Chapter 6

He was extremely tall with broad shoulders.

Just standing there, he gave off an overwhelming presence that seemed to dominate everyone around him.

His sun-tanned skin gleamed in the light, and the muscles on his bare arms were powerfully defined.

His entire body seemed to proclaim, This is what a true martial artist should look like.

The Southern Beast Palace?

Between the tiger-skin clothing and the two huge axes strapped to his back, he certainly didn’t look like someone from the Central Plains.

He immediately reminded me of one of the martial sects from the lands outside the Central Plains, just like the Northern Sea Ice Palace.

“Oh?”

He noticed me standing up.

Our eyes met.

His gaze resembled that of a wild beast spotting its prey.

Instead of looking away, I stared back without hesitation.

“…I knew it at a glance! You’re Seol Su-ryeo from the Northern Sea Ice Palace, aren’t you?”

Even his voice boomed like thunder.

Although he was bigger than most grown men…

The voice belonged to a woman.

And she even knew my name.

Was she here to challenge me?

“That’s right…”

I cautiously gathered my qi while trying to judge her strength.

Her presence was completely different from the weak martial artists I had encountered in the countryside.

“I am Maeng Ryeong-ji of the Beast Palace.”

She strode toward me.

Every step felt as though a mountain were moving.

Cheap tricks probably wouldn’t work on someone like her.

If we fought, I’d have to draw my sword.

“I’ve been looking forward to meeting you ever since I heard your name!”

Whoosh!

Maeng Ryeong-ji spread both arms wide.

It looked exactly like a bear trying to intimidate an enemy.

I instinctively lowered my stance and rested my hand on my sword.

“…”

Then…

“At last we meet face to face! I’m truly happy that we’ll be entering the Heavenly Martial Academy together! Hahaha!”

Maeng Ryeong-ji suddenly pulled me into a huge hug.

I was so shocked that it took me a moment to even process what she had just said.

…Thankfully, I hadn’t drawn my sword after all.

“Ahem… Y-You startled me.”

“Hahaha! The moment I heard someone from the martial world beyond the borders had arrived in Luoyang, I couldn’t wait another second!”

Still laughing loudly, she patted my back several times.

Apparently I had misunderstood her because her expression looked so fierce whenever she wasn’t smiling.

“Let’s sit down first. You’re scaring everyone.”

I pointed to the empty chair across from me.

Not only the frightened waiter, but everyone else in the inn was staring at us.

“…May I eat with you?”

Ignoring all the attention, Maeng Ryeong-ji looked oddly emotional as she pulled out a chair.

She was so large that the chair looked as though it might collapse beneath her.

“Of course. Eat as much as you want. But how did you know I was here?”

She didn’t seem to have any bad intentions.

Still, I wondered how she had found me so quickly.

While I wasn’t as enormous as she was, my appearance certainly stood out.

Recognizing me as someone from the Northern Sea Ice Palace wasn’t strange.

But I had only arrived in Luoyang today.

“The moment I reached the academy, I asked whether you’d arrived! They told me you hadn’t yet, so I asked them to let me know the instant you came!”

Huh?

Had the assistant who checked my admission token told her where I was staying after hearing me tell So-un?

Well…

Since her identity was obvious too, there wasn’t much reason to keep it secret.

“Wait. Your name was Maeng Ryeong-ji, right? If your surname is Maeng… are you the daughter of the Beast Palace Lord?”

Just as I was about to continue eating, I remembered Father mentioning that the Beast Palace Lord’s child would also attend the academy.

I had assumed it would definitely be a son.

“That’s right! But in the Beast Palace, everyone except the Young Palace Lord is simply considered a disciple regardless of bloodline!”

So…

She really was that child.

Wait… the Beast Palace Lord’s son wasn’t Candidate Number One after all?

Father had never said it was a daughter.

But…

Now that I thought about it, he had never said it was a son either.

That’s right. He only said “child.” …Seriously, Father!

I quickly drank a cup of cold water while recalling his exact words.

Her talent certainly looked incredible.

But even if she mastered the ultimate extreme yang martial arts…

Yin-Yang Harmony obviously wouldn’t work between us.

…Unless Father hadn’t realized she was a woman either?

Ah… he also mentioned the Namgung Clan and the others. So it wasn’t necessarily the Beast Palace Lord’s child. There must simply be many students at the academy who practice extreme yang martial arts.

My thoughts were in complete chaos.

But there was no way I could explain such a ridiculous misunderstanding.

I calmed myself and smiled.

“My father also told me about you. He said you’re incredibly talented.”

“Hahaha! I beat every disciple my age back home!”

Maeng Ryeong-ji proudly twirled her admission token between her fingers.

“He also said the Northern Pole Star Emperor believes you’ll completely overwhelm all the young geniuses of the Nine Great Sects!”

“…”

…Father?

He didn’t just say those embarrassing things back home.

He actually bragged about me in front of the Beast Palace Lord too?

Did he seriously believe I’d defeat every genius in the Central Plains…

And take all the spiritual medicines for myself?

The leaders of the Nine Great Sects probably weren’t there, right? It must have just been something Father said while drinking with the Beast Palace Lord… right?

Regardless of why he had sent me here…

My face suddenly felt hot with embarrassment.

