“It is already like…”
Jong Rimi who came out to the yard could not hide her dejection as she looked at the gathered people.
She realized that this was no longer a situation of simply persuading them.
Whisper
The people in the yard were numerous, and if she spoke about the wrong things, she could be misunderstood.
“Let’s keep going.”
Jong Ri-heon spoke to Jong Rimi, who went stiff. The plan had been decided, and there was nothing more that could be done now.
“You can sit here.”
Guided by the servant, Jong Ri-heon and Jong Rimi sat in their assigned seats. Nearby were the Third and Fifth Elders who followed them.
They were the few elders who stood on their side, and in the back was their uncle with their kids.
All the people related to the family sat down.
“Then the ones participating in the spar, please enter.”
The warriors came out at the guidance of the Second Elder.
First, when the warriors gathered on the side of the yard, Jong Rimi’s expression darkened.
At first glance the walk and look of the warriors said that they were outstanding warriors.
“There is no need to be intimidated in advance. You get what I mean?”
She just nodded her head unknowingly. Jong Ri-heon held her hand.
“Yes, brother.”
Jong Ri-heon had shown an unreliable appearance up until this point, but he never lost his composure in front of many. And his appearance somehow comforted her a little
Right after the warriors came, they were brought out. There was a boy in unique clothes, a playboy, and a skinny man.
“Sigh…”
No matter how anyone saw them, they looked less dignified than their opponents.
Anyway, they were given a waiting area to the west side.
“We have another guest here,”
The First Elder continued.
“The warriors of the Namgung Family!”
Upon hearing this, many people stood up. Regardless of blood and rank, all the people who came to watch the fight stood up.
Clap! Clap!
The people of the Namgung Family appeared with applause ringing out, and there were two men, one woman, and five escorts with them.
“Really the best!”
“The Namgung Family has arrived!”
At the sound of applause, they held out a hand—
And sat in the seats at the south side. Among them, a dignifiedly dressed man walked from the training hall.
As he stood in the center, the First Elder said,
“The lord of the Namgung Family is here. With this incident, we will take a difficult step ahead for the sake of the family. This man has been appointed as the referee to this spar to ensure fairness.”
“Lord!”
“Seventh Dragon of Murim!”
The reaction was amazing.
One sky above another, and Namgung Hun was someone who was known to be strong.
Namgung Hun, who received the attention of everyone in the yard, showed respect by bowing to them.
“That is an exaggeration. I took a step at the request of the Jong Family, who didn’t have anyone to evaluate. Even if there are shortcomings, we ask for your consideration.”
“The best!”
“Take care of the Jong Family!”
Applause came, and the reaction only made the siblings more nervous.
Meanwhile, Seol-Hwi was watching the situation from the waiting room. Then, he heard that the Namgung Family came here and asked Imugi,
“Namgung Family means… the Boundless Sky Sword Technique?”
“Yes.”
“Oh? When I was being told about the sects I wondered what kind of place it was… an unexpected chance arose.”
“They say they are here only to judge, so I wonder if there will be a chance to see their skills. Ah, I heard that the Lord of the Namgung Family is at the Superior Master Level…”
Seol-Hwi trailed off at the end.
It seemed like there were quite a few warriors in the central plains. And looking at one of the Five Great Families, he seemed to be one of the most widely known.
Woong!
In the meantime they could hear the sound of drums.
“Now, people the Jong Family brought, please come.”
At the words of the First Elder, the man on the left began to walk confidently. They held swords, and of them the largest sword holder stood out.
“Then, I will go…”
“Songhwa.”
“Yes, hyung.”
Songhwa, who was warming up, was about to go, but Imugi caught him.
“Anyway, it is better if you step back.”
“Uh?”
Songhwa made a puzzled expression at the words of Imugi, and he spoke, slightly angry.
“I can beat him well enough.”
“No. I don’t mean that you will fight and lose… it is better to not step out.”
“Hyung, what is…”
“Imugi is right.”
It was then, Seol-Hwi interrupted the conversation between the two.
“…Master?”
“Look closely. The feet, shoulders, and ankles.”
Songhwa’s eyes turned to the man on stage.
An iron belt on the shoulder, a sharp blade, and thick iron belts were visible. And the tip of the shoes had a sharp blade.
“Do you think I would fall for that kind of anomaly?”
“That isn’t the problem.”
Seol-Hwi nodded to the left and said,
“You aren’t a warrior but a sorcerer. When your opponent uses physical force and you try to use spells to subdue him… with the Namgung Family here you will be figured out.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Songhwa realize. The problem was not with the opponent but with the Namgung Family.
