Chapter 545: Displaying Overwhelming Divine Might
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 545: Displaying Overwhelming Divine Might
"Young Master, answer me."
Lee Hwa-young spoke, her eyes fixed on Sun-woo with a gaze that was nothing short of frigid.
"Was that 'trashy woman' comment directed at me?"
"Wouldn't you know the answer to that better than anyone?"
Sun-woo replied with a faint smile.
"Ha... Then it must not have been about me. As a descendant of a prestigious family who understands grace and etiquette, there is no way I could be such trash."
Her eyes curved into crescents as she spoke. At a glance, she appeared perfectly composed.
"Well, feel free to think whatever makes you comfortable," Sun-woo added with a playful smirk.
".........."
Lee Hwa-young stared at him in silence, her gaze incredibly sharp. After glaring at him for a long moment, she spoke again.
"You seem quite arrogant, Young Master."
"Me?"
"Yes. You are steeped in a conceit that doesn't suit your age. For a martial artist, such an attitude is no different from poison."
"What an interesting thing to say. One would think you knew me quite well, Young Lady."
"As a descendant of a prestigious family, innate discernment is one of my strengths."
"I see. It makes sense that a descendant of a great clan would possess excellence befitting their bloodline."
Sun-woo nodded slightly as if in agreement.
"So, which family are you from exactly?" he asked, his expression clouded with feigned curiosity.
"You... you don't know who I am?"
"How would I know someone I'm meeting for the first time today?" Sun-woo let out a small chuckle.
Grit.
Lee Hwa-young ground her teeth. She realized he was deliberately pretending not to know her. He had called her a trashy woman who insulted a sister while bringing up her parents. He had seen everything. He had witnessed every single thing that happened in front of the quarters. There was no way he didn't know who she was.
You vermin!
Fury began to well up in her eyes. Irritation flared at his blatant attempt to provoke her.
Stay calm.
However, she quickly began to suppress her anger. Getting agitated here would only mean playing into his hands. In times like these, she needed cold rage rather than hot passion—a frigid anger like the Bitter Cold Northern Wind that would ensure she was never looked down upon.
"For someone with the reputation of being the greatest of the Rising Stars, your discernment is remarkably narrow. Is it because you've spent all your time secluded in deep mountains and valleys just practicing martial arts?"
Lee Hwa-young spoke with a radiant smile, though her words were laced with thorns.
"Hahahaha... perhaps you're right. I suppose my personality has become a bit narrow-minded from doing nothing but training. I tend to lose interest in things I deem useless."
Sun-woo burst into a boisterous laugh.
".............."
Anger flared in Lee Hwa-young's eyes once more. Interpreting his words, he was essentially calling her a 'useless' existence.
Flush.
Her face began to turn bright red. She had never heard such insulting remarks in her entire life. Sun-woo’s words filled her with an unbearable sense of shame.
"So, which prestigious bloodline do you hail from, Young Lady?" Sun-woo asked again, sounding genuinely curious.
"It's clearly not the Tang Clan or the Hwangbo Clan... Then perhaps you are from the Paeng Clan, known as the First in Hebei?"
"......Wrong."
"Then the Un Clan of Jinju in Honam...?"
".......Wrong again."
"Ah! Then you must be a lady of the Zhuge Clan, the ones called the Divine Strategist Zhuge!" Sun-woo exclaimed, looking as if he had just had a realization.
"..................I am of the Moyong Clan."
Lee Hwa-young ground her teeth so hard they creaked. She knew the man before her was mocking her by feigning ignorance.
"Ah! My apologies. I completely forgot about the Moyong Clan."
Sun-woo looked incredibly apologetic, as if he truly had forgotten. But Lee Hwa-young knew better. She could see the sarcasm dripping from his intent to insult her.
"It seems you don't like me very much, Young Master." She glared at him with cold eyes.
"We just met today. What does liking or disliking have to do with anything?"
