“Ah, fuck. This is so fucking shitty, really.”
…What?
Song Il thought he must be dreaming. Who was he? He was the Raging Roar Sword Expert, Song Il. His junior brother, the Wind and Cloud Sword Lord, still treated him with the utmost respect and courtesy, even now that he was the Sect Leader. And yet, what was this? Fuck? Fucking shitty?
Did I hear him wrong?
The Hidden Dragon of Shanxi, Jin Tae-kyung. The youngest son of a family as small as a booger, the Taiyuan Jin Family. A little whelp who had just barely passed the age of twenty now that the year had turned. He couldn’t believe that such a brat had said such things to him, an elder of the great Zhongnan Sect and one of the heroes of the Orthodox-Demonic Great War. No, he couldn’t accept it.
“…What did you just say?”
Any hope he might have had was shattered by Jin Tae-kyung’s next words.
“I said it’s shitty. Fucking shitty! You fucking bastards! There’s a limit to abusing your power.”
“…”
After spewing a torrent of profanity, Jin Tae-kyung spoke to Jin Wi-gyeong.
“I’m sorry. I know this is something I should endure even if it feels like shit, but they’re being so fucking shitty that it feels twice as shitty, so I just couldn’t let it go.”
“To be honest, I felt like shit too.”
That one line from Jin Wi-gyeong was the finishing touch.¹
Song Il, who had been unable to accept this unbelievable situation, slowly felt a light return to his eyes. A blazing light. It was a tremendous rage, the likes of which he had not felt in a very long time.
“You bastards…”
A hot breath escaped from between the teeth of the irrational Song Il.
“Are dying to die.”
Swoosh.
His beloved sword, which had cut down countless enemies, revealed itself. It didn’t matter if the Taiyuan Jin Family was part of the Orthodox Faction, the Unorthodox Faction, or even the Demonic Path. If he had thought about the consequences before acting, he would never have earned the title of Raging Roar Sword Expert.
I’ll kill every last one of them.
Song Il genuinely harbored a killing intent. As if to prove it, a powerful sword Qi undulated like a wave. He was a man who had trained his entire life in the ultimate technique of the Zhongnan Sect, the Thirty-Six Swords of the Heavenly River. Although he had not achieved great mastery, it was more than enough to shred those insolent brats into pieces of flesh with a single stroke.
I’ll kill you first.
The first one to die had already been decided. The Hidden Dragon of Shanxi, Jin Tae-kyung. He would chew that young brat’s tongue to pieces and swallow it. Just as Song Il, with bloodshot eyes, was about to unleash his sword Qi…
“If you kill that one, you die too.”
At the voice coming from somewhere, Song Il’s body froze. It wasn’t because of the meaning behind the words. It was because he couldn’t figure out where the voice was coming from.
I can’t tell? Me?
It was an impossible event. But the voice that followed informed him that this situation was real.
“A man who’s old enough to know better, what are you doing picking on a child, tsk tsk.”
Front, back, up, down, left, right. Song Il couldn’t discern where the voice was coming from at all. The owner of the voice was nowhere and everywhere.
T-This is…
Finally realizing the identity of the voice, his body trembled.
*Six Harmonies Sound Transmission!*[1]
If the secret sound transmission that delivered sound with internal energy was the exclusive property of Peak Realm masters, then the Six Harmonies Sound Transmission was a martial art permitted only to those who had reached the realm beyond. The Transcendent Realm. A great stage that only a very small number among the chosen could enter.
How could such a person.
Why! For what reason was he interfering! Song Il shouted as if having a seizure.
“Who are you! I am an elder of the great Zhongnan Sect, the Raging Roar Sword Expert, Song Il! Show yourself at once!”
“‘I’? ‘Elder’? Kuhahahaha!”
A thunderous laugh echoed from all directions. It was an unfathomably deep internal energy. The commoners who had not learned martial arts prostrated themselves, crying out to the Jade Emperor, while the martial artists trembled, engulfed in awe.
“Do you not hear my words!”
“Hah, hahahaha! Ah, this is so funny I could burst.”
“You scoundrel!”
In his anger and fear, Song Il, who had lost his composure, caught sight of Jin Tae-kyung. Unlike the astonished people, he was staring into the void alone, a strange smile even playing on his lips. It was like a sneer directed at Song Il.
That bastard who deserves to die!
Swaaaaak!
The sword Qi, which had hesitated for a moment, surged up again. Aiming his sword at Jin Tae-kyung, Song Il looked around and shouted.
