Saaaaah—.
After the spar ended, all that remained on the stage were a quiet silence and the sound of the wind.
In a situation where even breathing sounds couldn't be heard, I slowly raised my head.
Ahead, I saw the fallen Fenglin Weidanquan.
Looking at him, I calmed my breathing.
‘Ah, I feel a bit sorry about this.’
At the same time, I smiled awkwardly.
I had known for a while that he had reached the Hua Realm.
I also knew he hadn't reached the Hua Realm long ago.
He tried to hide it, and while his momentum seemed concealed, he couldn't control it completely, so it leaked out little by little.
Additionally, I also knew why he was hiding his realm despite that.
So I felt a little sorry.
Originally, the protagonist of this stage right now would have been him.
‘Thanks to that, things turned out this way, so I'm also thankful.’
I raised my lowered body.
Then.
"…What the…."
"T-That's…."
The quiet silence broke, and murmuring sounds began to spread.
"Fenglin Weidanquan fell…?"
"Didn't they say he was a m-martial artist of the Hua Realm?"
"Could it have been a lie?"
Fenglin Weidanquan had reached the Hua Realm.
It was information shouted by the martial artists in the spectator seats.
Was that fake?
Such doubts crossed their minds, but the martial artists who had been watching thought differently.
"…No, Weidanquan definitely reached the Hua Realm. I, Leili Qiang, will attest to this."
"Gasp, Leili Qiang…!?"
"Leili Qiang…?"
"Y-Yes. The giant with a long scar on his cheek. It's L-Leili Qiang."
Everyone focused their attention on the words of the man sitting in the spectator seats.
Leili Qiang Benlang.
He was a martial artist ranked among the Central Plains' Top Hundred Masters.
Was he watching the martial arts tournament from the spectator seats?
And….
"Leili Qiang has testified to Fenglin Weidanquan's realm."
"…So it is true that Fenglin Weidanquan is indeed of the Hua Realm."
Perhaps because a master of the same Hua Realm level had spoken.
His words carried weight.
Fenglin Weidanquan was indeed of the Hua Realm.
As that fact spread, another question arose.
"Then…. Then, what was that just now?"
Someone's single remark was the catalyst.
"Then, what about Xiaoyan Luo? Didn't Xiaoyan Luo defeat Fenglin Weidanquan?"
"I-Isn't it sorcery?"
"Bullshit sorcery. Have you forgotten where we are? What madman would use sorcery inside the Murim Alliance!"
"In the first place, could you even win against a Hua Realm martial artist using sorcery…?"
"Then…. are you saying that young man has reached the same Hua Realm?"
With those words, the people around looked at Leili Qiang.
Leili Qiang, suddenly subjected to their stares, was momentarily flustered.
Everyone seemed to want a definitive answer from him.
"Hmm…."
Leili Qiang couldn't easily answer.
Because he hadn't properly confirmed it himself either.
The reason was.
‘I couldn't see it.’
He was called Leili Qiang because he used a spear technique faster than lightning, but even such a Leili Qiang couldn't catch Xiaoyan Luo's movements with his eyes.
It might have been because Fenglin Weidanquan blocked his field of vision, but how could he have brought down his opponent in such a fleeting instant?
‘Could it really not be sorcery?’
Leili Qiang had even thought so himself.
Because it was incomprehensible otherwise.
However, if sorcery wasn't used.
‘…That young man reached the Hua Realm?’
This would mean Xiaoyan Luo was a Hua Realm martial artist.
Moreover, not all Hua Realms are the same.
Fenglin Weidanquan was someone who had only recently reached it.
Even Leili Qiang wouldn't take long to defeat such a Weidanquan.
However.
‘I wouldn't be able to defeat him that fast.’
He wouldn't be able to subdue him as quickly as Gu Yangcheon.
At least three stances.
He would have to exchange at least that many blows.
Yet, that young man had defeated Weidanquan in an instant even he couldn't perceive, so Leili Qiang had to frown as he looked at Xiaoyan Luo.
It wasn't just Leili Qiang.
Everyone began to realize.
"Xiaoyan Luo…. Just who is he? Is he really a Hua Realm martial artist? That young man?"
"Come to think of it…. I've heard of it. A rumor that Xiaoyan Luo reached the Hua Realm a few years ago. Could that mean…."
"What are you talking about right now? I heard Xiaoyan Luo is only twenty now. A few years ago would mean…."
"Are you saying he reached it faster than the Divine Dragon? Then that's no different from the Alliance officially testifying to it."
The doubts grew larger.
They would clump together and distort into a dagger.
