“Aigo, my apologies. But seriously, they are huge,” Seo-jun said.

The woman gave a soft laugh and returned a polite fist-palm salute.

“You’re quite amusing. I think the same.”

Seo-jun, momentarily thrown off by her unexpected response, quickly returned the gesture.

“Uh… yes.”

“How can you be surprised after saying such a thing, little hero?” she teased, with a mischievous smile.

“Um… good point.”

Scratching his head in embarrassment, Seo-jun watched as the woman bowed slightly.

“Anyway, I couldn’t help but speak up when I recognized you. You’re participating in the martial arts tournament as well, aren’t you?”

“Uh, yes. That’s right.”

Without a second thought, Seo-jun stepped back and pushed Chun-bong forward.

In theory, she was his perfect shield.

No one with a heart could harbor impure thoughts when faced with the adorable Gold Chun-bong.

Of course, this came at the cost of receiving her sharp glares, but it wasn’t a bad trade.

“Oh my, I’ve been meaning to say hello for a while. Greetings!” The woman smiled warmly at Chun-bong.

“Oh, uh, hi.”

Chun-bong was caught off guard by the greeting. Seo-jun whispered in her ear.

“She’s someone who knows that you, Gold Chun-bong, are the cutest in the world. She’s probably not a bad person.”

“Could you stop spewing nonsense for once?”

Despite her sharp response, Chun-bong forced an awkward smile and saluted the woman.

“We’re in a bit of a rush, so I think we should be going.”

“Oh dear, I didn’t mean to hold up such busy people,” the woman said with a light laugh, waving her hand gracefully.

“Next time, be sure to say hello again, okay?”

“Sure,” Seo-jun replied hastily, before dragging Chun-bong away. Once they were at a safe distance, he wiped his forehead.

“Phew, you did well, Lee Seo-jun. You held it together.”

“What exactly were you holding back, huh? What? Were you tempted to grab those huge breasts?”

“Gold Chun-bong! Where did you even learn to say things like that?!”

“Don’t change the subject!”

Her sharp gaze drilled into him. Seo-jun scratched his head and gave a sheepish grin.

“I actually prefer smaller chests.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake… My head hurts,” Chun-bong muttered, smacking her forehead with her palm.

“Alright, fine. Just don’t pull that kind of crap next time. It’s rude.”

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just get startled every time I see them, you know?”

Honestly, it was unreal. If that woman had a nickname, it would probably be something like the Three-Headed Witch.

“Ugh…”

Seo-jun shuddered at the thought.

Chun-bong eyed him strangely.

“Did some woman seriously break your heart or something?”

“Queeeeh?”

“You’re weird. Most guys are into big breasts.”

“Hey, I’ve got my Gold Chun-bong. That’s all I need.”

Seo-jun lifted Chun-bong into a piggyback, her tiny hands lightly patting his head as if satisfied.

“Good. Let’s go then, Lee Seo-jun.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As the two of them disappeared into the distance, the woman they had encountered let out a soft breath.

“Hmph… Who are they?”

Very few martial artists of her generation could hide their true capabilities from her sharp eyes.

But those two... She couldn’t quite see through them. They were likely from an established faction or noble family, yet she had never heard of them.

Especially the man.

The cute girl gave her a decent sense of her level, but the man... it was like staring into an endless abyss—or at complete emptiness.

“Well, I’m sure we’ll meet again soon.”

With a chuckle, she turned and walked away.

According to the latest information, 128 participants had passed the preliminaries.

Since the main tournament would likely follow a knockout format, that meant seven consecutive victories were required to win the championship.

“So that means… if I plan to win, I’ll be fighting nonstop for a week?” Seo-jun muttered.

“That’s right,” Chun-bong replied, gently swaying from side to side as she sipped her tea.

It was almost mesmerizing, like watching the flicker of a campfire.

Just watching her in that peaceful state seemed to make time fly by.

“So the main rounds are next week, right? Why not just do it right away?”

“Even the Huashan Sect needs time to prepare. Rushing things could ruin everything. It’s better to wait a bit than to screw up.”

“…True enough.”

Seo-jun nodded, lifting his own cup of tea.

What was this tea called again?

He couldn’t remember the name, but he knew it was expensive.

Sip.

He took a taste and found that… it just tasted like tea.

‘I could go for some coffee right now. Wonder if they serve any?’

Obviously, they didn’t.

Given that one of the friendly Huashan Sect members they met on the first day knew what pizza was, it seemed plausible, but western customs still hadn’t really taken root here.

Not that it mattered much to Seo-jun.

Did you hear?

Bored from watching Chun-bong, Seo-jun tuned into a nearby conversation.

“I heard that Paklyeokpado Dam Jeil is participating in the tournament.”

“What? Paklyeokpado? Who’s that?”

“How can you be so clueless!”

Hearing a familiar name, Seo-jun leaned closer to listen.

“Have you never heard the story about how Dam Jeil single-handedly fought off the members of the evil faction to save those women?”

“Oh, right. I have heard that.”

“Well, that same Dam Jeil is competing in this martial arts tournament.”

“Oh-ho! That’s interesting.”

Dam Jeil fought off an entire evil faction by himself?

Seo-jun thought back to the martial artists from the Black Demon Sect he had encountered before.

‘He’d get absolutely wrecked.’

The leader of that group would probably decapitate Dam Jeil within a dozen moves.

“But it looks like Dam Jeil was knocked out in the preliminaries.”

“Ha! Guess all that talk about fighting the evil faction was just nonsense after all.”

“Well, we don’t know for sure. I heard his opponent won every match with a single strike.”

“You think that’s true?”

