The Tiger and the Lion Are Different (2)
Kang Liang felt a violent shudder run through every inch of his skin.
He was not afraid of Yang Cheon. It was more than mere personality. Through his recent intensive training alongside a seeker of enlightenment, he had achieved profound growth in both martial arts and mentality, forging a resilience that refused to yield even before overwhelming power.
Yet he trembled.
His mind refused to submit, but his body reacted first.
Incredible.
Kang Liang swallowed without realizing it.
This is the power of the Holy Thirteen Seats, the absolute masters said to rule the Central Plains as the strongest!
The air brushing his skin felt like razor blades.
The cold mountain breeze had vanished, replaced by a scorching gale that sliced into him. His skin stung as if flayed raw, his joints creaked, and his blood-engorged muscles pulsed violently, threatening to burst at any moment.
He hasn’t even released his aura, yet this is the result. Simply revealing his killing intent is enough to make my body cower in fear.
Kang Liang gripped his right wrist tightly with his left hand.
Damn it. He’s far more of a monster than I imagined.
Suddenly, the words of his late father rose in his mind.
“What? Hahaha! Yes, my son, how wonderful it would be if your father reached the realm of the Holy Heavens. But Liang, remember this. The world is full of monsters beyond common sense. The Holy Heavens stand at their peak. Though your father is called one of the foremost experts in the dark path, even with another ten or twenty years of training, I have no confidence I could rise to that rank.”
His father had always brimmed with confidence in martial matters. Kind to his family, yet known throughout the dark path as its greatest hero for his iron will and self-assurance.
It was the only time that father had ever shown weakness.
“Even with ten or twenty years of training, I cannot reach the Holy Heavens…”
The corners of Kang Liang’s eyes trembled faintly.
Only now do I understand the true weight behind those words.
BOOM!
The massive blade of the Mad Dragon Axe sank halfway into the ground.
“It is regrettable to meet again under these circumstances. Have you been well?”
Unlike Kang Liang, Yeon Hojeong’s expression remained utterly calm as he spoke with casual ease.
Yang Cheon regarded him with clear, transparent eyes.
He wasn’t glaring, yet it felt as though thousands of daggers poured from those eyes. It was not a human gaze.
Yeon Hojeong smiled.
“Have you lost your words at the sudden sight of a welcome face?”
“……”
“Yes. It is good to see you.”
A faint smile also crept across Yang Cheon’s face.
At that instant, Kang Liang’s face turned deathly pale.
Danger!
His pulse doubled from the extreme sense of crisis.
Fortunately, despite the alarm Kang Liang felt, Yang Cheon did not act.
“There were times when old subordinates I believed dead returned without warning. Venomous bastards who clawed their way back from death to this world. Those fellows still serve diligently under me even now.”
“……”
“But you… I cannot use you again. Wouldn’t it have been better to hide away in some obscure mountain valley and spend your life tilling fields?”
Yeon Hojeong let out a soft chuckle.
“Hearing you still call me a subordinate shows that the affection built up over the years runs quite deep.”
“Affection? Well… Yes, now that I think about it, affection did accumulate. In my sixty-plus years of life, I have never seen a giant quite like you. Bold spirit, sharp mind, and even outstanding martial talent. In truth, for one very brief moment, I even considered leaving the Black Dragon Department to you someday.”
Bu Seon’s eyes wavered.
She had never seen or heard her master offer such high praise to a junior.
“Yet looking at you now, you truly are nothing but a rat. Well, they say heaven may seem unfair but contains its own justice within. The gods granted you ability and courage, but withheld character.”
“Is that so?”
It was an odd reply.
Yang Cheon’s voice grew colder.
“So the eldest son of the Yeon Family of Byeoksan in Gangdong, the greatest rising star of the world, Yeon Hojeong, was your true identity?”
“Do not attach such embarrassing titles. I am simply Yeon Hojeong.”
“Yeon Hojeong… the Yeon Family…”
The corners of Yang Cheon’s mouth curled upward.
“Are you not curious? How long it would take to erase a single sword clan tucked away in a remote corner of Gangdong?”
“……”
“No need to send anyone else. I am quite angry at the moment. As a way to soothe my mood, an outing to Gangdong to uproot your family’s foundations sounds like rather fine entertainment. What do you think?”
“It seems people truly do not change easily.”
“……?”
“Even after sitting upon a throne and living in splendor, your vessel is only this much…”
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes turned icy.
“You are a fierce general, but not a true commander. In that respect, Moyong Gun would be superior.”
A blazing wave of murderous aura exploded from Yang Cheon’s body.
It was an instantaneous reaction, yet Yang Cheon’s voice grew strangely calmer.
“You two play well together.”
“It would seem so.”
“Moyong Gun. Yeon Hojeong. Did I appear so insignificant that the pair of you would come one after another to test me?”
As time passed, the killing intent only thickened, yet Yang Cheon’s expression and tone regained perfect composure.
“Why do you think I have not yet ripped your head from your shoulders and instead sit here speaking? Fear of the Martial Alliance? Concern for my department’s future? Or perhaps some worthless scrap of loyalty still remains?”
“……”
“No. The reason I leave you be is for my own sake. It is true that after taking the seat of the Black Dragon Department’s leader, I became drunk on power. I committed many foolish acts because of it.”
