Absolute Regression Chapter 685

Episode 685 There are so many pretty women

It was a truly unexpected invitation.

“It’s my first time being invited as a judge.”

When Cheonhwaruju said that she didn’t understand, Ian took it for granted.

“I called the best judge. He knows beauty better than anyone else.”

Cheonhwaru had dozens of branches in the central plains, aside from this main branch.
She must have met and experienced many beautiful women during her time there, so she must have received this invitation. Whoever she was, she made the right choice.

“Has there ever been a World’s Best Beauty Contest before?”

Cheonhwaruju shook her head at Geommugeuk’s question.

“No, as far as I know, this is the first time this competition is being held.”

It is unknown whether this competition was held in the life before the regression. It may have been held because it was something I was not interested in, or it may have been held due to various changes after the regression.

“Who is hosting the competition?”

Then an unexpected name came out.

“It’s called Shinhwabang.”

Shinhwabang was a sect belonging to Sapa and was a very famous sect in the martial arts world.
Ian also knew about Shinhwabang. Why would Sapa, not the Jeongpa, hold such a competition?

“Why is this competition suddenly being held in Shinwhabang?”

In response to Ian’s question, Geommugeuk pointed at her with his finger.

“It’s because of you.”
“Huh? It’s because of me?”

To her who was very nervous, Geommugeuk smiled and said.

“I’m officially making your name known to this martial arts world.”
“Hey, what nonsense…….”

For a moment, Ian’s expression flinched.

“Surely you’re not telling me to enter this contest?”
“Why not? If it was the World’s Most Handsome Man Contest, I would have entered. No, you would have sent our Soma-nim away.”

The evil Soma felt relieved behind his mask. This was because he knew that if it was the Sword Dance Theater, he would have really sent it out no matter what.

“Why should I come?”
“There may be enemies among the participants. Find them while you are among them.”

In the past, I would have thought, what kind of enemies would there be among the participants? But now I know that it is possible.

Ian would have been like this originally.

I hate it! I absolutely hate it!

Even if you just wave your hand and make him back down, the look in his eyes says, “Even the leader of the cult will not forgive you!” He must have refused everything at once.

The Sword Dance Theater will also be waiting for this kind of reaction.
It will not take him to that dangerous place.
It is where the Demon Lord stabs the leader of the cult with a knife in his heart.

“I will participate.”
“Really?”

When Geommugeuk asked in surprise, Ian nodded.

“Why on earth?”

Then Ian asked Cheonhwaruju in a subtle way.

“How much will the prize money be?”

Cheonhwaruju looked surprised at the unexpected question. She knew very well that he was not the type of person to attend a competition like this for the money.
And she could soon guess why Ian was asking this question.

“It’s a contest to find the most beautiful woman in the world, so even if I don’t do well, wouldn’t they at least give me 10,000 nyang?”

Ian shouted, his eyes wide open.

“You’re giving me 50,000 nyang?”
“There might be other rewards.”
“50,000 nyang! That’s the amount of money I can retire with and live off of for the rest of my life! A life of idleness! The dream of all salarymen!”

Ian said to Geommugeuk with an excited face.

“I’m going too! Fate has given me a chance at life.”

How could the Geommu Theater not know? He said this because he was afraid that he would be sent back to his school because it was dangerous.

Cheonhwaruju gave her one more word of encouragement.

“Where is the prize money? When there is a top event held at the top of the Central Plains, I will invite you and give you a few hundred nyang each time.”
“Just show up and you will get a few hundred nyang!”

The swordsman grabbed her and shook her.

“Wake up! You’re obsessed with money!”
“How many Sangdan are there in the Central Plains?”
“What about the Gwiyeongdae?”
“Tell them to keep fighting in separate factions!”

After the two of them had played around for a while, Geommugeuk spoke seriously.

“Ian, I’ll take you too. And you don’t have to participate in the competition.”

Showing off your beauty in front of so many warlords? I knew full well that Ian really wouldn’t like it.

I thought you’d say it was good, of course.

“No, I will participate in the competition.”

No matter how much I hated it and how embarrassed I was, there was a clear reason to participate in the competition.

“The stage you saw in the prophecy, is this the stage of the convention center?”

Cheonhwaruju nodded.

“I think so.”

They say that the sword dance there stabs the heart.

“I will also be standing on that stage.”

The sword dance drama could sense that she had made a firm decision. Ian had once again shown that he was a person who would willingly do something he hated to the point of death for his own sake.

Even though you are trying to protect me like this, I am the one protecting you.

“I will go with you as your escort drone.”

Ian felt relieved inside. Well, what could he be afraid of when there was a sword dance right next to him?

