Chapter 56
In the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, women who make a name for themselves are called 'Phoenix', followed by a specific title.
Originally, there would be only one winner in the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, but special rules were applied in this tournament.
"It's the first time the three of us are all being congratulated like this, isn't it? Come on, you can get closer."
"I'm happy! We've fought each other before, but now we've all reconciled and joined forces for our master!"
"...I fought the hardest, though."
Azazel, Verdandi, and Bi Wol were talking on the podium, and I watched the scene from a step away.
To be honest, the result was far from what I had expected.
No matter how much they had learned martial arts under me, in the case of Verdandi and Azazel, there was an absolute lack of time.
To grasp the essence of martial arts in such a short period and be able to use it immediately is the result of innate talent and effort. After all, martial arts are only completed through countless repetitions.
"Master! Master, come over here too!"
"Me?"
Verdandi gestured towards me, who was standing far away. As if to check her, Bi Wol silently approached me and linked her arm with mine.
"That's right. We were able to reach this position all thanks to Master's grace, so how could you miss out on this occasion?"
A soft and heavy sensation brushed against my arm. Bi Wol raised the corners of her mouth slightly, showing a confident attitude as she saw my flustered appearance.
While I was bewildered by Bi Wol's sudden physical contact, I felt a sensation of another arm wrapping around my other arm.
"Brother, didn't I achieve victory by playing an active role at the end? Please praise me quickly."
As if competing with Bi Wol, the identity of the person who immediately linked arms was Azazel. She went a step further, rubbing her head against my shoulder as if asking to be patted.
Her light pink hair fluttered, and a soft fragrant scent began to emanate. My pupils dilated momentarily at the smell that couldn't be found in this martial world.
"Master? Why are you looking at other women instead of me?"
"Ah, no... this scent..."
"Hehe, what's wrong? Am I too pretty that you've lost your words?"
The moment I tried to make an excuse, Azazel deliberately cut off my words. Their grip on my arms tightened, and I felt the already close body parts pressing even closer.
"This vicious wolf-like woman..."
"All you can do is be jealous. Do you think Brother would like someone like that?"
Azazel showed a resolute attitude in declaring to Bi Wol. I found it strange to see the two final bosses from the original novel fighting over me.
"What did you say...?"
"I mean exactly what I said. If you want to monopolize Brother, why don't you work on improving your aegyo or supportive abilities?"
Now, even the Saint was speaking up to the Heavenly Demon who should be stronger than anyone.
I felt awkward about Azazel's sudden change in attitude.
This was because until a few days ago, she had been snarling like a motherless kitten unable to forget Kang Si-woo, but now she was acting completely like a house cat.
"...Well, you have a point. If one's abilities are exceptionally good compared to others, Master wouldn't have a reason to look elsewhere."
Bi Wol nodded, showing an attitude of accepting Azazel's opinion for once. It didn't seem like they had fought and made up again while I was away.
Remembering how I had barely stopped Bi Wol and Azazel from fighting each other by grabbing their hair last time, I felt goosebumps all over my body.
"That's right. Fighting is meaningless, we need to cooperate to defeat that wicked woman."
While making this serious statement, Azazel took a step forward. I wondered who they meant by "that wicked woman."
'Could they be talking about Seolhwa?'
To them, she was like a mother figure. She was also my ex-girlfriend, and in the real world, she was the woman I had promised to marry.
As if seeing through this fact, Azazel was glaring at Bing Seolhwa, who was sitting in the audience seats far away, clapping her hands.
"You mean that woman, Bing Seolhwa?"
"That's right. We need to join forces to separate that woman from Brother's side. That monster favored by the Outer God."
At this point, it would be strange not to catch on with so many hints given. Bi Wol and Kim Hyul, Verdandi and Sieghart had also talked before their martial arts matches.
I sighed deeply, pondering how to tell them the truth later. Anyone looking at the current Seolhwa and me would see us as siblings sharing the same blood.
The two of us, inheriting the bloodline of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, with the same snow-white hair and blue eyes. Contrary to this reality, I had to talk about our past lives, about her being my ex-girlfriend, and about the novel.
'...Can I do this well?'
While I was worrying about this, my feet were already on the podium. Bi Wol and Azazel had pulled my body with pure strength.
"I want to join too!"
Even Verdandi hugged me from behind, and I ended up in the ridiculous situation of walking to the podium with three disciples clinging to me.
If someone who didn't know anything saw this, they would think it was just because of the good relationship between master and disciples. It would look like they were trying to yield the victory of the Dragon Phoenix Gathering to me.
"The finals of the Dragon Phoenix Gathering that heated up the Central Plains! Finally, we have our winners!"
Cheon Cheonmu, in charge of the commentary, used sound techniques to congratulate me and my other disciples in a loud voice towards the other martial artists.
Originally, I thought I would be called a madman who would do anything for victory by taking disciples from the Western Regions.
