Thunderbolt Saber Technique
"I like it."
Do Gwang nodded again, as if he truly meant it.
"A moniker that suits my name perfectly."
"Suits your name…?"
Gwon Tae-o's face went rigid in an instant.
Don't tell me his name is literally "Madman"?
At Gwon Tae-o's startled question, Do Gwang answered flatly.
"Yeah. My name's Do Gwang."
"Ah…"
So his name really is Madman.
The "Gwang" had to be the character for madness — 狂. That left only one character to confirm.
"Ah, could you tell me which 'Do' it is?"
"Huh? What kind of question is that?"
Do Gwang replied as if the answer were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Obviously the 'Do' for path — 道 — and the 'Gwang' for light — 光."
Do Gwang — 道光.
A precious name given by the orphanage director, so that he would never hang his head for being an orphan and would walk only a path that shone.
"I-I see…"
Gwon Tae-o let out a long, silent sigh of relief and nodded.
I only asked about the 'Do,' and he volunteered the 'Gwang' as well. And it wasn't the character for madness after all.
One surprise after another — but still.
I was worried that 'Do' might be our Paedo Sect's saber character — 刀. Thank goodness…
The Great Elder of the Paedo Sect smoothed a hand over his chest and settled his nerves. This, however, was no time to be dissecting a stranger's name character by character.
"Right. The name isn't what matters."
Gwon Tae-o cut straight to the point.
"So what brings you here, Mad Young Master?"
Don't tell me he's come to smash our Paedo Sect to pieces the same way he did the Sichuan Tang Family?
He had drilled the disciples thoroughly yesterday. And just in case — for a situation exactly like this one, where Do Gwang might show up unannounced — he had specially posted gatekeepers who, though high in rank, had witnessed yesterday's events alongside him. All to keep this madman in front of him from erupting without warning, even a little.
Thanks to those thorough precautions—
"Hmm…"
Do Gwang scratched his head with a troubled look.
Because Gwon Tae-o's fears were exactly right. He had come to raise hell. But the very person who could fulfill his purpose had just appeared, so Do Gwang raised his steel bat toward Gwon Tae-o and asked,
"Old man, you really don't want to fight?"
"Ha…"
A hollow laugh escaped Gwon Tae-o before he could stop it.
This brat really does see me as prey!
A deep question welled up in him.
"Just what is your reason?"
Yes. He genuinely could not understand why this man was suddenly demanding a fight out of nowhere.
"We only met for the first time yesterday, didn't we? And from the look on your face, you don't seem to hold any particular grudge against me."
"Hmm…"
Do Gwang stroked his chin for a moment, drawing out the silence, then finally opened his mouth.
"For the peace of Chengdu…?"
"You're the one who smashed Chengdu's peace to pieces first."
"Uh…"
Even Do Gwang, it seemed, possessed a bare minimum of conscience — his words stuck in his throat.
"Then because you guys are unorthodox scum?"
"What you did makes our unorthodox lot look tame."
"Uh…"
Do Gwang thought to himself,
This old man talks a good game…
But then again—
Do I even need to give a reason?
No matter what he said, he had no confidence he could win a war of words against Gwon Tae-o. So the conclusion he reached was extremely straightforward.
"Then just because."
Because I don't like you.
"That good enough?"
He immediately adjusted his grip on the steel bat with both hands.
"Listen here, Mad Young Master!"
Gwon Tae-o raised his great saber even as he shouted urgently.
"If there's something you want, say it! I'd prefer to resolve this through conversation if at all possible!"
No matter how he looked at it, the man seemed like a lunatic who wanted blood — but Gwon Tae-o still did everything he could to negotiate with Do Gwang.
"Something I want…?"
Fortunately, Do Gwang's bat froze midair. Gwon Tae-o nodded so hard his head nearly came off.
"Yes! As long as it isn't some absurd nonsense like 'I want your life,' I'll do my utmost to accommodate you!"
"Oh… Really…?"
"Absolutely!"
