A light-green-clad woman smiling brightly, and beside her, a blonde woman who, for some reason, could not lift her head.
I gave a slight nod upon seeing Dang Soyeol and Wi Seola appear out of nowhere.
“What? Why are you here?”
“We’re here to register for the Martial Arts Tournament!”
It was an obvious answer.
If they had met here, then naturally they must have come to register for the Martial Arts Tournament.
However.
“…You’re going to enter?”
“Yep.”
“You too?”
“…Yes.”
I hadn’t thought these two would enter.
They even had wooden plaques in their hands, meaning they had apparently already registered.
‘Were they interested in this sort of thing?’
Dang Soyeol had been born into a prestigious family and was the sort who attended events like the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly without fail.
But I hadn’t known that Wi Seola would try to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament as well.
I had thought she wasn’t particularly interested in things like this.
Even more so.
‘I’d even tried to make sure she wouldn’t become interested.’
I had deliberately worked to keep Wi Seola from drawing attention, yet she had now walked straight into the Martial Arts Tournament of her own accord. All I could do was feel flustered.
‘Have I been too indifferent?’
Lately, I had been getting knocked around from every direction, leaving me no time to pay attention to even Wi Seola’s interests.
Was that why I hadn’t even known she had been interested in the Martial Arts Tournament?
‘Tsk….’
This was troublesome.
I turned my gaze aside and surveyed my surroundings.
Until just yesterday, the area around the registration desk had been as noisy as could be.
“…Wow….”
“Heavens….”
Yet now, only deep exclamations of admiration drifted through the air. The noise did not grow any louder.
Their gazes were drawn over.
Most of the eyes were pointed this way.
‘No.’
More precisely, it would be correct to say that they were looking at Wi Seola.
“She’s beautiful…. How can anyone be that beautiful?”
Their gazes stolen, they seemed entranced as they carefully regulated their breathing.
That was all they could barely manage.
‘And that’s with her suppressing her presence as much as possible.’
Whatever training Dang Soyeol had received from the Dark King, her innate presence had nearly vanished.
People were only aware that she was there, but even though Wi Seola was suppressing her own presence, she was still drawing every gaze toward her.
Her beauty had finally blossomed in full, to a degree far beyond what I had expected.
In the end, unable to stand by and watch any longer, I released my energy and wrapped it around Wi Seola.
Whoosh—!
Once an energy barrier was draped over her, her presence faded somewhat.
Even after using that much energy, this was all it could do?
I clicked my tongue lightly and spoke.
“What happened to your veil? Did you sell it somewhere?”
“…It was a little hot wearing it.”
Wi Seola replied with an awkward expression.
Or was it? Rather than awkwardness, she looked as though she simply didn’t like it. Seeing that, I immediately said,
“Hot, my ass. If you feel hot at your level, then you’ve got a medical condition.”
“...”
The way she fidgeted with her lips made it clear that she didn’t like what I had said.
I was only worried about her, so why was she making that face?
Still, after I covered her with some energy, the reactions around us seemed to have diminished somewhat.
“…So you’ve registered, then?”
“Yes.”
“That’s right. We’re going to work hard.”
Why did they need to work hard?
It was something I couldn’t bring myself to say, so I swallowed the words.
They were both martial artists, so perhaps they wanted to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament…. Right.
There was no major problem with them entering.
Probably.
‘Though some troublesome matters are sure to arise.’
With that thought, I turned my gaze aside.
Leaving the inn, I carefully spread out my sense of presence.
Vrrr.
It spread out shallowly, and I checked each sensation that entered my awareness.
‘They’d been watching us for quite a while.’
There were six martial artists from the Alliance handling registration.
Besides them, there were ten people concealing their presence while watching this way.
Five of them appeared to be from Wudang.
‘They’re already looking this way.’
I knew they had been stationed here to intervene should anything happen.
But it was obvious that their gazes were directed toward Wi Seola.
That was only natural.
“…The Sword Venerable’s successor? That lovely young lady?”
