Chapter 189

“...What?”

At my words, Seo Pyeong’s face twisted up completely. For a guy who calls himself a Daoist, the way he twists his face is genuinely scary.

He’s handsome, sure, but it makes you wonder how he manages to use his face that weirdly.

I smiled at the twisted-up Seo Pyeong and said,

“Oops. My bad.”

When I said it with a bright smile, Seo Pyeong ground his teeth.

Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t clueless enough not to see it—he seemed to know perfectly well that my words were a lie.

Yeah. This wasn’t a mistake.

“I blurted out my true feelings without realizing it. My apologies, Master.”

“You little—!”

Seo Pyeong, teeth clenched, started getting heated. In that moment, I felt a subtle breeze.

Seo Pyeong lifted his hand to his waist. Was he about to draw? Just as I sharpened my focus—

“Kid, on a fine day like this, why are you already acting like this?”

A white hand shot out and grabbed Seo Pyeong’s shoulder. Thunder Dragon’s hand.

He appeared and dragged Seo Pyeong back.

CREEEAK.

Other people also stepped in front of me, blocking Seo Pyeong.

Do Hyeong and Cheon Eujin.

With those two blocking him and Thunder Dragon joining in, Seo Pyeong flared his eyes.

Then he slapped away the hand Thunder Dragon was holding him with.

“You sure have a lot of people protecting you. But I wonder if they can do that on the tournament stage, too.”

He spat that out with a sneer and walked off, disappearing toward where the other Wudang Sect qualifiers were.

“My, my....”

Watching Seo Pyeong leave, Thunder Dragon raised his hand in a little gesture.

“I wonder if I interrupted.”

Thunder Dragon said it with a faint grin, and I gave an awkward smile back. I was about to say it wasn’t like that, and thank him, but—

“It was an interruption.”

A rough voice cut in before I could speak.

I looked, and it was Black-Grand Saber Peng Dojin.

“Ah, damn. I thought something fun was about to happen. What a shame.”

Like he was deeply disappointed Seo Pyeong hadn’t drawn his sword, Black-Grand Saber Peng Dojin smacked his lips.

“I really wanted to see that idiot get embarrassed.”

Black-Grand Saber Peng Dojin’s eyes were on Seo Pyeong’s back.

His gaze made it obvious he thought Seo Pyeong would’ve lost.

“Isn’t that right?”

He asked for my agreement.

I didn’t really react, but even without an answer, ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Black-Grand Saber Peng Dojin kept talking to me.

“I felt it last time, too, but you’ve got a temper, more than you look like. Heh heh.”

THUNK. THUNK.

His big hand pounded my shoulder. It hurt like hell.

“But still, even so—should you be showing that much strength here?”

‘Huh?’

At Black-Grand Saber Peng Dojin’s words, I tilted my head. Showing strength? What the hell was he talking about?

I looked at him like I didn’t get it, and—

“You hid it just fine on the mountain, though—”

‘Ah.’

Only then, hearing his words and seeing his eyes, did I understand what he meant.

‘...Because of the old man.’

Maybe because of the Heaven-Martial Body, Black-Grand Saber Peng Dojin could feel Yoo Cheongil, at least a little, and what he was talking about was that.

That I’d been hiding it fine on the mountain.

‘During the preliminaries, Yoo Cheongil wasn’t around.’

Back then was when Yoo Cheongil had sulked and vanished somewhere.

Now he was back. So Black-Grand Saber Peng Dojin was saying I was letting something leak out.

“I thought I’d get to see a little of it, but Thunder Dragon here always has no sense.”

“Hahahaha.”

At Black-Grand Saber Peng Dojin’s words, Thunder Dragon laughed like he felt awkward.

Seeing that, I let out a sigh mixed into my voice.

“No. Thank you for helping. I was getting kind of annoyed, too.”

Of all things, getting tangled with that bastard right from the start of the main bracket—what a hassle.

‘Still.’

In a way, I wasn’t that worried.

If it was Seo Pyeong, then—

‘It’s not like he’s something to be scared of.’

He felt like an easy opponent.

That was my thought right now.

*****

Once the entire main-bracket matchup chart was out,

in the now-quiet atmosphere, all the junior fighters stood waiting.

Maybe because everyone was tense, there was no conversation at all anymore, not even the little bit that had been there.

Only the battle aura mixed in faintly kept pricking at my insides.

Everyone prepared for the match in their own way. All of them did.

And watching them, I did the same.

I closed my eyes and thought for a long time.

Repeated it, again and again.

As I was doing that many repetitions in the dark—

[Kid.]

