Chapter 188

The Wudang Sect, in any era, was a superpower ranked among the top ten in All Under Heaven. Even when it was Closed-off, everyone believed it would quickly rise again.

That was how strong the Wudang Sect’s potential and foundation were.

The main pillars leading the Wudang Sect were the first-generation disciples.

While there were the Sect Master and Elders, they mostly passed on troublesome matters to the first-generation disciples and only involved themselves in important issues. In practice, it was the first-generation disciples, like Daoist Master Woo-pyeong, who led the Wudang Sect.

For that reason, a first-generation disciple of the Wudang Sect was treated similarly to the Sect Master of a small or medium-sized sect.

Daoist Master Woo-pyeong was a formidable powerhouse, ranked third among the first-generation disciples.

As such, his words carried immense weight.

No martial artist in Jianghu could easily refuse Daoist Master Woo-pyeong’s proposal.

Daoist Master Woo-pyeong stared at Pyo Wol with a resolute expression.

Though he usually wore a kind smile, when he made such a firm face, it pressed down on people’s hearts with the weight of ten thousand pounds.

He wanted Pyo Wol to obediently follow his words. That was why he particularly emphasized that he would be fair.

“I promise on my name. I will not allow any personal feelings to interfere, and I will investigate thoroughly and transparently.”

Despite his assurance, Pyo Wol gave no answer.

In that moment, Daoist Master Woo-pyeong’s eyebrows shot up. He thought Pyo Wol was ignoring him.

“You would do well not to take my words lightly.”

“Take him.”

At that moment, Pyo Wol opened his mouth.

At the unimaginable response, Daoist Master Woo-pyeong wore a dazed expression for a moment.

He had never expected Pyo Wol to tell him to take Soma.

“Are you serious?”

“But you will have to pay the price for taking this child.”

“Are you threatening me right now?”

“A threat? A threat… Perhaps.”

“How dare you!”

At Pyo Wol’s calm words, Daoist Master Woo-pyeong’s anger exploded.

He clenched his fists as if he would strike at any moment.

Although Wudang’s fist techniques were known to be ethereal and gentle, his aura was as solid as a mountain range.

His presence was so powerful that not only Soma, but even Daoist Master Woo-pyeong’s own disciple, Tae-gwang, turned deathly pale. But unfortunately for him, it had no effect on Pyo Wol.

Though Daoist Master Woo-pyeong’s martial prowess was mighty, Pyo Wol had experience fighting against even greater opponents.

There was no reason for him to be intimidated by the martial prowess of a mere disciple, not the entire Wudang Sect.

At Pyo Wol’s unshaken demeanor, Daoist Master Woo-pyeong intensified his aura even more.

His already powerful presence swelled like a snowball.

Usually, this much was enough to make most martial artists tuck their tails between their legs. At first, Daoist Master Woo-pyeong had thought Pyo Wol would react similarly.

No matter how powerful one’s martial prowess was, facing a first-generation disciple of the Wudang Sect was a burdensome affair. That was why even senior Experts tended to yield a little when dealing with Wudang’s first-generation disciples.

“Keuk!”

Just then, Daoist Master Woo-pyeong’s expression changed.

His breath was suddenly cut off with a pain like a needle piercing his lungs.

‘What?’

With his breathing obstructed, the aura he had painstakingly built up scattered like mist evaporating in the morning sun.

Daoist Master Woo-pyeong hurriedly tried to steady his breathing and hold onto his dissipating aura.

Sting!

At that moment, the needle-like pain struck again, and his breath scattered.

Daoist Master Woo-pyeong hastily deployed the Supreme Clear Mind Art to stabilize his internal power. But at every critical moment, a pain like a needle pricking him stimulated him.

Daoist Master Woo-pyeong’s face hardened like a stone.

There was no way such a phenomenon could occur naturally.

Countless sects were scattered throughout All Under Heaven, but when it came to the stability of internal energy, Wudang’s mind arts were revered as the world’s best, alongside Shaolin’s.

The possibility of a perfect mind art, refined over long years by numerous geniuses, being disrupted by external interference during its operation was virtually nil. But now, Daoist Master Woo-pyeong’s belief was being shaken to its core.

Every time he tried to build his aura, the needle-like pain would invariably find him.

It wasn’t because there was a problem with the Supreme Clear Mind Art.

Someone was interfering with external force.

There was only one person here capable of such a thing.

Only then did Daoist Master Woo-pyeong realize that Pyo Wol’s martial prowess was beyond his imagination.

Just because he wasn’t making any movements didn’t mean he couldn’t exert external force.

