Evening had fallen after the conclusion of the preliminaries.
As I finished my al, I turned my gaze to Bong Soon and asked,
“Nothing happened, right?”
“Huh?”
Bong Soon tilted her head in confusion at my question.
I frowned, realizing she hadn’t understood, and asked again.
“I’m asking if you caused any trouble.”
Finally catching on, Bong Soon nodded emphatically.
“I didn’t! The Sect Leader told not to do anything!”
“Really?”
“Yep! I really didn’t do anything! I didn’t do anything at all! So let’s ma—”
“Shut up.”
“Okay.”
She had started spouting nonsense again, so I cut her off preemptively.
Did she really not do anything?
Given her track record, it was hard not to be suspicious. Unfortunately, I had no way to confirm.
Normally, I’d have followed her in secret to check for myself.
But infiltrating their formation would be too risky.
The Martial Alliance had set up a defensive formation around the area for the tournant, and while I could likely break through it, the risk of being discovered wasn’t worth the attempt.
Was my suspicion unfair?
“I’m telling you, I didn’t do anything!” Bong Soon protested, sounding genuinely offended.
“I didn’t kill anyone! Not yet!”
Not yet...?
That last bit was unsettling, but I decided to let it slide for now.
“…Fine. Good job.”
“See? I did well! So, about ma—”
“Go away.”
“Okay.”
Surprisingly obedient, Bong Soon sprang to her feet and vanished.
I sighed as I watched her hurry out. Though she’d beco sowhat more civilized, she still had a long way to go.
No, maybe she’s more like a beast imitating a human.
That was the impression Bong Soon gave .
It had been two years since I brought her from the wilds of Gwangju, where she had lived among feral dogs.
I’d found her gnawing on mbers of the local bandits and decided to take her in.
Back then, Bong Soon was less of a person and more of a talking monster. She could speak, but her actions were purely instinctual.
And yet, sohow, she had reached a level of cultivation that rivaled the peak martial artists of Murim.
It’s strange, really.
Her cultivation clearly exceeded the pinnacle stage, yet her ntal state was akin to that of a child.
Who could have trained her to achieve such heights?
It was certain that she was a descendant of the Sword Queen, but it had been over a decade since the Queen’s death.
The likelihood of the Sword Queen having taught her personally was slim.
Even she doesn’t rember, so there’s nothing more to uncover.
I’d questioned Bong Soon about it, but she claid to have no mory.
Given her inability to lie to due to the effects of demonic energy, I had no reason to doubt her.
I decided to put the matter aside for now.
It doesn’t matter if she rembers or not.
What mattered was that I could use Bong Soon’s abilities as a powerful asset to advance my plans.
Her past was irrelevant to her value in the present.
“The problem is the Ei Sect,” I muttered, recalling the events of the morning as I took a sip of tea.
The tea tingled on my tongue.
I’d mixed a small amount of poison into the tea, both to build resistance and to enhance the flavor.
“…Hmm.”
The Ei Sect. Female monastics of Sichuan.
What connection could they have to Bong Soon?
It seed less about Bong Soon herself and more about the artifact she carried.
If that’s the case… then they’re not looking for the Sword Queen.
The situation was ambiguous, making it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions.
Still,
“The trap is set, and the reaction should co soon enough.”
I had already laid the groundwork.
The corpse of the Ei Sect disciple had been returned to their residence.
Using Mang’s authority, I had imprinted the Martial Alliance’s emblem on a letter, paired with vague warnings. The timing had been calculated so that the ssage would disappear at the appropriate mont.
How will they respond?
The purpose of this was to gauge their reaction.
If they were acting independently of the Martial Alliance, their response would differ from what it would be if they were in collaboration.
If their leader isn’t a fool, they might take this as a warning.
The Sect Leader of the Ei Sect was known as the Pulverizing Moon Fist Immortal.
One of the Seven Masters of Martial Arts, her title ca from her ferocious fists, despite her delicate appearance.
I didn’t believe soone of her stature and intellect would act rashly.
The blatant use of the Martial Alliance’s emblem should make her consider the possibility of third-party involvent.
If I were her, I’d tread carefully, suspecting that soone was monitoring their movents through the Alliance.
And on top of that,
If she learns that I have this…
I glanced at the letter in my hand and smirked.
The letter had been taken from the belongings of the Ei Sect martial artist.
It listed several nas, including mine and other participants in the tournant.
Likely the nas of those they attempted to poison.
Cross-referencing the nas with my intelligence network confird as much, though a few additional nas suggested incomplete information.
“…Interesting.”
Why would a supposedly orthodox sect like the Ei Sect engage in such behavior?
I had paid them little attention until now, but this developnt piqued my curiosity.
