“......”

A heavy silence settled in.

Dang Gwan stared at Tang Sang-a with terrifying eyes.

On the other hand, Tang Sang-a looked calm. Keeping a relaxed face while her father glared at her like an ax was not something just anyone could do.

After a moment, Dang Gwan opened his mouth.

“I can’t allow it.”

“......”

“I’ll speak to Clan Lord Mo Yonggun myself, so go back to your quarters and rest.”

“I’m going.”

Dang Gwan barked.

“Do you even know where you’re saying you’re going?!”

“A place of death. With the Fighting King Yangcheon tangled up in it, if something goes wrong, I could lose my life.”

“You know that, and you still let that kind of nonsense out of your mouth?!”

“It’s the road I chose.”

“There is no such thing as a road where you die beautifully. Go back. I can’t send you on this mission.”

“Commander Yeon, the operational team’s Left Palm, already put my name on the operation order.”

“Then I’ll tear that scrap of paper to pieces and be done with it.”

“Even if you burn it, I’m going.”

FSSSS.

Poisonous Qi rippled off Dang Gwan’s body. In his surging rage, his poison art had burst open on its own.

“Do you want me to tie you up myself and lock you away?”

Tang Sang-a looked straight into Dang Gwan’s eyes.

“Why are you suddenly like this?”

“Are those words supposed to mean something?!”

“I’m genuinely curious.”

“A Tang blood relative moving on her own without the clan lord’s permission? If you weren’t my daughter, it wouldn’t be strange at all for you to be thrown into the Brain Prison this instant!”

“Was I your daughter?”

“What did you say?”

As if she’d made up her mind, Tang Sang-a poured the words out.

“Since when was I your daughter? Since Grandfather taught me with his own hands? Or since the household thought I was worth more than Tang Yangseon?”

“......!”

“Or since you decided you’d send an extra daughter like me—born with pointless talent—to the Mo Yong Clan?”

Dang Gwan’s nose bridge trembled.

It was a rebellion he’d never imagined from his daughter. He was flustered—and furious at the same time.

As Dang Gwan tried to speak again, Tang Sang-a added one more line.

“Wasn’t I supposed to just leave the clan?”

“......!”

“That’s what you wanted. For a thorn like me not to become an obstacle to Tang Yangseon, the heir.”

He had never imagined she would say something like this to his face.

While Dang Gwan hesitated, Tang Sang-a tossed out a line like a bomb.

“You might not believe it, but I understand you. A clan has its laws and its history. That’s why I endured it until now.”

“......”

“But if you’re going to suppress even my desire to go out there and find my own life, then I’ll have no choice but to throw away the Tang name.”

“W-What?!”

Dang Gwan’s face flushed a vivid red.

“Have you truly lost your mind?!”

To throw away the Tang name? That was no different from cutting ties with the clan.

In sect terms, it was expulsion. In the Central Plains, it was a more terrifying thing to say than that you’d take your own life.

Dang Gwan truly could not understand this situation. His daughter had always been so gentle—why had she suddenly become so extreme?

Tang Sang-a’s expression slowly hardened.

“Then what do you want, exactly? Don’t get in Tang Yangseon’s way, but don’t live the way you want either. You aren’t a person, you’re just a doll—is that it?”

“You little brat! Are you trying to fight your father?!”

“What am I to you? A daughter, or just part of your property?”

“......!”

“Since we’re talking, let’s talk about this too. I came here prepared.”

Tang Sang-a closed her eyes.

“If you think of me as your daughter, then respect my choice. But if you think of me as a thing you can dispose of whenever you want, then kill me here.”

Dang Gwan’s face went white.

Throwing away her surname wasn’t enough—now she was telling him to kill her. He’d never imagined such an extreme thing would come out of his daughter’s mouth.

BRRRR.

The poisonous Qi that had been seeping out faltered.

Tang Sang-a opened her eyes.

In her sight was her father’s distorted face, his breathing ragged.

