Record of the Dragon-Slayer’s Return

When Jinsan entered, the elders of the Orthodox Justice Alliance looked surprised.

It had been ten years since Jinsan took the position of Alliance Leader, but he had never once shown his face at a Dragon and Phoenix Inn event.

However, that was only for a moment, and soon an uncomfortable atmosphere flowed.

Lee Kangjin of Qingcheng took a step forward.

"What brings the Alliance Leader here?"

"What brings me here... I heard the Dragon and Phoenix Inn was receiving new students, so I stopped by on my way. But did I come to the wrong place? Looking at Elder Lee's face, you don't seem too pleased."

Lee Kangjin quickly fixed his expression and waved his hands.

"What are you talking about? How could that be? It's just that the Alliance Leader hasn't shown interest in the Dragon and Phoenix Inn before, so I was just surprised that you came in person this time."

"Well, well... I've been a bit distant, haven't I? No matter how much work there is, this is a place to select the pillars who will carry the Orthodox Justice Alliance, so my thoughts were short. I apologize."

"Not at all. How many things does the Alliance Leader handle? We all understand."

"I'm just grateful."

Looking at the laughing Jinsan, Lee Kangjin returned a smile. But his inner thoughts were not so.

'What kind of wind brought this guy all the way here?'

He looked soft on the outside, but when you looked inside, he wasn't. He was a sly old fox.

In the early days of his inauguration as Alliance Leader, he had been obedient, but after a little while, he started gathering people and was busy looking for his own share.

It was a job just to block his numerous attempts. It was a headache.

Naturally, his feelings towards Jinsan were not good.

'I can't just kick him out either...'

He couldn't be heartless. No matter how much of a scarecrow he was, he was the Alliance Leader of the Orthodox Justice Alliance.

Recently, he had even gained the full support of the small and medium-sized sects.

Of course, that in itself was not a big threat.

But it would be a threat if Jinsan sided with the Five Great Families. It was difficult to treat him carelessly.

As Lee Kangjin was still rolling his head with a smiling face, Mokyoung of Shaolin, who was sitting on one side, called Jinsan.

"Alliance Leader, please sit here."

"Elder Mokyoung. I apologize."

Mokyoung was one of the few elders of the Orthodox Justice Alliance who treated Jinsan without prejudice. So Lee Kangjin couldn't entrust Jinsan to Mokyoung.

"Hey. I'm sorry, but how about I assist the Alliance Leader?"

Mokyoung could see Lee Kangjin's ulterior motive. His face naturally frowned. But he couldn't refuse either. If he was stubborn for no reason, it would only make things bigger.

Mokyoung let out a low sigh.

"Do as you wish."

Lee Kangjin was also dissatisfied with the retreating Mokyoung.

'Shaolin should be the center. If they want to act so noble, they shouldn't have come down from the mountain.'

Perhaps because he was a monk, he didn't know what was important.

He didn't know the fact that once you're in the mud, everyone is bound to get muddy.

Since everyone gets muddy, it's important to grab something.

'It's a relief that the kid named Jeonggak seems smart...'

He liked Jeonggak, whom he had seen before. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders and was also greedy. It was to the point where he was disappointed that he wasn't a child of Qingcheng.

'No. Should I say it's a relief that he's from Shaolin?'

Shaolin was the Mount Tai and Big Dipper of the martial world. Even if they competed with Wudang and the Beggars' Sect for the top spot in the Nine Sects One Gang, their long history gave them a different weight from other sects.

If they had stepped up earlier, there would have been no reason to bicker with the likes of the Five Great Families.

They were running wild because they didn't interfere much.

He had been disappointed by that, but then the kid named Jeonggak appeared. He looked forward to the future.

Lee Kangjin unknowingly showed a satisfied smile.

Jinsan looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Elder Lee, is something good happening?"

Lee Kangjin quickly fixed his expression.

"Ah... it's nothing. More importantly, it's starting now."

Jeokseongja of Kunlun, who was in charge of the Dragon and Phoenix Inn, finished his lengthy speech, and the sixteen elders of the Orthodox Justice Alliance each took one of the sixteen training platforms. They were about to start the sword examination in earnest.

