Book 14 Chapter 18

Troubleshooting

It was a foregone conclusion. Of course, the organizers were prepared for it. The only question was who would cause it, when and where.

Wow!

Kudos!

There was a lot of commotion outside.

"That's loud!"

It was still early in the morning. At a time when she would normally be sleeping soundly, her nerves were a bit on edge.

"We have a fight on our hands."

Someone ran up and shouted. The man's voice was filled with amusement as he shouted out, his face unfamiliar.

"It's a girl!"

"It's big!"

Each piece of information was passed on to the next person.

"Finally!

So be it. Bi Ryuyeon wasn't surprised at all; it was the most natural thing to happen. There was no way they could stay quiet. The only question was, who would make the first move, the man or the woman?

"We'll have to see which one comes first!

With a serious face, Bi Ryuyeon thought.

He felt the need to confirm his prediction, not out of interest, of course, but out of a sense of duty, she thought. What a brilliant self-rationalization!

She's not concerned about her body, which is driven by a code of conduct that says fighting and crippling must never be missed.

The fight was more exhilarating than expected. They were demonstrating the skills of the promising martial artists.

Taking, kicking, hitting, thrusting, pulling……. Various techniques were exchanged nonstop in the air.

But as far as she could see, the fight was quite one-sided. The woman in the colorful green robes was being pushed backwards by the blue robes. Every now and then, she would attempt a counterattack, but each time, she would be thwarted by her opponent's hand gestures. With each stroke, another wrinkle appeared on the blue-robed woman's forehead. It was clear she was outmatched.

Boom, boom, boom!

The sound of a leather-bound book popping tore through the air as the green-robed leader sliced through the air. Even the onlookers could not help but be astonished by the sheer power of the woman's work.

"Bam, I picked the wrong guy!"

Jang Hong, who was watching from the sidelines, clicked his tongue and said. "Wow! There's a fight! Let's go watch!" and he followed Bi Ryuyeon with a flourish. With his other hand, he dragged Hyorong along with him.

"Maybe it is!"

Bi Ryuyeon agreed with Jang Hong. He knew all too well how short-tempered that woman could be. He himself would have laughed it off and let it go, but that wasn't something anyone could do.

Bi Ryuyeon's gaze once again turned to the woman who was sweeping her opponent away in a wave of unrelenting swimming.

"Iron Jade Sleep Maharishi!

The Iron Lady is the daughter of Iron Fist Mazinger and the president of the Warrior Paladins. President of the Warriors' Association, which, along with the Kujing Association, forms half of the power of the Heavenly Academy, was not a position that could be earned by birth and status alone.

Furthermore, the other powerhouse of the Heavenly Martial Arts Academy, Yong Tianming, a member of the Guzheng Society, had been expected by all the white martial artists and scrutinized by the former black martial artists since he was a child. So much so that the current head of the Shaolin Temple would not hesitate to refer to him as "Shaolin's treasure".

To carry the torch is to compete shoulder to shoulder with him. It's not something anyone can do, but she's been doing it for nearly three years, so there's no way her skills are ordinary.

"Who are they?"

It was obvious she was a celestial. There was no reason for the women of the Heavenly Academy to stir up unnecessary controversy, as they were well aware of her temper.

"Judging by that blue robe and the symbol on his chest, he's a disciple of Spear Gate, one of the Black Thousand and Twelve Families. If any of them are good enough to participate in this Volcano Covenant Conference, it must be Spear Gate Master Sookyung Moon. As you can see from his fierce gaze and contemplation, he's a temperamental Sojae!"

Jang Hong answered in a very simple manner, and the wealth of knowledge made Bi Ryuyeon stare at him in surprise for a moment. Knowledge is knowledge, but to be able to integrate it into the object of one's view in an instant is an extraordinary ability.

"Although your spear bow is said to be capable of shaking the Black Sword, for once you have picked the wrong opponent!"

"I couldn't agree more!"

In preparation for this year's Volcano Covenant Conference, the Heavenly Martial Academy has forced her to train with Yong Tianming in the Closed Pavilion. This is an example of the high expectations placed on the two of them. If there is to be a winner at the Heavenly Martial Academy, the academy expects it to be one of the two of them. Of course, we won't know until we open the lid.

On the other side of the curtain of people that now surrounded them, Yong Tianming, the master of their cohabitation (?) Lung Tube Training, could be seen wrapping a hand around his temple, a shadow of despair growing on his drawn brow. It was hard enough to work together to win the Volcanic Mountain Conference, and now that the one person who should have been the most supportive was already making a mess of things, it must be quite a headache. But like a wild horse unleashed from its bridle, Maharishi still had no intention of stopping his hand.

"Die!"

Boom!

Once again, the speedy spirit unleashed its swift work. Moon Sook-kyung was unable to withstand the force and stumbled backwards, barely able to correct her sentence. Judging by the severity of the ceremony, she must have suffered internal injuries. Dozens of handprints were stamped on her shriveled forearms, and her arms trembled as if they had been battered by the wind. It must have been the cumulative effect of the blows.

