Palgap’s voice carried far enough that everyone who heard him burst out laughing.
Feeling awkward for no good reason, I turned to Warrior In-bong.
“Ah, my apologies. My attendant can be a little too enthusiastic at times.”
“Not at all. You have a fine attendant.”
Warrior In-bong answered with a gentle expression.
At least on the surface, he seemed like a decent man.
“Then…”
“Yes. Let’s continue.”
In the next instant, our swords were moving again.
We were here to compete, after all, not to stand around enjoying a pleasant conversation.
We exchanged offense and defense several more times.
I deliberately exposed a few openings and allowed him to take several of my tokens.
If I overwhelmed him without losing a single one, I would reveal far too much of what I was capable of.
I couldn’t afford to display my full martial prowess if I intended to take revenge on the Murim Alliance.
I felt somewhat guilty for deceiving Warrior In-bong, but I had my own circumstances to consider.
Well, I could always make it up to him later or help him out somehow.
I deliberately dragged out the match, trying to make it appear as though we were evenly matched in a close contest.
But… why did my opponent already look exhausted?
He wasn’t supposed to be worn out this soon.
“Whew… Hah… Your stamina is truly remarkable.”
“What?”
“I’ve always taken pride in my endurance, but compared to you, Great Hero, I’m no better than a child.”
Wait. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
“There’s no need to continue when the outcome is already obvious. I concede. To be honest… I don’t even have the strength left to hold my sword.”
His hands were trembling violently, and blood streamed from the palm gripping his sword, which appeared to have split open.
He sheathed his sword, then forced his aching arms to move and gave me a cupped-fist salute.
“Thanks to you, I was able to preserve my dignity. It was an excellent match.”
With that, he stepped down from the martial stage.
“No, wait. You shouldn’t give up so easil–”
At that moment, Commander Geum Yeon-hwa climbed onto the stage and declared my victory.
“The winner of the final match in the first round of the main tournament is Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group!”
“Waaaaaah!”
Wearing an awkward expression, I descended from the stage amid the crowd’s thunderous cheers.
“I’m back.”
“Yeah. Good work.”
Brother Jin-ho firmly patted me on the back.
“I knew it! I was certain you’d win.”
“Hahaha. Y-You were?”
Then why did I feel like I’d gone to the outhouse and forgotten to wipe?
I turned my head toward the Murim Alliance Leader.
The Alliance Leader was nodding with a deeply satisfied expression.
According to my original calculations, I was supposed to remove my opponent’s final token when I had about two left, making my victory look like a dramatic, last-minute triumph.
But there was one thing I had overlooked.
My own stamina.
Master had put me through such relentless hell that, by now, I could match almost anyone when it came to sheer endurance.
And thanks to that training, my physical strength and speed had also risen tremendously.
I had clearly won, so why did I feel so miserable?
Then again, nothing in the world ever goes exactly the way I want it to.
And with that, the day’s martial matches came to an end.
I was tired after competing all day, but I couldn’t simply neglect my actual business.
Rather than returning directly to the inn, I headed toward the commercial district.
“Deputy Merchant Lord! Congratulations on your victory.”
“Thank you.”
“You were magnificent out there.”
“Hahaha. You’re embarrassing me.”
Every merchant I knew approached to congratulate me as I passed.
By the time I finished exchanging greetings and pleasantries with them, I had already arrived at the Eunhae Merchant Group’s temporary shop.
There, I received a report on its sales and current situation.
Everything was proceeding remarkably smoothly.
After inspecting both temporary shops, I began making my way back.
That was when a particular voice caught my attention.
“I knew this would happen! If I’d fought in your place, that merchant bastard wouldn’t have lasted a single strike!”
“Exactly. Why did someone like you represent the Qingcheng Sect in the first place…?”
“You’ve dragged the Qingcheng Sect’s honor through the mud!”
“Why didn’t you ask one of those ghosts you command for help? ‘Oh, mighty ghost, please let me win.’ Something like that. Hahaha.”
“Hey, don’t mock him too much. You’ll make the poor kid cry.”
No matter how I thought about it, they certainly seemed to be talking about me.
My escort guards must have realized the same thing, because displeasure appeared on their faces.
“I’m fine. All of you, restrain yourselves.”
“Understood.”
Palgap cautiously asked me a question.
“Then what are you planning to do, sir?”
“What else? They’re talking about me, so I should hear a little more. You know how much I enjoy sticking my nose into other people’s affairs.”
Of course, after hearing them insult me personally, I could hardly dismiss this as mere meddling.
