I could hear the murmuring.

Little Sword Saint sparring Lady Cheon...?

To think I’d see something like this.

Who do you think wins?

That’s obviously—....

At the voices, I carefully closed my eyes.

......Fuck my life.

I cursed inwardly and steadied my breathing.

Closing my eyes didn’t stop the noise. Everyone was too busy staring this way with faces full of interest.

I opened my eyes slowly.

A crowd surrounding me from every direction, their attention still not fading—

emotions of every kind mixing and pouring at me—

and I forced myself to focus on the one in front of me.

Straight ahead. About ten steps away, by my stride.

A woman stood there.

With blue eyes that looked like they held the sky, she stood neatly, her wooden sword lowered in her right hand, watching me.

Lofty—and noble, too.

Her beautiful features and cold impression pushed that atmosphere to its absolute peak.

Even this slightly noisy space couldn’t invade her “area.”

A woman with an alien feeling, like she lived alone in the world.

Moon Dancer.

Moon Dancer Cheon Hyein.

Moon-Thread Sword’s daughter—and one of the geniuses called the Seven Prodigies.

She looked at me, then broke into a bright smile.

“Nice to meet you.”

“.......”

A greeting I didn’t welcome.

Hearing it, I thought—

How the hell did it end up like this...?

How did I end up in this situation?

To answer that, I had to go back to my talk with the Small Moon Unit Leader.

*****

A condition?

The Small Moon Unit Leader said there was a condition if he was going to put his weight behind me.

The moment I heard that, a question popped up.

I prepared a trump card for when he refused, and he just... accepts it?

This was completely unexpected.

What was he even saying?

I frowned and asked the Small Moon Unit Leader.

What condition are you talking about?

At my question, the Small Moon Unit Leader lifted the corner of his mouth and said—

Later today. The Small Moon Battle will begin.

The Small Moon Battle...?

Small Moon Battle? I’d never heard of it. My brain started spinning. What is that? Just the name alone doesn’t feel good.

Before I could sink into thought—

My condition is simple.

The Small Moon Unit Leader said it straight to me.

If you earn even a single victory there, I’ll back you.

One victory in the Small Moon Battle?

I didn’t even know what it was, and that was the condition?

Do I accept?

Do I refuse?

The 고민 started, but it didn’t take long to answer.

[What are you doing.]

The ghost behind me spoke.

I’ll do it.

I answered with that pushing me forward.

It didn’t matter what it was, I thought.

I’ve got an evil ghost nobody can match in this field, so it’ll be fine.

That was the judgment I made.

And—

Fucking hell.

This was the result.

......The Small Moon Battle was this?

I frowned at Cheon Hyein staring right at me.

And it wasn’t just Cheon Hyein. A massive crowd surrounded the sparring platform, watching us.

Not just one or two people, either. There were martial artists in the Blue Moon Sect’s standard martial uniforms—

and the ones who looked like Small Moon Unit members had taken an entire section to themselves.

And—

Moon-Thread Sword and even the elders.

At the high seats sat Moon-Thread Sword, the Sect Master.

Behind him, the Small Moon Unit Leader. And on both sides, a whole lineup of blue-eyed old men sitting in formation.

Meaning the Sect Master and most of the Blue Moon Sect’s elder-level figures were here.

Which, put another way—

This is that big of a festival.

This Small Moon Battle I was about to do sat in a pretty serious place inside the Blue Moon Sect.

......Goddammit.

Small Moon Battle.

Before I came, I’d asked Yoo Cheongil what the hell it was.

[Small Moon Battle? It’s nothing.]

Yoo Cheongil answered like he didn’t care.

[They just send them up one by one and make them brawl.]

A brawl?

[Yeah. A brawl. It’s held once a year. Only the Small Moon Unit can attend.]

......So.

In one sentence—

It’s basically a tournament the Small Moon Unit holds among themselves.

[That’s right.]

“.......”

My head started to ache.

Small Moon Battle. It really was exactly what it sounded like.

They send up the Small Moon Unit and make them spar.

And here, the Small Moon Unit’s martial artists had to show the Sect Master and elders how much they’d grown over the past year.

Small Moon Unit members away on missions couldn’t attend, but anyone inside the sect had to show up—

and it was an important event held exactly once a year.

......But of all times.

It was happening only a few days after I returned.

And of all people—

my opponent—

......is her?

Moon Dancer Cheon Hyein.

She was my opponent.

Thinking that, I glanced at the Small Moon Unit Leader.

He was behind Moon-Thread Sword, smiling as he watched me.

That bastard knew.

He knew the Small Moon Battle was coming.

He knew my opponent would be Cheon Hyein.

He knew all of it, and that’s why he set that condition.

That slick son of a bitch.

If I want to reach Young Lord, it means I have to crush Cheon Hyein—my potential rival—and prove my value.

Tch.

I shifted my gaze from the Small Moon Unit Leader to Cheon Hyein.

She was looking at me with those uniquely enchanting eyes of hers.

“......Cheon—no. Senior... did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That I’d be sparring you today.”

“Of course. I knew. I even asked for this match.”

“......What?”

My brow tightened.

Cheon Hyein asked for this herself?

“I went to see you this morning to tell you... but unfortunately, you made me wait.”

“.......”

Ah.

So that’s why she came first thing in the morning...? I knew it. She said she had business.

“I’m really excited. I finally get to cross swords with Young Master Bang—no, Junior Bang.”

“It’s not exactly something to get excited about...?”

“Isn’t it? Junior Bang might not know, but there are a lot of people here who want to spar you. Can’t you see?”

