Chapter 34: That Was Enough

Back when the Third Elder first taught Dancheon Myeong.

Dancheon Myeong was exactly ten years old at the time, so this was a story from about ten years ago.

-Hwoong!

-Third Elder, is this how I do it?

-……Do it like that.

When taught one thing, he would delve into it himself and understand two; the Third Elder saw an extraordinary martial talent in Dancheon Myeong.

-Madam, please come to the young master's training session once.

-Do I really have to go?

-……It is an important matter.

-I'll try to go once.

The first time she attended her second son's training.

That day, Baek Yeo-hae saw a fragment of a genius.

Even to her, who knew nothing of martial arts, his talent was so special that she could recognize it immediately.

-Third Elder, I have a request. You know what I mean, right?

-If the Clan Head finds out…….

-That won't happen.

It might be good news, but her judgment was not mistaken.

Even under the crude training of the specially requested Third Elder, the second son had set foot in the First-Rate Realm at the age of seventeen.

His talent was more than just brilliant.

-I think you should consider getting rid of the second son.

One day, that was what the Third Elder had said to Baek Yeo-hae.

She remembered the First Elder was also present.

What had she replied then?

-Please give me some time to think.

She thought she had replied like that.

To put it simply, she did not choose to get rid of the second son.

It was because although the second son had shown a shining talent, fortunately, the eldest son had achieved far superior accomplishments.

* * *

“That is why I said long ago that we should have gotten rid of the second son from the clan.”

Baek Yeo-hae silently listened to the Third Elder's comment, which felt like déjà vu.

When the First Elder gave a signal with his eyes, the Third Elder tactfully shut his mouth.

“The position of Clan Head must belong to our Hak. He is the eldest son who inherited the legitimate bloodline, and a child who lacks nothing, isn't he?”

“You are right, Madam.”

“But I'm anxious. No, I've become anxious. Do you know that Head of the Guard Bang has taken Myeong's side? That stone-like man, who wouldn't budge no matter how much effort I put in, has taken Myeong's side.”

Although they were having a conversation, Baek Yeo-hae continued to speak as if she were talking to herself.

She looked like someone reciting a spell.

“Bang Yeo-baek! If it weren't for him……!”

She seemed to be angry for a moment, then she composed her breathing and continued speaking.

“That child has won the alias of the Dragon. Everyone's being hush-hush about it, but they all say it. Hak also got the alias of the Dragon, but isn't Myeong's on a higher level?”

She pretended not to hear, but she knew that fact better than anyone.

She was not foolish.

“Now that child has earned the alias of Divine Dragon of Dancheon. They say he defeated the spies of the Demonic Cult on his first journey in the Jianghu.”

As she continued to that point, First Elder Cheon Il-san's expression twitched slightly.

Dancheon Hak had also just returned from a journey in the Jianghu.

Like a first-timer in the Jianghu, he performed various chivalrous acts, but everyone knew that they paled in comparison to Dancheon Myeong's feat of finding and eliminating the spies of the Demonic Cult.

“Even so, will the Clan Head think that Hak, not Myeong, is suitable for the position of Young Clan Head?”

After Baek Yeo-hae's confession-like words ended, a brief silence fell.

The words of the woman Baek Yeo-hae were like a lament.

It was a process of releasing the anxiety and resentment built up in her heart by speaking to her colleague, the First Elder.

But the First Elder's thoughts were quite different.

“How about it, Madam. Do you want me to step in now?”

Baek Yeo-hae did not answer that question.

“Now that the Clan Head is absent, this might be the last chance. Please consider it carefully.”

First Elder Cheon Il-san steps in.

Baek Yeo-hae was fully aware of the hidden meaning in his words.

-Madam, have you still not decided?

-……Let's just leave it. I don't think he'll be a threat to Hak.

A familiar fragment of the past flashed by.

“…….”

She, who had been silent for a long time, shook her head.

“No. That's not it. I don't think I can. That child is also my…….”

