Inn Uproar (2)
"What the hell is that bastard?"
Pang Changho couldn't hold back his rage and let out a shrill screech at the sight of Hyeon Yucheon, who looked just a couple years younger than him, still seated there.
He was already proud and arrogant by nature, and with his friends watching, having one person remain seated was a blow to his pride.
"P-Please wait just a moment."
The warriors of the Hebei Pang Family, who barked orders at powerless commoners and errand boys, were even more servile before the far stronger Pang Changho.
"He must be deaf or blind or something."
They offered ridiculous excuses as they approached Hyeon Yucheon, the last one occupying a seat.
By coincidence, the spot where he sat was one of the best seats on the third floor of the guest house.
"Hey. Didn't you hear what I said?"
Bam!
The low-ranking warriors of the Hebei Pang Family were mostly second-rate fighters.
These side-branch blood relatives handled nothing but gatekeeping and menial tasks.
They slammed their swords onto the table as if to show them off and glared at Hyeon Yucheon murderously.
"I heard you."
Amid the chaos, with the errand boy and everyone at Haeha Guest House panicking and gasping in shock, only one person—the very center of it all, Hyeon Yucheon—remained utterly calm.
"Then why aren't you moving? Do you think our Third Young Master is a joke?"
Pang Changho peered from behind the warriors, showing interest.
In truth, he loved bullying the weak and lording over them.
Born into wealth with a mountain of gold spoons, he still picked these fights because the thrill of driving people away was simply too intoxicating.
Especially when someone dared to stand up like this—it made it all the sweeter.
The fun of slowly breaking them down until they kneel...
To Pang Changho, this was entertainment, a game.
He had long grown bored of all the usual pleasures and debaucheries this world offered.
All that remained were these twisted, perverse torments.
And one more thing.
He wanted to show off his power and prestige in front of his friends.
Young fools like them always itched to prove who was superior, didn't they?
"I have no interest in your young master. I just want to sit here quietly, enjoy my meal, and gaze at the Haeha River."
"Ha! Hahaha—what?!"
The Hebei Pang Family warriors burst into laughter at the absurd reply.
What grand reason could there be? It was ridiculously trivial.
Of course, the reality was different. Commemorating his parents while eating here was something Hyeon Yucheon could never give up, but he couldn't explain that to them.
His status as the Mangeum Clan's heir was the deepest secret, and he had no desire to share it with trash like this anyway.
"I'll stay quiet here. Just pretend I'm not here and enjoy your birthday. That should work, right?"
Hyeon Yucheon offered a flexible compromise.
This spot at Haeha Guest House was built on the ruins of the Mangeum Clan.
He simply didn't want to see blood here.
Swish!
Unable to contain themselves at Hyeon Yucheon's outrageous words, the warriors glanced at their master, Pang Changho.
"Teach him exactly what the Hebei Pang Family's prestige means!"
His words made the eyes of his friends—scions of famous families near Hebei Castle—gleam with excitement.
Birds of a feather flock together.
The moment Pang Changho gave permission, they drew their swords in unison.
The Hebei Pang Family's symbol, the massive and broad taedo greatswords, gleamed under the light.
"This punk must have a death wish."
Just as the tense standoff was about to erupt into battle!
Thud!
Something faster than the second-rate warriors' draws.
Hyeon Yucheon's hand movement.
Having perfectly mastered the Formless Flash Quick Sword, he carried no blade.
Using Master's arts on trash like this would be a waste.
In Hyeon Yucheon's eyes, their attacks were so slow they bored him to yawns, so his hand moved first to strike their pressure points.
"Wha—? Brother Cheol! Brother Cheol, why are you sleeping here?"
"Get up!"
The lead warrior who had been shouting collapsed into deep slumber, leaving the Hebei Pang Family warriors in utter panic.
No matter how they shook him, with his pressure point deeply struck, he wouldn't wake.
Even the super first-rate Iron Fist Asura had collapsed when Hyeon Yucheon hit his point.
"Poison! That damn donkey bastard used poison!"
People often dismissed what they couldn't comprehend as sorcery or illusions.
These men were no different.
They refused to believe Hyeon Yucheon's superior arts and assumed poison had been used.
"Poison?"
Hyeon Yucheon chuckled in disbelief.
Was his hand too fast?
They still hadn't noticed a thing.
Pluck!
This time, toward the one accusing him of poison, he moved his hand slowly, deliberately, for all to see.
If the previous strike had been blindingly fast extreme speed, this one was heavy and languid.
To achieve the fastest speed, master the slowest first perfectly!
This slow technique from Hyeon Yucheon, who had grasped the essence of the Formless Flash Quick Sword, stemmed from his master's advice.
Over five years, he had never slacked in training.
He had devoted himself utterly to absorbing Cheon Baeksang's every teaching and technique into his own.
