Chapter 704: Divine Dragon Martial Arts Festival

The preliminary rounds concluded, and evening arrived.

After finishing what happened in the morning and completing my meal.

I looked at Bongsun in front of me and asked,

“Everything okay?”

“Huh?”

Bongsun tilted her head at my question.

Seeing she didn’t seem to understand, I frowned and asked again.

“Didn’t cause any trouble?”

Only then did Bongsun seem to understand, nodding her head vigorously.

“Didn’t! Because the Cult Leader told me not to do anything!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Really didn’t! Didn’t do anything! So, let’s pair up…”

“Shut up.”

“Okay.”

I cut her off before she could spout any more nonsense.

‘Did she really do nothing?’

Given her usual behavior, suspicion clung to me like grime, but there was no other way to confirm.

If it were usual circumstances, I would have secretly followed her to check.

‘Penetrating even the inner formation is too much…’

The formation Meng had set up around the area for the exam was the problem.

I could probably break it, but attempting it risked discovery, so I didn’t bother.

Perhaps my suspicion was the issue.

“I really didn’t do anything!”

Bongsun shouted, sounding displeased.

“I didn’t kill anyone! Not yet!”

Not yet…?

That trailing remark bothered me quite a bit, but for now, I just nodded vaguely.

“…Right…. Good job.”

“That’s right! I did good! So let’s pair up…”

“Get lost.”

“Okay.”

Whether she was actually listening or not, Bongsun abruptly stood up and disappeared at my command to get lost.

I let out a deep sigh at her retreating figure as she scurried away.

She’s become much more human-like, but she’s still hopelessly dim.

‘No, perhaps ‘a beast pretending to be human’ is more fitting.’

A beast putting on human airs.

That’s exactly what Bongsun felt like.

I brought Bongsun here two years ago, after finding her living with stray dogs in the Gwangju region.

I pulled her away from where she was tearing into the local thugs.

At the time, Bongsun was the very definition of a talking monster.

Although she could use language, she acted purely on instinct.

And the fact that she had raised her cultivation level in that state made her no different from a monster.

‘It’s strange.’

Her cultivation level was far beyond the peak, yet her mental state was like that of a child.

It makes me wonder who taught her to raise her cultivation.

She’s definitely related to the previous Sword Queen, but considering it’s been over a decade since the Queen died.

It’s unlikely that Eunryeong Sword Queen taught her.

‘She says she doesn’t remember either, so there’s nothing more I can dig up.’

I asked Bongsun about it when the question arose, but she said she didn’t recall anything specific.

Given that she couldn’t lie to me due to her demonic energy, her words had to be true.

I had to put the thought aside after pondering it briefly.

‘It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t remember anyway.’

What matters is that I can utilize Bongsun’s full strength, and that I can use her to increase the completeness of my plan.

In this situation, Bongsun’s past was completely irrelevant.

“The problem lies with the Amipa sect.”

I took a sip of tea, recalling the events of the morning.

The tea tingled on my tongue as it entered my mouth.

It was because I had added a little poison to the tea leaves.

Drinking it like this intensified the toxicity, and since the poison didn’t spoil the taste, I was deliberately mixing it in.

“…Hmm.”

Amipa. The female monks of Sichuan.

‘What’s their relationship with Bongsun?’

From what I saw, they seemed more interested in the treasure Bongsun possessed than in Bongsun herself.

‘Does that mean…. they weren’t looking for the Sword Queen in the first place?’

Their reaction was ambiguous, and the circumstances unclear, making it difficult to grasp the situation yet.

However.

“The traps are set, and they should react soon.”

I had already laid the groundwork for this part.

I killed a woman from the Amipa sect and sent her to their residence.

Using Mang’s authority, I sent Meng’s insignia mixed with ambiguous words, and erased her after calculating the time.

‘I wonder how they’ll react.’

The reason I did this was to check their response.

If they were operating secretly behind Meng’s back, there would be a change.

And if they had an agreement with Meng, there would be a corresponding change.

‘If the Sect Leader isn’t an idiot, this should serve as an adequate warning.’

The Amipa Sect Leader was called Bunwol Gwonseon, wasn’t it?

Bunwol Gwonseon (粉月拳仙) of the Seven Iron, Three Fists.

Wasn’t that nickname given because her fists were extraordinary for a woman who wore powder?

I believed she wouldn’t be a foolish person, being ranked among the top ten martial artists.

The situation where I used Meng’s insignia so openly.

They would surely consider the possibility that a third party might have intervened.

Someone anticipating conflict or an agreement with Meng might be using them to observe me.

If it were me, I would be cautious in such a situation.

Furthermore.

‘If they knew I possessed this, they’d be even more cautious.’

I chuckled, looking at the letter in my hand.

The letter was taken from the person of the Amipa sect.

