Chapter 49: Not Your Average Wastrel
Each banquet table could comfortably seat six people, or eight at a squeeze.
Naturally, the twelve descendants were split across two tables according to their rankings from last year’s sparring exchange. The top six—Su-Hong, Su-Jae, Li-Jae, Si-Yeon, along with Li-Dong and Si-Heon—sat together at the primary table.
So when Ji-Hong suddenly popped out of nowhere right behind them, all six of them practically jumped out of their skins.
"Why so serious? Relax, there’s no need to look like you’ve seen a ghost! Hahaha!" Ji-Hong cracked casually.
None of his cousins laughed. They just stared at him in sheer, speechless shock.
In truth, Ji-Hong was just copying what he saw Donape do minutes ago.
Earlier, after drawing unwanted glares from his sudden hug, Donape had subtly applied the principles of the Heavenly Martial Arts to blur his presence. He hadn’t vanished—he was standing right there—yet his presence felt so unremarkable that people’s eyes naturally drifted past him.
Ji-Hong, standing nearby, had almost lost track of Donape himself. Luckily, he recognized what Boss Don was doing.
’Oh, cool! Heavenly Martial Arts real-life implementation in daily activities!’ he had thought.
He tried to recall the fancy martial arts method for it—something about flowing like a tranquil river—but in his head, it came out as: ’Float like a dead fish down a stream!’
Deciding that sounded close enough, he adjusted his breathing on the spot and casually strolled over to the top-six table just to see if it worked.
Seeing his cousins trembling like they’d seen a specter, Ji-Hong grinned from ear to ear. It worked great.
Su-Hong quickly clicked his tongue, his face twisting in annoyance. "You fucking wastrel! How dare you show your face around us!"
"Big Brother, insulting me is fine. After all this time, I’ve grown quite used to it," Ji-Hong said, putting on a solemnly profound expression. "But raising your voice at an official banquet like this? Even I know that’s just plain stupid."
Su-Hong and the others froze in shock, suddenly realizing the gravity of his mistake.
Glancing around, they caught several nearby guests turning their heads toward the commotion. A wave of embarrassment and irritation washed over the table—all because Su-Hong had lost his temper and shouted without thinking.
Unfortunately, Su-Hong wasn’t the type to learn from his mistakes; he was the type to brute-force his way through them.
"I don’t give a shit what you think," Su-Hong hissed under his breath, gritting his teeth as his fists tightened until his knuckles turned white. "Get lost. I don’t have the patience to look at your ugly face."
Between Li-Jae using Si-Yeon to provoke him earlier and now the useless black sheep showing up out of nowhere, Su-Hong’s temper had reached its absolute breaking point.
If he didn’t still harbor a thread of fear regarding the Patriarch’s wrath for creating a public spectacle, he would have flipped the entire table right then and there.
"You ought to weigh Big Brother Su-Hong’s words carefully and obey them," Li-Jae stated bluntly, glaring at Ji-Hong. He, too, was irritated to see this useless weakling acting as if he were their equal. "This could end badly for someone whose body can’t even handle basic exercise."
Ji-Hong wasn’t offended in the slightest, nor was he intimidated by Su-Hong’s brute authority or Li-Jae’s sharp tongue. He simply tilted his head and offered a breezy reply.
"Cousins, there’s really no need to try and sound so scary. I’ve literally seen a guy get struck by bizarre lightning only to wake up two seconds later like nothing happened. Things like this..." Ji-Hong slowly swept his gaze across the table, his lips curving into an infuriatingly smug grin. "...are nothing more than child’s play."
Why on earth would he be scared of their hollow bluffs or harsh words?
He had played The Path of Heavenly Martial Arts and Counter-Injustice: Global Retaliation—games where dying felt horrifyingly real. On top of that, he had witnessed the bizarre magical lighting inside Donape’s shop and watched real-world Heavenly Martial Arts in action.
Compared to all those absurd, mind-bending experiences, his past nightmare of being verbally bullied by his cousins was nothing more than a mild hiccup in his life journey.
Meanwhile, among everyone sitting at the table, Si-Yeon was the only one whose eyes flickered with recognition.
’Someone getting struck by lightning? That sounds familiar. Did this wastrel witness the exact same thing at that shop in the alley near campus? No wonder he’s so close to that shopkeeper,’ she thought.
Still, she couldn’t fathom where Ji-Hong found the sheer audacity to speak so brazenly in front of all of them. Shaking her head, she noticed her other cousins were practically boiling over with rage, ready to explode at any second.
