A huge mountain behind Main Alliance Headquarters. We climbed up to a broad field near its peak.

People packed in tight. With this many martial artists gathered, the air felt heavy.

The breath fogging out of my mouth told me exactly what season it was.

But everyone here looked like they didn’t feel the cold at all.

‘Everyone but me.’

SHIVER SHIVER.

I crossed my arms to hide my trembling fingertips. You crazy bastards. How is this not cold?

The branches were frozen stiff enough to look brittle.

And you’re telling me this isn’t cold?

Watching them stand around like it was nothing made it almost absurd.

‘Ah, for fuck’s sake.’

Times like this make me want to die from sheer exhaustion. Ah—right. I forgot again. I should’ve learned how to regulate warmth with inner power.

‘...Damn it.’

I should’ve learned it ages ago. Because I couldn’t, I was still stuck shaking in the cold.

‘Where the hell did that old bastard go now?’

The one person who should’ve taught me temperature control wasn’t even at my side.

Because he’d vanished after yesterday’s big fight.

No—after I was the only one who ran my mouth at him.

‘Is he pouting?’

No way.

A man who’d lived that long—and who’d been the strongest under heaven—wouldn’t pout over something like that.

And even if someone’s pouting, it should be me.

‘Shit. Do you know how scared I was?’

When I ran into the Sword Phoenix in the middle of training, out of nowhere.

I can’t even describe how startled I was.

‘I told you to tell me if someone came.’

And he didn’t—because he was lost in thought—so I almost caused a disaster.

‘Though... the Sword Phoenix is weird, too.’

Yoo Cheongil was weird for not watching out, but the Sword Phoenix walking all the way up and sticking her throat right in front of my face was ridiculous, too.

‘Seriously, what is she?’

I stared at the Sword Phoenix up ahead, near the front.

I could only see the back of her head, but that was enough.

‘What the hell are you?’

I didn’t get it.

‘Does she know me?’

The Sword Phoenix wrote a letter asking if I didn’t know her. Which meant she knew me.

‘...I don’t, though?’

On my side, I didn’t know the Sword Phoenix. No matter how hard I thought, nothing came up.

‘That makes no sense.’

If nothing else, I remember people well. I’m the type who never forgets someone I’ve seen even once.

But with the Sword Phoenix, it was the same no matter how many times I replayed it.

‘She’s a stranger.’

I don’t know the Sword Phoenix.

But the Sword Phoenix knows me.

‘Did she mistake me for someone else?’

That was the most plausible answer, as far as I could tell.

‘Hng.’

All I ever hope for is that annoying shit doesn’t happen.

As that thought crossed my mind and I started to turn away—

‘Huh?’

My gaze suddenly snagged on something. To the Sword Phoenix’s left, near the edge.

I felt someone staring at me.

It was Seo Pyeong.

‘That bastard.’

There he goes again. I forced down the sigh trying to come out.

But I wasn’t looking because of Seo Pyeong’s glare.

I was looking at the person beside him.

A build that didn’t look big at all.

Small for a martial artist. If I had to compare, it looked about the same as me.

Since they were a whole head shorter than Seo Pyeong, it had to be.

I stared at that person.

‘What is it?’

That familiar back of the head.

What? Who is that?

I felt like I’d know if I just looked a little more, so I narrowed my eyes—

“Thank you for gathering.”

“...!”

A Martial Alliance member appeared and spoke.

I turned my gaze immediately.

“From here, we will repeat the explanation for the second preliminaries and distribute the items. From each two-person team, have one representative step forward.”

Movement beside me. It was Thunder Dragon.

“I’ll go.”

“Yes.”

When Thunder Dragon came back, he had two black stones that looked like go stones.

After confirming every representative had received their items, the Martial Alliance member started explaining right away.

“Like the strategist explained yesterday, the method for the second preliminaries is simple.”

TUK. TUK.

From the Martial Alliance member’s hand, stones like the ones Thunder Dragon brought dropped down.

This time, one was black and one was white.

“The stones you have been given are two in total. One—by the time the preliminaries end, what you must hold is four in total.”

At those words, the air around us changed.

Presence surged up.

“Two of each color as different pairs. Two white and two black. That is what it means to hold four in total. The method of collecting stones allows anything except killing.”

To pass, hold two pairs—two white, two black.

Which meant—

‘At minimum, half of us will be eliminated.’

They filtered out seventy percent in the first round, and now they meant to filter out at least half again.

And on top of that—

The reason it was “at minimum” and not simply “half” was—

“Additionally, there is no limit to how many you may hold.”

“......”

Not just two pairs. You could hold more.

That was the problem.

‘So it means it doesn’t matter how many you collect.’

If fighting and taking is best, then take as much as you want.

A hollow laugh came out.

‘This is really brutal.’

Ah, I don’t want to do this.

That thought flashed through me immediately.

“Sounds fun. Hahaha.”

Thunder Dragon laughed his head off, like my feelings were none of his business.

He’s serious. You could tell he was genuinely enjoying this.

‘Hah.’

I just nodded vaguely.

This was why I picked Thunder Dragon, too. Among the options, a member of the Seven Prodigies was still better.

‘The easiest would’ve been doing it with Do Hyeong.’

But then Cheon Eujin would’ve been a problem, so I ruled that out.

‘And doing it with Cheon Hyein...’

I couldn’t trust her, so I judged this was better.

‘...Though maybe I chose wrong.’

It was ridiculous to say I “trusted” Thunder Dragon.

