Chapter 141
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Spectator of the Hundred Flowers Academy Entrance Exam (1)
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Going on a trip for a bit^^ Coming back kekeke
Take good care of his neck~!~!!
₪₪₪§|(ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ>
"...?"
I had no idea where this old lady, who couldn't even type properly in chat due to her age, was scraping up such elaborate ASCII art from.
Suddenly, Tteolbu-nim had declared she wanted to take off somewhere, abandoning Luri in the process.
Well, my guess was one of two things.
Either she hooked up with the Mad Demon, they hit it off, and ran away together.
Or she was dodging the Alliance Leader for a bit out of fear.
"Kyahaha! I knew that old fart Dang Seak would end up like this! Gutless!"
The Alliance Leader was still squashing the log-like Yeon Hong-un flat while interrogating the second suspect, Elder Dang Uryang.
I had tipped off Elder Dang Uryang beforehand that it was best to just spill everything.
I had my calculations, after all.
If she was with the Azure Heaven Society, I was dead meat today anyway, so it didn't matter. If not, it was a good chance to lay some groundwork.
"...Disciple. Is it true? That you took down the Poison King?"
The expert who beat the Poison King? Yeah, that'd be me!
"Heh heh heh... I guess I can't hide it anymore."
Chicken Granny looked at me with eyes full of admiration.
"As expected of my disciple. At this rate, you'll force all the orthodox faction's old masters into retirement soon."
"What, am I some grand demonic overlord or something?"
No matter that I had one master from the demonic cult and one from the bandits.
To balance the power... Ah. I got excommunicated or something similar.
I miss you... Sword Granny, no, Geomdu-nim...
"Geum Sihyeon? You did well, regardless! But we can't make this public... Hmm, what to do."
Having finished interrogating Elder Dang Uryang, the Alliance Leader's blade now turned toward me.
Opportunity strikes now.
"Um, Alliance Leader?"
"Yes?"
"...You look so young that calling you Alliance Leader feels a bit off. If it's not rude, may I call you Sister Yuwol in private?"
Chicken Granny shot me a horrified glare, but I ignored it.
She didn't even have the right to give me that look in the first place.
- Dohee unnie!
- Seol dongsaeng!
You're the type who gets thrilled being called unnie by someone eighteen years younger.
Anyway.
From my big data analysis.
This type of person tends to puff up even more if you treat them cutely.
Take Luri, for example.
She's twenty, no, twenty-one years old, yet she giggles and sucks on candy all the time.
Even her curt replies.
I figured it was a little devilish ploy to make her looks stand out more.
Cunning girl.
She knows she's cute.
"Eung, heung...! Cheeky for a scrub, but I'll specially allow it! Fine. You and the Poison Demon are innocent! I'll handle things with the Murim Alliance."
...It worked?
This is... the Murim Alliance Leader...?
"As expected of Sister Yuwol! So fair and just!"
"Heung. Heung...!"
Watching what had to be a century-old Murim Alliance Granny sniffling pathetically built up some annoyance in my heart.
But flattery, especially toward superiors, was essential in both modern and ancient society.
I had no comeback even if called a sycophant.
This was a bold investment for Geumhyeonmun's future!
"D-Disciple."
"Master. Don't even dream."
"Hing."
Had she been hanging around Sister Seol so much lately that she'd finally lost her sense of shame?
.
.
.
After successfully wrapping up my desperate survival act, I returned to Xi'an.
The Alliance Granny had graciously cleared us of wrongdoing.
"Y-You wicked bitch! What did you do to my husband!"
"H-Huhk. That's our grandmaster...!"
"That face? ...Ack! I'm sorry! Forgive me!"
"Hmph, Bongmu. Happy after leaving the Divine Maiden Sect?"
"Euk, euuk, I-I seduced him first! Kill me, but please spare my husband...!"
Despite the earnest plea from one of the Lust Demon's many wives—the sole flat-chested disciple from the Divine Maiden Sect.
"Even if you seduced him first, Bongmu, turning a Divine Maiden Sect woman secular is a grave sin! I'll deliberate carefully on this scrub's punishment, so stop protesting in front of the academy. Or I'll really execute him?"
"...!"
The Alliance Granny not only held civilians hostage but threatened to kill them.
Then, grinning wickedly at the wives' terrified squeals, she levitated the Lust Demon in midair with telekinesis and strode majestically into the Hundred Flowers Academy.
"S... Sihyeon-ah. You did great. I'll head in too."
"Take care, Master."
"Tch."
Tch my ass.
Leisurely walking along, levitating the unconscious Yeon Hong-un in the air.
"Hmm."
Dan Yuwol organized her thoughts about the man she'd been with earlier, Geum Sihyeon.
She'd pretended not to know him at first, but she'd heard plenty through various channels.
