Chapter 91: The Second Exchange Ceremony (4)
Pa Yeongyeong.
A woman famously known as one of the twin sisters of the Ultimate Saber Pa Clan, alongside her younger sister, Pa Seolyeong.
As she had been designated as the next head of the clan, her status within the Ultimate Saber Pa Clan was nearly absolute, and she was so popular that she even had followers outside the clan.
I looked anew at her as she looked up at me with her body slightly bowed.
‘Seeing her face in her youth like this… feels oddly surreal.’
In truth, I had never seen her face in person before.
By the time I had become Inner Administrator, she had already taken the position of Clan Head. From then on, she always wore a veil over her face.
As one might expect from a member of the Ultimate Saber Pa Clan who was obsessed with the “Saber,” she barely ever engaged in any external activities aside from martial arts training.
‘Even in Elder Council meetings, she rarely showed her face, which led to ridiculous rumors that she was some kind of mythical creature.’
Since we had no real contact even though we were from the same generation, this encounter felt all the more curious to me.
“Hmmm?”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
She narrowed her eyes, scanning me up and down, and I instinctively frowned.
“Well, the rumors I’ve heard about you suddenly changed so drastically. How should I put it…”
Pa Yeongyeong tilted her head slightly.
“You seem kind of unremarkable, but then again, maybe not… Could it be that you're… really strong?”
“……!”
I was slightly surprised inwardly.
The fact that she instinctively sensed some of my strength showed her perception had gone beyond that of ordinary people.
I hurried to change the subject.
“My strength doesn’t really matter, does it? More importantly, what brings the future head of the Pa Clan to an event like this?”
Though it was a fairly sensitive question, Pa Yeongyeong responded cheerfully.
“I’m interested in the Young Cult Leader.”
“…Excuse me? I mean, no matter how curious you are, there’s hardly any reason for a woman to attend—”
Could it be… that kind of preference?
‘…No way, right?’
“I heard the Young Cult Leader is really strong. There’s a rumor going around that she was the one who captured the traitor, the Seventh Elder.”
“Ah.”
It was me who had taken down the Yin-Yang Fist Demon, the Seventh Elder, but only a very small number of people, including the Cult Leader, knew that.
Since I didn’t want that fact to be widely known, these kinds of rumors actually worked out in my favor.
“Wait a minute. Then what about the Pa Clan?”
“We're giving up, obviously. Honestly, we don’t have any real contenders, and there’s no need to embarrass ourselves for nothing.”
Quite a few impressed murmurs flowed out.
In a time when every clan was frantically scrambling for even a sliver more power, being able to give up so cleanly!
It was just like the Pa Clan, who rivaled the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan as one of the two dominant forces. (Though Jin Gun-ak would never admit it.)
“By the way, now that I’ve run into you like this, there’s something I wanted to ask.”
“…What is it?”
I tensed up slightly inside.
Could she be trying to dig up something related to what happened in Qinghai Province?
Pa Yeongyeong leaned in closer to my face, almost uncomfortably so, and asked:
“You.”
Gulp!
“What do you think of the Saber King?”
“….”
The question was so anticlimactic it made my tension vanish in an instant. Still, I managed my expression and responded calmly.
“Are you referring to the Saber Supreme, Lord Heon Yanghu?”
“You, you—!”
Just the mention of the word ‘Saber Supreme’ lit up Pa Yeongyeong’s face like a lantern.
“You! You knew something, didn’t you?!”
She suddenly grabbed my wrist and started shaking it up and down.
Her speed, honed by supreme Saber techniques, was impressive enough to draw admiration.
Of course, setting that aside—
‘As expected, it’s easy to win favor with members of the Pa Clan.’
Getting close to people from the Pa Clan was simple. Just shower them with praise about the Saber.
Of course, to maintain that relationship, one needed to back up their words with actions, but still—
‘For a cultist to recklessly praise the orthodox faction’s Saber King is dangerous.’
But I didn’t really care about such risks, and the effect of that praise was obvious.
Pa Yeongyeong, now clinging closely to my side, chattered endlessly about the greatness of the Saber King, the elegance of his Saber techniques, and the practicality of the Saber in general.
She was so talkative that the attention of the surrounding crowd began to focus on us.
To maintain a good relationship with her, I offered a few moderate flattery lines.
