Chapter 121. Commencement (3)
In the past, when the Heavenly Demon and the Extreme Yin Heavenly Slaughter Star were at the height of their power, there was only one place that not even those two could invade until the very, very end.
That place was.
Shaolin's kitchen. And at that time, in that kitchen, there was one monk called the fire-tending monk.
No one knew that monk's secular name or his precepts. Who would pay attention to a low-ranking monk who only did kitchen chores and cooked meals?
But!
That very man came out holding in one hand the fire-tending staff he used as firewood, and fought the Heavenly Demon for seven days and nights.
Just the fact that he confronted the Heavenly Demon, who was the greatest under heaven at the time, proved that he was a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering master.
And yet, the fight between the two ended without a conclusion.
After that, the Heavenly Demon left these words and descended Mount Song with a smile.
[We danced and played joyfully in one bout, but Ginnara enjoyed it even more than I did.]
Ginnara is originally one of the Eight Divinities who protect the Buddhist Law, one of the Eight Legions, the Melody God. The Heavenly Demon had likened his fight with that fire-tending monk to a dance and compared him to the Melody God.
Thus that monk came to be called the Ginnara Monk, and later, after the monk died, a protector hall called Ginnara Hall was built there.
From then on, the position of Hall Master of Ginnara Hall had to be held by Shaolin's greatest master. However, for a thousand years, by precepts, the Hall Master of Ginnara Hall was forbidden from descending the mountain at will.
Therefore, unless a great calamity befell Shaolin, no one could see the Hall Master of Ginnara Hall. Whether the martial world was in danger had nothing to do with it. Only when Shaolin, and specifically Ginnara Hall, was invaded would the Hall Master of Ginnara Hall step forward.
And yet, the first monk to break that precept was Seungchan.
He descended Mount Song several times and wandered the martial world. Even so, within Shaolin, no one tried to stop him or blame him.
And then...
Shaolin's hidden strength swept across the world.
Step by step, invincible.
There was no opponent before him. Thus Seungchan became the number one of the orthodox path.
The cheers of the crowd continued for nearly mealtime.
Namgung Hye did not bother to restrain the cheers of the heroes. She thought it was something absolutely necessary to raise the atmosphere of the tournament.
After a while, when the chaotic mood had settled somewhat, she took out a dagger from her bosom. It was a dagger with an impressive dragon-headed hilt that looked as if it might come alive and soar into the sky at any moment. It was the appointment dagger said to be given only when acting on behalf of the Martial Alliance Leader.
"Then, before starting the tournament, on behalf of the Alliance Leader, this young lady will make the oath before everyone."
Slice.
The appointment dagger moved, and a small cut appeared on her fingertip.
"I, Namgung Hye, swear before all under heaven that I will oversee this martial arts tournament as an impartial and fair observer, without shame before heaven. May this blood stand in for my sincerity and intent."
Drip.
Clear drops of blood beaded and one drop fell onto the arena. At that moment, Namgung Hye raised the appointment dagger high into the air and shouted loudly.
"Then, from now on, I declare the Martial Assembly to begin!"
"Waaah!"
"Finally!"
Pii, pi-piik!
Cheers and the sound of whistles that seemed to shake heaven and earth shook the venue for a long while.
The All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament.
The Martial Assembly that had made the blood of young martial heroes boil over the past year had finally officially begun.
But.
Just as Namgung Hye was about to go down to the observer's seats installed right below the north side of the arena.
"Please wait a moment!"
Someone's shout.
Then a single figure leapt up onto the arena.
That figure was a young man with unusually pale skin and a thin build, with thin and narrow eyebrows. He was very handsome, yet gave off an uncomfortable feeling.
"Huh! That person is?"
"That young master is?"
The hall was greatly stirred by his appearance.
Namgung Hye, with one foot on the stairs, turned her body to face him. She had already met that young man before, so she knew his name and background.
"May I ask why? Young Master Murong?"
That young man was Murong Bing, who had attended this All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament as the representative of the Murong Family.
Heavenly Upper Sword Murong Bing.
He was the eldest son of the Murong Family, the overlords of Liaoning Province. But people were not so surprised merely because he was the eldest son of the Murong family head.
He had another nickname.
Purple Dragon of Liaoning.
It was the first appearance of one of the Nine Dragons that had sent ripples through the crowd.
"I heard that applicants from the great sects and martial families designated by the Martial Alliance advance to the finals without fighting in the preliminaries. Is that true?"
