Chapter 186: With those skills? (1)

Jo Pyung's eyes bulged as if they would pop out.

"Uh... Uhuh...."

'Want an ass-kicking?'

Jo Pyung couldn't process what he had just heard for a moment, and he needed to spend a period of time in contemplation. He had never imagined that he would experience such a vulgar act toward the Tang family.

Who was Tang Zhan?

Wasn't he the fifth son of the Tang family, an incredibly influential figure in Sichuan and Chengdu?

Would anyone in Chengdu ever dare to say such a thing to the Tang family?

If there was such a person, it had to be someone stronger enough to keep their heavenly fathers under control, or else...

'He must be insane.'

Unfortunately, the current situation seemed closer to the latter case. Because this young man couldn't possibly be on par with the Tang family's strongest.

Which meant...

'... how am I supposed to fix this?'

His mind was going blank.

The reason for the Sichuan Tang family's fame, despite their low numbers, is not simply their overwhelming strength.

It was also because of their tenacity and stubbornness.

Even though it was a political faction here, it was more closely considered a sect because they never forget their resentment and are sensitive to blasphemy and disrespect.

But now, this child had openly defamed the Tang family. So, how were they going to strike back?

The aftermath of this incident wasn't likely to stop at just Mount Hua either. Perhaps the merchant chamber would also need to take some responsibility for this event.

However, contrary to Jo Pyung's concerns, Tang Zhan wasn't particularly angry.

His expression showed more absurdity than anger, and his family's creed that he couldn't be enraged under any circumstances suppressed him.

With his eyes squinted, Tang Zhan frowned and closely watched the man.

Mount Hua's robe was adorned with a plum blossom pattern.

The boy's face still hadn't shaken off his teenage youth, showing that he was still young. It was certain that he was a disciple of Mount Hua, but he wasn't certain which disciple there had spoken out.

"Who are you?"

Tang Zhan opened his mouth with the utmost calmness and courtesy he could muster.

But the reaction he received challenged all that.

"Who are you?"

"..."

A rude and discourteous reaction.

The person speaking had a flushed face and held a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

Putting it all together, Tang Zhan came to one conclusion.

'He is drunk.'

He had no intention of picking a fight with a drunkard.

But

'To drink like this in a foreign land where they have no influence. Are all the rumors floating around about Mount Hua just plain exaggeration?'

In Tang Zhan's mind, his assessment of Mount Hua began to plummet. At the same time, as if protesting the falling reputation, the others dressed in Mount Hua's robes rushed out.

"Ahahahaah!"

"He is very drunk. We apologize!"

"Let's go in! Come on, Chung Myung, let's go!"

The disciples of Mount Hua grabbed the drunk man by his limbs and began to pull him away. Up to this point, Tang Zhan could have just left the issue and laughed, but...

The problem was the drunk's name.

"Chung Myung?"

His voice couldn't hold back his shock as he asked.

"You mean that man is Mount Hua's Divine Dragon, Chung Myung?"

"..."

He seemed surprised as shock filled his eyes.

Jo Pyung, who also heard that, alternated between looking at the disciples of Mount Hua and Tang Zhan in complete stupefaction.

"Mount Hua's Divine Dragon? That person?"

Jo Pyung's words echoed the feelings of Tang Zhan too.

Mount Hua's Divine Dragon.

Lately, that name was often preceded by another title.

The greatest young genius in the world.

The envy and expectations of young men would be directed at him.

A position that everyone dreamed of getting their hands on. A dream to be the best in the world. A splendid title that only one person could have.

He defeated the Southern Edge sect's second-class disciples.

He even took down disciples of the Wudang and was known to have cornered the Wudang disciples with his sahyungs.

He jumped into the dangerous Sword Tomb, prevented the annihilation of all inside it, and finally even won the recognition of elder Heo Sanja of the Wudang Sect.

The greatest talent, armed with both strength and intelligence!

"... that man?"

Tang Zhan and Jo Pyung's minds seemed to collapse momentarily.

'It cannot be.'

'No, it couldn't be.'

Right now, the people standing next to the drunk seemed to fit the name better. One of them was giving out such a fearsome presence that it even made Tang Zhan nervous.

But it wasn't any of them. Instead, this drunk man was the Divine Dragon?

'There must be a mistake somewhere.'

Or maybe the evaluation of Mount Hua's Divine Dragon was a complete lie.

Tang Zhan frowned.

Upon thinking for a moment, he opened his mouth.

"Are you Mount Hua's Divine Dragon, Chung Myung?"

Chung Myung, who was being dragged away, began to yell.

"Let go! Let go! He's calling me!"

"No! No! No one is calling you."

"You heard wrong! Wrong! Chung Myung, let's go in!"

"No, he called me just now! Ugh!"

Chung Myung waved his arms to shake off his sahyungs before swirling forward again. Then he looked at Tang Zhan and spoke.

"You called me?"

"... are you Chung Myung?"

"Haaa."

Chung Myung took a deep sigh and clicked his tongue.

"Really, kids these days, I don't see a single polite bastard. Isn't it basic to say your own name first before asking someone else for theirs?"

Tang Zhan went silent.

Come to think of it, it was true that he had made a mistake. He had forgotten his manners because of the absurdity of the situation.

"Who are you?"

"... Pardon me. I am Tang Zhan of the Sichuan Tang family."

