Under the full command of Deok-sоо hyung, the head chef of Haomun, a pig bone feast was held at the Black Cat Pavilion.

I ordered all the doors of the Black Cat Pavilion to be thrown wide open, then had tables and mats laid out roughly across the main hall, inner yard, and outer yard, setting up drinking spots all around. Following Deok-sоо hyung’s directions, Lady Son and the servants bustled about carrying food.

Whether Nam Cheon-yeong barged in or the Sword-Breaking Society stormed through—I didn’t care.

First, I ate. And drank.

A drink with Nam Garak, a drink with Cha Seong-tae, a drink with Commander Byeok, a drink for Lady Son who was rushing about, and a drink with Ho Yeoncheong, who had suffered through training a worthless disciple.

I barged into the kitchen, gave a drink to Deok-sоо hyung who was cooking pig bones, and even grabbed fleeing servants to force a sip down their throats. Not long after, the Twelve Divine Generals I had summoned arrived, and I shared drinks with my disciples for the first time in a while.

I was already far beyond my usual drinking limit.

With my face flushed red, I staggered around and met eyes with a few unfamiliar guys kneeling in a corner of the main hall.

“Oh?”

Three blood-covered men stared at me with startled expressions.

“...!”

I asked the three men in a calm tone.

“Who are you? Who beat you?”

The main hall went quiet for a moment.

“...”

The bloodied men responded to me.

“Pavilion Lord, we’re from Nam Cheon-yeong.”

“Oh, really?”

Seems I’d forgotten in my drunken haze. I wandered off after So Gunpyeong, who happened to be passing by.

“Gunpyeong, take a drink!”

“Come on!”

So Gunpyeong fled in a hurry, but I didn’t bother chasing him.

When I stepped into the inner yard, it was also in full swing with drinking.

Commander Byeok was explaining what had happened earlier to the Twelve Divine Generals. I slipped over to listen and heard talk of letters, how Nam Cheon-yeong was pissed, and how the Sword-Breaking Society shouldn’t be left alone.

I nodded along to Commander Byeok’s words.

“Right. Our Grand Strategist is correct.”

Baek-in looked at me with a smile.

“Big brother, you’re drinking quite a lot today.”

“You should drink too.”

“Yes, sir.”

I handed my drink to Baek-in and pulled the sword from his waist.

“Brother, let me borrow your sword.”

“Yes.”

Holding the sword, I walked toward the plum tree, spun around it a few times, then stopped and made a quick improvised sword salute to the subordinates nearby.

“My fellow disciples of our sect, I ask for your support. I am the Lord of Haomun.”

As I gave a formal bow, the subordinates paused their drinking and saluted me with cupped fists from all around.

“We greet the Sect Lord.”

Maybe because they were all drunk, I heard a bunch of mixed replies.

“Pavilion Lord, we’ll do our best too.”

When I stretched out my hand as if signaling for space, the drink tables were pulled back by the subordinates, opening up the space like a performance stage.

Still drunk, I looked around and spoke.

“My brothers of Haomun, I am Yi Zaha.”

“...”

I introduced myself while gripping the sword.

“I was born in Ilyang County and from the time I could walk, I wiped down tables at an inn. But that inn burned down and vanished. That fire is how Haomun began. And maybe that fire moved into my heart. Even now, it still lingers somewhere in me as a flame. I was originally a worthless man, a foul-tempered man, a wicked man, fickle and pathetic. But because I was once weak, Haomun will now always stand on the side of the weak.”

I raised the sword vertically and continued.

“Anyone who doesn’t harm the weak without reason is my brother. I don’t care if you’re from the White Path, Noble Houses, Black Path, Demonic Path, temples, widowers, priests, beggars, merchants, woodcutters, or fishermen. You are my brothers. But if someone harms the powerless, the weak, frail women, beautiful women, kind-hearted women, children, monks, priests, drunks, tavern boys, courtesans, shamans, nuns—or anyone scraping by just to eat for the day, like fathers, mothers, uncles, older sisters, older brothers, or little brothers—then it doesn’t matter if they’re from the Demonic Path, the Black Path, the White Path, whether they’re rich or poor beggars. I will deal with them personally.”

