I'll Handle That Revenge Myself (3)
Geum Dondong was lost in memories of the past. That day, walking down a street in the capital.
"Martial artists ain't all that. Should've lived like this from the start. Heh heh, no need to watch their every move all this time."
At that moment, Geum Dondong was brimming with confidence in his own strength. And why not? He'd risen from third-rate to super peak master without a single defeat.
When he learned that even a super peak master's sword qi couldn't pierce his Gyoryonggap armor, Geum Dondong knew he was untouchable.
Defeat... impossible for him.
"Why not start my own top sect in the world?"
His confidence soared to the heavens when, by chance, he met him. A man in shabby clothes blocking the road.
If not for the sword at his waist, anyone would've taken him for a beggar. Geum Dondong did too.
A beggar.
Geum Dondong frowned at the beggar man. His unkempt hair looked like it hadn't seen a comb in days. His build was twice that of an ordinary man, which was odd, but...
His vacant eyes stared blankly at the sky.
The path hadn't been this narrow before, but the man's presence made it feel cramped.
"A madman?"
A guess anyone might make. The old Geum Dondong, out without guards, would've worried about getting jumped and taken another alley.
But today, he was decked out in full gear. Fresh off beating someone who claimed to be a super peak master.
No sword, however fast, could pierce his Gyoryonggap. He was certain he could withstand any trick or ambush.
And he had weapons, poisons, and hidden tools that could drop anyone in one hit.
Maybe that's why he poked at someone he could've just passed by.
"Hey, don't block the road. Move it."
He wasn't picking a fight out of nowhere. The madman was smack in the middle, impossible to pass.
But the response...
"F***... b****..."
Geum Dondong hadn't expected curses right off the bat. Normally, he'd apologize and back off, but today he overflowed with confidence.
"Did you just curse at me? At me?"
"Some filthy beggar like you ruined my great epiphany, sending it far away—gone forever."
It had been ages since Geum Dondong felt this beggar-like. A shared sentiment between him and the man.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Nope. Doesn't matter. What matters is my epiphany's shattered."
"You a martial artist by any chance?"
"What, do I look like a regular joe to you? Tsk tsk, shouldn't have come to this backwater province."
They were in Beijing, the capital where the emperor resided. Nowhere in the Central Plains was more advanced; all wealth and talent converged there. Naturally, the headquarters of the Tianxia Jeonjang, called the world's greatest arena, was in Beijing too.
And this guy was dissing Beijing?
Frog in a well.
The kind of thinking from fools who thought their village the best. This man hadn't met an outsider to shatter that illusion yet.
Guess I'll be the one to show him. First outsider he meets is me? His unlucky day.
Geum Dondong had no intention of letting him off easy.
"Where you from, acting all high and mighty?"
"Me? From Hebi."
Hebi... a big city, sure, but lacking compared to Beijing.
"Tsk tsk, comparing measly Hebi to Beijing, home of the emperor? And maybe you can space out blocking streets in Hebi, but not here."
The man looked puzzled. "Why not?"
Idiot or just ignorant?
Geum Dondong stared in disbelief. "Obvious. Beijing's streets are for the emperor. You blocking his path?"
"Didn't know that. But you ruined my epiphany over that?"
Crazy bastard?
But Geum Dondong was ignorant too. If this were Hebi with witnesses, they'd have stopped him quick. This man was famous there.
He was an elder of the Namgung Clan. In Hebi, they said you'd sooner tangle with the Demonic Cult than them.
Namgung folk couldn't tell book smarts from martial smarts, and their elders were the pinnacle of that.
"You think you're the emperor or something?"
"Not quite."
"Then why mess with me?"
"Not the emperor, but I hold the rank of 6th-grade Jusa. Got the authority for it."
Geum Dondong was the Tianxia Jeonjangju. He met the emperor often, donated fortunes to the palace, stayed tight with them. That's why they gave him an official post—a courtesy for someone in and out of the palace daily.
Of course, it was mostly nominal, with shady undercurrents if you dug deep. But irrelevant to this man.
"6th-grade? What's that? Higher than Jwado Eosa?"
Ha... he talks like he's one? What a blowhard.
Jwado Eosa was 2nd-grade, head of the Censorate.
"Or like those Sangseo scum?"
Ha ha, speechless.
Sangseo was also 2nd-grade, heads of the Six Ministries.
"Or that old Dodok?"
This guy's got no fear of the emperor! Mouth like that'll get him vanished without a trace!
The first two ranks were rarities for commoners. But Dodok? Different league. Power second only to the emperor, 1st-grade equivalent to Grand General.
