Chapter 691: Heavenly Dragon Martial Arts Tournament (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 691: Heavenly Dragon Martial Arts Tournament (2)
Morning.
Dawn had broken, and the sun was just beginning its ascent into the sky. A cool breeze drifted through the air, heralding the end of summer.
As the wind swept across the horizon, a massive crowd gathered below.
"Those with wooden passes, form a line and come this way!"
A booming voice rang out. Imbued with Qi, the words echoed clearly in everyone’s ears despite the din of the crowd.
"Green jewels, this way!"
"Blue, over here...!"
At the commands, the sea of people began to shift. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands, and the air around them felt unusually heavy.
The amount of Qi in the air is no joke.
The density of the Qi saturating the atmosphere was staggering. When was the last time I’d felt something like this?
Was it during the war?
It was a level of intensity I hadn’t experienced since the Orthodox-Demonic War was in full swing. To feel such a stifling atmosphere within the Murim Alliance...
It just goes to show how many people have gathered.
At the very least, every person here was at the peak of the Second-Rate. Every single martial artist in the vicinity was exceptionally powerful. From young warriors who looked to be my age to veterans with salt-and-pepper hair, there wasn't a single non-martial artist in sight. Every last one of them was a warrior.
They really pulled in a crowd.
Even for a tournament hosted by the Alliance, I hadn't expected this many participants. I looked around, a reluctant sense of admiration washing over me.
I heard Shaolin went around recruiting personally. I guess that helped.
That was likely the case. After a brief scan of my surroundings, I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.
So, I'm finally here...
The day of the tournament had arrived. To be precise, it was the day the preliminaries began, and I was standing before the entrance the Murim Alliance had established. Naturally, I was here to participate.
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue at the sight. The preliminaries were scheduled to run for three days, and of all the luck, I was stuck in the first group on the very first day. This wasn't the entrance to the main grounds; passing through here would likely lead us into some remote mountain valley.
Well, it makes sense.
It would be impossible to hold preliminaries for this many people within the Alliance’s main compound. It was understandable that they would split the schedule and move the venue. It seemed they planned to utilize the widest area possible, though I had no idea what the actual test would be.
As I was calmly taking in my surroundings...
"Young Master."
I turned at the voice from behind me. Wi Seol-Ah, wearing a mask, was looking at me. She, too, had her preliminary match on the first day. Although she wore a mask to hide her face, she still drew gazes. Her graceful figure and unique aura were natural attention-grabbers.
...To think that's the best she could do.
Even with her Qi suppressed and a mask on, she still stood out this much. Should I have gotten her a treasure or something?
The one Namgung Bi-ah used to wear might have worked.
That white fox mask. I heard it was a treasure from the North designed to lower the wearer’s presence in the eyes of others.
It seems to have a similar effect to the one that bastard Tang Duk used.
Maybe I should have lent it to her, but since it was a treasure, she would have had to take it off eventually anyway. With that thought, I looked at Wi Seol-Ah.
"What color are you, Young Master?"
At her question, I examined the wooden pass in my hand, specifically the color of the jewel embedded in it.
"White."
The jewel on my pass was white. Seeing it, I shifted my gaze. At the far end, I could see a line forming around a man holding a white sign. That was where I needed to go.
"I’m blue."
Wi Seol-Ah gently showed me her pass. A blue jewel was embedded in it, sparkling in the morning light.
There were four colors in total: Green, Blue, Red, and White. Whether by coincidence or not, the colors matched the grades of the Gates of Demons.
If it’s not a coincidence, did they assign ranks based on color?
I considered it for a moment, then shook my head. As much as the Alliance was a den of idiots, would they really do something that transparent?
Probably not.
I hoped they weren't that foolish. At the very least, we weren't grouped together. Should I consider this fortunate? If anything, it was.
My eyes scanned the area. Four lines in total, with people stretching far back from the end of each. They weren't separated by gender or age, and their levels of mastery varied wildly. Some wore expressions of grim determination, while others were visibly trembling with tension. Everyone was different.
So where was it that they were all trying to go? I had no idea.
No... perhaps.
Perhaps everyone but me is looking at the same place.
An outsider who shouldn't be here. The sudden thought made me frown.
Let's not get distracted.
I shook my head to clear it.
Where's Seong Yul?
I turned my head, looking for him. Seong Yul was also scheduled for the first day. I had told him to just grab his pass and find his own way in. I wondered if he was doing alright.
That guy will manage.
He might seem a bit naive, but he wasn't incompetent. He would be fine. The real problem was...
...Bongsun.
Of all things, Bongsun’s preliminary was on the second day, not today. I would have to send her in alone tomorrow. Just the thought of it made me feel a wave of exhaustion.
I did place some restrictions on her...
I had placed a few bindings on Bongsun beforehand to prevent her from causing a disaster.
First: She must absolutely keep her mouth shut.
Second: Even if others provoke her, she must endure it at least twice.
And third: Unless her opponent is trying to kill her, she is not to kill them.
Those were all the restrictions I had placed. It should be enough to prevent most incidents, but then again...
If things still blow up after all that, I'll just have to accept it.
If it came to that, there was nothing more I could do. She’d manage somehow. Just as I came to that conclusion...
"...Look over there!"
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
"It’s the... the Dao King."
"Is that really the Dao King?"
At the mention of the name, the martial artists’ auras wavered. I turned my head to see two people entering, and everyone was staring at them.
