“Have you come?”

Dang Gwan sat down in a chair without a word.

He sat without the host even telling him to. It was rudeness beyond measure, but Mo Yonggun didn’t care. He already knew what kind of man Dang Gwan was.

“Would you like some tea?”

“No tea.”

“Then?”

With a sour face, Dang Gwan asked,

“Any Wuliangye left?”

Mo Yonggun cleared his throat.

“The Wuliangye is finished, but I have Sword-South Spring.”

“Then let’s empty that.”

“Fine.”

A short while later, the two of them sat facing each other with their cups between them.

Mo Yonggun poured liquor into Dang Gwan’s cup and asked,

“What brings you here at this hour?”

“You already know, don’t you?”

“Of course I can guess.”

After filling his own cup, Mo Yonggun stroked his beard.

“Yeon Hojeong. You came because of that boy?”

Dang Gwan frowned openly.

“What the hell is he?”

Mo Yonggun smiled—bitterly.

“I knew that question would come sooner or later. So I had an answer prepared.”

“......”

“I don’t know.”

“What kind of answer is that?”

“It’s the truth. He’s the eldest son of the Yeon Clan of Green Mountain, a madman who tried to take down the Ming Clan of the Nine Provinces alone, and a master who broke through °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the Martial End Wall at the youngest age of this era.”

Mo Yonggun shook his head.

“Other than that, I know nothing. I mobilized every informer I have and looked into him, but his past was too ordinary.”

More precisely, he was the very model of a tiger father and a dog son.

A man who had no reason—none—that explained how he could grow into a monster like this. That was why Mo Yonggun called it ordinary.

“So. How did you see him, Tang Clan Lord?”

Dang Gwan’s eyes sank.

“I don’t know about a monster, but he’s definitely a snake.”

“Heh.”

Mo Yonggun nodded.

“A snake. A snake bigger than a dragon and fiercer than a tiger. But even that probably isn’t his true face.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s the kind of man who can change as much as he wants depending on the situation and who he’s facing. In front of a rat, he’ll raise his claws like a cat. In front of a cat, he’ll bare his teeth like a wild dog. And in front of a wild dog, he’ll lunge in an instant like a leopard.”

“......”

“I can roughly guess what he showed you. He must’ve shown you a kind of brutality you couldn’t even imagine.”

The bridge of Dang Gwan’s nose trembled.

He’d let him leave alive, but even now, thinking about it made his blood boil. Truly, he’d never seen anyone spew that sort of insane nonsense right to his face.

Mo Yonggun shook his head.

“He does it to me sometimes as well. But what he shows you would be different. Clearly.”

“I learned one thing.”

“What do you mean?”

Dang Gwan emptied his cup in one go, then spoke with poison in his eyes.

“That he’s dangerous.”

“......”

“I don’t know what he wants. I don’t even want to know. But that bastard is the type who would start a war if that’s what it takes to get what he wants.”

“You saw him well.”

“And...”

“And?”

Dang Gwan fell into thought, then shook his head.

“No.”

Filling his cup himself, he added as if it were nothing,

“Anyway, for the time being, I’ve decided not to touch him.”

Mo Yonggun smiled.

That’s not bad.

Dang Gwan was a rough man.

Rough—but also a man who knew exactly when to strike and when to retreat. Even a tyrant who ruled Sichuan like a king could have that side to him.

Not suited to be the master of the whole world... but more than sufficient to hold the seat of a regional overlord. If I control him properly, he’ll be real strength.

Mo Yonggun had joined hands with Dang Gwan, but he had no intention of sharing everything.

His dream came first, always. Still, if it was just the scraps of meat left after he’d eaten, he could toss those to Dang Gwan first.

As long as things didn’t go too far off the rails.

A thought came to Mo Yonggun, and he savored it with quiet satisfaction.

What a shame.

The fact that two clan lords from the Six Great Clans were even having this conversation proved what a once-in-an-era figure Yeon Hojeong was.

When he thought about it, it was absurd.

They were losing sleep over a young man who had only just left his youth behind. How could that possibly make sense?

It’s a shame. If he moved for me, everything would be so much easier.

Mo Yonggun smacked his lips for no reason, then spoke.

“Did he ask you for something, by any chance?”

Dang Gwan’s eyes widened.

“How did you know?”

“So he did.”

Mo Yonggun emptied his cup and continued.

“When he asked me to arrange a meeting between you and him, I thought it over. Why would he ask me to bridge that gap at this moment?”

“......”

“It had to be one of two things, didn’t it? Either he meant to press you into a corner... or he meant to get something out of you.”

“......”

“If he intended to press the Tang Clan Lord into a corner, he wouldn’t have gone alone. Which means there’s only one answer left. He went to get something from you.”

So different.

Dang Gwan thought. Mo Yonggun was clearly different from him.

Both of them were weathered to the bone by the world. But while they fought that harsh world and climbed to the top, they’d developed different strengths.

If Dang Gwan was good at forcing things through with instinct and power, then Mo Yonggun was good at strategy and scheming.

It was hard to say whose ability was superior. In a crisis, Dang Gwan would be better; when you needed hidden political warfare, Mo Yonggun would be better.

Then...

That meant the Yeon Clan’s eldest son was capable enough in multiple ways to face both Dang Gwan and Mo Yonggun at once.

A monster...

Mo Yonggun asked,

“So what did he demand?”

Dang Gwan let out a bitter smile.

“He asked to borrow the skill of the craftsmen in my clan for a while.”

*****

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes wavered.

Ga Deoksang let out a whistle before he could stop himself.

“Damn. I’ve never seen an iron chain made with this much care.”

CLINK-CLATTER.

A long chain hit the ground, ringing with a clear metallic note.

