Morning.
The time when dawn had passed and the sun was only just rising into the sky.
A somewhat cool breeze blew, as if announcing that summer was nearing its end.
The wind swept across the sky, and beneath it stood a countless crowd of people.
“Those carrying wooden plaques, please line up and come this way!”
A loud voice rang out.
Infused with internal energy, it carried clearly to everyone’s ears.
“Those with green gems, come this way!”
“Blue over here…!”
At the sound of each call, countless people began to move.
At a glance, there seemed to be anywhere from several hundred to over a thousand of them, yet the air around us felt unusually heavy.
‘The amount of internal energy infused into the air is no joke.’
The amount of internal energy mixed into the atmosphere surpassed anything I could have imagined.
When had I felt something like this before?
‘Was it during the war?’
It was the sort of density I had only experienced while the Great War between the Righteous and Demonic factions was underway.
And yet, the air inside the Murim Alliance was this dense.
‘That means they’ve gathered that many people.’
No fewer than those at the very peak of the second-rate realm.
Every martial artist gathered here was intensely formidable.
From young martial artists who looked around my age to those with hair streaked with white.
There wasn’t a single person nearby who wasn’t a martial artist.
That meant every last one of the people gathered here was a martial artist.
‘They really gathered quite a crowd.’
They had truly gathered an enormous number of people.
Even if this was a martial tournament hosted by the Alliance, I hadn’t expected this many to show up.
I looked around and marveled despite myself.
‘They said Shaolin had gone around personally recruiting people. I suppose that helped.’
It might have.
After glancing around, I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.
‘So I really came after all….’
Before I knew it, the day of the martial tournament had arrived.
More precisely, it was the day the preliminary rounds began, and I was standing in front of the entrance prepared by the Murim Alliance.
Obviously, I was here to participate in the martial tournament.
‘Tsk.’
I clicked my tongue at the thought.
The preliminary rounds were supposedly held over the course of three days, and I had been assigned to the very first day.
This wasn’t an entrance leading inside. If we passed through it, we would probably be taken into some remote mountain valley.
‘Well, of course.’
It would have been difficult to hold the preliminaries inside the Alliance with this many people gathered.
Dividing the event across several days was understandable, as was altering the terrain in this manner.
They seemed intent on doing something in as wide an area as possible, though I had no idea what that something was.
I was calmly looking over my surroundings when—
“Young Master.”
I turned around at the voice from behind me.
Wi Seol-ah, wearing a veil, was looking at me.
She, too, had been assigned to the first day of the preliminary rounds.
She had put on a veil to hide her appearance, but even so, she drew people’s gazes.
Her beautifully curved figure and distinctive air pulled everyone’s attention toward her.
‘…And she says that’s the best she can do.’
If that was how she looked after using all her energy to veil her appearance, did I need to find her an enchanted item?
‘Maybe I should give her the one Namgung Bia used.’
That white fox mask.
I had heard it was an enchanted item from the Northern Sea.
Apparently, it lowered the other person’s ability to recognize its wearer.
‘Its effect seems similar to what that bastard Dang Deok used before.’
I wondered if I should have lent it to her, but unfortunately, since it was an enchanted item, she would have had to take it off again before long anyway.
Thinking that, I looked at Wi Seol-ah.
“What color are you, Young Master?”
At her question, I examined the wooden plaque in my hand.
She was probably referring to the color of the gem set into the plaque.
“White.”
The gem embedded in my plaque was white.
I shifted my gaze after looking at it.
At the very end, I could see lines forming around a man holding a white sign.
That was probably where I was supposed to line up.
“I’m blue.”
Wi Seol-ah gently showed me her plaque.
A blue gem glittered from its surface.
There were four colors in total.
‘Green, blue, red, and white.’
By coincidence, they were the same colors as the ranks of the Ma-gyeong Sect.
‘If it isn’t a coincidence, did they assign ranks according to color as well?’
I pondered it for a moment, then shook the thought away.
Even if the Alliance was a den of idiots, would they really have made things that simple?
