I must be the only person in the entire martial world who isn’t happy after being praised by the Alliance Leader. Truly one-of-a-kind—that’s me. After the meeting ended, I, now a "fine warrior," walked proudly out of the Alliance Leader’s Office. Honestly, I’m not blind—I know how beautiful Gongson Wol is. But Gongson Wol is destined to become the Supreme Strategist of the Martial Alliance, assisting Im Sobaek. I, on the other hand, am an incomplete martial artist still dragging around Haomun. There’s a time for meeting women, and now isn’t it. Then again, why was I so lonely and miserable in my past life? If I knew that, would I have stayed alone? Sometimes, pretending not to know is medicine. On the way to Wolhagwan, a scrawny member of the alliance cautiously called out to me. I looked at the young alliance member. Thanks to the bright lighting, I could see his face clearly, but I didn’t recognize him. Still, since he was from the alliance, I nodded and responded. Why’s this guy making that face? A mix of emotions was crossing his expression, but unexpectedly, I could see joy in it. That’s when I realized—I’d seen those eyes before. "Hmm. You’re not...?" Though it wasn’t a cold day, goosebumps suddenly rose on my arm. The alliance member smiled and asked, "Do you remember who I am?" I turned my head slightly and looked behind the alliance member. A few others were waiting, giving us a moment to reunite. I spoke to the ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) subordinate smiling with a face tanned dark. "You’ve lost so much weight I didn’t recognize you right away." "Good to see you, Jang San." Before me stood Jang San, the young bandit from the Namak Green Forest Gang. I had memorized the names of those bandits who survived, but truthfully, the only one I still remembered was Jang San. How could I possibly know the fate of every person I’d taken in? I had brought him to the Black Cat Pavilion, but since I hadn’t visited it often, I had no way of knowing what had happened to him. "How did you end up here?" "While training at the Black Cat Pavilion, I expressed a desire to join the Martial Alliance." "Lord So-gunpyeong supported me in many ways, and somehow, I made it in." "I see. So you passed the entrance tests?" "The tests are really long. But thanks to my experience getting beaten every day at the Black Cat Pavilion, I endured. And, well, I guess you could call it a letter of reference. Lord So wrote a letter confirming I belonged to Haomun, so I also received your help, sir." Only then did I really look over the transformed Jang San from head to toe. Training had changed him so much he was unrecognizable from his bandit days. "The Martial Alliance is tough. You don’t regret it?" Jang San bowed and responded. "No, sir. I have no regrets. I offer my formal greeting. Jang San of the Nine Sword Unit pays respects to the Lord of Haomun." "Good. Warrior Jang, I’ll see you again. Stay well." Since other alliance members were waiting behind him, it was best to send him off quickly. He must have asked his seniors to help him find me. Jang San smiled and answered, I quietly watched as Jang San returned to his fellow sword unit members. Suddenly, I was reminded that I hadn’t wiped out all the Namak Green Forest Gang bandits. In my past life, those guys would’ve likely been torn apart by Im Sobaek’s wrath, so it was only natural that I felt strange. As Jang San turned with his allies, he gave me a silent, respectful bow. Disliking such formalities of the martial world, I simply waved my hand a few times. While heading toward Wolhagwan again... Maybe because I’d reunited with Jang San, I suddenly thought of Noshin, the disciple of the Beggars’ Sect Leader. Knowing Im Sobaek’s personality, if Noshin had been doing well, he would’ve said something to me. The silence made me suspect that, unlike Jang San, Noshin probably hadn’t fared well. It would be absurd for Im Sobaek to elevate someone who tried to betray his master. So I didn’t bother looking for Noshin. Caught up in strange feelings brought on by Jang San, I thought about going to a guesthouse for a drink, but since I was staying at the Martial Alliance, I just went straight into Wolhagwan. Just in case, I checked the dining area. Thankfully, since it catered to important guests, they still served late dinners and alcohol. I ordered a simple dish and some liquor, then sat alone at a table to relax. A while later, sipping liquor