Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 122: Dragon Phoenix Tournament (3)

Hyeonwol shared everything he knew about the Blood Crow Sect without hesitation.

He didn’t even ask for payment, but since Seojun’s pockets were practically overflowing these days, he handed over a generous sum with a bonus.

“Hmm... Now that I’ve taken the money, I can’t exactly offer vague details.”

He mentioned he’d need to dig through some records for more specifics and promised to bring them later.

After that, they simply enjoyed the evening without overthinking anything.

As the owner of a courtesan house, Hyeonwol knew how to host a good time, and his conversation was enjoyable.

After the pleasant gathering, Seojun returned to the villa and immediately grabbed down one of the Namgung Clan martial artists he saw.

“Where are the assassins we captured earlier?”

“Ah! Young Master!”

The martial artist bowed deeply.

“We’ve temporarily secured them in the rear quarters for now. The initial interrogation is complete, but... being assassins, they’re quite tight-lipped. We haven’t managed to get much out of them yet. But whoever they are, they won’t get away with targeting you, Young Master.”

“Oh my. You’ve done well. Thank you.”

“Not at all, Young Master.”

Once the martial artist bowed and left, Seojun sent Chunbong and Namgung Suah away before heading toward where the assassins were being held.

“Why can’t I come too!”

“Because Chunbubbie is still a baby.”

“You said I was an adult!”

“Tut-tut!”

Chunbong grumbled all the way down the hall, but it wasn’t a real issue. She was a good sister who’d give in if her brother insisted about sixteen more times.

The condition of the assassin friends he met was quite poor. They’d already endured various tortures, and it showed.

Seojun didn’t expect much information from them. All he wanted was to confirm if they were sent by the Blood Crow Sect.

“I’ll just use one of them.”

“Yes, Young Master!”

Seojun grabbed one man by the head and activated the Absorption Technique. Unlike usual, he made contact with his innate true qi.

He began rhythmically absorbing and releasing the man’s life force, muddling his soul. Into this confused state, he poured demonic qi directly into the assassin’s brain.

“Urgh...!”

The man convulsed violently. His eyes rolled back, drool stringing from his lips. Having been raised as an assassin, his tongue and vocal cords had been cut, preventing him from properly screaming. This resulted in a bizarre sound as his throat strained.

The Namgung martial artist watching from behind shuddered at the sight.

Torturing assassins wasn’t unusual. But somehow, this was different. Something about it made your skin crawl and made one reluctant to look too long.

The Young Master was always so energetic and kind. But right now, the word “kind” didn’t fit him at all.

The choked sound that escaped the assassin was closer to a soul screaming than a man.

The martial artist involuntarily straightened his posture for no particular reason.

Seojun, seemingly unfazed, only released his grip once the man’s eyes went glassy and vacant.

“Let’s see...”

He raised a finger and swayed it side to side. There was no movement in the man’s eyes.

“Follow this with your eyes.”

At his words, the assassin’s eyes snapped to attention and followed the finger obediently.

“Good.”

Seojun nodded, satisfied.

What he had done wasn’t something like a soul-controlling technique. He had simply marinated the brain in demonic qi. That alone was enough to turn a killer into a loyal dog.

As expected of demonic qi.

This child is quite clever.

A faint grin tugged at Seojun’s lips as he addressed the man.

“Now then. If you’re from the Blood Crow Sect and here on a mission, nod. If not, shake your head. Go.”

The assassin nodded without hesitation.

So it was the Blood Crow Sect.

Seojun furrowed his brow and let out a slow sigh.

These bastards are so far away and still making trouble here.

He wasn’t certain where this particular group had come from, but the Blood Crow Sect itself was said to be in southern Mongolia.

More precisely, near the Yellow River, a bit north of Shanxi. And the very idea of traveling all the way out there was infuriating.

Just thinking about the travel time alone made his head hurt. He needed to reach the Unrestrained Realm soon.

“Blurgh...!”

While Seojun was lost in thought, the assassin vomited a flood of dark blood and collapsed. Dead. Killed by the residual demonic qi that had burrowed too deep.

“Goodness. When you struggle so much, even someone as gentle as me gets upset.”

He casually retrieved the qi from the corpse and turned to the martial artist behind him.

“Shall I do the same with the rest? In case you need more details?”

“Th-that’s alright!”

“Oh, really? Well, if you say so.”

Shame.

*The next morning, or more accurately, late morning, around the time Chunbong usually woke up...

...guests arrived at the Namgung Clan villa.

“Brother, these are my friends.”

Introduced by Namgung Myeong, they were Muhye of the Wudang Sect and Cheongsong of the Cheongseong Sect.

Seojun had expected them all to be men, so he was a little surprised to find that Muhye was a woman.

They were accompanied by another martial artist in the Transcendent Realm who seemed to be acting as their guardian. Wolmang of the Cheongseong Sect.

He had assumed clans would stick to other clans, but apparently, Namgung Myeong seemed to have quite good friendships within the Nine Sects One Union as well.

“Brother? You have siblings?”

At Cheongsong’s question, Namgung Myeong shook his head.

