Book 24 Chapter 2

Fanning the flames

-The Girl Rides the Wind

It was a clear day, with the sun shining brightly in a cloudless blue sky, illuminating the ground as people's fanatical enthusiasm for no rainouts reached into the sky and drove the rain clouds away. Licensed vendors were walking around with cool drinks.

In this case, the permit meant that they had paid a certain amount of business, but we'll let that slide. Anyway, crowded is the only word I can think of to describe the look of the people in the cylindrical arena.

As each bout progressed, the crowd grew louder and more excited as the amount of blood soaked into the arena's dirt floor increased. You'd think the crowd wouldn't bat an eyelid if a few people were dying. In fact, they did. In fact, they did.

Yunbi, Na Yerin, and Yunmi pushed their way through the hustle and bustle of the crowd. As participants, they had the privilege of watching from the front row of the arena, where they could enjoy a more comfortable view of the action without the distractions of others.

Pushing hard against the shoulders of those who desperately tried to block them, thinking they were trying to take their place, the three of them moved on. If they hadn't been masters of martial arts, they would have been crushed to death in the middle of the street without taking a single step forward. Even though Na Yerin had said that her face was covered with cotton thread, she must have been out of her mind to not give these beauties a second glance as they passed by.

Part of her wanted to grab everyone in her path by the back of the head and send them sprawling in all directions, but she restrained herself. Not because her personality had suddenly changed, but because she couldn't afford to waste her energy on such a useless outlet. Right now, he had to conserve as much of his internal energy as possible. It was all thanks to the merciful actions of that damned master.

They managed to push their way through the crowds to the special seats for the contestants, which were separated from the others by a wall and a door, and were quite comfortable. It was heaven compared to the human hell up there.

There, Yun Bi met a very familiar face. Qin Lie, Nangong Shanshan, and Maha Lie had arrived and were sitting down. All three of them were in a bad mood, and it was hard to talk to them, especially Qin Lie. She was biting her lip hard enough to make it bleed, and her eyes were swirling with all sorts of emotions right now. Namgung Shanshan and Maha Ling, who were also in the same group, looked very uncomfortable as well. They were like poisonous hedgehogs with tons of needles.

"Oh, come to think of it, this is the match between the Southern Palace Prize and the Southern Palace Confucius Team."

As Yun Mi spoke, she caught Qin Lie's glare and swallowed hard. The glare was so piercing that she thought she might be eaten, but she wasn't about to let it get the better of her. He was very fond of fanning the flames. "I'm sorry," Yeonbi said, taking a seat next to the empty seats of the spirits.

"Aha, so the first fighter in this tournament is the rumored silver-haired girl. This is going to be fun. Heavenly Martial Hall Two. It's a chance for us to see how well the one rumored to have captured Qi Jie's Ma Yin performs, don't you think so too?"

"Whew, Yeonbi!"

It was Yunmi who reacted before Jinryung.

Yunmi tried to convince them to move to another place, but it didn't work. Why would anyone want to leave such a good seat? Qinling's head turned slowly toward Yeonbi.

"I'm not interested."

Qin Lie said coldly.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Uh, I don't think so."

"I said no, why are you so insistent?"

Who is this arrogant woman to make such a nuisance of herself! Qin Lie's teeth clenched.

"Usually people who aren't interested don't stare at you like that, like you're going to eat them alive. To me, you look like someone who cares about this fight more than anyone else here, to the point of losing yourself in it, don't you think?"

"I'm not going to answer that. Besides, why should I teach you that?"

No matter how much Qin Lie glared at her, she only looked cute to Yan Bi, so her life had no effect.

"Because that sounds like fun."

Yun Fei nonchalantly flipped up Qin Lie's outfit.

"You're a junior subject, and you're cocky!"

The lesser Maharishi exclaimed, and Yunfei smirked with a sly glance in Maharishi's direction.

"Ah, now that I think about it, you must have been the Maharishi and the elder sister, right? I heard that your Nangun is also in that group… Is it true? If it's true, why would he do that? Is he also interested in that silver-haired girl? Are the rumors true? I've seen her once in a glimpse, but she's not like anyone else, she's not fierce, she's quiet, calm, and demure… Is that the kind of person Yong Confucius likes?"