“Deputy Gwak, perhaps you should…”
At my words, she shook her head.
“I’ll stay. It feels like we’re about to see something entertaining.”
A mischievous smile spread across her face.
She used to be remarkably cautious and reserved, but her personality seemed to have changed somewhat recently.
She had become a little more assertive.
Not that it was a bad thing.
Compared to how she had once struggled through each day in a frail, sickly body, this side of her was far better.
And honestly… I didn’t dislike the change.
Ahem.
The moment I thought about Young Lady Seohyang, my face began to heat up, so I awkwardly turned away and spoke.
“Then shall we go?”
As we approached the source of the voices, we found five or six people gathered in an isolated corner with few passersby.
They were all dressed in the Qingcheng Sect’s Taoist robes and had surrounded a single person.
As expected, the man standing in the middle was Warrior In-bong, whom I had fought earlier.
From what I could gather as we approached, they were relentlessly condemning him for losing his match against me.
And the closer I drew, the more vicious their insults became.
“Taking a lowborn bastard with no proper background into the Qingcheng Sect was a mistake from the start.”
“Exactly. He’s a gloomy, cursed little bastard!”
“Enough! Insult me all you want, but don’t you dare insult my master!”
“What is this bastard babbling about?”
“Well, birds of a feather flock together. Of course they’d defend each other.”
“Puhahahaha!”
“Do not insult my master!”
“Who do you think you are, raising your voice at us, you miserable bastard?”
One disciple apparently didn’t appreciate his reaction, because he raised his sheathed sword and swung it.
That was when it happened.
Whoosh!
The scabbard slipped from the sword and flew in our direction.
Pretending to dodge, Palgap threw himself directly into the scabbard’s path.
Tap!
“Agh! I’m dying! Someone save me!”
Palgap made an enormous fuss, acting as though he were on the verge of death.
But I had clearly seen what happened.
The scabbard had already lost most of its momentum and was falling toward the ground, so the impact couldn’t have hurt him much.
Even so, Palgap had deliberately allowed it to strike him and was now putting on this ridiculous performance for my sake.
He was creating a legitimate excuse for me to intervene.
That was Palgap for you.
Startled by Palgap’s cries, the Qingcheng Sect’s Taoists rushed over with panic-stricken expressions.
From anyone else’s perspective, it looked as though they had just assaulted an innocent passerby.
“We apologize.”
“We’re truly sorry.”
While everyone else offered repeated apologies, one disciple arrogantly stiffened his neck and spoke in a surly voice.
“Why were you walking through this place to begin with?”
What kind of arrogant little bastard was this?
The other disciples stared at him in horror and hurriedly tried to stop him.
“Hey! What the hell are you saying?”
“This was clearly our fault! Hurry up and apologize!”
“It’s not like I did anything wrong.”
“Hey, Geum-bong! That was your scabbard!”
I smiled as I spoke.
“It’s difficult to determine whether we were at fault for happening to pass through here, or whether the fault lies with the Qingcheng Sect disciples who brandished weapons and fought in an unauthorized area. Why don’t we summon a Murim Alliance patrol and let them decide who was responsible?”
Their faces instantly turned deathly pale.
During the Murim Grand Assembly, anyone who drew a weapon and caused a disturbance in Luoyang without authorization could be dragged straight to the Underground Prison.
Even though the sword had remained sheathed, they couldn’t avoid charges of assault or disorderly conduct after striking an innocent passerby.
“W-Well, that’s…”
“Please, anything but that…”
They clearly knew what would happen if the matter escalated, so they dropped to their knees and begged for forgiveness.
The man called Geum-bong was forcibly pushed to his knees by the other disciples, but he continued holding his head high.
How predictable.
People like that usually had someone powerful backing them.
They trusted in that protection and behaved with shameless arrogance.
“Everyone, please stand. Do you truly believe I would report you over a minor quarrel between fellow disciples?”
The Qingcheng Sect disciples’ expressions immediately brightened.
“Y-You’ll truly overlook this?”
“Yes. I happen to know someone in the patrol unit, so they would arrive almost immediately if I summoned them, but I’ll let this matter drop.”
“Thank you!”
“Thank you so much.”
“However, you must first offer my attendant a proper apology.”
At my words, they apologized to Palgap, and Palgap readily accepted.
Well, he hadn’t actually been injured in the first place.
“However, while I was passing by, I happened to overhear something that I couldn’t simply ignore.”
I continued speaking.
