Chapter 53

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 53

Chapter Title: Basement VR Lü Bu Geum Sihyeon

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Right away, I headed to the Heart-Mirror Hall to register for the tournament and pick up the dedicated device.

"That's right! Counter with palm strikes there!"

"Wouldn't it be better to close the distance right away instead of palm strikes?"

"You clueless noobs. The proper way is to fire off sword energy first and seize the initiative."

"Come out here! Let's settle this with a sword debate!"

The Heart-Mirror Hall was still buzzing with energy.

In the aftermath of the tournament, the National Matchless Society had become the era's losers.

The Mind-Image Sword Debate Society had even crushed the Wind-Moon Society, ascending to become the undisputed king of the club scene.

Whether it was mahjong tiles or Mind-Image Sword Debate devices, they were all MADE IN Ten Thousand Gold Hall.

It's all our family money anyway.

Heh heh.

As I approached the reception desk, a familiar voice rang out.

"No, why! Why not! I'm an instructor at the Hundred Flowers Academy too!"

The scent of a troublesome customer was wafting thickly from the scene.

With a hunch, I drew closer and confirmed the source of the voice.

"I'm not even entering the tournament, just let me try it out for a bit and return it!"

"Th-that's just the rules, there's nothing we can do... There's an age restriction..."

Oh no.

Mentioning age in front of Chicken Breast Lady is a no-go.

"Wh-what...! Is turning forty some kind of crime?!"

"......"

Okay.

Situation analyzed.

Before Chicken Breast Lady could get even more stamped as a hysterical mess of a middle-aged woman, I hurried over.

"Master..."

"Oh... Sihyeon?"

Chicken Breast Lady's pupils shook violently.

I quietly bowed my head in apology to the staff member dispatched from Ten Thousand Gold Hall, then grabbed her wrist and dragged her outside.

Having awakened her Water Buffalo Heart or whatever, Chicken Breast Lady meekly let herself be pulled along.

"S-Sihyeon. There's a bit of a misunderstanding──"

"If you'd told me ahead of time, I'd have taken care of it for you. As your disciple, I'm sorry for not looking after you more carefully."

"Uh, uh-huh?"

"I'll contact them right away—no, I have a device in my disciple's quarters, so I'll give it to you. Let's go."

"Ooh...!"

I sighed inwardly.

I didn't entertain any savage, discriminatory thoughts like how she must have a thief's ingrained habit of snatching things just because she's from the Green Forest bandits.

Still, seeing her tamely dragged along like that meant she still had some human dignity left, so that was good enough.

As we neared the Eastern Azure Pavilion.

Near the entrance, Instructor Baek was diligently training his external arts.

Spotting us, Instructor Baek strode over, ready to chew me out.

"You punk, Geum Sihyeon! I spoiled you because the mutt was cute, but now you're holding hands with a woman in the sacred dormitory──...?"

"Instructor Baek. It's me."

"Gasp, Instructor Seo... My apologies..."

As Instructor Baek stared at me like I was insane.

I finally realized I'd been holding Chicken Breast Lady's wrist the whole time.

Whoosh──

The moment the strength left my grip, her hand slipped out like a golden carp.

Nothing happened.

"Ahem, ahem. Please wait here just a moment. I'll grab it right away."

"...Alright."

I rushed back to my room and grabbed the latest Mind-Image Sword Debate device that Father had sent via parcel last time.

"For real. How do you have something this precious in your room?"

"I prepared it ahead of time to give to you, Master. Your birthday's coming up soon, right?"

Chicken Breast Lady's face flushed with emotion.

"I... I've raised such a fine disciple...!"

I hadn't really thought that far, but whatever.

She seemed in high spirits now.

As I watched her humming back to the Western Tower Pavilion, I let out a sigh.

They say people turn into kids when they get old.

I'd better not end up like that.

"Thanks for earlier! Young master!"

"Oh, no problem. You've had a tough time."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Deeply moved by how I'd resolved the troublesome customer's complaint.

Even though the queue had reset by the time we returned from Eastern Azure Pavilion, I got the device with priority pass right away.

I glanced at Unhak, still lost in his sword debate trance, then threw myself into the VR world.

I figured since I'd done it a few times already, it wouldn't be that exciting.

But.

"Whoa, whoa...!"

Quite an impressive update had rolled out while I hadn't logged in.

Customization, no less!

Still pretty crude, but now I could shape a martial artist with a somewhat defined form instead of an egg ghost.

My 8,700 characters had paid off.

Though it was just tweaking presets for build and body type.

Beggars can't be choosers.

And so began the dilemma of a lifetime.

Female char?

Male char?

I preferred male protagonists for immersion in single-player games.

But for online games, I stuck to female chars as a matter of principle and philosophy.

"Nice, this is it."

And there was even a preset that hit my tastes perfectly.

Mid-160s height, with bursting chest.

Exactly like me and my little one—right in the bullseye of my preferences, a perfect look.

Normally, I'd smash the create button without a second thought.

But two things held me back.

One was the worry that differing from my real body type might mess with controls.

And two.

What if I win and my character gets revealed?

I could get branded a netkama and drowned in backlash.

Social face is a big deal.

Shedding bloody tears, I abandoned my tastes.

I tweaked a brooding lone swordsman preset to match my build and hit create.

"...?"

What the hell.

Why does my nickname look like that?

I lost a bit of my composure.

Since there was a tournament ranking tab, I checked out others' nicknames.

