Chapter 170

The moment the old man stepped forward, the air inside the inn changed.

The already tense atmosphere grew taut, as if about to burst.

A sense of caution appeared in Hwangbo Chiseung’s eyes.

Just facing the old man made his nerves stand on end as sharp as a blade. His body was the first to sense the danger and react.

When the old man had been behind Yeo Hwa-yeong, his Qi Wave had been so imperceptible it was as if he didn’t exist, but the moment he stepped forward, an immense pressure bore down on the martial artists of the Heavenly Eunuch Clan like a thousand-pound weight.

‘An Expert.’

Hwangbo Chiseung realized the old man was an expert of a level not easily seen.

He respectfully gave the old man a Fist-Palm Salute and spoke.

“This junior is named Hwangbo Chiseung. May I ask for your esteemed name, senior?”

“I am called Ak Chusan.”

“Ak… Chusan. The Lion Sword?”

Hwangbo Chiseung’s eyes widened in spite of himself.

The Lion Sword, Ak Chusan.

He was one of the top experts in Jianghu.

Although he was considered a step below the masters of the eleven supreme powers—represented by the Two Powerhouses, Three Clans, Three Hegemons, and Three Manors—as well as the Eight Constellations and the Three Venerables, the consensus in Jianghu was that the difference was not that great.

The very fact that he was mentioned in the same breath as the Eight Constellations or the Three Venerables was proof of Ak Chusan’s greatness.

The Lion Overlord Way he unleashed with a single saber was renowned as one of the ultimate techniques in Jianghu.

In terms of sheer power, everyone acknowledged that it was among the top ten saber techniques in all under heaven.

Hwangbo Chiseung could not hide his nervousness.

“Why is a senior like you here?”

Ak Chusan was not someone who should be here. Above all, he had no connection whatsoever to Juk Hae-jang. The fact that he was with Yeo Hwa-yeong threw him into confusion.

“I have a slight connection to this child’s Master. I could not refuse her request.”

“In that case…”

“What will you do? Will you continue to pressure this child?”

“Senior! I had no intention of pressuring her.”

“Every action performed by an expert of your level is felt as pressure by those of lesser skill. I don’t believe you would be unaware of such a fact…”

“Hmph!”

Hwangbo Chiseung’s face hardened.

Ak Chusan’s words had struck at the heart of the matter.

Just then, Hwa Ok-gi stepped forward and said,

“Senior, this humble one is Hwa Ok-gi of the Heavenly Eunuch Clan. This is a matter for Miss Yeo and me to resolve, so would it be possible for you to just watch for a little while?”

“What a cowardly scion.”

“What?”

“How can you call it a matter for the two of you to resolve when you’ve dragged all these men along? Surely you don’t think that’s fair?”

“That is…”

Hwa Ok-gi’s face flushed red.

He couldn’t think of a proper excuse. And he was ashamed.

Ashamed of his own shamelessness in saying it was a matter for the two of them to resolve, when he had brought a horde of his subordinates to pressure Yeo Hwa-yeong, just as Ak Chusan had said.

It was then.

“How dare you insult the Young Master? You crazy old man, spouting nonsense just because you have a mouth.”

A martial artist behind Hwangbo Chiseung suddenly roared.

Unlike Hwangbo Chiseung, he was a martial artist who had served Hwa Ok-gi for a long time. Seeing his master being criticized by Ak Chusan, he had lost his temper and cursed.

In that instant, Ak Chusan’s gaze turned chilling.

“What did you just say?”

“I called you a crazy old man.”

Hwa Ok-gi, horrified, tried to stop him.

“Don’t—”

Shhhwick!

But a ghastly sound of something slicing through the air rang out faster than his voice.

Boom!

And the wall of the inn exploded.

The man who had called Ak Chusan a crazy old man was left with only his lower body. His entire upper torso had vanished.

At the terrifying saber technique that had pulverized the opponent’s upper body in a single strike, the martial artists of the Heavenly Eunuch Clan stumbled backward.

Only then did they truly realize how fearsome the old man before them was.

Everyone else retreated, but Hwangbo Chiseung could not.

Although he had been sold for money, he was a martial artist with immense pride.

If he backed down here, intimidated by Ak Chusan’s martial prowess, no one would ever hire him again.

