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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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“…..Since the opponent did not participate, the match ends with the leader of the Hongryun Sect, Do-cheol’s, default win.”
“What? That unskilled bastard’s just lucky!”
“Show us something! That was boring!”
I could just ignore the jeers. I put my ax back on my waist and turned away from the arena. It seemed like the Violet Night Sword that Im Seo-ryeon had promised to take care of was the opponent I was supposed to fight.
“Now, the next duel will be…”
The announcer’s voice echoed behind me.
I opened the waiting room with a sullen face. The duel competition that I had imagined was a large and extravagant one, like a world martial arts tournament. But it seemed like because it was a small competition for martial artists from the second-rate to the third-rate level, everything was more humble than I expected.
Instead of a large square arena, we just fought on the dirt floor, and the arena was just for show, with the spectator seats being separated only by ropes. The waiting room was borrowed from a nearby inn, and food and alcohol were provided free of charge for the competitors.
“Hmph, you got lucky. You’re my next opponent. I’ll smash that arrogant face of yours.”
When I returned to the waiting room, one of the martial artists who had been sitting there started to pick a fight with me. He was a martial artist who used a simple dāo, and he wasn’t from a well-known sect. He seemed to be very annoyed that I had taken over a sect without paying anything.
Of course, I had no reason to take him up on his offer. I ignored him, sat down, and called the waiter.
“Give me a plate of dumplings.”
“Yes! A plate of dumplings! Coming right up!”
The martial artist, who had been trying to start a fight with me, made an even more annoyed face when the waiter went inside. He frowned and said,
“Is the Hongryun Sect so poor that the leader can’t even buy dumplings, that he’s filling his belly at such a pathetic place? Huh? Why didn’t you bring your wife? Are you afraid that she might see you get beaten up, so you left her there?”
“My wife can’t walk, so I couldn’t bring her here.”
It was crazy to leave a woman who couldn’t walk in a place teeming with dangerous second-rate and third-rate martial artists. Sanyeo hadn’t come because she didn’t want to attract attention, and Seon-go couldn’t come because of her legs, so it was just me and two servants who were currently at the competition.
“Ah, th…. Um…”
The man, who had seemed ready to devour me, closed his mouth and rolled his eyes. Another martial artist, who had been watching our fight from the side, scoffed. I ignored him and waited for my dumplings. I would just defeat him in the next match anyway. There was no need to be caught up in a petty fight.
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“I was curious to see how the leader of the Hongryun Sect fights, it’s a shame.”
I had been blankly waiting for my dumplings, and then someone sat down across from me. I raised my head wondering if someone was trying to pick a fight again, and then a handsome boy with a kind face sat down facing me with a smile on his face. Looking closely, his body had a solid foundation, and a unique aura was emanating from him.
“Ahem…”
“Oh my…”
And as soon as he sat down across from me, the people who had been trying to pick a fight with me stood up from their seats without a word, before quickly dispersing. Because just by looking, I could tell that he was a strong man that I was unable to grasp, I decided to treat him politely.
“Who might you be, sir?”
“They call me Yeong-yu. But, did you learn from Shaolin? I’m feeling a familiar energy.”
It was natural since the inner energy cultivation method I had learned was a basic Shaolin method. Of course, I couldn’t say that I learned it after reading the manual of a lewd demon, so I casually made up an excuse.
“I learned it from a reclusive master. Are you affiliated with the Shaolin Temple?”
Yeong-yu tilted his head at my words before giving an ambiguous smile and nodding.
“I’m cultivating in Shaolin, but I am not one of their warriors.”
“A secular disciple or something?”
“No, I am literally just there to learn. I think the Buddha’s teachings are beautiful. About how we should live our lives. And how we should react to the pain of reality that comes to us.
He subtly gestured with his head while saying that, but I was not interested. I quickly changed the subject before he could delve into his religious teachings.
“You’ve come quite far while learning in Shaolin. I didn’t think my name had spread so far.”
Yeong-yu smiled and then lowered his voice.
“I heard your story while playing around in a brothel nearby. They said that the whole area was shaken up because you had easily devoured a sect that Master Gold Fortune was controlling. And I couldn’t endure it when I heard that such a man was going to participate in the duel competition, so I just had to come and see.”
