Chapter 371: Orthodox Sect Gathering. (12)

“It is Gu Cheol-un.”

At the man’s words, the waiting room instantly felt crushed.

He merely stated his own name, mind you.

Was there a bet contained within his voice? No.

Did he use the bet to crush the air? That, too, was not it.

This was merely the presence the man exuded, and.

Under that man’s gaze, they were likely being crushed without even realizing it.

Immediately after the man sat in the honored seat and uttered his name, the waiting room quickly filled with murmuring sounds.

-If it’s Gu Cheol-un… wasn’t he the Valiant Hero?

-Valiant Hero? If it’s the Valiant Hero… the head of the Gu family from Shanxi?

A former top Latecomer who bore the epithet ‘Divine Dragon’,

and the former commander of the Divine Dragon Unit belonging to the now-disbanded Martial Arts Alliance, currently serving as the head of the Gu family from Shanxi.

Furthermore, he was a martial artist counted among the Hundred Great Experts of the Central Plains, but these were merely past achievements.

By now, he was said to have become quite frail.

Additionally, in recent times, a title more frequently called than ‘Valiant Hero’ had emerged.

It was the epithet of a martial artist that had begun spreading throughout the Central Plains, not just Henan.

The Little Yama, Gu Yangcheon.

A Latecomer who concluded the incident of the Divine Dragon Pavilion’s attack, the reason and essence for this Orthodox Faction Gathering.

No, he was also a figure who had been newly bestowed an epithet, making him unable to be called a mere Latecomer anymore.

The man was the father of that Little Yama.

Until recently, he was more famous as the father of Sword Phoenix, but now he had become more famous as the parent of the Little Yama.

And. Anyone who knew even a little about Gu Cheol-un would say this upon hearing of the Little Yama.

-Does that mean like father, like son?

If a tiger gives birth to a cub, how could it give birth to a dog?

It was perhaps natural for a monster to give birth to a monster.

Nowadays, he might be called a toothless tiger or a remnant of the past hidden in Shanxi, but those who remember Gu Cheol-un in his prime could not see him that way.

Look even now.

Numerous people are overwhelmed just by Gu Cheol-un’s appearance. Gu Cheol-un didn’t smoke or perform any specific actions.

It was simply that those who remembered that time were crushed by his presence on their own.

In the silence that had fallen due to Gu Cheol-un’s introduction,

The first to speak was Tang Cheon-gi.

“It’s been a long time.”

It must have been at least several decades since Tang Cheon-gi last met Gu Cheol-un.

Accordingly, Moyong Tae, who had been wearing a displeased expression, also cautiously paid his respects.

“…It’s good to see you…”

Moyong Tae, naturally, did not like Gu Cheol-un much.

It had been that way since the past.

As they were of similar age, they often encountered each other even during their Latecomer days.

When Moyong Tae was known as the White Dragon, they had clashed before.

There was even the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly back then.

As for the result, Moyong Tae had already erased it from his memory.

Meaning he had been defeated so miserably that he didn’t want to remember it.

Moreover, because his sister had once pursued Gu Cheol-un, saying she liked him.

Moyong Tae found Gu Cheol-un even more uncomfortable.

Just looking at that alone, truly.

‘…Father and son, you certainly take after each other.’

It was enough to make him burn with anger internally.

He was holding back because his precious daughter had something to say right now, but.

Moyong Tae had no intention of forgiving that damned brat called the Little Yama.

‘If it were only my daughter, I might have overlooked it somehow.’

Rumor had it that women overflowed around him.

As soon as he heard that, his anger flared up, but he held back for now.

Because for any matter, there are truths that can only be known through direct encounter.

In fact, after meeting that damned brat, Moyong Tae briefly changed his mind.

The reason was none other than this.

Given how he looked, it didn’t make sense that women swarmed around him.

The Little Yama wasn’t ugly, but he wasn’t handsome either.

Combined with the Gu family’s characteristic fierce eyes, he looked scary enough to be difficult to look at for long.

And such a guy, even his own outstanding and precious daughter clings to him, saying she likes him?

‘Something is wrong.’

Moyong Tae thought so.

The reason his daughter had an obsession, or rather, clung to that scoundrel.

It was simple.

The congenital illness his daughter possessed; currently, the only being capable of curing it.

That was the Little Yama.

How it came to be was not known in detail, but.

It was something confirmed by the elders of the Moyong family, including the physicians sent along.

That is why he endured it.

Having to entrust his daughter to a boy of the same age,

and that his daughter eventually gave her heart in the process.

He could somehow endure it.

