I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 325

The first preliminary round of the Martial Arts Tournament had come to an end.

With so many participants gathered from across the entire country, a vast number of candidates were eliminated in the first preliminary round alone.

However, the second preliminary round still remained, and the main tournament was scheduled to be held in about three days.

Even from the first preliminary round, it was not difficult to identify the individuals who warranted close attention.

Among them, the person drawing the greatest attention was undeniably Yoo So-wol.

While other participants merely left ordinary marks on the rock, Yoo So-wol had pulverized it into fine powder altogether.

On top of that, between the personal details she wrote down when registering and her bizarre roleplaying routine, she was impossible not to stand out.

In the end, after the first preliminary round ended, stories regarding Yoo So-wol reached the host family, the Namgoong Clan.

"So, what you are saying is..."

Inside the main compound of the Namgoong Clan.

He had a neatly groomed beard and long hair tied back tightly into a single bundle.

A middle-aged man with striking nasolabial folds spoke with a grave expression.

"Are you saying that someone calling herself the Heavenly Demon has entered the Martial Arts Tournament?"

"Yes. That is correct."

"If it is the Heavenly Demon, is that not the person who recently stopped the resurging Blood Cult and wiped out most of their remnants?"

"Yes."

"Rumors say she is the exact same person who was once called the Yaksha Blood Flower."

"It is not certain, but the probability is high. Even back then, she claimed to be the Heavenly Demon."

The messenger quietly answered the questions of Namgoong Cheon, head of the Namgoong Clan.

Rumors regarding Yoo So-wol had already spread throughout all of Anhui Province.

While the fact that she was the Heavenly Demon had not yet spread widely, it was only a matter of time.

"Hah. Well, now..."

Namgoong Cheon let out a dry sigh. At the same time, he recalled the intelligence he had recently received.

The Heavenly Demon Cult had steadily preserved its strength even after the Orthodox-Demonic War.

Reports indicated that their faction had begun to move in earnest. Information was already pouring in from all over.

’I thought it was strange ever since they took in those who committed filial impiety for the Hair Growth Herb...’

The impact of the Hair Growth Herb distributed across the murim by the Demonic Cult had struck the entire Central Plains with full force.

Even the beggars of the Beggars Gang were sensitive about their hair, so how could other people of the Central Plains be any different?

Not only that, but they were also winning over marginalized villages and the like.

Because their true objective had remained unknown until now, an all-out clash simply hadn’t broken out yet.

’According to the reports, Heavenly Demon is the ancient moniker referring to the supreme leader of the Demonic Cult. For such a person to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament...’

Namgoong Cheon pondered deeply, his brow furrowing.

’Just what on earth is her objective?’

He couldn’t fathom Yoo So-wol’s intentions in the slightest.

Back when she was famous as the Yaksha Blood Flower rather than the Heavenly Demon, she had made a notorious name for herself by defeating grandmasters one by one.

Along with that, she had gone so far as to assassinate the previous Emperor who suppressed freedom.

Afterward, she had lived quietly, only to suddenly resume her activities by wiping out the Blood Cult.

In many ways, there were too many contradictory elements in cause and effect, making it an unsolvable dilemma for Namgoong Cheon.

’Wait. The Imperial Court?’

The one thing he could at least anticipate was the movement of the Imperial Court.

Although the Imperial Court did not meddle in the affairs of the murim, that applied strictly to ordinary murim affairs.

The Imperial Court was also one of the victims targeted by the Heavenly Demon. After all, she held the terrifying record of being a regicide who assassinated the Emperor.

Even though they somehow managed to control the information, they could not prevent rumors from leaking out.

’If the Imperial Court shows interest, that would mean those rumors are true.’

With the overall power of the murim drastically diminished in the aftermath of the Orthodox-Demonic War, there was no faction that dared to oppose the Imperial Court.

That is, except for the Demonic Cult, which had preserved its power relatively intact.

’...No.’

Namgoong Cheon shook his head repeatedly.

A clash between the Demonic Cult and the Imperial Court—it was impossible, and it must not happen.

