Chapter 246

System

Quest

Star-Array Grand Banquet

What more needs to be said?

Go forward without hesitation. Become the winner of this banquet watched by all under heaven, leave your mark on the Murim, and enjoy the glory!

Grade: Supreme Peak

Restriction: Jin Taekyung

Mission: Win the Star-Array Grand Banquet (Incomplete)

Reward: ???

Failure: Fire King’s Wrath

“……”

I paused at the penalty I would receive for failing.

I mean, it’s possible I might not win the Star-Array Grand Banquet. Is he really going to get angry over that, too?

Imagining Jeok Cheongang throwing a tantrum, I began to feel wronged.

And after teaching me for barely a year.

Of course, my case was extremely unusual.

Even so, the fact that the Quest window went out of its way to spell it out suggested just how much Jeok Cheongang expected of me.

“Jin Taekyung of the Jin Family of Taiyuan. Where are you?”

“Oh, here.”

I closed the Quest window at the supervisor’s call and started walking.

With every step I took, I felt the people’s gazes on me. Along with them, murmuring voices pierced my ears.

“Jin Taekyung of the Jin Family of Taiyuan…”

“The Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi?”

“Is that the young man? The one who was taken in as the Fire King’s Disciple?”

“That’s him. Definitely.”

I could also hear the same gruff voice from Norway that I had heard earlier.

“Hmph. So you had something to rely on after all. You may look the part, but you’re still a weakling.”

I ignored the whispers coming from every direction and stopped in front of the cliff.

The supervisor, who had been looking at me with an astonished expression, spoke in a suddenly more polite tone.

“If the depth is at least three Korean inches, you pass. Anything shallower is a failure.”

“Yes.”

Three Korean inches was roughly ten centimeters.

An ordinary First Rate master who had steadily trained in fist techniques could pass without much trouble at that level.

But now that I was actually about to do it, tension began to build.

Damn. I have no idea how much force to use.

I honestly had no clue. Exactly how much strength did I need to apply to leave a mark three Korean inches deep?

After staring at the cliff for a while, I decided to use the Help function.

“Excuse me, Supervisor.”

“Yes?”

“As long as the depth is at least three Korean inches, I pass, right?”

“That is correct. However, once your fist lands, the test is over.”

“Oh, I see.”

Well, that makes it easy.

I nodded and immediately placed my fist against the cliff. Then I gave it a gentle push.

Thump! Rumble-rumble-rumble!

The surface of the cliff split as softly as tofu. Crumbled pieces of rock and dirt poured down.

With my arm embedded all the way to the elbow, I looked at the supervisor.

“I pass. Okay?”

“……”

The supervisor’s expression was a sight to behold.

He stared at my face, then at the arm stuck in the cliff, his mouth hanging open. Finally, he stammered out a question.

“H-How did you do that?”

“I pushed.”

“I mean, how did you…”

“I just put some strength into it and pushed.”

“……”

“Anyway, I passed, right? My fist didn’t even land, and it went in plenty deep.”

“W-Well…”

The supervisor’s pupils wavered.

“I-I’m not entirely sure. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

“Then it’s settled. From now on, we can do it this way.”

“Y-Young Hero Jin, I’m sorry, but could you do it a little more normally? It’s somewhat difficult for me to make a judgment…”

“Normally?”

I did it this way because I don’t think I can do it normally, you idiot.

I was wondering whether I should just throw out a moderately powerful punch when—

“Bwahahaha!”

The sudden burst of laughter made everyone, myself included, turn their heads.

Norway, the massive man who stood out from the crowd, was looking at me with a mocking grin spread across his face.

“You’re desperate to stand out, aren’t you?”

I scratched my chin and answered.

“Not particularly. But why are you so desperate to pick a fight with me?”

“You?”

“Yeah. You.”

A vein bulged on Norway’s forehead.

“I heard the Fire King’s Disciple has only just passed the age of twenty.”

“I’m twenty-two. I’m all grown up.”

“I am thirty.”

“Thirty? That’s pretty close to my age. Wanna be friends?”

“How dare this fresh-faced brat…”

Does he have a fetish for honorific speech or something?

The supervisor tried to stop him as he glared and took a step forward.

“Control yourself!”

“To hell with self-restraint. The only person who can talk to me like that is my Master.”

I leisurely folded my arms and asked, “So, it seems that’s what you’ve been wanting to say all this time. Let’s hear who your Master is.”

“The Seafaring King.”

The Seafaring King? Could it be…?

I cried out in shock.

“Jang Bogo!”¹

“What the fuck are you talking about! My Master’s name is Pa Ryun! Seafaring King Pa Ryun!”

“Oh. Right. Of course not.”

Unlike my disappointment, the name that came from Norway’s mouth had a tremendous impact.

A stir spread among the applicants and supervisors in our group. Even the people being tested more than ten jang away began to murmur.

“Seafaring King Pa Ryun!”