Maharaj's face instantly turned bright red at Yunbi's blunt words.

"Nu, nu, who's Nangun-nim, woo, we're not like that, watch your language, hoo, junior!"

"Quack, quack, is that really true? Two men fighting over one silver-haired girl……. Pretty picturesque, don't you think?"

Yeonbi made me laugh out loud.

"Bullshit!"

Maharishi shouted. Her flushed cheeks showed that she was extremely excited. There was a storm brewing in her mind right now. She knew that she was far from gentle. But he liked it.

"Was it all a lie?"

"What's a lie?"

"Of course it's his taste, the same taste that says he likes you, fierce and brash!"

As if reading her mind, Yanbi added another word. Her body shuddered like a man struck by lightning.

"Sister Marcy, how much faith do you have in him, and how long can that faith last? Or is it already shattered? This junior can't wait to find out."

Yunbi covered the corners of her mouth and laughed. It was the kind of smirk that made you want to slap him.

"What do you think, Sister Jean?"

"I already told him that whatever he does is none of my business. I don't trust him anymore."

As he spoke, anguish and pain flashed across his face.

"It's amazing how an unrelated person can have such a profound effect on your mind, isn't it, Yun MiSojae?"

"What? You mean me, me, me?"

Flustered, Yun Mi stuttered. She hadn't expected to be dancing happily on the edge of a blade and suddenly find herself drawn in. She hoped he wouldn't.

"Well, I suppose…… No, do you think so?"

Yunmi couldn't answer this way or that way. She knew that either answer would be unfavorable to her.

Luckily, Yeonbi didn't bother to comment on Yunmi's vague answer. She was preoccupied with getting on Qinling's and Maharling's nerves. Finally, Yun Mi could breathe a sigh of relief.

"I can't wait to get out of here!

But it didn't look like it was going to be easy. Yun Mi stared out at the arena, her shoulders slumped. For now, it was easier that way, as long as the Qin and Maha spirits next to her didn't draw their swords in anger. It didn't matter when the blood wind blew.

"I'll be there to see when your faith is shattered."

The tone was, "That's very kind of you," but they were not at all grateful.

"Have you finished?"

With a look in her eyes that said, "I'll kill you now," Maha Ling brought her hand to her sword. It was the same sword that her grandfather, Dao Sheng, had given her. She, too, was a formidable fighter, a member of the Seven Peaks of the Nine Dragons, and had even defeated the first Shaolin master, Yi Yun. But this time, her opponent was worse.

"Oh, you're going to stab me with that?"

"I'm seriously considering it."

"You probably shouldn't."

Yeonbi smiled and advised.

"Why should I?"

"Didn't you even read the rules? A contestant is disqualified if he fights another contestant in any place other than his own bout, disqualified!"

"Boom!"

Maharishi, who hadn't thought of it that way, flinched.

"But you're still going to do it? Really? Really? You don't regret it? You'll lose your chance to fight that Southern Palace guy, Zhao, but are you really, really going to do it?"

When I asked her about her Yeonbi, she was flustered and didn't know what to say. It was the first time she had ever had a junior put so much pressure on her.

"……."

Maharishi bit his lip slightly and removed his hand from the hilt of his sword. He couldn't afford to be disqualified before he'd even fought Southern Palace Master Zhao.

"It's a smart move."

'Of course,' said Yeonbi, smiling brightly as if he knew this would happen. With a bright, cheerful, but stomach-churning smile, the Maharishi glared at Yeonbi as if he were going to stab her to death once more. However, Yun Che was only indifferent.

"Why am I doing this, is it fun?"

Qin Ling stepped in front of Maha Ling and asked in a quiet voice.

There was no hesitation in giving the nod to Yeonbi.

"Of course, because it's fun, and why would you work your ass off for something that isn't fun, right?"

Qin Lie's brows drew together narrowly.

"What's so funny?"

"It's always fun to see other people's stupidity…well, sometimes it's a little annoying."