At Cheon Hyein’s words, I looked around.

She wasn’t wrong.

What’s with those eyes?

The Small Moon Unit members staring at me—

those “seniors,” every last one of them, glaring at me with eyes full of jealousy.

Then—

“The successor who accepted everything the Sword Saint left behind.”

Cheon Hyein spoke like she was explaining.

“Little Sword Saint who unleashed dazzling sword force and executed a demonic-path absolute master... people who want to taste the sword you carry are overflowing.”

“.......”

Only after hearing her lay it out did I understand.

Because the rumor had spread like wildfire, people were interested in me.

So annoying, seriously.

At first it was just some manageable attention. But when it explodes like this, what am I supposed to do?

There isn’t even time to get used to it.

“Haa.”

I let out a harsh sigh. The annoyance crawled all the way up to the top of my skull.

“Junior Bang.”

Cheon Hyein spoke to me.

“If you want, you can forfeit. It’s okay.”

“.......”

I looked at her.

“I’m not someone who clings to things like that. I’ll be a little disappointed and a little let down, though.”

The way she smiled while saying it was unbelievably irritating.

“That sounds like a provocation... sorry, but I honestly do want to forfeit, you know?”

Does she think I’m standing here because I want to?

“......But?”

“But unfortunately, I can’t. I’ve got my own circumstances too.”

Small Moon Battle, my ass.

I didn’t want any of this attention-grabbing bullshit.

The Small Moon Unit Leader’s a problem, but Moon-Thread Sword’s a joke too.

When I gave my mission report, he only talked about the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

But about the Small Moon Battle, he didn’t say a single word.

Did that guy deliberately keep his mouth shut too?

It felt highly likely.

Tch.

I clicked my tongue internally and tightened my grip on the wooden sword.

“So you won’t forfeit.”

“Yeah. I can’t, and I won’t. And.”

FWICK—!

I spun the sword once, loosened my wrist slightly, then leveled the wooden sword’s tip at her.

“There’s no need.”

“No need?”

“Because I’m going to win anyway. Why would I?”

“......!”

At the calm words I spat out, not only Cheon Hyein but even the surrounding murmur stopped for a moment.

The silence that formed wrapped around us.

Was what I said really that shocking?

[Heh heh heh heh—!]

In the middle of it, I heard Yoo Cheongil’s rough laugh inside my head.

[No matter when I see it, your mouth is good at scraping people raw.]

I couldn’t tell if it was praise or an insult.

[The girl’s got a face like she got punched.]

Cheon Hyein froze with her eyes wide for a beat, then smoothed her expression again.

It looked almost like before, but I could tell.

A single wrinkle had formed between her pretty brows.

“......Seriously. You’re so arrogant.”

Sway.

The tip of Cheon Hyein’s sword ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) trembled lightly.

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Watching that, heat rose through my body on its own.

At that tiny motion, my wariness spiked without me meaning it to.

In that moment—

from far away, I saw Moon-Thread Sword calmly lift his hand.

“Your words need to fit the kind of person you are. Otherwise.”

Then.

“I think I’ll get very angry.”

Spar. Begin.

With Moon-Thread Sword’s words—

POP—!

Cheon Hyein vanished right in front of me.

My eyes rolled.

Moon Eyes, filled with qi, chased the threads.

I lost her body, but as she moved, the threads of her qi drew a path.

I twisted my grip on the sword.

CLAMP—!!

“Kgh!”

A wooden sword slammed into the blade I’d twisted left.

It was Cheon Hyein’s sword. She’d slipped in fast and launched her offense.

“Oh.”

Maybe she found it surprising that I blocked it—Cheon Hyein let out a small exclamation.

And then my body, braced in defense, lifted slightly.

I’d been pushed back by her strength.

Unbelievable. What kind of strength is that?

[Good—!]

Yoo Cheongil shouted loudly, like he liked her attack.

Look at that crazy old man. Who the hell is he cheering for right now?

GRIT.

I bared my teeth and moved.

I adjusted the sword’s angle slightly. Cheon Hyein’s sword, which I was blocking, slid downward with the change.

Using the force coming into me, I broke Cheon Hyein’s posture.

Her sliding sword dropped toward the floor.

Seeing that, I twisted my lower body.

Moon Wave.

A crescent flew at Cheon Hyein—

TACK—!

Crazy.

The tip of my wooden sword kicked up into the sky. Cheon Hyein had already corrected her stance, then struck my sword up in one clean motion.

[HAHAHAHAHAHA—!!!! Look at this brat!?]

Yoo Cheongil laughed like he was screaming.

The reason he was so thrilled was simple.

That was what the old man did. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Breaking Moon Wave.

He used it in that spar where he borrowed my body against a Small Moon Unit warrior known as Flash-Star Overturn—

and Cheon Hyein just did the exact same thing.

But.

It’s not the same as that.

The Moon Wave Flash-Star Overturn faced back then wasn’t a Moon Wave Yoo Cheongil had evolved.

There was a clear opening you could see, and I broke it by aiming for that.

This is just my lack of mastery.

My Moon Wave was a sword that Yoo Cheongil evolved.

Even so, the fact Cheon Hyein could break it was purely because I wasn’t skilled enough.

It needed to be faster. The application of qi needed to be tighter.

I failed, an opening formed—and Cheon Hyein caught it.

And she caught it—

the instant I used it.

In that tiny gap where Moon Wave was being invoked.

What a monster.

A hollow laugh slipped out.

For the first time, I understood why people looked at the Seven Prodigies and called them geniuses.