Chapter 229
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 229
Chapter Title: That's My Name
Ha Mu-baek's laughter sent fierce waves of energy surging from Gu Tan-gil and Gu So-so's bodies.
They had drawn up their internal energy, scattering their intimidating auras in all directions.
"Did I say what I did was teasing?"
Ha Mu-baek asked, wiping the smile from his face.
"If that's not teasing, then what the hell is?"
A roar exploded from Gu Tan-gil's mouth.
"Strange. Didn't you just call it a light joke?"
Ha Mu-baek asked again.
"Hmph! When did we ever say that? Don't spout such nonsense!"
Gu So-so snarled viciously.
"You clearly said it just moments ago. That calling a light joke 'teasing' was ridiculous."
Ha Mu-baek said with an incredulous expression.
"That was because my son..."
Gu So-so stopped mid-sentence.
Ha Mu-baek nodded.
"You called it a light joke, so I just returned the same kind of light joke your son gave my disciple. That's all."
Ha Mu-baek asked with a smile once more.
"Eek."
"Eeek."
Gu Tan-gil and Gu So-so had no retort.
It was a complete dead end.
If she claimed what happened to her was teasing, then her son had teased a disciple.
If she insisted her son's actions were just a light joke, then what this bastard—who she wanted to chew up and spit out—had done to her was also just a light joke.
"Hmph. How can we believe that? That your teasing and my son's actions are the same?"
Gu So-so shouted venomously again, as if she'd found a counterargument.
Her response was to deny it outright since she couldn't believe it.
But.
"There are sworn statements from Cheol-ryeong's squad mates in Wa Dragon Corps Squad One. During the investigation, they all confirmed Cheol-ryeong said and did exactly those things. All four of the other disciples."
Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul interjected, shattering her argument.
"What the..."
Gu Tan-gil grabbed Gu So-so's hand as she tried to shout something.
He had no choice.
Squad mates with Cheol-ryeong meant disciples from other New Eight Sects. And ones with status comparable to his within their sects, no doubt.
Denying their statements meant picking a fight with their sects.
"Did you teach the disciple who left our Ryeong in that state?"
So Gu Tan-gil shifted the topic instead.
Pretending the previous exchange never happened.
Ha Mu-baek saw through the obvious ploy but played along.
"And if I did?"
"How the hell does an instructor teach a disciple to turn our Ryeong into that mess?!"
Gu Tan-gil kept raging.
"This is so absurd it's not even funny. Isn't Cheol-ryeong a martial artist? He picked the fight first and got beaten because he was weaker. And now you're insulting his instructor? Are you really from Ironclad Clan? Ever heard of ironclad discipline?"
"Eek..."
Gu Tan-gil's face flushed red then pale at Ha Mu-baek's words.
They hit too close to home.
But admitting it meant what about Cheol-ryeong?
That poor boy.
"We know you used some cowardly trick!"
Gu So-so jumped in.
"It wasn't a formal spar—it was a brawl. In a brawl, the loser is just a loser."
Ha Mu-baek replied calmly.
"Eek."
Gu So-so's face turned beet red.
"Pavilion Lord. How can a Dragon Training Pavilion instructor be this pathetic? With instructors like this, no wonder Fierce Dragon Corps trash dared do that to our Ryeong."
Her fury turned to Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul.
"Wa Dragon Corps is far more important than Fierce Dragon Corps, who are just meat shields for Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest. Especially Squad One—they shouldn't even cross paths to begin with! As a mother who entrusted her child to the pavilion, I can't overlook this! Fire that damned instructor right now!"
Pang Do-yul looked troubled as he gazed at the rampaging Gu So-so.
She didn't know Ha Mu-baek.
That's why she was carrying on like this.
"Even as Ironclad Clan, this is Dragon Training Pavilion business. You have no right to interfere."
"Not as Ironclad Clan—as his guardian, I'm protesting!"
Her venomous voice echoed loudly.
"The mutt that lost the fight sure barks loud."
Ha Mu-baek muttered dismissively.
"You bastard, flapping your loose lips!"
"That's my line. Like mother, like son. Who the hell are you to bark like that?"
A faint anger flickered in Ha Mu-baek's eyes.
Pang Do-yul noticed it.
'He's about to snap.'
"Pfft. I just called meat shields meat shields."
Gu So-so sneered, thinking she'd found Ha Mu-baek's weak spot.
"I'm curious where the punk named Cheol-ryeong—who got beaten like a dog by those meat shields—comes from."
Ha Mu-baek's retort made Gu So-so tremble with rage.
She saw it as an insult to her and her son.
Finally.
Her spear tip turned toward Ha Mu-baek.
"Eek, I'll rip that mouth off!"
Thud.