Fighting an expert like Ak Chusan was something he truly did not want to do, but in life, one inevitably faced moments when one absolutely could not back down.

This was one of those moments.

Hwangbo Chiseung stepped in front of Hwa Ok-gi and said,

“Please leave first.”

“But…”

“Great Hero Ak seems to be thoroughly enraged. I don’t think this can be resolved with words.”

Indeed, a powerful Qi was radiating from Ak Chusan’s entire body. It was killing intent.

Ak Chusan was by no means a broad-minded or generous person.

His alias, the Lion Sword, was due to the intensity of his martial arts, not because he was a man of great character.

He had a fiery temperament and could not tolerate even the slightest insult.

“Where do you think you’re going? A subordinate’s mistake is the master’s mistake. Shouldn’t you take responsibility for it?”

Ak Chusan unleashed his anger on Hwa Ok-gi.

Hwa Ok-gi’s face turned deathly pale.

To be directly hit with the killing intent emitted by an expert of Ak Chusan’s level was bound to cause serious mental trauma.

Hwangbo Chiseung blocked Hwa Ok-gi’s path and said,

“Young Master Hwa has nothing to do with this. If responsibility is to be taken, I, Hwangbo Chiseung, will take it.”

“You overestimate yourself. Do you think that just because you’ve gained a sliver of fame in Jianghu, you are my equal?”

“How could this junior harbor such a thought? I only wish that you would limit today’s matter to a duel with this junior.”

“Does that mean you will take full responsibility?”

“That is correct.”

“Your spirit is impressive. I hope your abilities can match it.”

“I will do my best not to disappoint you.”

Hwangbo Chiseung raised his internal power.

Fwoooosh!

A mighty pressure rose from his entire body.

The Hwangbo Noble Family had long been famous for its domineering fist techniques.

The Three Fists of Heavenly King, in particular, contained the very essence of the Hwangbo Noble Family, refined over hundreds of years.

Hwangbo Chiseung had trained in nothing but the Three Fists of Heavenly King.

Despite a lifetime of study, he had yet to achieve complete mastery. This was because key oral formulas of the Three Fists of Heavenly King had been lost when his clan fell.

If Hwangbo Chiseung had one dream, it was to perfectly restore the Three Fists of Heavenly King before he died.

‘But I have to survive first…’

The look in Ak Chusan’s eyes was anything but ordinary.

Hwangbo Chiseung went outside the inn. He didn’t want to cause any more damage to the establishment.

Ak Chusan followed him out. A moment later, an explosive sound erupted.

Kwaaang!

The two had clashed.

The people who had been cowering in fear just moments before rushed out of the inn.

“Who do you think will win?”

“Great Hero Ak, of course. As great as Great Hero Hwangbo is, how can he possibly compare to the Lion Sword of all under heaven?”

“I’ll bet money that Great Hero Ak wins in under twenty seconds.”

“Still, won’t he last at least thirty seconds?”

The people even started betting on the outcome of the fight.

Yeo Hwa-yeong looked at them with an expression of disillusionment.

For her, this was a life-or-death matter on which the survival of her manor depended, yet they saw it as nothing more than a subject for a bet.

‘After all Juk Hae-jang has done for Enshi, how can they treat us like this?’

She felt the world’s compassion was too heartless.

Her affection for all the people of Enshi had completely vanished.

Just then, a person different from the surrounding crowd entered Yeo Hwa-yeong’s field of vision.

It was a figure sitting at a table, their face half-hidden by a scarf. Of all the people in the inn, he was the only one who had not joined the crowd and had remained in his seat.

In the past, she wouldn’t have given him a second glance, but now, reeling from a sense of betrayal, he strangely caught her eye.

Yeo Hwa-yeong approached the man and spoke.

“Don’t you want to watch their fight?”

The man raised his head and looked at Yeo Hwa-yeong.

In that moment, Yeo Hwa-yeong felt a chilling sensation.

The man’s eyes were unlike those of anyone she had ever known.

His jet-black pupils revealed not a single shred of emotion. It was absolutely impossible to read his feelings or thoughts through his eyes.

What bewildered her most was the faint crimson light that occasionally appeared in his black pupils. It made him feel all the more mysterious.

