Chapter 109
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Internal Strife (3)
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“How could you do this to me!”
“If you'd raised the boy properly, none of this unpleasantness would have happened.”
“Cheon-i is your son too!”
“If he carries my blood, he should know better than to commit such injustice.”
The woman sharply confronting Dang Myeong-hu was his wife, Zhuge Suran. She was furious that her son had been confined to his quarters and his position as young clan leader was now in jeopardy.
She trembled with rage at his heartless attitude. He hadn't even bothered to look for their injured son, simply abandoning him. Even if the boy was in the wrong, a father should forgive him.
“Are you turning your back on your own son for that lowly mongrel's sake?!”
“What do you want to hear? Didn't we agree never to speak of it again?”
“Do you think I don't know you secretly taught that brat martial arts?!”
“That doesn't make it a free pass for Cheon-i's crimes. Or do you want all the facts laid bare?”
Dang Myeong-hu spoke calmly, but to Zhuge Suran, it sounded like a threat. She knew the truth behind the incident.
Her son had mobilized assassins to kill that mongrel. If word got out, they would face public scorn. Better for him to stay locked in his room.
‘He still has feelings for that wench and her bastard!’
Her marriage to Dang Myeong-hu had been a political alliance between their clans. In contrast, Yeon-u's late mother had saved Dang Myeong-hu from grave injuries in Shinkang and become his first love. Even though it happened before they met, it was a humiliation she couldn't forget.
Haaa.
She calmed her mind. Getting emotional and pressing him wouldn't change his mind. They'd lived together for decades, but he was never swayed by affection.
Except for that woman and her bastard.
“No matter how much you protect him, Father will never acknowledge that brat.”
“I am the clan head of the main house. Father is merely the former head.”
“As you say, Cheon-i is the young clan leader. So please, don't do anything to shame the clan.”
She urged him to uphold the family's honor, but it amounted to the same thing: cast out Yeon-u.
“What on earth has that child done to deserve this? It's about time you accepted him!”
“Have you ever listened to me?!”
“I made Cheon-i the young clan leader, just as you wanted. If he hadn't caused this mess, nothing would have happened! Don't you think you're the one who brought all this on us?”
Dang Myeong-hu and Zhuge Suran always talked past each other. Perhaps Dang Cheon-i's resentment toward Dang Yeon-u stemmed from their own toxic feelings.
“You really outdid yourself this time! If you'd shown him even a little attention, none of this would have happened!”
“You still won't admit your fault. Leave. I have nothing more to say.”
His dismissal filled Zhuge Suran with humiliation. The harsher he was to her, the greater her rage toward that mongrel grew.
‘Just you wait. How long do you think you can keep protecting him?’
Zhuge Suran no longer begged her husband. She knew he wouldn't change his mind easily. Even so, she'd come to secure some leniency for her son. Surely, he wouldn't pursue formal punishment after this.
‘You value the family's honor above all else!’
She headed to her son's room.
As soon as the incident broke, she'd contacted the main house. Her son needed to become the Tang Clan's head for the Zhuge Clan's benefit as well. For mutual gain, she had to bolster his position.
And today, the item she'd requested had arrived.
“Mother, have they lifted the confinement?”
“Do you think your father is the type? Take this first.”
“What is it?”
“A Profound Heaven Pill. You must never let anyone take your place as young clan leader. Understand?”
“No one will covet my position.”
Profound Heaven Pill.
A spirit pill perfected by the Zhuge Clan's secret arts, granting a full year's worth of inner energy upon consumption. It was an unparalleled elixir given only to select members of the clan.
Confirming her son had swallowed the Profound Heaven Pill, Zhuge Suran left the room. She could feel he'd shed a layer of weakness.
‘Lowly scum. I'll make you regret it.’
She glared fiercely at the Origin Pavilion.
He'd failed to kill the mongrel, and instead, her son had been punished. The culprit behind it all was holed up there. Treating such a wretch like an honored guest made her blood boil.
She summoned a servant.
Her pride wouldn't allow her to let this slide. The clan itself was gunning for him.
But things rarely go as planned.
“I hear the succession struggle in the Tang Clan is getting ugly.”
“Rumor has it the young clan leader mobilized assassins to kill his half-brother.”
“The Tang Clan is a righteous faction—would they stoop to that?”
“They say he used killers from the Ten Blood Citadel.”
“A mother's different, but a father's the same. What a scary place.”
“Still, he's no bastard, is he?”
The rumors had been circulating through the city for some time. The Tang Clan hurriedly denied them and focused on tracking the source.
But pinpointing the origin wasn't easy.
They were gutter rumors, twisted and spread from mouth to mouth. People knew to fear the Tang Clan, but humans can't resist gossip. They itched to chew on the juicy bits.