The Sword Dance Theater also gave a role to the evil Soma.

“Soma-sama, please take charge of Lady Rouge’s escort.”
“Understood.”

Geommugeuk asked Cheonhwaruju.

“Where will the competition be held?”
“In Qingyang, Anhui Province.”

Cheongyang is the area where Shinwhabang is located, and they held the competition in their front yard.

“When can you leave?”
“Anytime.”
“Then let’s leave early tomorrow.”

Cheonhwaruju nodded and looked down at the invitation she was holding.

“I’m going to be judged, but for some reason I feel like I’m going to be judged.”

That was right. Whether it was fate or a mastermind, they were pulling us in.
Geommu-geuk smiled and told her.

“Please vote for Ian at the end!”

Ian screamed in surprise.

“That’s a negative review! Don’t say that!”
“Huh? You seem confident that you can go all the way. Didn’t you put any value on participating?”
“That’s not what I meant. Oh my!”

Ian, his face slightly flushed, ran into the building, followed by Geommu-geuk.

Cheonhwaruju and Geukaksoma looked at the scene with smiles.
Then Cheonhwaruju suddenly spoke.

“thank you.”

After hearing the words of the Evil Soma, I honestly told everything to the cult leader. If I hadn’t told the Evil Soma, I didn’t even want to imagine how I would feel right now.

The evil Soma looked at her and laughed.
With a laugh that needed no further explanation.

The white mask was shining brightly in the sunlight.

* * *

A young man was looking up at the stage where the final construction was in full swing.
The stage was being built large and magnificently, and this was the place where the World’s Best Beauty Contest was to be held.

There were masters standing all around the man, radiating a cold aura. Those passing by did not dare to approach him and instead turned away.
Just by looking at the guards, you could tell that this man was not an ordinary person.

This young man was none other than An Houpyeong, the successor of Shinwhabang, who had recently hosted the World’s Best Beauty Contest.

“Your Majesty, have you come out?”

A middle-aged man walked up next to him and greeted him politely.
The middle-aged man was Cao Man, the head of the Shinwhabang Foreign Affairs Bureau in charge of preparing for the World’s Best Beauty Contest.

“The streets are already bustling with people.”

People began to flock from all over Central Plains to watch the competition.
Although there were competitions held all over Central Plains, this was the first official World’s Best Beauty contest, so the attention of Central Plains people was focused on it.

An Hu-pyeong asked, still looking at the stage.

“General Cho.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Do you know what my dream is?”
“It is to marry the most beautiful woman in the world.”

I’ve heard this many times since I was young. Since that dream hasn’t changed yet, this dream was real.
If someone else had said that, they would have laughed at me with that plain face and said, “Your dreams are big!”

“Your dream has come true. Congratulations, Confucius.”
“It is too early to drink. The most beautiful woman in the world must accept my choice.”
“Which woman would turn down Confucius?”

A confident smile appeared on An Hu-pyeong’s lips.
General Cho knew. Even if that woman refused to make a choice, it would be useless.
He knew well how persistent and scary this An Hu-pyeong was, having seen her since he was young.
Even though he had known her for so long, he was still nervous about making a slip of the tongue in front of An Hu-pyeong.

Besides, he was a lecher and a debaucher.
From a young age, he had been unable to handle women. I thought that a woman might become the most beautiful woman in the world, but she might also become the most unfortunate person in her life.

“When does it start?”
“The preliminaries will begin in three days. Beauties from all over the Central Plains are arriving one after another for the competition.”

An Hu-pyeong looked at the three chairs placed in front of the stage. They were the seats for the judges. On either side of them were the VIP seats.

“And the judges?”
“Two of the three have already arrived, and the last one, Cheonhwaruju, needs to arrive.”

At that moment, An Hu-pyeong’s eyes lit up sharply.

“Cheonhwaruju? Isn’t Cheonhwaru a kiru?”
“That’s right. This time, I invited Cheonhwaruju as a judge.”

Then An Hu-pyeong’s impression hardened immediately.

“Are you saying that you chose only the owner of the kiln as the judge?”
“Cheonhwaru is not an ordinary kiln. It is the largest and most famous kiln with dozens of branches in the central plains.”

You’ve been there many times, haven’t you? The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t bring myself to say them. Maybe I hate it more because I’ve been there so often.

“Even so, a giraffe is still a giraffe.”

The thought of marrying the most beautiful woman in the world, as judged by the owner of that house, made me feel very excited.

“Who on earth chose this woman to be the judge?”

Director Cho looked as if he had difficulty speaking, but eventually spoke carefully.

“You are the ark.”