“Yes, I heard it clearly myself.”
“I’d heard the rumors even at the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion…. I truly didn’t expect her to be a woman.”
Word about Wi Seola was already gradually spreading.
Even though I had covered her with energy, it meant I was already too late.
That much did not particularly matter.
‘It was a story that was bound to come out eventually.’
It was something I should have expected from the moment Wi Seola took up the sword.
The fact that we had delayed it until now was impressive in itself.
“Wait here for a moment.”
After watching this, I let out a sigh and carefully began to walk away.
First, I needed to take care of what I had come here to do.
At that moment.
“Yo, Yo…!”
Bongsuni, who had been following behind me, hurriedly tried to say something, but I spoke first.
“Use the proper form of address.”
If some needless rumor started circulating here, it would be genuinely troublesome.
After I corrected her, Bongsuni nodded several times. Had she understood?
“Young Master! What are those two!?”
“...”
There was one thing that bothered me, but I decided to let it pass for now. She had more or less understood me, which was enough.
“They look so much like jewels! Can I bite them? I can bite them, right?”
“Why would you bite people?”
“They look so incredibly expensive! They’re cute! I want to bite them!”
They looked expensive, huh….
In a way, it was a surprisingly fitting expression.
If not for what she had said afterward.
‘That girl would really bite them if she said she would.’
Shaking my head, I pulled Bongsuni toward me.
Seong Yul was following behind her.
We soon reached the registration desk.
There appeared to be slightly more people than yesterday.
Seeing that, I slipped a hand into my robe.
Then I quietly activated my Authority.
At that moment.
Rustle—!
Two letters formed at my fingertips.
I took hold of them and pulled them free.
“Take these and go register.”
I handed one of the letters each to Bongsuni and Seong Yul.
“Okay!”
Bongsuni accepted hers without another word and ran to the registration desk.
Seong Yul accepted his as well, then asked Gu Yangcheon,
“What is this…?”
At Seong Yul’s question, I gave a slight nod and answered.
“A letter of recommendation.”
“…!”
The Martial Arts Tournament could not be entered without a letter of recommendation from the Alliance, and there was no way Bongsuni and Seong Yul could have possessed one.
That went without saying for Bongsuni. Seong Yul was in a state resembling that of a fugitive, after all.
Thus, I had used my Authority to imitate letters of recommendation and handed them to the two of them.
“Go get registered quickly.”
“…Understood.”
Seong Yul still looked as though he had many questions he wanted to ask, but for now, he headed toward the registration desk.
As I watched Seong Yul leave, I thought to myself,
‘Its duration is…. At most, half a gak.’
The letter of recommendation was not large, but because it was densely packed with characters and sentences, the Authority would not last long.
Judging from the line, they would finish and return soon.
If my expectations were correct, they would not be discovered.
In truth, I had even changed the name of their affiliated sects and their names, so there was a high chance they would be caught if the Alliance checked.
‘But the Murim Alliance isn’t the sort of place that handles things so meticulously.’
I was choosing to trust their hopelessly lazy way of doing things. Sure enough, not long afterward, the two returned with wooden plaques in their hands.
They seemed to have registered successfully.
“Young Master! They said my name is Pi Yeon-yeon!”
Bongsuni approached me with the wooden plaque in hand and spoke in an excited voice.
She seemed happy to have been given a name.
“…Yes. For the time being, you’re Pi Yeon-yeon.”
Pi Yeon-yeon was an alias I had prepared.
It was the surname of a family actually located in the Xi’an region, and I had also arranged matters there through Nahi.
There would be no need to worry about Bongsuni being identified by her name.
The problem here was—
“Master Jin, you must also conduct yourself properly for the time being.”
“…Yes.”
The problem was Seong Yul, who had suddenly become Jin Imseok of the Guangzhou Jin Family.
I playfully tapped Seong Yul on the shoulder before quietly adding,
“The Kunlun Sect’s people will be arriving soon, too. If anything seems suspicious, hide yourself and move around discreetly.”
