As the saying went, one had to rub one’s eyes and look again; everyone’s eyes widened as they watched Namgung Yeon, who had grown dazzlingly.
He had been a sickly child.
The fact that he suffered from severed meridians was so famous that there was no one within the clan who did not know it.
Had a miracle occurred?
Or had he borrowed the power of sorcery or an elixir?
The minds of those watching him churned in complicated circles.
They weighed various possibilities and began imagining a future that had changed.
Some admired him purely, while others frowned.
“That bastard, when did he become like that…….”
“Brother, you may need to be a little nervous.”
“Shut up.”
And who was the person at the center of it?
It was none other than Namgung Jin.
Because the age gap between them was the smallest, the anxiety he felt only grew larger.
Did that mean Namgung Yeon had truly trained at the martial hall?
‘Even so…….’
Human thought usually operated based on what one had experienced.
With Namgung Jin’s common sense, he could not possibly understand this phenomenon.
No, except for one thing.
“Could Mother have……?”
“Mother?”
“You know Mother went out once every seven days and nights.”
“…….”
An elixir.
That was the only possibility.
Surely Mother had favored that bastard.
She must have personally obtained even elixirs for him.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain that absurd growth.
CRACK—.
A murderous sound came from Namgung Jin’s two fists.
He had naturally been acclaimed as group leader without going through any martial contest.
The other brothers and sisters were the same.
The Clan Head’s children exuded that kind of authority, and though they were children, they knew how to reign above others.
Originally, this was what was natural.
Everyone thought so.
Except for one person, Namgung Yeon.
“Damn it…….”
“I should ask Mother too.”
“Good.”
The fifth child standing beside him.
[Namgung Hwayeon].
Had she not had a woman’s body, she would have been a prodigy for the ages who would have overwhelmed Namgung Jin.
She, too, could not suppress her curiosity and decided to move.
Once the Group Leader Selection Trial ended, there would be a little time before the next hurdle, so she would be able to talk with Mother.
‘If Fourth Brother’s skills are at that level…….’
She had an extraordinary mind and was skilled at calculating gains and losses.
Clan Head?
She had known for a long time that she could not even dream of the Clan Head’s seat from the start.
Then should she not at least aim for the position of being below one person and above ten thousand?
That was how power struggles worked.
If one wanted to live, one had to cling to the strong.
This was her own method of survival, and it was also why she was rumored to be the child with the widest connections in this clan.
Another branch extended inside her mind and began to grow.
A branch of possibility.
One story by which she might survive in this harsh Namgung Clan.
While watching Namgung Yeon closely, she turned and left.
‘I have no point of contact with Fourth Brother, so I’ll need to observe him.’
Her curiosity toward the unknown grew rapidly.
And so, an unexpected change occurred in the Group Leader Selection Trial.
***
“I will conclude the Group Leader Selection Trial. Each group leader, step forward.”
Twelve group leaders stood at the front.
Namgung Mu and the ten Elders looked down at them.
Eleven pillars.
With the pillars that protected the Namgung Clan looking down upon them, various emotions floated up within the group leaders.
Namgung Mu was inwardly satisfied that all seven of his children had become group leaders.
Especially Namgung Yeon.
He was the protagonist of this unexpected change, and everyone had begun paying attention to him.
How far would he go?
Was it luck, or was it skill?
‘The first time was simple coincidence. The second will be the process of proving it was not coincidence.’
What was gained through luck was not consistent.
Let us see how well you protect that position.
Clan Head Namgung Mu thought so and slowly opened his mouth.
From now on, the competition would begin in earnest.
They might kill and be killed.
To survive in a place where checks and schemes ran rampant, they would have to stop at nothing.
He, too, had parted with many brothers and sisters.
“From this moment, the competition will begin in earnest.”
“…….”
“The rules are simple. From now on, for two years, you will scatter across Anhui Province and train.”
Two years.
A time that was long if called long, and short if called short.
No one knew what would happen during that time.
Over those two years, they would temper their bodies and minds and learn how to adapt to society.
Everything that happened there would be recorded in full detail.
“For two years, become stronger by any means necessary. However, the heart art you cultivate will be limited to [Great Evolution Heart Art ].”
It was the Namgung Clan’s basic internal cultivation method, and the heart art one absolutely had to pass through in order to cultivate higher arts later.
Some wore indifferent expressions, while others wore expressions full of expectation.
That was because the direct descendants of the Namgung Clan usually learned the Great Evolution Heart Art as their first internal cultivation method.
Some of them were probably already near great completion.
Namgung Yeon looked at the remaining six group leaders.
His brothers and sisters.
Those behind them were the children of Elders, unit captains, or pavilion masters, or outstanding children of collateral branches.
Most of those wearing indifferent expressions were his own brothers and sisters.
‘They shouldn’t let their guard down, though.’
Those behind him were his group members, but in the end, they were people he had to either break or embrace.
They, too, were people, and each had personal goals and beliefs.
How many of them could he embrace and take with him?
Only by reigning over them in some form would he become a true group leader.
Namgung Yeon swept his gaze over them, then turned his head again.
Two years from now.
They called it a time of harsh training, but that was not the essence of it.
Everyone here had their fundamentals completed to a certain degree.
What they truly had to do over the next two years was make the group unite as one.
The process of being recognized, recognizing one another, and coming together as one.
