Chapter 169

Dinner time ended.

Time passed where the food didn’t even go down properly, and I couldn’t even tell what I was eating.

And after that, I barely made it back to my room, soothing my bloated stomach.

“Did I get indigestion or what.”

I frowned, rubbing my belly.

Judging by how I felt, it really did seem like indigestion.

“Tch.”

Well, how could I not.

“I’m not some zoo monkey.”

Everyone was staring at me. The entire time I ate.

That was the aftershock of what Black-Grand Saber blurted out.

The moment they heard I was the Little Sword Saint, everyone started staring like that was their job.

And the Seven Prodigies’ gazes were especially sharp.

Among them—

“Was it Seo Pyeong?”

A Wudang junior.

Wudang Cloud Dragon Seo Pyeong from the Seven Prodigies.

That bastard’s eyes were scary as hell. The way he glared at me wasn’t normal.

The wariness and hostility packed into it seriously got under my skin.

Why the hell was he looking at me like that?

The other Seven Prodigies, sure—

“With the rumors the way they are, I get it.”

A genius who looks down on even the Seven Prodigies.

A once-in-a-century figure.

And because word got out that Poison Dragon was traveling with me, things were even louder.

Stack Black-Grand Saber’s reaction on top of that, and the rumors were turning into “facts.”

So if you told me Wudang Cloud Dragon sent me those unpleasant eyes because of that, it wasn’t impossible to accept.

“But is that really the only reason?”

It didn’t feel like that was all of it.

You can tell when you look someone in the eyes.

“That bastard had killing intent in them.”

Those weren’t eyes that were just “guarded.”

So why was he looking at me like that? If I had to compare, it was similar to the way Little Azure Sword Namgung Seong looked at me.

“This is weird.”

Really weird. What the hell do I have to do with a Wudang junior?

“I’ve never even met a Wudang person in my life.”

Wudang, one of the Ten Great Sects.

In Daoist standing, it’s basically treated as the same tier as Mount Hua Sect—a sword lineage.

A famous lineage whose sword is like flowing water: natural, beautiful, and solid.

So why would someone from there stare at me like that?

“Hm...”

Not knowing made it worse, but—

“Even if I chase the reason...”

Nine times out of ten, it’s—

“Because of that old bastard.”

Yoo Cheongil. It’s obvious that old bastard is the problem. Most of the time, it’s been like that, so I figured this time would be the same.

“Or...”

I knit my brow and pictured that pervert.

A Peng Clan bastard who goes out of his way to be obnoxious.

“Peng Dojin.”

Black-Grand Saber Peng Dojin.

Maybe there was some other reason, like that bastard.

“What the hell has he been doing?”

What kind of tangled relationship did he have with Murong Yeongsun to say something like that?

And I still didn’t know why a guy like that would come at me acting friendly.

“Don’t tell me Wudang Cloud Dragon is like that too?”

If that bastard is tangled up in some nonsense the same way, I’m seriously screwed.

“What did I do wrong?”

I didn’t do a damn thing, and I’m getting hated for it—there’s nothing more annoying than that.

“Ugh.”

I raked my hair.

“The Seven Prodigies...”

The Seven Prodigies of the Central Plains.

Seven people said to be the most outstanding among the junior generation.

Actually facing them in person left me with a strange feeling.

“They’re all monsters.”

I beat him, but even just looking at Poison Dragon tells you what “strong” is.

Bastards carrying power the junior generation should never be able to have.

Normally, even one of them would’ve had people screaming about the “future of the Central Plains,” but—

“And there are seven of them.”

Like the world decided to be funny, it produced seven people with freakish talent.

And—

“Sword Phoenix.”

Among them, one person stood out the most.

Mount Hua Sect’s Plum Blossom Sword Phoenix.

A woman judged to be the strongest among the countless juniors in the Central Plains.

“What was her angle?”

That woman suddenly attacked me.

If Yoo Cheongil hadn’t spoken, it would’ve been an attack that could’ve taken my hand off.

“What the hell?”

When I saw her wearing Yoo Cheongil’s cloak, I thought maybe she meant to return it—

“But it doesn’t feel like that.”

If that were her only intention, she wouldn’t have attacked.

It felt like she wanted something from me, or had some complaint—

“But I can’t read her face.”

I couldn’t read Sword Phoenix’s expression.

What she wanted, what she felt when she approached me.