The Experts who reigned at the very top of Jianghu could easily subdue an opponent without laying a hand on them, using special techniques like Psychokinesis.

Using a similar principle, Pyo Wol had interfered with Daoist Master Woo-pyeong’s breathing.

It might sound simple, but in reality, it required an unimaginably exquisite control of internal energy.

‘Has this man truly reached a level similar to those Experts?’

A look of disbelief clouded Daoist Master Woo-pyeong’s eyes.

Although a scarf covered his face, making his true features unrecognizable, judging by the skin around his visible eyes, he couldn’t be over thirty.

He couldn’t easily believe that someone so young had reached a level similar to the top Experts of Jianghu.

Daoist Master Woo-pyeong stopped his attempt to pressure Pyo Wol by building his aura.

He had realized that the sensation he had just felt was Pyo Wol’s warning.

Pyo Wol’s atmosphere was too unusual to simply ignore the warning.

He felt the need to take a step back at this point and soften the mood.

Daoist Master Woo-pyeong spoke politely.

“I failed to recognize a great man standing before me. I am Woo-pyeong of the Wudang Sect. May I ask for your honorable name?”

“You’re quite shrewd for a Daoist. The moment you feel disadvantaged, you ask for names.”

“……”

Instantly, Daoist Master Woo-pyeong’s face turned beet red.

If he had been a little more shameless, he could have retorted without a problem, but unfortunately, he was very weak at such social maneuvering.

“I… apologize for that part. I was hasty and made a mistake.”

“You must have always acted so willfully, since most people yield on their own when you brandish the name of the Wudang Sect. Even if you apologize after the fact, your opponents can’t say a peep.”

“……”

“I suppose this is why they say if you feel wronged, you should join a great sect. No manners, no common sense, but the other party yields on their own.”

Pyo Wol’s scathing criticism stabbed into Daoist Master Woo-pyeong’s chest like a flying dagger.

His face flushed red, he couldn’t say a word.

It would have been better if he had just been shameless to the end, but he wasn’t thick-skinned enough for that.

Finally, unable to watch any longer, Tae-gwang stepped forward.

“Hah! This is the problem with my Master. What is this? You step up all full of spirit, only to get rebuked by the other party.”

“Who said I was rebuked?”

“Then what is this situation?”

“Th-that is…”

“There’s a procedure for everything, isn’t there? First, you state your identity, then you ask for the other person’s, then you find out what happened, and only then, if there’s a problem, you address it step by step. If you just go, ‘I’m a Daoist from the Wudang Sect, come with me,’ who’s going to follow? Unless they’re a fool or a pushover, would they listen to that? Ah! I guess six or seven out of ten would listen if you use the Wudang Sect’s name. That’s the problem. Everyone treats you so well, you get carried away and lose your sense of reality.”

Tae-gwang sharply criticized Daoist Master Woo-pyeong.

Faced with his young disciple’s criticism, Daoist Master Woo-pyeong couldn’t offer a single rebuttal and hung his head low.

After looking at his master with a pathetic expression for a moment, Tae-gwang soon bowed his head slightly to Pyo Wol.

“I’m sorry. I’ll apologize on my Master’s behalf. My Master has only lived in the mountains, so he doesn’t know the ways of the world.”

“And you’re different?”

“I’m better than my Master. I somehow managed to become a disciple of the Wudang Sect, but before that, I wandered All Under Heaven. To survive in the harsh Jianghu, a bit of perceptiveness is essential.”

Tae-gwang grinned at Pyo Wol.

Tae-gwang had the eyes of a seasoned merchant rather than a young Daoist. Worn down by the trials of the world, his perceptiveness had developed exceptionally.

Tae-gwang performed a Fist-Palm Salute to Pyo Wol and greeted him.

“Let me introduce myself formally. I am Tae-gwang, a second-generation disciple of the Wudang Sect. May I know the Great Hero’s name?”

“Pyo Wol.”

“So you are Great Hero Pyo.”

Tae-gwang’s eyes darted about.

He was trying to search his memory for the name Pyo Wol. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t recall a martial artist named Pyo Wol.

‘Is he new to Jianghu? But for someone who just entered Jianghu, he reeks of an old veteran.’

Tae-gwang changed his target.

His gaze turned to Soma.

“You were really scared, weren’t you, Soma? I’ll apologize on my Master’s behalf. I’m sorry! My Master may be clumsy, but he’s not a bad person. So please don’t be angry.”

“I’m not angry.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

“But I don’t know about my brother.”

At Soma’s words, Tae-gwang glanced at Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol still had his face covered with the scarf. Because of that, he couldn’t figure out what he was thinking or what emotions he was feeling.

