Chapter 100: Chapter 988: I Didn't See Anything (Part 3)
"Dojang."
"Go away."
"But... Dojang."
"I said, go."
"Dojang..."
"Oh, for heaven's sake!"
Chung Myung turned around and kicked Namgung Dowi.
Thud!
Namgung Dowi was sent tumbling by Chung Myung's kick.
"But this bastard! Look, look, what he's saying?"
Chung Myung raised his eyebrows and glared at Namgung Dohwi.
"Hey! Do you think we're pushovers? Do we have to accept if you tell us to? The world-famous Namgung Family is asking to join us, so why are the beggars of Heavenly Comrade Alliance refusing?"
Namgung Dowi was in shock and quickly got up.
"Do-Dojang! That's not what I meant..."
"Or? Or what? Did the Sect Leader approve it? Did the Tang family leader approve it? Oh, that's not it either? Now that you're Namgung's head, are you Mount Hua's Sect Leader and the Tang Family leader all rolled into one?"
"Me?"
"Right, you! Are there any other Namgungs here?"
Namgung Dowi looked at Chung Myung as if he had seen a ghost.
When had he ever experienced this kind of scolding in his life? As the future head of the Namgung family, he had always lived with expectations and the burden of responsibility, and Chung Myung's presence was too harsh for him.
But as always, Chung Myung didn't care about someone else's perspective.
"Who does this guy think he is fooling? When he was at his prime, he went around boasting about being the leader of the Five Great Families and the caretaker of Anhwi, didn't he? But now that he's fallen from grace, what is he, a family member? A family memberrrr? I've never even had a meal with this guy, and now he's acting like we're buddies for life! You bastard!"
"That's not it. Dojang! First, please listen to me..."
"I don't need it!"
At this scene, the Five Swords watched from a distance with a strange expression. Watching the Namgung Sect Leader let go of all his dignity of being the next family leader and collapse while holding onto Chung Myung, Jo Gol looked back at Baek Cheon with a perplexed expression.
"That... Sasuk."
"Huh?"
"That guy, was he always like that?"
"...."
Baek Cheon seemed to want to retort, 'What are you implying?' but his words trailed off.
What could he say.. at that martial arts competition, he seemed quite clean and impressive...
Yoon Jong scratched his head, as if he couldn't understand.
"Why is he acting like that?"
Baek Cheon shrugged in response.
"For Namgung head's perspective, joining the Heavenly Comrade Alliance in any way is necessary, right?"
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. There's no other way."
Baek Cheon stared at Namgung Dowi for a moment.
'Now Ahn Hwi is too dangerous.'
The Ahn Hwi province bordered the Yangtze River. While its territory didn't fully overlap with the Su Lo Chae's, it was a place where the Su Lo Chae could lead its fleet and attempt a landing whenever it wanted to.
And...
'The Su Lo Chae is definitely beyond mad right now.'
Of course, the Su Lo Chae took a severe hit to their morale, but it's highly likely that the Black Dragon King, who had his own plans, was furious.
Why wouldn't he be?
Even though all of this was Jang Ilso's plan, the result was Su Lo Chae suffering a devastating loss to the Heavenly Comrade Alliance and the Black Dragon King losing one arm to Chung Myung.
The Black Dragon King would want to unleash his fury wherever he can. And the current Namgung Family was a perfect target.
This all started with the Namgung Family attacking the Su Lo Chae. And the Namgung Family's power was down to less than a third of what it used to be.
"Su Lo Chae attacking Namgung?"
Yoo Iseol seemed to guess what was going on and Baek Cheon nodded as she spoke.
"Normally, the Namgung Family wouldn't be afraid of the Su Lo Chae attacking them... but the situation right now is just not good at all."
Losing too much power on Plum Blossom Island was a problem, but a bigger problem was that they had completely lost touch with the Ten Great Sects.
In a situation like this, if the Su Lo Chae attacked the Namgung Family, would the Ten Great Sects really come to help the Namgung Family?
Baek Cheon continued his thoughts and sneered coldly.
'No, I don't know. Even if they didn't pretend, whether they actually helped Namgung...'
Baek Cheon had seen enough, and he couldn't trust the Ten Great Sects anymore.
