That was very much in the realm of possibility. The only reason why the Cult had been holed up in Mt. Heaven was due to the Heavenly Demonâs stubbornness to protect the Holy Fire. Now that their long wish had been fulfilled, it wasnât strange for the Cult to start making moves.
âAnd they chose the Grand Martial Arts Tournament as their first stageâŚâ YuWon thought while recollecting the Heavenly Demonâs face. âHeâs a sly fox, unlike his appearance.
The Heavenly Demon was known as the greatest martial arts master in the Martial Realm. Unlike NamGung JinWoon who just barely hadnât managed to become a High Ranker, the Heavenly Demon had a high ranking even among High Rankers.
He was an incredibly talented martial artist and the leader who created the current Heavenly Demonic Cult.
YuWon had no way of knowing if the rumors were started by someone within the Cult or if it was planned by the Heavenly Demon, but this wasnât a bad situation for him.
âIf the Cult has started moving, theyâll become a great help,â thought YuWon.
The Heavenly Demonic Cult, despite being a singular martial school, was debated as being one of the greatest forces in the Martial Realm.
In a way, YuWon had obtained a backing that was even greater than the one Hoon had.
âSeeing as itâs the first time the Heavenly Demonic Cult is making an appearance, the vice-lord has to be someone really skilled. I wonder if theyâre a Ranker or a player. If theyâre a Ranker, they wonât be able to compete in the tournament, so I wonât get a chance to face them,â Hargaan blabbered on.
Hargaan had the impression that the vice-lord of the Cult was likely a Ranker, but that was only natural.
The vice-lord had power within the Cult that was second only to the Lord. It was hard to imagine that the Cult would give such a position to a mere player.
âDidnât you pass the Cultâs test? Do you know anything?â Hargaan asked.
âItâs me.â
âHuh? What is?â
âItâs me. Iâm the vice-lord,â YuWon explained nonchalantly.
Hargaan looked stunned for a bit, unable to process what he had heard. But when the gears started turning again and he understood YuWonâs words, his eyes widened.
âYouâre the vice-lord?â Hargaan asked in shock.
âYep.â
âIsnât the vice-lord a position thatâs similar to the vice-head of a noble clan?â
âSomething like that.â
Hargaanâs jaw dropped.
He had heard that YuWon was the first person to pass the Heavenly Demonic Cultâs test.
Hargaan himself had managed to pass the NamGung Clanâs test which was famous for its difficulty, but the Heavenly Demonic Cultâs test was known to be even harder.
He knew that YuWon was an amazing guy, but he didnât know it was to this degreeâŚ
âWas that the reward? The position of vice-lord?â
YuWon nodded his head in response.
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The real reward was the [Holy Fire,] and the position of vice-lord was just a bonus reward he got, but YuWon saw no reason to explain everything in detail.
âGods be damnedâŚâ Hargaan mumbled with regret, his back against the wall. âMaybe I should have challenged it.â
Unlike YuWon, Hargaan had a lot of interest in factions.
The Heavenly Demonic Cult was undeniably the greatest faction in the Martial Realm. Even if their current finances werenât stellar, they had multiple Rankers in their midst, and just having the Heavenly Demon, a High Ranker, put them above the NamGung Clan.
And the vice-lord was someone who was able to wield the power to command that organization. To Hargaan, that was the most tempting reward one could possibly obtain.
âOnce this gets out of the bag, your value is going to shoot up even higher,â Hargaan commented.
âI have no intention of joining any group.â
âI know that, but the other guilds are going to think differently,â Hargaan said with a smile on his face. âYou know, tomorrowâs going to be quite fun.â
* * *
The day of the Grand Martial Arts Tournament dawned.
Yang Wonil, a player of the School of the Sapphire Sword strutted along with his shoulders held high.
âItâs finally the Grand Martial Arts Tournament,â he thought.
The head of the Sapphire Sword had high hopes for the tournament.
Not only was it the biggest event held in the Martial Realm, it was an event that was well-known within the Tower.
If a player that was associated with the School of the Sapphire Sword performed well in the tournament, the status of the school would immediately go up within the Martial Realm.
âI have to get in the good eyes of the head this time around,â Wonil thought.
For that purpose, he had started climbing the Tower again, reaching the 18th Floor. Considering the rules of the tournament only permitted players under the 25th Floor to participate, he had made it to a pretty high floor.
AlsoâŚ
âWhile at the Sapphire Sword, I honed and sharpened my sword.â
He hadnât just been killing time by remaining in the Martial Realm. For this day, he had been practicing the martials arts of the Sapphire Sword again and again. And in that process, he had raised his stats, levels, and skill proficiency, making it easy for him to surpass the 15th Floor, which he was previously stuck on.
Clenchâ
He felt confident.
In this Grand Martial Arts Tournament, even if it wasnât winning, he had to place high.
And for thatâŚ
âIâll have to at least pass the preliminaries with ease.â
Step, stepâ
The stage of the tournament was now within eyesight.
Tens of thousands of players were participating in the tournament, and the rules of the preliminaries were simple. Ten players would get on the stage at once, and the last person standing would move onto the main leg of the tournament.
No one knew until the preliminaries started who were in each group of ten.
âI wonder whoâll be here,â Wonil thought as he climbed up on the stage.
âWhooooah!â
âTheyâre coming!â
âWhoâs all here?â
âThat guy. Isnât that a descendent of the SeoMoon Noble Clan?
âDidnât he just get to the 10th Floor?â
âItâs Yang Wonil! The bastard of the School of the Sapphire Sword!â
âYang Wonil? Where?â
The stage was massive.
It was a special stadium made for the Grand Martial Arts Tournament. And towering above that stadium were seats that could accommodate an audience of a hundred thousand people.
