The numerous books that were densely packed on the wall.

The unique scent of ink and paper that pierced the nose.

Although anyone would see it as a scholar’s study, the momentum of Kong Yong that filled the study was not that of a scholar.

The gaze that flashed in the darkness that flickered with a single candle was not that of a scholar.

It was the eye of a martial artist.

The moment Cheon Mubaeck set foot, the gaze that scanned him from the tip of his toes to the top of his head was like a blade.

A sharp and transparent gaze that seemed to tear apart his whole body and see through to his insides.

“How on earth do you know?”

Cheon Mubaeck smiled faintly.

Now, Kong Yong was not greeting Cheon Mubaeck as a scholar, but as a martial artist.

Cheon Mubaeck would also treat him as a martial artist.

“Seeing that you don’t ask about my identity, it seems you’re not curious about that.”

“Do not doubt the power of the Kong Family Mansion. At least in the Kong Family Mansion, no, in Shandong, the gaze of the Kong Family Mansion is deeper and wider than that of the government office.”

He knew well. Because Cheon Mubaeck had once been active in Shandong, he knew better than anyone.

If the Kong Family Mansion had harbored any rebellious intentions, wasn’t it implicitly spread that it would be no trouble to establish a country in Shandong?

That was how powerful the power of the Kong Family Mansion was in Shandong.

“Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, Cheon Mubaeck. A hero who, as soon as he appeared in the martial world, saved Shaolin, defeated Mount Hua and Jongnam, and even saved Wudang. In Henan, he treated the sick and gained a reputation as the Henan Divine Doctor, and he punished the Unorthodox Alliance who harassed the common people and is also gaining a reputation as the Henan Hero.”

“You’ve found out a lot.”

“I have cultivated academics my whole life and have lived with a curiosity for the unknown, so I am very curious. How do you know the martial arts of the Kong family?”

“You don’t deny that the Kong Family Mansion has learned martial arts?”

Kong Yong let out a hollow laugh. It was a laugh that was so absurd that it was draining. But his gaze became even deeper, and a strong gaze that would make even Cheon Mubaeck click his tongue was shot out.

“What are you talking about after already stimulating me? You know, don’t you? That martial arts have been passed down in the Kong Family Mansion. I don’t understand that. Because no one, no one knows.”

“Does really no one know?”

At Cheon Mubaeck’s meaningful words, Kong Yong was about to refute, but he closed his mouth at a thought that suddenly came to him.

Had no outsider known for over a thousand years, since the time of Confucius?

No.

A name that suddenly came to mind.

“Shandong Sword Hero, Wi Cheon-ak!”

Kong Yong’s gaze trembled.

The mark left on the letter that had been delivered to him a while ago was a mark that announced that he was the Shandong Sword Hero.

“Are you the one who sent that letter? Then have you inherited the legacy of the Shandong Sword Hero?”

Kong Yong’s voice trembled. If it was the Shandong Sword Hero. If it was the Shandong Sword Hero who had once made a name for himself with Shandong as his stage, it was plausible that he would know the secret of the Kong Family Mansion.

Even the records left in the Kong Family Mansion alone had numerous stories of him having fought a martial arts contest with the Duke of Yansheng of the time.

Cheon Mubaeck was silent instead of answering.

‘Silence is affirmation.’

Kong Yong, who had considered the silence as a silent acknowledgment, showed a hollow laugh.

“A descendant of the Shandong Sword Hero has come to the Kong Family Mansion… What is your purpose? And I had said I would call you separately after the World Debate was over. Why are you so impatient? For a descendant of the Kong Family Mansion and the Shandong Sword Hero to enjoy a meeting… If you have inherited the legacy, you should know. That the relationship between the Kong Family Mansion and the Shandong Sword Hero is not smooth.”

“Not smooth, you say?”

In an instant, Cheon Mubaeck’s face wrinkled.

Not smooth. Looking at the tone of Kong Yong’s words, wasn’t it the attitude of treating an awkward, unwelcome guest?

But Cheon Mubaeck…

‘Did I not get along with the Kong Family Mansion?’

Well.

It didn’t seem like that.

When he was active as the Shandong Sword Hero, Wi Cheon-ak, Cheon Mubaeck had not roamed the martial world much.

Since he had made Shandong his main stage, he had naturally visited the Kong Family Mansion several times.

‘I think we were quite close then.’

The Duke of Yansheng of the time was extremely magnanimous. Although he had achieved great success in academics, he was also a skilled person in martial arts who would make even the greatest masters of the martial world click their tongues.

Cheon Mubaeck had often visited the Kong Family Mansion, and the Duke of Yansheng of the time had also welcomed him.

But what on earth was that reaction? Seeing Cheon Mubaeck’s clueless face, Kong Yong let out a groan.