“Show yourself at once! Or this boy dies!”
The laughter that had been shaking the heavens and earth stopped abruptly.
“What was that? You’ll kill him?”
“I will count to three.”
A triumphant smile was now on Song Il’s lips. Although he didn’t know who or where he was, the meddler’s weakness was Jin Tae-kyung. The bewilderment that laced the opponent’s voice was proof.
“One!”
“Hah, look at this guy. He’s become even more of a viper since I last saw him.”
Since he last saw him? Song Il’s mind raced. From the way he spoke, it was clear they had met before…
Wait, that voice, could it be.
Recalling someone, Song Il flinched but then gritted his teeth. Impossible. There’s no way that old monster³ is still alive. He shouted loudly, as if to shake off his fear.
“Two!”
“Hah, fine. I’m coming out now, so just you wait! But if you so much as touch a single hair on his head, I’ll make you pay the price!”
Song Il felt his tension drain away. The gamble had paid off. The unidentified Transcendent Realm master wanted to save Jin Tae-kyung. And he was, as expected, a considerable distance away.
“Fifty paces, do not approach within fifty paces. If you come any closer, this boy is a dead… it was at that very moment.
“Three.”
Song Il doubted his own eyes and ears. Just three paces in front of him, Jin Tae-kyung opened his mouth again with a nonchalant face.
“I said three. You deaf, you dog-like old man?”
“Y-You brat. Are you dying to die?”
“Kill me. If you can.”
“…What?”
“You know what? If you can’t kill me in one stroke, you’re next.”
“…!”
“Let’s see who dies.”
Jin Tae-kyung smiled brightly and opened his arms.
“He is coming.”
He is coming. Those words sent a chill down his spine. Just as Song Il unconsciously took a step back…
Swish—
A faint sound of wind pierced his ear. A presence was approaching from behind with unbelievable speed.
This is…
The hair on his entire body stood on end. The senses he had honed through countless life-and-death situations whispered to him. It’s already too late. Retreat now.
However.
I am the Raging Roar Sword Expert, Song Il!
SWAAAAAAAK!
The Thirty-Six Swords of the Heavenly River, at ninety percent mastery. The sword Qi split into twenty-four streams and shot forward. In a world that had slowed down, Jin Tae-kyung’s image was reflected in Song Il’s wide-open eyes.
Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish-swish!
The image of him narrowly dodging the twenty-four streams of sword Qi that had assailed him from twenty-four directions. His torn clothes and the blood droplets that fell, these two things were the price he paid for evading the Raging Roar Sword Expert’s single strike.
“This is impossible…”
No further chances were given to the astonished Song Il. Because just as he was about to unleash his second form, something hard and hot grabbed his wrist.
GRAB!
“You fucking son of a bitch… I told you not to touch a single hair on his head, didn’t I?”
A low voice. Two eyes burning so red they were almost blue. Only then did Song Il realize it. That the sound of the wind had stopped at some point. And that he had touched someone he should never have touched.
“Y-You, how are you…”
“The Zhongnan Sect whelp has grown up a lot. Can’t even recognize an adult.”
The old monster who had given him an indelible humiliation long ago had come alive from his memories and was standing before him. Song Il let out a shrill scream.
“Fire King—!”
A ghastly smile appeared on Jeok Cheon-kang’s wrinkled lips.
“Yes, it is I.”
On the first day of the New Year, the Fire King descended upon the Taiyuan Jin Family.
The Fire King, Jeok Cheon-kang. The weight carried by that name pressed down on the arena. The One God, the Three Stars, the Ten Kings. They were gods who stood tall above the countless martial artists, they were the stars, and they were the kings. The absolute beings closest to the name of the Strongest Under Heaven. Despite his shabby clothes and small frame, the presence felt from Jeok Cheon-kang was that of a giant.
And the giant’s eyes turned towards me.
“You madman. Are you dying to die?”
I never thought I’d be so happy to hear that voice. I collapsed right where I stood.
“Hah, I really thought I was going to die.”
“You would have, if I hadn’t stepped in.”
“Yes, thank you. I won’t forget this debt.”
At my soulless reply, Jeok Cheon-kang glared.
“You’ve lost all your fear in half a day. Do you want to die?”
Only half a day? Come to think of it, I had parted with Jeok Cheon-kang just this morning. I had such a turbulent first day of the New Year that a single day felt like a month. I replied with a drained voice.
“If you’re going to kill me, please postpone it for as late as possible.”
“That is the plan.”
Jeok Cheon-kang turned his head and added.