"I see. By the way, that must be the kid who has been making the Dragon and Phoenix Inn noisy yesterday and today."

Where Jinsan's finger pointed, there was Moyong Gi.

This time, Lee Kangjin could not hide his uncomfortable expression.

"By any chance... does the Alliance Leader know that child?"

Jinsan shook his head.

"If I did, wouldn't I have gone to him directly? I'm just interested. The rumors are what they are..."

Looking at his eyes as he looked at Moyong Gi, it wasn't just a matter of being interested. He was openly showing his favor.

Lee Kangjin let out a groan inwardly.

'Ugh... this won't do.'

He had already coordinated with Yoon Choong. They had decided to nip the bud before it grew bigger.

But he couldn't treat a child that Jinsan was so openly interested in carelessly.

At least not where he was watching.

Lee Kangjin lifted his buttocks from the chair.

Jinsan looked at Lee Kangjin.

"What's wrong?"

Lee Kangjin laughed awkwardly.

"I drank too much tea, so I need to relieve myself... haha. I'm sorry."

"What's there to be sorry about. Hurry up and go."

Lee Kangjin, who had lightly bowed his head, quickly walked away from Jinsan's sight.

Then, he carefully scanned his surroundings once more and called a warrior from Qingcheng who was waiting.

"What is it?"

"Go and tell Elder Yoon that the Alliance Leader is watching. Don't forget to tell him to go easy."

"I understand."

As the warrior who had received the order quietly disappeared, Lee Kangjin's face contorted.

Things had gotten strangely twisted. Nothing was to his liking, and nothing was going as planned.

Lee Kangjin spat out a curse.

"Damn it."

***

The boy in front of Moyong Gi kept glancing at him.

He wanted to act like he knew him somehow, but the gazes of those around him were burdensome.

He had a face that couldn't do this or that.

Then, after a long time, as if a thought had struck him, he bit his lip. And then he turned his head.

"Um... my name is Kwon Hyunsoo..."

He forced himself to muster the courage to speak, but he couldn't finish. The burden still remained.

Moyong Gi replied with an indifferent face.

"I'm Moyong Gi."

He replied shortly and turned his gaze. It meant not to talk to him anymore. But Kwon Hyunsoo, who didn't understand the meaning, his face brightened instead.

"Oh. Nice to meet you. I'm from Jiangxi, if you're Moyong, are you from the Moyong Family? You must be from Liaoxi then? Wasn't it cold on your way here? Ah, no. You're from the north, so you probably don't feel the cold much, right? I've only lived in the south, so it was really cold."

He was a talkative guy. Once he started talking, he just went on and on, even without a reply.

If it were Zhuge Yeon, he might have responded, but a guy he wasn't interested in was just annoying.

If it were at least Myung Jin, he could have accepted it.

He was contemplating whether to shut his mouth with his fist, but just then, a duel on the training platform ended.

Moyong Gi cut off Kwon Hyunsoo's words with a jerk of his chin.

"Hey. It's your turn."

"Huh?"

His turn had come around.

When the instructor called, Kwon Hyunsoo ran out, and Zhuge Yeon, who was next to him, said.

"You're cold."

"Cold? Me?"

"Yes. He's being so friendly, but you don't even reply properly... that's cold."

Moyong Gi scratched his cheek.

'I didn't have any good connections in the Martial Tiger Class...'

He couldn't remember a single one. There were a few faces he remembered, but even those were ill-fated. Since Kwon Hyunsoo was a face he didn't even remember, it probably wasn't an ill-fated connection.

'He must be one of the guys who pretended not to see me.'

It wasn't a connection anyway. It would be better for that guy too. If he got close to him, it would be difficult to handle.

Moyong Gi cut off any further interest. Instead, he looked at Zhuge Yeon and grinned.

"No. I'm very affectionate."

Zhuge Yeon narrowed her brow.

"Where do you see that?"

"Where do you see it. I'm originally very affectionate. The problem is that I'm only like that to people I know."