"That's going to hurt!"

Ryuyeon Bi said simply.

He knew the secret in that journal better than anyone. Weight is power. He was the one who practiced it more than anyone else.

'Well, if you're that big…….'

Knowing the story behind the phenomenon, Bi Ryuyeon couldn't help but mourn her opponent.

Boom, boom, boom!

The sound of a leather sack being slapped repeatedly echoed through the air.

The power in her twin blades was fearsome, as she had mastered the art of celestial oil processing to the extreme. Add to that her hidden mass, and you have a formidable force to be reckoned with.

"Die!!!"

The shout is more reminiscent of the roar of a beast than a whimper.

It is said that if a woman harbors a cold, frost will fall even in May. The flesh of the blood-red lines in her eyes is as fierce as if frost were piled on top of each other.

"But what's the point of fighting?"

It wouldn't be surprising if there were stabbings and bloodshed at any moment. With hatred like that, she thought, there must be some kind of nefarious connection.

"Was it a family member who was killed?"

One of the onlookers asked curiously. However, the members of the Maharishi family who were now unleashing their terrifying power over there were too great and too great to be killed. Besides, if they were to suffer such an unfortunate fate, it would soon become the work of the entire clan, not just an individual.

"I wonder what happened? Alas, I can't sleep until I find out."

Jang Hong scratched the back of his head like a child.

"What happens on the women's side, you ask the women, not the men."

What she said was true.

"To whom?"

Hyo-ryong asks, and it seems he's curious too. After all, satisfying curiosity is one of the most fundamental human desires.

"There's the right guy!"

Bi Ryuyeon raised her index finger and pointed to one side of the bleachers.

"Where, where?"

Hyorong's eyes followed Bi Ryuyeon's fingers. They were looking this way, too.

At that moment, Lee Jin-sul and Hyo-ryong's eyes met.

"What happened?"

Hyo-ryong approached Lee Jin-sul, who was watching the two women's confrontation with a stony face, and asked in a cautious tone.

At Hyo-ryong's question, Lee Jin-sul's face hardened even more. The hardened complexion alone was enough to give away the gravity of the situation.

She replied in a quiet voice, matter-of-factly.

"It's the mirror."

Lee Jin-sul's face was still rigidly set.

"Mirror?"

Hyo-Ryong asked in confusion.

"Because there are only three mirrors in the Lunar Yin Pavilion!"

Lee Jin-sul's voice was filled with a sense of urgency, as if he was about to deliver the news of the extinction of a sect.

Hyo-Ryong was stunned for a moment.

The origins of the fight were very small. But on the other hand, it was very important to them, because it was, in a way, their lives.

Many women of this age use makeup to pamper themselves. Of course, there are some people who wear grotesque makeup because they are inexperienced or foolishly mistake it for makeup, but for women, makeup is one of the most important means of enhancing their beauty. Therefore, it plays a very important role in their daily lives.

There are certain things you need to apply makeup, and the two most important things are cosmetics and a mirror. While cosmetics could be carried individually, mirrors were not. In addition to their size, most mirrors of this era were made of metal. There were some glass ones, but they were very expensive and unwieldy, so they weren't something you'd want to carry with you to a place like this.

But there was a problem. The female contestants couldn't help but hate the rulers for their poor organization. There were nearly forty women in the Volcano Covenant Chapter, and there were only three mirrors.

Only three mirrors. The implications of this were profound.

At this point, the sparks had already been thrown.

"You're really going to fight that hard over something that small?"

Hyo-ryong didn't realize how big a mistake he had made. The punishment was immediate.

"What did you just say, only… 'that much work'?"

Her voice is full of coldness, and her piercing eyes flash with a frosty coldness. Hyo-Ryong, who had never seen her in such a terrifying way before, could not help but tremble in fear.

"Mirrors are a matter of survival for women!"

At Lee Jin-sul's adamant shout, Hyo-ryong nodded in agreement.

For women, shaving is a necessity. And not just for makeup. If they were only needed for makeup, things wouldn't have gotten this far. The women of the Murim are not overly obsessed with makeup. However, there is one morning ritual that no woman in this era can avoid. It's hair brushing.

Even if you're not wearing makeup, you should still comb your hair. Even if you're not wearing makeup, you still need to comb your hair. And even if it's not a formal court haircut, it's still long by default, so combing, braiding, and trimming it is time-consuming. Mirrors are a must, and there are only three mirrors at Yue Yin Hall to accommodate the needs of about forty women.

Three mirrors.

It was the seed of disaster, foreshadowing a bloody conflict.

It would have been better to have two. One for white and one for black. It's a neat dichotomy. But with three, an odd number, things get very complicated. One is left over.

So what do we do with this one? Is it first-come, first-served? The atmosphere was too tense to take turns using it. And frankly, I didn't want to, because then someone would have to claim it. It was a matter of who was going to jump the gun and go first.

