Hebei Exchange Meeting (4)
In all likelihood, nearly everyone had predicted that Curved Golden Blade Lee Chi-won would win this match.
"H-hah, I-I lost."
To everyone's astonishment, it was the Mad Tiger Prince, Seok Ho-in, who emerged victorious from the fierce battle.
Waaah! Waaaaah!
The first match had turned completely against expectation, and the Hebei Exchange Meeting erupted with a fiercer reaction than ever before.
It was only natural. Hardly anyone had expected Seok Ho-in to win.
So Seok Ho-in won after all.
The only person who had probably predicted his victory was the Golden Young Master, Seok Geum-ryong.
Geum-ryong had once matched internal energy with Seok Ho-in, so he knew the man's level well.
At the very least, he wasn't the sort to be driven off by some nobody from the demonic or neutral factions.
Grin.
Having claimed victory more easily than expected, Seok Ho-in puffed up with pride and stole a glance toward Seok Geum-ryong.
Geum-ryong, no matter what theme or bracket you've prepared, it doesn't concern me.
He tried to look every bit the proud victor, but if he had truly been that confident, he shouldn't have done something as foolish as visiting Seok Geum-ryong the night before.
"The winner is Seokga Manor's Mad Tiger Prince, Seok Ho-in! Therefore... Curved Golden Blade Lee Chi-won of the Golden Blade Hall, as the loser, may not participate in the second and third matches that will follow."
"N-no!"
After Seok Geum-ryong's crisp announcement of victory and Lee Chi-won's complete elimination as a participant, Chi-won's pupils trembled.
He had never imagined that the Hebei Exchange Meeting would truly treat outsiders like outsiders.
But he had no grounds to protest. Geum-ryong had given fair warning in advance, and he himself had eagerly raised his hand first because his opponent had looked easy.
Grind. Grind.
Though the fault was his own, Lee Chi-won was furious enough to try leading the Golden Blade Hall attendants away.
At that very moment.
"The purpose of this exchange is, above all else, to exchange. It's not meant for people to come here and savor victory or superiority. You are free to leave the Hebei Exchange Meeting, but... you will also have to bear the consequences of that choice yourself, including losing Seokga Manor's support or falling out of favor."
Seok Geum-ryong warned him in a flat, emotionless tone.
Every action carried its own weight of responsibility.
If someone could not accept the rules of the exchange and stormed off in anger, that was their right, but they would also have to bear the disadvantages that came with such freedom.
"I-I apologize. I, and our Golden Blade Hall, respect Seokga Manor and support the hosting of the Hebei Exchange Meeting."
Only after realizing belatedly that his behavior had been childish, and a direct provocation against Seokga Manor, did Lee Chi-won bow in apology.
When he saw the elder accompanying him from the Golden Blade Hall turn ashen-faced, only then did he ask Seok Geum-ryong for forgiveness.
"Very well. Then does the next challenger step forward?"
Once the commotion caused by the Golden Blade Hall and Lee Chi-won had subsided, Seok Geum-ryong moved directly on to the next match.
Winning this theme required three consecutive victories, so there were still two more rounds to go.
"I'll do it!"
This time, No Ju-hyeok, the Black Cloud Swordsman and rising star of the demonic Black Cloud Sword Sect, stepped forward.
He was only one notch above Lee Chi-won of the Golden Blade Hall, but in the end...
"I lost!"
He fell before long, and the Black Cloud Sword Sect, which boasted the largest force among the Hebei demonic factions, was forced to sit and watch like everyone else.
The Black Cloud Sword Sect and No Ju-hyeok were also full of complaints, but since the Golden Blade Hall had already suffered a setback once, they had no reason to make any further noise.
"Seok Ho-in has claimed two straight wins. Now, this is the last one!"
Only one more victory remained before the first theme's winner was decided.
They called for another challenger, but strangely enough...
...
This time, unlike the first and second rounds, no one came forward.
That was because, contrary to expectation, the Mad Tiger Prince Seok Ho-in was far stronger than anyone had thought.
"Seok Ho-in is impressive."
