Chapter 268
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 268
Chapter 268. Prodigy (1)
It was a different feeling from when he faced the Black Dao.
It was a new sensation, so he bit his lip and looked around, but there was nothing special.
I guess I should ask Master.
Master said he would watch the duel, but where is he?
Come to think of it...
Master said,
“Personally, I find the Dragon and Phoenix Duel quite interesting, so I plan to watch it. However, please understand that we may not be able to greet each other when we meet again.”
That means he's watching from somewhere, disguised or hiding.
I wondered where he could be.
Huh?
I blinked my eyes. The feeling that had been making me uncomfortable just a moment ago was completely gone.
What was that?
Usually, when that kind of energy disappears, it gradually fades away, but this time it was different.
It disappeared in an instant, as if it had been cut off.
While I was tilting my head in confusion, the Alliance Leader finished his speech.
“Now, let's begin the 36th Dragon and Phoenix Duel Tournament!”
“Wahhh!”
“First, let me introduce the 108 finalists!”
At that, the 108 people who had been waiting below came up onto the stage.
As if they had been told in advance how to stand, the finalists stood in an orderly line and looked out at the audience.
“These are the 108 prodigies who will lead the martial arts world! Please give them a big round of applause.”
“Wahhh!”
At the emcee's words, the audience waved their fists and cheered loudly.
I, too, cheered for Hyang-ok, Jaegal Yoo-ah, Tang Soo-bin, and Cho Woong.
By the way, 108...
I heard that the number of finalists was set at 108 because of the claim of a Shaolin Temple master who was the Alliance Leader when the Dragon and Phoenix Duel first began.
It means that they want the winner to be a hero who can eliminate the 108 afflictions of the mind.
In any case, with 108 contestants competing against each other, the losers are eliminated and the winners advance to the next round, so it's a bit strange to determine the winner this way.
Of the 108 contestants, 54 advance to the next round.
When they compete again, only twenty-seven advance.
Therefore, there are bound to be those who advance by default.
Each participant draws a number card to determine the matchups, so if you draw well, you can advance once without fighting.
Of course, you have to win the first two matches to enjoy the luck of advancing by default.
Therefore, even though it was a duel to test one's skills, luck in the draw was also important.
“Now, please come down from the stage one by one and draw a number.”
Following the emcee's instructions, the finalists came down from the stage and drew numbers.
The names of the warriors were written on a large board next to the stage.
Of course, since the paper could be damaged, three clerks recorded the names separately.
Thus, the final matchups were decided.
Meanwhile, it was about time for the swordsmen to start throwing their sword qi at the audience.
Just in case, I stayed by my mother's side throughout the preliminaries, but it seems that incident happened in the main competition.
Then, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
The duel tournament was very different from my previous life.
For example, Jaegal Yoo-ah and Cho Woong were in the finals.
The match schedule must have changed a lot.
If so, wouldn't it be possible that what happened back then wouldn't happen?
I thought about it, but quickly shook my head.
If I let my guard down and something happened, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.
Still, I watched the martial arts tournament, hoping that nothing like that would happen.
.
.
.
Fortunately, today's martial arts tournament ended without any major accidents.
Of course, since martial arts tournaments are real fights, it was only natural that the participating warriors were injured.
There were minor injuries, such as bruises from rolling on the ground, as well as cuts and stab wounds from swords.
Some warriors pushed their inner arts too far and suffered internal injuries.
As a result, there were many cases of warriors being carried out on stretchers.
In my opinion, the reason why the warriors pushed themselves so hard was for the sake of honor.
The winner of the main competition was decided when one of the contestants surrendered, was disqualified, or when the referee determined that the contest could not continue.
The contest could not continue if one of the contestants fainted or was seriously injured.
It would be better if the contestants could decide to surrender on their own, but winning even once would greatly increase their reputation.
For the martial artists of Murim, fame was more realistic than one might think.
As fame accumulates, one's position in one's family and sect grows, and sponsorship follows.
It can also revive a declining family or sect.
That is why everyone fights so fiercely, and why there are so many more injuries than in the preliminary rounds.
Now I understand why the walls of the duel stage were lacquered... It's because bloodstains are difficult to remove from wood.
I took my parents to an inn and headed for the Trading Company's temporary store.
But...
“I'm very sorry, but we are currently out of stock...”
What? Out of stock?
What do you mean?
I hurriedly approached Yoon Haengsu.
“Yoon Haengsu. What's going on?”
“Ah! Captain, you're here?”
“I heard you said you were out of stock. Didn't you just restock the other day?”
“That's right. We have enough of everything else, but we're running low on fish bone powder and fish flour, which are ingredients for the medicine.”
The medicine is used to stop bleeding from external wounds.
Fish bone powder, or fish flour, is the most important ingredient in high-quality medicine.
Another ingredient that is in short supply is lime powder.
From my memories of my previous life, I know that fish bone powder and fish powder sell very well, so I stocked up on them, but now we are out of stock!
“There's nothing we can do. Hurry and send a message to the Trading Company to replenish the fish bone powder and fish powder.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I will visit nearby trading companies to see if they have any fish bones and fish powder in stock.”
.
.
.
A few hours later.
I couldn't help but look disappointed.
“...You don't have any?”
“That's right. We've searched everywhere.”
I visited several trading companies, but the answer was always the same.
And now, I heard the same answer from the last trading company.
“What about fish powder?”
“We don't have any either.”
What on earth is going on?
I returned to the inn, reported the situation to my father, and went up to my room.
“Pal-gap, please bring me some tea.”
“Yes, sir.”
I drank the tea Pal-gap had brewed for me and tried to collect my thoughts.
