Chapter 55
Chapter 55
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Great Peng
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"You... lately... have you been seeing some man?"
"...Pardon?"
In that instant, the unexpected first question froze the expressions of everyone present.
"Who is it! Which damn bastard is messing with my daughter... Ack!!"
Takmu barely regained his composure at the Palace Lord's second barrage of questions that soon followed.
He supported the still-recovering Palace Lord's body and urgently spoke up.
"Palace Lord, if I may be so bold, there is a more important issue right now than Yeon-i's marriage prospects."
"Damn it, my daughter who was like a tigress has suddenly turned into a woman with a feminine face—what could be more important than that?! Which no-good punk from what family has done this to my daughter...!!"
"It was one of our own."
At that moment, Mokheon, unable to stand the Palace Lord's antics any longer, spoke up to make their presence known.
The Palace Lord's eyes flicked toward him briefly, then trembled violently as they dropped back to the ground.
"Kuh... Am I finally at death's door...? I'm hallucinating Bright Light Sword and Gale Swift Sword nearby..."
"It's not a hallucination, Palace Lord."
"Damn, now I'm hearing voices too! I can't even distinguish reality from hallucination—what's the point of living anymore...!!"
"It's not a hallucination, Palace Lord! Don't bite your tongue!!"
The situation only stabilized after a considerable amount of time had passed.
"So... the one who sent the beast messenger to me was actually my own brother, who betrayed us and joined this Wheelbreaker Society organization, inciting the entire Southern Barbarian Beast Palace to attack Starpoint Sect. And you all thwarted their scheme, then even detoxified the beast poison in my body?"
"That's right."
"...It's hard to believe, but it doesn't seem like a lie."
Meng Liao glanced over Takmu, who was silently bowing his head, and Mokjin, who was glaring at them with veiled hostility in his eyes, before letting out a deep sigh.
His expression suggested he had a great many things to say, in various senses.
However, as the Palace Lord of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, he first said what needed to be said.
"First, as the Palace Lord of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, I apologize for the misdeeds of my subordinates. It is my failing in educating them."
He bowed his head to Mokheon, the Pavilion Master of Starpoint, despite his body not yet being fully recovered.
And then.
"That young hero over there saved my life, did he? I don't know how you detoxified the beast poison, but extending aid to the enemy leader in their own camp couldn't have been easy. Thank you for saving my life."
"N-No, Palace Lord."
Even in this sudden situation, Baek Hyun couldn't help but be surprised by the man's cool-headed bow and apology.
For the martial artists of this world, honor was as good as life itself.
That was why Takmu had refused to bow his head until the very end.
In the jianghu, even a perceived 'insult' could justify a life-or-death duel, potentially escalating into full-scale war between factions.
Thus, for a master of superior martial arts or a faction leader, bowing one's own head was often harder than laying down one's life.
That was why Starpoint's disciples hadn't scolded Takmu further when he smashed his head into the ground.
Yet here was a man of even higher status and greater prowess than Takmu, bowing without hesitation...
'He's definitely on another level compared to Takmu as a leader.'
However, an apology alone couldn't erase all sins.
"As the Pavilion Master of Starpoint Sect, I accept the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace's apology. To counter this evil group called the Wheelbreaker Society, our two factions need to join forces.
That said, the rift in emotions between Starpoint Sect and the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace runs too deep to be resolved by mere words... so unless you adhere to these terms, we cannot truly cooperate."
With those words, Mokheon presented the contract he had prepared in advance with the elders.
It was essentially a demand from the victor—fitting and rightful.
The terms listed in the contract were as follows.
It neither stripped away the enemy's core pillars or key growth engines, nor inflicted excessive humiliation, nor directly restricted their actions to exert influence.
It firmly demanded compensation and apology while securing appropriate gains—a truly 'righteous faction' demand.
Meng Liao carefully reviewed each term, closed his eyes in thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Takmu."
"Yes, Palac... "
-Pffft!
Meng Liao's finger plunged into Takmu's eyeball without a shred of hesitation.
No matter how diamond-hard one's body, the eyes couldn't be tempered.
In an instant, Meng Liao gouged out one of Takmu's eyes and stared at the bloodied orb as he continued.
"You've always harbored excessive ambitions. I thought it would benefit the palace. We needed eyes that could see such hope."
It seems I was mistaken.
-Crunch!
Meng Liao crushed the eyeball in his hand while glaring coldly at Takmu.
Sticky blood spurted out, staining his palm red and slowly dripping down.
"I sentence you to one year of confinement in the Blood Forest Prison. Never again harbor that filthy hope of dragging our tribesmen into hell."
"...I accept."
Despite losing one eye—precious as life to a warrior—Takmu merely bowed his head without complaint.
-Swish, swish
After issuing this brutal punishment, Meng Liao flipped the contract Mokheon had given him and calmly wrote on it with blood from Takmu's eye socket.
It was a blood oath pledging no hostility toward Starpoint Sect.
"Please overlook the poor handwriting. I'm not accustomed to Han script."
We are grateful for Starpoint's mercy.
Having thus fulfilled the first and fifth terms on the spot before the blood even dried, Meng Liao handed the oath back to Mokheon with a smile.
