If my ears werent messing with me, then this voice belonged to Baek Hye-hyang. I was quite shocked.

-What? That gumiho? Why is she here?

I wanted to ask the same thing. In a way, the strongest candidate to be the next leader of the sect coming out was quite arrogant, even for her.

Isnt she afraid?

This was the land of the Forces of Justice. Although the Murim Alliance was strict, security had been heightened as the tournament approached, and the best warriors of the Forces of Justice had gathered here.

And to infiltrate such a place meant to have a strong heart.

You recognize me?

I heard your voice before, why wouldnt I recognize you, Miss Baek Hye-hyang?

Now you even know my name.

Baek Hye-hyang chuckled and smiled. Even though she had a human skin mask on, it was obvious she was smiling.

I heard you fell into a valley, but you survived?

I almost died because of that.

Her words made me want to cry. I didnt even know how much she must hate me, to send me down to that ghastly man.

Of course, the ghastly part hadnt been planned, and the worst didnt come to pass, so I somehow managed to escape.

You seem quite upset? But you are alive right?

You talk as if it was so easy.

This woman was shameless, she was nothing like Baek Ryeon-ha.

Are you going to continue holding me like this?

She was still pushing me. To be honest, I couldnt shake her off at all.

-Are you going to use the qi from your dantian?

No.

There was no need for that. This alley was sparsely populated, but the blacksmiths shops were only a few steps away.

It was crowded with people so why would she kill me? No matter how daring she is, she wouldnt jump in for a hasty move

If you have no intention to kill me, then let me go.

You got confident in the time I havent seen you. Is it because your skills have improved?

Of course, my martial arts had changed a lot from when I first met her. But my confidence came from the situation we were in.

You dont want to be revealed here.

I said turning to the side.

What would happen if I give out her identity right here? Maybe she understood what I meant and she smiled,

You are interesting.

Uh?

I had threatened her, but instead of being angry, she was coming out strong. She had a more difficult personality than Hae Ack-chun.

However unexpected words followed,

A guy like you doesnt suit that child.

That child?

Was she talking about Baek Ryeon-ha?

She looked at me and said,

I will give you a chance.

what are you talking about?

Come under me

Uh?

At this unexpected offer, I was surprised. She must have learned that Hae Ack-chun had chosen to side with Baek Ryeon-ha, so what was this?

I will let you use your abilities to the fullest. Your future will be bloody under them.

She wants to take me?

It was a proposal worth considering, especially since there were no further incidents like the time I was pushed into the valley. Being on the edge wasnt a bad thing. But there was no guarantee that I wouldnt be eliminated once my use had come to pass.

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Thank you for the offer, but my master doesnt

I want you.

?!

What did this mean? She wants me and not the Ghastly Monster?

I couldnt understand. There were numerous thoughts running through my mind.

For example, it could be that she wanted to reach out to Hae Ack-chun and try to persuade him, but first wanted to bring me in and cause internal strife.

I politely told her,

I have a long list of things I am lacking, so I cannot be of help to you. And how can a disciple walk a different path from their teacher? Please take back

It was at that moment. I felt a weird creepy feeling rise up.

Pat!

For a moment I tilted my head back when she moved so close to me. Had I been a little late, I was sure she was going to kill me with the small knife in the hand

See. You avoided it.

Uh?

I feel something different from you. I always thought it was weird.

What do you

A guy who has only hit the wall to the master level notices my assassin weapon and avoids it?

?!

I couldnt say anything to this after knowing she was testing me.

Why do my senses say you are stronger than this?

She was a scary woman.

I didnt even use the qi in my mid dantian, and she had noticed I was hiding my skills. Without using my innate qi she would have no way of knowing its existence, but being able to guess about its existence with this much was quite shocking.

Are you on this level after learning martial arts for just a year? This is the first time I have seen someone grow so fast. Well, except for me.

I think you are misunderstanding.

I changed my mind.

Baek Hye-hyang clicked her tongue with a strange expression as if she found her next meal.

If you are ready to be marked by me, it is likely that you will be the best aide for the sect leader.

!!!

What is this girl speaking of now? Do what? Looking at how confused I was, she smiled,

I thought you would make a good guardian or something, but no. You are not inferior to being my husband either.

What? What? This woman continued to utterly confuse me.

-Wonhui. She really is a thousand-year-old gumiho, I am telling you. You will be eaten up like this.

What do you mean!

At Short Swords words, I shouted.

I didnt know much about any other women, but this was someone I could especially never guess what she was thinking. And then she slowly touched my cheek.

As she said,

What do you think? If you think about it, you will become the second most important person if you take the role I give you, be mine.

Is she asking me to go under her skirt?

She continued to stroke my cheek. However, there was one thing she had overlooked, she was currently wearing the mask of a man and I didnt feel even the least bit seduced by it.

I will pretend I didnt hear this.

Her eyes shone,

Why? Do you like Baek Ryeon-ha that much?

I didnt mean it like that.

You would have more fun at night with me than her.