Strangely enough, the chain was a dark, ashen gray. It was shaped like the kind of chain people imagined—but it had a peculiar sheen. Even at a glance, it looked extraordinary.

Ga Deoksang glanced at Yeon Hojeong.

Yeon Hojeong was staring at the chain like he’d been bewitched.

“You like it?”

“A lot.”

“Looks like it.”

Yeon Hojeong grabbed the end of the chain and whipped it hard.

RATTLE—CLANG!

With the sound of metal striking metal, the long chain flew through the air.

Yeon Hojeong’s wrist moved smoothly.

RATTLE! RATTLE!

Ga Deoksang’s eyes went wide. Mookbi, too, stared at the chain with a stunned look.

It’s moving?

It was a shocking sight.

He’d only twisted his wrist lightly while holding the end of the chain—and yet it writhed on its own.

It was like watching a living dragon move. The links weren’t even that thick, yet it felt powerful and dynamic.

How?

It felt like watching some kind of sorcery. He wasn’t even pouring in that much internal energy, but it was radiating a strange, unsettling force.

After handling the chain for a while, Yeon Hojeong suddenly swung his arm in a huge arc.

WHHHHIIIP—THUNK!

The chain’s tip pierced straight through the trunk of a small tree in front of the wall.

The precision was insane. He’d swung a chain nearly fifty feet long and struck exactly what he wanted.

Not by wrapping it.

By firing the tip and punching straight through.

The penetration was terrifying.

“Hm. Still not used to it, I guess? Half a beat late.”

Ga Deoksang’s eyes bulged.

“You’re saying you’re not used to it?”

“Hm?”

“You learned whip techniques too? How the hell do you handle a chain that long that smoothly?”

No matter how skilled a martial master was, it wasn’t easy to wield a weapon you’d just seen for the first time.

Especially weapons like whips, chains, heavy axes like Yeon Hojeong’s main weapon, or hidden weapons—without relentless refinement, you couldn’t use them smoothly.

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

“I’m lacking. Badly. At this level, I can’t use it in real combat.”

He could handle it with moderate flexibility.

That was all. It might work against someone weaker than him, somehow—but against an equal, or someone stronger, it would be worse than fighting barehanded.

But.

Yeon Hojeong was excited—rarely so.

It’s an incredible weapon. The feel in my hand is different from any chain I used before.

In the past, he’d wielded a steel chain together with the Wind-Thunder Axe.

That chain had been a weapon specialized for chaotic melees. Beyond that, there was little reason to use it unless it was for a certain-kill blow that maximized the Wind-Thunder Axe’s power.

But this chain was different.

It’s far more flexible than I expected. It’s several times harder than my old chain, and yet it’s unbelievably supple.

With a weapon like this—

With a chain this clean, with nothing about it that snagged—

It felt like he could use it even in a one-on-one fight.

Yeon Hojeong unfolded the letter that had been enclosed in the box.

I heard you’ve been building a remarkable reputation lately. If I’d finished this sooner, I thought your suffering might have been a little less. I’m sorry I’m giving it to you so late.

I named it the Flood Dragon Chain. Of course, that’s a name I chose on my own. As I said before, the Flood Dragon Chain contains a rare material called Soft-Form Ghost Iron. It’s a treasure of the world—one that grows longer or shorter depending on the quality and intensity of internal energy. It won’t be easy, but I believe you’ll handle it well.

A good man. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The words on the page were filled with warmth, like Pyeon Ilgang was speaking in person.

And there was pride in them, too. It had probably taken several times more effort than when he’d made Mad Dragon (Axe).

Yeon Hojeong gripped the Flood Dragon Chain with both hands and poured in his internal energy.

WOOOOOONG!

Amazingly, the portion of chain in his hands slowly darkened—then, little by little, began to lengthen.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes went wide.

Incredible.

He’d never even heard of something like Soft-Form Ghost Iron, not even back when he’d been the Dark Emperor. Controlling a change in Metal Qi with internal energy—changing a material’s physical nature—was beyond fascinating.

It’ll be even harder to use. I won’t be able to trust my sense of distance. But...

If he could master it properly, it would be a weapon with absurd versatility.

CHIRIRING.

He bent his arm at a right angle and wound the Flood Dragon Chain around it, then placed the neatly coiled chain on the bench.

“Huh? What are you doing?”

“Hm?”

Ga Deoksang chuckled.

“You look like you’re about to die of happiness. You’re not going to train right away?”

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“I want to more than anything, but now isn’t the time.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“You said Hu Gae has the day off, didn’t you? Then I need to use him as much as I can.”

Ga Deoksang’s face crumpled.

“Am I an object?”

“So you won’t help?”

“...Shit.”

With his arms crossed, Ga Deoksang dropped onto the bench.

“I’m expensive. Put liquor on the table before you start asking.”

“Hold the liquor. I’ll treat you big later.”

“Owing a beggar—what a piece of trash.”

He was grumbling, but Ga Deoksang’s eyes were full of confusion and tension. Because he knew Yeon Hojeong wasn’t the type to ask him for help unless it was serious.

Yeon Hojeong asked, his face grave,

“You need to put some weight behind our side.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m saying we need to turn the Councilors’ faction fight into a real fight.”

Ga Deoksang’s eyes lit up.

He understood Yeon Hojeong’s meaning instantly.

“You want me to introduce people?”

“That’s right.”

“I heard the Demon-Sweeping Corps and the Evil-Smiting Corps are deploying together in a few days.”

“Which is why we need to move even faster.”

“Make a real fight before the deployment...”

“Is it impossible?”

“It’s not impossible. The problem is you have to choose one—quality or quantity.”

Ga Deoksang looked up at Yeon Hojeong, then smiled with quiet meaning.

“They say good people can be scarier sometimes. You sure you’re fine with this?”