Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: The Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families Don't Get Along
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The Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families didn't get along.
That was the established truth of the martial world.
And in reality, most of them had bad blood between them.
Why?
Because they were the traditional powerhouses of the martial world, always vying for supremacy and proclaiming themselves its masters.
Their pride in their martial heritage and sects pierced the heavens, and their aura blanketed the earth—that was the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families.
After centuries of clashing, that rivalry was deeply ingrained in their bones.
Even the junior disciples sent to the Heroes' Pavilion to study were no exception.
Whenever they had a chance, the juniors from the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families would split off and compete fiercely.
Nangong Chang broke into a cold sweat as he eyed the Mount Zhongnan Sect disciple.
"Damn it, run into them now of all times..."
Mount Zhongnan Sect.
He'd been at odds with those Mount Zhongnan bastards ever since entering the pavilion.
Among the Nine Great Sects, they were especially vicious in tormenting him...
"Fuck."
Nangong Chang backed away warily as Haedong approached.
Haedong smiled thinly.
"Hey, Chang. How do you even train your kids?"
"...What the hell are you on about, punk?"
"See? No wonder your underlings are rotten when the top dog's like this. Junior Brother Chang, didn't I tell you to clean the training grounds every day before we use them?"
Haedong stepped right up to Nangong Chang and stared him down.
"Tsk tsk. No wonder your face looks like it's been through hell from all the brawling. Still hanging with those street thugs?"
"...What business is it of yours, punk!"
"Idiot juniors don't listen to words. Looks like our junior brother's got a foul mouth too."
At Haedong's nod, his junior brothers grinned and surrounded Nangong Chang.
All of them towered a head above him.
Nangong Chang seemed to shrink for a moment, but then his eyes flashed as he shot a Thunder Fist strike like a bolt of lightning toward the left.
Crack!
The youngest Mount Zhongnan disciple, Haeun, sneered and casually blocked the Thunder Fist with Heaven-Earth Mountains-Rivers technique.
Nangong Chang's fist was caught limply in Haeun's hand.
"Urk?"
Nangong Chang's eyes went wide.
In that instant, Haeun twisted his wrist.
Crack!
"Argh! Mmph!"
Haegon, standing to the right, clamped a hand over Nangong Chang's mouth.
His iron grip twisted Nangong Chang's expression in pain.
Haedong snickered mockingly.
"Junior Brother Chang, was that static just now? Bet the thugs got a shock."
"Mmph! You bast, mmph!"
"Hanging with thugs has made our junior brother real rough. Chang, oh Chang. We're Mount Zhongnan Sect. That level won't work on us, right? How do you not learn even after getting wrecked every time?"
"...Mmph!"
Haedong grinned at the struggling Nangong Chang.
Then, in a flash, he slammed a massive fist into his gut.
Thud!
"Guuugh!"
The gut-wrenching impact made Nangong Chang's eyes bulge.
Haedong flexed his fist and laughed.
"Our Junior Brother Chang needs to start from the basics of fist arts. Boys, to the sparring grounds."
"Yes, senior brother!"
"Yep!"
Haeun and Haegon snickered as they dragged Nangong Chang into the alley.
Haedong glanced around leisurely with hands behind his back and followed at a relaxed pace.
"Go easy, go easy. Haha!"
Nangong Chang's pupils shook.
"You fucking bastards! You call yourselves Taoists?"
"Can't help it since he hasn't been ordained long and's still tainted by the secular world."
"You mad bastard! I've been initiated over ten years..."
"Our junior brother talks too much. Chang, you scared?"
Haedong laughed as he taunted Nangong Chang.
Dragged powerlessly into the alley, Nangong Chang bit down in bitter resentment.
"Fuck, got beat yesterday and now today too."
Even a bear endures three days!
Of all places, running into Mount Zhongnan fuckers here!
"Fuck, fuuuck!"
* * *
Sniff! Sniff!
Nangong Chang, beaten to a pulp, sniffled through his nose.
Limp. Limp.
His rage boiled over at the Mount Zhongnan bastards' worsening tyranny with each passing day.
"Ugh!"
The spots where Haedong, Haeun, and Haegon had pummeled him throbbed.
Having gotten hit there once already by Nangong Hyeok and Nangong Ryong, it hurt like broken bones now.
Nangong Chang had never dreamed he'd take beatings back-to-back like this.
Could his luck be this shit?
"F-Fuck, if not for my brothers beating me, I wouldn't be taking this much."
