Today is the last day of the first round of the main tournament. As of today’s matches, fifty-four people have advanced to the second round of the main tournament.
Tang Su-bin had her match today and became one of those fifty-four.
I headed to the inn with my parents.
Everywhere we went, people who recognized me stared, and all eyes naturally focused on us.
Honestly, it was a bit burdensome, but it was still free advertising for the Eunhae Merchant Group, so I endured it.
Just then, a voice snagged my ear.
“Did you hear? Apparently the Baekcheon Merchant Group tried to set fire to the building where the Eunhae Merchant Group piled up its goods this time?”
“The Baekcheon Merchant Group? What, why?”
“I heard it’s because Eunhae kept selling the Golden Wound Ointment ingredients at the old price, so Baekcheon took a loss?”
“A loss? What kind of crappy nonsense is that?”
“No, think about it! Eunhae is selling at the original price, so anyone who still buys from Baekcheon at ten times the price is just an idiot!”
“Yeah, exactly!”
“It’s not like they mixed the stuff with gold dust or something.”
“Honestly, I’m really disappointed in Baekcheon this time!”
“Same here. I’m going to buy from other merchant groups instead of Baekcheon from now on. If I can, I’ll buy from the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
I had a hard time holding back the laughter that was trying to escape at that conversation.
Last night we caught the people who raided the place where our group had stored the goods, and we asked them who was behind it.
But they claimed they didn’t know.
They said they’d received a huge advance from some unknown man in a black bamboo hat, and they’d only done it to earn travel money so they could go back to their hometowns.
“Gyaaaah! Ghm! J-just a moment! Huff! I-I remember something! T-the guy who hired us, he had a cross-shaped scar on his collar! And he spoke with a Sichuan accent!”
At those words, I felt like I knew who the culprit was.
It was one of Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang’s trusted subordinates.
And it was also the person who’d been by Namgoong Gang’s side when I died.
In other words, that guy was also one of my revenge targets.
Anyway, I’m not the type to just sit there and take a hit. So I asked Chun-il and Geun-seong to do something for me.
To spread a rumor.
I told them to spread that because the Eunhae Merchant Group kept selling the Golden Wound Ointment ingredients at the original price, the Baekcheon Merchant Group held a grudge, raided our warehouse, and tried to burn the Golden Wound Ointment ingredients.
That rumor would give me two benefits.
First, it would drag the Baekcheon Merchant Group’s reputation through the mud.
Second, it would plant suspicion in Merchant Lord Namgoong Gang toward his own trusted subordinate.
Basically, by ruining Baekcheon’s reputation, I’d weaken Namgoong Gang’s standing.
Once that happened, he’d get impatient, his suspicion toward that subordinate would grow, and in the end he’d get rid of them himself.
That’s what you call killing with someone else’s knife. Hehe.
Listening to the people talk, it felt like the exact picture I’d wanted was starting to form.
It wasn’t a method I particularly liked, but it couldn’t be helped.
Honestly, the Baekcheon Merchant Group had brought this on themselves.
If they hadn’t tried to corner the market on fish bone powder and lime powder, I wouldn’t have resorted to this.
Which is why tonight I have to run again all the way to the Eunhae Merchant Group’s main branch in Hubei.
I needed to restock fish bone powder and lime powder.
In my previous life, Jin-ho had apparently struggled, constantly restocking those…
This time I’m the one running myself ragged. Sigh.
.
.
.
Morning came.
I spent the whole night using my lightness skill at full speed to go to the main branch and back, so I only managed to sleep for about an hour.
Just thinking about it annoyed me.
If the Baekcheon Merchant Group hadn’t pulled that stupid stunt, me and the two Escort Guards wouldn’t be going through this hell.
Of course, thanks to it we were making a lot of money, and our reputation was going up.
Even so, I couldn’t help feeling irritated.
When I went down to the first floor, my parents were already waiting for me, fully prepared.
Since they knew the situation, both their faces were full of worry for me.
“You must be exhausted, why don’t you just rest a bit today?”
“It’s fine. Isn’t it important to get to know the future prodigies who’ll be born from the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Tournament?”
