Translator: Nox

My Dad Is the Strongest Under Heaven

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Fate is Altered

‘Ha. What a mess.’

Yeo Woonhwi, pushed back by a single strike from Peng Mugang, wore an exceedingly troubled expression.

No, more accurately, he had retreated swiftly on his own before the impact could truly rattle his body.

Yeo Woonhwi had cleanly deflected and dispersed the raw power packed into Peng Mugang’s fist.

In his past life, it had been his father-in-law who saved Peng Seojin.

That fact had never been made known to the world, so he had been entirely unaware.

The rumors had merely said Seojin barely made it back alive, leading him to believe the boy had returned under his own power.

Only now did Yeo Woonhwi realize that his father-in-law had tracked him down and brought him home.

Then should Yeo Woonhwi have stayed out of this matter entirely?

Not at all.

Had the poison spreading through Peng Seojin’s body and his mangled arm been treated even a moment later, he would have inevitably lived out his original destiny as a one-armed cripple.

And having lost an arm, he naturally would have struggled in his martial cultivation, ultimately reaching an achievement far beneath his innate talent.

Therefore, no matter how one looked at it, Yeo Woonhwi stepping in today was undoubtedly the right choice.

That aside, Yeo Woonhwi was inwardly astonished by Peng Mugang’s punch, bolstered by monstrous physical strength and terrifying destructive force.

This was his first time tasting the man’s true might.

Indeed, he was worthy of being called the Cowering Tiger of Hebei—an absolute grandmaster.

While it was gratifying that his father-in-law was this formidable, the biggest problem right now was that Peng Mugang had grievously misunderstood the situation.

No, perhaps Peng Mugang’s misunderstanding was only natural.

For it was true that the mask he wore belonged to the Blood Poison Squad.

Yet he could hardly tear off his mask right now and say, ‘It’s me, Father-in-law.’

They had never shared a warm bond to begin with, and doing so might only arouse deeper suspicion.

Ha. What should I do? Just run for it?

Yeo Woonhwi’s thoughts tangled at this unexpected turn of events.

Rumble—!

When Peng Mugang stamped his foot with a face twisted in fury, the ground shuddered as if struck by a brief earthquake.

“You bastard! Showing such composure before me, are you?! Fine, then. Today, I shall show you hell!”

Rumble.

Peng Mugang’s true worth lay in his saber arts.

That his saber technique was supreme under heaven was a truth known to the entire world.

Yet seeing him now, his fist techniques seemed not a single bit inferior in comparison.

Craaash!

The ground caved beneath his footing.

Instantly, Peng Mugang’s fist shot toward Yeo Woonhwi.

Each and every blow clearly carried terrifying destructive power.

For wherever Yeo Woonhwi dodged, boulders, trees, and even the massive cliff face were blasted into smithereens.

Such monstrous strength was unheard of.

It made him wonder if this was what it truly meant to be a born titan.

“You’re not half-bad, boy!”

Surprise flickered across Peng Mugang’s face, quickly giving way to a fierce competitive spirit.

He had already swept his qi senses over Peng Seojin and confirmed, with great relief, that there were no grave issues.

Now, all that remained was to wipe out these scoundrels before his eyes.

Peng Mugang drew his saber.

And lunged at Yeo Woonhwi like a bolt of lightning.

With a single swing of his saber, dozens of trees behind him were sheared apart.

Staggering power. An oppressive aura on an entirely different level from when he threw bare fists rolled off him.

While Yeo Woonhwi was briefly taken aback, Peng Mugang charged at him once more.

Once again, his saber flashed.

The blade danced as though intent on severing everything in its path.

Rumble. Crash.

There was no mercy in Peng Mugang’s strikes.

The dense forest was being reduced to barren wasteland.

‘Mmh, this is bad.’

Dodging Peng Mugang’s onslaught, Yeo Woonhwi found himself in an exceedingly awkward predicament.

As a martial artist, trading blows with a master like Peng Mugang could be a great honor, a thrill, and an invaluable experience.

But Yeo Woonhwi would gladly pass on this kind of experience.

Who in the world would ever want to cross blades with their own father-in-law?

No, from the start, the terrifying sight of Peng Mugang charging like a colossal tiger roaring with fury was hardly something one could enjoy.

Most ordinary men would surely have pissed their pants just catching a glimpse of it.

In a fleeting instant amidst the flurry of strikes, Peng Mugang accelerated even further, digging into Yeo Woonhwi’s space.

Peng Mugang’s saber aimed straight for Yeo Woonhwi’s throat.

However,

Clang—!

Peng Mugang’s strike bounced off Yeo Woonhwi’s body-protecting qi.

“Hoh.”

Peng Mugang’s face showed genuine surprise.

For this was a profound, peerless body-protecting qi, the likes of which he had rarely ever witnessed.

“Impressive.”

Yet the more impressed he was, the fiercer Peng Mugang’s expression grew.

“I know not why a wretch possessing such strength would commit such vile, cowardly deeds, but fine. So be it.”

Rumble.

Peng Mugang’s momentum shifted once more. Now, he was truly preparing to unleash his full might.

A chilling stillness, like the quiet before a typhoon, settled over the clearing.

It seemed he was about to unleash an ultimate technique.

‘Haa. What a headache.’

The situation was spiraling toward grave danger.

Just then,

“No! Father!”

Peng Seojin shouted at the top of his lungs.

Having drifted in and out of consciousness, he had finally regained his senses, taking in the scene and crying out in desperate haste.

“Seojin?”

“Father! It is not him! He is the one who saved me!”

“What? What do you mean…?”

Only then did Peng Mugang look around his surroundings.

And only then did he notice the countless corpses of the Blood Poison Squad strewn across the ground.

