Suddenly, a Big Shot Shows Up? (3)
As Tang Gun-ak approached Chung Myung, an overwhelmingly fearsome aura began to pour from his body. It was pressure enough to make even those watching feel uneasy—so much so that Tang Gun-ak’s own sons, Tang Pae and Tang Jan, looked rattled.
But Chung Myung, who was facing that aura head-on, merely stood there with an indifferent expression, blinking as if none of it had anything to do with him.
Someone else was the one who panicked.
"Waiiiit a sec!"
Four figures shot out of the main hall like streaks of light.
Baek Cheon, dressed in immaculate white robes, quickly stepped in front of Chung Myung and bowed deeply to Tang Gun-ak.
"I greet the Lord of the Sichuan Tang Family. I am Baek Cheon, a second-generation disciple of Mount Hua."
Tang Gun-ak’s footsteps came to a stop.
But his hand remained tucked inside his sleeve.
"So you are the Righteous Sword of Mount Hua."
"I’m honored that Lord Tang knows me. If I had come to Chengdu, I should have paid my respects to Lord Tang first. I was thoughtless and lacked courtesy. Please forgive me."
"Hmm."
Unlike that Chung Myung brat, this one at least knew manners. Tang Gun-ak gave a quiet nod.
The other Mount Hua disciples also forced smiles onto their faces.
No way. Does that lunatic not even know the difference between someone you can push around and someone you can’t?
My God, how can he treat the Lord of the Tang Family like that?
He’s crazy. We knew he was crazy, but not this crazy.
They were all about to get dragged down and die along with him because of some idiot’s antics.
Who was Tang Gun-ak?
Was he not the famed Poison King of the world?
Poison King was an honorific usually attached to the lord of the Sichuan Tang Family, but the current Tang Gun-ak was truly a man worthy of that title.
There were countless masters in the world, yes, but to say there was anyone who could look down on the head of the Tang Family would be an exaggeration. Even if Hyun Jong, the Sect Leader of Mount Hua, were standing here, he would still have to show Tang Gun-ak proper respect.
And yet that reckless brat—
Baek Cheon swallowed hard.
The difference was on another level.
Baek Cheon had already met the elders of Wudang and seen their swords, but the pressure radiating from Tang Gun-ak made even their realm seem pale by comparison.
So this is an absolute master!
Just standing before him felt like his breath might stop.
It wasn’t something he could say out loud, but he had never once felt this kind of aura from Mount Hua’s elders. Tang Gun-ak was clearly standing on a level they had never even seen before.
"I apologize on behalf of my sasil for his disrespect. If someone must be punished, punish me instead."
"You?"
"Yes!"
Baek Cheon said firmly.
"I am responsible for these children. So…"
"Hey, move aside!"
At that moment, Chung Myung grabbed Baek Cheon and yanked him to the side.
Baek Cheon was dragged backward in a daze and stared at Chung Myung in disbelief.
"Hey... hey, you idiot! The situation is..."
"Nah, that’s not it!"
"Huh?"
Chung Myung snorted and said,
"That old man doesn’t care about Sasuk at all. He came here to see me from the start."
"...What are you talking about?"
"Anyway, yeah."
With a sigh, Chung Myung turned to look at Tang Gun-ak.
Tang Gun-ak had been glaring at him with killing intent ever since he entered the inner courtyard. Chung Myung had intended to put up with it, but the man kept poking at him with that murderous pressure, and when he even started intimidating Jo Pyeong like that, there was no way Chung Myung could just sit back.
"More importantly, pay close attention. That guy’s the real deal."
Baek Cheon’s eyes widened.
He had never heard Chung Myung say that before. Which meant Tang Gun-ak was indeed the kind of expert even Chung Myung—who had no fear in his bones—recognized.
"Hup!"
Chung Myung shook off Baek Cheon’s hand and swaggered forward.
"So, what do you want?"
"...What do I want?"
"Yeah. If you came looking for someone, there must be a reason."
Tang Gun-ak’s smile deepened.
"Let me ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"Do you think there is anyone who would still be alive after showing such insolence in front of me?"
It was enough to freeze everyone’s soul solid. But Chung Myung remained unfazed.
"Yeah."
"...What did you say?"
"There probably is. What, at least one person wouldn’t be enough?"
"..."
"Or I can be the first."
Tang Gun-ak, who had remained icy and composed until now, suddenly looked blank.
What exactly is this kid?
From the moment he arrived, Tang Gun-ak had been suppressing him with killing intent. Anyone normal would have turned ashen by now, trembling uncontrollably.
