The Next Martial Alliance Leader
Lying there on the ground, I saw Namgung Taeseong quietly appear from atop the surrounding trees.
“I knew you’d win after all. Hahaha.”
Namgung Taeseong laughed heartily as he walked over to me.
It seemed he had been watching my fight with the Blood Demon the whole time.
He restrained the unconscious Blood Demon first.
By then, I could see the later-generation disciples running toward us from a distance.
They all looked more or less uninjured.
“Big brother!!”
Paeng Hoyeon shouted from far away as she sprinted over.
When she saw how battered I looked, her face twisted with sympathy.
As the later-generation disciples gathered around, they all looked at the Blood Demon’s condition, then turned to me with eyes full of admiration.
At that moment, from the shattered cave entrance, Geumgang walked out after blasting away the collapsed rocks.
“Namu Amitabha... it seems the demon chief has been captured.”
I had come out ahead of him because I was worried after hearing all those heavy thuds from his fight with that massive iron mace, but thankfully Geumgang didn’t seem to have a single scratch on him.
“Wow, that was insanely cool. How did you do that?”
Cheongpung said, his face flushed with excitement as he glanced around at the frozen wounds left behind by my battle and the shattered ground around us.
I wanted to answer him, but my strength and inner energy were completely gone, and a crushing fatigue washed over me.
My eyes slowly closed.
When I opened them again, I was in a room of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
“You’re finally awake!”
At the sound of the voice, I turned my head and saw Paeng Hoyeon and Shin Yu-eun looking at me.
When I tried to sit up, my whole body ached. I could even feel the sensation returning to my left arm.
“You were lying down for three days...”
Shin Yu-eun continued, her eyes brimming with tears.
“I heard you were hurt because of me... Thank you for saving me.”
“I only did what anyone should have done.”
I said it to let her know I was fine, but Shin Yu-eun still looked apologetic.
“So what happened to the Blood Demon?”
“We subdued him and were planning to take him to the Martial Alliance, but he died on the way there.”
Paeng Hoyeon answered, her voice tinged with regret.
“I heard his whole body suddenly melted away, and then he disappeared without a trace.”
Shin Yu-eun added quietly.
“Still, we’re investigating the bandit den that was the Blood Demon’s hideout! We should find some clues!”
“I hope something turns up.”
“Right. While Young Master Han was recovering, Alliance Leader-nim made a surprise declaration.”
“A declaration? What kind of declaration?”
“He said big brother is the next alliance leader!”
“Huh?!”
At Paeng Hoyeon’s sudden announcement that I was the next alliance leader, my head went blank.
“Out of nowhere? What are you talking about?”
“It looks like Alliance Leader-nim was watching when you subdued the Blood Demon. He told all the later-generation disciples that you’d be the next alliance leader, then went straight back to the Martial Alliance.”
“Well, you did single-handedly bring down the Blood Demon, and among the later-generation disciples you’re already the strongest...”
Shin Yu-eun added timidly, “So I think that’s how he decided.”
“He wasn’t joking when he said that, was he...?”
At my question, both Paeng Hoyeon and Shin Yu-eun shook their heads.
This is bad.
Being the alliance leader sounded exhausting, troublesome, and loaded with responsibility. I had no intention of taking that on.
If I’d wanted that kind of power, I’d have fought my eldest brother for the position of Ice Palace Lord back in the North Sea from the start.
I had absolutely no desire to become the alliance leader, which was clearly far more burdensome and annoying than the lord of the Ice Palace.
For now, let’s go to the Martial Alliance.
I brushed myself off and got to my feet, preparing to head there at once.
“Thank you for everything during this time.”
“What are you thanking us for? We’re the ones who received more than enough grace from Young Master Han. Besides, we should make a good impression on the next alliance leader too. Heh heh.”
Tang Seonyak saw me off with a hearty laugh.
For reasons I didn’t understand, Shin Yu-eun also wanted to come with me to the Martial Alliance, so the three of us, Paeng Hoyeon, Shin Yu-eun, and I, set out together.
Why would he declare me the next alliance leader without even telling me first?
With that question in my head, I headed for Anhui Province.
By the time I arrived at the Martial Alliance, it seemed my becoming the next alliance leader had already been decided, because the guards greeted me accordingly.
“Aren’t you the next alliance leader? Alliance Leader-nim is in his office.”
“Ah... thank you. But I haven’t actually been confirmed as the next alliance leader yet...”
I immediately stormed into the alliance leader’s office.
“Alliance Leader-nim!”
Namgung Taeseong jumped at my sudden appearance.
“Ah, you startled me! Are you fully recovered?”
“That’s not the issue, is it?”
I glared at Namgung Taeseong with intense suspicion.
“Ahem... is the problem that we failed to capture the Blood Demon?”
“That’s not the problem. Why am I suddenly the next alliance leader?”
“Well, you’re the strongest among the later-generation disciples, aren’t you?”
“That may be true, but... I’m from the Ice Palace, so I have no ties to the Central Plains, do I?”
