Morning.
It was the hour just past dawn, when the sun had begun to rise into the sky.
A rather cool breeze blew, as if announcing that the end of summer had arrived.
The wind swept across the sky like a brushstroke, and beneath it, the area was packed with countless people.
"Those holding tokens, please line up and come this way!"
A loud voice rang out.
The voice was laden with internal energy, carrying clearly to the ear.
"Those with green jewels, please come this way!"
"Blue ones, this way…!"
Countless people moved at the sound of the voice.
Even at a glance, their numbers seemed to be in the hundreds if not thousands, and the air spreading through the surroundings felt unusually heavy.
'The internal energy permeating the air is no joke.'
The amount of internal energy mixed into the air was beyond imagination.
When had I last felt something like this?
'Was it during the war?'
I might have felt it during the Righteous-Demonic Great War.
To think the air inside the Martial Alliance would be this saturated.
'That means they've gathered this many people.'
At the very least, they were at the tail end of the second-rate.
Every martial artist gathered here was incomparably intense.
From young martial artists who looked to be my age to those with heads full of white hair.
There wasn't a single person nearby who wasn't a martial artist.
It meant that every single one of this huge crowd was a martial artist.
'They sure gathered a lot.'
They really had gathered a lot.
Even if it was a tournament hosted by the Alliance, I hadn't expected this many.
I looked around and let out a sigh that wasn't quite admiration.
'I heard Shaolin personally went around recruiting. Maybe that helped.'
Perhaps it had.
I glanced around the area, sighed, and swept my hair back.
'So I came after all….'
Already, it was the day of the tournament.
To be exact, it was the day the preliminary round began, and I stood before the entrance the Martial Alliance had set up.
Of course, this was to participate in the tournament.
'Tch.'
I clicked my tongue at the sight.
The preliminaries were to take place over three days, but of all days, I had drawn the very first one.
It wasn't the entrance leading inside; if you went through here, you'd probably end up in some remote mountain valley.
'Well, I suppose.'
It would be difficult to hold the preliminaries inside the Alliance with this many people gathered.
Dividing the days was a given, and I could understand changing the terrain like this too.
They seemed to be planning to do something in the widest possible location, though I had no idea what.
As I was calmly looking around the surroundings one by one.
"Young master."
I turned around at the sound from behind.
There, Wi Seola, wearing a veil, was looking at me.
She too had drawn the first day for her preliminary round, same as me.
Though she wore the veil to hide her appearance, she still drew the eye.
It was her beautifully curved figure and unique atmosphere that attracted attention.
'…And that's the best she could do?'
I had used everything I could—energy and veil alike—and yet, if it was still like this, did I need to get my hands on a rare item?
'I should just give her the one Namgung Bia used.'
That white fox mask.
I heard it was a rare item from the Northern Sea.
Something that degraded others' perception of the wearer.
'It has a similar effect to what Dangdeok used back in the day.'
I wondered if I should have lent her that, but unfortunately, since it was a rare item, she would have had to take it off soon anyway.
Thinking so, I looked at Wi Seola.
"What color is yours, young master?"
At Wi Seola's question, I examined the token in my hand.
It must mean the color of the jewel embedded in the token.
"White."
The jewel embedded in my token was white.
Seeing that, I shifted my gaze.
At the very far end, I could see a line forming around a man holding a white sign.
That seemed to be where I had to line up.
"I have blue."
Wi Seola softly showed me her token.
A blue jewel was embedded in her token, gleaming.
There were four colors in total.
'Green, blue, red, and white.'
Coincidentally—or not—they were the same colors as the Magyeongmun ranks.
'If it's not a coincidence, could they have set up some kind of ranking based on the colors?'
I pondered for a moment, then shook my head to clear the thought away.
Even if the Alliance was a den of idiots, would they be that simple-minded?
'Probably not.'
I wanted to believe that wasn't the case.
I was hoping they weren't that stupid.
At least we hadn't overlapped.
Should I consider that fortunate?
If it was good luck, then it was good luck.
At least, that's what I thought.
I shifted my gaze.
Four lines in total. At the ends of those lines, people stretched out in long rows.
They weren't divided by gender, nor by age, and their realms were all different too.
Some had expressions filled with resolve.
Some were steeped in tension.
Everyone was different.
So, where was it that they were trying to go?
I really didn't know.
No… perhaps.
'Maybe everyone except me is looking at the same place.'
An outsider who shouldn't be here.
That feeling suddenly washed over me, and I furrowed my brow.
Stop thinking useless thoughts.
I shook my head to shake it off.
'What about Seongyul?'
I turned my head looking for him.
Seongyul was also on the first day, same as me.
I had told him roughly to take his token and go in by himself, so was he doing alright?
'He'll figure it out on his own.
He may seem a bit slow, but he's not unreliable, so he'll probably do fine.'
The problem was.
'…It's Bongsuni.'
The fact that Bongsuni had to enter the preliminaries on the second day instead of today.
That I had to send Bongsuni alone without me.
Just thinking about it made me feel abruptly exhausted.
'I did set some prohibitions, but….'
I had placed a few prohibitions on Bongsuni beforehand so she wouldn't cause any accidents.
First.
Keep her mouth absolutely shut.
Second.
Even if others picked a fight, endure it twice.
And third.
'Unless the opponent is trying to kill you, don't kill them.'
That was the entirety of the prohibitions I had placed on Bongsuni.
This much should be able to prevent things to some extent.
But if not… well.
'If it still blows up even after all that, I'll just have to accept it.'
If it came to that, there was nothing I could do.
She'd figure it out herself.
Just as I was convincing myself of that.
"…Look over there!"
