Chapter 147: Mount Heng Sect (2)
At the words that the guest who had arrived was the Guest Dragon, Mount Heng Sect’s Sect Leader Hwang Seon-ja’s eyes trembled violently.
He stood blankly at the doorway for a moment, staring at the elders. But since their expressions were just as bewildered, it seemed impossible to rely on them for help.
“……Let us at least go out and see.”
It was Elder Shin Ryeong-ja who spoke first, having come back to his senses before the others. The Sect Leader and the rest of the elders nodded.
In that strange atmosphere, only the young disciple who had rushed in to announce the Guest Dragon’s visit tilted his head repeatedly in puzzlement.
Hwang Seon-ja, Elder Shin Ryeong-ja, and the other elders stepped outside.
The Grand Training Hall connected directly to the main gate was filled with Mount Heng Sect’s young Daoists.
Since it was not training time, they had clearly come out to catch a glimpse of the much-talked-about Guest Dragon.
Hwang Seon-ja pushed through his disciples and stepped forward.
The man who stood there, receiving all the curious gazes of the disciples with a calm expression, was without a doubt the Guest Dragon. Though he had never seen his face before, he could tell at a glance.
How many men in the world could possess such presence and aura at that age?
Forcing down his unease, Hwang Seon-ja spoke as evenly as possible.
“A noble guest has visited our Mount Heng Sect. Of late, I have often heard rumors about you, Guest Dragon. I am the Sect Leader of Mount Heng Sect……”
“Hand over Escort Agency Master Bang Man-bok and his son.”
Hwang Seon-ja closed his mouth at once.
The elders behind him also froze.
When Jin Seong-un made such a sudden demand, the young disciples of Mount Heng Sect whispered to each other in confusion.
“Who is Bang Man-bok?”
“How should I know? He said he’s an Escort Master, but why would someone like that be sought here?”
That whisper struck the Sect Leader and the elders like thunder.
None of them had expected that this subject would be brought up so abruptly.
A chill of fear ran through Hwang Seon-ja. At the very least, this must not be revealed to the disciples.
“Escort Master Bang Man-bok? Are you perhaps referring to the master of Red Cliff Escort Agency? I vaguely recall hearing of some misfortune that befell them of late……”
Hwang Seon-ja feigned ignorance.
It was not because he had some elaborate scheme, but simply because this was the only path he could take.
Jin Seong-un stared fixedly at Hwang Seon-ja, then took a step forward. The disciples surrounding them instinctively stepped back.
“You faked their deaths and kept them hidden. I already heard it from Mount Heng Sect’s veteran martial artists.”
The whispers in the hall turned into a low uproar. As Jin Seong-un stated this calmly, the disciples of Mount Heng Sect began to frown.
What misunderstanding could make him commit such rudeness?
Were the tales of Guest Dragon being a righteous hero nothing but exaggeration after all?
Such doubts flickered among the disciples.
Hwang Seon-ja also showed his wrath.
“You do know that Mount Heng Sect is an orthodox sect, don’t you? How could we possibly commit such disgraceful deeds? This is utterly preposterous.”
Jin Seong-un’s gaze met Hwang Seon-ja’s head-on.
Hwang Seon-ja struggled greatly to keep his eyes from trembling, while Jin Seong-un, as always, only sent forth a dry, indifferent stare.
The two glared silently at each other, and the atmosphere quickly grew strange.
The younger disciples hesitated and took a few steps back, while several first disciples and elders began stepping forward.
In a firm tone, Hwang Seon-ja declared,
“This is not even worth responding to—it is nothing but vile rumor. Out of the vast generosity of a senior toward a mere junior of the martial world, I will overlook today’s insolence. Now, leave at once.”
It was a dismissal full of authority.
Jin Seong-un nodded slightly for a moment, then suddenly stepped forward.
“If you insist on feigning ignorance, then I have no choice but to find them myself.”
His steps turned toward the inner quarters of Mount Heng Sect. It was clear he meant to search the place himself to uncover Bang Man-bok and Bang Cheon-gang.
One of the first disciples watching grimaced and stepped forward.