The tone of voice left me confused as to whether he was being funny or annoying.

"You think I'm…… stupid?"

Qin Lie's voice trembled slightly.

"Sure. If you can't believe it for the rest of your life, why not end it now, or are you just afraid of knowing the truth?"

There was no tremor in his eyes or voice. Qin Lie's aura rose to its fullest. At the same time, an intangible life force surged from her entire body. Seeing this, Yun Mi became restless, Na Yerin twitched her arm slightly, but Yan Bi was still smiling.

"Do you really think you can get away with this? Do you really trust me, Sojae, behind this?"

At that, Yunbi burst out laughing. It was almost cute to think that he had grown so much.

"Well, excuse me, but why would I pass my work off to my darling Rin, she can take care of her own business. I don't like people like that."

Qin Lie thought about that for a moment.

"Did I mention Yeonbi? I believe you when you say you're responsible for yourself. I'll liquidate this light again after this competition is over. We'll see how you take care of yourself then, but don't run away."

The smile on Yunbi's face deepened.

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to? Of course not, and you'd probably be happier if you never did, cackle. Well, okay, because this is fun as it is, and in case you've forgotten, I'm the guy who defeated that 'gung-ho' Confucius on his entrance exam, so you'd better not ignore me, and you better not run away."

Immediately, Qin Lie's complexion changed drastically and he shouted.

"Don't call him by that name!"

He didn't like that the Yeonbi called him a prince.

He'd heard the story, and it must have caused him a lot of teasing from the cast members, and he remembered being caught off guard by a woman who claimed to be beautiful. However, Yeon Bi's calling the Southern Palace a palace for no good reason bothered him.

"The only person who is allowed to call him by that name is our mastermind brother."

"Oh, I didn't know that, your godbrother must be a very good man."

Then Qin Ling chuckled and said.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no."

"That's right, I can't find a single redeeming quality about him, he's a total dick!"

Namgung Sansan shouted from the sidelines.

Suddenly, the smile on Yunbi's face deepened. It was so much so that her face seemed to harden. She watched the two of them carefully, her hazel eyes shining, and a golden glow flashed from the depths of her pupils, a fleeting flash that cut through the darkness.

"I'll remember that one, along with the one next to it. For a long, long time."

Qin Lie and Nangong Shanshan felt as though they were being held captive by the piercing glare of the Hoan Stone Eyes and the radiance that flashed from deep within them.

'Ugh, what is this, I've never felt this kind of pressure before, except in a big way…….'

This woman… I don't know who she is, but she's not one to be taken lightly, Qin Lieng tentatively concluded.

"Okay, now let's watch the game in friendly competition. Here, Lin and Yun MiSojae, have a seat."

Yun Mi was stunned as she watched Yeon Bi sit down next to Jinryung and the others. She couldn't believe that he could still casually say something like that after the atmosphere had gotten so bad. Na Yerin didn't protest, just walked over and sat down next to Yunbi. Left alone, Yun Mi felt like crying.

'Yeonbi, you're acting just like a bum…….'

I felt a strange sense of déjà vu as I realized how I felt when I was in trouble for Bi Ryuyeon's outrageous behavior was exactly the same as how I feel now.

In fact, considering the nature of Yeonbi, this was nothing. But Yunmi, who didn't know that, let out a long sigh and took a reluctant step to sit down next to her. The side of her head tingled as if someone had poked her with a needle.

Qin Lie was doing her best to appear uninterested, unperturbed, unconcerned, and calm, but her efforts were not being rewarded at the moment. A sideways glance was all it took to tell that she was more nervous than anyone else here. Qin Lie hadn't taken his eyes off the rumored silver-haired girl. It was as if he could eat the eyes of the beholder, and if he could, Liu Eun Kyung would already have no fingernails left. To that extent, Qin Lie's gaze was relentlessly staring at Liu Yun's entire body. Seeing this, Yan Bi spoke up.

"Interesting, Gene Sojae is, well, cute."

The sound roused her. Right now, she was an unstable bomb that could explode at any moment, and the only thing she had going for her was fuel for the fire.

