A Filial Son
The Sichuan Tang Clan had officially appointed Tang Hwi as the Young Patriarch. It was, of course, the explicit will of the Patriarch, Tang Suryeon, but the four pavilion lords who served as the pillars of the clan had also thrown their full support behind him. Yet, despite Tang Hwi ascending to the position of Young Patriarch by unanimous consent, there was one person who could not shake her lingering anxiety.
During Tang Hwi's appointment ceremony, Tang Sua had maintained a rigid, disciplined posture, doing everything in her power to project absolute loyalty. She knew all too well that if she didn't, there was no telling how Tang Hwi might retaliate after the public slight he had suffered. Moreover, upon witnessing him reach the late Master Realm, both the Lord of the Eunwon Pavilion and the Lord of the Secretary Pavilion had immediately thrown their weight behind him. With Tang Hwi's path to power now an unshakeable highway, pushing for Tang Ga-in—who lacked any real ambition to begin with—would have achieved nothing but earning his wrath. Frankly, she found it a miracle that she and her son hadn't been purged already.
A master of the late Master Realm at barely twenty years of age. Tang Sua herself was only in the middle Master Realm, and even her brother, the strongest martial artist in the clan besides the Patriarch Tang Suryeon, was only at the late Master Realm. The path that she and her brother had spent their entire lives walking—a path that demanded decades of grueling, blood-soaked effort—Tang Hwi had simply strolled down as if walking into his own home with muddy socks. Furthermore, the entire crowd that had gathered to witness his Ogi-jowon had seen it with their own eyes. At this point, if the Tang Clan did not appoint Tang Hwi as the Young Patriarch, strange and damaging rumors would inevitably begin to circulate.
The situation was now completely irreversible. In this worst-case scenario, Tang Sua had chosen the only logical path: to actively support Tang Hwi and pledge her absolute loyalty.
'Even if I go this far, I wonder if we can ever be forgiven.'
In terms of pure martial power, he was already stronger than Tang Sua, who had mastered the clan's secret Jiangshi Art to its highest level. One might argue that the gap between the middle and late Master Realms was not an insurmountable chasm, and in ordinary circumstances, that might be true. However...
'He has already surpassed me.'
Tang Sua was absolutely certain she could not defeat him. She was currently analyzing the difference between herself and Tang Hwi with cold, clinical objectivity.
By practicing the Jiangshi Art and undergoing specialized physical modifications, her body had achieved a formidable level of external cultivation, even if it fell just short of a true Vajra Impervious Body. Yet, she was still vastly inferior to Tang Hwi's physique, which was rumored to have reached the legendary state of the Vajra Impervious Body. She had felt the terrifying truth of that rumor firsthand during their handshake, back when she had handed over the grand technique of the Jiangshi Art in exchange for the Dark Poison Pavilion's support.
Her primary strengths lay in her superior external cultivation and her precise, poison-coated throwing weapon techniques. However, Tang Hwi had mastered Tang Suryeon's Poison Butterfly Divine Art. Considering his immense resistance to toxins, it would be virtually impossible to poison him unless she resorted to the legendary Seven Poisons of the Tang Clan. In other words, if she wanted to win, she would have to rely entirely on the raw speed and precision of her throwing weapons... but when she recalled the terrifying Poison Butterfly Flying Sword technique Tang Hwi had displayed, even that shred of confidence vanished.
This realization only deepened the dark, suffocating gloom hanging over Tang Sua. Yet, she refrained from venting her anxiety and frustration on Tang Yuseong, choosing instead to gently probe for his true feelings.
"Sigh... Yuseong. Why on earth did you do that?"
"Because it wasn't right. It's too late now... I just couldn't bring myself to forgive him."
"But you knew, didn't you? You knew you shouldn't have done that. I explained it all to you."
Even if his heart rebelled against it, the other side—who held all the power—had swallowed their pride, bowed their head, and accepted a blow to their reputation to make amends. Once that agreement was struck, they were obligated to honor it. If they were the stronger party, they could have rejected him to his face just as Tang Yuseong had done, but as the weaker faction, they simply lacked the power to break such a pact. She had explained all of this to him in painstaking detail. Though Yuseong was timid, he possessed a sharp, clever mind, so there was no way he hadn't understood the political reality. Yet, he had still made this reckless choice. Tang Sua felt a suffocating weight in her chest, as if she were watching the sky collapse.
"Mother... if I had been crippled or severely injured back then, would you have forgiven him?"
"No. Absolutely not. To me, you are the most important thing in the world, Yuseong."
It was precisely because the incident had been framed as a childhood scuffle under the influence of alcohol that she had tolerated it, solely out of respect for the Patriarch, Tang Suryeon. If Tang Yuseong had been severely injured or permanently crippled, Tang Sua would never have forgiven Tang Hwi, even if it cost her life.
At Tang Sua's unhesitating response, Tang Yuseong let out a bitter, melancholy smile.
"Yes. I feel the same way. And that is exactly why I couldn't forgive him."
"...What do you mean by that, Yuseong?"
"Because Mother has been suffering so much because of me that you couldn't focus on your martial arts. Your cultivation has been completely blocked for the past five years, and you haven't been able to progress in the Jiangshi Art at all, just running in place. Every time I saw you struggling, the guilt ate away at me... and it became harder and harder to ever forgive him."
"..."
Tang Sua fell silent, the truth striking her like a physical blow. Indeed, five years ago, as she watched Tang Yuseong lie in a hospital bed after being brutally beaten by Tang Hwi, the sheer helplessness of her situation had filled her with a suffocating, bitter resentment. The uncontrollable rage that boiled within her back then had seeped deep into her very bones. While she hadn't suffered a catastrophic Qi Deviation like Tang Ga-hui, she had fallen into a state of mental demon, completely halting her martial progress. Breaking through the barrier of the middle Master Realm was already a monumental task, but the mental demon had made that wall infinitely thicker and more unyielding. For all intents and purposes, the clan's ultimate ambition—mastering the Jiangshi Art to achieve the legendary state of a Sihaeseon—had drifted entirely out of her reach.