“I’ll be going, then.”

“You’re not a thing.”

“......?”

“I’ve never once thought of you as a thing. You are my daughter—my daughter, no one can deny that.”

Tang Sang-a’s eyes wavered.

Dang Gwan continued in a heavy voice.

“The Demon-Sweeping Corps is large. And Mo Yong-woo, the commander, is a genius of an age. That’s why I didn’t say anything. I thought it wouldn’t be bad for you to enter the organization and treat it as experience.”

“......”

“But this is different. If you slip even once, you could lose your life on a mission this dangerous! And on top of that, you’re going under that damned upstart’s command—there’s no way I can permit it!”

“I want to ask again.”

“......?”

“Are you truly worried about my life? Or are you worried about me ending up as Commander Yeon’s hostage?”

Dang Gwan’s eyes shook.

Tang Sang-a let out a sigh.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know just because I’m always smiling? That Clan Lord Mo Yonggun and you are locked in a power struggle with the opposing faction, led by the Yeon Clan.”

“......!”

“I don’t know what your real feelings are. But I’m me. I don’t want to be anyone’s hostage, and I don’t want anyone getting in the way of what I want to do.”

“That is......”

A voice came from Dang Gwan, restrained as if he were forcing it down.

“Not a problem you can solve just because you want to.”

“I know. That’s why I’m going to smash anyone who lays hands on me, no questions asked.”

“......!!”

Tang Sang-a rose from her seat.

“I’ll be back.”

With that, Tang Sang-a left the quarters.

Dang Gwan glared at the spot where she’d been sitting for a long time before a sigh finally burst out of him.

What is this.

He never imagined he would be this shaken in the face of his daughter’s rebellion—rebellion that was and wasn’t one.

He thought one roar would break her will. In fact, at the start of the conversation, even if he had been taken aback, he hadn’t fumbled.

But those thunderbolt words from his daughter—Dang Gwan couldn’t help being shocked.

Throw away her surname? Kill her?

Who could have imagined his gentle daughter would come at him this ruthlessly?

In that moment, Dang Gwan remembered his conversation with his father.

I failed to understand my family’s heart. Most clan lords before me were probably the same. But I realized far too late that it can’t be that way.

What is it you wish to say?

I want you to be different from the clan lords who were devoured by the clan’s way and ended as puppets of clan law.

Don’t worry. I’m not like you.

You’re wrong. Among my children, there’s no one who resembles me as much as you. That’s why I’m worried.

BANG!

Green smoke rose from Dang Gwan’s fist as he smashed it down on the table.

******

“Have a cup.”

Yeon Hojeong took a sip of tea.

“How is it? Is it decent?”

“It’s good.”

“There’s no sincerity in your voice.”

“I don’t really know tea flavors. If it isn’t bad, it’s all good.”

“Heh heh heh.”

“So why did you call someone who’s about to march out?”

Mo Yonggun smiled.

“Is it anything special? I’m not ignorant of how difficult this mission is. I should at least treat the operational team’s Left Palm to a cup of tea before he leaves.”

“The tea suddenly tastes bitter.”

“Why? Am I not allowed to worry about you?”

“You were the sort to worry about me?”

“I should worry. This time, at least.”

Mo Yonggun pulled a neatly folded letter from his robe and handed it over.

A puzzled look rose on Yeon Hojeong’s face.

“What’s this?”

“I already passed it to Hu Gae, but I’m giving you a copy as well. It’s a list of sects and organizations that are useful to have on hand. There aren’t many, so pick appropriately depending on the situation.”

Yeon Hojeong let out a small laugh.

“Useful sects? So they’re half-baked.”

Mo Yonggun smiled in satisfaction.

“As expected, you’re someone I can talk to. With Hu Gae, I had to explain every last thing.”

“Hu Gae is a smart man. He just doubts you too much.”

“Knowing when to doubt and when to trust—that’s ability too.”

“That’s a nice way to put it.”