"You've been saying fun, fun, fun, but what's fun about it? Are you addicted to fun? I'll take this opportunity to assure you, I'm not having any fun."

Qin Lie replied, not hiding his displeasure.

"That's what's fun about it, watching someone who doesn't care about it compete, and it's like watching someone on the sidelines because they're so emotionally invested that their facial expressions keep changing from moment to moment."

"I don't think that's any of your business."

"Let's just say it's a hobby, and you're pretty cute when you get mad like that, Jean, giggle."

The Yeonbi giggled at his own joke. He would probably faint if he knew who he was, and that was too bad. He decided to stop teasing her.

"Okay, enough small talk, let's watch the game. I'd like to see how the rumored silver-haired lady does."

Na Yerin agreed.

"There's certainly something interesting about her chi maneuvering, and I'm curious about it, just like I am about her Yeonbi."

As an uninitiated swordsman, Na Yerin was intrigued to see how she could apply her wind-based martial arts, especially after learning who her teacher was. She hadn't been able to test her martial arts skills then because a spirit had intervened to save the day, but today she would have to give it her all.

Na Yerin looked out over the arena in silence, where a giant and a girl who must have been at least three stories tall stood.

The girl's hair, blowing in the wind, was a transparent silver.

"Well, I see you made it here after all."

Na Yerin looked at the silver-haired girl standing in the center of the cylindrical arena. She honestly thought it was almost hopeless.

"You must have been pretty desperate. Should I praise you for being long, at a time like this?"

"Wasn't it Yeonbi that gave you the opportunity?"

If it weren't for Yeonbi's words, Ryu Eun-kyung would have been so frustrated that she wouldn't even be standing here, let alone winning the prize, but Yeonbi didn't think so.

"I'm the one who gave him the opportunity, but he's the one who took it. Opportunity is surprisingly close at hand if you look for it, but whether you take it or not is another matter. I'll give him a little more credit for that, because he stuck with it and made it his own, even though I thought his chances of success were 50\/50."

Moreover, it was unexpected to have Yong Cheon-il in the same group. Even if they succeeded, the other one was supposed to be Hyun-woon from the main cast, but they missed it spectacularly. However, since Namgungsang was the captain and Yongcheon-myeong was the vice captain, it wasn't impossible if they pushed hard enough.

"Can we win?"

"You'll be in trouble if you don't win, and unless the palace chief is an idiot, he wouldn't have picked you as a contestant out of pity alone; you're probably up to your neck in prize money right now."

What disgrace would befall them if they were unable to pay their gambling debts. So great was their desire that they named their lights with the grim name of "Debt Liquidation.

"Your opponents this time were a group called the Gangmeng Triad, direct subordinates of a man called King Seo?"

"Yes. They say they're the most violent of the Thirty-Three, notorious for solving all their problems with knives and muscle."

"Uh, you know what?"

I was impressed with the Yeonbi, which was a bit of a surprise.

"Hehe, I've been studying a bit."

Blushing slightly, Yun Mi scratched her head. Ever since she had been put in the position of participating in this competition, she had been taught all sorts of information by her informant, Jang Hong. Clearly, Jang Hong knew a lot about strange things.

"You're bigger than him, and you look a little bit like him."

Ryu Eun-kyung's opponent seemed bigger than the man she had been forced to defeat in order to visit King Don, the hidden ruler of Kanghorando.

"The author's name is The Big Boss."

"Even more suspicious, such an embarrassing name, not just anyone would use it."

"I'm sure it is."

Na Yerin agreed.

Luckily, Minor Eugene was there to answer their questions.

"Judging by Mu's talent alone, he is far beyond his elder brother; he hasn't lost a single contest of pure strength since he was twenty years old, is that not so, Mr. Mubak?"

Indeed, the mighty king was the younger brother of the mighty god. And unlike his incompetent brother, he was quite capable.

"That's right, he's a natural-born merchant, and when it comes to strength, even his older brother, the Great Strength God, couldn't match him. That's why he can generate more power with less internal energy. Add to that his internal force, and there's no telling what will happen. He's the worst possible opponent for that little lady."