Actually, he was currently walking down the path of being the strongest head the Namgung Family had, so he must surely have huge knowledge in other things too.
“But isn’t it hard to figure it out at first sight? I don’t know how they are but it will be dangerous because they might link it to where we came from.”
“Yes… I was short sighted, master.”
“No, it is fine. We didn’t realize the Namgung Family would be here.”
Seol-Hwi turned his head and said,
“Imugi. Do it lightly.”
“Yes.”
Imugi spoke like he had been waiting for this, and with everyone’s eyes waiting, he walked out.
When the two men stood on the stage, the place seemed heated.
A battle between warriors, it was because there were few chances for one to see such spars up close.
“Now let me introduce the people. We will be speaking with him…”
Reading the air around, the First Elder took out a paper from his pocket.
And he read it slowly.
“Shin Yeon. As a member of the Murim Alliance, he has been named the Ghost Blade Cold Heart. He took initiative in clearing out the bandits around the area for about ten years, and he has a history of routinely taking down hundreds of bandits, as well as four families from the 18 river families in the Yangtze River.”
“This is huge.”
A member of the Murim Alliance being here, this alone was too strong.
And First Elder said,
“The next person…”
Hesitating for a moment he asked.
“…Can you say what he did?”
It was a question with sarcasm. In the midst of that everyone turned and Imugi raised his hand to answer it
“It hasn’t been long since I settled down in the central plains. Still if we have to mention something, there will be the ten people I took down in Hangzhou’s red light district.”
“…”
“Five of them apologized. Even if I did nothing wrong. This is the gentleman’s heart which my master told me about. And it was right. Of course, I had to do it. The opponents which are weak shouldn’t be fought with.”
“…”
“…”
The atmosphere which was heated immediately cooled down. Imugi continued to talk on, not caring at all.
“Three of them were a problem. Two simply ran and almost got into a fight. Honestly, if I fought, I would win but I couldn’t do that right? If anyone hears this, speak. The Holy Sword Clan’s member, Jong Go, was there! Because of my master I chose to not act. If I did it right, taking him down would be a breeze…”
“Ahh…”
Jong Rimi covered her face with both hands in second hand embarrassment.
How can they make fun of themselves with so many people here?
“Ahem.”
“Um.”
The elders and relatives looked embarrassed.
Ugh
Jong Ri-heon closed his eyes tightly.
There was no disgrace greater than this. He did not even have time to despair when the speech just continued on and on.
And if this man lost after speaking all this, even he would be made fun of.
“Heheh.”
“Kukul”
“I can already guess the level.”
On the other hand, his opponents all smiled. Because the man who came now felt like some random street bum.
“Fine, let’s start. Get ready.”
The First Elder felt the need to initiate it.
And it was then that Imugi realized he spoke too much and shook his head.
With such a guy…
His expression crumpled.
Shin Yeon had accepted a good amount for this a month back.
The Jong Family was a fairly large family in Shaoxing, so he thought the opponent was going to be someone powerful.
But now he looked like a back alley thug, so it felt like his pride was hurt.
Standing in the same arena is a shame.
“Start!”
So he ran ahead wanting to kill the man in one hit. It was an unwritten rule to avoid death, but he was thinking of saying his hand slipped.
In an instant, he shortened the distance, and by time he took the sword—
What?!
He sensed something strange.
In the moment the distance was narrowed down to almost nothing, seeing the other person smiling made a chill run down his spine.
But the distance was too close, and in the end he decided to not care about the instinct and continued.
Puak!
Shin Yeon’s body stopped like the movements had been a lie. It was because the drawing of the blade came to his face.
Thud!
And with a flash, Imugi approached. As he fired a hit at the stomach, Shin Yeon jumped to the air.
Puak!
Imugi followed and kicked three times as he jumped.
In the blink of an eye, it felt like there were as many as five moves linked together, and all of these were connected like lighting.
Thud!
And the finishing touch was a kick to the right foot.
Puak!
The end.
As soon as Shin Yeon fell down, he jumped up.
Kukuku.
He kept rolling on the ground.
Puak!
The spectators could only stop their chuckles.
“…”
“…”
Silence fell over with the ending.
The chilled atmosphere spoke of how the situation was, and in the meantime, Imugi said,
“Murim Alliance Inspection Troops huh? This is nothing.”
And this was something everyone who saw would attest to.