Chapter 178 Jang Neung-ak (4)

It all happened in an instant.

Mok Gyeong-un, who had been right in front of him, disappeared from his sight.

The True First Mountain, Ho Jong-hyeok, the grand leader of the Destruction Clan, moved his head and searched for Mok Gyeong-un’s whereabouts.

However…

-Bam!

“Kuk!”

Before he knew it, Mok Gyeong-un was stepping on Jeo Mo-pal of the Five Mountains Geo-am Fist.

He couldn’t even use his hands properly before being defeated.

Just by seeing this, one could tell that there was an overwhelming gap between Mok Gyeong-un and his martial prowess.

But he couldn’t just stand by and watch.

-Whoosh!

Ho Jong-hyeok raised his unique weapon, the Annihilation Ax, with true energy and swung it towards Mok Gyeong-un.

It would be nice if he could cut him, but that wasn’t likely.

He just wanted to make him back away from Jeo Mo-pal.

However…

-Clang!

‘!?’

Ho Jong-hyeok’s eyes wavered.

‘He caught the blade infused with true energy?’

A perplexing situation unfolded.

Mok Gyeong-un had caught the blade of the Annihilation Ax flying towards him with one hand.

True energy could be said to be true energy and aura converging into one and gathering densely.

Catching this with bare hands was nearly impossible for any martial artist.

If one wanted to counter this, they would have to raise their own true energy…

‘Hand?’

Ho Jong-hyeok’s eyes widened.

That was because he discovered the black energy enveloping Mok Gyeong-un’s hand.

The energy wrapped around his hand was protecting him from being cut by the true energy infused in the Annihilation Ax.

‘what the .... is that energy?’

It was more dense and stronger than aura.

And it even felt strangely sinister.

But that wasn’t the problem.

If it was an energy that could block true energy with bare hands, it had to be true energy.

However, even if one reached the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm, it was nearly impossible to raise true energy with bare hands.

-Sizzle!

At that moment, a strange sensation flowed from Mok Gyeong-un’s hand.

It was poison energy.

“This is…?”

As the poison energy and black energy entangled with his true energy…

-Crack!

‘No way?’

His fingers dug into the ax blade of the Annihilation Ax, and it cracked.

Surprised by this, Ho Jong-hyeok hurriedly used his footwork and tried to kick Mok Gyeong-un’s head.

However…

-Swish!

Mok Gyeong-un lightly avoided it by tilting his head back, and then…

-Bam!

Instead, he landed a punch on Ho Jong-hyeok’s chest.

Ho Jong-hyeok’s body was sent flying back from the impact of the punch.

-Swoosh! Clang!

But in the process, one side of the Annihilation Ax’s blade broke.

Ho Jong-hyeok’s expression contorted.

The Annihilation Ax, a unique weapon he had received from his father, was an ax forged from a single piece of iron by a renowned craftsman of the time.

Seeing one side of the blade of the Annihilation Ax, which he cherished like a treasure, shatter before his eyes, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.

-Grit!

‘This guy!’

But contrary to this anger, his reason became even more cold.

This man in front of him.

He was definitely not at the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm.

To possess martial prowess that overwhelmed him to this extent, one had to surpass the wall.

But this didn’t make sense rationally.

Not long ago, he was barely at the level to receive a strike from Jeo Mo-pal of the Geo-am Fist and Blind Swordsman Wi Maeng-cheon.

‘This isn’t just fast development.’

The speed at which he was getting stronger was beyond imagination, almost to the point where it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a monster.

It wasn’t a matter of whether he had surpassed the wall or not.

This guy didn’t seem to be someone who could be controlled by anyone.

[What? You’re saying we should exclude him?]

[Yes.]

[Our lord has already taken a liking to him, so why are you trying to exclude him?]

[Because he’s dangerous.]

[Dangerous? What’s dangerous? If it’s because of his background…]

[That’s not the problem. Even if it’s not visible, I can tell. Mok Gyeong-un is never someone who can be loyal to anyone.]

The words of that dead guy suddenly came to mind.

‘That blind fellow’s judgment was right.’

As Wi Maeng-cheon said, this guy could never be controlled by their lord.

Not only was his speed of growth alarming, but his intentions were also unknown, so keeping him close could lead to unpredictable incidents.

-Grip!

‘This is troublesome.’

But right now, this was an even bigger problem.

He wanted to subdue the guy according to his lord’s order, but it was impossible alone.

If his guess was correct, no one present at this gathering could defeat this guy alone with martial arts.

The only possibility was for their lord Jang Neung-ak to join forces and launch a combined attack…

‘There’s too much to lose.’

But then the loss would be too great.

If they ended up losing even after launching a combined attack against someone they had intended to take in as a subordinate, the aftermath would be…

“Stop!”

At that moment, Jang Neung-ak’s shout was heard.

At his shout, the Third Mountain Ho Jong-hyeok turned his head with a puzzled expression.

There, Jang Neung-ak was holding an eyeball with a stiff expression.

‘Eyeball?’

what the .... was that?

As the True First Mountain Ho Jong-hyeok was puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un spoke to Jang Neung-ak with a bright smile.

