Plum Blossom Sword Phoenix Yuyeon.

I frowned as I looked at her, running into her out of nowhere.

‘Why is she here?’

To think I’d bump into her here. I hadn’t expected it at all, so I immediately looked at Yoo Cheongil.

Don’t tell me you set this up. That’s the look I gave him, full of accusation.

[Huh?]

Yoo Cheongil looked flustered too, like this wasn’t something he knew.

‘Even this old bastard didn’t know?’

Then why the hell did we come here?

I couldn’t make sense of it. I stared at the Sword Phoenix with rattled eyes—

TAP.

The moment the Sword Phoenix took a single step, she was suddenly right in front of my nose.

“Shit!”

I jolted and stumbled back a step.

What the hell? All of a sudden?

Is she trying to draw her sword again?

Panicking, I brought my hand to my waist, ready to yank my sword out on the spot—

“.......”

Thankfully, the Sword Phoenix didn’t draw her sword. She just looked at me in silence.

What is it?

“Do you have something to say to me...? No. Is there something you need to deliver?”

The Sword Phoenix can’t speak.

Remembering that, I tweaked the words, but—

The Sword Phoenix only stared at me, without doing anything at all.

Seriously, what is this?

What kind of intention does she have?

The way she drew on me the moment we met before—and this right now, too.

And why is she wearing that old man’s cloak on her back?

No matter how I thought about it, she was someone I couldn’t understand at all.

“Sword Phoenix. What the hell are you—”

I tried to ask, but—

“.......”

“Wait. Where are you—”

Without answering, the Sword Phoenix walked right past me. I turned to grab her, but—

“Where’d she go?”

The Sword Phoenix had already been gone for a while.

What the hell is she so fast for?

I whipped my head around, looking everywhere, but the Sword Phoenix was genuinely nowhere in sight.

“Seriously, what is her problem.”

Why is everyone acting like this?

Are there no normal people among the Seven Prodigies?

“Haah.”

Letting out a sigh, I spoke to Yoo Cheongil.

“So, what did we come here for?”

Forget the Sword Phoenix—if we didn’t come to see her, then what the hell did we come for?

At my question, Yoo Cheongil looked up at the tree.

[Ah. That’s enough. There was something I needed to check, and I just did.]

“......Check what?”

[There was something I wanted to see. Now let’s go back.]

“.......”

What is this? Am I allowed to get mad?

If you weren’t going to tell me jack shit, why drag me out here? I wanted to tear into him, but I swallowed it again.

‘...Just hurry up and let me rest.’

I was exhausted. I didn’t even want to ask anything anymore.

I just started walking toward the quarters.

The whole point was supposed to be a walk, but my energy had gotten sucked dry, and I wanted it over.

As I turned my back and headed for the quarters—

Yoo Cheongil kept staring up into the tree with calm eyes.

And up there, unbelievably, someone was sitting.

“.......”

An old man with an eyepatch and a massive frame.

The Divine Spear was killing his presence as he looked down.

*****

The next day came.

The moment the banquet ended, I had to come out at the crack of dawn.

Henan felt like a completely different world from the festival that had happened yesterday.

By the time I came out, the junior generation was already streaming out too.

And their destination was the same as mine.

A massive space prepared at the Main Alliance Headquarters.

The moment we arrived, we all moved together toward the place marked “Martial Tournament Preliminaries.”

The day after the banquet.

Starting today was the real Dragon-Phoenix Gathering—the reason we came here.

Because it was the day the junior-generation martial tournament began.

“...I’m nervous.”

At Cheon Eujin’s words, I nodded.

As soon as we arrived, we went through a simple identity check, showed our recommendation letters, then followed the guides to a specific place.

There were four lines total, so you just picked one and stood in it.

We’d gotten the instructions on the way over, but I hadn’t expected it to start like this immediately.

‘I thought there’d at least be some kind of speech.’

But no—they just hauled us into an open lot and made us do preliminaries.

‘Is that why the Divine Spear showed his face during the day at the banquet?’

The Alliance Leader I’d assumed I wouldn’t see until the martial tournament officially started.

Was it because he wasn’t going to show his face at the preliminaries at all, so he came on banquet day instead?

Anyway.

Right now, I was forcing my tired eyes open while attending the martial tournament preliminaries at the Main Alliance Headquarters.

‘And I didn’t even get to eat.’

I wanted to at least eat breakfast, but I didn’t even get that.

The martial tournament preliminaries.

It wasn’t some grand test like I’d imagined.

To the point that calling it a martial tournament felt ridiculous, since you weren’t fighting other members of the junior generation.

And it wasn’t even a test that took a long time.

If anything, once you heard what it was, you’d wonder if it was okay for it to be this easy.

“ELIMINATED!”

“ELIMINATED!”

Despite how simple it sounded, the number of people passing wasn’t very high.