Even muttering in frustration hurt like his cheeks were peeling off.
Every twinge made something inside him boil.
Sniff sniff!
"...Can't take getting owned by those fuckers again."
Mount Zhongnan bastards.
The fury from them burned hotter than from Nangong Ryong or Nangong Hyeok.
Those two would leave after the sparring tournament anyway.
But the Mount Zhongnan punks would be around until graduation from the Heroes' Pavilion.
At this rate, he'd endure this humiliation and disgrace forever.
Nangong Chang ground his teeth and clenched his fists.
"I'll pay them back for sure!'
No matter what it took, he'd put an end to this, he vowed.
'Gather all the Crane Hero Class guys...'
But Nangong Chang soon hardened his expression again.
The Crane Hero Class was made up of prodigies from mid- and small sects.
Would any of them dare pick a fight with the Nine Great Sects?
Only the Five Great Families could pretend to stand toe-to-toe and charge in cursing them as bastards.
"Fuck, this is bullshit. Driving me insane with the injustice!"
The more he thought, the more his chest burned.
Limp limp!
As he swallowed his resentment and limped along,
Geum Cheomsang, buying Bingdangho-ro at an inn in the Righteous Alliance, bumped into the approaching Nangong Chang.
"Gasp?! Third Young Master? What happened to you? Who beat you up this time?!"
Why's this guy's speech...
"Never mind. Go."
"Go to the medicine hall before the swelling worsens! No, to the outer hall! They have golden sore salve there. The stuff Second Young Master uses—works like a charm. Hurry..."
"Ah, I said forget it!"
Nangong Chang irritably shook off Geum Cheomsang's hand.
The motion sent pain shooting through his wrist, twisting his face again.
"Fucking embarrassing."
Nangong Chang bit his lower lip.
Ignoring that, Geum Cheomsang kept fussing.
"Oh no, oh dear! What happened? Don't be stubborn—let's go! Division Leader Tak, give us a hand!"
At Geum Cheomsang's shout, Tak Hyeokdong—who'd been standing behind with a hunk of meat slung over his shoulder—strode over.
Nangong Chang flinched at the massive bulk, but Tak Hyeokdong reached out.
"Ahem! Pardon the rudeness!"
"Huh? Wha—?!"
"Where to grab? So scrawny, ahem!"
Tak Hyeokdong's bear-paw hand snatched Nangong Chang's nape.
"Gack!"
Tak Hyeokdong lifted him like a teacup and slung him over his shoulder like luggage.
Nangong Chang flushed with shock and shame, but Tak Hyeokdong and Geum Cheomsang ignored it and headed to their quarters.
* * *
Swish swish swish!
Snow-white powder piled thickly over the raw wounds like fresh snow.
Nangong Chang winced and bit his lip hard.
His displeasure and dissatisfaction showed plainly.
"Eldest Young Master, take a look. They turned him into mush! Who the hell did this to our Third Young Master?!"
"Mm!"
"You can't just let it slide. Third Young Master, tell us! Won't Eldest Young Master give 'em hell?"
"Mm!"
"So frustrating. With Eldest Young Master here, what's there to worry about!"
Hearing Geum Cheomsang and Nangong Ryong, Nangong Chang's pupils trembled faintly.
Truth be told, he felt a surge of emotion.
Even after that back-smack, Nangong Ryong was still Nangong Ryong.
Thinking about it, hadn't he wielded the rod for his sake?
And Geum Cheomsang's rough speech hid genuine worry.
How long since he'd felt this!
"Come on, tell us. Huh? No crying now."
"Sniff, hic!"
"Slowly, slowly."
"So, Mount Zhongnan, hic, those guys keep..."
As Nangong Ryong and Geum Cheomsang soothed the sniffling Nangong Chang,
"Who's bawling their eyes out this early in the morning like bad luck?"
"Oh, Young Master. It's Third Young Master."
"Huh? What the hell happened to this punk?"
Nangong Hyeok, Bingdangho-ro in his mouth, opened the door and tilted his head.
Geon Cheon-hwi scampered over.
"He got beat up."
"Beat up? Did our Eldest Young Master hit him again?"
"No."
"What? Then?"
"Well, Mount Zhongnan, from the wounds it looks like rookies, probably peers..."
"What? My little brother's been thrashed by Mount Zhongnan punks?"
Nangong Hyeok raised his voice, his brows shooting up.
Geon Cheon-hwi stared at him with wide eyes.
