Chapter 189: You Should Call Me Big Sis
“Yeop Hyeon!”
If glares alone could kill, Mak Cheong-hyeon would have slain Yeop Hyeon dozens of times over by now.
But Yeop Hyeon ignored him completely, turning back to Cheok Bal-soyo instead.
“Has your father ever cursed at you?”
Cheok Bal-soyo shook her head.
“What about your uncle?”
She shook her head again.
Yeop Hyeon’s face twisted in fury as he jabbed a finger at Mak Cheong-hyeon and bellowed.
“Then who the hell does this guy think he is, cursing at you!?”
Cheok Bal-soyo suddenly bristled, shooting Mak Cheong-hyeon a venomous glare. Yeop Hyeon was right—neither her father nor her uncle had ever sworn at her.
“Who the hell are you to curse at me!”
Yeop Hyeon fanned the flames from the side.
“Who the hell are you to curse at such a pretty girl, you old pepper dick!”
Cheok Bal-soyo’s chest heaved with even greater rage at Yeop Hyeon’s words. The hammer in her hand began to tremble violently.
Then, out of nowhere, Cheok Bal-soyo burst into tears.
‘W-what? Crying!? What the hell is going on!?’
Mak Cheong-hyeon, watching the scene from midair, panicked.
Cheok Bal-soyo wiped away her chicken-shit tears with a look of utter grievance.
“My father, my uncle, my brother, my other uncle—none of them have ever made me cry, so who the hell are you to make me cry! Who the hell are you!”
For a fleeting moment, something like guilt stirred in Yeop Hyeon’s heart.
The girl… was truly wronged.
Suddenly, Cheok Bal-soyo shouted at Mak Cheong-hyeon.
“Two hundred billion! Hand over two hundred billion gold! Or I’ll tell everything to my father!”
She whipped out a transmission stone from her bosom and started her threat(?).
Mak Cheong-hyeon’s face darkened beyond compare.
‘Two hundred billion?’
Even if he sold off the entire Changmok Academy, he couldn’t scrape together that much. And even if he could, he’d never hand over such a sum.
Mak Cheong-hyeon shot Yeop Hyeon one last glare before bellowing at his surrounding cavalry.
“We’re leaving!”
With that, his figure vanished in a blur of afterimages.
The surviving Black Flame Cavalry began to retreat in disarray, but Yeop Hyeon blocked their path.
“We can’t let these bastards go! Kill them all!”
With those words, Yeop Hyeon launched himself forward.
Cheok Bal-soyo followed suit, hammer in hand.
But her target wasn’t the Black Flame Cavalry—it was Mak Cheong-hyeon.
Yeop Hyeon hurriedly grabbed her sleeve.
“No, no, you’ve got the wrong target! That old pepper dick is at the peak of Myriad Laws Realm—we have to let him go for now!”
Yeop Hyeon pointed at the trembling Black Flame Cavalry.
“Let’s take those guys. But go easy—they’re all money!”
Only then did Cheok Bal-soyo nod and charge at the Black Flame Cavalry.
Fighting fifty Black Flame Cavalry alone would have been reckless for Yeop Hyeon. But with Cheok Bal-soyo, it was anything but.
At that moment, Yeop Hyeon unleashed his hidden strength in full. Holding back against these formidable riders could easily turn the tide against him.
About half a shichen later, Yeop Hyeon and Cheok Bal-soyo came to a halt.
A heap of Black Flame Cavalry corpses lay at their feet.
Yeop Hyeon plopped down on the ground, and Cheok Bal-soyo leaned against his back, sitting as well. The hammer girl pointed at the Black Flame Cavalry corpses with her hammer, her face brimming with curiosity.
“How much did we make?”
Yeop Hyeon pondered for a moment before replying.
“A ton!”
Weapons and armor from over forty corpses!
Most were even mid-grade Mingjie equipment.
The only regret was the Black Flame steeds—they had fled the moment their riders died, too fast for Yeop Hyeon and Cheok Bal-soyo to pursue.
After a brief rest, the two began stripping the gear. Yeop Hyeon handed half to Cheok Bal-soyo.
“Here, your share. Take it to Jungto Sinju, or come with me to the Imperial City and sell it—your call!”
“I’ll go to the Imperial City!”
Cheok Bal-soyo answered without hesitation, and Yeop Hyeon grinned.
“Let’s go, then—to the Imperial City!”
Yeop Hyeon mounted a Black Flame steed and offered his hand.
“Hop on with me!”
Cheok Bal-soyo climbed on in front without a word. The Black Flame steed shot off like an arrow, vanishing from the arena in an instant.
Not long after they left, Mak Cheong-hyeon reappeared at the slaughter site. His eyes trembled at the piled corpses.
On the vast plain’s edge, the Black Flame steed carrying Yeop Hyeon and Cheok Bal-soyo raced like the wind.
Cheok Bal-soyo glanced back and asked.
“Sword cultivator, what’s your name?”
“Yeop Hyeon!”
“You’re a Sword Lord?”
“Yeah!”
“Then why are you so weak?”
“……”
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No… It’s not that I’m weak—you’re just too strong… Any genius looks like a weakling next to you!”
“Don’t get down on yourself, sword cultivator! Even weaklings can be good people, and you seem like one!”
“……”
After that, Yeop Hyeon made his way smoothly to the Imperial City. For some reason, neither Changmok Academy nor the Dark Network sent anyone else. The Imperial City drew ever closer.
