"Baekbal Nachal Seomun Hwa-rin. Kidnap me."
This was the best plan I could think of. I had no confidence in persuading Seomun Hwa-rin, nor did I have any confidence in deceiving the eyes of the Murim Alliance Leader.
If that was the case, then the only thing I could do was to cover this situation with an entirely different matter.
What mattered was that Seomun Hwa-rin did not throw herself into the Black Alliance, and that, though there might be twists and turns, she would not give up and live a proper life.
Of course, Seomun Hwa-rin, who heard my Voice Transmission, was startled, thinking her secret had been discovered.
"Hic!"
Seomun Hwa-rin, who had been climbing onto the sparring stage, hiccupped alone.
Her eyes, wide open, trembled violently as if an earthquake had struck, and her lips moved wordlessly. Her fingers twitched as if she wanted to cover my mouth right then and there.
Anyone could see that Seomun Hwa-rin was greatly flustered, but as a master who had reached the Harmony Realm, she quickly calmed her emotions.
Then, with a face that had already turned composed, she moved her lips and replied through Voice Transmission.
"I-I have no idea what you're talking about!"
…Not so, is it?
It seems only her face had calmed down—inside, she was still in a frenzy.
Acting as if nothing had happened, she stood on the sparring stage, took a fist-and-palm salute, and continued sending Voice Transmissions.
"I know everything. And of course, I answered through Voice Transmission, but the words 'this one' slipped out instead of 'I.'"
-Whah?!
Seomun Hwa-rin slapped her own small lips repeatedly. At her sudden outburst, not only the referee but also the audience's gazes focused on her. Coming to her senses belatedly, she quickly took a fist-and-palm salute and returned the greeting.
After that, the Peak Realm master from the Murim Alliance who was acting as referee explained the rules of the sparring match, but she listened with one ear and let it out the other, focusing once more on the Voice Transmission.
She could no longer call him the Iron Blood Faction Leader, and since he didn't particularly like the alias Baekbal Nachal, it would be best to just call him "senior" without any fuss.
It was a false name, but she had called him by it often during their time traveling together, so she had grown somewhat accustomed to it.
"Senior Seomun Hwa-rin. I know this must be very confusing for you. But even considering the bond we've shared while traveling together, would you please hear me out for a moment?"
"Why have you been speaking to me with such creepy formality since a moment ago? And while I did say this body is this lady, I don't see what that has to do with that Demonic Head called Baekbal Nachal. Voice Transmission isn't a skill only Peak Realm masters can use, either."
Seomun Hwa-rin rubbed her arms as if she were genuinely getting goosebumps.
Seeing her deny being the Demonic Head with her own mouth, she must be planning to keep up the act of ignorance to the very end.
What Voice Transmission requires is excellent control over internal energy, not a high realm, so that wasn't technically wrong either.
Well, I'd expected this much. If I could have persuaded her with words, how wonderful would that have been?
But if that's impossible, then I have no choice but to come up with my own countermeasure. And that countermeasure is getting myself kidnapped.
"If you wish to pretend not to know, I won't stop you. But please understand one thing. I know why Senior Seomun Hwa-rin came to the Dragon Phoenix Gathering."
"This body is Seorin, not Seomun Hwa-rin. And as for the purpose of attending the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, it's nothing more than gaining experience and making a name for myself."
"As I mentioned before, you should know this by now… The Murim Alliance Leader is seated up there in the guest section. By now, he's probably suspicious of Senior Seomun Hwa-rin."
"What does that have to do with me? This body is not that person called Seomun Hwa-rin or whatever, so I have nothing to be caught for and nothing to fear."
"You may be confident in your ability to hide it, but you will surely fail. Your identity will be forcibly exposed to the entire world, and you'll be branded a shameless old fiend, left with nowhere to set foot."
"…Calling me an old fiend is going too far, don't you think?"
I looked at Seomun Hwa-rin, who was sulking and muttering, and got to the point.
