Chapter 691
The Shenlong Martial Arts Festival.
morning.
It was past dawn and the sun was just beginning to rise in the sky.
A slightly cool breeze blows, as if to announce that summer is coming to an end.
The wind blew across the sky, and below it was filled with countless people.
“Those of you with a wooden plaque, please line up and come this way!”
A loud voice is heard.
There is a bet in the voice, and it rings in my ears.
“Green gem, come this way!”
“Blue this way…!”
Countless people walk according to the voice.
The number looked like it was in the hundreds or thousands at first glance, but the air surrounding it felt particularly heavy.
‘The bet is no joke.’
The amount of oxygen mixed in the air is beyond imagination.
When was the last time I felt something like this?
‘Was it during the war?’
I only felt this way when the Jeongma War was in progress.
The air inside the Murim Alliance was this dense.
‘That means a lot of people gathered.’
Even if it’s not good, at least second-rate.
The unmanned forces gathered here were all extremely intense.
From young warriors who looked about my age to warriors with gray hair.
There is no one around who is not a drone.
It was said that all of these people, without exception, were unmanned.
‘You’ve collected quite a lot.’
We really gathered a lot.
Even though it was a non-event hosted by Maeng, I didn’t expect this many to gather.
I looked around and was amazed, not really amazed.
‘They say Shaolin went out and did it himself. Did that help at all?’
Maybe so.
He glanced around, sighed, and ran his hands through his hair.
‘You finally came… .’
Before we knew it, it was the day of the non-competition.
To be exact, it was the day the preliminary rounds began, and I was standing in front of the entrance that the Murim Alliance had created.
Of course, this was to attend the non-combat event.
‘Tsk.’
I clicked my tongue when I saw this.
The preliminary round was supposed to take place over a total of three days, but it happened to take place on the very first day.
There is no entrance to the inside, so if you go through the entrance, you will probably end up in a mountain valley.
‘Yes, of course.’
It would be difficult to gather this many people and conduct preliminary rounds within the organization.
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It makes sense to change the terrain in this way, let alone divide the days.
It looks like they’re going to do something in the widest possible location, but I don’t know what they’re going to do.
I’m looking around calmly, one by one.
“Confucius.”
I turned around at the sound I heard behind me.
There, a woman wearing a cotton swab was looking at me.
Her first day, like mine, was also the preliminaries.
Although she wore cotton to hide her appearance, she still caught people’s attention.
Her beautifully curved body and unique atmosphere attracted people’s attention.
‘… That’s the best.’
Even though I’ve used up all the cotton I could find, should I get some kind of treasure for that?
‘I think it would be okay to give Namgungbia what she used.’
That white fox mask.
I heard it’s a North Sea ghost.
Something that lowers the other person’s perception.
‘It’s similar to the effect that Dangdeok used in the past.’
I guess I should have lent it to him, but unfortunately it was a precious item and he would have had to take it off soon anyway.
Thinking like that, I looked at Wi Seol-ah.
“What color are you, Confucius?”
In response to Wi Seol-ah’s question, he looked at the wooden plaque he was holding in his hand.
It probably refers to the color of the jewel embedded in the wooden plaque.
“It’s white.”
The jewel embedded in my name tag is white.
I look at it and move my gaze.
I saw a line forming around a man holding a white sign at the very end.
I guess that’s where I should line up.
“I am blue.”
Wi Seol-ah secretly shows me her wooden plaque.
A blue jewel is set into the plaque and sparkles.
There are four types of colors in total.
‘Green, blue, red, white.’
By coincidence, the colors were the same as the levels of the Magic Mirror.
‘If it’s not a coincidence, I wonder if there’s something like a ranking system based on color.’
I thought about it for a moment, then shook my head and figured it out.
Even though it was a den of blind people, would it have been that simple?
‘That can’t be right.’
I didn’t believe it.
I was hoping they weren’t that stupid.
First of all, the two don’t overlap.
Should I consider this a blessing?
If anything, it would be fortunate.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Turn your gaze.
Four lines in total. People stretched out at the end of the line.
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There is no distinction between genders, ages, and even levels of realm.
Some people had determined expressions.
Others looked tense.
Everyone is different.
So where do they want to go?
I don’t know.
No… maybe.
‘Everyone but me might be looking at the same place.’
A stranger who shouldn’t be here.
That feeling suddenly crossed my mind and I frowned.
Let’s not think about useless things.
I shook my head to get rid of it.
‘What about the rate?’
I turned my head to find him.
It was Seongyul’s first day, just like mine.
I told him to just accept it and go in there and figure it out, but I wonder if he’s doing a good job.
‘He’ll figure it out.
He may look a bit clumsy, but he’s not an untrustworthy guy, so I think he’ll do well.
The problem is.
‘… It’s Bongsoon.’
The problem is that Bongsoon has to enter the preliminaries on the second day, not today.
Just thinking about having to send Bong-soon away without me made me suddenly tired.
‘I did put a ban on it, but…’
I put some gold in Bong-soon’s hand to prevent her from having an accident in advance.
first.
I will absolutely keep my mouth shut.
second.
Even if others pick a fight, I will tolerate it up to twice.
And the third.
‘Don’t kill unless the other person tries to kill you.’
This is all the gold I have for Bong-soon.
I think I can stop it to some extent.
Or… what.
‘If it’s going to explode like that, then you have to admit it.’
Once I get there, there’s nothing I can do.
I guess they’ll figure it out on their own.
At that moment, I was convinced.
“…Look over there!”
I heard a rumbling sound.
“It is the Sword, the King of Swords.”
“Are you really the Taoist King?”
