That evening.
Although I wanted to skip the banquet and train, since I couldn't do as I pleased, I had no choice but to attend the banquet.
And there was one more thing that made look forward to it.
'Selection of the best martial artist!'
Since it was said that the martial artist who fought the best in this competition would be selected at the banquet, I absolutely could not miss it.
To be honest, I am looking forward to it very much.
If I am not chosen in this Taoist-Buddhist Great War, who will be? If they don't give it to , I feel like I won't be able to sleep because of the injustice.
'Surely they didn't really bring the Great Return Pill as the rumor says, right?'
When I heard it in passing before, it is said that the great master Gak-il had put out the Great Return Pill to give to the best martial artist of this competition.
As I was feeling that the growth of my internal energy was slowing down recently, if I could receive and consu the Great Return Pill, it would probably be a great help.
"Unhwi-ya. Co over here."
While I was having all sorts of thoughts, Senior Brother Un Cheol, who had found standing blankly at the entrance of the dining hall, called .
When I approached my senior brother, all our room's senior brothers were sitting there, and there was an empty seat next to Senior Brother Un Cheol.
I sat there naturally and said, "Yes, senior brother. Is that our seat?"
"Yes. But I was having a really foolish thought."
"What foolish thought?"
"Since it's a banquet, I naturally thought of a banquet like the one at the Nangong family. With lots of delicious food and good music. But I didn't think at all that this was the Wudang Sect."
My senior brother, as if he found his own thoughts absurd, let out a small laugh and continued, "Although it's called a banquet, to think that it's a quiet banquet with no alcohol or at..."
"Because the place we are having a banquet with is not just any other place, but Shaolin. Shaolin actually lives a more ascetic life than us, right? Next ti, I'll have to try talking about having a spar competition like this with a martial world family."
"Hoho... rather than that, how about we go outside? No, anyway, we have to leave for Zhejiang Province in a few days, but."
In fact, it seems Senior Brother Un Cheol is also secretly enjoying going outside of the Wudang Sect.
At that ti, everyone's attention was focused on the long table placed at the very front.
Because the sect leader had stood up from his seat and spoken.
There, our sect leader and the abbot of Shaolin, the great master Gak-il, were sitting in the middle, and on either side of them, the leaders of each sect were sitting in a line.
"Now. Since it seems everyone has gathered, I will say a word. First of all, I am most happy that this competition has ended safely without anyone being seriously injured. I hope everyone will enjoy this ti together."
In fact, it is not that there is no food prepared at all.
The food that the disciples of our Wudang Sect and the monks can eat is very neatly and well prepared.
Since our Wudang Sect is no longer a sect that is short of money, it seed that they had put a lot of effort into preparing the food.
"May I also say a word?"
"Of course, Abbot."
This ti, the great master Gak-il, who had stealthily stood up from his seat, opened his mouth.
"First of all... I would like to congratulate the Wudang Sect on their victory in this spar competition. I convey my congratulations with all my heart."
The great master Gak-il, after putting his palms together, said as he bowed his head.
His voice was filled with sincerity.
Although it is understandable that his heart would be sore at the first defeat in the Taoist-Buddhist Great War, he did not show any such sign at all.
It is said that the heart of a high monk who has cultivated for a long ti is like a hard rock, and it seems I am seeing that very sight.
"Actually, I have been waiting for this day for a long ti. Because there was a story that I had always heard from my predecessor, and my predecessor from his predecessor's abbot. My predecessor said this. The day we are defeated by the Wudang Sect in the Buddhist-Taoist Great War. That day is the mont when Shaolin can truly develop one step further."
He paused for a mont and then continued, "To be honest, I didn't really understand that statent. To be precise, I thought I understood it. I thought it ant that when our disciples taste defeat, they will take that as an opportunity to train even more diligently, so in the grand sche of things, that is victory... But after actually experiencing defeat, I finally realized what that statent ant."
The great master Gak-il turned his head and looked at once, and then looked at the place where Monk Yeong Hwan was.
And he slowly turned his head and looked at the faces of the disciples and then opened his mouth.
"I have been misinterpreting the words 'the developnt of Shaolin' in my predecessor's words until now. I think that what develops with our defeat is not just our Shaolin, but the developnt of the martial world, including Wudang. Because our Shaolin is not the entirety of the martial world, but just a part of the martial world."
Why is it that when I listen to the voice of the great master Gak-il, who is speaking calmly, I get goosebumps?
The reason I did not get along with the Shaolin monks in my previous life was because they were too high-handed and considered only themselves to be the best.
Although they did not openly ignore others, it seed that in the minds of the Shaolin monks, they were right, and the martial world should move in that direction.
But the great master Gak-il's words just now were no different from a story that completely denies the thoughts of Shaolin that have been like that until now.
'Shaolin is all good, but their pride is too high. If they accept the opinions of others, they could develop more...'
'Since they have always only succeeded, they probably don't even think of listening to others' stories. Although that is not the only truth...'
Even in the future, Shaolin will live as closed off as it is now and will gradually reduce its external activities.
Of course, even then, they are sufficiently strong, and their reputation as the number one sect of the orthodox faction is not broken, but it was also a fact that they were gradually hearing bad things from other martial artists.
In the end, when the war with the Demonic Cult broke out, these reasons overlapped and overlapped, and the orthodox martial world could not unite as one and was defeated individually...
'It can be different. It can be sufficiently different.'
My heart begins to swell.
The actions I am taking are gathering and gathering, creating results that are very different from my previous life.
Although it may seem like nothing special, in my previous life, these nothing special things had gathered and brought about the worst results.
