Chapter 46
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: That's My Call
Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul scanned the current situation with a troubled expression.
His cousin, Pang Do-woong, stood ramrod straight with his sword drawn, his aura surging fiercely.
No matter what anyone said, he was the Pang Clan's top swordsman at present.
Of course, that didn't hold if you counted past-generation masters, but among the active warriors of the Pang Clan, he was undeniably the strongest.
He had even surpassed the clan lord's level two years ago.
Pang Do-yul had known he'd be coming to the Dragon Training Pavilion soon, but he never imagined it'd be today—or that he'd be facing off against Ha Mu-baek here.
And the reason was easy to guess.
His own nephew, gripped in Ha Mu-baek's left hand with a face beaten to a pulp like a lump of raw meat—that was the cause.
"You know how to swing a sword a bit... At least no one's ever said that to me. Not even my clan's lord."
A subtle fury laced Pang Do-woong's voice. It was a different anger from the one toward Pang Gun-ho.
This was rage born from Ha Mu-baek's words, which seemed to mock his swordsmanship.
Smoothly.
Ha Mu-baek's gaze shifted to Pang Do-yul.
"Pavilion Lord. How strong is that fellow?"
"The current top swordsman of the Pang Clan."
Ha Mu-baek tilted his head at Pang Do-yul's response.
"Huh? He's decent enough... but that level..."
Pang Do-woong's face twisted in a scowl at Ha Mu-baek's dubious reaction.
In the meantime, people began gathering one by one.
The massive explosion from moments ago had drawn even more attention.
"More importantly, how about we call it quits now, Instructor Ha?"
Pang Do-yul said cautiously, eyeing the growing crowd.
Ha Mu-baek snorted in amusement.
"I've got claim on this punk's neck, don't I?"
He lifted Pang Gun-ho as he spoke. This time, Pang Do-yul's expression darkened.
[At the very least, it'd be appreciated if we settled this away from prying eyes.]
Mindful of the gathering onlookers, Pang Do-yul transmitted telepathically.
"Hmm..."
Ha Mu-baek glanced around, lost in thought.
He'd planned to end it quickly, but the uninvited guest had delayed things—and drawn even more eyes.
'Iron Blood Thunderbolt Blade, right? Probably.'
Ha Mu-baek knew the sword art Pang Do-woong had just unleashed.
He'd seen it firsthand on the battlefield.
That strike's thunderous roar had echoed through the Dragon Training Pavilion, so who knew how many more people would flock here.
If it were just him, he wouldn't care—but there was a complication.
His younger sister was with him, so he had no choice but to heed Pang Do-yul's words.
"Seol-bing."
Ha Mu-baek called Han Seol-bing curtly.
"Sigh."
She let out a short sigh. She knew exactly what that summons meant.
They'd synced up countless times during the last war, after all.
Han Seol-bing pulled a bundle of silver rods from her bosom and tossed it into the air.
The rods flew out as if guided by will, embedding into the ground in precise positions.
At the same moment, a white frost-like energy poured from her body.
"Open Array."
With her quiet murmur, a veil of white frosty mist enveloped the surroundings.
"Huh? Wh-what's this?"
"What's going on?"
The seven cadets panicked in an instant.
"It's nothing to worry about. Just stay put."
Han Seol-bing calmed the cadets, who were flustered by the unfamiliar phenomenon.
"Hmm..."
Pang Do-yul swallowed a grunt.
Now, the only ones left in this space were himself, Pang Do-woong, Pang Gun-ho, Ha Mu-baek, Han Seol-bing, and the seven cadets.
The curious onlookers who'd been creeping closer were perfectly shut out.
"This is the one I've only heard about..."
Pang Do-yul had heard of it countless times in words, but never witnessed it himself.
At his mutter, Pang Do-woong scanned the surroundings with eyes full of disbelief.
"No way, this is..."
"That's exactly what you're thinking. It's probably the Ice Soul Gate Locking Array."
Pang Do-yul said softly.
"Impossible. Brother... How could that array..."
He trailed off, too flustered to continue.
"It's possible. The one who deployed it is Han Seol-bing, former vice corps leader, standing right there."
Pang Do-woong's face stiffened at Pang Do-yul's words.
He knew of her, too.
Han Seol-bing, vice leader of the Hocheon Corps, the Righteous Heaven Alliance Lord's personal guard.
One of her signature techniques was this Ice Soul Gate Locking Array.
"Alright, eyes are covered. Now let's settle this."
Ha Mu-baek said coldly.
As he said, all attention was perfectly blocked.
No one could enter the interior of this Ice Soul Gate Locking Array at will.
There were three ways in: an array master dismantling it, an absolute expert shattering it with overwhelming force, or Han Seol-bing, its caster, permitting entry.
At the very least, no one in the Dragon Training Pavilion could break this array.
And as for someone with the power to smash it...
Probably the man standing before Pang Do-yul's eyes right now.
Grind.
A grinding sound came from clenched teeth.
It was Pang Do-woong.
At the call to settle things, he shifted his gaze back to Ha Mu-baek.
A surging energy poured from his body once more.
"Don't hide cowardly behind your nephew as a shield. Step forward honorably."
Ha Mu-baek snorted at his words.
"Looks like you're mixing up the sequence of events. No reason for me to use trash like this as a shield. And even if I did, no reason to fight you fair and square."
Whoosh.
With that, Ha Mu-baek tossed Pang Gun-ho aside. Han Seol-bing caught him effortlessly.
"Watch him closely. That punk."
Ha Mu-baek said, giving Pang Do-yul a chilling glare—a warning not to try anything.
Ha Mu-baek took a step toward Pang Do-woong.
"Is this what you call honorable?"
