Chapter 44: Tang Clan Meeting-1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 44: Tang Clan Meeting-1
The Sichuan Tang Clan.
Beyond being the greatest family in Sichuan, they were a clan eyeing the title of the greatest in the Central Plains. Among the Six Great Clans, they held an unrivaled position.
While the other members of the Six Great Clans had established themselves as the preeminent families of their respective regions, the Tang Clan was not satisfied with Sichuan alone. They began to expand their influence further and further, and before long, they had evolved into a massive, singular power capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Cheonmu Alliance.
A major factor behind this growth was the fact that they were the in-laws of the Cheonmu Alliance Leader, Lee Jae-won. Of course, the other Six Great Clans had also formed marital ties with Lee Jae-won, but the Tang Clan was the only one to actively leverage this advantage to expand their family’s power.
While the other clans stopped at solidifying their local positions, the Tang Clan went further, aggressively expanding their businesses and influence.
The Tang Clan’s ironclad rule—to return favors twofold and repay grudges tenfold—earned them the trust of numerous merchant groups and caused the revenue of their self-operated escort agencies to skyrocket.
Furthermore, the Tang Clan, famous for their hidden weapon techniques, operated their own blacksmith shops. Their technical skill was so superior that many sought them out not just for hidden weapons, but for swords, sabers, spears, and other armaments as well.
Assuming two martial artists are of equal skill, the quality of their weapons becomes the deciding factor. Thus, countless martial artists sought out Tang Clan-branded weapons.
Because the Tang Clan traded these weapons exclusively through their own merchant groups, they were able to reap exorbitant profits.
Most merchant groups typically received goods through suppliers and took a cut from distribution and transaction fees. However, the Tang Clan was capable of self-production, self-distribution, and self-trading. This allowed them to trade Tang Clan weapons—which were of vastly superior quality—at prices that didn't differ much from other merchant groups.
Naturally, business flourished, and they were able to leap forward as a massive merchant group occupying over sixty percent of the weapon market.
It had been twenty years since the Heavenly Demon Emperor was defeated by the Absolute Martial God, Lee Jae-won.
The Tang Clan was enjoying a golden age unlike any other in its history.
Sichuan Tang Clan.
The Clan Head’s Office.
A man sat at his desk, resting his chin on his hand.
The man was the Poison King, Tang Jin-cheol, the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan currently enjoying its peak prosperity.
'Hmm, what to do.'
He was currently deep in thought over a serious dilemma.
It was the matter of succession.
He should have appointed a Young Clan Head a long time ago. However, using the expansion of the family as an excuse, he had delayed and delayed, leaving the position of Young Clan Head vacant for nearly thirty years.
Naturally, many elders and seniors had protested. In the recent clan meeting, the appointment of the Young Clan Head was a more central issue than even the punishment of Tang Se-gi.
Tang Jin-cheol had a massive headache. This was a matter of a completely different magnitude than cleaning up after Tang Se-gi’s delinquent antics.
The Tang Clan was at its peak. To pass on this glory to future generations and ensure continued prosperity, he had to place someone worthy in the position of Young Clan Head.
The problem was that there were too many candidates.
Though his love for his primary wife, Un Ga-ryeo, was profound, he had taken five more wives for the sake of political positioning. As a result, he had fathered far too many children.
He had fifteen sons and four daughters.
Since only a male could become the head of the Tang Clan, even excluding the daughters, fifteen candidates remained.
In his eyes, with the exception of the youngest, Tang Se-gi, none of the fifteen were particularly extraordinary or particularly lacking. Any of them would likely be able to lead the Tang Clan well.
However, the elders and seniors seemed to think differently.
After quickly handing down the punishment for Tang Se-gi, they immediately brought up the topic of appointing the Young Clan Head. Each mentioned the candidate pushed by their respective faction, and before long, voices were raised, and they were on the verge of coming to blows.
And this was happening right in front of him, the Clan Head.
While he had delayed the appointment, the factions supporting each candidate had grown so large that they no longer felt the need to watch the Clan Head’s every move.
This was why Tang Jin-cheol was so troubled.
They were all more or less the same, so why were these people fighting so tooth and nail?