However, if the Heavenly Demon stepped up in earnest, and if she really was the rumored assassin of the Emperor...

The Imperial Court would have no choice but to actively intervene in the affairs of the murim.

It would not be a war between an individual and a faction, but an all-out war between faction and faction.

If that happened, a bloodstorm worse than the Orthodox-Demonic War would sweep across the land.

It was an extremely dangerous situation that could shake not just the murim, but the entire Central Plains.

’Is there no choice but to wait and see for now? Since nothing is certain.’

He could not afford to act rashly. In particular, information regarding Yoo So-wol was lacking.

As they say, the world is vast and full of eccentrics, but her very appearance was far from dignified to begin with.

The satgat and veil could be explained as hiding her appearance, but there was simply no way to explain the potted plant held in her hand.

After pondering for a long moment, Namgoong Cheon spoke to the messenger who was still waiting before him.

"Leave observing that woman to the beggars of the Beggars Gang. There is no telling what kind of retaliation we would face the moment we are caught."

"Understood."

"And as for you... mm..."

Namgoong Cheon agonized deeply.

If it were up to his personal desire, he wanted to order the news delivered to the government authorities.

If Yoo So-wol and the assassin of the Emperor were the same person, the Imperial Court would step in immediately.

However, the regicide of the Emperor was an incident that the Imperial Court had forcibly suppressed to prevent information leaks.

If he ran his mouth carelessly, the Imperial Court might come after him, Namgoong Cheon, instead of the Heavenly Demon.

It was better to minimize anything that could arouse suspicion as much as possible—especially in a situation like this where every single talent was precious.

Namgoong Cheon contemplated what order to give the messenger, then casually spoke up.

"Yes. That would be best. Log into the Gallery."

"..."

At first, the messenger fell silent. It was a silence that was far, far too long.This chapter was taken from novelping . com without permission.

"...Pardon?"

After a prolonged silence, the messenger finally spoke. His tone was laced with utter flabbergast.

It wasn’t that Namgoong Cheon hadn’t anticipated such a reaction.

The higher a clan’s prestige, the more likely the Gallery was treated as an outrageous or disgraceful subculture.

However, human desire cannot be suppressed. Just like the nobles of the Western Kingdoms, everyone simply pretended not to know about it.

And yet, for someone who was the family head no less to mention the Gallery, the messenger had no choice but to be bewildered.

"It is unsettling to use such a vulgar creation, but given the circumstances, it cannot be helped. Make a post there."

"What kind of post... do you mean?"

"It is simple. A post stating that the Heavenly Demon is participating in this Martial Arts Tournament."

It was throwing out what was commonly called "discussion topic bait."

The moment they bit on the topic, the Gallery would be completely flooded with talk about it.

Surprisingly, it was one of the methods frequently used by high-ranking figures.

"You are talking about public opinion manipulation. I understand."

"Precisely. It would be better if multiple people did it if possible. Can you handle it?"

"Yes."

When the messenger accepted without a moment’s hesitation, Namgoong Cheon wore a satisfied smile.

It would be difficult through individual effort alone, but if conducted at the clan level, a massive discussion topic would be forged.

Moreover, it was tantamount to dropping huge bait not just in the Gallery, but in reality as well.

A colossal topic that even the Imperial Court could not recklessly ignore.

"And starting from the second preliminary round, publish newspapers regarding that woman as well, framing her as a person of interest. That way, suspicion won’t fall as easily on us."

"Understood."

"You may leave."

"As you command."

The messenger bowed deeply and took his leave.

With the messenger’s departure, Namgoong Cheon was naturally left alone in the room.

"Phew..."

His heart grew heavy, and a sigh escaped his lips naturally.

Why did such a dangerous person have to appear at such a critical time?

’Perhaps I am overreacting. She might just be wandering through the murim.’

That was why he could not act rashly, resorting only to spreading rumors.

However, if all these suspicions turned out to be correct, he had to keep the worst-case scenario in mind.

Because a ’civil war’ far more severe than the Orthodox-Demonic War could erupt.