She kicked off the ground and charged straight at Ha Mu-baek.
When words failed, force was all that remained.
Whoosh!
The energy-infused spear sliced through the air toward Ha Mu-baek.
He dodged effortlessly with minimal movement.
"Remember this: your son teased someone and got his ass kicked. Me? Even if I teased, I won't lose teeth over it."
"Keep yapping!"
Ha Mu-baek smashed the incoming spear—cleaving space itself—with his fist.
Thwack!
A jarring vibration rang through to his grip.
Gu So-so grimaced.
"Not bad, huh?"
Gu So-so's robes began to flutter.
"Hoo."
Pang Do-yul sighed softly at the sight.
"Let's step back."
Pang Do-yul pulled Gi Yu-chan far away.
He had no intention of intervening.
Ha Mu-baek had provoked her on purpose, intent on fighting.
No way he'd listen if Pang Do-yul tried to stop it now.
"Having them in the grand hall was a wise choice."
Gi Yu-chan murmured lowly.
Indeed.
There was plenty of space for them to rampage.
From the moment he'd heard Ironclad Clan was coming to Dragon Training Pavilion, Pang Do-yul might have anticipated this exact scenario.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
Dozens of spear shadows rushed at Ha Mu-baek.
He casually swung both hands, batting them all away.
Gu So-so grimaced.
She poured more internal energy, and spear energy began forming at the tip.
It was on the verge of materializing—peak high-level, just shy of transcendent beginner.
Impressive for a woman, but.
That was it.
Gu So-so kicked off again, unleashing her spear arts as she charged.
The ferocious spear energy covered the spear, so Ha Mu-baek didn't meet it barehanded.
He coated his hand in qi and smashed it.
Crack.
The spear snapped instantly.
Thud.
His left hand—sans qi—slammed into her solar plexus.
"Guh."
As Gu So-so let out a choked gasp, Ha Mu-baek's right fist—qi dispelled—smashed her face.
Thwack.
"Kyaaak."
Gu So-so screamed and tumbled.
Her cheek swelled red in an instant.
Blood streamed from her nose in two lines.
"So-so! You bastard!!"
Gu Tan-gil, filled with rage, stomped the floor.
His spear now shimmered with blinding spear qi.
At the same time, the seven Ironclad Elites moved to surround Ha Mu-baek.
Scree!
Gu Tan-gil's spear aimed for Ha Mu-baek's chest.
Ha Mu-baek smashed it with a qi-coated fist.
Clang!
Qi clashed against qi.
The buzzing in his fist told him Gu Tan-gil wasn't weak.
"Ha?"
Ha Mu-baek looked incredulous as he scanned the group encircling him perfectly.
"Ganging up on one? You righteous faction scum?"
"You did it first? Loser in a brawl is a loser."
Gu Tan-gil with spear qi, and seven warriors with spear energy.
"Let's get one thing straight. Why are we fighting like this? Because I teased? Made a joke?"
The topic snapped back to square one.
Teasing? Joke?
"No more talk! Winner makes the rules! You dared hit So-so—I'll crush you!"
With that, Gu Tan-gil launched himself.
Was that the signal?
The seven subordinates charged too.
"Instructor Ha winning won't free Cheol-ryeong, right?"
Gi Yu-chan, watching calmly, asked.
Pang Do-yul shook his head.
"Can't you tell from their actions? After taking down Instructor Ha, they'll probably smash the seclusion room door."
"Then that won't happen."
Gi Yu-chan replied nonchalantly.
Pang Do-yul nodded faintly in agreement.
The eight attackers moved in perfect sync, ferociously.
A battlefield formation honed on horseback against foes.
Now unleashed on Ha Mu-baek.
Gu So-so, apparently unskilled in formations as Gu Tan-gil had ordered, hung back, catching her breath with murderous eyes.
Spears thrust from all eight directions simultaneously.
A flawless assault leaving no gaps.
Ha Mu-baek leaped high.
Spears followed relentlessly, as if anticipated.
He battered them with qi-coated fists, using the recoil to flip backward.
But the spears pursued doggedly.
Ha Mu-baek twisted midair, stepping on nothing.
Instead of falling, he shifted sideways.
'Air tread step!'
Gu Tan-gil was startled.
He'd suspected as much from the fist qi.
But air treading?
A realm beyond mere qi use.
Still, they would win.
This was a formation tempered on vast northern plains.
No mere instructor could break it easily.
Impressive, but that's as far as it went.
Gu Tan-gil kicked off, soaring into the air after him.
He too treaded air, spear qi clashing intricately with fist qi.
The seven Ironclad Elites watched the duel, occasionally thrusting to distract Ha Mu-baek.
As the exchange dragged, Gu Tan-gil seemed to gain a slight edge.
