Chapter 38
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Establishing the Law
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The Head of the Cheon Family, Cheon Wigang.
He was the iron wall that protected the family, a guardian deity.
Though everyone acknowledged him as the Family Head, Cheon Wigang had yet to escape the original sin he had committed.
That was why, despite obtaining the power he so craved, he could only remain silent.
“What I couldn't achieve in a lifetime… you've done in a single day.”
He knew the family was wrong.
He knew they were heading in the wrong direction, yet he couldn't correct it.
“Everything started because of me.”
The death of the previous Family Head.
The disappearance of the previous Great Young Lord.
The proposal from the Council of Elders.
Believing it was for the sake of protecting the family, Cheon Wigang had accepted their proposal, but he had lost much because of it.
“Muryang…”
He was always filled with nothing but guilt.
Because the family was not righteous, he had never once been a proper father.
‘I just thought you were going astray. I even thought… that it was for your own good.’
A life unbound by anything, even that of a scoundrel, was fine.
He even thought it might be a survival tactic for Cheon Muryang to stay alive.
“But you've risen splendidly.”
Cheon Muryang had feigned being a scoundrel, lying low at the very bottom of the Cheon Family.
He must have remained silent and endured there until he had built up his strength.
“He accomplished this all on his own.”
Cheon Wigang was overcome with a fresh wave of emotion.
Cheon Muryang, who had always been a source of pain, had never been so praiseworthy.
*Clench!*
Cheon Wigang clenched his fists tightly.
‘Not yet.’
Though he knew it wasn't the time to indulge in sentiment, the feeling that a part of the knot in his chest was loosening did not fade.
“Ah…”
A crack formed in the iron wall.
Through that crack, the emotions he had suppressed until now flowed in.
The emotions he had ignored with the sole belief that he must act like the Family Head were truly diverse.
‘How could I have turned away from these feelings?’
He was wrong.
An iron wall wasn't something built by disregarding emotions.
‘I must embrace all of this.’
A Family Head was, after all, the master of the family.
In other words, he had to be able to embrace people.
How could a person's emotions be singular?
Shouldn't he be able to embrace humans, who held all sorts of diverse emotions?
*Fshhhh!*
The iron wall crumbled completely.
Swept away by the wave of emotions, Cheon Wigang's iron wall was rebuilt anew.
If the material of his iron wall before had been apathy, its new material was empathy.
*Ruuuuuumble!*
Cheon Wigang had surpassed the wall of the Transcendent Realm, and because of that, he knew.
‘The Transcendent Realm is not the end. I've only just reached the starting line.’
The path of the Transcendent Realm was like walking through a desolate desert with no end in sight.
The path could go astray, and one could face a colossal wall.
‘The wall I built was, in the end, the wall I had to overcome.’
But the wall Cheon Wigang had to overcome was ultimately the one he had built himself.
‘I will advance.’
Cheon Wigang sought to become even stronger.
Until now, he had grown stronger with the sole purpose of protecting the family, but not anymore.
Hadn't Cheon Seonhak said it once?
“My sword will merely become the clouds. After all, doesn't a dragon ride the clouds to ascend to the heavens?”
It was surely no coincidence that those words came to mind at this very moment.
‘I, too, am a cloud.’
The iron wall evolved into a cloud.
It was an iron wall encircling the heavens, for the dragon that would one day ride the clouds.
‘I will become an iron wall that blocks anything that tries to stop your ascension.’
Cheon Wigang smiled.
He thought he saw a glimpse of a heavenly dragon soaring freely through the sky.
‘I will become your stepping stone.’
Cheon Wigang's will manifested as an iron wall in the shape of a cloud.
*Fsh!*
When he opened the eyes he had kept closed for some time, the uncontainable aura of an absolute master surged forth.
After all, wasn't an iron wall of clouds also high in the sky?
He was more than qualified to look down upon the world.
“The time has come.”
He was certain.
With his current self.
