390: so what?

"What just happened?"

"I don't know, I didn't see clearly."

"Did someone make a move?"

"Fast, too fast!"

A curly-haired uncle wearing a chef's uniform and possessing thick arms stood at the entrance of the tavern, arms crossed. The young waiter who had just been beaten stood beside him, rubbing the bump on his head.

"Truly amazing~ Just as the rumors say."

The young man heard the chef next to him and curiously asked, "Chef Manager Lanqi, did you see anything?"

Lanqi, a Sixth-Order Chef, stroked his curly beard, shook his head, and said, "No, I didn't see anything clearly. However..."

"However?"

Lanqi stared intently at the people in the field, his gaze falling upon Kim Tae-sik, who was clutching his neck. "In that instant, the Death Substitute Item on him was triggered, but the Epic-grade Defensive Equipment he had earlier was not. This alone is enough to explain the issue."

"What does that mean?" The young man was still confused.

"Idiot!"

Besides him, among the surrounding Adventurers, only one large man from Greenland, who was corpulent and had a noticeable beer belly, wore a solemn expression, having noticed some clues.

His deep, sunken blue eyes were fixed on the black-haired young man from China, ignoring the beer foam still clinging to the corners of his mouth.

"To be able to do something like that... He truly lives up to his fame as the Tyrant known globally!"

"Interesting!"

On the street outside the tavern where snow was falling.

Park Jin-hyuk stared intently at Jiang Yuan, who was leaning casually against Yan Runan, his eyes filled with unspeakable solemnity and apprehension.

Kim Tae-sik, meanwhile, had not yet recovered from the experience of having died once. Clutching his neck, his expression was a mix of terror, fury, and incredulous shock.

"sibal ah—you, you, you, you actually dared to attack!"

"What did you do? Why wasn't my Absolute Iron Sword Shield triggered—?!"

"Why—"

"Shut up!" Park Jin-hyuk turned his head and shot a look, the emitted Aura instantly turning Kim Tae-sik pale, silencing him immediately.

Park Jin-hyuk looked back at Jiang Yuan, taking a deep breath before speaking:

"As expected of the Tyrant famous throughout the Japan."

Upon hearing this, the surroundings instantly erupted into chaos and excitement.

"The Tyrant?! Is he Shirakawa Gen, the one with the 5S-rank bounty from the Japan?!"

"What Shirakawa Gen? His name is Jiang Yuan, and he is China's Peerless Genius! His identity has already been confirmed."

"Ooh, ooh, ooh!"

"I heard he's only nineteen this year, and half a year ago, he single-handedly resisted a King-level Abyssal Calamity. That's absolutely insane!"

"And he's unbelievably handsome, fuck—God is too kind to him."

"Not only did He open a door for him, but He also smashed a window and tore off the roof."

"If I had that body and face, I could go to the Pleasure Street and they'd have to pay me!" A drunkard said, dying of envy.

Kim Tae-sik was also somewhat terrified.

The Tyrant!

He was actually that Tyrant, Jiang Yuan!

A Legendary Prodigy who had never appeared in China throughout history! An existence who shocked the world by slaying a Quasi-King at the age of eighteen! The youngest leader of a National War team in Blue Star history.

The rumors about him online were more exaggerated than the last.

Especially the things he did in the Japan under the alias Shirakawa Gen.

Single-handedly fighting the Shingu family, destroying an entire Artificial Island, and fighting the revived Magatsu God... The number of Ninth-Order Grand Masters and Quasi-Kings who died by his hand was unknown!

Thinking of this.

Kim Tae-sik, the Crown Prince of the Chaebol Kim Family, felt his legs go weak and his entire body tremble.

"I am Park Jin-hyuk, the leader of the Phantom Squad from the South Korea. Your Excellency's deeds are legendary; I finally get to see you in person today."

Park Jin-hyuk extended his hand toward Jiang Yuan.

"Crunch, crunch."

Jiang Yuan had pulled out a bag of potato chips sometime unknown and was crunching on them.

Seeing Park Jin-hyuk extend his hand, Jiang Yuan paused, glanced at the chips in his hand, then suddenly realized what was happening, picked up the bag, and poured a few chips into Park Jin-hyuk's hand.

Park Jin-hyuk looked at the chips in his hand, his eye twitching twice.

Jiang Yuan popped another chip into his mouth and spoke:

"I've heard of you. A famous Genius from the South Korea, achieving Ninth-Order Martial Artist status at thirty-six, possessing the King's Disposition, and hailed as the most promising person in the South Korea to inherit the mantle of the Sun King and become the second King. But judging by appearances..."

Jiang Yuan sized up Park Jin-hyuk, took another bite of his chip, and said:

"You're very mediocre. Your physique, mind, skills, and talent are all just average. Based on your Aptitude, you might become a Quasi-King at best. Forget about becoming a King."

"Speaking of which, people from your South Korea really know how to boast. People with your Aptitude are a dime a dozen in Great Xia, yet you can be elevated to such heights. A small country is a small country; just like the Kimchi Cuisine you take pride in, it's not worthy of the stage."

Jiang Yuan made no attempt to hide the contempt and scorn in his words, belittling Park Jin-hyuk and the country behind him as utterly worthless right in front of the King Successor.

People around them were broadcasting live; millions of Martial Artists from various countries were watching in the live stream.

Even with Park Jin-hyuk's Great Grandmaster state of mind, he found it difficult to endure this. His brows furrowed, and faint traces of black-purple murderous Protective Aura appeared around him.

"Insulting my country right in front of me, isn't Your Excellency going a bit too far?"

"Oh?" Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Now you know how to get angry? When those two dogs were acting arrogant, bullying others, and saying the food here was only fit for pigs, why didn't we see you rush out?"

"Since they caused trouble, as the team leader, I would naturally be responsible for punishing them," Park Jin-hyuk said coldly.

"Too late. Some words, once spoken, require a price."

Saying this, Jiang Yuan snapped his fingers.

A Blue Vortex appeared mid-air. On the other side of the vortex was the Vast Tundra outside the city. At this moment, a bolt of Purple Lightning landed from high altitude, transforming into the tall and robust humanoid figure of Sikong, who was dragging Kim Tae-jeong like a dead dog.

The group of South Korea Martial Artists who were still running their mouths in the live stream instantly fell silent.

Zzt zzt.

Crackle!

Park Jin-hyuk's short hair whipped around, black-purple electric arcs surged from his eyes, his greatcoat flapped fiercely, and he spoke with a cold tone:

"Is this the way Great Xia conducts its affairs? It's excessive."

Jiang Yuan finished the chips in his hand, casually crushed the bag, and it instantly incinerated.

He clapped his hands and strode toward Park Jin-hyuk. The Life Aura and Martial Dao Pressure that a Ninth-Order Grand Master could use to easily suppress a Seventh-Order Martial Artist were like bubbles before him. With every step he took, Park Jin-hyuk's Aura was forcibly suppressed by a degree, until Jiang Yuan stood right in front of him, and the Grandmaster Aura Park Jin-hyuk had unleashed was completely forced back into his body.

Park Jin-hyuk's pupils contracted.

The black-haired young man, standing 1.92 meters tall with an imposing figure, looked down at the South Korea Great Grandmaster before him, his Gold-Red Heterochromia eyes beneath his choppy black hair cold and indifferent.

"So what?"