Could move troops in four provinces on a whim. With that force, could raze Beijing overnight if he wanted.
No sane person namedrops him like that.
"Whatever. I'm going. Mouth itching? Grab a drink. Don't block my way."
Geum Dondong lost patience with this lunatic, unlike at first.
"Hold up. You owe me for ruining my epiphany. A Hwagyeong insight like that? Even the emperor might not get a pass. Some unheard-of 6th-grade? Sigh... Fine. I'll be generous, let it slide a hundred times. You seem decent, so one smack and we're done."
"Crazy f***er..."
"Nickname's Mad Ox. How'd you know?"
Mad cow... Perfect fit, whoever coined it.
"Don't pick fights. Keep bragging, go elsewhere. Keep it up, you'll catch real hell."
"Huh? Worried about me? First time in years. Feels nice."
Just close my eyes and end him?
Geum Dondong was seriously torn.
"Not bragging. Here in Beijing 'cause that old Dodok begged me to come beat his kids."
Geum Dondong toyed with a hidden weapon coated in Gucheonji Poison.
"Fine. Can't believe you, but fair spar? I'll accept. I'm kinda important here... Can't go getting hit anywhere."
Finally, someone worth going all-out on.
"Whoa, real bigwig, huh? Good! Supposed to meet that Dodok old-timer, but you're more fun."
"Ha ha, your jokes go too far. Whatever, follow me. Know a good spot."
"Sweet! Special for you—two hits!"
World's full of crazies, but...
Geum Dondong prided himself on meeting countless folks building his fortune. Thought he'd seen every nutjob out there.
But...
This pure breed's a first.
"How to hit ya? Smash that head like this? Or~ gut-punch like that?"
"...What?"
"Ah~ So pumped. Might need to beat a Demonic Cult elder to calm down. Ngh!"
Ha ha, now Demonic elders?
Even fearless martial artists feared the Demonic Cult universally. Hiding in distant Xinjiang, yet the martial world stayed vigilant. The palace too. For merchants like him, info on them was priority—they meant war if they invaded the secular world.
Among them, the nine titles for the absolute peak: elders. Each outmatched old sect leaders. If they invaded, Central Plains would crumble instantly, folks said.
Come to think... he called himself Hwagyeong earlier.
"You really Hwagyeong?"
To Geum Dondong's knowledge, only a handful of old sect heads reached it. His first was the palace Grand General.
Hwagyeong felt otherworldly. This nut was different too, but more... weighty, mystical.
"Yep. Big deal? Nowadays everyone's hitting it. Know eight more? Wait, nine? Ten? Eh, whatever. Common as dirt. Next-door Changshik's Hwagyeong, neighbor Haesook too."
Hwagyeong common? Next-door Changshik? Haesook? Dad'd jump from his grave.
Geum Dondong feigned calm. "You talk like the emperor. Can't handle it."
"Swear! Just before coming, two hit it. Most don't know—real martial arts start at Hwagyeong. Idiots who can't reach it shouldn't bother. Stick to business, right?"
Those words lit a fire in Geum Dondong's heart. Inevitable, perhaps.
"Don't whine my hands hurt later."
Peak of merchants, now eyeing the martial world. Unrivaled genius—that was Beijing's Geum Dondong.
"No worries. Won't kill ya. I'm righteous faction, after all."
Heh heh heh. Talks big, full of s***.
"Love that. I'm righteous too—no killing you."
Soon, they reached Geum Dondong's villa. The man gawked nonstop.
"Whoa~ This your place?"
Figures. When's a beggar seen luxury?
Geum Dondong shrugged. "Just a spot to crash when free."
"First tiny villa I've seen."
Tiny? This?
Anyone else would've exploded. Geum Dondong smiled thinly. "No one's watching—let's spar and settle this."
Inside: Hold it. Soon he'll be begging.
"No lake? Villas need a pond and pavilion."
Geum Dondong snapped. "Enough! Only the emperor's palace has that."
"Nah... ours does..."
He decided. Originally, poison him, count to ten, antidote.
"Twenty."
"Hm? Twenty?"
Ignoring him, Geum Dondong steeled himself. More might kill him.
Just enough agony for this blowhard beggar.
Pulling on his golden helmet from the bundle, he said, "First beggar like you. All talk, hot air. Dunno your tiny world, but today I'll broaden your horizons—chew you up and spit you out."
The man, openly insulted, grinned instead, pointing at Geum Dondong's head. "That looks sturdy."
And so began the grudge between Geum Dondong and Namgung Cheon.
* * *
I asked, "So what happened?"