With That Level of Skill?
Jo Pyeong’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“Uh…. Uh, uh….”
Is he trying to die?
It took him a long moment to process the words he had just heard, and even then, he still couldn’t quite believe them. He had never once imagined a scene in which someone would hurl such filthy abuse at Tang Jan.
Who was Tang Jan?
Wasn’t he the fifth young master of the Sichuan Tang Family, one of the most powerful families in Sichuan and the true ruler of Chengdu?
Was there anyone in Chengdu, of all places, who could speak to a Tang Family heir like that?
If there was, then he had to be either a peerless master who could trample even the Tang Family beneath his feet—or….
Just a lunatic.
Unfortunately, no matter how he looked at the situation, it seemed far closer to the latter. There was no way this young man could possibly be a master who didn’t even care about the Tang Family.
Which meant….
…How in the world am I supposed to clean this up?
His mind went completely white.
The reason the Sichuan Tang Family’s name rang throughout the world despite being a relatively small clan wasn’t simply because they were strong. It was because of their tenacity, their venomous temper, and their long memory. Though they were an orthodox sect, they were so notorious for grudges and so sensitive to insult that people sometimes said they were closer to the unorthodox than the righteous.
And now someone had openly insulted them like this. How was he supposed to deal with the aftermath?
What’s more, the fallout likely wouldn’t stop at Mount Hua. Sahaesanghoe might very well end up bearing some of the blame as well.
But contrary to Jo Pyeong’s worries, Tang Jan didn’t seem especially enraged.
He was more bewildered than angry, and the family teachings drilled into him—that one must never lose composure in any situation—kept his emotions in check.
With narrowed eyes, he watched the person who had stepped out from the room instead of exploding in anger.
Mount Hua’s black robes, embroidered with plum blossoms.
The face still hadn’t fully lost the softness of youth, but it was handsome enough in its own way.
There was no doubt he was a disciple of Mount Hua, though it wasn’t clear which one.
“And who might you be?”
Tang Jan spoke with as much calm and courtesy as he could muster.
But the response that came back made his politeness feel like a joke.
“Who the hell are you?”
“…….”
The reply was not merely dismissive but downright rude.
A face flushed red.
And a wine bottle in his hand.
That was enough for Tang Jan to reach one conclusion.
He’s drunk.
He had no desire to pick a fight with a drunkard.
However….
He’s from outside Sichuan, and he drank so much he got drunk? All those rumors about Mount Hua disciples wandering around the martial world must have been exaggerated, then?
In Tang Jan’s mind, Mount Hua’s evaluation dropped straight off a cliff.
Just then, as if to object to that judgment, the Mount Hua disciples in black robes rushed out of the room in a clamor.
“Ahahahahaha!”
“He’s had a bit too much to drink. My apologies!”
“Let’s go in! Come on, Qingmyeong! Let’s go inside, hurry up!”
The Mount Hua disciples grabbed the drunkard by the limbs and started dragging him back inside. Up to that point, it might have been something one could laugh off….
The problem was the drunkard’s name.
“Qingmyeong?”
Jo Pyeong’s voice slipped out before he could hide his shock.
“You mean that’s the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, Qingmyeong?”
“…….”
Even Tang Jan’s eyes filled with astonishment.
And Jo Pyeong, hearing that name, stared back and forth between the Mount Hua disciples and Tang Jan with a dumbfounded expression.
“M-Mount Hua Divine Dragon? That person?”
Jo Pyeong’s words perfectly reflected Tang Jan’s own feelings.
Mount Hua Divine Dragon.
These days, one title almost inevitably came attached to that name.
The greatest young talent under heaven.
Those words carried the admiration and expectation of the martial world. A position every ambitious youth who dreamed of becoming the greatest master in the world longed to claim. A glorious title that only one person in the present age could possess.
He had defeated ten second-generation disciples of Zhongnan.
There were even rumors that he had won against the Wudang Mu generation, not even the Jin generation.
