Big Bro, Go Easy. Easy.
Ak Hu’s eyes went round at Kang Yeon’s words. Of all the people in the world, there were still fools bold enough to set their sights on Kang Yeon’s inn—men whose guts had clearly spilled out past their navels.
“Whoa? Which lunatics stuck their faces into a tiger’s mouth???”
“Can you find out exactly who the client behind it is, and fast?”
Ak Hu grinned.
“In a heartbeat. But listen—”
“I know. You want payment, right? How much?”
“This one’s got a pretty serious risk factor—”
“Cut the noise and tell me what you want.”
Ak Hu’s smile stretched even wider.
“The best thing I can get from you, big bro.”
Kang Yeon heaved a long sigh.
“Fine. But I can’t look after you forever.”
Color flooded Ak Hu’s face at once.
“Heh heh… Perfect. With your teaching, even the eldest senior brother won’t be able to touch me anymore.”
“I knew it. You really did open this inn just for that.”
“I won’t deny it. But you know how I really feel about you, right?”
Kang Yeon snorted at Ak Hu’s shameless expression.
Give back as much as you receive.
That had been the single conviction Kang Yeon had lived by while walking the Murim. And Ak Hu was one of the few who understood that conviction perfectly.
“Yeah, well… I won’t be owing you any more after this. You’re a rival innkeeper around here anyway.”
Ak Hu stroked his chin, briefly wondering whether he ought to give up the inn. But that was absolutely out of the question.
After finishing his meal, Kang Yeon rose and shot Ak Hu a look.
“Lead the way.”
Ak Hu scrambled to his feet. Moments later the two of them stepped into the private training chamber attached to the inn. Kang Yeon glanced around the well-appointed room.
“You went all out building this.”
The interior was fashioned from diamond stone, said to be the hardest material under heaven. Night-luminous pearls were set here and there, and there was even a meditation platform carved from Ten-Thousand-Year Warm Jade, famous for aiding the accumulation of inner energy.
Utterly luxurious.
“Whew~ This place still floors me every time I see it. How much money did you dump into this?”
The chamber existed for Ak Hu alone. If you thought about it carefully, the idea that he had come down here simply to run an inn was absurd. He was the second-ranked heir of the Sado Alliance, the rulers of the Unorthodox path. The true reason he had opened the inn was to stay close to Kang Yeon.
“I did overdo it. I poured every last coin I had into this place.”
As he spoke, Ak Hu moved to the center of the chamber and settled into stance. A strange excitement lit his eyes as he looked at Kang Yeon.
“So I’ve got to squeeze… I mean, learn properly from you, big bro.”
Kang Yeon gave a short laugh.
“Good. Honesty’s refreshing. But this is the last time.”
“Ah… Why, bro?”
“The balance sheet doesn’t add up. The balance sheet. Have you never thought you’re getting way too much for just digging up one piece of information?”
“When I become the next lord of the Sado Alliance, it’ll be good for you too.”
Shameless as the words were, they weren’t entirely wrong. Of everyone in the Sado Alliance, Ak Hu regarded Kang Yeon most favorably.
“You’re not wrong. Here.”
Kang Yeon reached into his robe. Opening a small spatial pocket within, he drew out a single martial arts manual and held it out. Ak Hu snatched it up as though he had been waiting for this exact moment.
“Hah… You brought this ready, knowing I’d ask?”
A gasp escaped Ak Hu’s lips.
Sahwang Noegwon—the Evil Emperor’s Thunder Fist.
What Kang Yeon had handed over was none other than the absolute divine art of the Sado Alliance—the very technique practiced by the current Alliance Lord, Sahwang Ilgwon Ak Mu-rin. For that manual to emerge from Kang Yeon’s robes was enough to leave anyone stunned.
“They say prepare for the unexpected.”
“You’re something else, big bro.”
Ak Hu drew a deep breath and began turning the pages.
Rustle. Rustle.