From a distance, the big man looked twice as big as the silver-haired girl. Apparently, he didn't care about small girls like Liu Eun-kyung. In fact, he felt extremely insulted that he had to fight such a tiny girl. But he was unlucky to be picked, and his colleagues, who were rough if not rougher than him and never gentle, had no intention of switching places with him, so he was in a very bad mood now.

"Yes!"

He had a presence that pressured people just by standing there, and his face was distorted by his mood, which made him look even more formidable. By comparison, Ryu Eun-kyung was so small that she was almost lost in his shadow.

"Are you going to be okay, that kid?"

Na Yerin asked in a slightly worried tone.

"She's on her own from here on out, and if she can't even beat that muscle-bound hunk here, she'd better drop the idea of taking on the Seven Deadly Sins, because if she can't even do that, no tears will matter to him, because the moment she meets him, she'll be dead before she has a chance to shed a single tear, though she'll never fight him with us around."

Those were harsh words, but Yunior sincerely thought they were.

"I gave her a chance, now it's up to her to take it or not."

If getting the opportunity was "luck", then seizing it was "skill".

"Now, there's a dead end, there's nowhere to turn, and you only have one choice: take him down and move on, or stay put.

We wanted to make sure we had something interesting to show.

"All we can do is watch, but I'm personally looking forward to it. It would be a shame if we didn't get something out of it, because I've been up there cutting up a man's life."

If Namgungsang were here, he would have protested, shouting, "Not yet, not yet!

"I'm certainly learning a martial art with unusual properties, but is that enough?"

Na Yerin wondered what the rationale was.

"The palace captain may be an idiot, but I don't think he'd pick someone to be in his group without testing their skills first, even if it was under 'cute blackmail'."

"Blackmailed? What do you mean you were blackmailed?"

Qin Lie tilted his head in question. As expected of a martial arts master, his eyes were sharp.

"Uh-oh, did I say something?"

Yun Fei chuckled in disdain. Impatient, Qin Lie shouted.

"Didn't you just clearly say 'blackmail'!"

Then, without wiping the smile off his face, Yunbi threw up his hands and said.

"Oh, it's the mood."

"Can I, can I, can I beat that person by myself?

Liu Eun-kyung thought as she stared at the giant king, who was so tall that her neck ached just looking up at him. She had never imagined that her opponent would be such a giant. Her only dueling opponent had been Master Swordsman Yi Yak Bing, so she had never fought a man of this stature before, which was why she was so flustered now.

Luckily, the big man himself seemed to be feeling something similar to what I was feeling: panic.

"What's the point of this mighty king of the heavens, the henchman of King Seo, fighting a little wench like you? You'll just be made fun of by the boys. So just surrender, now. I can't be bothered to fight and win. I'm not going to hit you, so just go back inside, now."

He was a Mugol who worshipped strength as the highest value, and all of his value judgments were based on strength. So a fight where he couldn't compete, where he couldn't show off his strength, was of no interest to him, so he decided to simply surrender. But his plan didn't work out so well.

"No, no. I'm not surrendering!"

Ryu exclaimed. It wasn't that he didn't feel that way, but he couldn't back down. She couldn't back down just because her opponent was very tall, had thick biceps, and looked like a gorilla. It would be a betrayal of the Southern Palace Lord who had placed her in the same group, even though he had given her a sour look when he had granted her permission.

"Hey, bitch. You're gonna regret what you just said, because you're not gonna make it back in one piece!"

The Mighty King shouted in a guttural voice.

"It doesn't matter, I don't have anywhere to go back to anyway, there's no place that will take me."

At that moment, Ryu's distrust of the world returned. At times like this, she tended to be quite unstable and rambunctious.

"So go ahead and hit him, he won't even look at you anyway, you've only got strength, you obviously don't know how to do anything but hit people, so go ahead and hit him, because you're going to hit him anyway, you thug, black and white!"

The big man's face quickly turned grim.

"Who's the rowdy!"

Boom!

With a roar like that of a beast, the mighty king threw his fist in the air.