Chapter 219: Hidden Dragon Tournament

Cheon Yuhak had said that upon waking in the morning, she would discover the wonder of feeling the flow of heaven and earth.

What kind of feeling was that supposed to be? It sounded incomprehensible. But experiencing it directly… Oh ho.

The true function of the Awakening Divine Art was the expansion of the sharp senses, like those in her fingertips, across the entirety of her skin.

When Qing waved her hand, she could vividly feel the flow of air parting along her skin.

After wandering around the room a couple of times like that, she clearly grasped what it felt like to sense the flow of heaven and earth with her body.

Is this what it feels like to become one with nature?

Perhaps because Qing was moving around and making noise, Gongson Yoye seemed to have woken up.

“Miss Ximen…? Are you awake?”

“Did you sleep well too, Yoye? You’re going to the opening ceremony, right?”

“Ah, for the opening ceremony, I have to attend with my clan, so I feel really bad towards Miss Ximen... and I’m truly very, very sorry, but I can’t go with you, so my heart earnestly wishes I could–”

“Hey. Family comes first. Go on ahead, Yoye. I’ll grab a simple breakfast and head over slowly.”

Qing reassured the flustered Gongson Yoye with a smile and got dressed.

She had grown much more accustomed to the Sword Hand Training Method.

After putting on the undergarments laid out by the Mucheon Pavilion attendants, a confident Qing carefully donned her Divine Maiden Sect uniform, still holding her dagger.

It was the Divine Maiden Sect uniform today because it was an official event.

Her condition felt perfect right from the morning.

Was it because I absorbed quite a bit of that elixir yesterday? Her body felt incredibly refreshed and light; she hadn’t felt this invigorated recently.

As she walked towards the dining hall, the swish, swish of the silk lining of the uniform against her skin felt unbelievably good. It was as if the very essence of 'silken texture' was asserting its existence, proving why the phrase even existed.

It felt like being wrapped in the most comfortable bedding imaginable. Strolling around enjoying that sensation, like rolling around in bed, meant that with every single step, the brush of skin against fabric was pure bliss…

Hmm.

Qing's cheerful strides suddenly shortened. Her energetically swinging arms tucked in demurely—the sudden appearance of the Ximen Surin-style shy beauty walk.

It feels good, yes, it really does, but this… it’s a bit… too… How should I put it? Strangely sensual? If just walking around causes this…

Behind her veil, Qing’s face fell.

Isn’t this… a really big problem…?

Awakening Divine Art, Murim Conference, whatever—Qing urgently needed to take emergency measures first.

The fleeting touch of clothes against her skin was fine for a moment, but the accumulated stimulation couldn't be ignored.

To reduce the friction, she wrapped her arms and legs tightly with silk arm guards and leg wraps, and cinched her waist firmly with a wide sash to keep the clothes pressed close to her body.

In the process, she lost track of time, and by the time she arrived at the Murim Conference venue, the Murim Alliance Leader, Jo Hyeonryang, was already deep into a speech about the Righteous Faction this and righteous spirit that.

Qing stealthily looked around and asked a Murim Alliance warrior for directions.

She’d heard roughly where the Divine Maiden Sect seats were, but the conference grounds were so vast, she couldn’t possibly find them on her own.

The Murim Conference venue was set up on the Grand Canal in front of the Kaifeng Prefecture office, the heart of Kaifeng city.

As a canal stretching across the Central Plains and connecting to all three of the realm's great rivers, its starting point possessed a fittingly grand scale, linking all the waterways under heaven.

The Murim Conference hall was constructed by floating rafts on the water and laying down flooring.

Sneaking glances around, Qing navigated through the crowd, then awkwardly squeezed past rows of seats until she finally found the Divine Maiden Sect’s designated area.

“Ah! Master. You were already here? Are you participating in the Murim Conference?”

“Just arriving now? You should move around earlier. How can I possibly rest easy with you like this?”

“Hehe…”

Thank goodness Master is here, Qing thought with relief.

Compared to other sects that brought entourages ranging from a dozen to several dozen members, their group was truly modest. Unsure of what to do alone, she figured she could just follow her Master.

“You’ve been busy with training and haven't even greeted the kids from the Nine Great Sects, One Union, have you? Well, I suppose it wouldn't be easy for you alone.”

The ‘kids’ Ximen Surin referred to were the elders attending as Sect Leaders or their representatives.

To Ximen Surin, they were disciple-level figures, hence 'kids,' but it still felt strange hearing it.

After that, time dragged on quite tediously.

If asked what the Murim Conference was for, the answer would be to strengthen the solidarity of the Orthodox Murim and display its power.

In other words, it combined fostering camaraderie, reinforcing morale, and demonstrating military might.

Various events served this purpose.

There was the Unity Rally, where any member of the Righteous Faction could speak freely and receive responses; the Righteous Path Challenge, an opportunity to request a spar with renowned experts of the Orthodox Murim; and the Grand Operational Meeting, where attendees could vote on agendas selected by the Murim Alliance, thus contributing to the governance of the Orthodox Murim.

However, the event ordinary spectators anticipated most was undoubtedly the Hidden Dragon Tournament, the fierce competition among the Successors of the Righteous Faction.

But the opening ceremony was hard to endure.

Starting with the Alliance Leader's opening address, followed by congratulatory speeches from Murim dignitaries – first, one representative from each of the Nine Great Sects at the Sect Leader level, then the leaders of the Five Great Families, and then some other big shot who came up to drone on…

Surprisingly, however, the spectators were enjoying it.

