The Hidden Dragons Emerge (5)
Family Head's Quarters.
Namgung Ilro sat at the head seat, his gaze fixed motionlessly on the door. With the man who should have been leading the meeting keeping his mouth firmly shut, the only sounds filling the room were the natural rustles of breathing tickling their ears.
Just as someone could bear it no longer and was about to speak up—
Creak.
The door slid open.
A man and a woman entered together.
At that moment, Jinheo, the Shaolin abbot, felt his expression crumple without mercy.
Amitabha. To think I'd run into that madman here too.
The newcomers were Namgung Je-cheon and Ihyang.
They carried three letters in hand, which they handed over to Namgung Ilro before taking seats beside him.
Shuffle.
Only then did Namgung Ilro finally pull his eyes from the door, snatching up two of the letters as if he'd been waiting and spreading them across the table at once.
All eyes in the room turned to the table in unison.
Rustle.
The two letters were so long they unrolled all the way to the table's edge before stopping.
And there, revealed, was their content.
One letter listed the names of sects and their participant numbers.
The other bore the names of individuals.
1. Shaolin Temple – 3 people
2. Wudang Sect – 3 people
3. Huashan Sect – 2 people
4. Jeomcheong Faction – 2 people
…….
[Little Fist King Participants]
I Gwon, Ihu, Ilcheon
…….
[Little Sword King Participants]
Namgung Daeso, Yu Han, Jin Yucheon
…….
[Little Rock King Participants]
Dang Cheolcheol, Dang Yoyo, Sama Gu
…….
[Little Blade King Participants]
Namgung So, Paeng Do-hu, Paeng Cheon
…….
Jinheo, the Shaolin abbot staring at the letters, broke into a deep smile.
The Wudang sect leader, the Moyong family head, and the Beggar's Sect leader wore the same expressions.
The moment they saw the letters, they understood what they signified.
The list of qualifiers for the Sawangjeon main tournament.
The right-side letter showed each sect and the number of their qualifiers.
The left-side one listed the competitors for each bracket, divided according to Sawangjeon format.
"You've all seen it, so you know what we need to do now."
Namgung Ilro, who had been silent, smoothly took charge of the meeting. After all, he was the one who had summoned them here.
"I've called you to determine the brackets for the main tournament three days from now. Of course, we'll do it fairly, with no complaints from anyone."
With that, Namgung Ilro unrolled the final letter across the table.
It bore the bracket charts for competing over titles like Little Sword King, Little Fist King, Little Rock King, and Little Blade King.
But the most crucial spots—where the competitors' names should have been—lay completely blank.
Today, they would fill every last one.
Naturally, no one so much as breathed a word.
Speaking first here was tantamount to volunteering for the most disadvantageous slot.
When setting brackets, those who moved last always held the advantage.
That was why random draws were the norm.
But this was the grandest event in the martial world. Leaving it to pure chance would surely spark complaints everywhere later.
Thus, compiling the brackets by consensus among the sect leaders had become the unspoken rule of past Sawangjeons.
Yet no one dared open their mouth rashly.
"Hmph……."
"Hmph……."
The room filled only with the sounds of heads aching.
That was when it happened.
"Shall I start? If that's alright with everyone?"
Namgung Ilro smiled and spoke first.
The others exchanged glances, then nodded as if to say they had no objections.
Namgung Ilro dipped the prepared brush into the well-ground ink.
Scribble, scribble.
Without hesitation, he wrote a name in one of the blanks.
[Namgung Daeso]
One slot in the Little Sword King bracket was filled.
But the brush didn't stop there.
He shifted position and wrote another.
Scribble, scribble.
[Namgung So]
A Little Blade King slot was set.
The room fell even quieter than before.
Only the subtle sounds of minds whirring filled the space.
Namgung Ilro alone chuckled heartily and spoke.
"There's plenty of time, so take it slow."
As expected, Master is at his coolest in moments like this!
Namgung Je-cheon thrilled at the sight of his master toying with the martial world's elite after so long.
Meanwhile, Ihyang marveled at how Namgung Ilro commanded the realm's luminaries with a single brush.