“...”
Nod.
Seong Yul nodded with an uncomfortable expression.
I wasn’t telling him not to go outside.
If he wished, he did not necessarily have to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament either.
Seong Yul was probably in a situation where it would be troublesome if he caught the Kunlun Sect’s attention.
However, Seong Yul must have known as well.
If he did not take part in the Martial Arts Tournament, he would be of no use to me.
‘If he chooses to participate, I can at least pull a few strings for him.’
I couldn’t guarantee there would be no problems.
But I could make it so that even if problems arose, they would be unavoidable.
I saw Seong Yul grip his wooden plaque tightly before placing it inside his robe.
I gave a small laugh at the sight and turned away.
Registration was finished, so it seemed the important schedule for today was over.
‘After this, I suppose I’ll contact the leaders of the Feitou Horse and lay out some bait in advance.’
It was time to begin building up a foundation, so I needed to organize things once more and get in touch with them.
‘And I also have to ask the Divine Healer about sorcery.’
I had thought this would be a relatively relaxed day. But whenever I looked closely, there was always a mountain of work.
As always, today was no different.
‘The fortunate thing is that Beom Dong really hasn’t appeared since then.’
Only a day had passed since the incident with Beom Dong.
It was unlikely that anything could have happened in that time, but one could never be too careful.
Since Beom Dong might do something contrary to my expectations, I had prepared a plan for him as well.
‘I hope he doesn’t do anything foolish.’
If Beom Dong’s affairs became involved, things would get a little complicated.
So I hoped he would stay quiet.
That would make it easier to use him and discard him later.
Afterward, I looked up at the sky and thought,
‘It’s not as though I have a great deal of time, but there should be enough time to eat, right?’
I could take the kids to eat before the next appointment.
Should I take them to the dumpling shop Paeng Ujin and I had visited yesterday?
Thinking that, I returned to where Dang Soyeol and Wi Seola had been.
“Hm?”
I had to narrow my eyes as I looked straight ahead.
Someone was standing around Wi Seola and Dang Soyeol.
‘Who is that?’
I saw a man speaking to Dang Soyeol from in front of her.
As I slowly walked toward them, voices rose from the surrounding crowd.
“…That’s the Oil Bullet Sword…!”
“He said he was going to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament. So it was true?”
“The Oil Bullet Sword is really entering the Martial Arts Tournament?”
‘The Oil Bullet Sword?’
Those words were directed at the man standing before Dang Soyeol.
All the gazes were fixed on him, so there was no mistaking it.
Moreover, he was a rather famous figure.
‘That middle-aged man is the Oil Bullet Sword?’
He was a martial artist famous enough that even I knew of him.
The Oil Bullet Sword (油彈劍), Baek Cheongsin.
A righteous martial artist from the Yoryeong Baek Family, one of the prestigious clans, he was also a member of the current Hundred Greatest Experts of the Central Plains.
He did not appear to be past the age of forty, yet he was a martial artist who had surpassed the Transformation Realm, so he must have been older than he looked.
His appearance was sly and smooth, but he had an air of refinement about him and was by no means unattractive.
A handsome middle-aged man, one might say.
Perhaps the Oil Bullet Sword himself knew of that advantage, because separate from his outstanding skill—
‘There were also rumors that he was somewhat lecherous.’
The sheer number of anecdotes involving women was one of the reasons the Oil Bullet Sword was famous.
And that Oil Bullet Sword was speaking to those two…?
My brow furrowed on its own. I slowed my steps slightly and sharpened my hearing.
First, I decided to determine what sort of situation this was.
******************
“Look over there! He’s one of the Hundred Greatest Experts…!”
“They say he’s the Oil Bullet Sword! A master like that has come to the Martial Arts Tournament?”
“How fortunate…. I never thought I’d see one of the Hundred Greatest Experts with my own eyes.”
“That’s not what matters. What matters is that one of the Hundred Greatest Experts is participating in the Martial Arts Tournament!”
