle. The gap in skill was obvious.

That’s why she was restraining herself.

Indeed, Seol Lihyang had failed to respond properly once Wi Ji-Su-Lian closed the distance.

This can’t go on…

For every step Wi Ji-Su-Lian took forward, Seol Lihyang retreated.

Each swing of the sword left thin lines on her forearms. Her hidden weapons were nearly depleted—and even those might not land.

There was no trick left to pull.

Wi Ji-Su-Lian was strong, and Seol Lihyang was weak. That was all there was to it.

Then what about me…?

Of course, no one would blame her.

Wi Ji-Su-Lian had long been known as a prodigy, and Seol Lihyang was a newcomer to the Murim world, appearing for the first time in this competition.

Even if she slowly got pushed back, surrendered, or fell out of the ring and was disqualified, people would still applaud her effort.

But—

This isn’t enough.

Winning or losing wasn’t the point.

There was a different reason she was standing here.

A cold breath escaped Seol Lihyang’s lips.