Should I look into this further?
Since it was connected to Bong Soon, it seed necessary.
Of course,
Naturally, I had no intention of handling it myself.
I set down my tea and turned to my side.
“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”
“…Huh? Leave what to ?”
Cheol Ji-seon, who had been eating absentmindedly, tilted his head in confusion.
******************
The soft rustle of footsteps echoed as I walked along the path, reviewing the letter in my hand.
The docunt contained dense text across several pages, all ticulously compiled by Jegal Hyuk and Cheol Ji-seon.
‘The situation in Hubei is mostly under control. As for the Shandong region, it should suffice to leave it in Huangbo Gaju’s hands.’
Despite the large amount of information, Jegal Hyuk’s precise organization made it easy to comprehend.
‘I’ll need to keep an eye on Illyong Daeju’s movents… and also check on Tang Deok’s situation.’
With Nahi already dispatched to Tang Deok, that matter should soon be resolved.
If, in the process, she managed to bind or kill Illyong Daeju, all the better. However, that might be asking too much at this stage.
‘It’s troubleso to make big moves while I’m stuck here.’
Given my current entanglent in this place, taking unnecessary risks had to be avoided.
‘To address everything properly, it’ll have to wait until after this tournant ends.’
By the ti the martial arts tournant concluded, I’d need to reassess the situation.
Even if everything went as predicted, my life had never been one to enjoy good fortune.
‘…Always prepare for the worst.’
That way, handling unexpected disasters would be easier.
‘The real issue here is Tang So-yeol and Wi Seol-ah.’
Those two were weighing on my mind, especially since they were also participating in the tournant.
Wi Seol-ah had already passed the preliminaries on the first day, and I’d heard that Tang So-yeol had naturally passed today.
‘Hmm.’
I wasn’t sure why they had entered the tournant, but on its own, it wasn’t a significant issue.
The problem lay in what would happen when the preliminaries ended and the tournant transitioned into the real competition.
If they ended up on the sa stage, that could cause complications.
‘It would’ve been easier if it were Woo Hyuk.’
If Woo Hyuk had been participating, I could’ve knocked him out without a second thought.
Unfortunately, Woo Hyuk hadn’t entered the tournant.
‘What was the reason again?’
Apparently, it was because the Martial Alliance’s leader, a figure from the Wudang Sect, wanted to maintain a semblance of fairness by excluding Wudang participants.
‘Fairness, huh.’
The idea of fairness felt laughable now.
Inviting only the elites to participate in the tournant was already far from fair, yet now they were pretending to care?
‘If they cared about fairness, they should’ve upheld it long ago.’
The previous Alliance Leader, Nakgeom, had shattered any pretense of fairness when he allowed Jang Gaeseok to represent them at the Yongbongjihoe.
‘Maybe they just want to project a clean image now.’
Interestingly, the public seed to react positively to the current leader’s claim of fairness.
Perhaps they thought this leader was different from the past ones.
‘Tsk.’
I had plenty to say about it, but I held my tongue.
In any case, Woo Hyuk didn’t seem particularly eager to join the tournant.
‘…He’d be in danger if he participated.’
Though I occasionally used sparring as an excuse to beat so sense into him,
Woo Hyuk was now more dragon than human. His newfound abilities, coupled with his changed physique, left him unable to control his strength properly.
The problem was, Woo Hyuk didn’t seem to realize just how strong he had beco. Until he figured that out, I’d have to keep him in check.
‘And maybe push myself harder in the process.’
There wasn’t much ti left.
While I had surpassed the level of my previous life, complacency was not an option.
‘The Nine Flas Firewheel Technique… I can’t even use it in so situations.’
The mory of my grandfather was a lingering threat.
For reasons I couldn’t fully understand, he had the ability to reclaim the cultivation technique I possessed.
If he ever stripped of the flas, my entire plan would fall apart.
To lose everything over a single martial art…
‘I’m truly incompetent.’
To be rendered helpless by the loss of one technique—it was a frustrating realization.
That fear alone was enough to push to prepare.
I needed contingencies, ways to proceed even if I lost one of my core abilities.
Stopping in my tracks, I looked ahead.
I had reached my destination. A door stood before , and I naturally reached out to knock.
Knock, knock.
No response. I knocked again.
Knock, knock, knock.
Still no answer.
Knock…
Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock…
Bang!
Finally, after a relentless series of knocks, the door swung open.
“You wretched brat! Do you have any idea what ti it is?!”
An elderly man with white hair and a beard stood before , glaring.
The Divine Doctor greeted with a scowl that could curdle milk.
“It’s the middle of the night! Everyone’s sleeping, and you dare disturb ?!”
