Chapter 10
What Takes Precedence Over Family Law (4)
"Whew, bro. I was seriously on edge."
"Huh? About what?"
Yeon Ji-pyeong let out a groan.
"I was freaking out, thinking Father would blow a gasket."
He looked extremely tense watching his brother talk back to their father like that.
Yeon Ho-jeong laughed without realizing it.
"Dude, is Father a drill sergeant or something? Does he think he's our boss?"
"I mean, I guess, but still..."
"Look, Dad's Dad, and we're his kids. What's so wrong with us being chill with him?"
"Whoa."
Yeon Ji-pyeong stared blankly at Yeon Ho-jeong. It seemed like that had never even crossed his mind.
Yeon Ho-jeong pulled his younger brother's cheek.
"You little punk."
"Ow, ow, ow! Cut it out!"
"Don't be so scared of Dad."
"Huh?"
Yeon Ho-jeong's smile as he looked at his little brother was surprisingly soft, nothing like the Black Dark Emperor, the guy everyone in the White Way martial arts world was terrified of.
"Do you think Dad wants to be all stiff and formal with his own kids? He's just got all these family rules and stuff, so he's trying to, you know, be a role model."
"Ah..."
"Okay, but even so, I think he takes it a little too far."
"Uh oh!"
"Dad's been like that forever, and he's not going to change. But he still loves us, no matter what."
Yeon Ho-jeong turned his body.
"Don't hold your breath waiting for him to be all lovey-dovey, and don't expect anything in return. It's going to be rough, but it's better for your sanity."
"Really? You think so?"
"It's not like parents are the only ones who get to wait around, right?"
Yeon Ji-pyeong smiled as he watched Yeon Ho-jeong, who was already walking far away.
"Come to think of it, that's true."
His brother was the first one to let go of his hate. But it was his own gutsy move that really sealed the deal.
His relationship with his father was a little different from that, but in the big picture, it wasn't all that different.
"...Still, Dad's kinda scary."
The next day, at dawn.
"Greetings, Young Master."
This time, the gatekeepers actually bowed respectfully.
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.
"I've come to see Father."
"Yes."
Looks like they got the memo. The Sword Guard and the Saber Guard opened the door leading to the Family Head's residence.
The scene inside the wide-open door was strangely new.
"The Family Head is currently at the training grounds. You may go there."
"Got it."
Behind the Family Head's residence, past a small bamboo forest, a wide-open training ground appeared.
Whoosh.
As Yeon Ho-jeong headed to the training grounds, he felt this weird buzzing coming from his dantian. He wasn't even focusing his inner energy, but his true qi was going wild.
'Resonance.'
The Flying Swallow Energy felt like it was freaking out. The true qi itself seemed both scared and, excited at the same time.
It was because of Yeon-wi.
Whoooosh.
Yeon-wi was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the training ground, and this beautiful, powerful energy was radiating off of him.
He'd never learned it, but he knew exactly what martial art it was. The whole training ground was filled with this intense pressure, but there was this sharp, almost regal vibe to it.
‘Sword Extreme Thought Energy (Geomgeuksagi).’
Sword Extreme Thought Energy was also one of the Five Great Divine Skills.
‘Impressive.’
It wasn’t a question of whether he had mastered it or not.
The qi had been trained so much it was beyond saturated, compressed tightly, and then it expanded to fill his entire body.
His understanding of true qi was on a whole other level compared to other martial artists. It was like he was screaming, 'I'm the head of the Yeon Family!'
Whooong. Whooong.
The radiating qi slowly died down.
"You've come."
He spoke even while circulating qi.
A martial artist is most vulnerable when they're circulating and adjusting their breathing. You need total focus, so you become completely oblivious to anything outside, and even a tiny shock can disrupt you significantly.
Yeon-wi wasn't even bothered by the dangers of qi circulation. That's how formidable the Yeon Family Head was.
‘At least not below the Namgung Family Head.’
He knew the Nine Great Sects and the Seven Great Families better than anyone, after all his clashes with the White Way martial arts world. Yeon Ho-jeong could see that his father's martial arts were top-tier, even among the Seven Great Families.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Sit here."
Yeon Ho-jeong stepped onto the training ground.
It wasn't a big step up, but it felt like climbing a huge flight of stairs.