The Northern Sea Ice Palace certainly wasn’t a weak sect.

But even if you ranked first at an excellent local school…

There were countless students in the capital just as smart or smarter than you.

The Nine Great Sects and One Beggar Sect were the ten most prestigious righteous martial powers in the Central Plains.

Aside from the Beggars’ Sect, each of the Nine Great Sects recruited talented disciples from across the country and trained them under the best possible conditions.

The Five Great Families supposedly washed their children’s bodies with medicinal herbs from birth and fed them spiritual medicines as if they were ordinary water.

Claiming I would surpass all of them seemed a little excessive.

“Let’s defeat all those weak Central Plains people together! Hahaha!”

Whether I silently blamed Father or not, Maeng Ryeong-ji believed every word.

As she spoke about fighting, she straightened proudly and clenched her fists.

Powerful yang energy practically poured from her body.

…At least in terms of presence, she definitely wasn’t lacking.

“My brother always says the people of the Central Plains think they’re the greatest. Throw them into a jungle full of wild beasts, and they wouldn’t even leave behind bones. Since they always stick together, we outsiders should unite as well!”

So basically…

She was calling them flowers raised in a greenhouse.

As I nodded, one word caught my attention.

“Your brother…?”

“Hm? Ah, yes. He’s the Young Palace Lord of the Beast Palace.”

“Is he at the academy too?”

“No. He graduated last year.”

Maeng Ryeong-ji frowned.

Was her brother handsome?

Was he talented?

I suddenly wanted to ask.

But while hiding the fact that I had the Nine Yin Severed Meridians…

If I suddenly started asking about handsome men…

She’d probably think I was obsessed with men.

I quietly stored away the information that she had an older brother and continued naturally.

“I see. Since you have an older sibling who attended the academy, you must already know quite a lot about it.”

I was also curious about the other students.

Unlike Maeng Ryeong-ji, I wasn’t particularly battle-hungry.

Still, if I wanted to win the academy’s spiritual medicines and extend my life…

I’d have to defeat many talented people.

“If you fought them one-on-one, would they be very strong? Have you ever crossed swords with disciples from the Nine Great Sects or the Five Great Families?”

Maeng Ryeong-ji looked down on them because she thought they couldn’t survive in the wilderness.

Still…

The academy would probably involve much more fighting between martial artists than surviving in forests.

“Hmm…”

She frowned without answering.

If she had beaten them, she probably would have said so immediately.

“This is my first time visiting the Central Plains too.”

So…

Just like me, she had almost no experience fighting martial artists from the Central Plains.

…Then weren’t both of us just flowers raised in greenhouses?

Well…

Maybe the Beast Palace hadn’t spoiled its daughter the way Father had spoiled me.

“Do you want to go see them?”

Seeing my disappointed expression, Maeng Ryeong-ji grabbed my arm.

“See what?”

“I heard there’s a disciple from Mount Hua taking the entrance examination today. If we go now, we can probably watch.”

Huh?

Go watch one of the young geniuses from the Nine Great Sects?

Mount Hua was one of the Nine Great Sects that supported the righteous martial world.

A disciple they personally sent would surely rank among the strongest students in the academy.

I vaguely remembered Father mentioning someone from Mount Hua.

“But wait. Why is a Mount Hua disciple taking the entrance exam?”

Wouldn’t disciples from such famous sects receive recommendation tokens just like we had?

“I don’t know that much either.”

Naturally, Maeng Ryeong-ji didn’t know everything.

She had only arrived in Luoyang a few days before me.

“If we’re going, we should hurry. Today’s the last day of the entrance exams.”

“Can outsiders really watch?”

“Of course. The academy opens its grounds to the public during the entrance examinations.”

Ah.

So it was the place we had seen earlier.

There was really a Mount Hua disciple there?

“…Should we go?”

It was certainly tempting.

“Wait a little. Let’s tell my escort first when he gets back.”

I decided to go.

Not long afterward, Commander Baek-ung returned carrying the repaired stirrup.

I immediately told him we wanted to go watch the Mount Hua disciple.

“What? Absolutely not! If you suddenly challenge a disciple of one of the Nine Great Sects, it could cause a serious incident!”

…He had completely misunderstood.

“No. I just meant watching from a distance because they’re taking the entrance exam.”

“Ah… I see.”

Did he seriously think I’d march over like Maeng Ryeong-ji and challenge the Mount Hua disciple to a fight?

Why would I do that?

“Haha. In that case, it’s perfectly fine. Enjoy yourselves.”

He glanced at Maeng Ryeong-ji and smiled.

“So you’ve already made a friend.”

Then he added one final warning.

“However… neither of you must cause any trouble inside Luoyang. If there’s ever someone you absolutely have to beat up, drag them inside the academy or outside the city walls first.”

After saying something incredibly strange…

He simply walked away.

Honestly, I had no idea what kind of person he thought I was.

***

A short while later…

The Heavenly Martial Academy.

The enormous training ground had been divided into ten separate arenas.

Applicants were fighting simultaneously all over the place.

One arena had gathered far more spectators than the others.

“The Mount Hua disciple must be over there.”

Finding the right place wasn’t difficult.

The crowd was thick.