Something Feels Unfair (3)
It was a bit late to state the obvious, but...
Baek Su-ah was a beauty.
In fact, calling her a peerless beauty wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Because she rarely left the Mount Hua Sect, she wasn't widely known to the world, but anyone who caught even a glimpse of her could never forget her.
Thus, she was dubbed the Unforgetting Flower of Mount Hua.
Having left countless lovesick souls in her wake, she was already hailed as the greatest beauty of Shaanxi.
In the future, it would be even more pronounced.
Even before her supernatural ability, the Dragon Eyes, was revealed to the public, she made a name for herself in the Jianghu solely through her beauty the moment she began her activities.
Whenever gossips debated the greatest beauty under heaven, she was always counted among the top ten.
There was no way a plain escort uniform could hide such radiant beauty.
And, as if on cue, the pirate's eyes rolled back the moment he laid eyes on her dazzling face.
I should have worn a veil if I knew this would happen, Baek Su-ah thought, letting out a sigh.
The pirate called out to her.
"Come here, girl. Today, I'll make an exception and waive the toll just for you."
A deep frown creased Baek Su-ah's forehead.
Her Dragon Eyes were rather inconvenient at times like this.
She could clearly see the blatant, vulgar desire swirling in the man's gaze.
Regardless of their martial prowess, people like him triggered a visceral disgust in her.
"Bwahaha! You look even more charming when you're shy. Come on over. Tonight is going to be incredibly hot—urgh!"
Smack!
Before the pirate could finish his sentence, something flew through the air and struck him square in the face.
It was a water bowl that had been rolling around the deck.
And the one who threw it was...
"I've been trying to listen, but there's a limit to how much bullshit I can tolerate..."
"Urgh... Who the hell are you?"
"Han Cheong-un. Not that you'd know the name even if I told you."
Han Cheong-un kicked his spear up with the top of his foot, catching it lightly in his hand.
"We're in a hurry, so I wanted to ignore minor pests like you, but I can't let you slide."
"What did you say?"
Furious, the pirate raised his hand and signaled his men.
Instantly, dozens of pirates across the five ships drew their bows.
"Say that again, you brat."
Han Cheong-un smirked at the pirate's triumphant display.
Then, he spoke.
"Hero Yoon Sang."
"Speak."
"Please guard our ship. Can I leave it to you?"
"I can manage that. But what about you...?"
"I'm just going to warm up a bit."
Stepping forward, Han Cheong-un called out in a firm voice.
"Tang Jin."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
Tang Jin straightened his posture and stepped forward.
"Just pave a path to their ship," Han Cheong-un said. "I'll sweep those bastards away."
"Understood."
The moment the word left Tang Jin's mouth, Han Cheong-un sank his center of gravity deep.
Splash!
"Whoa, whoa?!"
"Aaaah!"
The ship tilted heavily for a moment.
And the instant the rocking ship bounced back to its original position, Tang Jin used the recoil to launch himself into the air.
He soared higher than the pirates' ships in a single bound.
"Take this!"
Two streaks of silver light shot out from his fingertips.
"Argh!"
"Aack!"
The silver flashes pierced through two pirates in an instant. Without stopping, they embedded themselves deep into the mast of the pirates' ship.
Tang Jin pulled the silver threads connected to his Silver Flowing Flying Daggers, tightening them, and called out.
"Sect Leader!"
As if he had been waiting for those words, Han Cheong-un leaped into the air.
"Wh-what?!"
"Heavens! Is that...?"
"V-Void Step?!"
It wasn't.
Han Cheong-un was running across the taut silver threads of Tang Jin's Silver Flowing Flying Daggers.
Landing on the enemy ship in the blink of an eye, Han Cheong-un gripped the end of his spear with one hand.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
"Urgh..."
"Gah..."
A rapid succession of thrusts, fast as lightning.
In a single breath, he pierced seven pirates.
As Han Cheong-un landed lightly on the deck, the remaining pirates rushed him.
"Kill him!"
"Push him off the boat!"
"Aaaaah!"
The pirates knew.
No matter how skilled a martial artist was, it was difficult to display their full strength in the unstable, confined space of a ship.
In fact, in their line of work, they often managed to take down experts stronger than themselves.
All they had to do was push him overboard.
Unless one was a master of water-based martial arts, falling into the Yangtze River left them helpless. Once in the water, they could just throw iron nets and spear them to death.
However...
"Come on."
