Chapter 37
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Sparking the Rage
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Have you ever seen such an arrogant bastard!"
"……."
"No matter how important the bond between the elders might be, I can't just let this slide! What the hell? Who's teaching who?"
"……."
"His arrogance pierces the heavens! I had some faint hope from those words praising your talent, but you're exactly as the rumors say!"
"……."
Yu Hyun watched impassively as Nangong Seong glared with bulging eyes and bellowed.
What's this? Why's the reaction so lukewarm?
Call me a son of a bitch, a scumbag, an ill-bred mongrel……
Why stick to 'arrogant' when he could say all that? Is he too young to have a full vocabulary of curses?
His face looks ready to burst, so the provocation landed…… Let's dig a little deeper.
Yu Hyun spread his legs wide, rested his elbows on his knees, and spat on the ground.
"Hey, fuck off. You've been giving me short answers since earlier?"
"……."
"Looks like it really grates on you that your younger uncle's talking about teaching you. If it's that bad, go complain to the adults. Don't just spin around barking here."
"You, you…… Oh!"
"Arrogant?"
"……."
"……Damn, it's unexpected no matter how I look at it. I thought you had a personality problem since childhood because you spew curses so creatively every day……."
"What nonsense is that!"
"……."
Hmm, something's off no matter how I see it.
Yu Hyun stared at Nangong Seong, whose face was flushed like it might explode any second, lost in thought.
Sword King Nangong Seong.
Another name for the unrivaled swordsman was Seven Emotions Sword King.
He was the one who had elevated the seven human emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, love, hate, and desire—into martial arts.
Was it because he ascended to his realm through utter fidelity to his emotions?
How grueling it had been to receive his teachings while keeping up with his mercurial temperament that shifted a dozen times a day?
Beaten in anger, beaten with laughter, beaten in sorrow……
Shit.
All I remember is getting beaten.
But if he's this polite, what happens to the Seven Emotions Sword King title?
What if someone who reached the pinnacle through maximized emotions shows such restraint?
"……."
No good.
This won't do.
One of the Central Plains' martial heroes can't just vanish like this.
"Hmm…… This is tricky."
"……?"
"I was just told to impart enlightenment, but at this rate, I'll have to remodel his personality too?"
"What?"
"What else? Leaving everything else aside, I'm saying I'll teach you anger first."
"What did you say? This bastard keeps……."
"Quit asking 'what' every time? Alright, shall we start? Just like I was taught…… I'll give you a beating first."
"……."
The moment a smile crept onto Yu Hyun's lips, Nangong Seong's eyes widened.
Thwip!
With a short whoosh, Yu Hyun—sitting like a street thug—surged into his guard in an instant.
From that wide-legged stance?
But that footwork just now…… Heavenly Wind Step?
Wrinkles creased Nangong Seong's nose.
Just some cheap imitation!
Grip!
Enraged, Nangong Seong quickly stepped back with his rear foot to steady himself and thrust his hand toward Yu Hyun's nape.
He planned to grab and flip him over in one motion.
I'll show you the clear difference between the real and the fake—fix that arrogance!
Swish.
His hand shot straight out, then dazzled the eyes with three or four feints before suddenly curving.
Just as his open palm reached for Yu Hyun's nape—
Crack! Swish!
"……!"
The instant Yu Hyun's foot hit the ground, he twisted his body.
"Whoa!"
Nangong Seong clawed at empty air with a gasp, and a sly smile spread across Yu Hyun's face.
Idiot!
It was good that he didn't panic and unleashed the Nangong clan's Golden Claw Hand's Great Derivation Nineteen Forms, but too straightforward.
They say style follows personality— even his feints and counters are that honest.
No helping it.
I'll push him relentlessly until he snaps!
Hooah!
Yu Hyun flipped his body mid-twist and kicked upward in a spin.
Doooong!
"Urk!"
It felt like a foot had suddenly appeared from thin air.
From his twisted stance, the foot traced a parabola and plummeted vertically from above.
Nangong Seong barely raised his arms in time, but the impact drove him down like sinking into the earth, forcing him to his knees.
To think he'd adapt it like that from there……
"Hey! Fuck off! Don't just stand there like a moron!"
"This bastard again!"
The grating way he called him with clipped words reignited his fury, but Nangong Seong had no choice but to retreat.
The foot that had attacked him and planted on the ground now soared again, sweeping horizontally for his head.
"Th-this!"
Thud!
The moment Nangong Seong pulled back……
"Seriously, fuck off. What good is dodging so straightforwardly?"
"……?"
Huh? He was right in front……
As he retreated, Yu Hyun's voice came from the left.
Shuuu!
Something tore through the air.
A fist?
But he was already airborne, having leaped back.
Not yet at the realm of treading the air, Nangong Seong hastily gathered his qi and crossed his arms to brace.
He'd knock it away.
Such meager inner force couldn't withstand the rebound from his perfected aura.
As if to prove that defense is sometimes offense, Nangong Seong surged his qi even more.
Whirrr……
But suddenly, the sound from the fist changed.
Isn't this the sound of a fist twisting at high speed, friction against the air?
The Nangong clan has such a fist too.
A sudden twist smashes through defenses, and at the apex, it explodes qi to shock the inner defenses…… No way?
His eyes widened just as Yu Hyun's twisting fist struck his crossed forearms.
Craaaack……
Even with his qi surged, the terrifying impact twisted Nangong Seong's face.
Zzzzz……
The force burrowed through the qi coating his arms, wrenching the flesh beneath.
"Wh-what is this?"
Boom!
Nangong Seong poured more qi into his arms to endure, but unable to withstand the rotational force, they tore open wide to the sides.
