Chapter 29: In Any Case, This Popularity of Mine (1)
Chapter 28 – In Any Case, This Popularity of Mine (1)
The top floor of Dragon Heaven Tower offered a panoramic view of the Yangtze River flowing through Wuhan.
Gurgle, gurgle…
As the liquor bottle was tilted, the fire liquor filled the cup with a clear sound.
Murong Gang raised his cup and looked out at the sunset over the Yangtze River stretching in the distance.
‘Beautiful.’
Murong Gang, the number one cadet of the Righteous Chivalry Academy, which was said to have been founded by the joint wealth of the great clans.
He downed the liquor in a single gulp and set the cup down with a thud.
Would a face look like that if it were carved out of ice?
His appearance was so handsome that many women could not easily look away, yet his expression was cold and emotionless.
“Ugh…!”
“Argh…!”
Groans of those on the verge of death echoed from around him.
When Murong Gang cast a casual glance, he saw the cadets of Dragon Heaven Academy collapsed all over the place, moaning weakly.
Perhaps because the cleanup was not yet finished, shouts and screams still drifted up from the lower floor.
Listening to the sound of something shattering, Murong Gang leisurely refilled his cup again.
Gurgle, gurgle…
It was just as he was about to raise his cup again.
Someone dragged in a Dragon Heaven Academy cadet by the hair.
It was Tang Wu-gi, the number two cadet of the Righteous Chivalry Academy and the Young Patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
He tossed the cadet he was dragging.
Thud.
“Kugh!”
The battered cadet collapsed weakly beside the table where Murong Gang sat.
Tang Wu-gi brushed off his hands and plopped down opposite Murong Gang.
“Damn it, I don’t see Jo Gang-min.”
“Drink.”
Murong Gang pushed a cup toward Tang Wu-gi and filled it with liquor.
Tang Wu-gi, who downed it in one breath, grabbed a piece of dried meat and asked,
“Khaa! Good. By the way, whose drink was this?”
“I don’t know.”
“True. Well, it was probably one of the guys splayed out here.”
“So, what about Jo Gang-min?”
“I have to find out now.”
Tang Wu-gi chewed on the dried meat and grabbed the hair of the collapsed cadet beside him.
“I won’t say it twice. Where is Jo Gang-min?”
“Cough, hack! He… lef… he lef’ the aca’emy long ago… cough… hack!”
“What is he saying?”
“Nam… Namgung Cheon… be… beat Jo Gang-min…”
“What is this idiot talking about?”
Thwack.
“Keh!”
Ultimately, the cadet, who was struggling to squeeze out the words, crashed against the wall and lost consciousness completely.
Murong Gang, whose eyes were already thin, narrowed them even further and shook his head.
“Shouldn’t you have beaten him only enough so he could still speak?”
“I don’t think you’re in a position to talk.”
As Tang Wu-gi smirked and looked around, Murong Gang’s eyes narrowed even more.
Tang Wu-gi casually shifted his posture and added,
“Well, after these guys got beaten to a pulp right in the front yard of Dragon Heaven Academy, there’s no way Jo Gang-min won’t show up.”
“Today is the last day of the free observation period. Once midnight passes, we won’t even have a pretext to hunt him.”
“He’ll crawl out before then.”
Right then, a clear voice suddenly drifted in.
“I don’t think he will show up.”
The person who climbed up the stairs was none other than Zhuge Gi.
He whistled once at the sight of the cadets scattered all over, then skipped through the gaps to approach them.
Tang Wu-gi raised an eyebrow and asked,
“What do you mean? He won’t show up? Even so, if he’s the number one of Dragon Heaven Academy, he would crawl out if only for his pride…”
“A variable has arisen.”
“What variable?”
“Surprisingly, they say Jo Gang-min was defeated by another cadet.”
Tang Wu-gi slammed the table with his fist and growled.
“What? Damn it, did the bastards from the Valiant Martial Academy already make a move?”
If it were the Valiant Martial Academy, which boasted many prominent young experts of the Nine Great Sects, they would certainly be capable of doing so.
However, Zhuge Gi shook his head.
“No. You will be surprised to hear it.”
“Damn it, then who on earth took down our prey first?”
“Namgung Cheon.”
At that moment, Tang Wu-gi wore a blank expression, and Murong Gang’s brows twitched.
A moment later, Tang Wu-gi spoke as if he couldn’t believe it.
“You must have gotten it wrong. It can’t be Namgung Cheon…”
“It is. Namgung Cheon, the bastard son of the Great Killing Star.”
“Ha! The official pushover of Dragon Heaven Academy, that Namgung Cheon?”
“That Namgung Cheon.”
Tang Wu-gi’s mouth fell open.
It made no sense.
How long ago was the Namgung Clan’s prime?
Hadn’t the Namgung Clan been excluded from the Five Great Clans and even slipped from the Seven Great Clans, falling so far that they were no longer in sight?