Accordingly, the momentum of the unmanned people wavered for a moment.
When I turned my head, I saw two people coming in from the entrance, and everyone was looking at them.
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thud.
The man’s footsteps sent a vibration.
The eyes of the drones who saw this grew wide.
“To think that there is this much spirit in just one gait…!”
“As expected, he is the head of the Four Great… No, the Three Great Families.”
Admiration, shock, and even a vague sense of respect.
A man with all sorts of gazes.
He headed towards the Sword King, Peng Zhou.
‘Is it the Taoist King…?’
I looked at him and smiled faintly.
There are only a handful of people in the Central Plains who have the nickname of King.
It’s not about the 100 masters or the 10 highest masters who are determined by force.
The word “King” literally refers to those who have absolute influence in their field.
It’s not just about force. It’s about picking out the reputation and position they have.
The most influential being among those who use the sword.
That was the head of the Peng family, King Peng Zhou.
As he appeared, the numerous unmanned soldiers began to become more tense.
“The Taoist King is really participating…?”
“So the rumor was true!”
“How could His Majesty…?”
Half of the reactions were surprise,
and the other half were wondering why that person was here.
Well, I guess that’s true.
‘What would the head of a prestigious family gain from doing this?’
If you win, you break even, but if you lose, you lose.
No, maybe even if you win, you only lose.
No matter how you look at it, there is absolutely no reason for the King of Do to be involved here, but he came here to participate in the Non-Wooje.
Peng Zhou walked slowly while receiving all kinds of attention.
Looking at him, I immediately thought.
‘This is really a waste of money.’
It’s ridiculous.
thud-!
The vibration spreads with every step.
People were looking at it and thinking that it was a sense of power and presence.
‘That old man doesn’t know how to bet.’
That was literally a show-off technique.
He was overflowing with self-belief. He was radiating it as if to say, “Let’s take a look.”
Thanks to that, I am attracting attention… .
‘What the hell is that thing doing?’
The flow of the bet was so unusual that I couldn’t help but notice it.
‘Don’t other people know this?’
I wonder why I’m the only one who knows about this disgrace.
‘Am I the only one at the flower-level?’
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The level of knowledge of the Taoist King’s actions was only Hwa-gyeong.
I wondered if there was another Hwa-gyeong warrior here besides me.
‘there is.’
A few catch my eye.
Some are famous, and some aren’t.
“Can’t you see that?”
“…yes?”
“Isn’t there one right next to me?”
I asked, but Wi Seol-ah only made a puzzled expression.
‘You don’t know that?’
The flow of the bet is so heterogeneous, and you don’t know that?
‘Why can’t I see this?’
I didn’t understand.
I wondered if my eyes were deceiving me.
Is that really true?
I wondered for a moment, but ignored it for now.
Male.
Every time the King passed by, the warriors made way for him, and there was a familiar face next to him.
Peng Zhou’s son and the head of the Peng family.
Peng Wujin, the son of Peng Zhou, was walking along with him.
As he was walking like that, Peng Woojin suddenly looked this way.
Our eyes met.
Peng Woo-jin smiles and waves his hand at me.
“…”
I nodded instead of waving.
That was the best I could do.
‘Why are these two on their first day?’
It’s the same first day for Mr. Peng and me.
‘They say it doesn’t matter what order you apply in.’
Peng Woo-jin applied on the first day, just like me. Do-wang applied on the last day, so there is almost no connection.
So, is this simply a random order?
‘I don’t think so.’
Suspicion naturally arises.
This is because I believed that the Murim Alliance would do something stupid like this again.
‘They say the non-combat period will last for nearly two weeks.’
What else could he have done during that long time?
Just thinking about it makes my stomach turn.
When I feel like I need to cool down a bit from my overly sensitive thoughts.
“The preliminary round will start in one hour! Please line up!”
The warning sounded. It was really time to go.
Hearing this, I looked at Wi Seol-ah.
“that.”
“yes?”
Wi Seol-ah turns her head and reacts to my voice.
My mouth widened as I looked at it.
Are you really going to do it?
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Do you have to do it?
As I was about to say those words, I looked at the eyes inside Wi Seol-ah’s face and scratched the back of my head.
“Work moderately hard.”
I told Wiseol-ah the only thing I could say.
When she heard me, Wiseol-ah smiled brightly and answered.
“Yes! I will work hard!”
It seems like he didn’t understand at all.
“I told you to do it in moderation.”
“Yes. I will work moderately hard.”
“…”
I don’t know why, but Wi Seol-ah was burning with fighting spirit.
Dang So-yeol was like that too, so why on earth are these guys acting like this?
‘… Nothing will happen, right?’
I really hope not.
“Okay… See you later.”
After finishing the greetings, I was about to go stand in line first.
“Oh, Your Majesty.”
“huh?”
Wi Seol-ah called me over, wondering if she had something left to say.
I looked up to see what it was.
sudden-!
“hmm?”
Wi Seol-ah opened her arms and hugged me.
And then he stands still for a moment, his forehead resting on my chest.
what.
I spread out my mask thinly while feeling embarrassed.
It was to reduce my presence.
“What are you doing now….”
“I’m cheering you on.”
Wi Seol-ah slowly raises her head and makes eye contact with me.
“I will work hard too. You too, Confucius… . Cheer up. For sure.”
“…note.”
The moment I was about to say something in response to her words.
“I’ll be back.”
Wi Seol-ah had already taken her arm away and was walking away.
I smiled awkwardly as I watched her blonde hair moving away.
I couldn’t bring myself to say that I understood.
Why would that be?
I don’t know.
