Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Kwaaaaaaa—!

It was a violent Martial Presence that made it seem as though the entire Building were shaking.

Drrrrrrrrr!

Cracks began to spread across the teacup prepared for Youngho, and the surrounding furnishings started to split apart with sharp fractures.

If those who had not learned martial arts were to face this presence head-on, it would not have been strange for them to die on the spot.

Yet even so, Youngho did not hesitate to unleash his presence.

To begin with, there was no one in the place where the Hao Sect Master resided who had not learned martial arts, and if he wished to have a proper conversation with the one before him, this much was necessary.

Before consuming the Clear Sky Stone Milk, he would not have been able to pressure the Hao Sect Master to this extent.

However, having absorbed the Clear Sky Stone Milk and ascended to the Transformation Realm, Youngho no longer felt the need to hide his temper.

“What is your name?”

“……”

When the Hao Sect Master did not answer Youngho’s question, he raised his presence even further.

As Youngho’s presence intensified without end, growing more and more overwhelming, the Hao Sect Master’s complexion turned deathly pale.

“Stop scheming and answer quickly.”

“……My name is Maeryeong.”

“Good, Maeryeong. I only want to have a conversation. But if we’re going to talk, shouldn’t you show your face?”

Maeryeong could not utter a single word. She was simply too stunned by this unbelievable reality.

‘How!’

How in the world had he known? Even Cheonung, the Lord of the Unorthodox Alliance, and the other Absolute Beings had failed to notice.

There were occasional cases where someone realized that her first face—the middle-aged man’s face she had shown Youngho earlier—was fake.

But no one until now had ever noticed that the female face she currently wore was also false.

Not even Cheonung had perceived that she possessed a third face.

‘But how!’

How could someone not yet of coming-of-age see through her mask?

It made no sense. Could he have merely been probing? Yet the killing intent radiating from Youngho carried certainty.

It felt as though her entire body were being minced by blades. If killing intent alone could inflict such agony, what would happen the moment that sword actually moved?

‘It’s certain defeat!’

The only fortunate thing was that Youngho still desired conversation. Finishing her calculations for survival in an instant, Maeryeong slammed her forehead to the ground and spoke.

“I have committed discourtesy toward our guest. I will remove my mask, so please withdraw your presence.”

Youngho nodded, seemingly approving of Maeryeong’s handling of the situation, and gradually began to ease his presence.

“A wise choice.”

As Youngho withdrew his presence, dozens of presences were caught within his Sensory Perception. They were undoubtedly coming to protect Maeryeong.

Sensing them as well, Maeryeong immediately infused Internal Energy into her voice and shouted.

“Do not come!”

Her shout was so fierce and powerful that a shockwave burst from her body.

At her voice, the presences within Youngho’s Sensory Perception gradually began to fade.

Youngho slowly sat down and smirked.

“So when are you going to take off that mask?”

“……I will remove it.”

Once again, Maeryeong grasped the skin at her jaw and tore it away. The human-skin mask peeled off, revealing her true face—one strikingly androgynous.

Androgynous, yet breathtakingly beautiful. An ordinary person would have stared in a daze, but Youngho merely looked at her briefly, as though committing her face to memory, and then spoke.

“If you glare at me like that, I’ll pluck those eyes out.”

Shiver—!

At Youngho’s words, thick with chilling killing intent, Maeryeong instinctively lowered her head.

“If the time comes when we speak alone again, show that face. I have no intention of talking with bastards who won’t even show their real faces.”

Maeryeong slowly nodded.

“Now then, let’s have our conversation.”

Seeing Youngho speak to her with a smile, Maeryeong could not conceal her fear.

“……What do you think happened?”

“I can roughly guess.”

At Kang Hosan’s question, Hyeon-gang answered while mixing medicinal herbs.

“I can roughly guess too, but……”

Kang Hosan trailed off. Yet everyone present knew what he wanted to say.

Even without words, they had felt it as well—the absurd energy that had just been unleashed by the one they believed to be Youngho. That killing intent.

Thanks to Horyeung deflecting most of the force, they had not been heavily affected, but Hyeon-gang seemed to have felt severe tension even from that much, as he was preparing stomach medicine.

It had been an overwhelming presence. It was incomprehensible how someone not yet of coming-of-age could emit such killing intent.

Handing the completed stomach medicine to Kang Hosan and Kang Chowon, Hyeon-gang said,

“If your stomach feels uneasy, take it. I didn’t prepare any for your Master, since he probably won’t need it.”

Even as they accepted the medicine, Kang Hosan and Kang Chowon could not relax their stiff expressions.

Hyeon-gang, whose stomach must have been hurting terribly, swallowed the medicine immediately without even water.

After about a Quarter-Hour had passed, Youngho returned to his group.

“It’s all taken care of. Let’s go.”

“Pardon?”

“I said, let’s go.”

Hyeon-gang pointed toward the outside, which was steadily growing darker.

“It’s too dark right now, isn’t it? Wild beasts might come out. Wouldn’t it be better to stay here for the night?”

Youngho looked at Kang Hosan and Kang Chowon.

“Do you two share that opinion?”

“Of course not.”

“I’ve never had such a foolish thought.”

Right. Denying it was fine, but calling it foolish was a bit much, wasn’t it, Chowon? As Hyeon-gang grew dejected, Youngho let out a snicker.

