Chapter 106:

Chapter 106:

Protagonist (2)

“Mujin Monk?”

“Mujin, where are you going?”

If his companions hadn’t called out to him from behind, he might have been so dazed that he would have spoken to Dao Yuetian.

‘...That was close.’

If he approached Dao Yuetian here and something went wrong, the future could be twisted.

To see the end of this novel, Dao Yuetian had to grow into the ‘Evil Emperor’ according to the content of the second part of the novel.

And the event that triggers that is the massacre of his entire family.

So, at least until that event occurs and he completes his five years of training, no variables should arise.

However,

‘...Can I really just let his family be destroyed?’

It was nothing when he thought of him as just a character in a novel, but after directly witnessing Dao Yuetian’s appearance, his mind became complicated.

Dao Yuetian was certainly just a character appearing in a novel.

“Mujin Monk, are you okay?”

“What’s wrong? Your expression doesn’t look good.”

Jegal Jin-hee, Mu-gyeong, Mu-yul, and Mu-gung looked at him with concern.

So, are these people who laughed and chatted with him until now just characters in a novel?

Was even Hyun-gwang, who cared for him like a grandfather, merely a character in a novel?

Had he treated them all just as characters in a novel until now?

The question he had consciously ignored until now took root in Mujin’s mind.

* * *

Mujin, lost in deep thoughts, couldn’t continue worrying for long.

“Shaolin’s Mujin Monk! Please enter the training ground!”

It was because he heard the voice of the examiner calling his name.

Mujin, pushing aside his complicated thoughts, headed to the training ground for the second preliminary round.

The inside of the training ground was divided into sections by some sort of curtains, and in the section Mujin entered, a middle-aged martial artist was present.

“The second preliminary round will be conducted through a sparring match. I’ll let you take the first move, so start when you’re ready.”

The middle-aged martial artist briefly explained the second preliminary round.

Since the second preliminary round was a sparring match, the training ground was divided into sections with curtains. While this wouldn’t matter in the finals, in the preliminaries, no one would want to reveal their martial arts techniques to others.

The middle-aged martial artist, who was in charge of Mujin’s second preliminary round, calmly drew his sword and observed Mujin.

“He’s a disciple of Shaolin, but... the results of the first preliminary round were quite close, I heard?”

The middle-aged martial artist, who was in charge of this round, belonged to the Murim Alliance.

As the Murim Alliance was a coalition of all orthodox sects, the level of martial artists belonging to it was quite high.

Especially for sects and families that were not part of the Nine Great Sects or the Five Noble Families, having one of their disciples become a martial artist of the Murim Alliance was a great honor and opportunity.

When selected as a warrior of the Murim Alliance, one could learn martial arts provided by the Murim Alliance and be trained by instructors chosen from the Nine Great Sects or the Five Noble Families.

The middle-aged martial artist who had drawn his sword had also been active as a warrior of the Murim Alliance for over ten years, reaching a level where he could be called a master.

Conversely, having spent a long time in the Murim Alliance, he knew better than anyone the fearsome nature of the Nine Great Sects, but he was confident that he wouldn’t be defeated by the younger generation, even those at the level called ‘Future Hopes.’

However,

“!!!”

The moment Mujin, who had assumed his stance, moved, ripples appeared in his seemingly calm eyes.

Mujin moved with extreme proficiency in the Fast Ascent Step technique, so much so that even to the eyes of the master martial artist, only afterimages were visible.

It was an explosive speed, fitting the expression “a shadow springing from a bent bow”.

‘But his movements are too obvious!’

Only momentarily surprised, the middle-aged martial artist swung his sword in the path Mujin was charging.

The Shaolin disciple, who was expected to dodge, astonishingly thrust his fist toward the oncoming sword.

There was a golden energy swirling around the young monk’s fist, prompting the middle-aged martial artist to hastily gather his own energy.

