The Divine Spear's Gaze
The Divine Spear, Jeok Ho-myeong.
He was a massive man, standing nearly eight feet tall, with a thick, imposing build and an eyepatch over his left eye.
With a thick mane of white hair and eyes so dark and quiet they felt chilling, he was a striking figure.
He was a hero who, alongside the Sword Saint Yoo Chun-gil, had achieved legendary feats during the Great War.
And he was the current Leader of the Martial Alliance.
True to his title, he was known for wielding a spear longer than his own body, engaging in tyrannical combat powered by his monstrous grip strength.
On top of that...
He possessed overwhelming martial might and the absolute support of the public as a hero.
Since Yoo Chun-gil passed away.
He was also the man widely considered closest to being the World's Greatest.
If those who fought in the Great War were called the Heavens Beyond Heaven, he was practically the only one among them still active.
Of course, the current leaders of the Wudang and Mount Hua Sects hadn't retired either, but...
...calling them active is a bit of a stretch.
In terms of actually appearing before the public and taking action, the Divine Spear was truly the only one.
That was why he was called the closest to the World's Greatest.
Normally, the Sword Emperor would be up there too.
But the Sword Emperor had vanished long ago, right after the war.
I knew he was working as Chu-dong, but since only a tiny handful of people knew that, it didn't really count.
The man closest to the World's Greatest.
The Heaven Beyond Heaven of the Central Plains.
The Divine Spear, Jeok Ho-myeong.
Looking at him, a cold sweat broke out across my back.
He's definitely looking at me.
His single eye was locked onto me.
There was no mistaking it. It was impossible to brush off as a mere coincidence.
Zzzzt.
...Damn it.
Because the terrifying aura radiating from him was pouring entirely onto me.
My body froze solid. Honestly, it wasn't even a matter of energy. Just locking eyes with him made my body seize up in pure terror.
Yes, my body was terrified, even if my mind tried to rationalize it.
It was like instinctively encountering a predator you could never hope to defeat.
...Or maybe not? Actually, I think my mind is pretty terrified too.
It was bad enough that he was a monster ranked among the top three strongest in the Central Plains.
But that damn old man.
It was even worse because I had just heard about the trouble Yoo Chun-gil had caused.
What did he say again?
First of all, he said it was Yoo Chun-gil who gouged out that eye.
The reason the Divine Spear wore an eyepatch.
People said it was an aftermath of the war, or a glorious wound earned while fighting a great arch-demon of the Unorthodox Faction in the past.
But I knew the truth.
The Divine Spear's fiancée had fallen for Yoo Chun-gil, which led to a fight between the two men.
And as a result, Yoo Chun-gil had gouged out the Divine Spear's eye.
...Fuck.
What kind of ridiculous, soap-opera nonsense was that?
He must still be furious.
How could anyone forget such a thing? Not only was his fiancée stolen, but his eye was gouged out too.
If it were me, I wouldn't be able to forget it even in death.
So that's why he summoned me.
Cheongwol Gate was originally barred from attending the festival hosted by the Martial Alliance.
It was because they were a directly affiliated sect and held a close relationship with the Alliance.
For similar reasons, the Beggar Alliance and the Shaolin Temple were the same.
The Beggar Alliance had an agreement with the Martial Alliance to exchange specific information.
And Shaolin, having its main temple in Henan, was fundamentally barred from participating in the Yongbong Association anyway.
Yet he broke those rules just to summon me.
The Divine Spear, as the Alliance Leader, had overturned these regulations to allow Cheongwol Gate to participate in the Yongbong Association.
And the reason behind it...
Was me.
He had issued what was practically an order to make me, the successor of the Sword Saint, participate.
...This is absolutely terrifying.
I didn't even want to imagine what kind of intentions he had when he summoned me.
Am I going to get skewered by a spear?
Now that Yoo Chun-gil was dead, his wrath might be directed at me, the disciple.
No, in the first place, the decision to let Cheongwol Gate participate made no sense.
How did the higher-ups even let that slide?
No matter how high the Divine Spear's approval rating was, the Martial Alliance wasn't run by a single person, and the elders wouldn't have easily overlooked such favoritism toward Cheongwol Gate.
The fact that they let it slide means...
The Divine Spear must have given up something significant to appease them.
Or...
He made a sacrifice.
He sacrificed something to get his way.
Damn it.
Does he really want to do something to me that badly?
While my anxiety reached its peak.
"For the Divine Spear to come in person..."
"What is going on...?"
The young talents were busy widening their eyes at the unscheduled appearance of the Divine Spear.
None of them seemed to understand what was happening.
It was only natural, as a man who was supposed to show his face only near the end of the banquet had appeared right at the beginning.
Don't tell me this is...
Because of me too?
I wanted to believe it wasn't, but...
He's staring at me way too much.
The Divine Spear's fierce gaze was locked solely on me.
The problem was.
"Wait, who is the Divine Spear looking at...?"
"Isn't that the direction where the Seven Great Talents are gathered?"
"The Seven Great Talents? Oh? But..."
The problem was that the Divine Spear's gaze was so blatantly obvious that I wasn't the only one who noticed the anomaly.
"The Young Sword Saint...? The Divine Spear is looking at the Young Sword Saint."
"What? That guy is the Young Sword Saint...?"
"He looks younger than I thought."
"Is that youth really the Sword Saint's..."
Naturally, all eyes began to shift toward me.
And then.
"But why is the Divine Spear staring at that youth like that?"
Whispers of curiosity began to rise about why the Alliance Leader was staring so intently at me.
Right then.
"Could it be..."
Someone spoke up as if they had realized something.