The sharpened dagger would be shot at the barely built wall.
And a crack would be created in that wall.
Becoming a dagger themselves.
Gu Yangcheon felt such reactions and looked at the referee.
"You must announce the result, must you not?"
"…!"
Startled by the voice, the referee reacted.
Even he seemed unable to grasp the current situation.
"Ah, y-yes…."
He momentarily mumbled blankly, then seemed to come to his senses and hastily continued.
"S-Spar over. N-Number Eighteen wi—."
"I am Number Seventeen."
"Ah."
It seemed he still hadn't come to his senses.
"Number Seventeen… w-wins."
Even with the referee's words, the murmurs still persisted.
Yes, burst with doubts like that.
Because I had endured until now for those reactions.
Shk.
Gu Yangcheon turned his back without a hint of lingering attachment and walked off the sparring stage.
As he stepped down and disappeared, only talk of Gu Yangcheon flowed from the spectator seats.
This was the very situation Gu Yangcheon had so desperately desired.
******************
I walked.
I kept walking.
Slowly, without seeming rushed. The more I moved my steps like that, the more gazes pierced into me.
They were all gazes of martial artists.
Those who would have watched the spar just now. They were all staring at my face.
Erasing their glancing looks, they looked at me openly.
Various emotions could be felt in those pouring gazes.
Shock.
Doubt.
Wariness.
Fear.
It was a whirlpool of all sorts of emotions.
But it didn't just feel bad.
"Weidanquan in one strike…?"
"His form wasn't even visible…"
"How did this…"
The murmuring sounds gave me a slight headache.
The sight of insignificant things barking was truly laughable.
Such thoughts arose unconsciously, and I had to suppress my insides.
‘Rotten.’
It was a bit better lately, but whenever I tried to act up a little, it did this.
Should I say my blood runs hot? I often felt this way.
Suppressing a sigh and walking, I arrived at the spot where Dang Soyeol and Bong Soon-i were.
Dang Soyeol, having spotted me, smiled brightly and waved her hand.
Strangely, seeing that made me feel a bit calmer.
"You worked hard."
"Worked hard my foot. I didn't do anything."
I didn't know why, but I felt a little embarrassed.
So I spoke gruffly, contrary to my inner thoughts, but Dang Soyeol only smiled upon hearing it.
"You did work hard. You hate it when other people stare, right?"
"…"
I couldn't deny it.
At Dang Soyeol's words, I smiled awkwardly.
"You did well, Young Master…. And you worked hard."
"That's right! It was cool! As expected, pairing with me—."
Taking advantage of the opening, I struck the forehead of Bong Soon-i, who was trying to spout bullshit.
"Kyah!"
Struck on the head, Bong Soon-i shrieked and grabbed her crown.
"Please… just stay quiet."
"Keuuuuugh…! I-It feels good…."
"…"
Dizzy.
My complicated insides, which had calmed down upon seeing Dang Soyeol just a moment ago, felt like they would burst looking at her.
"Pfft…."
Finding the situation funny, Dang Soyeol also seemed to barely hold back her laughter.
What a mess. An absolute mess.
All the gazes were piercing toward us, but only our atmosphere was different.
What's amazing is that it didn't feel entirely bad.
Shaking my head, I looked at Dang Soyeol.
"Aren't you nervous?"
"Huh?"
Since it hadn't even reached the fiftieth match yet, Dang Soyeol's turn would be next.
Even so, Dang Soyeol didn't seem nervous at all.
Bong Soon-i was beneath human, so that was possible for her, but why was this one so normal?
Looking at Dang Soyeol with curious eyes, I asked, and she answered.
"She's not an opponent worth being nervous about."
"Ah…."
At the convincing answer, I nodded.
Well, if it was that uncle, there really wasn't a reason to be nervous.
"Why? Do you think I'll lose?"
"Come on. No way."
There are no absolutes, but there is such a thing as probability.
Looking at that, the probability of Dang Soyeol losing to that uncle was nearly zero.
That is, unless Dang Soyeol intentionally tried to lose.
At my response, Dang Soyeol smiled with her eyes and said.
"Then you don't need to worry."
Hearing that, I slightly averted my eyes.
"Who said I was worried."
I was caught.
I tried not to show it as much as possible. How did she know?
"I won't lose. Unless it's to you, Young Master…."
Dang Soyeol wiped the smile from her face and said.
"I have no intention of losing to anyone."
To anyone.
The meaning contained in those words came to me strangely.
If it was confidence, it was confidence. If it was a competitive spirit, it was a competitive spirit.
Was Dang Soyeol originally like this? Or did the Dark King do something?
