Paradise's Humiliation (2)
The crackling of the campfire carried a strange, lingering charm.
Dang Gwan stirred the flames himself. Sparks flared up as the fire grumbled in protest.
Dang Yang-seon spoke with an awkward expression.
“Father, allow me to do that.”
“No need.”
“……”
“Yes, Father.”
Dang Yang-seon cleared his throat and sat in formal posture.
Ever since leaving the Martial Alliance and traveling all the way here, he had barely exchanged a word with his father.
In a way, that was only natural. His father had never been a talkative man. Back at the family estate, unless it concerned martial arts or official business, he rarely spoke more than three or four sentences in an entire day.
That was why Dang Yang-seon had been so shocked to see his father engaged in such familiar conversation with his cousin. ‘Cousin…’ His eyes darkened. ‘That damned bitch.’
He hated Dang Sang-ah.
No, it went far beyond hatred. He loathed her.
‘If she’s old enough to marry, she should’ve just found some decent man, settled down, and lived quietly.’
Dang Sang-ah’s standing within the Tang Family was far greater than most realized.
Her martial prowess was impressive, but her character stood out even more. Despite being a direct descendant of the family head, she was kind to those from the collateral lines and never ignored their struggles.
Her talent was equally exceptional. Had his father not intervened to limit her training, she would have broken through the Wall of the Martial Ancestor years ago.
Dang Yang-seon refused to acknowledge that fact.
He told himself it was simply the limit of a woman. Even without his father’s interference, he believed Dang Sang-ah could never have crossed that wall.
Yet deep down, he knew the truth.
Even their grandfather had marveled at her talent. The old man had praised her lavishly, saying that with proper training she could one day reach his own realm.
A declaration personally affirmed by the Dark King Dang Hyeong, one of the Sacred Heavens and widely regarded as the strongest under heaven. No matter how sharp Dang Yang-seon’s eye for talent might be, how could it compare to that of the Single Dagger Death God?
He simply didn’t want to admit it—that Dang Sang-ah’s talent far surpassed his own.
He hated hearing others say that if she had been born a man, she would have been chosen as the young family head long ago.
‘No matter the reason, that bitch will never set foot in the main house again.’
The corner of Dang Yang-seon’s mouth curled slightly upward.
‘A woman cannot become the head of the Tang Family. The next patriarch will be me. And when I become family head, I will rewrite every single one of those unreasonable and pointless family rules.’
Unreasonable and pointless family rules.
His thoughts could hardly be called a rational judgment for the clan’s benefit. They were solely for the sake of building his own personal kingdom.
Of course, Dang Yang-seon refused to acknowledge that either.
He believed it was the path to reviving the Tang Family’s hundreds of years of history and restoring its true roots.
At that moment, Dang Gwan spoke.
“Yang-seon.”
“Yes? Ah, yes, Father.”
“Steady effort alone does not bring growth.”
“……?”
What was he suddenly talking about?
Dang Yang-seon looked at his father with puzzled eyes.
Dang Gwan continued stirring the campfire with a blunt tone.
“You must first recognize what you lack. And that applies to far more than just martial arts.”
“……?”
“Excessive confidence in yourself. Despair over unchangeable reality. Insufficient talent. Insufficient experience. And above all, the ignorance of blindly worshipping facts that have already been proven false.”
“……”
“The list could go on forever. Even if you recognize your shortcomings, you cannot change them all at once. And even if you do change them, it’s uncertain whether that will lead to greater growth.”
Crackle!
The flames suddenly roared upward.
The burst of fire momentarily blocked Dang Yang-seon’s view of his father.
“Nevertheless, clearly facing your own problems is extremely important. Effort without change has limits, but the growth of one who constantly strives to change knows no bounds.”
Whoosh.
The flames split in all directions, dancing wildly.
The face of Dang Gwan revealed within them looked somehow exhausted.
“You must constantly look inward. What do I lack? What am I seeing incorrectly? Is the position I currently stand in truly one that suits me?”
“……”
“If you fail to develop the habit of doubting yourself, one day you will discover that you have already gone astray. And by the time you realize it, it will be too late to correct.”
Dang Yang-seon stared at his father in silence.
Dang Gwan, who had been watching the campfire, turned his gaze toward him.
“Your father has taught you wrongly.”
“Pardon?”
“To be precise, I believe I taught you in reverse.”
“What… do you mean by that?”
“You probably think our family is the greatest in Sichuan. You must be aware that our family’s influence extends beyond Sichuan and shakes the entire world.”
“Of course.”
“That is wrong.”
“……?!”
“You must not treat that as truth. You must not consider it natural.”
“I… I don’t understand what you’re saying, Father…”
“Why is our family called the greatest in Sichuan?”
“……?”
“It is not the greatest in Sichuan simply because it is called that. There must be a clear reason why our family is known as such. Have you ever once thought deeply about it?”
Dang Yang-seon was flustered.
“Our family… is a prestigious clan with hundreds of years of history. Our power and fame have reached every corner of the world. No force under heaven would dare oppose us.”
“Wrong. There are many who look down on our family. Many who think we are nothing special.”
“……?!”
“But that is not what matters right now. I asked you why our family is the greatest in Sichuan, yet you have failed to give a proper answer. You simply say it is because we have been called that, because the world fears us, because we have history.”
“Ah, Father.”
“That is exactly what I mean by teaching you in reverse.”