I looked around at the members of Haomun and laughed. The alcohol had completely taken over me.

“My skill may still fall short compared to the top warriors of the world, but I practiced breathing techniques yesterday and the day before. I trained my body with the brothers of the Black Cat Pavilion, and not long ago, a senior from the martial world gave me advice on swordsmanship. I am Yi Zaha, Sect Lord of Haomun, a man growing stronger little by little each day. I’ll now show my brothers the sword technique I’ve been training recently.”

I gently tapped the plum tree with the hilt, then stepped into the shower of plum blossoms.

There, drunk, I blended my movements with the swirling petals and swung the sword. My footwork was a mess, but it didn’t matter.

I swung the sword under the influence of alcohol.

With a single slash, a bundle of plum blossoms was sliced in half, and another swing divided it into four pieces. I mixed in some sword wind, thrust into the center, and scattered the pieces in all directions.

It was a meaningless dance.

But I paused, staring blankly at the floating petals, then infused the sword with Flame Fragrance energy.

Fwoosh!

A reddish, intense yang energy clung to the sword. When I released it outward, then added a touch of the Absorption Technique to pull it back in, the Flame Fragrance’s sword energy shattered into tiny pieces and scattered like plum blossoms in the air.

It was my own interpretation of the Thunder Sword Style—Plum Blossom Fragrance.

I smiled as I watched the Plum Blossom Fragrance unfold.

The flame-like aura burned away all the floating plum petals in the air, turning them to dust and making them vanish instantly.

I was glad I hadn’t put in more internal energy.

Seeing my little trick, the subordinates all broke into applause.

After finishing my short speech and sword dance performance, I gave another sword salute to the gathered crowd.

At that, everyone around the drinking tables, disciples, and brothers all shot to their feet and returned the salute.

I tossed the sword back to Baek-in, then walked over to Cha Seong-tae and held out my empty cup. He poured the drink.

“Well done, Sect Lord.”

I took the drink and grabbed his shoulder.

“Our Haomun’s Chief Cha.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Don’t die. If you want to live, train hard.”

Cha Seong-tae nodded seriously. We stared each other down, then drank together.

At that point, the alcohol hit me hard again.

Commander Byeok came over and spoke.

“Pavilion Lord, are you alright? You’ve had too much.”

I waved him off and slumped down beneath the plum tree.

Closing my eyes for a moment...

I gathered the drunken energy in my body into a strand of internal energy, just like I did when using Mokgye Tanjeegong. I concentrated it at my fingertips. This was a trick based on detoxification techniques.

Soon, drops of alcohol-tainted internal energy—liquor poison—formed at my fingertip and dripped down. It was a detoxification method, but it also worked on alcohol.

I quickly sobered up and looked at my subordinates with a clear face. They stared blankly at me as I expelled the alcohol from my system.

In a calm tone, I said to them,

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“I’m sober now. You all go ahead and drink freely. I’ll stand guard tonight.”

As the subordinates stayed still, Hong sa-mae replied alone.

“Understood, big brother.”

With my hands behind my back, I returned to the main hall and looked at the Nam Cheon-yeong envoys still kneeling there.

“Why did you come again? Did you state your business to me already?”

One of them replied.

“We were ordered by Lord Nam Cheon-yeong to demand your participation.”

“Is there any reason, justification, or cause for me to participate?”

The three of them went silent, unable to answer. One finally responded.

“We didn’t dare ask the Lord.”

I stared at the three and said,

“I see. But tell me—do I look weaker than Nam Cheon-yeong Lord Sa Do-haeng to you?”

“We’re not skilled enough to judge that.”

“Is Nam Cheon-yeong’s Lord even one of the top ten black path masters?”

“No, he is not.”

“Then deliver this message to that arrogant Sa Do-haeng.”

“Yes, sir.”

“If he acts rude one more time, I’ll come visit myself. And when that happens, you’ll need to pick a new lord. Get up.”

The three struggled to rise, supporting each other. Their bodies had been thoroughly trampled by the officers—there wasn’t a single uninjured spot left.

I stepped between the three and threw an arm over each of their shoulders.

“Alright, let’s escape the Black Cat Pavilion. I’ll show the way. My subordinates are too busy drinking tonight.”

“We’re fine.”