All unified with four-character idioms, and seeing "Bastard Child" in the middle eased my mind a bit.

How does someone name themselves "Bastard Child"...?

Better than the guy who changed surnames three times, I guess.

Regaining my peace of mind, I checked the other changes.

The existing menus—free matches, Peak matches, Flower Realm matches, etc.—now had "Tournament Matches" added.

The old Geum Sihyeon who got his ass handed to him by Little Fatso was dead.

The super Geum Sihyeon, reborn at Peak through real battles and fortuitous encounters, was here to inject tension into this lax Mind-Image Sword Debate system.

Come on in.

I'll chew up everything except the golden teeth.

The Mind-Image Sword ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Debate system wasn't just heating up the Hundred Flowers Academy.

Word had spread not only through the Nine Great Sects and Ten Great Families.

But even to prestigious mid- and small sects far and wide, followed by letters and gift bundles from the Martial Alliance.

Of course, unlike Hundred Flowers Academy's unlimited access with a simple signup, everyone under forty had a shot, but spots were limited.

The Daoist martial artists on Mount Wudang joined the fervor too.

The Great Harmony Palace atop ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Heavenly Pillar Peak was usually a secluded spot, but today it was thronged with people.

Daoist temples are always flush with cash.

So, like Heart-Mirror Hall, they had setups in one corner of Great Harmony Palace projecting Mind-Image Sword Debate scenes on screens.

At the center sat Ilun.

Wudang's top prodigy of this generation.

A man in his twenties-eight who had broken through Initial Supreme and forged his own sword.

"The same Taecheong Sword, but Senior Brother's Taecheong Sword is so beautiful...!"

"Hoho, as expected of Ilun. Truly Wudang's great fortune."

"Subduing foes without even using Taiji Edge Sword—it's not long before we reclaim the title of world's greatest sword sect!"

He knew his fellow disciples and even elders were gathered, spectating his Mind-Image Sword Debate.

Yet his sword flowed undisturbed, naturally overwhelming his opponent.

As if victory was predestined from the first clash.

Softly deflecting aggressive Dao strikes, cleanly piercing openings—it embodied the soft conquering the hard.

Ilun smiled gently after another victory.

A bit late to start, he was only 4th place.

But among those he'd faced so far, none surpassed him.

He'd even halted the current 1st place "Overdoing It"'s win streak.

Though just preliminaries, Ilun had one goal.

To prove Wudang's sword was the strongest in the jianghu.

Without even a break, he awaited his next foe.

With the now-familiar strange Western script, Ilun entered the battlefield.

And.

"Pfft."

He burst out laughing at his opponent's title.

How is the title "Three Families' Slave"...?

His own "Plundering the People" wasn't great either, but that was too much.

Just entered the field too.

0-0 record, default Bronze Medal 1000 pts.

First five were placement matches with big swings, so who knows how high it'd go, but likely a total newbie.

Ilun leisurely awaited the beginner's first move.

A bit arrogant for a Daoist.

But he believed no one under forty could beat him.

As if responding to his courtesy.

The opponent held his sword arm low at distance, palm forward.

A half-guard stance, slightly lowering his wariness.

"...!"

Ilun urgently bent back using Iron Plate Bridge.

A stealthy palm force grazed his chest.

"Cowardly...!"

Fury blazed at the ambush, but before it faded.

Bam──!

"Guhk."

The palm force he'd dodged.

Twisted direction like it was alive, smashing his occiput.

As Ilun's mind blurred.

Three Families' Slave closed in instantly, unleashing sword energy.

Normally deflectable, but his stance was broken.

Roll, roll!

Forgetting seniors and juniors watched, Ilun took an unsightly tumble.

But as if anticipated, another stealthy palm force struck his abdomen.

The match ended.

His mind dazed at the instant defeat.

Unable to contain his boiling fighting spirit, he sent a rematch request.

He couldn't just swallow this humiliating loss.

The opponent was surely a righteous sect martial artist.

Even if they won dirty, there'd be a twinge of dissatisfaction──

"Kuhk."

Ilun barely suppressed the rising blood.

His Daoist training from childhood shone through.

Regaining calm, he reviewed the match.

Normally he'd jump into the next fight, but he couldn't grasp how he'd lost.

Palm force that changed trajectory mid-flight?

How could such a technique exist?

No answers came from rumination.

One thing was clear.

The jianghu is vast.

And hidden masters abound.

Definitely some old expert who'd concealed their skill in the deep mountains.

That thought soothed Ilun's heart a bit.

"Hm, just this much."

Placement matches.

5 wins, 0 losses.

Bronze Medal 1250 pts.

Not bored enough to die...

The White Rainbow Palm Force from Northern Wall Secret Record was legit cheat-tier.

Even I, the user, felt lost on how to counter if the formless force suddenly curved in.

Thanks to it, clean wins, but as supreme art, fatigue piled up heavily.

From now on, gauge opponents—if easy, stick to sword only. I removed the VR device.

Savoring victory's afterglow, I pulled out my smartphone from the device.

"Huh?"

A message from me-and-little-one, different from usual.

Normally just light chat: what'd you eat, confusing parts of Heavenly Beast Heart-Returning Art, Luri sulking again, etc.

Come to think of it, last time she said Daram wasn't well and they went for a mountain walk.

I shelved the bad thought of karma from cheating... and replied while prepping to head out.

Even at the Medical Hall, I'd need to show my face ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for Dang Chunsik to take it seriously.