“If wild beasts scare you more than the Hao Sect Master, then do as you wish.”

“Ah.”

Now that he thought about it, the Young Master had unleashed an extremely dangerous killing intent just moments ago.

‘I even had to take stomach medicine because of that, and I already forgot?’

Judging by the circumstances, Youngho might have staged a show of force against the Hao Sect Master, yet here he was suggesting they stretch out their legs and sleep comfortably in Enemy Territory….

Perhaps, as Kang Chowon said, he really was foolish.

Hyeon-gang hurriedly gathered his belongings and said,

“Let’s go.”

At the sight of him packing so calmly, Youngho chuckled.

“Good.”

After quickly packing up, Youngho’s group stepped outside the pavilion. As if she had known in advance, Maeryeong was already standing outside, seeing Youngho off.

“I look forward to your next visit.”

At some point, Maeryeong had put the male human-skin mask back on.

“I don’t particularly want to come again… If you really want to talk, come to the Unorthodox Alliance.”

“……Understood.”

Youngho gave a perfunctory farewell and began descending the mountain with his group.

Though Youngho and Horyeung appeared to be walking lightly and leisurely, those following them felt as if they were dying.

“Why are you so slow? If you crawl like snails, you won’t survive in the Unorthodox Alliance.”

“You’re the one who’s too fast, Young Master!”

Hyeon-gang panted heavily as he chased after Youngho and Horyeung. More precisely, he fixed his gaze on the backs of Kang Hosan and Kang Chowon, who were slightly ahead of him, and ran with all his might.

If even Kang Hosan and Kang Chowon struggled to keep up with the two, how could Hyeon-gang possibly match their speed?

Yet strangely enough, he somehow managed to endure. Though he was much slower.

“This is training too. If assassins target you in the dead of night, you’ll just die, won’t you?”

“What does that have to do with going down a mountain!”

“It has everything to do with it! Even in pitch-black darkness where you can’t see a thing, you must sense the terrain and dodge incoming hidden weapons through your senses! Especially for this kind of training, a mountain is perfect!”

“How are you supposed to dodge hidden weapons with your senses!”

“Didn’t you see Hosan at the Black Dragon Branch last time?”

There was no rebuttal to that. Kang Hosan had indeed deflected and avoided hidden weapons in complete darkness using only his senses.

“And besides….”

Youngho bent down briefly, picked up a branch, and spoke.

“If it’s hidden weapons, I can make them myself.”

Kang Hosan and Kang Chowon’s faces turned pale as they realized what he meant. Only Hyeon-gang, who had not seen Youngho pick up the branch, continued to chatter cluelessly.

“There’s no way hidden weapons would actually fly around in the mountains—!”

Ssaeak!

Boom—!

“—yo….”

At the tremendous crash that sounded directly behind him, Hyeon-gang slowly turned his head.

A massive boulder had been shattered. A branch thinner than a finger had pierced through it and blown it apart.

At the terrifying sight, everyone except Youngho and Horyeung broke out in cold sweat.

They truly had no idea how he had done it.

They could not comprehend how such a flimsy branch could become powerful enough to pierce stone, nor how it remained intact even after penetrating the boulder.

Even Seonpung, cradled in Horyeung’s arms, swallowed nervously and stared at Youngho as if he were a monster.

The large white bundle of fur, sensing something ominous, looked at Youngho with fearful eyes. Youngho smirked.

“Come to think of it, Seonpung. Shouldn’t you be training too?”

“……Meow.”

“Don’t pretend to be a cat.”

“Meow!”

“You were fine being treated like a cat until now, and suddenly you object?”

“Meow!”

“My decision.”

“……Mrrrow?”

“Originally, tigers push their cubs off cliffs to raise them strong—”

“Hissss!”

“……You hate it that much?”

As Seonpung expressed his feelings with all his might, Youngho made an awkward expression before looking at the others.

“Fine. Then I’ll just train these brats.”

At some point, Youngho had gathered an armful of branches from around him.

“Hang in there, kids.”

Paaang—!

As Youngho descended the mountain, he casually flung the branches one after another.

Though his movements appeared careless, the results were anything but.

“Aaagh! What is this?”

“Young Master, this is Sword Control, isn’t it? The technique said to be possible upon reaching the Transformation Realm!”

“Don’t use Sword Control for something like this!”

Just as they said, the branch Youngho had thrown suddenly altered its trajectory midair and once more targeted Kang Hosan’s back.

Sensing something flying toward him from behind, Kang Hosan rolled across the ground to avoid it.

Though he had dodged only once, sweat poured from every pore of his body.

At least Kang Hosan had reached the Master Level, so he was in slightly better shape.

Hyeon-gang, who was in the worst condition among them, was already drenched as if he had been caught in rain.

Watching them, Youngho grinned with satisfaction.

“Yes! This is training! Something you must do even when you truly don’t want to and it’s exhausting!”

“That’s not what this is!”

“And don’t worry, this isn’t Sword Control~ It’s similar, though.”

“Stop talking! I can’t concentrate!”

“That’s why I keep talking. Concentration is part of training too.”

“He’s really going to be like this until the end!”

The three of them clenched their teeth, desperately wishing for this downhill path to end as soon as possible.