Book 23 Chapter 8
The silver-haired boy(?) and a passerby
— The person they were looking for
Destiny begins with incredibly trivial matters. It slyly visits us, disguised as a mere coincidence. Those with discerning eyes will see it, while those without will never discover it. However, as these trivial matters intertwine, they often become the harbinger or the beginning of tremendous events.
As applicants swarmed the Jianghu Continent like a locust plague to participate in a lucrative betting tournament with a prize of five hundred thousand nyang, the registration office of the Wontong Arena fell into a state of paralysis within just one day of opening due to overwhelming work. Their task also included sifting out eligible candidates from the flood of applicants. To kill two birds with one stone – reducing personnel and making money – they began charging a participation fee of fifty nyang in silver. While this reduced the number of applicants somewhat, it was still impossible to handle with just one counter. To distribute the workload, registration offices sprang up everywhere, with preliminary rounds installed next to them. Only those who passed all three rounds would be eligible to participate in the preliminaries, and these three rounds were as follows:
First, physical strength measurement – long jump.
Second, internal energy measurement – lifting an iron pot.
Third, destructive power measurement – participants had to demonstrate their destructive power by cutting stone with a sword, or by shattering rocks or leaving handprints with martial arts, fist techniques, kicks, or foot techniques.
Although they claimed to be filtering out those who wouldn't be able to pass these preliminary stages safely, the real reason was different. It wasn't about the participants' lives being precious, but rather that if individuals with such weak abilities participated, the competition would be less interesting and thus less profitable for the Wontong Arena. Furthermore, the participation fee would not be refunded even if one failed to pass these three rounds. It was truly a ruthless system overflowing with practicality. Despite such strict examination, people inevitably fell into a delusion, and there was no cure for it. They felt as if they were the only ones destined to win the prize money. This delusion had a drug-like effect, igniting the fantasies of many.
"Everyone's making a fuss. They'll only put themselves in danger participating with that level of skill."
Na Yerinn, who had come out for a walk with Yeonbi, said, looking at the lines of applicants stretching out on both sides of the main road. She couldn't understand the mechanism behind it.
"People like to live in delusion. They're all experts at turning a blind eye to their bitter reality."
Yeonbi replied in a cheerful voice. It was at that moment.
"Excuse me… move aside!"
A delicate cry echoed through the crowd.
"Heh heh, what if we don't move aside?"
A sinister voice followed.
"That's… that's……."
The owner of the childish voice seemed utterly flustered.
"I haven't even applied yet. Aren't anyone who passes the three rounds eligible to participate?"
"Perhaps you were yesterday. But not today. Heh heh heh. That's because this registration office is managed by the elders of the Three Fiends of Gangnam. We're closed for today. So, everyone, go home! While I'm still speaking nice words!"
The last part was almost a threat, and it seemed it wasn't directed at just one person. It was addressed to everyone lined up behind him. Those who had been laughing and enjoying the sight of the boy struggling just moments before suddenly looked visibly grim when they realized they were also targets.
They could freely laugh when others were in trouble, but when they found themselves in the same situation, laughter seemed to elude them.
As countless people flocked to the Jianghu Continent to participate in the incredibly expensive betting tournament, all sorts of people began to emerge. Among them were participants with rough dispositions who occupied one of the scattered registration offices and attempted to weed people out through their own arbitrary inspections. These were the types who considered the three rounds insufficient. Thus, they seemed unsatisfied unless they conducted their own tests. In reality, the intention was to preemptively filter people out through intimidation and threats, as too many people would only be a nuisance. This was not something one could easily do against so many people without considerable confidence in their own abilities. The young boy who had asked to be let through at first had likely gotten caught up in such an unfortunate situation.
These three men were known as the Three Fiends of Gangnam, notorious figures in the Gangnam region. The crowd, having heard of their reputation, began to weigh their own reputations against those of the three fiends to gauge their chances of victory or defeat. However, there was one person who did not engage in such calculation. It was the boy who had been blocked by the three men at the very beginning.
"Move aside."
While everyone else was contemplating what to do, the boy looked up at the three men again and spoke. His words were the same. At that moment, one eyebrow of each of the Three Fiends twitched simultaneously. There was one young child here who clearly didn't understand what was being said.
Na Yerinn and Yeonbi naturally moved towards the source of the sound. From their current position, they could only hear the voice, and the crowd obscured their view of the boy. As they pushed through the throng of people, they saw a striking boy surrounded by three hulking men. The men had very menacing appearances, and each had drawn their weapons as if to flaunt them, creating a very ominous atmosphere. These were indeed the infamous Three Fiends of Gangnam. However, Yeonbi and Na Yerinn weren't interested in them. Their names were not significant enough to warrant their attention. It was something else that captured their interest.
As Yeonbi and Na Yerinn approached, they briefly turned their heads due to the murmuring. The boy's eyes were large and jet-black, his skin shone like milky white, and he was flawless. Most notably, however, was the color of his hair. It was a fine, silvery hair, as if sprinkled with silver powder, with a faint grayish hue.
"That's unusual, silver hair. He seems so young."
"Indeed."
The boy's hair, surrounded by three rough men, was silver. The silver hair didn't lose its luster even when surrounded by dirty, fierce men.
"Silver hair… could it be a lineage mutation?"
Even Na Yerinn, who was largely indifferent to her surroundings, seemed intrigued by the faint glow. It felt different from ordinary white hair.
"Well… it's definitely not a case of returning to youth. He doesn't seem to be an outsider either. However, that silvery hue must be due to the secret martial art he's cultivating. Though I don't know what it is."
Na Yerinn nodded in agreement.
"It's quite remarkable for someone so young. To cultivate internal energy to the point of causing physical changes requires an immense amount of time and persistent effort."
Internal energy, in a nutshell, is the accumulation of Qi (氣). Qi is the most fundamental substance that constitutes all things in nature, serving as the foundation of existence. Existence itself can be seen as a gigantic Qi, highly compressed and formed from the fluctuations of Yin and Yang. Therefore, the amount of Qi that can be absorbed through internal energy cultivation is infinitesimally small compared to the body that constitutes it. However, the Qi that makes up the body cannot be used as Qi itself. But Qi that has been condensed through special Qi circulation techniques can be used more easily. Thus, to accumulate internal energy to the extent that it causes physical changes, truly an incalculable amount of training is required.
The distinct martial arts characteristics of Yeomdo and Binggeom, as clearly manifested externally, allow one to gauge their skill to some extent. That is why they are called masters. There is a realm of returning to the ordinary after such specialization, but it is unknown how many have reached that realm.
However, no matter how one looked at it, the boy was too young. Therefore, it was clear that he had used methods other than the ordinary ones.
"I've never heard of any martial arts that exhibit such characteristics."
If there were, Na Yerinn's ears would undoubtedly have heard of them.
"This is suddenly becoming interesting."
Yeonbi said with a tone of amusement.
"What should we do, Yeonbi? Should we go out and help him now?"
To Na Yerinn's question, Yeonbi replied with an intrigued voice.
"Let's watch a little longer. I'm curious to see what kind of martial arts he possesses. Besides, it seems there's another secret about him."