Chapter 99:

Chapter 99:

Martial Arts Tournament (1)

“Well then, I’ll be off. Grandfather.”

“Hehehe. Go safely.”

Mu-jin bid farewell to Hyun-gwang as he prepared to participate in the martial arts tournament.

A few days before the tournament, Mu-jin engaged in his final training by sparring with several Shaolin disciples.

Skipping the third-class disciples, he began sparring with the second-class disciples, and finally, he sparred with first-class disciples like Hye-geol, Hye-dam, and Hye-gwan.

‘Thanks to the Hundred Steps Divine Fist, my Qi sense has improved significantly.’

By mastering martial arts that involved emitting and manipulating Qi over a distance, his Qi sensing ability had improved, allowing him to read others’ Qi more proficiently.

The sparring with second-class and first-class disciples was a process of refining the insights he had learned from Yunheo Zhenren by utilizing this enhanced Qi sense.

It was training to read others’ Qi and predict the techniques they were about to use.

After completing this final training and self-assessment, Mu-jin was now ready to leave Shaolin.

As if reading Mu-jin’s intentions,

“Hehehe. It seems you’ll be away from Shaolin for quite a while.”

Hyun-gwang added a subtle remark as Mu-jin bid him farewell.

“Once you finish what you need to do, come back to Shaolin. There are still things I need to teach you.”

Hearing Hyun-gwang’s words, Mu-jin hesitated for a moment before answering somewhat honestly.

“...I will definitely return once I finish my tasks. Grandfather.”

“Hehehe. That’s enough.”

With Hyun-gwang’s hearty laugh, Mu-jin finished his farewell and stepped out of the hall.

The Wulin Alliance, a coalition of righteous sects, was located there.

The reason was simple.

The Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Clans, the largest factions in the righteous sects, were most centrally located in Hubei Province or Shaanxi Province.

Shaanxi Province was chosen over Hubei Province because of the past war with the Demon Cult. Baoji in Shaanxi Province was deemed a more advantageous location to confront the Demon Cult forces invading from Xinjiang.

Hanzhong, a strategic point connecting Sichuan and Gansu, was also a candidate, but its difficult terrain made transportation notoriously inconvenient, famously described as a “chicken rib” by Cao Cao.

In any case, for these reasons, the Wulin Alliance settled in Baoji, which was now attracting people from all over the Central Plains.

They were gathering to participate in or watch the martial arts tournament, especially the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.

It had been thirty-eight years since the Wulin Alliance was established.

It had been thirty years since the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly began alongside the martial arts tournament.

This upcoming martial arts tournament would be the fourth of its kind, and the vicinity of the Wulin Alliance now resembled a bustling city with a multitude of people and buildings.

Originally, the Wulin Alliance was located in a secluded area on a hill in Baoji.

But as the saying goes, even rivers and mountains change in ten years. The once quiet vicinity of the Wulin Alliance had gradually transformed into a town-like area with numerous people coming and going.

The grand pavilion built in the outer district surrounding the Wulin Alliance was called Outer Pavilion.

It was a mansion constructed by the Jegal family, where members of the Jegal family who were working at the Wulin Alliance or visiting from the main house stayed.

At that mansion, visitors who were not members of the Jegal family arrived.

“How have you all been?”

In response to Jegal-hyeon’s question, who had arranged this meeting, the visitors showed various reactions.

“Hahaha. It’s been a while.”

The elder of the Hwangbo family responded heartily, pretending to be boisterous.

“What brings you to arrange this meeting?”

The elder of the Sichuan Tang Clan looked at Jegal-hyeon with a keen gaze, trying to discern his intentions.

“Tsk. Are you going to tell us another pointless story?”

The elder of the Hebei Peng family spoke in a dissatisfied tone, clearly unimpressed by the Jegal family’s constant scheming.

“.......”

Meanwhile, the elder of the Namgung family sat arrogantly, as if it didn’t matter.

These were the elders of the five great families, known as the Five Great Families of the World.

They had come as representatives of their respective families to participate in the martial arts tournament.

Jegal-hyeon began to speak with a peculiar expression.

“You may have heard the rumors, but lately, Shaolin’s movements have been unusual.”

In place of the silent Namgung elder and the elder of the Hwangbo family, who wore a foolish expression, the elders of the Tang Clan and the Peng family spoke up.

When Tang So-mi made her provocative remark while pretending to be innocent, Jegal Jin-hee’s face broke into a smile. It was a cold smile.