A man who'd reached the Peak Realm at an unprecedented speed in martial history and dominated the Mind-Image Sword Debate tournament with overwhelming talent.
And upon seeing him in person.
She didn't know how he was hiding it, but he seemed to have already hit the superhuman Early Absolute Realm.
"As expected, the second Forbidden Star of the Reverse Heaven Omen, one who shouldn't exist."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing."
Dismissing Seo Dohee's question lightly, Dan Yuwol pondered briefly before speaking again.
"Dohee."
"Yes, Alliance Leader."
"Geum Sihyeon. What do you think?"
"Uh..."
Seo Dohee froze on the spot like she'd been struck by lightning.
"What's wrong?"
"N-No, it's nothing. I misunderstood the question..."
A somewhat lukewarm reaction.
However.
Having spent ages in the Divine Maiden Sect without ever falling for a man, Dan Yuwol couldn't pick up on the subtle emotions hidden there.
"That scrub Dang Seak was an idiot, but still a pillar of the orthodox faction. Is it right not to punish Geum Sihyeon?"
So what came out was straight talk.
Personally, she found Geum Sihyeon plenty likable as a talent.
But the Murim Alliance Leader's position couldn't be swayed by personal feelings alone.
Hearing that, Seo Dohee looked troubled.
"If we go by Poison Demon... no, Dang Uryang's testimony, isn't not publicizing it and sealing off the Sichuan Tang Family already merciful enough?"
"Hmm..."
Dan Yuwol furrowed her brow.
Truth be told, she inwardly wanted to let Geum Sihyeon's matter slide.
But it was an issue that could draw protests from elders or other families beyond mere concern, so it needed more time.
"Ah, whatever! We'll think about that later. How's academy life? Getting bored yet?"
At Dan Yuwol's words.
A faint vein popped on Seo Dohee's forehead.
After all, hadn't this pint-sized Alliance Leader dumped her into the Hundred Flowers Academy herself?
But she couldn't show it.
"Um... It's fun..."
Seo Dohee, emulating Geum Sihyeon in social survival.
Hearing that, Dan Yuwol shook the still-levitated Yeon Hong-un around.
"This guy—killing him feels wrong, so maybe use him as your junior?"
"...The Lust Demon?"
"If he uses lust techniques, castrate him for real. Even if he touches the students, you can chop it off, right?"
"Uh... Um..."
Seo Dohee pondered briefly.
"Can I beat him while training?"
"His major's unorthodox arts anyway? Use him however. Just don't kill him. Bongmu likes him, after all—feels bad making her a widow already."
Seo Dohee nodded.
If it was before Geum Sihyeon graduated, maybe, but she didn't want to be stuck at the academy forever after.
This was a judicial deal made without Yeon Hong-un's consent.
The tumultuous January flew by, and before long, it was February.
Geumhyeonmun had undergone enough renovations that it could now pass as a proper sect building anywhere.
...The only regrettable part.
"Heet."
"Hway, hway."
"Hmph."
Was that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Xi'an branch—where Luri poked her head over the wall, flashing a sly, fanged grin at me—finishing construction first.
As if making up for Tteolbu-nim's absence with sheer manpower.
All the local demonic cult experts from First-Rate to Peak had banded together and whipped it up in no time.
Infuriating...!
"Can't play today. It's the kids' exam day."
"Entrance exam?"
"Yeah. No Na-rang either, so if you're bored, go bug Myo Hwasuh in the Beast Hall."
"Okay."
Luri hopped over the wall effortlessly and toddled off toward the Beast Hall where Durami was.
"Hiyaaaaak! My tailiii!"
With Myo Hwasuh's booming scream as BGM, I stepped out the door.
My determined steps took me to the front of the Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress.
"My dear. Don't push yourself, and stay safe?"
"Hehe, that's a piece of cake! Watch me take first place and prove Geum Sihyeon ain't all that—Kyak!"
"Mother. Your daughter has arrived."
I chopped Geum Siyu on the head mid-rant to shut her up, then bowed politely to Mother.
"S-Si, Si, Sihyeon, d-daughter...!"
"Narin-ah. If your rank's below Siyu, you're in for it."
"Euk, euuk..."
After nagging Narin, who'd finally started speaking casually after all the twists and turns.
"Then, we'll be off."
"Let's goo! Unnie! Hold on tight!"
"H-Hauu...!"
I led the two airheads out into the street.
Walking a bit, soothing Narin's constant trembling with Geum Siyu's help.
As we neared the academy, I suddenly felt a peculiar gaze.
Turning my head.
An expressionless face.
Black hair and black eyes—so rare in the Central Plains martial world it was practically a collector's item.
Not particularly tall for a man, with a subtly androgynous face—likely the result of his boyhood cultivation technique.
A face from my past life's memories.
The Heavenly Killing Star, Baek Liyeon.