Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 836

“That’s done.”

The sizzling grilled rabbit meat looked incredibly appetizing.

“Have one.”

“Yes.”

Tang Yun received the meat and took a hearty bite. The way he chewed, quite unlike his usual self, was impressive. It must mean this journey had been particularly arduous.

It was yesterday that they entered Shanxi from Sichuan. Before that, they hadn’t had a proper rest for a single day.

The reason was simple. They wanted to get to the Martial Alliance quickly, but also, the long distance was good for training endurance, something they couldn’t usually do.

The Tang Clan’s martial artists were physically strong. They needed to keep their distance and shoot poison and hidden weapons, so it was only natural.

However, the Tang Clan’s best movement technique greatly depleted stamina due to its speed and agility. Stronger stamina than other martial artists was essential, and in that aspect, Tang Yun also had room for improvement.

“Aren’t you eating, Brother?”

Tang Gwan took out some jerky from his pouch.

“This is enough for me.”

Tang Yun awkwardly put down the rabbit meat.

Tang Gwan waved his hand.

“If I were hungry, I would have caught more.”

“Ah, yes.”

Tang Yun resumed eating the meat.

After the Tang Clan incident, Tang Yun had admitted his guilt and tried to imprison himself in the dungeon.

Tang Gwan had imprisoned Tang Yun. It was a decision made knowing that was what the person wanted.

However, after a month of imprisonment, he restored Tang Yun’s status and made him the Second Family Head.

The reason was clear. Depending on the policy, Tang Yun’s actions could be considered a crime or not.

The Tang Clan’s strict policies were well-known throughout the martial world. In fact, they were seen as excessively harsh, beyond strict.

The previous Family Head, Dark King Tang Hyeong, had recognized this and tried to fix it, and the current Family Head, Tang Gwan, also faced the issue head-on, slowly trying to improve it.

As a result, Tang Gwan had failed.

He had tried, but the result was not good. His own brother had joined forces with outsiders to start a rebellion, which was an undeniable failure that couldn’t be excused.

Tang Gwan could not tolerate two failures. Having suffered great hardships both publicly and privately, he realized that properly governing his own family was the royal road to governing a powerful clan.

So, he pardoned Tang Yun’s sins. It was an act unlike the Tang Clan, which was known for coldly punishing even its own kin.

Tang Yun’s sin was clear, but thanks to him, the Tang Clan was able to recover. If he hadn’t cooperated with the Beggars’ Sect and acted as a hidden agent, the center of Sichuan’s martial world could have fallen into enemy hands.

Faults are faults, and merits are merits. Moreover, Tang Yun was in a miraculous state just by maintaining his sanity. In that state, he had endured hardship and made a decisive contribution, so leaving him to rot in the dungeon was an extremely abnormal act.

With Tang Yun’s pardon, many things changed.

Although it had only been a few months, the current Tang Clan was developing with a completely different atmosphere than before.

Tang Gwan’s will, Tang Hyeong’s support, and the awakening of numerous Tang Clan martial artists, including Tang Yun, had rebuilt the family. Although their power was weaker than before, their potential for growth was several times greater, making this a new golden age for the Tang Clan.

“Like many other organizations, the main family also values the martial prowess of its leaders. Your insight and judgment are certainly outstanding, but you have not yet achieved the complete martial power of a Second Family Head.”

“Yes.”

“There will be many hardships before you gain that power, so I will handle most of the matters. Focus on getting stronger as quickly as possible.”

“Understood, Brother.”

“Good.”

This part also showed that Tang Gwan had changed. No matter how close they were, he would have made his brother call him Family Head, but he wouldn’t have allowed him to call him ‘Brother’ just because they were alone.

Tang Gwan had changed, and Tang Yun had also shed much of his past guilt. It was a positive change.

“By the way, Brother.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s a bit late to ask now, but why didn’t you bring an escort?”

He was going as the Family Head of the Tang Clan, not just a representative martial artist of Sichuan. It was only natural to bring at least a minimal escort or a few elite martial artists.

Tang Gwan shook his head.

“Looking at the family’s situation, neither you nor I should have gone to the Alliance. Moreover, it’s not right to bring martial artists, creating a power vacuum.”

The opinions of the heads of each organization were needed regarding the selection of the Martial Alliance Leader. That was why they were going.

If the Tang Clan hadn’t undergone the changes it had, Tang Gwan wouldn’t have gone to the Martial Alliance either.

“Fortunately, Father’s influence extends beyond the family to the entire Sichuan region. I’m sorry to burden him with such a heavy load, but given the situation, it can’t be helped.”

Leaving the family to his father.

Considering the past history of the two, it was truly unimaginable.

Tang Yun smiled awkwardly and said,

“Still, it’s a bit shabby for the master of the great Tang Clan to travel like this.”

“What’s shabby about it? Whether I have people around me or not, I am still the Family Head of the Tang Clan. That fact doesn’t change, so there’s nothing to be shabby about.”

“I see.”

“By the way, have you prepared yourself mentally?”

“Yes?”

“Shouldn’t I pass on the Emperor’s Poison Scripture?”

Tang Yun’s face hardened.

“Brother, as I said before, I…”

“I can’t make a poorly raised son the Family Head. His sins are clear, and I can’t restore his status. In other words, I don’t have a successor right now.”

“What about Sang-ah?”

Tang Gwan nodded.

“Yes, there’s Sang-ah. In fact, I’ve already passed on the Poison Scripture to Sang-ah.”

“I’ve heard. There’s a clear successor, so there’s no need for me to learn the Emperor’s Poison Scripture…”

“I don’t mind.”

“Yes?”

“I’m fine with Sang-ah succeeding me as the head of the family.”

“So…”

“But the elders of the family will not accept Sang-ah.”

Even a monarch who has absolute power cannot completely ignore the opinions of his subjects.

He was reforming the Tang Clan’s closed and narrow-minded rules, and the pace was fast, but he couldn’t change everything immediately. Maybe in the next generation, or the generation after that, it would be possible to make a woman the head of the Tang Clan, but it was still impossible now.

“Besides, Sang-ah doesn’t want to be the Family Head.”

“Yes?”

“She just wanted to be recognized as a member of the family. And she wanted to fly freely. That’s all.”

Tang Gwan looked up at the sky.

The star-filled sky was unusually beautiful for late winter.

“I don’t want to burden a child I’ve confined and oppressed her whole life by forcing her into the framework of the family now.”

“…”

Tang Yun, who had been quietly watching Tang Gwan, sighed.

Tang Gwan, who had turned his gaze back to the campfire, said calmly,

“If there were a more talented family member than you, I might have thought differently. But right now, it’s hard to find a Family Head candidate as good as you.”

“…”

“It’s a matter for the distant future. Even if you become the Family Head, you won’t last longer than me or Father. It’s enough if you just act as a stepping stone, so you should prepare yourself.”

Tang Gwan couldn’t bring himself to tell Tang Yun to marry and have children. It would be rude, even for a brother, to say such a thing to a child who hadn’t yet recovered from the shock of seeing the death of the person he loved.

“That’s enough. Let’s postpone this discussion for later. For now, just focus on getting stronger.”

“Understood.”

“Get some rest. We’ll leave before dawn.”

“Yes.”

After finishing his meal, Tang Yun immediately began his internal energy cultivation. Sleep was sleep, and cultivation was cultivation. It was basic for a martial artist to reflect on himself at the end of the day.

Tang Gwan, who was poking at the campfire next to him, suddenly thought of Tang Sang-ah.

‘Is she doing well?’

She would be fine. She was a very capable child, and Yeon Wi was by her side. She would have grown remarkably in the time he hadn’t seen her.