“Namgung Jin-cheon is just a stepping stone. I have someone else in mind.”

At Jegal Jin-hee’s words, Tang So-mi’s eyes sparkled.

She had implied that Namgung Jin-cheon was merely a stepping stone. That meant...

‘She must know of someone stronger than Namgung Jin-cheon among the young talents!’

Tang So-mi, having reached that conclusion, asked a question.

“Are you referring to the Sword Dragon of Wudang?”

“Not the Qing Shui Sect. I need to train, so I’ll take my leave.”

Jegal Jin-hee responded in her usual blunt manner and turned to leave. Watching her, Tang So-mi’s eyes gleamed with interest.

‘This might be more fun than I thought.’

She suddenly found herself becoming interested in the upcoming Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.

* * *

The outer district was filled with a massive crowd. Among them, the disciples of Shaolin had arrived.

“Wow~!!”

Mu-yul, the young monk, exclaimed in innocent wonder at the bustling scene. Mu-gung, although not showing it outwardly, spoke in a curious tone.

“Is this place always this bustling?”

“Hehehe. People do come and go regularly, but not to this extent. It’s because of the martial arts tournament and the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly that so many people have gathered.”

The one who answered Mu-gung’s question was the Head of the External Affairs Department, Master Hyun-hyeon, who was in charge of this trip.

For such a significant event, it was unlikely that Shaolin would send only four third-class disciples. The Dragon and Phoenix Assembly was just the biggest event, while the martial arts tournament served as a grand gathering of the righteous sects organized by the Wulin Alliance.

Revered martial artists would demonstrate their skills, and the Wulin Alliance would hold meetings with key figures from various sects to discuss important matters.

Still, Shaolin had kept their delegation fairly simple.

Their delegation consisted of Master Hyun-hyeon as the representative, one first-class disciple, five second-class disciples, and the four third-class disciples who would participate in the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly.

“First, we should head to the mansion to settle in and unpack.”

With those words, Master Hyun-hyeon led the way, followed by Mu-jin and the other Shaolin disciples.

Naturally, the gazes of the crowd filling the streets turned toward them.

“Shaolin.”

Recognizing the distinctive crimson kasaya of Shaolin, the crowd’s reactions varied. Some looked on with admiration, others with caution, and some with curiosity.

In truth, these reactions were primarily due to the location being the outer district.

As in Deungbong-hyeon, from the perspective of ordinary people, Shaolin monks were just kind, strong monks who occasionally dealt with bad guys.

However, the outer district was a village that had developed around the Wulin Alliance and was now filled with martial artists due to the martial arts tournament.

Among those observing the Shaolin disciples in the streets, a good nine out of ten were martial artists of some sort, whether skilled or not.

“It seems Shaolin is participating in the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly as well.”

“Hmm. But don’t they look too young?”

“There are only three of them too.”

Some of the less skilled martial artists whispered among themselves, but their words did not escape the keen hearing of the Four Tiger Disciples of Shaolin.

“Do we look too young?” Mu-gyeong asked.

Mu-jin responded indifferently, “We’re relatively young for young talents. Typically, young talents are those in their early twenties up to around thirty.”

Participation in the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly was restricted to young talents. Thus, the usual age range for participants was early to mid-twenties.

Those younger often lacked the skill, while older participants could still compete but would lose face as it implied they were clinging to their youth.

In this sense, the Four Tiger Disciples were quite young. Mu-jin and Mu-yul were eighteen, and Mu-gung and Mu-gyeong were nineteen.

Realizing they were relatively young, Mu-gyeong spoke in a somewhat uneasy tone, “Then we seem to be at a disadvantage...”

“What are you worried about? There won’t be anyone stronger than Master Uncle Hye-gwan anyway,” Mu-jin encouraged.

Mu-gyeong nodded at Mu-jin’s reassurance. No matter who they faced, it wouldn’t be as tough as their training sessions.

At that moment, Mu-yul, who had been listening with a bright expression, tilted his head and asked, “But why are we only three? There are four of us, right?”

At this question, Mu-jin and Mu-gyeong glanced at Mu-gung.

Who would consider that broad frame and mature face as belonging to a young talent?

“What? Why?” Mu-gung shouted, his face reddening under Mu-jin and Mu-gyeong’s gaze.

It seemed he still needed more training in the Immovable Heart Technique.