Chapter 315

Chapter 315

The martial stage viewing seats.

“He uses unusual martial arts.”

“…”

“Have you ever seen martial arts like that before?”

“Mm? Ah?”

“…Why are you watching so entranced?”

“No… it’s nothing.”

“How bland. Were you spacing out?”

“Spacing out? Right. Yes.”

At Geomseon’s words as he sat beside her quietly watching the victor of the first match, Ilryun hastily mumbled and turned her gaze to the martial stage. That strike he had just shown was very familiar.

‘It’s the technique Nakcheon showed.’

Gunrimbo.

It exists in the records of Cheonmasingyo but isn’t actually a martial art passed down. That’s because Gunrimbo itself wasn’t something humans could perform.

A martial art that stimulates instinct to make all humans kneel and stands above them.

That’s fundamentally a technique humans cannot perform. But that doesn’t mean a yokai who hasn’t learned martial arts could learn it even if you explained and taught them Gunrimbo. Because yokai can’t use martial arts in the first place.

Only humans who became yokai can perform Gunrimbo. And only talented individuals who’ve reached a high-level martial talent and realm, can grasp the nature of Gunrimbo, and align their martial arts with it can imitate that martial art.

…Such a person suddenly appeared? Right now when no one has noticed them, so suddenly?

‘That can’t be.’

Very few know Nakcheon’s identity. Very few can see and understand that technique.

Then the opponent’s identity is clear. What face lies beneath that pressed-down Jukrip.

False name Uicheon. Real name Uicheonmunju Baek Riyun.

“To think such a master remained hidden in seclusion—what good fortune. He’ll be a great help in the battle that will unfold in a few days.”

“He’ll be helpful…”

How did he survive? No, how did he become a yokai? And how did he hide his Yoryeok? Was he on the same side in the first place?

At the unsolved questions, Ilryun shook her head repeatedly and pressed her forehead. Because it was a problem that wouldn’t produce answers no matter how much she thought.

‘He chose to hide his identity. Then there must be a reason for hiding his identity.’

During the preliminaries held over two days, she would be busy without time to breathe, but even so, there would be time. No matter how heated the martial competition’s fervor, you have to sleep when night comes.

‘Seeing him alive and well, the story about seeing Baek Riyun’s ghost in Qinghai must have been true. And that means that child didn’t betray us.’

Either way, it’s closer to good news than bad news. Just unsettling because she can’t clearly know what’s inside.

“Were there any impressive ones?”

At Ilryun’s appearance of shaking her head repeatedly and then subtly asking as if she’d finally regained her senses, Geomseon looked at Ilryun strangely before covering one hand with his other.

“It ended so quickly that besides that fellow, there was no one particularly impressive.”

“Hmm.”

“Even if there had been someone impressive in the first place, it would be meaningless. If they can’t withstand that level, they couldn’t even manage climbing up onto Sangwi’s back.”

“That’s not wrong.”

Fighting on Sangwi’s back means, conversely, that you must climb up onto Sangwi’s back.

Even if Sangwi stopped, more than half of those gathered here wouldn’t be able to climb the body, but as long as Sangwi doesn’t stop, most of those here won’t even be permitted to climb onto Sangwi’s body. And at that level, it would be meaningless.

“Let’s keep watching.”

The second preliminary is held, and the third preliminary is held.

Perhaps deeply impressed by the first preliminary, Jeokha Jinin, the Hwasan Sect leader who had appeared in Xinjiang, pacifies the martial stage with brilliant Plum Blossom Sword techniques, while the Yeomwanggokju of Chilmun Iga appears and creates Kwonpung to sweep most of the participants outside at once. Shaolin’s abbot shows Yeongu Gupum, and Magyo’s master performs impressively wielding a chain-scythe rarely seen in the Central Plains here and there.

Most predictions come true. The leaders of Gupa Ilbang and Odaesega, the leaders of Chilmun Iga, and well-known masters successively win victories in the preliminaries and advance upward. But preliminaries that occasionally produce unexpected victors outside expectations.

“Heo-heo. That fellow has appeared. Did he completely recover from Juhwaipma?”

“At least there’s no immediate sense of dissonance.”

The previous generation’s Geomwang Namgung Hyeok appeared.

“That, that villain appeared…!”

“Who is it that you’re reacting like that?”

“Hyeolgwang Manyeo…! A Madu of the previous generation! The very person who massacred two of our Murim Alliance’s martial corps…!”

“She’ll be a combat force.”

“No, she massacred two martial corps…!”

“This isn’t something to argue about right now, is it?”

“…”

A Madu who had been designated a Murim public enemy and fled appeared.

“Myeolakdaeju has crossed one layer of the wall.”

“An excellent achievement. Is he affiliated with the Murim Alliance?”

“That’s right. He’s a friend with outstanding talent.”

Myeolakdaeju, who had always been renowned as one who would become the next Sipcheon, proved himself.

Twenty-five matches. Twenty-four of them held.

“More than I thought…”

“It might be manageable.”

There are more masters than expected.

While surprised at the size of the forces gathered from all over the Central Plains, Ilryun and Geomseon exchanged glances and nodded. And at that moment, a voice rang out.

“The twenty-fifth preliminary match, today’s final match, will now begin!”

Finally, it’s over.

Leaning her body against the backrest and pressing her tired eyes firmly, Ilryun narrowed her eyes at the scene that suddenly appeared.

“…Why is that person here?”

