Book 21 Chapter 13

A great solution

-Defeat is defeat

"So how do you want to run for office?"

The envoys were meeting in a spacious rotunda. Baek Moo-young, the temporary moderator of the meeting, looked around the room and asked. His voice was tense.

Most of the opinions that come out of the mouths of people when you ask them are just that, but at this point, I was almost grateful that someone opened the door. With Hyo-ryong's words, there was a good chance that people would shut up like clams.

"Why don't we have a non-competition and have everyone participate?"

The old man raised his hand and spoke up. There was a murmur among the guards, and a few shook their heads. Baek Moo-young breathed a sigh of relief. The door had been opened. The meaning was clear enough. It showed that there was a general consensus among the left that a competent person should be chosen as the leader to deal with Macheon Gak. However, it was an unproductive opinion.

"It's too much. It's too much work, too much time, too much energy, and please consider that the deadline is tomorrow."

Baek had a point.

"Any other comments?"

Yeonbi raised his hand slightly.

"Well, why don't we start with one person from each group? The group leader can lead the way, or we can pick and choose who we think is more suitable."

There were sixty people on the trip, in ten groups of six. To keep things organized and manageable, the leaders had pre-selected the groups. It was a good thing that the groups were divided. It seems that they didn't do it out of boredom.

"That's a great idea, no objections?"

The placenta had no intention of participating, so there were no objections.

"Let's do that, then. Each group will submit their nominees to me by the end of half a round. We'll draw lots for the order of finish, and we'll start the bouts after one bout."

And with that, Baek ended the meeting.

Suddenly, there was a lot of hustle and bustle everywhere.

"Does that mean you have no objection to me running, Na Yerin?"

The Maharishi called out Nayarin's name again, this time with more force.

"I don't object, I'm not fit for such a management position."

Na Yerin, who happened to be in the same group, didn't change her answer. The maharajah turned to Yan Bi, who was sitting somewhat uncomfortably next to Na Yerin, and gave her a look that suggested he was uncomfortable with the presence of another member of the group during this discussion.

"Aren't you going out?"

"Oh, you're calling me a junior? Anyway, my group is out of the running, so I'm out of luck. I'm not cut out for this kind of headache."

Her expression was still soft, but her tone was subtly half-spoken. The Maharishi crossed his arms and wiggled his eyebrows.

"For someone who even suggested how to run for office, you're surprisingly passive."

"Hmmm, but that's……."

He glanced at the Maharajah and paused, fiddling with a strand of hair beneath his ear with a look of approval. If the men had seen it, their mouths would have dropped open, but Maharishi's forehead was on the verge of sweating.

"That?"

"As it is, if we ran out of time, we'd be in a voting mood, and then everyone would be saying that Yong Huizhou would be the boss, and they'd just decide to make him the male disciple of the old school before they'd even seen what he's capable of… Doesn't that bother you, Ma Sojae? Don't you think it's a little upsetting?"

"Well, that's……."

Of course, given the nature of the Mach force, he was not going to be happy.

"This is a great opportunity to show your girl power. Don't you want to send a chill down the spine of any man's spine?"

Those words took effect immediately.

"Of course! Trust me!"

Maharishi's face brightened for a moment, and he clenched his fists.

"Man, that's an easy personality to deal with.

She's a little bit of a brat, but there's a cute side to her.

After the demonstration, the delegation moved to the performance hall next to the dormitory. The structure of the competition was simple and rigorous. The ten candidates who had been invited to participate in the emergency competition, willingly or unwillingly, were first divided into six for the first half and four for the second half.

Yong Cheon-myung, Maha-ryung, Cheon Ya-jin, and Cheong-heon in the second half, and Namgung-sang, Jin-ryung, Namgung-san, Hyun-woon, and for some reason Yoon Jun-ho and his polite phrases in the first half.

"Why did you come out?"

Nan Gongsang asked, a bit dumbfounded. Even if he was the grandson of the Sword King and the heir to the Gongsong Clan, he was still an unfinished sword. In many ways, he was no match for the battle of the mighty that was about to unfold. He must have realized that. He didn't seem to be suffering from a memory disorder that would allow him to forget the events of the past.

