The Three Kings’ Disciple (171)
170
The Mo-yong Family Head Succession.
Mo-yong Hwi and his retainers gathered in the place where the ice had melted, revealing its true colors.
Mo-yong Hoo was not there.
“We greet the Family Head.”
However, the retainers bowed to Mo-yong Hwi, calling him the Family Head.
“…….”
Mo-yong Hwi’s expression was dark.
He seemed lost in thought, remaining silent.
“What troubles you?”
One of the retainers spoke.
“Is it because of what happened with Hoo?”
Mo-yong Hoo.
The Family Head’s child who had declared himself the Family Head while they were frozen.
“He is a son born out of wedlock.”
However, Mo-yong Hoo was a son born out of wedlock.
“Although Hoo’s contributions to the family are immense, he is still a son born out of wedlock.”
Except for the retainer who spoke, everyone else remained silent, but most of them seemed to share the same sentiment.
“There has never been a case where a son born out of wedlock has taken the position of Family Head. Therefore, Family Head….”
“Enough.”
Mo-yong Hwi looked down at his retainers and spoke.
Although he had been frozen by Partisan, he was by no means weak.
The position of Family Head, a powerhouse at the peak of life and death.
Although he had not fully recovered due to the time he was frozen, his aura and imposing presence had not disappeared.
“Bring Hoo to me.”
“Yes, Family Head.”
***
“A son born out of wedlock?”
A son born out of wedlock refers to a child who is not the offspring of the legal wife.
Lee Yong-jin’s face twisted even more.
“Is that the only reason?”
He had revived the fallen family.
He had saved those who should have frozen to death.
Yet, they were making such faces at their benefactor just because he was a son born out of wedlock?
“It’s not ‘just’.”
Dang Hwa-young said.
“It’s a very important issue for a noble family.”
Everyone turned their attention to Dang Hwa-young.
The one who understood the noble families the best in this place was her, the daughter of the Dang family, one of the Five Great Families.
“Especially in a world that has drifted away….”
She closed her eyes tightly and continued.
“The most important thing for a noble family is unity. That unity is built on promises. The Family Head who governs the family is only succeeded through the legitimate heir, and that is an absolute and unchanging fact.”
“Why….”
“Because noble families are not sects.”
Sects are formed by different individuals coming together.
The divided world was ultimately like one family, but their starting point determined their identity.
A sect where anyone with talent and ability could become the sect leader.
But noble families.
“Only the legitimate heir of the family could succeed.”
Only the legitimate heir should be given that opportunity.
“That’s the only way to prevent internal strife.”
The position of sect leader that anyone could aim for.
That’s why competition exists from the very beginning in sects.
They are not afraid to shed blood for it.
But noble families should not be like that.
“Everyone is family.”
They were made up of blood relatives.
“The blood shed through competition is the blood of relatives.”
From the outset, they blocked the structure of competition.
It became a promise that had to be kept even more as the world was divided.
For a blood feud to occur in a confined world was not just about one or two people shedding blood.
Unlike sects where individuals shed their own blood according to their own will, a blood feud in a noble family would ultimately become a fight between families.
It was something that could cause everything to disappear without a trace.
“I don’t really understand….”
At Lee Yong-jin’s words, Dang Hwa-young continued.
“Anyone can become the CEO of a company, as long as they have the ability.”
“Y-yes, right?”
“But what about the father of a family?”
Lee Yong-jin closed his mouth.
“The legitimate heir of a family is the father and mother of the family. That cannot be changed, regardless of ability. A son born out of wedlock is like….”
Dang Hwa-young smiled bitterly.
“Can you consider the woman who cheated with your spouse and the child born from that relationship to be your true mother?”
“……It’s difficult.”
“Perhaps it’s possible. But if that’s the case….”
Dang Hwa-young said.
“Can anyone be your mother and father?”
He didn’t fully understand.
But he seemed to have a vague idea.
“It’s to prevent such things from happening. Especially in times of chaos and hardship, the rules must be even stronger.”
The world had changed.
But changing the rules was never easy.
“They even made it impossible to break the rules. That’s why the Five Great Families have always had legitimate heirs as their Family Heads throughout all this time.”
“Made it impossible to break the rules…? Could it be…!”
Something flashed through Lee Yong-jin’s mind.
“Yes.”
Dang Hwa-young said.
“It’s the abolishment of the dantian [energy center in the body].”
Lee Ro-woon had done that.
-Your dantian has been abolished.
Mo-yong Hoo’s dantian had been abolished.
He had just thought it was an accident or something.
“Crazy….”
But it had happened within the family.
“They will do anything to uphold the family’s rules. That is what the Five Great Families are. And that is what has protected the name of the Five Great Families until now.”
Now, everyone’s gaze was directed towards one place.
“……….”
Lee Ro-woon.
They knew that everything was practically in his hands.
They didn’t know if the Mo-yong family had realized it, but those present knew that Lee Ro-woon was the master of the hand that held the world.
“What are you going to do?”
Lee Yong-jin’s question.
“……….”
Lee Ro-woon didn’t answer, instead rubbing his eyes as if he was annoyed.
Beside him was the tall, mysterious beauty whose identity was still unknown.
***
“…….”
“……..”
It was an awkward silence.
Although they were father and son, it had been a long time since Mo-yong Hwi and Mo-yong Hoo had a private meeting like this.
-Hoo-ya.
He was his son.
-It is the family’s rule.
It was his father who had abolished his dantian.
After that day, Mo-yong Hoo left the family to take on tasks outside the family, and was able to avoid being frozen by Partisan.
That was why.
Mo-yong Hoo was the only member of the Family Head’s bloodline left outside the family.
