Chapter 94
Translator: TrueDetective
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: 27. Look at This Setlist, It's Insane (1)
After our secret meeting with the Kunlun Daoist on the rooftop of Jianghu Academy.
We decided to wait a bit until Taeheo's spirit returned, then headed back to the representative's mansion.
Today, not just the Heavenly Demon but all the other Nine Great Sects members gathered at the rep's place too.
Vacation was over, so it was time to dive into winter concert prep for real.
With the group facing disbandment after this winter.
Maybe because it could be our last concert.
The members' setlists were overflowing with greed.
I'd told them each to put together their ideal setlist, and holy hell, what a show.
First up, the one from the Alliance Leader.
-Prime Sword Setlist-
1. Martial Unification
2. Let Me Introduce the Nine Great Sects
3. The Heart Is Indestructible Diamond
.
.
.
It felt like a setlist full of resolve to win over the concert stage itself, fitting the event, rather than stuffing in gimmicky segments.
Were these just the title tracks and album cuts lined up by impact...? But somehow, the list wouldn't end.
.
.
.
28. Myriad Blossoms in the Sky (ver. Acoustic)
29. Myriad Blossoms in the Sky (ver. Dance)
30. Martial Merits
No, wait.
"Thirty songs? We won't have time for that."
Nine Great Sects concerts so far had averaged 22 to 24 songs.
And now out of nowhere, thirty?
Making my worries look foolish, the Alliance Leader beamed brightly.
"We just won't take breaks."
"No, please take breaks."
If you guys don't rest, the one getting flamed is me.
"We can rest during the guest stage in the middle."
Guest stage my ass—that's just the one [Bamboo Leaf Liquor and Five-Spice Pork].
That song's under three minutes.
"Thirty songs in a row isn't even tiring..."
"You're not thinking about the Beggar Clan disciples who have to follow this setlist?"
"Our beggar fans can handle this much."
Fans come to concerts to enjoy, not for closed-door training retreats.
In the end, I shot down the Prime Sword setlist, and the Alliance Leader retreated with a dejected pout.
Next up, Jaha strode forward with a confident grin and handed over her setlist.
Among us, Jaha was the one whose murim brain was least developed.
And her idol instincts were sharp.
I read through hers with high hopes.
-Ju Jaha Setlist-
1. Opening
2. Martial Unification (ver. Ballad)
-Ment-
3. Night of the Central Plains
4. Daily-Fresh Boycott Fragrance
[Night of the Central Plains] and [Daily-Fresh Boycott Fragrance].
These were among the rare vocal-focused tracks in the Nine Great Sects catalog, overflowing with killer choreo otherwise.
...Jaha's burning ambition to steal the spotlight was crystal clear.
She'd even slotted Martial Unification as a ballad version.
And the list kept going below that.
-Ment-
-Game-
5-10. Solo Stages
-Ment-
-Game-
-Skit-
Why were there more content corners than actual performances?
11-20. Whatever the Beggars Want♡
After listing the vocal tracks, she got lazy with the rest, huh.
Slapping a heart on it won't make it cute—time she learned that as a six-year veteran idol.
"Gonna have to nix this."
"Ah, why!!"
Because I can't tell if this is a personal V Live setlist or a concert one.
Next was Taiji's... which was identical to Jaha's.
Jaha had probably begged her to copy it, and now she crowed triumphantly.
"That's two votes, right?"
"Setlists aren't ballots."
I rejected Jaha and Taiji's side by side.
Then Nahani quietly slid hers over.
Right—at least hers wouldn't be stuffed with personal greed.
-Baek Nahani Setlist-
1. Martial Unification
2. Let Me Introduce the Nine Great Sects
-Ment-
3. The Heart Is Indestructible Diamond
The song lineup and order were arranged by impact, like the Alliance Leader's.
But she'd smartly slotted in rest times, making for a stable setlist.
If not for that one bit smack in the middle.
-Meditation-
Meditation... during a concert...
Having time for meditation at a concert felt weird.
But compared to closed-door training setlists or selfish ones, it looked downright normal.
