Chapter 38

Establishing the Law

The head of the Cheon Family, Cheon Wigang.

He was the iron wall that protected the family—an existence akin to a guardian deity.

Though all acknowledged him as the family head, Cheon Wigang had yet to escape the original sin he had committed.

That was why, even after gaining the power he had so desperately yearned for, he could do nothing but remain silent.

"Something I couldn't accomplish even over a lifetime... you achieved in a single day."

He knew the family was wrong.

He knew it was heading in the wrong direction, yet he had been unable to correct it.

"Everything began because of me."

The death of the previous family head.

The disappearance of the previous First Young Master.

The proposals made by the Council of Elders.

Cheon Wigang had accepted their proposals under the belief that it was for the sake of protecting the family—but in doing so, he had lost many things.

"Muyang...."

All he had ever felt was guilt.

Because the family was not righteous, he had never once been a proper father.

'I thought you had merely gone astray. I even thought... that it might be better for you.'

If it meant a life unbound by anything, even becoming a ruffian was fine.

He had even believed that such a path might be a survival tactic to preserve Cheon Muyang's life.

"But you rose, as if to prove it all wrong."

Cheon Muyang had disguised himself as a ruffian and pressed himself flat against the very bottom of the Cheon Family.

Until the moment he could cultivate power there, he must have endured in silence and patience.

"This is something you achieved entirely on your own."

Cheon Wigang was deeply moved.

Never before had the child who had always been his aching finger felt so overwhelmingly proud.

Clench!

Cheon Wigang tightly clenched his fist.

'Not yet.'

Even knowing that now was not the time to be swept away by sentiment, the feeling that a knot lodged in his chest was loosening refused to fade.

"Ah...."

A crack formed in the iron wall.

Through that crack flowed the emotions he had suppressed all this time.

The emotions he had turned away from, clinging solely to the belief that he must act like a proper family head, were truly varied.

'How could I have ignored these emotions?'

He had been wrong.

An iron wall was not something built by discarding emotion.

'I must embrace all of this.'

A family head was, by definition, the master of the family.

That meant he had to be capable of embracing people.

How could human emotions be singular?

To embrace people meant embracing humans who carried all manner of emotions.

Pa-at!

The iron wall collapsed completely.

Swept up in the waves of emotion, Cheon Wigang's iron wall was rebuilt anew.

If the material of the old iron wall had been heartlessness, the new one was forged from compassion.

Kuuuuung!

Having crossed beyond the Wall of Enlightenment, Cheon Wigang understood all the more clearly.

'The realm of Enlightenment is not the end. I have merely stepped onto the starting line.'

The realm of Enlightenment was like walking through an endless, desolate desert.

One could stray from the path—or encounter an immense wall.

'The wall I built was the very wall I had to overcome.'

In the end, the wall Cheon Wigang had to surpass was one of his own making.

'I move forward.'

Cheon Wigang wished to grow stronger.

Until now, he had grown strong solely for the sake of protecting the family—but not anymore.

Hadn't Cheon Seonhak once said this?

"My sword will merely become a cloud. Is it not said that a dragon rides the clouds to ascend to the heavens?"

That those words surfaced at this very moment was no coincidence.

'I, too, am a cloud.'

The iron wall evolved into clouds.

An iron wall draped across the sky, prepared for the dragon that would one day ascend upon it.

'I will become the iron wall that blocks everything that tries to stop your ascension.'

Cheon Wigang smiled.

For a fleeting moment, he seemed to glimpse the form of a Heavenly Dragon freely roaming the sky.

'I will become your stepping stone.'

Cheon Wigang's will manifested as an iron wall shaped like clouds.

Pa-at!

When he opened the eyes he had kept closed for so long, an overwhelming aura of an absolute being surged forth.

After all, the iron wall of clouds resided in the heavens.

He was more than qualified to look down upon the world.

"The time has come."

He was certain.

With his current self—

He would not be greatly inferior even when compared to Cheon Jungho.