"Hmm…"
Whether Gwon Tae-o's desperate plea had gotten through or not, Do Gwang slowly lowered the steel bat. Then he fixed Gwon Tae-o with a steady stare and tossed out,
"Then show me the Thunderbolt Saber Technique."
"Huh…?"
Gwon Tae-o frowned, doubting his own ears. Do Gwang twitched an eyebrow.
"Didn't hear me? I said show me the Thunderbolt Saber Technique."
"Ha…"
Gwon Tae-o was so flabbergasted he couldn't speak.
How does this bastard know about our Paedo Sect's ultimate art?
Well — it wasn't as if the sect kept the name under lock and key. There was nothing particularly strange about martial artists in the jianghu knowing the name, at least…
But the way this brat is openly demanding a demonstration gives me a bad feeling.
Gwon Tae-o cast his mind back to what he had glimpsed from a distance at the inn.
— Oh… How generous of you…
— Y-You…!?
— If something comes, something has to go, right?
— Guhhhk!!!
The image of Dang Mun-tae coughing blood and collapsing under Do Gwang's jade-green poison palm flashed through his mind.
D-Don't tell me this bastard…
Is he trying to copy my martial arts?
No, no. The poison palm he displayed yesterday was far closer to a high-level divine art than anything Dang Mun-tae had used. He must have trained in poison arts separately.
And look at his hands. He's not holding a sharp, heavy great saber like mine — just a crude, brutish steel bat.
But still…
Instinct told him he absolutely should not demonstrate it on a whim.
As Gwon Tae-o turned it over in his mind and hesitated—
"…You don't want to?"
Do Gwang's eyes flashed coldly.
"Then I'll make it so you have no choice."
Just as he was about to hoist the steel bat high again—
"Keu-ka-ka-kat!!!"
A boisterous, rough laugh exploded from beyond the door inside.
Thud. Thud.
With a bold, striding gait, the man who appeared through the open door was—
"What a truly entertaining fellow."
—a middle-aged man of towering build, his red-and-white hair streaming like a lion's mane.
Gwon Tae-o himself was quite burly, but this man was so massive and overwhelming that Gwon Tae-o looked like a child beside him. Nearly eight feet tall, that colossal frame stepped into view, and—
"Oh…"
Do Gwang's eyes lit up as if he'd run into a welcome acquaintance.
"It's Saber-nut Uncle."
Saber-nut.
At that single word, the air around them froze solid.
"Hup…!!"
"Hhup…!!"
Not only the disciples guarding the gate, but every other Paedo Sect member nearby sucked in a sharp breath of pure shock.
Speaking casually to Great Elder Gwon Tae-o was already enough to leave them speechless — and now he was using informal speech with the Sect Master of the Paedo Sect right out of the gate!
No — more than that.
Saber-nut!?
Not the kind of gambler who rolled dice in dens of vice, but the far more mortifying kind — a man so obsessed with sabers that the very word was embarrassing to say out loud!
Yes, he loved sabers that much, but still — calling a person a Saber-nut!
And not just anyone — the leader of the Paedo Sect, one of the Nine Provinces Black Lotus, and one of the Twenty Great Heavenly Kings: the Saber King, Heo Chang-baek!
Everyone present except Do Gwang's party nearly fainted on the spot.
As for the man himself, the one just dubbed Saber-nut — Heo Chang-baek—
"Keu-ka-ka-ka-kat!!!"
—threw his head back and roared with laughter, clutching his belly as if it were the funniest thing he'd ever heard.
"In all my life I've been called every name under the sun for being saber-mad, but 'Saber-nut' is a first!"
Heo Chang-baek laughed without the slightest trace of offense, even dabbing at a tear.
Then—
"Kyahaha~~"
A bright, sunny laugh rang out right on cue.
"It's Saber-nut Uncle!"
Do Hwa pointed at Heo Chang-baek with a tiny finger.
"Keu-ka-ka-ka-kat!! That's right, Saber-nut Uncle it is!"
Heo Chang-baek laughed heartily at Do Hwa's words, treating her for all the world like a darling granddaughter.
At that utterly baffling scene—
"Sect Master, that is not a compliment!"