Ha Mu-baek snorted again, spreading his arms wide.
"Draw your sword."
Pang Do-woong said, eyeing the blade at Ha Mu-baek's waist.
"That's my call."
"Wait, hold on. Both of you, calm down."
Pang Do-yul hurriedly intervened. Ha Mu-baek glanced at him, then at Pang Do-woong, and shrugged.
"Do-woong. Cool off for a moment."
Pang Do-yul desperately tried to contain the situation with minimal damage.
"Brother. This concerns the Pang Clan's honor. I absolutely cannot let that man go."
Pang Do-woong said, forcing down his rage.
"He's beyond what you can handle."
Pang Do-yul said gravely. Pang Do-woong's eyes widened round.
He prided himself as the strongest in the Pang Clan—at least excluding retired past masters.
For him to say this instructor, who looked younger, was too much for him?
He couldn't accept it.
"Brother..."
Pang Do-woong's voice carried anger at being belittled.
"Who deployed this array?"
"Vice Corps Leader Han Seol-bing..."
He'd already heard from the clan that she was an instructor here.
"Can you handle her?"
"I'd have to clash to find out."
"Then what about that man treating her like a subordinate?"
Only then did Pang Do-woong realize it.
When she'd deployed the array. And when she'd taken his nephew earlier.
It had been so natural he'd overlooked it, but that man truly treated her like a subordinate.
"You only know long and short by comparing."
"Some things you know without comparing."
"Brother! Who the hell is that guy?!"
Pang Do-woong demanded, frustration boiling over.
Pang Do-yul looked at him with equal exasperation.
Ha Mu-baek, standing aside, watched them indifferently.
Pang Do-woong was the future of the Pang Clan's swordsmanship.
That's why he hadn't joined the last war. The elders had kept him back as a safeguard for the clan's future.
So he didn't know Ha Mu-baek.
Ha Mu-baek didn't know him either.
That's how this mess happened.
"Pavilion Lord. Can I just handle my business?"
Ha Mu-baek asked coldly.
No reason to get dragged into their squabble. He just needed to deal with the one who'd insulted his sister.
Ha Mu-baek turned. To retrieve Pang Gun-ho from Han Seol-bing.
"You bastard! Stop!!"
At that moment, Pang Do-woong ignored the blocking Pang Do-yul and lunged forward.
Once more, the Iron Blood Thunderbolt Blade unfolded from his hand!
Fierce, domineering sword qi surged toward Ha Mu-baek.
Ha Mu-baek drew and swung his sword lightly, dispersing the ferocious wave of qi.
"You wanted me to draw, so I did. What's next?"
Pang Do-woong halted his blade, staring blankly at the man before him.
The Iron Blood Thunderbolt Blade, achieved at the Ten Stars level.
He hadn't gone all out, but to neutralize it so easily?
Unbelievable.
But what was done was done. Denial wouldn't change it.
'Some things you know without comparing, huh?'
Pang Do-woong realized his cousin knew this man's identity precisely.
And so did his uncle who'd sent him here—and his cousin.
That's why they'd sent him.
Because of that man.
He'd grumbled about being sent just to protect some worthless nephew, but now he saw the reason.
To think such a monster lurked in the Dragon Training Pavilion.
No, more than that—what were his uncle and cousin thinking, sending that wastrel here?
If they'd just kept the wastrel tied to the clan, none of this would've happened.
Pang Do-woong's back grew slick with sweat.
Cold sweat he'd been unaware of.
This time, he moved his sword with utmost caution.
A glint of interest entered Ha Mu-baek's eyes.
It was a completely different sword style from before.
There was a saying in the martial world: the Pang Clan's Three Blades. The Pang clansmen called them the Three Great Blade Arts of the Pang Clan.
Five Tigers Severing Gate Blade, Iron Blood Thunderbolt Blade, Mixed Origin Soul-Seizing Blade.
These three.
The Five Tigers Severing Gate Blade was what the Pang Clan's first-class disciples learned, and the Mixed Origin Soul-Seizing Blade was exclusive to the clan lord.
The Iron Blood Thunderbolt Blade was for those in the clan with exceptional insight into blade arts, pursuing the pinnacle of dominance.
'And there's one more.'
Ha Mu-baek recalled a blade art that had impressed him during the last war.
The martial world thought of the Pang Clan as masters of domineering blades, so they overlooked it.
Lingyun Eight Shadows Blade.
Probably known to only a few even in the Pang Clan.
A blade art that seemed unbelievable for the Pang Clan, pursuing the extreme of softness.
It had truly amazed Ha Mu-baek.
Not just the art, but the skill of the warrior wielding it. No matter how great the art, if the user couldn't wield it properly, it was like a pearl necklace on a pig.
Thus, to Ha Mu-baek at least, he was the Pang Clan's top swordsman.
Not that thundercloud bruiser Pang Do-yul had called the current best.
Yet now, that thundercloud bruiser's stance was precisely the Lingyun Eight Shadows Blade.
"You. Learned the blade from Pang Geol-ryang?"
Pang Do-woong's movements froze at Ha Mu-baek's question.
"How do you know my Second Master..."
His voice trembled slightly.
He was also his great-uncle by blood, but as another teacher who'd instructed him in the blade, he always called him Second Master.
In the martial world, almost no one knew of that master's existence.
His blade art diverged completely from the widely known Pang Clan styles.
Yet this man had named him exactly.
"Second Master... So you have others too, which is why you learned both Iron Blood Thunderbolt and Lingyun Eight Shadows?"
Pang Do-woong's eyes bulged as if they might tear.
He'd accurately identified his arts.
"H-how... you... you bastard..."
Pang Do-woong's voice shook violently.