The White Flame Descends
Jegal Soyeon and her entourage climbed into the carriage prepared by the Wulin Alliance's Henan branch, their bodies still aching. The wounds had been cleanly treated at the Alliance, so there was no longer any danger, but they still throbbed. Sitting in the innermost seat, Jegal Soyeon stared only at the small window facing the coachman.
"...Everyone."
At her words, her companions turned toward their young lady. A female warrior quietly approached the seemingly powerless girl and spoke.
"Yes..."
After a moment of silence following the reply, Jegal Soyeon smiled weakly and said, "I'm sorry. I left the clan so boldly, only to return empty-handed and injured."
The female warrior hurriedly insisted that it wasn't so, but Jegal Soyeon had already made up her mind.
"...Do you regret it...?"
At one companion's cautious question, Jegal Soyeon lowered her head for a moment in thought. Then, tearing her gaze from the window, she shook her head.
"Not at all. I never expected to win anyway. I only came out to form connections with the rising stars of the younger generation."
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she jerked her head up. The motion caused her to smack it against the wall she had been leaning on. Rubbing her sore nape, Jegal Soyeon continued.
"Come to think of it, I did manage to form one proper connection."
Her companions had no trouble guessing who that connection was. He had been far too conspicuous, and there was no one else who could be called a connection.
"Jin Sowoon is worth more than four or five ordinary fellows."
Who would look at him and see only a ten-year-old? Fighting four skilled killers at once was something no one present could have done. Moreover, his injuries were shallower than anyone else's here.
"Children these days grow up well, they say."
One warrior remarked after observing his physique. Now that he mentioned it, Jin Sowoon's body had been as sturdy as an adult's. Had he trained in external arts?
"Well, that's true."
Jegal Soyeon felt as though her reverse scale—his small stature—had been attacked, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. After all, she had looked up at him, even if only slightly.
"I wanted to see him fight properly again. That's the only thing I regret."
As she spoke, she glanced at the sword of the warrior sitting in front of her.
"At the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering... will there truly be anyone who surpasses him?"
At the female warrior's question, Jegal Soyeon trembled once and replied, "...If there is, that in itself would be terrifying."
Age, sect, none of it mattered—he was already someone who embodied the phrase "outer strength, inner strength." If someone his age was stronger than him, wouldn't that person be a divine being?
"I need to hurry back to the clan and rummage through the medicine hall and armory."
Recalling the weapons piled up unused in the clan's armory, Jegal Soyeon added, "As repayment and a congratulatory gift, should we ever meet again."
The entrance to Shaolin Temple was packed with people. Alone, with friends, with children, with lovers—people who normally had no connection to the martial world had climbed this high Mount Song just for today.
Even though I sat in the front rows reserved for participants and related personnel, quite far from the entrance, their voices reached me. The arena was vast. Fittingly, countless seats had been arranged all around. My seat was among the two front rows prepared for the participants and their associates. Eight seats for the Eight Dragons and Phoenixes were placed at the very front, and the rest on either side belonged to us.
The reason they had deliberately separated the participants' seats by number and placed them on opposite sides was probably to prevent pointless disputes like the one with Lee Yeongjin yesterday. I should have done this yesterday too. The intent behind allowing the opponent's approach was highly suspicious.
Baek Yu was probably on the opposite side. The person sitting next to me was someone from the Ten Venerables' clan. With no acquaintances and nothing to do, I checked the sword sheath at my waist for no reason and looked around.
"You're here early."
The Eight Dragons and Phoenixes had already taken their seats. As if the Dragons and Phoenixes had made a pact, they had divided their positions: on the left sat the Noble Dragon, Poison Dragon, Fist Dragon, and Blue Sword Dragon; on the right sat the Saber Phoenix, Flame Phoenix, Falling Sun Phoenix, and Sword Phoenix.
Turning my gaze to the opposite side, past them, I saw two men sitting quietly. "Those people..."
One was a man in orange robes, sitting motionless in meditation—the abbot of Shaolin, revered by many in the martial world, Bulgwang Daesa, Hyeonjang. Beside him sat a man in robes whiter than those of the Jegal Clan, issuing various orders. He was the only one among the Ten Venerables who belonged to neither the Nine Great Sects nor the Five Great Clans, and the current leader of the Wulin Alliance—the Severing Sword Duke, Yugwangbaek.
Two of the giants who ruled the world under heaven were gracing this place with their presence.