The man was Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol looked straight at Yeo Hwa-yeong and said,

“I am already watching.”

“What?”

“You don’t have to see with your eyes to know everything.”

Yeo Hwa-yeong thought Pyo Wol was teasing her. His words were incomprehensible to her.

But Pyo Wol was telling the truth.

Although a wall stood between them, it could not completely block the Qi waves.

He could feel a Qi wave of pure, unyielding force clashing with a savagely fierce Qi wave, creating a vortex.

Both men were clashing without any thought of concealing their Qi waves.

In Pyo Wol’s mind, the image of the two men fighting was being reconstructed.

By imagining their movements through the Qi waves he felt on his body, the scene naturally materialized in his mind.

It was the first time Pyo Wol had experienced this. So, he wanted to focus on this sensation as much as possible. But Yeo Hwa-yeong wouldn’t let him concentrate.

“Such great confidence. Does that mean you have the ability to back it up?”

“Think what you will.”

“May I see your face?”

Yeo Hwa-yeong was genuinely curious about Pyo Wol’s face, hidden beneath the scarf. But Pyo Wol flatly refused her wish.

“My face is not a spectacle.”

“How cold.”

“Perhaps you’re the one being rude.”

“That may be so. I apologize for my rudeness. In that case, at least tell me your name. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”

“Pyo Wol!”

“That’s a nice name. My name is Yeo Hwa-yeong. If you ever need a place to stay, feel free to come to Juk Hae-jang anytime.”

Pyo Wol knew Yeo Hwa-yeong’s final offer was merely a formality, so he didn’t bother to answer.

BOOM!

At that moment, a loud roar echoed from outside the inn.

‘The fight is over.’

Someone had been defeated. And Pyo Wol already knew who it was.

The Qi wave of pure, unyielding force had completely subsided, while the savage Qi wave still flickered.

Pyo Wol rose from his seat and went outside the inn. Yeo Hwa-yeong also went out with him.

“Woooah! As expected of the Lion Sword.”

“To defeat him in twenty-five seconds. Truly amazing.”

The crowd cheered for the victor.

The one standing there with a look of course, enjoying the rights of a winner, was none other than Ak Chusan.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Ak Chusan looked down at the people surrounding him with an arrogant expression.

In front of him, Hwangbo Chiseung was kneeling, his head bowed. But his left shoulder was bare.

Ak Chusan’s saber had severed his arm near the shoulder.

Having lost an arm, the lifeblood of a martial artist, Hwangbo Chiseung’s face was filled with nothing but despair.

For a martial artist like Hwangbo Chiseung who used fist techniques, losing an arm was fatal. Not only would it be difficult to maintain his body’s balance, but he would also be unable to generate the original power of his fist techniques.

Even if he recovered and his wound healed, it would be impossible to regain his former martial prowess. He had been handed a death sentence as a martial artist.

Ak Chusan could have stopped at just teaching him a lesson, but he had cruelly cut off Hwangbo Chiseung’s arm. He believed it was necessary to establish his authority.

Yeo Hwa-yeong had no intention of blaming Ak Chusan.

It was time to show the ever-encroaching Heavenly Eunuch Clan that Juk Hae-jang was still alive.

Hwangbo Chiseung was the sacrificial lamb.

With this, the Heavenly Eunuch Clan would be on alert and would not dare to treat Juk Hae-jang lightly.

She looked around, but Hwa Ok-gi and his subordinates had already disappeared. Realizing the unfavorable turn of events, they had returned to the Heavenly Eunuch Clan first.

He had been abandoned by the Heavenly Eunuch Clan.

Yeo Hwa-yeong said to Ak Chusan,

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s.”

Ak Chusan nodded and followed Yeo Hwa-yeong.

The people who had watched the fight also began to disperse one by one, and soon only Hwangbo Chiseung and Pyo Wol were left on the street.

Swoooosh!

Rain began to pour.

Hwangbo Chiseung’s body was instantly soaked by the rain. Still, he did not move.

With his life as a martial artist over, he could not return to the Heavenly Eunuch Clan. And Hwa Ok-gi had already abandoned him.

‘Where should I go?’

With a look of despair, Hwangbo Chiseung raised his head. Before him stood a man looking down with an indifferent gaze.