Regression of the Yong Clan Heir

Chapter 466: Stepping Onto the Dueling Stage

Yong Hwarin interpreted the spell formation in that way, tucked the letter and papers into his robe, then spoke to Jeong Minji.

"Min Mae, take the girls and return to the Hundred Justice Alliance."

No sooner had he spoken than Bukri Sehee interjected.

"Gaga, this is the Murim Reorganization Tournament. It’s cruel to tell us not to watch the greatest duel between Murim’s top masters, when we don’t even know when the next one will be held!"

At her words, Yong Hwarin wondered if he was being too obsessive.

"Fine, but promise me you’ll leave immediately if anything happens."

"Don’t worry. Big Sister, Third and Fourth Sisters are all here. What is there to worry about?"

Jeong Minji stepped forward in front of the protesting Bukri Sehee and spoke.

"If anything concerning happens, I’ll take them and leave. Please don’t worry."

Yong Hwarin trusted her, as the women listened well to her.

"Alright. Then I’ll be off—there’s something I need to take care of."

Bukri Sehee grumbled.

"What kind of business could possibly be more important than today?"

Thankfully, with Yong Hwarin’s permission to stay, the rest of the group relaxed and turned their attention to the dueling stage.

The dueling stage was built at a perfect height so that all the martial artists around could see it well.

"Why build it so high that our necks hurt? It’d be better if we could look down at it."

When Bukri Sehee grumbled, Namgung Yu responded.

"In tournaments this large, they purposely build it a bit higher. That way, more people below can see clearly. Also, looking up makes it easier to observe martial arts forms."

Just as she said, the slightly elevated stage made it easier to see footwork clearly.

The five women observed the martial techniques of the duelists currently engaged on the stage.

When Yong Hwarin returned, Masa asked,

"What is it?"

"I received a letter."

Seeing it wasn’t anything major, Masa lost interest and asked another question.

"By the way, do you know the format of the duels in this Murim Reorganization Tournament?"

Yong Hwarin had been more focused on the scheme behind the Martial Flower Lord and hadn’t paid attention to the tournament rules.

"I don’t."

"Tsk tsk, you should at least be somewhat interested."

Masa began explaining the format he had heard.

"They said, if someone wins nine consecutive duels, they will be acknowledged as part of the Murim Reorganization. The nine-win streak applies only against challengers, and there’s a rule that all challengers must be widely recognized masters in Murim."

"Really? Then it’s possible that no one might even make it. Nine consecutive victories aren’t as easy as they sound."

The original format of the Murim Reorganization Tournament had been a winner-advances structure to determine the final ranking of nine individuals—a traditional method upheld until now.

This time, however, the Martial Flower Lord had changed the rules to garner greater public interest: only those who achieved nine consecutive victories would be recognized as part of the Reorganization.

This new method was adopted because it drew more engagement than the old style.

It seemed that, at the very least, defeating nine top Murim masters consecutively was considered worthy of earning a spot.

‘Still, it’s an incredibly difficult condition. Why would the Martial Flower Lord choose such an extreme format?’

That question crossed his mind briefly, but Yong Hwarin soon shook it off, as he wasn’t particularly interested in the format itself.

"It’s Jeonghang of the Shaolin Temple!"

At the shout from the crowd, Yong Hwarin looked up at the dueling stage.

Jeonghang from the Shaolin Temple had stepped onto the stage.

"Anyone who wishes to challenge Jeonghang from the Shaolin Temple, please come forward."

Few dared challenge Jeonghang, who possessed outstanding skill even among the prodigies of the later generation.

As a result, only those with notable reputations in Murim stepped forward.

"Wow! It’s the Demon-Slaying Blade, Gu Ryeong!"

The crowd erupted in cheers. Gu Ryeong, the Demon-Slaying Blade, was a middle-aged bladesman who held a spot among the Ten Absolutes of the Martial World.

Though he was active in Anhui and already had a prominent reputation, the reason he was challenging for the Murim Reorganization was partly because it was deemed a higher honor than being one of the Ten Absolutes—but more than anything, it was due to the rewards offered by the Martial Flower Lord.

The prize money was enough to establish an entire martial sect, and every participant in the Murim Reorganization Tournament was said to receive a secret manual of Supreme Martial Arts bestowed by the Imperial Palace.

The reason the Martial Flower Lord had offered such extravagant rewards was now clear.

Due to the format requiring consecutive victories, there was a risk of lacking challengers. The promise of imperial secret techniques was meant to prevent that.

If these manuals were truly of a different caliber than ordinary martial arts, Murim would be ablaze in blood to obtain them. That was why even someone like the Demon-Slaying Blade Gu Ryeong, one of the Ten Absolutes, stepped forward.

Jeonghang had already defeated another to earn one victory. If he overcame Gu Ryeong, it would be his second win.

"They say, if you believe your opponent is stronger than you, you can simply step down from the stage without fighting."

At Masa’s explanation, Yong Hwarin turned to look at Jeonghang.

There was no way Jeonghang would be afraid of Gu Ryeong.

When Yong Hwarin saw Jeonghang raise his empty hands in a clasped-hands greeting, he sensed his confidence.

And as Yong Hwarin watched the exchange of blows between the two, he was deeply shocked.

He could clearly see their flaws and weak points—too clearly.

Realizing this, he began to reassess his own martial realm.

‘Have I truly reached such a height? I used to be only slightly stronger than Jeonghang when I was at the Shaolin Temple. Now, their martial arts seem laughable to me.’

It wasn’t arrogance.

