“Five seconds.”

“I really came to fight with the Plum Blossom One Sword.”

“Four, three…”

“While I’m at it, I’ll also go to Zhongnan and have a match with the Zhongnan Wind Sword!”

“Two… one…”

“Ah! It’s because of my father’s orders!”

Cheon Mubaeck did nothing.

He just counted the numbers with a deeply sunken gaze and a low voice.

But since there was a person’s momentum, Gwak Cheon-hu confessed under the formless pressure.

Gwak Cheon-hu’s face flushed.

It was humiliating.

He was ashamed that he had answered, unable to withstand the pressure, as he was also a man.

“Gwak Yong’s orders? What are they?”

“I told you not to say my father’s name carelessly!”

Ppaak!

Cheon Mubaeck’s hand struck Gwak Cheon-hu’s cheek like lightning.

“You bastard. Either use honorifics or informal language, just do one. And, huh? Me and your father? Huh? We drank together! Huh? We even bathed together!”

“…”

Fear appeared in Gwak Cheon-hu’s eyes again.

This time it was a little complicated.

It was not the gaze of seeing a scary guy, but a gaze as if he were afraid, with a madman in front of him.

Well, since a guy younger than him was saying that he had eaten and drunk with his father, he would feel like he was looking at a complete madman.

But Cheon Mubaeck did not care.

How would he know, even if he saw this?

By any chance, were you close with my father in a past life?

Would there be a guy who thinks like that?

Cheon Mubaeck was more curious about Gwak Yong’s orders than that.

In fact, it was clear that going to ask for a duel with the Zhongnan Wind Sword and the Plum Blossom One Sword was just something he was doing on the way.

“How did you know? That I was going to Mount Hua and Zhongnan for another purpose?”

“Would a guy who openly talks about his movements, saying that he’s going for a duel, have that as his purpose?”

“…!”

Gwak Cheon-hu’s pupils shook.

And he looked at Cheon Mubaeck as if he were impressed.

‘With just one word?’

Although it seemed like self-praise, Gwak Cheon-hu was the most famous successor in Chongqing.

Since he was counted among the best not only in Chongqing but also in the entire martial world, there were not many people of his caliber.

In a word, there were restrictions on his movements.

Especially this time, it was something that should not be known to the outside.

‘So I pretended to be on a dueling journey.’

The fact that he had come to the Hao Faction and had deliberately mentioned the dueling journey.

And even the talk about the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, although there was no lack of personal interest and desire to win. It was a kind of camouflage.

But to see through it in one go!

‘Could it be that he is one of my father’s friends who has undergone a rejuvenation?’

I heard that the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero was seventeen years old.

Martial arts skills?

What did age have to do with that?

He himself had gone around breaking the dojos of the successors of Chongqing when he was in his teens.

If you just have elixirs, talent, a great martial art, and a master, there is no problem.

What was truly amazing was that insight.

To show such insight in his teens? It was hard to believe.

“Don’t roll your eyeballs. Man. Just tell me. What are the orders?”

“…I can’t say.”

“Right. It’s the same that you can’t say even if you’re buried in the ground.”

“…It was on the way to ask for help from the sect leaders of Mount Hua and Zhongnan.”

“Wow. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a guy with less backbone than Neung-heo.”

“I have something to do. If it weren’t for the orders, I would have fought to the death today.”

“Whatever. Anyway, what help? Gwak Yong, no. I would also be upset if someone called my father’s name carelessly. What help did the head of the Gwak family ask for?”

“He is the head of the Flying Sword Sect.”

“Uh, right. The head of the Flying Sword Sect.”

A person’s psychology is like that.

When a person who has been harassing, yelling, and hitting you lowers his voice and gently coaxes you, there is something that makes you feel a surge of emotion and your heart softens.

Is it because of that? Gwak Cheon-hu, without even realizing it, told the story.

Although Gwak Cheon-hu had pretended to be composed on the outside, he was a young man in his twenties who had never been hit anywhere.

On the other hand, Cheon Mubaeck was an ‘old monster’ with hundreds of years of martial world experience.

To such a person, gently coaxing one person was not a big deal.

“A tragedy has recently occurred in Chongqing.”

“In detail.”

“Five small and medium-sized sects disappeared overnight.”