‘It can’t be.’
I believed it wasn’t.
I hoped they weren’t that stupid.
At least we weren’t assigned to the same group.
Should I consider that fortunate?
If nothing else, it was fortunate.
At least, that was how I saw it.
I turned my gaze away.
There were four lines in total, each stretching far back with people at its end.
They weren’t divided by gender or age, and their cultivation levels varied as well.
Some wore expressions full of resolve.
Others were tense with nerves.
Everyone was different.
And where were all of them trying to go?
I didn’t know.
No… perhaps.
‘Maybe everyone except me is looking toward the same place.’
The feeling of being an outsider who shouldn’t be here suddenly came over me, and I furrowed my brow.
Let’s not think about pointless things.
I shook my head and cast the thought aside.
‘What about Seong Yul?’
I turned my head, searching for him.
Seong Yul had also been assigned to the first day.
I had roughly handed him his things and told him to make his way inside on his own. Was he managing?
‘He’ll take care of himself.
He looks somewhat clumsy, but he isn’t someone I can’t trust. I’m sure he’ll manage on his own.’
The problem was—
‘…Bong-sun.’
Bong-sun’s preliminary round was on the second day rather than today.
I would have to send Bong-sun without me.
Just thinking about it made me abruptly exhausted.
‘I did place some restrictions on her….’
I had imposed several restrictions on Bong-sun in advance, so she wouldn’t cause trouble.
First.
She was absolutely not to say a word.
Second.
Even if others provoked her, she was to endure it at least twice.
And third—
‘She was not to kill anyone unless the other person was trying to kill her.’
Those were all the restrictions I had placed on Bong-sun.
They should be enough to restrain her to some extent.
If not… well.
‘If she still blows up after all that, I’ll have to give her credit.’
If things went that far, there was nothing I could do either.
She would manage somehow.
Just as I was convincing myself of that—
“…Look over there!”
A murmur arose from somewhere in the crowd.
“Th-the Blade King.”
“Is that really the Blade King?”
The martial artists’ momentum wavered in an instant.
I turned my head and saw two people entering from the gate. Everyone was looking at them.
Boom.
The man’s footsteps sent vibrations through the ground.
The eyes of the martial artists who noticed it widened.
“Such spirit from nothing more than walking…!”
“As expected of the head of one of the Four Great… no, the Three Great Families.”
Admiration and shock, along with a faintly accumulated reverence.
All sorts of gazes fell upon the towering man.
The Blade King, Peng Jeo-u.
‘The Blade King, huh….’
I looked at him with a faint smile.
In the Central Plains, the number of people who possessed a title containing the character “King” could be counted on one hand.
It wasn’t a title like the Hundred Greatest Masters or the even more illustrious Ten Greatest Masters, which were determined by martial prowess.
A “King” referred, quite literally, to someone with absolute influence in their particular field.
It wasn’t merely about martial strength. It meant recognizing the reputation and position they possessed.
The most influential individual among those who wielded blades.
That was the head of the Peng Family, the Blade King Peng Jeo-u.
As he appeared, the numerous martial artists began to grow tense.
“The Blade King is really participating…?”
“So the rumors were true!”
“Why would the Blade King…?”
Half of the reactions were astonishment.
The other half were asking why that man had come here.
Well, of course.
‘Why would the head of a prestigious family participate in this? What could he possibly gain?’
If he won, he would merely break even, and if he lost, he would suffer a loss.
No, perhaps even winning would only bring him losses.
There was no reason at all for the Blade King to take part in this, yet he had deliberately come to participate in the martial tournament.
Peng Jeo-u walked slowly beneath the countless gazes.
The moment I saw him, I thought—
‘He’s really putting on a ridiculous show.’
It was absurd.
Boom!
Vibrations spread with every step he took.
The people watching him called it the spirit and presence born of martial prowess, but—
‘That old man doesn’t know the value of his own internal energy.’
It was nothing more than a flashy technique.
He was releasing his energy as if to say, “I have so much internal energy to spare. Go on, take a look.”
