*Pat-su-su—*
Stone fragments rolled about the surroundings. Fine dust mixed with the wind in a messy flurry. The faint heat wafting through the air was also swept away by the winter wind in moments.
“Just now… what on earth happened?”
Taking the words a nameless late-stage disciple from one of the great families had muttered unconsciously as the turning point, the previously quiet surroundings were instantly filled with buzzing voices.
“They said it was mixed with ten-thousand-year cold iron, so how could it turn out like that?”
“It got a hole punched through it!”
Those who had taken the exam earlier had barely managed to leave a single scratch the size of a fingernail and pass, whereas someone had outright shattered it to pieces. Such reactions were only inevitable.
Of course, the one who had created this mess wasn’t exactly in a situation to enjoy the admiration.
*‘Should I have controlled it more?’*
No, I shouldn’t have mixed heat into it in the first place. Even if it wasn’t a small scratch like everyone else, destroying it like this was slightly excessive.
*They told you to go easy, you idiot.*
However much I needed to vent, this was way too much.
On top of that.
*Thud-clack…*
Why is that woman here again?
From around the time I moved to the plain to take the exam, among the instructors checking today’s schedule, I saw one familiar face.
*So that’s what she meant when she said I’d find out.*
The woman holding back laughter as she watched me cause a scene was none other than the Plum Blossom Sword Empress.
*They said Kunlun would be managing this Shenlong Hall.*
So why was she here in that case? Putting aside the fact that the Sword Empress was working as an instructor here.
*The leader of Kunlun accepted that?*
More than an elder-level master from another sect helping out, it was the existence known as the Sword Empress that was unexpected. That Qinghai Yijian, the leader of the Kunlun Sect, was acting as the administrator was news, but the Sword Empress serving as an instructor was even more eye-catching. In an era where fame and attention were important, it was peculiar that Qinghai Yijian had accepted this so easily.
*There must have been some back-and-forth.*
I couldn’t know that much, though. By the way.
*…There’s a spare for this, right?*
That was what I said while looking at the stone pillar I had destroyed with my own hands.
Surely they have a spare. This is Kunlun we’re talking about; they wouldn’t not have one.
What if they don’t?
*What can you do.*
I guess it’ll work out somehow…
Rubbing my face as I surveyed the situation, the Sword Empress, who had been chuckling for a good while, barely held back her laughter and spoke.
“Group 2, Ouyang Tian. Pass.”
When my name, mixed with “pass,” burst from the Sword Empress’s mouth—
“Ouyang Tian…?”
Only then did those around begin to recognize me.
“True Dragon Ouyang Tian?”
They began to recognize me.
*Oh… but I’m still not used to that nickname attached in front, damn it.*
In that gap.
*Crack.*
I vaguely saw someone stealthily leaving a scratch on another stone pillar and slipping past. A very fine crack split open from a light strike.
Amid the buzzing voices, an instructor watching this spoke.
“Group 2, Bi Uijin… Pass.”
Hearing that, Bi Uijin looked this way and smiled slightly.
*That guy?*
It seemed Bi Uijin was planning to take advantage of the commotion caused by what I did to slip past.
*I got played, damn it.*
…I was thinking of doing the same thing.
*Outsmarted.*
To think he’d have the same idea.
*Right, someone who carries the title of a defeated faction leader wouldn’t want to stand out here anyway.*
…
Now, in a place where young brats who’ve barely started growing hair play around, what would standing out even accomplish?
*And here I am, the guy who knows that, doing exactly this.*
From that standpoint, I’m no different. This is exactly why you need to control your anger. Uselessly unable to control emotions, going around causing incidents.
Looking at the fragments scattered across the ground, I turned my back and walked into the gap between noisy, muttering voices.
The exam still had a long way to go. As I slipped into the crowd, I thought:
*…Since it’s come to this.*
If I’ve already stood out anyway, in a way, it might be better to make it definitive.