Baek Yeo-hae couldn't complete her sentence.

She just looked into Cheon Il-san's eyes as if to reconfirm.

Cheon Il-san did not hide his displeased expression.

“Madam, are you still hesitating even in this situation?”

Baek Yeo-hae lowered her gaze.

“Please pretend you didn't hear what I said today. Hak, my son, will do well.”

The woman Baek Yeo-hae.

She had become a harsh person for her son, Dancheon Hak, but she could not become a wicked person; an ordinary woman was here.

“I'll be going now. You don't need to see me out.”

Saying so, Baek Yeo-hae hurriedly left the place.

Just because Baek Yeo-hae left did not mean the conversation in the Council of Elders had ended.

“Third Elder, what are your thoughts?”

“I have said from the beginning that we should get rid of the second son from the clan.”

Although he was a master who should have been closer to Dancheon Myeong than anyone, he was the one who had insisted on Dancheon Myeong's exclusion more than anyone.

Leaving the Third Elder's firm answer behind, the First Elder asked another question.

“Young Master Hak, what are your thoughts?”

Behind the pillar that Baek Yeo-hae had failed to notice.

There, Dancheon Hak stood leaning against the pillar.

“…….”

Dancheon Hak did not give any answer.

As if not minding, the First Elder continued speaking as if to himself.

“The second son has grown too much. It seems it will be difficult to just get rid of him…….”

After a brief pause, First Elder Cheon Il-san continued.

“Now we will have to use some other means.”

He chuckled and said.

“Since it is a matter of deciding the position of the Clan Head, shouldn't we be better safe than sorry?”

He finished his words with a calm expression.

To accept plotting a conspiracy as a normal part of daily life; this was also an aspect of an old veteran of the Jianghu who had survived for a long time.

It was a plan to harm a direct descendant of the Clan Head, even if he was an illegitimate son.

If it were to leak, the foundation of the Council of Elders could be shaken, but that would not happen.

It was because the Third Elder was like the First Elder's hands and feet, and Dancheon Hak was a disciple whom the First Elder had raised with his own hands his entire life.

The Third Elder asked the First Elder in a suggestive tone.

“Do you have a way?”

“I have something good, so don't worry.”

To have a trump card up one's sleeve, wasn't that also an aspect of an old veteran of the Jianghu?

“…….”

Dancheon Hak did not open his mouth until the end.

* * *

The small training ground on the outskirts of the Dancheon Clan.

I was alone in that place where I used to be with Uncle Yeo Baek.

“Hoo-”

After returning to the clan, I couldn't see my father Dancheon Gang, nor Uncle Yeo Baek.

It was because my father Dancheon Gang had gone to the Murim Alliance.

This was something that had happened in my past life as well.

The succession of a prestigious clan was not just a matter for the clan alone, so my father would go there and coordinate many things before returning.

It was natural for the Head of the Guard, Bang Yeo-baek, to accompany the Clan Head Dancheon Gang on his departure from the elders, so it was a little disappointing that I couldn't see him either.

The center of the training ground.

I was sitting in a cross-legged position with my eyes closed.

In truth, the stage of training the physical body had already reached its end while I was with Uncle Yeo Baek.

Accumulating Qi through Qi circulation had also become useless now.

I rarely remember feeling a lack of internal energy since the First Stage.

It was thanks to the Immaculate Pomegranate that had flowed into every meridian of my body.

On top of that, the internal energy of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root was added, so in terms of internal energy alone, I thought I could probably compare with the masters who had reached the Absolute Realm.

Nevertheless, I was out in the training ground.

It would be correct to say I was training.

To put it frankly, it was ‘mental training’.

Of course, even including Myeong-gae's life, I had never learned mental training in my life.

However, the long dream I had when entering the Fourth Stage had opened up a new horizon of mental training for me.

There, I brandished my sword, brandished, and brandished.

What was carved away in my mind was not the path of the sword, but worldly desires and delusions.

It would be called the blossoming of the Spirit.