The voices around him continued without pause.
Listening to them, the man slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
‘Praise me more, you uncivilized fools. Yes, I am the Oil Bullet Sword.’
The Oil Bullet Sword, Baek Cheongjin.
As he listened to the voices reaching his ears, he struggled to contain the laughter that was bubbling up.
The words tickling his ears sounded wonderful.
He was a man who particularly loved the adoration of others.
‘There’s no other place you could see someone like me. Naturally, you should be grateful.’
Look at me more.
And praise me more.
The surging attention and adoration were among the reasons he lived.
“I heard the Oil Bullet Sword has reached the Transformation Realm. His aura is certainly extraordinary.”
“I saw several Peak Realm experts just yesterday…. But the value of the Transformation Realm is on an entirely different level.”
“Indeed. Ordinary experts can never be compared to supreme experts.”
Once again, the words sounded pleasing.
Even so, the Oil Bullet Sword could not help feeling somewhat displeased.
‘Comparing me to those who are merely at the Peak Realm? Tsk.’
How could anyone compare him to such trash?
He was the real deal among the real deal. To compare him with young men who had not even properly crossed the threshold….
Tsk, tsk.
While he gradually grew more displeased, the Oil Bullet Sword had to widen his smile without allowing any of it to show on his face.
He had no choice.
There was something Yu Tan-geom liked even more than attention.
Women.
Yu Tan-geom liked women.
Young and beautiful women, to be precise.
To a man like Yu Tan-geom, the women standing before him were treasures too tempting to resist.
“I had heard the rumors, but even they could not contain the truth of such beauty.”
As Yu Tan-geom spoke, his eyes roamed over someone.
She was a petite woman with pale green hair, and quite a beauty at that.
She was among the most beautiful women he had seen lately.
Even so—
‘The woman behind her is on an entirely different level.’
Another woman stood behind the pale-green-haired one.
The blonde woman was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman Yu Tan-geom had ever seen.
Just looking at her made his mouth water.
She was beautiful enough to make him want to drag her away immediately, shameless as that was.
‘I have to hold myself back.’
Yu Tan-geom suppressed the emotions boiling within him.
He had no choice.
That woman was poison.
Beautiful poison that would kill him the instant he touched her.
‘They said she’s the Sword Venerable’s successor.’
That was a background terrifying enough merely to hear about.
Those who knew how frightening the Sword Venerable was to sword cultivators who had reached a certain level would understand.
He was a man who had reached the heavens as a sword cultivator. If one carelessly laid hands on his successor, trouble was sure to follow.
What a pity.
It nearly drove him mad with regret, but Yu Tan-geom endured.
Besides, there was another woman in front of him.
“If I’m not mistaken, you must be the Tang Clan’s precious jewel….”
“...”
The woman’s brows furrowed at Yu Tan-geom’s words.
Even that was beautiful.
“Or have I mistaken you for someone else?”
“…No, you have not. A member of the Tang Clan greets Senior Yu Tan-geom.”
Dang Sohyeol clasped her fists and saluted him.
At that, the people around them began to murmur.
“If she’s a daughter of the Tang Clan… then that young lady must be the Poison Phoenix.”
“The Poison Phoenix? No, more importantly, she’s from the Tang Clan?”
More and more gazes turned toward Dang Sohyeol.
At the same time, a chill began to creep into those gazes.
“That damned clan?”
“I heard they were expelled from the Four Great Families after they were caught kidnapping children and conducting human experiments.”
“What nerve does a descendant of such a clan have to come here? Tsk, tsk….”
Rather than comments on Dang Sohyeol’s appearance or title, the talk soon centered on the Tang Clan.
As she listened, a shadow fell over Dang Sohyeol’s face.
Seeing this, Yu Tan-geom gave an awkward smile and spoke.
“Oh dear, it seems I’ve made a mistake. I had no intention of causing this….”
“...It is nothing. I believe it is something I must endure.”
Naturally, it had not been a mistake.
The repercussions had been greater than expected, but they too had been anticipated.
