CLS-Chapter 469

Chapter 469:

When Wei Yan-ho took Cheok Su-gwang with him into his room—that is, inside the guest hall—those who remained found themselves at a loss for what to do.

No one had expected the duel between the two to conclude in such a manner.

Even if someone had anticipated such a situation, they certainly couldn’t have foreseen the process.

Wei Jeong-han was one of those people.

Wei Jeong-han glanced around slightly and let out a low sigh.

An awkward atmosphere.

Even though Wei Yan-ho and Cheok Su-gwang had left their seats, no one was thinking of moving. Everyone just stood there awkwardly, lost in thought with uncertain postures.

‘That’s understandable.’

Wei Jeong-han shook his head.

The shock he had received—someone who thought he understood Wei Yan-ho well enough—was considerable, so how much greater must the shock have been for those others?

‘This should do it, Divine Strategist sir.’

The Divine Strategist’s scheme to use Wei Yan-ho for a show of force had succeeded perfectly. Even the Divine Strategist himself probably hadn’t expected to achieve such an effect. Even the Divine Strategist wouldn’t have known that Wei Yan-ho had become this strong.

Wei Jeong-han hadn’t known either, so how could he have?

No matter how much of a Divine Strategist one might be, it’s impossible to see through everything under Heaven.

The effect was at a terrifying level.

Just looking at the expressions of shock and despair on the Tang Family members’ faces, one could easily tell what they were thinking.

It was understandable.

Even Tang Cheon-gun was making a similar expression.

‘How unfortunate.’

Wei Jeong-han wasn’t ignorant of why Tang Cheon-gun had taken Cheok Su-gwang to Wei Yan-ho as soon as he arrived. He must have hoped Wei Yan-ho would defeat Cheok Su-gwang. That way, he could restore his own honor while making future conversations more comfortable.

Since that wouldn’t be bad for Wei Jeong-han either, he had tacitly allowed it. He too had confidence that Wei Yan-ho would never lose to Cheok Su-gwang.

But how should he put it…

‘Still, this is a bit much.’

If a proper duel had taken place and Cheok Su-gwang had been defeated, things would have gone as Tang Cheon-gun had envisioned. But no matter how much he replayed it, this couldn’t even be called a duel.

Wei Yan-ho had simply overwhelmed Cheok Su-gwang one-sidedly. So much so that Cheok Su-gwang’s early showing in the duel wasn’t even memorable.

If he, as a father who knew Wei Yan-ho’s abilities best, was this shocked, how much more so must the others be?

The Tang Family members probably wouldn’t be able to properly lift their heads in front of Wei Yan-ho for some time.

‘Though it won’t last long.’

A person’s dignity isn’t determined by ability alone. What kind of personality that person has is also important. Even those who feel burdened by Wei Yan-ho’s abilities will eventually start pointing fingers again once they watch what Wei Yan-ho does.

‘I need to wrap things up before then.’

Wei Jeong-han quietly curled up the corners of his mouth. In any case, the results had exceeded expectations. Now what Wei Jeong-han needed to do wasn’t be surprised by these results, but utilize them.

So where to start from…

Just then, Wei Yan-ho, who had entered the guest hall, poked his head out.

“Father!”

“Hm?”

“Aren’t you coming in?”

“I, I should.”

Wei Jeong-han headed into the guest hall. His head was complicated, but for now it was time to set that aside.

“Hmm…”

Wei Jeong-han quietly looked at the people sitting around.

Wei Yan-ho and Cheok Su-gwang, Jang-il and Zhuge Woo-in.

And Tang Cheon-gun and Zhuge Yeom were sitting around a round table.

The atmosphere was a bit heavy.

No one was trying to be the first to speak. The person who should lighten the mood was Wei Yan-ho, but expecting such a role from him was unreasonable.

In the end, Wei Jeong-han had no choice but to speak up.

“Eh…”

What should I start with?

‘Did you enjoy the duel?’

No. If he said something like that, Cheok Su-gwang might suddenly draw his sword. He needed to avoid mentioning the duel as much as possible.

Then what should he say?

Sweat began to form on Wei Jeong-han’s forehead. The duel had been so intense that his mind was full of those scenes, but creating conversation while restraining himself from mentioning it was quite difficult.

As Wei Jeong-han hesitated, Cheok Su-gwang wore a bitter smile.

Then he opened his mouth in Wei Jeong-han’s place.

“You’re strong.”

“Excuse me?”

“Strong. Incredibly strong. Unbelievably so. How can someone become so strong at such a young age as yourself?”

“Ah, that?”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his head.

“If you get tormented by a demon, you naturally become strong.”

“A demon?”

“My master.”

Tang Cheon-gun and Zhuge Yeom’s eyebrows twitched.

They apparently didn’t particularly like Wei Yan-ho’s behavior of calling his master a demon.

But Cheok Su-gwang didn’t mind.

“It seems your master taught you harshly. Could I perhaps know who your master is?”

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t know… Actually, you might know, but it’s a bit awkward to say. It’s quite a strange story…”

“Well, then.”

Cheok Su-gwang nodded.

In the martial world, hiding one’s origins is commonplace. Since the martial world is entangled with grudges and resentments, just revealing one’s origins can make someone an enemy or complicate matters. If someone avoids mentioning their origins, not asking about it is an unwritten rule of the martial world.

“Is he still alive?”

“My master?”

“That’s right.”

“He died, long ago.”

Very long ago, around three hundred years ago.

Cheok Su-gwang clicked his tongue as if it were regrettable.

“If he were still alive, I would have loved to meet him once.”

“…It would be better if you didn’t meet him.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. He’s incredibly stubborn.”