It contained several pages, and familiar names were written on them.

Including my name and several other martial artists.

Specifically, names of participants in the Martial Arts Tournament.

‘Probably the names of those who sent the poison.’

This overlapped with the information I had my assassination squad gather.

With a few additions, it seemed to include those whose information I couldn’t find.

“Hmm.”

The Orthodox Sect.

And the Amipa sect, which was considered Unspoken, why would they be doing such a thing?

I hadn’t paid them much attention until now, but this situation sparked some interest.

‘Should I look into it a bit?’

Since it was related to Bongsun, I had to investigate.

Oh, and of course.

Naturally, I wasn’t going to move myself.

Putting down the tea I was drinking, I looked beside me and spoke.

“Well then, I’ll be counting on you.”

“…Huh? What?”

Cheol Ji-seon, who was blankly eating, tilted his head at my words.

---

Sarak.

As I walked along the path, I examined the letter in my hand.

Several pages were filled with dense writing, all of it information compiled by Zhuge Hyuk-nim and Cheol Ji-seon-ssi.

‘The Hubei region is mostly handled. As for Shandong province, I think I can leave it to House Lord Hwangbo…’

Zhuge Hyuk-nim seemed to have handled it beforehand, as it was easy to grasp the information despite the volume.

‘I need to track the movements of the First Dragon Master separately…. and check on Tang Deok’s situation.’

I sent Nahi regarding Tang Deok, so it should be mostly handled.

It would be good if the First Dragon Master could be tied down or killed in the process, but

I doubted that would be possible.

‘At least, it would be problematic while things are in progress.’

As my feet are tied here, I must refrain from excessive actions.

‘To handle things properly, it seems like it should be right after all this is over.’

I also need to see how the situation unfolds by the time the Martial Arts Tournament ends.

If things go as expected, there won’t be a problem, but my life has never been that lucky.

‘…I always need to consider the worst-case scenario.’

That way, it’ll be easier to handle things when accidents happen.

‘The problem here is…. Tang Soyeol and Wi Seol-ah.’

The two participating together in the martial arts competition is what concerns me.

Wi Seol-ah passed on the first day, and I received word that Tang Soyeol also passed today.

‘Hmm.’

Honestly, I question why the two of them participated in the competition, but that alone isn’t the issue.

The problem is….

As soon as the preliminaries end, it transitions directly into the main competition.

The issue arises if they end up on the same martial stage.

‘I wish it were Woo Hyuk instead.’

If Woo Hyuk were competing, I could beat him without holding back.

Unfortunately, Woo Hyuk couldn’t participate in the main competition.

‘What was the reason again?’

I heard that since the Alliance Leader is from Wudang, Wudang wouldn’t participate for the sake of fairness?

‘Ha.’

Fairness?

It’s laughable that they’re bringing that up now.

At a time when they only sent recommendation letters to those with status, calling it fairness now?

‘If they were going to live by that, they should have done so earlier.’

Recalling the previous Alliance Leader, Nakgeom.

When that bastard Jang was sent out during the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, the Alliance’s fairness had already been ruined long ago.

‘Is he trying to give the impression that he’s clean now, even at this late stage?’

Actually, the public reaction wasn’t bad right after the Sword Immortal spoke those words.

Did they say he was a different Alliance Leader than before?

‘Tsk…’

I had a lot to say, but I held back.

Besides, Woo Hyuk didn’t seem eager to participate either.

‘…It’s dangerous for him to participate right now.’

Although I occasionally spar with him under the guise of practice….

Woo Hyuk, who has now become a Dragon even if he was half-Dragon before.

His strength has increased, but his body has changed, making him unable to control his power properly.

Woo Hyuk himself doesn’t seem to know how strong he’s become. He needs to be trained until he realizes it.

‘And I need to get rolled around a bit in the process.’

There isn’t much time left.

I’ve surpassed my previous life’s cultivation, but I can’t afford to be complacent.

‘It’s possible I might not be able to use the Nine Flame Wheel Technique under certain circumstances.’

This is the danger I realized when I met my grandfather.

I don’t know how, but my grandfather seems capable of reclaiming the internal energy I possess.

If I lose the flame, my entire plan will crumble.

Just because I lost one martial art technique.

‘I’m truly incompetent.’

To be in a situation where I can’t do anything if my power is taken away. How incompetent am I?

That’s why I need to prepare.

Preparation so that I can handle things even if one power is taken away.

Thump.

I stopped walking.

I had arrived at my destination.

There was a door before me, and I naturally knocked on it with my hand.

Knock, knock-

“…”

No response. I knocked again.

Knock, knock, knock-

“…”

Still nothing.

Knock…. Knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock-

*Knock…. *

Creeeak-!

After knocking rapidly for a while with the same rhythm, the person I was waiting for finally opened the door and greeted me.