"Let's all give a round of applause to the disciples of the Ice Dragon Flower Banquet, who have personally shown that even the third-rate martial arts we've considered trivial can advance to higher realms...!"
It seemed that teaching Verdandi and Azazel the Six Harmonies Sword Technique and Six Harmonies Fist and having them fight had gained recognition from other martial artists.
In this world, the West and the Central Plains knew of each other's existence, but there wasn't enough exchange to understand each other.
In fact, qi and mana were similar in their uses and applications, differing only in their nature.
Waaaah─! Cheers erupted from all around, and numerous applause poured towards us.
"Now, the leader of the Martial Alliance will personally bestow the title of Phoenix (鳳) to the three!"
Ko Tae-ho, a character I had introduced in the original novel "The King of the Vajra Fist," was originally supposed to die facing the Heavenly Demon Bi Wol.
To think that he would now personally bestow a title to Bi Wol. Indeed, life is full of surprises if you live long enough.
"...Good job, everyone. Especially you two young ladies who seem to have come from the Western Regions."
Ko Tae-ho spoke while looking at Verdandi and Azazel with surprise. He must be pleased that children from the Western Regions had won using martial arts instead of magic.
The Dragon Phoenix Gathering was also an event dedicated to cultivating future generations by testing the skills of late bloomers. Such tournaments would encourage each sect and family to strive to raise their disciples properly.
"Aren't you going to praise me?"
Bi Wol showed an attitude of not wanting to lose to the other disciples, questioning even a figure like the leader of the Martial Alliance.
"Ah, of course, the young lady called Bi Wol also did a great job. You defeated the legendary Indestructible Diamond Body, after all."
Only then did Ko Tae-ho praise Bi Wol with a hearty laugh. She was already a famous figure known to everyone in this Central Plains martial world, so it wasn't unreasonable to forget to mention her.
"I'd like to address each of you with the titles Little Sword Phoenix, Little Plum Phoenix, and Little Heavenly Fist Phoenix, if that's alright?"
Ko Tae-ho spoke while looking at Bi Wol, Verdandi, and Azazel in turn. The titles bestowed directly by the leader of the Martial Alliance had the character for "little" (小) in front.
It seemed that since this wasn't a major event like the Great War between righteousness and evil, but a competition among late bloomers, it was too much to give the full Dragon (龍) or Phoenix (鳳) titles right away.
"Hehe, with this, I can stand one step closer to the same position as Master."
"...I don't know what kind of creature a phoenix is, but if it's a pair with Master, I'm happy!"
Bi Wol's face bloomed with a smile as she muttered that things were finally right, and Verdandi nodded vigorously, raising both arms high into the sky.
"Brother, this is an achievement we all worked hard for. Please be a little more happy."
Noticing that I was wearing a slightly disappointed expression because of the "little" prefix, Azazel grasped my hand with both of hers and spoke softly.
As the warmth of her hands traveled up mine, a ticklish feeling arose, and at that moment...
"Well then, I'd like each of you to say a few words about your feelings."
Ko Tae-ho cleared his throat once, then approached me and signaled for me to say something. Such attention was necessary for the Dragon Phoenix Gathering to be held again in the future.
"This victory was achieved all thanks to the grace of our Master who cared for us and guided us. Even though it's a third-rate martial art, he taught us that the ultimate realm of martial arts is achieved through endless repetition and effort."
Bi Wol was the first to speak. Having achieved the feat of defeating Kim Hyul using the Three Disasters Sword Technique, she exuded confidence above all else.
"This was my first time learning martial arts, and it's really fun! Even though it's said to be a weak sword technique, I learned that there's something amazing at its end!"
Verdandi spoke next. She had reached the realm where plum blossoms bloomed on her sword energy using the Six Harmonies Sword Technique of the Flower Mountain Sect.
If the sect leader of the Flower Mountain Sect had seen this, he would try to take her away even if it cost him a fortune, but I had no intention of giving Verdandi up.
"We all live with anxiety in one corner of our hearts. We can't erase bad feelings like worry, sadness, jealousy... but our Master taught us that there comes a moment when we need to face them directly."
The word "master" came out of Azazel's mouth for the first time. She usually called me "Brother."
"...Therefore, this victory would have been impossible without my Master."
Her devout appearance befitting the name of a saint, even the act of putting her hands together in prayer seemed to be imbued with some kind of faith.
"You have good disciples, Bing Yeon."
"...They are disciples too good for me."
The leader of the Martial Alliance raised the corners of his mouth pleasantly, patting my back in encouragement.
"Well then, we should present the prize for winning."
At the same time, an ornate box appeared. The identity of the object decorated with gold and shells to show its value was...
"...The Ten Thousand Year Extreme Yang Pill, as promised."
The elixir I had thought was the last hope to cure my constitution,
The Ten Thousand Year Extreme Yang Pill, formed by the slow melting of earth essence over ten thousand years due to high temperature and pressure.