Chapter 76. Natural Enemy (1)
“What? Is that really true?”
“Unbelievably, yes, it is. The fight that started last night dragged on until this morning, and no one has been able to beat Young Master Yeon so far.”
Gadeuksang’s mouth hung open.
“No way, does that even make sense? Lord Myeong isn’t an idiot—he wouldn’t have sent weaklings to deal with him, right?”
Biho-gae swallowed hard.
“Just yesterday, they sent the three experts: Myeong Hak, Myeong Hwi, and Myeong Heon.”
“Huh?! Who are they? The names ring a bell...”
“I only learned this while investigating. They’re high-level experts from the Myeong family’s collateral branch. It’s said that when those three brothers team up, they can take down even the top elders of the Nine Great Sects.”
“That level of experts?”
“At the very least. It’s from Oigak’s analysis, so it’s reliable.”
“Damn...”
Gadeuksang shook his head.
“This feels like a dream.”
He knew Yeon Hojeong’s martial prowess. Of course, there might be techniques he hadn’t shown him. But that was just martial arts—separate from true skill.
Yeon Hojeong was strong. At nineteen, not even twenty yet, he could easily overwhelm most peak experts. That talent was on par with the Twin Dragons and Three Phoenixes. No, purely in terms of potential, he might surpass them.
But that was it. A genius worthy of the name, yet still an unfinished masterpiece.
In the vast Central Plains, countless warriors were stronger than Yeon Hojeong. And yet, he was facing off against the Myeong family’s elites.
‘What the hell is going on over there, you madman?’
Originally, Yeon Hojeong’s role was bait. To buy time, plain and simple. With his flashy rhetoric, he was meant to stand firm in front of everyone, decrying the Myeong family’s arrogance and proclaiming his innocence. That was the primary plan.
The secondary plan was Gadeuksang himself. If the Myeong family tried to drag Yeon Hojeong away by force, he, as the Beggar Sect’s vice leader, would step in and testify to his innocence.
That’s why he’d pulled all-nighters gathering intel—not to defend Yeon Hojeong directly, but to compile the Myeong family’s illegal deeds.
Of course, that wouldn’t topple the Myeong family. But it would buy time. Until when? Until the grand assembly.
And while all eyes were on the Myeong family, he’d rally the Beggar Sect and Henan’s allied sects to pressure them.
‘The key isn’t crushing the Myeong family. It’s stalling them to dig into the rumor’s source.’
It sounded complicated, but it wasn’t. With Yeon Hojeong’s skills and the Beggar Sect’s information network, it was feasible.
But Yeon Hojeong had wrecked it.
“That crazy bastard. I told him over and over not to fight.”
“Um... Vice Leader.”
“What!”
“Should I tell you something even worse?”
Gadeuksang looked exasperated.
“Worse than this?!”
Biho-gae hesitated.
“...He’s doing it.”
“Speak clearly! Spit it out!”
“Y-Young Master Yeon is demanding they bring out their patriarch.”
“What?”
“He’s telling them not to waste their precious subordinates and to show up himself.”
“...!”
“It’s insanely reckless. At this point, he should just pull back... And he’s chopping through their experts like firewood...”
“That’s not the point.”
“Pardon?”
Gadeuksang’s eyes gleamed.
“He’s doing great.”
“D-Doing great? Demanding the patriarch of the world’s top clan come out himself?”
“Exactly. He’s drawing all of Henan’s attention.”
Though they hadn’t exchanged a single letter, Gadeuksang instantly grasped Yeon Hojeong’s intent.
‘Dig up the Myeong family’s dirt before the assembly.’
Henan’s eyes were locked on them—including the Nine Provinces Myeong family. For the first time since claiming the title of the world’s greatest, they were being tested by one man. Not some aged master, but a fresh-faced youth not yet twenty.
They’d be furious. With Henan watching, they couldn’t send assassins. Proving their innocence was obvious, so outright killing him was off the table. Besides, as the eldest son of one of the Seven Great Families, killing him would be too risky. Losing collateral or subordinates was one thing; direct bloodline was another.
“Just in case, should we deploy the Dark Assassins now?”
“Are you insane?! That’d give the Myeong family an excuse to kill Young Master Yeon!”
“Ah...”
“Deploy them after the assembly. Our job now is unearthing the Myeong family’s crimes.”
The decisive blow would come from the Moyong family anyway. Until then, he’d chip away, exposing their scandals one by one to keep them from touching Yeon Hojeong.
“Oh, and there’s one more thing I forgot to mention!”