“Not by blood, he’s my brother-in-law.”

“Ah, you did mention a sister... Now that I think about it, I’ve never met her.”

“You can meet her today.”

While those two chatted casually, Muhye and Wolmang fixed their gazes on Seojun, watching him intently.

“What? Do I have something on my face?”

“Hmm, it’s nothing.”

Wolmang murmured, tipping his bamboo hat and nodded slightly.

Out of idle curiosity, he had tried to sense Seojun’s qi but couldn’t feel anything, which piqued his interest.

He doesn’t seem ordinary, but I can’t gauge his realm at all...

It meant either Seojun’s mastery surpassed Wolmang’s own, or he’d cultivated a particularly rare and special martial art.

Seojun ignored the attention and shifted his focus to approaching footsteps.

Pat, pat—light and adorable footsteps. It was Chunbong.

Softer, more graceful steps followed. Namgung Suah.

As Seojun turned toward them, the others followed his gaze.

“Ah, perfect timing.”

Namgung Myeong introduced them with a bright smile.

“This is my sister.”

“Oh my, are these your friends?”

“Yes, Sister.”

“Fufu. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Namgung Suah.”

“And this is my brother’s little sister.”

“I’m Chunbong.”

“Chunbong...?”

Cheongsong looked at Suah, then at Chunbong.

“...She’s small.”

At the offhand remark, Chunbong’s brows twitched.

“...What do you mean by ‘small’?”

“Well, your height... Oh! Forgive my rudeness.”

He bowed his head quickly. Chunbong, who had bristled thinking he was referring to her chest, graciously forgave him.

“Well, I’ll let it go.”

“Haha... Thank you. I really need to get this thoughtless mouth of mine under control.”

Cheongsong had safely overcome a crisis of death.

“Anyway, friends, instead of standing around, let’s head inside and talk. ...Hmm?”

Namgung Myeong was about to guide the guests inside when he tilted his head puzzledly.

“Hm? Muhye? What’s wrong?”

“I can’t gauge this one’s realm either.”

Muhye stared at Chunbong. Chunbong met her stare without flinching.

“She looks young, but stronger than me...? No, it must be some unusual cultivation technique.”

Chunbong snorted instead of replying.

Though Chunbong’s realm was a bit higher, the difference wasn’t huge.

Though her realm was slightly higher than Muhye’s, the real reason she couldn’t be read was Seojun’s custom concealment technique, designed to hide the Blue Cloud Divine Sword.

Not that Muhye could’ve known that.

“Fascinating.”

Then, without warning, she stepped forward and reached out to grab Chunbong’s wrist.

Crash!

Or rather, tried to grab it. But instead, a fist slammed into the crown of her head.

“Kuhh...!”

Muhye dropped like a stone, her body twitching as her head was left half-embedded in the ground.

Seojun, who had thrown the punch, looked down at her with eyes tinged with red energy.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The atmosphere froze, as if a sword might be drawn at any second.

Seojun didn’t show it, but the recent assassination attempt had left him on edge and he was quite sensitive about this.

Namgung Myeong scrambled forward in a panic.

“I apologize, Brother! This friend lacks common sense... No, she’s usually not this bad...”

“Mmm.”

Muhye slowly pushed herself up, rubbing the large bump protruding on her head.

“Ah... Now that I think about it, that was out of line. I apologize.”

She bowed with a vacant expression. Muhye truly seemed to have no thoughts.

Seojun, who had been staring at her, nudged Chunbong’s side. It meant she should handle it.

Chunbong stared at Muhye and then nodded.

Honestly, it seemed less disrespectful than something like saying “female quota system.”

Besides, it wasn’t a big issue to just have her wrist grabbed.

The real danger would be if someone’s inner qi entered her body with her permission, but just being grabbed? That’s the end of it.

At most, it would lead to a battle of inner power or a grabbing technique.

Of course, it was a rude and dangerous act, but being around Lee Seojun cultivated a sense of magnanimity that allowed her to overlook such things.

Her threshold for rudeness had become ridiculously high.

If it had been done to her brother, the story might have been different...

“I’m fine with it.”

“Mm, thank you.”

Muhye, dusting off the dirt from her head, also bowed to Seojun.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“My actions tend to precede my thoughts.”

Seojun, who had been silently looking at her, scratched his chin.

What a strange woman.

Her mind seems to be elsewhere.

She had even managed to slightly deflect the fist with a subtle circular head movement. It looked funny, but without that, her head would have been shattered.

After all, he had struck with the intention of shattering it.

Seojun had formed a basic judgment about this Muhye.

Either she was obsessed with martial arts, or she was just naturally slow-witted.

As a disciple of the Wudang Sect, one of the pillars of the martial world, few people would have dared to touch her despite her behavior.

Since it seemed she had no malice, he could let it slide once.

“Well, if that’s the case.”

Seojun casually waved his hand and met Wolmang’s eyes.

The man who had reacted the moment he struck.

Though he was too late to block, his eyes were filled with interest as he looked at Seojun.

There’s not a single normal person among these martial world folk.

Seojun clicked his tongue and waved his hands dismissively, turning his back.

