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The fierce battle that had only seemed to escalate came to an unexpectedly anticlimactic end, all witnessed by the sword team members.

It was a conclusion no one could have predicted.

Wi Seol-Ah and Nangong Bi-ah were both down.

And in the meantime, only one person remained: the unexpectedly cheerful Tang Soyeol.

Looking at Tang Soyeol, who wore a bright smile, I was utterly speechless.

‘No way.’

A mix of thoughts rushed through my mind.

How should I even interpret this?

Suddenly appearing, Tang Soyeol had knocked both of them out cold.

The key point here is the word ‘suddenly’.

‘I didn’t even perceive it.’

No matter how fierce the fight had been, I hadn’t noticed Tang Soyeol’s intervention at all.

With everyone around focused on the betting, my awareness had dropped significantly. Even if I had blocked my Qi perception, it was still quite astonishing.

This was proof that Tang Soyeol had managed to conceal his presence to an extreme degree while intentionally continuing the flow of battle.

‘Tang Soyeol bypassed my Qi perception and slipped between the two…’

To be precise, he had gradually hidden his presence from the two fighters.

It was so subtle that it fooled even me.

Once it was complete, he waited for the optimal moment and then…

‘He succeeded in the end.’

As soon as the desired situation emerged, he intervened immediately and ended the sparring match.

“Ha.”

I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.

‘Impressive, huh?’

Had he planned this from the moment they started fighting? Or had he prepared for it as the fight progressed?

Whatever the case, it didn’t matter. Tang Soyeol had executed his plan brilliantly by leveraging his advantages.

And the result was success.

‘Probably no one in this vicinity noticed a thing.’

If I hadn’t known, then surely no one else would have.

But Tang Soyeol managed to pull it off.

“Haha…”

I chuckled softly, recalling the moment.

It had been so silent that all eyes were on me, and realizing this made me awkwardly laugh as I spoke.

“…It seems the Deputy Lord here has been roughly decided. Do you have any objections?”

“…”

“…”

“If you have any, do speak up.”

I asked again, but there was no response.

Of course. None of them were people of low realms, so they surely understood.

‘That surprise attack wasn’t a matter of pure luck.’

It was a thoroughly calculated conclusion.

If they possess insight and competence in their realms, they couldn’t possibly miss what this current outcome implied.

‘The impression has been sufficient.’

But who could actually pull this off?

To initiate an attack with the Sword Intent and subdue the situation directly.

For me, it wouldn’t have been too difficult.

Yet, would anyone else here be able to manage that?

In my opinion, no, there wouldn’t be.

Yet Tang Soyeol succeeded, proving his worth.

Of course, it’s possible there could be grievances.

What he achieved was momentary, while the sparring shown by Nangong Bi-ah and Wi Seol-Ah was on a different level altogether.

If anyone had complaints about this, I would respect their feelings.

If that was the case…

‘Tang Soyeol will handle it himself.’

He could resolve any issue through sparring just as before.

Then it would be clear. It would reveal that Tang Soyeol wasn’t someone who would harbor grievances either.

“It seems there are no major objections, so let’s say that one of the two seats belongs to Team Member Tang.”

As I spoke, I shifted my gaze towards the members of the Meng side, who were wide-eyed and observing us.

“Have you decided over there?”

“…!”

“From your expressions, it looks like you haven’t.”

They appeared unable to finalize their selection for a deputy lord, just as I had expected.

Seeing this made me smile slightly as I spoke.

“It seems there’s a situation, so let’s set the deadline to tomorrow. However, if you still can’t decide by then, I’ll select someone according to my taste, so keep that in mind.”

I wondered if they would truly be able to decide by tomorrow.

As I spoke, it dawned on me.

There was a high likelihood they wouldn’t manage to choose.

If luck favored them, then fine, but I personally didn’t think so.

Ah, even if they did decide, it didn’t particularly matter.

After all, they weren’t the ones that truly mattered.

“One side has been decided… and the other side is in a strange situation to make a choice now.”

With that, I raised my hand to lift Wi Seol-Ah and Nangong Bi-ah into the air.

And then—

“Eh?”

I promptly tossed them towards Tang Soyeol.

The two bodies abruptly flew towards Tang Soyeol, who had to rush to catch them.

“Ugh?!”

Perhaps due to his small stature, once he caught both of them, his view was entirely blocked.

“…Deputy Lord, take these fallen ones to the infirmary.”

“Wait, just a moment…”

“Disperse.”

I assigned Tang Soyeol his first task and turned my back.

Thus ended the assembly of day one.

*

Afterward, I returned to my residence.

They said there was a space allocated for the Great Lord within the Meng faction.

However, as I had yet to move all of my things, I still needed to stay in my current place.

Boom—!

A loud noise echoed.

It sounded like a massive rock had crashed to the floor in the designated area of my quarters.

“Phew.”

The young man who had been training with the boulder wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke.

“So, you just left it like that?”

His gaze was filled with disbelief.