"This may be the only opportunity."

Cheon Wigang quietly gazed at the Grand Training Grounds visible beyond the window.

Half of the Cheon Family's alliances had been wiped out—but they had been traitors.

They were alliances formed through the Council of Elders' connections anyway, so there was nothing to regret.

"We can begin anew."

That was Cheon Wigang's only wish—and the lifelong aspiration he had carried.

Clench!

Quietly clenching both fists, Cheon Wigang celebrated the achievement he had attained alone, in silence.

"I should have a drink with Seonhak."

He found himself wondering what kind of reaction Seonhak would have upon seeing what he had accomplished.

He was quietly curious.

***

Drip.

Drip, drip.

Blood flowed from the tip of Cheon Gwang.

The one who had been cut was someone else, yet Cheon Muyang's gaze remained fixed on the Third Elder.

"...!"

"Do you perhaps have any dissatisfaction with my ruling?"

It was blatant provocation, but the Third Elder couldn't even react.

'Just what was that sword?'

It was Cheon Muyang's sword.

The Third Elder was a symbol of success—someone who had risen to the position of elder despite not bearing the Cheon surname.

Because of that, he had lived desperately, and there had been a time when he had immersed himself in the sword more fervently than anyone, all in pursuit of strength.

He prided himself on knowing every sword of the Cheon Family—

Yet.

'Was there a sword within the Cheon Family that even I don't know?'

Cheon Muyang's sword was unfathomable.

It was unmistakably a Cheon Family sword, and yet it followed an entirely different trajectory.

'It doesn't matter. Whatever it is, it's still just a Cheon Family sword.'

The Third Elder forcefully shook off the thought.

What mattered was Cheon Muyang himself.

'You never know when or how he'll run wild. Truly a ruffian.'

A ruffian that couldn't be controlled was unnecessary.

'He must be eliminated for sure.'

Concealing those thoughts completely—

The Third Elder spoke in a cold, sunken voice.

"…First Young Master."

"Please, go on."

"You must restrain yourself from charging about so recklessly."

Goooooo—

The Third Elder was acknowledged by all as one of the Cheon Family's strongest.

His pressure alone was enough to overwhelm everyone present.

"Even if corruption did exist, these people are core allies that support the Cheon Family."

Boom!

The weighty inner power carried in the Third Elder's voice began to sway everyone gathered there.

"Like it or not, they are still part of the Cheon Family's sphere. If you cut them all down in one sweep, have you considered what comes after?"

Murmur, murmur!

The hall began to stir.

Everyone had been so focused on the crimes Cheon Muyang had exposed that they hadn't considered the aftermath.

"Isn't it only natural that the Cheon Family's influence would weaken accordingly?"

"...."

"Of course, those who commit crimes should be executed on the spot. That is how we show that the Cheon Family's way still lives."

Cheon Muyang did not refute him.

If anything, he seemed to be waiting for the Third Elder to continue.

"However, that too deserves reconsideration. Even if the Taehung Sect Leader committed wrongdoing, surely not everyone in the Taehung Sect was complicit. Wouldn't it suffice to behead only those who committed the crimes?"

His words flowed smoothly.

The Third Elder's tongue was busy persuading everyone without pause.

"But if you unilaterally sever alliance ties like this and take all their heads, who would ever dare to join hands with the Cheon Family again?"

The Third Elder's argument held merit.

From a rational standpoint, there were certainly aspects of Cheon Muyang's actions that felt excessively harsh.

To cap it off, the Third Elder added a mocking conclusion.

"Of course, I understand the First Young Master's position. As the newly appointed Inspection Corps Leader, you must produce results. Still, I don't believe this is the right way."

The Third Elder openly criticized Cheon Muyang's actions.

As if implying that he was overreaching—using excessive force for the sake of achievements.

"...."

A peculiar tension filled the air.

All eyes naturally turned toward Cheon Muyang.