Thinking of Tang Sang-ah, he naturally thought of Yeon Wi.

‘He’s truly amazing.’

He had heard that Yeon Wi had returned after making great contributions in the Imperial Palace.

Tang Gwan, who knew Yeon Wi’s martial arts and his judgment as a martial artist, knew that he would do great things someday. However, he didn’t expect him to play a central role in saving the Emperor.

But what surprised him about Yeon Wi was not his contribution in the Imperial Palace.

‘Even so, how could he just let his son become the successor of the Black Path [a term for a group of martial artists who use unorthodox and often evil methods]?’

He had come across that information while squeezing in time to train.

He was so surprised that he missed the hidden weapon he had thrown and dropped it. It was a mistake he had made for the first time in decades, that’s how big the surprise was.

‘What on earth is he thinking?’

He didn’t think that Yeon Ho-Jeong’s ideology had changed. He was the kind of guy who wouldn’t change even if the sky fell.

‘He must have judged it necessary, so he became Yang Cheon’s disciple, but…’

Even so, the idea of the eldest son of a prestigious orthodox family going under the leader of the Black Path was something no one could do.

To put it nicely, it was unconventional, and to put it badly, it was unheard of. That’s what Tang Gwan thought.

‘Well, when was he ever not like that?’

He had heard through the Beggars’ Sect that he was also coming to the Alliance.

He immediately sent a letter to him. Telling him that it would be no fun if he didn’t show up quickly.

He had deliberately sent such a letter. He knew he wouldn’t change, but there was always a chance. He somehow wanted to see his reaction.

Tang Gwan smiled wryly.

‘Reaction… Even if he tries to catch me like a rat, he won’t be able to catch me properly.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong had already broken through to Limitless [a high level of martial arts mastery] in Sichuan. That kind of guy had killed the Evil King and made a name for himself in the Saintly Heavens [a group of powerful martial artists].

Along with the title of Tyrant King.

‘He’s really something, really.’

He had reached Limitless, but it hadn’t been long since he had reached it. The difference between him and the Saintly Heavens would be clear.

Yet, he had already killed the Evil King, so his growth rate was truly terrifying.

‘Even though he’s called a King, he’s not yet on the same level as them. Even a genius has limits. There must have been circumstances behind killing the Evil King. But…’

People tend to believe what they see. He had earned the title of Tyrant King, so his influence was no different from that of an actual Saintly Heaven.

‘I wonder if it would have been better if I had matched Sang-ah with him from the beginning.’

Tang Gwan kept poking at the campfire, indulging in unrealistic fantasies.

How long had it been?

“…?!”

Tang Gwan’s eyes, which had been shining brightly in the firelight, suddenly became sharp.

Swoosh!

Tang Yun’s eyes, who had been cultivating, also opened like lightning.

“Did you feel it?”

“I did.”

“…”

“Are you going to ignore it?”

Tang Gwan, who had been quietly watching the campfire, shook his head.

“It doesn’t seem like a force we can just ignore. And this scream, it sounds like they’re being massacred one-sidedly.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Let’s.”

Whoosh!

As if they had been waiting for it, the two men used their movement techniques and instantly reached the top of a nearby mountain peak.

“It’s there.”

Below the peak, in the distance, near a winding valley, hundreds of torches were flickering.

And those torches were shaking wildly. A fight was taking place.

‘It’s not ordinary killing intent. Moreover, this force is…?’

Tang Gwan grabbed Tang Yun’s shoulder.

“Don’t rush ahead. Never act rashly. Just follow behind me.”

“Understood.”

“Let’s go.”

Whoosh!

The two men quickly moved downwards.

When they were halfway down the peak, more than half of the hundreds of torches had gone out.

And when they had come down the peak and entered the valley.

“Those who don’t know their place are remarkably good at smelling money.”

One person was standing in a landscape filled with blood and corpses.

Tang Gwan’s eyes wavered.

“Hmm? Are there more left?”