Yoo Cheongil called to me.

There were people around, so I didn’t answer. I quietly opened my eyes and looked at Yoo Cheongil.

[Are you nervous?]

Yoo Cheongil asked with a smile.

I shook my head.

Nervous? Not really.

I didn’t feel that way. Nothing helps less than unnecessary tension.

What I was doing now was just part of repetition.

The match with Seo Pyeong that was coming. I was preparing for that.

In my hand, I held a single slip of paper.

It was information about Seo Pyeong.

As I looked it over and tried to organize my thoughts again—

“We will begin the first main-bracket matches, so the competitors should prepare!”

A Martial Alliance staff member appeared and announced it. At that, four people among the gathered stood up.

The atmosphere stiffened even more. It meant the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering’s main bracket was truly beginning.

A few people followed behind the ones walking forward. I was one of them.

On the tournament stage, I could see Divine Spear up there, speaking.

And—

‘Damn... how many people is that?’

I could see the stands surrounding the stage packed to bursting.

They said that unlike the preliminaries, there would be spectators starting from the main-bracket matches.

‘There are way more than I expected...?’

That number was no joke.

I wondered how the hell that many people had gathered.

Then—

WAAAAAAAH—!!

The crowd let out a roar, and Divine Spear, who’d been up there, stepped down. Looks like the Alliance Leader’s speech was roughly over.

Which meant—

‘It’s starting.’

It meant the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering’s matches were starting, and as if proving it—

“From here, we will begin the main bracket of the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering martial tournament.”

A Martial Alliance staff member shouted from the stage. Then an enormous sound exploded out of the stands.

WUUUAAAAAAH—!!!!

It was a vibration so strong it felt like the ground might tremble.

‘Jesus.’

I recoiled inside at that distant heat. I really hated places like this. It felt like my energy was getting sucked right out.

‘When there are a lot of people, there are a lot of ghosts, too.’

The spirit-qi I felt here and there in the stands made me sick of it.

Do even ghosts treat this as a spectacle?

Well, sure. They can watch. They can watch, but—

‘It’s not like I want to see it.’

Goddamn it.

I held back a sigh that almost came out.

And stared hard at the tournament stage.

People were already climbing up one by one, preparing to fight.

When they were all up, there were four.

Not enough to fill two wide tournament stages.

The empty space felt especially obvious, but—

That was only on one stage.

The left stage, filled by two junior fighters whose names I didn’t even remember well.

They faced each other with tense expressions, but

the spectators didn’t seem interested in that side—everyone was looking only at the right stage.

They had no choice.

Because the person who’d climbed up there was far too famous.

“It’s Sword Phoenix.”

“...Hah. Starting with Sword Phoenix right off the bat. That’s a good start.”

“They said she’s young, and she really does look it.”

The two people on the right stage.

One was an extremely nervous junior fighter. His name was...,

‘He was someone from Wudang... Seo Jong?’

Not someone worth remembering in particular, but he seemed to be a Wudang Sect junior like Seo Pyeong.

And across from him was Sword Phoenix.

Plum Blossom Sword Phoenix.

The top junior generation.

The woman known to be the strongest among all junior fighters.

From the moment she appeared, everyone was too busy staring at Yuyeon.

“She’s pretty. If she’s already like that now, I can’t even guess how beautiful she’ll get when time passes.”

“Is it just beauty? What about skill? Didn’t Sword Phoenix win the last Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, too?”

“...They said she’s still young now, so back then wasn’t that years ago?”

“That’s what makes it incredible. Doesn’t that mean a huge star appeared in Mount Hua?”

“Exactly. Maybe the next strongest under heaven will be that young lady.”

The strongest under heaven. The talent that can be spoken of with that lofty, distant phrase.

Even among the current Seven Prodigies, there’s no one who can be compared to her—unless something unexpected happens, she’s seen as the one who will take the peak of the world.

‘Hmmm.’

The strongest under heaven, huh?

As I thought of that, I looked at Yoo Cheongil.

Maybe the old man was interested in Sword Phoenix too—he was looking at her with fascinated eyes.

Hotter than ever.

His gaze was clearly full of expectation.

And while everyone was focused on the match—

“From here, we will begin the main bracket.”

The referee in the middle raised his hand slightly.

“Ready.”

SHIIIING—!

SHIIIING.

At the referee’s words, both sides drew their swords.

“Seo Jong of the Wudang Sect versus Yuyeon of the Mount Hua Sect.”

In the tense air—

“Begin.”

THUD—!

The moment the referee spoke, Seo Jong charged in.

