Chapter 168: True Dragon (2)

True Dragon (2)

“They say he’s called the True Dragon.”

“You mean the winner this time?”

On the day the finals concluded, the inn’s atmosphere was hotter than ever.

As it always was on the day the martial arts tournament ended.

But this time, the fervor was different.

Was it because a new Dragon was born?

Or perhaps because it produced the most rising stars in the history of the martial arts tournaments?

Or maybe the exhilaration from the martial prowess the young boy displayed hadn’t yet faded.

Amidst it all, a man quietly spoke.

As if the fervor displeased him.

“True Dragon (眞龍)? Isn’t that name a bit arrogant? Calling himself the real dragon…”

Does that mean others like Brain Dragon or Sword Dragon are fake?

“This tournament’s winner, they say it was a fight between mere toddlers who haven’t even grown proper fuzz yet. What’s so great about it?”

“Oh, come on, look at this guy.”

Hearing the man’s grumbling, the others let out sighs of exasperation.

Just as they were about to chime in.

“Leave him be. Kim Chung couldn’t make it because he was working, so he’s just throwing a tantrum.”

“Did I say anything wrong? Neither Sword Dragon nor Sleeping Dragon, nor even Sword Peak or Twin Dragon, none of them showed up. What’s so fun about a martial arts tournament…”

The man called Kim Chung just scowled and downed his drink repeatedly.

Watching him, Cheon Sangju of the Cheol Sang family chuckled.

‘He’s really throwing a big tantrum.’

Well, with such a fervent reaction.

He couldn’t help but be furious that he couldn’t witness it himself.

‘I told him we should go together.’

I knew it from the moment he curtly replied, ‘Why go watch a tournament when half the Dragons and Phoenixes aren’t even coming?’

Cheon Sangju dared to say.

Unlike his expectation that this tournament would be empty.

It was the most impressive martial arts tournament he had ever witnessed.

Wasn’t it?

Three new rising talents emerged and earned nicknames, and one was called the new Dragon, sitting in the upper seats.

“Even so, the True Dragon… what a True Dragon…”

“It sounds cool enough, what’s your problem?”

“He’s still a long way from reaching adulthood, how can such an arrogant nickname fit him?”

“What does age matter? If he possesses such value, he deserves to be called that.”

“That doesn’t make sense. No matter how high his talent… you all saw it, didn’t you? This is clearly a special privilege from the Alliance…”

Kim Chung looked around, seeking agreement, but the others just looked at him with smirks.

“Privilege? Stop talking nonsense.”

“You can only say that because you didn’t see it, but Kim Chung, you’re really something else.”

“So, you’re saying that young martial artist is worthy enough to be called the True Dragon?”

This time, Cheon Sangju spoke directly.

“More than enough.”

“Cheon Sangju?”

Kim Chung looked at Cheon Sangju with surprised eyes.

Because Cheon Sangju was someone who typically didn’t get involved in such matters.

Cheon Sangju looked at Kim Chung and said.

“You might not know because you didn’t see the young boy’s value, but I certainly did.”

Cheon Sangju was astonished after watching the final match.

Even for him, who knew nothing about martial arts (武), the boy’s level was different from other rising talents.

In fact, his own son, who watched the matches with him, decided to quit his martial arts training and take over the family business.

Stating he didn’t feel capable of living amongst them.

And Cheon Sangju respected his son’s choice. He felt he would have done the same.

‘This must be what they mean when they say talent is terrifying.’

A merchant’s talent lies in their eye for people.

Buy low, sell high.

Hidden within this simple principle, considered the most important and fundamental virtue of a merchant, are countless complexities.

Among them, the most fundamental is perhaps.

Finding value amidst the cheap.

‘Unfortunately, I lack that kind of eye.’

Cheon Sangju knew his limits.

If he had possessed such an eye from the start, he wouldn’t be running a small shop but would be a renowned merchant in Hanam.

However, it wasn’t entirely absent.

Living here, mingling with others, he had developed a certain acquired sense.

“Did you say calling him the True Dragon was arrogant? I think a bit differently.”

“You think it’s fitting enough?”

“Enough? It’s rather insufficient.”

Cheon Sangju was rather puzzled.

Why the Alliance hadn’t given the vacant Dragon position to the boy.

Because, in Cheon Sangju’s view, the True Dragon’s performance was more impactful than Peng Woojin’s past actions.

‘They say the Dragon position was already decided. Is that true?’

It was a rumor circulating among the public.

That the Dragon position this time was already set.

