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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“It’s an honor to meet you, Thunder Sword Dragon, one of the Seven Dragons.”
I bowed respectfully.
Mu-yeong waved his hand dismissively and chuckled.
He hadn’t appeared here to receive praise.
I recalled the novel I’d read before transmigrating into this damned smut-fest.
‘Thunder Sword Dragon…! I’ve met an unexpected big shot.’
My initial surprise subsided, replaced by awe.
Mu-yeong was one of the Mount Hua Sect’s most promising inner disciples, destined to become an ally of the protagonist.
He was also a direct disciple of the sect leader and already renowned in the Murim world as one of the Seven Dragons and Five Flowers.
‘Indeed… his breathing is steady, his internal energy perfectly controlled, and his aura is completely concealed. Impressive.’
I nodded inwardly.
He was clearly a first-rate master.
I was curious if he’d already surpassed that level, but there was no way to tell at this point.
‘Mu-yeong doesn’t properly appear in the story until much later.’
So, I had no idea what his current level of skill was.
Mu-yeong, seemingly sensing my appraisal, chuckled.
“…Interesting. You really did defeat Ah-yeon.”
“…My apologies if I was being rude.”
“Not at all. You’ve earned the right. I’m here out of curiosity, anyway.”
“Curiosity?”
He shrugged.
“I heard the sect had a promising new talent, so I wanted to meet you.”
“…”
Just for that reason?
I felt slightly deflated.
But it made sense.
Besides Mu-yeong, the Mount Hua Sect in this smut-fest didn’t have any particularly outstanding inner disciples.
Seol Ah-yeon had potential, but considering she’d eventually become one of the protagonist’s followers, the difference between her and Mu-yeong was clear.
‘I never thought this carefree guy would take an interest in me.’
Mu-yeong was known for his wanderlust.
He often ignored the elders and the sect leader, going off on excursions or vanishing without a trace.
So, the fact that he was interested in me meant I’d likely caught the attention of the sect elders, whether I liked it or not.
‘The examiners’ attitudes changed after I defeated Seol Ah-yeon, too.’
I organized my thoughts.
Mu-yeong, who had been standing with his arms crossed, spoke,
“Anyway, it was worth coming here. You’re different from the other riffraff.”
“…Different?”
“The other Mount Hua inner disciples.”
“…!”
“Compared to those pretentious, self-absorbed fools, you’re a breath of fresh air.”
His blunt assessment of his fellow disciples was surprisingly refreshing.
While his confidence was almost arrogant, I didn’t find it offensive.
‘He thinks highly of me.’
For Mu-yeong to say such things, he must have developed a favorable impression of me.
He clapped his hands.
“We’ve wasted enough time. The others will be arriving soon.”
“…It was a pleasure meeting you.”
“Haha. Don’t go bragging about meeting me. I have to maintain neutrality as an examiner. Got it?”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I chuckled at his playful warning and turned to leave, with a flag in my hand.
As I walked toward my group members, who were still catching their breath, Mu-yeong called out,
“…See you around.”
His words were laced with anticipation.
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We started our descent.
There was no sign of other groups until we reached the point where the Mount Hua Sect buildings came back into view.
Then, disciples radiating hostility began to appear.
“Hand over the flag!”
“Give it to us, and we’ll let you pass…!”
I watched in amazement as groups fought over flags.
It was understandable, given that they needed at least two flags to pass, but it was still annoying.
‘How petty, waiting in ambush instead of climbing to the summit to get a flag themselves.’
I shook my head.
They probably thought they were conserving energy, but this strategy wouldn’t impress the examiners hidden throughout the mountain.
I turned to my group members, who were exhausted from the climb.
“What do you want to do?”
“Huff… huff…! W-What?”
“…Do we return now, or do we fight for more flags?”
“…!”
Their expressions changed.
Seol Ah-yeon’s eyes lit up, but the other two looked apprehensive.
‘Figures… no ambition.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Returning now would guarantee passing the examination, but it wouldn’t earn us a good score.
Considering the hidden examiners and the examiner’s announcement before the start of the second examination, this was obvious.
‘The requirement was to bring back at least two flags but not ‘exactly’ two.’
I nodded slowly.
The goal was clearly to return with as many flags as possible.
I looked at my apprehensive group members, sighed, and said,
“Let’s do this.”
“…What?”
“You guys hide around here. I’ll get the rest of the flags.”
“…”
“You can wait that long, can’t you?”
Seol Ah-yeon’s companions exchanged glances, then nodded hesitantly.
They didn’t want to risk losing the flag they already had, and my offer to get more was appealing.
They cleared their throats.
“…Alright. We’ll wait here.”
“We won’t run away, we promise!”
“…Good.”
I inwardly mocked their self-important promises.
I wanted to sneer, but I restrained myself, knowing it might change their minds.
‘Idiots…’
I handed them the flag.
I planned to act alone from now on, and carrying such a large object would only be a hindrance.
As I turned to leave—
“…I’m coming with you!”
“…?”
I stopped and turned back.
Seol Ah-yeon looked determined.
She walked over to me and asked,
“You’re not going to stop me, are you? You said we could do what we wanted. You didn’t say we had to act alone.”
“…”
I paused.
Having Seol Ah-yeon with me wasn’t a disadvantage.
In fact, it was beneficial.
Her skill was considerable.
With her help, we could easily overpower other groups and seize their flags.
I quickly assessed the situation, clicked my tongue, and nodded.
“Fine, come along.”
“Hehe… I have a feeling this will be fun.”
“But I’ll be moving fast, so keep up.”
I said casually.
She smiled and nodded.
The other two group members flushed with jealousy, but I ignored them.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Okay!”
With Seol Ah-yeon’s enthusiastic response, we set off.
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As a precaution, we were each equipped with a wooden sword reinforced with an iron core for the second examination.
Even so, injuries were practically unavoidable.
“Eek…!”
“P-Please spare me…!”
Some groups refused to hand over their flags and even became defiant.
I didn’t bother reasoning with them.
I simply attacked.
That was the point of the examination, after all.
Seol Ah-yeon looked at me with a mixture of surprise and disgust, but I ignored her and snatched a flag from a group leader’s weakened grasp.
“Whew. That was a bit tiring.”
“…I’m starting to understand why they called you a monster.”
“…”
I just smiled faintly and looked at the other group members, who were sprawled on the ground like corpses.
Some had been defeated by Seol Ah-yeon, but most were my doing.
‘This should be enough.’
I looked at the flags tied to my waist with satisfaction.
It had been about an hour since I’d started attacking other groups with Seol Ah-yeon.
By now, there were no groups left who posed a threat.
I stared at the groaning disciples.
‘They’re so weak.’
Of course, part of it was my own strength.
But that didn’t excuse their weakness.
They’d had a head start in their training.
I felt no pity, not even a shred of sympathy, for those I’d surpassed in just a few months.
“…Whew.”
I sighed.
The disciples who’d tried to gang up on me were now defeated and demoralized.
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Learn your place, trash