AR Chapter 154

“What’s wrong?”

Seo Daeryong remained completely unaware of what lay ahead.

“You need to enter the Small Dragon Tournament.”

At the mention of the Small Dragon Tournament, Daeryong startled visibly. His voice trembling, he asked in a way that made me feel sorry for him.

“Surely you don’t mean that Small Dragon Tournament?”

“Which Small Dragon Tournament do you know of?”

“The martial arts competition held by the Martial Righteous Alliance for righteous sect disciples! The extremely dangerous one where countless righteous sect masters gather, making it impossible for anyone from evil sects or our cult to even watch, let alone participate. Not that one, right?”

“That sounds like the one.”

After staring at me silently, Daeryong abruptly stood up and walked straight out of the inn without looking back.

I didn’t try to stop him. Instead, I ordered some light snacks and alcohol from the server. It felt like ages since I’d last had a drink, having been lost in training up in the mountains.

After I’d had a couple of drinks, Daeryong returned to his seat.

“Aren’t you going to stop me?”

“Why would I? I knew you’d come back.”

Daeryong poured himself a drink and gulped it down.

“No. This won’t work. What are you thinking?”

“You’re the only one who can do this.”

“‘You’re the only one’ is what corrupt leaders say to manipulate their subordinates. How can I be the only one? There must be others! If we look around, we might find someone right here in this inn!”

Daeryong sighed after considering potential replacements among my associates, concluding that I was surrounded by nothing but strange people.

“Still, I can’t do it.”

He emptied another cup.

“You know who I am, right?”

“Of course. A power-hungry, cold-hearted man who loves only one woman, and when everyone else stays silent…”

“Stop!”

I skipped the rest and added only the new development.

“…A coward who never got to face Yeo Bin, but still my right-hand man, Inspector Seo. Now we’ll add ‘bravely participated in the Small Dragon Tournament’ to your story.”

“No matter how you look at it, how can I enter the Small Dragon Tournament?”

“Well, I can’t go myself, can I?”

“No one would recognize you. Your beard makes you completely unrecognizable!”

“Didn’t you say it was an amateur’s disguise? A dirty beard?”

After sighing, he found another escape route. Daeryong lowered his voice to a whisper.

“I haven’t properly learned Master’s martial arts yet.”

“That’s even better. We can’t stand out. You’ll have to fight with just the basics anyway.”

Someone of Daeryong’s caliber would already know how to conceal his demonic energy, so his martial arts wouldn’t give him away.

As Daeryong hung his head and emanated an aura of darkness, I played my trump card.

“Well, if you can’t do it, that’s that. I’ll just have to fail the test Father set. My brother will become the successor, and I’ll probably be assassinated and left in some nameless field as food for beasts. Ah! But I won’t blame you. Really.”

“I’ll probably die on the arena, stabbed by some righteous sect member’s sword that I’ve never seen before. My body will go to our cult’s front organization that provided the fake identity. Who is this guy? Don’t know. Just some poor soul who was used and died. Look at him, so small and gloomy-looking. Poor thing. Go ahead and bury him. Ah! But I won’t blame you, Pavilion Master. Truly.”

“When I become the Cult Leader someday, I’ll look back on this day. Ah, if it weren’t for you then, I couldn’t have become the leader. Thank you.”

“Someday when I have my grandchild on my knee, I’ll reminisce about today. It’s because I stubbornly refused to enter that tournament that you exist today.”

It was a battle between spear and shield. But no matter how much he resisted, the outcome was already decided.

“Ah, I really can’t live like this. Though who can I blame? I’m the one who wanted revenge for my senior when you first came to Underworld Pavilion, and I’m the one who decided to learn the way of blade.”

I poured him another drink.

“Thank you.”

“As long as you understand. I suppose life is about doing things we don’t want to do.”

“Don’t people who say that usually only do what they want?”

“Hey! That’s what I should be saying!”

I know it’s a huge decision. After all, he hates standing out more than anything.

“This will be good experience for you as a martial artist. Just look at the name – it’s destiny! The Small ‘Dragon’ Tournament and Seo Daeryong. A great dragon ascending at the small dragon tournament. If it was the Small Tiger Tournament, I would have called for Jang Ho^[1].”