’Even if she is the Heavenly Demon, it would be difficult for her to defeat all the grandmasters of the Imperial Court.’

No matter how formidable the Heavenly Demon was, it would be hard to overcome an ’army’.

In particular, if it came down to faction versus faction, an overwhelming victory for the Imperial Court was expected.

Now, one might ask how she took the Emperor’s head in that case, but because the Central Plains was ridiculously vast, not all military forces were stationed at the Imperial Court.

Furthermore, because the Imperial Court was a place where political infighting occurred day in and day out, there were surprisingly weak spots in its security.

However, most of the imperial guards protecting the Emperor were at the late Peak Realm or early Transcendent Realm.

Since she had breached all of that, there was no reason to underestimate the Heavenly Demon’s martial prowess.

’Unless she has reached a realm beyond the Transcendent Realm...’

The Profound Realm—a realm that could only be attained by an epoch-making genius or one chosen by the heavens.

However, the probability that the Heavenly Demon had ascended to the Profound Realm was extremely low.

Back when she was making a name for herself as the Yaksha Blood Flower, Yoo So-wol was widely rumored to be a young and beautiful woman.

Still, since there was a possibility she was a master who had undergone Return to Youth, it was best to leave all possibilities open.

’Still, no matter how much I think about it, that potted plant... I just can’t figure out its purpose.’

With other things, at least possibilities could be entertained. But the potted plant was truly a mystery.

He wondered if something deeply sinister was planted inside that pot.

If he had it his way, he would want to steal it secretly, but doing so might risk his very life.

’Is there no choice but to wait until the main tournament?’

The main tournament would begin in exactly three days. Until then, he needed to gather all available intelligence.

By then, rumors would surely spread beyond the Gallery and into reality.

"I only hope everything passes without incident..."

Unfortunately, the probability of Namgoong Cheon’s wish coming true was hopelessly low.

Exactly one day passed since then.

[Is the Heavenly Demon really at the Martial Arts Tournament?]

[Why is the Heavenly Demon participating in the Martial Arts Tournament?]

[Upvote if you honestly think this is bullshit lol]

Whether the public opinion manipulation (?) worked or not, the Gallery was filled with thread topics.

And for good reason—it wasn’t the Gallery static handle Heavenly Demon, but the real-life Heavenly Demon. It was bound to cause a massive stir.

Although nothing was confirmed, it was more than enough to become the center of attention.

Furthermore, when rumors spread in the Gallery, they naturally spilled over into reality.

Participants becoming agitated, people predicting who would win, and so forth.

And,

"How amusing."

The subject of the topic herself was entirely composed.

In fact, as if pleased by this attention (?), she was wearing a satisfied smile.

Whether in reality or in the Gallery, Yoo So-wol thoroughly enjoyed this kind of attention.

And another thing.

[Wild Grylls: Are you really participating in the Martial Arts Tournament?]

[Heavenly Demon: That is so. It is the perfect stage to display my skills.]

[Wild Grylls: Go easy on them. Looking at the forum, people’s spirits are already breaking.]This chapter is updated first at novelping(.)com.

[Heavenly Demon: If their spirits break before we even clash, they are not even worth my time.]

[Wild Grylls: That’s true too. Still, please be careful not to get hurt.]

The fact that she was receiving encouragement from Grylls pleased her immensely.

The idea of her getting hurt was utterly ridiculous, but she did not bother to refute it.

Pure goodwill and concern. Emotions directed at the human Yoo So-wol, not the Heavenly Demon.

How could she possibly reject such a welcome gesture? She wished for it to continue forever.

[Heavenly Demon: Speaking of which, the championship prize for the tournament is quite a decent spiritual elixir. If sir desires it, I shall gladly gift it to you.]

[Wild Grylls: Is it better than the Inner Cores I keep getting all the time?]

[Heavenly Demon: At the very least, its quality will be superior to the Fasting Pills I gift you.]

[Wild Grylls: In that case, I’m good. I’d rather have more Fasting Pills instead. Quantity matters more than quality for me right now.]