Even if you only counted the junior generation gathered for the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, it was well over a hundred.

But at the preliminaries, all you heard were elimination calls, one after another.

“...It looks pretty hard.”

Cheon Eujin frowned as he listened. He looked openly tense.

“Yeah. More people are getting knocked out than I expected.”

It was more than I’d expected too.

Is it really that hard?

From the explanation, it didn’t look that hard at all.

‘It’s stupidly simple.’

The test itself was simple.

“NEXT!”

The martial artist before me walked forward. Where he went, there was something hard and square—about eight cheok across—set into the ground.

At a glance, it looked like a rock.

“BEGIN!”

At the Martial Alliance member’s shout, the martial artist immediately drew his sword.

Sword force soaked into the blade.

“HUUUUP!!”

He swung with everything he had, and the edge met the stone—

CLANG—!!

But despite the huge sound, the stone didn’t even get a scratch.

“Eliminated.”

The Martial Alliance member issued the judgment instantly. The eliminated guy trudged away with a groan.

‘...That didn’t even scratch it.’

I was surprised watching. The energy in that ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ sword looked pretty strong, yet it couldn’t even leave a mark.

Meaning the stone was disgustingly hard. If it had been a normal rock, that sword qi would’ve been more than enough to slice it apart.

No—maybe it wouldn’t have split cleanly, but it would’ve at least left a mark.

So there was only one reason the sword couldn’t pierce it.

‘Because it isn’t just a rock.’

Yeah. That wasn’t just a rock.

It was a Half-Ink Stone—made by mixing in Ink Iron.

A thing born through repeated refinement for one purpose only: to make it as hard as possible.

And leaving even a scratch on it was, under normal circumstances, practically impossible.

‘And they’re using that as the test?’

The passing requirement for preliminaries was to leave a scratch on the Half-Ink Stone.

Not to break it—just a scratch.

But people were failing again and again because they couldn’t even manage that.

‘It really is that hard?’

Just how hard is it, for this to happen?

I was starting to worry I might get eliminated too when—

BOOOOM—!!!

A huge sound I hadn’t heard until now came from the left.

From a different line than mine.

“Do Hyeong of the Blue Moon Sect. Passed!”

It was Do Hyeong.

Do Hyeong stared at the Half-Ink Stone with sword force still raised. A shallow cut—like a sword line—was carved into it.

After hearing “Passed,” Do Hyeong turned and walked away.

His expressionless gaze flicked our way for a moment.

Then he gave a brief nod. Is that supposed to mean “hang in there”?

‘So the first person to pass is our senior.’

I never would’ve guessed the first pass would go to Do Hyeong.

I watched with interest, and after that, passers started showing up now and then.

“Passed!”

“Jeok Uimyeong of the Shanxi Jeok Clan! Passed!”

“Passed—!”

“Pa...!”

Between piles of eliminations, passes appeared in bursts.

“Tang Cheon-il of the Tang Clan. Passed.”

In that crowd, the first of the Seven Prodigies passed too.

Tang Cheon-il stared at the dagger stuck in the Half-Ink Stone with a dissatisfied face.

The tip had gone in a little—like he’d thrown it and pierced it.

But the depth was so shallow that he clearly didn’t like it.

And then—

KRAAANG—!!!!

A vicious blast of sound erupted. Everyone jerked their heads over, and this time it was Black-Grand Saber.

“A little disappointing.”

He had a huge saber slung over his shoulder.

Not his cherished weapon.

In this test, you couldn’t use your own cherished weapon, so it must’ve been an ordinary saber.

“...Heh.”

I let out a hollow laugh when I saw what he’d done to the Half-Ink Stone.

‘He crushed it.’

I don’t know how he swung, but the Half-Ink Stone was caved in.

Not cut—crushed.

Among everyone who’d passed so far, he’d done the most damage by far.

‘After drinking like that yesterday.’

I watched him guzzle alcohol with my own eyes.

He doesn’t even look hungover.

Is that the Heaven-Martial Body too? That’s insane.

“Hm.”

Staring at the wrecked stone, Black-Grand Saber walked off, still acting like he was disappointed.

“As expected, Black-Grand Saber...”

“He crushed the Half-Ink Stone that much? Then it’s obvious first place in this test is Black-Grand Saber.”

“No. You never know. The Seven Prodigies aren’t done yet.”

KRAAANG.

“Namgung Cheon of the Namgung Clan. Passed.”

“Haha!”

Thunder Dragon passed with a refreshing laugh.

The mark he left was absolutely not small.

And right after—

“Namgung Seong of the Namgung Clan. Passed.”

Little Azure Sword passed too.

His mark was about half of Thunder Dragon’s, but a pass was a pass.

“.......”

He compared his mark to Thunder Dragon’s, grimaced, and disappeared.

CRACK—!

“Cheon Hyein of the Blue Moon Sect. Passed.”