with dried snacks, I silently toasted Jang San’s induction into the alliance. Then I poured a drink for all the fools who had died by my hand and never got a second chance like Jang San, and drank it myself. And another for those who will die by my hand in the future. Just as I began to feel the buzz, the inside of Wolhagwan briefly shimmered with a purple hue before fading. It seems I’ve somehow mastered the Qi Absorption Divine Art without knowing it. For some reason, I got drunk quickly today. I don’t remember when, but I crawled to my room, lay down on the bedding, and closed my eyes. When I woke up to some noise, it was already broad daylight. It was bizarre, like I wasn’t even sure if I had actually slept. Opening the window, I saw it wasn’t morning but midday. I gained a bit of life wisdom: if I’m ever sleep-deprived, I should come to the Martial Alliance to rest. Thanks to the ironclad security meant to protect the exalted Alliance Leader, one can sleep like a baby. But... did I really sleep just one night? A massive crowd had gathered in front of Wolhagwan. Still groggy, I kept watching without doing anything. More people were exiting Wolhagwan than entering. Amid the chaos, I heard this exchange: "The Sword Emperor of Namgung, the Martial Emperor of Seomun, members of the Five Tigers and Six Dragons—even a woman from the One Phoenix Two Immortals has come." Maybe they were here to witness the duel between the Alliance Leader and the so-called martial emperors. I perked up my ears at the sounds from the next room. Was it just my imagination? As soon as someone mentioned the One Phoenix Two Immortals, the Lecher stirred and walked out of the room. That finally cleared my head. It made sense that everyone had gathered. The younger elites of the Six Dragons and One Phoenix Two Immortals belonged to prestigious families like Namgung and Seomun. They vied for the spotlight and were rumored to produce the next Alliance Leader, but none had overtaken Im Sobaek by the time I knew of it. Of course, I remembered in my past life that these monarchs did challenge the Alliance Leader. So today was likely the day. Sigh. Being the Alliance Leader must be exhausting. That’s just how the world works. To stay on top, you have to keep proving yourself. And since Im Sobaek wasn’t on the same level as the Three Calamities, some of the monarchs probably looked down on him. Anyway, my goal today was to hassle the monarchs, so I washed up and got ready to head to the duel arena. I’d never seen the Sword Emperor or Martial Emperor before, so I was curious. Also, I was curious about the younger days of the One Phoenix Two Immortals—excluding Wi So-seon. As I stepped out of Wolhagwan toward the duel arena, I saw that the alliance members had already prepared chairs around the ring, and unlit torches were fixed to various posts. Surprisingly, the crowd wasn’t too large. Standing beside the Lecher, I glanced around. Ghost Demon and Sword Demon were already seated, quietly watching the empty arena. That’s when I finally noticed the two men doing absolutely nothing. The Sword Emperor of the Namgung family and the Martial Emperor of the Seomun family sat side by side in what looked like honored seats, while the rest of their groups stood behind them like attendants. They looked rather sour, probably because they appeared older than Im Sobaek. I walked up to the arena with my hands behind my back and took a wide, slow lap around it. Strolling so confidently, it would be hard to tell if I was the Lord of Haomun or an Alliance officer. As I leisurely paced the edge of the arena, I scanned the faces of the visitors. I couldn’t rule out the possibility that some came with impure motives. Then my eyes met the Lecher’s. He frowned and spoke. "......What the hell are you doing?" I raised a finger to my lips. Without name tags, it was hard to know who was who, and many faces were unfamiliar. Among them, a man subtly covered his face with a white fan, catching my eye. He was whispering with the person next to him, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. With nothing better to do, I stood still, waiting for him to lower the fan. As I kept staring from the arena, people began to focus on me, curious about whom I was glaring at. Eventually, all eyes followed my gaze to the man holding the fan. Let’s see how long you can hide behind that thing. When I didn’t move, the fan suddenly snapped shut with a clack, and