Still, Yoo Cheongil had proven he was strong, so it would be fine.

‘At least we won’t get eliminated.’

As I steadied myself with that thought—

“From now on.”

The Martial Alliance member shouted.

“We will proceed with the second preliminaries. The time limit is until before the sun sets.”

As he spoke, he raised both hands. He set his palms facing each other—

CLAAAAAP—!!!

He clapped with inner power packed into it.

“Begin—!”

With that sound, the gathered junior generation scattered in all directions.

The second preliminaries had begun.

*****

Once the preliminaries started—

When the entire junior generation moved, of course I moved with them.

I was roaming all over the mountain with Thunder Dragon.

‘The area is the entire mountain, and the time is until the sun sets.’

The range is wide and the time is generous.

And besides—

‘Even if you get robbed, you’re not eliminated.’

Even if you lost all your stones in one fight, that alone wasn’t elimination.

Because all that mattered was holding two pairs at the end.

‘...Then they’ll fight even more viciously.’

It also meant they’d fight like mad until sunset.

There was no way the kind of people here would lose once, get their head on straight, and give up.

It meant fight all day.

‘And it’s not like they’ll talk it out nicely, either.’

Out of all the martial artists I’d seen, none were like that.

So it was easier to just steel myself.

Then—

“Oh. Look at this, Little Sword Saint.”

Thunder Dragon, following behind, suddenly called out to me.

What now?

“What is it?”

When I looked over, Thunder Dragon was squatting down, staring at something.

What is that?

Is there something there?

I frowned and focused—

“It’s a flower! A flower.”

“...Ah. Yes. It looks like one.”

“No, isn’t it amazing?”

“...What part am I supposed to be amazed by?”

It was just a flower. Why am I supposed to be amazed by that? No matter how I looked, it was just a bluish flower.

Maybe my reaction was absurd, because Thunder Dragon widened his eyes and spoke.

“You think that’s just a flower?”

“Yes?”

“It’s a Cold Pear Flower, a Cold Pear Flower.”

What the hell is that, you lunatic.

“It blooms for only one month in the dead of winter. And even then there aren’t many, it’s rare and hard to see. To think I’d see it here... Hoh!! Today, my luck is good.”

“......”

Thunder Dragon kept blurting out admiration, staring at the flower like he was truly moved.

I didn’t even know what reaction I was supposed to give.

“...Thunder Dragon. Do you like flowers?”

That was the best I managed.

“Of course!”

Thunder Dragon answered like it delighted him.

“Something this beautiful blooms from the earth—how could I not like it?”

“...Ah. I see.”

It sounded sincere, which surprised me. A guy who looked exactly like Little Azure Sword could smile like that, huh.

And liking flowers was just bizarre.

But the problem was—

“Look at that! That is a Willowy Flower!”

“Oh! That one...!”

“Wow. That’s hard to see too...!!”

Every time we walked, Thunder Dragon got excited over flowers and rushed to explain them to me.

By the time we were halfway through, even listening to him was getting annoying.

“Little Sword Saint. This flower is—”

“AAAH!”

I finally snapped and yelled at Thunder Dragon.

“Enough about the flowers! We have preliminaries to do! Shut up already! Everyone can hear you!”

With his voice that loud, the whole mountain would hear, but this man acted like he had no intention of hiding.

So when I couldn’t take it anymore and shouted—

“It seems like Little Sword Saint is louder, though...?”

Thunder Dragon looked at me with wounded eyes and said it.

“...Ugh...”

The back of my neck ached. Ah, should I not have teamed up with this guy? If I’d known he was like this, I would’ve just ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) endured it.

“...Fine, fine. I’ll listen to all your flower talk later, so focus for now.”

Flowers or whatever—first we needed stones.

“We need two white stones, right?”

“Yes.”

What we were given were black stones, so now we had to find someone holding white.

‘Where would they be?’

It was a wide mountain, but plenty of people had gathered. I judged we’d find someone quickly.

As I reminded myself of that and rolled my eyes around—

WOOOONG—!!

I wrapped energy into my eyes.

Moon Eyes took on light as I scanned everything.

I felt my field of view broaden.

When I use Moon Eyes, this is what it feels like—not just seeing well at night, but strengthening my vision itself.

If it wasn’t that—

‘Maybe I couldn’t before, and only now I can.’

Maybe it used to be just bright night vision, and only now my vision had widened.

Because it was something I realized as my realm rose.

I kept ignoring him while focusing—

“Little Sword Saint?”

“......”

“Little Sword Saint. Little Sword Saint? Can’t you hear me? Little Sword Saint?”

I kept ignoring him while focusing.

“Little Sword Saint, Little Sword Saint, Little Sword Saint, Little Sword Saint, Little Sword Saint, Little Sword Saint, Little Sword Saint, Little Sword Saint, Little Sword Saint, Little Sword Saint, Little Sword Saint?”

“......”

“Little Sword Saint, Little Sword Saint, Little Sword Saint, Little Sword Saint—”

“Ah, for fuck’s sake, stop—!”

I was about to tell him to cut it out—

When I turned around.

“Look over there. A guest has arrived.”

Thunder Dragon pointed somewhere, smiling bright.

And there—

“Oh, lucky me!”

Black-Grand Saber Peng Dojin was grinning at me like an idiot.

SHIIIING—!

And the Sword Phoenix was calmly drawing her sword.

“Ah, fuck.”

The curse fell out on its own.

Right from the start, the opponents were bullshit.