"You don't like me. No, you are clearly hostile toward me. Hostile enough to go out of your way to insult me."
"You have quite a victim complex. Why would I insult someone I don't even know? I have no interest in you to begin with."
"Who knows? Maybe you're trying to win the favor of that pretty-faced idiot... or perhaps you feel some pity for that stupid woman."
Lee Hwa-young gestured with her eyes toward Lee So-ran, who was standing beside Sun-woo.
"I don't know the reason, but I am certain of one thing: you are being hostile and insulting toward me."
Lee Hwa-young stared into Sun-woo's eyes.
"I take it you found my words insulting?"
"Not just insulting. They were rude and base."
"Is that so? Still, I didn't go as far as to belittle someone by bringing up their parents like you did, Young Lady."
"So you did see it from the beginning. The dispute between me and Lee So-ran."
"I'm not sure if I'd call that a dispute. To me, it looked like one-sided bullying."
"Isn't the way of the martial artist that the weak are devoured? This happened because she is weak, Young Master."
"You say the most interesting things, Young Lady. To think a martial artist of the Cheonmu Alliance, which reveres Chivalry, would speak of the Law of the Jungle."
"Because that is the essence of being a martial artist," she replied calmly.
"I suppose you've never considered the reverse."
"The reverse?"
"Your position when you become the weak one."
"There's no way such a thing could happen."
Lee Hwa-young scoffed at Sun-woo's words. Her becoming the weak one? Such a thing was impossible. She was born with everything: background, bloodline, beauty, honor, and wealth. Who could possibly turn someone like her into the 'weak'?
"Then would you like to experience it?"
"What?"
"The position of being the weak one."
Sun-woo spoke with a mischievous smile.
"Are you saying you intend to make an enemy of me?"
"That's not quite right, Young Lady."
Sun-woo shook his head slowly.
"The moment you made my friend cry, you were already my enemy."
He glared at her with a burning gaze.
"You know that well enough, don't you?"
"So, what do you plan to do?"
"First, I intend to slap you across the face. I think that's the only way my friend will feel a bit better."
Sun-woo gestured toward Lee So-ran, who was standing in the corner with her eyes wide in shock.
"Do you think I would ever permit that?" she asked, her face full of ridicule.
"Isn't this the Law of the Jungle? Why would the strong ever need the permission of the weak?"
Sun-woo looked amused.
"You are arrogant, Young Master. How can you be so certain of your own strength?"
"How can a tiger not know it is the lord of the mountain? It's something known instinctively."
"Can you handle the consequences?"
She stared at Sun-woo with cold eyes.
"The consequences of what?"
"Behind me stands the current World's Greatest Martial Artist, the Cheonmu Alliance Leader, and the Moyong Clan, whose fame as a prestigious family rings through the Murim. Furthermore, there are countless elders and rising stars within the Cheonmu Alliance who support me."
She spoke as if explaining the obvious to him.
"If you lay a finger on me, you will face a great disaster. If things go wrong, my father might even punish you personally. Can you handle someone like me?"
She let out a laugh full of derision. Her laughter carried a blatant contempt, as if asking how someone like him could even dare.
"I think I can."
"Arrogant."
"Whether it's arrogance or not, why don't we test it out?"
Sun-woo's eyes sparkled with confidence.
"I've heard enough of your nonsense."
Moyong Gang, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, finally spoke up.
"Who do you think you're slapping?"
Moyong Gang scowled deeply and glared at Sun-woo.
"I plan to slap Young Lady Lee Hwa-young."
"Do you think I would allow that!"
"As I've said repeatedly, this is the privilege of the strong. There is no need to listen to the permission of the weak."
"Are you calling me weak!?"
Moyong Gang asked, looking utterly dumbfounded.
"You don't exactly feel like a strong person to me," Sun-woo replied flatly.
"Hah."
Moyong Gang let out a hollow laugh. He was so flabbergasted that laughter was the only response he could muster. Who did this boy think he was?