Inevitable.
Reach disparity.
Long spear versus short fists.
Gu Tan-gil exploited it masterfully.
Worthy of Ironclad Clan's leader.
But.
His opponent was Ha Mu-baek.
Ha Mu-baek released his fist qi.
Instead, he drew his sword.
And a rising pure white sword qi.
If the foe's reach was long.
Make mine longer too.
Ha Mu-baek's sword qi extended, meeting Gu Tan-gil's spear.
"Wh-what?"
Gu Tan-gil flinched at the sudden change.
Ha Mu-baek moved to exploit the opening—
Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh!
Three spears flew at him, hurled with full power.
Slice. Slice slice.
Ha Mu-baek swung lightly, cleaving all three perfectly in half.
But in that gap, Gu Tan-gil regrouped.
"You... not bad. Too good for some pavilion instructor. What's your name?"
Gu Tan-gil finally questioned his foe's identity.
"Ha Mu-baek."
Ha Mu-baek answered curtly.
The impact was anything but.
Gu Tan-gil froze mid-motion upon hearing it.
"Ha Mu-baek?"
He echoed.
"That's my name."
Ha Mu-baek replied evenly.
Gu Tan-gil's gaze flicked to Pang Do-yul, standing far off.
Pang Do-yul met his eyes and nodded lightly.
Confirming it was that Ha Mu-baek.
"H-Ha Mu-baek... that madman..."
Gu Tan-gil clearly knew of him.
Just not his face.
Now he reacted.
"Shall we continue?"
Ha Mu-baek smiled.
"Eek."
Gu Tan-gil surged with full internal energy again.
This time, Ha Mu-baek went on the offensive.
No more mere defense.
A proper assault.
Each swing of his sword shattered a spear into fragments.
In moments, the Ironclad Elites were neutralized, collapsing in a row.
Gu Tan-gil remained last.
Ha Mu-baek's sword bore down to smash his spear too.
Clang!
It sliced the shaft—but a resounding metallic ring.
The spear was solid steel from tip to butt.
Coated entirely in faint qi.
"I'm not that easy."
"Impressive."
Ha Mu-baek was genuinely admiring.
A steel longspear.
How heavy was that?
His massive frame was solidly trained too.
Wielding it so freely required extraordinary training.
Plus internal energy to coat the entire length.
A fitting sight for Ironclad Clan's leader, thundering across harsh northern lands.
"Time to end this?"
Ha Mu-baek said to Gu Tan-gil.
The qi on the spear deepened.
Ha Mu-baek's sword qi shifted hue.
From white to inky black.
"Wh-what?"
No time to marvel at the unseen qi.
Ha Mu-baek kicked off the floor.
Sword strikes filled every direction as he flew.
Gu Tan-gil spun his spear like a windmill to block.
But the vibrations made him grimace.
Tremendous force shaking to his core through his palms.
Still, he gritted his teeth and swung.
Ironclad Heaven-Shaking Eight Spear Forms.
Ironclad Clan's ultimate spear art's final technique unfolded from his hands.
No intent to just defend.
He poured all his energy into unleashing his strongest move at full power.
Qi scattered everywhere.
Ha Mu-baek swung again.
Infinite Eight Severings Wish-Fulfilling Sword Sea.
Heaven Splitter.
The technique that shattered Guanghui Heaven reemerged.
Countless swords poured from the linked sky with his blade.
The spear form's qi crumbled futilely beneath them.
As Gu Tan-gil knelt, covered in sword wounds—
Ha Mu-baek, sword sheathed in a flash, appeared before him.
Thud! Thud thud thud!
Ha Mu-baek's fists pelted his body in a phantom blur.
"Grk."
A rough groan escaped Gu Tan-gil.
"Drama queen."
Ha Mu-baek chuckled.
Just shallow cuts on the skin.
He'd held back from deep slashes.
The body blows too.
Bare fists, no qi.
Still packed a punch, though.
Ha Mu-baek's knuckles glistened with Gu Tan-gil's blood.
Thud.
Gu Tan-gil finally collapsed.
"Brother!"
Gu So-so staggered to him in shock, still reeling from her earlier hits.
After the fight.
Gi Yu-chan looked around in surprise.
"Pavilion Lord. Wasn't it a qi-flying everywhere kind of battle?"
"It was."
Pang Do-yul had explained it himself.
"But this place is spotless?"
Only then did Pang Do-yul notice.
The grand hall was pristine.
If you hadn't watched, you'd never guess a qi-raging fight happened.
Not a single scratch.
Ha Mu-baek's perfect battlefield control.
Pang Do-yul couldn't even guess the limits of that man's prowess.
Standing there casually like nothing happened.
"Heh, surprises me every time."