Soon, the beauty of slowness unfolded.
So slow that as the novice reached to grab his hand!
Slither!
Hyeon Yucheon's hand moved like a sleek white snake, slipping over the novice's hand with the exquisite precision of the Golden Snake Technique.
Slow yet sly like an eel scaling a wall, soft and utterly crushing the foe.
Thud!
The moment it passed, he struck the enemy's pressure point again, openly.
This act silently explained why his comrade had fallen into deep sleep and flown to the moon.
Thud!
The second warrior, who had screamed about poison, collapsed on the spot into slumber.
In truth, striking pressure points with dazzling speed was Cheon Baeksang's specialty, often used when he wished to avoid killing.
"You idiots! Rush him all at once—what are you doing?!"
As his underlings dropped one by one, Pang Changho pounded his chest in frustration and issued orders.
About five or six remained, and they charged Hyeon Yucheon side by side like they'd been waiting.
Hyeon Yucheon welcomed the attack all the more.
Perfect for taking them all out at once.
They clustered just right for knocking out, a boon for him.
Their leader had served them up; it was time for proper hospitality.
Multiple bursts of invisible sword qi fired like arrows—the ideal stance for one against many.
Papapapang!
Imagine an enormous boulder shattering, hurling razor shards everywhere.
That was exactly Hyeon Yucheon's Formless Linked Bullets.
"Eup!"
"Urk!"
"......"
Hyeon Yucheon had no desire to spill blood or cause a huge commotion here, akin to his parents' resting place at Haeha Guest House.
He knocked them out without fanfare—no death cries, just faint groans at most.
All the Hebei Pang Family underlings collapsed.
No matter their second-rate prowess, it was futile against divine might reaching the heavens.
"What? W-What the hell are you?!"
Pang Changho, drunk on his own superiority and twisted tastes, panicked in shock at the scene.
Separate from his rotten personality, his skill was already super first-rate, unmatched nearby.
Why else would he rank among the central plains' top eight late-stage geniuses, the Five Dragons and Three Peaks?
"It's not too late. Pretend you didn't see me and enjoy your birthday quietly."
Hyeon Yucheon extended mercy once more, but...
"You mad bastard! How dare you humiliate me?!"
Pang Changho, ignorant of the heavens' height, wouldn't back down easily.
Moreover, the daughter of Jinju Eon Family—Hebei's prestigious orthodox house where he harbored affections—was here today.
Being interrupted before her eyes fueled his rage beyond control.
Chaeng!
Finally, Pang Changho drew his greatsword and advanced on Hyeon Yucheon.
"There it is. Heaven-defying arrogance, thinking you're hot shit. That's your kind's trademark."
Hyeon Yucheon snapped coldly, his voice laced with subtle fury.
He already harbored deep grudges against the righteous martial world.
Plus, there had been minor friction between Mangeum Clan and Hebei Pang Family.
Our parents paid them a certain sum under the guise of protection.
He didn't recall details from childhood, but the memory lingered vividly.
Yet until Jonghun the Hongbulgeom Sword and Murim Alliance forces massacred Mangeum Clan, Hebei Pang Family hadn't stirred.
They'd cowered and looked the other way.
"You'd roll over whimpering if someone stronger showed up."
Pang Changho, baffled by the inexplicable words, flew into a rage and unleashed the Hebei Pang Family's signature art, the Mount Tai Iron Blood Blade Method.
A slash bold enough to cleave a massive mountain sideways—imbued with the Hebei Pang Family's heroic grandeur and majesty.
Matching his hulking frame, Pang Changho possessed heaven-sent superhuman strength.
Why else call him the Thousand-Power Blade, wielder of a thousand men's might?
Approaching thirty, his power rivaled the world's strongest warriors.
Kwaaaaaang!
Indescribable might surged from Pang Changho's massive greatsword.
Anyone versed in martial arts could tell a mere graze would kill instantly.
Sneer.
Suddenly, Pang Changho's smile deepened.
His wildly swinging blade assailed Hyeon Yucheon's entire body, while Hyeon Yucheon stood frozen, not twitching a muscle.
I win!
Pang Changho already claimed victory.
Lost in triumph, he unwittingly glanced back at Jinju Eon Family's daughter, Eon Yuhee—Silver Spirit Flower.
A couple years younger, her bewitching, voluptuous figure drove him mad.
Marrying into Jinju Eon, second only to Hebei Pang in might among Hebei's famed orthodox houses, would be ideal.
"Fool. A warrior's eyes wandering?"
That instant.
Though Pang Changho's glance lasted a mere split second, the price was devastating.
Pfshuk!
A long wooden chopstick from the littered floor had pierced a full inch into his knee.
"Kwaaaaaagh!"
A pig-slaughtering shriek echoed down the Haeha River, far and wide.