“Report it all at once, damn it! What?!”
“I Cheolgyeong has shown up.”
Gadeuksang’s eyes widened.
“I Cheolgyeong? That I Cheolgyeong?”
“Yes.”
I Cheolgyeong was the strongest lay disciple of Shaolin, boasting unparalleled fame. A genius who’d mastered several of Shaolin’s peak techniques despite being secular. Around Gadeuksang’s age, but his skills were already at elder level of the Nine Great Sects. People said including him would make it Three Dragons and Three Phoenixes—and some regions already called it that.
Moreover, just past thirty, he led Geomganggwonmun, one of Shaolin’s top ten lay sects with massive influence in Henan.
“Why’s that guy suddenly here?”
“Suddenly? It’s an unprecedented crisis for the Myeong family and rare in Henan’s martial history. Of course he’d move.”
“Fair, but... where is he now?”
“Spotted at an inn near Young Master Yeon’s group.”
“Oh yeah?”
Gadeuksang grinned.
“Things might flow easier than expected.”
“Pardon?”
“You! Spread word to all our branches in Henan, Huguang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang—raid every business or group tied to the Myeong family!”
“Got it! What about you, Vice Leader?”
“I’m going to that madman!”
As Gadeuksang dashed off, shedding layers of grime from his feet, the atmosphere at the Bi-san Yeon Family Estate in Jiangsu was utterly grim.
“...That’s the situation.”
“...”
“What are your orders?”
Yeon Wi, staring out the window, didn’t stir. Cheolgon-gae sighed inwardly.
‘Makes sense.’
Even an iron-willed man would waver when his son’s life hung in the balance. But he couldn’t move yet. As patriarch, if the Myeong family exploited this to invade Jiangsu, the Yeon family could shatter.
Beyond that, he’d already sent Chaeng-eungdae. For the patriarch to move again would lower the family’s stature. Yet he couldn’t ignore his eldest son’s peril—pure agony.
Then, Yeon Wi spoke.
“Branch Head.”
“Yes, Patriarch.”
“Lord Moyong has sent letters to the heads of the Nine Great Sects and Seven Great Families, inviting them to open the assembly hall.”
Cheolgon-gae’s eyes lit up.
“Already arrived?”
“This morning.”
“Will you go?”
Yeon Wi glanced up at the sky outside.
“No.”
“...”
“If I move now, Hojeong will be in danger. Best to hold position.”
Regret flashed across Cheolgon-gae’s face. He caught the faint tremor in Yeon Wi’s voice. Deep down, he’d want to rush there, assembly be damned.
“I have one request.”
“Speak.”
Yeon Wi turned, his impassive face unchanged.
“Take this.”
The letter he handed over was thick. Cheolgon-gae looked puzzled.
“What is it?”
“Something I had my trading company investigate separately.”
“Trading company?”
“Yes.”
“May I read it?”
“Do.”
Cheolgon-gae opened it. His eyes bulged.
“Frankly, I don’t care if the Myeong family falls or not. They crossed the line into our territory, so a warning should suffice.”
Cheolgon-gae gulped.
“But my son dying is another matter. As a father before patriarch, I can’t ignore his vengeance.”
“...!”
“Blood will flow like rivers. Innocents will die too. I want my son safe—and no desire to slaughter the blameless.”
“...”
“Send this to the Myeong family. As an official dispatch.”
“P-Patriarch. Sending this will turn their blades on you.”
“Likely.”
“It won’t topple them. But if it leaks, they’ll lose their title as the world’s greatest.”
“That’s why I’m sending it.”
“B-Better to give it to Lord Moyong and reveal it at the assembly...”
Yeon Wi’s eyes flashed menacingly.
“Than the Myeong family vanishing from the world!”
“...?!”
“My son’s life matters more.”
“Patriarch.”
“I never properly embraced him as a father. Now he’s grown, out in the world, shouldering what I should handle—alone.”
“...”
“Send it to their patriarch. Official dispatch. No detours.”
“...Understood.”
“Sorry for shouting.”
“No. I’m the one sorry. Blinded by punishing great evil, I ignored your heart. Forgive me.”
He knew Yeon Wi rarely apologized. That meant deep anxiety.
“I leave it to you.”
“Don’t worry. It’ll arrive in three days.”
Cheolgon-gae hurried out. Yeon Wi gazed outside again.
“...Clear.”
The cloudless sky was infuriatingly blue. So clear he wanted to shred it with Cheonra Swordsmanship.
“Hold on just a bit longer. Just a little.”