I responded with a mix of reluctance as I felt the weight of his stare.

“I did my best in that situation.”

“Shouldn’t you have brought them back instead?”

“With so many people watching? I couldn’t handle it discreetly.”

I could only feel wronged.

After Wi Seol-Ah and Nangong Bi-ah were knocked out, I left everything to Tang Soyeol and dashed back, which prompted such a reaction from the Master of the Martial World.

He suggested I should have entrusted them to Shin Yi instead.

‘Do you think I didn’t want to bring them back?’

I wished that more than anyone else. But…

“Once you’ve taken them on as members, you can’t just do as you please.”

Unless it’s a personal relationship, it was impossible to act outside the bounds of what was expected.

It couldn’t be helped.

It was something those kids also needed to understand.

“Hmm…”

Upon hearing my response, the Master of the Martial World tilted his head slightly and then said to me.

“You can be unnecessarily rigid about such matters.”

“…”

“Well, you’ll handle it your way, I suppose.”

It seemed that ended the exchange, as the Master of the Martial World began drying himself off with a towel next to him.

Having trained vigorously all day, he appeared unusually tired.

‘Or maybe it’s due to internal injuries.’

The effects of the sparring match must have lingered…

‘I told him to take it easy.’

Despite being in such poor shape, the man insisted on showcasing his strength to everyone.

‘Does he think being youthful makes him actually younger? Really, he must have been born with his age.’

As these thoughts crossed my mind, I turned my body.

A boulder brushed past, sweeping across the ground.

Boom—!!

“…”

Ignoring the rock that had smashed into the ground, I glanced at the Master of the Martial World.

“What a waste. If your body was in shape, you could have hit it.”

“Are you out of your mind…?”

“Seeing your expression, it felt like you were cursing me in your heart.”

“…”

He has quite the perceptive nose.

“…That was never the case.”

“Look at me when you talk. Tsk, tsk…”

Since I was late in making eye contact, I just decided not to look at him at all.

“Given your throwing strength, it appears your body is fully healed now.”

“Humph.”

“Then why not just help me a bit, would you?”

As I replied in a gruff manner, the Master of the Martial World let out a light laugh.

“Are you still mad about that?”

“I’m not mad, I was merely making a statement.”

“Of course you’re mad.”

Tap tap. The Master of the Martial World, after drying off, set the towel aside.

Seeing that, I internally clicked my tongue.

When I mentioned helping me, it meant something more.

I had asked the Master of the Martial World to join as a member when establishing the Star Dragon guild in the future.

I thought it would be easier for him to hide his identity if he joined, and so I asked him, but—

‘He turned me down.’

He had refused, citing that he had other matters to attend to and that joining would be impossible.

As a result, I had to form the guild with other people instead.

I didn’t care too much. I had only asked in half-jest, so it didn’t bother me.

‘But what could those matters be?’

It nagged at me that he had declined because he had something to do.

‘…Every old man around me is oddly peculiar.’

Every time they mentioned having matters to take care of, something major would blow up afterward.

“Once again, you have that strange expression on your face.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Hmm…”

The Master of the Martial World narrowed his eyes, suspicious of me.

Seeing that, I tried to maintain a poker face.

“Forget it. Your disciple is already strange enough; it’s nothing new…”

“… I thought I was normal… Just kidding.”

Boom.

At my excuse, the Master of the Martial World placed an even larger boulder down.

I had no idea humans could be so aggressive.

“What in the world has gotten into you, getting more irritable by the day?”

“I assure you, it’s just a misunderstanding.”

“I don’t think so…”

“…Let’s just move on. Can you tell me why you called for me?”

With the suspicious gaze now dismissed, I focused on the main topic.

I was here because the Master of the Martial World had summoned me.

We were done with small talk; it was time to get to the crux of the matter.

“Ah, it’s nothing major.”

To my question, the Master of the Martial World replied:

“It seems like there’s been an opportunity recently. Is that right?”

“Yes.”

I answered without hesitation.

After all, there was no reason to hide it now.

The changes brought by the White Grade Demon Beast. Surely the Master of the Martial World would know about this.

“Always eating something at the drop of a hat. If there’s anything good, shouldn’t you share it with your master?”

“…I think I’ve given some already?”

I had regularly provided him with Poison Heavenly Pills and occasionally some elixirs.

Even with all that, the changes remained sluggish. Every time I thought about it, I would wonder.

‘I absolutely won’t use the Rejuvenation Technique.’

Better to bite my tongue and die than to end up like that.

“If that’s the case, does my opportunity relate to the reason you called me?”

“It does. It’s always been the case, hasn’t it?”

“That means…?”

“Have you become accustomed to the Changcheon technique?”

“…”

“It hasn’t been long enough for your body to adapt yet….”

Tap tap.

After lightly shaking off some dust, the Master of the Martial World added a follow-up.

I realized why he had called me.

He intended to teach me the next stage of Tua Pacheonmu.

The next step after the Pacheon (Breaking Heaven) move.

 

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