That's when I spotted Namgung Mu in my peripheral, sweating bullets.
"...Why are you so tense?"
"Ah, uh. W-well... This is my first concert ever, so I didn't know setlists were like this..."
Come to think of it, Namgung Mu and the Heavenly Demon were concert newbies.
"What'd you put down?"
Jaha piped up curiously, but Namgung Mu just kept sweating and wouldn't hand it over.
Jaha narrowed her eyes at him, then lunged and snatched the paper from his hand.
She peeked at Namgung Mu's setlist and barely stifled a laugh with a "pfft."
"Hey... you're kinda cute? Hyung, check this out."
"What's it say."
I took the setlist Jaha passed me and soon snorted with laughter myself.
-Namgung Mu Setlist-
1. Greet the Fans
2. Rep's Address
3. Member Introductions
4. Simple Recreation
5. Martial Merits Group Sing-Along
6. Share Our Thoughts So Far
7. Rolling Paper
Jaha couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out cackling.
"I'm dying. I thought it was a training camp schedule."
"Guess you've never been to a concert."
Namgung Mu's face went beet red.
No matter that he's subbing for his brother—how the hell did he ever think he could pull off being an idol.
Well... some fans do find this clumsiness endearing.
Honestly, it was kinda cute.
"Did the Heavenly Demon write a setlist too?"
"Naturally."
With that, the Heavenly Demon pulled a sheet from his sleeve and handed it over.
I had zero expectations for the Heavenly Demon's.
It was bound to be pure nonsense.
And sure enough, when I unfolded the Heavenly Demon's setlist...
"...Everything's scrapped, but what's this '-Cup Ramen-' here?"
"Hunger strikes mid-performance."
"So the '-Mala Tang-' below is the same vibe?"
"Indeed."
"Sigh..."
"What's with the sigh?!"
"You're going to a concert, not a mukbang shoot."
"This seat knows that much. That's why I slotted in stages appropriately."
"Do you even know what 'appropriately' means?"
The Heavenly Demon's setlist went like this.
-Wi Hwajin Setlist-
1. Martial Merits
2. The Heart Is Indestructible Diamond
3. Myriad Blossoms in the Sky
-Cup Ramen-
4. Martial Merits
5. The Heart Is Indestructible Diamond
6. Myriad Blossoms in the Sky
-Mala Tang-
7. Martial Merits
.
.
.
...And so on.
"Why keep repeating the same stages??"
"What am I supposed to do? These are the only three tracks I've done."
"We can remake the old ones."
"Hmph. No interest in songs from eras I don't know."
Sigh—what to do with this precious little nugget.
"The beggars watch the same stages over and over anyway."
"That's 'cause they're grinding MV streams."
"They say they never get tired, even daily."
"That's not the same as every ten minutes."
"Beggar hearts are so damn complicated."
Hearing the guy with the world's most inscrutable inner realm say that felt off.
I was rubbing my forehead when Garung waddled over with a crumpled paper in his mouth and dropped it in front of me.
"Garung made a setlist too?"
"Garung!"
"Good boy."
"Don't get your hopes up. Jinsu'll cut it."
Garung's setlist was covered in his paw prints.
Just looking at it warmed my heart.
"Let's go with this one..."
"What?! ...You serious?"
"Of course it's a joke."
The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue.
"This won't do, that won't do. So nothing here is worth adopting?"
"Hmm..."
Still, the kids (Heavenly Demon excluded) had put real thought into these.
Couldn't ignore them entirely.
"Alright, then let's do it like this."
* * *
Nine Great Sects 2022 Year-End Concert 「Undefeated Demon War」.
The venue was Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, the country's largest performance hall built exclusively for the Nine Great Sects by Kichi.
Its sheer size meant massive capacity, but even so, tickets sold out the instant they dropped—par for the course now.
Only those with top-tier ticketing inner power could secure a seat at Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.
Right before ticketing opened for this 'Undefeated Demon War,' the setlist got revealed.
And the Beggar Clan disciples fell into chaos.