“……”
“I no longer wish to act that way. That is why I am restraining myself.”
Drip.
Yeon Hojeong glanced at Yang Cheon’s clasped hands.
His fingernails had dug into his own flesh. He was maintaining a calm facade while struggling to control his mind.
This is unexpected.
Yeon Hojeong felt a quiet surge of surprise.
Yang Cheon, you are still capable of growth?
Those who sit in high places, those with great fame, those with power. Whether political authority or raw strength, those superior to others in any field inevitably reject change. In simple terms, they grow arrogant.
The Yang Cheon Yeon Hojeong remembered had been the same. He possessed sufficient human charm and adequate ability as the head of an organization, yet he had tasted the sweetness of power and held the highest renown in the martial world.
In other words, stagnation was inevitable for anyone. Yeon Hojeong had believed that among the Holy Heaven masters, Yang Cheon would be the one to stagnate the longest.
But he had been wrong.
Is it because of Moyong Gun?
Yeon Hojeong gave a small nod.
“Then I am grateful. To be honest, facing you right now would be difficult for me.”
“Right now?”
“Why? Does that statement offend you?”
“……”
“As expected, you are entertaining. It seems you are confident you will one day reach this realm.”
“Of course. And within a short time at that.”
Yang Cheon, who had been staring fixedly at Yeon Hojeong, slowly smiled.
“The so-called Limitless realm that the world speaks of, the realm of the Holy Heavens, exists in a domain that transcends human common sense. It is not a level attainable through mere effort. If effort alone were enough, every dog and cow would already be called a master of the Holy Heavens.”
“I am aware.”
“However.”
Yang Cheon tilted his head.
“At least the you that I knew was not the type to waste time staring at a tree he could not climb. If it is the you I saw back then.”
“I am no different from the me you saw then. The only difference is that the me of that time displayed more exaggerated speech and behavior.”
“To deceive me?”
“Yes. To deceive you.”
Yang Cheon silently observed Yeon Hojeong. Yeon Hojeong likewise closed his mouth and met those eyes directly.
The lava-like scorching wind gradually died down, and the original frigid mountain breeze cooled the air once more.
Just what…
Bu Seon stared at Yeon Hojeong with trembling eyes.
How is this possible?
She had served her master far longer than her fellow disciples. Therefore, she understood bone-deep just how terrifying Yang Cheon’s martial arts were and how overwhelming his presence could be.
Even she, who had broken through the wall of the Martial Master three years earlier, still found it difficult to meet her master’s eyes. Simply his anger, without even releasing his momentum, could strike a blow against both mind and body.
Yet what was this man? How could he stand so boldly, meeting the eyes of a transcendent expert without shedding a single drop of sweat?
The Byeoksan Tiger… I heard he is a genius of the age who has accomplished unbelievable feats these past few years.
Bu Seon swallowed hard.
He is even more terrifying than the rumors suggested!
At that moment, an utterly unexpected sight left everyone unable to conceal their shock.
“KWHAHAHAHAHA!!”
The man who burst into laughter loud enough to shake the heavens.
Shockingly, it was Yang Cheon. After glaring at Yeon Hojeong for a long while, he now let out a refreshing, sky-piercing roar of laughter.
It was so abrupt that even Yeon Hojeong regarded him with a strange look.
Soon, Yang Cheon nodded in satisfaction.
“Good. As expected, this is fine.”
“What is?”
“I will speak honestly. Before coming out here, I pondered many things. Well, they were worthless worries. My plan was to kill you the moment our conversation ended.”
“I suspected as much.”
“But I have changed my mind.”
Yang Cheon shifted his posture.
He slowly leaned his upper body back, bracing himself against the rock with both hands. Sitting with his legs crossed in plain view, the posture appeared both arrogant and utterly free.
“I will listen. For now.”
“For now…”
“Think of me however you wish. Your evaluation is meaningless to the current me. Furthermore, I have no intention of considering what comes afterward.”
“……”
“Explain why you asked to meet me. I am curious what words will emerge from that slick tongue of yours.”
“If it pleases you, will you simply let me leave?”
“Of course. After all, would an outstanding fellow like you thrust your head into a deadly trap without seeking your own path to survival?”
“If you kill me, it will spark a war.”
“You overestimate your own worth. Wars do not break out so easily.”
“I know. Nevertheless, a war will occur.”
“So you do have something you believe in. However…”
Yang Cheon smiled coldly.
“It does not matter if war comes. Therefore, explain why you came here and why you summoned me. Carefully. And, if possible, with respect.”
A genuine smile formed on Yeon Hojeong’s face.
This is something.
As expected, Yang Cheon was not the sort who could truly be called the greatest leader of an organization.
From the beginning, you never needed such an organization. Your long-cherished ambition hindered your growth, but the position of supreme ruler of the dark path never truly suited you.
The seat of Black Dragon Department leader did not fit Yang Cheon.
What suited him was exactly this current appearance, this leisure. That relaxed posture was what made him worthy of the title King of Combat.
The leader of the Dark Faction Alliance has returned as a master of the Holy Heavens once more.
Yeon Hojeong spoke.
“I came to treat you.”
“What?”
“I came to purge the poisoning from the Shadow Emperor Divine Palm, the palm imprint of the Saum Sect Leader engraved upon your chest.”
“……!!”