Hmm, tea... Our skills are improving day by day... No, that's not right...
Around this time in my previous life, I was busy running a fabric shop, dragging my aching body around.
That's why I don't know much about the Dragon and Phoenix Duel. I only heard a little about it from Jin-ho, who went to Luoyang for the duel.
The reason Jin-ho went was because he was very interested in martial arts, and the Chief Administrator strongly recommended it to broaden his knowledge.
At the time, our Trading Company's position was lower than it is now, so there wasn't much pressure.
However, the situation has changed a lot since then, so I ended up coming.
Anyway, according to Jin-ho at the time...
“It seems that there were quite a lot of injuries. We ran out of the fish bones and fish powder we had prepared.”
“So what did you do?”
“What could we do... We almost died bringing them back, but on the other hand, I'm glad we did.”
“Huh? How was it a relief?”
“While we were out getting more, the sword qi from the duel flew into the audience seats. And that happened to be where Eul-seok was sitting.”
“Oh... I'm glad that didn't happen.”
“Anyway, we ran out of it right away after bringing it back. It wasn't just us, but other places as well. That's why the price of fish bones and fish powder went up so much. More than ten times the original price.”
Remembering that, he brought back much more than he had originally planned.
But... Come to think of it, something was strange.
There were over a hundred trading companies that came to open temporary shops for the dragon and phoenix duel.
And they all had essential ingredients such as fish bone powder and cheap fish powder.
Combining the ingredients they brought with the ingredients we brought, there would be enough for all 108 contestants who advanced to the finals.
In fact, there would be plenty left over.
But... even if the main competition was much more intense than the preliminary round, and even if there were many injuries, it was only one day, so how could they run out of fish bone powder?
My eyes lit up.
Even if we disregard the cheapest fish powder, fish bone powder costs four silver coins per cup.
That's the price of a chicken.
They say they got more than ten times that amount. That means they bought it at that price.
Martial artists may die in battle because they allow their opponents to strike their vital points, such as the neck or heart, but there are also many cases where they die from excessive bleeding because they cannot receive treatment in time.
So what can you do?
If you don't want to die, you have to buy medicine for wounds, no matter how expensive it is.
Nothing is more important than life.
But I'm sure Jin-ho said that at the time.
“We brought it back, but it sold out quickly. It wasn't just us, but other places as well. That's why the price of fish bone powder and fish powder went up so much.”
Fish bone powder and fish powder were sold out everywhere else, so where did people buy them?
Something smelled fishy.
I asked Pal-gap for a piece of indigo cloth and hung it over the window.
I felt like I had to meet Chun-il.
.
.
.
The next morning.
Pal-gap approached me as I was eating breakfast and said, “A boy just gave me this.”
I opened the paper that Pal-gap handed me and saw a note written in small letters.
I unfolded the paper that Pal-gap handed me.
“I will meet you at the Yumi Inn at the beginning of the hour (9-11 a.m.) today.”
If it's the beginning of the hour, I can meet Chun-il and go to the duel.
After asking my parents for their permission and telling them to go to the duel first, I headed for the Yumi Inn.
As I stood there pretending to wait for my order, the waiter at the inn approached me with some dumplings.
“Here are the dumplings you ordered.”
I smiled at the familiar face.
“Thank you.”
I took the dumplings and handed them to Pal-gap.
“I have something for you to do.”
“What is it?”
I briefly explained the situation to Chun-il and gave him instructions.
“...Please investigate that.”
“Yes, sir.”
I was about to leave, but Chun-il's words stopped me in my tracks.
“Here are seven coins.”
“....”
Sighing, I reached into my pocket and handed him seven coins. Chun-il smiled brightly and took them.
“Thank you very much. Please continue to patronize us.”
He was very sincere in his disguise.
After entrusting Chun-il with the task, I headed straight for the duel arena.
Today's duel was very important. My sister Hyang-ok was participating.
According to the match schedule I saw yesterday, she was fourth in line.
“Did you finish your work?”
“Yes, I finished it.”
“That's good. The duel hasn't started yet.”
I nodded at my parents' words and sat down.
Then the announcer came out.
“Now, let's begin the second day of the preliminaries! The first match is...”
Two warriors stepped onto the stage.
They were disciples of the Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect, respectively.
The two sects were located in Shaanxi Province and were rivals.
Therefore, they did not get along very well.
“It would be impossible to make a match like that...”
“You're right.”
I heard people murmuring. My father also looked interested.
“The Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect... What's more, they're the same age and have been assigned to the same order...”
One thing was certain.
If they lost here, their future would be very bleak.
This was a battle they couldn't back down from.
Dong!
The duel began with the sound of drums.
Usually, the first few moves are used to size up your opponent, but not this time.
That meant they had fought many times before.
“Ha!”
The first to swing his sword was a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect. A vivid sword qi shot out from his sword.
“Huh! Sword qi already!”
In fact, even first-class warriors could use sword qi. However, they couldn't maintain it for long.
Perhaps because of that, he swung his sword with short bursts of sword qi, which looked like plum blossoms flying through the air.
Although there were only a few petals, their power was considerable.
Using sword qi from the beginning meant that he intended to finish quickly.
However, the Zhongnan Sect disciple was not going to give up easily, and he also unleashed his sword qi.
The Zhongnan Sect's technique, Thirty-Six Swords Under the Heaven!
The moment the two swords collided violently!
The sword qi of the two martial artists, who had put all their strength into their attack, bounced off each other.
Someone said, "Don't let them get close!
“It can't be killing people.”
That was exactly the situation. The sword qi that bounced off the swords of the two martial artists flew toward the audience, toward us.
Damn it!
I quickly drew my sword.