“Hah, in all my life, I’ve never seen such outrageous behavior……”
Just before his palm could touch Jin Seong-un’s shoulder—
Jin Seong-un’s hand moved even faster.
Jjaaaang—!
The disciple was flung away helplessly by the force Jin Seong-un unleashed. The Daoists behind him tried to catch him but ended up tumbling down together.
Crash!
With that, Daoists hurriedly drew their swords.
Srrring—!
Dozens of blades glimmered everywhere like sunlight reflected on water.
Yet Jin Seong-un simply continued walking forward.
“You wretch!”
Elder Baek Ryeong-ja shouted furiously and charged at him. The sword he swung like lightning aimed straight for Jin Seong-un’s heart.
‘All the better.’
That was Baek Ryeong-ja’s thought.
Since Guest Dragon had attacked first, they now had ample justification.
Even if they killed him here, Mount Heng Sect would at most be accused of excessive response—nothing more. No one could condemn them for it.
For a split second, Baek Ryeong-ja thought his blade had pierced the man’s heart.
But at that moment, Jin Seong-un’s form dissolved as though sinking into the ground.
“What the……!”
Baek Ryeong-ja exclaimed in shock. Jin Seong-un was already inside his guard.
Using the Technique of Exchanging Two Forms, Jin Seong-un appeared suddenly, as though he had leapt through space itself, and gently seized Baek Ryeong-ja’s sword hand.
Before Baek Ryeong-ja could react—
Crack—!
Jin Seong-un drove his elbow upward from below. Baek Ryeong-ja’s arm snapped, and the sword slipped from his grasp.
Clang—!
Even as the blade clattered loudly to the floor, Jin Seong-un swung his elbow again and struck Baek Ryeong-ja’s jaw.
Crunch—!
Baek Ryeong-ja’s eyes briefly glazed over before his body collapsed.
Though he still breathed, it would be some time before he regained consciousness.
Silence fell over the Grand Training Hall.
Having felled one of Mount Heng Sect’s elders, Jin Seong-un calmly looked around, then resumed walking forward.
“Subdue him!”
At Sect Leader Hwang Seon-ja’s desperate cry, Mount Heng Sect’s disciples all rushed at him at once. Jin Seong-un let out a small sigh and halted his steps.
He seized the shoulder of the foremost attacker and struck his chin with his palm.
The man’s head snapped back violently before he crumpled to the ground.
With a slight twist of his body, Jin Seong-un deflected the blades striking from both sides. Just as the two young Daoists’ swords nearly crossed each other, Jin Seong-un stomped down.
Jjaaaang—!
The floor of the training hall split like a spider’s web, and the two Daoists spewed dark blood before collapsing.
The same scene repeated over and over.
Mount Heng Sect’s young Daoists kept rushing in.
Jin Seong-un merely broke their arms and legs, struck their jaws or throats, or inflicted internal injuries—then laid them gently on the ground.
It did not take many breaths to bring the count to roughly forty or so.
Watching this, the Sect Leader and elders finally began to step in themselves, as if in a sudden frenzy.
Whoosh-!
A sword strike, twice as fast as that of the young Daoists, rushed toward Jin Seong-un.
For the first time, Jin Seong-un drew a sword, having previously relied on Blood Demon’s Martial Arts to deal with the Daoists unarmed.
Cheng-!
The iron sword, suffused with crimson flames, sliced through the blade of the Mount Heng Sect elder without hesitation.
While the elder who had thrust his sword blinked in shock, Jin Seong-un’s palm strike smashed into his jaw without mercy.
Jjaeeok-!
The elder collapsed alongside the disciples.
Jin Seong-un fought with more force than ever. Not to kill, but rather to preserve life.
The reason was simple. He had to first confirm the survival of Bang Man-bok and Bang Cheon-gang.
If the two were already dead, it would still not be too late to deal with the others after verifying that fact.
The Daoists of Mount Heng Sect also realized that Jin Seong-un was holding back.
Naturally, no one had been killed.
Thus, Hwang Seon-ja felt an even deeper fear.
In such a chaotic battle, preserving life was several times more difficult than taking it.
In other words, if the Guest Dragon so wished, he could single-handedly slaughter dozens or even hundreds of Mount Heng Sect martial artists.
