THUMP!

Little Azure Sword dropped to one knee. Blood spilled from his chest as he toppled over just like that.

TRICKLE—.

Blood soaked the tournament stage. Is he dead? I stared with a weird kind of worry.

Of course, I didn’t give a rat’s ass about Little Azure Sword. In reality, every bit of that worry was for Do Hyeong.

The referee rushed over and checked Little Azure Sword’s condition.

It definitely looked like he was wounded and unconscious.

“......Preliminaries. Victory to Do Hyeong of the Blue Moon Sect.”

The moment his victory was announced—

CLINK.

Do Hyeong returned the sword he’d drawn to his waistband.

And then—

-WAAAAAAAH---!!!

The cheers exploded.

In the flood of shouting, people from the Namgung Clan hurried over to Little Azure Sword. Looked like they were trying to get him to the treatment hall.

[The wound isn’t deep. Even then, he controlled it. Skilled work.]

He guided the cut so it wouldn’t go deep.

In that split second?

As if proving just how much restraint it took, Yoo Cheongil actually praised him for it.

[Not bad. If he polishes it a little more, he’ll start to show his light soon.]

When he talked about Do Hyeong, Yoo Cheongil was smiling.

No matter how I look at it, it’s weird.

Me too.

The moves Do Hyeong had shown just now— even I could tell they were clean and disciplined.

That was definitely Night Moon.

That sword that came down from above to below.

To an outside eye, it was nothing but a simple, rough downward slash, but from the receiving end, your vision gets blocked by the blade and it feels like night sky is crashing down on you.

Do Hyeong’s sword, expressing that, was genuinely heavy.

It’s a different sword from mine.

If my sword chases something relatively light, then Do Hyeong’s night is a night that’s heavy beyond anything.

Is it the difference in fundamentals?

How does he show a difference like that?

The moment the question rose—

[You know. That’s the answer.]

Yoo Cheongil said it like it was nothing.

......Is he seriously reading my mind?

I don’t know how he keeps answering thoughts I’m only forming inside my head.

Damn old man.

I slipped a curse out in my head.

[What? That’s a face that’s cursing.]

“.......”

He catches it instantly. It was clear. This old man’s eye for things is no joke.

I turned my expression away like nothing happened, and this time I looked to the side.

Yuyeon was staring at Do Hyeong from behind her veil.

Is she interested? Right as that thought came up, she looked my way.

Before our eyes met, I dodged my gaze without thinking and looked back at Do Hyeong.

I don’t even know why I did that.

And at that moment, Do Hyeong was already looking at me.

In the eyes we exchanged, Do Hyeong gave me a small nod.

What does that mean? I don’t know, but I lifted my thumb anyway.

Then Do Hyeong widened his eyes a little.

SNICK.

And he suddenly held back a smile.

That guy can smile?

It was the first time I’d ever seen Do Hyeong smile. That stone-faced man actually smiles.

It was strange.

And—

What the hell is it?

It was odd.

Why isn’t a man like that famous?

Sure, he’s junior generation, so you could say that, but it’s still weird. With talent like that, he should’ve been known.

Even if he’s never attended the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

That was the same for Moon Dancer.

She wouldn’t have been able to go to the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering either, being from the Blue Moon Sect, but she still became one of the Seven Prodigies.

I’ve never heard the details so I don’t know how it happened, but because of that, I know it’s not just a Dragon-Phoenix Gathering thing.

Which means—

Was it intentional?

The possibility that he was deliberately hidden felt the highest.

The problem is—

Did Do Hyeong hide himself?

Or did the Blue Moon Sect try to hide him?

Either way—

I don’t think it’s going to stay not-a-problem anymore.

Either way, Do Hyeong just showed his presence.

Isn’t this going to cause trouble on that front? It’s something to worry about.

And as if proving it—

“Who the hell is that Young Hero?”

“......He dropped Little Azure Sword in a single blow?”

“From what I see, they say he’s a martial artist of the Blue Moon Sect.”

“......That’s not all.”

One person in the crowd pointed at Do Hyeong’s clothes with his hand.

“That outfit. It’s the martial uniform of the Small Moon Unit.”

“......What?”

“Huh?”

Eyes poured onto Do Hyeong as he stepped down from the tournament stage.

Small Moon Unit.

The impact that carries is huge.

“At that age, and he’s Small Moon Unit?”

“Like Moon Dancer and Little Sword Saint.”

My name getting tossed in there is embarrassing as hell, but I stayed quiet because I know what kind of value the name has right now.

Small Moon Unit.

It’s an elite fighting group with enormous renown, like Mount Hua’s Plum Blossom Sword Unit or Wudang’s Taiji Sword Unit.

The Blue Moon Sect’s elite.

The Blue Moon Sect is a place with the same, or even greater, ripple than the Ten Great Sects, and—

The elite within that means an incredible powerhouse.

And the part that matters is that a youth who hasn’t even reached twenty belongs to that powerhouse zone.

“Who the hell is he? Is there anyone here who’s heard of this young man?”

“......I don’t know him.”

“Me neither.”

Little Azure Sword, said to rival the Seven Prodigies, went down that helplessly.

So who the hell is the one who made him that way?

Interest poured in.

And—

“Little Sword Saint too...... I don’t even know how many monsters are hiding and living inside the Blue Moon Sect.”

“.......”

Because of what I did, it felt like the perception was getting weirder and weirder.

A den of hidden monsters.

Something like that.

While I was thinking about that and worrying a little—

[That bastard. He’ll get a nickname.]

Yoo Cheongil stated it flatly.

A nickname?

For something he’s saying so casually, the content is serious.

[Looking at the reactions, he’ll get one. Look— even those beggar bastards have started moving.]

