The falling daggers, befitting a supreme technique, each carried immense destructive power.
Being recognized as a supreme technique by the Soongmu family, which had accumulated countless martial arts over generations, meant that it possessed unparalleled depth and might.
I did not lose my composure.
In preparation for my sixth sister's extreme attack, I revealed the final hidden card in my hand.
Wuuuuuung!
I swung down Heukya, the sword that emitted a clear ringing sound.
However, Heukya did not block the daggers—it merely cut through the air.
At such a critical moment, I had swung in vain.
'Ha! I won!'
Lee Seol-ah's eyes sparkled with certainty in her victory.
She didn't even consider the possibility that she had broken the rules.
But the sight that unfolded before her was slightly different from what she had expected.
Kwaang!
One of the daggers, aimed at Lee Cheol, lost control and crashed elsewhere.
And that wasn't the end of it.
Seogeok—
Lee Cheol once again slashed through empty space.
Bang!
Another dagger was struck down.
"...!"
Lee Seol-ah was shocked.
He hadn't even made direct contact with the daggers—he had merely swung at the air—yet the daggers that had been pouring down on him precisely started to fall out of control.
'I didn't expect him to use Meteor as well, but in the end, it worked.'
The ancestral sword, Heukya.
This sword cuts through magic.
With my current skill level, I cannot completely block Meteor.
That's why I severed the magical connection between the daggers and my sixth sister using Heukya.
Infusing Heukya with magic and reading the magical threads that needed to be cut with my Mystic Eye required an extraordinary level of concentration, but I succeeded.
And avoiding daggers that had lost control was not difficult.
"Now, it's my turn."
The supreme technique, Meteor, had been neutralized.
I took a step forward.
Lee Seol-ah's eyes trembled once again.
'That attack from before? If I create distance, there's no way I'll get hit!'
She quickly leaped backward.
At that moment, she saw a subtle smile form at the corner of Lee Cheol's lips.
Exorcism Sword.
The Exorcism Sword technique was originally designed to combat monsters.
It was never meant to be limited to close combat.
This had all been a setup for an unexpected moment.
Kwaaaaang!
A burst of aura sent a cloud of dust swirling around me and my sixth sister.
"Hoo… Ugh!"
As soon as I unleashed my final strike, I felt my body tremble violently.
Throb!
Having pushed my Mystic Eye to its limit, a dull pain throbbed in both of my eyes.
It felt as if insects were burrowing into my frontal lobe.
On top of that, blocking the family's supreme technique at close range had left my entire body aching.
'The Exorcism Sword landed properly.'
A brief moment to catch my breath.
Then, I gathered every last bit of my remaining magic.
'I have to see this through to the end!'
My opponent was a blood relative of the Soongmu family, just like me.
Until I saw her fall with my own eyes, the battle was not over!
Gritting my teeth, I lunged toward the spot where my sixth sister should be.
At that moment—
Thwack!
The dust exploded outward, and before I had time to dodge, something flew straight at me.
"...!"
Slash!
A dagger grazed deep across my thigh before bouncing away.
One knee buckled, throwing my balance off.
Whoosh!
Then, slicing through the gap in the dust cloud, something approached at high speed.
It was my sixth sister.
Her mouth was smeared with blood from internal injuries, and her fierce gaze gleamed as she thrust her dagger at me.
"Ugh!"
I hastily kicked off the ground and reached out my hand.
And then—
Sssssst!
Her dagger plunged into my chest.
***
The sensation of metal piercing flesh is something one can never truly get used to.
At first, it stings. Then, a burning heat, as if seared by fire, spreads outward.
"..."
Even with my breath caught in my throat—
I couldn't breathe heavily and just stood still, staring at my sixth elder sister.
Without the slightest movement, she gazed intently into my eyes while pressing a dagger into my chest.
I lowered my head and looked at the dagger embedded in me.
'If I had been even a second slower in reaching out with my sword to block it, my heart would have been pierced.'
My sixth elder sister had stabbed at my heart without a moment's hesitation, and in response, I had thrust my sword, Black Night, toward her torso.