The pressure was intense enough that the old Cheon Muyang might not have endured it—but the man himself remained calm.

'It's fortunate that things haven't strayed from expectations at all, Third Elder.'

He even wore a faint smile, as if he had been hoping for this very development.

He had expected the Third Elder to react this way.

And, as expected, the prediction hit the mark.

"I can't let what you just said slide."

"What?"

"Their corruption was not simple embezzlement."

"...!"

"If the funds they skimmed off flowed into the hands of those who stand opposed to the Cheon Family—"

He did not raise his inner power.

Yet from Cheon Muyang, who continued speaking calmly, emanated something indescribable.

His voice—neither slow nor fast, neither loud nor soft—was filled with certainty.

"Is that not betrayal?"

"Betrayal...!"

"Then if that is not betrayal, what, exactly, would you call betrayal?"

The Third Elder flinched.

It was as though Cheon Muyang knew everything.

'Did he know about the Anti-Heaven Demon? Could it be—even the Demonic Cult?'

If Cheon Muyang had only known about the Black Merchants, then it would have been enough to exact punishment solely for their inhumane dealings.

But if he knew about the Anti-Heaven Demon—

That was an entirely different matter.

"First Young Master, that is—"

"Third Elder."

Cheon Muyang cut him off and issued a warning to everyone gathered there.

"From this moment on, if anyone chooses to defend them—"

There was no longer any need for courtesy.

Cheon Muyang's sharply honed gaze pierced straight through the Third Elder's overwhelming presence.

"Whoever it may be, regardless of status, I will consider them to be colluding with those traitors."

Everyone understood.

They knew exactly who Cheon Muyang's warning was aimed at.

"W, what! J-just what did you say? C-colluding? Did you just say colluding?! H-how dare you!"

"Tsk. You're noisy."

That was the moment.

From Cheon Muyang, who had been standing calmly even within the Third Elder's crushing pressure, a storm erupted.

Whoooooosh!

A violent wind swept through in an instant.

As if triggered by it, dark clouds gathered above the training grounds.

Whooom!

As though nothing unusual had happened—

Cheon Gwang shot straight into the sky.

"...!"

Everyone watched.

Yet not a single person saw Cheon Gwang fall.

KRAAASH!

For following Cheon Gwang, the wrath of the heavens struck down into the center of the training grounds.

The ground of the arena was gouged deeply.

All were struck dumb in shock—but only Cheon Muyang, sword in hand, stood unwavering as he pointed it toward the Third Elder.

"Third Elder."

"...!"

"Why is your tongue wagging so desperately?"

"W-what did you say?!"

"I'm asking why you're so intent on shielding those who betrayed the family. It almost seems as if... you, Third Elder, are the one backing them from behind."

The corner of Cheon Muyang's lips curled upward strangely.

Though he had grown thinner, it was the same ruffian's smile as ever.

In other words, a smile that made the blood of those who saw it boil.

"That's slander!"

"Then you should conduct yourself in a way that doesn't invite such thoughts. You're an elder of the Cheon Family—how can you defend those who committed crimes so fervently?"

"...!"

Cheon Muyang's intent was singular.

To plant suspicion that the Third Elder himself might be behind them.

Murmur, murmur!

And it seemed that intent landed perfectly.

"T-this is bad!"

Before anyone realized it, the atmosphere—one the Third Elder thought he had firmly under control—had completely collapsed.

Stagger!

Before he knew it, the Third Elder had retreated several steps.

"Here and now, I declare that the collapsed laws of the Cheon Family shall be reestablished—"

Ruuuumble!

The wrath of the heavens continued to strike down around Cheon Muyang.

"And if anyone, myself included, violates the laws of the Cheon Family—"

Whooom!

He did not raise Cheon Gwang.

Yet everyone gathered there felt its cutting edge.

"My sword will strike them down."

"...."

"And conversely, if I violate those laws—then you may strike me down."

That—

"Will become the new law of the Cheon Family."