“Huh? Brother?”

“What?”

“What is that?”

“It’s an axe.”

“I know that, but... where did you leave Mad Dragon, and why are you walking around with such a cute little axe hanging from your waist?”

“What do you mean, cute little axe? It’s a fairly well-made axe.”

“Compared to Mad Dragon, it’s cute. That is a hand axe.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, with your martial arts, I’m sure you’d use anything well, but... why are you suddenly using a hand axe?”

“I’m going to try using a hand axe too. My martial arts have changed completely from before. I’ll have to try all sorts of things to know my own limits.”

“I-I see.”

“Enough. Are you mentally prepared?”

“I’m a little nervous. I can’t believe I’m going to meet that Clan Lord Mo Yong.”

“He is a sharp man. I’ve gotten caught out by that man’s petty schemes more than once or twice.”

“If even you say that, Brother, he really must be no ordinary figure.”

“Depending on the situation, he can be harder to deal with than Yangcheon, the Lord of Ink Dragon Manor.”

“...”

“Keep your head on straight. One slip, and you’ll get dragged in.”

“Understood. But Brother, why exactly am I needed on the way to meet Clan Lord Mo Yong?”

“You’ll know once we get there. And we’re not just going there to beat Clan Lord Mo Yong up. From now on, stay by my side and broaden your field of vision.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Now, let’s go.”

*****

“You are an interesting man in many ways.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“In what way?”

Mo Yonggun spoke with an unwilling look on his face.

“I thought we would have no reason to face each other like this for a while.”

“Is that so?”

“As expected, there is always something about you that surpasses imagination. That is why you are difficult to deal with.”

“I will take that as praise.”

“What is there to say at this point?”

Mo Yonggun, whom he had not seen in some time, seemed no different from before.

At least on the outside, he seemed that way.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes gleamed.

“Impressive.”

“What is?”

“That presence of yours... It has been refined to be even more secretive than before. Did you gain some enlightenment in the meantime?”

Mo Yonggun let out a sound of admiration.

“You truly are remarkable. To sense so sensitively the change in a master who has reached a higher level than you. I felt it before as well, but that keen sense of yours is fully worthy of being called the greatest under heaven.”

That was Mo Yonggun’s misunderstanding.

To begin with, Yeon Hojeong’s talent was inferior to Yeon Jipyeong’s. Even so, the reason he could sense Mo Yonggun’s change and even discern the Inner Qi qualities of countless martial artists was because his upper dantian was broader than anyone else’s.

When one properly cultivated the upper dantian, every part that could be used by the mind showed overwhelming growth.

And if that growth continued, one could even gain divine abilities difficult to awaken through human capability.

Even now, not much was known about how to use the upper dantian. What mattered was that Yeon Hojeong’s upper dantian was vaster than anyone else’s in the martial world of the present age, and that he was gaining many benefits thanks to it.

“It seems your martial arts have developed as well.”

“Not long ago, I gained a small enlightenment.”

“A small enlightenment... That is a surprisingly humble expression for you. I do not know your immediate strength, but your presence itself has changed as much as heaven and earth from before. It seems you gained a great enlightenment in qi arts.”

“Depending on how I handle it, I may regress compared to before, or I may grow. But in terms of the change itself, I suppose it can certainly be called progress.”

Mo Yonggun chuckled.

“Run at a more moderate pace. At this rate, I feel as if you will catch up to me within two or three years.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled back.

“You are not the sort of man who would let himself be caught, are you? You would try to crush me somehow. And if that were impossible, you might even try to kill me.”

“Of course I would.”

Mo Yonggun was honest in front of Yeon Hojeong.

“Your nature, martial arts, and speed of development are a grave threat to your enemies. And I am not a man who simply watches the growth of his enemies with both eyes wide open.”

A faint Killing Intent flickered in Mo Yonggun’s eyes.

“Be careful. You and I can no longer live beneath the same sky. That said, you are not someone I can treat lightly either, so I have no choice but to bury you somehow.”

