Chapter 142
Hallasan. The nation’s spiritual mountain. Despite its height and beautiful scenery, many tourists used to enjoy hiking to its peak because of its gentle slope.
However, that was a story before the gates came. Ever since the gates appeared, Jeju Island had turned into a battleground riddled with all sorts of fierce raids. The aftermath reached Hallasan, turning it into a strange place. Paths would disappear as they climbed up, seas would pop out in the middle of the mountain, and they would sometimes feel as if something was weighing down on them. It had become similar to the Abyss, a space of lawless chaos.
Jeong Wonuk loved hiking, and he thought the Hallasan’s traits were good enough to test the hunters.
“Mountains always train people. I want to set?hiking?as the first round of this exchange,” Jeong Wonuk said with a nice smile on his face.
The young hunters’ hearts naturally grew heavy.
‘That crazy bastard...’
‘I can’t even swear because he’s an A-grade hunter...’
The hunters from China and Japan cursed inwardly. Why did they have to be in the hands of a crazy Korean and suffer from this situation? Even the Korean hunters had similar thoughts.
‘Who left that man in charge?’
‘This ■ing guy.’
They did agree that Hallasan could test the hunters, though. After all, its environment was similar to the Abyss. It was less dangerous since it had no evil spirits and only a few monsters, but it was good enough.
Choi Yeonseung’s thoughts differed, though. While most hunters were strong but were more interested in becoming rich, Choi Yeonseung thought, ‘It’s good for training? I have to go, then!’
The hunters here did their best slaying monsters and conducting raids to get to their current position, but that didn’t mean they wanted to train hard during the exchange match.
“What do you all think?”
“Wow... That’s a great idea.”
“As expected of Hunter Jeong Wonuk!”
“There’s a reason the Blue Dragon Sword’s fame stretches all the way to Japan!”
The hunters hid their rotten truths and threw out praise.
“I thought people would swear a lot. This is unexpected,” Han Seha said.
“I told you. You will like hiking.”
“......”
“......”
As the hunters inwardly cursed, Choi Yeonseung suddenly remembered something.
“Ah. That’s right. Didn’t you guys decide to go up naked?”
The Chinese and Japanese hunters averted their eyes.
***
“Didn’t you guys decide to go up naked?”
‘You sounded quite serious.’
‘Shh. That person’s temper seems quite bad, so don’t provoke him.’
Chen Yuwei gratefully bowed his head in response to Choi Yeonseung’s generous attitude.
“Thank you. I’m going first.”
No matter how eccentric the exchange exhibition, hiking naked was crossing the line. He didn’t want to be known as an exhibitionist.
“I won’t forget this grace.”
“Is that true? If it is, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“... N-No.”
Choi Yeonseung’s serious reaction frightened Chen Yuwei. What was he trying to do?
“We’re going now. Any further delay will put us at a disadvantage.”
Chen Yuwei and the other hunters gathered up and prepared for the hike.
“Speaking of which, what is the name of your clan?”
“... You don’t know my clan’s name?”
“I have been missing for thirty years. Sometimes I can’t even remember my own name,” Choi Yeonseung said, rendering Chen Yuwei speechless. What could he say to that?
“Our clan is Tangmen.”
“...... ”
While Korean or Japanese clans were named after myths or legends, Chinese clans were named after the Chinese Communist Party.
Famous clans served as a?signboard?to promote the country, so politicians preferred plausible and cool names. One of their options was to use famous Chinese icons such as the Mount Hua Sect, the Wudang clan, and the Shaolin Temple. Tangmen, commonly referred to as Sichuan Tangmen in South Korea, was included in this.
“Your surname isn’t Tang, is it?”
“It isn’t. The higherups gave us that name.”
“... Do you use concealed weapons and poison?”
Although those weapons and martial arts were famous in Korean martial arts as well, they were even more well-known in Tangmen. They had inherited the name, so they were likely to be proficient in concealed weapons and poison.
“No. None of our clan hunters use concealed weapons or poison.”
“That’s…”
Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded. Why were they called Tangmen if Tang wasn’t their surname and they didn’t use concealed weapons or poison?
‘These Chinese hunters are becoming more and more ridiculous. It’s amazing.’
The Mount Hua Sect was said to be formed by people who lived near the actual Mount Hua, but this didn’t have anything to do with the Mount Hua Sect.
“I’m still learning martial arts,” Chen Yuwei said.
“What? Martial arts?”
Choi Yeonseung was surprised. He didn’t feel any signs of martial arts.
With an embarrassed expression, Chen Yuwei explained, “My stage isn’t that high... I started off with martial arts, but I was making progress way too slow to achieve anything, so I switched to magic.”
“Ahh.”
That was a common occurrence with martial arts. Due to its slow initial growth, hunters gave up on martial arts and switched to magic. Although China had a relatively high number of martial artists, they probably still dwindled down.
“So, Hunter Choi Yeonseung. I watched the video you posted and have started practicing again. To be honest, the video is better than my clan teacher’s lessons.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
It was a funny statement, but Chen Yuwei was being honest. The hunter who taught Chen Yuwei was around C-grade.
In comparison, Choi Yeonseung had reached the limit of existence using martial arts and had become a constellation. Hence, although he didn’t personally teach Chen Yuwei, Chen Yuwei still learned a lot more from the video about the basics of martial arts and its training methods that Choi Yeonseung had filmed.
