Chapter 58: Chapter 58- Why Did That Sound So Familiar?

A few minutes just before Sol arrived…

Tap

Tap

Tap

Inside the two-story pavilion, Sol’s Master, the old man, was tapping his foot as he waited for Sol.

While he stood in the hall, there was someone who was sitting atop a throne-like seat at the end of it.

This person was a rather handsome young man that looked to be in his late twenties.

This was the Headmaster of the Alchemy Pavilion in the Martial Alliance Academy, Young-Hwa.

He was dressed in green Daoist robes while casually reading a scroll that was resting on his crossed legs.

Aside from how handsome he looked, there weren’t any outstanding features on him that stood out other than his peculiar green, emerald pupils, which were carefully observing the contents of the scroll.

Despite the persisting silence between these two individuals, there was a tense atmosphere inside the pavilion hall.

It was only when Young-Hwa chuckled to himself that the silence broke.

The old man immediately frowned.

“What’s so funny?”

“Hm?”

Young-Hwa said as he raised his head to see the old man’s frowning expression.

“Oh, it’s nothing, it’s just a line I read in this scroll.”

After saying that, Young-Hwa went back to reading the scroll in silence. However, his silence didn’t last long before he began laughing again.

This time his laughter lasted longer and was a lot louder. It seemed exaggerated but at the same time genuine.

The old man couldn’t help but grit his teeth.

“Damn Bastard! Who are you laughing at?!”

“Huh?”

Young-Hwa wiped the corner of his eyes as he looked at the old man and said.

“You decrepit-looking old man, who’s laughing at you? I was just reading this scroll!”

“Bullshit!”

The old man knew there was nothing funny in that scroll as it probably only contained information relating to alchemy. Instead, what Young-Hwa was laughing at was his old man appearance!

“You ancient-looking fossil, why are you shouting?”

The old man snorted, but Young-Hwa merely laughed and put away his scroll.

“So, when is that disciple of yours showing up? Don’t tell me you lied about finding a disciple again.”

“Bah! Who’s lying? Didn’t you get a message some time ago? Why don’t you check it?”

Hearing that, Young-Hwa frowned.

His communication jade slip had indeed received a message, but it wasn’t possible for the old man to know that given its location.

After glancing suspiciously at the old man’s smirking expression, Young-Hwa flipped over his palm and took out his communication jade slip.

This was a jade slip that all the Pavilion Headmasters of the Martial Alliance Academy had. However, Young-Hwa hardly paid it any mind as he saw being the Alchemy Headmaster as nothing more than a way to fund his own Alchemy research.

This was probably the first time in several years that he took this thing out.

After taking out the communication jade slip, Young-Hwa curiously examined the latest messages that he had received. And there was one that came in a few hours ago that caused his expression to change.

He even sat up in his seat, his casual demeanor vanishing.

The message was that shocking.

Looking up from his jade slip, Young-Hwa stared at the old man and asked seriously.

“Cheonma, is this your doing?”

“Hey, you little brat, I said never to call me by that name again.”

“Answer me! Is the person who climbed the Heavenly Staircase your disciple?”

Picking his ears, the old man casually responded.

“Of course he is.”

Seeing his nonchalant demeanor, Young-Hwa sighed and said exasperatedly.

“You demon. Are you planning on ruining this child’s life like you did the others? When are you going to give up on your grudge? Didn’t we agree to end it with our disciples?”

The old man got annoyed when he heard that.

“I’m not ruining his life; I made sure to keep his identity as my disciple a secret. Plus, I’ve made some contingencies in case it’s revealed.”

“Ha! You say that but while man can always plan, it’s ultimately the heavens who will decide one’s fate. What happens when they eventually find you? When did they find us? You’re putting a target on your disciple’s back by making him enter the academy this high profile!”

“I don’t want to hear it, Second Brother. You speak as if you’ve completely given up on revenge. Why did you enter the Martial Alliance Academy and even have your disciple enrolled here? Even the youngest is planning on having his disciple join the Academy as well! Deep down you both hope your disciples could do what we could not.”