—
*“I heard as much from Meihua Xian.”*
When the Sword Empress faced Qinghai Yijian, his gaze had not been entirely favorable. Given the situation, it couldn’t be helped. Ultimately, a meeting with this purpose wouldn’t have been possible if not for the Huashan Sect Leader’s involvement.
*“You wish to come to Shenlong Hall next month… as an instructor?”*
*“Yes.”*
*“May I ask the reason?”*
Qinghai Yijian’s icy gaze turned toward the Sword Empress. It was the sharp spirit of one who had trained in the sword his entire life. However, the Sword Empress did not waver. She had fully expected such a situation.
*“I will not hear the pretentious excuse of educating young late-stage disciples.”*
*“Does the Sect Leader think it is not that?”*
*“For one to believe such an excuse is the entirety of it—you know better than anyone that the world is not so simple.”*
…
*Yes.*
Such tender stories were of a world that had disappeared when the Demonic Realm opened. The Sword Empress knew this better than anyone.
*“It seems you have something you wish for.”*
*“Yes.”*
Thus, the Sword Empress answered honestly. She had something she needed to do at Shenlong Hall. Having heard the answer, Qinghai Yijian stared intently at the Sword Empress, then brought up a story.
*“It was Meihua Xian’s request. I was told to use my discretion, so I will not refuse you outright.”*
*“My thanks…”*
*“That is, if you grant me a request.”*
*Huuuk—*
In an instant, cool wind filled the room. The Sword Empress felt the wind and had to tense up. The wind filling this place could turn sharp at any moment by Qinghai Yijian’s will alone.
*“Sword Empress, you have two choices.”*
*“…I am listening.”*
*“One is, state your reason and grant me a trifling request. You will tell me why you wish to come as an instructor to Shenlong Hall. In exchange, a small request.”*
The Sword Empress, quietly listening to Qinghai Yijian’s words, said:
*“I wish to hear the second.”*
She had found another choice. Qinghai Yijian had offered two choices despite saying he would only listen if she stated her reason—there had to be a reason for that.
And sure enough.
*“The second is, without stating your reason.”*
Qinghai Yijian gave the answer the Sword Empress had hoped for.
*“…You will grant me a great request.”*
*“I shall choose the second.”*
The Sword Empress chose without great hesitation. At this, Qinghai Yijian made a somewhat surprised expression.
*“It seems the reason is quite difficult to speak of.”*
*“…If there is a choice that does not require me to speak of it, I simply wish to choose that.”*
*“Hmmm… you do this knowing what my request is?”*
*“I shall listen to that as well.”*
At the Sword Empress’s words, which showed no hesitation, Qinghai Yijian rather cupped his chin and fell into thought. Was it something difficult to ask?
The Sword Empress waited silently for him to speak. After pondering for a long while, Qinghai Yijian finally presented his request.
*“…A red Demonic Realm Gate has appeared in Qinghai.”*
Hearing this, the Sword Empress’s eyes grew as wide as fire bowls.
*A red Demonic Realm Gate.*
Time passed, and on the day of the entrance exam, the Sword Empress had accepted Qinghai Yijian’s request and was now able to come to Shenlong Hall as an instructor. Yet, whether then or now, Qinghai Yijian’s words still lingered in the Sword Empress’s ears.
*…A red Demonic Realm Gate has appeared, and it will open before long.*
She had said it would probably be around next autumn.
In truth, the Sword Empress thought something else was more important regarding these words. If Qinghai Yijian’s words were true, leaving aside the appearance of the Demonic Realm Gate, let alone already opened traces of the Demonic Realm, and even setting aside the question of why it would open in autumn—the biggest problem if his words were true was something else. The problem was the appearance of a red Demonic Realm, which had not appeared for a very long time. This was the biggest problem.
*If that is true.*
Why did Qinghai Yijian not report this news to the Alliance? And yet he asked her for a favor? Moreover, a supervisory role in this situation?