“Certainly, while the Blood Dragon Heaven-Slaying Sword Art of the Ma Clan is the pinnacle of strong sword techniques, in terms of pure strength, it doesn’t quite compare to the Pa Clan’s Ultimate Demonic Saber King Technique.”
“Yeah, yeah! Exactly!”
Pa Yeongyeong beamed like a child.
And I had no guilt about belittling the Ma Clan and lifting up the Pa Clan.
Because it was the truth!
It definitely wasn’t because I couldn’t stand the Ma Clan!
“Wow, this is really the first time I’ve connected with someone from the Jin Clan like this. I really like you, you know?”
“Haha, you're too kind.”
To say we were connecting was a bit of an overstatement—it was more like Pa Yeongyeong was talking at me the entire time.
Of course, that’s also because the members of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan were usually so thick-headed it was impossible to have a conversation with them in the first place.
“Hmph!”
Just then, as she was humming a tune, Pa Yeongyeong suddenly threw out a remark in passing.
“I look forward to the day we exchange Sabers. I imagine your Saber technique would be quite the spectacle, wouldn’t it?”
“…Sorry?”
“I’m talking about your Saber technique. Saber technique. Don’t tell me, after saying all that, you haven’t even trained in any Saber techniques?”
Shiver!
Looking at her face again, I realized—though she was smiling, it wasn’t a friendly one.
When it came to the Saber, the Ultimate Saber Pa Clan did not tolerate falsehoods. My instincts screamed at me that if I gave the wrong answer here, my relationship with Pa Yeongyeong would become irreparably damaged.
‘Damn it, do I really have to start learning a Saber technique now?’
Once again, I was hit with the realization of just how unhinged the Pa Clan people were.
Getting loosely entangled with a big shot like Pa Yeongyeong would’ve been ideal, but for her to assume with such certainty that I trained in Saber arts—!
‘I have to weasel my way out of this somehow! If not, she might even send someone to challenge me to a duel!’
“Well, um…”
I was about to say something, anything, when Pa Yeongyeong’s voice cut in.
“Oh, it’s the Young Cult Leader.”
I hadn’t even realized it during our conversation, but Pa Yeongyeong and I had already made our way deep into the interior of the Lesser Demon Hall.
Ahead of us stood a grand three-story pavilion.
At the very top of the open, expansive structure, Cheon Yura stood, gazing down at us with an emotionless look in her eyes.
Seeing her like that, Pa Yeongyeong curved her lips into a challenging smirk.
“She has quite the presence. I wonder just how capable she really is—being the one who supposedly took down the Yin-Yang Fist Demon Elder.”
It was great that her interest had now shifted toward Cheon Yura…
But for some reason, I didn’t feel relieved at all.
“……”
“……”
Damn it.
The moment I met Cheon Yura’s transparent gaze—and the moment Sa Biyeon, standing beside her, looked at me like, ‘What the hell are you doing?’—I instinctively sensed death looming right in front of me.
And then, I blurted out with all my might,
“Hahaha! I would absolutely love the chance to witness Lady Pa’s peerless Saber technique in person one day!”
“Oh, really?!”
“Of course! If it weren’t for my current focus on the exchange ceremony with the Young Cult Leader, I would’ve already challenged you to a friendly duel. Hahahaha!”
Whether it was nonsense or not, it seemed to work. I saw the slightest shift in Cheon Yura’s otherwise unreadable expression.
She looked at me, then at Pa Yeongyeong, then slowly turned her body to walk away.
‘D-Did I survive?’
Judging by that final expression… maybe it wasn’t too bad?
“Really?! Then let’s set a date sometime soon!”
“…Let’s do it after the exchange ceremony. Please.”
Watching Pa Yeongyeong trying to schedule the duel on the spot, I muttered a very small complaint.
I had dodged the tiger, only to stumble into a wolf’s den… or so it felt. Or was that just my imagination?
***
“Wooooahhhh!”
“Young Cult Leader!”
“Hail the Young Cult Leader!”
Unlike the previous exchange ceremony, which had been so modest it was almost desolate—this one was being held with great fanfare.
Previously, only direct descendants of the Six Great Demonic Clans participated, but now the clans had also sent additional members to bulk up the numbers and spectacle.
On top of that, the Lesser Demon Hall had been opened to allow even regular cultists to observe from a distance, which made the event’s scale explode exponentially.
Naturally, the results of the last ceremony had faded into obscurity, and for the Jin Clan and the Ma Clan, it was an infuriating development.