“You damn bastard! Do you know what time it is!?”

A frail old man, his white hair and beard full.

Sin-ui greeted me with a smile.

“It’s dawn, dawn! Everyone’s asleep, why are you disturbing me!”

“Dawn? Sir, it hasn’t even passed the Hae-si (8-10 PM) yet.”

“But it’s true that everyone else is asleep, isn’t it?”

“However, you weren’t asleep, were you, Sin-ui?”

“You damn nuisance…!”

Sin-ui’s face turned red as I retorted without conceding a single point.

Ah, dangerous. That’s a sign he’s genuinely angry.

I quickly took out the letter from my pocket and showed it to Sin-ui.

“What do you take me for-!”

“It’s an edited letter from Hyuk-nim. Please accept it.”

“…”

Sin-ui, who was about to get angry, instantly calmed down upon seeing the letter, as if possessed.

As expected, it was good that I brought it.

“Hmm…”

“I brought it right after receiving it. Please calm your anger.”

“…I’ll let it slide for Hyuk’s sake, but there won’t be a next time…”

“So, can I come in?”

“You’re already inside, you damn brat…”

Before Sin-ui could finish speaking, I stepped into his residence.

Unlike the adjacent clinic, this residence looked smaller and shabbier.

I heard Sin-ui himself requested a smaller one to be built separately.

He said it was too overwhelming if it was too large.

Anyway, he was a modest old man.

I took off my shoes and entered the residence.

Inside, there was a small desk and a lamp. A huge pile of letters lay on the desk.

All related to treatment methods or medicinal herbs.

Seeing that, I let out a hollow breath.

“Do you always look at all of that?”

“Look at it, my ass. How could this old man possibly look at all of it?”

“Then?”

“I memorized it when I was young. I keep them piled up like this to refer to when I can’t remember.”

“With them piled up like this, how do you find them when needed?”

“If you memorize where things are located and on which pages, it’s easy to find them.”

“…”

Meaning, how do you memorize that…

I couldn’t ask this question and had to keep it to myself.

“So.”

As I was looking through the letters, Sin-ui asked.

“Are you going to do it today too?”

I answered affirmatively to his question.

“Yes.”

Upon hearing my answer, Sin-ui frowned.

“You said you’d have a group brawl in a few days, wouldn’t it be better to rest your body?”

“A group brawl? Sir… Isn’t there a fancy term called the Martial Arts Competition?”

“What else is that but a brawl?”

“…”

It wasn’t wrong, so I chuckled sheepishly.

A group brawl. That term felt quite fitting.

Anyway.

“My body can rest after I die. And isn’t the person who will treat me right next to me?”

“Not only did you talk about dying or not in front of a physician… Are you going to use this old man as you please?”

“Since you’re doing it anyway, just do it all.”

“Hah, you’re as shameless as a devil.”

Sin-ui reacted displeasedly, but I knew.

Even though the old man said such things, he had a deep affection for people.

Therefore, he would help me this time too.

“…Sit down. I need to finish this quickly today and get some sleep.”

“Thank you.”

I smiled at Sin-ui’s words and sat down.

The reason I sought out Sin-ui like this was none other than this.

“Prepare yourself.”

Right after meeting my grandfather.

I immediately sought out Sin-ui and began learning the current sorcery from him.

Sin-ui seemed quite surprised when I first mentioned sorcery, but he seemed to understand to some extent when I explained that I learned it in the Northern Sea.

As he had seen it when fixing Zhuge Hyuk’s neck before, it must have been easy for him to understand since he also practiced sorcery.

I had little information about sorcery, so I was receiving training from Sin-ui, who knew at least a little about it.

Honestly, I thought it wouldn’t be helpful for now.

I just wanted to try learning this strange power….

After using it a few times, I felt like I understood something.

The ring of sorcery flowing through my heart.

‘This…’

If my guess is correct, I might be able to create another method even if my grandfather takes away the flame through sorcery.

Also.

‘I can use a bigger flame.’

It seems I can strengthen other martial arts techniques, including the Nine Flame Wheel Technique.

“…Alright, unfold the ring.”

At Sin-ui’s words, I slowly applied force to my heart.

And so, I received training as time passed.

---

Two days passed.

I was inside the Martial Arts Alliance I had found earlier.

The preliminary rounds, held over three days in two phases, had concluded, and it was now time for the main tournament.

“Will the main tournament be held in groups?”

“Since the preliminaries were fought within groups. Won’t it be the same this time?”

The crowd was no different from the first day.

Hundreds of martial artists, at a rough estimate.

The main difference was that all of them had easily surpassed the peak level.

These were the ones who broke the Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron and shattered formations to qualify.

The truly elite martial artists, filtered twice, were gathered here.

‘The feeling is completely different from the first day.’