I felt a shiver course through my body. Please dont say such things to a mans face!

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She giggled as she grabbed the skin under her ear and ripped it off revealing her face which I had seen a year back.

She definitely shared some resemblance with Baek Ryeon-ha. If only her hair and eyes were different they would have looked like twins.

She had splotchy hair while Baek Ryeon-has hair only had a singular color.

Can you really take your mask off here?

I have plenty where they came from.

I stuck out my tongue at her horrid words. Was it because no one knew her face that she was acting this bold?

There arent many chances to be married to such an attractive woman, So Wonhui.

This was the first time I was in such a situation and it was burdensome to see a sect leader candidate act like this.

Calling me a subordinate would have felt a lot better. And I decided the topic had to be changed.

Why are you here?

At my words, she raised an eyebrow,

I think the same reason as you.

And you still have the time to do things like this with me?

At that, she chuckled,

Well, the sword is going to come into my hands either way. You do not have to worry about that. What you should focus on is coming to my side.

Do you think you could do that if I reveal your identity here?

I decided to act more aggressively. In fact, this was something everyone was concerned with.

Because even Baek Hye-hyangs side might reveal our side in the tournament.

But Baek Ryeon-ha said that this wouldnt happen. Rather, we were aiming for the moment to just obtain the sword and escape. We wouldnt be able to accomplish that task if we were too caught up with what the other side was doing.

I wont.

why so?

She smiled as she spread her hands,

Looking at this, the child and I are destined to confront each other.

But

She raised her hands high,

And if we do such things, we will end up being in the same position. Do you think that a kid like that and a smart one like you would simply reveal to all that the sect has internal conflicts?

Ha!

The same thing that Baek Ryeon-ha said.

To not show the divide to others, and protect each other by not trying to reveal such a weakness. Exposing such a divide would make both sides large targets of the Murim Alliance.

This wont work.

She was too aware of the position of either side.

If that was the case, then I had to make this work. So I spoke in a polite voice,

Thank you for the offer. Being Baek Hye-hyangs husband is an attractive position for me, but it is too much for my current self.

I bowed. And she smiled,

Current self huh? It means you arent sure about the future then?

This woman was good at reading too much into things, and I had no intention of being her partner in bed.

I am certain. I never let go of what I have set my eyes on.

This was what made such a difference between this woman and Baek Ryeon-ha, being so open with her desires.

I wish I could take this as an exception.

No. I will force everything to have you. I like you even more now.

Baek Hye-hyang clenched the hand she was holding, and quickly tried to close one of my blood points, so I blocked her hand.

At that moment she decided to break my wrist.

Ugh!

Making me open up my middle dantian.

And the innate qi soared up as her hand bounced back, making her eyes shine.

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I was right.

Right. She had no intention of breaking my hand.

But if I didnt do this I was sure to be dragged around by her.

Pak!

I drew Short Sword and aimed it at her wrist.

Of course, I thought she would avoid it by letting go of my wrist but she just caught the blade with two fingers

If this is the level

Pak!

Before she could finish speaking, I kicked her on the shoulder making her release Short Sword and block the kick.

But she was still pushed to the side by three steps, and this was my only goal, to finally escape her grip.

Tak!

I unfolded my footwork technique to distance myself, and her lips twitched.

Rather than feeling bad, it felt like she was riled up with excitement.

You are pretty good. Moderate hits arent good against you.

Creepy!

A bloody red haze rose from her body and the intent to kill spread out around us. No matter how much in the back alley we were, there were still many people around!

Damn it.

This would be difficult.

Why did this have to happen when Iron Sword was being cleaned?! Should I deal with her using Short Sword and a couple of assassin needles?

Pat!

Baek Hye-hyang narrowed the distance as if she was moving through the shadows. And it was then.

Chak!

A silver light flashed past my eyes and Baek Hye-hyang who was reaching out to me stopped a step back.

And she looked at me with sharp eyes, no, she was looking at the person in front of me.

Miss Sima?

It was Sima Young.

Who are you?

Sima Young asked Baek Hye-hyang as she leveled her sword. There was no laid-back feeling on her face.

Was she nervous about the killing intent rising from Baek Hye-hyang?

Move.

Baek Hye-hyang spoke in a cold commanding voice. At this, Sima Young only took the proper stance and with the other hand calling the opponent she said,

Make me.

Cheeky.

With that, Baek Hye-hyang came for Sima Young. The moment the two were about to collide I sprinted hard

Bang! Pak!

Both of them bounced back

Stay still!

Uh?

I wrapped my hand around Sima Youngs waist and put my left hand on her back.

The silver string was thrown in a straight line and tied to the pillar behind the blacksmith alley.

In that state, I infused my innate qi.

Swish

?!

Sima Young and I moved out of the alley with great speed. The crowd around us was so startled that they moved away.

V-vice commander.

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Sima Young grabbed my arm and blushed.

I guess this was something to be a bit embarrassed about but my gaze didnt move from the alley.

Baek Hye-hyang looked like this was all absurd as if she hadnt expected us to get out like this.