In a situation where the Iron Blood Master had yet to come down from the north, the movements of the Iron Blood Herald were discovered, but it wasn’t particularly unusual.
After all, I had been attacked last time too.
I kept my mouth shut and continued thinking while Hongryeon and Chaejin looked at me seriously.
“A person who can control evil monsters even though they aren’t from the demon cult… Could it be the Iron Blood Clan?”
I nodded at Hongryeon’s question.
It seemed she was recalling how the Iron Blood Master, who attacked Hongseong, summoned water beasts.
“That’s highly likely.”
“Those who control evil monsters… That’s terrifying. If there are such people, even with Hongseong Mountain, isn’t it possible they can use the monsters to attack here?”
“Well… that’s probably true.”
The characteristic of Hongseong Mountain is that evil monsters are deterred and unable to approach.
However, just like how Dool and Mabok appeared near Seomhwa Village last time, it’s not impossible for them to enter if special methods are used.
“What kind of method is that?”
Before I could explain to the curious Chaejin, Hongryeon spoke up first.
“Using the Somnolence Technique to increase the evil monsters’ hostility?”
“Huh? How do you know?”
That was one of the methods used by the Iron Blood Herald in Heavenly Bright Moon.
After defeating the Iron Blood Master, the herald’s minions would appear.
And when they tried to retrieve the evil monsters led by Dool, defeating them then would lead to learning about the Somnolence Technique.
It’s about using your soul to dominate and control the instincts of evil monsters that are stronger than reason.
“There’s some information linked to Hongseong. It’s quite old, but apparently, there was a person called Maseon who led evil monsters to attack Hongseong in the past.”
This was recorded by the clan leaders of Hongseong, and only the current and next clan leaders could read such records.
“Due to the characteristics of Hongseong Mountain preventing monsters from approaching, they apparently used the Somnolence Technique to block the instinct that deters them and attempted to attack Hongseong.”
“Oh… something like that happened?”
“Well… this is historical stuff.”
If you’re not someone interested in Seomhwa Village or Hongseong, you probably wouldn’t know. Chaejin was fascinated by Hongryeon’s explanation and looked at me.
“I know a bit about the Somnolence Technique, and I have heard a little about that Maseon.”
In Heavenly Bright Moon, there was indeed an event related to Maseon. They briefly appeared during the Monster King event and tried to control the Monster King or Sahyung with the Somnolence Technique.
Controlling those whose reason is stronger than their instincts was practically impossible…
It was impossible to manipulate them, who had such strong reasoning…
“Hehe. So you knew, huh?”
Hongryeon had a big smile on her face. Chaejin clicked her tongue briefly, seemingly unsatisfied.
“Anyway, that’s some good intel. Thanks.”
“Not sure if it was really helpful…”
“It was a lot of help.”
After all, it meant that when the Iron-Blooded Sorcerer attacked, there might be an evil monster attack too.
And… I could roughly predict how that woman would attack.
Days passed.
There were incidents of martial artists coming to Seomhwa Village to fight in the martial arts tournament here and there, but it was nothing new for martial artists to fight due to hidden grudges. It wasn’t a big deal.
As the registration for the tournament closed and the preliminaries began, I headed to the Murim Alliance Seomhwa Village branch with the Sword Saint, who came to protect me.
“Is it really okay to go like this?”
“What’s the problem? The Sword Saint is right next to you.”
“Sure. Just trust me.”
The Sword Saint said confidently. When we arrived at the Murim Alliance branch, there were quite a few martial artists gathered.
In front of them were two types of testing grounds.
The first was to attack a prepared stone wall and leave a mark.
The second was to duel with a martial artist from the Murim Alliance.
“What? Are we really having this much of a setup for a local martial arts tournament?”
Some participants were dissatisfied with it. But what could they do? With so many participants, if everyone had to duel, it could go on forever.
“What’s that stone wall?”
“That’s a wall made from Hwachunam. It cost quite a bit to prepare.”
Hwachunam is a rock that’s tougher than regular stone; if you don’t have basic skills, you can’t even leave a scratch on it. If you can’t make a mark on it, it shows your lack of skills, so it was quite a decent method for the preliminaries.
“And through the duels with martial artists from the Murim Alliance, we can check if you can control your martial arts or not.”
“Hmm… That’s a good method.”
This kind of approach is typically used in martial arts tournaments held by large groups like the Murim Alliance or the Shadow Six.
It’s not something you’d usually see at a local martial arts tournament, but with this many people? What else could they do?
They had to filter them somehow.
As I sat and watched alongside the Sword Saint, the preliminaries began.
The first was Myojae from the Murim Alliance, known as the Dokanryong.