Yet, because her son was the center of her universe, Tang Sua had never truly cared about her stalled cultivation. She had no idea that Tang Yuseong, watching the clan's secret legacy remain blocked because of him, had been quietly suffering from his own deep-seated emotional torment.
'They say a child is a mirror of their parent.'
Realizing once again that despite his timid nature, his values and emotional landscape were indeed those of a child who had grown up watching her, Tang Sua pulled her trembling son into a warm embrace. She gently patted his back, holding him close until the tense, anxious tremors finally faded from his body.
Upon hearing the full story behind the public rejection from Tang Sua, Tang Hwi let out a bitter, self-deprecating smile. The karma of the sins he had committed before awakening his memories of his past lives was returning to haunt him, filling him with a sudden, genuine pang of regret.
'I have to set things right now. Especially since I'm bound to do things she'll find even harder to forgive in the future.'
Bowing his head so deeply that the crown of his head was fully visible to her, Tang Hwi offered a sincere apology.
"I have truly done an unforgivable wrong to your family, Aunt. Please, allow me to apologize once again."
"There is no need, Young Patriarch."
Since he had now been officially inaugurated as the Young Patriarch, Tang Sua maintained the strict, formal etiquette expected of a pavilion lord. Her posture was so perfectly disciplined that even the Lord of the Poison Medical Pavilion would have nodded in approval. Seeing her treat him with such rigid, fearful respect, Tang Hwi's bitter smile only deepened.
"Aunt, the fault lies entirely with me. Yuseong's resentment is completely justified. If it were a malicious grudge, I might have to worry about what he might do, but simple resentment is something I have no right to complain about. It is a natural, healthy emotion for him to harbor. Therefore, I hold absolutely no resentment toward Yuseong."
"I see... Thank you for your immense generosity, Young Patriarch. I will never forget this kindness."
"In that case, I have a favor to ask. Would you be willing to grant it?"
"...Yes. Of course. Anything."
At the request that slipped out as if he had been waiting for this exact moment, Tang Sua swallowed hard, forcing down the sudden spike of tension that rose to her throat. She had absolutely no idea what kind of favor the newly appointed Young Patriarch would ask of her, but she was in no position to refuse. Even if he claimed he held no resentment, human nature was notoriously fickle. What if he wanted to torment her in some petty, vindictive way? What if he demanded something impossible just to watch her squirm?
"I believe I will have cause to travel to the North Sea in the future. When that time comes, I would like to ask you to act as my escort."
"The North Sea?"
It was a request that completely defied her expectations. Judging by his use of the phrase "in the future," he wasn't demanding they set off immediately. While traveling to the distant North Sea and back was a grueling, time-consuming endeavor, doing so at a later date posed no real issue for her. More than anything, she was baffled by the purpose of such a journey. The North Sea was a barren, brutally frozen wasteland located at the northernmost edge of the world, far beyond the borders of the Central Plains.
'A land ruled by the North Sea Ice Palace... Wait, could it be?'
Tang Sua looked up, her eyes wide with sudden realization as she asked cautiously, "By any chance... do you intend to visit the Ice Palace?"
"Yes, that is correct."
His answer was immediate and unhesitating.
"I have been learning the Poison Butterfly Divine Art from Mother—the Patriarch—and I am currently in the process of modifying it to better suit my needs."
"Y-You are modifying the Poison Butterfly Divine Art?"
Tang Sua stammered in sheer bewilderment, but Tang Hwi merely smiled, fully understanding her shock.
'Modifying an established martial art is a feat reserved only for a Grandmaster. Furthermore, the divine art Mother created, even if it is relatively new, is a peerless technique fully deserving of its legendary status.'
But who was Tang Hwi? He was a reincarnator who had traversed countless lifetimes, mastering an endless array of supreme martial arts along the way. To his highly refined eyes, the Poison Butterfly Divine Art was certainly formidable, but it was far from perfect. However, he knew that with just a bit of restructuring, he could forge it into a technique that perfectly suited his tastes.
"Since Mother is a woman, the flow of energy through the acupoints is slightly misaligned with my male physique. That is why I wish to travel to the North Sea, where the local martial arts are rooted in pure Yin energy, to find a clue that might help me bridge the gap."
In truth, he had already mapped out the entire modification process in his mind. However, to actually bring his vision to fruition, a highly specific spiritual medicine was absolutely essential.
'The Heavenly Demonic Dragon Scale Dance is a divine art rooted in the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art. However, the martial intent that fuels it can be swapped out at will. The Poison Butterfly Divine Art is decent, but its efficiency is lacking... I'll have to make up for the deficit with a powerful spiritual treasure.'
In other words, Tang Hwi's true goal in traveling to the North Sea was to obtain an Ice Crystal.
"I have heard that Mother and you, Aunt, are close personal friends of the Ice Palace Lord."
Naturally, as the Patriarch of the clan, Tang Suryeon could not easily leave Sichuan. Traveling all the way to the far reaches of the North Sea was practically impossible for her unless a full-scale war broke out. That was precisely why he was asking Tang Sua instead. Tang Hwi offered her a warm, gentle smile.
"I would like you to use your personal connections to help me secure an audience and negotiate a trade with the Ice Palace Lord. Of course, I must attend the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering first, so this is still a matter for the distant future. I am not asking you to make a decision right this moment. Please, take your time to consider it, and let me know your decision when you are ready."