A strangely familiar person was mixed in the middle.

Someone who shouldn’t be here.

***

She was called Aegissi in her childhood.

—Aegissi. It’s time for your bath.

A fairly large village. The only daughter of the richest person in that village.

Watching everyone around her call her Aegissi, Aegissi, she felt puzzled. Why do these people show such a low posture to her? Why must person bow their head to person when they’re the same?

—That’s because this father is their employer.

—Employer?

—It means I hired them by giving them money. You can hire most people in this world by giving them money. In this world, if you have a lot of money, people become noble.

Her father probably wanted to raise her as a merchant like himself. That if you have money, you can stand above people’s heads, so earn money, earn a lot and enjoy the same glory as himself.

However, she understood those words her father conveyed in a different way. That if you have a lot of money you become noble means, doesn’t it mean if you lose money through some accident, you become lowly?

It’s not just money. Martial arts are the same. No matter how strong a martial artist is, if they’re defeated in battle and their Dantian is destroyed or they fall into Juhwaipma and experience martial deterioration, they become lowly. In some cases, they end up in worse circumstances than even commoners.

She wanted to reign above. She didn’t want to come down. She didn’t want to think she was the same as those lowly things crawling on the ground.

Because she knew how sweet that position was, she worried. How could she stand above people’s heads forever?

If she became imperial family?

Even imperial family members aren’t guaranteed to be above people’s heads forever. If rebellion occurs, the imperial family’s heads will be cut, and even if not, there are countless cases of falling from power.

In the first place, the only way to become imperial family through acquired means is to marry into the imperial family. She had no desire to marry an imperial family member whose face she didn’t even know. And then the method she could take was one.

If she became a yokai. If she became beings nobler than humans from birth.

Then there’s no need to worry. Just by being alive, she would be noble, and there would be no need to worry about falling from grace. Eternal and immortal, she could live doing whatever she wanted however she wanted.

Thinking that, she destroyed her own family with her own hands that very day, converted to Hyeolgyo, and received a name.

One she wouldn’t use anymore.

The name Ilnachar.

“The twenty-fifth match. We will begin!”

The announcer’s voice striking her eardrums.

‘Pathetic.’

Gauging the level while looking around, Ilnachar brought her finger to her red lips and fell into thought. Thoughts continuously turning inside her furrowed brow.

‘I want to kill them all, but that wouldn’t work, would it?’

She became a yokai.

Just because she became a yokai doesn’t mean she became tremendously strong. Should I say she became able to do things humans can’t do?

Though she didn’t feel the omnipotence she had expected, she nevertheless recognized and was satisfied with the yokai ecology. It would be correct to say she obtained exactly what she wanted when she was human. Because what Ilnachar wanted wasn’t to gain strength by becoming a yokai, but the very birth of a yokai itself.

‘If I killed them all, I could receive a tremendous offering of fear.’

A situation where many people are gathered.

If she massacred those here, probably about half would harbor fear toward her. And that would raise Ilnachar’s martial power to a tremendous level.

But that won’t do. Because.

No matter if she receives offerings of fear from ten thousand people, she can’t compare to great yokai with deep history. And if she can’t reach that level, she won’t be able to survive in this place.

‘What should I do?’

She came here with a purpose. And to achieve that purpose, she needs to stand out.

“Young lady.”

“…?”

“Won’t you join hands?”

At the voice heard while she was briefly pondering, Ilnachar’s head turned. A series of martial artists earnestly rolling their eyes and making eye contact with each other despite not having started yet.

“What hands?”

“Seopung Geomho is in this competition. If things flow in the normal way, it means we have no possibility of winning.”

“Seopung Geomho?”

“That’s right. That person who competed with the previous Gongdong Sect leader and achieved a draw.”

“Ah…”

Was there such an insignificant person too?

At Ilnachar’s appearance of tilting her head and searching her memories for a moment, the man who became urgent, perhaps thinking there wasn’t much time left before the preliminary started, hastily continued.

“What I want to propose is simple. Join hands with us to deal with the strong ones first, and then we’ll fight among ourselves.”

“Aha, deal with the more dangerous ones first and divide it among ourselves?”

“That’s right. The probability is low, but just advancing to the main tournament of the Cheonhajeil Martial Competition alone will be a story worth boasting about for a long time. It’s especially meaningful for young people like us. Famous sects might attempt to recruit us seeing that talent, couldn’t they?”

“Heu-eung. Interesting.”

“…”

At Ilnachar’s appearance of alluringly tapping her cheek with her finger and laughing, the man who had been entranced for a moment hastily came to his senses at the sight of the announcer raising drumsticks for the start signal in the distance.

“Keuheum. Then I’ll understand that you’re accepting, young lady…! Those who tied their left sleeves won’t attack each other. Understand?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s do well!”

“Alliance, an alliance, right.”

After watching the man who clenched his fist and returned to his position, Ilnachar smiled brightly and wiggled her finger. An amusing thought that suddenly occurred.

“Why not form an alliance.”

In the end, standing out is all that matters. And this alliance suddenly formed in the twenty-fifth match will surely catch people’s attention.

Then it’s a golden opportunity.

Dung-!!!

“Begin!”

Wa-a-a-a-a…!

Hearing the shouts ringing out along with the drum sound, Ilnachar smiled faintly. And.

Hyeolju

Next. The moment Ilnachar wiggled her finger.

The Art of Puppets

All those who tied their left sleeves went limp.

Like dolls tied to strings.