The stadium itself was wide enough where thousands of people could use it at once. Its massive size was also made for Rankers to duel each other on. Built using the technology of other floors, this stadium was one of the greatest architectural works in the Tower.
Wonil puffed up his chest. âThere are some people that recognize me,â he thought to himself.
Being called a bastard wasnât pleasant, but people still knew his name as he had been active in the Martial Realm for quite a while now.
âIâm finally on this stage.â
He had been going at it for a long time just for this day.
With tensions running high, he looked around.
The player that he was most on guard against was the player from the SeoMoon clan.
âEven if he just got to the 10th Floor, a Pure-Blood from the SeoMoon noble clan should not be underestimated. If avoidable, I shouldnât face him directly and work around him,â Wonil strategized.
Players from noble clans, even if they werenât players of high floors, still had a certain level of skill.
Wonil kept SeoMoon Chang in his mind as he turned his gaze.
âI donât have any intel on the other guys. Most of them must be nobodies⌠Huh?â
Wonilâs thought was interrupted as a familiar face came into his line of sight.
It didnât come to him right away, but it didnât take long for him to remember who it was.
âThat guy isâŚâ Wonil recollected.
It was an incident that happened while he was recruiting new players on the orders of the head of the Sapphire Sword.
It was the guy that humiliated him.
âItâs him,â Wonil thought with fury in his eyes.
He hadnât been able to find him until now, yet he had casually run into him at the Grand Martial Arts Tournament.
âItâs as the old proverb says, âenemies are bound to meet head-on on a narrow road.ââ
He had been honing his skills while climbing the Tower. Not only was he stronger now, he wasnât going to underestimate him this time. Wonil was confident he could easily wipe the floor with a guy that had only recently made it to the 10th Floor.
As Wonil was thinking, âYouâre dead meatâŚâ
âI-Itâs Kim YuWon!â someone shouted.
That created an instant commotion, like pouring oil onto a fire.
âKim YuWon?â
âHuh? Really?â
âWhere? Who said that?â
After Kim Yuwonâs presence was pointed out by someone that knew his face, the audience started their search for him.
YuWon was the player who was the center of attention of this tournament, but as he didnât do much other than climb the Tower, his face wasnât well-known.
âKim YuWon is here?â Wonil thought. Even he had heard a lot of rumors regarding YuWon.
There were even people saying that YuWon might be the greatest player in the history of the Tower because he was setting a new record on every test.
âIâm fucked,â Wonil dreaded. Why did he have to end up in this group out of all the possible groups?
He was already thinking he was unlucky to end up with SeoMoon Chang in his group, but he had, in fact, ended up in the same group with the worst opponent possible.
âSince itâs come to thisâŚâ Wonil thought while glaring at his enemy, âIâm going to at least cut you down.â
In fact, it was possible that even if he lost here, things could go well for him if he stood out in the preliminaries since the audience was bound to remember the match where YuWon was present.
[10]
[9]
[8]
[âŚ]
A number that was floating in the air started counting down.
Wonil desperately waited for the number to become one.
Finally, the numbers counted down, andâŚ
[1]
Dashâ
Shingâ!
Wonil leapt forward and drew the sword on his waist.
âRemember me?â Wonil shouted.
Slashâ!
Wonilâs sword cut through thin air.
He thought he would cut him down, but his target had managed to sidestep his attack.
His attack missed by a thin margin, so Wonil moved lightly on his feet and continued with his technique.
âI havenât forgotten about the humiliation you presented me that dayâŚâ
Bumpâ
Wonil felt a slight impact on the bottom of his jaw. It didnât hurt much, as if it was a punch from a kid.
âWhat was that?â Wonil wondered.
He couldnât tell what it was that hit his jaw, so he decided to just ignore it since whatever he was hit by, he wouldnât feel a thing no matter how many times he was hit by it.
Or so he thoughtâŚ
âHuh?â
Wonil stopped in his tracks.
No matter how much strength he tried to muster, he couldnât move.
Klangâ
His hand gave out, and his sword fell to the stadium floor.
While looking at his opponentâs face, he felt a sense of despair. For things to end right when they had only just startedâŚ
âMy⌠name is⌠YangâŚâ as Wonil tried to say his nameâŚ
Thudâ
⌠His body flopped onto the ground.
âSo, who are you?â YuWon asked, confused at the guy that suddenly charged at him and got knocked out by a single hit.
This Yang guy spoke as if he had been wronged by YuWon, but YuWon had no recollection of meeting someone like him during any part of the test.
âDid he already faint?â YuWon wondered.
He didnât even hit him hard, so he shrugged it off as someone who was just weak.
And with that, YuWon stopped paying attention to Wonil, who laid on the floor, knocked out and drooling.
There were now nine players left.
With Wonilâs surprise attack, peopleâs attention was already centered on YuWon.
âWhat did he just do?â
âI couldnât even see anything.â
â⌠That guy must be Kim YuWon.â
âAre you sure?â
âI heard the rumors. Black eyes and black hair. Dons the Pyromancy Robe. He matches the description.â
âThen it must be him.â
All the players in the same group were wary of YuWon.
It was only natural, since only one player could make it to the main stage of the tournament. Without taking down YuWon, it was impossible to move further on in the tournament.
âIt seems like everyone knows nowâŚâ YuWon said.
He had wanted to take it easy in the preliminaries, but heâd changed his mind.
YuWon slowly drew his sword while looking around at the other eight players, saying, âYou can come at me one at a time, or you can fight me all at once.â
Shhhnkâ
A sharp sound rang out while he drew his blade.
YuWon decided not to avoid the attention he had gathered.
There was a high level of tension filling the stadium.
âLetâs finish this quickly and not drag this out,â YuWon announced.
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