Chapter 100

"And yet you brought that out? With bare hands and no other weapon? Surely you're not thinking of using that as a weapon, are you?"

Bi Ryu-yeon's expression changed to one that said, 'Was that all you were asking?'.

"Why not? Of course I brought it out to use as a weapon. There are many masters of sound arts in the world who use not only the zither, but also jade flutes or pipes as weapons."

Of course, Jang Hong knew better than Bi Ryu-yeon that there were many such masters of sound arts. But this case was an exception.

"But you're not a master of sound arts, are you?"

"What are you talking about? I'm now a respectable master of sound arts. The preliminary round is more than enough with just this Thunder Zither, Ink Thunder. So just sit back and watch."

Jang Hong and Hyo-ryong did not participate this time because they did not meet the participation qualifications. That was why they had now come forward, claiming to be Bi Ryu-yeon's advisors or kibitzers.

"Haven't you only been learning sound arts for just over half a year? Do you think the Three Sages Festival is some kind of child's play?"

Jang Hong shouted in a fit of anger. No matter how ignorant of the world he was, this was too much. In a situation where it would not be enough even if he showed all his true ultimate techniques, to come out with a weapon and a martial art that he had not even achieved a small success in, let alone a great success. Jang Hong was frustrated in front of Bi Ryu-yeon, whose inner thoughts he still could not guess even after having spent nearly a year with him.

"I told you not to worry. I know that much. Just watch. I'll show you the results of my efforts here today. It's the first public showing, so watch with your eyes wide open. It's not something that comes every day."

In the meantime, Bi Ryu-yeon's sound arts opponents had only been plants that could not speak or move. But from now on, the targets would be animals with a fairly intelligent intelligence that were perfectly alive and moving and could even speak.

"I'll show you my skills that have turned the flowerbed in front of the dormitory into a mess."

Bi Ryu-yeon said, clenching his fists.

"What? Then are you saying that the fact that the flowerbed in front of the dormitory has been turned into a complete ruin is your doing?"

"Ah, isn't nature always changing? It's not a very surprising thing. So please keep it a secret. Because I don't want to be called by the Iron-Blooded Heartless Sword, Gang Ha-yun, the proctor."

Bi Ryu-yeon repeatedly requested the two to keep that matter under wraps. It was obvious that if that matter were to leak out, sparks would fly in Proctor Gang's two eyes. He declined to meet the Iron-Blooded Proctor Gang, who would be running wild and threatening to throw him into the accounting department.

The results of having made the flowerbed next to the Sword Soul Hall wither were now being shown to all. At Bi Ryu-yeon's boast, Jang Hong closed his eyes tightly. As a third party, it was awkward for him to interfere any more.

'Do as you please. I've given up now...'

It was Jang Hong, who was sighing on his own because of the always unpredictable Bi Ryu-yeon.

Bi Ryu-yeon, with the ink zither on his back, also went to the place where the first-year academy students were lined up and took his place with his party. Everyone was standing in an orderly manner, not shameful of the name of the Cheonmu Academy. As the time of the event approached, the Jianghu elders who had been invited to the event came one by one and sat in the prepared seats. They were all senior elders who were making a name for themselves in the Jianghu. Just seeing them like this once was a great way to broaden one's horizons.

Among the nine great sects, the sect leaders who could not attend due to circumstances had sent their representatives. Those representatives were also important masters whose standing in the Jianghu was by no means low.

At this time, a person appeared in the VIP seats on the stage. It was an old man with the air of a Taoist immortal, who was emitting an extraordinary energy. His spirit was so outstanding that it overwhelmed everyone in the hall. And in succession, a man and a woman followed. Their spirits were also as great as that of the white-robed old man who had entered before. The hall began to stir.

"Uwaaaaaaah! Look over there! It's the Three Sages of Cheonmu!"

That's right! They had also been invited to this competition as observers. To see the Three Sages of Cheonmu in one place was not an easy thing. It was nothing short of an honor. Indeed, it did not make sense for the Three Sages of Cheonmu to be absent from the opening ceremony of a competition that honored the Three Sages of Cheonmu.

"Look over there! It's the Sword Saint, Moyong Jeong-cheon."

"The Saber Saint, Hahu Sik, is also there."

"Oh, the Sword Empress, Lee Ok-sang, has also come."

The entire hall was in a frenzy of excitement. The Three Sages of Cheonmu, who were no different from the idols of the current righteous path Murim, had gathered in one place at the same time. It was by no means an easy thing to see them, who were no different from half-immortals, even from a distance. The number of people who were craning their necks to see them a little more closely increased here and there. They were big shots who were rarely seen in person, not in portraits. It would be human nature to want to see them closely at least once to broaden one's horizons.

But not only the Three Sages of Cheonmu, but also all those who had gathered at the venue would not be staying here throughout the Three Sages Martial Festival. That would be an absurd thing. Because the Three Sages Martial Festival, as its huge scale, also had a long duration and was held over almost half a year. It was not a simple thing that ended in a three or four-day schedule.

Since there were dozens of matches being held, the duels were held over a long period of nearly half a year to ensure that they could be held in the best condition without interfering with their studies.

The next time the people who had been invited to the opening ceremony would probably gather would be on the day of the final match, which would announce the peak of the Three Sages Martial Festival. The eight martial artists who had reached the finals of the Sword Saint Exhibition, the Saber Saint Exhibition, the Sword Empress Exhibition, and the Three Sages Grand Battle, would all postpone their final matches and hold them at once. This was the time when the Three Sages Martial Festival reached its peak.

As the Three Sages of Cheonmu and various Jianghu elders and VIPs all took their seats, the opening ceremony of the Cheonmu Three Sages Martial Festival finally began. The ceremonial trumpets and drums of the ceremony resounded majestically, and the hundreds of flags surrounding the duel stage fluttered in the blowing wind. Those flags were each a symbolic thing that represented a sect of the righteous path belonging to the Murim Alliance.

The Grand Martial Arts Master, the Ice Sword, Gwan Cheol-su, conducted the entire ceremony, and finally, to declare the opening of the competition, the head of the Cheonmu Academy, the Iron Fist, Ma Jin-ga, stepped forward to the stage.

First, the representative of the academy students, the Three-Section Sword, Cheong-heun, came forward and pledged as a representative.

"We, all the students of the Cheonmu Academy, solemnly pledge before the Three Sages of Cheonmu and all the seniors that in all the duels of the upcoming Cheonmu Three Sages Martial Festival, we will not lose the Way, we will not lose faith, we will not disregard life, and we will face the matches with all our might, fair and square."

"We solemnly pledge."

As the representative's pledge ended, all the disciples who were lined up shouted in unison. Their voices were so loud that it seemed the hall would be torn apart. The head of the Cheonmu Academy, the Iron Fist, Ma Jin-ga, also raised his right hand and said.

"I, the head of the Cheonmu Academy, Ma Jin-ga, declare that from this moment on, the 30th Cheonmu Three Sages Martial Festival has begun. I ask you all to fight fair and square, displaying all your talents and skills."

"Waaaaaaaaaah!"

As the Iron Fist, Ma Jin-ga's declaration ended, a roar that seemed to tear the hall apart resounded. The splendid curtain of the Cheonmu Three Sages Martial Festival, one of the two great martial festivals of the Cheonmu Academy, had finally opened.