LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 24 - Storm (4)
Chapter 24. Storm (4)
Gujumyeongga (Nine States Bright Family).
A clan that appeared in the world three hundred years ago, during the worst chaos and the highest glory of the martial world, and helped the legendary master Sabaongmujae (Four Directions Martial Emperor), who is still praised as a legend, to destroy the Blood Sect, and made a great contribution.
Afterwards, they brought in unique martial arts from outside and combined them with the martial arts of the Central Plains, and created their own techniques, and became known as the First Family of the World (Cheonhajeilga) in two hundred years.
The reason why Gujumyeongga was called the First of the World was simple.
Because they were strong.
Their power was as big as the two of the Seven Great Sects combined, and their new martial arts were rated better than the secret techniques of the Seven Great Sects. Their financial power was also enough to compete for the best among the single powers, so they deserved the name of the First of the World.
Yeonhojeong was provoking the third son of such a huge power.
Myeonghorim’s eyes deepened.
“Are you the eldest son of Yeonga?”
He knew well.
“First of all, I’ll express my gratitude as the oldest person in this meeting. You caught the runaway calf. It was too rough, though.”
Yeonhojeong snickered without knowing it.
He was probably in his mid-twenties by now. He was talking like an adult. He was quite funny.
Myeonghorim ignored Yeonhojeong’s laughter.
“I also know that your martial arts are impressive. You subdued the eldest son of our family in one go, and I realized how exaggerated the rumors about you were.”
The rumors about Yeonhojeong were famous enough for everyone to know.
Hobugyeonja (Tiger Father Dog Son).
The current head of Yeonga, Yeonwi, was called Pangwangeom (Judge Sword) and received the respect of the world. But his eldest son, Yeonhojeong, was said to have a lack of talent and character to inherit the family.
But the appearance of Yeonhojeong that he showed today was too different from the rumors.
“However.”
Myeonghorim said in a tone of scolding.
“No matter how much you want to prove yourself, you should distinguish between public and private. This place is a meeting place, not a martial arts arena.”
“…”
“Just clean up the surroundings first. When the atmosphere calms down, I’ll go and have a drink with you.”
“So.”
“Hmm?”
“Can’t you play with me?”
The audience looked at Yeonhojeong with a pale face.
Myeonghorim burst into laughter.
“Playing with you is not hard. I’ll just play with you with drinks and laughter. Ah! And you don’t have to worry about throwing a glass at me. Wasn’t it a mistake as you said?”
Yeonhojeong nodded.
Myeonghorim said with a satisfied face.
“Good, good. First, move our children…”
“If you don’t come, I’ll go.”
“What?”
Whoosh.
Yeonhojeong walked towards Myeonghorim.
He didn’t use his new technique, nor did he run.
He walked. So naturally.
But as he moved, he felt a strange illusion that the heavy air was receding like a wave.
The atmosphere was very heavy and stuffy, and the people who tried to stop him hesitated. As soon as Yeonhojeong moved, the air in the meeting hall seemed to moisten.
Myeonghorim’s eyes widened.
‘What is this?’
Not much distance.
It’s not careful. It looked like he was walking casually, as if he had no intention of fighting.
But Myeonghorim felt his nerves tense up. He couldn’t open his mouth because of the strange pressure.
That’s how Yeonhojeong came up to Myeonghorim’s nose.
‘…!’
It was a close range where he could hit the opponent with a punch. Yeonhojeong stopped right there.
The two glared at each other.
Sssss.
A snake-like aura climbed up Myeonghorim’s neck.
It was secret and flexible. But it was poisonous. It seemed like he would bite his neck with his fangs at any moment. It was a ferocious aura.
‘What kind of aura is this…?!’
Then, Yeonhojeong smiled slightly.
Myeonghorim’s body reacted without knowing it.
Bang!
His fist swung straight at Yeonhojeong’s face.
It was a punch without any preparatory action. So it was fast and sharp.
Whoosh!
The punch that was pushed out bounced back up.
But Myeonghorim didn’t stop attacking. The aura that wrapped around his neck urged him to follow up.
His double fists moved briskly.
Papapapak!
It was a circular fist technique that burst the air in a narrow space. It was Cheolswaebak (Iron Lock Strike), the pride of Myeongga.
It wasn’t a technique to say, but it was a martial art that had a great utility in close combat. He reacted instinctively to the aura, but he seemed to restrain himself.
Yeonhojeong also responded immediately.
Puck! Purburuk! Teoreong! Paaaak!
The fists, palms, and elbows of the two collided, making a loud noise.
Yeonjipyung’s eyes widened.