Each freshman was assigned to the same group as the proctor. So, Mo Yonghui and Gong Gonghui were paired together, Na Yerin and Yulan were paired together, Yun Junho and Yunbi were paired together, and finally, Yeonbi and herself were paired together. When it came time to select the candidates for the group, Yeonbi's eyes widened when she was asked if she wanted to compete.

"Gee, why would you ask me that, I just wanted to wish you well!"

This is it. This is the common sense freshman reaction. Incidentally, Namgungsang was the only one of them to lose to a freshman. Of course, he was conscious of the fact that he was not an honorable sign, and thanked Heaven and Earth that no one else was around at the time.

However, even such a Yeonbi is surprisingly common sense, so it should be normal to have at least the Seven Deadly Sins phrase in the group of polite phrases.

"But why?

Judging by the look on his face, it wasn't resonance, and it certainly wasn't severe amnesia or conceptual dislocation. So why?

"It's just that… the others said they couldn't be bothered to go out……."

A quick glance at who the other members of the group were, and Namgung Sang was no longer convinced. What he saw was Jang Hong, Hyorong, and Mo Yonghui huddled together, giggling. Beside them were the other two members of the group, but they were ordinary Guan Daoists with faint impressions, and in his eyes, they were invisible. Normally, there should have been another person in the seats occupied by the rest of the group. He was dressed in black with bangs down to his eyes…….

"Jang Hong and Hyorong are old friends with him, but I never thought that even Mo Yonghui, who was the best student in the whole world, would be tainted……!

It's the Big Brother! I'm afraid of him, and I wonder if he's in there, even as a ghostly, transparent residue, putting bad thoughts into the ears of my friends. Maybe it's better to be nice.

"You're lucky you didn't come here with me.

He was a genius, as he claimed, and who knows when and where he would bring disaster. It can only be called a genius because there is nothing humanly possible.

'And this is…….'

Namgung Sang's gaze fell on Yun Junho, whose stammering wasn't much better than his polite demeanor.

"Is it a headache?

It's a sign of weakness, a tease.

"But there's more to him than meets the eye, maybe he'll show me something this time.

The matchup was decided to be drawn by lot to ensure fairness. Nam Gung-sang was the first in the first round, and his opponent was…….

"Can I win?

Seeing the man standing in front of him, Namgungsang stopped despairing.

"No, we're losing! We're definitely losing!

I tried this, I tried that, and I couldn't see any way to win, but it was pretty.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Sang."

Qin Lieng said in a regretful tone.

"Well, that sucks……."

The only thing that really bothered me was the hilt of the Thrill Run sword in Qin Ling's hand. He wished he'd put it away.

"Damn!

For this misfortune, he could only blame the heavens. All the others were worth fighting, but not Qinling. "It's not just that she's tough, it's that she's impossible to defeat on a psychological level," she said in a calm voice.

"It would be nice to settle the score here for later, but……."

What kind of later is later? Namgung shivered with an unknown chill.

"That can wait, so I'm going to abstain from this fight."

Tsk!

Qin Ling sheathed her drawn sword. Fortunately, her sword wasn't one of those peculiar tastes that required blood to be drawn, and she didn't have such a fetid odor herself.

"Alive!

Namgungsang breathed a sigh of relief. It was better not to fight a losing battle, especially one that was this close. It didn't matter what the people around him thought. Only those who hadn't experienced this kind of predicament would know.

And so the first bout ended in a stalemate. Qin Ling and Nan Gongsheng walked shoulder to shoulder and sat side by side.

That's when a muffled whisper reached my ears.

"Since I've made this concession, if I lose…you know?"

Namgung Sang stared at the spirit in surprise. She didn't react, just stared at the arena, but he knew that what he'd heard was no hallucination!

"We have to win to survive!

Fearing for his life, Namgungsang made up his mind.

"You lost, you lost."

I'm not sure why I've been feeling so down about the world lately, said Polite Vocabulary, staring at the missing sword. It seemed that it wasn't just his mood that made him feel as if the world had been so full of trouble lately.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I won't let you win……."

