Chapter 106 : Yong Biyang in Danger (2)

Chapter 106: Yong Biyang in Danger (2)

“All the ones who should gather seem to be here.”

Two men, standing atop a tree about ten jang high, looked down at Phoenix-Head Martial Hall and spoke.

Even at a distance of nearly fifty jang, they had the eyesight to clearly observe Phoenix-Head Martial Hall’s training grounds—proof that they were martial masters.

Because Phoenix-Head Martial Hall was a large institution, it wasn’t established in the city center but rather slightly on the outskirts.

It needed enough space to build three training pavilions, and there was no such land available in the central area.

“How many are there?”

“Around a hundred or so.”

The one asking the question was a man in his late middle age with a solid build. The one responding was a young man with similar facial features.

“We must kill them all. Only then can we avenge your brother. And we must show the martial world that Iron Hawk Sect does not forget grudges.”

“Yes, Father.”

Iron Hawk Sect’s Sect Leader Jeon Man stared coldly at Phoenix-Head Martial Hall with killing intent in his eyes and spoke in a curt tone.

“Father, but if we kill even the trainees, wouldn’t the Northern Justice Alliance step in?”

He was concerned that the Shaolin Sect, which led the Northern Justice Alliance, wouldn’t sit by if such a massacre occurred.

“There’s no need to worry. The Northern Justice Alliance won’t move. And even if they do, your grandfather will mobilize the Hidden Dark Valley. If they attack our main family, it will be considered an assault on Hidden Dark Valley, which would spark a war. Our main family is under the sect of Hidden Dark Valley’s elders. There’s nothing to fear. We, who walk the path of the demonic way, shouldn’t be hesitating over eliminating a mere martial hall!”

Jeon Man swept away his son Jeon Woong’s worries.

As Jeon Woong nodded, Jeon Man continued.

“Besides, it’s just a martial hall. Who in the martial world pays attention to martial halls? If it were a sect affiliated with the Northern Justice Alliance, it’d be a different matter, but for something like this, their top ranks won’t budge. If anyone moves, it’ll be the authorities.”

Jeon Man had considered all angles before deploying his forces.

He wasn’t a brute who simply charged into battle.

“Father, after we wipe this place out, are we heading straight to Haun County?”

“No. Even if Heavenly Central Sect is a mid-tier faction, they have over two hundred martial artists. To strike a place like that, we’ll need more troops. Reinforcements from other locations are on the way, so we’ll join forces with them first.”

“Understood. Then I’ll have the Iron Hawk Blood Demon Unit stand by.”

As Jeon Woong climbed down the tree, the branch swayed.

But even amidst the tremor, Jeon Man didn’t move a muscle.

Phoenix-Head Sword Baltong entered the banquet hall with five martial artists in tow.

The Dabie Sect’s Sect Leader, Hwang Sinjik, saw their martial uniforms and raised his haughty rear from his seat.

“Oh! Have guests from Mount Hua arrived as well?”

As Hwang Sinjik spoke softly, Baltong shook his head.

“No, they are not here from the main sect to congratulate us. They are the children of the head of River Center Escort Agency. I happen to be somewhat acquainted with them, and they’ve come to offer their congratulations.”

Yong Biyang offered a clasped-fist salute and said,

“It’s a blessing for these old eyes to see young heroes of Mount Hua.”

The two were Ho Cheongun, son of River Center Escort Agency’s leader Ho Ungil, and his daughter Ho Maeyok.

Yong Biyang had never met these youths before.

Previously, when Yong Hwarin had gained fame, River Center Escort Agency had passed through and briefly stopped to greet them along with their escort guards and leaders.

Using the incident in Pungnyang County as a pretext, they had come to meet Yong Biyang in person.

“I offer my greetings to the seniors. I am Ho Cheongun of Mount Hua.”

“I am Ho Maeyok.”

As Ho Cheongun and Ho Maeyok bowed to Hwang Sinjik and Yong Biyang, the three young men behind them also offered clasped-fist salutes in unison.

Phoenix-Head Sword Baltong stepped forward and introduced them.

“These two are the esteemed son and daughter of the River Center Escort Agency.”

“Oh, it’s certain that River Center Escort Agency will soon represent Henan.”

Yong Biyang offered kind words while gazing at the siblings.

Ho Cheongun and his sister carried the proud aura of Mount Hua, overflowing with heroic energy.