And this was the man who had plunged into the terrifying Sword Tomb, prevented a massacre, and ultimately earned the recognition of Wudang’s Heo Sanja.
The greatest young genius of the age, possessing both martial power and intellect!
“……That person?”
Tang Jan and Jo Pyeong tilted their heads at the same time.
Doesn’t look like it.
No, really, could it be?
The drunks standing beside him looked far more like accomplished martial artists. One of them was radiating such an overwhelming presence that even Tang Jan felt a trace of tension.
And yet they were supposedly leaving that drunkard alone while claiming he was the Mount Hua Divine Dragon?
There must be some mistake.
Otherwise, all the rumors about the famous Mount Hua Divine Dragon were complete lies.
Tang Jan’s brow furrowed.
After a brief moment of thought, he spoke again.
“Are you Qingmyeong, the Mount Hua Divine Dragon?”
Qingmyeong, still being dragged away, reacted to his voice.
“Let go! I said let go! He’s calling me!”
“No, no. Nobody’s calling you.”
“You heard wrong. Totally wrong! Come on, let’s go inside, Qingmyeong!”
“No, he just called me! Hup!”
Shaking off the arms of the other disciples with a wild swing, Qingmyeong staggered back toward them and then narrowed his eyes at Tang Jan.
“You calling me?”
“……Are you Qingmyeong?”
“Ha.”
Qingmyeong let out a long, heavy sigh. Then he clicked his tongue low and hard.
“Seriously, do kids these days all eat manners for breakfast? Isn’t it basic to give your own name before asking for someone else’s?”
Tang Jan shut his mouth tightly.
On reflection, he had indeed been rude. He had been so flustered that he’d forgotten his manners for a moment.
“And who the hell are you?”
“……My apologies. I am Tang Jan of the Sichuan Tang Family.”
“Tang Family?”
“Indeed.”
“No, wait….”
Qingmyeong’s face twisted.
“If you’re from the Tang Family, shouldn’t you be some educated bastard? You storm in here in the middle of the night yelling for us to hand someone over? What, did all the Tang Family people I knew die off and some new bunch of Tang assholes start the clan over?”
With every word Qingmyeong spat out, Tang Jan’s face turned redder and redder.
Being insulted himself was one thing. But this was a direct insult to the Tang Family.
Just as Tang Jan, now seething, was about to fire back, Yoon Jong rushed forward and started slapping Qingmyeong’s mouth.
“This filthy mouth of yours! This filthy mouth!”
Smack! Smack!
“Ow! Hey! Why are you hitting me!”
“Serves you right!”
Yoon Jong even grabbed Qingmyeong by the nape of his neck and dragged him backward.
Watching the spectacle in stunned disbelief, Tang Jan was approached by Baek Cheon, who stepped forward with a slight cough. His face was a little red as well.
“We have been rude. I am Baek Cheon of Mount Hua.”
“……You are the Righteous Sword of Mount Hua?”
“It is a title I have been undeservedly given.”
“Then you are the one who defeated the Wudang Sword Dragon.”
“……We merely exchanged a few moves.”
Tang Jan’s eyes turned cold.
At any rate, he had found someone he could actually talk to. After all the absurdity he had just endured, he even felt relieved that the other side at least understood manners.
“Please understand our rudeness in visiting so late at night. When I heard that the famed disciples of Mount Hua had entered Chengdu, I could not suppress the burning urge to test myself against them.”
“I wouldn’t call it rudeness. We’re simply ashamed that we might not be worthy of stirring the Tang Family’s competitive spirit.”
Tang Jan’s lips curved faintly.
“You are more than worthy. Especially….”
His gaze shifted to Jo Gul, who stood behind Baek Cheon.
“The Young Master Jo and the Tang Family have crossed paths many times. For that reason, I wanted to confirm for myself today just what the Young Master learned in Mount Hua.”
Baek Cheon’s expression stiffened slightly.