But what came next was even more absurd.
“They said the guardian warrior Gwak Cheol-ju, Baekli Hyang, and even Song Won-gyo joined in.”
“And on Namgung Cheon’s side?”
“Alone.”
“No way!”
“That impossible thing happened. What do you think this means?”
“What does it mean?”
“Two things. First, there has been a change in Namgung Cheon’s personal state. Either he obtained a miraculous encounter, or he gained some realization after attempting suicide.”
“The possibility of that is slim. What’s the other one?”
“That Jo Gang-min is all talk and no action. Not to mention Baekli Hyang and Song Won-gyo.”
“If I had to choose, this one is indeed more likely.”
“Now, there are three double-hours left until midnight. What shall we do?”
Zhuge Gi’s question was directed at Murong Gang.
Tang Wu-gi also looked back at Murong Gang.
Murong Gang silently looked at the cadets sprawled around him.
As the red glow of the sunset seeped in, the scene looked even more gruesome, as if blood had spread through the very air.
Finally, Murong Gang opened his mouth heavily.
“Since we’ve already started this, we must see it to the end. We will strike Namgung Cheon before midnight. Zhuge Gi, you handle the organization of the group.”
Zhuge Gi smiled brightly and turned to Tang Wu-gi.
“But just to be sure, it would be best to make certain, right? Brother Tang, Yue Goeng, and Brother Hwangbo, please take the lead.”
“So many of us just to catch a pushover like that?”
“You know how I am, knocking on a stone bridge before crossing it.”
“Honestly, you always boss around the Five Great Clans as you please.”
When Tang Wu-gi muttered with a pout, Zhuge Gi shrugged.
“How could I dare? If you dislike it, I will adjust.”
“Why would I dislike it?”
Tang Wu-gi smirked and stood up abruptly.
Murong Gang cast his gaze toward the sunset outside the window and smiled faintly.
‘Namgung Cheon. Interesting.’
* * *
Namgung Cheon was walking through the marketplace alleys, looking up at the bright, round moon.
‘The moonlight is nice.’
Whenever he took a leisurely stroll like this, he was always filled with deep emotion.
For it was a leisure he could never feel in his past life.
Especially in his past life, whenever he passed through such alleys, he always had to be tense, wondering if there was anyone lying in ambush around him.
Yet, as a fugitive, he couldn’t walk down the main roads either.
‘If anyone recognized me, sleep was out of the question for days.’
For him, alleys held such meaning.
A place that hid him, yet where the hand of death could reach out from anywhere.
“Anyway, the Joint Conference…”
The orthodox bastards certainly created a lot of these small pleasures.
Well, that also made things convenient.
If he achieved outstanding results at the Joint Conference, it would put him in a much more advantageous position to rebuild the Namgung Clan.
Of course, the wariness and checking against him would intensify as well, but it didn’t matter.
The more they tried to keep him in check, the clearer the distinction between friend and foe would become.
‘Should I set my first goal as winning the Joint Conference?’
If winning stood out too much, he could stop at runner-up or third or fourth place.
He would think about it slowly.
But…
While deep in thought, Namgung Cheon suddenly stopped his steps and looked back.
The moonlight fell brightly and quietly over the dark and narrow path.
Namgung Cheon suddenly spoke.
“An alley is like my own room. That’s why I immediately notice when a rat is hiding. Crawl out while I’m still asking nicely. If you came to get beaten up, let’s get it over with quickly.”
Then, a shadow slithered out from the corner of the alley.
Namgung Cheon looked at the large shadow and let out a sigh.
“It was you. Paeng Su-hyeok.”
“Yes, it’s me, Namgung Cheon. Fortunately, we’ve met like this before the free observation period ended. You can no longer run away.”
Sssring.
As Paeng Su-hyeok drew the great saber slung across his back, a fierce, sharp energy fluttered from the blade.
“You really chase me around relentlessly. Do you like me that much?”
“Crazy bastard. You’ve definitely lost your mind after coming back to life.”
“Your resentment runs quite deep.”
“Shut up. Draw your sword, Namgung Cheon!”
“Well, I feel sorry about what happened to your grandfather.”
“I told you to shut up.”
“If only I… no, if only my father hadn’t killed your grandfather, the Hebei Paeng Clan would still be counted among the Five Great Clans. Let me apologize on his behalf…”
“Draw your sword, you son of a bitch!”
Tapat.
At that moment, Paeng Su-hyeok kicked off the ground and flew forward like an arrow.
It was a movement so fast that it did not suit his large frame.
Namgung Cheon’s eyes instantly narrowed.
‘It’s a footwork technique using the Foot-Shaoyin Kidney Meridian. Then as expected, is it the Qi-Controlling Divine Wind?’
The Qi-Controlling Divine Wind was a proprietary footwork technique handed down within the Hebei Paeng Clan.