My silly joke finally made Daeryong laugh.

“So this is the successor test.”

“That’s right.”

“What exactly do we need to do?”

“There’s someone called the Heaven’s Mandate Society Leader. He’s going to use this tournament for some scheme. He might approach the participants, which is why you’re entering. Our goal is to catch him.”

“We have to catch him – catching bad guys is our job.”

“Now you sound like my right-hand man.”

Once he made a decision, Daeryong never looked back. This must be why I like him. Behind that small, gloomy appearance lies an unbreakable spirit.

I pulled some documents from my chest and handed them over.

“Here’s your new identity. Memorize everything completely. You’re good at memorizing, so I’m not worried.”

“What about you, Pavilion Master?”

“I’ll be your attendant and bodyguard.”

A flash of joy crossed Daeryong’s face. He tried hard to suppress his rising smile.

“Why are you happy?”

“Me? No way.”

“You just smiled.”

“You must have seen wrong.”

“You smiled.”

“My good sir, why do you insist when this elder says he didn’t? Ah, I was just practicing.”

I smiled warmly at Daeryong’s playfulness.

“For today, just memorize that. We’ll go register for the Small Dragon Tournament tomorrow.”

We got a large room with two beds.

As soon as we entered, I stopped Daeryong from trying to dust my bedding.

“Don’t worry about me. Think only of yourself.”

“How can I do that?”

“I just gave you an order that could change your life, so you can do at least that much. You can even wet my blanket.”

“Receiving those orders is my life. Don’t think of it as something bad. I’ve never thought of it that way, especially not since meeting you, Pavilion Master.”

Yes, thank you for saying that.

After unpacking roughly, Daeryong sat by the window and looked outside, speaking worriedly.

“I’ll need to advance as far as possible to figure out what the Heaven’s Mandate Society Leader is planning. I’m worried I’ll be eliminated too early.”

I couldn’t predict the outcome either, not knowing exactly what level the Small Dragon Tournament would be.

“Don’t worry. Master Saber Demon left a strategy for you.”

“What? What do you mean?”

I pulled out a small pouch from my chest.

“It’s a strategy pouch he gave me, to be opened when you reach your limit.”

Daeryong was shocked. Even more shocked than when I told him he had to enter the Small Dragon Tournament.

“Master really gave you this?”

Honestly, I was surprised too. I never expected Blood Heavens Saber Demon to leave something like this.

“Have you seen what’s written inside?”

“No. Why? Should we open it now?”

“Absolutely not! If Master said to open it in a crisis, we must open it in a crisis!”

Though he must be curious about the contents, Daeryong was overwhelmed by the fact that Blood Heavens Saber Demon had left this for him. I could feel his desire to bow toward the distant master while looking out the window.

That night, Daeryong lay awake late into the night, lost in various thoughts.

***

The next morning, we ate breakfast and headed to the Martial Righteous Alliance.

In the distance, the majestic buildings of the Martial Righteous Alliance headquarters came into view. We could see the giant warrior statues modeled after heroes.

As we got closer to the Martial Righteous Alliance, a strange feeling came over me. Later, they too would fall to Hwa Mu-gi.

Would their fate change because I had returned in time? Or would only our cult’s fate change? I couldn’t know that far ahead yet.

Daeryong kept glancing at the female martial artists passing by.

“The righteous sect women are pretty, aren’t they?”

“They really are. I thought it was just rumors.”

“Since we’re here, why not date one? A fated love between a righteous sect woman and an evil sect man!”

“That might be fun for observers, but how hard would it be for those involved?”

Despite his words, Daeryong’s gaze kept drifting toward the passing women.

The registration for this Small Dragon Tournament was set up separately in the outer courtyard of the Martial Righteous Alliance.

Despite accepting applications over five days, the line was long. Countless young disciples from righteous sects across the central plains had gathered.

We got in line at the registration area.

As we waited, the martial artists in front of us discussed the tournament.

From their conversation, it seemed they weren’t just selecting the winner, but would recruit everyone who made it to the final eight into the Martial Righteous Alliance’s elite organization.

One of the people talking glanced at Daeryong and me with a smirk. Our countryside appearance naturally made him look down on us.

