The face of Tang Zhan went stiff.

‘What this brat talking about?’

Verification?

Who would verify whom?

That brat, a disciple of Mount Hua, would verify his family?

Grunt.

Tang Zhan clenched his fists. Before he could even open his mouth, his younger brothers, that were standing on his left and right sides, opened their mouths.

“Hyung. These people must have lost their minds.”

“We tried to be as polite as possible to avoid conflict with Mount Hua, but isn’t this a different story when they pick a fight with us first?”

His younger brothers also failed to contain their anger and impatience.

Thinking about it, however, it was normal. When had they ever been treated like this?

‘Have the people of Mount Hua really lost their minds altogether?’

He could understand that drunkard’s behavior. As the size of a sect grows, one or two idiots are bound to be born within it. But how was it possible that the entire group before them were all the same sort of bastards?

It would be a different matter if Baek Cheon fought for Jo Gul by himself. But this was no different from saying that Mount Hua sees the Tang family as insignificant.

Clench.

Tang Zhan clenched his teeth and looked at Baek Cheon with eyes that seemed to say he wanted to rush over and kill him.

“Can you take responsibility for that?”

“I’ve always been responsible with my words. There’s no reason for my words to be different this time around.”

Baek Cheon spoke with ease.

Hearing that made Tang Zhan’s anger rise even higher. It was often said that a man goes silent when anger hits the peak.

“Mount Hua seems like a great sect. You even dare to block the Tang family to protect one of your disciples. Are you sure you can handle this?”

Baek Cheon smirked.

“It doesn’t seem like the Tang family will understand, but our Mount Hua doesn’t waste time thinking about protecting the disciples of our sect. What is there to calculate when our first priority is on our own?”

“..”

“It’s unlikely, but even if Mount Hua is destroyed because of this, none of the disciples will blame me. That’s what Mount Hua is.”

Such touching words.

However, the other disciples’ reactions were completely different from the expectations.

“What did you say?’

“That’s a bit much; I’d probably blame you.”

“Aren’t you trying to make yourself shine too much?”

Baek Cheon closed his mouth with a slightly flushed face.

‘Idiots! Can’t even shut their mouths during these moments!’

Anyway, no matter what the disciples of Mount Hua thought, Tang Zhan didn’t need to take this into account. The important thing was how to punish the man who dared to ignore his family.

“Righteous Sword of Hua.. the man who defeated Wudang’s Sword Dragon.”

Some might put this man ahead of the Divine Dragon.

Unlike Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon, whose achievements were thought to be exaggerated due to the bizarre and extreme rumors, what this man had accomplished was clearly proven.

In particular, was the defeat that Wudang’s Sword Dragon suffered by his hands. That was one of the five dragons of the martial world; wasn’t that feat enough to evaluate his power and regard him as a new member of the five dragons?

“There are no shortcomings as an opponent.”

Tang Zhan stepped ahead.

“I am Tang Zhan of the Sichuan Tang family. Be careful. I’ll let you know that mercy doesn’t exist from my hands.”

“I am Baek Cheon of Mount Hua. There’s nothing to worry about. My sword knows how to show mercy.”

“Even till the end, you freaking basta—”

Tang Zhan was about to slide his hand into his sleeve when Chung Myung suddenly emerged from behind Baek Cheon with a sullen expression.

“Then why are you fighting?”

“Huh?”

Baek Cheon looked back, ignoring Tang Zhan, who was halfway prepared for battle.

“..Uh?”

‘Is he really crazy?’

Turning his back on the opponent was unacceptable. However, aiming for someone’s defenseless back was also an act that couldn’t be done by rightful Taoists.

Thanks to that, Tang Zhan had to watch what Baek Cheon was doing with his eyes wide open.

“Sasuk, you’ve kept getting involved for a while. Isn’t this something Jo Gul sahyung should take care of?”

“.. send Jo Gul?”

“I know that sasuk is greedy for moments to show off, and what you did was cool enough. Now you need to give Jo Gul sahyung a chance to show off. It’s been a while since he met his parents.”

Baek Cheon’s eyes trembled.

‘Who the hell do you think the Tang family are?’

