Chapter 225: Hidden Dragon Tournament

"Victor, Ximen Qing, Disciple of the Divine Maiden Sect!"

In response, another wave of boos erupted.

Behind her veil, Qing couldn't help but smirk again.

Looks like the betting odds on me were high again.

It wasn't that she felt superior, but it was likely impossible for ordinary commoners with their short-sightedness to grasp her true martial prowess.

And indeed, that was the case.

Qing hadn't shown much in her previous match, and since the unaffiliated martial artists had made advancements akin to a revolution, the odds against Qing were high this time too.

Of course, it wasn't as extreme as before, so quite a few people had made some money betting on Qing's Victory Tokens. Still, the actual content of the match felt lacking to observers.

They had only clashed swords once. Unlike Doraeman, whose movements were incredibly fierce and hard to follow even when seen, Qing had spent the entire time pretending to be graceful and elegant, busy defending.

Then, Doraeman had suddenly charged straight into her sword's path, making it look like he had handed her the victory.

Naturally, when coincidences pile up, one should suspect they aren't mere chance. Many people began to wonder if the Ugly Sword Maiden actually possessed skill.

But whether in the Central Plains or the Western Regions, in this barbaric medieval era or the modern times that claim civility, no special reason was ever needed to insult someone perceived as ugly.

Someone just had to start the jeering, those who lost money would eagerly join in, and the rest would simply assume, Ah, I guess that ugly wench must have pulled some trick.

While the announcer called for quiet, Qing leaped lightly down into the passage below the stage.

She glanced back and forth once, then dashed away rapidly using the Thousand Li Flight technique.

"Young Expert Do! Could we speak for a moment?"

"Huh. Young Lady Ximen."

Doraeman, who was heading back to the opposite waiting area, stopped and gave Qing a fist salute. He glanced around uncomfortably before speaking.

"You showed me generosity, Young Lady, yet the public sentiment is poor. I feel quite apologetic."

"That's hardly something for you to feel apologetic about, Young Expert Do. There are still many matches left; those people will surely recognize this girl's skills soon enough."

"You truly have a kind heart. Ah—I don't mean anything else by that—"

"Oh dear. Are you going to apologize again? It's quite alright."

Qing waved her hand dismissively.

Then she got to the main reason she'd stopped Doraeman.

"I may not know much about martial arts, but it seemed like your Danyang Dao Technique, Young Expert Do, isn't fundamentally based on extreme speed. Am I correct?"

"Yes, that's true. But, how did you perceive such a thing…?"

"Hmm. Well, about that."

Having broached the subject, she suddenly found herself at a loss for what to say next.

She'd stopped him because his high Karma points seemed suspicious, but now what?

She couldn't just ask, What on earth have you been doing to rack up that much bad Karma? Trying to phrase it indirectly, like Have you perhaps done anything improper recently? felt awkward too.

If his points had exceeded a hundred, she might have considered knocking him around a bit, but he was ambiguously four points short.

Just then.

"Uuugh…!"

Doraeman's waist bent like a sickle, and he let out sounds of retching—Weck! Uweeck!—that were distinctly unpleasant to hear.

Fortunately, aside from a long string of saliva, no hideous substance somewhere between liquid and solid came back up; it was just a severe bout of dry heaving.

"Young Expert Do. Are you alright?"

"Ugh, I'm fine, fine, Weck."

But anyone could see he wasn't fine at all.

Qing gently rubbed Doraeman's back.

Should I fetch a physician?

But leaving him like this felt wrong too.

"I'm alright now…"

"Are you ill? Perhaps you suffer from a chronic condition?"

"No. It's just."

He hesitated, glancing at Qing's veiled face, then let out a deep sigh and asked.

"Young Lady Ximen. What difference is there, truly, between a potent elixir and something that isn't?"

What? Why are you asking me?

"Um. I don't really know."

"Actually, I met the Divine Thief."

"Oing."

Qing's eyes widened behind her veil.

Of course, her expression wasn't visible, but anyone hearing Qing's peculiar sound couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Haha, Young Lady, you have a surprisingly cute side to you. Ah! Please don't misunderstand. I just perceived you as a more... how should I put it... thoroughly elegant person."

"I was actually putting on an act of elegance. Seems like it worked. So, you met the Divine Thief?"