"So where do you see that. Do you know me?"

"No."

"Then?"

"You're pretty."

Zhuge Yeon let out a hollow laugh. Then, she said with a serious face.

"Do you always treat pretty women well?"

"No."

"Then?"

"You're not just pretty, you're ridiculously pretty."

Zhuge Yeon was so dumbfounded that she was at a loss for words.

He had said things that were hard to say even when they were alone, openly in a public place.

She knew that everyone was pretending not to be interested, but their ears were perked up. This was beyond shameless, he had a face of steel.

'Is he mentally strange? He looks fine on the outside.'

He didn't just look fine. Except for being a little thin, Moyong Gi was quite handsome even from an objective point of view.

His height, which was a fist taller than others, and his long limbs were well-proportioned.

His unusually pale skin and pretty face looked even prettier than a woman's.

'He is handsome.'

Zhuge Yeon, who was staring at Moyong Gi with a foolish expression, was startled and shook her head.

'What... what am I thinking.'

Zhuge Yeon, who had hastily shaken off her idle thoughts, rolled her head.

'The certain thing is that he's interested in me.'

If it were some nobody, it wouldn't be worth considering, but Moyong Gi had shown something for a brief moment. It was so attractive.

She wondered how to use this. She wasn't ashamed. She knew well that beauty was a woman's powerful weapon.

As her pretty face was in serious thought, even that became a picture. Moyong Gi poked Zhuge Yeon's cheek with his index finger.

"Wh-what?"

Zhuge Yeon was startled and brought her hand to her cheek.

"It's fine. I washed my hands after going to the latrine."

"Th-that's not what I meant. Besides, who doesn't wash their hands after going to the latrine?"

Even her flustered appearance with her blushing cheeks was cute.

At this point, he was head over heels. Moyong Gi grinned and said.

"There are many men like that."

"Th-that's a lie."

Zhuge Yeon's face contorted as she rubbed her cheek with her hand.

"Your makeup will smudge."

"Huh? Huh? What should I do..."

This time, she was completely crestfallen.

She was a child with many expressions. Such a child had only shown a cold face and a sad expression to Moyong Gi himself. He was truly sorry.

Moyong Gi, without realizing it, put his hand on Zhuge Yeon's head.

Zhuge Yeon was startled and brushed off Moyong Gi's hand.

"What are you doing?"

Moyong Gi smiled gently and put his hand on her head again.

"Don't worry and use it. Use it as you wish. I'll accept everything."

Zhuge Yeon, who had reflexively tried to brush off Moyong Gi's hand, flinched and trembled. Her already large eyes widened even more.

Zhuge Yeon stared at Moyong Gi.

Moyong Gi turned his head with an awkward expression.

Just then, he saw Myung Jin stepping onto the training platform and his eyes sparkled.

'Huh? It's Myung Jin?'

Anticipation arose in Moyong Gi's eyes.

Even though they were children from small and medium-sized sects, there was nothing much to see.

The elders of the Orthodox Justice Alliance had given them exactly three seconds and then attacked, but no one had withstood the elders' three moves.

Some severe ones couldn't even withstand one move, and such guys were more than half.

'Will there be something to see this time?'

While Moyong Gi was watching seriously, Myung Jin took the starting stance. It was the Taiji Sword Art of Wudang.

But seeing that, Moyong Gi let out a hollow laugh.

'Wow... that guy is really.'

The Taiji, which should have been endlessly soft, had a sharp edge.

The Taiji Sword Art, which had softness as its essence, exuded a sharp edge that did not suit it.

Of course, he wasn't unaware that Myung Jin's sword was like that.

'He was like that since he was young.'

This was even more surprising.

The Taiji of Myung Jin he had seen before his return also had a sharp edge.

However, he had thought that it had naturally become sharp through numerous real-life battles.

But that wasn't the case. He was born like that.

'Should I say it's just like Myung Jin?'

Moyong Gi grinned and blew away the idle thoughts in a short moment.

It was because after the three seconds that Myung Jin had been given had passed, the two swords began to engage in earnest.

(End of Chapter)