Murong Bing asked.
"Yes, and the Murong Family is also included in that list of martial families. So..."
"What kind of absurd rule is that? Don't you think such a hastily made rule could damage the authority of the tournament?"
"..."
Namgung Hye did not answer Murong Bing's bizarre logic and simply stared at him.
Automatic advancement without preliminaries. It was a rule that benefited the members of the great sects and never harmed them.
From the perspective of the general martial artists, with the later generations of the great sects being excluded, their chances of advancing to the finals increased, so it was a rule they should welcome with both hands, not oppose at all.
And yet Murong Bing was now openly expressing dissatisfaction with the Martial Alliance's event.
Boo—
Naturally, the crowd, relying on the anonymity of the masses, sent out boos.
There, Murong Bing's last nickname also had no small influence.
Color Dragon.
Murong Bing had gone around laying hands on many women in Liaoning like a dog in heat, causing many incidents and accidents. It was not just rumor; some of the victims and involved parties were present here now.
The booing did not easily die down.
Namgung Hye also did not bother to step in to calm the chaotic atmosphere.
'A stupid lesser dragon is properly in heat.'
She already knew why Murong Bing had forcibly come out as the first fighter and was interfering with the tournament's progress. Eyes full of lust, as thin and narrow as his eyebrows, were sweeping over her ankle area.
'Dirty bastard. If I stripped him right here, he'd be the one to panic, yet he's freely rolling his eyes around. Tsk.'
Although he was a filthy human being, there was nothing Namgung Hye could do about it right now, and there seemed to be no need to control him.
When the booing subsided somewhat, Namgung Hye spoke without changing her expression in the slightest.
"Then what would you like this young lady to do, Young Master Murong?"
Namgung Hye decided to grant Murong Bing's wish to show off in front of her. It was a useless thing anyway, so whether it was shaken or cut off did not matter.
Murong Bing answered as if he had been waiting for those words.
"At least for this young master, I request that this temporary regulation be withdrawn."
Just as expected, a lesser dragon in heat.
Namgung Hye let out a light, mocking laugh and nodded.
There was plenty of time anyway.
Wouldn't it be a fine spectacle to see a lesser dragon filled with spring lust fool around here with the gathered bugs? Haha.
"That is truly a wonderful idea. Then please, Young Master Murong, open the first match of the tournament."
Boooo—!
As Namgung Hye readily agreed and went down, the crowd's boos erupted once more.
Murong Bing sent a sharp glance at the booing crowd, then lightly clasped his fists toward Namgung Hye.
"Thank you, Namgung Young Lady."
Then he lightly turned his body, lowered his eyes, looked down at the crowd, and said.
"As you all likely already know, I will introduce myself first. This young master is Murong Bing from Liaoning, and it is an honor to open the All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament today. Which hero will discuss victory and defeat with this young master for the first time?"
At his smiling provocation, the hall soon grew quiet.
Murong Bing knew well that among the crowd, almost no one would step forward to challenge him.
This was the difference between spectators and participants, between booing and real combat.
Anyone could hide behind anonymity and boo and mock, but having the courage to challenge someone with fame was a completely different matter.
'As expected, bugs are just bugs.'
After taking her seat in the observer's section, Namgung Hye shook her head. She had thought that at least one or two bugs might bravely jump out, but regrettably, it seemed the bugs did not even have the courage to challenge a lesser dragon.
Thus, time passed helplessly.
As she grew bored right from the start of the tournament, Namgung Hye lightly raised her hand to cover her mouth. She had started to yawn. While yawning, she even lightly shook her slightly stiff neck from side to side.
'Hm? That man is...?'
At that moment, far away on the roof of the Guest Residence Pavilion, a man standing there leisurely with his arms crossed entered her eyes. Her open mouth immediately closed.
It was that very man she had encountered on the last day of registration for the previous tournament.
Dong Gwang-cheon.
The very same one, another variable who had appeared at the Martial Alliance together with Eulji Tae on the day Jong Jihang and Gwangun came to Zhengzhou.
He had been so ordinary that she could not guess anything about him, but now that she looked again, something had changed. She could not pinpoint exactly what had changed.
But the aura he was giving off...
In just a few days, he had changed from ordinary to extraordinary.
How?
It was right at the moment Namgung Hye was focusing on the rooftop.
Thud.
With the heavy sound of landing, at last one challenger climbed onto the arena.
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