Chapter 250

The Demonic Cult.

If they had not existed—if the people who called themselves the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had never appeared—the Murim under heaven would never have united as one.

But when Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan fell into the Demonic Cult’s hands in a mere four months, everything changed.

The leaders of countless orthodox factions, including the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Families, gathered in one place. Even the major figures of the unorthodox and dark-path forces, such as the Yangtze River Channel League and the Green Forest Alliance, lent their strength.

And at the center of it all stood the Martial God.

An unparalleled master known as the greatest beneath heaven. An invincible man who belonged to no faction.

“Let’s raise one flag. That is the only way.”

Thus, after years of repeatedly joining together and splitting apart, the orthodox factions, dark-path forces, and unorthodox factions united beneath a single flag.

The Murim Alliance was born.

Not long after the fierce ten-year Great War ended, the Murim Alliance was dissolved along with the Martial God’s disappearance. But the site where the heroes of old had once gathered remained, carrying on in a new form with new people.

“Good grief, it’s packed.”

A middle-aged man stared at the long line stretching out in front of the Murim Alliance with a weary expression.

They had not even entered yet, and it was already this crowded. Just imagining how chaotic it must be inside made his vision go dark.

To make matters worse, he was still suffering from yesterday’s hangover.

“Honey, let’s just take a lap around the market and go, huh?”

At the middle-aged man’s desperate whisper, his wife firmly shook her head.

“No. Do you have any idea how excited he is? He’s been begging us for three whole days, ever since the first day of the main event.”

“No, no. It’ll be fine. We can take a lap around the market and put some candy in his mouth. That’ll keep him quiet. To hell with the Star-Array Grand Banquet and all that. What’s so impressive about watching Murim people fight anyway… Huh?”

The middle-aged man swallowed a startled breath.

His son, who had been carried on his wife’s back, had woken up and was staring at him.

The boy’s large eyes were moist, as if he might burst into tears at any moment.

“Dad. Aren’t we going to see the Star-Array Grand Banquet?”

“No, son. That’s not what I—”

“Sniff, sob…”

“W-Wait a second. Just listen to me.”

“Waaaaaaah!”

“…My boy sure has a powerful set of lungs.”

A short while later, the child held some candy and a wooden doll about the size of an adult’s palm in his hands.

The middle-aged man grumbled at the unexpected expense.

“Damn thieves. What kind of piece of wood costs that much?”

But he was a parent too. When he saw his child’s beaming face, his irritation eased a little.

“You like it that much?”

“Yes! Jin Taekyung is so cool! The Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi is the best!”

“Jin Taekyung? The Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi? Is that wooden doll’s name Jin Taekyung?”

“Dad, you don’t know Jin Taekyung?”

“Of course I do.”

“Really?”

“Of course. There’s nothing your dad doesn’t know.”

He could not afford to lose his dignity as a parent over some wooden doll.

Having barely escaped the crisis, the middle-aged man waited until his son was looking away before quietly asking his wife,

“Honey. Who’s Jin Taekyung, the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi? You don’t know either, do you?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

His wife looked at him as if he were hopeless.

“We came here to watch his duel today.”

“…”

“The Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi, Jin Taekyung. Our Hyeok has told you several times that he’s on a three-win streak in the main event… How can you be so uninterested in your own child?”

As his wife’s lecture continued, the middle-aged man thought:

I hope this Sleeping Dragon or whatever gets his ass kicked today.

Whoosh!

I calmly watched the sword being swung at me.

It was as fast as an arrow and as agile as a snake.

After a bewildering series of forms, red Sword Energy shot toward me.

Shhk-shhk-shhk-shhk!

I flipped my body.

The Sword Energy passed within half a span of me, and I thrust out my fist.

A single punch wreathed in blue flame—the first form of the Flame-Extinguishing Divine Fist.

Boom!

A powerful collision.

Sword Energy and Fist Energy slammed together, sending a thunderous boom across the arena. Dust from the stones piled on the dueling platform whirled into the air and blocked my vision.

I stepped forward.

Again. One more time.

Boom! Kraa-boom!

The shock wave bursting from my fist split the air. The flames of the Flame-Extinguishing Divine Fist devoured the cloud of dust.

A man stood at the other end.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his face was pale. He gripped a broken sword and stared at me with wide eyes.