‘Surely that can’t be true.’

After the tournament ended, when the Alliance Leader came out to offer words of encouragement.

Cheon Sangju observed the Alliance Leader.

Recalling that the True Dragon’s opponent at the time was Jang Seonyeon, who was now starting to be called a Rising Star.

‘To maintain his composure even when his own child was so ruined.’

From the perspective of someone who saw how Jang Seonyeon was defeated.

Cheon Sangju was surprised that he maintained the appearance of an Alliance Leader, not a father whose child had lost.

That’s why he couldn’t believe such baseless rumors.

“Kim Chung. Stop showing such a pathetic side and sit down to talk about something else.”

Honestly, getting old but still whining about not seeing a single match.

‘I guess I would have regretted not seeing that match for the rest of my life too.’

He could understand the sentiment.

It was undeniably the birth of a martial artist who would dominate the era.

As someone from the Central Plains, there would be nothing more regrettable and disappointing than not witnessing the process of such a birth.

Cheon Sangju recalled a boy’s face in his mind.

‘True Dragon…’

The boy, whom he didn’t recognize by name without his surname.

Was now called the True Dragon of the Shanxi Gu family.

This was an achievement just three to four days after the boy first appeared.

He thought it might be the event that would cause the biggest stir this year.

However.

‘His final expression is a bit concerning.’

The expression, too heavy for a young boy, remained in his memory.

It was an unusual reaction for a boy who had won the tournament, something rising talents dream of.

Others said it was cool not to be overjoyed just by winning a tournament like this.

They spouted nonsense like, ‘Isn’t that the unique aura of a genius?’

But in Cheon Sangju’s eyes, it didn’t seem quite like that.

---

A field far from the Alliance’s martial arts stage where the tournament was held.

I stood alone, quietly watching the falling snow.

The snow was slowly leaving traces on the ground.

While simply watching it, my mind was endlessly complicated.

-Dokgo Jun is looking for you.

The end of the match.

The name that guy left behind wouldn’t leave my ears.

‘Dokgo Jun.’

It was a name I’d never heard before.

In both my past life and this one.

Not the name of any family clan. Not the name referring to any sect.

It was truly a name I’d never heard in my life.

‘Who is it… Who could it be?’

Who was it?

The guy who spoke to me through Jang Seonyeon’s mouth.

How could he do such a thing?

Is he someone like Old Man Shin? If so, he was definitely different.

The chilling presence, like the tip of a sword aimed at the crown of my head, was definitely different from that.

If I had to compare.

He resembled the Heavenly Demon.

‘It’s a stretch to compare him to the Heavenly Demon, but it was definitely that kind of feeling.’

The Heavenly Demon, called a god, was more than that, but that was the feeling.

And what else?

The guy hiding inside my body.

‘Fuck… Can’t I just live my life comfortably?’

As soon as one thing ended, another popped out and complicated things.

Even without it, I felt like I was already crushed under the weight of what I had.

If there are gods, they are definitely not on my side.

“You too, say something. Stop shutting up.”

My voice, growling unable to contain my anger, quietly scattered with the wind.

Although I spoke alone in the empty field, it wasn’t just talking to myself.

“You were chattering away earlier, why are you shutting up now?”

The guy who appeared at the end of the match and ravenously devoured energy.

I tried talking to the unknown entity coiled within my body, but.

That guy had remained silent ever since Jang Seonyeon lost consciousness.

“This really sucks…”

I just thought of it as a curse that came along with my regression.

Since the Demonic Heaven Absorption technique was the Heavenly Demon’s power, it wasn’t strange for any mysterious situation to occur.

Even though I traveled back in time, I couldn’t escape the Heavenly Demon’s grasp.

I just thought that way.

But something seemed more twisted.

“Do you want something from me? Why are you all messing with me?”

Maybe because my mind is so complicated, no good words come out.

Did Jang Seonyeon possess such power from the beginning?

Or has something changed?

‘It’s more likely that I just didn’t know.’

Just as much as what I knew from my past life differed from what I discovered after regressing.

It was highly probable that it would be the same this time.

‘What the hell is that guy anyway?’

The Black Night Palace not only used crude demonic energy but was also doing suspicious things to cultivate strange flowers.

Jang Seonyeon was also doing things unknown to others.

I wasn’t interested in whether these were right or wrong deeds. I wasn’t a chivalrous hero.

What mattered was that these were things I didn’t know.

‘What should I do?’

Now that I know, should I deal with it?