"He is. He's no less capable than the three strongest among the upper group."
"Seokga Manor has produced a remarkable martial talent."
Having earned everyone's recognition, Seok Ho-in couldn't help feeling quietly pleased.
For once, it felt as though he was receiving the proper evaluation he deserved.
"Is there no one willing to participate? Then the champion of this theme, the martial question of the hero, will automatically be declared the Mad Tiger Prince Seok Ho-in."
It was at that very moment, when even Seok Geum-ryong, whom he had expected to be a thorn in his side, was discussing his first theme victory, that Seok Ho-in could no longer hold back a smile.
"I'll challenge him!"
A hand shot up immediately.
To everyone's surprise, it belonged to Hebei Paeng Clan's participant, Paeng Jin-mo, one of the three strongest among the current younger generation.
Ohhh! Ooooh!
At last, with one of the truly strongest stepping into the arena, the whole hall began to buzz with excitement.
Just as I thought.
While everyone else was astonished, Seok Geum-ryong was not.
The difficulty of this particular theme was the requirement of three consecutive wins.
To win three times in a row without a single loss was the key point, and being the first to appear was disadvantageous in many ways.
No matter how strong a participant was, after two back-to-back bouts, by the time the third match began, fatigue was unavoidable.
But because Seok Ho-in had proved to be the real thing, the weaker challengers who would have come in third had already vanished.
Meanwhile, Paeng Jin-mo, one of the three strongest and a man who had clearly been waiting for the third round, stepped forward without hesitation.
Cha Bok-sam from the Beggars' Sect had entered more for the joy of it than from any aggressive ambition to win, so he had no special thoughts on the matter, while Cho So-yeon of the Nine Yin Association had also been unwilling to overexert herself from the very first match.
"Paeng Jin-mo of the Stubborn Single Blade..."
Seok Ho-in had expected an easy victory, but when the opponent he had privately acknowledged as troublesome stepped forward, his face went pale.
Even if he was the Mad Tiger Prince, he had already fought two consecutive matches against first-rate upper-level opponents and was thoroughly exhausted.
That wasn't all.
After two bouts, he had no choice but to expose his martial arts, while his enemy knew him well and he knew almost nothing about his opponent.
"H-haha! Isn't it... a little late to declare participation?"
With his condition as it was, Seok Ho-in felt less and less confident that he could defeat Paeng Jin-mo outright, so he shot a sideways look at Seok Geum-ryong.
If possible, he would have liked his irritating half-brother to declare his victory for him, but...
"It's not late."
Seok Geum-ryong was absolutely not on Seok Ho-in's side.
He was only on the side of fair truth.
Grr.
In the end, the match between Seok Ho-in and Paeng Jin-mo was set, and the two outstanding super first-class masters began a battle of immense intensity.
Clang! Clang-clang!
Seok Ho-in, whose mother's family was the Namgung Sect, had no difficulty receiving the blade techniques of the Hebei Paeng Clan, but as time passed the situation grew increasingly unfavorable.
That was because he was more fatigued than Paeng Jin-mo, who had entered the fray later, and he lacked both stamina and internal energy.
"Waaah!"
"What a thrilling match."
"If things are already unfolding like this from the beginning... this might become the greatest Hebei Exchange Meeting in nearly fifty years."
The rare and precious duel was a feast for the eyes of the younger generation, and not only that.
!!
Seeing someone of their own age reach the level of super first-class and engage in such a desperate struggle, some of them even found themselves attaining fragments of enlightenment.
And the exchange meeting was not only for the participants.
It was open to the many attendants who had come along as well, and each of them was cheering in their own way, enjoying the exchange meeting as an exchange meeting should be enjoyed.
Just as everyone's hearts grew hot with excitement, at last...
"Haaah, hahh, hahh."
The result was decided.
The battle between the Mad Tiger Prince Seok Ho-in and the Stubborn Single Blade Paeng Jin-mo.
In the end, the victor was...
"Stubborn Single Blade Paeng Jin-mo wins! Therefore... participant Mad Tiger Prince Seok Ho-in is eliminated and may only observe from here on."
