Watch your tongue, old-timer. It wouldn’t be amusing if those White Dragon Medical Pavilion people heard you.

Ah, right, that’s true.

Blood Scaled Crazed Killer?

It was the first time Jin Cheonhee had heard this title. From the flow of the conversation, it seemed like it might be his master’s old title from long ago. He continued to listen calmly.

By the way, I heard bandits tried to capture that youngster to blackmail Divine Doctor White Dragon?

I heard they were thoroughly beaten.

Having reached the Transformation Realm, his hearing had become sharper. If there was a side effect, that was it.

Those capable of voice transmission should use it instead of… ah, they already are.

Jin Cheonhee noticed several martial artists whose lips were subtly trembling.

That was the consequence of his growing reputation.

Just then, thin noodles and dumplings were set down on his table.

“Here are two bowls of noodles, two orders of dumplings, and four portions of boiled meat will be served as soon as they’re ready, great hero!”

“Thank you.”

The aroma of the steaming noodles was delightful.

From the broth, it seemed like it was made with chicken bones.

Slurp-

The broth had considerable depth. Fortunately, the inn seemed like a place that prepared good food.

Just as the boiled meat arrived, he set some aside for Hwanggu and Noe-jin.

Woof!

Squeak!

Both animals were apparently hungry, as they devoured the food ravenously.

It looked like he’d need to order four more portions.

[It seems rumors about you have spread wildly. And they said Divine Doctor White Dragon was once called Blood Scaled Crazed Killer…]

[I know Master had a blood feud when settling an old grudge with the Zhuge clan.]

[You mentioned it was a grudge involving the extermination of an entire clan?]

Jin Cheonhee nodded with a composed expression.

[Having lost his entire family overnight, how deep must his resentment have been? I understand.]

“…”

Cheon Woo stared at Jin Cheonhee before saying:

[Still… a title like Blood Scaled Crazed Killer isn’t common, brother. And it’s not normal that someone with such a title now goes by Divine Doctor White Dragon.]

What exactly did Master do back then?

Curiosity welled up inside him, but Jin Cheonhee forcibly suppressed it.

[If you want to know, you can. Just ask your Master directly.]

[What if he doesn’t tell me?]

[Then that’s that.]

It was truly a strange master-disciple relationship.

Clearly, his brother trusted Divine Doctor White Dragon.

And Divine Doctor White Dragon trusted his brother just the same.

Yet neither seemed inclined to discuss the past.

Could it be because they trust each other too much? But…

Cheon Woo trusted his master, Wudang’s Fist Emperor. But if the Fist Emperor had some blood feud, he would want to know about it.

After all, a master’s debt is also a disciple’s debt.

However, the relationship between Divine Doctor White Dragon and his brother was more detached than the typical master-disciple relationship in the martial world.

Nevertheless, if asked whether they trusted each other enough to overcome that distance, the answer would still be yes.

It’s pointless to say it’s strange; my brother won’t listen anyway.

Could it be because of their relationship as physician and disciple?

He thought that might be the case.

Just then, seven people entered the inn together with a rumble.

All wore identical martial uniforms—two carried spears, three had shields and swords, and the remaining two wielded long swords.

Shields, huh. Not a commonly used weapon.

Martial artists usually prioritized dodging through footwork or deflecting with swords.

Shields were typically used in military contexts.

Someone recognized the martial artists:

Isn’t that the Seven Warriors Group[2] of the Unorthodox Alliance? Even those guys have shown up?

Though he tried to whisper, his voice carried power and became louder.

Jin Cheonhee glanced at the seven martial artists.

The Seven Warriors Group of the Unorthodox Alliance.

He had heard of them before.

The Unorthodox Alliance had a martial force called the Seven Warriors Group. It was divided into sixteen teams, each consisting of seven members.

Based on a formation battle array, they were a powerful force.

The Unorthodox Alliance boasted quite proudly that seven members could fight on par with a Transformation Realm master.

The composition of one Seven Warriors team is two Transcendent Realm masters supported by five Peak Realm masters, right?

They could be considered an elite force.

It seems the Unorthodox Alliance is serious… Have they mobilized the entire Seven Warriors Group? Then the unorthodox sects affiliated with the Unorthodox Alliance will also deploy their forces… and the Martial Righteous Alliance will move accordingly?

This was getting complicated.

Just then, one who appeared to be a Transcendent Realm master from the Seven Warriors Group shouted:

“I am Na Ho-seok, the Wind Thunder Sword, commander of the seventh team of the Unorthodox Alliance’s Seven Warriors Group! Our alliance is about to conduct an operation, so everyone must leave! If you stay and get caught up in our affairs and die, we will not be held responsible.”

The atmosphere suddenly froze at those words.

Right. This is how the unorthodox faction operates. No justification, and if you have a problem, you have to confront them yourself.

Sure enough.

The martial artists grumbled with disgruntled voices as they stopped eating one by one and rose.

Even the attendant, the innkeeper, and the chef stepped outside.

Seeing them receive silver coins on their way out, it seemed compensation had been paid in advance.

[Brother, what should we do? Should we leave too?]

[I can’t believe this is happening in the middle of a meal. Let’s avoid getting involved in something strange and get up…]

Just then, the Seven Warriors Group addressed Jin Cheonhee:

“We’ve given our warning, so we won’t say it again. Jin Cheonhee, Minor Pavilion Master of the White Dragon Medical Pavilion! You must come with us. If you refuse, we’ll take you by force, so think carefully!”

