Chapter 284
Goe Jeong-gi clenched his teeth as he watched Seol Poong snap his fist with a sharp crack.
It wasn’t fear that gripped him.
After all, he was the son of Goe Gal-hyeon, one of the Four Kings, and a seasoned warrior hardened by countless battles.
Still, he was reluctant.
The stakes were just too high for him to risk fighting Seol Poong now.
“This fight offers no gain—only potential loss.”
For Seol Poong, as long as he didn’t suffer a crushing defeat, any outcome would be a win.
Whether he won, held his ground, or even lost, as long as he showed formidable skill, he would cement his presence through this battle.
In fact, his presence was already undeniable.
He was the very swordsman who had made the legendary Guido Baek Gi-ryang hesitate.
Just having someone like that on their side would spark immense curiosity among the Four Kings’ faction.
But for Goe Jeong-gi, there was nothing to gain from fighting him.
Even if he won, it would only break even; if he drew or lost, it would only boost Seol Poong’s reputation.
Such a fight was beneath the taste of Goe Jeong-gi, whose maternal family was the prestigious Cheonha Jeil Sangga.
“If we had to fight, it should’ve been outside. But that idiot third brother had to stir trouble here…”
Of course, Goe Jeong-gi knew that his two other brothers’ forces were far larger than what was present now.
They had only brought a minimal number of subordinates at their father’s sudden summons.
Outside this place, countless reinforcements were waiting.
If the confrontation with Seol Poong had happened outside, the latter wouldn’t have even made it this far.
But the foolish third brother had to pick a fight inside, leaving them unable to deploy their full strength.
That was one of the reasons Goe Jeong-gi didn’t want to face Seol Poong now.
As these thoughts churned in his mind, Seol Poong smirked, raising the corner of his mouth in a mocking grin.
“You think too much. Must be the strong blood of your maternal clan, huh?”
Goe Jeong-gi’s eyes twitched at that.
Being told he inherited the strong blood of the Sangga clan was no compliment to someone aiming to be the next Four King.
Because it was true.
“That bastard…”
He growled low, finally making up his mind.
“Not exactly eager… but I have no choice.”
In truth, from the moment Seol Poong ignored his warning, Goe Jeong-gi had no choice.
If the heir to the Four Kings avoided a fight, he’d become a laughingstock.
The warriors of the Four Kings respected those who fought with all their might, even in defeat, more than calculating victors.
With his decision made, a powerful aura began to radiate from Goe Jeong-gi.
Whoosh!
Seol Poong’s clothes fluttered slightly in the surge of energy.
It was a storm of power, as intense as when Seol Poong had earlier pressured the third brother, Goe Hang-gi.
Truly befitting the man closest to becoming the next Four King.
Seol Poong met Goe Jeong-gi’s gaze without flinching.
His eyes, now blood-red like fresh wounds, burned with a sinister light.
Goe Jeong-gi spoke slowly, almost spitting out the words.
“You’ll regret ignoring my warning.”
Seol Poong murmured, staring into those eyes.
“Red-Eye Blood Fury.”
The sight of Goe Jeong-gi’s glowing red eyes was both familiar and strange to Seol Poong.
Though he had seen this form before, it was the first time he saw it with his own eyes.
A strange feeling washed over him.
The Red-Eye Blood Fury was a forbidden martial art of the Four Kings, amplifying the user’s power at the cost of their life force.
It was akin to consuming the Blood Fury Pill, boosting martial prowess but with dangerous side effects.
Users risked losing their sanity and, if overused, rupturing their blood vessels.
Yet, remarkably, the Four Kings’ bloodline was immune to the latter due to their abnormally strong veins.
This was why the Red-Eye Blood Fury, once considered a demonic art, became a signature technique of the Four Kings.
“Hah!”
Bang!
In an instant, Goe Jeong-gi lunged at Seol Poong.
His movements were like a fierce tiger’s—Seol Poong’s own signature technique, the Four Kings’ secret Beast Fist.
Goe Jeong-gi’s clawed hand struck down like lightning toward Seol Poong’s head.
Fwoosh!
But Seol Poong’s expression betrayed no surprise at the sudden assault.
He simply watched silently, then closed his eyes briefly.
Crash!
Their Beast Fists collided.
The two attacks were mirror images of each other.
The impact sent them both staggering back slightly.
But instead of retreating, they spun their bodies like whirlwinds and unleashed their kicks.