Yong Hwarin simply hadn’t had the chance to compare his martial level with other prodigies recently, but after mastering the Life and Death Realm of the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra and the Azure Dragon Stance Art, he had already reached a realm far beyond them.

He had just failed to realize it himself.

"Hahahahaha!"

Sensing it, I let out a loud, hearty laugh.

"Why are you laughing like some madman?"

I looked at Masa and muttered,

"Those two are exchanging blows, displaying outstanding martial arts… but strangely, I don't feel moved at all watching them."

Masa stared at me in silence.

"That's because you've grown to a point where their level seems childish to you. It's something to be pleased about—but it's also the moment you start to feel emptiness in pursuing martial arts. Now is the time for you to seek the Way."

Masa muttered, staring at me with a newly awakened gaze.

"You’ve truly grown a lot. Back when I was still in your head, you were nothing but a fledgling. Now, you're about to ascend as a dragon."

After that, I couldn’t bear to keep watching the duels anymore—they felt too trivial.

Then, Jeonghang, Unmang of the Wudang Sect, Cheongmong of the Mount Hua Sect, and Seonja Myeongok of the Emei Sect each achieved nine consecutive victories and were inducted into the Murim Reorganization.

Everything progressed as expected, so there wasn’t much thrill in the results. However, the martial artists who stepped up to challenge them were anything but weak, and each challenge drew gasps and cheers from the crowd.

On top of that, even Soyonghwa of the Valley of Hidden Darkness and Sanbi of the Holy Heaven Cult each secured a place in the Murim Reorganization with nine consecutive wins.

Outstanding masters from the Orthodox Sects had challenged them when they stepped up, but all were defeated.

Furthermore, Namgung Soomyung and Pang Giyok became the seventh and eighth members of the Reorganization, respectively.

Finally, Tang Cheolgi proudly stepped forward. He swept through five duels in a row, and no one doubted he would become the ninth Murim Reorganizer.

However, Tang Cheolgi ended up losing with the sudden appearance of a middle-aged man.

"I am Choo Muryong from the Additional Pavilion."

Choo Muryong from the Additional Pavilion, who had a strikingly ordinary appearance, completely overwhelmed Tang Cheolgi and claimed victory.

The unexpected emergence of such a figure in the Murim Reorganization sparked widespread curiosity about his identity.

Though Tang Cheolgi fought valiantly, he was no match for the martial artist named Choo Muryong from the Additional Pavilion.

Still, Tang Cheolgi had made a tremendous impression through five straight wins, and so the martial artists greeted him with loud cheers as he descended the stage.

"What do you think of that Choo Muryong fellow?"

I asked with a suspicious gaze.

"He's incredible. Honestly, I can't even understand why he's only appearing now. He’s stronger than the prodigies of the Nine Great Sects—or even Pang Giyok."

"But that bastard didn’t show all his skill. He revealed just enough to take down Tang Cheolgi."

"I felt the same."

To us, it seemed as though Choo Muryong had been fighting leisurely the entire time.

To be that strong, he’d need to be at least at the Transcendent Stage.

Now, Choo Muryong was accepting challengers.

Several well-known martial artists challenged him in succession, but none stood a chance.

When all five were thrown out without lasting even ten seconds, a roar erupted from the crowd.

Among the five challengers were famous veterans and up-and-coming powerhouses of Murim.

Defeating such figures one after another stirred the martial artists into a frenzy, proclaiming the rise of a new star.

I figured that some lesser-known martial household had produced a phenomenal expert and turned my head.

Every so often, an elite martial artist emerged from outside the prestigious families and great sects—just as I, once nothing more than a nobody from the Heavenly Central Sect, had risen to be called the Heavenly Sword Hero.

I approached Tang Cheolgi as he walked off the stage with a downcast expression.

"Are you alright? From where I stand, Brother Tang, you did extremely well."

Tang Cheolgi frowned at the sudden approach of a stranger.

He tried to recall who I was but couldn’t, so he asked,

"Forgive me, but have we met before?"

I had forgotten that I was currently in disguise using Disguise Technique.

I hurriedly sent him a telepathic message.

—Brother Tang, due to some circumstances, I’m currently in disguise. It’s me, Yong Hwarin.

Tang Cheolgi looked into my eyes for a moment, then nodded.

"So it really is you, Brother Yong."

"You could tell just by looking into my eyes?"

I asked, genuinely curious.

"You didn’t know? There’s always a faint blue hue in your eyes, Brother Yong."

"Is that so?"

That was actually the first time I’d heard it.

‘Maybe the Dragon’s energy within me is beginning to manifest through my eyes.’

As that thought passed through me, I offered Tang Cheolgi some words of consolation.

"You truly fought well, Brother Tang."

"Haa… I’m still frustrated."

Tang Cheolgi looked up at the dueling stage with lingering regret.

I smiled as I looked at him.

"If you had used poison or hidden weapons, how could that Choo Muryong fellow have possibly won? You used only your Soul-Chasing Flying Butterfly Sword and didn’t even touch your two ultimate techniques. I wouldn’t say you truly lost. If you had used both poison and hidden weapons, you would’ve secured victory."

In truth, Tang Cheolgi had grown confident in his Soul-Chasing Flying Butterfly Sword and had chosen not to use poison or hidden weapons in the duel.

"Huuh… my cultivation is still shallow. And that man… he wasn’t ordinary. It felt like striking an iron wall. This may sound like an excuse, but the black orb embedded at the center of the dueling stage kept drawing my attention—it felt like demonic energy was leaking out of it. That may have played a part in my defeat."

At first, I paid little attention to his words—but then, a sudden shock struck my mind like a thunderclap.