That strategy only worked if they could actually get close to him.
Han Cheong-un's spear retracted in a smooth, fluid motion, only to erupt in a series of lightning-fast thrusts.
Crack! Bang!
It was pure light.
The pirates couldn't even see the spear extending or retracting.
The moment anyone stepped within a certain range, Han Cheong-un's consecutive thrusts blew their heads off or punched wind tunnels through their chests.
In an instant, half of the pirates on the ship lost their lives to his spear.
"Wh-what...?"
"This... this is wrong."
"Run!"
Only then did the pirates realize they had provoked a master far beyond their league.
When faced with an insurmountable enemy, pirates usually reacted the same way.
Without hesitation, they leaped off the ship.
They scrambled to jump into the water, leaving the deck completely empty.
"Easy."
Having quickly secured the ship, Han Cheong-un swung his spear to flick off the blood.
Tang Jin approached from behind.
"Moving to the next ship?"
"Of course. Connect me to that one."
"Yes, sir."
Tang Jin fired his Silver Flowing Flying Daggers once more.
The daggers flew swiftly, embedding themselves into another pirate ship slightly further away. Han Cheong-un ran across the silver threads again.
"Whoa! He's coming!"
"Block him!"
Having witnessed the first ship fall in seconds, the pirates on the next vessel threw harpoons and shot arrows at the approaching youth.
However, Han Cheong-un used the silver thread to bounce himself high into the air, rendering their attacks useless.
The moment he landed on the deck...
"Throw it!"
The waiting pirates threw an iron net.
It was a highly effective weapon for pirates dealing with martial arts experts. But such tactics only worked depending on who the opponent was.
Slash!
Han Cheong-un swung his spear with one hand, and the sturdy iron net shredded like a spiderweb, falling to the deck.
And then, the pirates saw it.
A vivid blue spear qi condensed at the tip of Han Cheong-un's spear.
"Crazy..."
"What kind of kid is this?"
"Run!"
Their spirits crushed by a single move, the pirates scrambled to jump overboard. Han Cheong-un had no intention of chasing down and killing those who fled.
However...
"Not you. Get over here."
"Ugh..."
The pirate boss, who had lusted after Baek Su-ah, flinched and stepped back as Han Cheong-un pointed at him.
He wanted to run away just as badly as his men.
But unlike his subordinates, he possessed decent martial arts training, and he knew: the moment he turned his back to flee, that spear would pierce straight through his spine.
"Kid, if you walk the Jianghu, surely you've heard of the Blood-Wave Blade of the Yangtze?"
"What? Blood-Wave Blade?"
"That's right. I am that very Blood-Wave Blade, Jiang Hong!"
"I see. So you're the... the..."
Han Cheong-un scratched his head for a moment before speaking.
"Sorry. I know quite a few unorthodox sects and figures, but I don't know you."
"Y-you bastard!"
"My bad."
It couldn't be helped.
In truth, the Blood-Wave Blade Jiang Hong was a fairly notorious unorthodox figure along the Yangtze River.
But the opponents Han Cheong-un had clashed with during the two Great Wars between Orthodox and Unorthodox factions were, at the very least, commanders or hall leaders of the Sado-palmun—and at most, elders or sect leaders.
He swam in a completely different league to bother remembering such small fry.
"Well, what does a name matter anyway? Either way, you..."
Han Cheong-un's eyes grew cold.
"You crossed a line you shouldn't have."
"What?"
"I've had a line drawn since my days in the Annihilation Squad. In this Jianghu..."
A chilling murderous intent pooled in Han Cheong-un's eyes.
"I have never, not even once, forgiven anyone who dared to lay a hand on my companions."
Ever since his days as the commander of the Annihilation Squad, Han Cheong-un had protected his companions fiercely.
He had silently endured the rebukes and accusations of the Wulin Alliance elders when they were directed at him, but the moment even a spark threatened his comrades, he would snap.
And yet, a mere pirate dared to harass Baek Su-ah?
"By my standards..."
"Y-you arrogant brat!"
"...you get the death penalty."
At Han Cheong-un's icy words, Jiang Hong gritted his teeth and drew his saber.
"Who do you think you're talking down to?!"
It was an oddly shaped saber with jagged teeth resembling shark teeth.
Rather than a standard weapon, it likely had a specialized technique or attack style tailored to its unique form.
When facing such unorthodox weapons, one had to be cautious and pay close attention.
"Die!"