Daeun Empire’s imperial palace.
A woman in a black skirt and a boy in dragon robes walked a gravel path through the flower garden.
The boy tilted his head and looked at the woman.
“Big Sis, the Grand Tutor says I’m grown now and should rule the country myself.”
The woman stopped and turned to him.
“What does Your Majesty think?”
When the boy didn’t answer, she smiled.
“Looks like Your Majesty wants that too. Am I right?”
The boy bowed his head.
She gently stroked his hair.
“Soon, this world will be all Yours, Majesty. I have no desire to be emperor!”
Turning, her eyes fell on a birdcage. A single bird was trapped inside.
Gazing at it, she suddenly smiled.
“The day the cage vanishes, that bird will gain the vast sky.”
She shouted toward one side.
“By imperial decree: The Grand Tutor’s words and deeds are gravely improper—execute him by beheading. He conspired with foreign invaders for rebellion—behead him. House Gao joined the rebellion—behead them. House Jing, House Zhan, House Shen, and all others who joined the plot…”
Over twenty major houses spilled from her lips in an instant—all renowned tiger clans of the Daeun Empire.
The boy’s mouth gaped in shock.
“Decree received!”
A voice answered from the shadows, then vanished.
The woman smiled at the boy’s stunned face.
“No need to be so shocked. They had to go. Two biggest ones remain—they’ll be next soon enough.”
Releasing his hand, she walked ahead alone.
The boy stood frozen, head down, not following.
Meanwhile, the woman paused at a pond. A middle-aged man—Mak Cheong-hyeon—appeared before her.
He bowed deeply.
“Lady Yeon!”
She smiled.
“A failure?”
His face hardened as he bowed lower.
“Shamelessly, I require your aid, my lady.”
She shook her head with a laugh.
“For Changmok Academy, our Daeun Empire lost 150 Black Flame Cavalry. We even mobilized our houses to aid you. Isn’t that face-saving enough?”
Mak Cheong-hyeon looked up, complex emotions in his eyes.
“Lady Yeon, I’m no fool. You pretend to help Changmok Academy while scheming something for Daeun Empire, don’t you?”
As he said, despite losing forty of fifty Black Flame Cavalry, Daeun hadn’t announced it publicly. Mak Cheong-hyeon had sensed it already.
This woman was using Yeop Hyeon to weaken Changmok Academy and the Dark Network.
Yeon Man Ri’s smile vanished.
“Dean Mak, 150 elite Black Flame Cavalry sacrificed for you. Yet you corner me like this? This king is most displeased.”
Mak Cheong-hyeon forced a smile.
“Corner you? Perish the thought. This Mak merely misspoke. I only request you seal the gates, fortify the perimeter with armies, and activate the great formation. Then Yeop Hyeon can’t enter the city.”
“Why should I?”
Yeon Man Ri stepped close, meeting his eyes.
“Yeop Hyeon reached Sword Lord at such a young age—a prodigy our Qingzhou folk take pride in. We can’t make him a friend, so we oppress him instead?”
She sighed deeply.
“Dean Mak, injustice returns someday. Try practicing some good!”
With that, Yeon Man Ri walked away.
Mak Cheong-hyeon’s face twisted as if he’d swallowed ten loads of shit.
‘Practice good?’
Did this woman, who massacred his imperial kin without blinking, have the right to say that!?
He felt like vomiting blood. Only now did he realize Changmok Academy, the Dark Network, and Daeun’s houses had fallen into Yeon Man Ri’s trap.
It was all a trap.
Suddenly, Yeon Man Ri paused far ahead, turning back with a smile.
“Dean Mak, for old times’ sake: Yeop Hyeon’s already near the Imperial City.”
She hummed an unknown tune and continued walking.
Mak Cheong-hyeon ground his teeth and turned away. More words would only bring shame.
Changmok Academy.
Back at Changmok Academy, Mak Cheong-hyeon stood before Hoyeon Hall, staring blankly at the sword embedded in the plaque. Half a shichen had passed.
‘All because of one Sword Immortal!’
A self-mocking smile tugged at his lips. The mighty Changmok Academy couldn’t breathe because of one Sword Immortal—pathetic.
He glanced back. Students, instructors, and elders had lined up unnoticed.
One student stepped forward.
“Dean Mak, if Yeop Hyeon storms the academy, let me lead the vanguard. We’ll show the world Changmok never backs down!”
“We’ll fight too!”
Students clamored to join the fray.
Mak Cheong-hyeon found a thread of comfort.
“Not one of our Changmok students lacks spirit!”
Then, the Dark Lord appeared beside him.
“Yeop Hyeon’s arrived outside the city.”
He’s here.
The hall fell silent.
Meanwhile, Yeop Hyeon and Cheok Bal-soyo rode slowly toward the Imperial City on their Black Flame steed. The city gates appeared in the distance.
“Soyo, how are you so strong? Teach me?”
“No can do! It’s innate!”
“Sigh, if only I’d been born a genius like you… This life’s doomed, doomed!”
“You’re not that bad, actually… Spotting my genius at a glance isn’t common.”
“You’re right, Soyo! How about calling me ‘big bro’ from now on? If anyone bullies you, I’ll beat ’em!”
“No way! You should call me big sis, right? If anyone bullies you, I’ll smash ’em!”
“Hmm… Fine! Big Sis Soyo!”
“……”