—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Mister, I’m a little nervous…”
A little?
William sighed, watching Hye-ryeong nervously grab his hand and rub her face against his palm.
Did she really need to make such excuses?
It wasn’t like he was going to refuse.
“You could have started from the main tournament.”
It wasn’t like Hye-ryeong didn’t have a recommendation… if she had asked, they would have gladly given her one to start from the main tournament. She was the precious jewel of the Haenam Sword Sect, after all.
“I want to fight my way up from the preliminaries!”
“You might get eliminated in the preliminaries if you’re unlucky.”
Especially if she encountered someone like Namgung Hwi, Paeng Something, the Taoist Cheong-un from the Huashan Sect, or the Monk Won-am from the Shaolin Temple…
It would be troublesome if she met any of them.
Well, they would all be starting from the main tournament with recommendations anyway.
It might seem unfair, but it was a form of consideration.
If promising disciples from the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Clans appeared in the preliminaries, it would overshadow the martial artists from smaller sects and unaffiliated promising disciples.
That was why no one really cared about them going straight to the main tournament.
Well, there might be some who cared, but they would be a minority.
“Even if I get eliminated, I want to prove my skills by fighting my way up from the preliminaries!”
“You’ve reached the early stages of the first-rate level, so you should be able to handle it.”
Even in the entire Central Plains, there weren’t many martial artists who had reached the first-rate level at such a young age.
While the first-rate level might not seem that impressive, it was a realm that only about a third of all martial artists reached. And even among them, very few reached it at a young age.
In that sense, Hye-ryeong’s achievement was exceptional for her age.
…Of course, it helped that he was only a year older than her.
They might even meet in the preliminaries, but… he wasn’t sure.
There weren’t many female martial artists, so they might be grouped separately.
…Well, it was unlikely, but the organizers would probably be careful since there were bound to be some unsavory characters.
“You’ll win, right, Mister?”
“Of course.”
It wasn’t a situation where he had to lose to the protagonist, and since the storyline had already been altered, he had to win.
He was also the one who knew the most about the martial artists participating in the tournament, so he could easily gain an advantage if he used that information wisely.
Well, even if it wasn’t the tournament, those who reached the main tournament were likely to be from the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Clans, so he could roughly predict their martial arts…
“Hehe, I’m sure you’ll win, Mister!”
“It’s too early to be making bold claims. I have to fight against some tough opponents.”
He would easily pass the preliminaries, but he shouldn’t let his guard down in the main tournament.
This was a world where a peak expert could be killed by a first-rate expert if they were careless. It wasn’t a game world where he could just rely on his stats.
Even the weak had their own ways of fighting against the strong.
“Brother Wei, I look forward to your performance.”
“Hajin, I look forward to yours as well.”
“See you in the main tournament.”
“Senior Brother! I’ll definitely come see you!”
“See you in the main tournament.”
Hajin turned and left with Elder Baek. The main tournament was still a few days away, and until then, they would be watching as spectators.
“I’m suddenly a little nervous, thinking that the Haenam Sword Sect members will be watching…”
“Didn’t you just say you were a little nervous?”
“That was then, this is now!”
“If you say so.”
There was no need to correct her if that’s what she believed.
“Don’t be so nervous, just do your best. You won’t get many opportunities like this to fight in a tournament.”
Opportunities to fight in a tournament like this were rare, so it would be a good learning experience for Hye-ryeong.
If she was lucky… she might even get closer to reaching the peak expert realm. He wasn’t sure if it would actually happen, though.
“The preliminaries will begin soon! All martial artists who have registered for the preliminaries, please gather here!”
“Hehe, it’s starting.”
“Let’s go.”
They walked side-by-side towards the preliminary tournament arena.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Listen carefully, as I will now explain the rules. For the preliminaries, you will be divided into groups of fifty and fight in a free-for-all until only one person remains.”
Some of the martial artists raised their hands and asked questions after the referee’s explanation.
“Excuse me, but a free-for-all? Wouldn’t that make it difficult to properly assess our skills?”
“There are a thousand martial artists who have registered for the preliminaries. If we held individual matches, the preliminaries would take over half a month. This is an unavoidable choice, so please understand.”
There were too many people.