With his characteristic self-satisfied smile, Yu Tan-geom continued speaking to Dang Sohyeol.
“To make such a grave mistake upon our first meeting…. I’m truly sorry. It may not be enough as an apology, but….”
As he spoke, he took a step toward Dang Sohyeol.
“If you have no objection, perhaps I could treat you to a meal somewhere pleasant. What do you say?”
Yu Tan-geom addressed Dang Sohyeol in a suggestive tone.
“That will not be necessary. Accepting your goodwill is more than enough.”
Dang Sohyeol rejected his offer with an expressionless face.
There was not even the slightest hint of hesitation.
“...”
At her words, wrinkles formed around Yu Tan-geom’s eyes.
Had she just refused him?
Refused him?
Tsk.
‘So she does have some pride, does she?’
She was nothing more than a woman from a fallen, crumbling clan, yet she was putting on airs and flaunting her pride without knowing her place.
‘She ought to be grateful that a man like me approached her, instead of refusing me.’
She was truly a foolish woman.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Yu Tan-geom’s smile grew wider.
“Haha. Accepting my goodwill is hardly enough. How could I, as a man, leave things at that? You needn’t refuse.”
“It truly is unnecessary. This junior is afraid she might intrude upon your time, Senior.”
“An intrusion? How could dining with a lovely junior be an intrusion? Don’t worry. We can simply have a light conversation….”
As he continued the conversation, Yu Tan-geom gradually began to grow irritated.
Aside from her pretty face, the woman had nothing to offer.
A rising star of a ruined clan was defying his wishes. How could that not anger him?
On top of that, the gazes of those around them were beginning to turn strange.
If he dragged this out any longer, it would only create trouble.
In the end, unable to overcome his emotions and the situation, Yu Tan-geom reached out and grabbed Dang Sohyeol by the wrist.
“I said it’s fine, so just stop resisting and come with me.”
His speech grew curt on its own. Since treating her with courtesy only seemed to make her arrogant, he decided to take a stronger approach.
He had seized her pale wrist. The feel of her white, cool skin made his mouth water.
He wanted to lay her down on a bed right then and there, but doing so could cause trouble.
For now, although she was rejecting him as if she hated the idea, once she began a meal with him, it would not take long.
That was how most of the women he had met had been.
So he tried to drag her away as she was—
Press.
“…?”
For some reason, she did not move.
‘What…?’
Yu Tan-geom turned his head and looked at Dang Sohyeol.
Even though he was exerting force, Dang Sohyeol simply stood where she was and stared calmly back at him.
He was bewildered.
‘Did I not use enough strength?’
He was only trying to drag along one woman. Surely he had not been that weak?
No. He was certain he was using sufficient strength.
As Yu Tan-geom hesitated, unable to overcome the strange sensation—
“…Haa….”
A small sigh reached his ears.
It had come from Dang Sohyeol.
‘A sigh?’
Had she actually sighed at him?
Right to his face?
While Yu Tan-geom stared at her in disbelief, Dang Sohyeol whispered softly to him.
“Senior.”
“Hmm…?”
“Is it because your groin is attached to your brain that you have such difficulty understanding what people say?”
“Huh…?”
At her words, Yu Tan-geom stared blankly.
What had she just said? His expression twisted as though he had heard an illusion.
That was how incomprehensible the situation was.
How could he possibly understand it?
“What did you just…. What did you say—? No, wait. Did you truly say that, Miss?”
He asked again to make sure, but Dang Sohyeol’s eyes only grew colder.
“I’ve been humoring you this whole time, and you seem incapable of knowing your place. I suppose I’ll have to make myself a little clearer.”
Dang Sohyeol took a step toward Yu Tan-geom, who still wore a dazed expression.
Then, in a voice cold enough to freeze the world, she whispered into his ear.
“…You couldn’t get a taste of me even if you died, so piss off, you verminous bastard.”
“…!”
At Dang Sohyeol’s words, Yu Tan-geom’s face stiffened.