The preliminary round ended, and evening arrived.
Around the time I finished my meal after completing what I had to do in the morning.
I looked at Bongsun in front of me and asked.
"Nothing happened, right?"
"Huh?"
At my question, Bongsun tilted her head.
It seemed she didn't understand, so I frowned and asked again.
"I asked if you caused any trouble."
Only then did she seem to understand, and Bongsun nodded her head vigorously.
"I didn't! Because the Cult Leader told me not to do anything!"
"Really?"
"Yeah! I really didn't! I didn't do anything! So pair up with me."
"Shut up."
"Okay."
I blocked her off in advance before she could spout nonsense.
'Did she really do nothing?'
Given her usual behavior, I was covered in suspicion, but there was no other way to confirm it.
Normally, I would have secretly followed her to check.
'But infiltrating inside the formation is too much...'
The formation the Alliance had spread around for the exam was the problem.
I might be able to unravel it, but there was a risk of being detected if I made a mistake, so I didn't bother trying.
Was my suspicion the problem?
"I said I really didn't do anything!"
Bongsun shouted as if she was hurt.
"I didn't kill anyone! Not yet anyway!"
Not yet anyway...?
That last part bothered me quite a bit, but I roughly nodded for now.
"...Right... Good job."
"Yeah! I did good! So pair up..."
"Get lost."
"Okay."
She must listen well, because at the words to get lost, Bongsun jumped up and disappeared.
I let out a deep sigh at the sight of her back as she scurried out.
She had become much more human-like, but her foolishness remained.
'No. Should I say a beast acting like a human.'
A beast showing human traits.
Bongsun's vibe was exactly that.
It was two years ago that I brought Bongsun, who had been living with wild dogs in the Gwangju region.
I dragged her away from her life of biting and tearing at the local Beggar Sect thugs.
At the time, Bongsun's state was exactly that of a speaking monster.
She barely used language, acting based on instinct.
I wondered how she raised her realm in that state; she was no different from a monster.
'It's a strange thing.'
Her realm was clearly far beyond the Peak Realm, yet her psychological state was like a child's.
It was just a question of who she learned from to raise her realm.
It was certain she was the blood relative of the previous Sword Empress, but over ten years had passed since her death.
The possibility of the Yiling Sword Empress having taught her was low.
'She said she doesn't remember either. So there's nothing more to dig up.'
I had a question and asked Bongsun, but she said she didn't particularly remember anything.
Due to the demonic energy, she wouldn't be able to spout lies to me, so those words must be true.
I thought about this for a moment, but had to push it aside.
'It doesn't matter if she doesn't remember anyway.'
The important thing was that I could utilize combat power on Bongsun's level.
And that I could increase the perfection of my plan by using her.
In this situation, Bongsun's past didn't matter at all.
"The problem is the Emei Sect."
Recalling what happened in the morning, I swallowed a sip of tea.
As the tea entered my mouth, my tongue tingled.
It was because I had mixed a little poison into the tea.
Drinking it this way increased the toxicity, and since mixing poison didn't make it taste bad, I deliberately mixed and drank it.
"...Hmm."
Emei Sect. The female monks of Sichuan.
'What is their relationship with Bongsun?'
Looking at them, it seemed they were more interested in the ghostly artifact she possessed than Bongsun herself.
'If that's the case... does that mean they weren't looking for the Sword Empress in the first place?'
Their reaction was ambiguous and the circumstances were shallow, making it difficult to grasp for now.
However.
"I've laid the trap, so there should be a response soon."
I had set up a formation regarding this part.
I killed a woman from the Emei Sect and sent her to their quarters.
Using the power of Mang, I mixed the Alliance's emblem and ambiguous words to send it, and calculating the time, erased it around the right time.
'I wonder how they will react.'
The reason I did this was to check their reaction.
If they were doing something secretly from the Alliance, there would be a change.
If they were in a pact with the Alliance, there would be a change fitting that.
