Chapter 160: The Hwangbo Clan Enters Sect Seclusion
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 160: The Hwangbo Clan Enters Sect Seclusion
"W-wait! Please, Tang Clan Head, calm yourself!"
Hearing Sun-woo’s words, Hwangbo Gap spoke with a look of sheer panic.
War.
That was absolutely out of the question.
Of course, Hwangbo Gap had considered a war with the Tang Clan before—specifically, a war to monopolize their wealth and technology to prevent his own clan’s decline.
But that was before the Poison King walked out of that room alive.
Now that he knew the man hadn't died, war was no longer an option. In the Murim, the presence of a single absolute master could produce staggering differences in outcome.
Furthermore, wasn't the Tang Clan Head a master of Poison Arts?
He was not someone who could be overwhelmed by mere numbers. If a war broke out, the Hwangbo Clan would face nothing short of total extermination.
He couldn't let that happen. He had to stop it at all costs.
"How can I be calm?! The very clan that invited me tried to kill me! They even detonated Thunderbolt Bombs! How do you expect me to stay calm?!"
Sun-woo roared at Hwangbo Gap.
He was incensed to the core. If he had woken up even a moment later or hadn't fully recovered his internal energy, he would have been caught in the blast and killed instantly.
Blocking that explosion had consumed over seventy percent of his internal energy. It was an attack powerful enough to make him realize just how lethal the situation had been.
It was only thanks to the falling debris from the ceiling dampening the chain reaction that he survived; without that, even the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth might not have been enough to block it all.
Who wouldn't be furious after their life had been so blatantly threatened?
"Oh, heavens... Clan Head, please forgive us. This entire plot was the work of the Clan Head, Hwangbo Gang, and the Heavenly King Unit!"
Hwangbo Gap quickly shifted gears, moving to cut his losses by throwing others under the bus.
Of course, such a statement would tarnish the honor of the deceased Hwangbo Gang and the Heavenly King Unit, but what choice did he have?
The living had to stay alive.
"And the ones who detonated the bombs?"
"They were also merely following orders previously given by Hwangbo Gang."
"Listen here, General Manager."
Sun-woo called out to Hwangbo Gap, his voice dripping with murderous aura.
"P-please... speak your command."
Exposed to Sun-woo’s killing intent, Hwangbo Gap stammered as he responded.
"Do you take me for a fool?"
Sun-woo’s murderous aura grew even denser.
"Eek!"
"A matter involving the very fate of the clan could not have been handled by Hwangbo Gang alone. Surely, there were countless others who conspired with him."
It was the truth. Though Hwangbo Gang had led the charge, he could only plan the Poison King’s assassination because he had the support of the majority of the elders and the Council of Elders.
Thud.
"Please! I beg of you! Withdraw your wrath!"
Hwangbo Gap fell to his knees and prostrated himself.
The only thing he could do now was beg the absolute master for mercy. The Hwangbo Clan could not handle the Poison King. If war broke out, it meant extermination.
He had to save them. He had to save the clan members.
"If it were you, could you forgive those who sought your life?!"
Sun-woo shouted back at the prostrate man.
It was absurd. Asking him to spare those who tried to kill him? Even a passing dog would laugh at such a notion.
He wasn't a bloodthirsty murderer, but he wasn't merciful enough to let those who aimed for his life go free. A life could only be repaid with a life.
That was the rule he had set for himself. He intended to kill every single person involved in the assassination attempt.
Besides, he had more than enough justification. No one in the Central Plains would dare criticize him or the Tang Clan for this.
"Everyone!"
It was then. Hwangbo Gap, who had slightly lifted his head, began to shout while looking at Sun-woo.
"I will offer the heads of every single person involved in the assassination plot! Please, show us mercy!"
Having finished his plea, Hwangbo Gap slammed his head back onto the ground.
This was the only way—the only way to quell the Poison King’s rage.
At that moment...
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
All the Hwangbo Clan martial artists who had followed them to the secluded training hall threw themselves to the ground, slamming their foreheads against the floor.
""Please, forgive us!""
They began to beg for mercy in unison. They, too, realized the gravity of the situation—that their clan was on the brink of total annihilation.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
They slammed their heads repeatedly, begging over and over again.
"Hero! How can the innocent family members be at fault? I will offer the heads of everyone connected to this incident. Please, I beg of you, just spare us from clan extermination!"
Thump.
Thump.
Hwangbo Gap slammed his head so hard that blood began to pour down his forehead. Yet, as if he didn't care, he continued to strike the ground even harder.
Sun-woo watched the scene in silence.
"You swear there is not a single lie in your words?"
