Pursuit (3)
I released my concealment and revealed myself, drawing the gazes of the Heavenly Dragon Four Guards and Gong Son Se Jeong straight to me. I'd expected them to be shocked, but my prediction missed the mark spectacularly.
"You're the guy we saw at Peace Inn."
"We're from the Baek Geom Dang."
"Get lost on your own."
The Heavenly Dragon Four Guards, relatively young experts in their late twenties, had apparently noticed my movements from the inn. They were as perceptive as I'd anticipated. But what stood out most was their arrogance. Acting like affiliation with the Baek Geom Dang meant everyone else should just roll over—it was insufferably condescending.
"Who... are you?"
To my surprise, it was Gong Son Se Jeong, tears still streaming down her face, who showed interest in me.
"Are you Senior Baek Myeon Bi Do Son Se Ak?"
I ignored the idiots treating their Baek Geom Dang ties like some invincible talisman and approached Gong Son Se Jeong. Anyone else might hesitate, but the Baek Geom Dang's name and reputation held no terror for me.
She flinched! At the mention of her name from her Cheon Mu Hak Gwan days, her pupils trembled with shock.
"How do you know that name...?"
"I'm Ok Myeon Sin Seong—ahem!—Cheon Myeong, who graduated from Cheon Mu Hak Gwan with top honors this year."
Saying my own title out loud—"Jade-Faced Divine Saint," implying my face was like jade—felt embarrassingly pretentious. Fortunately, Gong Son Se Jeong focused more on the academy than the nickname.
"Cheon Mu Hak Gwan? Top honors graduate?"
"Yes, Senior."
She looked about my age, but she was two classes ahead, so respect was in order.
"Why would Cheon Mu Hak Gwan send you after me...?"
Still dazed, she got a brief rundown of the situation from me.
"The instructors at Cheon Mu Hak Gwan, and even Vice Head Dan Ri-cheong of the Yeon Pung Eun Geom, still miss Graduate Baek Myeon Bi Do Son Se Ak. They asked me to find you no matter what."
I hadn't expected things to go this smoothly, either.
"No way... really?!"
The fact that Cheon Mu Hak Gwan still remembered her moved Gong Son Se Jeong deeply. Her own family had treated her like a tool, ready to hand her off to some stranger for political gain. But the academy, with no blood ties, cherished and worried about her enough to search—that was bound to bring tears. It laid bare who truly treated her like a human.
"Cheon Mu Hak Gwan is terribly worried about their senior who vanished without a trace. Would you come with me so we can reassure them?"
I completely ignored the Heavenly Dragon Four Guards, not sparing them a glance.
"This bastard's ignoring us?!"
"We'll say it again—we're warriors of the Baek Geom Dang!"
"We're direct subordinates of Young Master Baek Muhon!"
The Heavenly Dragon Four Guards barked like guard dogs from someone else's house, making a huge fuss over it. I tried to let it go in one ear and out the other.
"I'm grateful, but... the Heavenly Dragon Four Guards are no pushovers. I can't let you get hurt because of me."
Gong Son Se Jeong was kind-hearted, worrying I'd suffer at their hands on her account.
So much concern.
"With your help, Senior, it shouldn't be too hard."
I smiled as I said it. Alone, I'd take serious injuries, no doubt. But with the Baek Hak Gi Nyeo Gong Son Se Jeong lending a hand, it might wrap up surprisingly easily.
"Huh?"
She widened her eyes in astonishment at my words. She wasn't the only one shocked.
"Is this guy insane?"
The youngest of the Heavenly Dragon Four Guards, brimming with hot blood—Wall Ryeok Kwon Yu Ho—blocked my path. The group was a band of sworn brothers formed to serve the esteemed Baek Muhon, and this Yu Ho was the least experienced in age and skill.
"Insane? In my eyes, you're the lunatics harassing a woman for Baek Muhon."
I shot back with colder resolve than ever. It felt damn good to say it.
"You donkey-brained bastard!"
Finally exploding in rage, Yu Ho's face flushed crimson as he lunged. Known as the weakest of the Heavenly Dragon Four Guards, he was still a peak expert, and his strikes packed real power.
Kwarung, kwarrung!
True to his hot-tempered nature, his Wall Ryeok Pa An Kwon erupted with ferocious thunder qi, hurtling toward me.
Thunderbolt One Rain
His thunder-laced fist wind was decent enough, but it had a glaring flaw: patterns so monotonous they were yawn-inducing.
"Cheon Myeong! Be careful!"
Not knowing my true strength yet, Gong Son Se Jeong gasped, hands over her mouth. Even a top graduate from Cheon Mu Hak Gwan was young and inexperienced, she figured—I'd fall easily.
Illusion Body Flight
But I dodged Yu Ho's thunderous fist wind with otherworldly grace, right in front of Gong Son Se Jeong. Power was fine, but straight-line trajectories were worthless against me.