“It seems you’re now willing to have a conversation.”

“You, this…”

Jang Neung-ak was about to say something, but then he roughly shouted at the martial artists on the lower seats.

“You guys, stand back for now.”

“But my lord?”

“I told you to stand back.”

“Yes, sir!”

At his order, the martial artists on the lower seats moved out of the garden in unison.

Go Chan, who was possessing Ha Chae-rin, also hesitated and tried to leave, but Seo Hye-in of the Five Mountains Alliance allowed him to stay with a nod.

After they had all left and only the Oakhoe remained, Jang Neung-ak spoke again.

“This… What is it?”

At that question, Mok Gyeong-un tilted his head and said, “You’re not asking because you really don’t know, right?”

“…Are you trying to humiliate this young master now?”

“How could that be? I thought you would recognize it if you saw it since you’re the Young Master, but you’re asking what it is, so…”

“You!”

“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”

“…”

At Jang Neung-ak’s even more stiffened expression, Ho Jong-hyeok looked at the eyeball in his hand with uncomprehending eyes.

what the .... was that thing that made his lord react like this?

But then, unbelievable words came out of Jang Neung-ak’s mouth.

“Did you fight my eldest brother?”

‘Eldest brother?’

What was this about?

Was he asking if Mok Gyeong-un had fought against the Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang?

As he was puzzled, Mok Gyeong-un nodded his head and replied, “I thought that would be a sufficient answer.”

Mok Gyeong-un’s gaze was directed at the eyeball held in Jang Neung-ak’s hand.

At his attitude, Jang Neung-ak stared intently at the eyeball in his hand with a stiff expression, and then he let out a hollow laugh as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Hah!”

At his reaction, all of his loyal subordinates couldn’t hide their surprise.

They had also realized whose eyeball it was thanks to Jang Neung-ak’s reaction.

If that was the case…

‘what the .... is this?’

‘That guy defeated the Eldest Young Master?’

‘…That monster?’

The Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang.

Not many within the Heaven and Earth Society could handle him.

He was a monster, a disciple of the Society Leader who was one of the Six Heavens and had surpassed the wall to reach the Transformation Realm.

It was said that even the Five Kings, the highest executives of the Heaven and Earth Society, had a hard time dealing with him unless they were the two kings who had received the title of Eight Stars.

And that guy had fought him?

No, if he had even plucked out his eyeball, wasn’t it the same as winning?

What is happened was going on?

At that very moment…

“Hahah… Hahahahahaha!”

The Society Leader’s second disciple, Jang Neung-ak, who had been letting out a hollow laugh, burst into a mad laughter.

Everyone looked at him in puzzlement at his sudden behavior.

Was it because the shock was too great?

As they wondered why he was acting like that, Jang Neung-ak, who had been laughing for a while, plopped down on his seat and gestured with his hand, saying, “To think you plucked out the eyeball of that inhuman bastard. I’ve lived to see such a day. Hahahahahaha! Come here and let’s talk.”

“My lord!”

Seo Hye-in, the leader of the Five Mountains Alliance, tried to dissuade him.

Then Jang Neung-ak waved his hand and said, “Enough. He’s the one who plucked out the eyeball of that monstrous bastard. Who could stop him?”

“But my lord, it’s too dangerous…”

“Enough. If he had any intention of harming me, he would have done it already. Isn’t that right?”

At his words, Mok Gyeong-un replied with a bright smile, “That’s correct.”

“…”

At his answer, Seo Hye-in and Jeo Mo-pal of the Five Mountains, whose face was swollen, couldn’t hide their concern.

No matter how strong that guy was, they were loyal subordinates.

They had a duty to ensure his safety.

But Ho Jong-hyeok shook his head as if telling them not to.

‘It’s no use. Leave it.’

If he was truly a master of the Transformation Realm, this distance was already within his range.

He could easily make a move if he wanted to.

‘It’s better to narrow the gap.’

That would be a better way to protect their lord Jang Neung-ak from him.

Sometimes the best defense was offense.

-Tap tap tap! Tak!

In the end, Mok Gyeong-un came up to the hall and sat across from Jang Neung-ak.

The treatment had clearly changed.

Sitting next to him signified trust, but having him sit directly in front meant acknowledging him as an equal.

As Mok Gyeong-un sat down, Jang Neung-ak picked up a wine bottle and said, “Will you have a drink?”

“There’s no reason to refuse a drink you offer.”

“Good. Have a drink.”

Jang Neung-ak poured wine into Mok Gyeong-un’s cup.

Since they were sitting across from each other, there was a distance, but…

-Swish!

As Jang Neung-ak applied his internal energy, the wine inside the bottle stretched out and entered the distant cup.

When the cup was full, the stream of wine connecting them was cut off.

‘As expected, the Young Master’s true energy is no ordinary matter.’

Even if he had the lowest true energy among the Society Leader’s three disciples, it was still vast enough to be incomparable to ordinary internal energy masters.

It was only natural since he had received the Hundred Bees and Mice Technique and regularly consumed spiritual medicines since childhood.

