Chapter 693: The One I’m Worried About Is the Head of the Un Clan
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 693: The One I’m Worried About Is the Head of the Un Clan
Sizzle.
Steam began to rise from the hot tea.
Tang Jin-seol gently lifted her teacup and took in the aroma. The deep, distinctive scent of the tea leaves stimulated her senses. It was a high-quality blend.
Slurp.
After fully savoring the fragrance, Tang Jin-seol took a sip.
"You still enjoy White Tiger Silver Needle, Brother."
Clack.
Setting the teacup back on the table, Tang Jin-seol continued with a soft smile.
"What brings you here?" Sun-woo asked her, his expression cold. He wanted to know the reason for her visit.
"Is there any reason a sister shouldn't visit her brother?" Tang Jin-seol replied with a relaxed smile.
"I didn't think our relationship was close enough to warrant a visit."
"Did you intend to never see me again for the rest of your life?"
"If we are in an antagonistic relationship, there's no need to see each other."
"How cold of you."
"It’s only natural."
Sun-woo looked at her with icy eyes. He felt no need to be on good terms with her. A nominal alliance until the Great War of Righteousness and Demons ended was more than enough.
"How did we drift so far apart?" Tang Jin-seol asked, her voice thick with regret. "Weren't we once quite close?"
"Let's be honest," Sun-woo said, narrowing his eyes. "We weren't close; our interests simply aligned."
He drew a firm line with a resolute expression. They had merely performed the role of siblings because it suited their goals; there had never been any special bond between them.
"Hearing you say that makes me feel quite hurt..." Tang Jin-seol continued with a bitter expression.
"If you're here to talk nonsense, leave. I have no intention of wasting time on wordplay with you."
Sun-woo cut her off decisively. He didn't want to waste time on her useless emotional appeals.
Tang Jin-seol stared at Sun-woo with a calm gaze. Then, she slowly shook her head. She realized that talking further would only increase his hostility.
"Fine. I'll get straight to the point," Tang Jin-seol said, her expression turning dry. "Punish the Head of the Jaegyeong Pavilion."
"Request denied."
Sun-woo dismissed it immediately without a moment's hesitation. It wasn't even worth considering.
"I believe I told you already. There will be no punishment for the Head of the Jaegyeong Pavilion."
"Do you intend to make an enemy of the Cheonmu Alliance?"
"I've said it many times. Anyone who threatens my family is an enemy of the Tang Clan."
"Even if that becomes the shortcut to the Tang Clan's ruin?"
"The moment we sell out family for the sake of safety, the Tang Clan is already as good as ruined."
"So you're choosing the path of destruction for the sake of honor?"
"I don't understand. Why are you so certain the Tang Clan will lose?"
"In terms of sheer scale, the Cheonmu Alliance is more than three times larger than the Tang Clan. Furthermore, public opinion is on their side. Do you really think the Tang Clan has the advantage in this situation?"
"Even so, I don't get the feeling we'll lose."
Sun-woo spoke in a calm tone.
"..."
Tang Jin-seol glared at Sun-woo in silence.
"You've changed, Brother," she said slowly.
"People are bound to change."
"I mean you've become foolish," Tang Jin-seol snapped sharply. "Or have you become drunk on arrogance? Do you think you're something special just because you've reached the Profound Realm?"
"I told you. If you can carry out your will, it's not arrogance—it's confidence."
"You don't have the ability to carry out your will."
"And how would you know that?"
"Because you won't be able to protect everyone."
Tang Jin-seol glared at Sun-woo with eyes like a venomous snake.
"If war breaks out, you might survive. But the majority of the Tang Clan's members will not escape death. Even if you are a master of the Profound Realm, you aren't an omniscient and omnipotent god. You can't protect everyone."
"..."
"If war happens, the clan will fall. All because of your useless stubbornness."
"I can protect them," Sun-woo said with a firm expression. "Did you think I was bluffing without any certainty?"
