133. Young Castle Lord
“……”
I wanted to say there was no need to make a fuss, but even I was momentarily speechless at the sight.
[Anyone could do that much.]
‘Really?’
[……If they’re a genius.]
Even Pa Cheon, who was always bragging about himself, was acknowledging Sa Wol.
Simply destructive simsang was something any Super Peak expert could wield. But a simsang that could interfere with minds on such a vast scale was almost unheard of.
And Sa Wol had taken it a step further.
Snap!
Sa Wol flicked her finger with half-lidded eyes, and the Tang Clan warriors, who had been praying in repentance, reached out and pressed their own sleep acupoints.
Thud!
Hundreds of warriors collapsed into sleep without a single casualty.
After displaying such overwhelming power, Sa Wol looked up calmly, as if it were nothing.
“Let’s go down.”
“Yes, Brother.”
Dang Si Hyeok slung the dazed Paeng So So over his shoulder and descended the cliff with lightfoot skill. Tak Horak leaped down without hesitation as well.
Jumping off a cliff that looked nearly 200 meters high without a second thought.
I wanted to descend that coolly too, but I lacked the skill. Instead, I mounted Mu Geuk-i and went down.
“Good work.”
“It was nothing.”
“Wake Paeng So So up, will you?”
Sa Wol nodded and snapped her finger at Paeng So So.
“Huh? Uh? What?”
Paeng So So snapped out of her daze. She pointed at Sa Wol in shock.
“S-Su-Super Peak?! At your age? Already? How?!”
Of course, Sa Wol wouldn’t answer.
“Quiet. You trying to wake the ones we just subdued?”
“That’s not it, but…”
Paeng So So lowered her voice instantly but was still stunned.
No wonder. The last time she’d seen Sa Wol was when they fought the Little Poison Witch together.
It had been less than a few months, and now Sa Wol was Super Peak. She couldn’t help but be shocked.
“Mu Geuk. Watch from the sky and come report if anything happens.”
Piiiik!
Mu Geuk-i cried out shortly and soared into the sky.
“Let’s go in.”
We entered the relic.
The interior of the relic was neatly cleared.
It wasn’t a complicated maze but a straight passageway, and all the traps along the way had been dismantled.
[That’s not dismantling—that’s destruction.]
Paeng So So puffed out her chest proudly.
“I did it.”
“Impressive.”
“It matches well with Cheonhwasamnakdo. The lightning energy helps detect traps too. And above all—well, Kim Bro would know better than me—but since Yak Sun used lightning energy arts, the relic wasn’t as hostile.”
Come to think of it, the energy of Three Pleasures Blade Castle also wielded red lightning.
‘Red Dragon Revolution Family, Three Pleasures Blade Castle, even Yak Sun… all red lightning. What’s the connection?’
It might get mocked as playing with colors later, but in this world, the color or nature of manifested energy was hugely important. It was like an identity.
Overlaps like that meant a closer connection than expected.
Anyway.
“The passage is narrower than I thought.”
“It widens up ahead. They’ve probably posted sentries here and there.”
“Sa Wol, Tak Horak.”
The two understood instantly and vanished with a whoosh!
Seeing that, Paeng So So narrowed her eyes.
“That spear guy’s gotten stronger too. Peak early-stage? Mid?”
“Did he eat some elixir or something? N-No way. Did Yak Sun leave behind some spirit medicine?”
“Idiot. If elixirs made everyone experts, merchants and escorts would be the strongest.”
“Yak Sun’s elixirs might be different.”
“Oh, really? Kim Bro, got anything good?”
I shook my head.
“True martial arts can’t rely on foreign objects.”
“Ooh, a Super Peak expert says so—must be true.”
[Don’t follow his words blindly, you yokai.]
I flicked Pa Cheon and took the lead.
With Sa Wol and Tak Horak scouting, no worries about traps or sentries.
Sure enough, there were two or three sentries at intervals, all asleep with sealed acupoints.
How much farther did we go?
We reunited with Sa Wol and Tak Horak. They stood before a massive stone door.
[Multiple presences beyond the door.]
‘How many?’
[About thirty. One has unusual energy.]
As Pa Cheon said, Sa Wol sent me a transmission.
"Presences inside. What should we do?"
I called Paeng So So.
"Paeng So So."
"Oh, first time hearing Kim Bro’s transmission. Feels different somehow."
Since I’d clumsily transmitted to call the puppet last night with beeps, Paeng So So and Dang Si Hyeok could hear me now too. Pa Cheon despaired at how poor it was, but I wasn’t practicing anyway.
"That’s the Cloud Demon Iron door beyond?"
"Yeah. They’re probably racking their brains on how to get in. I heard they planned to corrode the Cloud Demon Iron with poison, but good luck with that."
Then the inside was likely in chaos.
In that case…
"I’ll smash the door. Then rush in and subdue them all at once."
"Kim Bro will?"
Paeng So So and Dang Si Hyeok’s eyes lit up with anticipation. No wonder—they’d never seen me use martial arts directly.
Of course, I had no intention of showing my true skills.
[As if you even have true skills to begin with.]
Ignoring Pa Cheon lightly, I stood before the stone door.