Boo woong!
In the end, his hand sliced only empty air.
'Now's the moment!'
Even with Gong Son Se Jeong, it was two against four. Reducing their numbers fast was key.
Half Dragon Knee
I sidestepped flawlessly, closed in, and drove my knee straight into his solar plexus. Yu Ho had underestimated me as just some academy grad, dropping his guard completely. He took the strike defenseless.
Kwaaang!
My knee hit like a collapsing wall, not flesh on flesh. Yu Ho and the Heavenly Dragon Four Guards' faces changed. Even Gong Son Se Jeong stared, mouth agape.
Peok, peoeok!
I followed up with repeated Half Dragon Knee strikes, making sure he was neutralized. Not literally killing him, of course—just putting him out of commission.
"They should be the ones watching out, not me."
I flashed a beaming smile at the stunning Gong Son Se Jeong, ignoring the collapsing Yu Ho. After years surrounded by guys at Cheon Mu Hak Gwan, gazing at a beautiful woman up close lifted my spirits.
"Kuhuk!"
One hit folded Yu Ho's waist like a drunk chugging liquor straight from the bottle. Surviving without passing out was impressive.
"M-my god!"
She'd seen me as young and green, but watching me toy with a peak expert like Yu Ho—the "weakest" of the Heavenly Dragon Four Guards—left her stunned.
"Senior, it's a bit boastful coming from me, but the instructors called me the strongest graduate in Cheon Mu Hak Gwan history."
Bragging in front of a senior? Self-praise, maybe. But the point was clear: I could handle my own and back her up, so no need to hold back for my sake.
"What happened at Cheon Mu Hak Gwan in these two years?"
Disbelief etched her lovely face. She'd earned top honors thanks to early training from Gong Son family arts and top Baek Geom Dang warriors—entering the academy already polished. No wonder.
'Compared to that, I got this strong with no sect or backing. Small wonder she's shocked.'
It shattered martial world common sense.
"Yu Ho!"
"Fourth brother!"
"You okay?"
As Gong Son Se Jeong reeled, the three sworn brothers rushed to their staggering youngest, slumped on the ground.
"B-big brothers... th-that guy's... strong."
Wall Ryeok Kwon Yu Ho. A nobody in Baek Geom Dang, mere minion to Baek Muhon, but classic bully: weak to the strong, strong to the weak. For him to admit it meant I was the real deal.
"Cheon Myeong! Aren't you from the righteous sects?"
"You really gonna defy the Baek Geom Dang?"
"Not afraid of the consequences?"
The three elders of the Heavenly Dragon Four Guards bellowed at me.
But what could they do? I felt zero fear.
'Of course, I know it's not time to face Baek Muhon or Baek Taeryeong yet.'
But one thing was certain: the Baek Geom Dang name, even as the world's top, wouldn't bend this Cheon Myeong.
Had I feared them, the Chil Jeon Pal Gi Mu Jeok Gwon Wang remake wouldn't have started.
"Senior. Make your decision."
I pressed firmly before her.
"If you don't want to go to Cheon Mu Hak Gwan and prefer them, I won't force you. What's it gonna be?"
I gave her the choice. Follow me, they'd back off. Want to greet the academy folk? I'd gladly lend a hand.
"I deceived them... Would Vice Head Dan Ri-cheong and the instructors welcome me back?"
I grinned brightly on their behalf at her worry.
Did two years make her forget them?
"Don't you know Vice Head Dan Ri-cheong and the Head yet? Just my guess, but they've probably suspected all along."
"Suspected?"
"Yeah. No matter how masterful your disguise and transformation arts, you couldn't fool Dan Ri-cheong and Baek Ho Jun's eyes. They must've caught on."
I knew those two well. Dan Ri-cheong's insight far outstripped his cultivation; Baek Ho Jun was a famed top-ten master. They'd surely sensed Gong Son Se Jeong's secret.
'Knowing her backstory was off, that's why they asked me—trustworthy and unaffiliated.'
Dan Ri-cheong didn't act without reason. He'd spotted something amiss behind top grad Baek Myeon Bi Do Son Se Ak and tasked me, the most reliable outsider.
"These punks ignoring the Baek Geom Dang to chat?!"
"Gonna cry when you see the coffin?"
"Our youngest is down, but we're three strong. You two don't scare us."
As Gong Son Se Jeong and I talked deeply, the three fumed, united in rage. Banking on Baek Geom Dang backing, they decided to crush us.
'Idiots.'
High name or not, they weren't elite Heavenly Dragon Four Guards now—just fools down a brother.
"Senior, shall we raise Cheon Mu Hak Gwan's prestige together?"
Time to show these Heavenly Dragon Four Guards the terror of our top graduates.