Chapter 208: The False King (2)
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Innate nature means the character one is born with.
Yeon Ho-jeong definitely did not have a good innate nature, but it could also not be said that he was born with a very evil character.
He was born with a strong character.
It was a bamboo-like character that would rather break than bend. His innate nature was that strong and upright.
However, the world was excessively rough to navigate with just one’s innate character.
Yeon Ho-jeong learned how to become flexible while experiencing such a life in the world. How to deceive an opponent, how not to be deceived, how to slip away like an old snake, and furthermore, he also learned how to become subservient.
However, at decisive moments, he was always strong and stiff.
And that was the same now.
Unless there was an absolute need to do so, he did not become subservient even at important moments. He did not bow his head, nor did he act sly.
Strong and honorable, as always.
It was a confident frontal breakthrough that absolutely did not use petty tricks.
“Manor Lord Yang, huh…”
Yang Cheon’s face noticeably hardened. It was an expression where his feelings seemed so uncomfortable that even a three-year-old child would know.
“It is the first time. For a person to call me by such a presumptuous title.”
“Is that so?”
His tone of voice was quite a spectacle.
Yang Cheon, who had been staring blankly at Yeon Ho-jeong, burst into laughter without realizing it.
The Saintly Heaven Thirteen Seats, how many years had he lived under that invincible name.
No one could hold their head up stiffly in front of him. No one could act arrogant in front of him, and they dared not even think to deceive him or try to test him.
In front of a reaction that was almost close to unfamiliar, surprisingly, Yang Cheon felt interest rising rather than anger.
“It seems like a story that there is no need to tell, but you wouldn’t be unaware of who I am, right?”
“I came because I know.”
“Are you saying your tone is like that even knowing me?”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“Well? Even if you were the Emperor, as long as I came with a clear purpose, my tone would not have changed.”
“What?”
“I did not come here looking at the status of the Combat King Yang Cheon. I came looking at his abilities and future.”
“Ha!”
“It is a place where a person came to learn about a person. Naturally, if it is a person worthy of betting one’s life on, one should rightly bow their head, but Manor Lord Yang has not yet proven yourself to this person.”
Yang Cheon chuckled.
He has not proven himself? This was also a funny statement.
In the Jianghu Murim, martial arts were soon strength, and an alias was power.
He was a king. He was a self-made figure who had proven that he was the supreme powerful person in Murim with martial arts alone.
To say he had not yet proven himself to such a person, was he not a truly cute bastard.
Was it too unexpected? This time too, Yang Cheon felt his interest moving more than anger.
“Are you saying that I must prove myself to you separately?”
“Of course.”
“The front and back are reversed. Although there were many cases where a liege chose a subordinate, there has never been a case where a subordinate chose a liege in ancient and modern times.”
“There was. If you truly believe there wasn’t, consider it your first experience.”
“Kuahaha!”
Yang Cheon burst into loud laughter without realizing it.
Kugugugung!
The Black Dragon Manor rang in its entirety, and stone dust fell from the ceiling.
This was not intentionally emitting internal energy. As Yang Cheon’s emotions became intense, the internal energy he possessed was unconsciously spewed out.
Even so, it was at this level.
Just with the internal qi wave emitted unconsciously, this giant rock great hall was shaking as if an earthquake had occurred. It was an absolute internal energy that far transcended imagination.
‘It has been a while.’
To the extent that just the shockwave mixed in his laughter made his entire body creak.
However, facing that astonishing power, Yeon Ho-jeong felt his mood slowly becoming excited.
‘It has been a while. A power of this level.’
A transcendent’s power that seemed like it would boil the marrow and cook the internal organs.
Even when he saw his father, Yeon Wi, or when he saw Murong Jun or Tang Kwan, he could not help but be astonished by the density of the power they possessed and their martial principles.
However, facing Yang Cheon’s power, which was on a different dimension from them, he felt familiarity and excitement rather than surprise.
‘Right, I was there.’