She stepped out confidently with a smile, spun her staff, and quickly charged toward the wall made of Hwachunam.
She strode out with a bright smile, twirled her whip, and then hurled it towards the wall made of Hwacheon Stone.
-KUUNG!!
With a low sound, a huge hole was smashed into the Hwacheon Stone wall. Myojae, having obliterated the wall in a single strike, grinned leisurely at the participants.
“Heh!”
Some participants snarled at her laughter.
Given Myojae’s personality, it seemed there were those who held grudges against her participating.
“Next!!”
As the destroyed Hwacheon Stone wall was cleared and a new one was set up, other participants stepped forward.
A giant wielding a massive club spat on his hand and swung powerfully at the wall, but it only left a slight scratch.
“That guy has courage, but his inner power doesn’t seem that great.”
The Sword Saint commented simply, and as the guy, who had been begging for another chance, struck the wall once more, he faced the same disappointing outcome. As he sulked away, soldiers approached him, saying something, and it looked like he was heading towards the government office with them.
“There aren’t many among the courageous who excel as soldiers.”
“That’s what I’ve heard.”
I glanced at Hyeonryeong. Maybe it was because he had recruited a decent workforce from the start? He was grinning widely.
After that, the successful and unsuccessful participants were sorted out. Some followed the Murim Alliance’s martial artists, others followed the soldiers, and some just seemed disappointed as they turned back.
As the numbers dwindled, the crowd erupted in gasps.
One of the strong contenders for the championship had emerged.
“Joo Yeryeong has come out!”
“Indeed. I wonder what she’ll show…”
Joo Yeryeong pulled a whip from her waist. After lightly swinging it a few times, she shouted a low battle cry.
-KWAGAGAGAGAGAK!!
The whip split into dozens of strands, wildly tearing apart the Hwacheon Stone wall.
In an instant, the wall was smashed into hundreds of pieces. Glancing at the shattered wall, she reeled in her whip and turned back to the crowd, which erupted in cheers.
By maximizing the changes with her whip and infusing it with power, she dramatically heightened the impact.
She truly showcased the talent befitting the young master of the Cheonhwa Palace.
While I marveled, a new wall was prepared.
“Ren is next.”
It was Hongryeon. She looked around before spotting us and flashed a grin. And then—
-KWAHAHAAANG!!
Right from the start, is she using a shooting star?!
Currently, the strongest technique she can use was unleashed, and with just that, the Hwachun Rock was literally obliterated.
Then, after waving her hand toward me, she headed toward the successful candidates, and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Isn’t that a bit too strong right from the get-go?”
“Showing off your skills isn’t a bad thing. Next is… Chaejin.”
She went toward the prepared Hwachun Rock and let out a small breath. And then…
The moment she drew her sword, night fell. Appearing in the darkness was a crescent moon.
As the light of that moon shone on the Hwachun Rock…
-Crack!!
The Hwachun Rock split in two. The cut was so sharp it sparkled like a mirror.
While everyone admired this, Chaejin looked on nonchalantly and smiled as she gazed toward the successful candidates.
“Next is Sayoon.”
I’m curious. What will Sayoon show us?
I held my breath and watched her closely.
Then Sayoon stepped forward, gripping her sword tightly. And…
-Boom!!!
As soon as light burst from her sword, one of the Hongseong Divine Art’s sword forms unfolded.
The dazzling sword strikes completely shattered the stone wall.
“Hmm. Is it because of the people who went before? It looks a bit weaker…”
“Still, isn’t that pretty amazing?”
“Indeed, Hongseong Clan lives up to its reputation…”
I could hear the whispers among the crowd. It certainly seemed lacking compared to those who went before, but from my perspective, it was an impressive result.
Sayoon had become much stronger than we expected.
“Is another one coming out from Cheonhwa Palace?”
At that moment, people started murmuring. The next to step up was Seon Soo Yeon from Cheonhwa Palace.
The youngest disciple of Cheonhwa Palace, she was set to duel with Sayoon in the tournament.
Like Joo Yeryeong, she took a deep breath, wielding her whip, and then quickly swung it.
The whip transformed into dozens of strands, shredding the Hwachun Rock to pieces.
“Ooooh!!”
The crowd gasped in amazement. The beauty and transformation of her technique were definitely impressive.
“Wait… doesn’t this mean Cheonhwa Palace might win in the tournament?”
“Looks like the youngest from Cheonhwa is stronger than the youngest from Hongseong Clan?”
The rivalry between Cheonhwa Palace and Hongseong Clan was already well-known. Perhaps because of that, assessments were being made among the martial artists from other factions who had come to watch this martial arts tournament.
I couldn’t help but laugh at their evaluations.
Well, we’ll see how the match turns out, won’t we?
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