“H-How?”

“Well.”

At the same time, I kicked off the ground.

Crack.

The instant my foot left the ground, spiderweb-like cracks spread across the hard bluestone.

I pushed through the fierce wind and threw a third punch at him.

“I surrender!”

The cry burst out like a scream.

My fist stopped right in front of the man’s nose. The wind pressure created by its tremendous power and speed sent his hair flying.

The hero’s headband slipped from his forehead, fluttered out of the arena, and landed with a thud.

“S-Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi, victory!”

Waaaaah!

At the referee’s shout, the cheers that had been held back exploded from every direction.

Hundreds, even thousands, of people rose from the stands, throwing flowers and all sorts of objects.

“Yeah! Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi!”

“Dad! I can’t see! Give me a shoulder ride!”

“You’re the best, kid! I even bought your wooden doll!”

The stands were not filled only with martial artists. A considerable number of commoners from Henan—and even people who had come from far away to watch the Star-Array Grand Banquet—were there as well.

I waved to the especially noisy father and son before turning away.

System

• You won the duel against Black Water Dart!
• An overwhelming victory! Everyone who watched the duel offers unreserved praise!
• Your Fame increased by 500!
• Your Fame increased by 430!
• Your Fame increased by…

I listened to the familiar notifications as I stepped down from the dueling platform.

At the same time, someone landed in front of me with an elegant movement technique.

Tap!

“Good heavens, what are all these specks of dust on your precious body? This poor Daoist will wipe them away for you.”

Damn, this guy’s back again.

No matter how many times I tell him not to come, he just won’t fucking listen. He’s hopeless.

I snatched the towel from his hand.

“If you’re going to come, at least come normally. Don’t use that Cloud-Dragon Eight Forms or Oh Tae-sik or whatever.”

Baek Woo, the Kunlun Cloud Dragon, answered with a dejected expression.

“It is the Cloud-Dragon Eight Forms. Even so, it is one of the Kunlun Sect’s secret arts. You could at least remember its name…”

“Right. How heartbroken do you think your Master would be if he saw you using that secret art to deliver towels? He’s probably watching from the VIP seats even now.”

“My Master told me to get along with Fellow Daoist.”

“…”

“I heard that Great Hero Jeok Cheongang, the Fire King, once saved my Master’s life…”

No wonder Baek Woo had been unusually friendly since the day after we arrived.

He must have scampered over to his Master to tattle on me, only to have it blow up in his face.

On top of that, after watching the previous three duels—or four including the one just now—he must have realized it clearly.

My skills were far above his own.

And the other two idiots were no different.

“Our sect’s Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms is one of the five greatest palm arts beneath heaven.”

“Sure. But you’ve only mastered it to the fifth level, right?”

“That is correct.”

“Is that why you brought that?”

“Yes.”

Gung Gibang approached with a basin of water for washing my face in his hands.

“…”

I found the situation absurd, but I thanked him anyway, washed my face, and dried myself with the towel Baek Woo had brought.

The Beggars’ Sect’s Successor Beggar had brought me water, and the Kunlun Cloud Dragon, one of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes, had brought me a towel.

To everyone else, this must have looked like a very strange sight.

Wait.

Come to think of it, someone was missing.

“Where’s Gyun?”

The fellow who would have rushed over long ago and started talking about his ancestor, Zhuge Wuhou, had been nowhere to be seen.

Baek Woo answered my question.

“Young Master Zhuge went to duel.”

“No wonder I haven’t seen him.”

There were no fewer than five hundred finalists. As a result, the duels were being held sequentially at several different locations.

Today was the third day. Once all the scheduled duels were over, only around thirty people would remain.

There are more injured people than I expected.

Every participant was a master with at least one exceptional skill.

Some degree of injury was unavoidable. There were even cases where someone won a razor-close duel, only to withdraw afterward.

I’m the unusual one.

Including the victory I had just secured, I had won four times in total, but not one of my duels had lasted a full fifteen minutes.

The longest had been a fight of a little over two hundred exchanges, and that was only because I wanted to experience my opponent’s unusual martial art.

I’m glad I decided to participate in the Star-Array Grand Banquet.

From what I had seen, some of the participants understood certain martial arts more deeply than I did.

