Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 572

A while later.

Gi Chung’s eyes, watching Yeon Ho-jeong and his group depart, were filled with unease.

At that moment, Branch Leader Hwang Po approached him.

“Branch Leader, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. It’s not like they launched a full-scale attack; they just checked my blood points [vital energy points in the body].”

“Damn it.”

Hwang Po sighed deeply.

“They were really strong. I’ve never felt so powerless before.”

The reason they all felt helpless was because of Tang Gwan.

But even without Tang Gwan, if they had been prepared to fight and shed blood, they would all have died.

They knew this without even exchanging blows. Their power far exceeded that of any ordinary sect.

“Now is not the time to dwell on that.”

Gi Chung’s eyes deepened.

‘Can I really trust them?’

He already knew enough about what kind of person Yeon Ho-jeong was.

Furthermore, when he thought about it, this branch raid was very much like something Yeon Ho-jeong would do. He was someone who would use any extreme measure if necessary.

Oh Jeong-pae was definitely genuine, and Tang Ga-ju [Tang Clan Leader], Pae Yul, Hwang Seok-tae, and Gang Ryang were all real.

They were trustworthy people. He knew this in his head.

But he couldn’t decide whether he could trust them enough to reveal all the information.

‘Based on the information so far, they are definitely not the kind of people who would get involved with a place like Paradise Hideout. But…’

Gi Chung’s eyes clouded over.

‘Didn’t the people who created Paradise Hideout also receive such evaluations?’

The Sichuan Tang Clan was known for its fierce pride. All of their blood relatives were like that.

Even Qingcheng and Emei were sects of cultivators. Who would have thought that the masters of these three sects would join forces to create a ruthless organization like Paradise Hideout?

You can know the depth of ten fathoms of water, but not the depth of a single fathom of a person’s heart. Gi Chung was truly unsure if he could trust them.

But that was only for a moment.

“There’s no choice. We have to release the information.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“They could have killed us all, but they apologized and even left. If they were really in league with Paradise Hideout, they wouldn’t have left after just looking at a few documents.”

“That’s true, but…”

Hwang Po sighed.

“We trusted the people who created Paradise Hideout too, didn’t we?”

“…Yes, we did.”

Gi Chung, who had been looking up at the sky for a moment, spoke in a firm tone.

“I need to contact Hu-gae. Directly.”

“What?!”

Hwang Po was startled.

“Are you sure about that? I hope it doesn’t happen, but… there might be people within the Beggars’ Union who have been turned by Paradise Hideout. If they steal this information…”

“They’re already planning to smash Paradise Hideout head-on. They even annihilated the Samhyeon Unit.”

“…”

“Paradise Hideout has already noticed the existence of an enemy. They might not have as much information outside of Sichuan, but within Sichuan, their intelligence network is probably not much worse than ours.”

“I still don’t understand. To wipe out Paradise Hideout, we need to be more cautious, but why are they…”

“Didn’t Yeon Dae-su [a respectful title] say it? Paradise Hideout is kidnapping innocent civilians without anyone knowing. Even at this moment, such things might be happening.”

“…”

“I also want to wipe them out. I don’t want to leave a single one of them alive. But if we wait for that time, which we don’t know when it will come, even innocent civilians who could have been safe will be dragged into Paradise Hideout.”

Gi Chung closed his eyes.

“Yeon Dae-su’s words are absolutely right. We were so focused on Paradise Hideout that we forgot what was the priority.”

Hwang Po moved his lips but then fell silent.

The world doesn’t always move justly. It’s an old saying, but sometimes you have to sacrifice the small for the big.

But in this situation, where innocent civilians are involved, turning a blind eye to the plight of civilians who might be newly sacrificed in the future in order to wipe out Paradise Hideout is clearly unjust.

‘In the first place, the safety of the civilians can’t be seen as small.’

It was a complicated situation. Even the Beggars’ Union, known for its collaborative methods, was moving secretly, not knowing what to prioritize or how to handle the situation.

In this time, the fact that Yeon Ho-jeong and his group appeared and offered to attack Paradise Hideout could be seen as the will of heaven.

“Sort out the documents immediately. It won’t take Yeon Dae-su even half a day to reach the vicinity of Deokyang County. The time for annihilation will be late in the yusi hour [5-7 PM], so we need to organize and move by the early misi hour [9-11 AM].”

“Understood.”

“And find out the location of Clan Head Moyong. As Yeon Dae-su said, he must have entered Sichuan by now.”

“Yes.”

Gi Chung took a deep breath.

“Surely, they wouldn’t try to deceive us by destroying their own branches.”

* * *

While walking on the main road, Yeon Ho-jeong suddenly turned to look at Gang Ryang.

Gang Ryang was walking with his arms crossed. He seemed to be deep in thought, making it hard to approach him.

‘He’s getting closer.’

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes gleamed.

‘He’s about to explode.’

It’s rare for someone to absorb all the enlightenment they can gain in the realm of the pinnacle and break through the Wall of No-Seed [a metaphorical barrier in martial arts cultivation].

Gang Ryang was one of those rare cases. At such a young age, he was planning to solidify everything in that realm before ascending, something even super masters couldn’t realize.

The moment he broke through the Wall of No-Seed, his power would surely far surpass that of any ordinary super master.

The growth of a master with a solid foundation is always explosive and stable.

Yeon Ho-jeong looked up at the sky.