I blinked and then asked,
“Is it okay for a man who cultivates in Shaolin to play around in brothels? From what I know, the Shaolin Temple values abstinence and all?”
“You also seem to be far from abstinence, even though you learned Shaolin martial arts.”
I said while painting an image of my master in my head,
“My master was a fallen monk. He lived in the mountains, but his belly was as large as Mount Namsan, and he was always drunk. He never gave me such teachings. But, aren’t you currently dedicating yourself to the Buddhist teachings because you’re interested in them?”
Yeong-yu blinked. He didn’t lose his smile and said,
“Buddha was a prince of ancient India. They say that he had beautiful women and all the riches in the world.
It was a story that I had also heard before. Buddha was apparently a very well-to-do prince before becoming disillusioned with the world and leaving his palace to pursue enlightenment. Yeong-yu continued,
“But one day, he felt that life was futile, and left to pursue enlightenment. At first, I had been vaguely wondering about how to approach the truth, but I found the answer here.”
“The answer, you say?”
“Let’s start by playing around like Buddha did.”
“…..”
He probably didn’t go around saying those things in Shaolin, did he? It seemed like Shaolin was an unexpectedly tolerant place. Or maybe Yeong-yu’s family was so rich that they gave a hefty amount of donations.
Yeong-yu naturally continued talking, even after seeing my speechless expression.
“If you play around like that and live your life, won’t there come a day where you realize that everything in this world is meaningless?”
He was a strange man. I just casually went along with him.
“I wish I could have had enough fun to feel that way.”
A waiter with a plate of dumplings came towards us. The waiter seemed to be a little wary of the new customer and was walking like a cat. Yeong-yu stood up after seeing the waiter and said,
“I should get going now. I look forward to your match.”
“Thank you for your support, sir.”
The plate was placed in front of me. Steam was rising from the dumplings. In between the hazy steam, Yeong-yu’s figure was visible, flickering like a mirage. He said,
“May fortune favor you.”
It was a good thing to receive support. But if the opponent was a master that I couldn’t comprehend, I was feeling even more uneasy.
“I don’t know, damn it.”
But there was nothing to gain from worrying too much about the things I couldn’t deal with. I decided to forget about Yeong-yu and eat my dumplings.
“Oh.”
The dumplings that I was having for the first time in a while were good.
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“The next duel! Between the leader of the Hongryun Sect, Do-cheol, and the head disciple of the Black Sword Sect! Seok-du!”
“Seok-du! I’ve got my money on you!”
“Waaaaaaaaaah!”
People were excited. The bastard who had been picking a fight with me at the inn came out to the front, confidently wielding his dāo. He had his dāo on his shoulder, and was looking at me with a mocking gaze and said,
“It’s a shame. Your pathetic act as a sect leader ends here.”
“Are you jealous that you can’t do the same?”
Seok-du’s face turned red at my question, and then he cleared his throat and tried to act as if he was okay.
“Hmph, what a pathetic taunt.”
I lowered my ax and said,
“Your dāo is small. I heard that the martial artists of the Hebei Peng Clan wield dāo as tall as they are. Is it small because you have no guts? Or are you just lacking in skills?”
“Shut up!”
Seok-du shouted and charged at me, swinging his dāo in the air. His technique was pretty good, and he seemed like he was skilled in using inner energy. But judging from the aura he emanated, he wasn’t at the second-rate level yet.
Because he was now on the offensive, I lowered my posture, aiming for an opening to counterattack.
Would I be able to see his attack?
“Uraaaaaaaaaaah!”
But it was strange. Even though he was attacking with such a fierce momentum, his movements seemed so slow to me. The way he was haphazardly swinging his arms and his blatant openings were so obvious.
I lightly dodged his attack by taking a step back, then I adjusted my grip on my ax and aimed for his side using the techniques of the Mount Tai Ax.
Thwack!
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaack!”
Before he could even notice his opening, my ax precisely struck him. Seok-du screamed and grabbed his side as he fell to his knees, his sword falling to the floor.
“Huh…”
A moment that no one, including the announcer and the audience, had expected.
I was also dazedly looking at Seok-du, and Seok-du was just glaring at me with his lips tightly pressed together.
“Th, the leader of the Hongryun Sect, Do-cheol, wins!”
Me.
Maybe I’m stronger than I thought?
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