Chapter 155 - The Stronger You Become, the Hotter Your Desires Burn

Jin Haryeong ordered noodles and liquor. Although she had come alone, for some reason she ordered two bowls.

Her expressionless face and quiet tone put people on edge. Neither the waiter taking her order nor Seo Daeryong sitting across from her could quite meet her eyes.

And she had a knack for finding people who weren't intimidated by her.

Our eyes met, and a flicker of interest crossed hers. There couldn't have been many people who looked at her face so calmly.

But she soon turned her gaze elsewhere.

Seo Daeryong sent me a sound transmission.

—She's really beautiful. The women of the orthodox factions are just so beautiful.

His voice brimmed with excitement.

Although she sensed his stolen glances, she paid them no mind, as though this were an ordinary part of her day.

Soon, the liquor and two bowls of noodles arrived.

As she was about to pour herself a drink, Seo Daeryong worked up his courage.

"Allow me to pour you a cup."

Jin Haryeong stared straight at him.

"I don't mean anything by it. It's a kind of connection, sharing a table like this."

But she silently poured her own drink and drank it.

A sound transmission arrived, laden with self-reproach as though his world had collapsed.

—Ah, that was horribly clichéd, wasn't it? A connection because we're sharing a table! Ah! Even my grandfather wouldn't have said that.

Then Jin Haryeong set down her cup and asked me,

"Are you entering the Young Dragon Tournament?"

I looked at her for a moment, then turned toward Seo Daeryong as I answered.

"My young master is entering."

"Young master?"

"Yes. I'm his servant."

Looking surprised, she glanced between Seo Daeryong and me. Her eyes seemed to ask whether I was the young master and he was the servant, prompting him to take it out on me for no reason.

"It's because the young brat grew a beard. You fool! That scruffy beard of yours is confusing the young lady!"

"My apologies, Young Master."

She soon began eating her noodles, apparently indifferent to the whole exchange.

Seo Daeryong sent another sound transmission.

—On second thought, she's not all that great.

I laughed inwardly at his pout.

Then a man in his early thirties entered the inn. Judging by his evident qi presence and his gait, he was a highly skilled martial artist. He looked like Jin Haryeong's bodyguard.

"I've been looking for you for quite some time."

"Sit down."

"You must leave now."

"Sit down first. We're not the only people at this table, are we?"

The man quickly looked us over, then sat down beside her.

She pushed a bowl of noodles toward him.

"Eat. The noodles here are good."

She had ordered two bowls because she knew he would come looking for her.

"I'm fine."

"I'm not. Hurry up and eat."

"Yes, miss."

He began eating. He slurped down the noodles and quickly finished even the broth.

Had Yi An been here, she would have said she understood him. Bodyguards had no choice but to develop a habit of eating that quickly.

Then Jin Haryeong said to him,

"Keep eating that fast and you'll ruin your stomach and die before a blade ever kills you."

"I'll be fine."

"You're always fine. I'm the one who isn't."

The man rose and urged her to leave.

"You must go now, miss. They'll be looking for you."

"Yes, I should go."

Jin Haryeong drained her cup, stood, and left with him.

Once she had disappeared into the distance, Seo Daeryong spoke with a wistful look in his eyes.

"She arrived like destiny, ate some noodles, and left."

"Didn't you say she wasn't all that great on second thought?"

"That was me being petty, not her being unattractive. She's the most beautiful woman I've seen since coming here."

"She's off-limits."

"Why? You mean she's off-limits to me because I look like a servant? Is that it?"

"She's off-limits even to handsome old me, who can't hide being a young master no matter how long I grow my beard."

"Why you, Pavilion Master?"

"Because love between the Heavenly Demon's son and the Martial Alliance Leader's granddaughter would be far too fated."

Seo Daeryong was startled to hear she was the Martial Alliance Leader's granddaughter.

"The Martial Alliance Leader's granddaughter?"

"Yes."

"Why would the Alliance's granddaughter eat noodles at an inn like this? And share a table, at that?"

"I don't know either. Maybe she got sick of banquet halls laid out with expensive delicacies and ran off. Or maybe she wanted the noodles here."

"Ah! You never know what life will bring. Who could have guessed I'd share a table with the Martial Alliance Leader's granddaughter at an inn outside the Alliance, with you?"

"And that's not all. You'll be fighting her, too."

Seo Daeryong looked even more startled.

"What do you mean?"

"She's entering the Young Dragon Tournament as well."

His eyes went wide.

That was why I remembered this Young Dragon Tournament. It was the tournament that had made her name known to everyone.

Jin Haryeong had won it.