[What’s your plan?]
I subtly sliced my palm to activate the guardian defense bracelet. It transformed into an iron wall roughly the size of the door.
[No way—]
I silenced Pa Cheon’s voice and focused my nerves inward.
I drew up a portion of the massive energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Huu—
‘I am Sado Hwan.’
Exhaling lightly, I clenched my fist. I guided the energy through my meridians, amplifying it further.
Bungkwon.
Kwaaaaang!
My lightly extended fist struck the iron wall, which surged forward, smashing everything in its path.
“……!”
“?!”
Sa Wol and Tak Horak, unfazed as if accustomed, followed the wall like a tidal wave into the chamber.
[Sow chaos and subdue—clever Super Peak trick. At least hide your hand.]
“What are you all standing around for?”
I said calmly, subtly hiding my skinned knuckles.
“I said go in.”
Through the thick dust, a massive cavern in disarray came into view.
Groans of shock echoed from various spots.
Most striking was—
Grrrrrind!
The iron wall had stopped, blocked by something, merely vibrating now.
I willed it back.
Shruk!
As the guardian defense bracelet reverted to bracelet form, the reason became clear.
Where it had vanished stood a man in a scholar’s hat, hand extended.
[Blocking a proper Bungkwon-Guardian Wall combo with just an outstretched hand… an expert.]
No need to say it—he looked the part. I couldn’t read energy or aura, but the sheer presence was no joke.
‘Plus, hat guys are always strong in clichés.’
Behind the hat man stood two others.
I could guess who had shouted at me without introduction.
He looked like an older, pudgier Dang Si Hyeok, wearing pale green caterpillar-like robes that screamed his identity.
Dang Si Yul, no doubt.
Beside him, the sneaky goatee guy who’d fallen on his butt in shock was probably the one claiming to be Yak Sun’s heir.
The goatee had apparently been brewing something in a huge cauldron.
Though it had toppled from the iron wall chaos.
The spilled contents hissed, melting the stone floor.
The rest of the Tang warriors had long been subdued by Sa Wol and Tak Horak.
“Who the hell are you— you, Dang Si Hyeok!”
Dang Si Yul’s face twisted.
“What is the meaning of this?!”
“Brother.”
Dang Si Hyeok stepped forward.
“Don’t be fooled anymore.”
“What?”
“That man isn’t Yak Sun’s heir. He’s a con artist.”
“Shut up!”
Dang Si Yul’s face contorted oddly. Seeing that, I realized…
‘He knows. That the Yak Sun heir is fake.’
I might not read auras, but facial changes? That’s my specialty.
The anger on Dang Si Yul’s face wasn’t from being deceived—it was from failing to control Dang Si Hyeok.
‘He knows and still sticks with the fake Yak Sun heir. Why?’
Meanwhile, Dang Si Hyeok wasn’t backing down.
“I don’t know what’s blinding you, Brother, but I won’t stand by idly.”
“And what can you do if you don’t?”
“Because I brought the real Yak Sun heir.”
“……What?”
Dang Si Hyeok pointed at me.
“Allow a proper introduction. The true Yak Sun heir, Eastern Sword Dragon Kim Dong Yun, the great hero.”
Dang Si Yul turned to me, scanning me up and down. I deliberately shifted my waist to show my side.
“?!”
His eyes widened at the black ox whisk on my belt.
Then—
Sneer.
He twisted one corner of his mouth.
“Black Ox Whisk. I see.”
Dang Si Yul said with a mocking grin.
“So that’s your brilliant scheme? Hand a black ox whisk to some Easterner and call him Yak Sun’s heir?”
“Brother!”
“If the only proof of Yak Sun’s heir is a black ox whisk…”
Dang Si Yul continued.
“Then this gentleman here will be the real one. Isn’t that right, great hero?”
He was roundabout about stealing it. At his words, the sneaky goatee tried to hide his panic.
“Ha? Haha! Y-Yeah! That punk! Who does he think I am? I’m Yak Sun’s heir, Gang Aji!”
I couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.
“You laugh?”
“If you’re gonna claim Eastern origins, learn a bit more first.”
“What?”
“In Eastern tongue, ‘Gang Aji’ means puppy litter. Or are you really a son of a bitch?”
Dang Si Yul’s group flushed beet red.
“……Names don’t matter. The black ox whisk is what counts. Great hero, if you please.”
Dang Si Yul said to the hat man.
The hat man nodded—and
In the blink of an eye, his sword was thrusting at my nose.
Of course, I had my own countermeasures.
Kwang!
Sa Wol appeared, blocking the strike with her dagger.
But.
“Urk—.”
Sa Wol, who rarely showed weakness, groaned in distress.
[Blood at her mouth… internal injury in one strike?]
The hat man, meanwhile, looked leisurely, swinging with one hand.
Letting me see the pattern on his hand’s back.
[Expert. At least Beyond Heaven-grade!]
‘That’s not the issue.’
I swallowed hard.
‘That star shape on his hand…’
I’d figured out the hat man’s identity.
‘Sa Wang Castle’s Young Castle Lord.’
The man in the hat was Sa Wang Castle’s Young Castle Lord.