'If the sect leader isn't an idiot, it could serve as an adequate warning.'
The sect leader of the Emei Sect was called Fenyue Quanxian, right?
Qitie Sanquan Fenyue Quanxian.
I heard it was a moniker given because her fists were extraordinary for a woman who wears makeup.
I believed that as one of the Ten Great Masters, she wouldn't be a foolish person.
It was a situation where the Alliance's emblem was used so blatantly.
They must certainly be anticipating that a third party might have intervened.
Someone anticipating friction or a pact with the Alliance could be using them to observe their own movements.
If it were me, I would think of such a situation and lay low.
Furthermore.
'If they knew I had this, they would be even more so.'
I chuckled as I looked at the letter in my hand.
The letter's identity was something I pulled from the bosom of the Emei Sect martial artist.
A few sheets of letters, inside were familiar names written down.
My name, including a few martial artists.
Moreover, the names of those participating in the martial arts tournament were written.
'Probably, the names of those who were sent poisoned.'
The names overlapped with the information I had the Saldae look up.
Seeing as a few more were added, it seemed to include those whose information couldn't be found.
"Hmm."
The Orthodox Faction.
And the Emei Sect of all things, which is a Buddhist sect, why would they go out of their way to do such a thing?
I hadn't paid any attention to them until now, but with this situation arising, I was somewhat intrigued.
'Should I look into it a bit?'
Since it was related to Bongsun anyway, I had to look into it.
Ah, of course.
Naturally, I wasn't going to move directly.
I pushed aside the tea I was drinking and looked to my side as I spoke.
"Then, I'll leave it to you."
"...Huh? What?"
At my words, Cheol Jiseon, who was eating her meal foolishly, tilted her head.
******************
Rustle.
Walking along the path, I examined the letter in my hand.
The few sheets of letters were filled with dense writing, all of which was information organized by Zhuge He and Cheol Jiseon.
'The Hubei side is roughly being handled. The Shandong region seems like it can be left to the Huangfu Patriarch...'
Whether Zhuge He had handled it in advance, even with a lot of writing, it was easy to grasp.
'I need to separately track the Yilong Lord's movements... and I need to check on that bastard Tang De's situation too.'
I had sent Nahui to Tang De's side, so it would be roughly handled.
It would be good if I could tie up or kill the Yilong Lord in the process.
But it seemed unlikely that would be possible.
'At the very least, it would be troublesome while things are progressing.'
As long as my feet were tied up here, I had to restrain myself from moving too much.
'If I want to handle things completely, it seems like it has to be right after all this is over.'
I also needed to see how the situation would be around the time the tournament ends.
If it flows as expected, there shouldn't be a problem, but I know my life has never been that lucky.
'...I should always keep the worst-case scenarios in mind.'
That way, it'll be easier to handle when accidents happen.
'The problem here is... Tang Xiaolie and Wi Seol-ah.'
It was bothersome that the two of them entered the sparring tournament together.
Wi Seol-ah passed on the first day, and I was told Tang Xiaolie also naturally passed today.
'Hmm.'
Honestly, I question why the two of them entered the sparring tournament, but that alone isn't particularly a problem.
The problem is...
Once the preliminaries end, it will immediately switch to the sparring tournament.
The issue was if they ended up on the same stage in that situation.
'It would have been better if it were Woo-hyeok.'
If Woo-hyeok were the one stepping onto the sparring stage, I could beat him up with peace of mind.
Unfortunately, Woo-hyeok couldn't participate in the sparring tournament.
'What was the reason again?'
From what I heard, since the Alliance Leader was from Wudang, they said Wudang wouldn't participate to consider fairness?
'Hah.'
Fairness, they say.
It's truly ridiculous to be bringing that up now.
At this point where they only sent recommendation letters to those with status to call them to the tournament, now they talk about fairness?
'If they were going to do that, they should have kept it from the start.'
The previous Alliance Leader, Luojian.