At this point, Cheon Hyein passing was inevitable.

She left a mark that was just barely something you could call a scratch.

It felt like she was saying she wasn’t going to waste effort on something pointless.

Then—

KRRRAK-KRAK—!!!

“Cheon Eujin of the Blue Moon Sect. Passed.”

“Fuuuuh!!!”

It was tiny, but Cheon Eujin managed to make a scratch too, and he passed.

He’d been right before me, and thank god he succeeded.

As he headed to the exit, Cheon Eujin pumped his fist at me over and over.

He looked ridiculously happy.

“Hmm.”

I scratched my head.

Cheon Eujin passed... so what if I’m the one who fails?

That brutal thought crawled into my head.

If that happened, it’d be a massacre.

‘The Moon-Thread Sword is going to lose it.’

He told me to go and bring back real results.

If I end up as the only one eliminated in preliminaries? It wasn’t even funny.

As I walked forward with rising anxiety—

“Seo Pyeong of Wudang. Passed!”

A pass call rang out from right beside me.

I glanced over. A long sword scar was carved into the Half-Ink Stone.

It wasn’t small at all—even compared to Black-Grand Saber.

The owner of that sword scar was Seo Pyeong.

After passing, that Wudang Cloud Dragon bastard was staring straight at me.

And his face was full of mockery.

‘Look at this piece of shit.’

What am I supposed to do about that mischievous face? I want to grind it into the dirt.

I stared at him in disgust, when—

CRAAACK—!!!

A huge splitting sound came from somewhere.

“Huh!”

“HUUH—?!”

“No way—!!”

Gasps exploded.

What the hell? What was that?

I turned toward the sound.

“Hu... hu... ah...”

Even the Martial Alliance member managing the preliminaries couldn’t speak, his eyes trembling.

“...What is that?”

I had to narrow my eyes too.

The Half-Ink Stone had split.

Split—like it was actually in pieces, rolling around on the ground.

The Alliance member stared for a long moment, stammering, then finally spoke.

“Pl... Plum Blossom Sword Phoenix of Mount Hua... p-passed.”

“.......”

The one who did that to the Half-Ink Stone was none other than the Sword Phoenix.

What the hell did she even do?

‘What did she do for it to split like that?’

Up to now, people either slightly crushed it or carved sword scars into it.

But the Sword Phoenix just destroyed it outright.

This is absurd.

‘So that’s why everyone never shuts up about her being the top junior generation.’

Is she really just on a different level?

“Kgh.”

Seo Pyeong beside me let out a suppressed groan while staring at the Sword Phoenix’s Half-Ink Stone.

Looks like even he knows he can’t do that.

‘Hmph.’

“Draw your sword.”

The Alliance member spoke.

Right. It’s my turn.

‘A scratch... just a scratch.’

SHIIIING—!

I drew my sword. The moment I did, everyone’s eyes piled onto me.

“Little Sword Saint drew his sword.”

“What will he show us?”

‘...’

With all that attention, I didn’t know where to put myself.

This pressure is going to kill me.

‘I just want to leave a decent scratch and be done.’

Who cares about other people’s expectations?

Whether they’re disappointed or not, I don’t really give a shit.

‘But that bastard does piss me off.’

Seo Pyeong—mocking me.

His eyes were annoying.

‘Mm.’

I looked at the Half-Ink Stone in front of me and tilted my head slightly.

Then I subtly shifted my gaze and looked at Yoo Cheongil.

I trusted that old man would understand why I was looking at him.

[Ts-ts-ts. So you’ve got pride after all, for someone like you. Fine.]

Just like I expected, Yoo Cheongil clicked his tongue, then gave a slight nod.

Permission.

Permission to use what I learned in seclusion.

As soon as I saw it, I gathered my energy.

Will it work?

Will it land?

The doubt flashed through me, but it didn’t last long.

SHAAAAAA—!!!

Energy sank into the sword.

Radiant Moon Annihilation-Overturn wrapped fully around the blade.

Then, holding brilliant sword force, it flared even brighter.

“Oooh...”

“Huh...”

The watchers sighed in admiration at the beautiful sword force.

I killed the sound.

The important thing wasn’t the sword force.

WOOOONG—!!

I put strength into my eyes.

Moon Eyes shifted—

‘Now.’

In that instant, a flash burst from my hand.

The blade tore through the air.

Blue Moon Sword Dance First Form: Moon Wave.

Moon Wave.

A crescent moon rising in broad daylight drove straight into the Half-Ink Stone.

And the moment the blade met the stone’s surface—

SHHK—!

A different sound than anything up to now rang out.

SSSSS—.

The sword force left on the blade rose like heat.

And after a short moment—

BOOOOM—!!!

The Half-Ink Stone fell to the ground.

Cleanly sliced.

“...Huh...?”

“Eh?”

“...Uh...?”

The junior generation reacted like they’d short-circuited.