"Huh? He's not the type..."
The Nangong Hyeok he knew wouldn't bat an eye—or would mock him.
But blood was blood, huh?
Even a wild guy like Nangong Hyeok when his brother's beaten.
Nangong Hyeok's raised voice made Nangong Ryong erupt louder, Geum Cheomsang's eyes gleam.
Seeing Nangong Hyeok's fury unleashed Nangong Chang's pent-up resentment.
Yeah, that guy's my brother too!
Blood's thicker than water!
"Little broooother! Hngh, those Mount Zhongnan bastards..."
"You crazy punk, what's there to brag about getting beat?"
Huh? That's not it?
"Mount Zhongnan? Zhoooongnaaan? Hey punk, if you're gonna get beat, at least make it Shaolin! Mount Zhongnan?"
W-Wait!
Nangong Hyeok raised his palm.
Splat!
"Queeeek?!"
Nangong Chang's jaw whipped around as he stared at Nangong Hyeok in shock and dismay.
"I-I got, got beat!"
"Getting beat by Mount Zhongnan's something to brag about, punk? I'd drown myself in piss if it were me! Don't you dare lift your head!"
Wh-What?!
Thud thud thud!
Nangong Hyeok started pummeling the bewildered Nangong Chang.
"Guh, guk!"
The sudden violence stunned Nangong Ryong, Geum Cheomsang, and Geon Cheon-hwi.
Wait, what's happening?
Beat the guy who just got beat?
"Stop him!"
Nangong Ryong snapped to and shouted, then Geon Cheon-hwi bolted like lightning to grab Nangong Hyeok's waist.
Geum Cheomsang yanked Nangong Chang away and gaped at Nangong Hyeok.
Nangong Hyeok huffed, still fuming.
"Fuck. I'm dying of shame here, for real? Mount Zhongnan? Zhong-fucking-nanan? That make any sense?!"
A scion of Nangong Family, thrashed by Mount Zhongnan—which barely scraped the bottom of the Nine Great Sects!
Sword King, Sword King.
Can't you rest in peace even in death?
'What? Beat by Mount Zhongnan trash? This gambler punk's smearing shit all over Nangong Family?'
And this punk's gonna hold one of the pillars someday!
Dark times ahead, so dark.
Nangong Family needs to spread its wings grandly for my future to be smooth, but here's a massive reef!
Nangong Chang stared at Nangong Hyeok with wide rabbit eyes.
No way—that's not why I should get hit!
Help me! Little bro got beat—help!
...He nearly blurted it, but swallowed at Nangong Hyeok's bloodshot glare.
"Hey fuck! Let go, let go. I won't hit, let go."
Geon Cheon-hwi looked panicked.
"N-No! Young Master, if I let go now, someone's dying. At least drop the killing intent..."
"Won't kill, won't kill. I just got mad for a sec, mad."
"......"
"Hoo! There, good? I said I won't kill."
Nangong Hyeok steadied his breath and raised both hands to show no threat.
Geon Cheon-hwi gulped and cautiously released him.
Smack!
"Kek!"
Nangong Hyeok walloped the back of Geon Cheon-hwi's head.
"Don't make me say it twice."
Nangong Hyeok shoved the head-clutching Geon Cheon-hwi aside and strode to Nangong Chang.
Grab!
"Ke, kep!"
Nangong Hyeok roughly seized Nangong Chang's nape.
Before anyone could react or intervene, it was done in a flash.
Nangong Hyeok swept his bloodshot gaze around.
"Clear the training grounds. Tell 'em I'm drilling this punk for ten days."
"Huh? Drilling how?"
"Can't go beat the kid who beat him. Gotta clean up his own shit!"
"Th-Then you don't mean..."
Nangong Hyeok's eyes blazed.
"Ten days. I'll make him a true third son of Nangong Family in ten days!"
"B-But if he dies..."
"Then no helping it."
No helping it, you madman!
Nangong Hyeok dragged Nangong Chang out to the back yard.
Nangong Ryong's face grew solemn, Geum Cheomsang's jaw dropped, Geon Cheon-hwi averted his eyes.
And moments later.
"Kweeeeeeeeek!"
A horrific scream shook the quarters nonstop.
Tak Hyeokdong, back after handing off the meat to the kitchen, tilted his head.
"Hm? Slaughtering a pig today?"
Geon Cheon-hwi just shook his head silently.
Everyone fell quiet, offering silent condolences to Nangong Chang.