The Youth with Piercing Eyes
Two days passed, and Woo-gang brushed himself off and rose to his feet.
As originally planned, he traveled with the later-generation talents.
But he kept his distance, merely accompanying them without mingling.
He lacked the nerve to approach them first, and they showed no inclination to approach him either.
Occasionally, some watched him warily from afar, but none drew closer than a certain distance.
Had Woo-gang won his spar with Han Seo-yeon, a few might have mustered the courage to congratulate him.
But after his defeat, they knew better than to offer clumsy consolation that could backfire.
Who wouldn't want to befriend Woo-gang?
He was the disciple of the Flame King, after all.
Building ties with such an absolute powerhouse's heir would benefit not just the individual, but their sects and families too.
That's the nature of fame and reputation.
Yet even those who understood this perfectly couldn't bring themselves to approach Woo-gang.
Not during travel, not while listening to explanations.
Not even at meals.
Woo-gang handled the schedule apart from the group, maintaining a polite separation.
As the awkward day drew to a close, he heard that Sa Ma-gang wanted to see him and headed to the command hall without a word.
An awkward tension hung in Sa Ma-gang's office as well.
Sa Ma-gang masked any lingering emotions from Woo-gang's loss to Han Seo-yeon as if they had never existed, but the heavy atmosphere was unavoidable.
Woo-gang had expected Sa Ma-gang to summon him sooner or later, so he waited silently for the man to speak.
"Is your body alright?"
"I wasn't badly injured from the start."
"Good."
Short answers led back to silence.
In such situations, the one waiting usually grew anxious, but Woo-gang showed no such sign.
"Why did you do it?"
Sa Ma-gang finally broke the quiet.
"You knew?"
"Even as the literary leader, I'm no weakling in martial arts. I could tell that much. Well, aside from the martial leader and me, no one else noticed."
Woo-gang nodded at Sa Ma-gang's words.
"If I hadn't, Han So-je would have been seriously hurt."
"Even so, you held back when victory was in sight?"
"Was winning the most important thing in that fight?"
Woo-gang countered.
This time, Sa Ma-gang fell silent, staring at him.
In truth, the bout had arisen from tangled emotions between the two, but publicly, it stemmed from Han Seo-yeon's request to experience the Flame King's arts.
Winning would be nice, of course, but fully exchanging techniques would suffice.
Sa Ma-gang himself had steered the mood toward making victory paramount.
"There may be misunderstandings between her and me that could bruise feelings, but it wasn't worth inflicting serious injuries. That's why I held back—and Han So-je and I talked it over. Is there a problem?"
Woo-gang met Sa Ma-gang's gaze squarely.
Sa Ma-gang wanted to snap that it was a fight they should have won, one tied to the pride of the Murim Alliance and the Ice Palace.
But facing Woo-gang's unwavering eyes, the words stuck in his throat.
"Hoo…."
In the end, Sa Ma-gang let out a deep sigh.
A heavy exhale from the depths of his chest, meant to shake off his current feelings.
'I can't plan so simplistically anymore. Thought he was manageable, but he's a bigger wildcard than expected.'
Woo-gang's thoughts, expression, and the resolve in his eyes confirmed it—he was even harder to handle than anticipated.
"I was just curious about your thinking. I see. You've shown me more of who you are. You may go."
Woo-gang gave a curt nod and left the office.
"What to do…."
Alone now, Sa Ma-gang murmured softly.
His face bore deep traces of rare worry.
The next day's schedule felt just as tediously repetitive to Woo-gang.
As doubts crept in about whether he needed to keep attending, the morning wrapped up.
Everyone headed for lunch, and Woo-gang, as usual, found a solitary spot.
Hm?
He had just picked up his chopsticks when he sensed a gaze flying toward him and embedding itself.
Glancing over, he saw a young man standing there, meal in hand, hesitating as he stared.
Their eyes met, and the youth looked flustered.
Woo-gang deliberately ignored him and reached for his food.
That was when it happened.
"Um…."
Just as a chopstick of food neared his mouth, an unfamiliar voice sounded.
Lifting his head, he saw the same youth.