If it was an incident occurring in the region where Kunlun itself was located, no matter how important the position of Shenlong Hall administrator was, it couldn’t possibly be more important than the appearance of a red Demonic Realm Gate. Green and blue ones could be easily handled by martial artists of a certain level, but the level of red demonic beasts recorded in history was not so.
The Sword Empress questioned whether Qinghai Yijian had truly left his own land to head for Shenlong Hall. She didn’t think he was one to choose honor and fame even after seeing the danger in Qinghai.
*What could be the reason?*
There must have been some give-and-take not just for herself, but for Qinghai Yijian as well. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come knowing the dissatisfaction of his own sect members.
However, despite the many thoughts crossing her mind, the Sword Empress accepted his offer first. Later, if the red Demonic Realm Gate truly opened, it had been a request for help. From the Sword Empress’s standpoint, no matter if it was another region’s affair, if a red Demonic Realm opened, she would have gone even without such a deal.
*So it’s better to focus on this side for now.*
The Sword Empress thought of the reason she had come here.
*I must find it quickly.*
The Plum Blossom Stone expected to be somewhere in Shenlong Hall. An object even Meihua Xian didn’t know about. The Sword Empress, too, would never have known had “he” not told her, but since she had learned of it, she had to find it. For the sake of what was to come.
“…Group 2, Seon Uiseok. Pass.”
After she finished speaking the last qualifier’s name, the sun was setting. Since they had to finish the second round of exams by today, it would likely continue until dawn. Afterward, the instructors gathered in one place to organize what had happened today. From those belonging to the Martial Alliance to the martial artists of the Kunlun Sect, most were people of distinct levels, whether they had nicknames or not.
Their gazes were almost all directed at the Sword Empress. After all, the position implied by the nickname “Sword Empress” was not originally one to be found in such a place. Though all gazes were focused on her, the Sword Empress simply finished her work without seeming to mind much.
“…Only half fell out.”
“It’s bewildering that so many remain.”
“Yes, it seems this batch is certainly different.”
“Over a hundred, in this situation…”
Since the number who could enter the Hall was fixed, it was quite a troublesome matter from the instructors’ perspective. While organizing various things, one instructor spoke.
“Looking at it so far, there are definitely about ten solid ones, wouldn’t you say?”
It was a somewhat agreeable statement, so most who heard it nodded. The ten he spoke of immediately came to everyone’s mind.
“…The top seed, too. It seems decided.”
At the instructor’s words, many gazes turned to one spot. The remaining debris, not properly cleared away, was clearly fragments of the pillars brought from Kunlun. Those who had witnessed the scene still remembered it in their minds: the moment one not yet of age brought down a pillar with a single strike. The words that simultaneously came to mind were the same.
*Could I do it like that?*
Would it truly be possible if it were me?
Along with that:
*True Dragon.*
It was the moment the young man’s nickname was engraved in the instructors’ minds.
The Sword Empress looked at such people with a strange gaze.
*I overdid it.*
Of course, she was rather satisfied with that sight. It was true the Sword Empress had come to Shenlong Hall with a purpose, but within that reason, Ouyang Tian was certainly included. Her disciple had gone on about how her second brother would be entering Shenlong Hall this time, and moreover, she was inwardly curious about how much that child had grown.
The Sword Empress soon recalled a fierce-faced youth in her mind and thought:
*If there is a future Number One Under Heaven, it would be that child.*
In a way, it was a weighty statement one wouldn’t dare to even think. It was something said while looking at a rising prodigy who had only just begun to grow, putting aside the current Three Sovereigns and the surging new generation. But even so, the Sword Empress was certain. If Ouyang Tian continued to grow like this and reached his prime, the future Number One Under Heaven would undoubtedly belong to that child. Ouyang Tian possessed such presence and talent—at least in her eyes.
As the Sword Empress folded a letter and tucked it into her bosom—
“Any special circumstances in Group 1?”