Recalling how that fellow sent that bastard Jang during the Gathering of Dragons and Phoenixes, the Alliance's fairness had already been ruined long ago.
'Is he trying to give the impression that he is clean, even if it's only now?'
Actually, right after Jianxian spat out those words, the public's reaction wasn't bad.
Did they say he was a different Alliance Leader from the ones before?
'Tsk...'
I had a lot to say, but I held it back.
Originally, that bastard Woo-hyeok didn't seem like he wanted to participate either.
'...That guy is dangerous if he participates right now.'
I'm occasionally beating him up under the pretext of sparring...
Currently, Woo-hyeok had become a dragon, albeit a half-dragon.
Because his energy had increased and his body had changed, he couldn't control his strength at all.
Woo-hyeok himself didn't seem to know how strong he had become. Until he realized it, I needed to keep putting him through the wringer.
'And I get some practice in while I'm at it.'
There wasn't much time left.
I had surpassed the realm of my past life, but I couldn't afford to be complacent.
'Because a situation might arise where I can't use the Jiuyan Hualun Gong.'
It was a danger I recalled upon meeting my grandfather.
I didn't know how it was possible, but it seemed my grandfather could reclaim the mental cultivation I possessed.
If my flames were taken away, all my plans would shatter to pieces.
Just from losing a single(?) martial art.
'I'm seriously incompetent.'
A situation where I can't do anything if my power is taken away. How incompetent is that.
I had to prepare, even if only out of fear of that.
Preparing so that I could handle things even if I lost one of my powers.
Halt.
I stopped walking.
Because I had arrived at my destination.
There was a door in front of me, and I naturally knocked on it with my hand.
Knock, knock-.
"..."
No response. I knocked once more.
Knock, knock, knock-.
"..."
Still the same.
Knock....
Knocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknocknock-.
Knock....
Bang-!
After rapidly knocking with the same rebound for a while, the person I was waiting for finally opened the door and greeted me.
"You rotten bastard! Do you know what time it is!?"
A thin old man full of white hair and a white beard.
The Shenyi greeted me with a smile.
"It's dawn, dawn! Everyone's sleeping, so why are you here making a racket!"
"Dawn, you say, Elder. The hour of Hae hasn't even passed yet."
"But it's true that everyone else is sleeping."
"But you weren't sleeping, Shenyi."
"You damned brat...!"
As I answered without yielding a single word, the Shenyi's face flushed red.
Ah, dangerous. That was a sign he was really angry.
I quickly took a letter out of my bosom and showed it to the Shenyi.
"What do you really take me for-!"
"It's a letter Zhuge He sent to you, Elder. Please accept it."
"..."
The Shenyi, who was about to get angry at this, became ghostly quiet after seeing the letter.
As expected, it was a good thing I brought it.
"Hmm..."
"I brought it right after receiving it. Please calm your anger."
"...I'll let it slide for Zhuge He's sake, but there won't be a next time."
"Then I can come in, right?"
"You're already in, you damned brat..."
As soon as the Shenyi's words ended, I set foot in the quarters.
Unlike the treatment center attached next door, it was a smaller and shabbier looking quarter.
I heard the Shenyi personally requested them to build a small one separately.
He said it would be too distracting if it were too big.
Anyhow, he was an old man without greed.
I took off my shoes and entered the quarters.
Inside, there was a small desk and a lamp, but on top of the desk, an enormous amount of letters was piled up.
They were all about treatment methods or medicinal herbs.
Looking at that, I let out a hollow breath.
"Do you always look at that many?"
"Look at them my foot. How would this old man look at all of that?"
"Then?"
"I memorized them when I was young. The reason I keep them out like that is to look them up when I don't remember."
"When they're piled up like that, how do you find what you need?"
"If you memorize what's roughly where and on which page, it's easy to find."
"..."
So how do you memorize that...
I couldn't ask those words and had to hold them in.
"So."
The Shenyi asked me just as I was looking around at the letters.
