It was deep in the night.
An hour when even the instructors, unless they were necessary personnel, were resting.
Namgung Yeon stood in the night wind and looked at the faint lights of the city.
Even at this hour, the lights in the busy district did not diminish.
Whenever he looked at those lights, he always became aware that this world was not reality.
A prison of a world where he could neither return nor die.
Namgung Yeon’s empty eyes were always gazing at something beyond the world.
“Did you call for me?”
How long had he been standing there blankly?
To him, time was merely one of the currencies he could spend recklessly.
By the time the lights had grown faint and the world had become tinged with gray-white, Manho came to find him.
The reason Namgung Yeon had called his bodyguard was simple.
From now on, he would become a messenger and run errands.
“Go to the Black Wind Gang. Go there and order them to investigate everything currently related to the Namgung Clan.”
“Understood.”
“Whether they move with their bodies or buy it with money, I do not care. Tell them only to gather it safely.”
“Yes. Are there any further orders you would give?”
Namgung Yeon thought for a moment.
What else was there?
Soon, movement would begin inside the Namgung Clan as well.
They were arrogant.
Also, their pride was far too strong, so they dismissed most matters as nothing important.
A hint that there were demonic cultivators among them would soon be forgotten by such people.
Why?
Because they would believe that the great Namgung Clan would never submit to the likes of demonic cultivators.
What could he expect from people like that?
“Tell Wolyeong. Tell her to devise a way to gather people.”
“……Your command shall be obeyed.”
“If she cannot find a method after thinking alone, tell her to come to me.”
Manho received all the orders and bowed his head.
There were sometimes orders he could not understand, but his role was not to ask, but to deliver.
There was no need to ask.
And he should not.
“This subordinate will depart at once.”
Namgung Yeon nodded, and Manho rose as he was and finished preparing to leave.
At that moment, Namgung Yeon’s hand suddenly extended.
In his hand was a small bundle, and the smell coming from it was quite foul.
“Take this with you.”
“Yes.”
“I have placed the elixirs and medicinal ingredients you will need inside. If necessary, take them out and use them without delay.”
“…….”
For a while, Manho looked at the bundle Namgung Yeon held out, then accepted it without a word.
Where on earth did all these things keep coming from?
To call it a secret art felt too…….
‘No, there is no need to think about it.’
He was in a position where he only had to follow.
Even if he merely stuck by his side, plenty of crumbs would fall his way.
On top of that, was he not now half a man whose lifeline had been cut?
<After sticking beside that bastard, it seems even your mind has grown lax.>
<When one stays beside the weak, one becomes weak together with them.>
<If you have no intention of reporting, you will never face this old man again.>
A memory rose briefly.
That humiliating moment flashed past him.
You had already abandoned me anyway, so what…….
Manho gathered his heart and disappeared into the darkness to run his errand.
There were many who spoke ill of Young Master Namgung Yeon.
In addition, unpleasant words would surely reach him as well, since he stayed beside Yeon.
However, slander always had to be answered with results.
‘People who hate us will continue to appear.’
If so, he merely had to step on them one by one.
In the way of the Namgung Clan.
***
The Namgung Clan had to handle many matters aside from the Young Clan Head Competition as well.
That was because they had to not only grasp hegemony over Anhui Province, but also extend their influence to Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, and elsewhere.
Amid their heavy official duties, a very unusual piece of news arrived.
The intervention of Sichuan.
To be precise, the fact that Tang Yeonho, the Retired Clan Head of the Tang Clan, had formally participated as a backer.
This would create a great crack in the Namgung Clan’s power structure.
“Clan Head, this makes no sense.”
“That is right. How could the Tang Clan involve itself in the affairs, great and small, of the Namgung Clan…….”
“No matter how much the Tang Clan may be relatives by marriage, I believe our affairs should be resolved among ourselves.”
The Elders were all claiming it was unjust.
Of course.
It was an unprecedented matter.
Even Clan Head Namgung Mu had not known that Namgung Yeon would obtain Tang Yeonho’s support in such a short time.
Inwardly, he found Namgung Yeon’s steps interesting because they differed from the others.
The Elders’ words had a point as well.
The moment the Sichuan Tang Clan became involved in the Namgung Clan’s affairs, the direction of the Namgung Clan would shake.
However, by nature, a direction shaking was something one said when this side lacked strength.
“Is Namgung a clan that will be shaken because a few pieces of meat were brought into the Young Clan Head Competition?”
“…….”
“The Retired Clan Head’s support was obtained directly by Namgung Yeon himself, so we have nothing to say about it.”
“However, if we look at it that way, the Elders can also receive enormous support.”
The Elders, too, were people who dominated the murim.
At least here, in the eastern region of the Central Plains, there were none who did not know them.
They, too, could draw in enormous funds and support the candidates they backed.
The Elders thought this was unreasonable and argued strongly.
“Then, Clan Head, we Elders should also be allowed to bring in backers.”
“Do so. However, you must not violate clan law.”
“……Pardon?”
Surprisingly, Namgung Mu nodded readily.
Making the board larger?
That was all the better.
He firmly believed in the abilities of his sons and daughters.
