“Hahahahaha! Well now! Should I call this good luck?”

A hulking man laughing without pause—Black-Grand Saber, the one they called the Peng Clan’s miracle.

And.

“......”

Plum Blossom Sword Phoenix, the top of the junior generation, staring at me with a blank face.

The moment I saw the two of them, ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) my face twisted hard.

‘Ah, this is such bullshit.’

Stop with the bullshit.

Even if I had to run into someone, how is it these people?

‘This can’t be real...’

Black-Grand Saber—one of the very top of the junior generation.

And Sword Phoenix, the so-called Genius Slayer, said to be the strongest among the junior generation.

Just the fact those two were on the same side pissed me off.

‘And of all times?’

To think I’d meet them here.

Right at the start.

While I was still grimacing at the sheer hopelessness of it—

“I’ve been wanting to see you.”

Black-Grand Saber stepped forward, his eyes gleaming.

SHIIIING—!!

He drew the weapon the Alliance had issued.

FWOOOOOOOM—!!!

In that instant, battle aura erupted from Black-Grand Saber’s body.

An overwhelming battle aura.

“To meet like this... in the end, doesn’t it feel like fate?” 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

“......”

A ripped grin.

A dizzying battle aura.

At this point, I didn’t even need to ask what Black-Grand Saber wanted.

“Uh—?”

Thunder Dragon hurriedly spoke when he saw it.

“H-Hold on.”

“Hm?”

Black-Grand Saber frowned at Thunder Dragon blocking him.

“What is it, Thunder Dragon?”

“Before we fight, we should confirm what needs confirming first.”

“What?”

“The stones.”

“Ah.”

At Thunder Dragon’s words, Black-Grand Saber widened his eyes.

He’d forgotten. That this fight was for the stones.

“Right.”

Black-Grand Saber nodded, then pulled a stone from his clothes.

A black stone.

I relaxed internally when I saw it.

“Oh.”

Thunder Dragon also pulled out his stone.

Same color.

“Unfortunately, it’s the same black.”

Thank god. If it’s the same color, there’s no need to fight—just move on.

I was about to feel my mood lift at the thought I wouldn’t have to fight those monsters—

“So?”

Black-Grand Saber said with a savage grin.

“What’s the problem with it being the same color?”

“...Huh?”

Thunder Dragon’s eyes widened at the tone laced with battle aura.

“Ah.”

Then, like he caught on, Thunder Dragon scratched the back of his neck.

“So you just want to fight.”

“Good. You catch on fast.”

“Hah......”

CRACKLE—.

A sound like lightning snapping. The source was Thunder Dragon’s sword.

At some point he’d already drawn it, laying a chilling sword force over the blade as he stared Black-Grand Saber down.

“I don’t go out of my way to fight pointless fights, but if it’s like this, there’s nothing I can do.”

A laugh mixed with cold. The pressure rolling off Thunder Dragon made me flinch without meaning to.

“Nothing you can do?”

Black-Grand Saber laughed like Thunder Dragon was ridiculous.

“You were looking forward to it.”

“Hahaha.”

Thunder Dragon laughed out loud.

“Correct.”

RUMBLE—!!

With a thunder-like roar, Thunder Dragon’s energy exploded.

‘Jesus.’

That tingling sensation made me narrow my eyes. Look at this bastard.

‘...This isn’t a joke.’

Poison Dragon was bottom-tier among the Seven Prodigies, and seeing him take one hit from Black-Grand Saber and pass out, I’d figured he was weak as hell.

But the moment I saw Thunder Dragon’s pressure, that thought got wiped clean.

‘So this is the Seven Prodigies.’

It hit again—same with Black-Grand Saber, same with Thunder Dragon.

Geniuses carrying the future of the Central Plains on their shoulders.

And among them, the man who’d become the future of the Namgung Clan—his battle aura was absurd.

The problem was—

‘Ah, fuck. We can’t be fighting right now.’

Is it even okay to fight? It’s Black-Grand Saber and Sword Phoenix.

In the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, they were the worst possible combination to run into.

And we’re fighting at the start?

‘What do I do?’

I hesitated, gripping my sword. Fighting those monsters wasn’t in my calculations.

‘No. It was in my calculations.’

Dead last. The thing I least wanted to happen.