However, Yong Biyang found his gaze drawn more to the young people behind them. Judging by their lack of introduction, it seemed their status was lower than that of the siblings.

Among them were one young swordswoman and two young Daoists from Mount Hua.

As Yong Biyang looked toward those in the back, Ho Cheongun opened his mouth.

“They are fellow disciples who have trained together with me.”

The three again saluted Yong Biyang.

Hwang Sinjik, seeing that Ho Cheongun hadn’t once looked at him, was the first to attempt familiarity.

“Hahaha, I was delighted to hear that the River Center Escort Agency’s heir is one of Mount Hua’s Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Practitioners. Truly a great blessing for Henan’s martial world.”

Ho Cheongun didn’t even glance at Hwang Sinjik and merely offered a token salute.

“Thank you.”

Then he quickly went to his seat and sat down. Hwang Sinjik’s lips twitched in irritation.

Despite being the head of a sect, he was being treated with such disregard that his anger surged to the top of his head.

Yet, he couldn’t express displeasure toward Mount Hua’s promising disciples.

The difference between Dabie Sect and Mount Hua was truly like heaven and earth.

He couldn’t even be sure that his twenty or so guards could defeat the five disciples from Mount Hua currently present.

Hwang Sinjik sat back down and suppressed his anger.

Ho Maeyok, who was seated to the left of Yong Biyang, asked him,

“Sect Leader Yong, has the Heavenly Central Sword Hero come as well?”

Yong Biyang replied with a stern expression.

But inside, he was grinning from ear to ear.

A female swordswoman from Mount Hua was asking about his son.

“Ah, the boy had some urgent business and had to leave, so I came alone. If he were here, he would have come with me.”

“I see. Recently, not only in Henan but throughout the entire martial world, the name of the Heavenly Central Sword Hero has been echoing far and wide, so I wanted to meet him at least once.”

“If you’re ever free, do come by the main house. It’s not far from here. My son doesn’t have many friends, which worries me.”

Yong Biyang continued smiling warmly, unaware that he was turning into a hopelessly doting father.

Yet the one who looked most disappointed at the mention that the Heavenly Central Sword Hero wasn't present wasn’t Ho Maeyok—it was the other female swordswoman from Mount Hua who had come with her.

She immediately drooped upon hearing that the Heavenly Central Sword Hero wouldn’t be appearing.

In truth, the Ho siblings hadn’t come out of any interest in the opening ceremony of Phoenix-Head Sword Baltong’s martial hall. They had only briefly met him a few times back when they were in Mount Hua, not close enough to make a trip like this.

But upon hearing that the Heavenly Central Sect would be attending, Ho Maeyok and the other woman had pestered them until they agreed to come.

They had come to see the face of the famed Heavenly Central Sword Hero, whose reputation had recently shaken the martial world. Although Yong Hwarin himself was unaware of it, his fame had already reached Mount Hua.

Since Henan and Shaanxi bordered each other and many merchant groups traveled between them, Mount Hua had been among the first to hear of Yong Hwarin’s feats.

Mount Hua was, along with Shaolin, one of the two great pillars of the Northern Justice Alliance.

Furthermore, the Northern Justice Alliance also included sects such as the Pang Clan of Hebei, the Shangguan Clan, the Hwangbo Clan, and the Mount Song Ak Clan, meaning the battles from that time had been shared in vivid detail.

To the women, Pang Giyok and Yong Hwarin were already rumored to be masters of the peak level, far surpassing other young martial artists and standing shoulder to shoulder with the top-tier masters of their generation.

For such a hero, it was only natural for women—especially those pursuing martial arts—to hold certain dreams and fantasies.

Ho Maeyok leaned toward the woman seated behind her and whispered,

“Martial sister, seeing his father, he must be quite handsome too, don’t you think? What do you think?”

Her martial sister, Sa Ilhyang (史一向), nodded.

“I think so too. If he resembles his father, he must be rather good-looking.”

“Think about it. Have you ever seen Master Pang make friends lightly? Honestly, there’s no one even within Mount Hua that he addresses as a sworn brother. But he personally acknowledged Yong Hwarin as his close friend. Could someone like that be unattractive?”

Ho Maeyok moved even closer to Sa Ilhyang’s ear.

“And there are rumors that Mijong and Seoseol of the Shangguan Clan like him. Not only that, but even Pang Cheollyeon, known for her sky-high pride, is said to admire him. Would arrogant women like them fall for someone who was ugly?”