The guy who spoke to me through Jang Seonyeon’s mouth seemed to recognize me, so I had to consider the possibility that information about me had already reached him.

Sick of this situation, I bit my lip and then shouted, unable to hold back.

“If you want something, at least say it. Then I can decide whether to grant it or not.”

These were words directed at the entity living within my body.

Although, honestly, I didn’t intend to listen even if he spoke.

I felt like I needed to hear something to ease my mind.

“Haa…”

I swept my hand down my face.

I repeated the dry wash.

Even though I’d finished most of the things I intended to do upon coming to Hanam, my mood wasn’t improving much, probably because of this.

‘He called it a gift, didn’t he?’

The last words of the guy who called himself Dokgo Jun.

The talk about leaving me a gift.

I soon realized what that meant.

I let out a hollow laugh and asked.

“You devoured so much, why aren’t you eating all of this?”

The energy extracted from Jang Seonyeon’s body.

More precisely, the energy Dokgo Jun gave me wasn’t being purified properly.

Like an empty space in a corner of my dantian, greedily filled with demonic energy.

This guy also took up a spot.

‘Is the purification actually happening properly?’

Demonic energy, upon absorption, is purified as if devoured by the Nine Flame Wheel Technique.

Then what about this current energy?

‘I don’t know.’

I didn’t feel the sensation of purification.

Rather, should I say it’s merging with the Nine Flame Wheel Technique?

I gently rubbed my belly and gradually applied force to my body.

Ssssuuuu….

The energy spread from the dantian through the meridians to my entire body.

It was the basic stage of raising internal energy to strengthen the body.

Unless I used the Gu family’s secret technique that contained heat, it would normally end here.

“…Haa…”

Focusing my energy sense slightly on my dantian, a hidden, coiled energy mixed with my internal energy.

Then, I felt the strength in my body instantly enhance.

This was the gift Dokgo Jun had mentioned.

Just as Jang Seonyeon had, and Namgung Cheonjun had.

I too could now use the energy those guys used.

‘This is insane.’

This wasn’t said with admiration.

It was said out of a nagging feeling like another shackle had been placed on me.

Receiving power from an unknown entity was already too much.

No, even one was overwhelming.

I could tell just by moving my body slightly.

That this wasn’t just helpful power.

I felt the energy I possessed being consumed at an absurd rate, but.

Even considering that, the overwhelming power felt more than enough.

It wasn’t just the physical enhancement either.

Hwaruruk.

I mixed energy into my palm and created flames.

I wondered if this would work, having seen Jang Seonyeon’s martial arts get enhanced.

“…What bullshit, really.”

As soon as I saw the burning flames, I had to curse.

Where were the flames that emitted a somewhat bright light, imbued with Daoist energy?

This time, it was emitting blue flames.

“I’ll definitely draw attention.”

Looking at the color of the flames, it was the perfect color to be accused of dark arts.

Even the color of the flames changed.

“If my father even sees this, there’s no way I can explain it.”

I couldn’t imagine what my father, let alone other family members, would think if they saw this.

And what about excuses?

Should I say, ‘I went to Hanam and got my flame color dyed as a gift’?

‘Heh, fuck.’

My head throbbed.

Pak!

I clenched my fist and burst the flames.

And then, igniting the flames again.

Hwaruruk-

‘It’s back.’

It had returned to the original color it emitted.

This seemed to be the difference between using the energy and not using it.

‘If I need to hide it, I think I can.’

It was a small blessing amidst misfortune. Just as I was about to calm the energy and move my feet.

“…!”

Feeling dizzy, my body swayed. It was a momentary sensation, so I quickly corrected my posture.

‘Is it the backlash from the energy?’

Such backlash from using it for just a moment.

If the returning shock was this much, I could understand why Jang Seonyeon didn’t want to use it consecutively.

What was slightly puzzling was.

Considering the amount and duration of energy Jang Seonyeon used, it would have been even more than this.

The backlash and consumption would have been proportionally overwhelming.

But for someone like that, he seemed fine.

‘Either the backlash I receive is strong, or the amount of energy I use is large.’

Either way, it was just a pretty shell with no substance, so the situation was equally shitty.

Even in this situation, I had to force the corners of my mouth up.

“…I won’t break just because of this.”

No matter how shitty the world treated me.

At least it was a better situation than my past life.

None of the people I cared about had died.

And I could now eliminate those who left scars on me with my own hands.

I could endure this much.

“I’m tired…”

Although I was a bit tired.

Heat was rising in my body, but somehow the cold wind blowing felt overwhelming.