Paeng Jin-mo narrowly claimed victory, and the match came to an end.
"Damn it...!"
Seok Ho-in slammed the ground in frustration, bitter that he had fallen short by a single move, but there was nothing he could do.
Charging into the center of the arena first was courageous, yes... but courage that ends badly is nothing more than recklessness.
Watching the defeated Seok Ho-in, Seok Geum-ryong thought this to himself.
In truth, Paeng Jin-mo, who was seriously aiming for the first theme victory, was a man full of confidence, yet he had deliberately entered the match as the "third" contestant.
That meant heroes could not be made by simple valor and courage alone; to truly become a hero, one needed strategy and cunning as well, which was precisely in line with the theme of heroism.
Geum-ryong...
Seok Ho-in looked at Seok Geum-ryong with aching disappointment.
He wanted Geum-ryong to use some flexibility and say that the first-theme elimination had merely been a bluff, a lie.
Of course, that was not going to happen.
"Participant Paeng Jin-mo has taken one victory. Is there anyone who can stop a second consecutive win?"
Without even giving Seok Ho-in a second glance, Seok Geum-ryong coldly moved the Hebei Exchange Meeting forward.
Tremble, tremble.
Being brushed aside like that filled Seok Ho-in with rage and humiliation.
But there was nothing he could do.
All he could do was tremble in place until he stood beside Lee Chi-won and No Ju-hyeok, who had suffered the same fate.
Mad Tiger Prince Seok Ho-in.
As Seokga Manor's special participant, he had wanted to accomplish great things and earn favor with his father, the manor lord Seok Ji-sung, without being overshadowed by Seok Geum-ryong. In the end, however, everything had gone completely to waste, and he had been driven into defeat.
"The winner of the first theme, the martial contest of the hero, is... Hebei Paeng Clan's participant, the Stubborn Single Blade Paeng Jin-mo!"
In the end, Seok Ho-in had to watch as the man who defeated him stood proudly as the first theme's champion.
Unlike Seok Ho-in, who had rushed about using his strength without really understanding anything, Paeng Jin-mo was clever.
He had deliberately entered during Seok Ho-in's third match, stopping the Mad Tiger Prince in a way no one else could, and made a powerful impression. Then, in the second match, he had crushed the participant from the Orthodox Sword Sect, Orthodoxy Mind Swordsman Jin Gok, in only ten exchanges, delivering an overwhelming display of force.
In the end, no one could participate in the final third match, so he seized the victory by default, since even Cha Bok-sam of the Beggars' Sect and Cho So-yeon of the Nine Yin Association found Paeng Jin-mo's momentum too much to face head-on.
Thus, Paeng Jin-mo proved not only his martial skill, but also that his mind and scheming were worthy of a hero, and he rose alone to the top as the current leading candidate for overall champion.
"Wait. Master of the event, Young Master Seok Geum-ryong. I have one opinion to offer. While this was indeed a match fitting the theme of a hero... unexpectedly, too many participants were eliminated, and too many sects were left excluded."
Just as they were about to move on to the second theme match, Orthodoxy Mind Swordsman Jin Gok raised his hand with visible regret.
As he said, the sects that had been eliminated and were now forced to watch included the Golden Blade Hall, the Black Cloud Sword Sect, Seokga Manor, and the Orthodox Sword Sect, making four in total. Out of eleven participants, nearly a third had been forced out.
"Hmm. That is a fair point."
Even Seok Geum-ryong had not expected so many eliminations from the first theme, so he readily admitted the problem on that front.
And so he proposed a backup plan he had already prepared.
"To be frank, some of those who were eliminated may harbor this complaint: 'Seok Geum-ryong, who are you to impose such strict standards and rules?' Therefore..."
Seok Geum-ryong continued as he descended personally to the arena floor as the alternative.
"I will follow the same rules as well. In other words, I will face the four eliminated participants one by one. If anyone manages to stop my four consecutive wins, I will grant a losers' revival. But if all four of them lose to me... then there will be no losers' revival."
Seok Geum-ryong was prepared in every respect.