The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 236

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 236
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“The victor! Chang U-hyuk of the Biryong Sect!”
As I watched the victor savoring his triumph, Gongsun Wol sent me a transmission.
Once the victor descended, alliance members climbed up to retrieve the fallen from the tournament arena, then tidied the cracked and shattered grounds.
Seo Ha-ryeong spoke with evident satisfaction.
“This group is entertaining.”
“Right? I’ve never even heard of that Biryong Sect before.”
At that moment, Gongsun Wol interjected with an answer.
“It’s understandable you haven’t heard of them. They’re a small sect from the Sichuan Region.”
Seo Ha-ryeong asked with admiration.
“The Sichuan Region? Then why are they holding their preliminaries here?”
“The Sichuan Region preliminaries are closed to the public.”
“Closed to the public?”
“Yes.”
“The preliminary format changes every time and is completely private. It’s to protect the participants’ martial prowess and martial knowledge.”
“Still, even so….”
The reason the Sichuan Region preliminaries were closed to the public stemmed from the influence of the Dang Family, renowned for being exceptionally sensitive and insular about their martial secrets.
How could anyone know what happens in closed preliminaries?
Moreover, even open preliminaries weren’t without problems.
Just look at the Hunan Province preliminaries from which Jin-jin was selected—the matchups were manipulated, and—heavens, I was even implicated in that manipulation—yet he still advanced.
Though they called it the Orthodox Sect Alliance, the longer an alliance existed, the more corruption festered within it.
For this reason, people had long considered the preliminaries held at the Murim Alliance Headquarters to be the most fair. After all, there were many eyes watching here.
“And if you stand out in the headquarters preliminaries, it’s far easier for your name to become known.”
Unless you achieved an overwhelming victory like Namgung Ryu-cheong, it was difficult to gain recognition from regional preliminaries alone.
“…But how do you even know all that?”
“Being at my father’s side, I hear a lot of things.”
Seo Ha-ryeong and Gongsun Wol continued their whispered conversation. It was nothing unusual—Seo Ha-ryeong had always been well-connected with a wide circle of friends.
But…
‘Why does this feel so unpleasant?’
To be precise, the discomfort began the moment Namgung Ryu-cheong and Gongsun Wol exchanged their transmission. And as time passed, my mood continued to sink lower and lower.
Then Gongsun Wol called out to a passing vendor. Where crowds gathered, merchants naturally followed. Gongsun Wol bought drinks and distributed them among us.
Seo Ha-ryeong drank eagerly.
“Thank you! Oh, it’s refreshing! Phew, even in the shade it’s sweltering.”
“Would you like another glass?”
“Yes!”
Watching this exchange, I understood.
This unpleasantness was the feeling of having my friend taken away.
‘That’s what it was.’
I bit my lip slightly.
‘How long have I even known Gongsun Wol, and we’re already getting along like this?’
Once I admitted it, a strange melancholy washed over me.
“Please have a drink as well, Miss Baek Li-ri.”
But Gongsun Wol’s demeanor toward me was equally careful and kind. There was nothing to fault her for.
In the meantime, the Tournament Arena had been cleared and new participants were taking their positions.
Seo Ha-ryeong grumbled.
“He still hasn’t shown up?”
Just then, Gongsun Wol, who had been looking back, moved her lips subtly. From the direction of her qi, I could tell she was transmitting her voice to Seo Ha-ryeong.
“….”
A moment ago she was transmitting to Namgung Ryu-cheong, and now to Seo Ha-ryeong?
‘Why is she suddenly using voice transmission right in front of people?’
Our eyes met.
Gongsun Wol smiled with her eyes and turned her gaze forward again.
I immediately transmitted my voice to Seo Ha-ryeong.
[What were you two talking about?]
[Did you see? She told me to tell you too. Gongsun Wol just informed me that the Wi Alliance Leader’s disciples—there are only a few groups left now. She said they should come out before lunch at the earliest.]
[…I see.]
Now I understood why she used voice transmission.
Which group someone belonged to was fundamentally secret. Since it was a many-versus-one format, people from the same group could manipulate the outcome by eating together first or focusing their attacks on someone.
This was information only someone like the daughter of Chong Gun-sa could obtain.
With so many people watching us and sharp ears scattered throughout this place, it wasn’t something we could discuss openly.
‘I think I’m being too sensitive right now.’
Just as I was trying to calm myself, I felt Namgung Ryu-cheong transmitting his voice to Gongsun Wol again.
“….”
Glaring at this, I also transmitted my voice to Seo Ha-ryeong.
[When is Jin-jin coming back?]
Seo Ha-ryeong tilted her head and answered.
“Right? He’s really late. But Yeon, why are you asking that through voice transmission? It’s nothing important.”
At Seo Ha-ryeong’s words, Gongsun Wol and Namgung Ryu-cheong turned to look at me.
Questioning gazes.
I felt heat rise to the tips of my ears.
Seo. Ha. Ryeong!
I shot up from my seat.
“Yeon?”
“I need to go look for Jin-jin.”
Gongsun Wol asked in surprise.
“So suddenly?”
“Yes. Please don’t worry about me.”
Just then, Namgung Ryu-cheong stood up.
“You stay here. I’ll go find him.”
“Why would you?”
I furrowed my brow in question, and Namgung Ryu-cheong answered with a rigid expression.
“You only arrived at the Murim Alliance Headquarters yesterday. Since you don’t know the layout well, it’s better if I go.”