Even at a glance, they appeared to have fallen to this man’s saber.

Only now did he realize his blunder.

“Ha. Damn it.”

Once he saw red, his habit of rushing in without assessing the situation was a chronic flaw that had persisted since his youth.

Should he have acted with a bit more caution?

Yet to blame only that, Yeo Woonhwi was wearing the exact same mask as the Blood Poison Squad, providing ample reason for misunderstanding.

Right then,

“Ugh.”

Even though Yeo Woonhwi had infused him with energy and administered emergency treatment, Peng Seojin had lost far too much blood, and he collapsed forward as consciousness slipped away once more.

“Seojin!”

Knowing now that the masked man was no enemy, Peng Mugang rushed to Peng Seojin without hesitation.

He quickly checked his son’s condition.

Fortunately, he had merely passed out from sheer exhaustion.

Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief,

Swish.

Yeo Woonhwi unleashed his lightness technique and vanished.

“Ah, w-wait!”

His appearance had been suspicious beyond belief, but he was still the benefactor who had saved his son.

Peng Mugang wished to offer some form of repayment.

Yet the man had already disappeared without a trace.

A truly astounding lightness technique.

To the extent that even Peng Mugang, who prided himself on his own movement arts, was left utterly dumbfounded.

Just who on earth was that man?

But that was not what mattered right now.

Peng Mugang soon scooped his collapsed son into his arms.

“Let us return home, Seojin.”

It was time to go home.

---

“Mmph.”

The man who was the master of the Golden Manor had just awoken from slumber.

An uncomfortable sensation had roused him.

And then,

“…Hm? Uh-aaargh! Aaaaargh!”

The moment he opened his eyes, the man could not help but scream in sheer terror.

For his body was hanging upside down.

Dangling precariously from the branch of a tree jutting over a bottomless precipice.

He was not the only one.

Others were hanging in the exact same manner—except every single one of them was already dead.

The very men who had ruled as masters of the Golden Manor alongside him.

The man was dangling upside down over the cliff right alongside their corpses.

“What is this?! What is happening?! Urrgh!”

It felt so surreal that at first, he wondered if he was trapped in a nightmare.

But it was no dream.

From hanging upside down, the rush of blood made his head throb in mad agony, and the bound ropes bit deeper and deeper into his flesh.

Worse still was the torment of being bound side by side with dead corpses.

It was utterly horrifying.

“Aaaaargh! H-Help me! Someone save me!”

He shrieked like a madman.

But this was a deserted peak high in the mountains. There was no one to come to his rescue.

And only then did he realize that someone was silently watching him struggle.

“W-Who are you?! Please, I beg of you, save me! Please! I will give you whatever you want! Anything!”

“Oho. Anything, you say.”

“I speak no lies! If you only save me…!”

“You have quite a fortune, don’t you?”

“Money? You want money?! I will give you as much as you desire, all of it!”

“Is that so? Good. Then I’ll take all of that wealth. Come, tell me where you hid every last copper.”

“T-That is…”

Never imagining the man would truly take everything, he hesitated in panic.

“You don’t want to? Have you still not grasped the situation?”

“I-I-I will tell you! My fortunes are…!”

He immediately spilled everything that came to mind, from his secret slush funds to hidden vaults.

He had neither the leeway to scheme nor any other choice; thinking only of surviving so he could kill this man later, he laid it all bare.

“Good. I shall put it to good use.”

Even after acquiring a staggering fortune, the man showed not the slightest hint of joy.

His eyes remained as cold as ice.

“T-Then please pull me up quickly, I beg you! That branch looks as though it won’t hold much longer!”

True to his words, the branch was creaking ominously.

It seemed on the verge of snapping at any moment.

The master of the Golden Manor felt on the verge of losing his mind to raw terror.

Yet the man merely looked upon him in silence.

“The entire way here, I pondered. How should I make you die in agony? How can I make you suffer tenfold the torment my brother-in-law endured?”

“B-Brother-in-law…? Y-You, could it be…?”

Though the master of the Golden Manor had earned countless grudges, only one person came to mind right now.

Peng Seojin.

“It is already too late! He must be dead by now!”

“No, he lived. And he escaped the fate of becoming a one-armed cripple.”

“A one-armed cripple? What do you mean by…”

“And your fate has changed. From living a long life of luxury while committing rotten deeds… to this.”

The man’s gaze chilled even further.

“What kind of death would be the most agonizing for a scum like you? Isn’t it having all your wealth stripped away before you can even spend it, left completely bare to die trembling in terror in a place like this, where no one will ever know?”

“Didn’t you promise to spare me?! You took all my money! This is treachery!”

“It’s fine. Doing this to someone like you is perfectly acceptable.”

“U-Ugh… Y-You yaksha of a demon!”

“I take that as a compliment. Especially when it comes from a wretch like you.”

Yeo Woonhwi turned around to leave.

“No one ever visits this place. Naturally, no one will come to save you.”

“U-Urrrgh.”

“So writhe in agony, shiver in terror, and die just like that—wretchedly. Along with those corpses.”

For at least the next half-day, this merchant would suffer unfathomable dread, never knowing when the branch would snap and plunge him down the thousand-fathom abyss to his death.

The searing pain of blood rushing to his head and the ropes biting deeper into his flesh were merely a bonus.

His completely untrained body would not be able to endure it in the slightest, and in the end, the merchant would slowly go mad until the moment of his demise.

“N-Nooooo! Aaaaargh!”

Without once looking back, Yeo Woonhwi departed.

And the ghastly shriek of the man who had been the master of the Golden Manor, sensing his doom, echoed through the mountains.

For him, the most horrific death imaginable was closing in.

The touch of the Grim Reaper was descending over his face.