With that one move, the sect leaders gathered here were thrown into disarray.
He's claimed the worst spot first, the one everyone dreads.
By stepping forward boldly amid the hesitation and inscribing those names himself, he'd effectively silenced any future gripes.
If anyone complained now, those two names would be erased.
They were ticking time bombs.
The fuses would burn shorter with every passing moment.
The luminaries had to decide before those fuses ran out completely.
Or the bombs would explode.
That was why they couldn't utter a word lightly.
But dragging it out further only left those two unpredictable bombs looming before them.
The brutal staring contest among the luminaries began.
The Shaolin abbot will probably move first.
Scribble.
And sure enough, Jinheo moved.
"Amitabha. May I go next?"
His tone sought permission.
No one explicitly granted it, but Jinheo's hand was already on the brush.
Ihyang's prediction hit the mark.
Aside from Namgung Ilro, there was no one here he feared.
Jinheo swiftly inscribed three names.
[Little Fist King]
A blank bracket untouched by the Namgung brothers.
The three names went in, evenly spaced.
Jinheo set the brush down with evident relief and returned to his seat.
Next will be……
Ihyang's gaze landed on Dang Jin, head of the Tang family.
Dang Jin immediately lifted the brush.
He quickly filled in the [Little Rock King] bracket.
With those two moves, the rest sprang into action.
It was as good as starting hot potato with the bombs.
The sect leaders rushed to line up, each desperate to distance their disciples as far as possible from the two Namgung direct lines.
Thanks to that, what might have dragged on all day wrapped up in just one hour.
So this is the power of one who moves the world.
Ihyang gazed at Namgung Ilro in awe.
Namgung Ilro lifted the completed brackets, cross-checking against the letters on the table for any errors.
Only then did the sect leaders begin conversing among themselves.
Some scowled and vented about their draws; others grinned in satisfaction.
Some accepted their fates calmly.
Namgung Ilro, having reviewed the brackets, spoke up.
"Then, see you all in three days."
* * *
Namgung Ilro emerged from the Family Head's Quarters first, with Namgung Je-cheon and Ihyang supporting him.
After so long without such public duties, he was frankly a bit drained.
Namgung Je-cheon and Ihyang hurried to steady him.
"Heh heh, thank you."
Namgung Ilro leaned on them.
He felt a twinge of regret at missing out on their lively chatter.
Well, he could guess the gist of it anyway.
At the entrance, Namgung Ilro assured them he was fine and shooed them back.
"Got it, Master. Let's head in, sis."
While Namgung Je-cheon replied briskly, Ihyang supported him with worried eyes.
Namgung Ilro nodded to a nearby warrior.
The man stepped up to assist, and only then did Ihyang release her grip.
"Go on ahead. Experiences like this build flesh and blood. Don't worry about me—this warrior will take good care of it. Right?"
"Absolutely, sir."
"Go on."
At Namgung Ilro's repeated urging, Ihyang nodded.
He added one more thing, turning to Namgung Je-cheon.
"Look after Ihyang."
"What about me, Master? I'm your disciple too!"
"Didn't you descend the mountain? You're the strategist at Cheonryongjeon now."
"Hee hee, that's permission, right?"
"You wouldn't go otherwise?"
"Of course I would."
"Tsk tsk, hurry back. Chances like today don't come often."
All the martial world's leaders in one place—what might they discuss?
If you weren't curious, you'd be unfit as a strategist.
Ihyang bowed to Namgung Ilro, then quickly prodded Namgung Je-cheon.
Namgung Je-cheon grinned and reentered.
But the two lingered just outside the door, unable to go in for quite a while.
"Those Namgung bastards—should string 'em up and beat 'em half to death! Right?!"
From inside came spirited rants tearing into the Namgung family.
"Fun, huh, sis?"
They hadn't expected this at all.
Who knew such talk would fly?
The curses kept coming.
"This has gotta be rigged! The strategist jumps first?! I oughta flip this table for real!"
Ihyang tilted her head, unsure whose voice it was, but Namgung Je-cheon explained right away.
