Even as his body stiffened in surprise, Mo Yong-woo could be certain of one thing.

He was a man too much to handle.

He was not someone to belittle for his youth. His voice, the spirit he exuded, and his brilliantly shining eyes all proved that he himself was a Grandmaster of an Age.

An indescribable shock engraved itself across Mo Yong-woo’s face.

‘Why am I only seeing this now?’

A frank doubt rose, and at the same time he found the answer.

‘Because he’s the First Young Master of the Yeon Clan of Green Mountain.’

Gale Lion, Green Mountain Tiger General.

The hot-blooded young master who once sought to stand alone against the famed number-one family under heaven, the Ming Clan of the Nine Provinces.

The unparalleled warrior who received the Ming Clan’s force with fiery chivalry and tiger-like valor.

That was the impression the world had of Yeon Hojeong. And as Mo Yong-woo heard the rumors about him, he found that before he knew it, he could sketch in his head a man he had never met.

‘Wrong.’

Yes.

Wrong, and completely different. Only now did Mo Yong-woo realize that the Yeon Hojeong he imagined and the real Yeon Hojeong were worlds apart.

‘He is extraordinary. So extraordinarily extraordinary that it borders on dissonance!’

How extraordinary?

Extraordinary enough to speak the words “first under heaven” with seriousness.

“Stand at the summit of the orthodox martial world? W-what do you mean?”

“Just what I said.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes deepened.

“The Alliance of the Martial World of the orthodox paths. Become Alliance Leader and seize the world.”

Mo Yong-woo’s lips worked soundlessly.

A man who could come out of nowhere and blithely say something so staggering. Mo Yong-woo realized that his cognition was struggling to keep pace with Yeon Hojeong’s words.

Seeing the shock mottling Mo Yong-woo’s face, Yeon Hojeong couldn’t help but smile.

‘Guileless.’

What an expressive face. Though he possessed both martial and administrative talent and an eye that pierced the false and the true in people, he had a gentle nature.

Such a person is hard to find. Though he must have seen plenty of worldly confusion serving as Zhejiang Branch Chief, he had kept his frank and unaffected character well.

By nature mild and kind. Lacking in decisiveness, but far too compelling a person to turn away over that single lack.

“Even if you suddenly... say something like that...”

Yeon Hojeong nodded.

“Sorry to startle you. I was joking.”

Mo Yong-woo spoke with a face that said, of course.

“It was too much of a joke. Asking whether I’d like to be Alliance Leader? That’s an excessively dangerous remark; do not, by any chance, go elsewhere and—”

“What are you talking about?”

“...?”

“What I called a joke was the part about taking Mo Yonggun’s apology through you. I have not changed my mind about you needing to become Alliance Leader.”

In a shocked voice, Mo Yong-woo said:

“That was serious?”

“That’s right.”

At first, he had tried to approach slowly.

He had planned to build a rapport and work through this and that together. To naturally make a friendship, stoke his aspiration, and set him up as Alliance Leader.

But Yeon Hojeong abandoned that thought.

He was not a man who would be swayed by a friendship forced into being. Besides, it did not suit Yeon Hojeong’s temperament.

If he had marked him as timber for Alliance Leader anyway, he would run with it even if he had to seize him by the topknot.

When it truly seemed impossible, when he judged there would be more loss than gain—

He could give up then.

‘If you keep weighing this and that, you only lose good talent. Now is the time to be bold.’

Mo Yong-woo shook his head.

“I will pretend I didn’t hear it.”

“You don’t like it?”

“It is not a matter of liking or not. Alliance Leader? Nonsense. I will take it as a rough joke meant to ease the mood.”

At that moment—

CHCHCHCH.

Mo Yong-woo flinched.

WUUUUUUUUNG.

From Yeon Hojeong’s body burst a blade-blue force.

It was a terrifyingly intense pressure. As hot as fire, as oppressive as a storm, as despairing as a flooding deluge—it wrapped Mo Yong-woo whole.

‘Hup!’

Mo Yong-woo’s eyes trembled.