“…Never mind. It’s fine. I’ll go.”
“No, stay seated.”
“I said it’s fine. Do you even know where Jin-jin went?”
“Where did she go?”
I felt my mind go blank.
He was getting up to go without even knowing where she was?
That’s when Gongsun Wol interjected.
“Young Master, Miss. Both of you should remain seated. The Alliance is vast, and you’re likely to miss each other while searching for Miss Jin-jin. That would be counterproductive. Allow me to send someone to bring her here instead.”
Seo Ha-ryeong chimed in as well.
“Right. With such a large place, what if you pass each other by? Just wait. Nothing would happen within the Alliance anyway.”
“…”
My attempt to slip away had failed.
At least that was fortunate. During my exchange with Namgung Ryu-cheong, the embarrassment seemed to have faded.
Seated once more, I watched Gongsun Wol issue orders to her people and tried to settle my mind.
‘Right. Don’t worry about that. I’m not a child…there are more important things to focus on right now.’
I needed to find Yalyu and Baek Li-ri.
Baek Li-ri especially was easy to overlook.
Baek Li-ri possessed pure inner energy cultivated through Orthodox sect techniques. And here, in this Orthodox Sect Alliance, practitioners of Orthodox inner energy were stationed throughout.
In other words, Baek Li-ri had no distinguishing features, making her easy to miss unless one examined her face carefully.
From what I’d observed so far, neither of them was among the spectators.
Even after two groups completed their preliminaries, Yalyu and Baek Li-ri remained nowhere to be found.
‘Are they not coming today?’
The matches weren’t even entertaining. They just engaged in staring contests, each hoping the other would attack first.
When a match seemed to drag on too long, I’d ring the bell and force a decision within one round. If more than one person remained, everyone was eliminated.
But this group just stared at each other without fighting, and all five remaining competitors were conveniently eliminated together.
Thump.
I felt someone lean against my shoulder. When I turned, Seo Ha-ryeong was asleep.
‘No wonder it got so quiet.’
Seeing her like that, I felt a yawn coming on too.
The moment I covered my mouth and yawned widely, Namgung Ryu-cheong turned around with an incredulous expression.
“…”
“…”
My desire to yawn vanished instantly.
Namgung Ryu-cheong glared sharply at Seo Ha-ryeong, who was leaning against me, with obvious displeasure.
What, if she’s tired, she can sleep a little…Why is he looking at her like that? His gaze is practically cutting like a blade…
Perhaps sensing Namgung Ryu-cheong’s stare, Seo Ha-ryeong whimpered softly and burrowed deeper into my shoulder.
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke in a sharp voice.
“Seo Ha-ryeong, wake up. If you’re going to sleep, go back to your quarters.”
“….”
She didn’t stir in the slightest.
I spoke in a tone of gentle reproach.
“Why are you like this? Just let her sleep.”
At that moment, I sensed a stir in the atmosphere around us.
Gongsun Wol spoke softly.
“He’s arrived.”
I shook Seo Ha-ryeong awake.
“Wake up. Ha-ryeong, wake up. He’s here.”
It wasn’t just us who had noticed. I could hear the conversations of other spectators nearby.
“That one is the Wi Alliance Leader’s direct disciple.”
“Seeing is believing with prestigious sects. His very presence is different. It was worth taking time out for today.”
“Well, we’ll have to see the results to know for sure, won’t we?”
“I heard he became the Wi Alliance Leader’s adopted son through talent alone. His name is Wi Gu-jung, isn’t it?”
The Wi Alliance Leader had originally come from an unremarkable family. He joined the Murim Alliance to make a living, but went missing during a mission. There, he fortuitously obtained an opportunity for enlightenment.
Returning as a master, he steadily increased his strength and expanded his faction by completing numerous missions for the Murim Alliance.
Of course, his strongest support came from the families he had allied with through marriage.
He had four official wives alone, not counting concubines. As far as I could recall, he had over ten children. Yet among his biological children, none possessed talent in martial arts. They were all merely mediocre.
Instead, he had exceptionally talented adopted sons. The Wi Alliance Leader apparently felt that the power of marriage alliances alone was insufficient, so he selected talented individuals regardless of their origins and took them as disciples.
When prestigious Orthodox Sects selected disciples, the conditions were strict—and that condition was talent.
Regardless of wealth or family status, only those with excellent bone structure and talent were prioritized. This was because a sect’s prestige stemmed from martial prowess, and therefore talented disciples were most crucial for developing a sect.
But there was something equally important as talent. That was martial technique.
If martial technique weren’t important, why would countless Jianghu masters pursue divine martial arts and secret techniques so desperately?
The reason prestigious Orthodox Sects could maintain their prestige was because talent and divine martial arts came together.
And if the Wi Alliance Leader, who had reached the pinnacle of absolute mastery in the world, possessed martial arts, they would undoubtedly be divine techniques. If one could truly become his disciple and learn from him, this would be an extraordinary opportunity.
And Wi Gu-jung was precisely the direct disciple selected in this manner.
Among the Wi Alliance Leader’s current disciples, he was the youngest in age. Yet he was the disciple the Wi Alliance Leader cherished most. Thus, he could be called the rising star.
Whispers of how his talent rivaled Namgung Ryu-cheong’s could be heard here and there.
‘Hmph, as if that could be true.’
The monk conducting the tournament called out the names.
“Wi Gu-jung of the Wi Cheon Geom Sect!”
Roooaaarrr!
For the first time, cheers erupted from the spectator stands.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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