‘So the rumors were not entirely false…….’
The news that Guest Dragon had killed the Southern Black Lotus Lord had only recently spread as far as Hunan.
Hwang Seon-ja had naturally assumed it was just the merchants’ typical bluster mixed with exaggeration.
He was not underestimating Guest Dragon; anyone with common sense would have thought the same.
In fact, he considered Guest Dragon extraordinary. After all, the rumors existed for a reason: the man had already demonstrated his abilities.
Yet, the Guest Dragon before him exceeded even those rumors. He could only think of him as a monster.
Hwang Seon-ja, who had stepped back after being struck in the chest by Jin Seong-un’s force, vomited blood.
“Sect Leader!”
The elders beside him rushed to support Hwang Seon-ja, but he quickly stretched out a hand to stop them.
It was already too late. Jin Seong-un’s form was now directly above their heads.
Kwahaaaang-!
The elders were slammed into the ground, losing consciousness instantly.
Jin Seong-un finally composed his slightly ragged breath and resumed walking forward.
Even while facing dozens of opponents, he had already passed the Grand Training Hall and reached the rows of pavilions.
The Daoists of Mount Heng Sect were losing heart.
Being from a declining sect, they were already emotionally fragile.
Confronted with a single young martial artist manipulating the entire sect, they were seized by shame and helplessness.
Seeing this in his disciples, Hwang Seon-ja made a decisive order.
“Kill them.”
His voice fell heavily.
Until now, Mount Heng Sect had also restrained their lethal techniques.
This restraint came from a kind of complacency afforded by their numerical advantage, and from whatever remained of Hwang Seon-ja’s conscience.
But if the fight continued, Mount Heng Sect would suffer irreparable humiliation.
At his command, the young disciples hesitated, while the elders steeled themselves, radiating killing intent.
Jin Seong-un let out a low sigh.
With so many martial artists charging with intent to kill, even he could not afford to act leisurely.
The swords of Hwang Seon-ja and the elders were now imbued with killing intent.
Jin Seong-un’s gaze darkened.
In that instant, the air in the hall thickened with tension.
“Mount Heng Sect!!!”
A resounding shout came from the direction of the main gate.
Both Jin Seong-un and the Daoists of Mount Heng Sect turned their heads in unison.
There were two men. More precisely, two men standing on the ground, and two elders weakly carried on their backs—four in total.
The elders were figures familiar even to the Daoists of Mount Heng Sect.
“Come on, elders!”
They were Jin Ryeong-ja and Cheon Ryeong-ja, who had previously attempted to ambush Jin Seong-un. Seo Yu-gyeom and Seomun Ak carried the two on their backs, sprinting tirelessly to the scene.
They were worried. Naturally, not about Jin Seong-un being harmed.
‘If that guy becomes a Demonic Path practitioner, my peace is over.’
Seo Yu-gyeom’s blazing gaze was fixed on Jin Seong-un.
He had never seen his parents’ faces, had been used by the former Master of Hwa-un Trading Company as a father figure, and had lived as an assassin.
Recently, he had finally established a home, made friends, found fulfillment in cooking, and attained stability.
Seo Yu-gyeom wanted that life to remain intact.
Naturally, if the innkeeper Jin Seong-un’s alias changed from Guest Dragon to something like Guest Demon, everything would be over.
Having run without pause, Seomun Ak, who had roughly dropped Jin Ryeong-ja, was vomiting with a pale face.
Seo Yu-gyeom, with sharper eyes than ever, surveyed the Daoists of Mount Heng Sect and spoke.
“Bring Bang Man-bok.”
“…….”
“Or prepare to go to war with the Seomun Clan.”
The Daoists of Mount Heng Sect’s eyes widened like lanterns. The Seomun Clan was a colossal family, incomparable even to the contemporary Mount Heng Sect.
Of course, the most shocked was Seomun Ak.
He, mid-vomit, opened his eyes wide and stared at Seo Yu-gyeom.
Are you insane?
In response, Seo Yu-gyeom merely nodded once.
Better that than the Guest Dragon becoming Guest Demon; better that Seomun Ak took a few hits from his own father.
Seo Yu-gyeom thought so.