Thus, if it meant his daughter could live, and furthermore, if his daughter was happy, he could endure anything.

Moreover.

‘Since the child is happy.’

It was his daughter whom he met after a long time.

Moyong Tae saw his daughter smile so brightly for the first time in over ten years.

This could be called a positive change.

Therefore, Moyong Tae endured it regarding the Little Yama.

He had heard news of him having a fiancée, but he endured it because his daughter said they were scheduled to break the engagement and he promised to get engaged to her.

If it was going to be connected with the Gu family anyway, he could also carefully arrange the agreement.

Everything was for his daughter.

To Moyong Tae, who had lost his wife, his daughter was his entire world.

And yet.

‘…Even with our daughter, he had more women around him?’

Just imagining it made his teeth grind.

Moyong Tae clearly saw it then.

The people at the dining table where Moyong Hi-ah was staying.

‘It was filled with women.’

And each and every one of them was as beautiful as his daughter.

From Moyong Tae’s perspective, who believed his daughter was the best, stating they were of the same level indicated a considerable standard.

As soon as the Little Yama entered the inn, those girls would invariably send him glances as if they had been waiting.

Among those women, Moyong Tae could spot one who stood out.

A woman with cyan-white hair and blue eyes.

Just by looking at her martial attire and aura, Moyong Tae could tell she was a blood relative of the Namgung family.

And, as far as Moyong Tae knew, among the direct blood relatives of the Namgung family, there was only one daughter.

She was called Sword Dancer, wasn’t she?

As the name suggested, she seemed to possess both beautiful looks and an outstanding level of skill, but.

What was important to Moyong Tae was something else.

It was that the Little Yama’s fiancée was Sword Dancer,

and the problem was that, contrary to his daughter’s words, she seemed to be getting along well with him.

This meant.

‘That guy has no intention of breaking the engagement. He’s just playing with my daughter.’

Grind.

Moyong Tae’s arm tensed.

If the table wasn’t made of rock, it would have shattered immediately.

‘Was he toying with me back then too?’

The moment they first met on the street.

He remembered the back of the Little Yama, who readily stepped forward when Moyong Tae asked for directions.

Even if Moyong Tae didn’t know it, the guy knew that every word he spoke was directed at him, yet he played along,

and even agreed, saying ‘Just go ahead and break my limbs’ to his threats.

‘He knew everything and was just mocking me.’

Moyong Tae didn’t think the Little Yama couldn’t understand this.

It was the kind of thing that’s hard not to notice if one has any sense.

It was clear.

The guy had insulted him.

Reason might whisper that it was prejudice, but.

Moyong Tae’s ears were no longer open to such things.

Anyway, that guy’s family had never had anything likable about them since way back.

‘After the gathering ends.’

Once this matter is over, Moyong Tae intends to seek out the Little Yama.

His daughter keeps telling him not to, saying she’ll handle it herself, but.

As a father, he couldn’t stand it.

He had no intention of killing him.

He desperately wanted to kill him, but he had to protect this part.

Moyong Tae simply intended to correct that brat’s manners from the position of a ‘senior’.

Though the process would be rough.

While barely suppressing his emotions, grinding his inner sword with clenched teeth,

“It’s a coincidence that we’ve gathered like this. I heard a rumor.”

The person Moyong Tae hated even more than Gu Cheol-un and that brat called the Little Yama spoke up.

It was the Wine King, Peng Zhou.

“Since Gu family head is here, I’ll say this, but I heard your son is quite outstanding these days.”

I wondered what the recent rumor was about, and sure enough, it was about the Little Yama.

“You must be pleased to have such a precious son, wouldn’t you say?”

Peng Zhou said with a smile.

Gu Cheol-un turned his head to look at Peng Zhou.

Perhaps due to his characteristic gaze, Gu Cheol-un’s eyes looked quite cold.

“The child simply did well.”

Gu Cheol-un responded to Peng Zhou’s words, but in a rather indifferent voice.

As if it had nothing to do with him at all.

Perhaps Gu Cheol-un’s answer displeased him.

Peng Zhou’s eyebrow twitched slightly. As if not backing down, Peng Zhou added another remark.

“Even if the child did well, wouldn’t it be because someone was supporting them from behind?”

Hearing Peng Zhou’s words, Tang Cheon-gi and Moyong Tae finally seemed to understand Peng Zhou’s intention in bringing up the topic.

While there were many rumors about the Little Yama now,

originally, the one called the top Latecomer and Divine Dragon was none other than the Young Master of the Peng family.

It was Peng Yu-jin.