To grasp that, Sword Phoenix was...

“I can’t feel anything.”

From start to finish, she stayed expressionless.

Even when she swung her sword. So I had no idea what she was thinking.

“...This is worse than Cheon Hyein.”

With her, it was hard because she controlled her expressions.

“With this one, I just can’t see it.”

Sword Phoenix is different.

It’s harder because she isn’t making an expression at all.

“...None of them are normal.”

They call them geniuses, but seriously—not a single one of them is normal.

“Whew.”

I let out a breath.

At the same time, my hand—moving while I thought—stopped.

And the letters being written on the letter in front of me stopped too.

I tapped the ink off.

Then—

[Kid.]

Yoo Cheongil spoke to me.

“Yes.”

[How was it?]

“What do you mean?”

I answered while checking the letter I’d been writing.

[Those brats. Did they look beatable?]

“Ah. That.”

He meant the Seven Prodigies. Since I’d seen them up close, he was asking what I thought.

“Hm.”

With that, I glanced down at the letter.

The Seven Prodigies.

They’re definitely geniuses. If it were the old me, I wouldn’t have had the right to say a word about them.

But—

“Yeah. Sure.”

Right now—

“It’s not like I can’t do anything.”

They didn’t look that impossible.

I folded the letter titled “Seven Prodigies Guide” and said it.

*****

The next day came.

As soon as it became early morning, I got up and went outside the inn.

Even though it was barely morning, people were already moving around busily.

A ton of people were pouring out of the inn, but unlike the hour, you didn’t feel tiredness on their faces.

If anything, what you felt was tension.

“Ah, you’re up.”

As I came down the stairs, Cheon Eujin approached like he’d been waiting.

“Did you sleep at all?”

“No. I was nervous, so I didn’t sleep a wink.”

“Hahaha, what a joke.”

“...?”

It’s not a joke.

I really didn’t sleep at all, but for some reason Cheon Eujin seemed to think I was kidding.

“Let’s go. They’re waiting.”

“Ah, yes.”

When I followed Cheon Eujin, the rest of our group was already gathered.

Still a quiet bunch.

Do Hyeong barely talks, and Cheon Hyein was never the chatty type to begin with.

And Tang Cheon-il had been in near-silent training ever since getting punched last time.

“...Let’s go.”

I spoke while looking at the uncomfortable group.

At my words, I immediately joined them.

The reason we were moving without even eating breakfast was simple.

“We have to go to the Martial Alliance.”

Starting today, the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering officially opened.

It wasn’t a martial tournament, and the first day was closer to a banquet, but we still had to leave early in the morning.

*****

Thankfully, it wasn’t far.

Walk just a little, and you can already see it in the distance.

The Martial Alliance headquarters people call the Main Alliance Headquarters.

A building rising high. A massive flag hanging above it.

A long human tide moved toward it.

“WAAAA—!!”

I heard the noise. When I lifted my head, people were lined up along the street watching us.

“That’s so cool—!”

Cheers came flying. It’s not easy to react to that.

What am I even supposed to do with this?

I didn’t expect this many people to come watch.

I knew the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering was a big ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) festival, but...

“Was it always like this?”

This much interest?

The attention pouring down was so heavy it made me want to die.

[Enjoy it. You’ll need to get used to it more and more.]

Maybe because he knew I was struggling, Yoo Cheongil spoke flatly.

Get used to it? I hate that.

“Ugh.”

Just like my past life, I still hate attention.

Especially when it’s this blatant.

*****

WAAAA—

Listening to the crowd, I entered the Main Alliance Headquarters.

Even with all those people flowing in, it was such a huge space it didn’t feel like it could ever fill up.

“So this is the Main Alliance Headquarters.”

I swept my gaze around.

It’s wide.

And big.

“This is insane.”

I felt it when I saw the Blue Moon Sect, and when I saw the Tang Clan too, but looking at this place, it looked twice as big as those.

Well, it’s the center of the Orthodox faction. It should be this big.

And—

“The martial artists’ presence is no joke either.”

Martial artists were stationed all over. The presence they gave off was intense too.

I’d heard only elites in the Orthodox faction could come here. Is that why?

“This is interesting.”

I walked on, genuinely curious.

After walking a bit, we arrived at a banquet hall inside the Main Alliance Headquarters.

“We will begin identity verification.”