“Wow! One of the Ten Great Masters under Heaven!” “Wow! The Zhongnan Sect Leader!”

The mere appearance of these absolute masters of the martial world was enough to make them unable to hide their excitement. Even during the routine congratulatory speeches, they’d interject with exclamations like, “Ooh, indeed!” or “Mmm, such profound meaning!”

Qing couldn't fathom it, but perhaps it stemmed from the extremely primitive and undeveloped entertainment culture of the ancient Central Plains.

Unlike Qing's hometown, where celebrities could be seen on screens anytime, here, the vast majority of people traveled a thousand li to stay in Kaifeng just for a glimpse of one of the Ten Great Masters.

Next came the highlight of the opening ceremony: the drawing of the brackets for the Hidden Dragon Tournament.

The Alliance Leader himself ascended the stage to draw lots, and an announcer would shout the names, writing them onto a large banner.

Qing was dying of boredom wondering when they would finish drawing all sixty-plus participants to complete the bracket, but this was actually the moment the spectators had been eagerly awaiting.

“Kunlun disciple Jin Sam! Independent practitioner Bae Jaehap!”

As the loud-voiced announcer bellowed the contents of the drawn lots, the spectators would excitedly gossip amongst themselves.

Won't the Kunlun disciple win this match?

I saw Young Master Bae Jaehap in the preliminaries; he wields his staff like an extension of his own body. I think it’ll be a close match.

This was partly curiosity or exploration of victory and defeat, and partly discussion aimed at winning bets on victory tokens.

As Qing forced herself to endure the tedious time, her name was called out towards the end of the third bracket.

“Divine Maiden Sect disciple Ximen Qing! Wudang disciple Hwan Yuk!”

I don’t know who that is anyway. Maybe I heard the name at the Hidden Dragon Assembly.

More curious about the crowd’s predictions, Qing quietly listened in.

—This one’s obviously Master Hwan Yuk. When you talk about Wudang, you talk about the Tai Chi Sword, and isn’t the Tai Chi Sword the greatest swordsmanship under heaven? It’ll be over quickly.
—The Divine Maiden Sect doesn’t really have any outstanding martial arts, do they? Anyone know any?
—We don’t know yet. There’s a rumor that Yuha Jinin of the Mount Hua Sect praised him highly, right? This is the time to bet on the underdog and make a killing.
—Didn’t you just call her the underdog yourself…

From what she gathered, the overwhelming opinion predicted the Wudang disciple's victory.

Hmm. Is he kind of strong?

If Zhuge were here, he’d give me commentary.

It was then.

“Shaolin disciple Wolbong! Black Dragon Jo Clan’s Jo Hakche!”

At this, Ximen Surin offered her assessment.

“That bald monk. This is going to make Jo Hyeonryang’s stomach churn.”

“The Alliance Leader? Hmm. Is the Shaolin disciple that strong?”

“Isn’t his Buddhist name Wolbong? He’s of the same generation as you, so who do you think his master is?”

The current Shaolin Abbot was Great Monk Wolhyeon; he belonged to the ‘Wol’ generation.

Being named Wolbong placed him in the same generation, meaning he was a direct disciple of an elder with higher seniority.

In Shaolin, there was only one person of such stature: a direct disciple of the Greatest Under Heaven, Great Monk Muhan.

“Just what kind of disciple has he been hiding away all this time…”

“Hmm. Is he a very strong opponent?”

“When it comes to Shaolin, those bastards don’t even put forth a disciple unless they’re confident of winning.”

Shaolin’s movements were exceedingly heavy; they rarely acted on trivial matters.

But once they moved, it was said they could move mountains. This was the weight carried by the leader of the Orthodox Murim and the wellspring of orthodox martial arts.

“He’ll be your semi-final opponent.”

Ximen Surin stated it calmly, as if discussing an obvious fact.

The Hidden Dragon Tournament consisted of four brackets. If Qing in Bracket Three and Wolbong in Bracket Four both won their way up, they would face each other in the semi-finals.

“Hey, don’t you worry. Your disciple is the strongest among the youngsters.”

Ximen Surin smiled faintly at that.

“You don’t need to feel too burdened. No one in the world would find it strange if you lost to a Shaolin disciple. However.”

Ximen Surin’s eyes flashed.

“If possible, I would like my disciple to show the entire world her victory over Shaolin.”

Qing started to thump her chest, then paused, clenching her fist instead.

“Of course. Just trust me.”

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Murim Conference gathered practically every expert of the Righteous Faction.

Therefore, no sane person would ever dream of causing a disturbance at the Murim Conference.

That is, if they were sane.

And in the martial world, there were those who were not sane, a group whose very name was terrifying: the Blood Cult.

In fact, the very act of calling themselves the Blood Cult proved their insanity.

Even members of the Unorthodox Faction didn't call themselves Sapa but referred to their path as Sado (the Unorthodox Path). Even the Demonic Cult members referred to themselves as the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult or simply the Divine Cult.

This was precisely why the Blood Cult was so infamous in the Central Plains.

While the Demonic Cult was notorious, they could ultimately be seen as something akin to barbarians who periodically invaded, shouting about conquering the Central Plains.

But the Blood Cult?

These bastards’ sole purpose was to unleash a storm of blood upon the Central Plains. They were true lunatics, capable of any mad act without it seeming strange.

Thus, the madmen of the Blood Cult could appear anywhere, anytime, without warning.

And so, amidst the ongoing Murim Conference in Kaifeng, one of the Blood Cult’s madmen had infiltrated.

He was a Demonic Human known in the martial arts world as the Ground-Splitting Mad Demon.