“It’s not night, Elder. We haven’t even passed dawn.”
“Everyone else is sleeping, aren’t they?”
“But you weren’t, were you?”
“You insolent…!”
As I retorted without missing a beat, his face flushed red.
Ah, dangerous. That was his truly angry face.
Quickly, I pulled a letter from my sleeve and held it out to him.
“I brought this for you from Jegal Hyuk, Elder. Please take it.”
The sight of the letter silenced his rising anger almost instantly.
As expected, bringing it was a wise decision.
“Hmph.”
“I delivered it as soon as I received it. Please forgive my intrusion.”
“…For Hyuk’s sake, I’ll let it slide this ti, but there won’t be a next.”
“Then may I co in?”
“You’re already inside, you damned brat…”
Without waiting for his reply, I stepped into his dwelling.
Compared to the adjacent dical quarters, his private residence was much smaller and more modest.
I’d heard he had specifically requested a smaller space, claiming that larger ones felt overwhelming.
Truly, the old man had simple tastes.
I removed my shoes and entered.
Inside, there was a small desk and a single lantern. The desk was piled high with papers, all related to dicinal treatnts and herbs.
I let out a sigh of disbelief as I took in the massive stack of docunts.
“Do you really look through all of that?”
“Look through it? Hell no. How could this old man possibly read all of that?”
“Then what’s the point of keeping it?”
“I morized it all back when I was younger. It’s there so I can reference it if I forget sothing.”
“With it stacked like that, how do you even find what you need?”
“If you rember roughly where sothing is and how many pages it spans, it’s easy to find.”
“...”
How does soone even manage to morize all that…?
I swallowed the question and kept it to myself.
“So,” he said, glancing at the letter in his hand, “you plan to go through with it again today?”
His question was t with an imdiate, confident response.
“Yes.”
The Divine Doctor frowned at my answer.
“There’s a group brawl in a few days. Wouldn’t it be better to take it easy for now?”
“A group brawl, you say? Elder, there’s a much more elegant term for it—it’s called the Martial Arts Tournant.”
“A brawl is a brawl, no matter what fancy na you slap on it.”
“...”
I couldn’t argue with that, so I laughed awkwardly. Group brawl—he wasn’t wrong. The term seed fitting.
Regardless…
“I’ll rest when I’m dead. Besides, there’s soone right here who can treat if I get injured.”
“You brat… Not only do you talk about dying so casually, but you expect to use this old man at your whim?”
“Since you’re already helping , you might as well do it thoroughly.”
“Hah, your shalessness is on par with a demon’s.”
Though he sounded annoyed, I knew better.
This old man might act gruff, but he was a deeply caring person.
And so, I was certain he’d help this ti as well.
“…Sit down. Let’s get this over with quickly so I can get so sleep.”
“Thank you.”
Smiling at his words, I took my seat.
The reason I’d sought out the Divine Doctor was simple.
“Prepare yourself.”
Shortly after eting my grandfather, I had co to him to learn a new discipline—sorcery.
When I first ntioned sorcery, the Divine Doctor seed genuinely surprised. But after I explained that I had picked it up in the North Sea, he appeared to understand.
After all, he had encountered sorcery before, such as when he treated Jegal Hyuk’s throat.
Given his familiarity with it, I figured he’d be the best person to help train.
At first, I thought sorcery wouldn’t be of much imdiate use. It was an intriguing power, so I figured I’d learn it out of curiosity.
But after using it a few tis, I started to realize its potential.
The loop of sorcery that now flowed within my heart…
If my hunch is correct, sorcery might allow to develop a counterasure against my grandfather, even if he stripped of my flas.
More importantly…
It could let wield an even greater fla.
I could see ways to enhance not only the Nine Flas Firewheel Technique but also other martial arts.
“…Alright, then. Try expanding the loop,” the Divine Doctor instructed.
I focused my energy on my heart and began to exert control.
As I trained under his watchful eye, ti passed steadily.
******************
Two days had passed.
I found myself once again at the Martial Alliance’s grounds.
The preliminaries, which had been conducted over three days in two rounds, were finally over. Today marked the beginning of the main tournant.
“Will the main rounds be organized by groups as well?”
“Since the preliminaries grouped us that way, they’ll probably do the sa.”
The crowd wasn’t much different from the first day—hundreds of martial artists gathered as far as the eye could see.
The key difference?
These individuals had all surpassed the level of Jeoljeong with ease.
These were the true elites, those who shattered Mannyeon Hancheol and broke through the arrays to qualify.
The genuine masters, refined through two rounds of rigorous elimination, now gathered in one place.
‘The atmosphere feels entirely different from the first day.’
The density of the air was heavier, and the intensity radiating from these individuals was palpable.
