Chapter 121
Chapter 121: Opening the Meeting (3)
In the past, when the Heavenly Demon and the Extreme Yin Star of Heavenly Calamity held sway, there was only one place that even those two could not invade until the very end.
That place was none other than:
Shaolin's kitchen. And at that time, there was one Fire-Tending Monk in that kitchen. No one knew that monk's secular name or precept name. Who would have cared about a lowly monk who only did kitchen chores and cooked rice?
However!
That very monk came out holding the fire poker he used for kindling in one hand and fought the Heavenly Demon for seven days and nights.
The mere fact that he faced off against the Heavenly Demon, who was the Number One Under Heaven at the time, proved he was an earth-shaking master.
What's more, a victor was never determined between the two.
Afterward, the Heavenly Demon left these words and descended Mount Shaoshi with a smile:
[We danced and played merrily for a time, but Kimnara enjoyed it even more than I.]
Kimnara was originally one of the Eight Legions who protect the Buddhist Law—a deity of music. The Heavenly Demon compared his fight with that Fire-Tending Monk to a dance, likening him to the god of music and dance.
Thus, that monk became known as Kimnara Monk, and after the monk died, a Dharma Protection Hall called Kimnara Hall was established there.
From then on, the position of Hall Lord of Kimnara Hall became one that only Shaolin's greatest master could hold. However, by monastic law for a thousand years, the Hall Lord of Kimnara Hall could not descend the mountain at will.
Therefore, unless a great calamity befell Shaolin, no one could see the Hall Lord of Kimnara Hall. It had nothing to do with the Martial World being in peril. Only when Kimnara Hall itself was invaded would the Hall Lord of Kimnara Hall take action.
However, the first monk to break that precept was Seungchan.
He descended Mount Shaoshi several times to wander the Martial World. Yet no one at Shaolin stopped or blamed him for his conduct.
And then...
Shaolin's prowess swept across the land.
Step by step, invincible.
There was no match for him. Thus Seungchan became the Number One of the Orthodox Faction.
The crowd's cheers continued for nearly half an hour.
Namgung Hye did not bother to restrain the heroes' cheers. She thought it necessary to enliven the atmosphere of the tournament.
After a moment, when the rowdy atmosphere settled somewhat, she took out a dagger from her bosom. It was an impressive ceremonial dagger with a dragon-head hilt that looked as if it might come alive and soar into the sky at any moment. This was the very Ascending Dragon Dagger that the Murim Alliance Leader distributed only when delegating his authority to subordinates.
"Then, before we begin the tournament, I shall make a pledge on behalf of the Alliance Leader before all of you as a final formality."
Swish.
The Ascending Dragon Dagger moved, and a small scratch appeared on her fingertip.
"I, Namgung Hye, swear before all the people under heaven that I will oversee this sparring tournament as an impartial and fair referee without shame before the heavens. Let this blood represent my sincerity and true intent."
Drip.
Soon clear drops of blood beaded up and one fell onto the arena. At that moment, Namgung Hye raised the Ascending Dragon Dagger high toward the sky and shouted loudly:
"Then, from this moment, I declare the Murim Tournament open!"
"Wahhh!"
"Finally!"
Tweet, tweet-tweet!
Cheers and whistle sounds that seemed to shake heaven and earth rocked the venue for a while.
The Heavenly Youth Martial Arts Tournament.
The Murim Tournament that had set young martial heroes' blood boiling for the past year was finally officially opened.
However,
Just as Namgung Hye was about to descend to the referee's seat installed directly below the northern side of the arena—
"Please wait just a moment!"
Someone's shout.
Following that, a figure climbed onto the arena.
The figure had unusually pale skin, a thin build, and slender eyebrows—a very handsome young man, but one who somehow felt uncomfortable to look at.
"Huh! That person is?"
"That young master?"
The crowd stirred greatly at his appearance.
Namgung Hye turned around with one foot on the stairs to face him. She had already met this young man before and knew his name and background.
"What is the matter? Young Master Murong?"
The young man was none other than Murong Byeong, who had attended this Heavenly Youth Martial Arts Tournament as the representative of the Murong Family.
Heavenly Net Sword Murong Byeong.
He was the eldest son of the Murong Family, the hegemon of Liaoning Province. But it wasn't simply because he was the eldest son of the Murong Family Head that people were so surprised.
He had one other epithet.
Liaoning Purple Dragon.
It was the first appearance of one of the Nine Dragons that caused ripples among the people.
"Is it true that applicants from the major sects and martial families designated by the Murim Alliance advance to the finals without sparring?"
Murong Byeong asked.
