Chapter 27
“Is this also a formation?”
“No….”
Despite Lee Ryang’s assertion, Su Rin wanted to deny the scene before her eyes.
Eunho, who was beating the eldest son of the Pang family, and the Fist King Pang Ji-yeol, who was looking at the scene with satisfaction.
She had heard that they went to persuade him, so why was Eunho beating Pang Jeoak?
Eunho greeted Su Rin, who was pinching her cheek as if she didn’t want to believe it.
“Oh, you’re here. Did you find out where the Fourth King is?”
“Yes… well…”
Is that important right now?
Pang Jeoak had smashed three trees and was lying on the ground.
Su Rin glanced at Pang Jiyeol.
It was said that his temper was as fiery as the Fourth King’s, so she wondered if it was okay to beat his son like that in front of him.
Pang Jiyeol, sensing her gaze, turned his head to look at the group.
Su Rin flinched greatly.
Contrary to her concerns, Pang Jiyeol didn’t seem to be in a bad mood.
“Quite impressive for someone so young.”
His gaze was directed not at Su Rin or Lee Ryang, but at the Shadow guard
The shadow guard, who met his gaze, felt his whole body hair stand on end.
‘This is the power of the Twenty-Four Masters…’
Although he was at the peak of his abilities, facing the Enlightened realm directly was a completely different realm.
In his gaze, he saw the fist king and Eunho behind him.
‘A realm that I may never reach in my lifetime.’
The shadow guard bowed his head silently in gratitude.
It was full of respect for the absolute being.
Thud! Crack!
At the same time, the sound of Pang Jeoak’s forehead breaking and ribs cracking was heard.
The three people tensed at the brutal sound, but Pang Jiyeol didn’t seem to care at all.
“You’re Su Rin, right? So, did you confirm that the Fourth King is in Inwangchae?”
“Yes, I couldn’t approach closely because of the formation around it, but I’m almost certain.”
Pang Jiyeol’s thick eyebrows twitched.
“Almost? That’s troublesome. I’m busier than I look. I can’t move without certainty.”
Su Rin nodded.
It was natural for Pang Jiyeol to be busy. He was a member of the Murim Alliance Council, one of the Twenty-Four Masters, and the head of one of the Five Great Families.
She didn’t know how Eunho had persuaded him, but it was unusual for someone like him to take action.
After a moment of contemplation, Su Rin spoke cautiously.
“Then, should we take the risk and send our children into Inwangchae….”
“Fist King. Stop talking nonsense and just follow me.”
“Haha, I was thinking the same. If it’s your request, I can move as lightly as a feather.”
Pang Jiyeol scratched behind his ear and grinned at Eunho.
Even Su Rin, known for her composure, was taken aback by the scene.
She looked at Eunho, who was standing nonchalantly.
‘What kind of person is he…’
Ever since meeting Eunho, surprising events kept happening.
She couldn’t predict what would happen next.
One thing was certain, they were now part of an event that would be greatly recorded in the history of Murim.
Or rather, they were swept into it.
“Oh, what do you plan to do about the formation? That cautious brat, the Green King, must have put a lot of effort into it. If you want, I can request assistance from the Jegal family.”
A martial artist of the Fist King’s’ caliber could break most formations with force.
But a formation meticulously crafted with effort was a different story.
Especially if one of the creators was a skilled sorcerer, it would be impossible to break.
It was a completely different realm from martial arts.
While the Jegal family, with their deep knowledge of formations, could handle it, it was impossible for the Northern Pang family, composed of ordinary martial artists.
“He will take care of it.”
When Su Rin pointed to Lee Ryang, Pang Jiyeol’s eyes narrowed.
It was hard to trust someone who looked around with dead fish eyes.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, he is well-versed in formations.”
“Hmm.”
Despite Su Rin’s additional comment, Pang Jiyeol still looked at Eunho with suspicion.
“Don’t worry. He’s skilled.”
“Well, if you say so, it must be true.”
Pang Jiyeol’s trust in Eunho was almost blind.
“Lee Ryang, can you do it?”
“Of course.”
Eunho asked calmly, and Lee Ryang answered as if it were obvious.
A playful look appeared on Eunho’s face.
“Last time, your formation was easily broken…”
“Ahem, that was because it was set up hastily without any preparation. It would have been different if I had prepared properly.”
“Well, I’ll trust you. So, is everything settled?”
Su Rin nodded.
There was only one thing left for them to do, go to Inwangchae and fight.
“Hahaha, I like your speed. Let’s depart immediately!”
Pang Jiyeol’s hearty laughter echoed throughout the training ground.
“Immediately?”
Su Rin looked at Pang Jeoak, who was still unconscious.
She wondered if it was okay to leave him like that.
