Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Preventing Harmony of Will
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Tang Cheokryung wore a baffled expression before suddenly scowling fiercely.
“What the hell kind of nonsense is that? He’s qualified to be division leader, but not to enlist?”
“Nonsense, you say. Looks like you need to learn some respect for your elder brother first, little brother. We share the same blood, born to the same parents just three years apart, and yet you spout such drivel at your own flesh and blood.”
“Then stop spewing nonsense from the start.”
Tang Cheokryung snorted and bellowed.
“Ah! Enough with the chit-chat and just answer the damn question! What do you mean he’s not qualified to enlist?”
“Hmph.”
The Dark Lord picked up a piece of side dish with his chopsticks and continued.
“That kid showed a mad gale, didn’t he? More like a terror gale?”
“That’s right.”
“Probably peerless and domineering?”
“Of course. In all my years, I’ve never seen a kid that age unleash a gale like that!”
“That’s exactly why he can’t.”
“?”
Only then did Tang Cheokryung realize the Dark Lord was dead serious.
“A mad gale is better the fiercer it is. That’s why the Madwind Corps became a legend in Sichuan. Wherever they passed, victory was all that remained. It had to be shocking to the people of the martial world. But a gale is still just wind.”
“…Ah.”
Tang Cheokryung finally caught on.
“No matter how fierce the gale, if it rages alone, it’s bound to have limits. Sometimes it has to blend with others. Only then can it become a storm or a typhoon.”
“…….”
“But what about that kid? He just swept everything away by himself. That kind of gale can only lead the charge. It makes other winds follow behind. Nothing can stand beside it—that’s the point.”
Unhwi wasn’t the vessel for a mere squad member or squad leader.
‘…The vessel of a ruler.’
The vessel of a sovereign.
A man who would become a dragon in his own right.
“Even if it starts as a mad gale, that kind will never become a storm or typhoon. It’ll just turn into a terror gale.”
A terror gale sweeps everything away. Nothing can stand side by side with it.
‘So that’s another meaning hidden in the name “terror gale.”’
Tang Cheokryung let out a sigh.
The Dark Lord gave a bitter smile.
“Who’d have thought our Tang Clan would produce a kid like that. If he’d been born into orthodox sects, he’d have become sect leader. Such a shame, truly.”
The Sichuan Tang Clan was a tightly knit blood-bound community, so no one could stand out too much.
The alliance to come might transcend blood ties, but that made teamwork even more essential.
That was precisely the point the Dark Lord was making.
“…Then why not just put him straight in as division leader from the start? Make him the eye of the typhoon—isn’t that what you’re saying?”
“That could work.”
“Then—”
“If he were the only genius fit for the role.”
“!?”
“You know I’ve been touring Sichuan, holding all sorts of tests?”
Tang Cheokryung nodded gravely.
“Do you think there’s no one else with talent and skill to match Unhwi?”
“!!”
“He’s my grandson, but Yeowon has more than enough qualifications too. There’s also Guyujin, another child of Hosan. And beyond them, at least two or three more kids I’ve seen just from the main house.”
“…….”
Tang Cheokryung clamped his lips shut.
Having multiple geniuses on par with Unhwi in the clan was nothing short of a blessing.
It meant the Tang Clan’s golden age could continue not just now, but into the future.
But viewed solely as an individual, Unhwi was no blessing at all.
“And there are others I’ve tested before him, just like with Unhwi. Not just Tang blood either.”
Tang Cheokryung knew.
The new special task force wouldn’t be confined to the Tang Clan alone.
What had caused the old Madwind Corps to fail?
Its closed-off nature.
Composed solely of blood kin, it was a great strength—but also a fatal weakness when disaster struck.
The old Madwind Corps had crumbled that way.
After one major defeat, as they tried to rebuild, countless sects checked them, forcing a transformation into the Nine Dragons Branch Family.
The Dark Lord had no intention of repeating that mistake.
The new Madwind Corps would be led by the Tangs, but its doors wouldn’t open only to Tang blood.
“You’ve already got someone in mind, then.”
“I do.”
“Probably an outsider to the clan?”
“Right.”
As expected.
Tang Cheokryung clicked his tongue and asked.
“Who the hell is it?”
“Qingcheng Divine Sword.”
“Have you lost your mind!? You’re putting Qingcheng Sect’s top disciple in that seat?”
Bang!
Tang Cheokryung slammed the table and shot to his feet.
Qingcheng Divine Sword, Yi Cheolsan.
The rising supernova of the martial world, called Sichuan’s foremost later-generation talent.
Some even said:
If there’s a future seat for the world’s greatest swordsman, it’ll be his.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“You call that nothing? It’s like fattening up a dog and handing it to the enemy!”
“Even if Qingcheng Divine Sword takes the division leader seat, I’m still sitting in the sovereign’s chair, aren’t I?”
“Who doesn’t know that? As long as you’re alliance leader, there’s no issue! But after? What then, once you’re gone?”
Qingcheng Divine Sword’s fame was already piercing the heavens, and the Tang Clan was watching him closely.
Handing him the special task force leadership—the new Madwind Corps command—to him?
It was like giving wings to a tiger.
Who could handle such a flying tiger?
But.
“That’s for the descendants to deal with.”
“Brother!!”
“Lower your voice. Everyone can hear you yelling like that.”
“…….”
Tang Cheokryung stared at the Dark Lord in silence.
The Dark Lord smiled coldly.
He looked utterly detached.
