Chapter 131: Preliminaries
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 131: Preliminaries
The preliminaries of the Yongbong Gathering inevitably drew a massive crowd of martial artists.
Although the standards were set high enough to bar mediocre fighters from even setting foot in the qualifiers, the number of participants still reached into the thousands.
One might wonder how there could be so many high-level experts in a tournament restricted to those under the age of thirty.
However, it was only natural. Since it was a major event held once every four years, people flocked from all corners of the Central Plains. More importantly, there was no foolproof way to verify whether someone had actually passed the age of thirty or not.
In the end, officials had no choice but to judge based on appearances. Given the nature of martial artists who spent their lives training under the harsh sun, many looked far older than their actual years. Unlike the pampered elites of the great sects, accelerated aging was an inescapable fate for the vast majority of martial artists.
Because of this, many who had already passed their thirties managed to sneak into the Yongbong Gathering.
‘I haven't reached thirty yet! My face is just haggard because I've suffered so much!’
If someone claimed that, who was to argue?
In truth, few people actually cared. Those who resorted to such petty tactics were usually nothing more than bottom-tier rabble anyway.
Martial arts is, ultimately, the art of killing. While some pursue the Dao through it, one must know how to handle an opponent to achieve results in a duel. Consequently, those of high caliber eventually made a name for themselves—unless they had been tucked away in a remote mountain valley studying under a hermit.
Since it was difficult for famous martial artists to lie about their age, the reality was that most age-cheaters were filtered out by the time the tournament reached the main rounds.
"Whew..."
Chun-bong stood among the crowd, eyes closed, struggling to maintain her composure.
A young woman murmuring to herself with her eyes shut in the middle of a sea of rugged martial artists—it was impossible for her not to stand out.
"Is she from a major sect?"
"Probably. Look at how fair her skin is."
"Isn't she too young?"
"If I could guzzle spirit herbs like those great sect bastards, I would've been able to cut someone like you down with a single strike at that age."
"You're full of it."
Chun-bong ignored them all. There was no reason to pay attention to the idle chatter around her. Now was the time to focus.
"Examiners of the martial arts arenas, all participants have arrived! Proceed with the preliminaries immediately!"
At the booming announcement, the examiner for Chun-bong’s arena gathered the martial artists together.
"Amitabha... This humble monk is Hye-byeok, the examiner for Arena 13."
Hye-byeok explained the rules of the preliminaries once more.
Twenty people would spar simultaneously in a single arena, and only the last two standing would qualify for the next round. Since it was a chaotic melee, there would be many unpredictable variables. To reduce casualties, the edges of all weapons had been blunted.
Even so, a strike to a vital point could still result in instant death, so killing moves were strictly forbidden. If anyone was caught intentionally using a lethal technique, Shaolin would intervene immediately, and severe punishment would follow.
There were no other rules.
He simply asked for their cooperation.
Listening quietly, Chun-bong opened her eyes.
What strange rules.
A melee brawl with blunted weapons—it wasn't a very common format.
Blunting the weapons made sense since Shaolin was hosting. But a group battle? It seemed they didn't want to drag the Yongbong Gathering out for too long. Perhaps it was unavoidable since they were in the middle of a war.
Accepting the situation, Chun-bong showed her blunted sword to Hye-byeok and stepped into the arena.
After a short wait, all preparations were complete. Twenty martial artists took their positions across the arena and waited. A few exchanged glances, forming quick, unspoken alliances.
Hye-byeok had no intention of stopping them. As long as it happened within the rules, there was no reason to interfere. If their skills weren't sufficient, they would be eliminated later anyway.
Hye-byeok scanned them once and finally declared, "Begin."
Immediately, six martial artists lunged toward Chun-bong.
Out of twenty people, only two could advance. Their calculation was simple: instead of aiming for the remaining spot while avoiding someone who looked like an elite from a great sect, they would team up to eliminate the strongest threat first, then fight among themselves for the two spots.
"And you call yourselves martial artists..."
Chun-bong sighed and drew her sword.
Four of the six wielded swords, one had a spear, and one was an unarmed brawler.
Thud.
With a light leap, Chun-bong’s figure blurred as she dashed toward them.
"Block her!"
"It'll be trouble if she gets inside our reach!"
A fist flew at her first. Chun-bong ducked to avoid it, dragging her foot along the ground.
Swish—!
Her sliding form suddenly surged upward into the middle of the group. She was instantly surrounded by blades.