I was simply superior to them in several other areas, and I was gaining experience by facing unfamiliar martial arts I had never encountered before.

If I had stayed in Fire Gate Cavern, I never would have gotten this kind of experience.

My gaze naturally turned toward the VIP seats.

I saw Jeok Cheongang doing his best to keep his expression under control and Jin Wikyung looking so pleased he could barely contain himself.

And beside them…

“That man’s here again today.”

“Who?”

“Who?”

“The Thousand-Faced Fox, Song Ho. He comes every day without missing one.”

Baek Woo and Gung Gibang, who had been about to turn their heads at my words, both stopped.

“Why? Is he someone important?”

“Sir Song?”

“You mean the Thousand-Faced Fox?”

The two of them asked at the same time, then lowered their voices.

“He’s certainly an impressive man. No—perhaps I should say frightening.”

“The Murim Alliance’s Hidden Shadow Pavilion once possessed an information network that could rival the Beggars’ Sect—or even surpass it.”

“The Hidden Shadow Pavilion?”

Gung Gibang nodded.

“I heard it performed truly astonishing feats during the Great Faction War. Of course, the Thousand-Faced Fox, who was its head, deserves much of the credit for the Hidden Shadow Pavilion’s existence.”

If I had to compare it to the modern world, would he be like the director of the FBI?

If even the Beggars’ Sect’s Successor Beggar spoke of it that way, the Hidden Shadow Pavilion’s intelligence network must have been extraordinary.

Judging from the past tense, it seemed to have followed the same path and naturally disappeared after the Murim Alliance was dissolved.

The former head of a retired intelligence organization…

Just as I was watching him closely, Song Ho rose from his seat and disappeared somewhere.

I kept my eyes on his back until the last moment.

Then the roar of the crowd rang in my ears.

“Waaaaah!”

“The Life-Sustaining Sword won again!”

I turned toward the cheers and saw Jongni Chu coming down from the dueling platform in clothes that looked like rags.

His entire body glistened with sweat, and he was breathing heavily.

The two idiots muttered as they watched him.

“Life-Sustaining Sword? Whoever came up with that epithet had quite a knack for naming people.”

“He does keep winning by a hair. In that sense, he really is the Always-Victorious Sword.”

The nickname Life-Sustaining Sword had been given to Jongni Chu because he won every match by barely surviving.

I had not expected him to make it to four wins, but it seemed he was unexpectedly well suited to actual combat.

If he made it this far, he must have some skill.

Just how did he fight to earn the name Life-Sustaining Sword?

A quiet laugh escaped me as I watched Jongni Chu hurriedly gulp down cold water.

Maybe I’ll run into him on the dueling platform later.

I had not had much contact with Jongni Chu since three days ago. When we happened to cross paths, we merely acknowledged each other.

If our next meeting took place on the dueling platform, I might feel a little sorry for him.

“Anyway, thanks for the towel and the water. While you’re at it, clean this up too.”

Baek Woo and Gung Gibang each took the towel and basin before asking,

“Where are you headed?”

“Our sect’s Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms is one of the most renowned martial arts beneath heaven… Where are you going?”

“To watch Gyun’s duel.”

I had heard that Zhuge Gyun had learned a fan technique that used a folding fan.

I decided to watch his duel and broaden my knowledge of martial arts while I was at it.

I was about to head toward another dueling platform when I suddenly stopped.

“Oh, right. Who was his opponent again?”

The Invincible Divine Sword.

Zhuge Gyun was breathing heavily.

When he first heard his opponent’s epithet, he had inwardly laughed. He had thought it far too grand for an unknown nobody with no reputation to use.

But…

How has someone like this remained unknown until now?

The hand gripping his fan trembled.

His legs had already lost half their strength, and merely remaining upright was difficult. His eyes, opened wide as he tried to follow sword strikes too fast to see clearly, were beginning to ache.

The internal energy in his dantian had been exhausted long ago.

Yet even though Zhuge Gyun, one of the Ten Dragons and Phoenixes, was in this state, the Invincible Divine Sword remained completely calm.

No—he even seemed excited.

“Wow! You’re the first person I’ve ever seen use a fan technique! Do you have another one? Another one?”

“…”

At the innocent voice drifting from beneath the deeply lowered bamboo hat, Zhuge Gyun threw away his fan.