“Your father seemed to like the idea.”
Namgung Taeseong held out two letters to me.
One was a letter from Namgung Taeseong stating that he wanted to appoint me as the next alliance leader, and the other was my father’s reply, saying that since I was his son, it was indeed a very good idea.
“You didn’t ask for my opinion.”
“Then I’m asking now. You really don’t want to be the alliance leader?”
Namgung Taeseong’s expression grew a little more serious.
“Don’t stand there talking; let’s move somewhere else. The two behind you look uncomfortable.”
At his words, I looked back and saw Paeng Hoyeon and Shin Yu-eun standing there at a loss.
We moved to the reception room next to the office.
Once we were seated, Namgung Taeseong spoke again.
“First of all, I do feel a little sorry for declaring you the next alliance leader without consulting you.”
“Why did you suddenly declare me the next alliance leader?”
“The biggest reason is!”
Namgung Taeseong paused for effect.
“It’s just too hard to keep being the alliance leader.”
“Pardon?”
At his words, all three of us were dumbfounded.
“I’m serving as both the head of the Namgung Clan and the leader of the Martial Alliance, so it’s exhausting.”
Namgung Taeseong said it with complete conviction.
“And I also think it’s about time I needed a successor.”
“Fine. I understand that it’s hard, and that it’s about time to have a successor. But why me, specifically? Just because I’m the strongest?”
“Of course the alliance leader has to be strong. But that’s not all. The most important point is...”
“The most important point is?”
Various things flashed through my mind, like character and temperament, but what came out of Namgung Taeseong’s mouth was an unexpected word.
“Looks!”
I was speechless at that ridiculous requirement.
And yet for some reason, Paeng Hoyeon and Shin Yu-eun were nodding along.
“I guess...” Paeng Hoyeon muttered under her breath.
“What do looks have to do with it?”
“Because people naturally feel favorably toward, and are willing to follow, someone who is good-looking.”
“Mm-hm...”
Shin Yu-eun nodded as though she agreed with that.
“Still, Namgung Hyeongeom and Tang Jin aren’t exactly lacking in looks either, are they?”
“Those boys are both strong, and they’re handsome. But there’s one very big problem.”
“A problem? What problem would keep them from becoming alliance leader?”
“They’re already heirs to their own families.”
“How is that a problem?”
“A very big one. Didn’t I already say it? If I have to serve as both clan head and alliance leader, it’s too much work!”
Namgung Taeseong’s resolve seemed utterly firm.
He was convinced I was the best choice.
Then the door opened and Sohui came in.
“So you’re all here. Big brother, it’s been a while.”
“It has been a while. You’ve been well?”
“Nothing much has happened to me. I heard you’ve become the next alliance leader? Congratulations. As expected of big brother!”
“Uh... uh...”
I ended up nodding along before I even realized it.
With Sohui smiling so brightly, I couldn’t bring myself to say that I didn’t want to be the next alliance leader.
“Hahaha! Then I’ll be off, I’m busy! See you later~”
Namgung Taeseong slipped away from the room just like that.
In the end, I had become the alliance leader’s successor without meaning to.
Still, I haven’t officially become alliance leader yet... That means it could still change before then, right?
I comforted myself with that thought, having somehow become the successor anyway.
With Namgung Taeseong gone, four of us remained in the reception room.
“May I ask what brings you here?”
Sohui asked Shin Yu-eun.
“I came along because I wanted to repay Young Master Han in some small way.”
“Repay him?”
Sohui glanced at me sideways.
“During the Blood Demon purge, I saved Miss Shin, and it seems she followed me here to thank me for that. But you don’t need to repay me, Miss Shin.”
“B-but I’m just so grateful...”
“Since big brother says it’s fine, I think you could just head back to Emei Sect.”
Paeng Hoyeon added her two cents to Sohui’s words.
“I still... want to repay the favor...”
Shin Yu-eun’s tone was timid, but she wasn’t backing down easily.
“Anyway, I overheard a bit on the way here, and it sounds like there are some sects opposing your becoming the next alliance leader?”
Sohui brought up something encouraging.
“Oppose? If they oppose it, would they just choose someone else as the next alliance leader?”
“Huh? No, that’s not what I meant. No matter who gets chosen, not everyone is going to agree. We’ll persuade the places that object.”
“I see. Then who’s against it, I wonder...”
We were in the middle of that conversation when Jegal Jinhyeon opened the door and came in.
“Fortunately, you were still here.”
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s about the next alliance leader. Since there are many sects that don’t know Young Master Han very well, we’ve received a lot of letters saying they’d like to meet you at least once.”
“They’re not opposed?”
“There isn’t really any reason to oppose it, is there? Everyone already knows what you accomplished during this expedition, so the mood is more like they want to see you for themselves. If all the young talents from each sect lost to you, it makes sense that they’d be curious.”
“Then what do we do now?”
“That’s why I’m telling you this. Your first duty as the alliance leader’s successor is to travel to each sect, announce that you are the next alliance leader, and return.”