Chapter 610: We’ll Find Out Soon Enough

The Heavenly Martial Principal rose from his seat. “I’ll be taking my leave now. Please send the students participating in the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament to my residence.”

Once he was gone, the Sect Leaders turned to the elders of their respective sects.

“We’ll need to select which students will receive the elixirs.”

“How many does our sect currently have on hand?”

“Time is short. We should focus on the children with the highest chance of being named a Dragon or Phoenix.”

The Supreme Buddha and the Sword Sage remained seated, listening to the discussion with somber expressions. The two giants of the orthodox murim sat deep in thought, worry etched between their wrinkled brows. Even long after the last Sect Leader had departed, they remained that way.

The Supreme Buddha surveyed the empty conference hall and sighed. “This humble monk does not understand the Heavenly Martial Principal’s intentions. To offer to teach the students a martial arts technique right before the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament...”

“How could we possibly know the thoughts of a madman?” the Sword Sage interrupted cynically.

The Myriad Weapons Emperor Jin Ryang was a famous martial arts maniac. He had taken the position of Heavenly Martial Principal for one reason only—because it offered him the chance to observe more martial arts than anywhere else in the world. By any ordinary standard, reading his mind or predicting his actions was impossible.

This eccentricity was one of the two reasons the two peerless masters’ brows were deeply furrowed.

“I worry he might teach them a martial art that grants power but has side effects. Surely my concerns are excessive.”

The Sword Sage spoke first. “Did you feel it as well, Reverend?”

The Supreme Buddha could not bring himself to say the words ‘demonic art’. Extraordinary as the Heavenly Martial Principal was, he was also a brilliant man who had raised countless orthodox prodigies over the course of more than a decade.

“Do you think he would dare with the two of us watching him so closely? The Sect Leaders must have considered that before accepting his proposal.”

The eyes of the entire murim were fixed on this event. Even as one of the Ten Supremes, the Principal’s head would roll the moment anyone caught him teaching students demonic arts.

He would never do it... not unless he wants something badly enough to gamble even that.

Neither the Supreme Buddha nor the Sword Sage could imagine what such a thing might be.

“Amitabha. We will have no choice but to watch him carefully.”

“Still, for the Sect Leaders of the Nine Sects to be swayed so easily by his silver tongue and follow along blindly is unfathomable.”

The Sword Sage clicked his tongue, thoroughly displeased at how neatly the Heavenly Martial Principal had played them. He wanted to oppose the plan, but he knew it was impossible as long as he couldn’t suggest any better alternatives.

He sighed deeply. Granting command of the Nine Sects to the Azure Dragon Hero was out of the question, and for more important reasons than mere pride. They couldn’t entrust their disciples’ lives to an outsider. For the Supreme Buddha and the Sword Sage, nothing weighed more heavily than protecting their own.

“Amitabha. We should never have accepted the bet in the first place.”

“My apologies. I was rash at the time.”

The Sword Sage sighed deeply. He had been the one to push for accepting the Azure Dragon Hero’s bet.

He had never believed that the Azure Dragon Academy students could surpass the Heavenly Martial Academy, which was built around the Nine Sects’ prodigies. He had only accepted because he was impressed by the young martial artist’s spirit and wanted to support him, especially since he had saved his youngest disciple at the Shandong Ak Clan.

The Supreme Buddha shook his head. He had opposed the bet back then, but even he had not predicted that things would turn out this way. “We cannot take our words back now. We can only hope our students perform well in the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament.”

“Who do you think will win the tournament, Supreme Buddha?”

“Ilgak will represent Shaolin.”

The Supreme Buddha let that statement stand as his answer.

Ilgak, the Student Council President of the Heavenly Martial Academy, had sat out the Mock War. As punishment for failing to defuse the fight with the Azure Dragon Academy the previous night, he was ordered to perform a full day of wall-gazing meditation. Word was that his mind and body had stabilized considerably as he cleansed his worldly afflictions before the wall.

The Sword Sage nodded. “If it is the Divine Dragon of Shaolin with his unshakable spirit... he is certainly worthy of aiming for consecutive victory in the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament.”

“And where are you placing your hopes, Sword Sage?”

“Chwi So’ok and Yeon Soha. Those two children will compete.”

“I saw Chwi So’ok’s accomplishments in the Mock War. He was outstanding. And Yeon Soha is your disciple, isn’t she?”

“That is correct. She belongs to the Vermilion Phoenix Academy, but she is more than capable of winning the championship.”

The students of Shaolin and Wudang were called the twin pillars of the murim. Every year, they were worthy contenders for the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament. Still, neither elder’s expression relaxed in the slightest.

“The Azure Dragon Hero’s students... every one of them is exceptional.”

“Indeed. Each has learned an ultimate martial art rarely seen anywhere in the world.”

“......”

“......”

The two of them fell silent, their faces stiff as the same thought crossed their minds.

The Sword Sage spoke first. “Did you feel it as well, Reverend?”

“Yes. It was faint, but there is no mistaking it...”

Just as the Supreme Buddha began to answer, the conference hall door opened, and an old Taoist with a stubborn face stepped inside. A deep sword scar ran diagonally across his face, making his survival seem like a miracle.

“Benevolent Sage? What are you doing here? Didn’t you return to your residence?”

The Benevolent Sage, Grand Elder of the Diancang Sect and the oldest of the Nine Sects’ elders, strode forward. “I came back because I wanted to ask you two something. My own humble insight is not enough for me to be certain.”

Both men nodded for him to continue, showing him the respect a same-aged peer deserved.

The Benevolent Sage continued, the gruesome scar on his face twitching. “Do some of the martial arts that the Azure Dragon Academy students used not seem familiar to you?”

“......”

“......”

“So I was not the only one who thought so. The martial arts learned by some of those Azure Dragon Academy students...”

A heavy silence descended.