There was no need to use the Azure Cloud Divine Sword. As her sword traced a small circle, the four incoming blades became hopelessly entangled with one another.
"Wh-what...!"
The martial artists panicked. Before her stood the spearman. Since a spear was the most troublesome weapon when facing a group, Chun-bong charged him immediately.
"Tch...!"
With a sharp intake of breath, the spearman thrust forward, aiming straight for her shoulder. The sword she had already positioned shifted slightly.
Clang—!
The spear slid harmlessly along the flat of her blade and pierced the empty air.
"That's one."
She struck out with a palm technique using her left hand.
"Gah...!"
Thump. With a heavy impact, the man was sent flying.
Chun-bong brushed off her hand and smirked.
"Easy."
"You little brat...!"
One martial artist, his face flushed red with rage, rushed her. Acting alone when they should be coordinating? She was grateful for the stupidity.
Chun-bong’s sword shot out without any preparatory movement.
"Hup...!"
Terrified, the man quickly jerked his head back.
Whoosh—!
The sword merely grazed his chin. However, Chun-bong was already smiling.
"Two."
Thwack! She flicked her wrist, slamming the flat of the blade directly into his jaw.
Enhanced by the Internal School Heavy Hand Technique, the strike rattled the man's brain. He collapsed instantly, vomiting.
The remaining four grew cautious. They exchanged glances and began to back away slowly. It was a temporary alliance, after all. It was obvious they were all waiting for someone else to step forward first.
Chun-bong exploited that opening.
While they were busy sizing each other up, Chun-bong lunged forward, leaping high into the air right in the middle of the four men.
I should show off a little.
If someone recognized the Azure Cloud Divine Sword, rumors would start to spread. She figured that would create an even bigger sensation when she finally revealed her true identity in the main rounds.
Regardless of her thoughts, the four men’s eyes gleamed. She was mid-air, blinded by her own arrogance—this was their chance.
Being somewhat skilled, they unleashed their techniques simultaneously, targeting her entire body without overlapping their strikes.
And then, the Azure Cloud Divine Sword was unleashed.
Flowing Clouds Blue Heaven.
Lee Seo-jun seemed to use it mostly to deflect an opponent's attacks, but that wasn't the true essence of Flowing Clouds Blue Heaven.
Chun-bong’s sword flowed as lightly as a cloud. Three swords and one fist. Her blade dove into the gaps of their offensive flow, naturally redirecting the current of their attacks.
"Huh...?"
"Watch out...!"
Thwack, thud, crack—!
The attacks, caught in the sweeping flow of the Flowing Clouds Blue Heaven, slammed into their own allies. One was knocked down by a fist, another doubled over after being poked by a blunt sword, and a third screamed as his knee buckled.
Only the brawler, who had narrowly avoided the chaos, gasped in horror.
"H-how...!"
"Skillfully."
Chun-bong smirked and whacked the man over the head with the flat of her blade.
"Urgh...!"
That made six. Finished.
"Hehe."
With the corners of her mouth twitching upward, Chun-bong scanned her surroundings. The preliminaries weren't over yet.
Are you watching, Lee Seo-jun? Witness the skill of Geum Chun-bong...!
Chun-bong’s smile somehow bore a striking resemblance to Seo-jun’s.
*
"Wow! Go Chun-bong! You're doing great!"
Seo-jun was jumping up and down in the crowd, cheering for her.
The grand debut of the World's Cutest, Geum Chun-bong! After taking down six men in an instant, she was now charging toward the remaining martial artists like a ferocious squirrel.
However, the attention of the ignorant crowd was focused elsewhere.
"Wooooo...!"
"As expected of Wudang!"
Every time Mu-hye swung her sword, someone was sent flying. Ink-colored Sword Qi flowed like water to form a Taiji symbol, and weapons and people caught in its wake were tossed into the air. It was certainly a flashy sight.
But that was all it was.
If they had any eye for the depth of martial principles, they should have been marveling at Chun-bong’s Flowing Clouds Blue Heaven.
These fools were cheering for the flashy shell without seeing the true intent. Since they couldn't recognize a gem when it was right in front of them, he felt like it might be better to just gouge out those useless eyes of theirs.
"...No, you people!"
Unable to contain his frustration, Seo-jun grabbed the head of a man standing next to him and forced him to turn.
"I'm telling you, that over there is much more impressive than some Wudang stuff!"
"Wudang stuff?! How dare you spout such blasphemy! Let go of me!"
