Baek Suryong scoffed and looked dumbfounded. "What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
Baek Suryong's blood-red lips curved into a chilling smile. "How trifling.
Though exhausted, his face was as sly as ever. Nonetheless, Namgung Su felt an unfamiliar unease, like a chill prickling the back of his neck.
Baek Suryong's lips slowly curled up. "Why are you acting like this after we fought together all this time? If I'm not Baek Suryong, then who am I?"
Slowly, his hair also began to turn red at the tips.
Namgung Su did not lower his sword. Baek Suryong's tone was the same yet different. In fact, he sounded almost inhuman.
His suspicion hardened into certainty.
"...If you were Baek Suryong, you would have acted immediately when you heard your students were in danger. You would have said there was no time for recovery."
"What if my injuries were that severe?" Baek Suryong asked. His voice was mesmerizing and ethereal, like a whisper in one's ear. An ordinary person would have been hyonotized by his words alone, their pupils dilating and going blank.
The being claiming to be Baek Suryong shrugged. His eyes, which had previously flashed red, were now completely crimson, like blood-red rubies. Slowly, his hair also began to turn red at the tips.
But Namgung Su was no ordinary person. His steadfast mind did not waver. Dispersing the sinister energy with the pure inner arts of the Royal Lightning Sword Style, he glared intently at Baek Suryong. "What trick is this?"
"Hmm... you have a very strong will."
Eyes gleaming, Namgung Su parried an attack that grazed his cheek.
"You... it's that aura from back then."
Namgung Su's face darkened. An alien, dangerous air enveloped Baek Suryong's entire body, making his skin tingle with its tyrannical, sticky presence. It was the same energy he had felt behind him while fighting Skykiller, the one he had not dared to see.
"Baek Suryong, are you in there?"
The being claiming to be Baek Suryong shrugged. His eyes, which had previously flashed red, were now completely crimson, like blood-red rubies. Slowly, his hair also began to turn red at the tips.
Namgung Su tightened his grip on Thunderclap. "Divine Azure Dragon Sword, can you hear me?"
VWOOM...!
The Divine Azure Dragon Sword trembled violently in Baek Suryong's right hand, as if groaning in pain.
"You're struggling quite a bit," 'Baek Suryong' said indifferently, staring at the sword.
He furrowed his brow slightly. The sword's resistance was stronger than expected. For a mere sword, it had far too much spiritual energy.
Of course, that was because the Dark Heaven Goddess was resisting the heaven-defying energy with all her might. [Begone to the underworld! This body is not for you to covet!]
His gaze fell one last time on a few strands of red hair on the ground.
Baek Suryong's blood-red lips curved into a chilling smile. "How trifling. Do you think I can't suppress you?"
At that moment, however, a faint smile played across Baek Suryong's lips.
He tightened his grip, his veins bulging on the back of his hand. Immediately, the Dark Heaven Goddess's scream rang in his head. He concentrated his heaven-defying qi, and the faint blue glow of the Divine Azure Dragon Sword slowly turned crimson.
Namgung Su scowled. "I can't bear to watch this anymore."
A lightning-fast strike aimed for Baek Suryong's wrist, but he dodged and swung his sword to the side as if he expected it.
CLANG!
The clash did not end with one strike. Namgung Su spun around, unleashing a flurry of continuous attacks. Although he had exhausted most of his inner qi and could not emit lightning, he could still create a sharp sword wind using only his innate skill and Thunderclap's sharpness.
The Divine Azure Dragon Sword trembled violently in Baek Suryong's right hand, as if groaning in pain.
KRAKAKAK!
"You... it's that aura from back then."
The blades scraped against each other, sending sparks flying. In a chillingly sharp and eerie exchange, they tore at each other's martial arts uniforms and grazed the skin beneath.
A flicker of interest appeared in Baek Suryong's red eyes.
Namgung Su's golden eyes also flashed. "Since you won't wake up when I call, I have no choice but to knock you back to your senses."
"Can you really do that?"
Namgung Su did not answer. Conserving his energy for the fight, he stepped forward and swung his sword as bold as if he were facing an archenemy.
CLANG!
While they had never seriously crossed swords, they had already sparred in their minds over a hundred times.
At least, Namgung Su had done exactly that. Though he never said it, Baek Suryong was the only person to spark a sense of rivalry in the Azure Dragon Academy's Star Instructor.
As I thought.
The more their swords clashed, the more his prediction that Baek Suryong wasn't himself was confirmed. His current opponent had definitely not prepared for the day they would cross swords.
From the day they had first met, he had simply analyzed Baek Suryong in detail, and all of those analyses had led him to a single conclusion: Baek Suryong was a martial arts genius. The man possessed multiple ultimate techniques, yet even that wasn't enough for him. He had the ability to absorb any martial art he encountered and make it his own.
Baek Suryong smiled greedily. "You've properly combined the Heavenly Lightning Sword Technique and the Royal Sword Style."
His glittering, ruby eyes scanned every sword trajectory. With each clash, Namgung Su could tell from the subtle changes in his opponent's responses over time that his technique being analyzed and dismantled.
How many martial artists like this have existed throughout history?
Namgung Su felt it anew. The man in front of him was a monster.
This body is not for you to covet!]
His chances of victory were slim, and would only decrease over time, but there was one opening he could exploit.
Both of our bodies and inner qi are near their limits.
His glittering, ruby eyes scanned every sword trajectory. With each clash, Namgung Su could tell from the subtle changes in his opponent's responses over time that his technique being analyzed and dismantled.
He prided himself on his mental strength, which was second to none. He was on a different level from some naive junior possessed by a ghost.
He extended his immobile left arm, offering it as bait. His opponent was not so weak that he could gain an advantage without giving anything up.
SWISH! SPLURT!
As they exchanged blows, more wounds appeared on Namgung Su's body. His movements were half a breath slower than Baek Suryong's, and his new technique still lacked precision. His white, bloodstained martial arts uniform was torn away, revealing countless wounds.
'Baek Suryong' tilted his head as if he could not understand why Namgung Su had not even groaned. "Why are you going this far?"
"...I'm not done yet," Namgung Su snorted.
Officially, he was doing this because Baek Suryong was an instructor and junior at the Azure Dragon Academy. Privately, he was compelled by gratitude for the benefactor of his family, a debt he had yet to repay. He could not let the man die a foolish death or allow his body to be stolen by an evil entity before then.
Above all, the students were waiting for their beloved teacher to return.
SWOOSH!
Eyes gleaming, Namgung Su parried an attack that grazed his cheek. Resolve was etched in his golden irises, which flickered with lightning.
He extended his immobile left arm, offering it as bait. His opponent was not so weak that he could gain an advantage without giving anything up.
I need to make him think that I'm deliberately baiting him.
The clever Baek Suryong would never fall for this bait. He would wait for the follow-up attack and then swat the sword away, not attack the left arm.
As they exchanged blows, more wounds appeared on Namgung Su's body. His movements were half a breath slower than Baek Suryong's, and his new technique still lacked precision. His white, bloodstained martial arts uniform was torn away, revealing countless wounds.
I'll aim for that moment when he gets overconfident.
TWITCH!
Namgung Su subtly flexed the muscles in his left arm. He could move it for a moment, but Baek Suryong wouldn't know that since he hadn't used his left arm once throughout their battle with the Blood Cult.
To deceive Baek Suryong, a master of deception, he had to be even more meticulous. Namgung Su pictured dozens of scenarios in his head, deliberating fiercely as he eliminated them one by one.
Finally, only a single possibility remained.