"Tang family?"

"Right."

"Wai..."

Chung Myung's face contorted.

"If it's the Tang family, then you must have been taught well, but you come to make a fuss at night and throw people away? All the Tang family members I knew were wiped out; have some thugs gotten together and created a new Tang family?"

The more Chung Myung spoke, the redder Tang Zhan's face became.

It was fine to insult him, but this man was directly assaulting his family.

In the end, just as he was about to explode in anger, Yoon Jong jumped forward and began to slap Chung Myung on the mouth.

"Your mouth! Your sick mouth!"

Slap! Slap!

"Argh! Ack! Why are you hitting me!?"

"Ugh!"

Yoon Jong grabbed Chung Myung by the back of his head and began to drag him away.

In front of Tang Zhan, who was looking at this incredulous scene with disbelief, Baek Cheon sighed in vain and stepped forward. His face was slightly flushed too.

"We've crossed a line; excuse us. I am Baek Cheon of Mount Hua."

"The Righteous Sword of Hua?"

"That is too much, but it was indeed a title given to me."

"Then you're the one who defeated Wudang's Sword Dragon?"

"... it was just a light spar."

Tang Zhan's eyes turned cold.

He finally met someone he could actually communicate with. Having been through such an absurd event, he was glad to have someone he could speak with properly.

"Please, I hope you forgive the rudeness of visiting so late at night. It was difficult to hold myself back once I heard that the disciples of Mount Hua, who are famous throughout the world, had come here."

"I don't think it was rude. It's just a bit embarrassing to hear that the Tang family wanted to meet with us personally."

Tang Zhan smiled.

"It is fine. Especially..."

He looked at Jo Gul, who was standing behind Baek Cheon.

"The young lord and our Tang family are quite intimately related, so I wanted to take a look and see what our young lord has learned from Mount Hua."

Baek Cheon's face went stiff.

"I don't understand. Why would the Tang family want to confirm the achievement of a disciple from Mount Hua?"

"It is really simple."

Tang Zhan smiled leisurely and spoke.

"He's a disciple of Mount Hua but also a child of his father's chamber. All those who live within Chengdu have a duty to be verified by the Sichuan Tang Family."

Baek Cheon frowned.

He wanted to ask how this man could have such authority when they aren't even the imperial family, but he knew it was meaningless. At least in Chengdu, the Tang family reigned like a king.

If he handled this clumsily, then it was likely that Jo Gul's family would suffer the damage for it, not Jo Gul.

This was something neither Baek Cheon nor Jo Gul wanted.

"Sasuk.'

At Jo Gul's call, Baek Cheon turned to him.

"I will go."

"Gul."

"Wait..."

Jo Gul called Baek Cheon to move, and then he whispered in a low voice that the Tang family couldn't hear.

"This is how people live in Chengdu."

"I don't understand. What is this?"

"...because Mount Hua's reputation has increased. They don't want the powerful people in Chengdu to escape their family's dominance. If they leave me alone, it will serve as a sign to other prestigious families that they can send their sons away to foreign sects and leave the Tang family."

"Huh?"

Baek Cheon was confused.

"That makes no sense."

"This is how Sichuan works, and that is the way of the Tang family. If Mount Hua interferes here, things will only get more complicated for us. Leave this to me."

Baek Cheon nodded his head.

"Okay, but wait for a moment."

"Yes, sasuk."

Baek Cheon stepped forward again.

He stood closer to Tang Zhan than before and straightened his back before speaking.

"How are you going to verify what he's learned?"

"Isn't it obvious? Is there any other way for one Taoist to verify another?"

The corners of Tang Zhan's lips curled up.

"We'll have to share our fists to know."

Baek Cheon smiled and nodded.

"I see. You want to verify the skills of Jo Gul, a child of the Four Seas Merchant Chamber and third-class disciple of Mount Hua, and announce the results to Chengdu?"

"That's a bit extreme, but it isn't wrong. I also wanted to make friends with the disciples of Mount Hua, if possible, but things don't seem to be working out. So, let's worry about that later...."

Tang Zhan's eyes gleamed coldly.

"First, give us Jo Gul. This is an event of the Tang family; we will not tolerate any interruption."

Baek Cheon's smile grew deeper.

"Of course, our Mount Hua has no intention of getting involved in matters of the Sichuan Tang family."

"You speak well."

"But... I have a problem."

"Problem?"

"Yes, a problem."

Baek Cheon shook his head and spoke.

"I have no intention of intervening with your work, but you don't mean that the people here would be the ones verifying Jo Gul, right?"

"... Why? Would that be a problem?"

"Are you really asking that? With these skills?"

"..."

Tang Zhan's eyes widened.

But Baek Cheon didn't move and kept looking at him.

"You dare want to test a disciple of Mount Hua, so you should treat him appropriately. Come here, I'll verify your skills first, and then you can test his. Isn't that fair?"

Baek Cheon spoke as he touched the sword on his side.

And spoke softly, yet firmly.

"If not, I cannot help but interfere. This is an event of Mount Hua, and I won't tolerate any interruption."

All of Mount Hua's disciples, who were looking at Baek Cheon from the side, stared at him with blank eyes.

"Sasuk!'

"Wow... sasuk!"

"Sahyung!

'...he told me not to cause any trouble.'

'What if this causes an accident?'

The martial sect is really running well, seriously!