Gwon Tae-o cried out in horror. Heo Chang-baek's eyes went round.
"What? Why isn't it a compliment?"
"What do you mean, why!? This is painting you as some kind of freak—"
Gwon Tae-o was about to press the point with veins standing out on his neck when—
"If I could truly live up to it, I'd want nothing more."
Heo Chang-baek smacked his lips with genuine regret.
……
"………"
"………"
Silence.
Gwon Tae-o pressed a hand to his forehead. The disciples stared off at distant mountains.
"Heh heh… How filthy…"
Dang Soryeong murmured coldly, fingers brushing the throwing knives at her breast. Heo Chang-baek let her killing intent slide right off him and laughed again.
"Keu-ka-ka-kat!!!"
He looked at Do Gwang with intrigued eyes and asked,
"So. You want to see the Thunderbolt Saber Technique, is that it?"
"Yeah."
Do Gwang nodded without a shred of hesitation. Looking at Heo Chang-baek, he thought,
Just as expected — one of the most charismatic characters in Wuxia Legend, the kind who pulls countless players onto the unorthodox path.
As he was seeing right now, beyond that boisterous personality, Heo Chang-baek was one of the few big-hearted characters who would show goodwill to a player even on the orthodox route — so long as you didn't go out of your way to kill or antagonize Paedo Sect members.
He always ranked in the top ten of popularity polls, too.
Anyway, thanks to his timely appearance—
I can learn the Thunderbolt Saber Technique right away. Nice.
Do Gwang cheered inwardly, eyes gleaming.
"Good. Follow me."
Heo Chang-baek strode out through the gate with a bold step.
"…?"
Do Gwang tilted his head. Heo Chang-baek tilted his right back.
"What's the matter?"
"You said you'd show me. Hurry up and show me."
Do Gwang pressed him. Heo Chang-baek laughed as if he couldn't believe it.
"Haha… You really are a hilarious one."
He pointed at the Paedo Sect's massive main gate and added,
"I can hardly demonstrate it right here, can I?"
"Ah, why not. Just show me already."
Do Gwang tapped the ground with his steel bat, impatient. Heo Chang-baek clicked his tongue with the look of a man staring at a genuine lunatic.
"You actually want me to show it here?"
"Yeah."
"No, Mad Young Master."
You absolute maniac.
"Think about it with some common sense. What happens if I unleash the Thunderbolt Saber Technique right here?"
"Hmm… Everything gets smashed to pieces?"
"Exactly. You already know."
"Ah…"
Only then did Do Gwang look around and accept the point.
"Our Paedo Sect doesn't have money rotting away like those high-and-mighty Tang Family dogs. So come along quietly."
Heo Chang-baek turned his back and took the lead. Do Gwang heaved a long, resigned sigh.
"Aigoo…"
Then he shook his head and muttered,
"Can't be helped. A calm, easygoing guy like me will just have to be patient."
Do Gwang marveled at his own forbearance.
"…Calm…?"
"…Easygoing…?"
Shoulders all around them trembled. Everyone present except Do Gwang's party shared the exact same thought.
This madman's moniker shouldn't have been Mad Young Master.
Just "Mad Bastard."
They should have simply called him a crazy bastard.
Do Gwang's party followed Heo Chang-baek out toward the outskirts of Chengdu. From the Paedo Sect side, not only Gwon Tae-o but dozens of disciples poured out in a throng to trail after them.
After all, chances to witness the Sect Master's Thunderbolt Saber Technique with their own eyes were rare.
After a long walk, they arrived at a broad, deserted clearing a short distance from Chengdu.
BOOM—!
"I was just wanting to swing Hardheavy around — perfect timing!"
Heo Chang-baek slammed his enormous great saber into the ground and bellowed with gusto.
"Hardheavy…?"
Do Gwang was studying the great saber with a flicker of déjà vu when—
"Kyahaha~~"
A bright, sunny laugh rang across the clearing.
"That's the sword Daddy gave the bald uncle!"
Do Hwa pointed at the great saber with a tiny finger and chirped happily. Heo Chang-baek's brow furrowed.
