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He'd shouted it boldly, but even he had to admit he'd gotten a bit carried away.
"Was it really too much to offer all seven of them?"
Hwangbo Yeom reproached himself for failing to control his excitement.
While a heroic and gallant spirit was seen as a virtue of the Hwangbo Clan, it also sometimes exposed their weakness.
- Compared to the cautious and collected Shandong Jegal Clan, the Hwangbo Clan sometimes ruined matters through a single rash choice or decision.
Put nicely, they were bold and magnanimous. Put bluntly, they were hot-blooded and emotional.
Hwangbo Yeom found himself in a bind over the situation he'd created.
Now that his head had cooled, rationally speaking, giving all seven daughters to one man was practically unreasonable.
"Hngh... but that martial art...."
Yet the thought that if he could make the martial art of the Soul-Seizing Crushing Fist belong solely to the Hwangbo Clan, even giving away all seven would not be a waste—that thought consumed him.
The spirit of the tiger that rules Mount Tai!
Not just any tiger, but the imposing aura of the mountain lord who commands the greatest of the Five Great Mountains, Mount Tai itself!
If it merged with the bloodline and martial arts of the Hwangbo Clan, allowing a future heir to achieve greatness, who would dare say Hwangbo Yeom's choice was wrong?
'I absolutely must bring him into the Hwangbo Clan.'
Hwangbo Hye-ji being offered up was already a given. What pained Hwangbo Yeom's head now was how much more 'expenditure' he could endure and how he could 'invest' in making him a full member of the clan.
"Urgh...!"
Hwangbo Yeom as a father to daughters.
Hwangbo Yeom as the Clan Head of the Hwangbo Clan.
Hwangbo Yeom as the World's Best Fist, the Thunder Divine Fist, and a martial artist.
While these three identities clamored with different voices inside him, footsteps sounded from outside. At the soft, dainty steps, Hwangbo Yeom's face brightened and he raised his voice even before she entered.
"Hye-ji, is your betrothed well?"
"You haven't even decided on me yet, so what do you mean...?"
Hwangbo Hye-ji, who had opened the door and walked in, grumbled while blushing. Hwangbo Yeom glanced at the sun outside and smirked slyly.
"You were gone for quite some time. What took you so long?"
"...Nothing of the sort that you're thinking, Father."
"Oh? And what exactly did you think I was thinking?"
"I wonder. If I had done such a thing with the Soul-Seizing Crushing Fist, weren't you planning to use that as an excuse to spar with him?"
"...Ahem. Did I look that petty to you?"
"......"
At Hwangbo Hye-ji's silent answer, Hwangbo Yeom pouted his lips.
If the young man and woman had been unable to control their youthful passion and consummated things in broad daylight, Hwangbo Yeom would have shouted, 'How dare a man and woman not even betrothed!' and dragged the Soul-Seizing Crushing Fist to the martial arts arena.
And he planned to use his Thunder Divine Fist to clearly demonstrate the power of the World's Best Fist to the Soul-Seizing Crushing Fist—with his feelings loaded into it just a tiny, minuscule bit.
It was a golden opportunity to satisfy his competitive spirit as a martial artist, his displeasure toward the man taking his daughter anyway, and his duty as Clan Head to personally test the man who would become a family member with his own fists.
However, regrettably (or perhaps not so regrettably), that did not come to pass.
"Hmm hmm. My daughter, do you find the Soul-Seizing Crushing Fist not to your liking?"
"If you ask me whether I find him not to my liking...."
Hwangbo Hye-ji smiled bitterly looking conflicted.
"...It is precisely because I like him that I'm in a difficult position."
"Heh heh, indeed? In all the Martial World, there is no other man like him. At such a young age, there is no other master of his caliber."
Oddly, the more Hwangbo Yeom praised him, the more Hwangbo Hye-ji's mirth hardened. She clearly looked like she had something to say but was holding it back with great difficulty.
"Hoh, for you to be all tensed up. What is troubling you?"
"Hypothetically, just hypothetically, Father."
Hwangbo Hye-ji's expression stiffened.
"If one were to become rivals in love with someone they truly cherished, what should a maiden do?"
"Hmm...."
Hwangbo Yeom felt unwarranted guilt. Due to his own slip of the tongue that wasn't really a slip, not only Hwangbo Hye-ji and the Soul-Seizing Crushing Fist, but the other six daughters were also put in an extremely awkward position.
"......Well, you see. In my case, I had several mothers. You know that already, don't you?"
"Yes. I do. That you, as the eldest legitimate son, served them with utmost filial piety. And that you live harmoniously with all of your half-siblings without any quarrels."