‘What is that fist technique?’
The fist technique that blocked Myeonghorim’s Cheolswaebak was a familiar martial art to Yeonjipyung.
‘Yeongasipsamgwon (Yeon Family Thirteen Fists)?!’
That’s right.
Yeonhojeong’s elastic fist technique was Yeonga’s basic fist technique, Yeongasipsamgwon. But it was very different from the Yeongasipsamgwon that Yeonjipyung knew.
‘That, that way!’
Yeongasipsamgwon was originally meant to subdue rather than kill the enemy.
But no one uses Yeongagwon as a subjugation technique. The martial artists of Yeonga learned Yeongagwon to make their bodies flexible and their lower body strong, not to fight the enemy.
In other words, it was not a fist technique suitable for combat. But his brother was using a fist technique close to gymnastics to block Myeongga’s combat technique.
‘No. It’s not just blocking…’
He pushes back.
Papapapak!
Myeonghorim stepped back one step. At the same time, Yeonhojeong advanced strongly.
Bang! Pepepeng!
After a short, three-stroke circular fist, he pushed hard with a long fist.
Yeonjipyung’s eyes shook.
‘Iljucheongpa (One Shot Clear Slope)!’
Whoosh!
“Uh-huh.”
Myeonghorim retreated two more steps.
In fact, it was closer to being pushed back. The long fist that he showed after sweeping away the dense attack of Cheolswaebak was so strong that it could break the bones.
Myeonghorim looked at his arm.
His well-trained arm was swollen red. If he had blocked it wrong, his bones would have broken.
‘He’s strong!’
He almost broke his arm with a fist strike that didn’t even have proper inner power.
‘How can this be.’
It wasn’t a high-level fist technique at first glance. He pushed himself to this extent with that martial art.
It was a terrifyingly delicate manipulation of the initial formula. It was a level that would not be excessive even for a peak master.
“Hey.”
Myeonghorim, who was startled, looked at Yeonhojeong.
Before he knew it, Yeonhojeong, who had leaned back, had a displeased look on his face.
“Do you think this kind of prank will end?”
“…”
“Do I have to press you hard enough to kill you before you come out?”
Myung Ho-rim’s cheeks trembled.
He was not the eldest son of the Gooju Myung family. But he had lived with the pride of representing the Myung family wherever he went. And yet, he was hearing such words from a brat who was barely eighteen.
A memory he wanted to forget came to his mind.
The young man who looked down at him with a blood-stained sword. The young man’s face, which resembled him so much, was filled with deep mockery and contempt.
“You, this brat…!”
That was when.
“Stop!”
A powerful inner energy that crossed the sky shook the entire banquet hall. The people who were watching the duel between the two men looked at the source of the sound.
There were the warriors of the Namgung Hyun and Namgung Se-ga.
“What the hell are you doing! How dare you exchange such fierce martial arts at the gathering of the seven great families? Are you out of your mind?!”
It was a strong tone.
Myung Ho-rim hesitated without knowing it. He was swept by Yeon Ho-jeong’s aura and instinctively swung his fist. He couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.
Namgung Hyun looked at Myung Ho-rim with cold eyes.
“Myung hyung. Myung hyung is the oldest one in this gathering.”
“…”
“Our gathering of the younger generation is a honorable social event with decades of history. I understand your anger, but you should have restrained yourself.”
It was a skillful speech.
It was a rebuke to Yeon Ho-jeong’s rudeness while speaking to Myung Ho-rim.
Namgung Hyun looked at Yeon Ho-jeong.
“And Yeon gongja.”
Yeon Ho-jeong was not looking at him.
Namgung Hyun felt a surge of anger.
He was already a guy who he had to take care of because of his brother. He didn’t like the fact that he was close to Je Gal-a-yeon.
And he caused such a mess at the gathering hosted by Namgung Se-ga?
His anger boiled up.
“Are you insane? How dare you pick a fight with the child of another family? There was never anyone like you in the history of the gathering of the younger generation!”
Yeon Ho-jeong still didn’t look at Namgung Hyun.
His appearance kept provoking Namgung Hyun. He realized that the other party was not interested in his words.
“Is Namgung Se-ga so ridiculous?”
That’s when Je Gal-a-yeon stepped in.
“Namgung so-hyup, that’s not what you should say.”
Namgung Hyun’s eyes shook.
“A-yeon?”
“The banquet is over. This is not a private place. Namgung so-hyup, please be careful with your honorifics.”
“…!”
“Let’s continue. Namgung so-hyup’s words are unreasonable. I understand that you are angry as the host family, but how can you take one side and utter unfair words?”