“…”

Cheon Mubaeck recalled the story that Im Hong had brought up.

‘This is it.’

What does this have to do with the Gwak family, no, the Flying Sword Sect?

“Three of the five were sects that were under the protection of the Flying Sword Sect.”

“So you’re going to ask Mount Hua for help?”

“No.”

Gwak Cheon-hu shook his head.

“If it had been a simple dispute between sects, my father would have solved it. Because my father is one of the top three in Chongqing, and he is one of the top hundred masters in the entire Central Plains.”

“Then, it’s not a dispute between sects?”

“As a result of investigating in various ways, something unusual was revealed.”

Gwak Cheon-hu stopped talking there.

The meaning that he would not answer any more.

Cheon Mubaeck was about to urge him once more, but he soon shook his head.

Looking at his firmly closed lips and eyes, this was not the kind of thing that would be answered by hitting or coaxing.

He would rather have a sword at his throat than answer.

Ah, of course, if he really wanted to kill him, he might answer.

Cheon Mubaeck did not bother to do so.

Although he would think of hitting him as educating the son of a guy who had been a pretty good friend in his past life, could he kill him?

‘There’s no choice.’

Cheon Mubaeck said to Neung-heo, who had been quietly by his side.

“We’re going tomorrow. With that guy.”

“Huh? With that bastard?”

“Don’t call me a bastard! You bastard!”

“Oh? Want to have a go?”

“Hmph? Are you confident? Do you think I look easy just because I was defeated by that guy!”

“Quiet.”

“…”

“…”

“If you’re noisy, I’ll crush both your mouths and go.”

The surroundings became quiet.

“Neung-heo.”

“Yes.”

“You should build up your skills against that guy.”

“Pardon?”

“Cheon-hu.”

“You want me to fight with that guy? I want to fight with you…”

“I won’t go easy on you next time. Then you’ll die.”

“…I’ll have a duel with that guy.”

“Right.”

Cheon Mubaeck judged that Gwak Cheon-hu was a suitable opponent for Neung-heo.

Of course, Gwak Cheon-hu was far ahead in terms of skill, but Neung-heo was also not to be taken lightly. If the two of them were put together, even if Gwak Cheon-hu didn’t, at least Neung-heo would have some development.

Cheon Mubaeck was thinking of accurately finding out what his purpose was while taking Gwak Cheon-hu to Mount Hua.

‘It smells.’

An intuition that came from a long experience.

That intuition said.

That it was not something to be taken lightly.

If it was related to the Blood Ghost Valley…

‘These guys. It’s not just Shaanxi and Henan.’

A smile appeared on Cheon Mubaeck’s lips.

* * *

“Are we going by carriage?”

“Should we just walk?”

“No, it’s not like we don’t have a lightness skill.”

“Does internal energy spring from the ground?”

“Eum. I see.”

Neung-heo nodded his head.

Cheon Mubaeck looked back at Im Hong and said.

“Put it on my tab.”

“Oh, no. Since we’re in a cooperative relationship, getting a carriage is nothing…”

Im Hong waved his hands.

It wasn’t just any carriage. It was a four-horse carriage that was quite expensive. Although the outside was not flashy, the inside was quite clean and luxurious.

It was clear that quite a bit of money had been spent.

But Im Hong was not sorry for that kind of money.

‘Go quickly. Quickly.’

Cheon Mubaeck and Neung-heo. He had not been able to sleep properly with these two madmen by his side.

He felt like he wanted to throw a party since they were leaving.

“Neung-heo, drive the carriage.”

“If you’ve gotten a carriage, shouldn’t you also get a driver?”

“Why, when the driver is right here?”

“Wow, our master’s welfare for the disabled is the best. To ask a one-armed man to hold the reins.”

“Are you emphasizing the fact that you’re one-armed?”

“Oh, no. One eye! One arm! You have to be at this level to survive in the martial world with your impression.”

“You should be grateful.”

“Yes.”

Cheon Mubaeck, who had put Neung-heo in the driver’s seat, got on the carriage with Gwak Cheon-hu.

“Then I’ll be going!”

“Branch head.”

“Yes.”

“I hope you’ll get the information and bring it to me soon.”

“…”

“If you want to receive the next verse of the Shadow Insight Sword.”

“Ha… I understand.”

Im Hong nodded his head with a face as if he had chewed on something bitter.