‘I wonder if he’s doing well.’

Looking at Gang Ryang’s face, Yeon Ji-pyeong suddenly came to mind.

‘He’s grown up so well, so there’s nothing to worry about.’

He was too busy to take proper care of him. In the meantime, he hadn’t even sparred with him as much as others. Of course, he had given him more than enough clues for enlightenment.

‘He’s with Brother Moyong, so he must be learning a lot.’

Moyong Woo’s martial prowess, even if he didn’t know it, must have surpassed Pae Yul or Hwang Seok-tae by now.

It was an intuition. Leaving aside talent, Moyong Woo was not at a point where he should stop yet. The martial arts he had cultivated, the enlightenment he had achieved, and his nature were all saying so.

And Yeon Ji-pyeong, who was learning by his side, would also be showing a growth rate no less than Gang Ryang’s.

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been staring blankly into the air, chuckled.

Tang Gwan frowned.

“What is it? That’s unsettling.”

“Huh?”

“Why are you suddenly laughing like that?”

“Am I not allowed to laugh?”

“That was an unpleasant laugh.”

His tone was really something that made you want to punch him.

Yeon Ho-jeong said, as if grumbling.

“I was thinking about my family.”

“Clan Head Yeon?”

“Ji-pyeong.”

“…”

“I haven’t been able to take proper care of him because I’ve been so busy. With his talent and enthusiasm, he’s probably growing up well on his own.”

“That’s unexpected.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve always thought. It’s not like you.”

“…?”

“Missions, battles, politics. You’ve always shown more than I expected.”

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.

“Are you complimenting me?”

“But family didn’t fit with that image of you.”

It felt like he had been hit out of nowhere.

Tang Gwan’s eyes deepened.

“People who are busy inevitably neglect their families. Even if you want to share affection, there’s no time, and even if you want to give and receive affection, there’s no room, so you can’t properly connect.”

“…”

“There’s no one who can take care of both public and private matters. You have to focus more on one side, and as time passes, the balance shifts, and you eventually have to choose one of the two.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.

“How was it for you, Clan Head?”

“How do you think it was?”

“…”

“The position of the head of the Tang Clan is not just about managing the family. The influence of the main family is spread throughout Sichuan, so the amount of work that needs to be done in a day is beyond imagination.”

“You neglected your family.”

“That’s right.”

Tang Gwan admitted it cleanly.

“Some people tell me not to make excuses. That time can be made by dividing it up. I tell them. If you’re going to live half-heartedly, it’s better to give up one of the two. If you set a limit, you can divide up your time.”

“…”

“If you try to take care of both work and family, you’ll end up losing both.”

Yeon Ho-jeong shrugged.

“When you were in the Martial Alliance, you were still able to make some time. That’s why you were able to teach your daughter, wasn’t it?”

“Because it was the Martial Alliance. I could entrust public affairs to someone who could work in my place.”

Yeon Ho-jeong tilted his head.

“Then shouldn’t you not have children either?”

“That’s nonsense.”

“Huh?”

“The power of a family comes from its bloodline, and to prosper, you must have children. Whether it’s love or duty, the result shouldn’t change. That’s basic.”

Well, that’s true.

Manpower is power. Not just in the martial world, but in all areas. The imperial palace, sects, and even ordinary families are the same.

“Also, I absolutely need an heir to take over. To tell me not to have children is the same as telling me to throw the family into chaos.”

“I understand.”

If you have children, you have to raise them like children.

In that respect, Tang Gwan was clearly wrong. He chose public affairs over private matters, and he didn’t take proper care of his family.

And he had no regrets about it. Until now, that is.

He didn’t know about now.

“From what I see, you’re no different from me. If anything, you’re even worse than me.”

“Tsk.”

“If you want to take care of your family, the only way is to end this war as quickly as possible. Take care of your family after that.”

Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.

“That’s a fascinating statement.”

End the war quickly.

It was a clear conclusion. He didn’t fully agree with Tang Gwan’s statement that he couldn’t take care of both public and private matters, but in the end, the conclusion was that he had to end the war.

The best thing would be to destroy them before the war even started.

“By the way.”

Tang Gwan’s eyes gleamed.

“Are you planning to go to the main family as soon as you destroy the Paradise Hideout in Deokyang County?”

“That’s what I’m planning. Isn’t that what you want as well, Clan Head?”

“I want you to go as soon as possible. But I can’t help but wonder if it’s okay to go without any countermeasures.”

Looking at this side of him, Tang Gwan was truly an amazing person.

He would probably want to rush to the family right away. He would want to go and destroy the blood relatives who had brought the family and Sichuan to this state with his own hands.

Tang Gwan was holding back that desire. He was looking at the forest, not just the trees.

Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.

“Actually, if there wasn’t an organization called Paradise Hideout, I would have entered the Tang Clan a long time ago. I’m stopping by to raise awareness for the common people whose lives are being ruined by them, but my heart has already been heading to the Tang Clan.”

“So you have your own plan.”

“What kind of plan would I have? I’m just charging forward, trusting in you, Clan Head.”

Tang Gwan frowned.

Yeon Ho-jeong patted his own cheeks.

“Well, let’s fly quickly to Deokyang County for now.”

Half a day later.

They arrived in front of a huge manor in the forest, a little away from Deokyang County.

It was the Deokyang branch of Paradise Hideout.