‘Damn it.’

My luck really is trash.

My life’s always been like that.

‘And the old man isn’t even here.’

Yoo Cheongil, who vanished—maybe because he got offended by what I said.

That damned malicious ghost is never around when I actually need him.

‘Hah.’

I let out a breath and widened my eyes.

‘No choice.’

Run and leave Thunder Dragon behind? The thought flashed through my head, but they said if two people separated beyond a certain distance, it counted as elimination.

‘At least we won’t die.’

Killing was forbidden, so I clung to that.

SHIIIING—!

I started to draw my sword too—

“Alright, let’s enjoy— Sword Phoenix?”

Black-Grand Saber was about to swing his saber, then looked to the side and froze.

Sword Phoenix was gone.

She’d already turned her back and walked off into the distance.

“Uh—hey, wai— Hey!”

Black-Grand Saber hurried after her. Like they said, they couldn’t let the distance open too far.

“Goddamn it...!! Just you wait!”

“......”

He left behind a line like some third-rate villain, then vanished with Sword Phoenix, eyes full of regret.

“Hm?”

Thunder Dragon tilted his head, pulling back the pressure he’d been releasing.

Did she avoid a pointless fight because the stones were the same?

As I was thinking that, Thunder Dragon smacked his lips and said,

“Well. It seems Sword Phoenix is more rational than I expected.”

“...That wasn’t rational. You two are just barbarians.”

“Hahaha. I thought it might be fun for once, but that’s a shame. Don’t you agree?”

Not even a little.

I let out a relieved breath and steadied my breathing.

‘...To think misfortune would pile on right from the start.’

This was some truly beggar-ass day.

I exhaled softly, then—

“...Let’s move.”

I pushed Thunder Dragon to move. My heart was still racing, but—

No matter what, I had a job to do.

*****

We walked the mountain. Not much time had passed.

And nothing particularly dangerous happened.

Honestly, unless you ran into monsters like Black-Grand Saber and Sword Phoenix, there wasn’t much to fear.

“Kgh...! Thunder Dragon and Little Sword Saint, of all people...!”

“Damn it...!!”

“Oh, thank you.”

Thunder Dragon beamed as he collected white stones from other martial artists.

We’d run into them while moving through the mountain—and they happened to have white.

“You secured the stones well.”

“We were faster than I expected.”

I meant it. It hadn’t been long since we ran into Black-Grand Saber and Sword Phoenix.

And we didn’t even fight. The other side saw us and folded, handing over their stones.

It was good luck, if you called it luck... but said another way—

“Now we just have to endure.”

We had to hold out until sunset.

“What do you want to do?”

“Well. If it were up to me, I’d like to dig a cave and hide in it.”

Thunder Dragon’s expression shifted slightly at my words. I could tell what he was thinking.

Relax. I’m not actually going to hide.

‘Hide, my ass. I should use this.’

In the end it’s competition, and right now I had a massive advantage.

To just hide in this state? That made no sense.

Especially after seeing Thunder Dragon’s temperament—he wouldn’t want that either. So I judged using it was the right move.

“If we’re going to be bored standing around, should we hunt instead?”

I said it with a slight smile, and only then did Thunder Dragon smile too.

“Oh, good idea. Little Sword Saint, you’re much more proactive than I expected.”

“You’re too kind.”

Use Thunder Dragon to block out as many competitors as possible.

That was my plan for the second preliminaries.

“Let’s go. Hunting.”

I put strength into my legs as I spoke.

And Thunder Dragon’s steps, unlike before, looked downright light.

We were already at a passing score, and he still wanted to go fight—he actually liked this.

Which meant he was crazy too.

*****

CREEEAK—!!!

Sword met sword. The violent friction spat sparks.

Riding that searing flash, blue sword force carved a half-moon arc.

Moon Wave.

Blue Moon Sect’s sword dance unfolded from a woman’s hand.

“Kgh!”

The one blocking it let out a groan and twisted his sword aside.

Then, with irritated eyes, he shouted to the side,

“What are you doing! Hurry up and at least interfere!”

“Ah—! Th-That... I’m busy too...!”

A youth who looked weak barely dodged someone’s attack.

“Gah!”

A dagger skimmed past the youth’s front. The dagger’s owner was one of the Seven Prodigies—Poison Dragon Tang Cheon-il.