“I believe someone said, ‘If I’d fought in your place, that merchant bastard wouldn’t have lasted a single strike!’”
They awkwardly averted their gazes.
At that moment, the man called Geum-bong spoke.
“Yes. I said it.”
Wow. At least he wasn’t lacking in confidence.
“I see. Unfortunately, it seems I must correct that statement.”
“What?”
“You said your name was Geum-bong, correct? If you crossed swords with me, you wouldn’t last three moves.”
His expression immediately twisted.
“How can you make such an outrageous claim?”
“And what basis did Taoist Geum-bong have for making his own claim?”
“I’m stronger than that bastard In-bong! Isn’t the answer obvious?”
“You seem to be laboring under a profound misunderstanding.”
“What did you say?”
I continued with a smile.
“The Qingcheng Sect’s elders chose Warrior In-bong to participate because he possessed the necessary qualifications. By condemning him for that decision, you are effectively condemning the elders who selected him.”
“…”
At my words, they lowered their heads.
After all, nothing I had said was wrong.
However, Geum-bong still looked deeply dissatisfied as he protested.
“Even so, I refuse to accept it. If I had been fighting earlier, I wouldn’t have surrendered. I would have fought to the bitter end! I would have claimed victory and elevated the Qingcheng Sect’s honor!”
I inwardly scoffed at his words.
He truly understood nothing.
“Then the answer is simple. Draw your sword and attack me.”
“What?”
“Use the strongest attack you’re capable of.”
“You’ll regret this.”
I smiled.
“But if you simply walk away now, will you be able to sleep tonight?”
At my words, he gripped his sword’s hilt.
“No, I suppose I wouldn’t.”
Then he gave me a vicious grin.
“You were the one who proposed this, so don’t blame me if you’re injured badly enough to miss your next match.”
“You needn’t concern yourself with that.”
“Heh. Is that so?”
He raised his sword and assumed an opening stance.
The killing intent gathered around his sword was sharp enough to make my skin tingle, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel even slightly… nervous.
From what I could see, Warrior Geum-bong had only recently entered the Peak realm.
Worse, he didn’t appear to have broken through naturally through his own insight and effort. It looked as though his cultivation had been forcibly pushed into the Peak realm.
Warrior In-bong, on the other hand, had reached the Peak realm naturally.
There was inevitably a difference between someone who had advanced steadily, climbing one step at a time, and someone who had not.
One such difference was the density of their sword Qi.
The faint and unstable sword Qi currently coating that man’s blade was proof of it.
“Haaaaaaaah!”
With a fierce shout, Geum-bong charged straight at me.
Swoooooosh!
It was the Slender Willow Drift.
However, I had already witnessed the same technique executed at a level far beyond his, so it failed to impress me.
I casually extended my hand and flicked my middle finger against his forehead.
Crack!
“Guh!”
He brought his sword down upon me with every ounce of strength he possessed, but the blade failed to so much as graze the edge of my clothes.
Instead, my finger struck his forehead and sent him flying backward.
He rolled and rolled.
Hmm. At least he was remarkably good at tumbling.
He rolled across the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut, then stared ahead with a dazed expression.
He probably couldn’t comprehend what had just happened to him.
I walked toward him.
“What a shame. You failed to finish me in a single strike.”
“…”
“You shouldn’t recklessly make claims you can’t support. I don’t know why all of you treat Warrior In-bong this way, but he is a Qingcheng Sect disciple, just like the rest of you. More importantly, he is the strongest martial artist among you.”
“…”
“In my judgment, no one here could last more than five moves against Warrior In-bong.”
“…”
“Do not insult him for conceding. Warrior In-bong’s concession was an expression of respect toward me. If you continue insulting and condemning him over it, I will regard your behavior as an insult against me and submit a formal complaint to the Qingcheng Sect.”
Their expressions stiffened, apparently understanding the warning behind my words.
I turned toward Warrior In-bong.
“Enduring everything in silence isn’t always the wisest choice. If necessary, challenge them to an official martial match and crush them properly.”
“But…”
I sent him a Voice Transmission.
– These people will never listen to words. Honestly, if people reflected on their actions that easily, do you think the world would contain so many villains? Stop wasting your breath and beat some sense into them.
“…!”
– The Qingcheng Sect is still a martial sect, which means strength is what matters most. It doesn’t matter who might be protecting that man.
This advice was also my way of apologizing for deceiving Warrior In-bong during our earlier match.
If he was wise, he would understand the meaning behind my words.
–TL Notes–
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