A murmuring sound was heard.
"Th-the Blade King."
"The real Blade King?"
At this, the momentum of the martial artists wavered for a moment.
I turned my head to see two people entering from the entrance, and everyone was looking at them.
Thud.
Vibrations erupted with the man's footsteps.
The martial artists who saw this widened their eyes.
"Just from his gait, his imposing aura is at this level…!"
"As expected of the Four Great… no, the head of one of the Three Great Families."
Amazement, shock, and even a faint sense of reverence.
All kinds of gazes were directed at the giant of a man.
The Blade King, Paeng Jeou.
'The Blade King, huh….'
Looking at him, I let out a faint scoffing laugh.
Those who bear the title of King in the Central Plains are few enough to count on one hand.
Not the Hundred Great Experts or the even higher Ten Great Experts, who are determined by martial might.
A 'King' literally referred to those who wielded absolute influence in their field.
It wasn't simply about strength. It meant speaking of the fame and position they held.
The one with the greatest influence among those who used the blade.
That was the head of the Paeng family, the Blade King Paeng Jeou.
And with his appearance, the swarms of martial artists began to heighten their tension.
"Is the Blade King really participating…?"
"So the rumors were true!"
"How could the Blade King…"
Half were reactions of surprise.
Half were reactions asking why that man had come here.
Well, naturally.
'What would the head of a renowned family gain from doing this?'
If he won, he broke even; if he lost, it was a loss.
No, perhaps even winning might only bring losses.
No matter how I looked at it, there was no reason for the Blade King to be here, yet he had come insisting on joining the tournament.
Paeng Jeou walked slowly under all kinds of gazes.
Looking at him, I thought immediately.
'He's putting on quite the show.'
It was absurd.
Thud—!
Vibrations spread with each step.
People were looking at it and calling it imposing aura or presence born of martial might.
'This old man doesn't know how precious his internal energy is.'
That was literally a technique for show.
He was radiating his internal energy as if to say, "Look how it overflows."
Thanks to that, he was drawing attention, but…
'How embarrassing. What is he even doing?'
The flow of his internal energy was so abnormal that it was impossible not to notice.
'Do the others not know this?'
Why was I the only one who knew about that pathetic display?
It was simply puzzling.
'Am I the only one at the Hwagyeong level?'
To recognize the Blade King's little act, one had to be around Hwagyeong.
I wondered if there were any other Hwagyeong martial artists here besides me, but.
'There are.'
A few caught my eye.
Some were fairly famous martial artists, and even if not.
"Can't you see that?"
"…Pardon?"
Wasn't there one right beside me?
So I asked, but Wi Seola simply made a puzzled expression.
'She doesn't know?'
The flow of internal energy was so alien like that, yet she didn't know?
'Why can't she see this?'
I couldn't understand.
I wondered if my eyes were wrong.
Was that really it?
A question arose briefly, but I ignored it for now.
Excited murmurs.
Every time the Blade King passed, martial artists cleared a path, and beside him, a familiar face was visible too.
The son of Paeng Jeou and the young master of the Paeng family.
Biseongdo Paeng Ujin was walking alongside him.
As he walked, Paeng Ujin suddenly glanced this way.
Our eyes met.
Paeng Ujin grinned and waved his hand at me.
"…"
I didn't wave my hand but nodded my head.
That was the best greeting I could manage.
'Of all things, those two are also on the first day.'
That the Paeng father and son were on the same first day as me.
'This means it has nothing to do with the order of application.'
Paeng Ujin had registered on the first day like me. The Blade King had probably registered on the last day, so there was almost no connection.
If so, was this simply a randomly determined order?
'I don't think so.'
Suspicion arose naturally.
Because I was sure the Martial Alliance had done something asinine with this part too.
'I heard the tournament period is nearly half a month long.'
What kind of scheme had they cooked up during that long period?
Just imagining it made my stomach churn.
Just when I thought I should calm my overly sensitive nerves a bit.
"The preliminaries will begin in two hours! Please line up quickly!"
A warning voice was heard. Now it was truly time to go.
Hearing this, I looked at Wi Seola.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
Wi Seola turned her head at my voice and responded.
Seeing that, I moved my lips.
Are you really going to do this?
Can't you just not?
I was about to say such things, but looking at her eyes behind the veil, I scratched the back of my head.
"Do your best, moderately."
That was the best I could say to Wi Seola.
Upon hearing my words, Wi Seola smiled brightly and replied.
"Yes! I'll do my best!"
She didn't seem to have understood me at all.
"I said moderately."
"Yes. I'll do my best very moderately."
"…"
I didn't know why, but Wi Seola was burning with fighting spirit.
Dang Soyeol had been like that too; just why were they like this?
'…Nothing will go wrong, right?'
I hoped nothing would.
I really did.
"Alright… see you later."
After saying goodbye, I tried to go line up first.
"Ah, young master."
As if she had something left to say, Wi Seola called out to me.
I looked at her wondering what it was.
Fwump—!
"Hm?"
Wi Seola spread both arms and hugged me.
And for a moment, she rested her forehead against my chest and stood still.
What the.
Flustered, I spread my arms slightly.
It was to minimize my presence.
"What are you doing right now…"
"It's encouragement."
Wi Seola slowly raised her head and met my eyes.
"I'll do my best too. Young master… please do your best. You have to."
"…Uh… hmm."
The moment I tried to say something in response to her words.
"I'll be back."
Wi Seola had already withdrawn her arms and moved away.
Watching her blonde hair grow distant, I smiled awkwardly.
I couldn't bring myself to say I understood.
I wondered why.
I didn't know.
I simply felt that way.