“Pa Ryun, the Alliance Leader of the Yangtze River Channel League and one of the Ten Kings?”

“Then that young man must be the Iron-Water Divine Dragon. That explains why he dared to pick a fight with the Fire King’s Disciple.”

“What in the world is going on over there? There are two disciples of the Ten Kings…”

Norway—or rather, the Iron-Water Divine Dragon—snorted at the reaction.

He was probably proud to have such an impressive Master, but pride in his own abilities also showed in every one of his actions.

Well, he really is strong enough to justify that much confidence.

Perhaps that was only natural for a Disciple of one of the Ten Kings.

And unlike me, he seemed to have received guidance from the Seafaring King, Pa Ryun, since childhood.

I didn’t know how formidable the Yangtze River Channel League was, but there was no doubt that he had received lavish support in martial arts, elixirs, and everything else.

When I watched him with my arms folded, the Iron-Water Divine Dragon let out a quiet laugh.

“So you’re the Fire King’s Disciple? Don’t get cocky just because you come from a provincial martial family and received a mere year of instruction.”

He wasn’t exactly wrong. Shanxi Province was a remote region far from the Central Plains, and the Jin Family of Taiyuan was indeed a provincial martial family.

That may be true, but…

“You’re a pirate. Your Master is a pirate chief.”

“Pirate? Are you insulting the Yangtze River Channel League? We are heroes who roam the rivers and the open sea!”

“Sure. But boil that down to two syllables and you get ‘pirate,’ don’t you?”

“You insolent wretch! What kind of vile nonsense is that? The heroes of our League are worlds apart from scum like that!”

“Worlds apart? Do you guys eat those weird-looking fruits, too? The ones that make you unable to swim?”

“You son of a—!”

“You ate the Son-of-a-Bitch Fruit.”

Crack-crack-crack.

A dangerous sound came from the Iron-Water Divine Dragon’s enormous fist.

He glared at me with killing intent in his eyes and took a step forward. The supervisor hurriedly moved between us.

“Wait! If you fight here, you’ll be disqualified—!”

“Move.”

“Gasp!”

The scale of the Star-Array Grand Banquet was so enormous that every supervisor overseeing the examinations was a formidable martial artist, ranging from the upper reaches of First Rate to Peak.

The supervisor assigned to our group was at the upper reaches of First Rate, but the moment the Iron-Water Divine Dragon gripped his shoulder, the supervisor’s face turned deathly pale.

“W-What is this…”

“There’s no need to stop me. My Master gave me a strict order to win the Star-Array Grand Banquet, after all.”

“Th-Then…”

“I’m not going to fight. I’m only going to show that brat one of my moves.”

The Iron-Water Divine Dragon released the supervisor and strode toward the cliff. Without hesitation, he pushed his fist into the cliff.

Craaaack!

He shattered the solid rock and drove his arm in up to the forearm. Then he clicked his tongue as he looked at me.

“This is all you managed.”

I had known it from the moment I first saw him, but the Iron-Water Divine Dragon had trained in exceptionally advanced external martial arts.

His size and strength could not be explained simply by saying he had been born with them.

It was clearly the result of martial arts—an extremely advanced external qigong technique that had tempered his body.

“Whoa…!”

“As expected of the Iron-Water Divine Dragon!”

Exclamations poured forth at the strength worthy of being called divine.

Even an ordinary Peak master could not have done something like that without using internal energy. Yet the Iron-Water Divine Dragon had accomplished it as easily as breathing.

And he had done so while creating a hole much deeper than mine, as if to make a point.

“The Fire King’s Disciple is impressive, too, but is he still outmatched?”

“That’s understandable. He’s much younger, and it’s only been a year since the Fire King took him in as a Disciple.”

“The Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi must have been aiming for the victory himself, but… this will be difficult for him.”

Whatever the people around me whispered, there was no denying that the Iron-Water Divine Dragon was impressive.

Regardless of who his Master was, he was unquestionably a master who could boast wherever he went in the Murim.

Clap, clap, clap.

“Now that’s some strength. Congratulations on passing.”

“Pathetic. There’s no need to force yourself to pretend you’re calm.”

“I’m being sincere.”

The Iron-Water Divine Dragon snorted at my applause and turned toward the supervisor.

The supervisor was still stunned by the successive anomalies.

“Did I pass?”

“Ah. W-Well…”

“It doesn’t matter. I had no intention of stopping at this level anyway.”

Rumble-rumble-rumble.

The Iron-Water Divine Dragon pulled his arm out with absurd ease and looked around.

He read the envy, jealousy, and despair in the gazes fixed on him—gazes reserved for the strong—and bared his teeth at me.

“Brat, consider it an honor to witness the Ship-Breaking Fist.”

“The Ship-Breaking Fist?”

He did not answer.

Instead, internal energy as vast as the open sea rose in waves from the Iron-Water Divine Dragon’s entire body.