Was it because it was unusually cold?

I missed Old Man Shin, who was just sleeping inside my body, just a tiny bit.

Besides longing.

There was something I wanted to ask Old Man Shin.

I had a hunch that perhaps Old Man Shin might know something about Dokgo Jun.

Though I didn’t know why.

‘So please wake up quickly.’

Before it’s too late.

---

After experimenting a bit more with the energy alone, I returned to the tent.

The sun had long set, and with the tournament over, it felt like most people had left.

Although there were still events like the Alliance Leader’s congratulatory speech for the winner tomorrow, and the semi-finals between Namgung Bi-ah and Moyong Hi-ah.

They didn’t seem to be considered particularly important schedules.

‘Well, it’s a place that only recognizes the winner.’

It might be like that in any world, but this was a place particularly obsessed with being the best.

“Oh! Doryeonnim!”

As soon as I entered the tent, Wi Seol-ah scurried over and hugged me.

“Ack…!”

Perhaps the body slam was a bit strong, as I unintentionally let out a small sound.

Maybe it was the accumulated fatigue from experimenting with the energy, but Wi Seol-ah’s hug made my head throb slightly.

‘…Or maybe not, she seems to have gotten a bit tougher.’

“Uh… uh… Doryeonnim, are you okay?”

Perhaps because I made a sound I don’t usually make, Wi Seol-ah looked at me with concern.

I forced a smile and replied, indicating I was fine.

“I’m okay. I was just a bit surprised.”

“When Doryeonnim smiles so menacingly, something must be wrong…”

“…What, punk?”

Menacingly…?

I tried my best to smile for her.

As I pinched Wi Seol-ah’s cheek out of annoyance, another voice cut in from the side.

“Gu Gongja-nim, have you arrived…?”

It was Tang Soyeol. I saw Namgung Bi-ah sleeping with her head on Tang Soyeol’s lap.

“Ah, Unnie fell asleep waiting for Gongja-nim just now.”

“You mean she wasn’t just sleeping?”

“R-really.”

“…Right.”

Even though it was hard to believe, I decided to just let it slide.

“Oh right, Young Master, the Beggars’ Sect was looking for you earlier today.”

“Beggars’ Sect?”

Hearing Tang Soyeol’s words, I immediately thought of Chu Ong.

He must have come quickly as soon as he heard the news of my victory.

“When I arrived, Seol-ah was already meeting him.”

“Her?”

“Kkeu-eui-…”

Wi Seol-ah meeting Chu Ong.

That would have been quite a sight, so it was a bit disappointing not to have seen it.

‘Because he was a comrade from my past life.’

King of Walkers and Divine Sword, and a few others.

A group composed entirely of highly capable experts.

As he was one of the few people Divine Sword Wi Seol-ah felt affection for.

Their meeting must have held various meanings.

If only I had the memories.

‘Now, he would have just been a beggar.’

“He asked me to tell you, when the True Dragon-kkeseo comes, that Chu Ong of the Beggars’ Sect had come looking for you.”

“Thanks for telling me. I heard, so I should speak to him if I see him later…”

As I was replying to Tang Soyeol, a strange piece of information was inserted.

“What Dragon did you just say?”

“True Dragon!”

When I asked again, Tang Soyeol replied excitedly.

“…True Dragon?”

Is that possibly referring to me?

‘Seems like it.’

Seeing how sparkling Tang Soyeol’s eyes were, it must be me.

I had to laugh hollowly at that sight.

“…What’s with that tacky nickname.”

Calling myself the real dragon.

My sensibilities recoiled just hearing it.

‘Although my past life’s nickname was shittier.’

True Dragon is slightly better.

“Aren’t you happy, Gongja-nim?”

“What’s there to be happy about…?”

“You should be happy!”

Does she mean I should be happy to be squeezed between geniuses who are said to be the best?

Even though the situation was like that, acting happy now would be embarrassing.

Since Tang Soyeol kept giving me expectant looks, I eventually spoke, pretending to be swayed.

“Woooow…. I’m so happy…”

“…Wow, Gu Gongja-nim, you really sound soulless.”

I tried my best, though…

Meanwhile, I deliberately pretended not to hear Tang Soyeol whispering, ‘Even your expressionless face is handsome.’

And behind them.

Wi Seol-ah was looking at the sky beyond the tent’s canvas.

The direction of her gaze was west.

None other than the Murim Alliance, specifically in the direction where Jang Cheon and Jang Seonyeon were.