By the narrowest margin, Black Night managed to halt her advance.
But it wasn't perfect—I couldn't stop her dagger from piercing through the leather on my chest.
I stared into my sixth elder sister's eyes for a brief moment before stepping back.
Thud!
She collapsed onto the training ground.
'She passed out the moment she was struck by Cheokma.'
The dagger strike must have been executed just before she lost consciousness, while her body's retreat was likely a reflexive response to sensing my killing intent.
Before I could savor my victory, a chuckle escaped my lips.
'What a terrifying bloodline.'
Even in unconsciousness, her body had moved, radiating an intense will to fight.
But regardless.
I had won.
"Ah..."
The bodyguards who had belatedly climbed onto the training grounds let out suppressed exclamations of awe.
They hesitated, shifting their gazes between me and my fallen sixth elder sister.
"What are you waiting for?"
I narrowed my eyes and glared at them.
"Aren't you going to take her away? If she's left like this, she'll die from internal injuries."
"Y-yes, sir?"
I pointed at my unconscious sixth elder sister.
The guards, who had likely intended to intervene earlier, finally snapped out of their daze and hurried to retrieve her.
"Hoo."
Only then did I let out a suppressed breath.
Silence still hung over the central training ground.
I swept my gaze across the crowd, taking in their stunned expressions.
Well? Have you seen it now?
The warriors of the family. The stubborn elders. Even my half-siblings.
To all of you who thought I would lose simply because I was a concubine's son—
For the first time, I have proven myself.
I turned my head upward, looking toward the distant, elevated seat where my father sat.
And then—
Clap.
A single clap echoed.
It was my father.
He was quietly bringing his hands together in applause.
One by one, others hesitantly followed, clapping awkwardly.
As the applause poured down, I felt a thrilling sense of satisfaction—no, I was about to feel it.
"MY BABY IS THE BEST! DAMN IT, I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT! KYAAAAAH!"
A deafening shriek rang across the training grounds.
'…Oh, for the love of… Aunt.'
I pressed my fingers to my forehead and lowered my head.
In the midst of the stiff, awkward applause, her booming voice stood out absurdly.
It was just like her.
But I didn't feel bad about it.
Even if people looked at me unfavorably, what did it matter?
As a concubine's son, my status was already beneath the dirt.
I smirked and sheathed Black Night.
***
Even as the duel progressed, Lee Kyunghwa couldn't relax her expression.
She was recalling a very old memory.
After that day, she had lost her family and left them behind.
A past within the clan that she didn't even want to remember.
That incident, too, had started with a sinister ritual like this one.
If her disciple—her beloved nephew, Lee Cheol—were to face a similar situation…
What would she do?
Every time such a dreadful thought crossed her mind, she shook her head furiously to drive it away.
As a result, she hadn't been able to watch the duel properly.
But then, unfamiliar voices reached her ears.
"He's good."
"Not just good—he's incredible."
They were the murmurs of the spectators.
All of them were members of the Soongmu Clan.
People with trained eyes.
Boom!
A sudden explosion made Lee Kyunghwa flinch and lower her head again.
"His fundamentals are terrifyingly solid."
"I don't understand. Even if he's a direct descendant, he's still a concubine's son… He's only fifteen, isn't he?"
"What is that aura skill? It's not from the Soongmu Clan's secret magic techniques."
Slowly, Lee Kyunghwa raised her head.
Her gaze landed on Lee Cheol, surrounded by a black aura as deep as the night sky.
Fwoosh!
Binding the approaching Lee Seol-ah's feet was Kang Gi-gong, Yeom-ra.
Kwa-ga-ga-gang!
The sword strike that swept down from the front contained Kang Gi-gong, Sak-pung.
All of them were aura skills created by her and Lee Cheol.
"Ah!"
Light finally returned to Lee Kyung-hwa's eyes.
Her beloved nephew was playing with his sister, who was several moves ahead of him.
Only then did Lee Kyung-hwa grasp the entire situation.
With the eyes of a scholar, a teacher, and an aunt.
'That's right! You must win! You are a genius!'
Anxiety, doubt, trauma.