Yeon Ho-jeong sat cross-legged in the center of the training ground. It was the exact spot where Yeon-wi had been circulating qi just a moment before.
"Recite the incantation of the Azure Net True Method."
Yeon Ho-jeong calmly recited the incantation.
Yeon-wi's eyes gleamed.
"You certainly remember it well."
"Yes."
He sat behind Yeon Ho-jeong and placed his hand on his Mingmen acupoint (Myeongmunhyeol).
"Move the Flying Swallow Energy according to the incantation of the Azure Net True Method. I will help with the true qi transformation."
Whoooong.
As soon as Yeon-wi finished speaking, Yeon Ho-jeong drew up the Flying Swallow Energy.
Yeon-wi's eyebrows twitched.
'He's still impatient.'
He understood. He'd been stuck with the Flying Swallow Mind Method for ten years, so of course, he'd be itching to learn some advanced martial arts.
But you can't master divine skills if you're impatient. He'd told him this yesterday, but it didn't seem to have registered.
Yeon-wi calmly guided the surging Flying Swallow Energy.
'Once the qi circulation is over, I'll have to give him a good talking-to...'
It was then.
Whoooooosh!
In an instant, the Flying Swallow Energy surged to full power.
Yeon-wi had only intended one Zhou Tian (Jucheon) circulation. But the Flying Swallow Energy was going absolutely wild.
'Danger!'
Rumble!
Yeon-wi, who was trying to control the qi, was startled.
The Flying Swallow Energy was ripping through his blood points at insane speed. It was faster and more intense than anything he'd ever seen.
And it was smooth. Natural and powerful. It was like watching a raging river flowing perfectly along its course.
Whoooooosh!!
The Flying Swallow Energy, which had circulated Zhou Tian several times with storm-like momentum, slowly began to change.
It was like the color was shifting from a light green wave to a clear, sky blue. The color of the Azure Sky (Cheongcheon), a blue net.
'It's changing. The true qi.'
Into a higher-level qi, an even more powerful qi.
‘Azure Net True Qi (Byeokrajingi)!’
The Flying Swallow Energy was transforming into Azure Net True Qi faster than he could have ever imagined.
Chi-i-i-ik!
The shape and size of his dantian changed too. It was like a decent-sized house suddenly expanded into a huge palace.
It was unbelievable. Yeon-wi himself had spent a whole fifteen days just on the true qi transformation when he switched from the Flying Swallow Mind Method to the Sword Extreme Thought Energy. And even then, his father had barely praised him, just saying it was fast.
His son was different.
In less than half a shichen (about an hour), his son had transformed almost all of his Flying Swallow Energy into Azure Net True Qi.
'How can this be?'
A moment later.
"Hoo-up."
Yeon Ho-jeong, who was controlling his breathing, slowly gathered his qi.
Yeon-wi was surprised once more.
'He's gathering his qi like a pro. Like he's been doing it forever.'
It was like he'd just given it a little nudge, but the carriage had already zoomed down the mountain and reached its destination.
'Amazing.'
Flash!
Yeon Ho-jeong opened his eyes.
An intense glint, different from before, settled in his eyes. The pupils, which had a faint blue light, slowly returned to their original color.
"It's finished."
"So it is."
"Thank you for your guidance."
Yeon-wi stared silently at his son.
His son didn't even look happy. He was just totally calm. Like he'd expected it all along.
"You didn't need my help."
"Yes."
It was an honest answer.
"But it was a meaningful moment because I could feel your qi, Father."
Even this time, Yeon-wi had no idea what he meant.
After another long silence, about fifteen minutes, Yeon-wi finally spoke.
"You said you know all the incantations of the Five Great Divine Skills?"
"Yes."
"Among them, the reason you specifically chose the Azure Net True Method must be because of its stability, right?"
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
"That's right."
The Five Great Divine Skills were all martial arts that were neither excessive nor lacking. However, each had a distinct personality.
Among them, the Azure Net True Method was the most powerful but also the most stable. Even if you used the true qi aggressively, it put less strain on your body than the other divine skills.
At the same time, it also possessed an output comparable to the other Four Great Divine Skills. Considering Yeon Ho-jeong's personality, choosing the Azure Net True Method was the right choice.
Yeon-wi hesitated for a rare moment.
He had something to say to his son. But he himself did not know what that something was.
After a moment, he nodded and said.
"If you run into any problems, come find me."