“Shut it.”

I walked with the three envoys, arms slung around each other's shoulders like drunk brothers, all the way to the front gate. The three men, still full of fear, quickly gave me a polite bow at the entrance.

“Pavilion Lord, we’ll take our leave now.”

“Thank you for sparing us.”

“We’ll deliver your words to Lord Cheon-yeong exactly as spoken.”

One of the envoys, who had been eavesdropping the whole time on the drinking conversation, cautiously asked me,

“Ah, Pavilion Lord… forgive me, but should we report you as the Black Cat Pavilion Lord? Or as the Lord of Haomun?”

“I’m the Lord of Haomun.”

“Understood.”

I looked over their faces, then gestured for them to come closer.

“Come here. I’ll show you a way to survive. If you go back and report exactly what happened, there’s a very high chance you’ll be killed.”

The envoys answered in a tense, respectful tone.

“We’re listening.”

“You came to the Black Cat Pavilion and found out the Pavilion Lord was already dead. That’s true. I killed him. A mysterious master appeared and overwhelmingly defeated and killed all the notable experts known around here—like the Black Cat Pavilion Lord, his master the Great Rakshasa, Iryong Nogun, Master Su, the Black Lotus {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Pavilion Lord, Dongbang Yeon. Killed them all—beat them to death with a club, hacked them with an axe, crushed them with inner energy, tore them apart, burned them alive.”

“……”

“That was me. Yi Zaha, Lord of Haomun. You didn’t know, did you?”

“No, sir.”

“Especially this Haomun Lord has a reputation for killing only the top dogs and then taking in the subordinates, so the number of troops is said to be enormous. You’ve heard that too, haven’t you?”

“Yes, we’ve heard it.”

“We’ve heard it so often our ears hurt.”

“I’m sure you have. Any guy with a brain would hear that and think carefully about how to approach me.”

One of the envoys responded properly.

“Visiting with proper respect is clearly the right approach.”

I nodded.

“Correct. But from the moment you showed up, you were rude. That’s why my subordinates stomped all over you.”

“We’re very sorry.”

“If you want to live, take what I just said, twist it into a report your superior can stomach. You didn’t even get to eat the pig bone soup and got trampled by my people. Tough night.”

“Yes, then we’ll take our leave now, Sect Lord.”

The three envoys took a few steps away, then turned back. One of them saluted me with a cupped fist.

“I heard what you said outside with my own ears. I’ll deliver it properly.”

I waved him off.

“I was drunk when I said all that. No need for you to take it too seriously.”

“Yes, sir.”

“But I’m serious. Do you understand what that means?”

Two of the envoys looked at me with dazed expressions, but one of them smiled faintly through his blood-covered face.

“Yes, sir. Then, Sect Lord, we’ll return now.”

“Go safely.”

I personally saw the envoys off, closed the gate myself, then turned around. Some subordinates were only now getting to taste the pig bone stew because of the crowd.

Walking past one of them, I asked while watching him tear at the bone.

“How is it?”

A predictable answer came from the subordinate.

“Pavilion Lord, this is seriously delicious!”

I pointed a finger at the subordinate.

“It’s not something you get to eat easily. Suck the meat clean off the bone.”

“Hahaha. That’s what I’m doing.”

I looked around and called out.

“Anyone who hasn’t had pig bone stew yet, hands up?”

Hands shot up from all directions. I looked at the group and said,

“Oh, I haven’t eaten yet either. Hands down.”

The subordinates laughed as they lowered their hands.

Now that the alcohol had completely worn off, I suddenly felt ravenously hungry. I leapt high into the air, vaulted straight over the inner yard, and burst through the doors of the main hall.

“Where’s my pig bone stew!?”

The officers, their mouths slick with grease, called back from all sides.

“It’s at your seat!”

Hands behind my back, I made my way to the head seat, where a small bowl held a single serving of pig bone stew. I rubbed my palms together eagerly, sat down, and grabbed the bone.

The subordinates glanced at me, so I offered a brief word.

“Let’s eat well.”

The subordinates and brothers responded with grinning faces.

“Enjoy your meal, sir.”

I took a big bite of the thick meat hanging from the bone. To summarize—

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Today, me, pig bone stew—successful.