As the new faces kept passing in quick succession, even those who had cleared the bar early and were watching the prelims began to take interest.“Their internal energy is no joke.”“Where is the Shincheon Chamber of Commerce from?”“And what’s the Golden Flower Gate supposed to be?”“Are those really late-generation disciples from nameless sects?”Those who had barely scraped through couldn’t hide their shock, and even the late-generation disciples of the great sects were on guard.Disciples of the Mount Hua Sect, the Gongdong Sect, the Zhongnan Sect, and the Shaolin Temple were gathered and talking.“I’ve never heard of them, but we shouldn’t take them lightly.”“Relax. A high internal reserve alone doesn’t decide everything. Strength is about what martial arts you have mastered and how well you use them. If being strong were only about internal energy, why would martial arts exist?”“True enough. Looks like their sects staked life and death to build their internal reserves—but that’s all. They’re no match for us.”“Shincheon Chamber doesn’t even feel like a sect.”“Has the level of the Divine Dragon Tournament fallen so low that even a mere trading house can field contestants?”“It’s a tournament open to all.”“Even so, come on.”“Still—must be plenty of money there. Look how they raised two of them like that.”One man listened quietly to the four.It was Myeong Cheon of the Wudang Sect.Hearing their talk, he laughed to himself.They were spouting that nonsense because they didn’t know what the Shincheon Chamber of Commerce actually was.The ones to watch most closely in this Divine Dragon Tournament were precisely those two from the Shincheon Chamber of Commerce.“Only” high internal energy?Absolutely not.The one who raised them was his own lord, Yeon Woo Jin.There was no way they’d be weak.Myeong Cheon clenched his fist.He vowed to defeat them and earn Yeon Woo Jin’s acknowledgment.Did his stance look like nerves?An Ho of the Mount Hua Sect smirked and spoke.“Stepping in for the senior who was supposed to compete—looks like you’re really nervous.”At An Ho’s words, Myeong Cheon smirked back.“You’re the one who should be nervous.”“Us? Why?”“Because arrogance is the straight road to defeat.”“Hahaha! We are the sort who can afford to be arrogant. Same goes for you. Don’t get too tight. If you get jittery just looking at third-rate kids like that, what will people think of us?”“He’s right. We’re late-generation disciples of the Nine Schools and One Gang—representatives of the Central Plains. If we look like that, people will laugh. So carry yourself proudly.”“All right, that’s enough. He had to jump in for his senior at the last moment—of course he’s tense. I get it. If I’d been thrown in without time to prepare, I’d be just as tense.”“You have a point. Still, don’t worry too much. No one here but us is a match for you.”“Even if you face us, we’ll go easy, so don’t worry. Hahaha!”At the words “we’ll go easy,” the Azure Dragon inside Myeong Cheon spoke up.—You’re just going to sit there after hearing that? Let’s blast them now.—No. We hold it in for now.—Damn it! They’re infuriating.—We’ll show them when the matches start—what arrogance costs.Soothing the raging Azure Dragon, Myeong Cheon looked over at Jang Woon and Seon Woo Baek.He seemed intent on memorizing their faces. ****“As expected of those our lord raised—they’re different.”“Did you hear what those puffed-up brats were saying? They were treating the Shincheon Chamber like a joke.”“Of course. To them it’s an unfamiliar name. In truth, it’s the most fearsome power in the Central Plains.”“Agreed. I’m looking forward to it—seeing how much those brats will do.”“They’ll win. Our lord raised them himself.”“I don’t know if those petty types will acknowledge it.”“They’d better. If not, that gentleman over there will pay them a visit.”Following Eon Ho Baek’s gaze, they saw Yeon Cheon Baek sitting in the stands, enjoying the show.A chill—At the thought of Yeon Cheon Baek “paying a visit,” both men broke out in goosebumps.“Ugh! Just thinking about it is awful.”“Right? Look at these goosebumps. I don’t even want to imagine it.”Someone cut into the alliance leaders’ conversation.“You two seem to be getting along well.”Startled, they turned—and there stood Venerable White Cloud, Head of the Wudang Sect.“So it’s Venerable White Cloud.”“Heh heh heh. I saw the alliance leaders from afar and came to pay my respects.”“Thank you. Have you been well?”“Heh heh heh. I’ve been fine. You look well too—it’s good to see.”Then he turned toward the Four Evils Alliance leader, clasped his fists, and greeted him.“It has truly been a long time, Alliance Leader.”“Indeed. Five years, is it?”“About that. I didn’t know you two were on such good terms.”At Venerable White Cloud’s words, both men were flustered.They’d spent so much time together inside the Time-Space Division Formation that, outside, they naturally treated each other with ease and familiarity.“Th-this is, well…”Eon Ho Baek started to stammer something, but Venerable White Cloud smiled.“No need to be so flustered. I only spoke because it was pleasant to see. Pay it no mind.”“I failed to consider others’ eyes.”“Truly, it’s fine. On a day this joyful, what use is drawing lines? Better that all within the four seas enjoy it together.”“Thank you for seeing it that way.”“But it seems the two of you also know the Shincheon Chamber of Commerce.”At that, the two alliance leaders looked at him in surprise.“You know of it as well, Venerable?”“Know it? I know it very well.”“Do you also know who heads the Shincheon Chamber of Commerce?”“Of course. How could I not?”“How did you come to know?”