“I fail to understand. Why would the Tang Family be checking the accomplishments of a Mount Hua disciple?”
“It is simple.”
Tang Jan smiled with calm confidence.
“He is both a disciple of Mount Hua and the son of Sahaesanghoe. Everyone living in Chengdu has an obligation to submit to the Tang Family’s scrutiny.”
Baek Cheon’s brow furrowed.
He wanted to ask what gave them such authority when they weren’t even the imperial family, but that would be pointless. At least within Chengdu, it was true that the Tang Family ruled like kings.
If they tried to dodge this clumsily, it was more likely Sahaesanghoe would pay the price than Jo Gul himself.
And that was something neither Baek Cheon nor Jo Gul wanted.
“Sasuk.”
At Jo Gul’s voice from behind him, Baek Cheon glanced back.
“I’ll go out there.”
“Gul.”
“Just for a moment….”
Jo Gul called to Baek Cheon and pulled him slightly back. Then he lowered his voice so the Tang Family members couldn’t hear.
“This is how things are done in Chengdu.”
“I don’t understand. What exactly is going on here?”
“……It’s because Mount Hua’s reputation has grown.”
Jo Gul’s tone was low and steady. “Those people don’t want the powerful families of Chengdu slipping out of the Tang Family’s control. If they let me go, then they know other wealthy families might send their children to famous sects outside Sichuan too. So they’re trying to humiliate me and cut this off at the root before it spreads.”
“What?”
Baek Cheon looked utterly baffled.
“That makes no sense.”
“It’s the Sichuan way, and the Tang Family way. If Mount Hua gets involved here, things will only get more complicated. Please leave this to me.”
Baek Cheon nodded slowly.
“Understood. Wait a moment.”
“Yes, Sasuk.”
Baek Cheon stepped forward again.
He approached Tang Jan a little more closely than before, straightened his back, and spoke.
“How exactly do you intend to verify my saje?”
“Isn’t it obvious? How else does one martial artist test another?”
Tang Jan’s lips curled into a thin smile.
“By crossing hands directly, of course.”
Baek Cheon smiled and nodded.
“So what you’re saying is that you want to verify the skill of Jo Gul, the second young master of Sahaesanghoe and third-generation disciple of Mount Hua, then announce the result throughout Chengdu?”
“That is a rather rough way to put it, but yes, not entirely wrong. Ideally, I’d also have liked to become friendly with the disciples of Mount Hua, but it seems the situation won’t allow it. So let’s leave that for later….”
Tang Jan’s gaze turned cold.
“For now, hand over Jo Gul. This is a Tang Family affair. I won’t tolerate interference.”
Baek Cheon’s smile deepened.
“Of course. Mount Hua has no intention whatsoever of interfering in the Tang Family’s affairs.”
“Then we understand each other.”
“However… there is one small problem.”
“A problem?”
“Yes, a problem.”
Baek Cheon tilted his head slightly.
“You say you won’t interfere, but aren’t you standing here claiming that you’ll verify Jo Gul?”
“……How is that a problem?”
“With that level of skill?”
“…….”
Tang Jan’s eyes flew wide open.
But Baek Cheon didn’t so much as blink, simply meeting his gaze with calm, clear eyes.
“Since you’ve boldly stepped forward to test the third-generation disciples of Mount Hua, we ought to give you treatment worthy of that courtesy. Come now. I’ll verify your skill first. That way we can be fair, don’t you think?”
Baek Cheon tapped the sword hanging at his waist.
Then he said firmly,
“If you don’t do that, you won’t lay a finger on my saje. This is Mount Hua’s affair. I will not allow anyone to interfere.”
All the Mount Hua disciples watching from behind stared at him with blank expressions.
“Sasuk!”
“Wow…. Sasuk.”
“Sahyung!”
……Didn’t you just tell us not to cause trouble?
So what the hell are you doing now?
What a glorious sect this is, seriously!