Thud.
The man’s footsteps sent a vibration through the ground. The eyes of the martial artists who witnessed it widened.
"To have such a powerful presence in a mere footstep...!"
"As expected of a lord of one of the Three Noble Clans."
Admiration, shock, and even a faint sense of reverence. All sorts of gazes were directed at the giant of a man: the Dao King, Peng Jeowoo.
So that's the Dao King...
I let out a small smirk as I watched him. There were only a handful of people in the Central Plains who held the title of "King." It wasn't a rank determined solely by martial prowess, like the Hundred Masters of the World or the Ten Masters of the Central Plains. "King" was a title given to those who held absolute influence in their respective fields. It was a title that spoke of their fame, position, and mastery.
The most influential figure among those who used blade weapons—that was the Lord of the Peng Clan, the Dao King Peng Jeowoo.
At his appearance, the surrounding martial artists grew tense.
"Is the Dao King really participating...?"
"So the rumor was true!"
"Why would the Dao King..."
Half the crowd was surprised; the other half questioned why such a man was even here. It made sense.
What does the lord of a noble clan have to gain from this?
If he wins, he merely maintains his reputation. If he loses, it’s a catastrophe. By all accounts, there was no reason for the Dao King to be here, yet he had deliberately come to participate.
Peng Jeowoo walked slowly, absorbing the attention. Watching him, I immediately thought:
He's putting on quite a show.
It was absurd.
Thud!
With every step, a vibration spread. People saw it and whispered about his overwhelming martial presence.
That man has no idea how to conserve his Qi.
It was, quite literally, a performance. He was radiating his Qi as if to say, "Look at how much I have to spare." He was certainly drawing attention, but...
How embarrassing. What is he doing?
The flow of his Qi was so unnatural that it was impossible not to notice.
Do the others not see this?
Why was I the only one who could see this pathetic display? It was baffling.
Am I the only one at the Fusion Realm here?
One would need to be at the Fusion Realm to see through the Dao King’s little trick. I wondered if there were any other martial artists at that level here besides me.
There are.
I spotted a few. Some were famous martial artists, and even if they weren't...
"You can’t see that?"
"...Pardon?"
There was one right next to me, after all. I posed the question, but Wi Seol-Ah just gave me a puzzled look.
She can't tell?
The flow of his Qi was so bizarre, yet she couldn't tell? Why couldn't she see it? I couldn't understand it. For a moment, I wondered if my own eyes were deceiving me. Could that really be it? The question lingered, but I decided to ignore it for now.
Murmur.
As the Dao King passed, the martial artists parted to make way for him. Beside him, I saw a familiar face. Peng Jeowoo’s son and the Young Lord of the Peng Clan, Peng Woojin of the Great Saint Blade, was walking with him.
As he walked, Peng Woojin suddenly glanced in our direction. Our eyes met. He grinned and waved at me.
"..."
I didn't wave back, but I gave a slight nod. It was the best greeting I could manage.
Of all the luck, those two are on the first day too.
The fact that the Peng father and son were here on the same day as me meant one thing.
It has nothing to do with the registration order.
Peng Woojin had registered on the first day, just like me. The Dao King would have registered on the last day, if at all, so there was no connection. Was the order determined randomly?
I doubt it.
Suspicion arose naturally. I was convinced the Murim Alliance had pulled some kind of scheme in this regard as well.
I heard the tournament is supposed to last for nearly half a month.
What other nonsense had they cooked up for such a long period? Just imagining it was enough to make my stomach churn. Just as I felt the need to calm my frayed nerves...
"The preliminaries will begin in two hours! Please get in line now!"
The warning cry went out. It was finally time. Hearing this, I looked at Wi Seol-Ah.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
At my voice, Wi Seol-Ah turned her head. I looked at her, the words on the tip of my tongue.
Are you really going to do this? Can't you just back out?
I was about to say it, but after seeing the look in her eyes behind the mask, I just scratched the back of my head.
"Just... don't overdo it."
I offered her the only words I could muster. In response, Wi Seol-Ah smiled brightly.
"Yes! I'll do my best!"
It seemed she hadn't understood me at all.
"I said don't overdo it."
"Yes. I'll moderately do my absolute best."
"..."
For some reason, Wi Seol-Ah was burning with fighting spirit. Tang Soyeol was the same. Why were they all like this?
...Nothing bad will happen, right?
I hoped not. I really did.
"Alright... see you later."
I finished my farewell and was about to go line up when...
"Ah, Young Master."
"Hm?"
Wi Seol-Ah called out to me as if she had something more to say. I looked at her, wondering what it was.
Whoosh!
"Huh?"
Wi Seol-Ah suddenly stepped forward and pulled me into a hug. She rested her forehead against my chest and stood there quietly for a moment.
What is this?
Flustered, I quickly deployed a thin sound barrier to reduce our presence and keep the surrounding eyes away.
"What are you doing..."
"Cheering you on."
Wi Seol-Ah gently lifted her head and met my eyes.
"I'll do my best. You... do your best too, Young Master. You have to."
"...Uh... yeah."
Just as I was about to respond...
"I'm off!"
Wi Seol-Ah had already released me and started walking away. I watched her blonde hair recede into the distance and gave an awkward smile. I couldn't bring myself to say, "You too."
Why was that? I didn't know. That was just how I felt.