In that process, those who had never been recognized would temper their wills with new goals and realize that they were proud members of Namgung.
“I will watch your two years closely. The locations will be chosen by lottery.”
“Yes, sir-!”
“In two years, you will begin learning higher martial arts in earnest. Those without qualifications will be eliminated then and there, so train well.”
“…….”
Two years later, the group test would be carried out together with twelve masters.
Over a total period of three years, they would learn advanced martial studies and have their true talent tested.
Namgung Yeon glanced back and examined the faces of his group members.
Their pasts, their futures, and even the talents they themselves had not realized flashed by.
It was truly strange.
He knew all the talents and temperaments that even they themselves did not know.
What he had gathered was not only wealth and elixirs.
Talents and futures even they themselves could not be certain of.
He had also grasped, observed, and remembered the paths forward for those who had always trembled in fear that they might never be recognized.
‘Now that you’ve entered my group, your talents will bloom brilliantly.’
I’ll reform you thoroughly.
I’ll thoroughly transform you into masters for Namgung alone, for me alone.
However, there will be no mercy for traitors.
You had better choose well.
“Third Group! Hapsan Training Ground!”
Hapsan.
Their training location had been decided.
They would depart five days from now.
They had to finish all preparations in that time.
And how was he going to do that?
The answer was obvious.
‘Once people get a taste of money, they come crawling on their own.’
First, he should get some spending money from Father, and some from Mother too.
No, to be precise, he should get it from his maternal grandfather.
The corners of Namgung Yeon’s mouth rose slightly.
-Come with me.
And, as promised, his father’s summons reached him.
Now it was time to receive his spending money.
***
The Clan Head’s office.
Namgung Yeon went alone to see the Clan Head, Namgung Mu.
His group members’ dissatisfaction seemed as though it would erupt, but taking care of them was something to do later.
He would have to see how far that venom and fighting spirit would go.
Right now, deciding what reward to demand was more important.
He did have something he had thought of in advance.
Namgung Mu had about half an hour.
Even aside from the Young Clan Head Competition, there were mountains of matters he had to handle, so he had no time.
“You have come. There is no time, so I will ask only the essentials.”
“Yes.”
“What do you want as your reward? If it is not an unreasonable request, I will grant anything.”
The standard for an unreasonable request would depend on how much Namgung Mu liked it.
Namgung Yeon knew that fact all too well, so he spoke immediately.
After all, he should have exceeded Namgung Mu’s standard by far.
“Please allow the Sichuan Tang Clan to participate in this Young Clan Head Competition as well.”
“Your maternal relatives……?”
“Yes. They, too, are tied to the Namgung Clan. I believe they can sufficiently serve as backers in the Young Clan Head Competition.”
“…….”
It was a reasonable statement.
At the same time, it was also unexpected.
Did he know what sort of waves his words would create?
Namgung Mu had thought he would ask for a heart art or sword art that would benefit him at best…….
The Sichuan Tang Clan was the hegemon of Sichuan and the one that guarded the southwest.
Naturally, its prestige was high enough to pierce the heavens.
The power of the Tang Clan, which had close ties with the Imperial Family, was great enough for them to be called a fence-sitter of the murim.
He was asking him to make even such people intervene.
‘This could make matters complicated.’
Whether Namgung Yeon knew the weight of those words, or whether he had simply said whatever came to mind, Namgung Mu could not know.
Was he trying to enlarge the board?
Or else…….
“Do you know what your words mean?”
“Of course.”
“That is not permitted. However, if in two years you wish to train under a martial artist of the Sichuan Tang Clan, I will invite a master from that side.”
“In that case, please give me some spending money.”
“…….”
What?
So he had simply thrown it out there after all?
Namgung Mu could not get a grasp on his son, who seemed to come in as if to strike at his blind spot, only to slip away like an illusion.
However, the next moment, his vague thoughts turned into a powerful certainty.
“There is no need for you to step in personally, Clan Head. I will handle it myself.”
“Do you believe you can move your maternal relatives?”
“Of course.”
His empty eyes seemed to have taken on an especially deep hue.
What on earth are you thinking?
Namgung Mu wanted to ask directly.
Before he could, the answer came, as if Namgung Yeon knew his heart.
“The Namgung Clan is no longer simply one clan. Is it not becoming a great organization that encompasses the east and west of the continent as one?”
“…….”
“If the Tang Clan has no involvement, then we likewise will be unable to involve ourselves in Tang Clan affairs. Even for the sake of the future, this is something we must naturally pass through.”
“Do you know how arrogant it is to look as far as the distant future?”
Namgung Mu said that, but he was admiring his insight.
Had there ever been someone with such a perspective until now?
Everyone had been the same.
They had made requests for their own interests, for the seat of the strongest.
But, my son.
What exactly are you seeing?
What future are you drawing that makes you hurry so much to prepare for such a distant road?
Because there was no time, he could not bring himself to ask, but as Clan Head, it was a very satisfying answer.
And so, he nodded.
“Good. I will make sure you are given ample travel expenses.”
“Thank you.”
Namgung Yeon slowly showed proper courtesy and was just turning to leave.
Namgung Mu casually offered a single remark.
Three months.
In a time long, yet short, he had achieved enough.
“Do only as you did today.”
“……Yes.”
Before he realized it, the corners of the Clan Head’s mouth had quietly risen.