There was another reason they couldn't find the source.
Even if the Ten Blood Citadel had been involved, assassins moved for profit. With no stake in it and no gain in crossing the Tang Clan, they stayed silent.
That left insiders, but who would be mad enough to spread rumors kicking their own feet?
In the end, the public's sharp scrutiny fell on the one who'd humiliated the Tang Clan.
‘Looks like there really is an inside sympathizer.’
-You'd be an idiot to pass up a chance like this.
‘Public outrage is the goal. Splashing mud on innocents.’
-Have you no conscience?
‘When did the Demon King ever care about conscience? I just live for the blood rush.’
-Knew you were like this, I should've come back alone.
‘Regret's always too late, no matter how quick.’
Mujin had unwittingly become the suspected source, an innocent bystander pointed at as the rumor-monger.
The aim was to spread the rumors, verify their truth, and drag the young clan leader's misconduct into the open.
He wasn't curious who was behind it.
Unless they were tied to the Demonic Cult of the Demon God, why interfere in family squabbles? Families bond through beatings and brawls. A few deaths just make the blood ties stronger.
Boom! Crash-crash-crash!
A duel was underway in the Origin Pavilion's courtyard. One man faced several opponents in succession without pause. Fighting multiples alone should be taxing, but only if their levels matched.
He dominated utterly. Iron Tiger's tone was nonchalant, as if unscathed.
“Master, shall I end it?”
“Yeah.”
Whoever spread the rumors, they'd come charging in to avenge the Tang Clan's humiliation. They were all greenhorns. Too bothersome to handle personally, so he'd left it to Iron Tiger.
Their faces showed an age gap of forty years, but many Tang youngsters were around the same actual age.
Cough!
Among them was Dang Cheon-ho, eager for revenge from before. As seen, he got thrashed even worse this time. The skill gap had widened, not narrowed.
By now, the one-sidedly beaten youths doubted Iron Tiger's age. They couldn't accept such a disparity among peers.
“...This is cheating!”
“Lies. How can he be seventeen?!”
“You're an adult, fighting dirty!”
Tsk.
That was the problem with youngsters. They blurted without thinking. Words need to pass through the brain first. Such barbs cut deep.
My poor disciple was furious.
Whoosh!
His indifferent aura shifted dramatically. The terrifying killing intent snapped the Tang youths to attention. Fear surged—they might die if this continued.
“I'll kill you all!”
“...Gang up on him!”
Realizing Iron Tiger's energy was no joke, the youths swarmed together. But a beast doesn't lose to rabbits. The level gap was too vast.
Urk!
This monster... why me alone?
There was always one who took extra hits after one.
Should've watched his mouth. All anger starts from words, they say.
“My disciple may look forty-five, but you're the seniors.”
Mujin's advice brimmed with life's wisdom, but the youths were too busy fleeing. They couldn't handle Iron Tiger charging like an enraged bull.
He didn't leave it entirely to Iron Tiger.
Tang Clan elites had challenged him too. Brimming with faction pride and personal confidence.
Whatever.
Mujin stomped them flat. Clan prestige didn't match their skill. Challenges only brought disgrace; he beat them senseless. They should've braced for the shame as warriors.
While Iron Tiger toyed with the youngsters.
Step, step!
A middle-aged man entered the Origin Pavilion. Frowning at the Tang warriors scattered everywhere. It was unseemly to be on the receiving end. Some fled only to be grabbed by the hair and flung back. Like unleashing a feral beast in a chicken coop.
‘Hah, not even worth the effort.’
When had the Tang Clan ever suffered such treatment? It was a spectacle he'd never witnessed. But he understood. The old beast was leagues beyond his former self.
‘How in that short time?’
Dang Baek-gi's shock was immense.
At the Little Dragon Tournament, Iron Tiger had already outshone his peers. Shattering expectations with second place.
But now? A world apart. You could call him a different person.
‘Monstrous growth.’
Back then, there were rough edges. Imperfect execution of techniques. Now, he'd reached a polished realm.
Swoosh! Boom!
They flew like cannonballs with every strike. The Tang later-generation disciples weren't lacking. Iron Tiger overwhelmed them. Even against non-peers, mediocre warriors stood no chance.
Tsk!
He couldn't just stand by watching outsiders trounce them so pitifully.
Dang Baek-gi infused his voice with inner energy and shouted.
“Enough!”
“It's nothing, keep going.”
The kid was thick-skinned anyway, but as master, Mujin had to shield him from outside pressure.
Besides, his disciple wasn't getting hit—he was doing all the hitting. No need to intervene.
If he were taking hits, sure, remove the unfairness. But meddling over someone else's disciple? No thanks.