Chapter 53. The Star of The North Sea Ice Palace
“What are you doing, senior?”
“Mm? Can’t you see? I’m looking at myself in a mirror.”
“Wait. Weren’t you using that thing since a while back?”
“Fufu, of course! After all, you just can’t get tired of this face of mine.”
“…….”
“These beautiful black eyebrows, skin like silk, and this luscious black hair. Add to that, a body perfectly balanced out without any excess fat! Kya– even a god would be jealous of my body. Don’t you think so?”
(ED: Did he just Kya?)
“…….What do you want to hear from me?”
“Fufu, what would an ugly girl like you know about this senior’s deep anguish?”
The man who had been staring at the mirror with a happy face since a while back. This man’s name was Juk Hyul Myung (赤血明).
“Fuu……. so this is why master told me to keep an eye on you.”
“Mm? Why?”
“You’re immature, unlike your appearance.”
“What?”
The woman stuck out her tongue and ran away. That woman’s name was Ju Da Hye (朱多慧). Looking at Ju Da Hye running away like the wind, Juk Hyul Myung smirked.
surawang_53
“Trying to run away from me… well, the attempt is kind of praiseworthy.”
Juk Hyul Myung said this as he put his right hand up. He then smirked a little, and grabbed the thin air. After doing so, he jerked his right hand back violently.
“A, ahh! Senior! It hurts!”
“Fufu, your attempt was praiseworthy, but you picked the wrong opponent this time. So today, I’ll take my time to teach you a lesson myself.”
“D, did you forget what our master told you to do? You’re going to be late if you don’t go now, you know?”
Juk Hyul Myung, who had been pulling on his junior’s cheeks with an evil face, made a confused expression.
“Mm? Late?”
“Yeah, you only have an hour left.”
Juk Hyul Myung was greatly surprised when he heard the junior’s words.
“What! Already? Damn, wait downstairs. I’ll be out as soon as possible.”
Juk Hyul Myung hurriedly packed up. This kind of a thing always happened.
It’s not the first time he got too absorbed in looking at himself that he got scolded by his master for being late.
‘Haa… the heavens are too harsh on me. Why couldn’t they make me a little less perfect?’
When Juk Hyul Myung walked outside thinking this, he was greeted by two horses. Ju Da Hye handed him one of the reins and spoke up.
“If you arrive late to the meeting again, master’s probably gonna go grind you up.”
“Fufu, you think I will just stand there and take that?”
“Instead of saying something like that to me, why don’t you go say that to master instead?”
“Are you interested in my position as a senior?”
“No.”
“Then why are you trying to kill me by using master?”
“W, when did I ever try that?”
“Now. You tried to do it now, you cocky little girl.”
Juk Hyul Myung said this as he pinched one of Ju Da Hye’s cheek’s and pulled on it. Ju Da Hye began to shout loudly as she tapped on the horse’s head out of pain.
“Ahh! Sorry, senior. I won’t do it again, so please let go!”
“Hm. Well, it won’t be good if your ugly face gets even uglier. My eyes would rot if that happened.”
When Juk Hyul Myung let go with a disappointed face, Ju Da Hye quickly ran ahead and shouted at Juk Hyul Myung.
“I, I’m going to go tell on you!”
“Fufu, aren’t you afraid of my revenge?”
The two fought like this as they neared the meeting place, the First Sichuan Building (四川第一樓) (TL: Dunno exact TL)
* * *
“You’re late.”
“Sorry, master. The roads were kind of rough. Plus, it was our first time coming here, right? Hahaha.”
When Juk Hyul Myung said this, Ju Da Hye pouted a little as if she was discontent with the man’s response.
“I’ll do the interrogations later. But first, hurry. The guests are already here.”
“Alright.”
“Go into the house and get your uniforms. You should know just how important this meeting is.”
“Yes, sir.”
Juk Hyul Myung and Ju Da Hye both wore their respective clothing and came out.
It was a simple black robe that didn’t seem very special at all. But on the sleeves and the left chest, there was a white dragon imprinted on the robe.
A mark of the white dragon. Currently, in the mainland, there were no martial clans that used that symbol.
No, there couldn’t be any martial clans that did that. After all, this symbol of the white dragon was a symbol of a giant force in the continent.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, senior.”
When the two arrived at the house their master was residing in, they could find their master meditating.
“Ming (明).”
“Yes, master.”
“Don’t forget. This meeting here was done specifically for you. Also, observe our guests properly. They’re going to become our enemies in the future.”
Juk Hyul Myung smiled, and nodded.
“Fufu, don’t worry, master. Don’t you know I’m a man who’s used to the main character role already? I’ll go boost the main palace’s reputation with this meeting. I’ll go pressure our guests with my imposing strength.”
“…….”
Ju Da Hye looked at Juk Hyul Myung with eyes filled with distrust.
“Eh? Junior, what’s up with those eyes? You don’t trust me? Really?”
“No way, senior. Why would I ever do that?”
“Haha, right, right. Looks like I misunderstood. I almost punched you because of that. Try not to use that face next time. It makes me angry.”