“Ahhh…”
This time a pure sigh of wonder left him. He stared blankly at Kang Yeon.
“Big bro… thank you. Really.”
The manual Kang Yeon had given him was, of course, one Ak Hu already practiced. But Kang Yeon had quietly revised it, transforming the art into something far easier to master and far more powerful. In short, the unassuming booklet pulled from his robe was a treasure so great that even the lord of the Sado Alliance would foam at the mouth and charge after it.
“You’ve already trained in it, so you’ll grasp it quickly. I’ll rest over here—speak up if anything confuses you.”
Kang Yeon settled himself to one side.
“Got it.”
Ak Hu immersed himself in the manual for a long while. Then, little by little, he began to unfold the forms.
Hummm. Hummmmm.
Sword qi—no, fist qi—began to surge and swirl around Ak Hu’s lightly swinging fists. Kang Yeon watched him calmly.
As expected, he’s good.
The second young master of the Sado Alliance was a true prodigy of martial talent. Clever as well, he was one of the leading candidates for the next Alliance Lord. His only real flaw was being the second son of a family whose backing was too weak to protect him.
That was why Ak Hu treated Kang Yeon as his lifeline.
Kang Yeon knew the young man’s true motives, yet he felt neither offended nor suspicious. In a place as full of vicious intrigue as the Sado Alliance, this was simply Ak Hu’s way of surviving.
Thud-thud-thud— Thud-thud-thud—
Ak Hu’s movements accelerated. But the momentum lasted only a moment. As he approached the climax of the sequence, his form grew awkward. The later stages of the fist art grew steadily more difficult; even knowing them in his head, he could not yet express them perfectly through his body.
“Mm…”
A low sound of frustration slipped from Ak Hu’s lips and he began to stop. At once Kang Yeon, who had been sitting quietly, released a soft current of energy that gently wrapped around Ak Hu’s body.
—Don’t stop. Keep going. From here on I’ll assist you.
The voice ringing inside his mind startled Ak Hu badly. Yet he quickly refocused and continued the forms.
Hummmm.
Using his own energy, Kang Yeon began guiding Ak Hu through the latter half of the technique. Had any other martial artist witnessed the scene, they would have fainted on the spot. Kang Yeon was intervening directly inside another man’s body. Even between master and disciple who shared the same art, such a thing was considered utterly impossible.
To reach into another’s flesh and help them imprint a martial art—
It shattered every common sense the Murim had ever known.
To Kang Yeon, however, it was natural and easy. The man himself stood beyond every limit the great masters of the past had accepted as absolute.
Hummm. Hummmm.
Thus Kang Yeon engraved the entire latter half of the Sahwang Noegwon into Ak Hu’s body. When the final form was complete, a long breath burst from Ak Hu’s lips.
“Hooo…”
Thunder energy rippled out on that breath. In a single session, Ak Hu had leaped past entire stages of enlightenment under Kang Yeon’s hand.
“Good heavens…”
Checking his own condition, Ak Hu looked at Kang Yeon with a dazed expression. Kang Yeon merely spoke.
“Why so shocked? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
Ak Hu’s face filled with raw emotion.
“Big bro, thank you. I’ll never forget this debt as long as I live.”
“Remember those words. Now run through the forms once more on your own. Making them yours is what matters.”
Ak Hu took his place at the center of the chamber and drew a deep breath. The lighthearted air from earlier was gone; only seriousness remained.
Hummm. Hummmm.
Fierce inner energy of the Super-Peak Realm erupted from Ak Hu’s body. For a man of his age, the level was truly remarkable.
Having raised his energy, Ak Hu assumed the starting stance.
Boom— Boom-boom-boom—
His fists shot out with explosive force. Watching Ak Hu polish the Evil Emperor’s Thunder Fist, a look of satisfaction settled in Kang Yeon’s eyes. Violent thunder energy poured from those fists and filled the chamber. An ordinary training room would already have been reduced to rubble, yet the diamond-stone walls endured the tremendous power without complaint.