In a cold voice, Yeon Hojeong spoke.

“Do I look like a man with leisure to run a thousand li only to play at jokes?”

“...!!”

“If that is truly how I looked to you, I have nothing more to say. Take it that I misjudged the man.”

He said he had misread the man, while unleashing a fearsome aura.

Given the content’s shocking weight, perhaps it would be better to let him go as is. So thought Mo Yong-woo.

But he could not turn his head from Yeon Hojeong’s eyes facing him.

Because of the cast of disappointment veiled in those blade-blue eyes, in that lightning-blue glare.

Because he knew what it meant for a person to be disappointed in another, Mo Yong-woo could not help but open his mouth.

“I... am not a man fit to sit such a grand seat.”

“I think so as well.”

“T-then why?”

“Not now.”

“...?!”

“Let’s drop the petty talk. I saw potential in you. You are too gentle to ignore your own blood’s wrongs, yet it is not because you fear them—you endure because they are your blood. A man like you is perfectly suited to the seat of Alliance Leader.”

Shock filled Mo Yong-woo’s face.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes deepened.

“I’ll tell you one thing. The tide of the age has shifted so I cannot be certain, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° but within twenty years, a calamity will break across the Central Plains.”

“Calamity...?”

“Yes. A calamity big enough to sweep the Central Plains. Blood will run like rivers, death will pour like a rainstorm. Their power is that great.”

Mo Yong-woo’s eyes deepened.

‘Within twenty years? They? Calamity?’

Every word was hard to understand.

Had it not been for those eyes of certainty, he might have dismissed it as utter nonsense.

“Even a single one of them is that much. If all three come out with intent, then no one will stop them. At least with the current martial world’s strength, it cannot be stopped.”

“Three?!”

“The Three Fanatical Churches. That’s what those who will be the Central Plains’ great enemies are called.”

A name he had never once heard.

For an instant, Mo Yong-woo felt his head spin.

“Believe it or not—that’s up to you. But know this one thing. If we do not prepare from now, I guarantee we will never stop them.”

“That is...”

“Shall I put it simpler? I’m saying your family will die too.”

“...!!”

Blue welled in Mo Yong-woo’s gaze.

In an even voice, Yeon Hojeong went on.

“I’m not a saint. I feel no stir over the deaths of strangers I don’t know. But if it is my family’s life and death, the talk changes.”

“...”

“That is why I came to you. Because I know you would fit the Alliance Leader’s seat better than anyone.”

He had put the death of family into words. There was no way to end this talk as a joke any longer.

After a brief spell of thought, Mo Yong-woo opened his mouth.

“Let me put it in order.”

“...”

“Your purpose in coming to me is to make me Alliance Leader. The reason is that I am, in your judgment, suitable as leader material, and further, to prepare for enemies who will one day invade the Central Plains. Correct?”

“Good summary.”

“In that case, I would like you to also understand the fact that I cannot help but feel dumbfounded by this summarized talk.”

“I understand. But I am serious.”

“I know. Had you not come this serious, I would have broken off this conversation at once.”

There are ears everywhere in the world. The Zhejiang Branch was no exception.

He had made everyone here his people, but what if not? What if a master so skilled as to deceive his senses was eavesdropping on this talk?

Then things would get complicated. Mo Yong-woo did not want that.

“And as you must have expected, even if I believe you, there are matters I cannot help but wrestle with.”

“Exactly.”

Yeon Hojeong straightened.

“If you truly understand that I am serious, that is enough. And if you know I am not a lunatic, that is enough.”

“...Your tongue is rough.”

“I don’t intend to force you into something that doesn’t come from your heart. I will simply show you the world.”

“Show me the world? What do you mean?”

“The world you don’t know. And I will show you the ability of the person who will make you Alliance Leader.”

“...”

“Decide later. Only—think in earnest. Think about why I came all the way here and broached dangerous talk out of the blue.”

Watching Yeon Hojeong with a complicated gaze, Mo Yong-woo let out a long sigh.

“This is... like I’m bewitched by a ghost.”

