Chapter 78
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Time to Move
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Hotel Leviathan's penthouse.
If we're talking pure luxury, this place ranked among the top in the world, and hidden within it was one peculiar room.
A secret chamber centered around a round table engraved with a dragon, with only seven chairs sparsely placed around it.
And on one of those seven chairs.
A beautiful girl sat demurely, wearing glasses, on a seat made entirely of pitch-black obsidian.
"No."
The girl spoke softly.
Black Dragon Princess Li Chingwei turned her gaze slightly.
She looked at the six empty chairs, particularly the one made of pure silver, and continued.
"I told you before. There's no special motive behind it."
It was an abrupt statement.
If anyone else had heard, they would've thought it was just mumbling to herself.
But through her transparent glasses, Li Chingwei's obsidian-dark eyes were clearly fixed on her interlocutor.
"Of course, I understand if you can't trust me. After all, I'm the princess of the Black Dragon Clan."
Humble, but not servile.
Suspicious, but not dubious.
Firm, but not rigid.
On her face, which always beamed at Rimon, appeared a deep and chilling smile.
"But aren't you all forgetting something?"
It was the demeanor of addressing an equal.
Gazing through her glasses at the exceedingly rare opponent who could claim equality with her, the Black Dragon Clan's princess, Li Chingwei pressed on.
"From the start, when the Black Dragon Clan took on the burden of the World Peace Plan, this became my rightful authority."
Had she struck a nerve?
Her opponent fell silent in an instant.
But that silence seemed only momentary, as Li Chingwei now turned her gaze to the golden seat.
"Are you serious?"
Whatever she heard, Li Chingwei responded as if it were unexpected.
In that moment, a heavy pressure blanketed the room.
Even amid the crushing weight and overwhelming intimidation that transcended space, Li Chingwei didn't falter.
She merely smiled faintly and replied.
"Indeed, my apologies. It was certainly too rude a question for the Gold Dragon Clan, who never speak falsehoods."
Was that enough to soothe the mood?
The pressure filling the room dissipated, and in the restored quiet, Li Chingwei continued lightly.
"But regrettably, I have no choice but to decline that proposal."
...
"The reason? It's simple."
...
"I have no intention of selling my rights for such a bargain."
Perhaps because that answer was so unexpected.
In the once-again silent room, Li Chingwei now directed her gaze to the seat made of vivid crimson ruby.
"Regret?"
Li Chingwei smiled faintly.
As if she'd heard something truly ridiculous.
Yet it didn't come across as mockery—perhaps due to her refined poise, or the inscrutable shadow in her smile.
"Yes, perhaps I might regret it someday."
But Li Chingwei gave her opponent no chance to read her intentions. She continued with composed ease.
"So if I do regret it later, would you propose again then?"
That was the end.
As if realizing there was no room for further talk.
After the unseen opponents beyond the seats vanished one by one, the lights came on, banishing the darkness. Li Chingwei removed her glasses.
"Uncomfortable, as expected."
Placing her glasses on the round table, she finally muttered to herself.
"I get why you're wary of my psychics, but no need to waste money on a virtual conference system."
Li Chingwei shook her head slightly.
Of course, she knew the Silver Dragon Clan's scheme of installing hacking software in the virtual conference system they provided.
But even after everyone had noticed and removed the program, stubbornly sticking to the virtual system could only be called obstinacy.
'Of course, the Silver Dragon Clan aren't the only tricky ones.'
Recalling the six who had appeared via the virtual system moments ago, Li Chingwei let out a soft sigh.
After proposing to Rimon.
She'd been endlessly busy dealing with all sorts of matters.
But the brief conversation in those last few dozen minutes had worn her out more than the countless tasks she'd handled over dozens of days.
'Pulling in the other clans is still too much right now.'
Suspicion, greed, anger, indifference.
Recalling the emotions dwelling in those six pairs of variously colored pupils, Li Chingwei felt regret.
She'd managed to pass today's meeting with non-interference, but they'd openly revealed their intent to meddle given any chance.
And the odds of that meddling benefiting the Black Dragon Clan, herself, or—above all—Rimon were extremely low.
'If I could at least pull in one, ideally two... it would be better than now.'
She gave a wry smile.
She hadn't even fully secured the Black Dragon Clan's support yet, relying on Rimon's help.
She knew better than anyone how absurd it was to try pulling other clans to her side in this state.
That was when it happened.
A sudden knock.
Knock knock.
"P-Princess. Got a minute?"
Li Chingwei, puzzled by the knock that shouldn't have come, looked up and smiled faintly at the white-haired man leaning against the door.
"If the Sword Duke needs me, I'll make time even if I don't have it."
"No, it's not that big a deal."
"To me, seeing the Sword Duke even once more is the most important thing."
"...Saying it like that makes me sound like some deadbeat husband who never sets foot at home."
"It is true you've been away often lately, Sword Duke."
She giggled teasingly for a moment.
Then Li Chingwei rose from her seat and asked.
"So, what's the matter?"
"Eh, nothing major."