"Enough with the small talk. This is the Patriarch’s birthday banquet—act like you have some manners," Si-Yeon warned, her voice cool and commanding. "Unless you want our elders to chew us out for making a public scene, ignore him. He’s just trying to provoke us into doing something stupid."
She turned her gaze toward Ji-Hong, her eyes narrowing into a sharp, icy stare. "There’s no seat for you here, and we aren’t interested in chatting. You’d better leave before someone loses their temper and forgets your standing."
Ji-Hong, reading the room, knew it was time to pull back. Cornering your opponents had its limits—a fundamental rule he had learned from playing The Path of the Heavenly Martial Arts.
You had to know your boundaries before pushing too far.
Of course, there were rare exceptions where boundaries didn’t apply—like that ridiculously broken companion NPC, Cheon So-So, who happened to be Ji-Hong’s ultimate one-sided crush.
In the game, the Sect Elder’s granddaughter was peerless and outrageously overpowered. Whenever arrogant third-grade disciples from the Heavenly Cloud Sect tried to pick a fight, she would corner them until they snapped, then casually beat them into a pulp when they retaliated.
Cheon So-So had both cheat-level stats and absolute political immunity.
Ji-Hong, on the other hand, was operating in real life. Even if he now possessed the strength to stand up for himself, pulling a "Cheon So-So" in the middle of a formal banquet wasn’t the play. He still needed to preserve harmony under the Baek Family banner, meaning reconciliation—or at least patience—was always the first option.
Besides, ruining his big reveal over a petty table argument wasn’t his style. He wanted the grand shock of his newly healed body and his newly awakened martial arts to hit his grandfather and parents right when he stepped onto the arena stage during the friendly exchange.
Ji-Hong didn’t head back toward the buffet where Donape was happily devouring food. Instead, he strolled unhurriedly toward the main VIP area where the elders and Patriarch of the Baek Family were seated.
Despite taking place in the modern era, the grand seating arrangement heavily resembled the formal setup of an ancient martial arts sect.
"My sweet child, where have you been?" Bae Jo-Hyun, Ji-Hong’s mother, greeted him warmly, pulling her only son into an affectionate embrace.
Sitting a short distance away near the Patriarch was Ji-Hong’s father, Baek Ji-Gal, alongside Elders Baek Si-Jin, Baek Su-Su, and Baek Li-Si. The rest of the second generation occupied the rows behind them.
Soon, the ceremony officially commenced.
The guests stopped milling around and promptly took their assigned seats, displaying proper high-society etiquette. The venue’s main lights dimmed, leaving a sharp spotlight focused on the elevated oval arena at the center of the hall.
Stepping onto the platform was the head of the household himself—Patriarch Baek Ji-Sung.
Despite his age, Ji-Sung stood tall and straight, radiating the calm, imposing authority of a veteran grandmaster.
"Distinguished guests, family, and esteemed allies," Patriarch Baek Ji-Sung began, his voice amplified through the microphone, resonating warmly across the entire hall. "I thank you all for gracing the Baek Family with your presence tonight on my seventy-first birthday."
He gestured broadly toward the surrounding banquet tables.
"Tonight is not merely a celebration of my longevity, but a celebration of our shared peace, our enduring bonds, and the bright future carried by our younger generations. Please, enjoy the food, drink deeply, and witness the talent of our youth!"
Thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue.
As Ji-Sung stepped down from the platform to return to the main head table, several prominent figures immediately stepped forward, vintage wine glasses in hand. Leading the approach were two men whose commanding presence couldn’t be ignored: Elder Nam Goong-Gong of the Nam Clan and Elder Jin Cheol-Min of the Jin Clan.
"Patriarch Baek! A magnificent event as always," Goong-Gong toasted, his hearty laugh sounding entirely manufactured. "Seventy-one years old! A toast to your continued good health!"
"Thank you, Elder Nam," Baek Ji-Sung replied smoothly, clinking his glass against Nam’s.
Elder Cheol-Min chuckled softly, chiming in like a co-conspirator. "Ah, right. We’ve heard rumors that your third-generation descendants are particularly restless tonight. A martial family without a declared successor line for the next era is like a ship sailing into a storm without a rudder. Surely, tonight’s friendly exchange will shed some light on who is fit to hold the helm?"
Patriarch Baek Ji-Sung remained entirely unruffled. He took a slow sip of his wine, his gaze drifting calmly over Goong-Gong and Cheol-Min.
"A ship only capsizes if the captain is weak, Elder Jin," Ji-Sung replied with an airy, confident smile. "But if the young ones are eager to test their mettle and show the world what the Baek Family is made of... who am I to deny them the stage?"
Ji-Sung raised his hand, signaling the martial arbiters.
"Let the friendly exchange begin!"