Even his own son, Tang Pae, the young lord of the Tang Family, would have fainted if he had been exposed to this kind of pressure for long.
And yet Chung Myung was weathering it as if this level of killing intent was nothing new. No—"weathering" was too weak a word. He seemed truly unbothered.
Where on earth did this freak of nature come from?
What was even more absurd was that Chung Myung didn’t look particularly strong.
Of course, in the martial world, one couldn’t judge a person by appearance alone or by the pressure they gave off. Still, unless he had attained natural form at such a young age, one could usually get some sense of a person’s level. But Chung Myung was maddeningly ambiguous.
In other words…
"Either there’s nothing there at all."
Or—
"He’s bottomless."
Everyone looked at Tang Gun-ak with puzzled expressions as he muttered those incomprehensible words.
Only Chung Myung understood what he meant.
"You want to test it?"
"I do. But before that, there’s something I want to ask."
"Sure, ask away."
"Do you really think I won’t kill you?"
"Yeah."
"...And why is that? You think Mount Hua will back you up? Even in front of the Tang Family?"
Then, suddenly, Chung Myung’s face darkened as he let out a long sigh.
"This damn sect... this damn sect! Backing me up, my ass."
I’m the one backing up Mount Hua, you bastard! Me!
What the hell kind of sect is Mount Hua supposed to be backing up me? My spine’s already about to snap!
Wiping at the corners of his eyes, which had started to sting a little, Chung Myung gave a low groan before speaking.
"It’s not really something I should say out loud, but I’ve got no one else I can rely on, so I was gonna rely on Mount Hua—no, never mind."
He waved a hand dismissively.
"Anyway, it’s not that."
"Then what is it?"
"What I trust isn’t Mount Hua. It’s the Tang Family."
"...What do you mean by that?"
Looking Tang Gun-ak straight in the eye, Chung Myung said,
"I heard the Sichuan Tang Family will do anything if it benefits the family. Is that wrong?"
"It might be true."
It would be true.
He had heard it himself. From that damned bastard.
Our family won’t hesitate to sell out a country if it benefits us. I’m a Tang too, but honestly, this family gives me the creeps. I’m not joking—if I ever become a hindrance to the family, they’d think nothing of killing me. Huh? Could they even kill me? How the hell are those punks supposed to kill me? I’m the Dark Sovereign, damn it!
"Then there’s no way they’d kill me."
Tang Gun-ak narrowed his brow.
"And why is that?"
"Because I’m the man who’s going to become the greatest in the world—and the man who’ll make Mount Hua the greatest sect in the world."
Even Tang Gun-ak was thrown off by the absurdity of that declaration.
"And you think that’s reason enough?"
"Of course. If you kill me here, all you’re doing is eliminating a future enemy. But if you befriend me, you’ll have the future greatest martial artist in the world on your side. Which of those is more profitable is obvious, isn’t it? And it’s not as if the Tang Family becomes the greatest sect just because I’m not around."
"..."
Tang Gun-ak stared at Chung Myung in silence.
Good grief. The boy’s uncanny.
Chung Myung’s words had struck directly at Tang Gun-ak’s intent.
Not even his own sons understood why he had come here in person, and yet this child—whom he had never even met before—had grasped his scheme and struck first.
"You may be right. No, you are right. You’re far too astute."
"Heh heh. Getting praised like that is kind of embarrassing."
Chung Myung scratched the back of his head with a shameless grin.
"If you really are the future greatest in the world, as you say, then the Tang Family will accept you as a friend. Friends look after each other. The Tang Family would spare no effort in giving you whatever it can."
"Mm. I’ll accept that gratefully."
"But."
Coldness crept into Tang Gun-ak’s eyes.
"That’s only if you prove yourself to be the future greatest martial artist in the world. If not, then you die here for making a fool of the Tang Family."
Baek Cheon’s face turned pale.
The weight of the words spoken by someone of Tang Gun-ak’s standing could never be light. Even if those words were not his deepest truth, once they left his mouth, they could never be taken back.
If Chung Myung could not prove himself to Tang Gun-ak, then the Tang Family would kill him here by any means necessary.
"Well, that’s obvious."
Chung Myung shrugged.
"You confident?"
"Do I need to say it? Of course I am."
Chung Myung turned slightly and glanced at his fellow disciples.
"From now on, don’t even blink. Watch carefully."
"Chung Myung!"
"Is that really okay?"
"What, you think he’s really going to kill me?"
"He said he would."
"...Um... Nah. You really think I’d die?"
It made no sense. None at all!
Leaving his panicking sect brothers behind, Chung Myung sauntered forward.