Though he was from a branch family, he was one of the Moyong Clan's top experts. His exceptional talent had allowed him to transcend his bloodline and master Douzhuan Xingyi and the Frost Blade, techniques usually reserved for only a select few of the direct line. He was a hero who had created legends in the lands of Liaoning—a place that had become a haven for many demonic practitioners—by subjugating them and wiping them out.
And yet, this boy called him weak? Even a passing dog would laugh at such a claim.
"It seems you need some correction from a Murim senior!"
"If you're capable of it, I'd welcome it."
A smile played on Sun-woo's lips.
"You brat!"
Moyong Gang lunged forward, thrusting his finger rapidly toward Sun-woo. It was the Moyong Clan's secret finger technique, said to track and pierce the very soul.
He had unleashed the Soul-Chasing Finger.
Swish!
The Soul-Chasing Finger streaked toward Sun-woo's shoulder. He intended to pierce right through it.
Grab.
Sun-woo reached out and snatched Moyong Gang's finger out of the air.
Snap!
He twisted it sideways without hesitation.
"Aaaagh!"
A scream erupted from Moyong Gang's mouth. His finger had been snapped sideways, leaving him helpless.
Whoosh!
With his finger broken, Moyong Gang swung his other fist, infused with internal energy, aiming to force Sun-woo to back off.
Grab.
But Sun-woo caught that fist as well.
Squeeze.
He began to apply pressure, as if he intended to crush it.
"Aaaaaagh!"
Another pain-filled scream echoed from Moyong Gang. He felt an agonizing pressure as if his fist were being compacted by Sun-woo's grip.
This is dangerous.
Moyong Gang realized that staying caught like this would be his downfall.
Vroooom!
He began to circulate his internal energy to its absolute limit. He sharpened his senses to a razor's edge. Soon, he could feel the direction of the force Sun-woo was using to grip his finger and fist.
Return!
Feeling the direction, Moyong Gang shouted internally for the force to be redirected.
Bang!
"Oh?"
Sun-woo, who had been holding Moyong Gang, was pushed back slightly. The force he had been using to suppress his opponent had rebounded and returned to him.
"How did you do that?"
Sun-woo looked at Moyong Gang with an expression full of curiosity. He was genuinely puzzled. The direction of the force he was applying had shifted and returned to him, much like the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth. How could he not be intrigued?
"Douzhuan Xingyi."
Moyong Gang, having finally put some distance between them, spoke with a composed expression.
"It is the secret of the Moyong Clan. I returned the paltry strength you exerted right back at you!"
He spoke with a threatening look, hoping to intimidate Sun-woo with the mysterious power of redirecting force.
"Ho-oh."
But instead of being intimidated, Sun-woo let out an exclamation of admiration. His interest was piqued by the utility of Douzhuan Xingyi, which seemed so similar to the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth.
I want to test it out.
Driven by curiosity, Sun-woo took a step toward Moyong Gang.
Whoosh!
He swung his fist straight at him.
Shwaaaaa!
Sun-woo's fist blurred as it lunged toward Moyong Gang's face.
Here it comes.
Moyong Gang watched the incoming fist. He surged his internal energy, heightening his senses once more. He could feel the magnitude and direction of the force behind the flying fist.
Return!
Using his internal energy, he began to redirect the path of that force—not toward his own face, but back toward Sun-woo's.
Falter.
For a moment, the fist seemed to slow down. Seeing this, Moyong Gang was certain. Douzhuan Xingyi had been successfully activated. Now, the fist would veer off and strike the boy's own face.
A satisfied smile began to form on Moyong Gang's lips.
Thwack!
But contrary to his expectations, Sun-woo's fist suddenly accelerated again and slammed directly into Moyong Gang's face.
"Aaaagh!"
Moyong Gang screamed as his face was struck. Since he had been hit while completely off-guard, the pain was immense.
Boom!
Having taken a direct hit to the face, Moyong Gang was sent flying backward.