Again, identical moves.
Crash!
Their legs collided fiercely, as if trying to snap each other.
The shock sent them both flying backward.
Yet, with explosive force, they pushed off the ground and charged again.
Their movements defied inertia, like enraged tigers locked in battle.
Crash!
In midair, they clashed relentlessly, fists and feet flying without pause.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Beast Fists and straight punches met.
Shoulders, elbows, knees, and kicks collided.
The sound of steel striking steel echoed nonstop.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Their techniques and speed were identical.
Except for one having closed eyes and the other glowing red, it was as if they were fighting their own reflections.
The Four Kings’ faction whispered quietly.
“To bring the Beast Fist to this level…”
“Truly descendants of Seol Ga.”
Suddenly, a massive impact rang out.
Crash!
The two fighters separated, stepping back.
Goe Jeong-gi stood his ground, still glaring at Seol Poong with those crimson eyes.
Seol Poong slowly opened his eyes and smiled faintly.
“Shall we continue?”
Unlike Goe Jeong-gi, his eyes no longer glowed red.
He had already released the Red-Eye Blood Fury.
Goe Jeong-gi stared at him for a moment, then turned without hesitation and began walking away.
His direct subordinates, including the skeletal warrior Hong Chu, hurried after him.
Guido Baek Gi-ryang, who had been watching with a meaningful gaze, also slowly walked outside.
At that moment, the third brother, Goe Hang-gi, seemed to snap out of it and shouted to his men.
“Let’s go too!”
They all rushed out in a crowd.
Though they left with confidence, everyone knew they were fleeing because they feared facing Seol Poong without the eldest brother.
With two of the five factions gone, the hall felt much emptier than before.
But the situation was far from over.
The second brother, Goe Chang-gi—the largest and most muscular of the Four Kings’ heirs—started walking toward Seol Poong.
Despite his reputation as the most aggressive, he had been quietly observing with his arms crossed until now.
All eyes turned to him.
Alongside the eldest brother Goe Jeong-gi, he was a leading candidate for the next Four King—a force not to be underestimated.
Sun Woo-jin recalled the information he had gathered about him.
“Though his forces aren’t as strong, he’s considered the main rival to Goe Jeong-gi. His own martial skill alone is rated on par with Goe Jeong-gi’s vast army. He might be the most dangerous competitor to Seol Poong.”
Goe Chang-gi stopped in front of Seol Poong and asked.
“Earlier, when you fought Goe Jeong-gi, did you use the Red-Eye Blood Fury?”
The Four Kings’ faction, tense as they listened, showed surprise.
They had assumed both fighters used the technique given the intensity of their clash.
“No way…”
“Come on, that can’t be…”
Seol Poong smiled faintly and countered.
“Why do you ask?”
A fierce grin spread across Goe Chang-gi’s face.
“If that’s true, it means I’ve finally found a worthy opponent.”
His expression was one of pure joy and fierce determination.
Unlike the calculating merchant-like Goe Jeong-gi, he was a pure-blooded warrior of the Four Kings’ lineage.
Seol Poong chuckled and said.
“Good. Then shall we have a proper fight now?”
The two men’s faces mirrored each other—both wearing the expression of a wild beast eager for battle.
They looked like brothers, no doubt about it.
But instead of clashing immediately, Goe Chang-gi shook his head.
“Not here. I don’t like scrapping where we can’t finish the fight. Let’s settle this properly somewhere we can end it.”
Goe Chang-gi chuckled darkly as he spoke.
It was the kind of smile a killer wears when savoring the thought of taking a life.
Seol Poong glanced at him, his enthusiasm suddenly dampened.
“By the way, you’re pretty blunt with your words. I thought you were twenty-seven?”
At that, Goe Chang-gi’s eyes widened for a moment before he burst into loud laughter.
“Huh? Hahaha!”
He laughed as if he’d just heard the funniest joke, then chuckled and said, “This is refreshing. Quite entertaining.”
His eyes gleamed with a fierce light as he continued.
“You want me to treat you like an older brother? Then prove you’re worthy. If you show me you deserve it, unlike that Goe Jeong-gi, I’ll call you ‘hyung.’”
“Goe Jeong-gi,” Seol Poong thought. Apparently, Goe Chang-gi didn’t recognize either Seol Poong or the eldest brother as his seniors.
Seol Poong raised an eyebrow. “Worthy? How do you earn that? By beating you?”