Suddenly, Yeon Ho-jeong felt his eyes dazzling.
‘I was also there.’
The Emperor of the Unorthodox who completed all the divine skills of the Four Gods Martial Arts, and wielded the axe and steel chain that called wind and thunder based on the vast heaven qi that had swelled close to infinity.
The strongest gambler in Murim who had waged a hand-to-hand combat against the world was in precisely the same position as him. No, he was one step higher than him.
Although it was not to the extent of confidently saying he was number one under heaven, that great name that never fell out once when discussing the strongest under heaven.
The past where he was called the Grandmaster of the Unorthodox and the Emperor of Darkness awakened the senses of his entire body.
‘But.’
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had briefly been intoxicated by the illusion of the past that actually existed, suddenly felt doubt.
‘What is this?’
Yang Cheon’s overwhelming qi wave.
However, Yeon Ho-jeong felt a streak of shadow cast within that invincible qi wave.
It was something truly difficult to explain.
Could it be called a feeling as if a rolled-up ball of dust was stuck in it? At the very least, it was not debris that a supreme master of Yang Cheon’s level would carry around without brushing it off.
‘Something is different. Come to think of it, was Yang Cheon’s power at this level?’
Yeon Ho-jeong could not shake off the inward doubt.
‘It is definitely amazing, but in my memory, it was much more than this…’
Presently, Yang Cheon withdrew his laughter.
“As a subordinate, you will examine whether I am a liege worthy of being served? That is quite interesting.”
“Is that so?”
“If the head of a Orthodox sect had come and said such words instead, I would have smashed his head in with a single palm strike.”
It was a threatening language. Of course, there was still no change in Yeon Ho-jeong’s expression.
As if he liked that solidness, a smile rose on Yang Cheon’s face again.
“Even giving you a lot of leeway, it seems you have not even reached the age of thirty.”
“I am younger than you think.”
“Looking at your temperament, your innate nature is strong and broad-minded, but in those exceptionally indifferent eyes, there is no hastiness of a petty person. I do not know the origin of the martial arts you possess, but it is a realm where it would be fine even if you had already achieved mastery and founded your own faction.”
“…….”
“I like you, you bastard.”
It was extreme praise. It was praise to the extent that there could be no more than that.
Yang Cheon nodded.
“So that was why.”
“……?”
“I received information after you guys entered Hunan. The departure point could not be known, but it seemed you came in from the Guizhou side.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes sparkled.
As expected, his intelligence gathering ability was excellent. Even though he had not united the entire Unorthodox yet, it was at this level; indeed, it was no exaggeration to say the Unorthodox’s intelligence gathering ability was the best in the Murim of the current generation.
“One of the group seemed to have come from the north, but his exact entry route was unknown. It seems you intended to examine the atmosphere of Hunan in advance.”
He was talking about Pae-yul. There was worth in intentionally sending him out and bypassing.
Yang Cheon continued his words.
“The important thing was not that. I told them not to miss a single person judged as suspicious among the martial artists entering Hunan, yet I heard that you bastards actually killed our side’s informant.”
“That is so.”
“The martial force of the Unorthodox is below standard, but their intelligence gathering ability and infiltration ability alone are enough to be called the best. The grain is different in the first place.”
“It seemed like that.”
“In other words, it is the same as you finding and eliminating all the eyes of the Unorthodox informants that no one could easily notice.”
Yang Cheon’s eyes became fierce.
“It was you. It was not the hidden weapons master in your group, but your eyes that were sharp. So that is why you came to find me alone as the representative of the Martial Ancestor.”
It was a sharp discerning eye.
Even if personality could change, the abilities one possessed did not change. Yang Cheon’s discerning eye was still as sharp as his martial arts.
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.
“That is right. I am precisely the center of the group, and the representative of the Martial Ancestor Sect.”
“Who are you in the Martial Ancestor Sect for you to be that?”
“That is something I will inform you when our relationship becomes more comfortable.”