The two began to argue in front of their master without any reserve.
Juk Hyul Myung’s master. He was an old man who ruled the North Sea, the man known as the White Ice Emperor (氷白大帝). He was one of the external forces of the continent.
He was the master of the North Sea Ice Palace (北海氷宮), Dam Chun Hoo (曇天后).
“Let’s stop the playing here, and leave. The guests are waiting.”
“Yes, master.”
The three stood up and walked towards the gazebo in the back garden. There, they could see someone. They could see people who were exuding a wild aura that befit barbarians. There were three in total.
The middle aged man in the group, who possessed a strange tattoo on his face, walked to Dam Chun Hoo and stretched out his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you. I am Gu Ma Byuk.”
Dam Chun Hoo looked at the man in front of him for a while, then nodded. Indeed this man in front of him had the right to be here.
“The name’s Dam Chun Hoo.”
The two shook hands, then looked at each other for a moment. Something stirred inside them when they met each other, but now was not the time.
The two knew that very well. Gu Ma Byuk looked away first with a small smile. Then, he opened his mouth and began talking.
“This boy here’s my eldest child, Gu Hui. He’s the current heir of our clan. The boy next to him would be my second child.”
“Really…….”
Dam Chun Hoo was quite surprised when he saw Gu Hui. The boy had talent that rivaled even Juk Hyul Myung.
The old sayings say that the Nanman was a big place, but if the place was great enough to produce beings as terrifying as this, the people of Nanman really couldn’t be looked down upon for being savages.
But that was where everything ended. Dam Chun Hoo made a relaxed face. When it came to heirs, the one he had here was competent enough.
“This one here’s my first disciple, Juk Hyul Myung. The girl next to him is my youngest disciple I brought along.”
Gu Ma Byuk took a look at Juk Hyul Myung, nodded, and then smiled at Ju Da Hye.
“I really must thank you for bringing me a child as cute as this. She really looks quite nice.”
“Haha, thank you.”
While those two began to engage in small talk, Gu Hui and Juk Hyul Myung stared into each other’s faces.
The two couldn’t notice anything around them at the moment, other than the person in front of them.
‘This guy……’
Juk Hyul Myung was able to feel some excitement thanks to the beastly aura that came from Gu Hui’s body.
This ticklish feeling that made him feel like there were ants crawling all over him. It has been a while since he felt that.
He had previously thought that there were no enemies who could fight him in his age group, but it seemed that he was wrong.
Juk Hyul Myung’s eyes began to get filled with fighting spirit, as if he had forgotten all about the meeting that was taking place. The same went for Gu Hui.
Normally, Gu Hui was filled with arrogance, but now he was just staring at Juk Hyul Myung with eyes full of fighting spirit. And after looking at each other for a long time, the two thought of the same thing.
‘This guy’s a rival I’ll have to fight for life.’
Their strengths were on par with each other. An expert of their caliber usually played out fights in their head in order to determine a winner beforehand.
But in their heads, there was no clear winner. They would have to fight in real life in order to determine the real winner.
When Juk Hyul Myung began to twitch while thinking that, Dam Chun Hoo softly grabbed onto his shoulder.
“Did you forget why we came here? Don’t be rude to our guests.”
“……Yes master.”
Juk Hyul Myung calmed himself, and put his hand away from his sword. He then grinned at Gu Hui.
‘We’ll fight in the future anyhow.’
Gu Hui smiled at Juk Hyul Myung with the same thought. There really was no need to try to fight each other as soon as possible. In the present, their teachers were keeping things in order, but the teachers would soon retire.
Once that happened, the world would be theirs.
Fighting when that happens wouldn’t be bad. Juk Hyul Myung and Gu Hui relaxed their tense muscles as they settled down again.
“Did you read the message we sent you?”
“Of course.”
“What did you think about it?”
The master of the Nanman Beast Gate, Gu Ma Byuk, smiled.
“If you didn’t send me that message, I would’ve been the one to send it to you.”
“Does that mean that you’d agree with the proposal?”
“The Demon Church of now cannot be defeated by a single power. Of course I would agree to your proposal.”
Dam Chun Hoo nodded. The Demon Church of the present age was too powerful. It was unprecedentedly powerful, even. But its strength would be its downfall.
Even if the Church was uninterested in expanding into the mainland, the other powers of the continent wouldn’t think that. Just having the Demon Church in the continent would make them feel fearful.
And fear is what binds multiple groups together.
“Three years. We need to get the Alliance and the Black Moon Guild to participate in at least three years.”
“Good idea.”
If four great powers in the continent bunched together to fight, even the Heavenly Demon Church wouldn’t be able to take them on.
In the worst case, the church would be forced to fight against the whole of the martial world.
“We’ll try to persuade the Alliance. Could you be the one to persuade the Black Moon Guild?”
“Alright. Unless they’re idiots, they’ll also join us in this event.”
“I leave it in your hands.”
First Sichuan Building. This was where the plot to take the whole of martial world into the path of chaos began.