"Huangbo family head. He does this every time—just ignore him. Ever since that thrashing from the 9th Elder, he gripes about flipping tables whenever he's bored. Hasn't actually done it, though."
"……Huh."
This was the true face of the martial world's pinnacle.
They're just trash-talking the Namgung family?
It felt oddly crude somehow.
"Nothing to be shocked about, sis. When this many powers gather, you've gotta have one villain role to fill, y'know."
Je-cheon, are you saying the Namgung family is the villain right now?
"Still, you lot have it good. Damn it all—why'd my disciple ditch a fine sword for the Dao?"
Blade King Paeng Do-cheon sounded uncharacteristically deflated.
He stared long and hard at the brackets.
The North Hebei Paeng family had lucked out with three qualifiers this time.
The problem? [Namgung So] boldly inscribed in the Little Blade King slot.
In past Sawangjeons, the Little Blade King title had always gone to the Paeng family.
But Namgung So…….
This might shake their dominance for the first time.
Damn it all!
Meanwhile, Tang family head Dang Jin was smiling.
This Little Rock King will go smoothly to our Tang family too.
The Tang had barely scraped two disciples into the main draw.
It wasn't great for face, but seeing Paeng Do-cheon's flushed fury made him chuckle.
Dang Jin had deliberately placed his two disciples at opposite ends of the bracket.
To set up a final showdown between them.
With no Namgung in it, the Little Rock King was as good as theirs!
Grinning ear to ear, he clapped Paeng Do-cheon on the shoulder with words of comfort.
"Let's do our best!"
Paeng Do-cheon scowled.
Jinheo quietly studied the brackets alone.
His eyes turned to the Huashan sect leader.
Among them, the Huashan leader might be the weakest in a way.
He was a respected Daoist, but he hadn't truly trained in martial arts.
Like Jinheo himself, he'd been thrust into leadership by circumstance.
The Huashan leader gazed at the new brackets with eyes full of worry.
[Little Sword King]
Namgung Daeso – Yu Han
"Haa……."
Jinheo approached Huashan leader Jaming cautiously.
"What's got you so worried?"
Jaming confirmed his visitor, cupped his hands in greeting, and murmured softly.
"The Shaolin abbot. It's been a while."
He readily revealed his inner thoughts.
Jinheo thought once more that Jaming didn't quite fit the martial world.
"I was thinking about my disciple. Maybe I shouldn't have brought that child here after all."
The Sawangjeon was the Central Plains' festival that any martial artist dreamed of entering.
Especially the honor of reaching the main tournament.
Yet he regretted bringing him?
"Why not?"
"That child doesn't suit this place."
Jinheo knew a bit about Huashan's circumstances.
He'd heard vague rumors long ago.
Jaming's disciple had originally been a Daoist too.
Not just anyone could be a martial artist.
Once stained with the karma of bloodshed—willingly or not—escape from that yoke was impossible in the martial world.
Once your foot was in, it was kill or be killed, rice or ruin, until you burned out as scorched grains, inseparable from martial arts till death.
"I don't know if my decision was right. Even now, I'm torn on whether to forfeit or not."
Jinheo didn't fully grasp his worries.
Even if he did, he couldn't fully stand in his shoes.
But about the opponent his disciple would face? He dared say he knew better than anyone.
"No need for such great concern."
Looking at Jaming's troubled face, Jinheo shared what he felt.
"Kids aren't as weak as we think."
And sometimes……
Utterly unforeseen things happened.
"I don't know what troubles you, sect leader, but that's how the world works. What you've strained over forever suddenly resolves like luck dropping from the heavens."
One day, luck came knocking at Shaolin.
Not from the sky—from the foot of the mountain.
Even now, thinking of that guy made his legs tremble.
But one thing he was certain of.
"Luck…… It's been ages since I heard that word. I wish some would come my way."
"I hope whatever worries you, sect leader, resolves perfectly."
Wherever that bastard swept through, nothing was left intact.
A natural disaster of a man.
Jinheo recalled that damnable name once more.
[Namgung Daeso]
How in the world did a guy like that end up in the Namgung family—no, in this world…….
It turned the heavens upside down.