Tang family. The Sichuan Tang family.

The noble family was known for poison and memorization.

Even those with strong bones within the best sects would be in danger if they made a small mistake while dealing with people of the Tang family. Yet Chung Myung wanted to make Jo Gul, who had little practical experience, deal with such a family?

“Isn’t it too dangerous?”

“It is fine. Totally fine. It is said that a tiger must drop their cub off a cliff in order to grow.”

“Then it dies, you idiot!”

If a tiger could hear such an absurd phrase, it would surely feel wronged.

Chung Myung clicked his tongue at Baek Cheon’s reaction.

“Tch tch. Look at the person above us.”

Chung Myung knew very well what Baek Cheon was worried about. However, the act of caring for and protecting someone doesn’t always help them. To coddle someone and protect their future is the same as robbing them of experience in the present.

It was also something that Chung Myung was most wary of.

He knew very well that if he took care of everything, then his descendants would lose the chance to grow up properly.

They needed to gain as much as they could from Chung Myung while minimizing the amount they would lose.

“Does Jo Gul sahyung look so weak?”

“..”

Chung Myung spoke with a smirk.

“He won’t lose to those guys.”

Baek Cheon’s face hardened. His trust in Jo Gul was evident with these words. Surely..

“How well did I roll him on the ground!?”

“..”

If only he didn’t speak, maybe it would have been a touching moment.

Did Chung Myung know what Baek Cheon was feeling? Because he suddenly looked at Jo Gul.

“Am I wrong? Sahyung?”

Jo Gul nodded his head.

Lose? He wouldn’t lose.

This was no problem.

This was an issue between Jo Gul and the Tang family. So, the solution should come from Jo Gul.

Jo Gul looked at Chung Myung.

‘But this guy.’

If Chung Myung were to step forward, this would be resolved easily. Because this guy was like a goblin that could solve everything.

But Jo Gul understood.

‘I cannot keep hiding behind Chung Myung’s back forever.’

He never had the thought of becoming a burden to Chung Myung. He would never have come along if that was the case.

Jo Gul knew that he was far from Chung Myung’s equal in strength. But he at least wanted to help. That was the least he could do to stay together with Chung Myung.

If he couldn’t solve such matters by himself, wouldn’t it be better for him to just die?

“Sasuk.”

Baek Cheon looked at Jo Gul.

“I understand sasuk’s words, but this is something I need to deal with.”

Baek Cheon sighed.

“Can you do it?”

Jo Gul smiled.

“I am a disciple of Mount Hua.’

At this moment, nothing else in the world could be more reliable than this statement.

Baek Cheon received Jo Gul’s laugh with a smile.

“Go.”

“Yes!”

With Baek Cheon and Chung Myung behind him, Jo Gul walked out as Tang Zhan frowned.

“You?”

“Wasn’t I the one you wanted to evaluate from the start?”

Jo Gul touched the sword around his waist.

“Then, wouldn’t it make sense for you to deal with me?”

Tang Zhan straightened.

‘How dare he.’

It was understandable for Baek Cheon and Chung Myung to behave so arrogantly. It’s common for a dog to naively challenge a tiger without understanding fear.

But not Jo Gul.

There was no way that this one, who was born in Chengdu, could be unaware of the Tang family’s fearsome nature. Even so, Jo Gul was confidently challenging him.

Tang Zhan felt that any further discussion was unnecessary.

There was no room for courtesy left to give. It was enough to warn everyone what it meant to break Jo Gul for returning here to go against the Tang family.

However, there was just one more thing.

‘You’d better not think this will end quickly.’

Tang Zhang, who was determined to release all the insults he had received here, wore his family’s green gloves.

The green leather gloves carried by people of the Tang family were made of deer skin treated with special drugs to prevent the poison from penetrating themselves.

Wearing these green gloves could signal that they would be using poison, but it also meant that they were going to be on alert when dealing with an opponent.

Jo Gul looked at Tang Zhan with sunken eyes.

The confrontation between the two began.

Everyone watching was silent and still. But there was only one person who couldn’t maintain their composure.

Jo Pyung.

Jo Pyong seemed to be losing his mind ever since his son had stepped forward.