"The fact that Su Lo Chae lost isn't the big issue. The problem is that Black Dragon King probably lost a significant amount of control over Su Lo Chae due to this incident. When the situation arises and there's a new leader, isn't it basic strategy in warfare to attack from outside to consolidate internally?"
"Yes, Sasuk."
Yoon Jong nodded, seemingly understanding.
"For Su Lo Chae, right now, the Namgung Family is the easiest target."
"That's true."
At that moment, Jo Gol spoke up.
"But it's not just that."
"Huh?"
Baek Cheon turned his head towards Jo Gol. Jo Gol looked at Namgung Dowi with a somewhat bitter gaze, as if he knew something.
"In general, a family like the Namgung stands on its power. No matter how hard they try to be virtuous, various problems always arise."
"...So you mean past grudges might come back."
"Yes. After all, the place known as the Kangho isn't a place to leave the powerless alone."
Tang Soso nodded with a similar bitterness on his face.
"Sahyung is right, Sasuk."
Baek Cheon sighed softly.
'Yeah. There is probably no sect that has felt that fact more keenly than Mount Hua.'
One could understand this only by thinking about the time when the Mount Hua Sect lost its power due to the attack by the Demonic Cult. Could it be that those who tried to dump everything and leave the Mount Hua Sect did so because they had a special grudge?
'No. Probably not.'
Kangho was a place where the moment a person with power lost his power, people who used to face him with a smile turn would turn into robbers. If things continue like this, even if the Su Lo Chae were quiet, the Namgung Family would experience something similar to the Mount Hua Sect of the past.
"Since we can't work with the Ten Great Sects anymore, there's no sect that will help Namgung Family. The remaining Five Great Families are too far away, and even though they're called the Five Great Families, it doesn't mean they all get along with each other."
"That's right."
"So... right now, the Namgung head needs a roof. Not for himself, but for the surviving Namgung Family members to have a place to rest."
"I see."
Yoon Jong nodded, as if understanding.
"But, Sasuk..."
"Why? Do you still have questions?"
"No, what I was curious about isn't that."
"Then what?"
Yoon Jong looked at Namgung Dowi with a perplexed expression.
"If he wanted to join the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, he could simply talk to Sect Leader or the Tang Family Lord. So, why is he bothering with that punk Chung Myung? After all, he's seen that even Chung Myung can't refute Sect Leader's words."
Namgung Dowi had been relentlessly following Chung Myung and was continuously getting kicked away. Baek Cheon watched this peculiar situation and added with a strange expression.
"He seems to be seriously injured. His judgment may not be very clear right now."
"..."
They couldn't understand him at all.
* * *
A considerable number of people had gathered together here, among them a bandit frantically swishing his brush to calculate the financial accounts.
Namgung Dowi, who was able to be here thanks to Hyun Jong's consideration, swallowed dry saliva as he looked at the faces of those gathered.
This sense of gravity was different. If it were the Namgung Dowi of the past, he might not have felt such immense pressure here. But in his current state, he had to suppress the involuntary cringing of his body.
Was it because Namgung Hwang's loss had left the Namgung Family in a precarious situation? Not exactly.
'It's probably because their status is on a different level than it was back then.'
It didn't matter even if they were worldly; it was the truth. Those who hadn't experienced it might not understand, but anyone sitting in a similar position at this gathering would likely experience similar emotions.
Namgung Dowi glanced briefly at Hyun Jong.
'Even someone like him.'
When they first met, he was just a leader of an unknown sect. While he ascended to the special seat where the leaders of martial arts clans participating in the Martial Arts Tournament gathered, it wouldn't be surprising to be chased away from that seat at any moment, to be coldly realistic. That's who Hyun Jong was.
However, when they met again at the Yangtze River, he had become Hyun Jong, the sect leader of Mount Hua, who even defeated Wudang and became a core sect of Kangho. Now, as the leader of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, he faced the Beopjeong of Shaolin's Beopjeong and the Jang Ilso of the Evil Tyrant Alliance without hesitation.
Tension in such a situation was only natural.
'And not just Sect Leader Hyun Jong Jang.'
The same applied to Tang Gunak, sitting next to him. Of course, Tang Gunak had a high status even in the past.
However, could the Tang Gunak of a few years ago genuinely compare to the current Heavenly Comrade Alliance's key figure, Tang Gunak?