"So kidnap me. It's going to be exposed anyway, isn't it? If you let me go after a suitable amount of time, I'll tell people that Senior Seomun Hwa-rin was actually a good person."
"This body is definitely not Seomun Hwa-rin… but what meaning does that even have in the first place? The opinions of the entire martial world cannot be overturned by the claims of a single person."
"The martial world as a whole will be like that. But the Tang Clan will be different."
Seomun Hwa-rin has no intention of avoiding the Dragon Phoenix Gathering. However, if that happens, it's unavoidable that his identity will be discovered by the Murim Alliance Leader.
Surely many people will learn of Seomun Hwa-rin's identity, and they will be shocked and condemn him. And if he kidnaps me, the prospective son-in-law of the Tang Clan, it will only get worse.
But if I were to say that instead of being harmed by Seomun Hwa-rin, I was actually helped by her, and that I knew she sincerely wanted to escape her Karmic Debt and live a new life—
Others might not believe me, but the Tang Clan would. And that makes sense, because I'm already a member of the Tang Clan.
Whether it's a favor or a grudge, repaying it thoroughly is the Tang Clan's Family Precept.
If I asked them to trust Seomun Hwa-rin just once, Tang Jincheon would hesitate, but he wouldn't refuse.
Of course, at first the treatment would be a bit cold. They might give her a good room, but they wouldn't take their wary eyes off her.
But I know. I know how kind a person Seomun Hwa-rin truly is, unlike the rumors circulating in the martial world.
It would take some time, but the Tang Clan would slowly accept Seomun Hwa-rin. Just like they did with me and Seol Ri-hyang when we left the Iron Blood Faction.
"So, Senior Seomun Hwa-rin. Please kidnap me. I'll figure out the rest somehow."
…
The referee's explanation was finally drawing to a close, and amid the anticipation for the first sparring match of the main tournament, the Murim Alliance Leader's suspicion was deepening.
It was time to make a decision, not a deliberation. Seomun Hwa-rin shook her head so faintly that only I could see it.
"I'm sorry to have made you think so much, but this body is not Seomun Hwa-rin. It is Seo-rin."
"…I see."
Seomun Hwa-rin took her stance without another word. Watching her prepare for the sparring bout like this, I gave a bitter smile and put my final Voice Transmission into words.
"But Senior Seomun Hwa-rin, you will end up kidnapping me."
If she would just take me along willingly, that would be best… but if she was going to be this uncooperative, there was no helping it.
I had to make it so Seomun Hwa-rin had no choice but to kidnap me.
In front of her puzzled gaze, I deliberately took my stance.
I stepped my left foot forward and bent my knees slightly. The key here was to keep the soles of my feet pressed against the ground while lifting my heels just a bit.
A stance that let me burst my internal energy through Yongcheonhyeol at any moment, directing that rebound force wherever I wanted.
It had been modified to suit me, and recently even the Mystery of the Gwiyeongbo had been mixed in… but its foundation was, after all, the Thunder Step.
And there was no way Seomun Hwa-rin, the very person who had taught me that Thunder Step, would fail to recognize it.
In fact, she had looked confused at first, but now her mouth hung open as she stared blankly at me.
"That's…!"
The moment Seomun Hwa-rin gasped in shock, the bell signaling the start of the sparring match rang out.
Deng!
Instead of answering Seomun Hwa-rin, I charged forward at full power.
KWAANG!
They had used a large bell so the audience could hear it clearly, but an even louder sound rang out from beneath my feet.
A small explosion of internal energy pushed my body forward with a heavy rumble.
And it didn't stop at just one.
BANG! KWAANG! KWA-RUNG!
Internal energy burst out from beneath my feet in succession. Thunder… well, the sound was a bit too dull to call it that.
It was probably because so many different things were mixed into it. But in terms of speed, it wasn't far behind the original Thunder Step at all.
Four steps. With just four steps, I crossed this wide sparring hall and reached Seomun Hwa-rin's front.
I tilted the sword I had been holding low and slashed it upward diagonally toward her, who was still wearing a dazed expression.
Swoosh!
The blade, now tinged with a red Sword Qi, shot toward Seomun Hwa-rin's neck at a ferocious speed. But—
Thud.
Seomun Hwa-rin, her hand wrapped in a crimson internal energy even denser than mine, deflected my trajectory with a single light strike.
After wrapping myself in the barest minimum of Fist Energy for protection, I reached straight into the path of her blade and knocked it aside.
She said she wasn't going all out, but the fact that she blocked my strike so easily was only to be expected. After all, she was a Harmony Realm martial artist—someone who had crossed the wall I had never managed to overcome.
I hadn't expected to win in the first place. Perhaps it was because I had lost my realm and was rebuilding from scratch. I knew all too well that even with my power restricted, my Enlightenment remained intact.
So the purpose of this sparring match wasn't to defeat Seomun Hwa-rin. It was simply to show her what I had received from her.
This alone should be enough to make her want to kidnap me.
"That footwork! Where in the world did you learn that?!"
"You know very well what it takes to make me open my mouth."
I curled the corners of my lips into a grin and began swinging my sword in earnest.
From above to below. Tracing diagonals, sometimes horizontal.
It is not a technique that links complex movements into one to unleash tremendous power. As always, it is merely a sequence of ordinary sword strikes.
Only, they fly toward the opponent's vital points, at the precise moment, along the precise trajectory.
Like the Crazy Wolf Life-Stealing Art, this nameless sword method is also a patchwork of sword methods that seemed decent here and there.
That a sword which should have become a ragged mess by rights is swung this fiercely is thanks to my Enlightenment. And it would be possible only because of Seomun Hwa-rin's teachings.
Yes. In other words, it is a sword learned from Seomun Hwa-rin, completed while carrying out her revenge.
Seomun Hwa-rin, confused by the traces of herself seeping out here and there, deflected my sword strikes one by one and asked.
"Th-this sword—who did you learn it from this time?"
"I cannot answer that."
I shook my head briefly and drew the internal energy of the Crazy Wolf Life-Stealing Art up another notch.
The Sword Qi wrapped around the blade swelled in size, revealing a vicious Aura. At the same time, killing intent flowed out naturally.
It was because I no longer had the strength to hide the killing intent inherent in the Crazy Wolf Life-Stealing Art.
Of course, this killing intent wouldn't pose a threat to Tang So-wol or Seol Ri-hyang, or even Seomun Hwa-rin, even if others might be affected.
It wasn't a matter of martial level—considering the reason I had come to harbor such killing intent, it was only natural.
However, the fact that I was emitting killing intent that looked vicious at first glance but was actually restrained seemed to carry a slightly different meaning for Seomun Hwa-rin.
"…For you to go this far."
Seomun Hwa-rin muttered this as she once again thrust her fist toward my sword path. A response similar to before. But this time, the pattern was slightly different.
Before sword and fist could meet, only the Sword Qi and Fist Energy covering each of them touched for a moment.
Seomun Hwa-rin's crimson Fist Energy rippled greatly, then took on a distinct form.
Aura. The symbol of overwhelming martial power that only a Martial Artist who had reached the Harmony Realm could unfold—it did not deflect my sword, but grabbed hold of it and pulled.
I deliberately did not resist and let myself be dragged, closing the distance even further. Seomun Hwa-rin pressed her finger to my acupoint with a complicated expression.
Tuk.
"In the end, things went as you wished. So close your eyes for a while."
Vast internal energy blocked off part of my meridian, and my eyes closed against my will. If I wanted to resist, I could resist to some extent… but I didn't.
My vision blurred. In the distance, the old man who appeared to be the Murim Alliance Leader rose abruptly to his feet, and I could see Seol Ri-hyang trying to barge into the sparring match only to be stopped by Tang So-wol.
Come to think of it, I had told Tang So-wol beforehand, but I'd forgotten to mention it to Seol Ri-hyang.
Well, she'll explain it well enough on her own.
With that, my vision was completely swallowed by darkness.