the man glared at me with murderous eyes. I’ve never seen that bastard look so flustered before. The dazed White-Robed Scholar was staring at me. He wasn’t here to assassinate or duel—he’d eventually join the Martial Alliance, so that wasn’t his goal today. Rather than me being surprised, it was him who was caught off guard. Sometimes you can read someone’s emotion just from their eyes. This was one of those times. What the hell are you doing here? I said quietly to the White-Robed Scholar, He hesitated for words, then simply gave a small nod. I looked over the people with him and guessed the man next to him was a top-tier fighter from the Five Tigers. At least Scholar Cheonak wasn’t among them. That was a relief. I didn’t say anything else to the White-Robed Scholar and continued pacing the arena. His face turned bright red, but I didn’t feel the need to speak further. Now I’d have to rearrange the timeline of events a bit. It seems today the White-Robed Scholar plans to witness Im Sobaek’s Six Combat Blade firsthand. Later, he’ll figure out how to join the alliance while hiding his identity. Or rather, he already has multiple identities. As I passed by the section where the Namgung and Seomun families were gathered, someone asked me, "Who are you, walking around the arena like that?" It wasn’t the Sword or Martial Emperor who asked, so I answered casually. "Just checking if there are any high-level outsiders from the Sima clan here." Was that a good enough answer? The man didn’t say anything more. At that moment, a subordinate of the Seomun Martial Emperor whispered something into his ear. Then the Martial Emperor said to me, "Lord of Haomun, don’t parade around the arena—get down from there." Just then, I turned and saw the Sword King, Blade King, and Fist King approaching together from the direction of Wolhagwan. Everyone’s attention shifted to them, so no one said anything more to me. I continued walking around the arena, closely examining the spectators. Among them, one man glared at me like he wanted to kill me. His stare was murderous, but not frightening. Judging by the group around him, he was from a martial clan. I addressed the clan head who looked slightly older than me. "......I don’t believe we’ve met before. Do you bear a grudge against me?" The man stood and stared directly at me. "I am Sima Un, Head of the Sima Clan." The gazes that had shifted to the Sword King’s group now all returned to me. I looked steadily at Sima Un and bowed first. So this was the son or successor of Sima Hak, the man I gravely injured at the Hyeongsan Branch. If he was Sima Hak’s son, then yes, he had every reason to look at me like that. His anger was justified. I spoke in a calm tone. "Lord Sima, welcome." I didn’t feel the need to offer excuses for the duel. "I don’t understand why you’re here." Since I could end up injuring both father and son, I chose not to provoke him. "It just happened this way. If the duel troubled you, I apologize." I surprised myself with those words. Since when was I so polite? Maybe time really does change people. Maybe I was evolving too. "The former clan head has never recovered his martial power. That was a duel of destruction, wasn’t it? But from what I heard, it wasn’t supposed to be." He scolded me sharply from the edge of the arena. I didn’t feel afraid. But understanding his grief made it easier to bear. "It wasn’t exactly a duel of destruction—it had emotions mixed in. I went too far. I apologize to you and the Sima Clan." As I quietly stared at Sima Un’s angry face, I was suddenly reminded of Jang San’s old self from last night. No real connection, but emotions don’t always follow reason. Besides, Sima Un’s martial strength seemed lower than his predecessor Sima Hak’s. If he demanded a revenge duel now, it would only humiliate the Sima Clan. He barely managed to restrain his anger before sitting down again. And then, surprisingly, he said this to me: "......I know that right now, I’m weaker than you. I’ll train hard and someday formally challenge you to a duel." I nodded and accepted his request. "Let’s do that. I’ll be waiting." A long breath escaped me. Looking around again, I saw that all the martial elites of the white-path faction were staring at us. I had no choice but to finally step down from the arena. I never greeted the White-Robed Scholar again and quietly returned to sit with the Four Great Villains. Soon, the Martial Alliance Leader would arrive.