“Haah, which is why I’m all the more disappointed. I arranged this whole trip just to see the great Heavenly Central Sword Hero. I’m sorry, martial sister.”

“What are you saying? You’re like family to me.”

The two men who had been listening to the women’s conversation smiled wryly.

One of them was Sa Ilhyang’s older brother, Sa Jeokwoo, and the other was their senior, Poong Imso, the top-ranked disciple among the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Practitioners. Both were key figures in Mount Hua’s future.

They, too, had come to the ceremony because the girls wanted to see Yong Hwarin.

They had tagged along when the Ho siblings descended the mountain to visit River Center Escort Agency. It was a rare chance to go into the world, so the Sa siblings had eagerly taken the opportunity.

Having been swept up by the growing tales of Yong Hwarin’s heroics, they had ended up here.

In truth, the two men had come largely due to their competitive spirit.

If possible, they wanted to spar with the rising star Yong Hwarin, whose fame was shaking the martial world.

Yong Biyang observed how Phoenix-Head Sword Baltong treated the Sa siblings with greater formality than the Ho siblings. It led him to believe they were of notable background.

He was pleased to think that the geniuses of Mount Hua had come specifically to see his son.

He wanted to shout to the world that the Heavenly Central Sword Hero, Yong Hwarin, was his son.

It might seem childish, but that was the heart of a parent.

A brilliant son was a source of pride for any parent.

Time passed, and it was finally the moment to officially declare the opening of the martial hall.

Just as Phoenix-Head Sword Baltong stepped onto the platform, people suddenly appeared on top of the outer wall by the front gate.

Sensing the presence, Yong Biyang sprang to his feet.

There was no way anyone would attend a celebratory banquet fully armed.

Phoenix-Head Sword Baltong furrowed his brows and let out a long sigh.

“Who are they?”

The flustered Sect Leader of Dabie Sect, Hwang Sinjik, asked.

“They are from Iron Hawk Sect, a demonic faction in Shaanxi.”

“Why would they come here?”

Hwang Sinjik hurriedly called back his scattered guards and asked again.

“Three years ago, I ended up killing Iron Hawk Sect’s third son during a quarrel. It seems they’ve come to avenge him. I thought it was all in the past…”

As the trainees gathered in the training ground began to panic, Phoenix-Head Sword gave orders to the nearby disciples.

“Move the trainees to a safe location.”

Ho Cheongun had heard things about Iron Hawk Sect.

“Iron Hawk Sect is infamous for being thoroughly vengeful. If they’re attacking during the opening ceremony, it means they intend to kill even the trainees.”

At Ho Cheongun’s words, the surrounding atmosphere turned cold.

Dabie Sect’s Sect Leader Hwang Sinjik gave orders to his guards.

“We’ll escape through the back gate.”

As he turned to leave, Yong Biyang blocked his way.

“Sect Leader Hwang! What about those young trainees if we leave? We must stop them.”

“For what reason? Our Dabie Sect has no grudges with Iron Hawk Sect. Why should we fight them? Besides, there are clearly over a hundred of them. Do you really think we can stop them with just our group? We’d be throwing our lives away.”

Yong Biyang grabbed Hwang Sinjik’s sleeve as he turned away.

“Sect Leader Hwang. Even if we die for those young trainees, what is there to regret? Aren’t we martial artists? As the leader of a righteous sect, retreating like this is disgraceful—even if we live.”

“Hmph! Noble Sect Leader Yong can go die fighting. I want no part in a meaningless death!”

Despite Yong Biyang’s attempt to stop him, Hwang Sinjik hurriedly escaped through the rear exit. Watching them flee, Ho Maeyok scoffed.

“They say Dabie Sect is part of the Northern Justice Alliance but resembles the unorthodox sects. It seems the rumors are true.”

Since Hwang Sinjik became the sect leader, Dabie Sect’s reputation had taken a serious nosedive. Yong Biyang turned to the ones around his son’s age and said,

“Young heroes of Mount Hua, please escape from here.”

“What about you, Sect Leader Yong?”

Ho Maeyok asked, and Yong Biyang smiled.

“I’ll try to stop them.”

Yong Biyang turned to the Two Wook Sword Demons and his bodyguards standing behind him and spoke.

“That’s fine with you all, right?”