“That’s true, but…”
“I’m really fine, so you don’t need to worry. If it gets too hard, I’ll come back in the middle.”
When I said that, my parents reluctantly nodded.
The reason I was insisting on going to watch the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Tournament wasn’t just what I’d just said; there were also a few people who would sulk if I didn’t go cheer them on.
Today and tomorrow, the matches for the second round of the main tournament would be held.
The Dragon-Phoenix Martial Tournament was finally heading toward its climax.
Once this second round ended, only about twenty-seven people would remain, and they would make their names known as the new prodigies.
Just making it into the main tournament was already considered impressive, but there was a tendency to only treat those who reached the third round of the main tournament as true prodigies.
Soon we arrived at the arena.
After a short wait, the host stepped onto the stage.
“At last, the day of the second round of the main tournament has dawned. First, let me introduce the heroes who have advanced to this round.”
At the host’s words, the fifty-four participants stepped up onto the arena stage.
Among them were Cousin Hyang-ok, Lady Yu-ah, Lady Tang Su-bin, and Tang Jo-ung.
“Waaaaah!”
“They’re amazing!”
The crowd congratulated them with applause and cheers.
“Through the second-round matches held today and tomorrow, twenty-seven people will advance to the third round. Now, as you come down, please each draw a number token.”
The Dragon-Phoenix Martial Tournament was unusual in that lots were drawn not only for the first round of the main tournament, but also for the second and third rounds.
Those who had advanced to the second round drew their number tags as they stepped down from the stage.
And then… I couldn’t help but shake my head.
Just how lucky can that punk Tang Jo-ung be?
This round would pick twenty-seven people, but that number doesn’t pair up evenly.
So there had to be at least one bye.
The number tokens they just drew would decide who got that free win in the third round.
And the token Tang Jo-ung had just drawn was exactly the one for that bye.
In other words, both Tang Jo-ung would advance to the third round without needing to fight.
Lucky bastard.
That’s why the higher you went in the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Tournament, the more your drawing luck mattered.
“The matchups have been decided! Then from this moment, we will begin the second round of the main tournament!”
.
.
.
In today’s matches, Cousin Hyang-ok and Lady Yu-ah both advanced to the third round of the main tournament.
The two of them were far stronger than I’d expected.
Lady Yu-ah’s skill in particular left me genuinely amazed.
In my previous life, she had been called Smilingless Jade Maiden, and I knew she was talented at schemes and strategy, but I had never seen it with my own eyes.
But after seeing her maneuvering in person, I couldn’t help but feel her reputation back then had actually been understated.
So this is what it means to be a Zhuge genius, huh?
If she’s already like this now, how incredible will she become in the future…
Once again, I was truly glad I’d gotten close with Lady Yu-ah.
We were on our way back to the inn when, suddenly, something about the person who had just brushed past me felt familiar.
What was that?
I turned my head and looked at the man who had brushed past me. Somehow, his way of walking felt familiar.
Those light, wind-riding steps…
Wait.
That was a trait you only saw in someone who had mastered No-Trace Step.
And as far as I knew, there was only one expert whose mastery of that movement art had reached the level where it showed just from their footsteps.
“Father, I just remembered something I need to take care of. Please go ahead to the inn and have your meal first.”
After asking my father for his understanding, I spoke to Escort Guard Seo Wu.
“Escort Guard Seo Wu, please follow only me.”
“Understood.”
With that, I went after the man with only Escort Guard Seo Wu following.
The man walked here and there through a tangle of alleys, then stopped in a quiet, deserted spot.
“Well now, I didn’t expect to be found out like this.”
Just as I’d thought, it was my master.
“Your disciple greets Master.”
“It’s been a while. In the meantime, you’ve become quite the hero. And that movement when you saved the spectators was impressive as well.”
“I’m embarrassed you say that.”
I scratched the back of my neck.
“I just moved for the sake of my parents and the people around me, that’s all.”
I continued.
“And, I ended up doing something I should apologize to you for, Master. The Alliance Leader asked about the origin of my martial arts… so I revealed my connection with you.”
“As we discussed last time?”