Even from far away, the ordinary cultists shouted the Young Cult Leader’s name in cheers that echoed through the air.
Cheon Yura gave a small wave toward the distant crowd of believers, then began walking toward the area where the Six Clans’ children had gathered.
In the center of the Lesser Demon Hall stood a circular arena—the venue for the exchange ceremony—where the children of the six clans sat spaced apart from one another.
Before taking her seat at the highest position, Cheon Yura slowly scanned the round table and said,
“Welcome, you trash heaps.”
“……”
“……”
From the very start, her choice of words was intense enough to make the eyes of the unfamiliar clan members and the warriors standing guard go wide.
Then again, unless you had personally experienced her personality, there was no way you’d have known.
As the whole hall fell into stunned silence, Cheon Yura looked around the participants with a haughty expression.
“The only thing you worms from the Six Clans need to do here is one thing: earn my recognition.”
Having heard the rumors of what had happened to previous participants, their expressions stiffened slightly.
I too clicked my tongue inwardly.
As one's level increases, so too does their standard of judgment.
And now that Cheon Yura had reached the Peak of Mastery, was there truly anyone present who could meet her standards?
“Of course, that recognition naturally has to be based on martial strength…”
So she is going there?
“…or so I’d like to say.”
Huh?
Cheon Yura’s expression grew slightly unclear.
“But since the Cult Leader personally requested it, I guess I’ll have to keep things relatively peaceful.”
‘Now that’s unexpected.’
Had the exchange ceremony proceeded as it had previously, it was certain that more than half of the participants here would’ve been carried out on stretchers.
Taking her seat, she let out a disgruntled sigh toward the crowd.
“The theme of this exchange ceremony… is a talent show.”
“A ta– talent show?!”
The moment she said those words, murmurs spread noisily throughout the area. Then, Sa Biyeon* who had been standing by her side, took a step forward.
Her clear and resounding voice echoed through the space.
“Unlike the previous event, this exchange ceremony will not feature one-on-one duels with the Young Cult Leader. Instead, the goal is for each participant to fully express a talent they possess.”
“A talent? What kind of talent?”
“Anything is acceptable, as long as it demonstrates your unique skill. Even if it’s not martial strength.”
There was no way that condition had come from Cheon Yura herself.
‘It must’ve been the Cult Leader’s doing.’
The Cult Leader would certainly know the level of Cheon Yura’s martial prowess.
Given that, he likely understood that leaving the ceremony entirely in her hands would result in it being over in the blink of an eye.
And just then—
“Hold up. I’ve got a question.”
The woman seated next to me, Pa Yeongyeong, raised her hand.
“Please speak, Lady Pa Yeongyeong.”
“Then does that mean fighting the Young Cult Leader is off the table?”
Of course. Pa Yeongyeong had definitely come here hoping to face the Young Cult Leader in battle.
Sa Biyeon nodded in response.
“Yes, you will not be allowed to exchange blows with the Young Cult Leader in this ceremony.”
“Ugh, really?! What a waste of time.”
I could see a few people nearby let out sighs of relief.
“Well, I guess that means this won’t be very intere—huh, wait.”
Just as Pa Yeongyeong’s belligerent momentum seemed to deflate—
Her eyes suddenly gleamed.
“You. Could I fight you instead?”
Her blazing eyes now turned directly toward Sa Biyeon.
“Me, you say?”
“Yeah, you.”
Sa Biyeon tilted her head, appearing to think seriously for a moment.
“There’s nothing in the rules that would forbid it. But as the future heir of the Pa Clan, your skill would far exceed my own.”
“Hehe, do you really think I wouldn’t notice you desperately hiding your claws? I can see it clear as day—your aura’s flickering restlessly because you haven’t fully digested your recent enlightenment.”
“……”
Sa Biyeon couldn’t respond and fell silent.
Though she kept her face expressionless, I’d been around her enough to read through it by now.
That emotion was definitely one of dismay.
“Excuse me.”
“Hm?”
When I raised my hand, Pa Yeongyeong looked over at me with a puzzled expression.
“Is there really any need to spar or scuffle with the Young Cult Leader?”
Pa Yeongyeong tilted her head.
“You can’t possibly not feel it, right? That girl is crazy strong…”
“In that case, allow me to be your opponent.”
“…What did you just say?”
Not only Pa Yeongyeong, but everyone in the hall—including Cheon Yura herself—turned their attention to me with visible intrigue.