Sensing her gaze, Pang Jiyeol laughed heartily again.
“Haha, my son is tougher than he looks, so don’t worry. He’ll get up on his own.”
Seeing Pang Jiyeol’s burning eyes, Su Rin reluctantly nodded. Although it didn’t seem like he would get up on his own, if his father said so, then so be it.
“Then let’s go.”
Su Rin and the shadow guard led the way, followed by Eunho, Pang Jiyeol, and Lee Ryang.
The Green King had no idea.
The strongest force in the current Murim was heading towards them.
***
The shadow guard was a top assassin from the Assassination Sect who had received grace from the previous Hao Sect Leader.
He had vowed to live and die with the Hao Sect, and now served the current Hao Sect Leader, Su Rin, with loyalty.
During his time as an assassin, those who became his targets lived on borrowed time regardless of their status. After taking on the role of guarding the Hao Sect Leader, he was the one who expanded the Hao Sect’s sphere of influence.
Due to the nature of the Hao Sect dealing with information, it often became a target for many masters and sects. However, with the shadow guard supporting from behind, the Hao Sect Leader could act more boldly.
The shadow guard, a true genius who reached the pinnacle at a relatively young age.
He had now been reduced to a mere coachman.
Neither Eunho, Su Rin, nor the Fist King could drive the carriage, and although it made sense for the youngest, Lee Ryang, to drive, the annoying Lee Ryang didn’t know how to drive a carriage.
How could he not know how to drive a carriage at his age?
He was an annoying fellow for no reason.
Inside the carriage, it was quite chatty, with Pang Jiyeol asking questions and Eunho answering.
How did he attain such martial prowess at that age?
Was the level of his master, Namgung Cheong, truly at the pinnacle, or was it misinformed?
Did he have any plans to unify the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic Murim with the Northern Pang family? Most questions were about martial arts, and occasionally about how much money was piled up in the Cheonhajang.
Eunho mostly answered with “No,” “I don’t like it,” “Just,” or “You don’t need to know.”
Despite this, Pang Jiyeol kept nodding his head, thinking of the next question.
Eunho was diligently accumulating natural energy, ignoring him.
Starting from one cycle, then two cycles, three cycles.
He roughly gave up counting from there.
Humans are truly weak and limited beings.
Even at just five cycles, it was hard to gauge his own internal energy.
“Ah, can I ask a question this time?”
“Of course! Ask anything.”
When Eunho asked, Pang Jiyeol nodded happily.
“Do you know anything about the Three Sovereigns?”
“The Three Sovereigns….”
Pang Jiyeol’s expression turned serious, which was unusual for him.
The Three Sovereigns were three martial artists who stood at the pinnacle of Murim before the Twenty-Four Masters.
Although their times were different, they all had the commonality of disappearing suddenly.
“I don’t know the details, but I know they were incredible masters.”
“I know that much. Do you think they are still alive?”
Pang Jiyeol shook his head.
“They’re probably all dead. It’s a martial artist’s instinct to show off their skills, and they wouldn’t just sit back and watch the Twenty-Four Masters be called the pinnacle of Murim. I wouldn’t have been able to do that. Of course, if they appeared before me now, I would be confident in defeating them.”
“Hmm, so the Three Sovereigns aren’t much either.”
Su Rin’s urgent voice transmission reached Eunho, who was disappointed by the statement that they were weaker than Pang Jiyeol.
– It’s just bravado. The Three Sovereigns were masters who reached the pinnacle decades ago. If they are still alive, they would be much stronger than they were back then.
Eunho nodded.
Time didn’t necessarily equate to strength, but he didn’t think a master who reached the pinnacle decades ago would lose to Pang Jiyeol.
Hearing Su Rin’s voice transmission, Eunho looked at Pang Jiyeol with a dissatisfied expression.
Pang Jiyeol’s eyebrows twitched.
He could tell that Su Rin had sent a voice transmission, but not knowing the content made him uneasy.
Su Rin simply avoided Pang Jiyeol’s intense gaze.
“Why do you ask?”
“I learned martial arts to become the best. To be the best, I have to defeat the current best in Murim.”
That was Eunho’s way, carried over from his previous life.
“Hahaha! That’s just like you. Arrogant and presumptuous! But if it’s you, it might be possible.”
After laughing for a while, Pang Jiyeol spoke to Eunho again.
“The Three Sovereigns are probably dead. The current pinnacle of Murim is likely the Twenty-Four Masters.”
“Aren’t you embarrassed to say that?”
“But it’s the truth.”
Pang Jiyeol’s words were filled with pride.
“Are all the Twenty-Four Masters about the same?”