All those emotions seemed to be washed away by the exhilarating force of the aura skills.
At that moment—
Viiiiiiiiing!
A dagger suddenly shot up into the air.
Sung Mu-iga's ultimate technique, Meteor.
"Block it!"
A desperate shout came from the audience.
Lee Kyung-hwa turned to look in the direction of the voice, rather than at the sparring ground.
The voice belonged to her younger brother, Lee Tae-hong.
Seeing him, Lee Kyung-hwa simply smirked.
'My brother is slipping. He's stuck at his desk all the time and can't see properly!'
Having already shaken off her illusions, Lee Kyung-hwa realized that there wasn't even a hint of panic on Lee Cheol's face.
And when that cunning brat had that look on his face, he never lost.
Swoosh! Bang!
Lee Cheol swung Black Night, shooting down the family's ultimate techniques one by one.
Everyone was in shock.
It wasn't perfect, but Sung Mu-iga's secret arts had been effortlessly countered.
Then, Lee Cheol raised his sword.
A decisive strike, familiar to all.
Demon Slayer fell.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, a thick cloud of dust engulfed the sparring ground.
Lee Seol-ah lunged at Lee Cheol with an almost animalistic instinct, but Lee Cheol leaped backward, blocking even the final blow.
And just like that—
Lee Cheol won.
"He won…"
Lee Kyung-hwa felt as if a dark curtain covering her had been lifted.
Her disciple had shattered the family's obstruction head-on, using none other than the techniques they had created together.
Clap, clap, clap!
Applause rang out.
With this many people gathered, the sound was neither too loud nor too soft, just somewhere in between.
Lee Kyung-hwa used magic on her vocal cords and let out all her emotions.
"My baby is the best! Damn it, I knew it! Kyahhhhhhh!"
She wanted to say something more dignified, but that's what ended up coming out.
Oh well, what could she do?
In the end, the winner was Lee Cheol.
And that child was her disciple.
"Hee-hee-hee!"
Lee Kyung-hwa grinned broadly and swayed her body side to side.
'Ha… Elder Lee Kyung-hwa…'
The nanny beside her covered her burning face with both hands.
She felt like crying.
***
Father personally descended to the sparring ground.
Following behind him, as always, was Lady Baek, who gazed at me with a frosty glare, the Elder Council's head, Uncle Lee Tae-hong, and my siblings.
"Well done."
Father spoke.
At those words, the expressions of the people behind him changed.
The head of Sung Mu-iga, Lee Tae-shin, never praised his children in front of others.
But I knew why Father was commending me.
'It's not just for this battle.'
More precisely, it was praise for perfectly fulfilling the conditions he had set.
Persuade the Elder Council.
I had reshaped the board through my uncle and ultimately won.
'Choosing Tae-hong, setting up the board, selecting the sixth sibling, the way the battle played out…'
Lee Tae-shin looked at his youngest son.
Everything had been calculated.
Normally, the seventh sibling should have been my opponent.
If not, a warrior from a branch family at a similar level should have stood here.
But I chose the sixth sibling.
An opponent I had the greatest strategic advantage over.
Yet those unaware of the match's intricacies would have assumed the sixth sibling would win outright.
I had exploited that psychological gap.
'Saying it is easy. But…'
Lee Tae-shin turned his head, scanning the countless spectators gathered here.
Even if any of them had been given the same situation and the same conditions, how many could have done what his son had?
He had known that the boy would find a way to fulfill the conditions, but he hadn't expected him to do it this flawlessly.
"You have proven yourself. I permit you to undertake the path of a warrior. You have earned that right."
"Thank you, Father."
I met Father's gaze.
He looked at me with satisfaction, but he didn't stop speaking there.
"You seem to have something to say."
Here it comes.
I had been waiting for this moment.
The reason Father had come down to the sparring ground instead of summoning me separately.
Whenever Father set a test, he always offered a reward.
But publicly, the reward for this test was supposed to be the permission to walk the warrior's path.
Meaning, I shouldn't be able to ask for anything more.
Not from Father, at least.
"In that case, if I may, I would like to say something."
Slowly, I opened my mouth.
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