He wouldn't fall far behind even when compared to Cheon Jungho.
“This might be the only chance.”
Cheon Wigang quietly gazed at the grand training ground visible beyond the window.
Half of the Cheon Family's allies were gone, but they were traitors.
Since the alliances were formed through the Council of Elders' connections anyway, there was nothing to regret.
“We can start anew.”
That was Cheon Wigang's only wish and his lifelong ambition.
*Clench!*
Quietly clenching both fists, Cheon Wigang celebrated his solitary achievement in silence.
“I should have a drink with Seonhak.”
He wondered how Seonhak would react upon seeing his accomplishment.
He grew inwardly curious.
***
*Drip.*
*Drip, drip.*
Blood dripped from the tip of the Heavenly Light Sword.
Though another had been cut, Cheon Muryang's gaze was fixed on the Third Elder.
“……!”
“Do you perhaps have a complaint about my judgment?”
It was a blatant provocation, but the Third Elder couldn't even react.
‘What in the world was that sword technique?’
It was because of Cheon Muryang's swordsmanship.
The Third Elder was a symbol of success, having risen to the position of an elder despite not bearing the Cheon surname.
Thus, he had lived desperately and had once immersed himself in the sword more fervently than anyone to become stronger.
As such, he was confident he knew all of the Cheon Family's sword arts, but…
‘Was there a sword art in the Cheon Family that I don't know?’
Cheon Muryang's swordsmanship was incomprehensible.
It was clearly a Cheon Family sword art, yet it followed a completely different trajectory.
‘It doesn't matter. Whatever it is, it's just a Cheon Family sword art.’
The Third Elder tried to brush it off.
The important thing was Cheon Muryang himself.
‘You never know when or how he'll run wild. A true scoundrel.’
An uncontrollable scoundrel was unnecessary.
‘He must be eliminated for sure.’
While thoroughly concealing his inner thoughts.
The Third Elder opened his mouth, his voice cold and subdued.
“…Great Young Lord.”
“Speak.”
“You should know when to stop your reckless rampage.”
*Whoooooosh!*
The Third Elder was, by his own and others' admission, one of the top masters in the Cheon Family.
His aura was more than enough to overwhelm everyone in the arena.
“Even if there was corruption, these people are the core allies of the Cheon Family.”
*Thump!*
The Third Elder's voice, heavy with internal energy, began to incite everyone gathered there.
“Like it or not, they are still allies of the Cheon Family. If you strike them all down at once, have you not considered the aftermath?”
*Murmur, murmur!*
The arena began to stir.
Until now, they had only focused on the crimes Cheon Muryang had revealed, so they hadn't considered the consequences.
“Isn't it only natural that the Cheon Family's influence will weaken as a result?”
“…”
“Of course, those who have sinned must be executed immediately. That is the way to show that the Cheon Family's principles are alive and well.”
Cheon Muryang did not refute him.
Instead, he seemed to be waiting for the Third Elder to continue.
“However, that too needs reconsideration. Even if the Taeheung Sect Leader committed a wrong, not everyone in the Taeheung Sect would have condoned it. If so, wouldn't it be enough to execute only the sinner?”
He spoke with silver-tongued eloquence.
The Third Elder's tongue moved tirelessly, busy persuading everyone.
“But if you unilaterally sever alliances like this and behead them all, who would ever want to join hands with the Cheon Family?”
The Third Elder's words made sense.
Judged rationally, there were certainly aspects of Cheon Muryang's actions that felt harsh.
To top it all off, the Third Elder added a sarcastic conclusion.
“Of course, I understand the Great Young Lord's position. Having become the new Head of the Inspection Corps, you must feel pressured to produce results. However, I don't believe this is the way.”
The Third Elder openly condemned Cheon Muryang's actions.
As if to suggest he was overplaying his hand for the sake of performance, disproportionate to the crimes committed.
“…”
A strange tension filled the air.
Everyone's gaze naturally fell upon Cheon Muryang.