The man, visibly tense and struggling to speak, finally managed.
"May I sit with you?"
The youth mustered his courage to ask.
Most of the later-generation talents in the dining hall watched the scene.
They all wanted to approach Woo-gang like the youth but couldn't bring themselves to.
"Suit yourself."
The youth's face brightened at Woo-gang's reply. He set his food down opposite and sat.
For a while, they ate in silence.
More precisely, Woo-gang focused on his meal, while the youth's attention fixed entirely on him.
Time slipped by unnoticed in the youth's distraction, until he cautiously spoke again.
"I use the spear too."
Woo-gang paused his chopsticks.
He looked up at the youth with genuine surprise.
Since learning martial arts, he'd never seen another spear user.
Most wielded swords or sabers, and he'd heard it was rare in the Central Plains to find proficient users of other weapons.
A faint sense of camaraderie stirred in Woo-gang.
"First spear user I've met."
"My family has used spears for generations, so it came naturally to me."
"A family like that exists. Which one?"
"Not a great house—you probably haven't heard of it. Haha."
The youth laughed awkwardly.
Woo-gang thought it plausible.
Yeom Si-woo would have mentioned such a family at least once.
Even if modest, being selected as a later-generation talent for the Murim Alliance meant considerable personal skill.
The youth flushed as Woo-gang showed interest.
Who wouldn't? The man atop the martial world with a spear was the Flame King.
The disciple of his childhood idol was paying attention.
Moreover, Woo-gang's prowess in the spar with Han Seo-yeon had moved him as a fellow spearman.
"Ah… and about the spar…."
"It's fine. No issue."
The youth smiled at Woo-gang's response.
"Wasn't trying to console you. Did you throw it on purpose?"
Woo-gang stared at him.
If Sa Ma-gang's words were true, only Sa Ma-gang and Dok Go-yeong-mu knew he'd held back at the end.
How could this youth say such a thing?
Even as Woo-gang's thoughts stalled, unsure how to react, the youth wore a faint smile.
The earlier hesitation and tension had vanished.
"Your control over internal energy—beyond mere spear mastery—was impressive. A real lesson."
"How did you know?"
Woo-gang's mind raced past the youth's words.
He voiced the question burning inside.
"Ah, well…."
The youth hesitated.
Then, resuming his shy, tense demeanor, he continued.
"My eyes are sharp. Who knows when I'd next see the Flame King's spear arts? I focused intently. So…."
He trailed off.
But Woo-gang didn't take it at face value.
Seen with the eyes?
Absurd.
Many in the crowd would have noticed then.
Alliance warriors at least.
Yet this one later-generation talent had.
Come to think of it….
Woo-gang realized he couldn't gauge the youth's power.
He'd judged Sa Ma-gang at their first meeting, and Dok Go-yeong-mu during their exchange.
Whether hidden or fully shown.
But this youth eluded judgment.
Win? Lose? No sense.
Strong? Weak? Nothing.
It felt like facing someone ignorant of martial arts, distant and ordinary.
Woo-gang's pupils wavered.
The youth's did not, fixed steadily on him.
Confusion gripped Woo-gang.
What was his identity? Intentions? Pure curiosity?
Impossible to tell.
His wariness sharpened instinctively.
Even as Woo-gang's aura shifted abruptly, the youth remained unchanged.
"Hope to learn much from you in the remaining schedule."
With that, he cleared his plate and stood.
Woo-gang's lingering gaze followed him.
"What's your name?"
The youth paused and turned back.
"My name is……."
Then, without answering, he bowed slightly and walked away.
Woo-gang set down his chopsticks.
His appetite was gone.
Ak So-cheon.
He recited inwardly the name transmitted to him moments ago.
The Ak Family of Shandong, famed for their spears.
The youth who plunged Woo-gang into turmoil was a scion of the Shandong Ak Family.
He knew nothing of their history or current status.
But one thing was clear: a remarkable talent had appeared, shocking him to his core.
Woo-gang cleared his spot and stood.
A fresh jolt amid boring days—it might get interesting now.
The shocked expression faded, replaced by a faint smile.