The spark that ignited the fight was the lady spearwoman Wen Sook-kyung, so her arrows were aimed at the Maharishi, who occupied and used the third plane before anyone else, and for the longest time.

"Pfft, if a fat lady wears flowers, it's a pearl necklace on a pig's neck!"

Moon Sook-kyung violated a taboo that should not have been violated, and that alone was reason enough for her to be disowned, and in fact, she chose an opponent who was too weak.

"Tsk, tsk, women!"

Some of the men who heard about this incident clicked their tongues in pity. Their eyes told them that women shouldn't be like that. How could they fight so desperately over such a small matter?

They thought they were being told that the women were small-minded, but that was a judgment they could only make because they didn't know what to expect the next day.

The next day!

As if on cue, a fight broke out in the solarium. The cause was simple and straightforward. Someone had crossed the dividing line drawn in the center. The reason was profound, even cosmic.

"Aaah! How dare you cross this red line! Do you want to die?"

"You want to try it?"

"Of course not! Trespassing on our territory is unforgivable. The pride of the entire Black Sea is at stake."

Kudang, kudang, kudang, kudang, kudang!

Waves of sword and pottery swept through the air, raging around them. It was a large-scale conflict, not even comparable to the one in the Moon Hall yesterday, which left four people in the infirmary with minor injuries.

"Tsk, tsk, men are children for life!"

The women who watched from afar clicked their tongues in pity. There was no distinction between the two at this point; the events of yesterday had not yet left their minds.

Central Conference Room of Tianyuluan Hall, Tianmubong Hongmae Valley

Ten rulers in black and white robes sat around a circular rosewood round table. They were the highest-ranking members of the Volcano Covenant Branch, known as the Ten Rulers. All matters pertaining to the Volcanic Covenant were subject to their approval.

And at this round table, in addition to these ten, sat one more. This was the same Liu Ya who had asked to be called Liu Zhong, and he was seated at the head of the table. He was the head of the round table, and to the left of him were the first through tenth ranking members of the Ten Rules of Heaven. All of them were elderly men with snow-white hair and graying skin. However, unlike their snow-white hair and beards, it was difficult to guess their exact age because of their childlike eyes.

These ten people had been managing and running the Volcano Covenant Branch here in Hongmei Valley since the beginning of the Volcano Covenant Branch, even though they were not yet ten years old. In other words, there was not a single person here who was not over 99 years old. They were living witnesses to the history of the Volcano Covenant Branch.

It's not like they've drunk an immortality potion, but it's amazing how deep their pockets are and how they're still able to correct themselves after hundreds of years. It seemed that the most terrifying time and years in this world were still not enough to defeat them. But because they were both present and absent from the scene, no one had seen their true abilities. Even their origins and identities were shrouded in secrecy. This was done to ensure fairness in the competition.

"The side effects are too bad."

The eighth-ranked of the ten, Elder Gao Hak Lim, stood up and spoke in a serious tone. He was in charge of managing the participants of the Volcano Covenant Conference. As everyone's eyes focused on him, the old man continued.

"We've only been living together for three days, and we've already had five fights, three male and three female. And one of them was so nasty that you could see blood if you got it wrong. Maybe our method was too traumatizing for them. It's not too late, so why don't we keep them away from each other?"

"But wasn't that already expected, and I don't think you're ready to give up yet?"

Gu Ling replied. He was primarily responsible for managing the Heavenly Martial Academy side of the participants. He spoke up again.

"It's understandable that they're going to be grumpy at first, and even if they've made outward gestures of reconciliation, they've been at each other's throats for a hundred years. It's not a conflict that can be resolved in two or three days."

They were addressing each other with respect. It was a sign of mutual respect. There was only one person in the room who could speak to all ten of them.

"It's true that there are too many collisions. This morning alone, there were two more crashes. As someone who is responsible for the safety of the grounds, I cannot help but express my grave concern, and I'm sure it's also the concern of the Two Lords who are in charge of the discipline of the Hongmae Grounds."

Commander said. He had been tasked with ensuring the safety of the song.

"Yes, and if we keep crashing like this, it's going to take a toll on our spirits. Right now, we only have minor injuries, but you never know when we're going to have major ones."

Lee, the eldest member of the Ganghomun sect, said.

"But we'll have to wait and see, of course. It's going to be a while before we get there. There's going to be a lot of tweaking."

Teng Ling said quietly. He was mainly in charge of managing the participants from the Heavenly Palace.

"I can't help it. It's a tangled web of a hundred years, isn't it? I can only untangle it piece by piece. Whoa, I thought you said it was a half-rooted error……. You're not wrong!"

Hyuk-jung, sitting at the head of the table, let out a short sigh.

Half a root (盤根錯節). A crooked root and a gnarled tree limb, indicating that there are many difficulties in the world.

Because of their youthfulness, it's hard to control the participants.

"I hope they get it soon."

"That's right. The sooner you recognize it, the better."

Noya nodded.

"Surely the sooner they realize, the better. That the trial has already begun!"