“Yes. I told him exactly what we agreed on.”
At my answer, Master smiled.
“You did well. And to think my disciple is now a hero… as your master, I’m proud.”
“Honestly, I’m a hero who’s getting a few things in return. So I’m not a hero in the pure sense.”
I decided to be honest with Master.
I didn’t say what I was getting in return, but that alone was enough of an explanation.
“You say you’re a hero who takes compensation, Deputy Merchant Lord, but in truth it’s the heavens that make a hero. What people see is only that you’re a hero, nothing more.”
Master smiled faintly.
“So, how does it feel to have become a hero?”
To that question, I gave the same answer I’d given my father.
“It’s the best.”
Master laughed at my answer.
“By the way, I thought my disguise was perfect. How did you recognize me?”
Just like he said, Master’s current appearance was completely different from the one I knew.
It didn’t even look like he was wearing a human-skin mask.
“Honestly, I had no idea when you first brushed past me, Master. I just felt something familiar.”
I went on.
“So I turned around, and your way of walking looked familiar, so I just followed on instinct.”
“My way of walking?”
“Yes. Those light, wind-riding steps that only someone who has trained No-Trace Step shows.”
“Ah…”
Master let out a small exclamation.
“I hadn’t realized that.”
“By the way, Master’s face looks really different. What did you do?”
At my question, Master touched his own face and spoke.
“This is a face-altering art. A technique that reshapes the face using inner Qi.”
It sounded like a technique with all kinds of uses.
“But at around Peak realm, you can only alter a single part of the face. To really make use of it, you need to reach Profound realm or higher.”
“So it’s a technique with a lot of harsh requirements.”
“That’s why it’s nearly a lost art now. But thanks to learning it from a close friend, I’m making good use of it.”
“Your friend? Do you mean Hall Master Yeom Jin-yeon of Yangyang Martial Hall?”
“No. Someone else.”
Maybe sensing my greed for the art, Master spoke gently.
“I’d like to teach you the face-altering art I’ve learned, Deputy Merchant Lord, but it would be discourteous not to get that friend’s permission first, so it’s difficult to pass it on ahead of time.”
“This disciple has put Master in a difficult spot. My apologies. If that’s the situation, I won’t be greedy.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Ah!”
Now that I thought about it, there was something I’d wanted to ask Master.
“Master, there’s something I want to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“When the main tournament started this time, I had a strange experience. I sensed a kind of Qi that gave me an eerie feeling, like I’d seen something that shouldn’t exist.”
I explained to Master exactly what I’d felt, and his expression grew more and more serious.
He closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before speaking.
“To be honest, I wasn’t able to watch when the main tournament first started because of certain circumstances.”
“I see.”
“Frankly, I don’t know exactly what it is that you sensed, Deputy Merchant Lord, but I dimly remember hearing about something like it from my father. He said it was something bad.”
As he said that, a hint of regret crossed Master’s face.
“Could it be the aura of the Demonic Cult?”
“No.”
Master shook his head.
“It’s different from what you feel when you face Heavenly Demon Cultists.”
“…”
“It’s truly regrettable. If only there were still a book left that described it.”
When Snow Wind Palace was annihilated, all their books had burned as well.
But suddenly, a strange thought came to me.
Normally, when a sect is wiped out, it’s not the attackers who burn the martial arts manuals, but the sect being attacked.
They do it to keep their martial arts from falling into enemy hands.
But books don’t actually burn as easily as you’d think, and it’s not easy to burn them while you’re under attack.
Yet the fact that every book had been burned was proof that it was the attackers who set them on fire.
In other words, the attackers had their own reason to burn those books.
Could the ones who wiped out Snow Wind Palace have been targeting the martial arts manuals and other records in those books?
Hmm, that doesn’t feel right.
Completely annihilating Snow Wind Palace just to destroy some books would be way too extreme.
Then… were Snow Wind Palace’s martial arts themselves the real target?
So they destroyed not only the manuals, but killed everyone who had learned those arts?
“What are you thinking about?”
At Master’s question, I quickly shook my head.
“It’s nothing.”
But that thought refused to leave my mind.
–TL Notes–
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