Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: The Essence of an Alliance
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What is an alliance?
An alliance is a pact made by equals to look out for one another.
Therefore, they must stand tall before each other.
They must not cower or bend to read the room.
Not even if there's a difference in power—they must not lower themselves.
'That is the true proof of qualification for an alliance.'
Objectively speaking, the Baek Clan was still sorely lacking to be considered an ally of the Tang Clan, even at this very moment.
So what? What of it?
I was confident we would surpass the Tang Clan in the future.
On the grand scale, this alliance would bring far greater gains to the Tang Clan.
There was no need to humble ourselves or bow our heads just because they were a greater clan right now.
'Even if that's not the case... the Tang Clan wanted my conviction and confidence that it would be.'
"Tang Clan Lord Dang Seong hereby apologizes to the Baek Clan's representative."
Seeing the Tang Clan Lord speak words of apology confirmed my expectations were spot on.
Thus, I returned the cupped-fist salute.
"Baek Yang-hui, eldest young master of the Baek Clan, apologizes to you, Senior and elder, the Tang Clan Lord, for my rudeness."
The representatives of the two clans exchanged cupped-fist salutes while facing each other.
Watching from right beside them, Baek Heon-so felt a shiver run down his spine unbidden.
'As expected of my brother... his vision is on another level!'
The Tang Clan Lord had tested us unilaterally, applying pressure that felt almost coercive.
How would Baek Heon-so himself have reacted in that situation?
He would have bowed his head and fumbled awkwardly.
The Tang Clan was a greater house than the Baek Clan, and their lord was a senior in the martial world, an elder, and a powerhouse.
Even without wrongdoing, he would have panicked, his mind gone blank, glancing about nervously.
'Brother... saw through everything.'
His sworn brother, who was barely a year older than him.
Yet the gap in their caliber was immeasurable.
'To keep up with Brother, I need to run faster and farther than ever!'
As Baek Heon-so quietly steeled his resolve in secret, Dang Seong was genuinely pleased.
He hadn't stopped at emitting his aura—he had even released his poison.
He had applied excessive pressure on purpose.
And there was one reason for it.
'Indeed. A vessel worthy of admiration and desire from the Zhuge Clan.'
Though Yang-hui didn't know it, the Zhuge Clan's influence lay behind the Tang Clan's one-sided support of the Baek Clan up to now.
The Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans that stood alongside the Tang Clan's origins—among the Five Great Clans, the Zhuge Clan held a prominent position.
"That child will rise high. There's no harm in walking together. This old Zhuge guarantees it."
'We received immense grace through the Tang Martial Scripture. But it wasn't enough to warrant full support for the next decade.'
Grace repaid double, grudges tenfold.
Even calculating grace at double as per their clan motto, they owed the Baek Clan nothing more.
They had repaid it long ago and continued supporting them—now it was time to collect.
This was why many elders in the clan were skeptical of the alliance and the ten-year pact with the Baek Clan.
Thus, the test.
Excessive pressure, conversations twisted multiple times to probe heart and attitude.
A stage for the Tang Clan's test and the Baek Clan's proof.
'This is sufficient.'
Demanding an apology from the Tang Clan Lord to a mere eldest young master who hadn't even risen to young clan leader?
This was an act impossible without firm conviction in oneself and one's clan.
It might just be reckless guts, but if so, he wouldn't have been seated here in the first place.
'At the very least, he's qualified to draw the full attention of the Zhuge Clan.'
This should plant a positive impression even among the skeptical elders regarding the alliance with the Baek Clan.
He had laid the board expecting this very situation.
Whether the boy knew his innermost thoughts was another matter.
-Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Clan Lord.
Dang Seong's eyebrow twitched at Yang-hui's transmitted voice.
'He even predicted this far.'
"Hahaha!"
Dang Seong burst into sudden laughter.
Yang-hui flashed a subtle smile and tossed out a question.
"What's so funny all of a sudden, Clan Lord?"
"Good question. Meeting the famed eldest young master of the Baek Clan has me so delighted that the laughter just came out."
"Is that so? Everyone does that when they meet me."
"Hahaha! Not a word out of you! What audacity. Everyone, isn't that right?"
The Tang Clan elders chimed in one by one.
"Unyielding spirit. That alone qualifies him as a talent without question."
"Brushing off the Clan Lord's aura suggests his martial prowess is exceptional as well."
"A dragon rises in an allied clan—truly a blessing for our house."
"A blessing, yes. Though if we nitpick, it's a minor one."
Dang Seong grew serious and made a proposal to Yang-hui.
"How about becoming a son-in-law of our house? I'll give you any daughter you want."
"Pardon?"
"Even two is fine."
"Pardon?"
"Three?"
"......"
Yang-hui felt cold sweat trickling down his back.
Oh no, had he shown off too much?
Judging by the greed in Dang Seong's eyes, he was dead serious.
"I-I'm sorry. I've dreamed since childhood of meeting my fated one and spending a happy century together..."
A polite refusal of a political marriage. Yet Dang Seong didn't give up.
"Fate can appear out of nowhere."
"......"
He'd have to watch his back for a while.
Considering the Tang Clan's temperament, he'd need to lock his doors tight at night too.
'Change the subject! Shift the conversation!'
"By the way, what will my younger brother and I be doing here in the Tang Clan?"
"Ah, right. Originally, we planned for you to train alongside our younger generation, with me occasionally overseeing your practice directly... but that's no longer possible."
If plans changed suddenly, there was one reason.
The Sword-Horned Venom Wyrm.
"Come to think of it, I delayed my thanks. On the way here, I received a report that we succeeded in taming the Sword-Horned Venom Wyrm thanks to your help. Truly grateful."
