Chapter 23: Jaseung, Draws Lots

“This is the final list of those who made it to the main bracket.”

Chu Sang-gi handed over a list that contained thirty names. Each of the thirty preliminary arenas produced a single winner.

“Most of them were the expected victors.”

The Northern Sky Clan had intentionally spread strong contenders across various arenas for the preliminaries. As a result, matches between top-tier fighters didn’t occur early on, battles worthy of being called the real finals. “Of course, there were some surprises. Gu Yucheon, who won at arena four, and Gwak Pil who won at arena eleven are rising stars who had never appeared in the world before. And…”

After a pause, Chu Sang-gi carefully added.

“Seop Mu-pyeong, he also made it to the main tournament.”

“What?”

Baek Seolyoung looked down at the list in shock. Sure enough, the winner of the nineteenth arena was indeed Seop Mu-pyeong.

Goodness! He made it to the main bracket?

She recalled Lee Jaseung’s face in her mind. Naturally, his words were recalled as well.

“At the very least, it’s not because I want to marry you.”

Baek Seolyoung frowned. The more she thought about it, the angrier it made her.

‘Whatever, I didn’t hold this tournament just to marry you either!’

“He’s an incredibly lucky man.”

Baek Seolyoung shook her head at Chu Sang-gi’s words.

No matter how much she disliked him, credit had to be given where it was due.

“You can’t get this far with luck alone.”

The saying “luck is also a form of skill” didn’t apply here. It was impossible for him to be lucky through all six to seven rounds of preliminaries.

But… How exactly did he make it through?

These thoughts likely stemmed from his attitude. He didn’t feel like a seasoned martial artist, but more like a wild, unpredictable force. At best, it felt raw and untamed. At worst, he was just rude and inconsiderate.

Because of that, rather than suspecting he was a skilled master, she kept thinking that he must be an ignorant fool.

Chu Sang-gi spoke with a displeased expression.

“But no one from the Murim Alliance attended the preliminary rounds.”

Baek Seolyoung smirked.

“They’ll show their faces when it’s the finals.”

They were surely watching, waiting to throw their support depending on how things turned out between her and Yang Sebang.

“Those old men are just fly foxes and raccoons.”

“Honestly, I just want to wipe them ou- “

Realizing he had gone too far, Chu Sang-gi stopped mid-sentence.

He got angry thinking about the Elder masters of the Murim Alliance who only looked out for their own interests, but it wasn’t appropriate for him to curse out loud so openly.

“Sang-gi, you cannot disregard their wealth of experience and knowledge.”

Baek Seolyoung calmed him with a gentle tone.

Chu Sang-gi pouted in dissatisfaction.

‘The problem is that they use that experience and knowledge only to maintain their power.’

He deeply distrusted the Elders of the Murim Alliance.

People criticized the corrupt Black Way Alliance, but in Chu Sang-gi’s eyes, he saw little difference between the two. The Murim Alliance was just as corrupt.

“Oh, now that I think about it, hasn’t there been a rumor that the Black Way Alliance has a new young leader?”

“Why? Do you think the Black Way Alliance will change just because it has a young leader now? That they’ll all suddenly reform?”

“No, not really.”

“The Unorthodox Faction is Unorthodox at the end of the day. Let’s stop having miscellaneous thoughts now. So, when do the finals begin?”

“In two days.”

The tournament schedule was made to be intentionally short. It was better for her to do things quickly if she was going to regardless. Dragging it out would’ve only led to more inner conflict.

“And tonight, there’s an evening banquet for the match drawing.”

“Do I have to attend too?”

“Yes, that’s how it was planned.”

Chu Sang-gi quickly added, watching her expression.

“Should I cancel the plan if you’re not up for it?”

She honestly didn’t want to go. This tournament was essentially about selling herself. It was understandable that she didn’t want to show her face there.

But refusing to attend would feel like running away from fate. If she backed down now, she wouldn’t be able to endure the future.

“No, there is no need for that.”

Baek Seolyoung looked back at the list. One of these thirty men would become her husband.

Among them were men over seventy, some who she found deeply unlikeable, some infamous for nasty rumors, and some so ugly she frowned just thinking about them.

There wasn’t a single name on the list she truly wished would win.

Deep down, she hoped for a man she’d never imagined, someone very cool and remarkable.

But reality was cold. Someone once said the cruelest word humans ever invented was “hope”, and it was time for her to accept that.

It was time to abandon hope.

* * *

That night, the thirty victors of the preliminary rounds attended the banquet. Along with them, many figures from the Northern Sky Clan and renowned guests filled the hall.

This evening’s most important event was the match drawing. For the contestants, it was very critical.

Each finalist sat at their assigned seats. It was isolated to prevent conflict just in case.

They were allowed to bring an escort, so Lee Jaseung attended with Dan Woobin.

Dan Woobin constantly observed the other contestants and took notes of something.

The Three-Eyed Pavilion had already started investigating the finalists. Just in case his subordinates missed anything, he attended the banquet himself to inspect them.

Soon after, Baek Seolyoung appeared on stage. She captured everyone’s attention instantly.

The contestants in particular, couldn’t take their eyes off of her. She was so beautiful it was hard to believe marrying her was really the prize of this tournament.

She personally conducted the drawing. She could’ve delegated it to someone else, but she didn’t as she didn’t want to run from this.

“Congratulations to all the heroes who’ve made it to the finals.”

She acted as confidently as she could.

Baek Seolyoung scanned the hall. The thirty master martial artists radiated fierce auras.

Half were familiar faces, half unfamiliar.

But Lee Jaseung stood out the most. He looked the youngest and had the most charming look among them. When it came to looks alone, she hoped that he would win.

She quickly scoffed at herself.

So what? He has a nasty personality.

Besides, he had almost no chance of winning. He was too young to stand against such seasoned warriors.

These finalists were far above the level of his previous opponents. None of them were going to be easy.

Despite noticing Baek Seolyoung’s brief moment of gaze on him, Lee Jaseung showed no reaction. He just silently fiddled with his Asura.

Dan Woobin who came along, peeked at him.

‘Is he thinking about her?’

Maybe, but maybe not. He served Lee Jaseung for a long time, but there were moments he couldn’t read him, just like now. It was especially like this when it came to women.

Dan Woobin looked at Baek Seolyoung delivering her speech.

‘She’s that beautiful, so please show some interest!’

Soon after, the drawing began.

A large bag contained metal plaques numbered one through thirty. Each contestant drew one and stuck it to the back wall.

Number one fights two, number three fights four, and so on.

Since there were thirty contestants, fifteen victors would come out in round one. That meant that one pair would automatically advance to the next round.

A victor from numbers twenty-nine and thirty were planned as such.

Lee Jaseung climbed the stage.

Baek Seolyoung stood, holding the bag.

Their eyes met. She smiled kindly, as if meeting him for the first time today.

He acted just as indifferent, as if it truly was their first encounter. He reached in and drew number eight from the bag.

Dan Woobin sighed as he watched. If he had drawn twenty-nine or thirty, he could’ve skipped a match.

Number seven was already posted on the back wall.

The Divine Sword of Anhui, Wang Ho.

Lee Jaseung placed his own next to his.

Seop Mu-pyeong of the Flying Dagger Sect.

Baek Seolyoung gave a formal greeting to everyone.

“I wish you victory.”

As Lee Jaseung turned to leave, he paused and glanced back at her. It looked as if his eyes were asking if she truly meant her words, which made her pout a little.

‘Hmph! Do you think I meant it?’

Sensing her thought, Lee Jaseung gave a faint smile and stepped down.

He felt cold gazes in the way. It was the kind that said, ‘how dare you look at my woman?’

The finalists felt excited, having seen her up close.

Some genuinely liked her, others craved power, some wanted fame, but they all shared one thought.

She really was beautiful.

And inevitably, the next thought.

Too wasteful to give her to someone else.

Either way, the drawing continued and the full bracket was complete.

“Best of luck to you all.”

Baek Seolyoung gave a final greeting and stepped down. Musicians began playing their instruments, and servants brought food and drinks to each table.

“Have a drink.”

At Dan Woobin’s offer, Lee Jaseung shook his head and stood.”

“I’ll head back after getting some air.”

“Alright.”

Dan Woobin was certain as he watched Lee Jaseung leave early.

‘His mind is troubled.’

The thought of it actually made Dan Woobin smile instead. He didn’t see it as a bad thing. He too felt restless when he first fell for Songhwa.

But unfortunately, Dan Woobin was mistaken.

Lee Jaseung wasn’t thinking of Baek Seolyoung as he walked alone in the night.

He had been thinking about martial arts all along. It was the technique he developed using the first form of Yama’s Dagger Art, the explosive dagger technique.

Now, he was refining the second form, Dagger of the Great Circle. It was a close-combat, thrusting style.

The third form, Dagger of the Dancing Peacock focused on slashing.

The second form was enough to handle most opponents. For enemies at Peak Realm or above, he combined the second and third form against them.

The fourth form, Dagger of the Night Demon was a technique where he infused powerful Qi inside the dagger, and the fifth form, Dagger of the Enlightened One was a defensive technique.

Not for ordinary attacks, but for life-threatening situations.

The sixth and final form, Dagger of the Radiant King, contained the essence of Yama’s Dagger Art. It was his trump card, and he had never used it on anyone yet.  

After his fateful encounter with the metal box, he had many thoughts about Yama’s Dagger Art. It seemed most likely that the increase in his inner Qi affected his entire mind about martial arts.

He felt a desire, maybe even a need to change something. But he didn’t exactly know what it was.

It could’ve been seen as both good or bad.

Of course, Lee Jaseung chose to see it positively. He took it as a chance for growth. Just as he had success adapting the second form, he believed he could discover something more in the future.

Lost in thought, he paused walking for a moment. In front of him, stood a shabby tavern but it had an odd name.

One Fleeting Dream.

It meant a fleeting spring dream which referred to how the wealth and splendor of life vanish in vain, like an illusion.

Perhaps it was because that name clashed with his own ambition to conquer the world? Seeing that name made him crave a drink.

As if he was charmed, he stepped inside.

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