Up ahead, a martial artist blocking the entrance began verifying identities again, one by one.

They’d seemed unconcerned when we entered the headquarters, but it looked like this was where they checked.

“Bang Sungyeon of the Blue Moon Sect. Confirmed.”

At the flat statement, I took my recommendation letter back.

This man’s the first one in a while who didn’t get shocked just from seeing my name.

With permission granted, I went inside. And of course, the banquet hall was huge.

It had to be—this place had to pack in hundreds of people.

“Our seats... are over there.”

The assigned seats were in the very front.

As if to announce that only those who received gold recommendation letters could sit there, the seats were flashy.

Seeing that, I scratched my cheek and sat down.

By the time I sat, there were already quite a few people seated.

And then—

“...Huh.”

Something felt off.

“This—”

The seating arrangement is weird. With recommendation letters, I thought they’d at least group you with your party.

“...Why are these people here?”

The moment I sat, the guy next to me spoke.

“Oho! Young hero!”

A sharp-featured pretty-boy.

It was Thunder Dragon Namgung Cheon.

“We couldn’t even properly greet each other yesterday, but to meet like this... isn’t this fate itself?”

“...Nice to... meet you.”

“I feel the same! Hahahahaha!!!”

He’s so bright it makes my head want to split.

The moment he saw me, Thunder Dragon grabbed my hand and started shaking it like crazy—

and someone watching clicked their tongue.

“Tsk. Tsk. You’re always loud.”

It was Black-Grand Saber. Sitting in an uncomfortable posture because his body didn’t fit the chair, he dug in his ear and spoke.

“There are this many people here, so why do you talk so much?”

“Doesn’t feel like something Brother Peng should say...?”

“What?”

“Leaving aside whether I talk a lot, Brother Peng, your voice is loud, so you’re noisy.”

“Hah!”

At the shameless retort, Black-Grand Saber gaped.

“What do you mean my voice is loud!”

“...My ears hurt.”

I agreed.

He’s sitting across from me and his voice is still that loud.

While I watched Black-Grand Saber, I rolled my eyes around.

I could feel a gaze. Seo Pyeong was sitting next to Thunder Dragon.

That bastard was glaring at me yesterday and today too.

And then someone walked over and sat next to him.

Cheon Hyein and Poison Dragon.

This... no matter how I look at it—

“Did they just gather all the Seven Prodigies?”

Like they were trying to put the current Seven Prodigies in one place, they were really coming one by one.

And then—

CREEEAK.

A woman sat down directly across from me.

It was the seat next to Cheon Hyein.

And the person was Plum Blossom Sword Phoenix.

She was wearing what looked exactly like Yoo Cheongil’s cloak as she sat in front of me.

She didn’t look this way.

She just closed her eyes, her face looking slightly sleepy.

“If it’s like this—”

Excluding the Beggar Clan’s Fighting Beggar Dog, that meant every Seven Prodigies member was seated.

“...Then why am I here?”

So why the hell am I mixed into this table?

While my head churned trying to make sense of it—

“QUIET!”

At the loud shout, the buzzing atmosphere around us fell silent in an instant.

It happened before I even fully processed what was going on.

“Quiet—! From this moment, the Alliance Leader will enter!”

“...!”

At that, I raised my eyes.

Alliance Leader...

“The Divine Spear?”

News delivered the instant all the juniors finished entering the hall.

“The Alliance Leader?”

“...The Divine Spear, suddenly?”

“What in the—”

Everyone looked shocked.

It made sense. Normally the Alliance Leader appears at the end of the banquet, or right before the martial tournament begins.

But he’s showing up this morning?

As everyone stayed confused and uneasy—

“The Alliance Leader is entering.”

With that announcement—

THUD.

Footsteps. A ridiculously clear sound. Everyone instinctively looked over.

And from where the sound came—

someone was walking in.

A large body like Peng Dojin’s, wearing a martial uniform that marked him as Martial Alliance and a pale blue cloak.

An old man with an eyepatch over one eye, and eyes vicious enough to chill you.

The moment I saw him, I knew.

“It’s the Divine Spear.”

He was the current Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance—the master said to be closest to being the strongest under heaven.

“The problem is...”

But...

“Why does it feel like he’s looking at me?”

The old man’s gaze felt like it was drilling into me the moment he appeared.

And it didn’t seem like it was my imagination.