With the full support of Hyeoncheon Jinin behind her, she became one of the military strategists of the Murim Alliance and accomplished various things.
Not only did she make tremendous contributions to finding Heavenly Demon Castle branches hidden throughout the Central Plains, but she also saved the Murim Alliance from crisis multiple times in battles against Heavenly Demon Castle with extraordinary tactics and excellent decisiveness.
Since Heavenly Demon Castle's momentum was so overwhelming like splitting bamboo at the beginning of the Black-White War, her participation and accomplishments came across even more significantly to the Murim Alliance.
When they were being extremely pushed back by Heavenly Demon Castle and even Gansu's Martial World had collapsed, there were even people who said that without her, the Orthodox Path might have been completely finished.
Beauty as lovely as a fairy.
Unpredictable stratagems.
Moreover, even Do Heo-ok's martial arts.
It was truly a rebirth as the Martial World's greatest talented woman.
Thus, Namgung Hye became the Fairy of the Martial World, the most notable among the Murim Alliance's various military strategists.
***
The Fairy of the Martial World, Namgung Hye, responded to people's cheers with a heavenly smile.
Meeting their expectations was both a necessary thing and an easy, highly effective 'packaging technique.'
People cheer for plausible shells. It was the same now. Bewitched by a slightly—perhaps quite considerably—pretty appearance, they were enthusiastic without seeing her essence. Thinking differently, it was proof that her performance was that excellent.
However, she had no way of knowing what the man walking slowly beside her was thinking, or whether he was being fooled well.
'Hu-hu. This variable is quite proper.'
One of the 'two variables' that entered the Murim Alliance yesterday seems to be genuine.
"May I ask Young Hero's honorable name?"
Namgung Hye asked.
"Jong Ji-hang. Probably..."
It was a name she was hearing for the first time. It wasn't anywhere in the Martial World registry inputted in her head.
Namgung Hye smiled brilliantly again.
Most of the young martial artists looking at her swayed as if about to collapse. The mental image of the Fairy of the Martial World, added to the beautiful shell called Namgung Hye, strongly tempted the young men.
The closer they approached, the greater her influence inevitably became. So as she and Jong Ji-hang advanced forward, the crowd split cleanly to both sides.
However, Jong Ji-hang walking beside her just followed quietly as if he had no interest at all in such subtle flows.
"If it wouldn't be rude..."
"Don't. If it would be rude."
"..."
Impudent.
So Namgung Hye smiled slightly again.
The young fellows flipped over again without knowing why she was smiling.
Stupid.
An impudent fellow and stupid guys.
She found the former far more interesting. Moreover, since the former was overwhelmingly stronger, was there any more need to mention it?
Just by walking beside her, the energy of the man named Jong Ji-hang squeezed her heart suffocatingly. He seemed far stronger than all the scarecrows around here combined who were dying foolishly to the mask called Namgung Hye without knowing anything.
Perhaps....
'Isn't he about as much as that heavy fellow standing in line over there?'
Namgung Hye's gaze turned to the man who had been at the very front of that long line and was now just entering the hall being used as a temporary reception office for applications to the Heavenly Youth Martial Arts Tournament.
A man in black light armor with a distinctive scar cutting across his left cheek.
She didn't know what his name was in the Central Plains, but his original name, or should it be called his epithet? She knew that very well.
'Gwang-un.'
***
Seong Hui.
Gwang-un let the noisy sounds coming from outside flow through one ear as he wrote the two characters on the application form.
After becoming one of Mubon's Eighteen Clouds, he thought he had forgotten everything... but apparently he hadn't forgotten it all yet.
Gansu Seong Family Manor.
In the empty space below the name, he wrote three more familiar characters.
The warrior in charge of reception who received his application form opened the registry of affiliated sects placed in the corner of the table. After searching through the registry several times, he tilted his head and said,
"Gansu Seong Family Manor? Is this definitely a sect affiliated with the Murim Alliance?"
Gwang-un's left cheek twitched. Along with it, his hideous scar, long and torn, writhed. That appearance was quite threatening.
A sharp aura from somewhere unknown. The warrior swallowed once and searched through the affiliated sect list once more.
After searching for quite a while, he finally found the characters Gansu Seong Family Manor.
However, he tilted his head again this time as if something was strange and said,
"Ah! Here it is. But there's a red line drawn here...?"
A red line signifies death. If a red line is drawn through a sect name, it means the sect's death, that is, extermination. That's why when searching initially, he hadn't looked at characters with red lines drawn through them.
That's why the warrior tilted his head. It was the first time a descendant of an exterminated sect had applied for participation.
