Yeon Hojeong smiled.

Yangcheon’s eyes gleamed.

He’s smiling?

Amazingly, Yangcheon couldn’t read Yeon Hojeong’s true intent from that smile.

Even without having lived through much of the world, once someone built a realm like Yangcheon’s, grasping a person’s essence at a glance wasn’t all that difficult.

And in fact, Yangcheon was confident he had seen through the essence of the young man named Yeon Hojeong.

An extreme tyrant’s path. He has a firm line of his own, but if it’s necessary, he’s the kind of man who will do anything.

That was Yeon Hojeong as Yangcheon saw him. And in truth, it wasn’t far from Yeon Hojeong’s nature.

But why was it? He had read the essence, yet he couldn’t tell what the man was thinking right now.

Unless one was a god, how could anyone read another’s thoughts—yet this was the first time he’d seen someone who could hide himself so thoroughly.

Yeon Hojeong spoke.

“What do you think, Lord of Ink Dragon Manor?”

“What I think has no meaning.”

“It does.”

Yangcheon’s eyes flashed.

“What meaning? If you truly did it, do you want to know how I would respond?”

“No.”

“Then?”

Yeon Hojeong’s expression turned flat in an instant.

“As I said before, I want you to be someone who looks far ahead. And because you look far ahead, I want you to have a firm judgment of your own.”

“Oh?”

“That’s why I’m curious. What value does a question like this even have?”

Yangcheon smiled faintly.

“This isn’t like the confident front you’ve shown me until now. I’d rather you didn’t blur the subject with words that stray from the point.”

“I’m not trying to blur anything.”

“Then?”

“My answer has no meaning at all. If the Lord of Ink Dragon Manor finds it suspicious, then investigate. Dig it up. Take hold of what the truth is.”

“...!”

“And if my name is in the truth you reach, then grab me and cook me however you like. But if your reaction would change depending on what I say, that means you have no confidence. So tossing out a question like that is truly meaningless.”

Mo Yonggun was the clearest example.

Of course, Mo Yonggun did sometimes stab in with a probe, but he usually didn’t interrogate this directly. Most of the time, he investigated and planned on his own, and then threw out words to decide whether to cook this bastard or not.

He treated it as a virtue—being meticulous enough to leave the other side no path to slip away. He wasn’t highly regarded because he used that impressive ability solely to seize power, but at least his vessel wasn’t small.

Yeon Hojeong let out a small laugh.

“I’ll say it again. My answer has no meaning. What matters is your ability and your decision.”

“...”

“So it isn’t straying from the subject. It can’t be. From the first time I met you until now, the center of every word that’s come out of my mouth has been the Lord of Ink Dragon Manor.”

Yangcheon let out a hollow laugh.

“You little bastard. You’ve decided you’re going to teach me.”

“A gentleman finds something to learn even in a child’s tantrum. Don’t be ashamed.”

“HAHAHA!”

Yangcheon roared with laughter again—then suddenly cut it off and looked at Yeon Hojeong.

And he asked again.

“The heir of the Ghost-Iron Sword Gate. Did you divert him?”

It was the same question.

Amazingly, this time Yeon Hojeong answered without resistance.

“No.”

A smile spread at the corner of Yangcheon’s mouth.

“It wasn’t you?”

“It wasn’t.”

“Can I believe that?”

“That judgment is yours.”

“A strange answer. Usually that’s what a man spits out at the very end—when he’s desperate to hide something he did.”

A similar smile settled on Yeon Hojeong’s face.

“Fine. I’ll stop trying to teach you. Believe whatever you want to believe.”

“You’ll be stubborn?”

“Even if I can’t beat you with martial arts, I can beat you in stubbornness.”

“Kwa-ha-ha!”

Only now did a hearty laugh—full of sincerity—burst out.

Yangcheon spoke, satisfied.

“I believe you.”

Once he believed, he believed to the end. If he was going to doubt, he wouldn’t believe in the first place.

That was the kind of man Yangcheon was. He had annihilated innocent sects and gathered the Dark Path together, harming commoners in the process—yet as a person, his charisma was exceptional.

A person always lives carrying two sides.

To Kang Ryang, Yangcheon was the heaven-reaching blood enemy who had killed his parents, but to Yangcheon’s subordinates, Yangcheon would be the Dark Path’s hope.

That was why Yeon Hojeong felt no hesitation at all in deceiving a man like him.

“Besides, if you think about it with common sense, it doesn’t add up. A man who came intending to take me as his lord wouldn’t need to ruin a deal over something pointless.”

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

“I might be a spy.”

One sentence that erased suspicion completely.

Yangcheon shook his head.

“What idiot under heaven would use a talent like you as a spy?”

It was common sense—and correct. But he was overlooking one thing.

That even a spy could be a resource.

“Enough of that. I asked to test you, and you paid me back tenfold.”

“You look pleased.”

“I am. The deal is already all but sealed. All that remains is confirmation.”

“It’s also the moment you need to be most tense.”

“You get tense too?”

“When it’s needed.”

A fleeting seriousness crossed Yangcheon’s smile-filled face.

“In truth, there’s quite a lot I want to ask besides this. Well, that can wait. But the deal is right in front of us, so let me ask.”

Yangcheon’s eyes flashed.

“What position do you want? What do you want to do at the headquarters?”

Yeon Hojeong’s gaze flared like lightning.

A sincerity he couldn’t hide—and didn’t need to hide. He had been truly longing for this topic to come up.