Although it mainly emitted internal energy from the Yongquan acupoint like most other footwork techniques, a significant amount of energy also erupted from the Yangu acupoint.
This was likely to support the heavy and domineering saber techniques unique to the Hebei Paeng Clan.
‘Though the drawback is that it ultimately slows down by that much in the end.’
Swish.
Namgung Cheon quickly stepped with the footwork of his family’s Boundless Steps, dodging the blade falling diagonally.
Crash!!
As the great saber that sliced through the air slammed straight into the ground, debris flew in all directions.
“Namgung Cheeeon!”
Fwoooosh!
Paeng Su-hyeok drew a saber wind and swung his blade horizontally just like that.
Namgung Cheon inwardly marveled at the change of direction, which was faster than he had expected.
Was he not managing the internal energy of his footwork and saber technique wonderfully well?
This was a quality that could not be acquired through training alone.
Not without countless actual battles.
Did that mean Paeng Su-hyeok had gone through that many actual battles?
No. It was because the Hebei Paeng Clan’s saber techniques themselves had been honed through countless real battles.
Moreover, Paeng Su-hyeok’s own talent must have also played a part.
The red light that quickly stretched along the meridians and flew out through the blade.
Of course, that energy seen through the First Sight Skill-Breaking Eyes was always faster than reality.
Therefore, Namgung Cheon drew his sword without delay and blocked the blade.
Clang!
Simultaneously with the metallic clash, a gust of energy wind blew outward in all directions.
At the same time, Paeng Su-hyeok’s eyes widened dramatically.
‘…He blocked it?’
He had guessed as much when he saw him beating Jo Gang-min unilaterally.
However, now that they actually clashed blades, the weight felt different.
Namgung Cheon smiled faintly.
“It’s a good martial art. Your grandfather in heaven would be pleased.”
“You… you… son of a bitch!”
Clang!
Paeng Su-hyeok, who pushed Namgung Cheon back by swinging his blade, lunged forward with his eyes rolled back.
An even more intense anger than before was fully loaded into the blade.
Normally, the more excited one got, the more disorganized one’s hands and feet became, but the Hebei Paeng Clan’s saber techniques, derived from countless real battles, were an exception.
They became rougher, more domineering, and more threatening.
Clank! Clang! Ring! Swish, Clang!
Those who sublimated even their soaring rage into saber techniques—that was the Hebei Paeng Clan.
As sparks flew between the two, an ear-splitting metallic clanging erupted continuously.
Namgung Cheon clicked his tongue while frantically blocking the blade.
‘Damn it, I praised him saying his grandfather would be pleased, so why is he acting like this?’
Did he perhaps hate his grandfather?
If not, why does he hate me?
In this incomprehensible situation, Paeng Su-hyeok finally let out a shout and unleashed a decisive strike.
Red energy descended diagonally along the Hand-Jueyin Pericardium Meridian and down the blade.
It was the stance Iron-Blood Mountain-Defeating from the Iron-Blood Star-Plucking Saber of the Hebei Paeng Clan.
Namgung Cheon clicked his tongue.
‘He seems not to know that his grandfather died while using this.’
Although he felt a bit sorry to counter him in the exact same way, it couldn’t be helped.
If he tried to half-heartedly block this attack, which felt beyond battle spirit and carried pure killing intent, he was highly likely to get injured.
‘I have no choice but to do it the old way.’
Namgung Cheon abandoned the Boundless Steps he had maintained until now and moved his feet erratically.
Although he called it erratic, it was the exact same footwork as when he had killed the Head of the Paeng Clan long ago.
The reason he described it as erratic, despite that, was because it was a footwork that the young Namgung Cheon had instinctively used back then just to survive, without any grand martial art name.
When Namgung Cheon suddenly showed strange movements, Paeng Su-hyeok was also flustered.
‘What on earth is this…?’
At first, he thought Namgung Cheon had accidentally lost his footing.
Because the movement looked so clumsy.
However, the moment the blade fell, Namgung Cheon, like magic, spun his body and dodged it.
Crack.
As the saber qi slammed straight into the ground, Namgung Cheon, who had slipped around to his flank before he knew it, swung his sword hilt and struck Paeng Su-hyeok’s back.
Thud.
“Kugh!”
Shuuut, tumble, tumble.
Paeng Su-hyeok, who was sent flying like a cannonball, rolled on the ground for quite a while.
Namgung Cheon sheathed the Emerald Silk Sword and let out a sigh.
“Still, you’re a hundred times better than Jo Gang-min. By the way…”
Namgung Cheon turned around, looked up at the dark alley, and shouted.
“Now that the show is over, why don’t you all crawl out? It would be a shame if you came all this way to get beaten up and just left.”
The moment he finished speaking, dark shadows began to reveal themselves one by one on the roofs of each building.
Let’s see…
Two, four, six, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-fi…
Damn, there are so many of them…
This popularity of mine, honestly.