The World's Greatest Troublemaker

Chapter 117

The reserved place was being used by other people.

"They said they accidentally took reservations for two places. So they said they were sorry and would return the deposit..."

The deposit was not the problem. Where could he suddenly find a place to stay? Since a huge number of people had flocked, all the places where people could stay were already full.

"Are they trying to interfere in this way?"

It's absurd to say that they accidentally took reservations for two places. He had even checked several times in advance. This was surely a trick played by Huashan.

"How cheap."

"I'll see if there's a replacement nearby."

At Dan Bulseok's words, Mok Wigun told him to do so. But he probably wouldn't be able to find one. If they had decided to interfere, they would have made sure he couldn't get another place.

As expected, no matter how much he searched, he couldn't find a place to stay. As he was in such a difficult situation, someone approached Mok Wigun.

"Are you Young Master Mok Wigun of the Mok family?"

"That's right. Who are you?"

A person he had never seen before. He was a scholar with a pale face. And a few martial artists were standing behind the scholar. They seemed to be masters with quite pure internal energy.

"I am a person from the Son family."

It was a person from his maternal family.

"Your maternal grandmother was very worried about you, young master. Then she heard the news that you had recently become healthy and had changed from before, and she was very happy."

He knew from his memory that his maternal grandmother had doted on her maternal grandson, Mok Wigun. But since he had lost contact with his maternal family, he had forgotten. But it seemed his maternal grandmother had continued to be interested.

"I see. I should have gone to see her..."

"No. She is in a situation where it is difficult to meet outsiders due to circumstances..."

It seemed there were some circumstances.

"She wanted to help, but she couldn't because the situation was not favorable. Then she had a little more leeway this time, so she sent me like this."

And he said he had received an order to help with whatever he could in what Mok Wigun was doing.

"I see. But I don't think I need anything right now..."

Mok Wigun had more than enough money, and he couldn't think of anything else he needed. But the scholar said something unexpected.

"Don't you have a place to stay?"

Seeing that he knew that, it seemed he had been watching Mok Wigun's party continuously.

"There is a villa of the Son family not far from here. It seems it will be enough for this number of people to stay, so let's go there."

A helping hand that appeared at a very exquisite time. Mok Wigun first thought it might be a trap. And what could he see to know that they were people from the Son family?

"Huh? You. You're Gyeongbaek, right? Son Gyeongbaek."

Dan Bulseok said to the person who was behind the scholar.

"It's been a long time, Dan Bulseok."

The martial artist approached with a bright smile. The two of them held hands and were delighted.

"He's a person I trained with when I was at the young master's maternal family."

Dan Bulseok introduced Son Gyeongbaek, saying he was a martial artist he knew when he was at the Son family. Mok Wigun thought he was really lucky. Because it was rare for a helping hand to appear at such a necessary time.

'Is this matter going to go well this time?'

When things go well, the signs from the beginning are good. The same goes for when they are bad. Before anything big happens, small signs appear.

"It's a real relief. Then let's be indebted to you."

"Indebted? You can just think of it as your house, young master."

The scholar guided the party to the villa. As he said, the villa was not far away. It was located on the mountainside, a location where the stadium could be seen.

It was a neat and beautiful manor. Should I say that a sense of dignity was felt overall? But the flowers and grass in the garden were overgrown as if they had not been managed, and there were also some spider webs here and there.

"I told them to prepare in a hurry, but since it hasn't been used for a long time, there may be some uncomfortable places."

"No. It's a real relief that there's a place like this."

It was true. What if this place wasn't here? There's really no choice but to camp nearby.

"For now, let's just unpack and go and register."

"Let's do that. In the meantime, I'll clean up a bit and prepare a meal."

Mok Wigun went out with his party to register. Just in case, he moved with his important things. It seemed they were people from his maternal family, but you never know what will happen with people.

"We'll have to wait for a long time."

Perhaps because it was the last day, there were many people trying to register. The registration had to be done for both the individual competition and the sect battle. Since Pung Chosan had to do both, he had gone to the individual competition registration first. It was because that side had more windows, so it seemed it would be done first.

But as he was waiting in line, the scholar from his maternal family suddenly ran over. He said, panting.

"I came in a hurry because there's something you need to know."

"What is it that you came in such a hurry?"

He caught his breath for a moment and then said.

"The Martial Alliance has discussed the matter of excluding the Zhongnan Sect from the Nine Sects One Gang, and they have set a standard."

Even just hearing that, he felt a little uneasy. The scholar, who had heard it through a person he knew on the Martial Alliance's side, said that the standard had become higher than what was originally discussed.

"For the individual competition, two or more people have to advance to the main tournament, and for the sect battle, they have set the standard of advancing to the main tournament."

"Two people in the individual competition?"

This was someone's trick. Originally, if even one person went to the main tournament, it was considered a good result. Because not all of the Nine Sects One Gang send several people to the main tournament.

There are also cases where not even one person can advance, and there are also places where one or two people advance. So if even one person advanced, it was considered that they had saved face, and then it was thought that it was possible to remain in the Nine Sects One Gang.

"Damn it!"

A curse came out on its own. It was obvious who had done this.

