The First Prey
The reason I thought so was simple. Because I knew about the corruption Wang Jin was involved in.
It was so sloppy that even in my first life, it was exposed right away.
Wang Ho and those relatives of his seemed to look down on the bloodline of the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect far too much. Just looking at how they never even seemed to bother hiding their corruption in the first place.
Of course, in my first life, I had been too incompetent for them to need to.
But not anymore.
I was already prepared to sink my teeth into the bastard.
That said, I had no intention of moving today.
Now that I had obtained control of the Sayeongdae, I wanted to see just how capable they were, and how loyal they would be to me.
There’s always a chance they might put someone else’s orders above mine.
Once I had sorted out my thoughts, I headed to the clan’s medicinal hall.
There was something I needed to collect.
It was the Sword Soul Pill my father had awarded me.
Even when I was Clan Head, I only got to take it once.
The Sword Soul Pill was a spiritual elixir produced by the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect itself, a precious medicine capable of granting roughly twenty years’ worth of internal energy in a single dose.
Naturally, the difficulty of making it was extraordinary.
The cost of the ingredients alone was beyond imagination, and the manpower required was just as overwhelming. Because of that, only three pills remained in the clan at present.
That was how far the clan had fallen.
To think I’d be given one of them.
This was something my father had granted me while accepting even the political burden that came with it.
I decided to treasure the opportunity.
“Young Lord, please come with me.”
The master of the medicinal hall, who had attended the family meeting and knew the circumstances, led me onward.
We were probably heading to a hidden vault, one accessible only through a complicated process.
I had assumed he would be displeased, since he had to hand over the Sword Soul Pill to me, but unexpectedly, the way he looked at me was remarkably warm.
Was it because I had brought back so many high-grade medicinal ingredients from the Shanxi Yoo Family?
Creaaak.
We descended through a hidden path concealed by a mechanism array and entered a storage chamber kept at a cool temperature.
At the very end of it, three exquisitely packaged spiritual medicines were laid out.
“This is the Sword Soul Pill.”
With that, the medicinal hall master handed me one.
I bowed my head to him.
“Thank you.”
“I have been watching your accomplishments closely, Young Lord. Please continue to devote yourself to the clan.”
After leaving me with those kind words, the medicinal hall master escorted me back outside.
I offered my farewell and headed straight for the training grounds.
There, I called over Sagong Cheon, who was waiting nearby, and told him to guard the outside before I consumed the Sword Soul Pill.
The Sword Soul Pill was originally a spiritual medicine specialized for the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect’s internal art, the Northern Wind Mind Method.
But after returning to the past, I had hardly practiced the Northern Wind Mind Method at all.
I had focused first on tempering my body through the Vajrayaksha Divine Art.
Still, it seemed I now needed to pay proper attention to the clan’s martial arts as well.
In any case, the energies of the Northern Wind Mind Method and the Vajrayaksha Divine Art don’t clash.
That was something proven in my first life.
Since the Vajrayaksha Divine Art was, after all, a Buddhist martial art, it possessed a nature that embraced rather than repelled any energy that was not evil.
That was why I could cultivate two different internal arts and still use both.
Then let’s take it.
I sat down cross-legged and placed the Sword Soul Pill in my mouth.
The distinct bitterness unique to spiritual medicine spread across my tongue.
Savoring it, I accepted the slowly surging energy flowing into me.
And so the Great Circulation began.
The energy of the Northern Wind Mind Method guided the power of the Sword Soul Pill in a full circuit through my body.
In the process, my meridians expanded and strengthened even further.
The speed at which my internal energy could be released became faster as well, and it felt as though I could now unleash even more explosive force.
How much time had passed?
At the end of the Great Circulation, the internal energy from the Sword Soul Pill settled into my dantian.
Ordinarily, that would have been the end of the process, but...
I did not stop there.
I drew up the internal energy that had sunk into my dantian and this time circulated the Vajrayaksha Divine Art.
The two energies were compatible.
That meant their effects could be shared as well.
Crack.
Craaack.
The transformed energy, altered by the Vajrayaksha Divine Art, reinforced every corner of my body.
My bones and muscles grew sturdier, and my raw strength increased.
It felt as if even those who had trained since childhood would no longer compare to me.
After all, I’ve gained dozens of years’ worth of internal energy by now.
Among the younger generation, I was likely among the very best.
“Hoo...”
I let out a light breath and rose to my feet.
Vitality seemed to boil up inside my body.
I drew my sword and swung it.
Bang!
Even without channeling any internal energy, the wooden target board I had prepared split cleanly in two with a single strike.
Power that had once required Gale Slash to produce could now be achieved through simple physical strength alone.
If I overlaid the energy of the Vajrayaksha Divine Art on top of that, the result would be even more monstrous.
I might even be able to gain some degree of advantage against Sagong Cheon, a master of the Transcendent Realm.
Thinking that, I stepped outside.
Sagong Cheon bowed his head and said, “Congratulations on your great success.”
“Thank you.”
It seemed Sagong Cheon had sensed the faint energy flowing from my body.
I quickly reined my energy back in, then went to bathe.
I had sweated a great deal during the Great Circulation.
By the time I changed clothes and came back out, a martial artist was waiting for me.
It was Gong Hyeon, the leader of the Sayeongdae, who from today onward had become my direct subordinate.
“I greet the Young Lord.”