It was a pressure that the past Cheon Muryang might not have been able to withstand, but the man himself remained calm.
‘I'm glad my predictions were spot-on from beginning to end, Third Elder.’
He even wore a faint smile, as if he had been hoping for this very development.
He had expected the Third Elder to react this way, and naturally, his prediction was correct.
“I can't just let those words slide.”
“What?”
“Their corruption is not mere embezzlement.”
“……!”
“What if the funds they embezzled flowed to those who oppose the Cheon Family?”
He did not draw upon his internal energy.
Yet, from Cheon Muryang, who spoke so calmly, came an indescribable presence.
His voice, neither slow nor fast, neither high nor low, was filled with conviction.
“Is that not betrayal?”
“Betrayal…!”
“Then, if that isn't betrayal, what on earth is?”
The Third Elder flinched.
He looked as if he knew everything.
‘Did he know about the Anti-Cheon Ghosts? Don't tell me he even knows about the Demonic Cult?’
If he only knew about the Black Merchants, it would be enough to punish them for their inhumane practices.
However, if Cheon Muryang knew of the Anti-Cheon Ghosts' existence, that was another matter entirely.
“Great Young Lord, that is…”
“Third Elder.”
Cheon Muryang cut the Third Elder off and warned everyone gathered there.
“From this moment on, if anyone defends them.”
There was no need for respect any longer.
Cheon Muryang's razor-sharp gaze pierced through the Third Elder's aura and locked onto him.
“Regardless of who it is or their status, I will consider them to be in collusion with those traitors.”
But everyone knew.
Who Cheon Muryang's warning was aimed at.
“Wh-what! Wh-what did you just say? C-collusion? Did you say collusion! H-how dare you!”
“Tch, how noisy.”
It was at that moment.
A storm erupted from Cheon Muryang, who had been standing calmly even within the Third Elder's overwhelming aura.
*Whoooooosh!*
In an instant, a fierce wind swept through.
With that as a start, dark clouds gathered in the sky above the training ground.
*Fwoom!*
As if out of nowhere.
The Heavenly Light Sword shot up toward the sky.
“……!”
Everyone watched it happen.
But no one saw the Heavenly Light Sword fall.
*Kra-ka-ka-ka-BOOM!*
Because the wrath of the heavens followed the Heavenly Light Sword and struck the middle of the training ground.
The floor of the training ground was deeply gouged.
Everyone was horrified, but only Cheon Muryang stood firm, his sword aimed at the Third Elder.
“Third Elder.”
“……!”
“Why is your tongue so long?”
“Wh-what did you say!”
“I'm asking why you're defending those who betrayed the family. It's almost as if… you, Third Elder, are the one pulling their strings.”
The corners of Cheon Muryang's mouth lifted strangely.
Even though he had lost weight, it was the same scoundrel's smile as ever.
In other words, it was the kind of smile that made one's blood boil.
“Slander!”
“Then you should have conducted yourself in a way that doesn't invite such thoughts. How can an elder of the Cheon Family defend sinners so vehemently?”
“……!”
Cheon Muryang had one intention.
To plant the suspicion that the Third Elder might be behind them.
*Murmur, murmur!*
And it seemed that intention had worked brilliantly.
“Th-this is!”
Before he knew it, the atmosphere in the arena, which the Third Elder thought he controlled, had completely collapsed.
*Stumble!*
Without realizing it, the Third Elder had taken several steps back.
“I declare here today that the broken laws of the Cheon Family will be re-established…”
*Rumble, rumble, rumble!*
The wrath of the heavens continued to strike down around Cheon Muryang.
“If anyone, including myself, breaks the laws of the Cheon Family.”
*Fwoooosh!*
He did not raise the Heavenly Light Sword.
But everyone gathered here felt the sharp edge of its power.
“My sword will cut them down.”
“…”
“Conversely, if I break those laws, you shall cut me down.”
That.
“Will become the new law of the Cheon Family.”