Dang Gwan’s eyes deepened.
For a moment, Dang Yang-seon felt a chill run down his spine.
The eyes of his father, reflecting the campfire, burned beautifully. Within them lay rage, sorrow, and pity.
“In this world, it is not easy to become the best in even one field. Yet our family has reached the pinnacle in two.”
“……”
“We could not become the best with the sword, the spear, or fist techniques. So our ancestors turned to hidden weapons and poison.”
“……Father?”
“The righteous martial world scorned hidden weapons and poison as cowardly, but our ancestors ignored their contempt and cold gazes. They believed that if they could one day reach the very peak of those two fields, the world’s view of us would change.”
Whoooosh.
A wind blew past.
The campfire danced along with it.
“And we became the ancestors of poison and hidden weapons. Handling poison naturally led to the development of medicine. Manufacturing hidden weapons naturally advanced our metalworking and craftsmanship.”
“……”
“While everyone else was trapped in common sense and the eyes of others, circling the same spot, we pursued change and innovation. We challenged other fields and raised the flag of victory.”
“……”
“Do you understand? Our family’s fame as the greatest in Sichuan is not because we are strong, not because we are rich, and not because our influence is vast.”
Dang Gwan raised his index finger and pointed at the sky.
“Beneath the heavens of Sichuan, there was no other clan that suffered as much scorn and oppression as ours. To overcome that history of humiliation and finally reach the summit—this is no exaggeration to say that the will passed down through generations of one family changed the perception of the entire world.”
Dang Yang-seon felt goosebumps rise across his entire body.
His father’s words, the pride within them, and their meaning sent a shiver through him.
“That is why our family is the greatest in Sichuan. That is why the people of our family may hold their heads high with pride. That is why we must not be defeated. That is why we must cherish our bloodline.”
“……!”
“If someone makes a person of our family shed tears, we must make that person shed tears of blood. If someone kills a person of our family, we must uproot not only that person but their entire bloodline and achieve vengeance. That was our way of survival. That is the pride of the Tang Family.”
“……”
“What about you?”
“Pardon?”
Was it his imagination? Or was it the light of the campfire?
Dang Yang-seon felt as though his father’s eyes had grown colder than before.
“Have you truly engraved the pride and greatness of our family into your very bones?”
“O-of course I have!”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes! I firmly believe that our family is the greatest under heaven. I am convinced that one day every martial artist in the world will kneel at our feet!”
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
Dang Gwan slightly lifted his chin.
“I have clearly shown you that the studies of our family can discuss the entire world.”
“Yes!”
“The studies of our family are the crystallization of the soul, born from the effort and sacrifice of our bloodline. Anyone born of the Tang Family should naturally respect our family’s martial arts and strive to reach their peak.”
“I also think that—”
“Then what is that filthy martial art of yours?”
“Pardon?”
Oooooooong.
Dang Gwan’s pupils turned a deep greenish hue.
“I asked what that greedy martial art writhing inside your belly is—the one still bubbling within you even now.”
In an instant, Dang Yang-seon’s face turned deathly pale.
Dang Gwan covered the campfire with his hand.
Whoosh!
The vigorously burning flames were extinguished in a single moment.
The world grew dark. The wind turned cold.
“I understand.”
If a voice could have color, Dang Gwan’s would be the color of ink.
“Yes, that too can be called freedom. Whether the son of the family head or a child of the collateral line, the depth of one’s worries does not differ. Only the direction differs. If you had simply said you wished to learn a different martial art instead of our family’s, I would have been disappointed and angry, but I would have sought another way.”
“Father! That is—!”
“Since I, as your parent, have taught you wrongly, how can I place all the blame on my child? It is a parent’s duty to correct their child when they stray. In that regard, I have been negligent toward my own son.”
Shhh.
Dang Gwan rose from his seat.
It was as if a person darker than darkness itself had stood up.
“If you had truly desired it, I would have permitted it without question.”
“Father! Please, just listen to me—!”
“Choice is also abandonment. To realize that will of yours, you would have had to abandon your position. If you had desired another school of martial arts that much, I would have respected you. However…”
Flash!
A dark green radiance erupted from Dang Gwan’s body.
The darkened world brightened once more. But this light was different from that of the campfire.
A light darker than darkness itself.
Even as it illuminated the surroundings, it was the glow of dark heavens that seemed to drag everything into endless shadow.
“I am simply sorry.”
“……!!”
“I taught you wrongly. However, no matter how wrongly I taught you, the fact that you reached out to such chaotic and sinister martial arts is clearly your own fault.”
In that instant, Dang Yang-seon instinctively turned and fled.
Swish!
Dang Yang-seon distanced himself from his father in the blink of an eye.
It was pure instinct. Beneath the terrifying aura Dang Gwan emitted, running away was the only thing Dang Yang-seon could do.
But.
Whoosh!
His body suddenly froze mid-motion.
Boooom!
With a violent explosion, his body was hurled backward. An overwhelming attractive force had erupted from Dang Gwan’s hand.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
Dang Gwan grabbed Dang Yang-seon by the collar.
Dang Yang-seon’s face turned white as a sheet.
“Father!”
“Yes. I am your father.”
Flash!
Dang Gwan’s face, with even the whites of his eyes dyed dark green, looked no different from a demon.
“Now, forgive this father who has finally begun to act like one.”