“Tsk. It seems the descendant was not told that the Shandong Sword Hero had drunk all of the Kong Family Mansion’s liquor.”

“…”

“It’s not the Kong Family Mansion liquor sold at any inn, but the real Kong Family Mansion liquor, and he drank so much of it. The finances of the Kong Family Mansion deteriorated at that time, and it was only recently that they recovered. So what can you do?”

“…”

Cheon Mubaeck made a reluctant expression.

Kong Family Mansion Liquor.

It referred to the liquor brewed in the Kong Family Mansion. Since it was made in the Kong Family Mansion and had gained a great reputation, it was not a very precious liquor as it could be commonly drunk anywhere in Shandong.

But the real, proper Kong Family Mansion liquor was different. Because there was a special manufacturing method that could only be drunk inside the Kong Family Mansion.

Since it was a liquor used in the ancestral rites of Confucius, its rarity was hard to describe.

‘…He gave it to me without hesitation, but was it really that precious to him?’

Cheon Mubaeck, who was newly offended, became sullen.

“If you wish, I will calculate the price of the liquor that my predecessor drank.”

“Hah. That’s enough. What does that matter? What I’m curious about is why you have come here. And of all things, at the World Debate, trying to reveal the secret of the Kong Family Mansion.”

Kong Yong’s eyes blazed.

In any case, since he had tried to reveal that Confucius was a martial artist through Zhuge Seola, from Kong Yong’s perspective, it was not very pleasing. Cheon Mubaeck answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“There is something I need.”

“Something you need?”

“I don’t know its exact name, what kind of object it is, what it looks like, or what it is. But it is an object that I only know is in the Kong Family Mansion.”

“…So you’re saying that there’s an object in the Kong Family Mansion that you don’t even know what it looks like, and you want me to give it to you?”

Kong Yong made a dumbfounded expression. But what could he do? Cheon Mubaeck had not received any detailed information about the sacred object from Jongri Hong.

He only knew that it was in the Kong Family Mansion.

But there was something he suspected.

‘The martial arts of the Kong Family Mansion are hard to see as the best martial arts in the world.’

If you went back to the source, it was certainly a great martial art.

The reason why Confucius could travel the Central Plains and continuously spread his teachings even in the midst of numerous threats was thanks to the martial arts that could overcome any threat.

If you discussed the value of the martial arts, it was definitely a great martial art.

‘The Kong Yong in front of me is an absolute master of the realm of entering the divine. As it is a martial art that has been passed down for generations, he must have learned it, but his practical experience must be extremely scarce. He has reached the realm of entering the divine just by learning the martial arts that have been passed down?’

It was a curious thing. According to Cheon Mubaeck’s theory, it was not impossible, but it was certainly extremely difficult.

Nine times out of ten, it was impossible.

If nine times out of ten were impossible, it was the same as saying that one time out of ten was possible.

The possibility of one out of ten came from the martial arts.

‘If it were a martial art of the highest order that could allow one to reach an absolute realm just by learning it, it would be possible.’

For example, the Heaven-Concealing Sword Art that Cheon Mubaeck had learned and digested in his own way would be a representative example.

‘Are the martial arts of the Kong Family Mansion really like that?’

Cheon Mubaeck shook his head inwardly.

Although it was certainly a great martial art, it could not be compared to the Heaven-Concealing Sword Art.

Then there must be a reason why the Duke of Yansheng had become an absolute master. Cheon Mubaeck’s eyes pierced through Kong Yong’s whole body as if to see through him.

“…I need the heart method that has been passed down in the Kong Family Mansion.”

* * *

“In the end, the descendant of the Shandong Sword Hero has decided to be hostile to the Kong Family Mansion?”

Kong Yong’s voice was cold. So cold that killing intent dripped from it.

“Although the Kong Family Mansion is a place where academics are cultivated, it has clearly inherited martial arts. You, who live in the martial world, should know how heinous it is to ask another for their martial arts.”

“I know. But I need it.”

“If it’s impossible?”

“I don’t want to threaten you.”

“A threat?”

Cheon Mubaeck did not answer. Kong Yong’s eyes flashed. A threat. It was not difficult. Kong Yong understood at once what kind of threat it was. The opponent knew that Confucius was a martial artist. There would be evidence. Since he knew the martial arts of the Kong Family Mansion, he could present more certain evidence.

To let them know that he knew their martial arts to pressure them appropriately.

To receive the sacred object in exchange for keeping the secret.

But Cheon Mubaeck did not want to do such a petty thing.

No, to be precise.

‘It would be meaningless.’

At least the Kong Yong he had met with his own two eyes was a person who had the qualifications of the Duke of Yansheng of the Kong Family Mansion.