Although Mo-yong Hajin was the Family Head’s younger brother, according to the family’s rules, Mo-yong Hoo’s succession ranking was higher than Mo-yong Hajin’s.
“…….”
“…….”
That was why he had become the Family Head.
He was living under the family’s name, but he was an existence abandoned by the family.
“Father.”
It was Mo-yong Hoo who finally spoke.
“I won’t beat around the bush.”
“……….”
“I don’t have a dantian.”
He didn’t have a dantian.
That was more fatal than anything else in a martial arts family.
The martial arts that only the legitimate heir of the family could learn.
The martial arts that only the Family Head could learn.
It meant that the lineage could be cut off.
“I cannot use any of the family’s martial arts.”
That was why a son born out of wedlock couldn’t even think of aiming for the position of Family Head.
“It’s not a position I wanted. But I have no intention of giving it up.”
There was a promise.
The price for saving the Mo-yong family, a promise he made with his master.
“I need the Mo-yong family.”
He couldn’t give up the position of Family Head.
“……I know that there are also my older brothers and sisters.”
Mo-yong Hwi had six children.
Two of them had died, but the rest had returned.
It was originally their place to take.
But he couldn’t give it up.
“I’ll ask you.”
Mo-yong Hoo said.
“Is it wrong for me to be the Family Head?”
Mo-yong Hwi had his eyes closed.
“It is wrong.”
“Father!”
“The family rules are something that must be followed.”
“Father-!”
He was frustrated.
“Without rules, an organization cannot exist.”
“……That’s….”
“A son born out of wedlock has become the Family Head. Then what would happen next?”
Mo-yong Hwi opened his eyes.
“In the next generation, and the next generation after that, sons born out of wedlock or those from the collateral line might aim for the position of Family Head and attempt a rebellion.”
“…….”
“That’s what rules are. They are something that must not be broken, something that must be followed.”
Clench.
Mo-yong Hoo clenched his fist tightly.
This was the kind of person he was.
A rigid person.
This was the fatal worldview that noble families possessed.
That was why he had acted the way he did when he had to release Partisan’s seal.
-The Five Great Families have received much grace from Eun. Now is the time to repay it.
He had stepped forward, willing to sacrifice himself if necessary.
“That’s why.”
“Father….”
“I am no longer a Mo-yong.”
“……?”
Mo-yong Hoo raised his head.
Creak.
The door opened.
“I am the same as well, Hoo-ya.”
A voice continued.
“I am no longer a Mo-yong either.”
Everyone was familiar.
-Hoo-ya.
-Hoo, have you eaten?
They were born from different wombs.
But despite that, they had treated him without discrimination.
They were his brothers and sisters, even if they couldn’t call him that according to the family rules.
“Now, you are the only legitimate heir of the Mo-yong family.”
If they had just left him to die, there would have been no problem with Mo-yong Hoo becoming the Family Head.
But those who had been frozen had returned.
The family’s retainers would question the family rules, and they had to set an example.
“We….”
Mo-yong Hwi and his children stood, looking at Mo-yong Hoo.
“Will abolish our own dantians and leave the Mo-yong family.”
“……!”
“You have done a great deed. Therefore, you who have protected the retainers are the Family Head.”
Mo-yong Hoo’s eyes widened.
Mo-yong Hwi had personally abolished Mo-yong Hoo’s dantian.
It would be a lie to say that he didn’t feel wronged and resentful.
Even so, Mo-yong Hoo had worked for the family.
There was also the reason that he wanted to live, but it was because he knew that the warmth they had shown him in their childhood was not a lie.
“Since we took your dantian, we must also have ours taken.”
Swoosh.
They raised their swords.
“N-no….”
Only then did Mo-yong Hoo come to his senses and try to stop them.
But it was too sudden.
As Mo-yong Hoo, who couldn’t use martial arts, it was impossible to stop their movements, who were experts at the Mystic Realm level or higher, at the same time.
Shhh!
The blades headed towards their lower abdomens.
Thud.
They stopped at the same time.
Shudder.
The trembling bodies and blades seemed to show how sincere they were.
“Passed.”
A man with languid eyes and a beauty of ice stood there.
“Congratulations. The Mo-yong family will be able to continue to thrive.”
Lee Ro-woon said.
* * *
“Why did you do such a thing?”
Partisan spoke, sounding displeased.
“Was there a need for such a pointless drama?”
He was talking about Mo-yong Hoo’s situation.
It was something that Mo-yong Hoo had wanted, but he had no obligation to watch it happen.
“I was trying to understand the noble families.”
Noble families, which were different from sects.
The concept of blood relations.
‘Family.’
He was curious about that vague concept.
Throb.
Emotions that had begun to throb in his heart from some point.
It was okay to say that it was a minor curiosity that had arisen momentarily.
The result was not bad.
For himself as well.
“Thanks to that, things worked out well. I’ve only become the master of the world. I haven’t captured the hearts of all those people.”
The Blood Cult was easy because they originally worshiped the Blood Demon, and the other sects were given a way to survive by being suppressed with force, and the wanderers were given a home.
The Wudang Sect was with him because they remembered their history, and the Hao Clan was also originally a group that worshiped Jincheon.
But this noble family was different.
Embracing family.
He wanted to feel what that was like.
“Now I can use them properly, right?”
Also, the fact that they sincerely followed someone was a good way to utilize them.
Ten days had passed since the Mo-yong family had melted from the ice.
“We greet the Family Head.”
They were slowly accepting Mo-yong Hoo.
But.
“You’ve come.”
There was no more time.
Koo-oong!
The world began to shake.
“The Four Great Families.”
There was a visitor knocking on the outer gate.