As the man struggled, Seo-jun subdued him by throwing an arm around his shoulder in a friendly chokehold.
"No, don't you see that? The swordsmanship is just... look! That Sword Qi stuff is nothing!"
"I-is that so...? Now that you mention it, maybe..."
"Wow, did you see that? It's not just soft redirection; the principles of speed and power are perfectly blended...!"
"Y-you're right!"
The forced agreement wasn't very satisfying.
In the end, by the time the preliminaries were wrapping up, most people were still buzzing about the greatness of Wudang. Chun-bong’s name came up occasionally, but because her performance lacked flashiness, she didn't garner much attention.
"This is why people with no eye for martial arts are..."
Once again, he found himself agreeing with the theory that anyone below the Peak Realm wasn't even human. Should he just grab them all and enlighten them by force?
As Seo-jun clicked his tongue, Chun-bong, having finished her match, walked over with a swagger.
"Hey, did you see?"
"Our Chun-bong! Of course I saw!"
"Right, right. This is how you use the Azure Cloud Divine Sword. Take notes."
Seeing her so full of herself, it seemed she didn't care about the crowd's reaction at all. Seo-jun decided to forgive the masses. As long as Chun-bong was happy, it was fine.
"So, are the preliminaries all over now?"
"No. We've filtered them once, so now we'll filter them a bit more with one-on-one matches."
"Really?"
"Hey, you brat. Were you even listening to the explanation?"
Chun-bong explained that a total of sixty-four people would advance to the main tournament. However, since the Nine Great Sects and One Clan, along with the Six Great Clans, already occupied seeded spots, the number of people who could advance from the preliminaries was smaller.
The maximum number of participants the Sixteen Major Sects and Clans could send was two per sect, totaling thirty-two. If the Sixteen Major Sects filled twenty of those thirty-two spots, then the remaining twelve spots plus the other thirty-two meant forty-four people could advance from the preliminaries to the main tournament.
"I see. It's complicated."
Seo-jun scratched his head. Then, a question occurred to him.
"Wait a second. Then why is she here?"
Mu-hye of Wudang. Shouldn't she be able to start directly from the main tournament?
"How should I know?"
"This is ridiculous, seriously."
Seo-jun grumbled.
"I wish she'd run into our Chun-bongie in the preliminaries. She'd be eliminated instantly."
"That probably won't happen."
"What? Are you not confident...!"
Chun-bong flicked her middle finger up at him.
"No, it's because they won't set up the bracket like that. Usually, they keep the standout participants away from each other."
"Isn't that rigging?"
"Who's going to complain?"
"Aha."
True. If Shaolin wanted to rig things a little, no one would dare say a word.
And indeed, as Chun-bong and Mu-hye went through several more rounds of preliminaries, they never crossed paths, and both successfully advanced to the main tournament. Since both of them displayed overwhelming skill, it was only natural that their matches became the talk of the town.
Mu-hye of Wudang, and the unknown rising star.
When a martial artist who remembered the tournament at Mount Hua mentioned the alias 'Faceless Snow Sword,' the name spread like wildfire as if it were Chun-bong’s actual name.
Naturally, the hot topic became who was stronger between the two.
"Wudang, obviously."
"The Faceless Snow Sword didn't look ordinary either."
"You have to compare things that are actually comparable. I guarantee it. If they fight, the Faceless Snow Sword will lose within ten moves."
"I suppose you're right."
Most people bet on Mu-hye’s victory. Hearing this, Seo-jun considered flipping the whole place upside down, but he held back, knowing Chun-bong would eventually prove them wrong herself.
Anyway, they advanced to the main tournament without any major upsets.
"That was dull."
Chun-bong proudly placed her name among the sixty-four finalists. She hadn't even shown any of her true martial arts in the process. Her growth had been truly immense; honestly, she felt she could overwhelm most of the participants from the Sixteen Major Sects, save for a few.
"The main tournament is in two weeks, right?"
"Yeah."
Answering curtly, Chun-bong tidied her messy hair. It was the aftermath of Seo-jun’s aggressive congratulations.
"But where are you going? What's with the luggage?"
"Oh, it's nothing much."
"What do you mean nothing much? Where are you going?"
Chun-bong furrowed her brows as she looked at Seo-jun, who was laden with a bunch of bags. Seo-jun scratched his head.
"Um... staying out overnight?"
"With what girl?"
"It's probably a guy."
"Hmm... that's a tough one."