“Well, enjoy yourselves.”

“Brother! I’m truly sorry!”

“Come on, I said it’s fine. It’s not like you did anything wrong.”

Namgung Myeong kept bowing deeply as if he had committed an unforgivable sin.

Muhye, who had been watching him blankly, seemed to think of something and also bowed.

“I apologize.”

*As soon as he entered the room, Namgung Myeong let out a sigh of relief.

Cheongsong and Muhye. Both had good hearts, which is why he maintained a friendship with them, but having been raised preciously within their sects, they sometimes deviated from common sense.

It wasn’t particularly strange since they were from the Nine Sects, with fewer opportunities to interact with outsiders compared to clan members.

And for groups at the level of the Nine Sects One Union, such matters wouldn’t usually be a problem.

But this incident crossed a line.

If Muhye had been seriously harmed, it could have caused significant friction between Wudang and the Namgung Clan.

While Seojun technically had the moral high ground, if one were to question whether it was something worth killing over, the situation would become complicated.

Above all, both Seojun and Muhye were precious to Namgung Myeong.

He didn’t want their relationship to sour completely.

“Listen, Muhye. I’ve told you before, if you continue to act without thinking, one day you’ll truly face a serious situation.”

“Hmm. I agree. I’m sorry to you as well. I’ve disgraced the face of the one who introduced me.”

“I’m fine, but...”

Muhye, still touching the prominent lump on her head, lightly traced her neck.

“Honestly, I thought my head would be severed right there.”

“The Brother truly cherishes that little sister. If you do something like that again, who knows what might happen. If you ever meet Miss Geum again, think seven times before acting. Understand?”

“That’s a good idea.”

Cheongsong, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, suddenly asked.

“By the way, did you say Miss Geum?”

“That’s right.”

“So her name is Geum... Chunbong? Hmm...”

“...I’m starting to think that inviting you to the villa was a mistake.”

“Oh, come on. Unlike that guy, I wouldn’t say such things in front of them.”

“You too... Haah... No.”

Namgung Myeong shook his head and took out tea sets to brew tea.

While all three enjoyed alcohol, it seemed inappropriate to have a drinking session in broad daylight.

Moreover, he was reluctant to drink at the villa so soon after Muhye’s mistake.

Namgung Myeong once again urged Muhye.

“Anyway, she’s a good person, so when you see her next time, apologize again and try to strike up a conversation. Who knows? She might view you favorably.”

“Hmm. I will. By the way, about that Miss Geum, is she strong?”

“How can you say that in the current situation...? Well, you’ll likely face each other at the Dragon Phoenix Tournament anyway.”

“She must be strong then. Is she participating in the preliminaries?”

“That’s right, but you won’t have to go through the preliminaries, will you?”

“I’m participating in the preliminaries too.”

“What? But why?”

“Why would I pass up an opportunity to fight?”

“What are you...”

Namgung Myeong and Cheongsong looked at Muhye with strange eyes.

But Muhye herself was staring into the void with a dazed expression.

“Dragon Phoenix Tournament... I wonder how many worthy opponents there will be...”

Gulp. She took a sip of tea and flinched. The swollen lump hurt.

“...This will last for a few days.”

Namgung Myeong thought to himself that it might actually be a good thing, since the pain would remind her to be mindful each time it hurt.

*The day of the Dragon Phoenix Tournament preliminaries registration arrived.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to squeeze through countless people to register.

After all, the Namgung Clan was on their side.

By sending a message through the Namgung Clan to the organizers, registering for the preliminaries under Chunbong’s name wasn’t difficult.

This is the taste of power...

The plan was to reveal the name Geum-hee after advancing to the main tournament.

That would create a stronger impression.

The loud announcement that would echo across the main stage:

“Geum-hee of the Divine Sword Geum Clan!”

People who thought the Divine Sword Geum Clan had been annihilated would be startled and murmur in surprise.

And then Geum Chunbong would make a stunning entrance and solemnly declare...

“Geum Chunbong has arrived!”

Young martial artists across the martial world would engrave her title in their minds.

Adorable Geum Chunbong.

That fearsome name.

Seojun, who had been chuckling to himself, stood behind Chunbong and Namgung Suah with his hands behind his back.

“Alright, for that to happen, we can’t have you getting unceremoniously eliminated in the preliminaries, right?”

It was unlikely to happen under normal circumstances, but one never knows.

What if another irregular like him suddenly appeared?

“Do you really think there’s someone like you in the martial world?”

Chunbong snorted. Namgung Suah chuckled at her response.

“While they might not be on the same level as Seojun, a hidden master buried in obscurity could suddenly emerge. It’s better to be prepared.”

“But why Big Sis too?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re going straight to the main tournament.”

Chunbong eyed Namgung Suah competitively. She had lost narrowly last time, but this time she was firmly determined not to lose.

No, not just to Namgung Suah, but to anyone.

The Greater Rejuvenation Pill...

Spirit pills of that caliber might never be attainable except through this Dragon Phoenix Tournament.

For that reason, she couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity.

That’s a gift for my big brother.