“Well, I haven’t fought all of them, but as I said before, martial artists like to show off. If there was one overwhelmingly superior, they wouldn’t stay quiet.”
In fact, the Fist King, the Green King, and the Four Kings were often considered the lowest among the Twenty-Four Masters, but the Fist King shook his head to dismiss the thought.
“That’s boring.”
“Still, at least three of them might be able to entertain you.”
“Oh, who are they?”
“First, the leader of the Demonic Cult, then the King of Wolves, and lastly, me.”
“Ah… I see….”
The credibility dropped significantly with the last one.
“Everyone says the leader of the alliance is the closest to being the best in the world, but I think differently. The leader of the Demonic Cult is stronger. I’ve seen him twice, and my whole body tingled. Just thinking about it now makes me want to go and kill him immediately.”
Pang Jiyeol clenched his fists as if his blood was boiling.
“Well… it’s good to be full of vigor. The leader of the Demonic Cult, huh….”
Su Rin, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke as if she remembered something.
“I heard the King of Wolves is a very unique person. Have you met them? I heard it’s a woman?”
“Of course, I’ve met her. The King of Wolves is really… sigh…”
Pang Jiyeol shook his head as if he didn’t even want to think about it.
Su Rin was curious but decided not to ask further, thinking the conversation would never end.
Clatter.
The carriage shook violently.
“Be careful!”
Lee Ryang complained to the coachman in a sharp voice.
A vein popped on the shadow guard’s forehead.
He could understand if the other three said such things.
But it was annoying when Lee Ryang said it.
Pang Jiyeol chuckled and glanced at Lee Ryang.
“Boy, you better watch your neck. If that guy cuts your neck before breaking the formation, things will get complicated.”
“What?”
Lee Ryang was startled and shrank back.
“Well, it’s unlikely, but you never know with people….”
Clatter!
The carriage shook violently again and came to a stop.
Pang Jiyeol’s expression crumpled.
He was trying to support them, but the carriage was driven like that.
Pang Jiyeol stuck his head out of the carriage and shouted.
“You fool! Drive the carriage more carefully, or do you not value your life…?”
Some men wearing windbreakers blocked the road.
The Dark Shadow Lord had already dismounted and drawn his sword.
“We don’t know such a person, so just go your way.”
Despite the Dark Shadow Lord’s firm attitude, the man in the windbreaker remained steadfast.
“I must check inside the carriage.”
The Dark Shadow Lord began to get angry.
He was already annoyed because of Lee Ryang, and now some ruffians were blocking the road and insisting.
“I assure you, if you open this carriage, you will regret it.”
“That’s for me to decide. Coachman, step aside.”
As the man in the windbreaker approached the carriage, the Dark Shadow Lord blocked his way.
“The warning is over. If you move one more step….”
He ignored the warning and approached the carriage.
The Dark Shadow Lord swung his sword like lightning.
He intended to at least cut off the man’s wrist.
However, the man in the windbreaker dodged even faster.
Realizing that his opponent was not ordinary, the Dark Shadow Lord gathered his energy.
Watching this, Pang Jiyeol walked out of the carriage.
“What’s going on?”
The Dark Shadow Lord smiled triumphantly.
“I told you, you would regret it, didn’t I?”
The men in the windbreakers flinched.
It was clear at a glance that he was not an ordinary master.
The leader among them stepped forward and asked.
“Who are you, sir?”
Pang Jiyeol was dumbfounded.
“Huh, is that what you say after blocking the road out of nowhere? If you want to keep your thin lifeline, bow your head and apologize immediately, then get lost.”
He was a completely different person from when he dealt with Eunho.
The Dark Shadow Lord also added a word from the side.
“This is the Fist King.”
The eyes of the men in the windbreakers trembled finely.
They never expected to encounter one of the Twenty-Four Masters in such a place.
Nevertheless, they did not back down.
“We are chasing a woman who disappeared in this direction. May we check the carriage?”
“We don’t know. I swear on my name. But if you want to check the carriage, be prepared to risk your life.”
A yellow aura began to flicker around the Fist Kings two fists.
“…If the Fist King says so, it must be true. We are in a hurry as well. We apologize for the rudeness.”
Only then did Pang Jiyeol’s momentum subside.
“Hmph.”
As Pang Jiyeol got back into the carriage, Su Rin asked.
“What happened?”
“Nothing much. Just some red-faced ruffians chasing a woman….”
Pang Jiyeol’s expression hardened as he spoke.
The people in the carriage looked puzzled, but Pang Jiyeol stood up and went back outside.
“Wait.”
The men of windbreakers, who were about to turn around, stopped at Pang Jiyeol’s heavy voice.
“Why?”
“Just in case, where are you from?”
“……”
There was no answer. They just glared.