"Sasuk…"
"Shouldn’t we stop him?"
Baek Cheon didn’t know what to do either.
Did he not trust Chung Myung?
I do.
Even if he knew nothing about that brat’s personality, how could he possibly deny his skill? Baek Cheon trusted Chung Myung more than anyone else in the world.
But this was the Lord of the Tang Family.
Poison King Tang Gun-ak.
The absolute master of the Tang Family, whose name had shaken the world long before Chung Myung was even born.
Would Chung Myung’s skill work against someone like that?
No. It wouldn’t.
"Th—"
Just as Baek Cheon was about to step in, someone gently tugged at his sleeve.
He turned and saw Yu I-seol quietly shaking her head.
"Sago?"
"If he’s not confident, he’ll run no matter what."
"..."
Ah.
Baek Cheon nodded before he even realized it.
That made sense.
That brat’s ultimate goal wasn’t becoming the greatest martial artist in the world. It was making Mount Hua the greatest sect in the world. If that was what it took, he’d happily leap into the mud and swallow whatever humiliation came his way.
He was the kind of bastard who’d throw away his pride and run rather than fight a battle he couldn’t win.
If that kind of guy was stepping forward on his own, maybe he really could be trusted?
Baek Cheon fixed his uneasy gaze on Chung Myung’s back.
That not-very-large back looked astonishingly broad right now. But even that wasn’t enough to fully calm him.
Please.
Baek Cheon prayed inwardly and placed a hand lightly on the hilt of his sword.
If Chung Myung really did fall into danger—
I won’t hesitate.
Even if the opponent was the Lord of the Tang Family. Mount Hua would never abandon one of its disciples.
Chung Myung, standing before Tang Gun-ak, spoke.
"By the way, can I ask one thing too?"
"I’ll allow that much."
"Why did you specifically come looking for me? I don’t think I’ve done all that much. Jo Gul was the one who fought, so why me?"
Tang Gun-ak gave a slight smile.
Then, in a voice so low that no one else could hear, he said,
"You said you needed a twelfth flying dagger, didn’t you?"
"...Huh?"
"I’m interested in that."
Ah. This was not something he had expected…
Chung Myung’s expression twisted.
No, this bastard?
Master! Damn it, Master! Keep this between us. Everyone else thinks I only use eleven flying daggers, but actually I’ve got a hidden twelfth dagger, you know. Hah, now that is a serious secret... What? The one I used on you last time and got smashed to pieces? Hey, why would you bring that up? You’re making me lose face!
Lose face, my ass!
It was a real secret?
No, what kind of lunatic talks about a family secret like he’s stuffing money in a pillowcase?
Sasuk! Great Sasuk!
If that bastard’s there, please beat him up for me!
After the briefest moment of alarm, Chung Myung forced an awkward smile and tried to smooth things over.
"I was just making a wild guess, honestly."
"That guess matters."
Chung Myung’s heart dropped.
Is this old man actually here to murder me and bury the evidence?
Was he planning to kill Chung Myung because he knew the Tang Family’s secret technique?
Ah…
No way.
Surely not?
The composure Chung Myung had been wearing a moment ago began to crack as a sense of unease crept in.
"The proof is simple."
Tang Gun-ak smiled.
"Ten seconds. If you can endure my ten seconds, I’ll acknowledge you as the greatest martial artist of the future."
Ah.
Ten seconds?
So all he had to do was dodge the Poison King’s attacks ten times?
Hahahaha.
"No! Are you seriously trying to kill me? You really want to use ten whole seconds on a junior this young?"
Chung Myung shouted in outrage.
He wasn’t actually his junior, of course, but still.
"It should be that much."
At Tang Gun-ak’s calm reply, Chung Myung ground his teeth.
Fine. You’re on.
If he could survive Tang Gun-ak’s ten seconds, then of course he’d be the greatest martial artist of the future. Anyone capable of doing that wouldn’t even be called a mere promising talent.
He wouldn’t be the greatest talent of the current generation—he’d be the greatest talent in history! Damn old geezer!
"Grrr…"
With a pained groan, Chung Myung glared at Tang Gun-ak as if his eyes were about to catch fire.
"Fine. Just don’t forget the promise."
"The promise?"
"That friends look after each other. You said you’d give me everything you could, remember?"
"Of course."
"Then you’d better brace yourself."
Chung Myung bared his teeth and said,
"Because I’m going to rip the Tang Family’s pillars clean out."
"If you can!"
Oh, really?
He thinks I’m joking?
Heh.
He’s going to regret that.