“Looking at your martial arts, it wouldn’t be strange to seat you in a command position on the level of the Twelve Zodiac Gods right away. But no matter how much one rules a nation, that kind of exceptional appointment is bound to be a burden.”

“I understand.”

“And looking at your wisdom and your reorganization chart, you also seem to have outstanding talent as a strategist. The headquarters doesn’t formally have a ‘strategist’ post, so even if you took that place, it wouldn’t be all that strange...”

“The issue is whether the troops under you would follow you or not.”

“That’s right.”

If Yeon Hojeong sat in a strategist’s seat, he would gain authority that could sway the entire fighting strength of Ink Dragon Manor.

That was what the strategist’s role meant. Depending on the situation, there were times when even the Lord of Ink Dragon Manor had to follow the strategist’s word.

It was terrifying power. A position above ten thousand men—enough to decide not just an organization’s troops, but its fate.

Of course, Yangcheon had no real intention of seating Yeon Hojeong as strategist. He coveted such an outstanding talent, but not enough to bear that kind of political burden.

“But I can’t give you a post that’s far too low either. A position beneath one’s ability inevitably lowers work efficiency.”

Yangcheon asked, lightly,

“What do you think?”

Yeon Hojeong, watching Yangcheon quietly, shrugged.

“Honestly, I didn’t come aiming for a half-measure.”

“I thought so.”

“And I don’t want to work while watching the room either.”

“With your personality? Like you’d ever watch the room.”

Yeon Hojeong spoke plainly.

“I want to rise into Ink Dragon Manor’s leadership.”

“Mm.”

“I know it would be a burdensome appointment. And in the long run, I also know it would have a bad influence on Ink Dragon Manor.”

Yangcheon smiled without meaning to.

This confidence-filled man was looking ahead—not at Yangcheon’s personal power, but at Ink Dragon Manor’s future.

“Fine. Then what should we do?”

“I don’t want a half-measure, and a low post was never even on the table. That leaves a leadership seat—but if I sit there, your burden grows, and I’ll have to waste my strength on pointless political struggle.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.

“Then I’ll come back after earning a merit that all of them will be forced to acknowledge.”

Surprise rose on Yangcheon’s face.

“Earn a merit and come back?”

“That’s right.”

“You brought a reorganization chart as the trade item, and you’ll add one more thing on top of that?”

“I’m only proving my value. Once the deal is sealed, Ink Dragon Manor becomes the place where I’ll have to bury my bones. If it’s something that benefits the Manor, then I should do anything, no matter what.”

If it was for Ink Dragon Manor’s growth, he would do anything.

To Yangcheon, it was a line that could only feel thrilling.

“Then what merit do you plan to bring back?”

Yeon Hojeong rubbed his chin.

“I thought about what Ink Dragon Manor lacks right now.”

“...”

“I don’t know how you obtained it, but surprisingly, Ink Dragon Manor’s financial power is tremendous. I can’t swear it, but it doesn’t seem to fall behind even the Orthodox Path’s Alliance of the Martial World.”

“That’s true.”

“There is a qualitative issue with the troops, but that isn’t something that can be handled in the short term from the start. At minimum it’ll take five years—if it goes long, it could take decades.”

“That’s also true.”

Yeon Hojeong dropped his hand from his chin and smiled.

“Funds are sufficient, and troops aren’t a problem that can be solved immediately. Then there’s only one thing I can do.”

“...?”

“Cut profit away from the Orthodox Path martial world.”

“...!”

“Funds aren’t lacking, but pulling out money that would otherwise flow into those who will become our enemies later is clearly a meaningful strike.”

Yangcheon’s eyes wavered.

“Don’t tell me you mean to touch the Alliance of the Martial World?”

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

“That would be an excessive move. Until we have enough preparation, it’s better we maintain the current situation.”

“Of course. Then you mean you’ll quietly cut ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) off money that would flow to them without the Alliance of the Martial World knowing. Is that possible?”

The Alliance of the Martial World’s eyes stretched across the Central Plains.

No matter how secretly they handled things, evading those eyes was difficult. And one misstep could lead straight to war.

“It is. At least in Hunan Province.”

“...!!”

“Hunan and Jiangxi are inland regions with developed commerce. There are many merchant guilds and money banks tied to the Alliance of the Martial World. I’ll sever them one by one, and in the end, I’ll make Hunan Province Ink Dragon Manor’s world.”

Yeon Hojeong shrugged.

“At least it’ll be better than now—when you’re a king in name only.”

“Heh.”

Yangcheon clicked his tongue.

“You really think it’s possible to do that without the Alliance of the Martial World noticing?”

“That’s why—even if the deal is sealed, don’t give me a post right away. I’ll move strictly alone. Even if I’m discovered, shouldn’t Ink Dragon Manor have nothing to do with it?”

“So when you said you’d earn a merit...!”

“That’s right.”

Yeon Hojeong’s gaze turned icy.

“If I’m going to prove my value, I have to stake my life.”

“Heh, heh, heh.”

“I’ll bring one back. Then give me my post. After that, I’ll clean up Hunan.”

At that moment, White Rat came out from the corridor.

“Lord of Ink Dragon Manor.”

“How is it?”

“A perfect result has come out.”

Perfect—without a single flaw. In other words, every sharp mind in the Dark Path had failed to find a weakness in the organization chart. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Yangcheon smiled as he looked at Yeon Hojeong.

“Welcome.”

Yeon Hojeong dropped to one knee.

“Jeong, heir of the Martial Ancestor Sect, greets the Lord of Ink Dragon Manor.”