"Hasn't the Divine Spear recognized something extraordinary about the Young Sword Saint?"
"...Huh? Even among the Seven Great Talents?"
"Otherwise... I've never seen the Alliance Leader act like this."
"As expected... they do say he's a genius blessed by the heavens..."
No.
That's not it.
I grimaced at the murmurs echoing around me.
You crazy bastards. Please stop.
The misunderstanding was snowballing. And in a very bad direction.
Just as I was barely holding back the urge to squeeze my eyes shut.
Sliiiide.
Only then did the Divine Spear shift his gaze away from me and walk toward the podium.
Yoo Chun-gil said, picking his nose as he watched the Divine Spear.
I wondered who he was calling terrifying, but looking at the Divine Spear's face, I had to agree.
He really did look frightening.
*Thud.*
Stepping onto the podium with his massive frame, the Divine Spear scanned the young talents with a heavy gaze.
Every time his eyes swept over them, I could feel the youths flinch.
"Ah."
*Whooooosh!*
As the Divine Spear uttered a single syllable, the air vibrated heavily.
The tiny hairs on my skin stood on end.
What the...
How could a voice carry such dense internal energy?
As I stared at him with bewildered eyes.
"Do your best."
Huh?
With only those three words, the Divine Spear stepped down from the podium, turned around, and vanished back the way he came.
"...Huh?"
My brow furrowed at the sight.
Did he really just leave?
Just to say that one thing?
What was that? Stunned by the absurdity, I couldn't even react.
"..."
My head throbbed. He was laughing so loudly that my brain rattled.
Anyway...
The Divine Spear truly didn't reappear after leaving.
Left behind, the Alliance guide stood frozen with a flustered expression before hurriedly scrambling onto the podium.
"Ah, ahem! It seems the Alliance Leader wanted to express his gratitude for your attendance and offer his congratulations. Please, enjoy the banquet to your heart's content!"
Where in those words was there any gratitude or congratulations...?
Even if I squinted, there was absolutely nothing of the sort.
But that was indeed the end of my encounter with the Divine Spear.
Amidst the bewildered atmosphere left in his wake.
The first day of the Yongbong Association—and the banquet—began.
There wasn't anything particularly grand about the banquet.
As was typical, people just gathered around food and tea to chat and network.
And the Yongbong Association was the most valuable place for such networking.
It was only natural.
The attendees of the Yongbong Association were those handpicked by the Martial Alliance, who had sent invitations to prestigious clans and sects.
In other words, this was a gathering of the future leaders of the Orthodox Murim.
It wasn't just some casual gathering between local clans.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Jin Yu-yong of the Henan Jin clan."
"...Ah, yes."
"It is truly an honor to meet the successor of the famous Sword Saint."
"No, the honor is mine."
Thanks to that, I was incredibly busy.
Damn it all, I had become the center of attention as soon as the banquet started.
The successor of the Young Sword Saint, whose rumors had spread nationwide.
Moreover, with all the hype surrounding me being on par with the Seven Great Talents, the young martial artists were practically drooling at the chance to talk to me.
A figure they absolutely had to establish a connection with.
That was how they saw me.
"Ah, I am..."
Watching them approach.
"Ah, you must be Young Master Jeong Seok-yul of the Hubei Jeong clan. It is an honor to meet you."
"Pardon?"
"Is Clan Leader Jeong doing well?"
"Uh... do you know our Clan Leader?"
"Of course. How could I not know the great hero of the Dominating Martial Sword? I have never met him in person, but his reputation precedes him."
"Ah... I see, yes."
"And you must be the young master of the Shaanxi Yu clan..."
I greeted them one by one, pretending to know them.
They all reacted with surprise when I recognized them.
Of course they would. They must be wondering how a complete stranger knew so much about them.
Like hell I know them.
I didn't know them at all. I was just pretending as best as I could.
Yoo Chun-gil remarked with a look of disgust.
I naturally ignored him.
This is called networking.
Before coming here, I had gathered information on the expected attendees.
Not just the Seven Great Talents, but as many people as possible.
I only had a few days to prepare, but that was more than enough time to memorize their profiles.
Of course, since many of them had vague descriptions, I couldn't get everyone right.
But pretending to know them is what matters.
Since how I was perceived by them was crucial, it was important to utilize this.
I did what I could.
I was confident in this area.
I didn't roll around in my past life for nothing.
Did they really think I couldn't handle basic networking with a bunch of teenagers?
As long as I had the right information, it was as easy as breathing.
Instead, it was the Seven Great Talents and my own companions who looked at me strangely.
How does that guy know all that?
Their gazes clearly asked that question.
Or.
Why is he even bothering to do that?
You guys don't need to, of course.
With a title like the Seven Great Talents, people would flock to them automatically.
Why would they ever need to do something like this?
But I have to.
Unlike them, I needed this.
If I wanted to maintain the illusion of my fake talent.
I had to build a solid foundation through these methods.
Neatly kept long hair. Drooping outer corners of the eyes. Slightly tanned skin, green martial robes, and an accessory around the neck.
As I continued to converse with the young talents.
"Ah. You must be the young lady of the Henan Uijeon Sect..."
"How pathetic."
A sharp voice cut in.
I wiped the smile from my face and turned around.
Standing there was a handsome guy with the symbol of the Wudang Sect emblazoned on his chest.
Seo Pyeong, the Wudang Cloud Dragon.
He glared at me with a look of utter dissatisfaction.
"To resort to such cheap tricks. The Sword Saint's name must be weeping."
He growled.
Hearing that, I thought to myself:
What the hell did you just say?
"What is that dumbass saying? Ah."
Oops.
"What?"
"...I misspoke."
I slipped up.