Jang Neung-ak put down the wine bottle.

Then he looked at Mok Gyeong-un and said, “Will you pour for me?”

The wine bottle was at a distance.

He had to stand up and get the wine bottle to pour him a drink.

At a glance, it might seem like he was trying to make Mok Gyeong-un stand up.

‘Could it be that he’s trying to tame the guy?’

Seo Hye-in of the Five Mountains Alliance watched this anxiously.

However…

“It’s not difficult.”

Mok Gyeong-un chuckled and then lightly gestured towards the wine bottle.

Then, a stream of wine naturally extended from the spout of the wine bottle and entered Jang Neung-ak’s cup.

-Swish!

‘!!!!!!’

Seeing this, Jang Neung-ak’s loyal subordinates unknowingly let out exclamations of surprise.

This was the technique of Void Seizing.

If one reached the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm, they could use true energy to pull or push objects to some extent.

But to manipulate something like water droplets so delicately with true energy, one had to reach an even higher realm.

“Is it confirmed now?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Jang Neung-ak looked at the cup filled with wine and then raised his head.

“Indeed, you have surpassed the wall.”

‘Ah…’

Seo Hye-in of the Five Mountains Alliance finally understood Jang Neung-ak’s intention.

Their lord had wanted to confirm one last time if Mok Gyeong-un had truly surpassed the wall and reached the Transformation Realm.

It was now certain.

That guy was undoubtedly a master of the Transformation Realm.

He was no longer at the level of a pinnacle-stage supreme master but already a true grandmaster who could be counted on one hand even within the Heaven and Earth Society.

Apart from being a disciple of the Shadow Clan and the Poison King, he had reached a position where he alone could be considered a force to be reckoned with.

Their lord’s reason for having Mok Gyeong-un sit right in front of him was understandable.

At that moment, Jang Neung-ak spoke.

“The strong deserve to be treated accordingly.”

-Swish!

Jang Neung-ak clasped his hands together and bowed to Mok Gyeong-un, saying, “Jang Neung-ak, the second disciple of the Society Leader, will respectfully treat Master Mok with courtesy.”

‘Ah!’

At his behavior, the loyal subordinates of the Five Mountains Alliance inwardly clicked their tongues.

It was also the first time they had seen their lord Jang Neung-ak treat a late-stage disciple of a younger age so politely, apart from the executives.

But he certainly had the qualifications for it.

After all, he was a master who had reached the Transformation Realm.

-Swish!

Mok Gyeong-un also bowed to him with clasped hands and replied, “There’s no need to go out of your way, but I’m grateful for your courteous treatment.”

The atmosphere wasn’t bad as they exchanged courtesies.

Jang Neung-ak seemed to think the same, as he spoke in a brighter voice, “Master Mok, may I ask the reason for coming to me with this?”

-Swish!

What Jang Neung-ak pointed to was none other than the eyeball of the Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang.

Jang Neung-ak’s mood was elevated as he looked at the eyeball.

At first, he had thought that Mok Gyeong-un had joined hands with his eldest brother Na Yul-ryang to deceive him.

But that was his misjudgment.

Mok Gyeong-un had defeated Woo Ho-rang, the right-hand man of his junior sister Wi So-yeon, and not only that, he had even fought against his eldest brother Na Yul-ryang and plucked out his eyeball.

What did that imply?

‘He wishes to be with this young master.’

He was convinced.

Mok Gyeong-un had chosen him.

However, contrary to his expectations, unexpected words came out of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth.

“Join forces with Young Lady Wi So-yeon’s side.”

‘!?’

Jang Neung-ak’s expression instantly stiffened.

This guy had made him anticipate so much, and now what was he talking about?

So Jang Neung-ak spoke, managing his expression as much as possible.

“Master Mok, what are you saying? Joining forces with my junior sister, that’s…”

“I mean it literally. If you two don’t combine your forces, it will be difficult to compete against Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s side.”

“…”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Jang Neung-ak was momentarily dumbfounded, and then a hollow laugh escaped his lips.

It was disappointing since it wasn’t what he had expected, but was he saying this thinking it was possible?

So Jang Neung-ak spoke his true thoughts.

“Look here, Master Mok. Do you think that’s possible?”

“Possible?”

“That’s right. Both my junior sister and I are running for the same position. And now you’re telling us to combine our forces. Do you think that’s possible?”

Jang Neung-ak shook his head.

Then he chuckled and said, “Well, if my junior sister were to pledge loyalty to me and join my subordination, it might be possible. If not, your proposal is essentially impossible, Master Mok.”

“I see.”

It was a foolish proposal.

This was a proposal that neither he nor his junior sister could accept.

If that was the case, they would have already joined forces long ago or pushed one of them in that direction.

It was because that didn’t work that they were each putting in so much effort to secure support.

“Anyhow, thank you for the proposal, but…”

“Ah, did it sound like a proposal to you?”

“What?”

Jang Neung-ak frowned for a moment.

Did he mishear?

But then…

-Flinch!

The guy smiled, filled with malice unlike before, and said, “This isn’t a proposal but an order to do so.”