I asked Daeryong loud enough for him to hear.

“Young master, are you confident you can win?”

Though Daeryong’s eyes showed strong protest saying ‘Win? All of a sudden?’, his answer was firm.

“I am.”

The guys in front exchanged glances and snickered. Still, they didn’t openly mock us or show contempt.

Finally, after a long wait, it was our turn.

“Name, Seo Ryong^[2]. From the Western Blade Sect[서도파(西刀派)]] in Gansu.”

It was a real sect in Gansu. A place directly operated by Heavenly Communication Pavilion for situations like this. If anyone investigated, they would find that son Seo Ryong existed and had left to participate in the Small Dragon Tournament.

“The tournament bracket will be posted in front of the Martial Righteous Alliance in ten days. Check the date and arena then. You’ll be disqualified if you’re late, so arrive early and wait.”

“Understood.”

After completing the registration, we left the Martial Righteous Alliance.

“Did you see those guys looking down on us? Maybe I should just go ahead and win this thing.”

“You could.”

“Can I really? Let me tell you, I’ve only ever been first place since I was young. Don’t underestimate me!”

“I’m not underestimating you. Go ahead. You can win.”

“I really will!”

From that day until the tournament, Daeryong trained in the mountains. I didn’t help him. He was learning from Blood Heavens Saber Demon, and I shouldn’t interfere. I just trusted in elder Saber Demon’s teachings.

When Daeryong went out to train, I trained too. Of course, I went somewhere else so as not to disturb his training.

Though I had trained very hard in the mountains before Daeryong came, this time I trained even harder. And this training rewarded me with the best results.

“I did it!”

Finally, my Wind God’s Four Strides had reached the level of mastery.

Honestly, I was happier than when I achieved Great Completion in the Twelve Stars of the Soaring Heaven Sword Arts.

Now my Flickering Stride could escape even more dangerous moments more quickly, my Shadow Stride could evade people’s eyes like an illusion, and my Netherworld King Stride could truly be called extremely lethal before its power.

And my Swift Stride became terrifyingly fast. Though it consumed less internal energy, it used twice as much mental energy. It was too fast, even for me. At first, I even crashed into trees. Without my Divine Eye technique, it would have been an unmanageable speed even on open plains.

Once I become familiar with this level of mastery, the Wind God’s Four Strides, with just one more hurdle remaining, will say to me:

Isn’t this amazing? If mastery is like this, imagine what grand mastery will be like? Come on, let’s push a little harder and get there!

I need to hear those words. So that after achieving grand mastery, I can say this to the Wind God’s Four Strides:

You worked hard too!

I will definitely say those words.

After that, I’ll receive the Nine Calamities Demonic Arts and achieve grand mastery in that as well.

Even after achieving grand mastery in both techniques, I won’t stop working hard.

If after all this I still can’t handle Hwa Mu-gi… well, that’s something I can’t help. Then I’ll gladly die with a smile.

***

The tournament brackets were announced.

Our first match was the thirteenth fight of tomorrow’s Yellow Phase matches. With so many participants, matches would be held simultaneously at dozens of outer courts of the Martial Righteous Alliance.

“Would this many people gather if our cult held the same tournament?”

“Probably not.”

“This is the power of the righteous sects. They have at least ten times our numbers.”

And it’s not just these people. The number of hidden masters from righteous sects far exceeds that of demonic cult masters too.

This is why we can’t rashly start a war just because we’re stronger than the Martial Righteous Alliance right now. Even if we pushed all the way to this headquarters, the real war would only begin from that day.

As we were eating and discussing various things with Daeryong, a server hurriedly approached us.

“I’m sorry, but would you mind sharing your table? We’re packed with guests for the Small Dragon Tournament.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

Soon after, a woman wearing a bamboo hat sat at our table.

When she sat down and removed her hat, I was shocked. She was someone I knew.

Someone whose status seemed far too high to ever share a table at an inn, called the Beauty of Hubei[호북일미(湖北一美)]] for her cold and intellectual beauty, possessing outstanding martial arts skills as well – surprisingly, she was Jin Haryeong^[3], granddaughter of the Martial Righteous Alliance Leader.