At the time, I had simply accepted the news and moved on. The Martial Alliance Leader's granddaughter winning a tournament for promising young martial artists wasn't particularly surprising.

But now I knew the Heavenly Mandate Society was behind this tournament.

This tournament had also been the starting point of the course her fate would later take, shocking the world.

"Win it, Investigator Seo."

Realizing I was serious, Seo Daeryong drank the liquor in front of him.

"That's not something I can answer sober."

* * *

The next day, Seo Daeryong had his first match.

Dozens of fighting platforms had been set up in the Orthodox Martial Alliance's outer grounds, each crowded with contestants and spectators.

Despite the crowds, the matches proceeded smoothly and in perfect order.

The Alliance carried a certain intimidating weight. Moreover, the martial artists running the tournament belonged to the Azure Dragon Corps, one of its elite organizations, so no one picked fights or caused trouble.

The martial artist overseeing Seo Daeryong's Yellow Group came over to explain the rules.

"Deliberately inflicting serious injury on your opponent or killing them will result in automatic disqualification. You may also be held criminally responsible and imprisoned, so exercise caution. This is a fair martial contest, not a fight to the death."

His first opponent was a martial artist from a swordsmanship sect in Hubei. He had a fairly sturdy build and fierce eyes.

"I'm dying of nerves."

"Are you this nervous when you take the investigator promotion exam at Yellow Springs Pavilion?"

"I'm not nervous at all then."

"But you've put in the same effort, haven't you?"

Seo Daeryong looked at me with wide eyes.

"I know you've trained harder than anyone. That's why you're here. Otherwise, I'd have grown my beard a little longer and gone up there myself."

My words seemed to encourage him, and he nodded vigorously.

"I'll come back with a win."

Seo Daeryong knocked his opponent down in just three exchanges and came back off the platform. He had won without even drawing his saber.

"That was too easy."

"Don't forget whose disciple you are."

At last, Seo Daeryong had an opportunity to assess his own ability objectively. He still didn't know just how important this was for him as a martial artist.

Then one of the martial artists running the matches came over.

"You have another match this afternoon, so don't go anywhere. Wait here."

Apparently, since the tournament was still in its early stages, they were holding two matches a day.

"So if you get hurt in the morning match, you have to fight injured in the afternoon. They're testing our fighting spirit too, aren't they?"

"Fighting spirit, my foot. They're probably just pressed for time."

"Don't underestimate the fighting spirit of us orthodox martial artists!"

"Of course, Young Master! Let that fighting spirit blaze!"

Seo Daeryong easily won his afternoon match as well. Once again, he didn't even use his saber.

"How does it feel to win back-to-back on your first day?"

"Pretty good."

He had trained diligently under the Blood Heaven Saber Demon, but he had never tested himself in actual matches like these.

"I was really nervous before going up, but once I stood on the platform, I wasn't very nervous at all. It was a strange experience."

"I told you this would be a good experience."

"I've never regretted listening to you, Pavilion Master."

"Go ahead and get some rest."

"What about you?"

"I'll look around a little before heading back."

"All right. I'll go on ahead, then."

After sending Seo Daeryong back, I walked around the fighting platforms.

Matches were still in full swing on all of them.

Then I noticed one platform with an unusually large crowd. When I went over, I found Jin Haryeong, whom we'd met yesterday, standing on it.

As the Martial Alliance Leader's granddaughter and a woman beautiful enough to be called Hubei's Greatest Beauty, she was the center of attention. Spectators exchanged remarks about her.

"But why did the alliance leader's granddaughter enter this tournament?"

"It means he won't simply hand her a position, even if she's his granddaughter. If she wants to join the Alliance, she has to earn her place through her own skill, doesn't she?"

"Exactly. Didn't Miss Jin's older brother win the tournament a few years ago and join the Alliance?"

"As expected! Our alliance leader is a fair and impartial man."

Jin Haryeong, too, subdued her opponent without drawing her sword.

She stepped off the platform to cheers and left without sparing anyone a glance. Her haughty bearing only made the crowd more enthusiastic.

After watching a few more matches, I returned to the inn. Seo Daeryong had gone to the mountains to train and didn't return until late that night. Though he had won easily today, the matches ahead seemed to weigh on his mind.

"As I told you, I can't stand not coming first. I can choose not to enter, but once I do, I have to give it my best."

His resolve hadn't come from nowhere. It was surely a disposition forged through effort like this.

He won his match the next day as well.

"You mean you didn't even watch my match?"

"There was an interesting match on another platform."

"Whose? Don't tell me it was the Martial Alliance Leader's granddaughter."

"It was."