For a moment, An Hu-pyeong was startled.

“He was originally a different person, but he changed at the end.”

At those words, a look of doubt appeared on An Hu-pyeong’s face. His father had been wielding a knife all his life.

“When Cheonhwaruju arrives, let me know.”

* * *

The carriage carrying the Geommugeuk group entered the Cheongyang market.
Geommugeuk poked Ian in the side.

“Stop staring!”

Ian was looking at the evil Soma sitting in front of him and was startled.
He couldn’t help but look. The evil Soma had taken off his mask and was wearing a veil since this morning when he arrived at his destination.
It was the first time he had seen the evil Soma without his mask. Even though he had covered his eyes with a veil.

“You are so handsome!”

Ian blurted out as if possessed. Then he realized that he had said it in front of his face and quickly lowered his head.

Geommugeuk looked at the evil Soma and said.

“I’m angry, but I have to admit it.”

The evil soma, with his eyes and forehead exposed, looked like a completely different person. In addition, the special cotton thread played a part.
It was a stylish and cool cotton thread with a single flower drawn on it, and the word “heavenly flower” was engraved underneath.

“I embroidered it myself and made it for you.”

It was the work of Cheonhwaruju, who was sitting next to me.

“But why did you ask me to make ten more of the same thing?”

The evil Soma asked me to make ten more, so I made them, but I didn’t tell him why then or now.

“The moment I take off that cotton, there will be chaos. All the beauties of the Central Plains will follow me, so ten won’t be enough!”

Cheonhwaruju laughed happily at Geommugeuk’s joke.

“I guess I’ll have to make more cotton!”

At that moment, the coachman’s voice was heard from the stables.

“You have arrived at your destination.”

The carriage door opened and the evil Soma got out first.
The moment he looked outside, everyone knew why he needed ten more cotton threads.

There were ten unmanned people waiting in front of the carriage.
Surprisingly, they were the unmanned guests who had arrived earlier and were waiting.

The ten most skilled among the masked guests.

When I told them, they also took off their masks and wore cotton sacks like the evil soma.

They were wearing the same uniform and the same cotton thread, so they looked exactly like guards from Cheonhwaru.

The evil Soma concluded that the only reason he had to stab the chest of the swordmaster was because of the Cheonhwaruju. If she was taken hostage and her life was threatened as collateral. Since he was aware of the possibility, such a thing would never happen.

There were ten of us so as not to attract attention, but if possible, we would have brought all the guests.

The evil Soma stood in front of ten faceless guests and spoke with a smile. He was now in charge of guarding Cheonhwaru.

“Okay, let’s go, Your Majesty.”

Cheonhwaruju was deeply moved. She was beyond words grateful to the evil soma for caring so much for her.
Cheonhwaruju looked back at Ian and said before getting off the carriage.

“Then see you at the final stage.”
“The finals! I can’t go.”

After showing a smile, Cheonhwaruju got off the carriage.
Step, step, step, step.
Ten maskless guests surrounded her on all sides. The one in front was the evil Soma.
And so they disappeared into the crowd.

Geommu-geuk and Ian did not get off together, but stayed in the carriage for a while. They thought it would be better to get off with some distance between them rather than together, since they were attracting attention.

Ian’s eyes trembled slightly as he looked out the carriage window.

“There are so many people.”

It seems like he’s nervous about standing in front of that many people.

“Wouldn’t it be better to have a non-contest?”

Even on her way here, Ian practiced martial arts whenever she had the chance. She was already crazy about training, but this time she practiced even harder. She dreamed of becoming the best master in the world rather than the most beautiful in the world.

Of course, I thought you would say that the non-contest was better.

“No, I can still participate in the non-competitive contest later when I’m older, but I can only challenge for the world’s best beauty now, right?”

Ian got out of the carriage first, wearing the cotton swab he had brought.

Since I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it well. I’m going to do it like I’m really the best in the world. I have to focus and get absorbed in this competition so that I can find someone suspicious.

Instead of getting off the sword, he watched people coming and going through the window for a while.

‘We’ve finally arrived.’

What on earth awaits him here? He thought that everything that led him here was fate.
He discovered the Shinnyeojimong in the Murim Alliance report, received the prophecy from Cheonhwaruju, and was even invited here.
And just like he has done so far, he will fight with all his might.

“Why aren’t you getting off? What are you thinking?”

I turned my head and saw Ian standing outside the carriage, looking over at me.

“Are you worried about Ian, with all these pretty girls out there?”
“I don’t think I see any prettier girls than him.”

Ian’s beautiful eyes smiled brightly on the pure white cotton.

“And let’s worry about that from the moment we apply for the competition.”