-Undefeated Demon War Setlist-
0. Opening
1. Martial Unification
2. Let Me Introduce the Nine Great Sects
-Ment-
3. The Heart Is Indestructible Diamond
4. Incinerate Pain in Samadhi Flames
5. The Way to Expel Inner Demons
-VCR-
6. Martial Alliance Romance Alliance (ver. Prime Sword)
7. Wudang Farewell (ver. Yi Taiji)
8. Cup Ramen Mukbang (ver. Wi Hwajin)
9. Daily-Fresh Boycott Fragrance (ver. Ju Jaha)
10. Heavenly Bow Without Sorrow (ver. Namgung Jun)
11. 108 Torments (ver. Baek Nahani)
-Meditation-
11. Do-Ga-Do-Ga (ver. Huashan & Wudang) - Unreleased Track
12. Blasphemy (ver. Shaolin & Heavenly Demon) - Unreleased Track
13. Oath (ver. Martial Alliance & Namgung Family) - Unreleased Track
-Game (w/ Garung)-
-Guest: Five Great Families-
15. Bamboo Leaf Liquor and Five-Spice Pork (ver. Nine Great Sects + Penalty Outfits)
16. Red Cliff (ver. Nine Great Sects)
17. When Will This Rain Ever Stop OST (ver. Nine Great Sects)
-Skit-
18. Our Room (2018 Fan Song)
19. Nice Weather, Beggar (2021 Fan Song)
20. We 'Til That Dawn (2022 Fan Song) - Unreleased Track
-Rolling Paper-
21. The Secret of Plum Blossom Grafting
22. I Shall Offer the Millennium Snow Ginseng
23. My Heart Fluttered at That Golden Persimmon Tree
24. Myriad Blossoms in the Sky
25. Martial Merits
-Infinite Encore-
-World Rank #0 Prime Sword: So many things to nitpick, don't even know where to start
└Five-Sects-Bang: Lmaoㅋㅋㅋㅋ Nine Great Sects drops setlist w/ unreleased tracks and first thing I check is nits to pickㅋㅋㅋㅋ
What-Do-Wudang: Solos, covers, unreleased fan songs, unit stages—love it all, it's too good... but... is this allowed?
└No-Balls-Nahani: Wait, is this setlist even doable in 4 hours?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Alliance-Leader-Princess: And infinite encore... remembering last year's infinite encore fiasco, my hands and feet are shaking
-Miss-Demon-What-Are-You: Thought the mid-show meditation was a Nahani pick, but rolling paper? No clue how that snuck in
└Murim-Idol-What-Otaku: Rolling paper ftwㅋㅋㅋ
Marry-Jaha-Pls: Unreleased tracks hit different—Kichi bastards, drop an album if you're making bangers
└Grand-Awakening: Seeing 'em debut at concert, bet they'll dump a mix tape
└What-Do-Wudang: Argh pls put the unit tracks on a full album, drop photocards, Taiji-Jaha duo pc plsㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
True-Jaha-True: Why's no one talking Cup Ramen Mukbang ver. Wi Hwajin?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└Qi-Gong-Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner: Is he... actually gonna do a mukbang. Or is it peak bait solo title.
└Heavenly-Demon-Is-Princess: Bet he plays solo intro like it's bait then BAM mukbang starts
└Murim-Rice-Cake: You know Heavenly Demonㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Forbes-No1-Monk-Like-Man: Uh... Nahani-Hwajin duet titled Blasphemy... this ok?? Legal??
└Three-Bonds-Five-Constants-Heavenly-Demon-Cult-Reply: Somethin' huge is comin'...
└Mu-Da-Mu-Da-Wudang: What if we get sued too
└108-Nahani-Jin: But who sues? ...Shaolin? ...Heavenly Demon Cult??
└Heavenly-Demon-Reborn-All-Demons-Fortress-Bamboo-Slash: Who thinks "Shaolin + Heavenly Demon duet = straight-up title Blasphemy"ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
“......”
I scratched my cheek awkwardly while scanning the fans' reactions.
Blasphemy might stir up lawsuits, given the precedent.
But we'd definitely hooked the aggro.
At this concert, we were...
planning to confess our group transfer to another agency.