Peng Zhou was using this comparison to praise the Little Yama and the Gu family, intending to gain leverage for the Peng family through petty political maneuvering.

Normally, upon hearing this, they would empathize and gain something from each other, but.

Gu Cheol-un looked at Peng Zhou and gave a different answer.

“The family did nothing. It was all accomplished solely by the child alone. Neither I nor the family has particularly done anything for that child.”

He was resolute.

It was questionable how he could cut it off so resolutely.

At this point, it must have been a somewhat embarrassing situation for Peng Zhou.

As expected, Peng Zhou’s expression slightly contorted.

The master of the Tang sect, the Poison King Tang Cheon-gi, sighed inwardly as he watched.

That damned bear cub is still like that even after getting old.

Although he was showing courtesy as they were now family heads, he often displayed that empty skull of his.

‘He wasn’t quite at this level back then.’

Even back then, I thought his brain might be filled with muscle, but.

It felt like it had gotten worse recently.

Perhaps he traded his martial talent for his brain.

No, perhaps it was precisely from the time Peng Yu-jin, Peng Zhou’s child, began to show prominence.

Whatever the case, if left like this any longer, who knows what he might do.

Just as Tang Cheon-gi took a breath to speak,

Peng Zhou spoke again.

“If you say so, it’s cause for celebration… but it’s strange. He certainly didn’t seem like this before.”

Thud.

At Peng Zhou’s words, the atmosphere suddenly sank.

Those words meant the story of the Peng and Gu families’ engagement and subsequent breakup.

“As time passes, immaturity naturally disappears. I consider it fortunate that your child has grown well.”

It was a story everyone knew.

The incident where the Little Yama uttered abusive words to the Peng family’s daughter, leading to the broken engagement.

“Perhaps he greatly regretted his mistakes back then. He seems to be doing well with another young lady now. It’s good to see.”

Twitch.

It wasn’t Gu Cheol-un who reacted to Peng Zhou’s words.

It was Tang Cheon-gi and Moyong Tae, who were listening to the story.

Peng Zhou was gradually crossing the line now.

And rightly so. Among the rumors about the Little Yama, the term ‘womanizer’ always followed.

The saying ‘heroes are often lustful’ fit perfectly, with rumors that he kept many beautiful young ladies around him.

And those rumored young ladies happened to be…

…among those belonging to Tang Cheon-gi and Moyong Tae’s daughters here.

Peng Zhou had brought up something everyone was trying hard to ignore.

“Naturally, the more capable a man is, the more women flock to him… which means your son is quite remarkable…”

“Peng family head. How about stopping there?”

Moyong Tae, unable to stand it any longer, interjected.

“When you bring up anything more than that. Do you have the confidence to handle it?”

“What is there that I cannot handle? I don’t think I’ve said anything offensive.”

Seeing him speak with a smirk made something disgusting churn within Moyong Tae.

Peng Zhou, seeing that, spoke to Moyong Tae.

“Ah, speaking of which, Moyong family head’s daughter is Snow Phoenix. I heard she’s quite an impressive friend.”

“Peng family head.”

“As expected, people seem to associate with those of similar caliber. Snow Phoenix is also an impressive friend like the Little Yama, so she’s by his side, isn’t she?”

As Peng Zhou finished speaking, Moyong Tae’s eyes gradually sharpened.

“And Tang Sect’s Poison Staff… truly, it’s a shame. If only I hadn’t let that friend go back then, by now…”

Finally, just as Moyong Tae, enraged by Peng Zhou crossing the line, was about to rise,

“You’re noisy.”

Kuuu…

At the casually thrown voice, those around had to stop in their tracks.

It was because the voice was so chilling and heavy.

Peng Zhou, hearing this, stiffened for a moment, then asked the speaker back.

“…What did you say?”

The one who spoke was Gu Cheol-un.

Gu Cheol-un ignored Peng Zhou’s question and took a sip of the tea placed before him.

Seeing that attitude, Peng Zhou’s tone grew somewhat louder.

“I asked what you just said.”

To the growling question, Gu Cheol-un shifted his gaze back to Peng Zhou.

And said.

“I said you’re noisy.”

“Are you talking to me?”

“You are the only one making noise here. Is there anyone else?”

His indifferent manner, as if asking why one would ask such a thing, was superb.

“Gu family head…!”

At Gu Cheol-un’s words, Peng Zhou’s expression crumpled, and he tried to rise.

No, more accurately, he tried to rise.

Thump-!

“…!”

However, Peng Zhou ultimately could not rise.