Sun-woo smiled as if it were ridiculous. Certainly, if he were alone, he might not be able to protect everyone as she said. Most of the clan members he was responsible for might meet their end.
But he wasn't alone. He possessed a massive force capable of protecting everyone.
That was why it was laughable—the way Tang Jin-seol tried to threaten him using the clan members as leverage.
"I'm curious. What is the source of that endless confidence?"
"I believe in myself and the hidden strength of the Tang Clan."
"Is it the North Sea Ice Palace?" Tang Jin-seol asked, ignoring his words.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You don't have to play innocent. I already know you've taken the North Sea Ice Palace as your backing."
Tang Jin-seol's eyes flashed sharply.
"Otherwise, there's no way you'd harbor the thought of opposing the Cheonmu Alliance with just the Tang Clan's strength, right?"
Tang Jin-seol looked at Sun-woo with certainty. She was convinced that the reason for Sun-woo's change in attitude was an alliance with the North Sea Ice Palace. Otherwise, the once-compliant Tang Clan would never have rebelled.
"Foolish... truly foolish," Tang Jin-seol said with a look of pity.
"What... is so foolish?"
"It's foolish of you to harbor the hope that you can become independent from the Cheonmu Alliance."
"Are you saying it's impossible?"
"The Cheonmu Alliance has the support of every sect in the Central Plains. If they don't support it, they're branded as Evil and Heretical Sects. That support is the Alliance's influence and asset. Do you really think the Tang Clan can survive intact against that massive influence?"
"It's not impossible."
"That confidence, which borders on conceit, is so foolish. Do you truly believe you can oppose the Cheonmu Alliance with something like the North Sea Ice Palace? With those uncivilized people who have nothing to offer but abundant resources?"
Tang Jin-seol smiled mockingly.
"Please, wake up. You're making a huge mistake. You're overestimating the strength of the North Sea Ice Palace. Joining hands with them changes nothing. You'll only go down together."
Tang Jin-seol spoke with an expression full of regret.
"Whether we fall or not is something we'll have to wait and see, isn't it? It's not for an outsider like you to meddle in."
"...Sigh."
Tang Jin-seol let out a deep sigh. Her frustration rose because he wouldn't listen. It felt as if the rational and pragmatic brother she knew had vanished, leaving only a petty and stubborn fool.
"How foolish," Tang Jin-seol said pityingly. "To think you have to see it with your own eyes to understand."
BOOM!
Rumble!
As soon as she finished speaking, a massive explosion erupted, and the building began to shake.
"It seems it has begun."
Seeing this, Tang Jin-seol spoke with a composed expression.
"What have you done!?"
Facing her calm demeanor, Sun-woo glared at her with sharp eyes.
"It's a gift for my ignorant brother."
In response to Sun-woo's question, Tang Jin-seol flashed an alluring smile.
"If you don't speak plainly, I won't forgive you, even if we share the same blood."
Sun-woo glared at her with a terrifying gaze.
Whoosh!
At the same time, he began to radiate a threatening murderous aura.
"I sent Eon Jung-gi to the Ice Palace Master," Tang Jin-seol said with a snake-like smile. "I expect a limb or two of hers is being broken right about now."
Spring!
Hearing her words, Sun-woo immediately stood up. He began to walk quickly toward the door. He intended to rush to Bukgung Yeon as fast as possible.
"If I were you, I wouldn't recommend going to the Ice Palace Master," Tang Jin-seol tried to stop him. "Should the Tang Clan really interfere in a power struggle between allied forces?"
Stop.
Sun-woo halted at her words. He slowly turned his head to look at Tang Jin-seol. She was wearing a rather sinister smile—a smile that felt unpleasant just to look at.
"Did you really have to go this far?"
Sun-woo glared at her with eyes as cold as the bitter cold northern wind.
"I just want to make you realize how futile the hope you're clinging to is."
"You've made a grave mistake."
"I only wish to set the Tang Clan on the right path," Tang Jin-seol said with a bright smile.
"Does the 'right path' for the Tang Clan mean being raised like livestock under the influence of the Cheonmu Alliance?"
"Livestock? That's a bit harsh. I just want the Tang Clan to live according to its station."
"You truly are a child no different from poison."
"Thank you for the compliment, Brother."
Tang Jin-seol smiled as if amused. To a member of the Tang Clan, being called poison was the most brilliant praise imaginable.
Thud. Thud.
Sun-woo turned around and continued walking forward.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Tang Jin-seol asked in confusion as she saw him walking away.
"I'm going to the Ice Palace Master."
"Do you intend to stop them?"
"If I don't, he'll end up dead."
Sun-woo spoke in a calm tone.
"If you go now, you'll lose your justification. Are you aware of that?"
When the Ice Palace Master annihilated the vanguard, the Tang Clan dismissed the incident as a mere power struggle between allies. They also avoided punishing her, claiming there was no justification to interfere, despite the Cheonmu Alliance's strong demands.
But if he interfered now, it would be revealed to the whole world that he favored the Ice Palace Master, and the Tang Clan would lose both its justification and its credibility. It was the worst possible move.
How could he even think of stopping it? it was absurd.
"I can't exactly let the clan be stained with blood, can I?"
Despite her warning, Sun-woo remained firm, as if he had no other choice.
"Are you that worried about the Ice Palace Master?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Sun-woo questioned her back with a look of genuine confusion.
"The one I'm worried about is the Head of the Un Clan. If I leave them be, he's going to die."
Sun-woo spoke with a serious expression.
"What... did you say!?"
Tang Jin-seol asked back with a dazed expression. It was a completely unexpected answer.
Worried that Eon Jung-gi's life was in danger? What kind of nonsense was that?
Thud. Thud.
Sun-woo ignored the stunned Tang Jin-seol and turned away. He began to move quickly.
"Wa... Wait!"
Tang Jin-seol snapped out of it and called after him urgently, but he had already completely vanished. Only Tang Jin-seol remained in the office, wearing a look of utter bewilderment.
*
CRASH!
A thunderous roar erupted.
Whoosh!
A massive figure was sent flying into the air.
Thump!
The large body crashed into the floor of the training ground with a heavy impact.
"Haha... Hahaha... Hahahahahaha!"
The man sprawled on the ground, Eon Jung-gi, began to laugh like a madman. He was filled with the pleasure of joy at such shockingly immense power.
She was strong. Insanely strong. So strong that he couldn't even leave a scratch on her. How could a human be this powerful? It was a moment that inspired awe.
"He's annoyingly sturdy."
An irritated voice reached Eon Jung-gi's ears. It was the voice of the person who had just slammed him into the ground.
Eon Jung-gi grinned broadly.
Spring!
He immediately stood up.
"Did I not tell you? This sturdy Jiangshi Technique is the pride of the Un Clan."
Eon Jung-gi spoke with a look of pride.
"That sturdiness is just an annoyance to me."
Bukgung Yeon's brow furrowed deeply. Eon Jung-gi's durability was starting to get on her nerves.
Clearly, she had the offensive advantage. She was faster than him and could land countless attacks. The problem was that despite taking those countless hits, she couldn't leave a single scratch on Eon Jung-gi's body.
He was tough—tough enough to withstand the attacks of a Profound Realm master.
"Have you reached the state of the Indestructible Body?" Bukgung Yeon asked coldly.
"The Indestructible Body is merely a stage one passes through. The realm this Clan Head pursues is even higher than that."
"This is getting tedious."
Bukgung Yeon's beautiful eyebrows furrowed even more. It seemed this duel was going to drag on.
"Hahahaha... Don't find it too tedious."
Eon Jung-gi laughed heartily and lunged forward.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The pressure was so intense it felt as if a rhinoceros were charging.
Watching him, Bukgung Yeon concentrated her cold qi into her hand. Her hand turned pure white and began to emit a brilliant light.
Without a moment's hesitation, Bukgung Yeon swung her hand.
BOOM!
A massive explosion followed, and a shockwave rippled outward, shaking heaven and earth.