CLS-Chapter 410

Chapter 410:

The atmosphere was at its worst.

There had been countless meetings before, but one had to wonder if there had ever been a time when the atmosphere was as bad as it was now.

The ones leading this serious atmosphere were Tang Pyeong and Tang Yong-min.

“Usually in cases like this…”

Tang Yong-min’s voice was incredibly subdued. And Tang Pyeong’s eyes as he looked at such a Tang Yong-min were equally cold. Unlike the two who would normally raise their voices and argue with each other no matter what happened.

It meant that they were taking the current situation that seriously.

“I would like to say we should immediately show those bastards what’s what…”

Tang Yong-min slightly ground his teeth.

“Realistically speaking, we cannot sanction Wei Yan-ho.”

The atmosphere in the meeting room sank to an extreme degree.

The words that came from Tang Yong-min’s mouth were that shocking.

“N-no!”

One of the elders shot up from his seat.

“What do you mean by that? Not sanctioning him would be one thing, but saying we can’t? Are you saying that the great Sichuan Tang Family cannot punish a single child?”

Tang Yong-min glanced back at the one who had spoken.

“That’s correct.”

“…”

“The reason is simple. To deal with a martial artist of Wei Yan-ho’s caliber requires proper mobilization. But unfortunately, mobilizing the martial force requires the Family Head’s permission… and right now Wei Yan-ho has come to the Tang Family as the Family Head’s guest. As long as he has the Family Head’s protection, we cannot do anything to Wei Yan-ho.”

“…Even so, still.”

“Then.”

Tang Yong-min looked around at the elders with bleak eyes.

“Then is there anyone among you who would teach Wei Yan-ho a lesson?”

There was no answer.

Everyone was busy avoiding Tang Yong-min’s sharp gaze.

Teaching Wei Yan-ho a lesson…

There was no one who didn’t acknowledge the Dark King’s strength. Rather, because they were in the same sect, they knew better than anyone about Tang Cheon-gun’s strength. The reason they were trying to bring down the Dark King wasn’t because the Dark King was weak. It was because the name of the Dark King could no longer continue the Sichuan Tang Family’s reign of terror.

An unknown master of uncertain viciousness was better than a strong warrior who had been defeated once. Wasn’t that the Tang Family’s way?

In any case, the person who had thoroughly beaten that strong Dark King was none other than Wei Yan-ho. In other words, it meant that no one in the Sichuan Tang Family could defeat Wei Yan-ho.

So how could they teach him a lesson?

Even if there was the slightest possibility, facing Wei Yan-ho in combat was something they wanted to avoid. Those watching from the sidelines might applaud the young genius’s performance, but for those directly involved, there was nothing more terrible. There was no need to step forward and personally prove that they were the front wave pushed back by the rear wave.

“This is reality.”

Tang Yong-min said in a low voice.

“I don’t intend to disparage you all. I’m the same. And the Third Elder has already been humiliated once, haven’t you? I apologize, Third Elder.”

“Forget it.”

Tang Pyeong waved his hand.

Being humiliated was a fact, but he didn’t want to become a coward who would hide that fact. That would be a greater shame than being beaten by Wei Yan-ho.

“A fact is a fact. The Wei Yan-ho I experienced firsthand was truly tremendous. I don’t even remember how I got beaten and fainted.”

But he couldn’t forget the humiliation of that time, and a low groan escaped him.

“But even so, we can’t just sit and watch this situation, can we?”

“Of course not.”

There was strength in Tang Yong-min’s voice.

He had absolutely no intention of overlooking this situation.

“They’re running wild as they please, trusting in the Family Head’s protection. Reports have already come in that Wei Yan-ho visited the armory with the Family Head’s permission.”

“T-the armory, you say?”

“They even opened the White Furnace, I hear.”

“The White Furnace…”

Gasping sounds could be heard from here and there.

“What on earth is the old man thinking? The White Furnace for that bastard? What kind of place is the White Furnace? And yet he lets an outsider in there.”

“He can enter.”

Tang Yong-min said curtly in an unexcited voice.

“He can enter. Of course he can. The reason we don’t let outsiders approach the armory is because we’re afraid the Tang Family’s numerous secrets might leak out. So what would it matter if Wei Yan-ho, who isn’t a craftsman, went there? This much we can tolerate. The problem is that at the old man’s request, they opened the White Furnace and Wei Yan-ho entered the White Furnace together with the old man. What would they do in the White Furnace?”

The elders’ faces darkened.

The White Furnace.

The Tang Family had numerous furnaces, but the White Furnace was special among them. All of the Tang Family’s countless golden hidden weapons and legendary hidden weapons were made in this White Furnace.

Because it could produce tremendous heat, it could temper metals that couldn’t be tempered in ordinary furnaces, but it was equally dangerous and required skill, so there was only one person in the current Tang Family who could handle the White Furnace.

And that person had taken Wei Yan-ho into the White Furnace.

“I don’t know what exactly they’re trying to do in there, but considering the White Furnace’s characteristics, it won’t be anything bad for Wei Yan-ho.”

“What on earth is the old man thinking? Taking an outsider into the White Furnace that he doesn’t easily show even to us!”

“…He told us not to even dream of it, saying we weren’t qualified even if we asked him to make a single sword.”

Anger rose on the elders’ faces.

The Tang Family had three pillars.

One was the Family Head representing martial force, another was the Poison Lord who created poisons, and the last was the Weapon Master who created hidden weapons.

The old man currently in charge of the Tang Family’s armory was an extremely eccentric person. Moreover, his pride in himself was tremendous, so he had refused to open the White Furnace for years, saying he disliked his creations falling into the hands of the incompetent.

But the person who made him open that White Furnace was not a descendant of the Sichuan Tang Family, but Wei Yan-ho.

This was far too humiliating for them.

“…We’re cursed.”

Tang Pyeong’s self-mockery represented everyone’s feelings.

“But doesn’t the White Furnace require the Family Head’s permission to open? Are you saying the Family Head permitted this?”

“That’s what they say.”

Tang Pyeong quietly closed his eyes.

Everyone waited for him to organize his thoughts. Although they said they were meeting and discussing, the ones leading the atmosphere here were Tang Pyeong and Tang Yong-min. In the end, they had no choice but to follow their opinions.

“Moreover…”

Tang Yong-min opened his mouth without waiting for Tang Pyeong to open his eyes.

“It seems Wei Jeong-han, who is currently investigating the incident occurring within the family, intends to report directly to the Righteous Martial Alliance.”

“…To the Righteous Martial Alliance?”

“More precisely, he would report to the Divine Investigation Office.”

“I-is that possible?”

“It seems he’s using a special spirit creature called a messenger bird.”

“Hmm…”

Uncomfortable expressions appeared on the elders’ faces.

“Isn’t there a way to check the content of the report? We can’t particularly stop the report itself, but shouldn’t we prevent other content from being passed along disguised as a report? If they return to the Righteous Martial Alliance, they’ll naturally learn the content anyway, but at least we’d buy some time…”

“We attempted censorship with the same thought, but Wei Yan-ho stopped us.”

“Grrr.“

Wei Yan-ho again.

The elders looked at each other and sighed.

Wei Yan-ho, Wei Yan-ho…

Now among the elders, those who complained of indigestion just from hearing the name Wei Yan-ho were appearing one after another. Wei Yan-ho was that frustrating of an existence to them.

“Can’t we stop that damned brat from running around?”

“We can no longer stand by and watch. We are the Sichuan Tang Family. An enemy-like bastard is already stirring up trouble inside the Tang Family’s belly, and are we supposed to watch that with our eyes wide open?”

“How about if we all go together in a group? Being cowardly would be better. Being cursed would be better. That’s a hundred times better than being ignored.”

“That’s right! Since it’s come to this…”

“Quiet!”

When Tang Pyeong opened his eyes and shouted, the meeting room was dyed in silence.

Tang Pyeong looked around at Tang Yong-min and said.

“Listen here.”

“Yes, Third Elder.”

“What do you think is the first thing we should do right now?”

Tang Yong-min took a short deep breath.

Now this was the real thing.

“Reclaim the Family Head’s authority.”

Even Tang Pyeong shut his mouth for a moment. What Tang Yong-min was saying now had far too great a ripple effect. Although they had been demanding the Dark King’s resignation until now, that was only resignation to the end. What Tang Yong-min was saying now wasn’t resignation but expulsion.

Sensing the bewildered gazes of the people, Tang Yong-min elaborated.

“As I said from the beginning, the reason we cannot punish Wei Yan-ho right now is because only the Family Head has the authority to move the Tang Family’s martial force. Otherwise, how could Wei Yan-ho run wild like that? That bastard isn’t that stupid. He’s acting so arrogantly because he knows the current Tang Family cannot touch him.”

A great misunderstanding was arising.

Well, there was no way those who had lived within the system called the Tang Sect could understand Wei Yan-ho. If they had known that Wei Yan-ho was originally that kind of person, many parts of their current meeting would have been different.

“So it comes down to authority in the end. But we can recommend that the Family Head step down, but we cannot drag him down.”

“Of course that’s true, but…”

Tang Yong-min looked around at everyone as he spoke. As if he would bind each and every one of them.

“If all the elders here step forward, wouldn’t it be possible? No matter how much of a Family Head he is, he cannot oppose the opinions of all the elders.”

“Hmm…”

Tang Pyeong looked around at everyone as if it made sense.

But the gazes that returned were never pleasant. Everyone was subtly avoiding Tang Pyeong’s eyes as if something was bothering them.

‘Pathetic things.’

Even though they already knew that the Dark King’s existence was harmful to the Tang Family, they didn’t want to get involved for fear that harm might come to them.

He wondered how the great Tang Family of the world had come to this point.

“And if that doesn’t work, there’s another method, isn’t there?”

“Another method?”

“Yes. The method I mentioned from the beginning. If we can’t find an answer internally, we can find it externally. No matter how much of a Dark King he is, he cannot ignore the Heavenly Alliance.”

The elders’ gazes all focused on Tang Yong-min at once.

“This is exactly what we hoped for when the Heavenly Alliance was established. It was about making up for each other’s shortcomings and utilizing each other’s strengths to make Sichuan the center of the Central Plains. Now the person who will play that role has arrived.”

“Hmm?”

Tang Pyeong looked toward the door with eyes mixed with suspicion and expectation. He could sense someone’s presence.

“Third Elder, may we let them in?”

“It seems they’ve already arrived, so sending them back wouldn’t be courteous either. Tell them to come in.”

“Yes, please come in.”

The moment Tang Yong-min finished speaking, the door opened and one person entered. Everyone who saw them widened their eyes.

“Y-you are…”