The winner of the second match, Junho Yoon, scratched his head and apologized, looking really embarrassed.

"k……."

Why are you apologizing, are you making fun of me?

Politeness dictated that I had to hold back the urge to shout it. Such an apology would only enrage the listener. But what can you do, you're a loser. A loser's tantrums are ugly and troublesome.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Yoon asks in a worried tone.

"It's fine. It's fine."

The polite man replied in a stiff voice, holding back his anger once again.

"It's not even an idiom, and how did I lose to this wimpy little bastard?

I couldn't help but laugh at how pathetic I was when I realized that Yoon Jun-ho was my opponent.

'I even got some encouragement from the author of this post…….'

I felt like packing my bags and crawling into a rat hole.

"Something's going wrong!

There was no doubt about it.

"What do we do now, Hyun-woon?"

"Well… what do you think, Sansan?"

"I know you asked for an answer, but that's not really helpful."

"I'm sorry about that."

Unfortunately, Hyun-woon's opponent in the third match was her fellow master and twin sister, Namgung San-san. She and Hyun-woon were both members of the Kuryong Seven Peaks and, in short, their peers, so they were not to be underestimated.

But luckily for them, they had an example to look to.

"Last I checked, Gene Sojae had recused himself."

Qin Ling and Nan Gongsang were also members of the Zhu Jia Clan, and their allies.

"Does that mean I should abstain, too, like Ling?"

Namgung Sansan asked in disbelief.

"Of course you don't have to, I was just saying… for reference."

Coughing unnecessarily, Hyun-woon replied.

"Their situation is different than ours."

"What's different?"

"They're in a relationship."

As if that wasn't enough, Namgungsansan gave him a pinzan.

"So what do you want to do, just fight?"

"Why do men only know how to fight? We need to find a different solution."

However, this is a non-contest. It's supposed to be about hitting and fighting.

"Is there any other solution?"

"Just one thing. I have a great solution."

"What is that?"

"We'll be like them, what do you think?"

Smiling, Namgungsansan said.

"Are you serious?"

"Hyunwoon, do you think girls would joke about something like that?"

"Sounds good to me."

Hyunwoon nodded hesitantly.

"You're sharp, but don't worry this time, I mean it."

That was worrisome in its own way. No, it seemed like a joke would be the least of my worries.

"What are those two saying?"

A wide-eyed Nan Gongsang asked Qinling.

"Don't you know it when you see it? You're confessing, aren't you?"

"Of course," Tou Lo replied. The response was unsurprising, and even more shocking to the Namgung Sang.

"Oh, did you know that?"

"Sure. It's a girl thing."

Namgungsang's shoulders slumped as a wave of alienation and deprivation washed over him. It couldn't be right that only his flesh and blood, his twin, was unaware of such an important matter.

"This is more exciting as it is, Mr. Zhang."

Hyo-ryong, who was seated off to the left in the South Palace Department, said with an exclamation of admiration.

"That's right. That fellow, Hyun-woon, has been caught by surprise and pushed to the brink. It's a strange position to be in, both pitiful and enviable. I can't wait to see how he responds."

Hyorong and Jang Hong weren't the only ones on edge about the situation. All eyes in the hall were on Hyun-woon's mouth.

"So, what do you think?"

Nangong Shanshan asked once more, and Hyun-woon could no longer put off answering. The urgent gazes from all directions, the intangible pressure to reveal his true intentions without delay, were too much to ignore. Finally, under the scrutiny of dozens of pairs of eyes, Hyun-woon's mouth opened.

"That's too bad……."

Boom!

I could hear the sound of dry heaves all around me.

"What a great solution!"

"Then……."

Namgung Sansan's face lit up.

"Yes, please recuse yourself."

Apparently, he was asking me to be his lover instead.

"Gladly!"

With a smile as bright as the sun, Nan Gongsan Mountain replied, and the bizarre contest was decided in his favor. The real victor, of course, was Nan Gongshan.

Thus, the first round of the first matchup was resolved surprisingly quickly. The candidates for the second round were Nam Gung-sang, Yoon Jun-ho, and Hyun-woon.

