Episode 125

I studied On Je-ung’s expression for a moment, then suddenly spoke up.

“So that’s the same look you had back then.”

His face twitched, then immediately stiffened.

I turned my gaze to Dang Jeong-hoo and said, “I think the head of the Dang family is under a misconception.”

Dang Jeong-hoo raised an intrigued eyebrow. “A misconception? About what?”

My earlier judgment hadn’t been wrong. As someone qualified to be a son-in-law of the Dang family, I knew there was no way I could beat On Je-ung.

But when I thought about it carefully, I wasn’t really trying to become the Dang family’s son-in-law, was I? In fact, becoming their true son-in-law and being tied down by the family might even be a problem.

So my goal wasn’t to become the son-in-law myself. I just needed to prevent that bastard from becoming one.

And now that I realized this, there was only one path left for me.

I pointed at On Je-ung and shouted, “Even if that guy somehow becomes the Dang family’s adopted son-in-law, he will never honor any loyalty to the family!”

That was it.

What I had to do was get into a mudslinging fight.

A fight so dirty that neither of us could marry into the family.

On hearing my words, On Je-ung snapped back angrily, “What nonsense is this?! Head of the family, you don’t need to listen to a man like him!”

But I just gave a faint, bitter smile and stared at him, wearing a look that suggested I knew something he didn’t.

And sure enough, the reaction I was waiting for came.

Dang Jeong-hoo asked me, “You said your name was Sunwoo Jin? So you actually know On Je-ung?”

On Je-ung flinched and shouted, “No, that’s not true! I don’t know him at all!”

But Dang Jeong-hoo wasn’t looking at him. His eyes were fixed on me, silently urging me to continue.

I smiled bitterly, bowed my head slightly, and began my story.

“I first saw him at the Jeonghyeop Hall.”

Dang Jeong-hoo’s face showed surprise. Apparently, he hadn’t known I had been there.

On Je-ung cut in roughly, desperate, “That’s a lie! He’s trying to slander me!”

His desperate outburst was actually a blessing in disguise. The more he protested, the more credible my story seemed.

I looked at Dang Jeong-hoo with a troubled expression. “May I continue?”

Dang Jeong-hoo frowned slightly but said to On Je-ung, “On Je-ung, have you forgotten where you are and in front of whom you stand? Let him speak. I will listen carefully and judge whether this is slander or not.”

Though his tone was gentle, his expression was anything but. His words were basically a warning to shut up and behave. On Je-ung’s face went pale, and he fell silent.

I smirked and provoked him a little more before continuing.

“At that time, I was fighting alongside my sworn brother, Jeokha Singeom Hwa Young-bin, against So Myeon Ma-gun Sa Won-yang.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

“Fighting So Myeon Ma-gun? At Jeonghyeop Hall?”

“That So Myeon Ma-gun is Hwa Young-bin’s sworn brother?”

“Oh, that So Myeon Ma-gun who was with Hwa Young-bin back then…!”

Though these were the reactions I had hoped for, I pretended not to hear and pressed on.

“Thanks to the arrival of the Sa Cheon Dangmun and Cheongseongpa members, I barely survived and was resting. That’s when On Je-ung, that man’s subordinate, came and threatened me to hand over my sword. He said it was too fine a sword for a lowly ronin like me to possess. Then he pointed at On Je-ung, who was watching from behind, and said that if I handed the sword over to his master, the Hong Sa Geomryong On Je-ung, they wouldn’t kill me.”

The crowd’s murmurs grew louder.

The idea that On Je-ung, a righteous faction member, had threatened to take a warrior’s life-giving sword enraged most of them.

But that wasn’t enough.

I continued.

“That wasn’t all. I was so stunned that I subdued the man, and then my sworn brother Hwa Young-bin arrived. Upon seeing him, On Je-ung did something no righteous or martial man would ever do—he abandoned his subordinate and fled the scene!”

I pointed at On Je-ung and shouted, “You call this man the righteous faction’s Divine Dragon? Absolutely not! He’s not even worthy of being called a righteous man! And you think such a man will honor the Dang family’s loyalty if he becomes their adopted son-in-law? I can say with certainty that it would be like bringing a snake into the house!”