“All I can do is place the clan on solid ground. Build it successfully, sure—but guard it forever too? You expect that from a martial world wanderer living by the blade?”
“…….”
“My part ends here. What comes after is up to the heirs. If they’re fools who let the alliance fall to Qingcheng Sect with eyes wide open… Hah! Can’t be helped.”
Tang Cheokryung slumped back into his seat, deflated.
‘Damn it, at times like this, he’s every inch the martial world man!’
The Dark Lord didn’t want to see the Tang Clan, now on firm ground, grow complacent without rivals and crumble.
People only strive endlessly when they know challengers lurk to threaten their place.
“Where am I wrong?”
“Argh! Your shit’s too thick, brother!”
“I’ll take that as agreement.”
The Dark Lord chuckled and lifted his cup.
Freshly ordered baijiu filled it to the brim.
“At least it’s a relief that Qingcheng Divine Sword gets along well with the main house. I hear that kid Guyujin has a particularly close bond with him?”
“What, you planning to play matchmaker?”
“When there’s a drool-worthy talent, bringing him in as a son-in-law is a time-honored main house tradition, isn’t it? Hosan’s ties to Qingcheng aren’t bad either.”
‘If push comes to shove, you’ll just swallow Qingcheng Sect whole.’
This damn brother of his clearly kept several sly foxes breeding in his head.
How else could his view of the big picture differ so vastly from ordinary folk?
Grand strategy.
The Dark Lord’s vision was leagues beyond what normal people saw in height and breadth.
“…So there’s no path for Unhwi to shine? Isn’t it too much of a waste?”
“There is one. Just one.”
“What is it?”
Hope gleamed in Tang Cheokryung’s eyes.
The Dark Lord took a sip and dismissed it plainly.
“My seat.”
“!!”
“Stand here, or even higher. Become the eye of the typhoon that draws in all winds—then does he need to blend with anyone? The world will bow and mesh with him on its own.”
“!!!”
The shock was too great; Tang Cheokryung’s lips worked soundlessly.
He couldn’t speak for a long while.
“…….”
“…….”
The Dark Lord quietly watched Tang Cheokryung sink into silence.
‘A face full of thoughts. No surprise—he grumbles every time, but no one loves the clan more than him.’
It couldn’t be helped.
Among all the talents Tang Cheokryung had seen, he believed Unhwi the best, so he’d recommended him.
But the Dark Lord could say for certain.
Once he met Qingcheng Divine Sword, his brother’s mind would change.
‘That guy… he’s beyond genius or prodigy levels.’
Who wouldn’t want to put blood kin in the seat when it was served on a platter?
But even that desire paled before Qingcheng Divine Sword’s singular talent.
Without him, the division leader role would naturally go to Unhwi.
But since that wasn’t possible, even squad member wouldn’t do for Unhwi.
‘One mountain can’t hold two tigers.’
From what he’d seen of Unhwi even from afar, he wasn’t one to serve under another—and Qingcheng Divine Sword wouldn’t easily bow to anyone either.
So he’d chosen between the two.
Qingcheng Divine Sword, superior in talent, character, and ability.
But if.
Just hypothetically, if Unhwi showed a new side at the upcoming event.
Then.
‘…Who knows.’
The Dark Lord neatly sorted his thoughts and reached for another cup of baijiu.
“…Hm?”
Suddenly, he scowled.
His internal energy was oddly scattering.
“Cheokryung, you don’t mean—”
“Ah, so the Fresh Breeze Powder’s finally kicking in? I was sweating bullets, thinking you hadn’t noticed.”
Tang Cheokryung exhaled in relief and grinned.
The Dark Lord’s eyes widened.
To think he’d fool the Tang Clan head and poison him with toxin control!
“Sure, I got hooked on explosives and veered into the artillery side, but back in the day, I was actually better with poisons than you, brother. Good thing my sleight of hand hasn’t rusted.”
Heh!
Tang Cheokryung dug at his nose with his pinky and smirked obnoxiously.
“You poisoned me because I dissed your recommended talent with this bullshit—?”
“Well, yeah, that too. And all the grief you’ve given me over the years. Couldn’t resist breaking that nose of yours for once.”
“You little shit!”
The Dark Lord’s face flushed beet red, but Tang Cheokryung’s laughter only grew louder.
“You sure you should be sitting there? Your pretty granddaughter’s waiting outside?”
“!?”
The Dark Lord jerked his head up in shock when a lion’s roar suddenly echoed from outside.
『Aaah—! This place is surrounded—! Grandfather, drop your weapons and surrender quietly—! Resist, and I’ll expose everything about you to every Sichuan man here, shame and all—! Aaah, repeating—! This place is surrounded—』
The Dark Lord rushed to the window and flung open the private room’s shutters.
Outside, the Green General Corps had encircled the room, weapons trained in unison.
Their killing intent blazed with the clear resolve to settle old scores.
Fresh Breeze Powder locks internal energy and dulls one’s senses.
They’d seized the moment to take control.
Tang Yeowon glared this way and curled one lip in a cold smirk.
Try running again if you dare.
Drip!
For the first time, cold sweat beaded on the Dark Lord’s nose bridge and trickled down.
“Oh, and don’t even think about the back exit. Every weapon those kids have passed through my hands—the firepower’s killer.”
Kuhahaha!
Tang Cheokryung’s laughter from behind grated especially on his ears. He wanted to smack him just once.
No more, no less—just once.