‘Oh, my god! No!’

Jo Gul stepped forward to deal with Tang Zhan of the Tang family.

Who was Tang Zhen?

He was recognized for his outstanding talent among the terrifyingly gifted people of his family. It was insane to see his son, Jo Gul, attempting to deal with him. Terrified, he couldn’t turn away.

‘We must stop him!’

There was nothing more that he wanted. However, he could see the anger of the Tang family falling on his merchant chamber if he tried to protect Jo Gul right now.

“D-disciple Tang! This is—”

All he could think of was coming up with some way to cover up this situation.

But at that moment.

“Father!”

“.. Gul?”

Jo Gul looked at his father with determined eyes.

“This isn’t just about liberation from the Tang family, but also about Mount Hua. Please trust me and wait.”

“W-what are you even talking about?”

Srng.

Jo Gul’s answer came from his hand rather than his mouth. He drew his sword as he stared at Tang Zhan.

‘Sichuan Tang family.’

At one time, this name echoed in his heart as a symbol of fear, terror, and horror. From the moment he was born as the son of his father, the image of the Tang family always existed above him.

But now?

‘It sounds funny to be scared.’

Tang Zhan was nothing outstanding when compared to that drunkard watching from behind. How could Jo Gul, who’s fought such a monster, even consider losing to this man?

What did he get from Mount Hua?

‘I’ve received too much to speak of.’

So, the only option left was to show it off with his sword.

Looking at Jo Gul’s cold eyes, Tang Zhan was about to go when someone spoke up.

“Hyung.”

Tang Zhan turned his head.

“Do we need to use an ax to kill a chicken? I will go.”

His younger brother, Tang Ho, walked ahead.

“This is something I—”

“The Righteous Sword of Hua isn’t coming out, so it wouldn’t look good if my hyung goes forward.”

Tang Zhan nodded his head.

What he said wasn’t wrong. It was important for people to act according to their standards. Tang Zhan whispered as he stepped back.

“Don’t let him out of your hands.”

“Of course.”

Tang Ho stood in front of Jo Gul and tucked his hand into his sleeve.

Even if one had never seen them in action and only heard rumors of the Tang family, the meaning of this gesture was clear. When a member of the Tang family put their hand into their sleeve, it meant they were preparing any necessary poisons.

“Tang Ho of Sichuan Tang family.”

“Mount Hua’s Jo Gul.”

Tang Ho and Jo Gul locked eyes and glared at one another.

Tang Ho clearly recognized Jo Gul, just as he recognized Tang Ho. The members of the Tang family were taught the faces of all the influential people they would need to rule, just as Jo Gul was taught from a young age to bow his head before the people of the Tang family.

So, Jo Gul would never have dared to even meet Tang Ho’s eyes in the past. But now, he was doing just that and pointing his sword as well.

‘Cheeky bastard.’

Tang Ho thought of shattering one of Jo Gul’s hands to teach everyone a lesson.

Tang Ho lightly touched the cow hair needle in his sleeve and scattered them.

Dozens of fine needles that were nearly invisible to the naked eye made their way to Jo Gul at a formidable speed.

‘Huh? This doesn’t seem like such a big deal.’

Seeing that Jo Gul wasn’t responding to his attack, Tang Ho felt elated.

Once the needle hits, Jo Gul would be unable to move..

“Uh?”historical

It was then.

Phat!

Jo Gul’s sword, which previously seemed unable to respond, was swung at a formidable speed.

Kakakakang!

Jo Gul’s sword deflected the dozens of thrown needles.

Tang Ho was shocked, but he soon realized that this was too early to be surprised.

Tat!

Jo Gul’s feet touched the ground, and his body shot for Tang Ho like lightning.

“Huh..?”

Paaang!

Those who lose their composure cannot win.

As he felt Jo Gul’s sword smashing against his neck, Tang Ho collapsed.

‘N-No way..’

Thud!

Jo Gul looked at Tang Ho, who had fallen to the ground, and his lips twitched.

He confidently looked Tang Zhan in the face and loudly declared.

“Next!”

‘I always wanted to try doing this!’

Kuak!