I had watched Jin Haryeong's match again. Given Seo Daeryong's skill, he might end up facing her. They were in different groups, so it wouldn't happen right away, but if he won his group and advanced to the main tournament, they could meet.

And there was a more important reason I was paying attention to her. She was both the target and the center of the Heavenly Mandate Society's current plot. She would certainly be the link that led me to them.

"What if I'd faced a strong opponent?"

"You think I left without checking? I looked at your opponent first. You won by attacking the opening on his left, didn't you?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

"From watching him walk."

I cheered up the admiring Seo Daeryong. Right now, I was the one who ought to be admiring him.

"Winning feels good, doesn't it?"

"Honestly, it feels incredible!"

"Well done."

He couldn't hide the joy on his face.

"Do you know when it feels best? Surprisingly, it isn't when I knock my opponent down. It's when I finish the match and step off the platform. That moment when people look at me, cheer, and applaud makes me even more nervous and excited. I never knew I cared so much about other people's attention until now."

"The stronger you become, the more you'll want people to watch you."

"Surely not?"

"Why? Do you think you'll become more dignified? More humble?"

"Wouldn't I?"

"Let's say someone becomes the greatest martial artist under heaven. When they reach that position, is it the fact that they beat the previous greatest that makes them happy? Or is it that, from that day on, everyone respects and looks up to them as the greatest?"

Imagine arriving somewhere and hearing someone shout, "The greatest martial artist under heaven approaches!" Imagine everyone you meet looking at you with admiration and envy. Imagine always hearing the drums of victory, applause, and cheers.

"People's hearts are all the same. No, the stronger you become, the hotter and more primal your desires might grow. The greatest martial artist has a more generous heart? Is that really true? 'I'm the greatest under heaven, and you dare treat me like this?' Are you confident you won't fall into that trap? Are you confident you can keep that pettiness buried to the very end, even when you no longer need to hide it?"

After a brief pause, Seo Daeryong spoke.

"But you're not like that, Pavilion Master. You won't be, will you?"

"Why do you think I'm not? Am I not human? I'm the same. I just try not to be that way."

"It feels so good to have conversations like this with you. I feel like I've finally become a real martial artist. I can't remember the last time my heart pounded like this. I sincerely apologize for insisting I wouldn't enter this tournament."

But our Seo Daeryong's feelings changed the very next day.

"I almost died! I'm not exaggerating—I really almost died! Ugh, I told you I didn't want to do this! I want to go back!"

"It's a scratch. You're fine."

"A scratch? Can't you see this blood? Ah, if I hadn't dodged by a hair, I'd have a hole this big in my shoulder! And that sword was enormous!"

"Your opponent still can't even get up."

The opponent who had drawn blood from Seo Daeryong's shoulder was still unconscious.

"I don't care! Send me home! I want to water my plants!"

Yet the next day, Seo Daeryong was in good spirits again.

He was receiving the attention he wanted even off the platform.

As he merely walked along, plenty of people stole glances at him. Some whispered among themselves.

"What's going on?"

"That fellow yesterday was a favorite to win the Yellow Group. Thanks to him, you're now one of the contestants everyone's watching."

He had inherited all the attention given to the opponent he'd struggled to defeat yesterday.

"Don't look, but the one in blue over there on the right. They've looked at me twice. Ah, they're looking again."

"Even so, could you walk a little faster?"

Seo Daeryong was moving slowly, savoring everyone's attention.

"Ah! I think those women on the far left are looking at me and whispering."

"To me, they look like they're deciding what to eat."

Then a young woman wearing a sword hurried over and greeted Seo Daeryong.

"I enjoyed your match yesterday. Fight well today, too."

She gave him a bow and left.

He froze, staring blankly after her.

"Pavilion Master."

"What?"

"You didn't hire people to cheer me up, did you?"

"With all your showing off, I'd like to say yes, but no."

"You really didn't? This feels like a dream."

He was truly delighted. Apparently, this was the first time a woman had approached him to express interest like this.

I wanted him to savor this joy and excitement. He would remember these matches for the rest of his life.

I hoped he would one day sit his grandson on his knee and tell him about this time. A story beginning, "You may find this hard to believe, but when your grandfather was young..."

"Let's go! Time to win!"

Was it thanks to the woman's encouragement?

Seo Daeryong kept winning, took first place in the Yellow Group without trouble, and advanced to the main tournament. Now he would be competing against the winners of every other group.

"I'm going all the way!"

Quite apart from the mission, he was fired up. Yes, moments like this came only a few times in a lifetime. This moment would be more thrilling, exciting, and precious than becoming the greatest martial artist under heaven in his old age.

Yes, burn bright, Daeryong.