“I couldn’t help it. I hadn’t planned to meet this urgently to begin with. Had it not been for Mo Yong Yeonhwa, I would have taken my time.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Mo Yong-woo’s face.

“You know Yeonhwa?”

“Isn’t that only natural? We’re both scions of the Six Great Clans.”

“No, what I mean is...”

“Mo Yong Yeonhwa is in Hangzhou. I met her at the Lake Delicacies Grand Joy Pavilion.”

“Ah!”

“And I thought on it. I wondered why she came here.”

“...”

“Whatever the reason, I had no need to let it disrupt what I had to do. So I pushed and came quickly.”

Yeon Hojeong read Mo Yong-woo’s expression.

“Judging by your reaction, I came well. Mo Yong Yeonhwa intends to stop by the Zhejiang Branch, doesn’t she? She’s not coming for a friendly visit, naturally. Mo Yonggun must have told her to see the situation with her own eyes.”

A frightening man.

Mo Yong-woo was startled by Yeon Hojeong’s discernment. As if he had watched his yesterdays from the side, he grasped the course of events with ghostly precision.

Martial skill, strategy, insight.

A man who had in hand all the things one cannot obtain at a young age.

‘Where in the world did such a monster come from?’

Plainly, Yeon Hojeong said:

“Before Alliance Leader, do you have a mind to set your clan in order?”

“...!”

“I don’t know when Mo Yong Yeonhwa will arrive. It will take time for you to think and choose. Don’t waste time—answer clearly what I ask.”

“...Yes. If I could set the clan in order, I would do anything.”

“Even if you have to fight your own blood?”

“...!!”

“I’ll ask again. Even if you must fight your blood, do you want to set your clan in order?”

“If I could...”

With a heavy face, Mo Yong-woo nodded.

“If I could have, I surely would have.”

The reason he could only secretly support the innocent who were dying, swallowing blood-red tears—

It was because he had no power.

The world is frightening. One cannot fight the world at large with personal martial skill and justice alone.

No matter how outstanding Mo Yong-woo’s gifts, he could not face his clan alone. Setting aside the ties of blood—he was outmatched in power from the start.

Satisfied, Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“You seem to have the will. That much is a relief.”

“But the main house...”

“How do you think I dealt with the Ming Clan?”

“...?”

“Do you imagine I’m strong enough to shoulder the entire power of the Ming Clan? That’s something for the Thirteen of Celestial Ascension.”

“T-then?”

“Don’t match my power to the opponent—make the opponent match my power.”

Yeon Hojeong rose from his seat.

“Depending on how you handle the power you have, you can steer the situation to your taste—or have it stolen by others.”

“Steer...” 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

“Set aside the Alliance Leader idea for now. In any case, if you don’t upend the Mo Yong Clan, you’ll be in danger even if you sit the leader’s seat.”

Yeon Hojeong extended his hand.

His fingers—long like a woman’s yet of proper thickness—were callused at every joint.

“One last question. Do you need my help?”

Gazing blankly at that hand, Mo Yong-woo shook his head.

“I do not need help.”

“Do you.”

“However, I will make a deal.”

The corner of Yeon Hojeong’s mouth lifted.

Mo Yong-woo spoke squarely.

“I cannot live on help alone. If you help me, I will render you aid equal to it.”

“If you sit still, you could eat for free. Must you really be like this?”

“It is my nature.”

Yeon Hojeong nodded.

“Good.”

Only then did Mo Yong-woo take his hand.

“I look forward to working with you.”

“As do I.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes gleamed.

“Strike while the iron’s hot—you said the merchants’ alliance is giving you a headache, yes?”

“That’s right. Around noon today, their representatives are to visit...”

“Visit? Tell them not to come.”

“W-what?”

“Aren’t you trying to mediate among them?”

“...I am.”

“Don’t let them come to pound the table and demand their meal. Make them come to apologize, groveling.”

Yeon Hojeong picked up the axe.

An indescribable chill crept over Mo Yong-woo.

“Wait. I’ll drive the game into the trap before noon. When you think it’s your chance, rip out the leash with your teeth.”