It certainly drew attention, but…
‘What the hell is he doing, embarrassing himself like that?’
The flow of his internal energy was so abnormal that it was impossible not to see what he was doing.
‘Do the others not know?’
Why was I the only one who could recognize that disgraceful display?
It was baffling.
‘Am I the only one here at the Hwagyeong realm?’
Only someone around the Hwagyeong realm would be able to see through the Blade King’s actions.
I wondered if there were any other martial artists at the Hwagyeong realm here besides me, but—
‘There are.’
A few caught my eye.
Some were martial artists of considerable renown, and even if not—
“You can’t see that?”
“…Pardon?”
There was one right beside me, after all.
I asked her, but Wi Seol-ah merely looked puzzled.
‘She doesn’t know?’
The flow of his internal energy was that bizarre, and she didn’t know what it meant?
‘Why can’t she see it?’
I couldn’t understand.
For a moment, I wondered if there was something wrong with my eyes.
Could that really be the case?
The thought crossed my mind, but I ignored it for now.
Murmur.
The martial artists moved aside whenever the Blade King passed, and among them was a familiar face.
The son of Peng Jeo-u and the young lord of the Peng Family.
The Starflash Blade, Peng U-jin, was walking alongside him.
As they continued forward, Peng U-jin suddenly looked this way.
Our eyes met.
Peng U-jin flashed me a grin and waved.
“…”
I didn’t wave back. I merely nodded.
That was the best greeting I could offer.
‘Of all things, the two of them were assigned to the first day as well?’
The fact that the father and son of the Peng Family had been assigned to the same day as me meant—
‘It has nothing to do with the order in which we registered.’
Peng U-jin had registered on the first day like me, while the Blade King must have registered on the last day, so there was almost no connection between them.
If so, was the order simply decided at random?
‘I don’t think so.’
Suspicion arose naturally.
I had expected the Murim Alliance to make some absurd arrangement in this regard as well.
‘They said the martial tournament would last nearly half a month.’
What else had they done during that lengthy period?
Just imagining it made my stomach churn.
I was wondering if I should calm my increasingly sensitive thoughts when—
“The preliminary rounds will begin in one shichen! Please line up immediately!”
A warning rang out. It was truly time to go.
Hearing that, I looked at Wi Seol-ah.
“Well.”
“Yes?”
Wi Seol-ah turned her head at my voice.
Looking at her, I opened and closed my mouth.
Was she really going to do this?
Couldn’t she just not do it?
I almost said those words, but then I saw the eyes behind her veil and scratched the back of my head.
“Just try reasonably hard.”
I offered Wi Seol-ah the only words I could manage.
At that, she smiled brightly and replied—
“Yes! I’ll do my best!”
Apparently, she hadn’t understood me at all.
“I said reasonably hard.”
“Yes. I’ll work very, very hard, in moderation.”
“…”
I didn’t know why, but Wi Seol-ah was burning with fighting spirit.
Dang Soyeol had been the same. Why were these girls acting like this?
‘…Nothing will happen, right?’
I hoped not.
I truly did.
“Right… I’ll see you later.”
I finished saying goodbye and was about to leave to line up when—
“Ah, Young Master.”
“Hmm?”
Wi Seol-ah called me back, as though she still had something to say.
I looked at her, wondering what it was.
Whoosh!
“Hmm?”
Wi Seol-ah spread both arms and pulled me into an embrace.
Then she rested her forehead against my chest and stood there quietly for a moment.
What was this?
Though flustered, I spread a thin veil of energy around us.
To reduce our presence.
“What are you doing right now…?”
“Cheering you on.”
Wi Seol-ah slowly raised her head and met my eyes.
“I’ll do my best, too. Young Master, you should… stay strong. You have to.”
“…Uh… right.”
I was about to say something in response when—
“I’ll see you later.”
Wi Seol-ah had already withdrawn her arms and begun walking away.
I watched her golden hair recede and gave an awkward smile.
I couldn’t bring myself to say I understood.
Why was that?
I didn’t know.
It just felt that way.