“First, I’ll take care of this insolent bastard.”
‘Insolent bastard.’ How many people could call the senior brother of the Zhongnan Sect Leader and an elder by that name?
“Ah, ahh…!”
The Raging Roar Sword Expert, Song Il, was trembling from head to toe. Seeing Jeok Cheon-kang call him a whelp, they must have known each other in the past, and it clearly wasn’t a very warm relationship.
“It’s been a while. So, did those bones I broke back then heal up nicely?”
“Y-Y-You, how cou—”
“‘You’? Are you perhaps referring to me?”
The Fire King, who had been blinking as if looking at a strange creature, let out a hollow laugh.
“You’ve grown up a lot.”
Slap.
It was a sight you couldn’t see even if you paid for it. Jeok Cheon-kang slapped the Raging Roar Sword Expert across the face with his wrinkled hand. The Raging Roar Sword Expert, despite seeing his infinitely slow hand, did not dare to avoid it.
“I remember when I first saw you. You were just a greenhorn of twenty.”
Slap.
“A brat with an arrogant and rude personality, who went around causing all sorts of trouble, relying only on the halo of his sect, is now an elder of the Zhongnan Sect.”
Slap.
“When I saved you from the brink of death once, what you said was quite a spectacle. Did you ask me why I was stealing someone else’s military merit?”
Slap.
“If not for your master’s request, I would have broken your neck, not your leg.”
Slap, slap, slap!
With ordinary slaps that contained not an ounce of internal energy, the gray-haired Raging Roar Sword Expert cowered like a child being beaten. The eyes that had shone with the leisure and arrogance of the strong were now covered in humiliation, anger, and fear. Jeok Cheon-kang spat out with a look of disgust, as if looking at an insect.
“You fucking idiot. Did you eat your age through your asshole?”
What do I do? I’m starting to really like this old man.
Jin Wi-gyeong and Hyeok Mujin were already looking at Jeok Cheon-kang with eyes full of love.
“A man who is an elder of one of the Nine Great Sects intimidates commoners and arbitrarily orders a gate to be sealed, using his power as a front? Your master would weep in the nine heavens.”
“Who is the Sect Leader now?”
The Raging Roar Sword Expert answered with a stammering voice.
“M-My junior brother. The Wind and Cloud Sword Lord…”
“Wind and Cloud Sword Lord? Never heard of him in my life. So that’s why a bug like you can strut around as an elder of the Zhongnan Sect?”
Look at that audacity, calling the Zhongnan Sect Leader a nobody. The face of the Raging Roar Sword Expert, who had just been demoted to a bug on top of having his sect insulted, contorted. As he silently bowed his head to hide his humiliation and anger, Jeok Cheon-kang’s tiger-like eyes flared.
“Is your mouth just for decoration? Why aren’t you speaking?”
“…Great Hero Jeok. I-I was just.”
“Shut that mouth!”
I’ve made up my mind. I’m starting a fan club. At this very moment, the Fire King Jeok Cheon-kang was no different from an idol and a hero to the Taiyuan Jin Family.
Is this what it feels like to take a bath in cider? This feeling of every white blood cell fizzing with carbonation. The feeling of downing a can of beer with ice slush on top after a raid on a sweltering summer day. A refreshing feeling, like a triangular wave, washed over my entire body.
Fire. King. Is. Good.
Of course, this was from the perspective of an onlooker. The body of the Raging Roar Sword Expert, who was being publicly humiliated in front of countless people, commoners and martial artists alike, trembled. Perhaps that was why. The humiliation and anger he felt for a moment surpassed his fear of the Fire King.
“T-This is a matter between our sect and the Taiyuan Jin Family.”
“What?”
“Great Hero Jeok… it is not a matter for you to interfere in.”
“Not a matter for me to interfere in?”
Jeok Cheon-kang stared blankly at the Raging Roar Sword Expert, who had finished his words with a trembling voice. His tightly clenched fist twitched, as if he were contemplating where to hit to make it a good hit.
Hit him! Please, just hit him once!
As if he had heard my cheers, Jeok Cheon-kang raised his hand high. And the next moment, his wrinkled finger was pointing at me.
“Do you see that brat?”
“…?”
What the. Why am I suddenly being brought into this? Just as a question mark covered my face and everyone else’s, the Fire King’s words continued.
“I have entrusted the sacred object of the Scorching Fire Sect to that fellow.”
“…!”
“…!”
The Grand Training Grounds fell silent. A soundless shock spread endlessly outwards.