“It has a very deep bond with our Wudang. Heh heh heh. As this poor Daoist sees it, the winner of this Divine Dragon Tournament will come from the Shincheon Chamber of Commerce.”At Venerable White Cloud’s words, the alliance leaders realized he truly did know the Shincheon Chamber.No one would say that without certainty.“How did you come to be connected?”“Hm… I formed a bond with the chamber’s master.”“With our lord?”“Pardon? What did you just say?”At Venerable White Cloud’s question, Eon Ho Baek snapped his mouth shut with a look of “ah!”“N-no. I meant the owner of the Shincheon Chamber—I misspoke.”“It didn’t sound like that at all. Are you serving the master of the Shincheon Chamber as your lord?”Eon Ho Baek almost said no—then closed his mouth.He couldn’t bring himself to deny his lord.Seeing that, Venerable White Cloud understood that Eon Ho Baek served Yeon Woo Jin as lord.And when he saw the Four Evils Alliance leader, Su Cheon Kang, wearing the same awkward look, he sensed that both men served Yeon Woo Jin together.At last, Eon Ho Baek confessed.“It’s true. I serve the master of the Shincheon Chamber as my lord.”Better to speak openly and serve proudly than deny his lord.A mere alliance-leader’s seat no longer mattered.Eon Ho Baek expected Venerable White Cloud to erupt in fury.But no.The man laughed heartily and looked delighted.“Heh heh heh! How curious.”“What’s so funny—and so curious?”“When did he accept the two alliance leaders as subordinates, I wonder? He truly is remarkable—our lord.”At Venerable White Cloud’s words, the two leaders’ eyes went wide.“W-what did you just say?”“I said ‘our lord.’ If the lord you serve is the master of the Shincheon Chamber of Commerce, a man surnamed Yeon, given name Woo Jin, then we are family serving the same lord.”“Th-the head of the Wudang Sect… has a lord?”“The leader of the Martial Alliance has a lord—why shouldn’t the head of the Wudang Sect?”“D-do the other people of Wudang know this?”“Of course. Our Wudang Sect is under his banner.”Thoom—It felt like someone had smacked him hard on the head.The Wudang Sect was under their lord’s banner—and its head was openly calling him “lord.”“He is the one who will truly unify the Central Plains. Under his rule, the Central Plains will be more peaceful than ever in history.”“I—I think so as well.”Eon Ho Baek nodded, dazed.Then his expression eased.The tension left him.At the same time, his heart grew calm.He felt as if he’d gained an army of a thousand and ten thousand.If the head of the Wudang Sect helped seat their lord as alliance leader, the work would go that much smoother.“Venerable, please spare some time this evening. There is something to discuss regarding our lord.”“Heh heh heh. Is that so? Can you give me a hint?”“I want to seat our lord as the leader of the Martial Alliance.”“Oh?”“Not only the Martial Alliance—I want to seat him as leader of the Four Evils Alliance as well. Then unite the two into one and form a new body called the Central Plains Alliance.”“Oho! That’s an excellent idea.”“For that, I will need your help. There are many eyes here—let me explain the details this evening.”“Very well. Then I’ll gather like-minded people and come.”“Pardon? Are you not the only one serving our lord?”“Heh heh heh. You’ll see this evening.”At Venerable White Cloud’s smile and inscrutable words, the two alliance leaders tilted their heads. ****Evening came.Eon Ho Baek and Su Cheon Kang, faces taut with /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ nerves, arrived early at the appointed place and took their seats.No one had appeared yet.Then, in the distance, someone approached.It was Venerable White Cloud of the Wudang Sect.The two leaders rose to greet him.“You’re here.”“Heh heh heh. Have you waited long?”“No. We just arrived ourselves.”“Heh heh heh. Seems the others aren’t here yet.”“By ‘others,’ who do you mean?”“You’ll know when you see. Ah! There comes one.”In the direction Venerable White Cloud pointed, someone truly was approaching.A moment later—The face caught in the lamplight made Eon Ho Baek cry out.“Gasp! A-aren’t you… the Zhuge Clan Head?”“Heh heh heh. Good to see you, Alliance Leader. It’s been a while.”“C-could it be that you too…?”“Yes. I am also family serving the same lord.”Eon Ho Baek wore a baffled look.“The Zhuge Clan… serves him?”“That’s right. Our Zhuge Clan will be a Guardian Clan under him—the vanguard among vanguards.”No sooner had Zhuge Mun-yeok, Head of the Zhuge Clan, finished than a voice of rebuttal rang out.“What are you saying? The vanguard clan under him is our Hwangbo Clan.”“Hwangbo, my foot. That place belongs to our Pang Clan.”More figures followed.Hwangbo Won, Head of the Hwangbo Clan, and Pang Hon, Head of the Hebei Pang Clan.“Good to see you, Alliance Leader. I hear you’ve come under our lord’s banner? Hahaha. Congratulations.”“Indeed. Our lord doesn’t accept just anyone—if he has accepted you, it means your ability has been recognized.”At their words, Eon Ho Baek asked in a trembling voice,“Y-you two also serve Y-Young Lord Yeon?”“Not just those two. All Five Great Clans are under him.”At the voice from behind, they turned to see two more men approaching:Namgoong Cheon, Head of the Namgoong Clan, and Tang Mu Gun, Head of the Tang Clan of Sichuan.As the figures filed in one after another, Eon Ho Baek could only open and close his mouth.He was too stunned.All Five Great Clans—under their lord?Unbelievable.And the Wudang Sect as well.If this kept up, they really might seat their lord as alliance leader.But the surprises weren’t over.When the next figure appeared, Eon Ho Baek cried out,“A-aren’t you… Gwangpung Shinga?”He truly was startled at the sight of Gwangpung Shinga.“Heh heh heh. Alliance Leader, long time. Congratulations on coming under our lord’s banner.”“Don’t tell me… the Beggars’ Sect as well?”“That’s right. The Beggars’ Sect is under him too.”

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