People already looked like they had no interest in the Divine Dragon Tournament.

All their attention had swung to the secret manuals.

Besides, most were already eliminated; they had no lingering attachment.

“Still, shouldn’t we hear from those who have matches left?”

Huashan Sect Leader’s gaze went to the remaining competitors.

Namgoong Cheon spoke.

“We’re fine. We’ll forfeit our match.”

Venerable White Cloud of Wudang said,

“Wudang will also forfeit. This doesn’t seem like a time to bother with the Divine Dragon Tournament.”

That left only Shincheon Manor and Mount Hua.

Huashan Sect Leader felt bitter.

Even if they beat Shincheon Manor, their renown wouldn’t rise much.

People would take Mount Hua’s victory for granted, not Shincheon Manor’s.

A match where, at best, you break even.

“It’s a shame the Master of Shincheon Manor isn’t here to ask.”

“What do you mean? He’s right here.”

“The Master of Shincheon Manor is here? Where?”

“He’s standing before you. Our lord is the master of Shincheon Manor.”

“I—is that true?”

“It is.”

Huashan Sect Leader was stunned.

No wonder he was strong.

And now that he looked, he was under Martial Deity Heaven.

Not just anyone—directly under the Lord of Martial Deity Heaven.

There was a reason he was strong.

Could An Ho win?

The outcome couldn’t be guaranteed.

He might lose.

And if they lost?

With most here not even knowing Shincheon Manor’s name, Mount Hua’s reputation would simply plunge.

Could they even say the Master of Shincheon Manor was the Heaven Lord’s grandson and that they belonged ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) to Martial Deity Heaven?

There was a reason it had been kept secret.

So they couldn’t reveal it.

And even if they proceeded with the Divine Dragon Tournament in this unsettled atmosphere, those who had already fixed their interest elsewhere wouldn’t pay attention.

Which meant continuing the tournament would bring Mount Hua no benefit at all.

Huashan Sect Leader addressed Yeon Woo Jin carefully.

“We intend to end the Divine Dragon Tournament here. If you truly wish it... we could hold a final between entrants from Shincheon Manor alone. What do you think?”

“No. Let’s stop here.”

At Yeon Woo Jin’s answer to end it, Huashan Sect Leader nodded.

“Understood. Then at first light tomorrow, I will declare the tournament concluded.”

“Yes, please do. Ah—does Mount Hua have a place where several dozen people could train?”

“Train?”

“Yes.”

“There is a secluded, seldom-visited place.”

“Where is it?”

“There’s a basin along the road to Nakan Peak.”

At Huashan Sect Leader’s words, Yeon Woo Jin addressed the room.

“Everyone here, please gather there tomorrow. Those who haven’t had your secret manuals returned will receive them there.”

Faces lit at the promise of returned manuals.

By contrast, the faces of those who already served Yeon Woo Jin as lord stiffened.

“D-do you mean us too?”

“Yes. I need to check how diligently you’ve been training.”

“T-that... understood.”

Several looked like they wanted to say something, then gave up, lowered their heads, and accepted.

It was strange—but with the thought of getting their manuals back, the crowd didn’t dwell on it.

All they could do was wait for tomorrow to come.

****

The next day.

When word spread that the Divine Dragon Tournament was over, reactions split.

Some said they’d expected it; others said they fully understood; while some fumed that they’d traveled all this way only to return empty-handed.

Every sort of response burst forth.

Still, the most common was that they’d expected it.

Rumor said Zhongnan’s Cheon Baek Gang and the Black Lotus Union’s Seo Bukpae were between life and death from sudden strikes, and that Shaolin’s Il Gwang and the Pang Clan’s Pang Kang were also too badly hurt to continue.

There was one thing everyone wanted to know.

Who were the ones who made that scene at the Divine Dragon Tournament?

People racked their brains for any scrap of information, but no one had heard of the sect names those rioters claimed.

Anyone with sense could guess that a force with an agenda had used fake sect names to cause chaos.

So who, exactly, wanted to sabotage the tournament?

A rising power?

Or the Frontier?

They rioted even though getting caught was certain.

They rioted even though capture meant death.

Which meant the rioters were expendable pieces.

A force that could treat mouthwatering talents as single-use, throwaway pieces—

What kind of force was that?

Now people no longer cared about the Divine Dragon Tournament.

All attention had shifted to whatever shadowy power hid behind the curtain.

As attention drifted away—

In Mount Hua’s medical hall, two people lay on the brink of death.

All manner of medicinal ingredients and top physicians were working on them, yet their condition worsened by the moment.

Two men watched anxiously:

Zhongnan Sect Leader Cheon Geukrin and Black Lotus Union Lord Seo Sangbo.

The ones dying on those beds were their sons.

“How is it? Any improvement?”

Cheon Geukrin asked, strained. The physician answered with a troubled face.

“At present, it’s difficult. But we’re doing our utmost.”

“Tell me what you need. I’ll go fetch it at once.”

“I’ll also go fetch whatever you require—just say the word.”

Desperate, they pressed—but the physician shook his head.

“In their current state, elixirs will do more harm than good.”

“Then what are we to do?”

“As a physician, it pains me to say this... but we can only pray for a miracle.”

“A miracle? Did you just say a miracle?”

“I’m sorry.”

Thud—

Craaaack—

“Damn it!”

Cheon Geukrin smashed an innocent table; he had half-known there was no hope and couldn’t hold his rage.