Sun-woo spoke, looking down at Hwangbo Gap.
"Of course! I know every single person involved. If you doubt me, you may take their heads yourself, Clan Head!"
Perhaps finding hope in Sun-woo’s response, Hwangbo Gap began to speak desperately.
"Fine!"
Sun-woo opened his mouth with a resolute expression.
"Part of me wants to soak everyone who carries the Hwangbo name in poison and wipe out the entire bloodline right now. But how can I say the innocent family members are guilty? I will settle this debt by taking the lives of those involved and half of the clan’s total assets. Do you have any objections?"
Sun-woo continued, looking at the Hwangbo martial artists prostrated on the ground.
In truth, Sun-woo had no intention of exterminating the entire clan. To someone who had lived in the modern era, the concept of guilt by association was utterly foreign.
How could those who shared the same blood be punished for a crime they didn't commit? He wasn't a mass murderer; killing the conspirators and confiscating half their wealth would be more than enough.
"How could we possibly object?!"
Hearing Sun-woo’s words, Hwangbo Gap slammed his head into the ground again, his face filled with overwhelming gratitude.
From the Poison King’s perspective, he had more than enough justification to slaughter the entire Hwangbo clan. Yet, he was sparing the family members and even leaving them half their fortune.
How could he not be moved? Tears began to stream down Hwangbo Gap’s face. They had avoided total destruction.
"First, lead me to the masterminds of the assassination. I shall take their lives personally."
"As you command."
Hwangbo Gap rose from his spot.
"Please, follow me."
He turned and began to walk. Sun-woo followed suit.
Though Hwangbo Gang and the Heavenly King Unit were dead, their co-conspirators remained. He had to collect the blood debt from them.
A murderous glint flickered in Sun-woo’s eyes.
*
The Hwangbo Clan declared Sect Seclusion.
When people first heard the news, they scoffed, thinking it was an absurd joke.
Sect Seclusion?
What did Sect Seclusion even mean? It was the act of immediately ceasing all external activities related to the Murim.
Once a clan entered seclusion, its members were forbidden from traveling the Jianghu, and the clan had to withdraw from all Murim-related economic activities.
For a Murim clan, this was a fatal blow. Without external activity, their prestige would vanish, and the clan’s existence would gradually fade from public memory. Furthermore, with economic activities banned, all the business entities they managed would become fair game for others, and the clan would lose its source of funding.
For a Murim clan to declare Sect Seclusion was an indirect admission that they were ruined.
That was why so many people laughed it off. How could the Hwangbo Clan, one of the Five Great Clans, declare seclusion?
Even if they had suffered heavy losses in their trade business, they still possessed numerous masters and the absolute expert known as the Heavenly King Divine Fist. With their reputation, there was no way they could fall.
However, before long, rumors began to circulate that added credibility to the news.
It was the rumor that the primary strength of the Hwangbo Clan—including the Heavenly King Divine Fist Hwangbo Gang and the Heavenly King Unit—had been completely wiped out.
The masses were shocked.
Who was Hwangbo Gang? He was a hero who had displayed great valor during the Great War of Righteousness and Demons twenty years ago, a master who had reached the absolute Transcendent Realm.
And what of the Heavenly King Unit? They were the core force of the Hwangbo Clan, famous throughout the Murim.
For them to be annihilated... what on earth had happened?
Upon hearing the news, people suspected an attack by the Demonic Cult. In the past, even the Tang Clan, once known as the greatest power in the Central Plains, had been unable to withstand a Demonic Cult raid, resulting in the massacre of their direct bloodline.
Surely, the same had happened to the Hwangbo Clan.
However, the follow-up rumors left the people even more stunned.
The rumor was that the one who had annihilated Hwangbo Gang, the Heavenly King Unit, and the rest of the clan’s main force was the Poison King.
Countless people were aghast.
Why would the Poison King inflict such damage as to force the Hwangbo Clan into seclusion? Although the Tang Clan had been ousted from the Six Great Clans to make it the Five Great Clans, they were still a prestigious Orthodox sect, and the Poison King was still a hero of the Great War.
How could a man called a hero commit such a cruel act?
People were desperate to know the reason. And soon, when the truth was revealed, they had no choice but to accept it.
The Hwangbo Clan had plotted to assassinate the Poison King.
However, the Poison King had faced their assassination plot head-on, overcome it, and taken the heads of everyone involved.
When the details of the incident became known, the people were beyond shocked. They couldn't believe a prestigious Orthodox family like the Hwangbo Clan had committed such a cowardly act, and they were terrified by the Poison King’s overwhelming martial might in overcoming those obstacles.