Just before Mujin’s fist and the martial artist’s sword clashed, a blue sword energy erupted from the middle-aged martial artist’s sword.

Bang!!!

There could be problems if he left Do Yuetian alone, and conversely, he might not even encounter him if he tried to intervene.

Considering every possible scenario with no definite answer was not Mu-jin’s style.

“Let’s just do what I want!”

Rather than worrying about things that hadn’t even happened yet, he decided to follow the path he believed was right.

And if problems arose?

He would solve them then.

That was Mu-jin’s way.

* * *

Having sorted out his thoughts, Mu-jin focused on training for the next seven days and nights.

During that time, the second and third preliminary rounds of the Yongbongji Conference were held by the Murim Alliance.

At the entrance of the Murim Alliance, a bracket listing the names of those who had advanced to the finals was posted after the preliminaries were completed.

Mu-jin and the Shaolin disciples headed to the Murim Alliance to check the announcement.

“Hmm.”

Mu-jin scanned the bracket, stroking a nonexistent beard.

‘At least we should easily make it through the second round.’

The opponents of the Shaolin disciples were all characters he didn’t remember seeing in the novel.

Of course, Mu-jin’s memory wasn’t perfect, so they might have appeared in the novel.

However, if he didn’t remember them, it meant their roles were insignificant, so it didn’t matter much.

As he turned his gaze, whether fortunately or unfortunately, Do Yuetian’s name was also listed.

‘...It seems fate does exist.’

Even though four Shaolin disciples, including himself, had advanced to the finals, Do Yuetian’s opponent was exactly as it was in the novel’s plot.

[Cheon Seom Moon Do Yuetian vs. Namgung family Namgung Jincheon]

Do Yuetian’s opponent was Namgung Jincheon, known as the greatest prodigy in the world.

‘Namgung Jincheon, huh...’

In the novel *Legend of the Evil Emperor*, Namgung Jincheon and Do Yuetian clashed three times, establishing a rivalry of sorts.

He was also the person who made Do Yuetian realize the “wall of talent.”

‘I’ve read it so many times that honestly, it feels less like a rivalry and more like a combat power gauge.’

In their first duel, Do Yuetian was one-sidedly defeated. In their second duel, Namgung Jincheon, who had underestimated Do Yuetian, narrowly lost.

And in their third duel, Do Yuetian completely crushed him.

It was inevitable. By the end of the novel, Do Yuetian was a monster comparable to the Three Swords of the World.

On the other hand, Namgung Jincheon’s martial arts development was hindered by “a certain problem.” That problem was also revealed by Do Yuetian after their third duel.

‘Namgung Jincheon participated in the Yongbongji Conference because of that problem.’

If not for that problem, Mu-jin would have just used the conference as an excuse to leave Shaolin and run away.

While Mu-jin recalled the novel’s plot as he looked at the names of Do Yuetian and Namgung Jincheon on the bracket, the three martial artists were also discussing their matchups.

They each confirmed their opponents and then scanned the rest of the bracket.

“Looks like Jegal Jin-hee will be facing that Hwasan Sect master.”

Noting the unusual matchup, they murmured to themselves.

Pulled from his thoughts by their conversation, Mu-jin checked the bracket again.

[Jegal family Jegal Jin-hee vs. Hwasan Sect Hong So-il]

Indeed, as Mu-gung had said, Jegal Jin-hee was set to face Hong So-il.

‘Hmm. I was planning to crush the Hwasan Sect myself this time.’

Feeling a bit regretful, he realized it was actually quite an interesting matchup.

‘If he gets beaten one-sidedly by the woman he likes, it’ll be humiliating in its own way, right?’

In Mu-jin’s view, Hong So-il was no match for Jegal Jin-hee.

Naturally, he pictured Hong So-il being beaten one-sidedly by Jegal Jin-hee in his mind.

‘...Surely, that Hwasan Sect disciple doesn’t have such tastes, right?’

Suddenly, a troubling thought crossed Mu-jin’s mind.