"Are you thinking of doing it today too?"
At those words, I answered as if it was obvious.
"Yes."
Hearing my answer, the Shenyi frowned.
"I heard you're having a group brawl in a few days, wouldn't it be better to rest your body a bit?"
"A group brawl, you say, Elder... There's a wonderful word called a martial arts tournament."
"That's a brawl, what else."
"..."
It wasn't a wrong statement, so I smiled awkwardly.
A group brawl. I thought that word really suited it.
Anyway.
"I can rest my body after I die. And there's someone who'll treat me if I get hurt right next to me."
"Not satisfied with talking about dying in front of a doctor... you're going to use this old man as you please?"
"Since you're already helping, might as well do it all."
"Hah, for shamelessness, there's no one like a devil."
The Shenyi reacted as if he didn't like it, but I knew.
That old man might speak like that, but he was a deeply affectionate person.
And that he would end up helping me this time too.
"...Sit. I need to finish this quickly today and get some sleep."
"Thank you."
I smiled at the Shenyi's words and took a seat.
The reason I visited the Shenyi like this was none other than this.
"Get ready."
Right after meeting my grandfather.
I immediately came to the Shenyi and was currently learning curse arts from him.
The Shenyi seemed quite surprised when I first mentioned curse arts, but when I added the explanation that I went to the North Sea to learn curse arts, he seemed to understand to some extent.
Since he had seen it when fixing Zhuge He's neck before, and he was also learning curse arts himself, it must have been easy to understand.
Because I had little information on curse arts, I was receiving training regarding this from the Shenyi, who at least knew something about it.
Honestly, I thought it wouldn't be helpful right away.
I just thought I'd learn a bit since it was a mysterious power...
But after using it a few times, I felt like I understood something.
The ring of curse arts flowing in my heart.
'This...'
If my assumption was correct, through curse arts, I could create another method even if my flames were taken by my grandfather.
Also.
'I can use a bigger flame.'
It seemed I could strengthen other martial arts, including the Jiuyan Hualun Gong.
"...Now, try unfolding the ring."
At the Shenyi's words, I slowly applied force to my heart.
Like that, time passed as I received training.
******************
Two days passed.
I was inside the Murim Alliance, where I had visited last time.
It was because the preliminaries, which consisted of secondary rounds over three days, had ended, and it was now the day to proceed with the main tournament.
"Then will the main tournament be held by grouping the brackets?"
"The preliminaries were matched within groups. Wouldn't it be the same this time?"
The crowd wasn't much different from the first day.
They were martial artists who easily looked to be in the hundreds.
If there was a big difference, it was that all of them had easily surpassed the Peak Realm.
Those who passed by breaking the Wannian Cold Iron and shattering the formations.
The genuine martial artists filtered out over two rounds were gathered in one place.
'It's completely different from the sensation I felt on the first day.'
Even the density of the air was different, and the aura emitted by the existences was different too.
It was damnably murderous.
Perhaps because they had no intention of hiding their aura, the clash of energies taking place in the air was top-notch.
Seeing that, I crumpled my expression.
'They're showing off for nothing.'
I wondered what they were going to do if they were already wasting their energy like that.
At that moment.
"Wow, there are so many people. Look over there, Sis! There's another bald... Mmph!"
As Bongsun, who was watching the crowd, tried to say something, Tang Xiaolie instantly covered her mouth.
"Please... please be quiet...!"
"Mmph! Mmmph... Slurp?"
"Kyaaah!"
Tang Xiaolie, who was covering her mouth, recoiled in shock and pulled her hand away.
It looked like Bongsun had licked Tang Xiaolie's palm.
"..."
I watched that and shook my head.
For some reason, Bongsun seemed to like Tang Xiaolie.
Thanks to that, only Tang Xiaolie was dying from Bongsun's pranks.
For me, it was just a relief that someone to control that wretch had appeared...
'The preliminaries were three days. They said the main tournament was two days.'