“In that sense, you really are impressive. Sharp mind, good eye, good instincts.”

Yeon Hojeong accepted the letter and tucked it into his robe.

“Either way, I’ll take it.”

Mo Yonggun, still smiling, spoke in a heavier voice.

“Be careful.”

“Of course.”

“This mission—if you think of it as simple, it can become endlessly simple. But the single fact that the Fighting King is on the other side gives it enough weight to be classified as top-tier.”

Yeon Hojeong nodded.

Yangcheon, as Yeon Hojeong remembered him, was not an ordinary man. After Yeon Hojeong crushed him and built the Black Emperor’s Citadel, he had advanced far beyond that point—but when he won against Yangcheon back then, luck had been on his side too.

And Yangcheon’s terror wasn’t limited to martial arts.

“Also, according to a separate report I received, Yangcheon is......”

“A man who fights without ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) a line?”

“How did you know?”

Yeon Hojeong played dumb.

“I’ve been suspecting it. There isn’t much known in the Central Plains about a man called Yangcheon. And yet he was classified as Dark Path, and even earned the epithet Fighting King.”

“That’s true.”

“Taming rats is far harder than beating down a ferocious tiger. But Yangcheon did it.”

Mo Yonggun let out a short laugh.

It was similar to what he’d said to Dang Gwan. This bastard really did feel like the same kind of man.

“Right. That’s what makes him even more frightening.”

“If Yangcheon carved that road alone, without anyone’s help, that’s even stranger. It means he hid that extraordinary ability until now.”

“So that’s what you were suspecting.”

“That’s right.”

Mo Yonggun shook his head.

“I also think there’s a real possibility Yangcheon received someone’s help. But certainty is poison. If you force that angle and overreach, you won’t escape with your life.”

“I know.”

“Well, you’re not the sort to need me to tell you what to do.”

The two of them wet their throats with tea at the same time.

Mo Yonggun spoke again.

“In truth, I may be called the one with command authority, but the operational team is the core of this mission. Even if I wanted to exchange details piece by piece, distance is distance. The operational team leader’s judgment—your judgment—will decide victory or defeat.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“It would’ve been nice if you were coming too.”

Mo Yonggun waved it off.

“Don’t say that. If you told me to strike down the enemy’s leader, maybe. But I have no desire at all to step into a complicated fight like this.”

“Why? Coming from the man who won’t hesitate to fight something far more complicated than this to become the highest power.”

It was the sort of remark that could freeze a warm mood in an instant.

Mo Yonggun took it with easy shamelessness.

“That’s exactly what I mean. While I’m fighting that headache of a war, I don’t want to spend my attention on a mission like this too.”

Yeon Hojeong gave a short laugh.

“Let’s do a temporary ceasefire.”

“Wasn’t that what we already did?”

“You know that’s not what I mean.”

Mo Yonggun’s smile deepened.

“Why? Do you think I’ll take advantage of your absence to pull something strange?”

“I wouldn’t have worried before. But the way you’ve been lately, it feels like you’d do it and more.”

He really is terrifying.

Contrary to his thoughts, Mo Yonggun only shrugged and played dumb.

“A fight only exists if there’s an opponent. Don’t worry too much about that. Focus on your mission.”

“I’m saying this clearly.”

Yeon Hojeong’s gaze turned cold for an instant.

“Until I return, don’t make any attacks.”

Frost settled over Mo Yonggun’s face as well.

“That’s up to me.”

The two stared each other down for a long while.

But only for a moment.

Soon Yeon Hojeong smiled and rose.

“Thanks for the tea.”

“I’m glad it suited your taste.”

Mo Yonggun relaxed his expression as well.

“The moment you enter territory Yangcheon has under his grip, contact me immediately. You know it, but even at this very moment, Yangcheon is still growing his force.”

“I understand.”

Yeon Hojeong brought his hands together in a cupped-fist salute.

“Then.”

Mo Yonggun returned the salute.

“I wish you good fortune in battle.”