"Daddy…?"
Daddy?
No matter how he looked at them, they seemed no more than siblings in age.
No — that wasn't the important part right now.
"You're the one who handed this Hardheavy over to the blacksmith?"
Heo Chang-baek asked with deadly seriousness, as if he couldn't believe it.
"Yeah, that's right."
Do Gwang nodded indifferently. Heo Chang-baek's brow tightened further.
"Why?"
It wasn't on the level of the famous sabers sleeping in his armory, but Hardheavy was still a remarkably fine piece of craftsmanship. As a saber man of the Paedo Sect, he simply could not let slide someone who had dumped a blade of this caliber at a blacksmith for scrap prices.
Of course, thanks to that, he himself had lucked into acquiring it — but still!
"A great saber this excellent isn't easy to come by. Just why did you throw Hardheavy away!?"
He pressed, his voice a mix of regret and fury.
"Don't tell me you're the kind of bastard who looks down on sabers!"
The goodwill he'd been showing Do Gwang moments before vanished without a trace, replaced by a murderous aura. But—
"Nah, that's not it. The feeling of chopping things up with a great saber is awesome."
"Haa…"
At Do Gwang's answer, Heo Chang-baek's aura eased slightly. But the fact that he had sold Hardheavy to a blacksmith for a pittance remained unchanged, so Heo Chang-baek still demanded an answer with a sour face.
"If you know that feeling is so excellent, then how!?"
"Because hard and heavy is better?"
"What — hard and heavy?"
"Yeah. Hard and heavy."
"That's this great saber's name! And look at this! Just as you say, it's hard and heavy, isn't it!?"
Heo Chang-baek swung Hardheavy in great whooshing arcs, demonstrating as if the whole thing were driving him mad. Do Gwang snorted a laugh and raised his steel bat.
"This is harder and heavier."
"Wh… What…?"
"And me, more than the taste of cutting or slicing…"
KRAAAAAANG—!!!
"I prefer this kind of impact."
Even without using a scrap of internal energy, the ground split open in an instant, spiderweb cracks racing out in every direction. At that raw, mindless destructive power—
"M-Mad…!"
"Hiiiek…!"
Gwon Tae-o and the Paedo Sect disciples could only gape in horror. Heo Chang-baek was no different.
"Haha…"
He let out a disbelieving chuckle, then—
"You still have a long way to go."
—he gently stroked Hardheavy's blade, eyes gleaming.
"The true weapon that satisfies both the taste of cutting and the impact at once… is the saber…"
FAAAAAAH—!!!
"Right. You said you wanted to see the Thunderbolt Saber Technique?"
Dark-crimson tyrannical energy erupted from Heo Chang-baek's body like a volcano. But Do Gwang, far from being cowed—
"Yeah!"
—answered brightly, eyes sparkling. At that brazen, unflinching confidence, the corner of Heo Chang-baek's mouth curled up on its own.
"Fine…"
He gripped the great saber firmly in both hands and settled into his stance.
"Open those eyes wide. I'll show you properly."
FAAAAH—!!!!
PAPAPAPAT—!!!!
A vortex of dark-crimson energy whipped across the clearing, violently shredding the air around them.
"Uwaaaah!!"
"Khhnnngh!!"
Under that overwhelming presence, the Paedo Sect disciples were driven stumbling backward in droves.
"Kh! Sect Master means to show his true strength!"
Even Great Elder Gwon Tae-o drove his great saber into the ground and barely held his ground. Under that tyrannical aura—
"Ah… Daddy…!"
"Young Master!"
—even Do Hwa and Dang Soryeong flinched and went rigid. The usual ease vanished from their faces completely. That was how immense the Saber King Heo Chang-baek's presence truly was!
CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACK—!!!
A massive blade wreathed in dark-crimson lightning painted the world red in every direction!
"Come and take it!!!"
Heo Chang-baek hoisted the great saber high overhead.
At last — the true ultimate art of one of the Twenty Great Heavenly Kings!
The moment its destructive form was about to be unveiled!