[Heavenly Demon: Very well. Whatever request sir makes, I shall grant it anytime.]

[Wild Grylls: Hearing you say that makes me feel like I have no conscience. Is there anything you need?]

[Heavenly Demon: I would like to receive water from your location. I must cultivate the Hair Growth Herb, but the water here is rather poor.]

The option of giving the prize to Demonic Brain, Wi Seol-ak, had long since vanished.

The Heavenly Demon had entered the Martial Arts Tournament.

While rumors were flying wild in the Gallery, I received confirmation straight from the person herself.

However, there was no need to announce it, and even if I did, it wouldn’t benefit me in any way.

Right now, I needed to test Cheongseol’s ability.

"Cheongseol. Can you go to that lake we went to earlier?"

"Ppae-aek!"

Cheongseol’s ability, Teleport, was truly more welcome than rain during a drought.

A round trip already took an enormous amount of time, but this dramatically cut it down.

However, it wasn’t omnipotent. There were several conditions attached.

First, it had to be a location I had personally explored.

To use a game analogy, you had to reveal the pitch-black fog of war on the map before you could teleport there.

Second, it had to be within the range of the World Tree.

Though the World Tree’s roots presumably compressed space, there was a clear limit.

The farther the distance, the further it moved away from its sphere of influence, bringing it closer to its limit.

Lastly, space could only be opened once or twice a day.

Since Cheongseol was still a hatchling, she couldn’t tear open space at will like an adult creature.

It seemed to be because tearing through space itself consumed a tremendous amount of mana.

’Still, this is amazing enough.’

I looked at Cheongseol, who had fallen asleep while purring soft rumbles.

Literally, a windfall had dropped right into my lap.

Although the restrictions were clear, it boosted my efficiency exponentially.

’And if I overwork her, her mom might chew me out, so I better be careful.’

My only choice was to feed her well no matter what. Otherwise, I’d get scolded big time by the adult Nidhogg.

Leaving the soundly sleeping Cheongseol behind, I looked outside.

The outside was currently dyed yellow. It was because of the pollen dust storm.

Now that spring was approaching, pollen scattering in the air was inevitable.

’That’ll disappear soon enough too.’

Until then, I might as well browse the Gallery.

The footage of going down the river via real-time video broadcast was recorded in full.

Naturally, quite a few comments from static handles were posted, and some even asked me to give them crayfish.

Knowing this would happen, I had caught a sufficient amount of crayfish. I planned to hand them out later around lunchtime.

’Other than this... hm?’

It was while I was scrolling through the comments. One particular comment caught my eye.

Even though I adjusted the settings so only static handles could comment, a new static handle had posted one.

└ Not Really Spam Ad Team) Hello, Wild Grylls-nim. This is Mark Saragon, team leader of the advertising department at the Cheonjam Merchant Guild. Regarding your... (snip) ...so if you are interested, please contact us.

What is this?

Now even spam emails are attaching themselves to me.

’Should I block him?’

After reflecting briefly, I stared at the comment he wrote.

The contents were roughly as follows: He had closely observed how I put Chaeyu’s uniform to good use.

However, the uniform received from Princess Chaenggu was from the past, and its material was somewhat outdated.

And the one they invented possessed exceptional quality. It would undoubtedly be of great help to my defense.

It seemed to be a merchant guild related to fabric materials rather than the uniform itself.

"Hmm..."

I stared intently at the comment before writing a reply.

└ Wild Grylls) You sound pretty confident in its performance. One mistake out here and my life flies out the window.

└ Not Really Spam Ad Team) Of course. Because we are confident in its performance, we are reaching out to you, Wild Grylls-nim.

"Hmm?"

They really seem confident, huh?

’Or maybe they’re desperate.’

Checking it out wouldn’t hurt. I sent a message.

[Wild Grylls: Do you have a video demonstrating its performance?]

[Not Really Spam Ad Team: I will get shot by an arrow directly.]

[Wild Grylls: No, wait. You don’t need to go that far;;]

He really seemed desperate.