Although his insides were turning upside down, the name of the Shadow Insight Sword had that much value.

* * *

There was a reason why Cheon Mubaeck had deliberately put Neung-heo in the driver’s seat and had gotten on the carriage with Gwak Cheon-hu.

It wouldn’t take long to get to Mount Hua anyway.

It wouldn’t even be a few days.

Especially with a four-horse carriage.

So Cheon Mubaeck had wanted to coax Gwak Cheon-hu and hear the details while they were on their way.

At first, Gwak Cheon-hu had absolutely refused to open his mouth, but he was surprisingly simple.

Cheon Mubaeck had fought with him a few times and had given him a few simple teachings.

‘He’s a talent, a talent. The saying that a tiger father has a dog son doesn’t suit him.’

Just by throwing him a few words, Gwak Cheon-hu had shown a remarkable growth.

For Cheon Mubaeck, who had felt frustrated while teaching Neung-heo the Neung-heo’s Left Sword, it was quite a pleasure.

What was even more amazing was his ability to immediately make the teachings his own through a duel.

It was not for nothing that he had gone on a dueling journey, saying that he wanted to fight with the strong.

There are various kinds of people in the martial world.

A martial artist who grows by going through life-or-death battles.

Or a martial artist who develops through personal meditation, like Lü Dongbin.

If Cheon Mubaeck had to be classified, he was the former, and the Gwak Cheon-hu in front of him was a perfect former.

Cheon Mubaeck, who had felt a relative liking for this tendency even in his previous lives.

Gwak Cheon-hu, who had felt that Cheon Mubaeck was showing him enough goodwill, gradually opened his heart.

And in the end, he confessed what had happened.

“It’s exactly five of them.”

“Five?”

“It means that the number of guys who annihilated the five sects is exactly five.”

“Hmm. No matter how small and medium-sized the sects are, to use the word ‘annihilation’… if five of them went in a group, it means that each person faced at least twenty.”

Gwak Cheon-hu shook his head.

“No. It’s a hundred per person.”

Cheon Mubaeck let out a hollow laugh.

“You mean one person destroyed one each?”

“That’s right.”

“Was the Chongqing martial world that weak?”

“No. There are no Nine Great Sects or Five Great Families in Chongqing. Our Flying Sword Sect is the best in terms of skill, but our size is small. But the annihilated small and medium-sized sects were places that had made a name for themselves in the meantime.”

Cheon Mubaeck was lost in thought for a moment.

As he had intuited, it was not a normal incident.

It was the martial world where sects were annihilated, disappeared, and were newly created at any time.

But it was not a common thing for one person to annihilate one each.

Moreover, in one place, Chongqing.

“So the request is to deal with those five?”

“There was someone I knew among the five. And… he was a person of the orthodox martial world.”

“Eum?”

“He was a person who had connections with various large sects. So my father started an investigation, but the five of them disappeared without a trace.”

Cheon Mubaeck narrowed his brow.

A person of the orthodox sects was involved, and he was a person who had connections with large sects.

Then it was understandable that it would be confusing.

“So you’re going to the Mount Hua Sect and Zhongnan.”

“Because they are the closest.”

Cheon Mubaeck nodded his head.

It was then.

“Eum?”

“Aren’t they the martial artists of the Zhongnan Sect?”

Cheon Mubaeck readily nodded his head at the sight of the group that was visible through the slightly open window.

As Neung-heo had said, it was the uniform of the Zhongnan Sect.

“Why are they on the way to Mount Hua, not Mount Zhongnan…”

Well, they could go.

Because exchanges between sects were a common thing.

But Cheon Mubaeck tilted his head at the expressions of the Zhongnan Sect.

Because they had a rather ferocious momentum.

A face as if they were going to war.

Mount Hua and Zhongnan, it was well known that the two were rivals, but to go to Mount Hua in a group with such a face…

“Neung-heo.”

“Yes.”

“Speed up a little. I’ll have to get to Mount Hua first and see what’s going on.”

Indeed, Cheon Mubaeck’s prediction was correct.

When Cheon Mubaeck arrived at Mount Hua, what greeted him was not the welcome of Cheonghyeonjin.

It was the sight of the Zhongnan and Mount Hua martial artists facing each other with a sharp momentum.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep