The Impeachment of Yi Tae-gyeom
This was an extremely important matter.
Yi Tae-gyeom was the central pillar of the elder faction that was ruining the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect. But until now, I hadn't been able to touch him because I lacked the strength. Even if I had moved against him, there was no way to know how far the fallout would spread, so I had let him be.
But things are different now.
The mere existence of Granduncle Jin Ho-geon had already overturned the board.
He was the clan's highest elder and a master of the Heavenly Martial Realm. Once he returned to the family, he would wield tremendous authority and influence.
In that case, if Granduncle stepped forward and declared that Yi Tae-gyeom should be punished, resistance would be minimized.
Still, Sagong Cheon spoke with an uneasy expression.
"Young Lord, on what grounds are you planning to drive Yi Tae-gyeom out? If you simply try to crush him by force, the other elders won't sit still."
"Of course they won't. But Yi Tae-gyeom is the head of the Elders' Council. That means he's someone who must answer for the conduct of the elders."
"Then..."
"The fact alone that he failed to supervise Wang Jin's deviation is enough to impeach him. And besides, we have quite a bit of evidence of the evil he's committed, don't we?"
"I see. So you intend to strip away his influence that way."
"No. I don't intend to stop there. I'm going to finish him."
He was one of the main culprits who had served as a hound of Black Night Castle while trying to destroy the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect.
There was no forgiving a man like that.
Wouldn't it be a waste if someone like him merely received a period of confinement and quietly disappeared?
"I have a trump card that can drive him into a corner."
Of course, this was a very dangerous move.
If I mishandled it, the backlash could hit me instead.
That was why I intended first to reduce his influence as much as possible. Stripping him of his position as head of the Elders' Council and locking him in the prison cave would be part of that process.
Jin Ho-geon chuckled heartily and patted my shoulder.
"Hahaha. It seems our Muyeol has a plan."
"Then I'll follow your plan. In truth, from the moment I heard your story, I'd already been thinking it was time to clear out the parasites gnawing away at the main family."
"Thank you."
"Yi Tae-gyeom. I know that man well enough. His ability isn't bad, but he was greedy and disloyal even back then. The thought that such a man became head of the Elders' Council is absurd."
Granduncle clicked his tongue as he spoke.
Since their active years had overlapped, it seemed he knew far more about him than I'd expected.
"More importantly, show me this Wind God Dance you've acquired. Just what kind of martial art is it?"
"I don't fully understand it myself yet... but I think it's something like this."
Relying on the new sensation I had gained, I unleashed the martial art.
KWA-BOOM!
At once, blade winds howled in accordance with my sword strike.
It was as though the wind itself possessed a will and was responding to my movements.
"That is..."
"According to what the founder told me, the Wind God Dance is a martial art without forms. That's why it can't be inherited through ordinary means."
I repeated to him exactly what Pungsin had told me.
Granduncle fell silent, as if turning the matter over in his mind.
Then soon enough, he laughed in delight.
"I see. So that's why the Wind God Dance was never passed down until now."
"Yes. It's closer to a sensation, so I can't really teach it to anyone else."
"Hahaha! That's fine. The mere fact that you've obtained the Wind God Dance is enough. And if you use the Wind God Dance, won't it allow for much more varied applications?"
"What do you mean by varied applications?"
"The Wind God called it a formless martial art and used it without creating any set techniques. But that doesn't mean you have to follow the same path. If, with your ancestor's genius-like sense, you were to create martial arts with form from it and use them, wouldn't you be able to wield martial arts far more efficient and outstanding than now?"
"...!"
It was a perspective I had never considered when I first heard the explanation of the Wind God Dance.
Was this what one should expect from a master of the Heavenly Martial Realm?
Granduncle's understanding of martial arts seemed far beyond what I'd imagined.
Create new martial arts from the Wind God Dance...
In a sense, it resembled what the ancestors of the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect had tried to do when they attempted to imitate the Wind God's movements.
But the difference was that this time, it would be done by someone who possessed the Wind God Dance completely.
It was true. Just because Pungsin had used the Wind God Dance as a formless martial art didn't mean I had to do the same.
"Of course, that doesn't mean you should obsess over fixed forms either," Granduncle added. "What I mean is that it's best to cast aside the notion that this must be this way and that must be that way. The essence of the Wind God Dance is freedom. Remember that this means you may use it however you wish."
"I will keep that in mind. Thank you for your guidance."
"Haha. What a good child you are. Most people, once they gain a new power, become intoxicated by it and stop listening to others."
Granduncle patted my shoulder with a proud look.
But then he spoke with a hint of concern.
"Still... I only hope no one intrudes here while I'm gone."
"Even if someone does, it should be fine. To begin with, no one who doesn't carry the blood of the Jin family can undergo the trial. And even if someone somehow passed through the trial and made it inside, the founder said that if they weren't qualified, he would personally reject them."
The Pungsin I had met might not have been the founder himself, but rather some lingering remnant of thought...
Even so, he was a being with pride and the ability to match it.
Even if he had to discard that cave entirely, he wouldn't hand over the Wind God Dance so carelessly.
Wait. Then was that true in my first life as well?
Most likely, yes.
I had no concrete proof, but instinct told me it was right.
If so, then it also explained why the Wind God Dance had not fallen into enemy hands.
In any case, when I have the time, I should look for the other arrangements he left behind.
Pungsin had said he had hidden contingencies throughout the trial.
If I searched desperately enough, might I not find them?
And if I did, I might even uncover the secret of my regression.
Perhaps I would gain something greater still.
Well, for now, the family comes first.
It had been no easy thing to obtain the Wind God Dance.
To inherit it meant I had officially become his successor.
So I intended to revive the family in a way that would not shame that position.
Driving out Yi Tae-gyeom now was part of that as well.
With that thought in mind, I returned to the clan with the two of them.
We were able to make our return quietly, without being discovered by anyone.
And two days later.
After finishing all manner of behind-the-scenes preparations upon returning to the family, I formally requested that a clan council be convened.
There was only one agenda item.
The impeachment of Yi Tae-gyeom, head of the Elders' Council.
As expected, the clan erupted.
A request to impeach the head of the Elders' Council was no trifling matter.
From early morning, countless senior figures gathered in the meeting hall.
Even those who lacked the qualifications to attend a clan council loitered nearby, curious about the outcome.
"The atmosphere is ugly," Sagong Cheon said.
He was right.
The senior members—especially those of Yi Tae-gyeom's faction—were glaring at me with murderous eyes.
It was as if they wanted to devour me alive.
But I ignored their stares and took my seat.
Then a voice transmission sounded in my ear.
[I don't know what game you're playing, but you've got some nerve stirring up something like this.]
The owner of that transmission was none other than Yi Tae-gyeom himself.
Apparently he no longer had even the intention of speaking politely to me; he was glaring at me savagely.
I gave a faint snort and replied.
[Then you should've behaved yourself in the first place.]
[What?]
[If you hadn't betrayed the family, I wouldn't have taken it this far. But you crossed the line.]
[You wretch, what are you—]
Yi Tae-gyeom's words cut off there.
My father entered, and the meeting began.
"We will now begin the council regarding the Young Lord's proposal to impeach the head of the Elders' Council."
No sooner had Father finished speaking than someone shot to his feet with a bang.
It was one of the elders from Yi Tae-gyeom's faction.
"The Young Lord is making an absurd demand! Impeach the head of the Elders' Council? He is clearly doing this for his own power!"
"That's right!"
"This is a slight against the authority of the Elders' Council!"
"The Young Lord should be severely punished for creating a gathering like this!"
Yi Tae-gyeom's faction rose in a noisy swarm.
But the neutral faction and the few aligned with the family head remained silent.
Their reaction said they didn't even know what to say in response.
That was how sudden my move had been.
Even Father was looking at me with concern.
But I remained calm.
I looked at Father, signaling for him to continue.
"Ahem. Does the Young Lord have anything to say in response?"
"Yes. I do."
I rose from my seat and slowly swept my gaze over Yi Tae-gyeom and the others around him.
Then I used the Wind God Dance and stirred the air.
"What...?"
"The doors are shut, so where's that wind coming from?"
"It seems to be flowing from the Young Lord's body..."
Good.
This was enough to draw everyone's attention.
I looked at them with a grave expression and spoke.
"Yi Tae-gyeom, head of the Elders' Council, must not only bear responsibility for failing to supervise Elder Wang Jin, who committed corruption, but is also suspected of being deeply involved in that corruption himself. The money paid in tribute to Wang Jin appears to have been passed on directly to Yi Tae-gyeom."
"W-what?!"
"That's slander!"
"Then do you have proof?!"
The Elders' Council faction shouted furiously.
But I wasn't shaken in the slightest.
Instead, I raised the documents I had prepared in advance and showed them to the assembly.
Records of the crimes presumed to have been committed by Yi Tae-gyeom, head of the Elders' Council
Included among them: evidence suggesting an attempt to poison the Family Head
"And this is a document recording every criminal act believed to have been committed by Yi Tae-gyeom, head of the Elders' Council. Among them is even the horrifying charge that he attempted to poison the Family Head."
"P-poison?!"
"What do you mean by that...?!"
"I do not believe someone under such suspicion should be allowed to remain seated as head of the Elders' Council. I say this as the Young Lord of the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect—and as the one who inherited the founder's Wind God Dance."
"Inherited the Wind God Dance?!"
"Is that truly so?!"
Another uproar broke out.
This time, it wasn't just Yi Tae-gyeom's faction. Everyone was agitated at the mention of the Wind God Dance.
Strictly speaking, the fact that I had inherited the Wind God Dance had little direct relation to this matter...
But inheriting the ancestor's martial art is authority in itself. It'll make them listen to my words more seriously.
If anything, the authority carried by the inheritor of the Wind God Dance might surpass even that of the Young Lord.
If not, there would be backlash—but it was the truth, wasn't it?
There was no reason for me to hesitate over that.
Ignoring the commotion in the chamber, I continued speaking.
"Therefore, I request that until the investigation is complete, Yi Tae-gyeom be stripped of his office as head of the Elders' Council and confined in the prison cave, and that a formal investigation be conducted. And I would also like his vacant seat to be filled by someone else."
"Are you saying you intend to appoint another head of the Elders' Council right now?"
"That's correct. He is someone none of you can help but acknowledge. Rest assured—his qualifications are beyond sufficient."
As I said that, I called for Granduncle, who had been waiting outside.
"Granduncle, please come in."
"W-what!"
At the word Granduncle, the senior members' mouths fell open.
My granduncle—my great-grandfather's generation elder—there was only one person that could mean.
"In the short time I was away, the family has turned into a complete mess."
My granduncle.
A master of the Heavenly Martial Realm and the highest elder of the Northern Heavenly Sword Sect.
The current greatest sword of the Jin family, the great hero Jin Ho-geon, known by the title Gale Divine Sword, spoke in a savage voice like the growl of a beast.
"...!"
Shock flooded the faces of the gathered senior members.