It looked good, but felt somewhat chilling.
"…Right."
Although it felt strange, I didn't bother to ask.
Dang Soyeol also turned her gaze and began to look around.
It still overflowed with gazes looking this way.
It was partly my fault.
And half of it was Dang Soyeol's fault.
"A woman of the Tang Family."
"Called the Poison Bee, was it? I heard she couldn't surpass the Peak Realm. How did she make it here."
The martial artists murmured as they looked at Dang Soyeol.
"Obvious. She must have been plotting something again."
"Well…"
The audible whispers were not good.
The Tang Family's reputation in the Central Plains was currently the worst.
Human experimentation conducted by kidnapping orphans.
Because that became known, not only their standing among the Four Great Families was affected, but there were even discussions about whether they should be kept in the Orthodox Faction in the first place.
In such a situation, with a bloodline of the sealed Tang Family revealing herself, the incoming whispers had no choice but to be entirely directed at Dang Soyeol.
"They say her family is problematic, but she is truly pretty."
"You trust her just by looking at her face? What kind of era do you think this is…. They're all the same ilk."
"Tsk tsk. Even Liutan Jian was briefly deceived. But for the situation to turn out like that, it's still that thing's faul—."
Suuh.
Unable to listen to the words any longer, I exuded ki.
Guoooo—!
"…Hiek!?"
"Heup…."
The bastards began to tremble at the killing intent.
It was hard to hold back.
Should I kill them?
Or should I burn them from the toes up?
Unable to contain my emotions, I was about to walk over to the bastards.
Ttak.
Dang Soyeol grabbed my hand and stopped me, just like last time.
In the meantime, there was one difference from back then.
"Young Master."
"…"
At her clear voice, I looked at Dang Soyeol.
There was no wavering in Dang Soyeol's eyes.
"Please don't do this."
The request she made was the same this time too.
However.
"If I only stay in your embrace like this, I won't be able to do anything."
"…!"
At Dang Soyeol's words, I was the one who had to stiffen this time.
"I don't want to live like that."
"You…"
"To be honest, I'm really happy. Just having you protect me feels like I've gained the world. But. I can't just let it be like that."
"What are you talking about?"
I asked in a panic, but Dang Soyeol smiled slightly and continued speaking.
"Being together…. isn't like that, is it?"
"…"
"I want to walk side by side with you, Young Master."
Her words, full of meaning, caught my breath.
It was even more so because I felt Dang Soyeol's sincerity.
"That's why I came. To show you."
"Show me? What?"
"That I can stand well even without your help. Not only walking, but also running and flying."
"…"
"So…. just watch over me for a little while. I'm begging you."
Strength entered the hand that held mine.
At the seemingly cold yet warm body heat, I eventually retracted the ki I had been emitting.
Saaaah….
As I withdrew my killing intent, the people who had been crushed by the ki slumped down.
"Heok…. Hak…."
"Ugh…!"
Those of lower realms even vomited.
Seeing that, I walked back and crossed my arms.
"Thank you, Young Master."
"…"
I frowned and didn't reply.
It wasn't because I disliked Dang Soyeol's attitude.
It was because I disliked myself for not being able to hold back and stepping forward, even while implicitly knowing Dang Soyeol's feelings.
At the same time, I was curious.
‘Just what is she going to show me….’
What is Dang Soyeol trying to show me by doing this?
With what kind of heart, and what is she trying to do, to go this far?
Although doubts sprouted little by little.
Those doubts were resolved before long.
******************
The sparring stage where I had been standing just a moment ago.
Someone was lying on the cold marble, bleeding.
"Keuugh… keuk."
The one groaning in pain was the Central Plains' Top Hundred Master, Liutan Jian.
A famous master said to have reached the Hua Realm.
Such a figure was bleeding and struggling, and looking at Liutan Jian, the spectators couldn't spit out a single sound, just like before.
At that moment.
Kkuuk—!
Someone lightly stomped on the face of the lying Liutan Jian.
"Keughhh!"
Liutan Jian couldn't even scream properly.
Looking at him, the owner of the leg.
Dang Soyeol smiled bewitchingly and said.
"Senior. You need to get up."
At that voice, those watching trembled.
It was cold, yet bewitching.
"Or are you going to just lie there like a dog? Truly… filthy…."
An endlessly cast-down gaze.
White calves slightly visible between her clothes.
And beneath that, Liutan Jian flinching underneath.
In this incredibly bizarre situation, I blankly stared at Dang Soyeol.
…Was this what she meant by showing me…?
If so, then something was very, very wrong.