“A friend of a friend said he saw it happen.”

Seo-jun couldn’t help but smirk after hearing that.

“Hey, did you hear that, Gold?”

“Hear what?”

Chun-bong mumbled through a mouthful of food, having somehow managed to order more snacks.

This hamster-like creature…

Seo-jun contemplated pinching her cheeks but ultimately decided against it and let his body slump back.

“Nah, nothing important.”

“What! Tell me!”

“Bleh.”

Not telling.

Seo-jun had spent the entire week relaxing.

Well, not entirely. While Chun-bong slept, he stayed up every night training, but he didn’t feel tired at all.

His condition was perfect.

“Feeling good!”

He hummed as he did a final check of his sword.

“Hmm.”

Not bad.

The sword was getting a bit old, but ever since reaching first-rate, the blade hadn’t suffered much wear. After all, most of the time, he wasn’t cutting with the blade itself but with the sword energy emanating from it.

A level where one can harm others with just sword energy.

Sword Energy Mastery—being able to kill with sword energy alone.

“Hey! We’re gonna be late! Hurry up!”

Chun-bong, her face hidden beneath her juknip and veil, stamped her feet impatiently.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Seo-jun stood up.

He felt quite satisfied with the crisp feel of his freshly purchased martial arts attire.

And for fun, he and Chun-bong had even gotten matching black juknips, making him feel like a real martial arts master.

“MUGONG Master Lee Seo-jun, heading out!”

At last, the main tournament was about to begin.

As soon as they arrived at the main tournament grounds, Seo-jun was struck by one undeniable fact—the Huashan Sect had a ridiculous amount of money.

“Wow, this is amazing.”

It looked like something out of a Roman colosseum.

There were several wide arenas in the center, surrounded by rows upon rows of seats. Even though there weren’t enough seats for everyone, and many spectators had to stand in the back, the sheer scale of the place was impressive.

Showing the token marked with the number seventy-eight, Seo-jun and Chun-bong were led inside by people in blue robes.

“Please wait here.”

“Got it.”

After about ten minutes of chatting with Chun-bong, the crowd around them began to stir as someone stepped onto the arena platform.

“Greetings, everyone. I am Unjak, the second disciple of the Huashan Sect.”

His voice, filled with internal energy, rang out clearly across the arena.

Seo-jun recognized the familiar face and nudged Chun-bong.

“It’s that guy. The one who scolded you last time.”

“You got scolded twice.”

“I was breaking up the fight!”

“Whatever.”

Chun-bong smirked, and Seo-jun retaliated by pinching her cheek.

“First, we have the honored elder of the Huashan Sect to bless us with a few words.”

It seemed like this was some sort of opening ceremony.

Seo-jun’s eyes narrowed as he focused on the elder from the Huashan Sect.

He could feel the flow of energy gently circulating around the elder. It didn’t seem intentional, but rather as if the elder’s mere presence was enough to draw in the surrounding qi.

‘That’s a peak-level martial artist.’

Just looking at him made the hairs on Seo-jun’s arms stand up.

As Seo-jun unconsciously licked his lips, the elder’s gaze met his.

“…”

Why is he staring at me like that? Did I offend him somehow?

Seo-jun subtly furrowed his brow, and the elder finally averted his gaze.

Feeling oddly disappointed, Seo-jun licked his lips again. Chun-bong nudged him.

“What are you doing?”

“Staring contest?”

“With who?”

“That elder.”

Chun-bong gaped at him.

“…Are you insane? He’s letting it slide because you’re from Huashan, but if you tried that with someone more hot-headed, you’d get a sword to the face.”

“Yeah, maybe not a good idea.”

Seo-jun chuckled.

Meanwhile, Unjak’s voice grew more serious as he lowered his tone.

“And now, if you’ll allow me the honor, I will begin the opening performance for the tournament.”

Shing.

A soft sound accompanied the drawing of his sword.

At that small noise, the entire arena fell silent.

In the stillness, Unjak began to swing his sword with deliberate, cautious movements.

At first, his sword moved slowly.

Then, the pace began to quicken as his blade danced through the air.

Swish…

As the sun reflected off his sword, it scattered light like flower petals. The sight was so mesmerizing that some people even thought they could smell flowers blooming.

“Is this…?”

“Is this the Huashan Sect…?”

While others marveled at the apparent scent, Seo-jun focused on the flow of qi.

Unjak’s internal energy, which had once flowed roughly like wildfire, now spread out like delicate petals.

“Wow…!”

“Is that what I think it is?!”

Scarlet petals fluttered gently in the breeze.

The fragments of Unjak’s qi, carried by his sword, began to trace patterns in the air, drawing countless buds.

Blossom!

The petals burst into full bloom.

People couldn’t help but gasp in awe at the spectacle.

“The Twenty-Four Blossom Plum Sword!”

As the beautiful flower bloomed, the petals once again scattered into the air, signaling the end of the performance.

In a single sword technique, Unjak had conveyed both the fleeting beauty of a flower’s life and the essence of human existence.

While the crowd erupted into cheers, Seo-jun quietly observed Unjak’s performance.

The scattering sword. The fluttering petals. The blossoming plum.

Standing there, Unjak was no longer just a swordsman—he was a plum tree in full bloom.

‘So this is the Huashan Sect.’

Seo-jun was amazed that something like that could be achieved with a sword.

But at the same time, he felt a tinge of regret. If it were him, he could have made it even more extravagant.

He couldn’t replicate such a meticulously refined swordsmanship, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t make flowers bloom.

“Chun-bong.”

“Yeah?”

“If I copy that, will the Huashan Sect come after me with swords?”