novelraw Chapter 148 : Toward Golden Summit Peak (2)
Chapter 148 : Toward Golden Summit Peak (2)
Chapter 148: Toward Golden Summit Peak (2)
However, the next day.
Sewoon’s plan to head toward Mount Emei could not be realized.
‘Huh?’
Just as Sewoon finished his preparations and stepped out through the front gate—
……Why are they here?
It was because completely unexpected figures were there to greet him.
“Haha, I’m glad to see you too!”
“Seems like the food in the Central Plains suits you well, huh? You’ve gotten fat!”
“Ahaha, that tickles!”
A group dressed entirely in black beast-skin robes was tangled together with Sewoon’s two White Tigers.
There were more than a dozen burly men, each at least twice the size of an average Central Plains man.
Passersby froze, thinking the men were being mauled by tigers—but in truth, they were merely roughhousing with old friends they hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Ah, no… what should I do about this.”
“……Who in the world are those people?”
The members of the Sichuan Tang Clan’s Escort Party, who had been waiting for Sewoon, could only stare in bewilderment at the unexpected scene.
No one could tell who those mysterious men were who had suddenly appeared.
But Sewoon recognized them at a glance.
How could he not?
‘Those muscles pulsing beneath those beast robes could never be hidden.’
As they wrestled with the White Tigers, the gaps in their robes revealed bronze-colored muscles gleaming beneath.
But he couldn’t let things continue like this forever.
Letting out a deep sigh, Sewoon spoke quietly.
“Enough.”
“……!”
“Guh!”
At that single word, imbued with an undercurrent of calm yet overwhelming force, every one of the mysterious men froze in place like ice sculptures.
Even the White Tigers, who had been playing wildly, tucked their tails and slinked off to the side.
The Tang Clan members could only stare in astonishment.
‘……Wait, why are they obeying the Clan Head’s words?’
They couldn’t understand why these unknown warriors would instantly submit to Sewoon’s command.
“Why are you all here?”
Sewoon addressed the mysterious men—no, the warriors of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace (南蠻野獸宮)—in a cold tone.
Swoosh.
At that, the one who seemed to be their leader removed the blood-colored robe covering his face.
“O-Of course, we came to protect our Palace Lord!”
The Beast Palace warrior who revealed himself—Ta Sadon—roared the words proudly.
……Palace Lord?
The Tang Clan warriors could only fill their minds with confusion.
Inside the Tang Clan’s great assembly hall, the Heavenly Protection Hall (天祐堂), countless clan members, including the senior elders, had gathered for an emergency meeting.
Given the nature of the incident, it was called without delay.
Inside the square-shaped hall, the warriors of the Beast Palace, including Ta Sadon, stood awkwardly, having shed their beast robes.
Normally known for their uninhibited and boisterous nature, it was a rare sight to see Beast Palace warriors nervously glancing toward Sewoon.
Silence filled the hall until—
“……Clan Head, would you care to explain what in the world is going on here?”
The one who broke the silence was none other than Tang Muyeol, Sewoon’s father.
He now sat beside Sewoon rather than at the seat of honor, for he had already passed on the title of Clan Head to his son.
His eyes silently asked: What trouble have you brought home this time, boy?
In that moment, all eyes turned toward Sewoon.
‘I must have been too busy lately. To think I forgot the most important thing.’
Clicking his tongue inwardly, Sewoon reflected.
Right after returning from the Beast Palace, he had been occupied crafting the Divine Flame Furnace (神炎火德) with the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden (九天仙女).
No sooner had that finished than he rushed to the Black Market to shatter the Qingcheng Sect and the Heaven-Piercing Sect’s plans.
In doing so, he had completely forgotten to inform his father and subordinates of one crucial fact—
That Tang Sewoon himself had ascended to the position of the new Palace Lord of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace (南蠻野獸宮).
Just as Sewoon was pondering how to begin explaining it—
“Ahem! The Palace Lord left in such haste that his personal guard couldn’t follow in time! So we came belatedly to fulfill our duty!”
Ta Sadon coughed awkwardly and hastily explained, but—
Murmur murmur.
His words only deepened the confusion.
From the elders to the clan heads, all of the Tang Clan’s bloodline members began whispering among themselves.
“Did he just say ‘Palace Lord’ again?”
“Yes, I heard it clearly too.”
“……Wait, does that mean the Palace Lord of the Beast Palace is here in our clan right now?”
“Then… could it be that the person who came with our Clan Head was……?”
In an instant, everyone’s gaze turned toward Umun Tak, seated at the side.
Even after completing the Divine Flame Furnace, Umun Tak had remained within the clan.
And since Pa Ta Myeong, who had accompanied him, was nothing but a good-for-nothing who couldn’t even pass for a tenth-rank captain, the only possible “Palace Lord” among them was Umun Tak himself.
It was a shocking revelation.
Had the position of Beast Palace Lord been passed down from Umun Geol to his younger brother without the martial world’s knowledge?
“Then has Sir Umun Tak ascended as the new Palace Lord of the Beast Palace?”
“N-No, of course not! Someone like me couldn’t possibly be the Palace Lord!”
When Yeo Seon tilted his head and asked, Umun Tak frantically waved his hands in denial.
“Then who is this ‘Palace Lord’ they speak of?”
“It’s me.”
“……!!”
Every gaze in the hall turned toward the voice.
And then, everyone’s eyes nearly popped from their sockets.
The one who had spoken—was, of course, Tang Sewoon.
“C-Clan Head?”
“Sewoon?”
“W-What do you mean by that?!”
Everyone, including Tang Muyeol, was thrown into utter shock.
Even his usually expressionless sister, Tang Serin, stood frozen with her mouth slightly agape.
“B-But… the position of Beast Palace Lord can only be held by someone from the southern tribes……”
“I obtained the power of the First Founder of the Beast Palace through a miraculous encounter. That made it possible.”
“Ba-, Battle God!!”
As Sewoon spoke the name of the Beast Battle God, Pa Yeoun, the shock reached its peak.
Everyone who had been confused until then nodded in understanding.
If he had inherited the Battle God’s true legacy, then even an outsider would have had enough qualification to sit as the Palace Lord of the Beast Palace.
“Ahem, that’s right. Our Palace Lord is truly that great.”
Amid the confusion, Ta Sadon was puffing his chest with pride and joy, as though he himself were being praised.
When he was with other warriors of the Beast Palace, he was at least considered smart, but here, he was an incredibly simple-minded fellow.
Swoosh.
Sewoon took his gaze off the man and observed his surroundings.
He was gauging the reactions of the entire Tang Clan’s bloodline.
‘Hmm, I had planned to reveal it slowly, though.’
He felt a slight concern.
Earlier, Yeo Seon had said that the Tang Clan’s bloodline was already prepared to follow him beyond the orthodox and unorthodox boundary.
But would they be willing to accept the existence of the Beast Palace, which, although one of the Outer Four Palaces, was close to the unorthodox sects?
Could they truly stand with these people wholeheartedly?
However, in the next moment—
“Waaah!!”
“The Clan Head has subjugated one of the Outer Four Palaces!!”
“Now the Beast Palace and the Tang Clan are one!!”
“Haha! Truly, the Clan Head’s followers are as bold as he is!”
“They get along perfectly with our brothers!”
“……!!”
All those worries proved to be completely pointless.
A storm of cheers shook the Heavenly Protection Hall.
The members of the Tang Clan embraced one another in joy, dancing and shouting as though a grand festival had begun.
Just as Yeo Seon had said, the Tang Clan truly was ready to follow Tang Sewoon without the slightest doubt.
He was the one who had raised their fallen clan back into the ranks of the Eight Great Clans and who was now risking his life for their sake. His clansmen already bore an endless loyalty toward him.
And those who shared that same loyalty toward Tang Sewoon had already built within themselves the heart to welcome anyone, regardless of their origins.
At that moment, Tang Muyeol stood up and approached Ta Sadon.
Then, taking both of the man’s hands in his own, he said,
“Truly, thank you. It must have been a harsh journey, yet you came all this way to protect my son.”