"Yes. And the Divine Thief gave me this pill."

He took out a wooden box from his robes and opened it, revealing two crimson pills inside.

Isn't that color a bit... off? It looks really unsettling just by looking at it.

"It's called Jamlamdan. Do you happen to know of it?"

"No. Is it a famous medicine?"

"It's a pill that temporarily makes your True Source Qi overflow when consumed."

"True Source Qi? If that overflows, your lifespan…"

"That's right. You transcend your limits for a short time at the cost of your lifespan. However, drawing out the True Source puts a heavy strain on the body, hence this reaction."

"Ah…"

In the terms of Qing's homeland, it was essentially doping, complete with the harsh side effects.

But is it really doping in this world? Using your own lifespan willingly, should that be considered an evil act? Does it actually accumulate bad Karma?

Since this was Qing's first major tournament, she didn't know the intricate rules and ethics of the Central Plains.

Is this illegal? Is it considered evil? If so, isn't he telling me about it quite readily?

"Are you perhaps disappointed in me?" Doraeman asked.

"Hmm. I'm not sure. Is it something to be disappointed about? But ultimately, does it really matter?"

If Qing were back in her homeland, the modern era, she could have easily condemned it as doping.

But this was the Central Plains.

Using internal energy increased by consuming legitimate elixirs allowed one to hold their head high under the heavens, but using a pill that temporarily drew out one's own life force was considered a deceitful trick or fraud?

At that, Doraeman stared blankly at Qing.

"Young Lady, you don't seem like a martial artist from a prestigious sect. Ah, please don't misunderstand-"

"No, it's fine," Qing interrupted. "Before my Master took me in, I was also just a wanderer. And that wasn't even long ago. Maybe four years back."

"Aha."

Doraeman smiled faintly, then took out one pill, wrapped it carefully in his handkerchief, tucked it away safely, and handed the wooden box containing the other pill to Qing.

"I'll give this to you, Young Lady. However, please refrain from using it in the tournament. Ordinarily, you would be accused of cheating if you did."

Qing then understood the whirlwind-like success of many unaffiliated martial artists.

So many of them were likely competing under the influence of similar drugs. No wonder their Karma points had surged.

But is that truly an evil act?

Isn't my Status Window being excessively petty?

Separate from that thought, why is he giving this to me?

"But why are you giving it to me?"

"Think of it as a life-saving resort," Doraeman explained. "If you take it in a critical moment or before entering a life-and-death duel, it will surely be of great help."

"Ah. Right."

Because this was a tournament setting, she hadn't considered that application.

Certainly, shortening one's lifespan a bit seemed preferable to losing one's life entirely.

"Then, isn't this quite valuable?"

"I also received it without any particular cost," Doraeman said. "The Divine Thief bestowed this precious item upon me, asking if I wouldn't like to 'steal a victory' for once."

He claimed he was selling tonics, was he peddling this stuff instead?

But why?

If she was curious, she could just ask Cheon Yuhak later.

She wasn't exactly unacquainted with the Divine Thief.

If anything, she could accurately say she was in the process of succeeding the Divine Thief lineage. It sounded a bit sinister when put that way, but it was the truth.

In that case, do I really need to accept this remaining pill? I could probably just get one from Master if needed.

However, Qing had no time to voice a refusal.

"Well then. I shall take my leave."

"Ah, yes. Take care."

Doraeman departed with a final, respectful fist salute.

His departing figure looked remarkably unburdened.

His Karma points just now... what? Why did they drop by fifty points again? Was it for revealing the doping? Is confessing something like that worth fifty points? Or was it for giving me the pill? That action alone is worth fifty points?

Bad Karma accumulated so easily, but the judgments for Good Karma were incredibly stingy, making it exceedingly difficult to accumulate.

Even cutting down an evil person only granted Good Karma equivalent to about one-thousandth of their Bad Karma score. To gain fifty points that way, she'd have to cut down someone worth five thousand points of evil.

What on earth just happened?

With her match concluded, Qing left the canal area where the tournament grounds were situated and found a seat at a suitably secluded teahouse, nibbling on some snacks.

As she sat there, Cheon Yuhak casually sat down on the chair opposite her.

"Ah. Master, you're here."

"Well, yeah. Weren't you waiting here specifically to see me?"