Definitely not.
Namgung Dowi was well aware of the power of the Five Great Families. Even though their names were often mentioned side by side, they could never truly be equal to the Ten Great Sects, no matter how hard they tried. In other words, even Namgung Hwang didn't dare to compare himself to the Beopjeong of Shaolin
But the Heavenly Comrade Alliance was different. Haven't they already proven that they could be on equal footing with the Ten Great Sects?
The formidable disciples of the Mount Hua Sect and the disciples of the Tang Family guarding the left and right were all top-class fighters.
'But that's not all.'
The Heavenly Comrade Alliance's strength still had room to grow, as they could call upon the fighters of the Beast Palace and the Ice Palace at any time.
So, it's no wonder that Namgung Dowi realized once again how formidable the Heavenly Comrade Alliance was.
And most importantly!
Namgung Dowi's gaze turned to Chung Myung, who was showing signs of annoyance all over his face.
'The young swordsman who defeated Black Dragon King.'
Even if they didn't know right now, once this fact spread through the martial world, it would cause a huge uproar in Kangho. No, it may have already turned into chaos.
Chung Myung had been famous until now. The reason why he was uniquely famous, even though there were many other outstanding martial artists, was simple.
'That person will eventually become the strongest.'
In other words, Chung Myung was destined to be the strongest in the future.
There was currently no strongest martial artist in Kangho. No, not only now but most of the time, there wouldn't be a strongest martial artist.
People have to compete to know who is stronger. But since there are too many people involved in such a thing, it's not easy to have a match with someone.
Because if you lose, you have too much to lose.
Therefore, although there were people who could be called the strongest in the martial world, it was difficult for an unwaveringly strongest person to exist. That's why sayings like the Three Greatest Swordsmen or the Five Great Travelers were created.
But Chung Myung was different.
Chung Myung had engraved in the competition that he would someday become the strongest, and through his subsequent actions, he made it clear that that day was not far away.
'And now, Black Dragon King.'
Now everyone would realize it. Chung Myung was about to become the undisputed strongest person in the world.
No one in Kangho would not understand what that meant.
'Really, the order of Kangho may change.'
Right in the hands of that Chung Myung!
Namgung Dowi clenched his fists. He was a very difficult person to follow, but it was impossible not to follow him. Because the path that person walked would be the path to the top.
'So I must definitely....'
It was just as Namgung Dowi was about to make up his mind again.
"Huh huh huh huh. It's nice to see you all here again. Well, I prepared the ships on time, so I won't accept any thanks. It's only natural for fellow geniuses to help each other...Kek!"
Chung Myung's fist hit Im Sobyeong's jawline, who was trembling.
"This bastard tries to bring it up again as if it's okay to pass it by? Hey, you bastard! If you had arrived a bit earlier, I would have scraped off the Jang Ilso's entire belly! I told you to get the boat ready quickly, but you couldn't even do that properly and ended up being late?"
As he thought about it, Chung Myung was so angry that he jumped onto Im Sobyeong's stomach and swung his fists. Im So Byung protested, frantically blocking the fists pouring onto his face.
"Oh, no! Why is it my fault? I did my best...!"
"Oh ho, you're from the Evil Sect too, so you can't stand the Evil Sect leader's head flying off? Stop making excuses and die, you bastard! Die!"
"No, I'm sworn enemies with that bastard! Ah! This is driving me crazy!"
Cold sweat dripped from Namgung Dowi's forehead.
'What... is this?'
How could such a thing happen in a gathering of so many capable individuals?
"Ahem."
At that moment, Hyun Jong cleared his throat softly.
Namgung Dowi turned to Hyun Jong with a questioning look. Of course, he should be punished...
"Let's start the meeting."
"Yes."
"Die! Die, you rascal!"
"First of all, onto our first issue..."
While Chung Myung was scolding Im Sobyeong, others were starting with the discussion as if nothing unusual was happening.
Namgung Dowi looked up at the ceiling.
'Should I just ask to rejoin the Five Great Families?'
Certainly... it didn't seem like it would be easy to adapt...
Ha... Haha...
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Bagel_Seeds
Bagel_Seeds man, I love it when CM drags out his words
"family memberrrrr" hahaha
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone