Chapter 130. Making a Name (3)
She had searched for a long time, yet met him in such an unexpectedly coincidental place. After meeting him in person, she liked him even more. She had met quite a few interesting people here, but among them, he stood out. No—he was someone who satisfied both her and the Heavenly Slaughter Energy beyond any comparison.
Could it be....
To the point that she wondered if this was what you'd call liking someone.
She smiled brightly without realizing it and said,
"Noh-baek."
"Yes, young lady."
"When we first met, I was just nervous."
"....."
"But now my heart is pounding like crazy. It feels like it's going to burst out of my chest."
At that moment, a flash of light flickered in her eyes, and they slowly darkened, as if a drop of ink had been mixed into water.
Seeing that, Noh-baek spoke in a small, trembling voice.
" ... Young lady, I think you should avoid this for now. If not—."
"Kukuk."
Yeon Yeong-ha's stifled, suffocating laughter cut off Noh-baek's urgent voice.
[Kill them. Kill them all.]
The Heavenly Slaughter Energy was violently pounding at her heart, so even without Noh-baek saying anything, she knew well what state she was in.
She just....
The fact that even this madly trembling heart could only be expressed this way made her laugh.
"Kukuk. Hohoho."
The suppressed laughter was bright, almost childlike. That was why it felt even more like a heavenly punishment.
Yeon Yeong-ha stood up from her seat.
"Yes, yes, this is—."
This must be what you call the throbbing of a monster.
Yeon Yeong-ha glanced once more at Dong Bong-su, then went down under the roof.
Noh-baek immediately followed behind her.
Wooooaaah—!
Just at that moment, along with the birth of a new Waseong, cheers from the crowd erupted.
But Yeon Yeong-ha couldn't hear any of it.
[Kill them. Kill them all.]
Because the pounding of the Heavenly Slaughter Energy was noisily blocking her ears.
***
"Is it that person again? Even today she keeps staring only at Dong... Oppa—huh? She's already going down this time?"
Ha Seon-hyang said, pointing at the roof of the Anti-Demon Hall across from them.
When Paeng Ho-ryu looked, Yeon Yeong-ha was jumping down toward the main avenue together with Noh-baek. Then, weaving through the spectators, she soon left the arena.
"That's what I'm saying. Does she have a taste for men? With how pretty he looks, he's perfect for Dong hyung—."
"Paeng oppa—!"
Ha Seon-hyang shouted loudly at Paeng Ho-ryu. Lately, because of Dong Bong-su's unusual atmosphere, many women had started paying attention to him. And now, Paeng Ho-ryu was even trying to link him with a man—or at least someone who might or might not be a man—which naturally made her annoyed.
"Hey, my ears are going to fall off."
"Hmph. I don't care if they do."
"See, someone's oppa and someone's oppa-nim. Anyway, this is why women are no good. Isn't that right, Dong hyung?"
" .... "
Dong Bong-su didn't answer and just watched Yeon Yeong-ha leave.
Just like him, Yeon Yeong-ha had been watching the tournament from up there on the Anti-Demon Hall every single day without fail. More precisely, she wasn't watching the tournament—she was observing him.
Was it reconnaissance of prey? Or fascination toward one of her own kind?
It didn't matter.
In any case, he had just become certain that the time for her to move was very near. She had never left the roof before him even once, but today, for the first time, she left first.
She was probably making final preparations for D-day.
The reason Yeon Yeong-ha had first appeared in Zhengzhou was clearly not because of him. The two of them meeting at Nangnang Tavern had really just been a coincidence. That had been clearly revealed in their short conversation as well.
Her original purpose for coming here was clearly either to participate in this All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament, or the tournament itself.
So what exactly was she planning to do?
And what kind of preparations had she made?
He was curious. It was a feeling he hadn't experienced many times in his life.
He wanted to follow Yeon Yeong-ha and check, but he didn't.
Because he shouldn't.
For now, the two of them were locked in a staring contest. Just because she had left this place didn't mean her eyes had moved away from him.
He couldn't move first without certainty. Even if he missed the proper hunting timing by not moving now, it would be dangerous to move rashly. That was how a staring contest worked.
The moment you blink, you lose.
Endure it. He had to endure.
Dong Bong-su was someone who was good at enduring.
Just a little more, just a little more.
If no opening appeared even then....
He would have no choice but to collide with her with pure force against force.
Soon, Yeon Yeong-ha and Noh-baek completely disappeared from his sight.
Dong Bong-su's gaze soon returned to the martial arena.
Ha Seon-hyang and Paeng Ho-ryu started bickering again, and new challengers climbed onto the arena and exchanged martial arts.
And time passed like that.
***
Dang! Dang! Dang!
A few hours later, around 7 PM, when the sun was setting.
The great drum at the eastern end of the Martial Alliance sounded. It was the signal that the preliminaries of the All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament had finally come to an end.
"Phew—. The preliminaries are finally completely over."
"I see. So the finals start tomorrow at last. Unfortunately, I wasn't invited to that festival. Haha."
"Why are you laughing? You're the Paeng Family head, but you couldn't even make it to the finals. Is that funny?"
"Then should I cry instead?"
"Huh?"
"I lost to the provisional champion, so once the finals are over, I'll be reevaluated anyway, right?"
At Paeng Ho-ryu's words, Ha Seon-hyang smiled while looking at Dong Bong-su's indifferent side profile.
"That's true."
The two of them were already predicting Dong Bong-su's victory.
It couldn't be helped. Among the current orthodox path, the best rising stars were the Three Stars. One of those Three Stars, Paeng Ho-ryu of the Hegemon Star, had been defeated. Blade Star had already returned to dust during the Anhui Great Slaughter Calamity, and the only one left was the Wine Star, Eulji Chu.
Paeng Ho-ryu had never seen Eulji Chu fight, but he never thought he was above himself.
Dong Bong-su, who had been silent, parted his closed lips.
"This is the heart of the Central Plains, the Zhengzhou Martial Alliance. It won't be that easy."
He didn't say much.
The heart of the Central Plains. And not easy.
That was enough.
The Central Plains—no, New Murim Online.
A hunting ground whose limits were truly unknowable.
Those two still had no idea what kind of incredible people had appeared here. They were judging the entire outcome of the All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament as if they had seen the whole Central Plains, just by looking at a few rising stars from famous orthodox sects.
'At least three people have made it to the finals whom no one can guarantee victory against.'
Yeon Yeong-ha, Zhong Zhihang.
And.
Someone no one was paying attention to—Seong Hwi.
He was definitely an incredible expert.
And besides, he didn't even know what kind of experts had participated in the southern and northern arenas that he hadn't been able to watch.
"That's true. The world is vast, so who knows what kind of experts are hiding somewhere and will suddenly pop out?"
"Eh—. But is there really someone stronger than Dong oppa?"
"Even just within this Central Plains, it's over ten thousand li east to west, and over ten thousand li north to south. Who knows? That's why someone like Dong hyung exists here. That's why it's the Central Plains. That must be what Dong hyung means too. Isn't that right, Dong hyung?"
" .... "
Dong Bong-su didn't answer and silently jumped down from under the roof.
Paeng Ho-ryu scratched the back of his head awkwardly, laughed, and followed him down toward the main avenue.
Ha Seon-hyang immediately followed behind them as well.
Around that time, on the temporary martial arena, Namgung Hye had gone up and was announcing that the preliminaries were over and explaining the finals schedule, but Dong Bong-su left the arena just like that.
Anyway, the finals schedule would be posted all over the Martial Alliance, so there was no need to check it right now.
The three of them, including Dong Bong-su, walked quickly toward the restaurant for the guests of the Guest Residence Pavilion.
There was no need to eat dinner here specifically, but ever since the tournament started, Dong Bong-su had always taken his meals here. There was no need to waste time getting pushed around in the bustling streets of Zhengzhou. Of course, even though he hadn't asked, the 'two attachments' following him around couldn't be helped.
"Look over there. That's him."
"Really? That's him? He looks surprisingly ordinary. Are you sure?"
"Can't you tell just by looking? That scraggly white hair and that bone-dry body. Where in the Nine Sects would you find someone with such a shabby impression? And look next to him. Ha miss and Family Head Paeng are there too."
"Oh? Those are them? But Family Head Paeng lost to him and got eliminated in the preliminaries, so why is he following that guy around like that?"
It started again.
The people who had arrived earlier and were having an early dinner began to murmur when Dong Bong-su appeared.
He didn't have a nickname yet, but Dong Bong-su was already one of the biggest talking points created by the All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament.
The Waseong who defeated Paeng Ho-ryu, the Hegemon Star.
That alone was enough to shock the orthodox path.
And on top of that, although it wasn't widely known yet, the fact that he was the disciple of the Martial Match Hammer Eccentric Bukgung Gi—though that might not actually be true—was also adding to his air of mystery.
"Tch. I'm not the kind of guy who gets talked about like this all the time, but here I am getting chewed on again."
"Yeah. I had zero presence, but now that I'm with you oppas, I'm becoming a side dish too. Hehe—."
Paeng Ho-ryu grumbled jokingly, and Ha Seon-hyang's eyes, curved like a new moon, curved even more deeply.
She seemed rather happy about the gossip. She took it as proof that Dong Bong-su was being acknowledged by people and that he had real skill.
Paeng Ho-ryu didn't look particularly displeased either. Dong Bong-su was already an expert he acknowledged. Getting angry because he lost to someone above him would be ridiculous.
Rather, he thought he was learning a lot by staying with him.
In fact, since the day he exchanged blows with him and lost, the Five Tigers Severing Gate Blade that had been stuck had begun to progress again.
They didn't talk much, but Dong Bong-su had already become a small teacher to him.
Even if he didn't express it in words.
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