“It isn’t just me. The other clans’ hunters are also quite interested in martial arts.”
“Why didn’t they come, then? I could have taught them.”
As a hunter from another country, Chen Yuwei was honestly surprised when Choi Yeonseung said he would teach others without hesitation. It wasn’t easy to be so kind to a hunter belonging to some other nation. Perhaps it was because he was a first-generation hunter, or perhaps it was because he had always been like that, but Choi Yeonseung seemed generous.
‘The more I look at him, the stranger he is.’
“No. That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“The government forbids it.”
“... Ah. I-I see.”
Choi Yeonseung was convinced. It would be a huge loss for any country if their hunters left in large numbers and immigrated to another country. Hence, their hunters’ overseas activities were strictly controlled. Only a few licensed hunters were allowed to travel abroad.
“I’ll leave now. Thank you for helping martial artists.” Chen Yuwei left.
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says that martial artists might quickly and unexpectedly reach rank B.]
-Is that so?
The number of martial artists dwindled, and the few that remained were all stuck in rank C. Excluding the countries that restricted information about their hunters, Choi Yeonseung was practically the only active B-rank martial artist.
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ thinks human adaptability surpasses imagination and says that they will surely adapt to martial arts quickly.]
‘... That’s true. It was the same with magic.’
When the gates opened, humanity, which knew nothing about magic, evolved rapidly in a few decades. That was made possible not only by human adaptability but also by the constellations who knew magic well scattering their knowledge.
On the other hand, martial arts developed among humans without any constellations guiding them. However, a constellation skilled in martial arts—Choi Yeonseung—had appeared and was spreading his teachings.
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says that the higher a martial artist’s martial arts level, the stronger their desire for higher training. You can use that desire as a hostage to bring them in as minions.]
-That’s a great trick.
If he wanted to sell water, he should first make people thirsty. In doing so, he could sell water at a high price.
‘Putting it that way makes it sound wicked, though. I’m doing this with good intentions.’
The Tangmen clan had left.
Just as Choi Yeonseung was about to leave with Antony and Illeya, two A-grade hunters approached them from behind.
Jeong?Wonuk?and Han Seha.
“Ah. Did you come to say hello?” Choi Yeonseung happily waved his hand toward Jeong Wonuk.
“I-I don’t know who you are. Do you know me?”
“Huh? Aren’t you Jeong Wonuk? We met before in the Field of Green Serpents.”
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just came here because Han Seha said she has something to tell you.”
Jeong Wonuk tried to pretend he didn’t know Choi Yeonseung. He could perfectly control his facial expressions with his A-grade physical abilities, but...
‘He’s lying.’
-He’s lying.
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says he’s lying.]
Han Seha tilted her head. “Didn’t you tell me before that you cleared the dungeon Field of Green Snakes... ”
“W-what are you saying? No way.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I have something to talk to him about, so get out of the way.”
Jeong Wonuk nodded and stepped back, looking relieved. Han Seha stared straight at Choi Yeonseung. There was a slight hint of anticipation in her eyes.
“Do you know me?”
“...... ”
For the first time in ages, Choi Yeonseung was flustered. Who was this?
“... You don’t?” Han Seha asked.
Illeya and Antony instinctively put their hands on their weapons, remembering her beating up one of the hunters. However, Han Seha wasn’t particularly angry. Rather, she just seemed disappointed.
“You really don’t know me?”
The moment Han Seung repeated it a third time, Choi Yeonseung immediately recalled a very old memory. It couldn’t be...
Perhaps...
‘What’s wrong with Choi Yeonseung?’
Antony became nervous. Choi Yeonseung’s expression was distorted with astonishment. It was hard to believe that this powerful man, someone who never wavered no matter how strong the monsters he had to face were, was reacting like this. Did Han Sera already attack him?
“Is your mother’s name perhaps...”
“That’s right. Jeong?Yeonju.”
“W-wait. How old are you...”
“I’m not even thirty yet.”
Choi Yeonseung sighed with relief. At the very least, she wasn’t his child.
Jeong?Yeonju?was Choi Yeonseung’s ex-girlfriend. He had been in a few relationships, but most of them ended with her partners saying things like, ‘Yeonseung, I know I confessed first, but I really don’t think it’s right to mix chicken breast with another chicken breast and drink it. You’re crazy.’
Among them, his longest relationship was with Jeong Yeonju. They were both hunters. Jeong Yeonju wasn’t as strong as Choi Yeonseung, but she was thirsty for strength. However, when they reached rank C and became busy, their encounters decreased. As a result, the distance between them grew, ultimately making them more neglectful and, eventually, break up.
“Are you the one who left flowers on the grave?”
“What... Ah, did you visit her? That’s right. I was the one who left it.”
“Jeonju...”
“She died while I was young.”
“... I’m sorry.”
“It's fine. I’m not sad about it anymore.”
Han Seha really didn’t mind.
“I was curious about you because I heard a lot about you from my mother. I didn’t expect you wouldn’t know at all.”
‘Damn. Gyeongryong hyung...!’
Although Hwang Gyeongryong forgot to tell him about this, it wasn’t really his fault.
“Please take good care of me as a fellow hunter in the future. I’m going now.”
Han Seha bowed her head and turned away to leave.
Watching her walk away, Antony slowly said, “... I’m not sure I get the situation, but I think you did something wrong.”
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