Yoo Cheongil gestured somewhere with his chin.

When I looked, the beggars at the edge were bustling around, busy with something.

So they’ve got a story now.

When the Beggar Clan moves, rumors are born.

And the one those rumors will ride on is Do Hyeong?

“......Hng.”

I could only hope nothing possible happens.

*****

It was around the time the heat briefly cooled as the tournament matches ended.

Right after the fight between Do Hyeong and Little Azure Sword, a few more matches went on, but nothing really pulled attention.

They were fierce, but they weren’t overwhelming or eye-catching.

“Hm.”

I watched those matches like it was nothing. Indifferent. Like everyone else was, I was the same.

They’re definitely strong, but.

They made it to the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering main bracket, so their level is high, sure, but—

Definitely.

The ones who are on a different level are definitely different.

There’s none of the thrill I felt when I watched the Seven Prodigies or Little Azure Sword.

Yuyeon too.

I looked at her like, what is she even thinking?

“......Hey.”

“......!”

At my call, Yuyeon flinched.

“You yawned, didn’t you?”

I asked with a grin, and Yuyeon shook her head. So she’s saying she didn’t?

“What do you mean you didn’t. I saw it.”

“.......”

I saw her doing it in secret. How boring is the tournament that you’re yawning?

I was about to laugh because it was ridiculous, when—

[Understand.]

Yoo Cheongil said it to me while looking at Yuyeon.

[That girl would’ve felt far more bored than everyone else.]

What does that mean?

I couldn’t understand, so I glanced at Yoo Cheongil—

[Her eyes are different. What she sees is different. What she feels, too.]

He said it, tapping at his own eyes.

It was even harder to understand.

What the hell are you talking about?

Her eyes are different?

Does Yuyeon have something too, like Moon Eyes?

I subtly looked at Yuyeon again, but she—

“What are you doing?”

“.......”

She was tugging her veil tight. Like she was determined not to let me see inside at all.

“What are you doing.”

“.......” 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Did she get annoyed because I teased her after seeing her yawn?

“......Ha.......”

She’s doing something funny. I laughed with that intention.

“I won’t tease you. So stop—”

I reached to pull at the veil—

-Next contestants, come up.

The preliminaries match announcement flowed out.

[It’s here.]

At the same time as Yoo Cheongil’s hardened voice, my expression hardened too.

He was right.

-Blue Moon Sect’s Cheon Hyein versus.

-Shaanxi Baek Clan’s Baek Cheon-il.

The reason I came to watch the tournament at all—

That bastard’s match order had arrived.

“Finally.”

“I waited to see this.”

Light went into the eyes of the crowd that had been getting bored.

That was why they came to watch the matches too.

A Seven Prodigies bout.

And among them, someone praised as strong, with no record of ever attending the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering until now—

Moon Dancer Cheon Hyein.

They came to see her match.

But.

“The opponent’s just someone I’ve never heard of.”

“......Feels like it might end a little blandly.......”

“Unfortunate, but what can you do. The opponent is the opponent.”

No one thought Cheon Hyein’s opponent could win.

In that situation, I narrowed my eyes and examined the tournament stage.

Cheon Hyein climbed the stage with light, proud steps.

Maybe her insides were whatever, but since her outside looked fine, the moment she appeared, admiration burst out from all sides.

Anyway, whether it’s the Central Plains or anywhere else, you’ve got to ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) respect how lookism never dies.

Me, well...... I live benefiting from it, so I’m fine.

In my previous life I lived hearing crap like I look vicious, or do I think I can even get married looking that scary, but this life is different, so whatever.

And as her opponent, a young man with a pleasant-looking face was climbing up.

Baek Cheonin.

The Demon Cult figure Yoo Cheongil mentioned.

Behind that friendly-looking face and smooth smile, an enormous presence could be felt.

Of course.

There’s no malevolent aura like that malevolent aura.

The more I look, the more disgust rises from inside.

A Great Malicious Ghost.

It was to the point it felt similar to what I felt when I saw the most filthy, revolting bastard among the ones I faced in my previous life.

But that’s human?

An aura no living being should ever have was coming from that bastard.

That’s a problem, but—

And he’s Demon Cult, on top of it.

A Heavenly Demon’s group that should’ve been wiped out long ago by Yoo Cheongil and the Martial Alliance.

The fact he’s Demon Cult.

So.

Why did that bastard show up like that while hiding his identity?

......I did put things in place.

I’d been out since early today, laying down moves.

I don’t know if it’ll work, though.

“Hng.”

I swallowed a groan.

I wasn’t sure this match was going to be okay.

I’m not worried about Cheon Hyein.

We’re not close enough to worry about each other like that.

It just irritates me.

That bastard.

That bastard Baek Cheonin just kept irritating me.

My heart pounding inside and the way my dantian kept pressing and stabbing— it pissed me off.

I can’t get involved.

If he’s Demon Cult, even more so.

But.

I think I’m going to get involved.

My instinct said it.

That I’ll get involved with that bastard.

While I stared over there, desperately hoping it wasn’t true—

[Kid.]

Yoo Cheongil spoke to me.

[Watch carefully.]

There’s no need to think about which side. There was no need to watch Moon Dancer in particular.

But.

His eyes.

The look in Yoo Cheongil’s eyes as he spoke wasn’t normal. It was rigid— on a completely different level from the indifferent gaze he’d been showing up until now.

[And prepare yourself.]

I narrowed my eyes.

......For what?

Prepare? For what?

When I couldn’t understand it, Yoo Cheongil said it.

[If something happens, you’ll have to intervene.]

Huh?

What kind of insane bullshit is that?

Intervene?

The moment I widened my eyes in shock—

-Ready.

SHIIIING—!

The two of them drew their swords.