Since Cheon Yuhak possessed some uncanny tracking skill that allowed him to locate his disciple, Qing had figured he would naturally show up if she waited alone.

And just as expected, he appeared.

"That's right. Ah. By the way. Master, you mentioned selling tonics earlier-"

"Ahem, hem, hem. Who told you such a thing?" Cheon Yuhak interrupted.

"You can pretend you didn't, but you're caught red-handed!" Qing retorted. "I met someone who bought one from 'you'. Here."

Qing pushed the small wooden box across the table.

Cheon Yuhak opened the box and tilted his head curiously.

"What's this? An elixir?"

"It's called Jamlamdan? The person said you gave it to him."

"Ah. Jamlamdan," Cheon Yuhak mused. "Yes, I happen to possess a few pills of that type, crafted by a renowned divine physician. I actually forgot to give you one. I'll bring it for you later. But what? Who supposedly gave it to him?"

Since Cheon Yuhak was still feigning ignorance, Qing recounted Doraeman's entire story exactly as it happened.

Upon hearing it, Cheon Yuhak's expression turned serious.

"That's strange. I never gave him anything like that. What bastard dares to impersonate me? What was that? 'Steal a victory'?"

"Doesn't that sound exactly like something you'd say, Master?" Qing pointed out. "It seemed quite plausible to me."

"The idea sounds amusing, I admit, but it wasn't me," Cheon Yuhak stated flatly. "Hmm. Why didn't I think of doing that myself?"

He paused, humming thoughtfully as he organized his thoughts before speaking again.

"You're friendly with that girl from the Tang Clan, aren't you? Ask her to look into this. We need to verify first whether the medicine being distributed under the Divine Thief's name is legitimate and safe."

"And after verifying?" Qing asked.

"If it's proper medicine, well, we can leave it be. But if something distributed under the Divine Thief's name turns out to be suspicious or harmful, we absolutely have to retrieve it. You! Girl! Are you asking as if this is someone else's problem? Is the honor of the Divine Thief lineage someone else's concern?"

"Hehe…"

Left speechless, Qing tried to smooth things over with a coy laugh and quickly changed the subject.

"Ah. Master. That Lithe Grace Refinement... torture method. Could you possibly perform it tomorrow?"

"Torture method, you call it," Cheon Yuhak grumbled. "Well, you're not entirely wrong, I suppose. But aren't there still a few official rest days left in the schedule?"

"I feel I need to undergo it as soon as possible to prepare adequately for the next match. Besides, my body is currently in perfect condition."

"Aigoo. Just because you claim you're fine doesn't mean this process is easy, you know," Cheon Yuhak sighed. "I'll likely have to pull an all-nighter preparing everything again. Raising a single disciple is causing this old man so much trouble. But are you really sure you're okay? Your eyes seem to be trembling already."

"It won't hurt more because of the Awakening Divine Art, right?" Qing asked tentatively.

Cheon Yuhak let out a snort of derision.

"Your skin's senses may have awakened, but have the senses deep within your joints and tendons awakened? Pain is pain. It'll hurt just the same."

"Can't you even offer a white lie and say it'll hurt a little less or something?" Qing muttered.

"Tempting you with falsehoods will only earn me your resentment later," Cheon Yuhak replied. "Alright, seeing as you're the one asking for it first, this girl's certainly got some fierce determination."

It was her own training; she couldn't simply avoid it because it was painful. Nor could she tremble in fear and postpone it when her body was perfectly functional.

When was martial training ever not taxing on the body?

The very act of overcoming pain and emerging stronger was the essence of training; even observing the athletes back in Qing's homeland demonstrated that clearly.

The only problem was that this particular pain went far beyond measure, escalating to a level comparable to heinous torture.

Moreover, it was labor so physically exhausting that even Cheon Yuhak often collapsed in fatigue afterward. It simply wasn't something the disciple should shy away from just because her own body would experience agony.

Most importantly, if the disciple balked due to anticipated pain, how would the master feel having to force the issue?

Therefore, it was better to take the initiative, plead for it to be done, and just get it over with as quickly as possible.

That was Qing's firm judgment.

She also possessed a sliver of confidence.

Isn't this the same body that remarkably adapted to the excruciating pain of having its skin literally peeled off over the last five days?

I've gotten used to a certain level of pain now, she told herself.