“No! Warriors of the Beast Palace never tire no matter how far they walk!”
“I’m grateful to hear you say that.”
“There’s no need to thank family! The Clan Head’s father is our father too!”
“I will give my all to protect the Clan Head!”
“Haha, very good. Please do so.”
Waaah!
Another wave of cheers burst forth.
The people of the Sichuan Tang Clan and the Beast Palace exchanged warm gazes toward each other.
“We’ll have to hold a festival first, Clan Head.”
Nameless approached quietly, grinning as he whispered.
Sewoon shook his head helplessly.
“Indeed. It seems the escort mission will have to wait for now.”
However, an uncontrollable smile spread across his face.
At the same time—
In the Aksoo County of Guizhou Province, which bordered Sichuan.
Unlike the warm laughter filling the Sichuan Tang Clan, a bleak and desolate atmosphere loomed over a shabby inn in Aksoo.
“……So, all your subordinates were killed, and you alone returned alive?”
“Y-yes.”
The Vice Leader of the Heaven-Piercing Sect, Gongsun Beon, was sweating cold bullets down his back.
In front of him sat the Heaven-Piercing Sect Leader—
The Ghostly Underworld King, An Cheongmyeong, who glared at him with eyes full of suspicion.
Gongsun Beon, now a slave to Sewoon, had returned to the hidden base of the Heaven-Piercing Sect.
“Isn’t that rather strange?”
“Y-yes? What do you mean?”
“All the top-class sorcerers of the Heaven-Piercing Sect are dead, and yet the Vice Leader alone returned safely.”
“……!!”
Gongsun Beon’s heart dropped to the pit of his stomach.
If they discovered that he had become Tang Sewoon’s spy, he would be executed on the spot.
“M-my apologies! The man was beyond our expectations—he had two bodyguard escorts at the peak of the Transformation Realm! I-I barely escaped with my life!”
“Hmm.”
An Cheongmyeong’s narrow eyes turned toward him.
‘Ugh!’
A dreadful sensation.
It felt as though those eyes were digging into his insides and rummaging through his soul.
It was one of the countless curses and sorceries An Cheongmyeong had mastered.
He was likely discerning truth from falsehood through it.
After a brief silence—
“Huff, huff!”
“It doesn’t seem like you’re lying.”
“O-of course not, Sect Leader.”
An Cheongmyeong’s expression softened slightly.
Thump, thump!
Gongsun Beon barely managed to calm his wildly pounding heart.
He didn’t notice anything, did he?
Just then, Sewoon’s words before sending him off flashed through his mind.
[You don’t have to worry about that fool’s sorcery.]
[I’ve mixed my power into the Gu poison I fed you. He won’t be able to pierce through it.]
[Though, because of that, the pain you’ll feel during seizures will get worse—but that can’t be helped, can it?]
An Cheongmyeong spoke again.
“But you did recover all the materials, correct?”
“Y-yes!! I brought everything back perfectly! All traces have been erased, so even the Black Market won’t be able to uncover the truth!”
“Good.”
A smile spread across An Cheongmyeong’s lips.
He couldn’t care less about the deaths of his subordinates.
As he licked his corpse-blue lips, he said,
“Hehehe, everything is going exactly as I’ve planned. If I can add the power of the Shrine Maiden Sect Leader to the strength I received from the Blood Demon, I will reach the Divine Realm.”
A realm equal to the Life and Death Realm of martial artists—Divine Rank.
He would surpass even the Blood Demon who had dared to threaten him.
And then, he would seize everything in this world for himself.
……Yes, that was what he believed.
‘Blood Demon? You fool. The one you should be worrying about is that monster, Sect Leader.’
Clicking his tongue inwardly at the Heaven-Piercing Sect Leader’s foolish greed, Gongsun Beon thought bitterly.
Tang Sewoon—just recalling that monstrous man’s face brought tears to his eyes.
But only for a moment.
‘Haa, damn it. I’d better inform him that the Sect Leader took the bait…….’
The mindset of a slave was already beginning to take root within him.