"Indeed. I alone have ten half-siblings. And not one of them ever even hinted at wanting the position of Clan Head from me."
Hwangbo Yeom raised his fist high.
"Because I was strong. No matter how much we are one of the Eight Great Families, we are still a 'clan of the Murim.' Ultimately, we too are a group that operates on the logic of strength, with blood ties as the foundation. Rather than women who do not share each other's blood... wouldn't you naturally get along more harmoniously with sisters you grew up with?"
"...So, are you saying that if we sisters were to serve one husband together, we would get along without fighting and without major issues? Because you, Father, have already witnessed such a thing?"
"Precisely. Of course, it was only possible because my father, your grandfather, treated everyone equally with love. So there is no reason for you to worry. Are you not all of Hwangbo blood, having inherited my very own bloodline?"
"......Haah."
Hwangbo Hye-ji let out a genuine sigh. Sighing in front of the Clan Head was an act of extreme rudeness, but Hwangbo Yeom could not bring himself to call his daughter rude.
When you got down to it, it would have been fine if he had stopped at saying, 'Have my daughter!' on the spot, but because he got excited for no reason and shouted, 'Have my daughters!,' he was the root cause of this mess.
"...Understood. If that is Father's will, I shall follow it. But from now on, you will have to labor quite a bit, Father."
"Huh?"
"First. Ask each of my sisters individually, even if only formally, for their opinion. If any of them has someone else in their heart rather than the Soul-Seizing Crushing Fist, our relationship could become estranged for nothing."
"...Urgh, understood."
Hwangbo Yeom nodded heavily. In the absence of a mistress in the clan, Hwangbo Hye-ji had silently been fulfilling the role of lady of the house splendidly until now.
"Second. Please comfort the warriors who were unintentionally eliminated."
"Hmm? Why the ones who lost?"
"...They are not simply losers. Facing the Soul-Seizing Crushing Fist is no different from encountering a natural disaster. How is it any different from when you, Father, entered the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering and laid all Nine Dragons low with a single fist, becoming the World's Best Dragon?"
"...Ahem, well that is true, but."
Hwangbo Yeom found Hwangbo Hye-ji's suggestion quite unsatisfactory.
"The First-Rate ones didn't catch my eye at all, and even those who called themselves Peak Experts had rather poor characters."
"What about the Soul-Seizing Crushing Fist?"
"His eyes were brimming with a truly pure desire! Hu ha ha, everyone is like that at that age! Heh heh."
"......Right, understood. Still, you must do it. Use this opportunity to also invite the elders of the collateral branches, and arrange seats for them as well."
"...It's not that I hadn't considered that, but."
Hwangbo Yeom's expression hardened.
"If I empower the collateral branches, it could become a threat when your future child becomes Clan Head."
"Father. Do you not trust me? Do you truly think my child, or the children my sisters might bear, would lose out in a competition to be heir?"
Hwangbo Hye-ji shook her head firmly, her voice strong.
"They will not. So please, do not worry."
"...Very well. Let us hold a grand banquet three days from now. Let us gather all the collateral families for the first time in a long while, comfort the eliminated with wine and meat, and above all, celebrate the Soul-Seizing Crushing Fist, who has become a member of our clan."
"Thank you for listening to my words. Then...."
Hwangbo Hye-ji rose from her seat.
"I shall go and speak with the Soul-Seizing Crushing Fist regarding this."
"...Huh? Wait. What if my other children refuse? Wouldn't that put me in quite an embarrassing spot?"
"The Soul-Seizing Crushing Fist said he would respect my sisters' wishes to the utmost."
Hwangbo Yeom was at a loss for words. Hwangbo Hye-ji, her face reddening, squirmed a bit and continued.
"He... said that while he would be content with just me, if any of them wished to enter into a union with him, he had no reason to refuse either...."
"Hoh. ...Understood. Now go, attend to him further."
Hwangbo Hye-ji left the room.
"......My wife."
Hwangbo Yeom stroked the portrait of a beautiful woman with a benevolent face.
"It seems a hero has entered the Hwangbo Clan."
* * *
As part of my plan to ravish Hwangbo Hye-ji, I proposed a compromise to the suggestions of both Dokgo Yeon and Hwangbo Hye-ji.
"The more, the better."
The more, the better indeed! Not a single word of the ancient sages is wrong.
If you're someone who plans to freeload and then leave anyway, the right answer is to eat everything from appetizer to dessert and vanish spectacularly, rather than just eating the main dish and slipping away.
"...Too much is as bad as too little."