‘This man! He reeks of danger.’

His master, Daoist Master Woo-pyeong, had a rash side to him, but his martial arts were among the best in the Wudang Sect. Such a powerful expert wouldn’t have flinched just from a display of aura.

He guessed that Pyo Wol had used a method like penetrating energy or an formless qi to cut off the flow of his breath, thereby blocking Daoist Master Woo-pyeong from building his aura.

It was a skill that, at a minimum, only an Elder of the Wudang Sect could perform. If so, it meant the man before them possessed martial power nearly on par with the Wudang Elders they looked up to as if they were the heavens.

It wasn’t for nothing that Daoist Master Woo-pyeong had so shrewdly changed his tune.

Of course, with the current prestige of the Wudang Sect, there was no reason to be intimidated by a single unidentified expert. But the Wudang Sect knew well how a single expert could change the landscape of Jianghu.

The Fist Demon who revived Mount Hua was one such case, and the founding ancestor of the Radiant Martial Gate, one of the current Two Powerhouses of Jianghu, was another.

They were absolute experts who single-handedly changed the landscape of Jianghu.

Having seen how they changed Jianghu, the Wudang Sect afterward never looked down on a martial artist who traveled alone.

The Wudang Sect thoroughly instilled this mental discipline in new disciples from the start.

Daoist Master Woo-pyeong had also received such training from a young age and had developed the habit of never underestimating an opponent.

The reason he treated Pyo Wol politely was not because he was scared. It was because he didn’t want to escalate the problem unnecessarily.

He had stepped back because he thought his disciple, Tae-gwang, could handle it better, but he was making his intention to intervene if necessary clear.

Watching Daoist Master Woo-pyeong, Pyo Wol once again felt the underlying strength of a prestigious sect.

Polite but not cowardly, and knowing when to take a step back when one feels lacking.

If martial artists from other sects had confronted Pyo Wol in the same situation, they would never have backed down, if only for the sake of their pride. That was the so-called pride of a prestigious sect. But Daoist Master Woo-pyeong acted as if he had no such pride at all.

Pyo Wol knew well how difficult that was.

The truly fearsome ones were those who, despite possessing such power, knew how to be patient.

For now, he seemed to have bowed his head, pushed back by Pyo Wol’s presence, but inwardly, he was probably calculating how to resolve the current situation.

At that moment, Daoist Master Woo-pyeong cautiously stepped forward. Pyo Wol thought he must have finished all his calculations.

He bowed his head politely to Pyo Wol.

“I apologize for rashly accusing Soma of learning a demonic art. The qi I felt from Soma was so malevolent that the words came out before I knew it. But now that I see Soma’s eyes are clear and righteous, I am confused. I don’t know what’s what.”

Daoist Master Woo-pyeong took a step back.

Pyo Wol had no intention of pushing Daoist Master Woo-pyeong any further.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t fight if he set his mind to it, but he didn’t want to make a big issue by antagonizing the Wudang Sect at this time.

Daoist Master Woo-pyeong continued.

“As a token of my apology, I would like to treat you to a meal. Let’s clear up the misunderstanding over a meal together.”

With the other party going this far, he could no longer refuse.

Just as Daoist Master Woo-pyeong had yielded, he too had to back down to some extent.

Pyo Wol nodded his head.

“Let’s do that!”

“A man of reason. I was worried you were a stubborn and inflexible person.”

“You’re the one who’s so stubborn and inflexible you have to learn from your disciple.”

“Haha! As a matter of fact, I am learning a lot from Tae-gwang. That kid is better at dealing with people than I am. That’s why I brought him along today.”

Daoist Master Woo-pyeong smiled kindly and patted Tae-gwang’s shoulder. Then, as if in revenge, Tae-gwang patted Daoist Master Woo-pyeong’s butt and said.

“I have a lot of trouble because of my lacking Master. Anyway, my Master is like this because he doesn’t know the ways of the world, so please be generous. Hehe!”

Tae-gwang chuckled.

Even in front of Pyo Wol, he showed no signs of being intimidated.

That aspect of Tae-gwang caught Pyo Wol’s interest.

He didn’t know about his talent in martial arts, but his social skills surpassed those of other disciples from great sects.

It was then.

BOOM!

Suddenly, an unusually loud explosion echoed through the street.

Then, someone went tumbling to the ground.

“Keuheuk!”

The one sprawled on the ground, breathing like a beast, was Gong Ha-seong. He looked up at the woman standing before him with bloodshot eyes.

“You?”

“I won, so don’t bother me anymore. I’m not a disciple of Jinmen Island anymore.”

The woman, Seol Ha-jin, said coldly.