In a surprise move, the first match of the second half was decided to be between Yong Tianming and Cheong Hyeon, and the second between Maha Ryeong and Cheon Ya Jin. With such a ridiculous matchup, it was no wonder that the organizers were suspected of playing games with the swallows.

Qing Shui was a member of the Lunar New Year Society, and Tian Yazhen, the Island Dragon, was a member of the Warriors' Palace Society, Maha Ling. People who could never fight met. In this case, they had the same idea. In the end, the first round of the second half ended with Qing Shui and Chen Yazhen abstaining.

Of the five candidates for the second round, including Yongcheon and Maharishi, only Yoon Junho has actually fought in combat, so the second round will be between Namgung and Hyun-woon, and Yongcheon and Maharishi, respectively.

Nan Gongsang stood facing Shen Yun. He didn't know whether to marvel at Meng Yu's extraordinary courage or sigh at the sheer stupidity of his ignorance.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"What?"

"I'm not asking if you're crazy for wanting to go out with Sansan, I'm asking if you're crazy for wanting to go out with Sansan, and if you've taken some kind of weird drug, I want to make sure you get the antidote."

It was a genuine favor.

"I didn't take any weird pills, and I don't care if I did. What's so weird?"

"You really don't know, do you, my friend? It pains me to tell you this as a flesh-and-blood man, but in the secular world, a shattered wife is called a 'wallflower' in the jargon!"

As Hyun-woon continued to stare at him without a trace of alarm, Namgungsang clicked his tongue in pity and sympathy.

"I thought you were a more normal, common sense human being……."

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, it's a toss-up between the Southern Palace Sojae and the Jin Sojae."

Hyun-woon retorted sharply. Namgung Sang exclaimed in anger, as if he had never heard such a terrible accusation before.

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"That makes sense. It's just that you have something in your eye. The Taoists have a technical term for such a thing: kyotaku."

At Hyun-woon's nonchalant retort, Namgung-sang shrugged.

"My, what's in my eye?"

Hyun-woon nodded firmly, not missing a beat.

"No way……."

He rubbed his eyes a couple of times in disbelief. Again, nothing. It was a trick.

"There's nothing there, is there?"

"You're usually not even aware of it."

"I can't believe it."

"People only believe what they want to believe. That's just the way people are, and I understand that."

He tried to make it up to her, but she wasn't happy about it at all.

"That's more offensive somehow."

"Well, I don't think this is the time to worry about my mental state. I'd rather you deal with your own crisis."

"What crisis?"

It's not like it's a scary life-or-death contest, and if you lose, you're just not very good.

"I don't know about you, but if you lose, do you think Gene Sojae will go easy on you?"

Namgungsang recalled the eerie whispers in response to Hyun-woon's advice. As it turns out, once you say something, you have to keep it. It was sometimes very sad that there were no exceptions, when things like this could be overlooked.

"Well, I wouldn't mind challenging you to a fight, but as things stand, neither Shan Shan nor Jin Sojae will be pleased with whoever wins, and it would be unreasonable for me to have to fight that dragon master or demon Sojae again after two bouts. It pains me to say this, but you're a pretty good fellow, so I hope you can emerge victorious and save your life. It would be a shame to lose you in this way."

Hyun-woon glanced in the direction of Qin Lie, a look of regret on his face. Namgung Sang muttered in a heartfelt yet blunt voice.

"Namisa."

Hyun-woon's gesture was completely unappreciated, but it worked on Yoon Jun-ho. Just when I thought Hyun-woon was going to go into a long-winded explanation, he raised his hand and said, with a twinkle in his eye, "I'm sorry.

"In that case, if I consume your energy, Senior Namgung, you'll be at a disadvantage later. I, I'm……."

Yun Junho glanced at Qin Lie and clenched his fist. His voice was filled with determination.

"After all, I don't want Senior Namgung to disappear, so I'll follow your lead and abstain as one of your supporters!"

It was a bold statement of opinion for the timid Yoon Jun-ho. His abstention was easily accepted, and Namgungsang automatically advanced to the final.

That's right. While Yong Tianming and Maharishi were in the 'semi-final', he was already in the final, waiting for the winner.

And without a single fight while everyone else was fighting hard.