Goe Chang-gi grinned slyly. “That’s the bare minimum. To earn respect as an older brother, you need to show some real achievements.”
“Achievements?”
“Yeah, achievements. Not sure if you know, but I’m currently challenging the Namgung clan in Anhui Province.”
Seol Poong nodded. It was well-known that Goe Chang-gi, the second son of the Four Kings, had declared war on the Namgung family in Anhui.
Anhui, just west of Jiangsu Province, had long been the Namgung clan’s stronghold, holding the leadership of the Five Great Clans for generations.
But that was no longer the case.
Because Anhui bordered Jiangsu, half of it had been swallowed by the Four Kings Alliance.
Seol Poong asked, “The Namgung clan must have agreed to a non-aggression pact in exchange for giving up half of Anhui, right?”
That was correct.
Half of Anhui was now under the Four Kings Alliance’s control, a concession made by the Namgung clan.
A century ago, the Namgung clan had judged that if the Four Kings Alliance wanted Anhui, they couldn’t hold it anyway, so they ceded half the province in exchange for a permanent non-aggression treaty.
It wasn’t just the Namgung clan.
The Hwangbo clan in Shandong, north of Jiangsu, had done the same—ceding half their territory in exchange for peace with the Four Kings Alliance.
Goe Chang-gi sneered. “That was a promise made a hundred years ago. Besides… I’m not fighting as a member of the Four Kings Alliance. I’m challenging them as Goe Chang-gi, the individual.”
He was saying that since only he and his direct followers were involved, the pact between the Four Kings Alliance and the Namgung clan didn’t apply.
Seol Poong scoffed. “That’s shameless.”
What Goe Chang-gi said was nonsense.
Who would separate Goe Chang-gi, the son and heir of the Four Kings Alliance, from the alliance itself?
If he truly acted independently, the Namgung clan wouldn’t have silently tolerated his provocations this long.
Goe Chang-gi smiled again, fully aware of this and using it to his advantage.
“Yeah, shameless. So what? If being shameless means I can take Anhui, isn’t that worth it?”
“Take Anhui? Surely you know why the first Four King made that non-aggression pact?”
The first Four King, Goe Ja-woon, had accepted the Namgung and Hwangbo clans’ proposals out of sheer laziness.
He found conquering Anhui or Shandong completely unnecessary.
Having seen his father, Gwangma Goe Mu-ryang, govern Jiangsu, he judged that expanding beyond that was pointless.
After all, the Four Kings Alliance was created to manage a group of unruly villains. Expanding territory too far would make control impossible.
So even now, the Four Kings Alliance left the Namgung and Hwangbo territories as buffer zones, paying them little mind.
But Goe Chang-gi was now saying he intended to conquer Anhui outright.
Seol Poong’s question made Goe Chang-gi chuckle. “Just because it wasn’t done a hundred years ago doesn’t mean it can’t be done now. I’ll take it first, and if it doesn’t work out, I can always give it up. And…”
His eyes gleamed like a predator stalking prey as he added, “What I’m really after isn’t Anhui—it’s the Blue Sky Sword Army.”
Seol Poong met Goe Chang-gi’s fierce gaze silently.
Namgung Jo of the Blue Sky Sword Army was the current head of the Namgung clan and one of the top thirty-six warriors in the world.
Suddenly, Seol Poong heard Sunwoo Jin’s voice in his mind.
Seol Poong found himself agreeing with Sunwoo Jin’s assessment.
Goe Chang-gi said to him, “You want me to treat you like an older brother? Then come back with achievements worthy of being recognized before I defeat Namgung Jo. Then I’ll honor you as ‘hyung.’ But if you can’t, you’ll have to treat me as your older brother.”
An achievement comparable to defeating Namgung Jo.
Seol Poong could now see what kind of man Goe Chang-gi was—unlike the inscrutable eldest brother Goe Jeong-gi, this one’s words and heart seemed perfectly aligned. A true warrior through and through.
With that, Goe Chang-gi turned his back as if he had nothing more to say.
He left the hall with his men, leaving behind a final remark.
“Pleasure meeting you, Seol Poong. Next time, I hope we can have a proper fight.”
It felt like a violent storm had just swept through.
Now, with three of the Four Kings’ sons gone, only one remained inside the hall, watching Seol Poong.
The fourth son, Goe Seo-gi, who was known to have little interest in becoming the next Four King.