On Je-ung’s face had turned ghostly pale.

It was only natural—his dirty secrets had been exposed in the very place he thought would become his in-law’s home.

But I still couldn’t relax.

The most important expression was Dang Jeong-hoo’s, and it wasn’t encouraging.

He looked more disappointed than anything else.

He asked me, “Can you prove what you say is true?”

I answered confidently, “The man I subdued was named No Ji-wang. If you call him separately and ask, you’ll confirm the truth. My sworn brother Hwa Young-bin was also there. And…”

I looked Dang Jeong-hoo straight in the eye and continued, “I believe a wise head of the family like you has already figured out that my story is true.”

He looked at me silently for a moment.

He must have been convinced my story was true.

But even so, his reaction was lukewarm because it probably didn’t matter much to him.

After all, he needed the Hong Sa Geomryong faction, not On Je-ung.

He wanted dirty hands to do his bidding, not a proud righteous son-in-law.

So to him, the flaws I pointed out were probably minor enough to ignore.

In the end, I had failed to persuade him.

His indifferent expression said it all.

But secretly, I couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.

I had never intended to convince Dang Jeong-hoo from the start.

I glanced around.

The members of the Dang family standing nearby were buzzing with anger.

“How could he do such a thing? He’s not a Divine Dragon, he’s just a snake!”

“To accept a man like that as the family’s son-in-law? Absolutely impossible!”

“That’s right! I will never allow it!”

Though the Dang family members were a bit grim, they were righteous men.

They valued honor like their lives and revered chivalry and loyalty.

The head of the family, Dang Jeong-hoo, might be focused on practical family interests rather than honor, but few in the family could see that.

So these men could never agree to accept someone like On Je-ung as one of their own.

Having been a head of the Sunwoo family in my past life, I knew that no matter how much authority a head had, ignoring the opinions of the clan elders and pushing through decisions alone was a heavy burden.

I looked at On Je-ung with eyes full of anger but smiled inwardly.

“Good. This is exactly the picture I wanted.”

I glanced at Dang Jeong-hoo, who was expressionless but watching the family members condemn On Je-ung.

Though his face showed nothing, I was confident he was inwardly quite troubled.

Then his expression shifted subtly, as if he was hearing something.

He spoke to me.

“But I’ve heard rumors that you might have some issues becoming our family’s adopted son-in-law as well.”

The crowd fell silent.

He smiled faintly and said, “Sunwoo Jin, the third son of the Sunwoo family, is said to be a disgrace and a child cast out by the family. What do you think of those rumors?”

Ugh, of all things.

I thought to myself, ‘That’s troublesome.’

As expected of the Sa Cheon Dangmun.

Even when Dang Jeong-hoo seemed to be listening to something, I didn’t think they’d have already dug up and passed along information about me.

The members of the Sa Cheon Dangmun were annoyingly competent.

And it seemed Dang Jeong-hoo had decided not to boost On Je-ung’s reputation to overturn public opinion but rather to sink me instead.

On Je-ung was bad, but I was apparently worse.

And that was a pretty smart move.

‘Because it’s true. I really am the child the Sunwoo family cast out.’

But I couldn’t admit that out loud.

If I did, the delicate balance I’d barely maintained would collapse again.

It wasn’t exactly righteous, but between a son-in-law who was heir to a faction and one who was treated as a disgrace even within his own faction, no one needed to ask who was better.

So I smiled confidently and answered, “Yes, I spread those rumors myself.”

I couldn’t back down here.

To avoid losing ground, I had to bluff.

Dang Jeong-hoo frowned and asked, “You spread those rumors on purpose?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“For what reason?”

I took a deep breath and began.

“My father, the head of the family, wanted to make me his successor.”

I silently apologized to my father, wherever he was in the Sunwoo family.

“I’m sorry, Father.”

Dang Jeong-hoo asked again, “You say you spread the rumor that you were cast out on purpose because your father wanted to make you the successor? What kind of nonsense is that?”

I took another deep breath.

What I was about to say was the boldest lie I’d ever told in my life.