Fast.

‘...Oh.’

Like you’d expect of a junior fighter who passed the preliminaries, his movement was swift and clean.

SSSSHHH—.

From Seo Jong’s hand, Wudang’s sword path flowed out.

A swordsmanship that was heavy, yet soft.

They said it contained the principles of Taiji, didn’t they?

Wudang was famous for swords that were especially soft and neat, but—

“Hup!”

That didn’t mean the attack was weak.

The fact that the Wudang Sect was one of the Ten Great Sects proved that.

Like Seo Jong was putting strength into flowing riverwater,

a sharp presence was packed into it.

Cloud-Ridge Dancing Sun Sword.

The Wudang Sect’s representative sword form poured down on Sword Phoenix.

Firm, unwavering sword qi.

A solid sword path, not hazy at all, dropped heavily—

But.

Seo Jong’s sword didn’t touch Sword Phoenix. It only swept the ground.

She avoided Seo Jong’s sword with nothing more than a single step.

“Kgh!”

Seo Jong, who’d cut through empty air, immediately moved to chase Yuyeon.

I was watching it, and—

[He’s impatient.]

Yoo Cheongil said, and I agreed.

Impatient. Seo Jong’s sword was like that.

The bigger problem here was—

‘It shows.’

Even if he really was impatient, fine. But it’s another problem when the opponent can tell.

“Ha—! Hup!”

He kept pushing his sword path with force.

Still, maybe because he was a disciple of a renowned sect, even if he was impatient, his sword had no waste.

Well-trained legs and a refined sword.

At a glance, you couldn’t see anything wrong, but—

SHRAAAK—! SHRRRRRK—!!!

In the end, if it doesn’t land, it’s meaningless.

Seo Jong’s Dancing Sun Sword couldn’t reach Sword Phoenix.

Sword Phoenix avoided every single one of Seo Jong’s strikes with soft footwork, and—

‘...Seriously.’

I had to let out a hollow breath as I watched her.

She was definitely moving, but—

‘She’s not going anywhere?’

Sword Phoenix wasn’t leaving her original spot.

Was she doing it on purpose? Even if she wasn’t, it didn’t make sense, and if she was, it was unbelievable.

So that’s why she’s called the top junior generation.

As I was thinking that—

[Kid, look at the girl’s expression.]

At Yoo Cheongil’s words, I looked at Yuyeon’s face.

[Doesn’t she look bored?]

“...”

Yuyeon’s face was full of boredom.

And on top of that—

‘She’s watching everything.’

Her pupils moved along with Seo Jong’s sword.

No, it wasn’t even following.

‘She’s already there first.’

Her eyes were already aimed at where Seo Jong’s sword was going to go.

It meant every path was being read.

“Kgh!”

Maybe Seo Jong wasn’t blind to that either—he swung his sword like he was clawing for it.

But.

[Not giving up is praiseworthy, but unfortunately, your levels are different.]

Yoo Cheongil said, letting out a yawn.

Different levels.

It sounded like praise I’d never heard from Yoo Cheongil before.

‘That much?’

Was Sword Phoenix worth that much?

The moment my eyes widened, a little surprised—

CLANG—!!

With a sharp sound, a sword flew up into the air.

CLANG.

The sword that spun as it flew dropped to the ground.

THUD.

Seo Jong’s knees dropped, too.

He lay on the floor like he’d lost consciousness.

‘What?’

What happened? I didn’t see it.

Annoyed that I hadn’t seen it, I narrowed my eyes, and—

[The girl knocked that bastard’s sword away and hit his chin. He couldn’t even react.]

“...”

In the time I’d had a stray thought, the match ended.

The referee looked at Seo Jong, nodded, and shouted.

“Yuyeon of the Mount Hua Sect. Victory.”

Then cheers exploded.

An overwhelming victory.

One of the things spectators loved the most.

Leaving the roaring crowd behind, Yuyeon started to move like she was going to step down from the stage.

She only lowered her head and said nothing.

Of course. They said she couldn’t speak in the first place.

I stared hard at that woman.

[What, you interested?]

Like hell I am.

I ignored Yoo Cheongil.

The reason I was looking at Yuyeon was simple.

‘Something’s off.’

It was really off. From the moment I vaguely thought of something about Yuyeon, there was something that had felt strange.

Yuyeon being that strong? That’s surprising too, but that’s not the main thing.

If she knows me,

and if she’s someone I know—

‘...Then why can’t she speak?’

Yuyeon can speak.

At least, if she’s the person I know.

She spoke well.

And she liked to.