The Group 2 instructor asked toward Group 1.
“Well… there were many…”
He was sparing with his words. Group 1 was where most of the renowned individuals were gathered. Dufeng of the Tang Clan. Xuefeng of the Murong Clan. The daughter of the Peng Family. And even the Sword Dancer of the Nangong Clan. The daughters of the Four Great Clans were all gathered, and furthermore, the bloodline of the Huangfu Family, and even the son of the Alliance Leader.
The only unusual thing was that Thunder Dragon had given up entering due to family matters.
Seeing this, the main figures who would lead the martial world going forward were mostly gathered in Group 1, but amusingly, nothing happened that could match what Ouyang Tian had done. If mentioning things that came up slightly: the Sword Dancer, famous for her beauty, appeared wearing a veil, and seemingly tired, roughly left a shallow cross-shaped mark on the pillar and disappeared; and that Shensheng displayed a long sword image.
And:
“Is that true? That there is a descendant of the Sword Sovereign there?”
The point that the first descendant of the current Three Sovereigns had appeared.
“…It is.”
The descendant of the Sword Sovereign. This had been the talk of the town from the moment that woman appeared and swung her sword. Such beautiful aura and movements were unmistakably characteristics of the Lunar Immortal Sword created by the Sword Sovereign. If the True Dragon hadn’t shattered the pillar to pieces, the talk would have been filled with the descendant of the Sword Sovereign.
Among them, Zhou Weishi, the Group 1 instructor, quietly kept his thoughts to himself.
*Shensheng as the top seed? What a ridiculous thought.*
He was ashamed of himself for trying to judge based on a cross-section alone. He even had to hold his breath recalling the appearances shown by the late-stage disciples belonging to Group 1. The Sword Dancer, who was said to have left a shallow sword image and left, was absolutely not at such a light level. The sword line drawn with relaxed, roughly swinging movements was sharp. It was a situation where one couldn’t guess how it would have been if she had done it properly. Xuefeng was somewhat disappointing, but Dufeng was at a considerable level, contrary to what he had heard. The others, too, were on a different dimension compared to the late-stage disciples of their own generation.
The descendant of the Sword Sovereign they spoke of:
*It was Yijian.*
When it was nearly the final turn, she bisected the pillar and made her presence definitively known. The clean cross-section seen while clearing the pillar was proof of how perfectly she had swung. The moonlight energy the woman showed at that time was unmistakably the Sword Sovereign’s martial art that had captivated everyone.
Truly, monsters were swarming. Zhou Weishi had to realize—
*Is this the Meteor Generation?*
If so, this Shenlong Hall definitely wouldn’t be peaceful.
*Strangely…*
Truly, strangely, it was a situation where many rising stars had gathered.
—
Thus the second round of exams began, and Ouyang Tian had to furrow his brows deeply. He was already annoyed because the waiting time had been long, but hearing the exam contents made it even more absurd. The contents were bad enough, but what was even more absurd was…
“Glad to see you.”
“Let me ask you something first.”
Ouyang Tian responded bluntly to the graceful voice ringing in his ears. And for good reason. While others were facing scrawny, insignificant people, the opponent he alone faced was no ordinary person.
“…Is this really random assignment?”
“Of course. Naturally.”
The woman answered Ouyang Tian with a gorgeous smile, but he didn’t believe it at all.
*Rustle.*
With the sound of flower petals falling from somewhere, a beautiful plum blossom fragrance was pleasantly felt.
Of course, unlike the lovely atmosphere, the killing intent imbued in the sword was brutally unmatched.
Whether she knew Ouyang Tian’s inner thoughts or not, the woman whispered to him:
“Let’s enjoy ourselves.”
Seeing that smile, Ouyang Tian said hollowly:
“This isn’t right… seriously.”
The one taking a stance with sword drawn before Ouyang Tian—
*…Seriously, why is it always me who gets the insane ones?*
—was the Plum Blossom Sword Empress.