Normally, he'd relay via Wayling or just call, so why come in person?
To the curiously expectant Li Chingwei, Rimon shrugged.
"Feels like it's about time for me to get moving."
Li Chingwei's eyes widened.
After leaving the secret chamber.
Li Chingwei poured tea she'd brewed herself into Rimon's cup, nodded at the rough explanation.
"I see. So your training has entered the next stage?"
"If I had to put it that way, it's more like veering off the main path."
"In any case, it means you have time on your hands now."
"Yeah. From here on, it's not something that improves just by putting in time."
Rimon shook his head.
If it were a mere technical issue, fine—but what blocked him now was beyond skill.
If inspiration struck, he could master it in a day; if not, even a decade of practice wouldn't suffice.
Continuing with Yujin might yield something, but he had no intention of devoting all day to it.
"I'll keep practicing steadily, but now I can prioritize other things."
"So that's why you came to me?"
"If I step up front and center, it'll stir up all sorts of waves."
The Black Dragon Clan had flipped out over him just sweeping through affiliates in a single day.
Who knew how far the ripples would spread, or in what form, if he went active for real.
"Plus, the more active I am, the heavier the pressure you'll face from the other clans."
"Did you... overhear?"
"Huh? Overhear what?"
Rimon looked baffled, as if it were nonsense.
Realizing from his reaction he hadn't heard the virtual meeting, Li Chingwei blinked.
"Then how did you know I'm under pressure?"
"No assassins, spies, or envoys from the other clans have come to me yet."
"...So you noticed I'm blocking them since they should've come by now."
"At my age, you can smell when the rain's coming."
How could the Seven Dragon Society just leave him be?
Chuckling, Rimon downed the tea Li Chingwei poured in one gulp, then stood.
"You've got plenty to mull over, so I'll head out. I'll watch the situation for a bit—call when you've sorted your thoughts."
"Yes, Sword Duke."
Rimon rose.
Li Chingwei stood too, then suddenly asked.
"By the way, Sword Duke, may I ask one thing?"
"What?"
"What is this new constellation power you've gained?"
After the performance with Yujin.
The power from the melting starlight fragment. At Li Chingwei's question, Rimon made a subtle face.
After brief contemplation, he answered.
"Chicken ribs."
"Pardon?"
"Think of it as power I don't need, at least not for me."
"...?"
After Rimon left with that cryptic reply.
Politely seeing him off, Li Chingwei replayed their talk and unwittingly smiled wryly.
'No face to show Chao.'
It hadn't been long since she'd warned him not to underestimate Rimon.
Reflecting on her own underestimation of the old master's savvy, Li Chingwei pondered how to leverage this unexpected boon.
She'd moved quietly so far to avoid disturbing Rimon's training.
Now that he could step forward fully, she could push things more aggressively.
"Princess, we have a problem."
"What sort?"
Unfortunately, she hadn't finished mulling it over.
Before Li Chingwei could plan anew, Youin approached with a grim face.
At the usually unflappable Hotel Leviathan manager's severity, Li Chingwei looked puzzled.
But upon hearing the report.
Her expression hardened as much as his.
"One of our affiliates was attacked."
"Hey, boss is too much. I told ya not to deal with mad dogs. Why stir up trouble again with that thick skull."
At Black Dragon Construction, which Rimon had turned upside down.
A man resembling Wang Ginung but far more serious without the mustache was tearing his hair out.
His name: Wang Giseong.
Wang Ginung's cousin, former East Asia branch chief of Black Dragon Construction, now acting in his place.
"A so-called elite warrior laid up sick, can't even work—what a disgrace."
Wang Giseong sighed deeply.
Not out of pity for his ailing cousin on the sickbed.
One reason: the massive workload thrust upon him as reluctant proxy.
The other: the Shanghai Wang family's position, plummeting past rock bottom into the mantle.
"Our Shanghai Wangs already had a bad rep—now we'll really get booted from the prestigious clans."
The already fallen Black Dragon Clan.
Losing even prestigious status would leave the Shanghai Wangs unable to show their faces anywhere in the Seven Dragon Society.
"Ugh, shoulda become a live-in son-in-law somewhere. Why'd I marry early and..."
Grumbling, Wang Giseong diligently processed documents.
Worries for the future aside, to feed his wife and daughter, he had to manage Black Dragon Construction, where the Wangs held major shares.
Just as he focused on work.
Wang Giseong stopped fanning himself.
"...Who's there?"
An out-of-nowhere question.
He was alone in the office; no one to answer.
But his query wasn't pointless.
"Conrad, we busted?"
"If not, would that bastard mutter to himself like a psycho?"
"Hmm, as expected of a Seven Dragon Society expert—sharp senses."
Boom!
Suddenly, a hole punched through the ceiling, and amid falling debris, three figures appeared.
A blonde woman lugging big baggage.
A small-eyed youth in work clothes.
A braided man with hands in pockets.
They smirked at Wang Giseong, who eyed them coldly from his desk.
"Sticking around instead of fleeing after sensing us? Hopeless retard anyway."