They were busy tearing down opposing candidates, and as a father, Tang Jin-cheol felt terrible hearing his sons being badmouthed.
And he could feel it. If he left things as they were, a bloodbath within the family was inevitable.
After twenty years of effort, the clan had finally begun to gain fame as the greatest family, but it looked like the succession struggle was going to ruin everything.
This was why Tang Jin-cheol was in such deep thought. He had to decide who to pass the succession to and verify the validity of that choice.
But no matter how much he thought about it, they were all mediocre.
If he chose the one with the highest martial arts, they lacked intelligence; if he chose the one who was smart, their martial arts were lacking. It was always like that.
There were many who were outstanding in one field, but he couldn't find anyone who excelled beyond that. This was his conclusion as a father, even before being the Clan Head.
As for their character, excluding the youngest, they were all reasonably selfish and possessed a reasonable sense of chivalry. There was no clear standard to choose by.
He needed a revolutionary method. A method so definitive and innovative that all the elders and seniors would shut their mouths and accept it.
"I'll have to open the Godok Hall."
Tang Jin-cheol stood up as if he had made his decision. He intended to reconvene the clan meeting.
*
Godok (Gu Poison).
Various venomous creatures—centipedes, snakes, spiders, toads, and the like—are placed into a large jar, which is then sealed. When the lid is opened a month later, only one creature remains alive, having devoured the others and absorbed their toxins to become even more lethal. This survivor is called Godok.
The name "Godok Hall" was derived from this, referring to a cruel ancient custom of the Tang Clan used in the past to select a successor.
The Godok Hall was one of those practices so horrific and cruel that it made the title of a "prestigious orthodox sect" seem like a joke, as countless members of the Tang bloodline had been sacrificed to pass through it.
The one who originally created the Godok Hall was the Poison Emperor, Tang Pae-gang. A man of the Sichuan Tang Clan who had once been ranked as the greatest under heaven, he was also famous as a lecher. He had seven wives and concubines beyond count.
With so many wives came many children; among his legitimate offspring alone, he had twenty sons.
This was where his headache began. Because he had so many children, selecting a successor was difficult. Furthermore, each of the seven wives hoped their own child would become the Clan Head and began expanding their factions with the help of their own families.
Everyone urged him to select an heir, and Tang Pae-gang faced the first true obstacle of his life.
Though he had over twenty sons, perhaps because they all inherited his blood, they were all talented, making it difficult to distinguish who was superior. If there had been one exceptionally gifted individual, he could have chosen him, but since everyone was talented, he couldn't find a proper way.
Ultimately, unable to find a suitable method, Tang Pae-gang continued to delay the selection. As a result, the factional infighting intensified, and the influence of the in-law factions within the Tang Clan grew to the point of crisis.
A crisis had come to the Tang Clan at the height of its prosperity.
Watching this unfold, Tang Pae-gang realized he couldn't let it continue. After much deliberation, he came up with a clever plan. He would select a successor and wipe out the in-law factions all at once.
He immediately mobilized the best carpenters, blacksmiths, and formation masters in the Central Plains to carry out a massive construction project. A year later, he completed a vast building known as the Godok Hall.
The site where the Godok Hall was built was originally a poison zone where various poisonous herbs and creatures Tang Pae-gang collected as a hobby lived wildly. He remodeled this area to build the hall.
The interior of the Godok Hall was filled with countless venomous creatures and toxic fogs, and it was rigged with perilous formations and mechanical traps.
Once the Godok Hall was finished, Tang Pae-gang threw all of his sons inside and waited for only one to emerge alive.
Many elders and seniors protested, but Tang Pae-gang was firm, and his will could not be broken. If anyone resisted, he purged them using the clan law as an excuse. Faced with his ruthless response, many chose silence over protest.
A month later.
Only one son survived and walked out of the Godok Hall, becoming the successor of the Tang Clan.
From then on, the Godok Hall became a fixed custom for selecting heirs, but because it was such a cruel and horrific method, it was eventually discarded and buried in history.
But now, Tang Jin-cheol was thinking of reviving that discarded atrocity.
'We've just started to spread our wings; we can't let them be clipped before we even take flight!'
The Tang Clan was currently enjoying great prosperity. If internal division occurred now due to a succession struggle, all their efforts until now would be in vain.