His waist, thicker than a bear’s, and his pillar-like arms bent far backward. Blue internal energy, like a flowing river, already surged around his fist.

Gooooong.

The air around us trembled.

Then—

Kkwaaaang!

The Ship-Breaking Fist.

A single punch capable of splitting a large sailing ship struck the cliff.

A deafening boom rang out, followed by a storm. People covered their faces with both arms and groaned as dirt and fragments of rock rained down.

“Gasp!”

“Urgh!”

In the midst of the chaos, I stood perfectly still and watched the scene without missing a thing.

That was why, a short while later, I fully understood the cries of astonishment that erupted after the cloud of dust settled.

Wow…

The cliff, a natural formation that had stood in place for countless years, stretched more than a hundred jang in both height and width.

Now, a massive hole had appeared where there had been nothing before.

No. It was more accurate to call it a small cave.

It was more than ten jang wide and tall, and its depth reached five jang.

“I-I can’t believe this.”

“This is the Seafaring King’s unique martial art…”

An unmistakable tremor passed through the crowd.

Everyone gathered here revered martial arts more than anything in the world and yearned to become stronger.

Their awe-filled gazes focused on the martial artist who had displayed martial arts they could never hope to approach.

“Haah. Haaah.”

His broad back heaved. Muscles swollen to the point of tearing rippled beneath his skin.

After taking some time to catch his breath, the Iron-Water Divine Dragon turned around with a composed expression.

A single short word slipped between his thick lips.

“What’s the result?”

Only then did the supervisor come to his senses and barely manage to force out his voice.

“P-Passed. You passed.”

“I see.”

The Iron-Water Divine Dragon raised the corners of his mouth and swept his gaze across the crowd.

The heat in his eyes had not yet faded. They stopped on my face.

“Did you see that?”

I gave a small nod.

“How was it?”

“It was impressive.”

“And?”

“Um. Congratulations on passing.”

“That’s all?”

“What else? Do you want me to pat you on the ass?”

Grind.

At the sight of the Iron-Water Divine Dragon grinding his teeth, my head instinctively shook from side to side.

I already told him it was impressive. What more does he want?

What is he, a fucking child?

Maybe it was because he was a pirate, but he was as simpleminded and ignorant as they came. The fact that he had already expended enough strength to leave himself breathless during the preliminary round was just as ridiculous.

I clicked my tongue inwardly and spoke to the supervisor.

“Let’s move things along. I think we’ve already wasted quite a bit of time.”

“Ah, yes. Understood. Then, next…”

I was turning around as the supervisor called the next name when the Iron-Water Divine Dragon spoke.

“Looking at you, I can tell what level the Fire Gate Clan is.”

“What?”

I stopped without meaning to. The Iron-Water Divine Dragon continued in a voice filled with mockery.

“Single-heir succession. No teaching to outsiders. It sounds grand, but in the end, didn’t you run away like a fucking dog with its tail between its legs to avoid me?”

“That’s your opinion.”

“Is it only my opinion?”

“What?”

I suddenly looked around.

Countless gazes surrounded the Iron-Water Divine Dragon and me.

I could read the emotions in their eyes.

Disappointment. Contempt.

Beep.

System

• People are whispering at the sight of you looking terrified!
• People are beginning to doubt the reputation of the Fire Gate Clan.
• People are beginning to doubt the reputation of Jeok Cheongang.
• Fame decreased by 18!
• Fame decreased by 20!
• Fame decreased…

The System notifications pierced my ears.

At that moment, I came to my senses as if waking from a long sleep.

So that’s how it is.

I had forgotten for a moment.

No—I had known, but had failed to realize what it meant.

Even though the curtain had risen on the Star-Array Grand Banquet, this magnificent and dazzling stage where the martial artists of the world had gathered in one place…

This is the Central Plains. This is the world.

A world where everything was proven through strength alone. Winners and losers. A world divided into two kinds of people.

That was the Murim.

“Hoo.”

Seeing me heave a tremendous sigh, the Iron-Water Divine Dragon taunted me.

“Looks like you’re finally ready to give it a try.”

“Yeah. Thanks. That really woke me up.”

“I heard you’re fairly skilled with a spear. I’ll graciously permit you to…”

“You called it the Ship-Breaking Fist, right?”

“Huh?”

“That thing may be able to split a ship, but a cliff is beyond it.”

Whoosh.

With a single step, I erased a distance of five jang.

By the time my raised foot touched the ground, I had already passed the Iron-Water Divine Dragon.

A belated cry of astonishment came from behind me.

“You—!”

Instead of answering, I looked up at the cliff spread out before me.

The fire dragon sleeping in my dantian awakened and spread through every limb and bone in my body. Hundreds of acupoints grew scorching hot.

“Jin Taekyung!”

“You fucking weakling. Consider it an honor to witness the Flame-Extinguishing Divine Fist.”

Blue flames filled my vision.