“Good to see you.”
“I heard the news. That the Young Lord would be given command over us...”
He sounded calm enough, but beneath it there was a strange undercurrent of dissatisfaction.
I had been dealing with people for decades. There was no way I would miss something that obvious.
It seemed the Sayeongdae was not pleased about having to work under a youngster like me.
At times like this, there was a simple solution.
“Take this.”
I pulled out a pouch of silver coins I had hidden in my quarters and handed it to Gong Hyeon.
Receiving the heavy pouch, Gong Hyeon looked startled.
The weight alone made it obvious that there was a considerable sum inside.
“You’ve always been short on operating funds, haven’t you? Use this for your expenses. Ah, and don’t spend it only on work. Make sure your men get a decent meal once in a while too.”
“Y-you are truly giving this to us?”
“Would I pull out money like this just to toy with you?”
I looked at Gong Hyeon with a serious expression.
“I’ll be honest. The reason I wanted the Sayeongdae is because I believe it is the most important of the clan’s martial divisions.”
“...!”
“You know the reason better than anyone, don’t you? In this rapidly changing age, information is one of the most important elements if we’re not to fall behind. So there’s no need to even argue over how important you are.”
Gong Hyeon’s eyes trembled.
No one had ever said anything like that to him before.
It made sense. Everyone knew, at least unconsciously, that an intelligence organization was important, but raising one took money.
And because of that, no one had stepped forward until now to say they should be supported with serious resources.
My father couldn’t, because he was bedridden... and the Elders’ Council had no interest in strengthening the clan’s capabilities in the first place.
And then I had appeared.
Someone who acknowledged their value.
That was why Gong Hyeon’s expression gradually softened.
At first he had clearly disliked the idea of serving under some brat, but now, it seemed, he was starting to think differently.
Looking at him, I spoke firmly.
“I intend to make you into the finest organization in the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect. But to do that, I need results. So will you follow me?”
It was a request, not an order.
Even when the meaning is the same, there is an enormous difference between asking gently and commanding by force.
And so Gong Hyeon nodded as if bewitched.
“What... would you have us do?”
“It’s simple. The first task I’ll give you isn’t difficult.”
I looked him in the eye as I spoke.
“I’ve heard there’s been a strange rumor going around the marketplace lately.”
“A strange rumor?”
“Yes. A rumor that our Northern Heavenly Sword Sect has been extorting protection money from the merchants in the market.”
“From our clan? That can’t be...”
Since the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect was responsible for maintaining order in this region, merchants and innkeepers who had received help from us would sometimes offer us gifts in gratitude.
But those were voluntary, and the sums were never large.
If they tried to give too much, we were usually the ones to refuse.
And yet, for the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect to be formally collecting protection money?
Utter nonsense.
But that nonsense had in fact been happening recently.
And it would continue for the next several years.
Naturally, the culprit was Wang Jin.
Apparently thinking he would never be caught, he had been using the prestige of the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect to squeeze money out of the market merchants.
In my first life, all I could do was let it go with a light punishment.
That was because, at the time, I had no power even as Clan Head.
But now things were different.
My father, who held strong influence over the clan, was still alive, and I myself had already earned the trust of the clan through several achievements.
And if I added proper justification on top of that...
I would be able to corner Wang Jin as much as I liked.
That was why I was telling the Sayeongdae to investigate it.
“If it’s merely a false rumor, then we’ll correct it. But if it’s true, then a proper investigation must follow. So I’m entrusting it to you. I ask this of you.”
“No. Since this matter concerns the honor of the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect, we will investigate it thoroughly.”
Gong Hyeon seemed to have become interested himself, and now he was brimming with motivation.
I nodded and sent him on his way.
Watching his retreating back, Sagong Cheon quietly asked, “Can he be trusted?”
“Do you doubt the abilities of the Sayeongdae?”
“Not that. But it’s possible the Sayeongdae has already been bought over by another elder’s faction.”
“Haha. If that were true, they wouldn’t be going around looking like beggars.”
Compared to the other martial divisions, they had been neglected so badly for lack of support that people even gossiped about how pitifully they were treated.
If they had been receiving backing from another side, that would never have happened.
“And after meeting him myself, I could see that Gong Hyeon was desperate to earn merit. He’ll investigate this properly.”
“If that’s what you say, Young Lord.”
Sagong Cheon gave a shrug.
One way or another, his trust in me was absolute.
Ever since I had saved his daughter’s life, he had become all but my right-hand man.
“How is Rin doing?”
“She is doing very well and is quite healthy. Of course, we should keep watching her, but she hasn’t had another fever since.”
“Just in case, have the child learn an internal art infused with the principle of harmony. No matter what happens, the yang and yin energies within her must never collide.”
“Understood. I’ll have to look for one.”
“I’ll open the clan library to you, so search thoroughly.”
“Young Lord...”
Sagong Cheon’s eyes shone brightly.
A martial family’s library was not something opened lightly under normal circumstances.
So to be given such a chance for the sake of his daughter must have moved him deeply.
But to me, it was only natural.
I intended to take responsibility for my people to the very end.
If I could win their hearts with something this small, then it was a bargain.
Thanks to that, I was freed from the duties of acting clan head and able to pour all my strength into training.
And after several days had passed...
Word finally came from the Sayeongdae I had been waiting for.
The rumor spreading through the marketplace was true.