“Unfair words? What are you talking about…!”
Je Gal-a-yeon said coldly.
“The one who ruined this gathering was not Yeon gongja, but you, so-hyup.”
“…!”
“Yeon gongja was just trying to stop him.”
“A-yeon, no, Je Gal so-jeo. Je Gal so-jeo, you saw it yourself. He was not trying to stop so-hyup, but…”
“Didn’t Yeon gongja say it himself? It was a mistake.”
“…?!”
“Myung gongja also admitted that it was a mistake. As far as I know, there is no hidden technique in the Byeoksan Yeon family. He just missed the mark when he tried to stop so-hyup with a flying cup.”
Je Gal-a-yeon asked Myung Ho-rim.
“Am I right?”
Myung Ho-rim, who was looking at Je Gal-a-yeon blankly, sighed.
“That’s right.”
It was a word that buried the incident. Namgung Hyun’s face twisted.
Je Gal-a-yeon looked at Yeon Ho-jeong.
“Yeon gongja. I think Yeon gongja’s mistake is obvious. But for the sake of settling the matter, I think you should tell me why you stepped in.”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was glaring at Myung Ho-rim, looked at Je Gal-a-yeon.
Je Gal-a-yeon’s expression was firm. But Yeon Ho-jeong read his sincere desperation in his eyes.
Suddenly, he felt someone grab his sleeve.
“Hyung-nim.”
He turned and saw Yeon Ji-pyeong standing there.
Surprisingly, there was no timidity or urgency in Yeon Ji-pyeong’s face. He looked at him with his eyes wide open, and his expression was confident.
Not only that. Everyone’s eyes were on Yeon Ho-jeong.
Yeon Ho-jeong sighed inwardly.
‘Well, there’s plenty of time.’
In his previous life, he couldn’t even see the hem of the monster. But now he felt like he had found a shadow. That’s why he couldn’t control his rising aura.
When Dang Yang-seon caused an accident, he thought it was rather good. It wouldn’t be strange if anything happened in such a chaotic situation.
But in this situation, it would be better to restrain himself for now.
He was not the black iron lord, but the eldest son of the Byeoksan Yeon family.
He looked at Myung Ho-rim again.
Myung Ho-rim flinched.
“The martial arts of the Myung family are indeed well-deserved.”
“…”
“The energy that shook the audience was impressive. It was my fault for not being able to resist the burning ambition.”
Myung Ho-rim smiled. It was somewhat forced.
“I understand.”
“I didn’t allow you to talk like that.”
“…!”
“Do we have any friendship between us?”
Myung Ho-rim’s face hardened.
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled. His smile was not awkward like Myung Ho-rim’s.
“Excuse me. If I have a chance later, can I ask for another lesson?”
“…Sure.”
“Thank you.”
Yeon Ho-jeong hugged him politely in front of everyone.
“I’m sorry for ruining the place because of this poor person. You can see that I’m not a little lacking in manners. My father also says that I lack patience for my son who has a bad temper and makes me do horseback riding.”
It was a self-deprecating remark. It was a person who didn’t seem to do that, so the atmosphere became softer. There were people who laughed out loud.
Yeon Ho-jeong noticed the changed atmosphere right away.
Although he couldn’t control his aura, he was a person who had made a name for himself with his bare hands. He knew how to show the necessary social skills when needed.
“I’ll serve a drink to each of you tomorrow as a sign of apology. I hope you forgive this bad guy’s rudeness with that.”
Then, Paeng Dae-ho shouted.
“That’s nonsense!”
The eyes of the audience that were on Yeon Ho-jeong moved to Paeng Dae-ho.
Paeng Dae-ho shouted with a fake angry face.
“One drink? Look at my body! How can you forgive me with just one drink?”
“What should I do then?”
“Let’s drink until our noses are crooked! Let’s all get drunk until we’re sober!”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“I’ll have to brace myself for tomorrow.”
At that, Paeng Dae-ho couldn’t help but laugh.
“Kahat! You’re so fiery that I like you! Good! You said you’re the golden word of Nam-a-il-eon, so keep that promise.”
“I’ll make sure to knock you down.”
“Kahaha!”
Thanks to Paeng Dae-ho, who stepped in unexpectedly, the atmosphere was lively, and thanks to Yeon Ho-jeong, who handled it skillfully, the tense air was completely gone.
Je Gal-a-yeon sighed with relief. Yeon Ji-pyeong also smiled comfortably. Namgung Hyun’s face was completely stiff, and Myung Ho-rim couldn’t hide his nervousness.
That’s how the incident ended.
The biggest victim of that day was the Dang family. It was their own fault.