Chapter 597: That Child, Yeo Min

The Kunlun Sect Leader’s eyebrows twitched violently.

Although the winner and runner-up of the Individual Race had been decided, not all of the runners had crossed the finish line.

“It’s not over yet! Run!”

“Don’t give up until the end!”

The remaining runners, still stiff from the New Moon White Ice Dance, forced themselves to finish the race. Students and instructors from their academies cheered them on from the stands.

“Third across the finish line is the White Tiger Academy! Fourth place goes to the Black Tortoise Academy...and...”

” the Kunlun Sect Leader stammered, looking completely flustered.

The announcer called out the names of each academy as its runner finished the race. Every exhausted finisher was met with a wave of applause and cheers.

When Ok Jin of the Heavenly Martial Academy finally staggered across the finish line, however, a brief silence fell over the stadium.

Thinking that the Kunlun Sect Leader might be right, many people started to look at Yeo Min suspiciously.

“The last runner to finish... is the, the Heavenly Martial Academy...” the announcer mumbled awkwardly, glancing around hesitantly.

Even so, everyone in the audience could hear him clearly. The Heavenly Martial Academy had placed last in the Individual Race.

“I hear you lost your parents at a young age. From whom did you learn martial arts?”

Of course, that did not make them the overall last place in the Movement Arts Competition. The Azure Dragon Academy and the Heavenly Martial Academy had tied in the relay, and the Heavenly Martial Academy won first place in the obstacle course.

At that moment, though, only one thing occupied the spectators’ minds—the shocking sight of the Heavenly Martial Academy finishing dead last in an event.

“For the Heavenly Martial Academy... to come in last...”

The remaining runners, still stiff from the New Moon White Ice Dance, forced themselves to finish the race. Students and instructors from their academies cheered them on from the stands.

“I thought yesterday would be the last time... I never imagined we would see another upset like this today.”

“Is the Azure Dragon Academy really that incredible, or is the Heavenly Martial Academy simply not living up to its reputation?”

The remaining runners, still stiff from the New Moon White Ice Dance, forced themselves to finish the race. Students and instructors from their academies cheered them on from the stands.

“Perhaps they are paying the price for growing complacent.”

The spectators murmured among themselves, their faces betraying a mixture of shock and disappointment.

Baek Suryong said, "Shame on you!"

The students and instructors of the Heavenly Martial Academy remained silent, their faces expressionless. Not one of them spoke to Ok Jin when he returned with his head bowed. Whether that was out of courtesy or a desire to distance themselves from a loser, no one could say.

“Now, we will begin the awards ceremony. All students who participated, please come forward!”

“If you’ve got a problem, let’s settle it with another match!”

Fortunately, the crowd’s attention soon shifted from Ok Jin to Yeo Min, the winner of the Individual Race.

Yeo Min stepped onto the podium. She was the Azure Dragon Academy’s final runner in the relay, and the winner of the Individual Race. The chants for the ‘White Ice Flash’ reached a fever pitch.

All this time, the Apostles watched quietly, seemingly out of place amid the boisterous atmosphere.

“...She has learned the New Moon White Ice Dance,” the First Apostle remarked indifferently.

The Second Apostle nodded subtly. She knew what he had left unsaid. “But her dance is different from mine, right?”

“Perhaps they are paying the price for growing complacent.

She gazed intently at Yeo Min on the awards platform. The girl was smiling, but her extreme exhaustion was obvious.

She performed the New Moon White Ice Dance with everything she had, then pushed her movement arts to the limit immediately after. There’s no way she’s okay.

Yeo Min might seem all right now, but she could be bedridden for days. The Second Apostle knew this better than anyone, having gone through it herself several times.

Now that the match is over, she should go indoors and rest. She’ll need to receive Body Purification from an inner arts master, warm her body...

As soon as she had those thoughts, the Second Apostle’s expression turned cold, and she rose from her seat.

“Where are you going, Number Two?” the Third Apostle asked, puzzled.

“Is there anything else here worth seeing? I don’t think we have time to waste on an awards ceremony.”

The Third Apostle’s eyebrow twitched at her colder-than-usual tone. He shot her a questioning look, wondering why she was picking a fight with him.