“Hooo… I think I’ve got the feel for it now.”
Ak Hu finished the final form and wiped the sweat from his brow. His face shone with deep contentment.
“Your teaching really is different, big bro. Even ten years under my master wouldn’t have given me the insight I gained today. No wonder they call you the Absolute Martial God.”
Kang Yeon nodded.
“Your foundation is solid—that’s why you learn easily. Don’t forget that the true power of the Evil Emperor’s Thunder Fist comes from continuous training.”
“Yes, big brother. I’ll train every day.”
Kang Yeon smiled at the young man’s earnestness. It was only natural that Ak Hu took martial training far more seriously than running an inn. In the end, his ultimate goal was to become the successor of the Sado Alliance.
“All right, let’s get to the main point. Tell me who’s eyeing our inn.”
“Of course you already knew I had the information.”
“Isn’t it obvious? How many eyes have you planted around the inns? You’re watching every move I make, so you must know who the other party is.”
“Hey now~ Watching? It’s all for your sake. Look—thanks to the measures I put in place, we get the intel right away, don’t we?”
“Whatever… Just spit it out.”
Ak Hu dusted his hands, straightened his posture, and drew a breath.
“Ever since you wiped out the Five Flower Faction, a lot of groups have been eyeing that territory. The one that stands out most right now is the Black Wind Association.”
“Black Wind Association? Sounds pretty ominous.”
“They’re a rising power. The association lord is a man called Pung Sa-wi—someone cast out by the Murim Alliance. The reason he came to West Lake is revenge.”
Kang Yeon’s brow furrowed.
“Revenge? Against whom?”
Ak Hu pointed straight at him.
“Against you, big bro.”
Kang Yeon’s eyes narrowed. He had made countless enemies during his years in the Murim, yet the name Pung Sa-wi rang no bells.
“Me?? Why me? Pung Sa-wi… never heard of him.”
“That’s not his real name. His true name is Jang Mu-eon. When you were purging forces from both the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Cult, his master died by your hand.”
Kang Yeon nodded slowly. Many had fallen in the battles between the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Cult—among them the Ten Great Demonic Heads who served under the Heavenly Demon.
“Who was his master?”
“The Seventh Demonic Head, Jang Mun-cheon.”
Kang Yeon frowned for a moment, searching his memory.
“Which one was that again? I’ve beaten so many of them…”
“You know—the one who swung that enormous iron club…”
“Ah. That one. I remember. He was a real headache.”
Ak Hu continued.
“Jang Mu-eon was Jang Mun-cheon’s disciple. He hid inside the Murim Alliance and operated in secret. When he was finally exposed he fled, formed the Black Wind Association, and settled at West Lake. Somehow he got word that the Absolute Martial God is connected to that inn. He doesn’t seem to know you’re actually there, though.”
The inn had grown livelier of late, but nothing had yet revealed Kang Yeon’s true identity. They probably just assumed some skilled martial artist had taken up residence.
Kang Yeon let out a sigh.
“It’s always like this. Even when I try to live quietly, no one will leave me alone.”
“Want me to handle it?”
Kang Yeon shook his head.
“No. I don’t want to live that way anymore. I’ll try settling it through conversation myself.”
Ak Hu stared at him in open surprise.
“Conversation? You? Not the fists first?”
“I’m not the man I used to be. I should at least attempt talking. You know my way in the Murim well enough. ‘Give back as much as you receive.’ If they come with malice, they’ll pay the price that matches it. If it can be resolved with words, nothing could be better.”
Ak Hu nodded, though doubt still lingered on his face.
“All right. But I’ll prepare just in case.”
“In case of what?”
“Well, if you end up flipping the whole place, somebody has to clean up afterward.”
Kang Yeon smiled.
“Do that. I’m heading back. There’s still a lot of work left at the inn.”
As Kang Yeon turned to leave, Ak Hu called after him.
“Big bro—go easy. Easy.”