"……Ex-Exploding Thunder?"
Nangong Seong's horrified eyes filled with Yu Hyun, smirking with lips curled high.
The fist that breached his guard soon touched his chest and twisted once more.
One more twist from here……
KABOOM!
As the qi erupted savagely, Nangong Seong's body rocketed back like a cannonball.
Splat!
"Grraaak!"
He crashed into the wall as if to shatter it, then hit the ground, his pupils trembling finely.
Such an impact?
His internals churned from the explosion of Exploding Thunder, leaving him nauseous.
I heard he hadn't even cultivated inner force…… What the hell is this?
His own qi hadn't produced even a rebound. It meant the qi in Exploding Thunder surpassed his own.
Moreover, this level of qi manipulation couldn't be dismissed as mere imitation.
To replicate not just the form but the qi control from just watching?
Does this guy really have heaven-sent talent?
No, even so.
"Ugh, damn…… To think he can actually use real Exploding Thunder."
Nangong Seong struggled to rise, squinting for Yu Hyun.
Where'd he go…… What's this shadow?
A sudden darkness fell, and Nangong Seong snapped his head up.
A shadow blotting the sun above his head bared white teeth in a grin.
"Yeah, damn right. Now the curses are at least decent. Getting beaten brings 'em out. But you're still far off, fuck off!"
"……."
Ah, screwed.
The shock from Exploding Thunder still had his knees shaking……
Crunch!
Yu Hyun's fist smashed into Nangong Seong's head.
"Grk!"
His body slammed into the ground and bounced up.
Thud! Crack! Smack!
"Hahaha! Still far off!"
For a while after, Yu Hyun went berserk, pummeling Nangong Seong.
Striking while standing, stomping when down, kicking, mounting and raining fists……
Aura of will?
What use is that crap?
He was too battered to even fight back……
"Hahaha! Feels good!"
"……."
Nangong Seong didn't know.
That Yu Hyun was venting every ounce of rage from beatings by his future self.
Using the exact same methods……
"St-stop…… Please stop……."
Nangong Seong, beaten without respite, begged desperately.
He really might die like this.
Why do those fists hurt more than a sledgehammer?
"Stop? Fuck off, I said you're still far off!"
"……."
No mercy for pleas.
Yu Hyun grabbed Nangong Seong's ankles, spun him like a top, hurled him, charged, seized him, and resumed the beating.
Vicious bastard.
What grudge from a past life makes him do this?
Unable to fall or stay down, endlessly pummeled, Nangong Seong wailed inwardly.
Who am I?
The future head of the great Nangong clan!
To suffer this humiliation from a kid three years younger……
"You fucking shit! Stop hitting me!"
"……."
Finally, a double curse burst from Nangong Seong's mouth.
Only then did Yu Hyun halt his fists and gaze steadily at the limp man.
"You son of a bitch…… It hurts…… Fuck, it hurts so much……."
"……."
Amid his dazed mutterings full of raw(?) sincerity, Yu Hyun beamed brightly.
"Heh, yes. That's it. Get properly angry like that. Now you've reached the 'fuck off' level."
"What bullshit……."
Thud!
A full-force swing sent Nangong Seong's head snapping back, then lolling.
He'd passed out.
"Finally…… he expressed anger. Well, just the basics."
Yu Hyun hoisted Nangong Seong's dangling body over his shoulder like a sack and headed for the Nangong clan's infirmary.
* * *
"Ugh……."
"……."
"Ughhh……."
Bruised purple face, swollen wounds puffed up.
Nangong Seong grimaced in pain and tossed.
"Aaagh!"
He awoke with a massive scream.
"Huff, huff……."
Panting raggedly, Nangong Seong whipped his head around frantically.
His swollen eyelids narrowed his vision more than usual.
"Phew……."
Confirming no terrifying presence nearby, he finally sighed in relief, patting his chest.
Infirmary?
Of course. After a beating like that, passing out and being carried here was natural.
Yu Hyun, you damned bastard. Just thinking of him grinds my teeth……
"Urk!"
Damn, the impacts loosened all my teeth—can't even grind them.
Bastard. Vicious bastard.
How can he beat a person like that?
Even Father or Grandfather never hit me that hard……
I can't let this slide.
He's inherently malicious. Oppose the marriage talk or whatever—unconditionally.
Chase him out of the Nangong clan as soon as possible.
"You bastard, I won't forgive you. No matter what it takes, I'll……."
"Huh? You're awake?"
"……."
Startled mid-vow by that infuriatingly bright voice, Nangong Seong whipped his head around.
Sure enough, Yu Hyun stood at the doorway, watching him.
"But what were you gonna do?"
"……Y-yes?"
Honorifics slipped naturally from Nangong Seong's mouth.
Not surprising after that thrashing.
"Something about not forgiving?"
"N-no way……."
Yu Hyun chuckled and strode toward him as he averted his gaze.
"Quit freaking out. Get up if you're awake."
"Yes?"
"It's been three days already. How long you gonna lie there after one beating? So damn frail……."
"……."
Humiliation surged, twisting Nangong Seong's battered face into a mess.
He, hailed as a genius among geniuses, treated like a weakling……
"I told the adults we had a spar."
"……Yes?"
At Yu Hyun's words, Nangong Seong strained to widen his puffy eyes.
This bastard?
Spar?
That's attempted murder, not a spar!
"Uncle said we'll train together from now on. Said I'm better than you."
"Together…… Yes?!"
"You and me. Just the two of us from now on."
"……."
Nangong Seong felt the sky collapsing as he glared at the grinning face before him.
Fucking hell!
……Curses now rolling off his tongue effortlessly in his mind.