Boom!
Well, none of that mattered if he could just kill him in one blow.
"Urgh... Cough..."
"I told you, didn't I?"
"Gah..."
"It's the death penalty."
Jiang Hong collapsed forward, coughing up blood with his saber still raised.
A hole larger than his own head had been punched through his torso.
Having disposed of the pirate boss in a single strike, Han Cheong-un turned his gaze to the remaining pirates.
"Anyone still here after I count to ten dies. One. Two..."
He didn't even need to reach ten.
Before Han Cheong-un could even count to five, every single pirate scrambled to throw themselves into the Yangtze River.
"That was easier than I thought," Tang Jin remarked.
"Well, that's just the level of petty thieves."
Han Cheong-un and Tang Jin lightly wrapped up the situation and returned to their ship.
Watching the two of them drive off the pirates all by themselves, the leader of the Wi Escort Agency was deeply impressed.
"That was truly an incredible display of martial prowess!"
"Prowess? Not really... It was only possible because the opponents were weak."
"Hahaha..."
The escort leader laughed awkwardly.
Jiang Hong, whom Han Cheong-un had killed in a single strike, was a master who wielded considerable notoriety along the Yangtze River.
Yet such a man had fallen without even being able to put up a fight.
Of course, there were many in this world who could defeat Jiang Hong in one blow.
But how many of them were young men who hadn't even reached twenty?
There's no doubt about it. This man is going to be a giant.
At this rate, he might be a genius who would shake the heavens in the future.
And it seemed the others shared similar thoughts.
"Splendid skill," Yoon Sang said.
"You flatter me, Hero Yoon."
The Mount Hua disciples approached Han Cheong-un, cupping their fists to strike up a conversation.
It was understandable for Tang Jin to be strong, given he was a descendant of the Sichuan Tang Family.
But they hadn't expected this nameless young hero to possess such strength.
They had assumed he was only tagging along because he held information about the Shadowless Thief's secret cave, but with this level of skill...
He's easily on par with the first-generation disciples of our sect.
Deeply impressed, Yoon Sang asked Han Cheong-un, "Young hero, if I may ask, which sect do you belong to?"
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't know it. It's not a very famous place."
"Ah, I see."
It was a polite refusal to answer.
Yoon Sang didn't press further. In the Jianghu, digging into the background of someone who wished to keep their sect a secret was a grave discourtesy.
However...
Could it be? No... but...
One person among those who witnessed Han Cheong-un's display frowned, looking as if they had realized something.
That evening.
Thanks to his performance earlier in the day, Han Cheong-un had been assigned a private room and was resting comfortably.
But then...
"May I come in for a moment?"
Hearing the voice from outside, Han Cheong-un sat up.
Before he could even give permission, the door opened, and in walked...
"Oh, if it isn't the porter old man?"
"..."
It was Elder Hyeon-myeong of Mount Hua.
As soon as he entered, he closed the door with a sour expression and said, "As an elder of Mount Hua, I have come to ask you something."
Han Cheong-un smirked as he watched the elder set up a soundproofing barrier to prevent their voices from leaking outside.
"Go ahead."
Hyeon-myeong got straight to the point.
"Do you happen to have a relationship with the Sword Emperor?"
"..."
Han Cheong-un's face stiffened at the question. However, he quickly composed himself and spoke.
"The Sword Emperor? Surely you don't mean the person I'm thinking of?"
"I am referring to the Taegeuk Sword Emperor of Wudang."
Han Cheong-un chuckled at those words.
"That's rather sudden. I've never been to Wudang, nor have I ever met him."
"Then why do I feel traces of his martial arts in the techniques you use?"
"How could that be? I use a spear, not a sword. On what basis are you linking my martial arts to his?"
"The Bagua."
"..."
Hyeon-myeong crossed his arms and continued.
"I saw him when I was young. He had completely mastered Wudang's Taegeuk Wisdom Sword and transcended it to reach a new realm."
"..."
"When I saw him again after I passed the age of forty, he was researching martial arts based on the Bagua."
"..."
"I felt the exact same thing in your spear techniques."
"..."
"Don't try to deny it. My eyes aren't useless holes in a log."
"..."
"Now, tell me. What is your relationship with the Sword Emperor?"
Faced with Hyeon-myeong's sharp interrogation, Han Cheong-un let out a silent sigh.
Damn it, he really is a Mount Hua elder.
His eye for martial arts was definitely above average.