'Just as I thought.'
He knew the Sword-Horned Venom Wyrm was one of the Tang Clan's long-cherished goals, but their reaction showed it was even more significant than expected.
"For the time being, all our house's heavyweights will be focused on researching the Sword-Horned Venom Wyrm. So I doubt we can provide much instruction."
"If we're walking the same path, everyone can be a teacher. I believe simply exchanging with your younger generation will be immensely helpful."
"Hearing that makes me grateful. Ah, as for the Sword-Horned Venom Wyrm matter, we will definitely repay the favor. We'll discuss how later."
"Understood, Clan Lord."
The conversation lulled for a moment. They'd spoken plenty—likely the Tang Clan Lord would soon dismiss the guests.
But he had one question before that.
"If I may be so bold, could I have a junior's curiosity satisfied?"
"Of course."
"You said all the Tang Clan's heavyweights will focus on the Sword-Horned Venom Wyrm for now. Might the reason be integration?"
Dang Seong and the elders' faces stiffened slightly.
"It's no secret... but a sensitive matter. You're correct."
He fell silent, gazing at Dang Seong.
Recalling the aura from moments ago, he probed with his keen senses.
'As expected. He hasn't reached the Super Peak realm.'
Super Peak was the stage of freely wielding intent.
Yet Dang Seong's poison aura was distinctly physical.
'Meaning he hasn't spiritualized his poison.'
One of the top ten clans in the world, and their lord was merely at Peak realm?
A paradox. Absurd.
No martial house without Super Peak absolute arts—divine skills—could surpass that limit.
'Thanks to their specialty in poison and hidden weapons. And support from the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans.'
But that was the ceiling.
The Tang Clan could grow no larger, climb no higher.
Forget permission from the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans—their core martial arts themselves forbade it.
'Creating divine skills. Securing a seat among the Five Great Clans through them. The dream my past-life Tang counterpart harbored.'
The Tang Clan knew their limits all too acutely.
Hence mobilizing all heavyweights for Sword-Horned Venom Wyrm research.
"We anticipate the wyrm's integrative properties will greatly aid our house's martial arts."
The Sword-Horned Venom Wyrm was a venomous creature that fed on poisons, a spirit beast.
It consumed countless toxins without dying, growing ever stronger—that was its trait.
They aimed to research it and break the limits of poison arts.
"But how did you know? Surely not from Gun-er."
"The Tang Clan is called the Patriarch of Hundred Poisons. A hundred is a great number, but I wondered why not Patriarch of Ten Thousand Poisons."
The poisons the Tang Clan handled numbered exactly one hundred.
Though derivatives from origins were countless, knowing antidotes for those hundred allowed countering Tang poisons.
This was one leash the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans held over the Tang Clan.
"A misunderstanding. Our Tang Clan's poisons number nearly a thousand. 'Ten thousand' means 'fullness.' Too vast to claim, so we humbly call ourselves Patriarch of Hundred Poisons."
Fair enough.
Even praising the emperor, they cried "ten thousand years" for the symbolism of ten thousand, not billions or trillions.
But.
'Not ready to tell me yet. Well, I'm an outsider after all.'
Fine, he'd settle for this today.
He'd left a strong first impression and won favor with the Tang heavyweights.
"I see. Thank you for kindly answering this junior's shallow curiosity."
"No need for thanks over something so minor."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Baek Clan group was assigned an entire annex within the Tang Clan grounds as lodging.
Not just a guest room in the reception hall, but a whole annex—that expressed the Tang Clan's intent to treat them well.
"But in the end, we're still outsiders. Permission to go to the inner quarters? Even with it, no entry."
Chui-dal, lying beside him and doodling in the air with silken bedding threads, replied incredulously.
"Come on. This treatment for outsiders is more than enough—what more do you want, Brother?"
"Tch. True, but still."
Baek Heon-so, holding a horse stance and practicing Heaven-Covering 108 Swords forms with his hand blade, added his piece.
"Chui-dal, have you ever seen Brother talk nonsense? He's just lamenting because it's necessary for his schemes."
"Sure, but... hey, how about this? Brother actually becomes their son-in-law."
"What?"
"Then we're family, and inner quarters or whatever—we can go anywhere."
"Chui-dal, oh Chui-dal, the Chui with 'shameful' and Dal from 'otter'."
"What? Why? What's the problem now?"
"You must not grasp what being a Tang son-in-law entails."
He didn't bother explaining in detail.
No point tiring his mouth.
'Wait. Do I really need to be the son-in-law myself?'
"Heon-so."
"Yes."
"What do you think of a Tang girl?"
"P-Pardon?"
Watching Baek Heon-so fluster and hem, he smacked his lips.
A guy who should become Baek Clan Lord someday couldn't be a son-in-law, huh.
'Stuck on fixing Tang martial arts, so useless thoughts keep popping up.'
That was when it happened.
A commotion erupted outside with crashing sounds, and the door flew open.
"Baek Clan young masters, are you in?"
"Uncle! I keep telling you it's rude..."
"Brother Hui and Brother So arrived today! They need time to rest from the journey!"
"But Gun-er, Yeon-ah! I can't wait!"
Dang Gun and Dang Yeon wore troubled expressions.
And a man with an unfamiliar face.
"I'm Dang Yang of the Tang Clan! Overly honored to hold an elder position."
"Ah. Baek Yang-hui of the Baek Clan greets Elder Dang Yang."
"Baek Heon-so of the Baek Clan greets Elder Dang Yang."
After brief introductions, Dang Yang, face brimming with excitement, got straight to the point.
"Young master Baek Yang-hui! Forgive me, but may I run some live experiments on you?"
"......Pardon?"
Live experiments?