Seeing that, Seo Pyeong bared his teeth, grinding them as he blocked Wolmuhui Cheon Hyein’s sword.

‘Goddamn it.’

No matter how he looked at it, he’d chosen wrong.

Seo Pyeong watched his own teammate and chewed on regret.

‘He asked so boldly to team up—I thought he’d be strong.’

If he’d known it would be like this, he should’ve gone with other Wudang brothers, or at least stuck to someone he knew.

‘Damn it.’

CLANG—!

Their swords sprang apart. Cheon Hyein kept pouring on the pressure, face blank.

It was hard to endure. This wasn’t about whether he could match her or not.

His mind was the problem.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before Poison Dragon defeated his teammate.

And once that happened, how the fight would end was obvious.

‘Grrk.’

Seo Pyeong grew impatient and tried to push his presence higher, but his opponent was Cheon Hyein.

Ranked high alongside Black-Grand Saber, Sword Phoenix, and Thunder Dragon.

Even if Seo Pyeong—himself one of the Seven Prodigies—went all out, she was still someone he couldn’t be sure he could beat.

‘What do I do?’

To think he’d run into her of all people.

As Seo Pyeong twisted his face, searching for an answer—

SLIP!

“Ghk!”

The youth fighting Poison Dragon caught his foot on a rock and fell backward.

SMACK.

Poison Dragon didn’t miss the opening. He whipped his foot up and smashed the youth’s jaw.

“Kuh!”

The youth dropped instantly, knocked out cold.

Seo Pyeong tried to move the moment he saw it, but—

“Do you want to keep going?”

Cheon Hyein lowered her sword as she spoke.

And Poison Dragon, gripping his dagger, stared at Seo Pyeong too.

“......”

Pinned from both sides. Seo Pyeong calculated in his head.

Did he have a chance?

The answer came immediately. He didn’t even need to calculate.

“...CRUNCH.”

Seo Pyeong ground his teeth, then pulled a stone from his clothes.

“...Take it.”

“Good choice.”

Cheon Hyein smiled brightly as she took it.

As he handed it over, Seo Pyeong’s pride got crushed.

“You look really pissed. Want to settle it later on the sparring platform?”

“...That’s what I want.”

Cheon Hyein left those words and walked away. Neither she nor Seo Pyeong thought this meant Seo Pyeong was eliminated.

After Cheon Hyein and Poison Dragon left—

“Goddamn it—!!”

Seo Pyeong finally screamed out the shout he’d been holding back.

To think he’d get humiliated like this.

“...Goddamn it... this fucking...”

CRUNCH—!

He stomped the ground again and again, rage packed into every step. Even so, it didn’t cool—he kept grinding the dirt for a long while.

“...This is all.”

Seo Pyeong’s eyes landed on his teammate lying there like a corpse.

“...Because of this bastard.”

Useless trash. Choosing the wrong teammate—how the hell did it come to this?

In the end, Seo Pyeong walked over.

He couldn’t break him. He still had to drag him along. He was only going to step on his face lightly to vent—

“Huuagh!”

“...!!”

The youth snapped awake and jerked his upper body up.

“Aaah... my jaw...”

He rubbed the spot Poison Dragon hit, then looked at Seo Pyeong.

“Oh. Looks like we got robbed.”

“...That’s what you’re saying right now—?!”

GRAB—!

Seo Pyeong seized the youth by the collar.

With blazing eyes, Seo Pyeong hauled him up, about to spit—

“Because of a piece of shit like you—”

“Don’t touch me with your filthy hands.”

Thunk.

In an instant, Seo Pyeong’s eyes unfocused, and he collapsed to the ground.

The youth brushed Seo Pyeong’s hand off him, then smoothed his clothes.

Brush. Brush.

Like something dirty had gotten on him, he dusted his hands a few times.

“Hah.”

He swept his hair back and muttered,

“It’d be easier if I could just kill them all.”

Killing was forbidden.

Remembering that, the youth narrowed his eyes.

The harmless, vacant face from earlier was gone without a trace.

“...Disgusting orthodox bastards.”

All that remained on the youth was thick killing intent.

He lifted the unconscious Seo Pyeong up—and began walking slowly into the mountain’s depths.