The Elders would have to think.
Who stood to gain the most if the board grew larger?
Of course, each of them would have their own intentions.
Since things had turned out this way, Namgung Mu decided to open the gates entirely.
Try to win the competition by mobilizing all your capabilities.
In the end, you will come to know who your master is.
“I told you to do as you wish. However, if there is anyone who violates the law, it would be best to steel yourselves.”
“…….”
“Also, think carefully about who will be able to bring in the greatest helper once the board grows larger.”
The Elders could not hide their discomfort, but they could not speak recklessly.
If they thought about it calmly, there was no clan with greater prestige than the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Only a merchant group might barely be able to provide a sponsor.
The Namgung Clan and the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Who could defeat the collaboration of these two clans?
If one tried to oppose them with simple financial power, they would certainly sink midway.
Namgung Mu looked slowly around at them and opened his mouth again.
“The Namgung Clan is a clan that pursues pure strength. Our law is set that way.”
“That is correct.”
“Support them if you wish, and buy elixirs to offer them if you wish. Try to raise a purely strong martial artist.”
“…….”
“After all, no matter how much you stuff such things into them, what use will it be if those participating in the competition lack will, effort, and talent?”
At words that were far too correct, the Elders closed their mouths.
We must not forget.
That the essence of the Namgung Clan lies in strength.
And that we were able to come this far because we pursued only one law.
Clan Head Namgung Mu skillfully handled the Elders.
It was something he was used to now.
Calming those who tried to seize even the tiniest speck of authority by any means was the Clan Head’s work.
“The Elders should also spare no support for children with potential.”
“Understood, Clan Head.”
“Since things have come to this, how about we make the next Clan Head the greatest under heaven?”
“Heh heh. Our opinions may have differed briefly, but the end of that road is the same, is it not?”
The Grand Elder, [Namgung Hyeonjong], spoke.
His words were something even the Elders could not ignore.
What Namgung Hyeonjong was saying was, “Stop there and do your own work properly.”
The Elders, too, had no choice but to take a step back at his mediation.
“Then, regarding this matter, the Elders will also consider backers in accordance with the law. I look forward to it.”
“In that case, let us move on to the next agenda.”
“Yes. The next agenda is…….”
The meeting proceeded like flowing water.
However, everyone was thinking only about how to use this changed landscape.
‘To think he could change things this much by his strength alone.’
The Grand Elder, having observed their expressions, marveled quietly.
Namgung Yeon…….
It seemed the crouching dragon truly was a crouching dragon.
***
The days of training continued.
If one asked Third Group what hour they hated most, would it not be daybreak?
The group leader, Namgung Yeon, woke every single day at the hour when they had to draw water.
A mountain climb that had to be repeated endlessly if they did not fill the designated amount.
On top of that, they had to go back and forth while carrying and shouldering lumps of iron, so it truly felt like death.
The two demonic cultivators in Third Group slowly arrived at the stream.
The other group members felt as though they would die from exhaustion, but.
“How long are we supposed to keep doing this crap?”
“How should I know? What the hell is this, under a trash group leader like him?”
“We came here to carry out orders, not to leisurely train.”
“You said it.”
They displayed unexpectedly stable movements.
That meant their physical growth had already finished to a certain degree.
A physical age close to adulthood.
And for those who had trained brutally while practicing martial arts, this much was not a particularly difficult task.
The reason they had not stepped forward in the Group Leader Selection Trial?
It was very simple.
Because they still had to appear weak.
Should they not strike when the arrogant bastards of the Namgung Clan were drunk on their pride?
“Acting is exhausting enough to kill me.”
“Heh heh……. I’m dying to see those bastards’ blood already.”
“You said it. Especially the group leader. I’m going to make him beg to be spared.”
The one who always stood with his hands behind his back and looked at them.
There were times when looking at those empty eyes gave them chills, but in the end, he was only a young brat.
They thought that with their current skills, they could take him down easily enough.
It was now becoming difficult to suppress their vicious nature.
On top of that, perhaps because they had eaten a lot of delicious meat lately, they were overflowing with strength.
“Still, the Namgung Clan is good. I don’t even remember the last time I ate meat to my heart’s content like this.”
“Exactly. And that strange water is pretty good too, isn’t it?”
“Right. Do those bastards know? Their own house is just filling their enemies’ bellies.”
The two burst into laughter.
A great clan called a pillar of the righteous faction, yet it could not even check the darkness beneath its own lamp.
How laughable was that?
“So you were here.”
“……Who are you!”
At that moment, a voice came without any sign of a presence.
Someone dressed as an instructor smoothly appeared.
The two immediately drew up their energy.
Killing every witness to silence them.
They had to capture and kill him somehow, or there would be trouble later.
As they raised their guard to the utmost, the instructor opened his mouth.
It was news completely different from what they had worried about, and in fact, it was something they would be glad to hear.
“Number Three and Number Seven. Correct?”
“…….”
“I am the Fifth Unit Captain of the Demonic Blood Unit.”
The demonic cultivators had already planted themselves deep into the roots.
It was revealed that a demonic cultivator was hiding even among the instructors.