According to the rumors, they had even used Thunderbolt Bombs—known as demonic weapons—to kill him, yet the Poison King had endured.
It was staggering.
People began to cautiously speculate if he had reached the Profound Realm, the stage of a Half-Immortal.
Soon, that speculation spread as a rumor, setting the entire Murim ablaze.
A master of the Profound Realm had appeared, other than the Absolute Martial God.
People were ecstatic at the emergence of a new Martial God, and they did not hesitate to call him the Poison Emperor instead of the Poison King.
A new emperor had been born in the Murim.
*
Main Headquarters of the Cheonmu Alliance.
"Sob... sob, sob, sob... My Lord!"
A woman was weeping piteously.
She had cried so much that her makeup was a mess, and her eyes were so swollen they rivaled a goldfish's. Furthermore, her voice was so filled with resentment that it sent chills down one's spine.
She clung to the man before her—her husband, Lee Jae-won—and wailed.
"Waaaaah!"
‘Fuck.’
As her wailing grew louder, Lee Jae-won cursed inwardly.
She was already old and unsightly, but with her makeup smeared, she looked truly hideous. And her voice was so loud. Her crying echoed throughout the entire office.
His head began to throb.
"Madam, please calm yourself."
Lee Jae-won began to soothe her.
"How can I be calm?! My clan! Your in-laws! They’ve been forced into seclusion! Moreover, even my brother Gang has met his end!"
At Lee Jae-won’s words, Hwangbo Yu-yeon screamed back.
She was currently consumed by extreme rage. She had heard the news that the Hwangbo Clan had been forced into seclusion by the Poison King. Furthermore, her brother, Hwangbo Gang, with whom she had been very close, had been killed by him.
It would be stranger if she weren't furious.
"My Lord, please avenge them. Please, appease the grudge of my brother Gang. Sob, sob, sob."
She began to plead with Lee Jae-won in a mournful tone.
Rumor had it that the Poison King had reached the Profound Realm, the stage of a Half-Immortal. The only one who could stop such a man was Lee Jae-won. No one else would be able to kill him.
‘You bitch, you’re getting snot on me.’
Of course, Lee Jae-won cursed inwardly, showing absolutely no interest in her grief.
He was incredibly annoyed right now. He was far too busy to listen to the complaints of an old woman he had no interest in.
He had just heard news that the Phoenix Hall was recruiting new members. He had been planning to sneak in and see if there were any good-looking girls, but then Hwangbo Yu-yeon had come looking for him.
‘She’s crying way too fucking much.’
Lee Jae-won cursed again.
If she were young, he might have pulled out his dick to comfort her, saying she looked cute when she cried, but seeing an old woman cry just felt pathetic and unsightly.
"I’m sorry, but I can’t do that, Yeon-mae."
"Why not?! He forced the innocent Hwangbo Clan into seclusion!"
"Actually, upon investigation, it turns out the Hwangbo Clan Head was the one who struck first. The Poison King was merely responding."
"That’s a blatant lie! How can you judge based on only one side’s story?!"
Hwangbo Yu-yeon retorted as if his words were absurd.
"It’s a fact already confirmed through the HS Agents. Even the leadership of the Hwangbo Clan admitted it, and we’ve secured testimony that the Hwangbo Clan invited the Tang Clan Head while he was staying at an inn."
Lee Jae-won continued with a calm expression.
‘So stop fucking crying and get out, you bitch.’
Of course, he didn't forget to add the insult in his head.
Their clan was the one at fault, so why was she taking her anger out on him? Besides, with the Demonic Cult on the move and their forces already stretched thin, he had no desire to take the risky move of trying to kill the Poison King.
The current trend was to bet on the Poison King, not the Hwangbo Clan.
"That...! It’s all fabricated!"
Hearing Lee Jae-won’s words, Hwangbo Yu-yeon shouted at him again.
‘Oh, for fuck’s sake, this bitch.’
Lee Jae-won cursed violently in his mind.
If he had explained it so thoroughly and diligently, shouldn't she just crawl out on her own? What was with this interrogation? Clearly, she had grown old not just in appearance but in mind as well.
‘Fuck, this is why the heroines should be virgins in their early twenties. Throw this kind of MILF to the dogs.’
Lee Jae-won fell into thought while hurling insults inwardly. He felt that if he kept listening to her, he’d lose the entire day.
Creeeeak.
It was then. The office door suddenly opened, and an unexpected savior appeared.
"Hwangbo Yu-yeon, why don't you stop acting so pathetic?"
The one who appeared was the Third Madam, Tang Jin-seol.
At her appearance, Lee Jae-won cheered inwardly.