"Yes, and the Murong Family is also on that list of martial families. So..."
"I cannot accept that, what kind of nonsensical rule that is. Don't you think a hastily assembled rule could diminish the authority of the tournament?"
"..."
Namgung Hye didn't answer Murong Byeong's absurd logic and just stared at him blankly.
Automatic advancement without preliminaries. If anything, it benefited the people of the major martial sects—it certainly didn't harm them.
From the perspective of the martial masses too, with the rising stars of the major sects excluded, there were more opportunities and higher possibilities to advance to the finals, so if anything they would welcome it with both hands rather than have any reason to oppose such a rule.
Yet Murong Byeong was now openly expressing dissatisfaction with the Murim Alliance's event.
Booooo.
Naturally, the crowd jeered, relying on the anonymity of being part of a mob. Murong Byeong's last epithet also played no small part in this.
Lustful Dragon.
Murong Byeong went around touching various women in Liaoning Province like a dog in heat, causing many incidents and accidents. Among the parties involved, the victims of those incidents that weren't mere rumors, several were present at this very place.
The jeering did not easily subside.
Namgung Hye also didn't bother to step forward to calm the rowdy atmosphere.
'A foolish serpent has properly gone into heat.'
She already knew why Murong Byeong had forcibly appeared as the first sparring warrior to disrupt the tournament proceedings. His thin, lust-filled eyes were scanning the area around her ankles, as thin as his slender eyebrows.
'Filthy bastard. The kind who would be shocked if I pulled down my lower garment here is carelessly rolling his lower half around. Tsk.'
Though he was a dirty human, there was nothing Namgung Hye could do about it at the moment, nor did there seem to be any need to control him.
When the jeering had subsided somewhat, Namgung Hye spoke without the slightest change in expression:
"Then what would you like me to do about it? Young Master Murong?"
Namgung Hye decided to grant Murong Byeong's wish to show off in front of her. It was a foolish thing with nowhere to stick it anyway, so whether it swung around or got cut off didn't matter to her at all.
Murong Byeong answered as if he had been waiting for those words:
"I request that the temporary regulation be revoked, if only for this young master."
Just as expected—a serpent in heat.
Namgung Hye bore a light smirk and soon nodded.
There was plenty of time anyway.
Wouldn't it also be quite an entertaining spectacle to watch a serpent filled with spring desire mingling with the insects gathered here, causing a commotion? Ha ha ho ho.
"What a wonderful idea. Then please open the very first match of the tournament, Young Master Murong."
Booooooo!
As Namgung Hye readily permitted it and descended, the crowd's jeering burst forth once more.
Murong Byeong sent a sharp glare at the jeering crowd once, then lightly cupped his fists toward Namgung Hye.
"Thank you, Young Miss Namgung."
Then he lightly turned around, lowered his eyes to look down at the crowd, and said:
"It seems everyone already knows, but let me introduce myself first. This young master is called Murong Byeong from Liaoning Province, and I'm honored to open today's Heavenly Youth Martial Arts Tournament. Which hero will debate superiority and inferiority with this young master first?"
At his smiling provocation, the venue soon fell quiet.
Murong Byeong knew well that there were hardly any among the crowd who would step forward to attack him.
This was precisely the difference between spectators and participants, between jeering and actual combat.
Anyone could jeer and mock while wearing the mask of anonymity, but having the courage to challenge someone with reputation to a fight was an entirely different matter.
'As expected, insects are nothing but insects.'
Namgung Hye, who had finished taking her seat at the referee's stand, shook her head. She had thought at least one or two insects would leap out with spirit, but regrettably, the insects seemed to lack even the courage to attack the serpent.
Time passed helplessly like that.
As the tournament became boring right from the start, Namgung Hye lightly raised her hand to cover her mouth. She was yawning. While yawning, she shook her slightly stiff neck from side to side.
'Hm? That person is...'
At that moment, a man standing far away on the roof of Jibin Pavilion with his arms leisurely crossed caught her eye. Her opening mouth immediately closed.
It was that very person she had encountered on the last day of tournament registration.
Dong Guang-chuan.
Definitely another variable who had appeared at the Murim Alliance together with Eul Ji-tae on the day Jong Ji-hang and Gwang-un came to Zhengzhou.
He had been so ordinary that she couldn't gauge him at all, but looking at him now, something had changed. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed.
But the atmosphere he was giving off...
In just a few days, he had changed from ordinary to extraordinary.
How?
Right at that moment when Namgung Hye was focusing on the rooftop—
Thud.
Finally, with a heavy landing sound, one challenger climbed onto the arena.