He couldn't allow that. As the head of the Tang Clan, the glory of the family was more important to him than his own children.
He had run tirelessly until now to make the Sichuan Tang Clan the greatest family in the Central Plains. Finally, twenty years later, he had built a massive power second only to the Cheonmu Alliance as a single entity.
If he could just solidify that position, the Tang Clan would continue its glory and prosperity even after his death. He couldn't allow them to tear each other apart over succession.
In that case, it would be better to open the Godok Hall and remove the seeds of discord.
Even if he were to designate someone as the heir himself, protests would surely arise. Yet, if he left things as they were, he feared the in-law factions would seize control of the Tang Clan.
Therefore, he decided to use the extreme method of the Godok Hall.
For the eternal prosperity of the Tang Clan.
He opened the doors to the meeting hall.
*
Inside the meeting hall.
"I believe the Third Young Master is the most suitable candidate for Young Clan Head."
"The Third Young Master? Isn't his martial arts weak? How can the Young Clan Head of a Murim family be so weak? I recommend the Sixth Young Master instead."
"The Sixth Young Master?! He may be stronger than his peers, but he can barely write his own name! He lacks the dignity required of a Clan Head. I recommend the Eighth Young Master."
"What?! The Eighth Young Master?! Isn't he the one with absolutely nothing extraordinary about him? Neither his martial arts nor his scholarship is outstanding."
"Are you finished talking?"
"I'm not!"
It was a complete mess. He had only brought up the topic of appointing the Young Clan Head. But as soon as they heard those words, they reacted violently and immediately began fighting amongst themselves.
Heated words were exchanged, and some were even beginning to circulate their internal energy.
He was angry. Did these people not see the Clan Head? Did they not realize who the master of the family was?
Tang Jin-cheol slowly began to let his internal energy flare.
And then—
BANG!
He slammed his hand down on the desk.
Whoosh!
A wave of energy instantly rippled out, and the faces of the elders and seniors turned pale.
It was a mistake. Because the Clan Head had done nothing but apologize for Tang Se-gi's issues lately, they had forgotten. They had forgotten just how powerful the man standing before them was.
Vroooom!
A dense wave of energy enveloped the entire meeting hall. Though they were all martial artists who had reached at least the Peak Realm, it was difficult to withstand the thick murderous aura of a Clan Head who had reached the absolute stage of the Transcendent Realm.
Cough!
Those with weaker internal energy began to cough up blood.
"From this moment on, anyone who opens their mouth before I do will be personally punished by me according to clan law."
Each word he spoke vibrated in their ears, and the emotion of fear began to crawl up their spines.
They remembered. This man was a legendary hero who, alongside the Absolute Martial God Lee Jae-won, had defeated the Heavenly Demon Emperor.
The elders and seniors of the Tang Clan shut their mouths. They couldn't say a word. They had ignored the Clan Head's authority, an act that was essentially mutiny. They could only be grateful for the Clan Head's mercy.
"Finally, it's quiet."
Shuuu.
In an instant, the murderous aura Tang Jin-cheol had used to shroud the hall vanished. Now that he had broken their spirits, they wouldn't dare act out.
"I am well aware that there is much talk regarding the selection of a successor. It is my own failure for not selecting one sooner."
The Clan Head bowed his head slightly, admitting his fault. The elders and seniors felt a sense of confusion. Why was he suddenly acting so humble? What was he trying to say?
"Therefore, I intend to correct that mistake now. I believe that will be best for everyone."
The elders and seniors gulped. It seemed the Clan Head had chosen a successor. Out of the fifteen candidates, who would become the heir to the Sichuan Tang Clan?
They watched Tang Jin-cheol’s lips, waiting for the words to come out.
"However, in my eyes, everyone is so outstanding that it is impossible to distinguish between them. Thus, I have found it difficult to select a successor."
Tang Jin-cheol paused and scanned the faces of those sitting in the hall. Everyone’s expression was filled with excitement and anticipation.
Tang Jin-cheol responded to those looks with a mischievous, almost boyish smile and continued.
"Therefore, I hereby declare the opening of the Godok Hall."
At his shocking announcement, the expressions of everyone in the room froze like stone.