In truth, I was now constantly exploring the new horizon of the unity of Essence, Qi, and Spirit through mental training.

Thump.

Was it because I was focused on mental training?

My extremely sharpened senses fully accepted the presence around me.

I knew that a presence that had been approaching from a distance had finally reached me.

“What brings you here, Elder Brother?”

Although I didn't open my eyes, I could tell just from my keen sense of Qi and my mind.

The one who had approached me now was Dancheon Hak.

Although I couldn't say our relationship was good, I knew it was impolite to remain seated cross-legged when a guest had arrived.

I dusted off my spot and stood up to face Dancheon Hak.

“You, you've changed again.”

“Have I?”

My body had already achieved Returning to the Original State upon reaching the Second Stage.

Dancheon Hak seemed to recognize my changes, which no one else could notice, as if he were a ghost.

“Don't we seem to be seeing each other often lately?”

In my past life, I had lived a life where I didn't have many encounters with Baek Yeo-hae and Dancheon Hak.

“Do you not like it?”

“Well, I don't particularly like it.”

“Neither do I.”

Dancheon Hak chuckled.

Thinking of the old days when he would have immediately said ‘someone like you’, he too must have changed a lot.

“So, what business brings you here?”

Our relationship wasn't so close that he would visit without a purpose, so he must have a purpose.

After a brief pause, Dancheon Hak spoke.

“Run away.”

His words were truly surprising, yet I was not surprised.

Perhaps I had anticipated this situation as well.

“May I ask for the reason?”

I looked at Dancheon Hak with upright eyes.

Dancheon Hak's pupils were swaying like a ferryboat that had lost its buoy.

“……Someone is trying to harm you.”

After taking a moment to catch his breath.

“I won't tell you to run away forever. Just hide your body somewhere for the seven days that father is absent. When father returns, no one will be able to move rashly.”

Why was it?

Why was it that now, hearing that someone was trying to harm me, I felt a sense of pleasure instead?

“Is the First Elder plotting something?”

“……!”

“Am I right?”

Dancheon Hak, who had been hiding the truth with the expression ‘someone’, slightly closed his eyes and then nodded.

In truth, I was not surprised.

It was something that hadn't happened in my past life, so I wasn't certain, but I had vaguely guessed that something like this might happen in this life, now that I had become a strong candidate for the Young Clan Head position.

However, what I was curious about was not the fact that the First Elder was planning something.

“What is the reason you are telling me this?”

My question was, why had Dancheon Hak come running to me and confessed such a thing?

Was it because of my casual attitude?

Dancheon Hak's swaying pupils stopped.

In their place was the great young master of a prestigious clan, full of confidence again.

“Don't misunderstand. It's not because I consider you a younger brother or anything like that.”

As if making a vow to himself, Dancheon Hak clenched his fist and continued.

“I just couldn't stand by and let such a cowardly thing happen in the Dancheon Clan.”

Sreuk, the strength in Dancheon Hak's fist was released again.

“It's just that…… I don't have the courage to stop it yet.”

Self-reproach.

It was a side of Dancheon Hak I had never seen before.

I had always thought he was a dignified and confident person.

I shook my head slightly.

“You've done enough, Elder Brother.”

How did I only realize it now?

That Dancheon Hak was not my enemy.

“Don't worry and leave it to me now.”

Now it was my turn to set things right that had gone wrong.

“Elder Brother.”

I called out to Dancheon Hak, who was still unable to find his bearings.

“Why do you call me?”

The reply ‘Someone like you shouldn't call me Elder Brother’ did not come out.

In fact, thinking about it, this was a matter of course.

Dancheon Hak had never said that to me.

Not in the past, and not now.

“Won't you join hands with me for a moment?”

What was etched on Dancheon Hak's face was a question.

“Why should I?”

“It is for the good of the clan.”

The words ‘And it is also for your good, Elder Brother,’ I swallowed.

“Will you do it?”

Since he had extended his hand to me first, it was now my turn to extend my hand to him.