Yang Cheon’s eyes became sharp for the first time.
“Are you telling me to believe you when you have covered your entire body with this clothing and that clothing?”
“Is that not the same for Manor Lord Yang as well?”
“What?”
A meaningful light hovered in Yeon Ho-jeong’s two eyes.
“The way I see it, it seems you are also wearing quite thick clothing.”
“……!”
“The season is the season, so the weather has become chilly, but with Manor Lord Yang’s level of martial arts, such cumbersome fur clothing does not seem necessary.”
Yang Cheon’s eyes deepened.
Yeon Ho-jeong continued his words.
“Do you understand? I came here even while being confident that Manor Lord Yang would also have secrets that he would not readily want to show to others.”
“…….”
“Because Manor Lord Yang is one of the top masters in Murim? No way. If that were the case, my tone would not have been this stiff, and in the first place, I would have sought out the Fist God of Shaolin instead of you.”
At that moment, Yang Cheon’s qi wave swayed roughly.
The Fist God of Shaolin meant precisely one of the Saintly Heaven Thirteen Seats, and one God of the Gods, Immortals, Emperors, and Kings.
A person evaluated as being closest to the name of the strongest even among the Saintly Heaven Thirteen Seats, where it was difficult to determine superiority.
It was precisely the Fist God, Master Mu-heo.
“As I said before, I did not come just looking at Manor Lord Yang’s martial name and skills.”
“…….”
“I came to examine whether Manor Lord Yang is truly a vessel worthy of plotting for the world.”
Yang Cheon, who had been glaring at Yeon Ho-jeong with eyes as sharp as blades, momentarily formed a cold smile.
“Let’s not reveal all our cards and try to persuade each other, is this it?”
“Only Manor Lord Yang needs to persuade. Because I have chosen.”
If he is a person worthy of following, he follows. If he does not have the vessel to be followed, he leaves.
It was a remark that went beyond firmness and even felt like some kind of conviction.
The truth is always simple. So Yang Cheon liked people who spoke straightforwardly more than people who twisted their words complicatedly.
And now, Yeon Ho-jeong had become a person who perfectly fit Yang Cheon’s tastes and was alluring him.
Yang Cheon, who had been quietly observing Yeon Ho-jeong, opened his mouth.
“It is overwhelming.”
It was an out-of-the-blue remark. Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyebrows wriggled.
Yang Cheon’s incredibly sharp eyes gradually became soft.
“It is truly overwhelming. I wonder if sunlight is being cast on this lacking person even if it is late, or if talents naturally roll in for a person who sits on a seat of power.”
It was an indirect compliment. Saying that great luck had come to his current self was the same as meaning he acknowledged Yeon Ho-jeong that much.
Yang Cheon asked with a smile.
“Do you like simple things?”
“It is difficult until it becomes simple.”
“Hahaha! Your words are truly right. Truly right. Then, in what way should I prove myself to you?”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.
“It is unexpected.”
“What is?”
“I thought you would ask more things. About the group, and about my purpose.”
Yang Cheon made a comical expression uncharacteristically.
“Did you not say you like simple things? As for that part, let’s discuss it after we have sufficiently acknowledged each other first.”
It worked!
At that moment, Yeon Ho-jeong was certain. That Yang Cheon would no longer take an interest in the other group members.
He concentrated Yang Cheon’s interest solely on himself.
That was enough. Now, depending on what he did, the whereabouts of the group that came with him would be determined.
And Yeon Ho-jeong could be confident.
That Yang Cheon would believe him. That if he only obtained him, he would absolutely not turn his eyes to the group that came with him.
“For you to prove your value as a liege to me, it is enough to just tell me how far your dream extends.”
“Ho-oh?”
“Since you do not seem to like speaking lengthily, let’s decide our future with a question that requires a clear answer.”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.
“Up to where does the world Manor Lord Yang envisions belong?”
“……?”
“Does it end in the Central Plains? Or… does it extend to beyond the borders?”
“……!!”