It was because Gu Cheol-un had pressed down on Peng Zhou’s shoulder with his hand.

“What….”

Peng Zhou reacted with surprise.

Gu Cheol-un was also quite large, but even so, he was not as large as Peng Zhou.

The Peng family was known throughout the Central Plains for their lineage regarding physical strength.

Gu Cheol-un lightly grabbed and crushed such a Peng Zhou.

Towards Peng Zhou, who couldn’t grasp the situation properly, Gu Cheol-un spoke.

“Peng Zhou.”

“…!”

“You seem to have forgotten what I said before.”

Gu Cheol-un’s expression was the same as usual, and his voice was unchanged, but.

The way he addressed and spoke to Peng Zhou had changed.

“What is this…!”

-Don’t go barking around carelessly. I distinctly told you, didn’t I?

“…!”

It was telepathic communication.

Gu Cheol-un was sending telepathic messages to Peng Zhou.

“Even as you’ve aged, you haven’t corrected that trivial habit.”

“…You bastard….”

Peng Zhou tried to rise somehow, but.

The force exerted on his pressed shoulder was so strong that he couldn’t possibly get up.

How could this be?

I heard the Valiant Hero had passed his prime and wouldn’t show that form anymore.

“Even as a family head, do you want to re-experience the shame of the past?”

At Gu Cheol-un’s words, past memories surfaced.

The day he, a mere scion of a miscellaneous family, went to find Gu Cheol-un, claiming he was inappropriately called the Divine Dragon.

That day, Peng Zhou discussed Gu Cheol-un’s grandfather in front of him.

Upon hearing the story, Gu Cheol-un offered no other response to Peng Zhou.

He simply showed him with his body.

He showed him what a wall was.

He showed him what happens when one’s tongue slips.

Peng Zhou’s knocked-out molar never grew back.

Not only did the tooth not grow back, but Gu Cheol-un, who had knocked out Peng Zhou’s molar at the time, cauterized the empty socket with fire.

That was when the two were just over twenty.

It was also the most shameful memory in Peng Zhou’s life.

Grind grind.

Peng Zhou, unable to contain his rage, tried to rise somehow, but Gu Cheol-un’s arm didn’t budge even slightly.

Instead, the pressure holding him only intensified.

“Peng Zhou.”

“Kkeu….”

A killing intent could be felt in the telepathic message.

Emotions not outwardly expressed were contained within that quiet voice.

So that no one else could hear, only Peng Zhou.

“You shouldn’t create karma you can’t handle. Don’t you understand yet?”

Where did such deep and dark emotions come from?

Just as Peng Zhou, unable to bear it any longer, tried to summon Blade Qi in his other hand.

“If you take that out here.”

“At this very moment, the Peng family head will change to your son.”

At Gu Cheol-un’s words, Peng Zhou’s body stiffened.

The meaning of the family head changing was.

He intended to kill Peng Zhou right here.

“Do you want that?”

“…”

A thought flashed through his mind.

Would Gu Cheol-un really be alright with openly killing Peng Zhou within the Martial Arts Alliance?

That couldn’t be the case.

As this thought crossed his mind, Peng Zhou had to grind his non-existent molar.

Wasn’t this a thought that already confirmed his defeat?

Boiling fighting spirit.

Unyielding pride.

Even lingering thoughts of the past.

There were too many things making Peng Zhou want to rise,

but ultimately, Peng Zhou’s choice wasn’t to stand defiant while upholding his pride.

“…”

The strength in Peng Zhou’s body gradually loosened.

He chose to release the resistance and relax his strength.

Gu Cheol-un, confirming this, immediately withdrew his hand from Peng Zhou’s shoulder.

As if nothing had happened, Gu Cheol-un took another sip of tea, but.

Moyong Tae and Tang Cheon-gi, who were watching this, could guess that something had clearly happened in that brief moment.

And rightly so.

Peng Zhou’s expression looked far too humiliated.

Just as they wondered what to do about this atmosphere that had turned icy in an instant.

Drrrk.

The door towards the entrance opened, and someone entered.

It was a middle-aged man with cyan-white hair wearing blue martial attire.

He was the last of the Four Great Families. Namgung Jin, the Sky-Piercing Sword King of the Great Namgung Family.

“Oh dear, I’m the last one…”

As soon as Namgung Jin entered the door, he had to frown at the strange atmosphere.

It was because a strange atmosphere was flowing.

Namgung Jin, confirming that, said.

“My, my. It feels like a quarrel just happened.”

Namgung Jin said it jokingly, but.

no one denied it.