The time was just past noon.
The sun hung high in the sky, yet it wasnât particularly hot.
Perhaps because the season had already shifted to autumn.
A breeze blew by, ruffling my hair.
I hadnât bothered to take care of it, so it shouldâve felt rough, but thanks to my transformation, my skin and hair always stayed in good condition.
âMaybe thatâs why it feels so annoying.â
Swish.
I grabbed my long hair and tied it back.
Finally, it felt a bit less bothersome.
Now that Iâd roughly fixed it, the strands that had been blocking my view were cleared away, and my vision opened up.
The first thing that came into sight was the cracked sparring stage.
The traces of battles between Hwagyeong-level martial artists were clearly etched into the ground.
Theyâd supposedly reinforced the sparring stage after reaching the Eight Directions, yet I couldnât help but wonder where all their money was going.
What a pointless waste, I thought.
Crack.
I lightly rolled my wrist and looked up. This time, it wasnât the stage I saw but people.
One of them was the referee, visibly tense to the extreme.
The reason for that was probably mostly my fault.
âIt must be the aftermath of the last match.â
I hadnât caused too much of a commotion during my fight with Sword Dragon, but the match against Divine Dragon had stirred up quite the incident.
That was likely why the referee was so nervous now.
âI do feel a bit bad.â
But what could I do?
If youâre getting paid, you have to earn it somehow.
And from my experience, the Murim Alliance didnât exactly pay poorly.
Judging by his armband, he seemed to be close to a vice-captain level, so he was probably earning a decent amount.
He should earn his keep.
âAnd.â
There was another reason why the referee was so on edge.
I shifted my gaze slightly to see the cause.
Rumble.
There stood a towering figure, nearly eight feet tall.
Broad shoulders and muscles so thick they seemed to burst from his frame.
It was Blade King, Peng Zhou.
He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, staring at me.
And I could clearly sense the difference from before.
âThat old man isnât playing around with his Qi this time, huh?â
Last time, heâd flared his energy everywhere, pulling all sorts of ridiculous stunts.
But now, he was completely still.
The subtle aura of a strong opponent still emanated from him, but that was unavoidable.
The wild and overflowing Qi from before had been reined in, sealed tightly within his body.
Yeah. He looked much better this way.
It was far more pleasing to see him not wasting his energy on useless displays.
However.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
ââWhoâs going to win this time?â
ââWho knows? Itâs still Blade King, after all.â
ââCome on, So Yeomra defeated Divine Dragon. You think heâll lose to Blade King?â
ââBut Blade King is one of the Six Seats. Itâd be a bit much for him to lose to someone at the late-stage of youth.â
ââThen are you saying Twin Dragon wasnât at the late-stage level?â
âââ¦Thatâs because Twin Dragon was trained by Paejonâ¦â
A flood of noise pricked at my ears.
Hearing all that nonsense almost made me laugh out loud.