Seo Sangbo could only swallow his groans and stare at his pale, prone child.

Sensing the mood, the physicians slipped out, leaving only Cheon Geukrin and Seo Sangbo.

Ordinarily, the two men would have loathed sharing a room—but not now.

Seo Sangbo said to Cheon Geukrin,

“It seems... there’s no hope.”

Cheon Geukrin snapped back.

“What are you saying? How can a father speak such weak words?”

“I’m not saying it because I want to.”

“Haa...”

How could he not understand Seo Sangbo’s heart?

They shared the same agony.

Silence fell again; only their muted groans filled the room.

Then the door opened, and Yeon Woo Jin entered.

The two men looked puzzled at his arrival.

Why visit here?

The appointed gathering time was still far off.

“What brings you here?”

“Ah—I came to treat the patients.”

“Patients? You know medicine?”

“Yes.”

“We appreciate it, but even the foremost physicians in Xi’an cannot—what could you do?”

“Will you trust me once?”

Cheon Geukrin and Seo Sangbo looked at each other.

Then, like men grasping at straws, they spoke.

“S-save him. I’ll do anything.”

“The same for me. If you save my son, I’ll do anything. No—if you save him, the Black Lotus Union will place itself under Martial Deity Heaven!”

At Seo Sangbo’s shocking declaration, Cheon Geukrin hurried to match it.

“I will also put Zhongnan Sect under Martial Deity Heaven.”

Yeon Woo Jin shook his head.

“No. I’m not doing this for payment—you don’t have to.”

No payment?

Could it be—

Had he come to test his own medical arts on their boys?

If so, they swore that even if it made them enemies of Martial Deity Heaven, they would not let Yeon Woo Jin walk away.

They fixed blazing eyes on him.

Unmoved by their stares, Yeon Woo Jin looked down at Cheon Baek Gang and Seo Bukpae, dying on their beds.

Both had terrible wounds in the chest.

A human hand had pierced through—how could they be intact?

The fact that they still breathed was itself a miracle.

But even that breath was thinning, guttering out.

Yeon Woo Jin carefully took their pulses.

Then he set his hands over the wounds.

Whoom—

White light flared from Yeon Woo Jin’s hands, dazzling.

Cheon Geukrin and Seo Sangbo started, about to stop him—then froze.

Because of the energy they felt from that radiant light.

Was “holy” the word?

Their hearts eased; their bodies calmed.

It felt like being held in their mother’s arms as a child.

Warmth.

An energy that felt like this couldn’t be bad.

Then they saw their sons’ wounds closing.

“T-that...”

Words failed them; they could only witness the miracle.

It defied belief.

In a blink, the wounds sealed, leaving clean, whole skin.

It wasn’t merely the wounds—their sons’ breathing had grown gentle.

Not the on-the-brink gasps from a moment ago—steady, peaceful breaths.

Were they truly healed?

Was what they were seeing real?

Had they hallucinated from sheer desperate longing?

Or had Yeon Woo Jin cast some illusion on them?

Every thought raced through their minds.

After a while.

The holy light filling the room faded, and Yeon Woo Jin lifted his hands from their bodies.

The wounds were gone as if they’d never been.

Cheon Geukrin and Seo Sangbo looked back and forth between Yeon Woo Jin and their sons, incredulous.

Cheon Baek Gang and Seo Bukpae wore peaceful expressions.

Were they truly healed?

Disbelieving, the fathers stepped closer.

Hearing those steady breaths, they looked back to Yeon Woo Jin.

He had only placed his hands there, and yet the wounds had been healed.

Even seeing it with their own eyes, reality beggared belief.

“The two of them will be fine now.”

“Just... what are you?”

“Sir? Didn’t I introduce myself yesterday?”

“We ask because no one but a god could do such a thing. Are you a god?”

“No. I’m human.”

Human?

They didn’t believe it.

Now they understood why others served him as lord.

This—this was it.

Those people felt a god in him.

They weren’t merely serving the next Lord of Martial Deity Heaven; they were serving a god.

If so, it made sense.

If the one you serve isn’t merely human, pride has no place.

They wanted to know more.

About Yeon Woo Jin.

Cheon Geukrin and Seo Sangbo cupped their fists and offered a formal thanks.

“We offer our gratitude to the benefactor who saved our sons.”

“If you ever need strength, say the word. Whatever it is, we will heed our benefactor’s request.”

Yeon Woo Jin grinned.

“Just follow my lead later.”

They answered at once.

“Would we do otherwise? Say anything. We’ll follow with all our heart.”

Strangely, saying they would follow Yeon Woo Jin stirred no resistance at all.

“Then I’ll see you later.”

Having saved their dying children without making any show of it, Yeon Woo Jin left as if it were nothing. The two men were left in awe.

To possess such overwhelming ability and yet be so modest.

They said a true powerhouse lowers himself—and it seemed to be true.

Watching their peacefully sleeping sons, Cheon Geukrin and Seo Sangbo spoke.

“In all my life, I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“I still can’t believe it. He only placed his hands there and yet...”

“Now I understand why Wudang, the Beggars’ Sect, and the Five Great Clans follow him.”

Seo Sangbo’s words drew a nod from Cheon Geukrin.

“Once we experience him ourselves today, we’ll understand even more.”

Both men now looked forward to the afternoon meeting with Yeon Woo Jin.