But if you gobble down too many things in a hurry, your stomach will inevitably burst.
If I were going to take responsibility for the Hwangbo Clan like I did with the Hebei Paeng Clan, I could freely swing my hips and leave. But since I had no particular reason to look after the Hwangbo Clan to that extent, I didn't push my greed further.
To put it bluntly, getting Hwangbo Hye-ji was enough. This was something even Hwangbo Hye-ji herself had acknowledged.
"So, what came of my suggestion?"
"Now it depends on Father. Thank you. For not ravishing all seven of us sisters."
Hwangbo Hye-ji spoke to me in a sharp voice. She had every right to be. Still, I felt a little wronged, because I had accepted the proposals of Dokgo Yeon and Hwangbo Hye-ji to—'for now'—postpone my plan to sample all of the Seven Princesses.
"The world doesn't only have the Hwangbo Clan's women, you know. If I can have one woman who counts for six, then it's not a bad deal at all."
"Thank you ever so much for being so gracious."
Hwangbo Hye-ji raised both her fists. I pushed aside all the furnishings in the guest chamber to the walls.
"Daughter of the Hwangbo Clan. I am called Hwangbo Hye-ji."
"I am Mumyeong. If you wish to hear my real name, defeat me."
I took my stance and extended a hand toward her.
"I shall cede the first move."
"Then...!"
Hwangbo Hye-ji rushed at me with light footwork. Attacking me with skills that could not even beat Dokgo Yeon was absurd, but this was one of the other conditions she had set.
A duel.
Proving that she too carried the blood of the Hwangbo Clan, she wished to spar with a strong opponent.
"Your body is indeed very light."
I lightly deflected her fist and offered advice without reservation. Hwangbo Hye-ji listened intently to my words and put weight into her fist.
"Being light makes it fast!"
"It is fast, but lacks power."
I dug into Hwangbo Hye-ji's guard and placed my finger on her solar plexus. Before ten exchanges were fully met, I had struck her vital point.
"You have died once from this. Shall we continue?"
"Of course!"
Hwangbo Hye-ji struck my hand downward and unleashed a stronger attack. Upon hearing my words to put weight into her fist, she began putting more force into them, and I turned my head aside to dodge her punch.
"Put a bit more strength into your waist."
I grabbed her waist and twisted it slightly more. Her fist flew forward like lightning, to the point that her body staggered.
"Ugh...!"
Having broken her stance and misstepped, Hwangbo Hye-ji buried her face into my chest. Her fist grazed my cheek.
"If it weren't for the Protective Qi Aura, the blood vessels would likely have burst. Let us continue, making use of this feeling you've just experienced."
I stepped back from Hwangbo Hye-ji and stretched both my arms out to the sides.
"Begin."
"Huff...!"
Hwangbo Hye-ji raised the Sumeru Heavenly King Divine Art to its very limit. The look in her eyes directed at me was as if she was staring at a mortal enemy, and her fist glimmered with killing intent.
Boom!!
She drove a straight punch right toward my solar plexus. It was a straight punch so powerful that my Protective Qi Aura wavered momentarily, but Hwangbo Hye-ji inflicted no damage upon me whatsoever.
"Weak."
Boom, crash, boom!!
As one strike was not enough, she began to rain down a flurry of blows. Her punches were as fast and accurate as lightning, making it clear why the Thunder Divine Fist bore the name of lightning.
"Hwaaah!"
Even shouting a spirited battle cry, Hwangbo Hye-ji hurled her fist. I did not release my Protective Qi Aura until she was fully exhausted and on the verge of collapsing, and finally, she launched her last punch at me feebly.
"...I lost."
About one two-hour watch passed. She had hit me to her heart's content, and I took the blows. While wrapped in Protective Qi Aura.
"You've worked hard. Has your anger been quelled now?"
"...I feel a little refreshed."
Soaked in sweat, Hwangbo Hye-ji waved her hand with a cool smile. I took out a folding fan and used the Ice White Divine Art to blow a cold breeze at her.
"The villain who corrupted Yeoni. The enemy of women who took Yeoni away and then tries to covet other women. You, who seek to take a woman and then run away—you are truly a bad man."
"I know."
I did not deny my misdeeds. But still, I tried to live by keeping to my own path in my own way.
"That is why I do not call myself some Lustful Hero or the like, but rather, a Sex Demon."
"...Then, a question for the Sex Demon."
Hwangbo Hye-ji launched a powerful verbal offensive at me with sharp eyes.
"If I wished it... would you kidnap me as well?"
It was a devastating blow, like a bolt from the blue.