'Whoa, what an intense performance.'
From that chilling yet unflinching demeanor, Baek Hyun could vaguely understand why the Southern Barbarian tribesmen were so desperate to save this man.
Just moments ago, he had been little more than a corpse, yet he didn't seem ridiculous in the slightest.
A giant who possessed the flexibility to bow when needed, while wielding the charisma and boldness to command the fierce Southern Barbarians.
It was only natural they couldn't imagine any replacement for such a man.
"...It's a bit extreme, but your willingness to meet the demands seems genuine, so that's fortunate. I hope Starpoint Sect and the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace can become trustworthy allies going forward."
"Haha, of course. But before we part... may I take a moment to examine the young hero?"
In that instant, Baek Hyun—who had been leisurely watching Mokheon and Meng Liao's negotiations—met an unexpectedly intense gaze.
"Pardon? You mean me...?"
"Yes, you—!!"
Before Baek Hyun could respond, Meng Liao's form shot toward him at tremendous speed.
Baek Hyun panicked but tried to react—only for,
-Slash, swish swish, thump, knead knead, smack!
Meng Liao's hands to probe Baek Hyun's body thoroughly without causing a single injury, merely groping here and there to assess him.
In this bewildering situation, as Baek Hyun awkwardly endured the burdensome touch,
Meng Liao finished scanning Baek Hyun's entire body, rubbed his chin, and fell into thought.
"Hmm... External martial arts are lacking, but the frame is decent, and he's been training diligently. Young hero, how old are you?"
"Uh... fifteen."
"Fifteen... fifteen... five..."
Meng Liao repeated Baek Hyun's age to himself for a moment, then shouted as if having made a decision.
"Approved!"
"...Pardon?"
"I acknowledge you. You're more than qualified to take my daughter."
With that, Meng Liao slung an arm around Baek Hyun's shoulder familiarly and whispered in his ear.
"My daughter Meng Yeon is truly exceptional as a woman. She's a bit green now, but give her a few years and she'll be a sight to behold, so make sure to plant those grandkids soon... Gahk!"
"What nonsense is this damn old geezer spouting!!"
"Urk... D-Daughter... Father is still a patient... Guhuk...!!"
Baek Hyun stared blankly at the scene in the sudden chaos.
"Hyun-ah, Starpoint doesn't forbid disciple marriages, so if you're willing, I have no objections. But marriage is one of the great human affairs, so always be prudent, and as for performing the wedding rites in the wilderness..."
"Master, what on earth are you talking about...?"
"Sigh... I'll teach you that first when we return to headquarters."
"No, that's not what I meant."
The farce finally ended when Meng Yeon, unable to strike her still-recovering father too harshly, released the chokehold around his neck.
"Ahem... Anyway, with the negotiations concluded, I'll go handle the aftermath. 'That guy' should be arriving soon."
"'That guy'..."
"My old comrade. He usually stays in the northern lands, but he must have sensed I've regained consciousness..."
He should be here by now.
-Tssrrrrraaaang—!!!
At that moment, even inside the cave, a deafening roar like air tearing and exploding hit, accompanied by a massive shockwave slamming into their cavern.
The cave ceiling scattered like straw mats in an instant.
The hidden refuge, concealed for Meng Liao's safety, transformed into a vast open clearing, greeting everyone with the wide sky instead of a stuffy ceiling.
Yet it was still pitch dark all around, as if still inside the cave.
A massive monstrous being flapping enormous wings in the sky was blocking all the sunlight that should have illuminated them.
"Long time no see, Araheon! You've missed me too, haven't you!?"
-KieeeEEEEEEK—!!!
The creature that emerged, laying waste to the area, seemed delighted at its old friend's recovery as it swiftly flew across the sky, bellowing a mighty cry.
It was her main card that had raised her fame even before possession, from the days she was called 'Harmful Bird'.
The fastest monstrous being, capable of devastating surroundings with mere wind pressure from movement.
'Seeing it in person, it's a real fighter jet.'
Baek Hyun imprinted the majestic form of the Great Peng in his eyes while bracing against the tremendous wind to keep his clothes from flying off.
The king of the skies, the Peng.
The fastest monstrous being in Dominating the World.
Its signature was devastating charge attacks leveraging overwhelming flight speed, earning it the nickname 'Bird Missile'.
'Even I had to be careful dodging the Great Peng's charge attacks.'
A fully grown Great Peng's charge was unreasonably hard to evade even knowing it was coming—one of the attacks even he paid special attention to avoiding.
Though he'd rarely been hit by it in PvP, of course.
"By the way, why don't you keep the Great Peng with you normally? You wouldn't have lost to the beast messenger if it was around."
Mokheon voiced his sudden curiosity, and Meng Liao replied with a wry smile.
"The damn thing eats way too much."
"...Huh?"
"We're not as food-abundant as the Central Plains, and we have to feed our monstrous beings on top of that. Keeping Araheon around full-time would starve half the tribe.
In that sense, I'm quite envious of you all. No matter how much you eat, it's just human portions, right?"
"……..."
Faced with the man's envy dripping with sincerity, Mokheon seriously pondered whether to take pride in it or not.