Damn it… So the bandits weren’t acting independently. The Unorthodox Alliance was trying to capture me. How amazing could this Conquering Heaven Peerless Divine Arts be that they’d go this far?

It’s just a martial arts technique, right?

[Brother, are you okay?]

[I’m fine. It’s just, I’m wondering why they’re going to such lengths for one of the Eight Great Divine Arts.]

[They are remarkable… those techniques.]

[…Right. I know! I know that!]

Jin Cheonhee stood up.

Screech!

“Why should I go with you?”

“You’ll find out if you come along.”

They’re not admitting they want to control Divine Doctor White Dragon to gain an advantageous position for obtaining the Conquering Heaven Peerless Divine Arts.

Or perhaps they don’t know.

These people are just pieces on a chess board, and ordinary pieces often don’t know exactly what they’re doing.

It’s not because they’re stupid.

They’re trained not to suspect or question such things from the beginning.

But that’s not my concern.

Jin Cheonhee calmly replied:

“I refuse. I decline your invitation.”

“I expected as much. Prepare the Seven Warriors Formation!”

Clash-clang-jang!

The sound of weapons being drawn reverberated throughout the inn.

As swords were unsheathed, someone’s noodles spilled on the floor, but no one seemed to care.

Only Jin Cheonhee was bothered by it.

The food… why not go outside to fight… why draw swords here of all places?

The floor was already soaked with half-eaten noodles, and dumplings rolled across it.

The Seven Warriors Group stepped on dumplings that hadn’t even been touched yet.

Squish.

Jin Cheonhee felt a strange sense of humiliation, even though they were just dumplings and noodles.

It was the peculiar discomfort of a Korean whose greetings begin with “Have you eaten?”

No, you shouldn’t step on food like that. You bastards! Think about how hard someone worked to make it!

But the unorthodox faction couldn’t care less.

As the seven took battle stances and raised their aura, tables all around were overturned, and still-warm food spilled everywhere.

This is insane…!

Jin Cheonhee was angry for a different reason.

“Formation, begin!”

At that moment, energy began to swirl like mist among the seven.

They had created a sword energy cloud formation with seven people.

A battle formation!

And not one fixed to the terrain, but a practical combat formation!

I’ve seen this a lot in novels, but it’s my first time in real combat… fascinating.

It wasn’t like the sword formation used against jiangshi.

This was a proper combat formation designed to face masters.

In typical martial arts novels, formations stabilize internal energy, and some deployed by unorthodox sects or cults can even cause hallucinations…

Hmm… these don’t seem to have that quality.

However.

[Cheon Woo, let’s change locations.]

With those words, Jin Cheonhee burst out of the inn.

Boom!

He crashed through the wall as he ran, creating such a spectacular sight that the Seven Warriors Group was startled, their eyes widening.

“White-Robed Divine Dragon! Are you running away?”

“C-coward!”

But Jin Cheonhee only raised his middle finger.

Cheon Woo, Hwanggu, and Noe-jin all followed right behind him.

“Do you think you can escape? Change formation. Pursue!”

The Seven Warriors Group maintained their formation as they chased after Jin Cheonhee in an arrow formation.

Their distinctive sword energy cloud dissipated, but their mobility was considerable.

As he ran, Jin Cheonhee fired his Flicking Heaven-Penetrating Finger.

Bang!

In that moment, one of the shield-bearers blocked it.

“What a coward! Little White Dragon!”

It’s been a while since I heard that title. And their formation is quite effective too?

Jin Cheonhee thought this and immediately retorted:

“Fighting seven against one and calling me a coward is even more laughable! No one in the martial world would hear this and not laugh.”

“Hey! Stop right there!”

Right. They had nothing to say.

If they were good with words, they wouldn’t be in the Seven Warriors Group in the first place.

Finally, an open space suitable for fighting came into view.

Jin Cheonhee arrived there first and waited for the Seven Warriors Group.

However, they were experienced fighters. It was only natural that they would anticipate and prepare for Jin Cheonhee moving to a location that might give him an advantage.

As soon as they arrived, at Jin Cheonhee’s signal, Noe-jin fired lightning.

Kwa-ru-ru-ru-

Noe-jin’s lightning was powerful but lacked accuracy.

Still, it was enough to capture the enemy’s attention.

In that interval, Jin Cheonhee immediately fired his Flicking Heaven-Penetrating Finger.

Jin Cheonhee’s style consecutive shots.

Five Elements Energy Bullets–!

Five energy bullets flew, targeting blind spots.

Each shot had enough destructive power to blast away ordinary martial world masters.

The two shield-bearing martial artists stepped forward as if they had been waiting and defended against the attack.

Burburburk!

Wow, their defense is quite strong!

It was no exaggeration to say they could face a Transformation Realm master.

The Three Dragons of the Yellow River he met before seemed somewhat boastful in comparison.

But you know what? We have numbers on our side too.

If they had seven, then on this side were Jin Cheonhee, and with Noe-jin and Hwanggu, that made three.

“Brother, I’ll fight too.”

“No. I need to defeat them (alone?) so vermin like these won’t bother us anymore. If you join in too, we’ll keep attracting flies.”

It was a fair point. If he wanted these pesky types to leave him alone, showing his strength was the fastest way.

At his brother’s words, Cheon Woo clicked his tongue quietly.