"Haha! The atmosphere is strange because of the old man's unnecessary words. Anyway, this is what I want to say. In the next competition, our Shaolin will definitely win."
"It probably won't be easy. Since our Wudang has just started to gain montum, there is only more developnt to co."
"Haha! That's good. The closest day when the disciples of our Shaolin and the disciples of Wudang will face each other will be at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly. I look forward to the disciples of each sect eting in the finals and competing once again."
At the words of the great master Gak-il, the expressions of our senior brothers and the Shaolin monks changed.
That's right. We still have the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly left.
The Dragon and Phoenix Assembly is a place where not only the two sects of Shaolin and Wudang, but also the rising stars of all the sects in the Central Plains gather and show off their prowess.
Since it is a place where countless people gather, the preliminaries are held very strictly, and among them, the number of people who eventually advance to the main tournant is only sixty-four.
Those sixty-four people follow the rule of winner-takes-all, where only the winner survives by having a short-term decisive battle, and you can gain a great reputation just by succeeding in advancing to the main tournant.
In my previous life, I always fell in the preliminaries and never even got to go to the main tournant of the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.
Because when I was old enough to go to the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, my martial arts were too weak, and when I beca strong enough to advance to the main tournant later, I was old enough to be awkward to go to the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.
'And the petty orthodox faction guys were also all in cahoots with each other.'
Moreover, for naless martial artists from naless families like , the preliminaries are very many and tricky.
Because they only make you take absurd tests like breaking a rock, knocking down a tower made of iron, and having the examiner grab your collar.
In contrast, the preliminary round that the disciples of famous families or the Nine Sects and One Gang receive is very simple.
It is that only those who win by having a spar among themselves can go to the main tournant.
At that ti, I thought that they were giving such special treatnt because they didn't even want to exchange blows with naless martial artists.
Although in this life, it is as if I have beco the subject of that special treatnt.
"Now, then, before we begin the banquet!"
My eyes flashed open.
Because I felt that the mont I had been waiting for had finally co.
"Before we begin the banquet, it seems right to select the best martial artist of this competition. Since the disciples of both Shaolin and Wudang did so well in this competition, it was really difficult to choose who to pick as the best martial artist."
For a mont, the words 'what's so difficult' almost ca out of my mouth without my realizing it.
Because of course, the best martial artist of this competition will be .
Everyone fought with martial artists of a similar level, and I fought with a Yeong generation martial artist.
And it's not just that he's a martial artist with a high generation.
I defeated Monk Yeong Hwan, who is evaluated as having the best talent in the current Shaolin... no, in the martial world, the direct disciple of the abbot of the Shaolin Temple.
If they don't give the position of the best martial artist to soone like , who else can receive it?
"So, after deep discussion with the abbot of Shaolin. We were able to co to a conclusion. The best martial artist is..."
Even though I knew the result was obvious, I swallowed hard.
The Great Return Pill is a precious item that can easily receive five hundred gold coins if you just exchange it for money.
Of course, this is also a problem that is possible only if there is a seller, and in the first place, since there is no seller, it is absurd to even put a price on it.
"We will not be choosing one. Everyone who participated in the competition today is the best player."
"...?!"
"No...?"
Everyone made a dazed expression at the absurd words that ca out of the sect leader's mouth.
To be honest, I am the most dumbfounded. Since the others wouldn't have received it anyway. It's mine!
Although it wasn't actually mine, for so reason, my heart is confused with the feeling that my thing has been taken away.
Although I was looking at the sect leader with a little expectation that he might say that everything he had just said was a joke, unfortunately, such a thing did not happen.
Because the sect leader declared the start of the banquet and then imdiately returned to his seat.
"Yes. This competition was so well done that we couldn't pick just one person."
"That's right. The losers and the winners all showed an amazing performance."
"Maybe this is a good ending."
As there was no sign of a reversal, my senior brothers seed to be trying to forget about the best martial artist by muttering like this.
Although I could never accept that... for now, I had no choice but to just let it go.
Because the monks who I had been close to, like Monk Il-yeong or Monk Il-jik, had co over to our side and I had to introduce them to my senior brothers.
And other Shaolin monks who wanted to build a new friendship after seeing this spar also flocked to , so I had to spend my ti frantically.
***
That night, after the banquet ended.
Although my senior brothers had fallen asleep in their lodgings, I was sitting in the middle of the spar stage and looking at the moon endlessly.
Although I should let go of the past, why is it so sad?
Although it was not originally mine, this sense of loss of having lost my thing.
To the extent that I wonder if there has ever been a ti when I was so depressed after becoming Unhwi of the Wudang Sect.
If another person had been chosen as the best martial artist, I would have thought that it was not mine, but since no one was chosen, it really feels like it has disappeared into thin air.
"Tsk tsk... what are you doing with such a pitiful expression under the moonlight?"
As I was looking at the moon and calming my heart, I heard soone's voice.
Since I was lost in thought, I didn't even know soone was approaching, so I was surprised and turned around...
There, the great master Gak-il and our sect leader were standing at the end of the spar stage.
"S-Sect Leader! Abbot?"
"Even though it was never yours, do you feel that your thing has been taken away?"
"Donor Unhwi. I didn't see you like that, but it seems you are quite greedy."
The two of them approached with chuckling expressions.
As I was at a loss for words in this unexpected situation, the great master Gak-il handed a wooden box.
This situation. I have experienced it once before.
At that ti, the great master Gak-il had given the Small Return Pill.
But this is a wooden box that is larger than that ti.
I, wondering if it was possible, looked at the great master Gak-il, and he said with a smile, "Yes. It's the Great Return Pill. Even if you're not the best martial artist, this was brought for you from the beginning."
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