“I’m going back to my quarters first.”

The Second Apostle turned her back on her comrades and left, ignoring the voices calling after her. She was confused and needed time alone to sort out her feelings.

To the other apostles, Yeo Min’s New Moon White Ice Dance might have looked like a martial art only slightly different from the one she’d mastered. As an inheritor of the same art, however, she could clearly tell that it contained a message meant for her.

How did she find out I was here? No, if she knew that a Blood Cult apostle was attending an orthodox festival, why didn’t she tell anyone about it? Ugh, nothing makes sense.

Even worse, the idea that the New Moon White Ice Dance could be performed with such warmth, coupled with the possibility that her former instructor might have been the one who taught it to Yeo Min, overwhelmed her.

“Why... Just why...”

Clenching her teeth, the Second Apostle headed for the exit...

“I object to the results of this match!” a shout imbued with inner qi echoed through the venue, filled with anger and hostility.

The Second Apostle stopped and turned around to see what was going on. A middle-aged man with gray hair was rising to his feet in the camp of the Nine Sects One Gang.

The Heavenly Martial Principal, who had been encouraging the students on the platform and awarding them plaques, frowned at the man. “...Kunlun Sect Leader?”

“I wish to point out that this race was unfair!”

This declaration stirred the audience and all of the Five Great Academies. A Sect Leader of the Nine Sects One Gang, whose words carried significant weight, had just rejected the outcome of a match.

Perhaps because of that history, they were famously ruthless, unlike the rest of the Nine Sects One Gang.

“Unfair?”

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

The Azure Dragon Academy students muttered in disbelief. The instructors’ faces tightened with suppressed anger, and a few of them glanced nervously at Baek Suryong.

“Hyung-nim, please calm down for now...”

“Violence is absolutely not the answer!”

“Perhaps they are paying the price for growing complacent.

However, Baek Suryong, who should have been the angriest of all, simply folded his arms. He was more accustomed to provocation and slander than anyone else. A slight like this wouldn’t make him bat an eye.

“What are you talking about?” he shot back sarcastically. “I want to hear your reason for spouting nonsense.”

The Kunlun Sect Leader fixed his gaze on Ok Jin’s bowed head and continued, “Ok Jin is a child who has done nothing but train in the mountains. He has had no exposure to the pleasures of the secular world. In other words, he is quite innocent.”

From the strange undertone to his words, Baek Suryong sensed a ploy coming and let out a chilling sneer.

“To Ok Jin, the Azure Dragon Academy student’s dance was excessively provocative. I thought this was a place to compete in martial arts, but instead, I saw someone who looked like a dancer from an inn. How could a poor, naive boy not have been swayed?”

The Kunlun Sect Leader’s eyebrows twitched violently.

Although he said ‘inn’, he meant ‘brothel.’ The quick-witted caught on to his ruse immediately.

“Naturally, I am not blind to Ok Jin’s lack of discipline. However, I had to speak out because I believe the Azure Dragon Academy student’s methods do not align with the spirit of this competition. Furthermore...” The Kunlun Sect Leader hesitated for a moment, then continued resolutely, “The origin of the ice arts that student performed is unclear, and I would like it clarified.”

He calmly ignored the gazes falling upon him from every direction, his eyes fixed on the girl who had dared to humiliate a Kunlun Sect disciple.

A Sect Leader of the Nine Sects One Gang, whose words carried significant weight, had just rejected the outcome of a match.

“I hear you lost your parents at a young age. From whom did you learn martial arts?”

The Kunlun Sect Leader had reviewed the student records of every Movement Arts Competition participant beforehand. Yeo Min’s documents plainly listed her family relations as ‘orphan’. Naturally, questions were bound to arise.

Is it even possible for an orphan to learn such outstanding ice arts?

There were clear limits to learning martial arts on your own, without the support of a sect or clan. For Yeo Min to reach such a high level on her own at her age was nearly impossible.

He concluded that she must have experienced one of two things. Either she had come across something extraordinary, or she had learned unorthodox martial arts to achieve feats beyond her years.

“I’ve listened and listened patiently.