“The same applies to me.”

“Well, yes, I suppose it does.”

Mo Yonggun’s expression relaxed.

“So, what brings you here today?”

“I was curious whether the place I hit you before was still fine, and I also wanted to test the waters and see what nonsense you planned to do next.”

“Mm? The place you hit me before?”

“Venerable Gonggong. And the Tang Clan Lord.”

“Ah, that?”

Mo Yonggun burst into loud laughter.

“That was truly dizzying. And unfortunate. I never imagined that Clan Lord Tang would cut ties with me like that.”

“It was understandable.”

“Of course, I know you goaded Clan Lord Tang. At first, I wondered how I should repay you for it, but later, once my emotions settled somewhat, this thought occurred to me.”

“...?”

“Clan Lord Tang is not someone easily swayed by another man’s words. In other words, your words were merely the spark. He was always a great enough figure to put this man in a difficult position.”

As expected, his eye was remarkable. He must have grown careless without realizing it after his repeated successes, but it did not seem he had lost his innate ability.

“When I think of it that way, I ought ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) to thank you instead. Besides, looking back on the matter of Venerable Gonggong, it was an excessive move. I must have been in quite a hurry then, because I made a mistake unlike myself.”

“You did indeed.”

“It is thanks to you. If you had not struck in the middle, would I not have nearly suffered a serious setback?”

Yeon Hojeong chuckled.

“What a shame. I should have just let it play out to the end.”

“That is why I find it strange.”

Suspicion seeped into Mo Yonggun’s eyes.

“You must have known that as well, so was there any need to set it off at that point? Were you not someone with that much patience?”

“Who knows.”

Yeon Hojeong scratched his head.

“I am not the sort of man who draws pictures of a future that far away. At the time, I must have thought that was best. And I had personal matters to deal with too, so I did not want things around me becoming complicated.”

“Ha ha ha.”

“But that is fine now. My personal matters have been handled well, and now all that remains is to run again, no?”

“That is why you came. Because you wanted to know what the man who will become an obstacle on the path you intend to run is thinking.”

“Are you not curious too? About what scheme I may be plotting?”

“I am curious.”

Mo Yonggun wet his throat with tea and shook his head.

“But at the same time, I am not curious. In my heart, I would like to kill you immediately, but I do not want to clash with you for the time being.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes gleamed.

“Strategist Je Gal told me that there are already three candidates for Martial Alliance Leader.”

“Do not speak as if you did not know. One of those three is Clan Lord Tang, and I am well aware that you goaded Clan Lord Tang into it.”

“You really do catch on quickly.”

“To put Clan Lord Tang forward as a means to check this man. I did think that was just like you, but at the same time, it injures my pride a little.”

“Why?”

The corners of Mo Yonggun’s mouth rose.

“Did you think someone only at Clan Lord Tang’s level would be enough to check me? You would have been better off putting forward your father, the Peng Clan, or if not them, the sect leader of Emei.”

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

“I think Clan Lord Tang is enough.”

“Well, since you think so, I will say no more. I suppose you have your own method.”

His tone was quite confident.

Mo Yonggun was a man who did not show his true feelings to anyone. But when it came to Yeon Hojeong, he showed a face that held some degree of sincerity.

It was not because Yeon Hojeong had provoked him. It was because Mo Yonggun acknowledged Yeon Hojeong that much.

As his enemy.

And the same was true of Yeon Hojeong.

That was why Yeon Hojeong launched the first attack.

“I heard the Guizhou Merchant Guild has been rather active in Hunan.”

Mo Yonggun’s eyes deepened.

“And what of it?”

Yeon Hojeong smiled coldly.

“I know your clan and the Guizhou Merchant Guild have a business relationship.”

“They do. But why? What is so remarkable about the Guizhou Merchant Guild being active in Hunan, where my clan is located?”

“It is strange.”

“...?”

“The Guizhou Merchant Guild is active in Hunan, where the Mo Yong Clan resides, and the two groups have a business relationship. It does smell extremely suspicious.”