It’s obvious without even seeing.

Though Wei Yan-ho claimed to be the legitimate heir of the Guangdong Wei Family, Baek Mu-han had dismissed him, asking where he got the nerve to bring up some unknown petty martial family he’d never heard of.

Baek Mu-han, who looked down on even when a respectable family like the Guangdong Wei Family was mentioned, would have treated Cheok Su-gwang, a wandering martial artist…

‘He’d be lucky if he even acknowledged him.’

There was a high probability he wouldn’t even speak to him. His master was someone who took pride in being descended from a prestigious family. It was only because of such circumstances that he took Wei Yan-ho as a disciple. If his master had been alive, Wei Yan-ho probably wouldn’t have become Baek Mu-han’s disciple either.

“Your master must have been strong?”

“He wasn’t human.”

“To that extent?”

“Words can’t explain it.”

“If you faced your master now, how long could you last?”

“Last?”

Wei Yan-ho’s face contorted. Not out of annoyance or anger, but because he was struggling with how to explain this concept.

“You might not understand this, but… I can only explain it like this. Even if you don’t understand, please try to understand.”

“Tell me.”

“If my master and I fought, I’d be destroyed in one second.”

“…”

“But that doesn’t mean I’m only worth one second against my master. Um, I don’t know how to explain this… My master transcended the concept of martial arts that connects technique to technique. No one can block my master’s one second. Once you can block that one second, then you could compete with him. But that one second is, um…”

Wei Yan-ho’s body trembled.

Cheok Su-gwang realized that Wei Yan-ho had just fought his master in his mind. That trembling was the aftereffect of being defeated in one second.

“I can’t block it.”

Wei Yan-ho’s conclusion was simple.

“No one can block it, no one.”

“…I see.”

If someone else had said those words, he would have dismissed them as mere boasting. But no one present could think of Wei Yan-ho’s words as boasting.

Not because Wei Yan-ho was strong.

‘He’s someone who created such martial arts.’

There were theories and applications he’d never seen before mixed in. If someone who could instill such things in a disciple existed, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they had reached the realm of a Martial God.

“So if you continue learning martial arts, can you eventually reach that level?”

“That’s impossible.”

Wei Yan-ho shook his head firmly.

“Didn’t your master already show you the peak?”

“It seems my master has no answer either. So it’s like this. There’s a mountain made entirely of sheer cliffs. A mountain that humans absolutely cannot climb. But my master is standing at the peak of that mountain. And then he shouts at me that since he climbed up here, if I work hard, I can climb up here too.”

“…There’s no answer.”

“That’s what kind of person he was.”

Wei Yan-ho sighed quietly. Whenever talk of his master came up, he became talkative.

This was partly because Wei Yan-ho had many complaints about his master, but also because the stronger he became, the more he could see new aspects of his master that he hadn’t known before.

You could say topics constantly bubbled up.

“Meeting such a master was a great fortune.”

“…That’s quite ambiguous too.”

Fortune or misfortune?

Wei Yan-ho couldn’t provide an answer.

If he went back to the past, would Wei Yan-ho head to that cave again?

He probably would.

But not because he wanted to become strong even if it meant being tormented by his master. It was just…

‘Because I’d want to see his face once more.’

Wei Yan-ho didn’t respect Baek Mu-han as a martial artist. No matter how strong he was, Wei Yan-ho doesn’t respect martial artists. This world where people naturally receive others’ respect just for being stronger is strange.

But he had liked Baek Mu-han as a human being.

Strict but affectionate, full of pretense but genuine.

As a person, he was someone you couldn’t help but like.

Though others wouldn’t think so.

Wei Yan-ho probably would have pointed fingers at and cursed Baek Mu-han if he hadn’t been entangled with him as master and disciple.

“…It feels like someone’s spitting in my face.”

“Hm?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

Wei Yan-ho waved his hands and looked at Cheok Su-gwang.

“By the way, there was something I wanted to ask you.”

“Hm, you want to ask me something?”

“Yes. I was actually planning to go find you to ask about it, but when I heard you were coming, I waited.”

“How strange. That you would have something to ask me. You probably already know what I know.”

“It’s not related to martial arts.”

“I understand, but that’s a painful answer.”

Cheok Su-gwang smiled bitterly.

He was newly realizing it. The fact that this young man before his eyes was a master he couldn’t even dare to approach. The more he thought about it, the more absurd it was, but that was reality.

‘The rumors will probably spread quickly.’

The fact that Cheok Su-gwang was defeated by Wei Yan-ho was also newsworthy. But compared to the fact that the Heavenly Alliance Leader was defeated by Wei Yan-ho, it was nothing.

Whether people had favorable feelings toward the Heavenly Alliance or hostility toward it, they wouldn’t keep quiet about this amazing event. Seven days and nights would be enough for word to spread throughout the Central Plains.

How great would that ripple effect be?

“Previously…”

As Wei Yan-ho opened his mouth, Cheok Su-gwang organized his thoughts. Later matters were for later, and now it was important to focus on this conversation.

“You said you’ve taken it before, right? The Explosive Blood Pill.”

“I did.”

“Then how are you still alive?”

Cheok Su-gwang was flustered by this blunt question that cut straight to the point.

“Hm?”

“Shouldn’t you be dead?”

After pondering the answer to that question for a long while, Cheok Su-gwang came to a conclusion.

He turned his head slightly to look at Wei Jeong-han and opened his mouth.

“You, come here for a moment.”

“…Yes.”

Wei Jeong-han was dragged out by Cheok Su-gwang’s hand like a cow being led to slaughter.