The Duke of Yansheng.

A position that could only be held by someone who had sufficient qualifications not only in academics but also in the martial way.

He was a man with such qualifications. His martial arts skill was at the realm of entering the divine, his academic realm was high, and moreover, his pride in his family was clearly felt.

Cheon Mubaeck had a hunch that a petty threat would not work on Kong Yong.

Although he was a scholar in Cheon Mubaeck’s eyes.

‘He is a person with the eyes of a martial artist.’

He was a man who deserved that much respect. But what Cheon Mubaeck wanted would inevitably be accompanied by a conflict.

“You want the heart method? Why on earth? You must already be learning a great heart method. You know that a heart method is not something that can be easily changed just because you have a good one.”

“I have no intention of changing my heart method. I am trying to learn a new one.”

“Learn a new one?”

Kong Yong’s pupils trembled.

A heart method was for accumulating internal energy in the dantian. But to learn a new one instead of changing it. It was meaningful.

Was he going to use two heart methods jointly in one dantian?

Was that possible?

Or was he at the realm of a great master, to the extent that he could combine two heart methods and create a new heart method?

Or…

At a thought that suddenly came to his mind, Kong Yong’s face hardened.

“…You, by any chance.”

Cheon Mubaeck nodded his head.

“That’s right. I plan to use it in my middle dantian.”

“…!”

Kong Yong’s eyes twitched.

It was a reaction that appeared when he could not hide his surprise.

His surprise did not come from the fact that Cheon Mubaeck was opening his middle dantian.

Generally, an internal energy heart method was for accumulating internal energy in the lower dantian.

When one said dantian, it generally referred to the lower dantian.

But Cheon Mubaeck had seen it correctly.

That Kong Yong’s heart method was staying in his middle dantian.

‘How on earth?’

How?

An internal energy heart method was a top secret. Since a martial art like the Kong family’s Rending Fist was expressed on the outside, it was plausible that a descendant of the Shandong Sword Hero would know. But an internal energy heart method was completely different.

What was the reason why it was not known to the world that the Kong Family Mansion had learned martial arts until now?

‘The martial arts of the middle dantian.’

Because the internal energy was accumulated in the middle dantian, even if one’s realm was higher, it was not something that could be peeked at. As a result, they had been able to hide their internal energy for a long time.

But Cheon Mubaeck had noticed at once that it was a heart method of the middle dantian.

In other words, it meant that his realm was much higher, and his qi sense was extremely sensitive to the extent that he could see the internal energy accumulated in the middle dantian.

Kong Yong’s mind was in chaos.

But in the midst of the chaos, one thing was certain.

“Impossible. I cannot give you the heart method.”

“Then I’ll have to persuade you.”

“Persuasion…”

Kong Yong shook his head with a stiff face.

“If it weren’t for the rumors and reputation that you have saved the common people and treated the sick, I would have kicked you out right away. I have no intention of accepting any persuasion.”

Cheon Mubaeck grinned.

“Unfortunately, I came as a martial artist, and the Duke of Yansheng is also in front of me as a martial artist. Persuasion is a conversation, and for a martial artist, a conversation is…”

Kong Yong sighed and stood up from his seat.

“Let’s do this. If I win, you will give up and leave. And you will not speak of the secret of the Kong Family Mansion until you die.”

“…And if I win?”

“I will give you what you want.”

Cheon Mubaeck smiled.

Kong Yong and Cheon Mubaeck, who had come out right away, arrived at a cozy garden where no one came and went.

There was not a single presence.

Kong Yong narrowed his brows as he looked at Cheon Mubaeck.

“You have the moniker of Sword Hero, but why is there no sword at your waist?”

“How could I enter the Kong Family Mansion with a sword? A sword is an extension of the hand, so there is no problem.”

Kong Yong let out a hollow laugh.

The opponent was strong. Kong Yong had realized it with a hunch. But the strength of a martial artist did not come only from internal energy.

It also came from the weapon in his hand.

It was natural that Cheon Mubaeck’s main weapon was a sword.

“Bare-handed, even if I am a scholar, the blood of the Duke of Yansheng flows in my body. The power of Confucius, who spread his teachings in a hell on earth that would make the current martial world look like child’s play, is being passed down.”

“I told you. A sword is just an extension of the hand. So my hand can become a short sword.”

Kong Yong shook his head.

And he clenched his fist.

“Since I have not stepped into the martial world, I must be a junior in the martial world. So will you yield the first move to a junior?”

“Of course.”

At the same time as those words, Kong Yong’s fist pierced the air.

Jiiing!

The atmosphere trembled as if it would be torn, and a large crack appeared in the air as if glass were breaking.

Kong Family’s Rending Fist.

The atmosphere was torn with a rending sound.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep