Chapter 70: Became the Family Head
Before leaving Dok Ma's estate,
I summoned Sa Wol.
"How many did we catch?"
"Seven in total. I got five, and Tak Horak nabbed two."
"They sent quite a few, huh. Any get away?"
"None."
I'd figured there would be spies trying to figure out what went down between me and Dok Ma.
To throw them off, I'd pretended to scramble for a palanquin and rode out in it, keeping my condition hidden.
The whole act of looking like I'd been humiliated by Dok Ma was to gauge their reactions.
Who would've thought you'd actually play the fool like I said... but damn, you really did it.
At the Sado family gates, when the messenger told me to head to the family head's quarters, Pa Cheon chimed in.
That's how easy they are to use. That's why they're family head and elders. If their brains turned even a little faster, they'd have been purged ages ago.
What a ridiculous paradox—climbing to the top precisely because they're so incompetent.
Sado Gwang probably just needed obedient hounds, not clever ones that might defy orders.
So, we're going to tear it all down. You ready? It's your body, after all.
Honestly, my attachment to the Sado family as a whole has tanked, so I don't really care... but whatever, I'm fine either way.
Once we seize power...
Seize it how?
I couldn't say it would make tracking down Sado Gwang's traces easier—not when his wounds had only just started healing.
Wouldn't it be way better for you when you get your body back?
True enough.
With Pa Cheon's approval, I—
"Sado family head Sado Mu Yeol and the elders have inflicted irreparable damage on the Sado family. As the one who became young master, I cannot stand by. I declare: from this moment, I am the head of the Sado family."
Sado Mu Yeol froze, his brain short-circuiting at my words. Then his face flushed crimson, and he bellowed.
"You worm! How dare you spout such insolence before the family head!"
"This is the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. So yes—dare. Insolence. Spouting."
Pa Cheon ramped up Domination the instant he caught my drift. Ever since achieving his incomplete Three Flowers Gather at the Summit, Pa Cheon's control over his energy had grown far more precise, letting him wield Domination more efficiently and for longer.
"Those are words only the strong can hurl at the weak."
Domination's pressure crushed down from all sides. It would burn through Pa Cheon's energy fast, but that was fine. If a real fight broke out, he could recover in real time now—and we had Sa Wol, our anti-personnel area-denial human weapon.
Me shaking them up, Sa Wol manifesting her simsang—that'd be enough.
"Urk!"
"Gah!"
Stifled groans erupted everywhere.
This was only possible because Pa Cheon was a genius. Even with the same techniques and inner energy reserves, no one else could pull off this level of power.
At this point, maybe I should retitle this thing Everyone But the Protagonist Is a Genius.
In a story like that, the protagonist would be utterly despairing. Everyone else a genius? How unfair.
Anyway.
Can't hold it forever, though.
It's fine. Reactions are coming soon.
And sure enough.
"Worm!"
Sado Mu Yeol drew his sword.
"Listen up! That bastard just got humiliated by Dok Ma and now he's bluffing! Take him down now, and victory is obvious!"
Sado Mu Yeol screamed until veins bulged in his neck. But...
"...?"
No one stepped forward.
"What are you waiting for? Strike him down!"
"Family head."
Mu Yeong-do, Sado Mu Yeol's closest confidant, spoke up.
"What is it? Why aren't you attacking?"
"Lead by example first, family head."
"...What?"
Mu Yeong-do shook his head.
"For cultists, justification is power. Conflicts are settled by strength. Especially an internal Sado family matter... the head should step up personally."
"How much have I paid you, and now you say this?!"
Mu Yeong-do's face twisted at the accusation of being bought off.
"That's separate from this crisis. My contract with you never included fighting a Super Peak expert! Right, everyone?"
The family head faction warriors nodded in agreement.
"Elder Il, say something!"
"I..."
Iljangno—Sado Gi—glanced between me and the family head, then...
"I apologize, young master. I was blinded by the family head's words and lost my judgment for a moment."
He bowed to me.
Slippery old snake...
I agreed with Pa Cheon.
Sado Mu Yeol lacked the brains to set this board. Iljangno was the real architect.
But taking out Iljangno now...
The family head's warriors, having witnessed my power, seemed ready to bow out. They were bound by contracts, not loyalty, after all.
The elders were different, though.
They'd long harbored grudges against the Sado family and would fight to the death if pushed.
With Sa Wol, we'd win—but it'd be a pyrrhic victory. Losing all the family's workers would erase any point in becoming head.
Iljangno can wait.
I focused on the moment.
With his trusted warriors turning, Sado Mu Yeol was a puppet with cut strings, panic twisting his face.
I withdrew Domination via Pa Cheon and drove in the wedge.
"Cultists enforce their will through strength. Sado family head Sado Mu Yeol—I challenge you to a duel to claim your position."
For cultists, duels were sacred.
Back then, Sado Hwan got fame and flak for dodging duels behind Sa Wol's skirt, claiming, "Beat her first if you think you can take me."
But Sado Mu Yeol had no such excuse now.
Refusing a challenge stripped him of legitimacy as head.
"Ha... haha...!"
Sado Mu Yeol let out a hollow laugh.
"You idiots... fools deceived by a fake!"
He staggered forward.
"Today, the Sado family's two-century lineage crumbles..."
"At least I never blinded myself with power and harmed the family."
"Shut up!"
Sado Mu Yeol shrieked like a cornered beast.
"Without you, the Sado family could've been the top demonic house—not just one of the Six! We might've even produced a Heavenly Demon! You ruined the grand plan!"
I felt it again, crystal clear.
You can't break a madman's convictions with words.
We can win, right?
...Against anyone but a real Peak expert, yeah. This guy? Easy.
I got why Pa Cheon was confident.
Shing-!
Sado Mu Yeol assumed his stance—the starting form of the Asura Twelve Forms, taught only to Sado direct descendants.
Even I, no martial arts expert, could tell at a glance: it was garbage.
The family head hasn't trained properly since taking the seat. Just gorged on Sado Gwang's scraps, eyes bloodshot for more.
Drunk on his lofty title as head of one of the demonic Six Families, he'd neglected training for booze and fatty feasts. Muscles withered, inner energy stagnated.
Peak in name only—barely first-rate at the edge, able to scrape out sword qi. Keep him close, and it's a stomp.
No way I'm giving him distance.
Before, his footwork might've been trouble—but after the ruins and getting the Blink Jade, I could counter that now.
In short: my current specs let me beat low-end first-rates one-on-one. Leveled up.
It's overwhelming... straight-up thrilling.
Back when even third-rates could squash me flat and I'd just bluff, now I had real strength. Sure, thanks to Pa Cheon—the ultimate weapon and top-tier wuxia AI.
Gearscore counts as skill.
"Come at me. I'll yield the first move."
Sado Mu Yeol beckoned mockingly.
Yielding first strike was a master's condescension to an inferior—his pride refusing to yield till the end.
In that case...
Victory was certain, but how mattered. I needed to crush him overwhelmingly to justify my past acts.
Pa Cheon. That thing—can we use it again?
Domination fused with recirculation?
Yeah.
Pa Cheon had once mixed Domination and recirculation in fury at Sado Gwang. Absurd, really.
Domination was a Super Peak master's lingering intent—meant to manifest raw, not adapt. Like reshaping a flawless diamond by hand.
But Pa Cheon pulled it off. Genius energy control? Or less strain without a human body? Who knows.
Possible.
End it in one strike. Mysterious Style.
You love that one.
Only mysterious move I know besides the directions.
Pa Cheon chuckled inwardly.
"Come, Sado Hwan! I'll show you the power of the true heir!"
I gripped Pa Cheon from midair. Energy coalesced within him—I felt it.
And.
Flash-!
My body leaped through space. Sado Mu Yeol's shocked face zoomed in close. Blink.
Flash-!
Another blink, and I spun, swinging Pa Cheon.
In that instant.
A massive strain hit my wrist—then vanished.
Thud!
Sado Mu Yeol collapsed, body in rags. His clothes weren't torn—they were shredded to scraps. His neat hair was a wild mess. Cuts everywhere oozed blood.
"Haha... hahaha..."
He laughed, broken and empty.
But that was just the appetizer.
"How...?!"
"Sword qi with that destructive power...!"
"And he held back! No need for gang qi at that level..."
Awe and terror rippled through the crowd.
It had to.
Behind the slumped Sado Mu Yeol, the ground was gouged in a deep V—like a beast's claw mark.
"Elder Il, Sado Gi. Do you accept this young master Sado Hwan as family head?"
"We do...! Hail the family head!"
"Hail the family head!"
The warriors bowed and shouted in unison.
A chill of goosebumps and thrill ran through me.
Four months into this Murim Return world.
I had become the family head.