Settling His Thoughts and the Challenge (5)
Pae Yul wiped the sweat from his brow and grumbled.
“Just go already.”
“What the hell? I thought you were finally going to give me a proper fight after all this time, but you dragged me out here just to whine about some half-baked worry that isn’t even a real problem?”
“Whine? This is a genuine concern.”
“People call that kind of thing a rich man’s problem.”
Yeon Hojeong clicked his tongue and poured more liquor into his cup.
“Forget it. I don’t know why I’m even talking about this with you.”
“Watch your tone with me.”
“Exactly. A social misfit who can’t even fix his own foul mouth has no business becoming the family head.”
Pae Yul stared at Yeon Hojeong like he was some bizarre creature before turning his head away.
Kang Liang was standing there.
“Hey, you. What do you think?”
Kang Liang blinked.
“Me?”
“Yeah. Stop fluttering your eyelashes like some innocent lamb and speak up.”
“Hmm.”
Kang Liang scratched his head.
“I don’t know if my opinion means anything, but… I don’t even understand what there is to worry about?”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Can’t you just be the young patriarch and the family head at the same time?”
Pae Yul shrugged and looked at Yeon Hojeong.
“Doesn’t it seem like your junior just gave you a very wise judgment in your place?”
Yeon Hojeong frowned.
“I’m not sure about wise, but I can tell it was a half-hearted answer.”
Kang Liang cleared his throat.
“It’s because I don’t really like worrying about things.”
“I know, you bastard.”
“You’re cursing me right off the bat.”
“How is that a curse?”
“The person hearing it…”
“Just shut your mouth, kid.”
After scolding Kang Liang, Yeon Hojeong turned back to Pae Yul.
“What about you, senior? If the sect leader suddenly told you to prepare to become the next leader, would you just do it?”
“He’s not that kind of person.”
“I said, if.”
“There is no if. And I told you, he’s not that kind of person.”
“I can’t even get a straight answer out of you.”
“You’re the one who needs to fix your thinking. Stop talking about hypotheticals and focus on your own problem. Why are you dragging me into this mess?”
“You really have a dirty mouth, senior.”
“As if you’re any better, you butcher.”
Kang Liang let out a low whistle. It was a rare complete defeat for Yeon Hojeong.
Yeon Hojeong muttered, “Seriously, Ji-pyeong would handle it perfectly. Why does it have to be me?”
“Because you’re the eldest son.”
“In this day and age, people still pick successors based on birth order?”
“Most of them do?”
“……”
“On top of being the eldest, your ability is outstanding. With a talent like yours standing right there, who would hand the position of family head to the second son—who’s younger, not the eldest, and has a weak personality to boot?”
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes gleamed.
“Ji-pyeong isn’t someone who deserves to be underestimated like that. Honestly, if we’re only talking about swordsmanship…”
“That’s enough of the doting older brother bragging about his little sibling.”
“……”
“No matter what, from your father’s perspective, there is zero reason to pass the position to the second son. It’s not even a question of who is more outstanding.”
Yeon Hojeong let out a sigh.
Pae Yul, who had been quietly watching him, clicked his tongue and sat down.
“Hey, Kang Young.”
“It’s Kang Liang.”
“Whatever. Just hand me a cup.”
“Yes, sir.”
Pae Yul emptied the cup in one gulp and asked in a slightly more serious tone.
“What’s the real problem? This isn’t like you.”
Yeon Hojeong sighed again.
“It’s because I don’t think I’m fit to be the family head.”
“Besides that.”
“That’s the whole reason.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Rather than entrusting the family to someone who doesn’t know when he might die, wouldn’t it be better to leave it to someone with a gentle character and outstanding talent?”
Pae Yul’s eyes deepened.
“You don’t know when you might die?”
Yeon Hojeong leaned back in his chair.
Though he kept letting out heavy sighs, his eyes were deep and troubled.
“In the war against the Three Sects, I am the one who will always step forward into the most dangerous places.”
“……”
“They say luck is also skill, right? That’s true. But this is a fight where a single mistake can get your head cut off. No one knows how long that kind of luck, that kind of skill, will continue to protect me.”
“So you don’t want to become the family head?”
“More precisely, there is no need for me to become the family head. Also, given the atmosphere of the main family, Ji-pyeong would be far better than me.”
Yeon Hojeong fiddled with his empty cup.
“To be even more honest, I don’t want to pass on a burden that will become even heavier after my death to Ji-pyeong.”
He truly saw himself as someone who could die at any moment.
And Pae Yul could not dismiss those words as nonsense.
In reality, Yeon Hojeong had always stood on the front lines. In every battle against the Three Sects so far, there had not been a single fight in which he had not participated.
In other words, the enemy had no choice but to keep a constant eye on him. If they happened to encounter Yeon Hojeong, they would try to kill him without fail.
Yeon Hojeong had thrown himself into that brutal world.
“Everyone dies. Martial artists are even more familiar with death. However, I am far closer to death than the average martial artist.”
“……”
“The only positions I should occupy are those where, even if I die, a capable successor can lead the organization without major problems.”
“Like the Righteous Army?”
“Yes. Like the Righteous Army.”
Pae Yul, who had been staring at him silently, asked bluntly.
“Let me ask you one thing.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why do you always insist on standing at the vanguard in the fights against the Three Sects?”
“……”
“You may be a bit old for it, but at your level, you could be teaching others by now. You could help those fighting alongside you to bloom. Stop charging in alone.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“But you always try to face the enemy before anyone else. Thanks to your exceptional ability, every battle you’ve joined has ended in victory. Still, it’s time to start thinking about the people around you.”