"Namgung Seha... at that level?"
I muttered to myself. Of course, that wasn't her current level. It was the martial prowess of Namgung Seha I had glimpsed in the final moments of my past life. Comparing that to the two men here, she seemed below Bulgwang Daesa but on a similar level to the Severing Sword Duke.
"...Then again."
Could Bulgwang Daesa even contend with the Heavenly Demon? The thought crossed my mind for a moment, but I quickly dismissed it. No matter how highly I regarded him, he didn't seem capable of matching the Heavenly Demon.
Anyway, as I watched the two giants I had never had the chance to see in my past life and entertained all sorts of thoughts and assumptions, the Severing Sword Duke rose from his seat.
"Greetings, fellow wanderers of the martial world."
He cupped his fists in place and gave a slight bow to the crowd before straightening.
"I am Yugwangbaek, leader of the Wulin Alliance."
"Over a thousand years ago, a great swordsman extinguished the flames of a massive war that threatened to engulf the martial world and ushered in an era of peace."
"He established the Wulin Alliance for future generations, and that is why we are gathered here today."
"The Dragon and Phoenix Gathering is a stage where those who will carry on his will and protect the martial world reveal themselves to the world."
He continued his opening speech for quite some time. Though the words were undoubtedly grand, they couldn't help but be tedious to the listeners. Whether he knew this or not, Wulin Alliance Leader Yugwangbaek kept speaking.
"Eight years ago, Saber Phoenix Jeong Hyeseon became a Phoenix in this very place. Having devoted herself to chivalry ever since, she now lays down her wings for the sake of her juniors."
"Among you is the Dragon and Phoenix who will proudly fill her empty seat."
"The Dragon and Phoenix title is not merely for the strong, but for those who pursue chivalry. I hope you will engrave this fact in your hearts as you enter the matches."
After continuing for a while longer, he finally made the declaration everyone had been waiting for.
"With that, I hereby declare the opening of the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering."
In an instant, cheers filled the entire world. Amid the deafening roar, the referee overseeing the matches shouted.
"From the Shandong Ak Clan, Ak Haein! And from Bae—"
He stopped mid-sentence. The referee brought the paper to his face as if to double-check. Wondering what was going on, I turned to look at both sides. A woman was ascending the stage, holding a spear. Ak Haein. She was originally the champion of this Dragon and Phoenix Gathering, the Spear Flash Phoenix.
And opposite her stood a woman whose face was covered with a white cloth.
"Her clothes..."
They were peculiar. A white robe so long it dragged on the ground, so thin that everything beneath it was visible. It looked more like a dancer's attire than a martial artist's. Her figure was slender, her eyes red, and her hair dyed snow-white.
The referee, who had paused briefly, spoke again in a voice that, though he tried to hide it, sounded slightly weaker than before.
"Nazar of the Baehwagyo. Please ascend the stage."
Baehwagyo? Why would a heterodox sect from the Western Regions appear in the Central Plains? In my past life, they had never shown themselves in the martial world. They had only extended their influence in the Western Regions and never set foot in the Central Plains. Yet here they were, stepping onto martial world soil and participating in one of its major events, the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering. Something felt off.
I had only thought about it for a brief moment when the referee's voice rang out once more.
"Nazar of the Baehwagyo. Victory."
When I looked up, a scene completely different from what I had imagined awaited me. Spear Flash Phoenix—rather, Ak Haein, who should have become the Spear Flash Phoenix—was collapsed on the ground, with only the tip of her spear remaining. The shaft had turned to ash, and her clothes were scorched. The stage was engulfed in crimson flames. Standing proudly atop it was Nazar of the Baehwagyo. She waved her arm, withdrawing the flames, and descended from the stage. The entire sequence had unfolded so quickly and naturally that no one could utter a word.
"...Spear Flash Phoenix... Ak Haein lost?"
It was possible for Ak Haein to have fought a Baehwagyo disciple. There must have been some hidden story behind it. That much was understandable. But if this Baehwagyo disciple was overwhelmingly strong? I could guarantee that no matter who faced her, this woman would have been the champion. This wasn't something that could be dismissed as a change in the bracket just because I had butted in.
In short, this was altered history—something that shouldn't have existed originally.
"...I didn't do anything, and my head already hurts."
Both of us had simply stayed holed up in the Namgung Clan. Time should have flowed as it originally did. Yet, just as the night before a storm is quiet, the future had already twisted far more than anyone realized.