"I will."
"You've worked hard."
There wasn't as much conversation as yesterday. But the father and son shared much more than yesterday.
As Yeon Ho-jeong lowered his head and was about to descend from the training ground, he suddenly looked at the weapon display stand.
Numerous weapons were displayed there.
"You train with various weapons?"
"A true martial artist should be able to use any weapon, even a stick, with the same power as their main martial art. That's why you need to understand all sorts of weapons."
"That's right."
"In the martial world, you never know when or how you might die. To survive, you've got to be able to use your best moves, even when things are at their worst."
Yeon Ho-jeong learned that the hard way, through fighting, and Yeon-wi figured it out himself.
"May I take a few?"
"Hmm?"
Yeon-wi wondered what his amazing son would ask for next.
"Go ahead. What do you want?"
"First, a steel staff (Jangbong)."
"A steel staff?"
"Yes."
"And?"
Yeon Ho-jeong had a smile on his face, but his eyes had this scary, wild look in them.
"An axe."
"...So, it'll probably take about five or six months for everything to heal up."
Looking down at the young woman with splints all over her body, the middle-aged man asked.
"What about internal injuries?"
"They're not as bad as I thought. But the real problem isn't the internal injuries; it's the emotional trauma (simsang)."
"Emotional trauma?"
"Yes, she seems pretty shaken up. The internal injuries will heal up soon, and the external ones will be gone in about six months, but there's not much we can do about the mental shock."
"I see."
The middle-aged man, Namgung In, seemed much calmer than expected.
He patted the doctor's shoulder.
"She's always been a wild child, but she's still a Namgung. She'll get over this emotional stuff. Just do your best to take care of her."
The doctor bowed deeply, as if honored.
"Of course. It might be six months, give or take, but she could recover even faster."
"I trust you."
Namgung In, who patted the doctor's shoulder several times, left the medical room.
Namgung In looked up at the sky for a moment.
A young man approached Namgung In.
"Father."
"Hyeon, is that you?"
He was incredibly handsome, but he also had this strong, imposing physique. It gave him this kind of mysterious aura.
He was Namgung In's second son, Namgung Hyeon.
"How is Sang-hwa?"
"She was hurt quite badly."
His father never exaggerated or bragged. If he said she was hurt badly, then she was really hurt badly.
Namgung In shook his head.
"After looking into what happened, it looks like Sang-hwa was in the wrong. I sent her on that trip to learn and grow, but it seems like she just got worse."
"She's always been vain and arrogant. Hopefully, she'll learn something from this."
"I think so too."
"But."
Namgung Hyeon's eyes turned cold.
"Just because she learned some life lesson from getting attacked by robbers doesn't mean we have to forgive those bastards."
"The opponent is the Yeon Family."
"A family that is only fifty years old."
"They're the family that turned the Six Great Families into the Seven Great Families in just fifty years. Martial artists aren't stupid. They wouldn't be considered one of the greats if they didn't deserve it."
"No matter how great they are, they messed with a Namgung."
"And the Yeon Family has a good reason for what they did."
Namgung Hyeon was silent for a moment.
Namgung In said in a calm tone.
"Your uncle has already apologized."
"Apologized?"
"Yes."
The corners of Namgung Hyeon's mouth went up.
"Then the Yeon Family will drop this matter?"
"They would have done so even if we hadn't apologized."
"But now that we've apologized, they'll be off our backs."
"Probably."
"Uncle screwed up, but at least he handled the cleanup quickly and efficiently."
"That's how it would be if we were planning on going after the Yeon Family."
Namgung In looked at Namgung Hyeon.
Even with his son's cold stare, Namgung In stayed completely calm. He had that same unchanging expression as Yeon-wi, but there was something different about it.
"Are you just going to let this go, Father?"
"Of course. I'm not going to make a stupid mistake and start a war with a powerful family just because one kid got messed up."
He made cold-blooded remarks with a kind and calm face.
Namgung Hyeon smiled even after hearing his father's words.
"Exactly. The head of a clan can't go off half-cocked over something like this."
Namgung In gave a strange smile.
"So, are you planning a little trip to Jiangnan Province?"
"Of course not. They've got the moral high ground; there's no point in rushing things."
"Then?"
Namgung Hyeon asked in a meaningful voice.
"When's the meeting of the young masters of the Seven Great Families this year?"