Young-Hwa and the old man stared at each other for a long while before Young-Hwa clicked his tongue and looked away.

“Eldest Brother, don’t compare us to you. This Academy is a neutral ground where a single one of the Six Holy Sects or the Five Great Clans can’t exert their influence without being suppressed by the others. What better place is there for our disciples than here?”

The old man snorted and was ready to retort, but the double doors to the pavilion suddenly opened and Sol hesitantly stepped in.

The old man’s eyes lit up when he saw Sol and he motioned for him to hurry to his side.

When Sol reached his Master, he cupped his fist and greeted him.

“Enough with your bickering, this is my disciple!”

“Who was bickering?”

Young-Hwa mumbled under his breath before he carefully glanced at Sol.

Having this person staring at him so intensely, Sol felt rather nervous.

“Brat, go ahead and greet this bastard, he’s my second younger brother.”

Sol looked taken aback upon hearing that. This man looked nothing like his Master, so he wasn’t sure if they were just sworn brothers, or his Master’s old appearance was just obscuring the similarities.

Quickly cupping his fist towards Young-Hwa, Sol said.

“Greetings, Uncle Master Young-Hwa!”

Young-Hwa nodded before he turned to his brother and asked.

“Can I test him?”

“Go right ahead.”

The old man unhesitatingly replied.

Sol glanced towards Young-Hwa, wondering what kind of test he was talking about.

’Surely it’s not as bad as…’

“Okay, then what better way to test this new disciple of yours than breaking a few bones?”

“Wah-What?”

Sol looked at Young-Hwa, completely shocked by his words, but he wasn’t able to question the absurdity of such a test before he suddenly felt a mountain-like pressure drop onto his shoulders.

“Ugh!”

Sol groaned before he immediately tensed his body to resist the pressure, but his back was still forced to bend slightly.

Slowly, the pressure increased until Sol couldn’t remain standing. His right knee landed on the ground with a loud bang.

“This–Uncle Master Young-Hwa, isn’t this too much for a test?!”

Young-Hwa snorted and then reprimanded.

“Damn brat, are you disobeying your Uncle Master upon our first meeting? I’m only going to break a few bones, what’s the issue?”

Sol’s eyes couldn’t help but widen before a confused and helpless look appeared on his face.

’Why did that sound so familiar?’

Sol gritted his teeth and tried resisting the pressure, but his other knee eventually slammed onto the ground. Now he had his palms flatly on the tiled floor while trying not to have his chest squashed against the ground.

“Little Zeel, are you okay?”

“Awoo…”

“U-Uncle Master, please stop, my pet is… is… argh!”

Instead of stopping, Young-Hwa increased the pressure.

“Still disobeying?”

“N-No, that’s not…”

Sol tried to explain the situation, but it was hard to speak due to the pressure.

’Damn it.’

Sol cursed before he wrapped his hands around his torso and protected Little Zeel.

Young-Hwa seeing Sol’s actions had his eyes curiously dart towards his robes.

He was about to stop upon realizing Little Zeel’s existence; however, he ultimately decided to continue to increase the pressure on Sol’s shoulders.

Suddenly, cracking noises echoed from Sol’s body, it was a result of his backbones breaking.

But Sol didn’t even flinch or had a change in expression. He only focused on protecting Little Zeel while waiting for Young-Hwa to stop.

However, he did choose to call on his Innate Dharma which resulted in a green glow enveloping his body and healing his broken bones.

As if he was waiting for this, Young-Hwa’s eyes lit up and he unintentionally increased the pressure; he wanted to see how far Sol’s Innate Dharma could heal his injuries.

“Awoo…”

Little Zeel could be heard whining in pain, and Sol frowned. He was becoming slightly angry.

However, the old man tapped his foot and said.

“That’s enough, bastard. His pet can’t handle any more of the pressure.”

With that tap, a more terrifying power appeared inside the hall and dissipated Young-Hwa’s pressure on Sol’s shoulders.

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