"Is that a problem?"
Gwang-un said. It was a terribly unpleasant voice like scraping a wall with sand, but strangely, it was a heavy voice.
The warrior glanced up at Gwang-un once and said carefully,
"No, no. The seal of Gansu Seong Family Manor is stamped here and the sect's ultimate technique is... hmm? This is erased so it's hard to make out?"
As the warrior said, the name of the ultimate technique that would prove belonging to Gansu Seong Family Manor was almost erased, making it difficult to read.
However, whether Gwang-un recognized it, he said in a rough voice,
"Seong Family Eight Forms."
After hearing Gwang-un's words and looking again, it seemed roughly, no, definitely to be those characters. At that, the warrior nodded and said,
"Ah, that's right. Then now stamp here and the Seong Family Eight Forms, no, the Seong Family Eight Forms is fine. I wouldn't recognize it even if I saw it anyway, so there's no need to demonstrate. The mere fact that you recognized these characters as Seong Family Eight Forms must mean you're a descendant of Gansu Seong Family Manor, right? Ha-ha-ha."
Knowing the Seong Family Eight Forms. That alone makes one a descendant of the Seong Family Manor....
It was an extremely humiliating statement, but the warrior wasn't even aware of what mistake he was committing.
A terrible killing intent stretched out momentarily from Gwang-un's body and then disappeared. But no one here detected that energy. No, they couldn't. There was no master capable of that.
Gwang-un silently took out an old seal from his bosom, stamped it at the bottom of the application form, and received the application confirmation slip for the Heavenly Youth Martial Arts Tournament from the warrior.
Whoosh, Gwang-un turned his body just like that and left the place.
After he left, the warrior grumbled in a low voice,
"That bastard from a collapsed sect ruins the atmosphere disgustingly. Unlucky."
The warrior roughly folded Gwang-un's application form and carelessly placed it on top of the pile where application forms were stacked up.
Then he said in an irritated voice,
"Next."
***
Yeon Yeong-ha was standing behind the crowded people with her mouth open like a child, smiling innocently as if delighted. Her eyes were also sparkling like a child watching a festival. It wasn't just because of the intense killing intent she had felt a moment ago. The mere fact of standing here, in this dirty and polluted place, was very pleasant.
"Old Uncle. There are so many interesting humans here. As expected, the Central Plains! Madmen who are hard to find, even in Yunnan, are scattered all over the ground here."
Madness rampaging everywhere and desires boiling up like an active volcano, greed being discharged outside the body without filtering because it couldn't be contained. An intensely intense liquor mixed with all these filthy emotions.
Good, good! Very good!
[Kill them. Kill them all.]
The Heavenly Killing Energy was also going mad at the unpurified emotions of the lunatics just like her.
"Ah~ This scent is really good. So..."
"..."
"I want to kill them all. Really. Hut."
A playful remark. But the tall old man standing like a shadow behind her knew better than anyone that it wasn't playful.
Past experience. Like daily life in Yunnan.
"There are too many people today. How about coming back tomorrow?"
The old man's voice was as low and shadowy as his gloomy face. Cold sweat was beading on his forehead and his clenched fist was filled with tension.
"Eh That's not it, Old Uncle. Didn't I just say? Madmen are scattered all over the ground. Even if we can't apply now, let's just stay here a bit longer and smell this scent more. Mm How fragrant the air here is, right?"
"..."
"And you know. That guy must be somewhere too. Maybe he's watching me right now. That..."
A colorless, tasteless, odorless human. But... also a dangerous human.
Ghost Among Ghosts, Dong Guang-chuan.
Thinking of him, Yeon Yeong-ha's eyes were turning pitch black again.
"Young Lady. You must go back quickly."
Seeing that, Old Uncle hastily bowed and spoke to her. His fingertips were trembling. He was worried about the incident that might possibly occur.
From Old Uncle's reaction, Yeon Yeong-ha could clearly tell how her eyes had changed now.
She smiled with a tsk and lightly tapped Old Uncle's side with a tap, then passed by him and walked toward Muhwa Gate.
"Ah, I know. I know. Not yet. It would be too boring if I burst already. Go, go. Go back. But bring proper prey. Last night's things were too tasteless. Bring something tasty. Otherwise... this time I might eat you. Old Uncle."
"...Yes. I understand."
Of course, her words this time weren't a joke either, and Old Uncle knew that fact all too well.
Thud, thud.
"Rul-lu-lu~"
She lightly stepped in rhythm, one-two, one-two, cheerfully as she left Muhwa Gate. Like a child who had obtained a new toy.