Yeon Hojeong gave a bitter smile.
“You’re not wrong, but it seems that won’t be easy for me.”
Pae Yul shook his head.
“I’m not telling you to stop burning with passion. Like you said, people die eventually anyway. The only difference is whether you die irresponsibly, die after fulfilling your responsibilities, die after making preparations, or die without making any.”
“……”
“But even among those various forms of death, there is one thing they all have in common. Do you know what it is?”
“I don’t.”
“In the end, what remains is the responsibility of the living, not the dead.”
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes wavered.
“I understand your desire to think about the future, but if you continue living that way, you will definitely burn out. And if you burn out? Then you die. Much faster than you think.”
“……”
“Since it involves your family, your worries may run deeper. But don’t misunderstand. What carries on the will of the dead is ultimately the living. Once you die, it ends there. Yet when you plan operations, you don’t strategize while constantly worrying that you yourself will die, do you?”
“……”
“The position of family head is the same. If you have the ability, and if you see it as your responsibility, then accept it.”
Kang Liang let out a strange “Whoa.”
The serious atmosphere suddenly shattered into pieces. Pae Yul frowned.
“What?”
“It just sounded really convincing.”
“I got it, so shut up, Kang Young.”
“It’s Kang Liang.”
“I don’t care.”
Yeon Hojeong nodded.
“After listening to you, senior, it seems I really was overthinking things.”
Pae Yul clicked his tongue.
“It really wasn’t like you. It was almost disgusting. You slice people apart so cleanly with that huge axe of yours when you’re killing them, but when it comes to your own family you sit here drinking and worrying?”
“Because it is my family.”
“Other people have families too.”
“But they aren’t my family.”
“Well, that’s true enough.”
Yeon Hojeong stood up.
“I feel like things have settled in my mind. Thank you.”
Pae Yul casually rose as well.
“If you’re thankful, then how about a round with me…”
“I’ll repay this kindness later. Goodbye.”
Whoosh.
Yeon Hojeong vanished like the wind. His speed was so great that even watching with open eyes, one couldn’t tell how he had moved.
Pae Yul’s face twisted.
“That son of a bitch!”
As he ground his teeth, Kang Liang asked carefully.
“Would you like to spar with me instead?”
“Get lost.”
“It won’t be as good as with the eldest brother, but I can still offer you some fresh entertainment.”
“Kang Young.”
“It’s Kang Liang.”
“Whatever. Go wash your feet and get some sleep. I didn’t polish my spear and blade to cross swords with a brat.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m no brat either. The disciple of the Battle King fell to my sword, you know.”
Pae Yul’s eyes flashed.
“The Battle King’s disciple?”
“Yes. The guy was as big as a mountain, arrogant and full of confidence, treating people like mere pawns.”
“What’s there to brag about beating up a guy like that?”
“His skill was real.”
“As if it was that imp—”
“Are you scared? Why do you keep refusing?”
For a moment, Pae Yul’s eyes turned bloodshot.
No other words could have moved him. But being asked if he was scared? If he didn’t draw his blade after hearing such a thing from a junior, he wouldn’t be a warrior.
Bang!
Pae Yul slammed the table and turned around.
“Come out. As your senior in the gangho, I’ll teach you properly.”
Kang Liang stood up with a grin.
“Good.”p>
In a quiet clearing, Yeon Hojeong’s eyes fell upon Yeon Wi sitting in lotus position.
Wooooong.
Yeon Wi’s body was enveloped in a bluish energy.
Yeon Hojeong’s gaze deepened. Amazing. He had come to report that his thoughts were fully organized, yet he had encountered an unexpected sight. It has become incredibly soft.
He recalled the first time he had seen his father’s true qi after returning to the past.
The aura his father had carried back then had been so sharply honed that no one would dare approach. It had been like a single treasured sword.
But his father now? The radiance and color of his true qi are different, but above all, that ferocious sharpness has completely vanished.
A chill ran down Yeon Hojeong’s spine. He has already reached that far…!
When he had returned to the alliance and sparred with his father, Yeon Wi had grown another level beyond even that.
How much time had passed for such progress to be made? Recently, he knew his father had not been training as intensely as before. Some kind of enlightenment… No, this isn’t enlightenment.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes deepened further. Father has already opened the door to Mugeuk. He obtained the initial enlightenment long ago. Now he is simply walking steadily along the path he must take.
The martial arts he had built up layer by layer throughout his life through the orthodox method.
Those years of persistence, his father’s profound craftsmanship that had clung to a single path, were now producing faster growth than any other method.
A solid foundation alone was not enough. A faith bordering on fanaticism was instead giving wings to his progress in a realm where regression would not have been surprising.
This was the power of orthodoxy.
To a true warrior who had trained a single straight path without the slightest gap—the purest of the pure—the heavens were now bestowing an unhindered path of light.
It is awe-inspiring.
How many brutal failures had his father endured to reach such a realm? Had he overcome those countless grueling gates that others would have given up on long ago, never surrendering even once, triumphing through more attempts than defeats?
Flash!
The radiance of Sword Limit Qi vanished from Yeon Wi’s body.
He rose from his seat and turned to look at Yeon Hojeong.
“Have you already organized your thoughts?”
Yeon Hojeong smiled. For some reason, he felt like laughing.
Even as his martial arts advanced so remarkably, his father remained completely unchanged.
“Yes, they are settled.”
“Good. Then let me hear your answer. Do you intend to succeed me and become the next patriarch of the Yeon family?”
Yeon Hojeong answered.
“I…”