“Is there anything in your eyes that does not look suspicious?”

“That is not what is suspicious.”

“Then?”

Yeon Hojeong smiled coldly.

“That noisy movement by the Guizhou Merchant Guild. It seems intentional. As if they want everyone to watch the Guizhou Merchant Guild.”

“...!”

“Strategist Je Gal said he would stop you even if it meant mutual destruction. That will is truly firm, but from what I see, trying to catch the Mo Yong Clan through the Guizhou Merchant Guild seems like a meaningless death.”

Mo Yonggun smiled.

“Is that what you think?”

“It is.”

“Then continue knowing it that way.”

“Of course. I will continue knowing it that way. However, I hope you do not forget one thing.”

Yeon Hojeong’s expression turned icy.

“I can use the Guizhou Merchant Guild to strike you at any time.”

Mo Yonggun nodded.

“If you intend to do something with the fact that I touched their people during the Ink Dragon Manor operation, then do so. In any case, they will know you as accomplices too, so I will not die alone.”

“We can confirm that later.”

“Do that.”

Mo Yonggun had probably been directly involved in the Guizhou Merchant Guild matter. Perhaps he had even erased everything that could become his weakness.

Yeon Hojeong quietly looked at Mo Yonggun, then soon smiled.

“It has been a while.”

“Mm?”

“This kind of conversation. It seems serious at a glance, yet also feels insignificant on one side. This strange atmosphere where we pressure each other through a sharp-edged conversation, each of us saying we will tear into the other.”

Mo Yonggun chuckled.

“You may have missed it, but I did not. I had been living comfortably in recent days, and thanks to you, my peace has been broken.”

“That is the most welcome thing I have heard today.”

“Ha ha ha.”

Yeon Hojeong sank back into his chair.

“Now then, since we have exchanged our own version of old memories, let us start taking out one card at a time.”

Mo Yonggun frowned.

“I refuse.”

“You call what we just discussed old memories, but in the end, it was all things both of us already knew. Since we have had a conversation that circled the surface, let us move on to one with substance.”

“I am sorry, but I am different from before now.”

“Different from before?”

“That is right. In the past, I thought I was leading the situation. So I acted more aggressively, dug things out first, and tried to remove sources of trouble.”

Mo Yonggun sneered.

It was a sneer directed at himself.

“If not for you, I might have made quite an entertaining history.”

“But that was not how it went.”

“That is right. I even committed the rash act of working on Venerable Gonggong. After that, I thought about it carefully. Why had I made a mistake so unlike myself?”

“And did you find the answer?”

“Is that not why I am acting like this now?”

Mo Yonggun spread both hands.

“Before taking the offensive, I intend to secure my defense first. Therefore, I have nothing more I wish to ask you.”

“...”

“Since I have nothing I wish to ask you, I will not have any further conversation beyond this. In other words, there will also be nothing you can learn from me.”

“That takes the wind out of things a bit.”

Mo Yonggun lifted his teacup.

“Since you have come all this way, drink the rest of that tea before you go. It is precious tea.”

“Since I have come all this way, I cannot leave after only drinking tea.”

“Ha ha, is that so?”

He had certainly become more cautious. At least for the time being, it seemed he intended to adopt this stance.

Of course, Yeon Hojeong had no intention whatsoever of just watching that happen.

“I brought someone with me.”

“I did feel an unusual presence. Judging by the vitality flowing from him, he seems to be a young man, and he possesses quite solid sword qi.”

“He is someone I recently took as a younger brother.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Then maintain a close brotherly bond.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled coldly.

“That friend comes from the Dark Path.”

“...What?”

“And you see, that friend said he saw informants from the same Dark Path near the Martial Alliance. He was even lucky enough to catch one of them.”

“...?!”

“Judging by the look of things, that man seemed to belong to Ink Dragon Manor.”

Mo Yonggun’s hand trembled faintly as he held his teacup.