“This is a rather embarrassing family matter, but unlike my siblings, I don’t have any notable background on my mother’s side. Still, my father wanted me to inherit the headship of the Sunwoo clan. To protect me, he took the drastic step of treating me like an abandoned child. He even spread rumors to that effect on purpose.”

Dang Jeonghu stared at me silently for a moment, then asked again,
“That’s just your word. How are we supposed to believe that?”

Of course, it was only my word.
Because it was a lie.

But I never lost my composure.
With a confident expression, I replied,
“My father spread rumors that Sunwoo Jin, the third son of the Sunwoo clan, was nothing more than a worthless pig with no skill. If you investigate, you’ll quickly find those rumors circulating. But as you can see…”

I glanced over myself and shrugged.
My lean physique and the fact that I had just easily subdued Hong Sageomryong, On Je-ung, were proof that those rumors were false.
That was the message behind the gesture.

Still, it seemed that wasn’t enough to fully convince Dang Jeonghu.
His eyes remained skeptical.

So I decided to add one more thing.
A powerful move that any martial artist would find irresistible.

I asked him,
“Have you ever heard of the Sunwoo Thirteen Sword Techniques, the sword style of my clan?”

He nodded.
“Of course. It’s known as one of the finest sword arts in the martial world. And after seeing you earlier, I’m convinced those rumors are true. But why do you ask?”

I smiled slyly.
“Most people don’t know, but there’s a fourteenth technique in the Sunwoo Thirteen Sword. It’s a secret form only the heads of the Sunwoo clan can master. May I demonstrate it for you?”

I looked at him with a challenging gaze, silently asking if he was willing to witness my swordsmanship.

Dang Jeonghu chuckled, amused.
“I don’t know what good it’ll do, but if you want, go ahead.”

Perfect!
I had expected that answer.
From his perspective, I must have seemed utterly insignificant.
No matter what I did, he was confident he could crush me.

But…

I bowed politely, then slowly drew my sword.
“Then, with all due respect, I will now be so bold as to show the head of the Great Heavenly Hall.”

I took a deep breath and focused my inner energy.
Wooooooong!

A vivid pale purple sword aura flared up along my blade.
A dense sword energy that only the most elite warriors, those who had surpassed seventy years of internal cultivation, could produce.
Gasps echoed from all around.

Then, with a shout, I swung my sword like a lightning strike.
“Haaah!”

From the tip of my sword, a massive pale purple phoenix spread its wings and soared upward with a powerful flap.
Screeeech!

This was the fourteenth technique of the Sunwoo Thirteen Sword—the Vermilion Phoenix Manifestation.

The phoenix flapped once more, then suddenly dove toward Dang Jeonghu at terrifying speed.

Surprise flickered in his eyes.

I grinned.
The Vermilion Phoenix Manifestation was a devastating technique that even So Myeonma’s disciple, Yang Jo, had struggled to block.
And my martial skill had advanced even further since then—its power was beyond question.

‘It would be wise to dodge rather than counterattack, but with so many retainers watching, would he really do that?’

“Ha!”

With a sharp shout, Dang Jeonghu’s attendant grabbed the head of the charging purple phoenix.
He seemed intent on catching and dispelling it.

But what was difficult even for So Myeonma’s disciple was impossible for Dang Jeonghu, whose specialty was memorization rather than combat technique.

Screeeech!

“Grrrkk?!”

Dang Jeonghu met the phoenix head-on but couldn’t withstand the Vermilion Phoenix’s force and was forced to take a step back.

He gritted his teeth and clasped his hands together.
“Uaaah!”

Fwoooosh!

Focusing all his strength, he managed to dispel the phoenix.

But everyone had already witnessed it.
How he had faltered and had to exert his full power to counter my attack.
And this was against an attack from someone with only a modest late-stage cultivation level like me.

Someone muttered in a suppressed voice,
“Impossible…”

That was the shared thought of everyone who had just witnessed the scene.

Exactly the result I had hoped for.

Having achieved my goal, I sheathed my sword and smiled as I bowed respectfully.
“I apologize for my rudeness in daring to challenge the head of the Great Heavenly Hall. I only wished to prove that I am the true heir of the Sunwoo clan. Please forgive my insolence.”

But no one responded.
Everyone in the great hall just stared at me in stunned silence.