It was suffocatingly fierce.
None of them seed to bother concealing their energy, and the resulting battle of auras in the air was almost awe-inspiring.
Watching them, I grimaced.
‘What a bunch of show-offs.’
Expending their energy like this before the real fights even began—what were they trying to prove?
At that mont,
“Wow, look at all these people! Over there, big sis, look! Another bald—mph!”
Bong Soon, who had been gawking at the crowd, was abruptly silenced as Tang So-yeol clamped her hand over her mouth.
“Please… please, just be quiet…!”
“Mmff! Mmmph… slurp?”
“Eek!”
Tang So-yeol yelped in shock and snatched her hand away, clearly startled by Bong Soon licking her palm.
“...”
Watching this unfold, I shook my head.
For so reason, Bong Soon seed particularly fond of Tang So-yeol.
As a result, Tang So-yeol bore the brunt of Bong Soon’s antics.
While it was fortunate for to have soone capable of keeping Bong Soon in check,
‘Three days for the preliminaries, two for the main rounds.’
I was set to compete today, and so were Tang So-yeol and Bong Soon.
“…Hey, you didn’t forget what I told you yesterday, did you?”
“Huh? Nope, I didn’t forget!”
“I’m reminding you—just win. No rampages.”
“Of course! No breaking, no killing! I’ll just win!”
Bong Soon puffed out her chest as if brimming with confidence, though her words did little to reassure .
‘Tch.’
No matter how hard I tried not to worry, I couldn’t help it.
Starting today, as the na Shinryong Martial Arts Tournant implied, it would be a battle of martial artists.
This had been explicitly announced by the Martial Alliance.
‘Today marks the real beginning of the tournant.’
In front of us stood a massive wooden board.
Beyond the sea of people, mbers of the Martial Alliance were hanging sothing onto the board.
The matchups.
The board would display the matchups for today’s main rounds, and the crowd was gathered to see it.
The martial artists’ eyes shone with various emotions as they stared at it.
So were filled with desperation.
Others radiated exhilaration.
Each of them harbored their own feelings and aspirations.
I couldn’t quite understand why this tournant ant so much to them.
As I mulled over my thoughts and cooled my head,
“Gongja-nim, it’s up.”
Tang So-yeol spoke, drawing my attention.
I turned back toward the board. As she said, the Martial Alliance had posted the list.
Scanning the nas quickly,
‘Hmm.’
I furrowed my brow slightly.
‘So, they’re not matching fighters from the sa group.’
The matchups were divided as follows:
White and Blue Groups.
Green and Red Groups.
It seed they had paired the fighters from different groups for this round.
“Aww, no….”
“Against the Nengcheong Sword? How am I supposed to win…?”
Groans of despair erupted from martial artists as they read the board.
These were the weaker participants, lanting their bad luck at being paired with renowned opponents.
Conversely, the opposite sentint rang out elsewhere.
“Good. This first fight should be over quickly.”
“I’ll wrap it up fast and grab a drink afterward.”
Laughter and excitent filled the air as those confident in their victory expressed their glee.
Amidst the rising emotions, I found my na.
White Group. Shanxi’s Gu Yangcheon.
‘There it is.’
My na was listed around the middle of the board. After locating it, I checked my opponent.
Blue Group. Guangdong’s Myung Cheong-seong.
‘Myung Cheong-seong?’
The na was vaguely familiar.
‘Ah.’
I rembered now. He was the one who had been loudly boasting about Fungnim Witan Fist and other nonsense on the first day.
Apparently, he was a sowhat well-known martial artist.
Frankly, I didn’t know much about him.
After brushing up on my opponent, I checked on the others.
‘Bong Soon’s opponent is another stranger.’
Then there was Tang So-yeol.
‘Hmm?’
When I saw Tang So-yeol’s matchup, my eyes widened slightly.
‘Now this is interesting.’
It had just gotten a lot more entertaining.
Green Group. Sichuan’s Tang So-yeol.
Red Group. Liaoning’s Baek Cheong-jin.
Baek Cheong-jin of the Liaoning Baek Clan—also known as the Yutan Sword.
What kind of ga was this?
Was this a deliberate move by the Martial Alliance? Or pure coincidence?
It felt too deliberate to be re chance, though I couldn’t be certain.
Shifting my gaze, I looked at Tang So-yeol.
She, too, had noticed her opponent.
Seeing her expression, I was reassured.
‘No need to worry about her….’
Her calm eyes and composed deanor were like a still, tranquil pond.
If anything,
‘…She’s a little scary right now.’
Tang So-yeol exuded a subtle sense of intimidation.
Her gaze seed to say,
‘How shall I toy with my opponent?’
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