I was on the first day this time too. And Tang Xiaolie and Bongsun were the same.
"...You. You didn't forget what I said yesterday, right?"
"Huh? Yeah!"
"I'll say it again, just win. Don't cause a scene."
"Of course! Without breaking anything and without killing anyone! I'll just win!"
Bongsun puffed out her nonexistent chest as if she was confident, but it was an expression that couldn't be trusted at all.
'Tsk.'
Even if I tried not to worry, I couldn't help it.
From today onwards, martial artists would fight each other just like the name of the Shenlong Martial Arts Tournament.
This was already a matter announced by the Alliance.
'From today, the real martial arts tournament begins.'
The giant wooden board visible in front.
Beyond the densely packed crowd, the Alliance members were installing something on the board.
The tournament bracket.
The paper on which the bracket for today's main tournament would be written was hanging in front of the board, and many people were gathered to watch it.
In the eyes of the martial artists looking at it, various emotions could be seen.
There was earnestness.
And there were those filled with ecstasy.
They would each be harboring various emotions and craving it.
Could the martial arts tournament held by the Alliance be that desperate?
Honestly, it was a part I couldn't understand.
Around the time I was looking around and cooling my insides.
"Young Master. It's up."
Tang Xiaolie relayed the message to me.
I turned my gaze and looked at the board again.
Just as Tang Xiaolie said, the paper prepared by the Alliance was hanging on the board.
I quickly scanned with my eyes.
'Hmm.'
I slightly frowned as I checked.
'It seems they aren't fighting within their groups.'
White and Blue Groups.
Green and Red Groups.
It seemed they had matched the sparring matches by colors.
"Ah, no way..."
"Lingqing Jian of all people...! How am I supposed to beat him..."
The martial artists let out lamentations as they looked at the bracket.
They were the words of the weak who were matched against existences whose monikers were known just by their names.
At the same time, opposing voices also burst out.
"Good. I'll finish the first sparring match lightly."
"I'll finish it quickly and go have a drink."
They showed joyful signs with smiles on their faces.
A conviction that they would never lose could be felt.
Amidst the slowly spreading emotions, I confirmed my name.
White Group.
Shanxi Gu Clan, Gu Yangchen.
'Found it.'
The name written around the middle. After finding it, I checked my opponent as well.
Blue Group. Guangdong Ming Clan, Ming Qingsheng.
'Ming Qingsheng?'
The opponent was a name I had heard somewhere before.
'Ah.'
I remembered.
He was the guy who had been loudly talked about since the first day, something about the Fenglin Weitan Quan or whatever.
He was said to be quite a famous martial artist.
Honestly, I don't really know.
So I roughly grasped the opponent and checked the other side.
'The guy on Bongsun's side is someone I don't know either.'
Then on Tang Xiaolie's side...
'Hmm?'
I had to widen my eyes after checking Tang Xiaolie's opponent.
'Look at this?'
Because it had gotten a bit interesting.
Green Group. Sichuan Tang Clan, Tang Xiaolie.
Red Group. Liaoning Bai Clan, Bai Qingzhen.
Liaoning Bai Clan, Bai Qingzhen. This too was a name I knew. How could I not?
Tang Xiaolie's opponent was Yutan Jian.
What kind of prank is this again?
Did the Alliance intend this?
Or is it really a coincidence?
It felt suspicious for a coincidence, but it wasn't a certainty.
I shifted my gaze and looked at Tang Xiaolie.
It seemed she had also checked her opponent.
I was certain after seeing Tang Xiaolie's expression.
'There's nothing to worry about...'
Her sunken eyes and well-honed energy.
Tang Xiaolie's state was like calm waves.
Rather.
'...She feels a bit scary?'
I had to feel an unknown chill from Tang Xiaolie's appearance.
How should I put it. Tang Xiaolie's eyes right now were as if...
'How should I play with my opponent?'
She seemed to be pondering that.