Even the density of the air was different, and the aura emanating from the individuals was different.

Damnably lethal.

As if they had no intention of hiding their auras, the psychic battles occurring in the air were top-notch.

Seeing that, I scowled.

‘They’re really showing off.’

I wondered why they were expending so much energy already.

Just then.

“Wow, there are so many people. Look over there, Unni! There’s another bald…” muffled!

As Bongsun was watching the crowd and about to say something, Tang Soyeol instantly covered her mouth.

“Please… Please be quiet…!”

“Ggukp! Ggeukp…. Slurp?”

“Kyaak!”

Tang Soyeol, who had been covering her mouth, pulled her hand away in shock.

It seemed Bongsun had licked Tang Soyeol’s palm.

“…”

I shook my head watching that.

For some reason, Bongsun seemed to like Tang Soyeol.

As a result, only Tang Soyeol was suffering from Bongsun’s antics.

For me, it was fortunate that there was someone who could control that damned creature….

‘The preliminaries were three days. The main tournament is two days, wasn’t it?’

I was in the first day group again, and so were Tang Soyeol and Bongsun.

“…You. You haven’t forgotten what I said yesterday, right?”

“Huh? Yeah!”

“I’ll say it again, just win. Don’t cause a ruckus.”

“Of course! I won’t break anything or kill anyone! I’ll just win!”

Bongsun said this, puffing out her non-existent chest with confidence, but her expression was not convincing at all.

‘Tsk.’

Even though I tried not to worry, I couldn’t help it.

Starting today, as the name Divine Dragon Martial Arts Tournament suggests, martial artists will clash against each other.

This was already announced by the Alliance.

‘It’s the real start of the Martial Arts Competition from today.’

The giant wooden board in front of us.

Beyond the densely gathered crowd, the Alliance members were installing something on the board.

The match list.

The paper with the matches for today’s main tournament was being hung in front of the board, and many people were gathered to watch.

The eyes of the martial artists watching it showed various emotions.

There was desperation.

Some were filled with ecstasy.

They yearned with various emotions.

Is the martial arts competition held by the Alliance that desperate?

Frankly, I didn’t understand why.

As I looked around to cool my head.

“Young Master. You’re up.”

Tang Soyeol informed me.

I turned my gaze back to the board.

As Tang Soyeol said, the paper prepared by the Alliance was hung on the board.

I quickly scanned it.

‘Hmm.’

As I confirmed, I slightly frowned.

‘It seems we’re not fighting within groups.’

White and Blue groups.

Green and Red groups.

It seemed the matches were arranged by color.

“Ah, noooo…”

“Flowing Bullet Sword…! How am I supposed to beat him…?”

As they looked at the match list, martial artists cried out in lament.

These were the words of the weaker individuals, matched against those whose aliases they knew just by name.

Simultaneously, opposing voices also erupted.

“Good. The first match will be an easy win.”

“I should finish quickly and go for drinks.”

They showed excitement, wearing smiles.

Confidence that they absolutely wouldn’t lose was palpable.

Amidst the emotions slowly spreading, I found my name.

White group. Sanseogu’s Gu Yangcheon.

‘Found it.’

I found the name near the middle and checked my opponent.

Blue group. Guangdong’s famous clan, Myungcheong Seong.

‘Myungcheong Seong?’

The opponent’s name was familiar.

‘Ah.’

I remembered.

He was the person who had been making noise since the first day about ‘Pungnim Witangwon’ or something.

They said he was quite a famous martial artist.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure.

So, after briefly assessing my opponent, I checked the other side.

‘Bongsun’s opponent is also someone I don’t know.’

Then what about Tang Soyeol’s opponent…

‘Hmm?’

I checked Tang Soyeol’s opponent and widened my eyes.

‘Look at this?’

It had become a little interesting.

Green group. Sichuan Tang Clan’s Tang Soyeol.

Yellow Hundred Clans’ Baek Cheong-jin.

Yoryeong Baekga’s Baek Cheong-jin. This was also a name I knew. How could I not?

Tang Soyeol’s opponent was none other than the Flowing Bullet Sword.

What kind of trickery was this?

Was it intentional by the Alliance?

Or was it pure coincidence?

It felt suspicious to be a coincidence, but I wasn’t certain.

I shifted my gaze to Tang Soyeol.

She seemed to have checked her opponent as well.

Looking at Tang Soyeol’s expression, I became certain.

‘No need to worry…’

Her eyes were low and calm, her aura refined.

Tang Soyeol’s state was like calm ripples on the water.

Rather.

‘…It feels a little scary?’

I felt an unknown chill from Tang Soyeol’s appearance.

How should I put it, Tang Soyeol’s eyes right now seemed like….

‘Thinking about how to toy with her opponent.’

That’s what it looked like.