"It must be Huashan."

"That's right. They said the standard was raised because Huashan strongly demanded it."

His head suddenly became complicated. Although he had thought they would interfere, he hadn't known they would come out like this.

"Thank you. If I hadn't known, I would have been in a really big trouble."

It was a real relief. If he hadn't known this, he wouldn't have been able to do anything, and the Zhongnan Sect would have been excluded from the Nine Sects One Gang.

"Still, it's a relief that it's not too late."

The scholar smiled, saying it was a relief. Mok Wigun sent the scholar away and then immediately revised his strategy. In fact, he had been thinking of sending someone other than Pung Chosan to the individual competition. Mok Wigun gathered the people.

"As you've just heard, the situation has changed. So a few of you will have to participate in the individual competition."

"I'm fine with that."

Gwak Wol suddenly popped out and said. That's probably true for her. Because she likes to test her techniques. But the other disciples seemed a little burdened.

The group competition alone was a big burden, but now they had to get good results in the individual competition as well. Of course, the disciples who participated in the individual competition would be very mentally burdened. But they had to do it.

"Mun Geomyeong. Deungroe."

And the ones who had to participate had to be the strongest disciples. Mok Wigun called out three people, including Gwak Wol, and finally called one more person.

"Won Gagyeol."

"Pardon?"

Won Gagyeol was surprised at the unexpected call and pointed a finger at himself.

"Me?"

Won Gagyeol had not been among the eight. It was because he had lost in the duel with Gwak Wol. But the appearance he had shown in the duel was very impressive. Pyon Juksu's opinion was the same.

So he had gathered all the people of the Zhongnan Sect, including the sect leader, Pung Oksan, the Light Wind Unit, and the second-generation disciples, and had discussed it. After a long discussion, it was decided to select Won Gagyeol if he proved his skills.

'He beat all the guys who had challenged him.'

All the people, including the second-generation disciples, had acknowledged Won Gagyeol's skills, and he had been selected as a participant in the Heavenly Martial Arts Assembly. There was no problem.

Usually, they leave a few people in reserve in case of an emergency. Because if someone gets injured during the sect battle or suddenly gets sick, they need a replacement player. So there are also sects that bring more than ten second-generation disciples.

"Some of you may be wondering why I'm having Won Gagyeol participate in the individual competition."

But surprisingly, there seemed to be no dissatisfied disciples.

"A few of you seem to be happy that I'm not going."

"Ah. No."

It might be a natural thing. The individual competition is mostly participated in by first-generation disciples. It means they have to compete with masters who are older and more experienced than them. How easy is that?

"As some of you may know, there is a qualification to participate in the individual competition. If you don't pass that, you can't participate at all."

The standard was clearly set. You have to leave a mark of a certain depth or more on a stone wall with your palm force.

"Gwak Wol and Mun Geomyeong can compress their internal energy a little, so there's a possibility they'll pass. Deungroe has strong physical strength. But Won Gagyeol."

"Yes?"

"I saw yesterday that you seemed to be able to compress your internal energy."

"Pardon? I didn't know if it was working or not..."

In Mok Wigun's eyes, it was on and off. Still, the person with even a slight possibility was Won Gagyeol. Except for those four, the rest had no possibility of passing the standard at all.

"So I said that. I don't know. All four of you might not pass the standard and be eliminated."

"I'll pass."

Gwak Wol said she was confident. She was a guy who popped out at a very strange timing. Just like her sword technique.

"So the four of you go and register for the individual competition first."

At Mok Wigun's words, the four of them moved. Gwak Wol went cheerfully, jumping up and down, and Deungroe just walked with a steady pace. Mun Geomyeong and Won Gagyeol moved behind with a slightly unconfident expression.

Mok Wigun, who was watching that, muttered.

"So these bastards are coming out like this?"

* * *

"Next."

Pung Chosan came forward. He told the registrar his affiliation and name.

"I am Pung Chosan, a first-generation disciple of the Zhongnan Sect."

"Ah. You. It's been a long time."

It was a person who remembered when Pung Chosan had come out before.

A new rising master who had appeared like a comet from the fallen Zhongnan Sect. He had advanced to the main tournament and had caused an upset by defeating a strong contender for the championship. The martial artists who were a little older remembered Pung Chosan, who was once called the future of Zhongnan.

"Alright, you can leave a mark there."

You can hit it with your fist or use a palm technique. There were many marks on the stone wall. Marks left by the people before. And a person to measure the depth was standing next to it.

Pung Chosan recalled what Mok Wigun had said a little while ago.

'He said to draw a lot of attention because he doesn't know what kind of trick Huashan will play.'

The depth of the mark becomes the standard when creating the match-up table. The seats are assigned starting from the person with the deepest mark. It's to assign them so that the masters don't fight each other in the early stages.

So the goal is to leave the deepest mark possible and to let people know about it. Pung Chosan gathered his internal energy, recalling the method of use he had learned from Mok Wigun. The method of using compressed internal energy better. How much hardship had he gone through to learn that?

"Haaat!"

He poured out all the pain and sorrow he had felt so far onto the stone wall.

(End of Chapter)