Most of the martial artists nodded in agreement, albeit with slightly disappointed expressions. With a thousand people participating in the preliminaries, they had to use a method that was both efficient and effective in determining the strongest.
“However, this will also be a valuable experience. Opportunities to fight in a chaotic battle where you won’t die are hard to come by.”
A chaotic battle meant that one’s life could be threatened from unexpected directions. It was an experience most could only gain in a life-or-death situation, so it was a valuable learning opportunity for young martial artists.
‘A chaotic battle… it will be important to identify the strong.’
Some of the martial artists began to scan their surroundings. It wasn’t easy to gauge someone’s realm just by looking at them, but they could at least get a rough idea of the weaker ones based on their expressions.
‘He seems nervous… I guess he’s not confident in his skills.’
‘His Taiyang acupoint is barely visible… I can tell his realm just by looking.’
The martial artists gathered in the preliminary tournament arena observed each other, trying to assess their opponents’ strengths. Their gazes gradually converged on a single point.
‘A Westerner?’
‘He’s huge.’
‘Are all Westerners that large?’
“Mister, everyone is staring at us…”
“Don’t mind them.”
Curious gazes pierced through William. He didn’t care, folding his arms and staring at the referee.
Such glances were beneath his notice, and he didn’t need to worry, knowing which martial artists would stand out in the preliminaries.
He was simply… bored.
‘I wish they would just start already.’
“We will now begin the group draw. Please put your hand in this box and draw a piece of paper!”
“It’s starting.”
Starting with those at the front of the line, each person took turns putting their hand in the box and drawing a piece of paper. The scribe standing next to the referee looked at the paper each martial artist presented and began to write down their names in the corresponding groups.
“Yoo Han-rak! Group Two!”
“Sa Dae-gwang! Group Four!”
“Yuk Sam-myeon! Group Seven!”
Countless names were called out and recorded. The martial artists who had been assigned their groups listened intently to the referee’s voice, their eyes filled with a mix of anticipation and anxiety.
They wanted to know who they had been grouped with.
Most of them were unknown, so it would be difficult to recognize them, but they should at least be able to identify the names of the more famous experts.
“I hope I get an easy group.”
“Come on, it’s better to be in a group with strong opponents. You can just lay low and strike at the end.”
They chatted, waiting for their turn. Despite the quick pace, it took two hours for Hye-ryeong and William, who were near the back of the line, to reach the front.
“It’s your turn, Mister.”
“I’ll be back.”
William walked towards the referee with a leisurely gait.
As he moved forward, countless gazes fixed on him.
“Which group will that Westerner be assigned to?”
“The famous Blue-Eyed Lion is participating in the tournament… this could be a good story to tell over drinks.”
“Blue-Eyed Lion? That’s the Blue-Eyed Lion? The one who defeated the Iron Wind Fist in an instant?”
Hearing the murmurs of those around him, the confident martial artists stared at William’s back with competitive eyes.
‘An exceptional Western expert… I hope I get assigned to the same group as him.’
‘I heard he’s a fist fighter, but he’s carrying a sword… is it for intimidation? Or does he know swordsmanship as well?’
‘That’s a rare type of sword. Is it a Western sword? I’d like to take a closer look…’
‘…Is he even within the age limit?’
“…Brother Wi, please draw a lot.”
The referee spoke to William with a slightly awkward tone. William chuckled, understanding his apprehension, and reached into the box, pulling out a piece of paper.
The referee looked at the paper William had drawn and announced in a booming voice,
“Wi Lieom! Group Nine!”
‘Group Nine, huh.’
It was a different group from Group Twelve, where the protagonist was.
William returned to his spot and patted Hye-ryeong’s shoulder.
“I’ll be back.”
“Good luck.”
“Im Hye-ryeong! Group Fourteen!”
‘Group Fourteen… who was the survivor in that group?’
William racked his brain, trying to recall his hazy memories as he watched Hye-ryeong approach.
‘…I guess I’ll remember when I see them.’
It was difficult to remember every single extra.
‘Hye-ryeong will be fine.’
His current concern wasn’t Hye-ryeong, but himself.
‘Don’t let your guard down.’
William steeled himself for his first battle in a long time.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[we backkk!!]
