Dark and Light Martial Emperor

Chapter 11. The Four Gods Activation (1)

“What? A meeting of the late-stage masters?”

“Yes.”

The lieutenant did not even look at Yeon Ji-pyeong. He quickly read through several documents, flipping them over with ease. He looked very familiar with the task.

“Originally, the late-stage masters of the seven great sects had a meeting every year. But there was a year when they had to attend compulsorily every five years. That’s this year.”

Yeon Ji-pyeong’s face showed a hint of panic.

“Am I going?”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, no! It’s not that.”

The lieutenant handed over a folded paper. Yeon Ji-pyeong politely took it.

“It’s a meeting permit. In forty-five days, it will be held at Anhui City. To arrive on time, you have to leave at least two weeks before the meeting.”

If a master of the new method tried hard, he could cross the distance in five days. But he had to cross the Great River, and the geography was not familiar. And since it was a meeting, he had to go with a decent appearance. It was only proper to leave two weeks before.

“The Blue Eagle Squad will escort you. Have a good trip.”

Yeon Ji-pyeong’s eyes widened.

“The Blue Eagle Squad?”

“Not all of them. They will send one team, but the Blue Eagle Squad Leader will be with them.”

The Blue Eagle Squad was a elite force among the military organizations of the Yeon family. The members of the organization were not many, but each one was a skilled master.

It meant that the meeting of the late-stage masters was very important, if they sent a force that they usually did not send out to the martial world.

“I… Father.”

“Speak.”

Yeon Ji-pyeong looked uncomfortable.

“If it’s a meeting of the late-stage masters, shouldn’t you send my brother?”

The lieutenant, who had been rummaging through the documents, looked up at Yeon Ji-pyeong.

Yeon Ji-pyeong flinched.

He had seen him countless times, but his father’s eyes were still scary. They were transparent, like the glass that came from the west.

‘Brother… I’m still afraid of father.’

He swallowed his saliva and waited for a while.

“Your brother is in danger.”

“What?”

My brother is in danger? What does that mean?

The lieutenant turned his posture toward Yeon Ji-pyeong.

“Don’t you think your brother has changed a lot lately?”

Yeon Ji-pyeong was startled.

His father was always very quiet, except for the topics of martial arts, scholarship, law, and etiquette. It was the first time he had received such a personal question.

“He seems a little, a little different.”

“Not a little.”

“…”

“His personality, his martial arts achievements, they are not the Ho-jeong I knew. He’s like a different person.”

Yeon Ji-pyeong also felt the change of Yeon Ho-jeong.

It was not only martial arts, but he also felt the change in his personality. Lately, when he looked at his brother, he felt like he was really an adult.

“But what do you mean by saying that he is in danger?”

“The Namgung family’s late-stage masters will also come to the meeting.”

“Ah!”

“Looking at Ho-jeong’s personality now, he will not try to avoid trouble. Trouble that he can endure, and trouble that he can’t.”

Yeon Ji-pyeong bit his lip.

He understood why his father told him to go to the meeting. In a way, his father was trying to protect his brother by sending him.

“Please… ask my brother once.”

“…”

“Please, father.”

The lieutenant’s eyes deepened.

He looked at his second son for a while, and then nodded.

“I will.”

“Thank you.”

“Go now.”

Yeon Ji-pyeong bowed his head and left the office. The lieutenant, who had been watching the closed door, rummaged through the documents again.

But only for a moment.

He took his hand off the documents and leaned back on his chair. His indifferent eyes, looking up at the sky, showed a slight confusion.

“…Change.”

* * *

Vroom!

The heavy iron rod made a fierce sound as it cut through the air.

“Huff, huff!”

His whole body was sore. There was no place that didn’t ache from his lower body to his waist, back, and shoulders.

The iron rod was as long as Yeon Ho-jeong’s height, and weighed almost twenty kilograms. It was amazing that he didn’t collapse after swinging it until past midnight.

Thud.

Blood drops fell from his hand holding the iron rod.

It was too much. Yeon Ho-jeong thrust the iron rod with force.

Thump!

The rock that was hit by the tip of the rod shook slightly.

A strong vibration was transmitted to his hand holding the iron rod. His wrist, elbow, shoulder, and even his spine, all his upper body joints felt like they were creaking. He had no strength left, and his blood-soaked hand slid down.

“Ugh.”

Clang!

The iron rod fell to the ground.

He breathed heavily and looked down at his hands. His face showed a faint trace of frustration.

“Is this all I can do for now?”

The weapon that Yeon Ho-jeong used to train was a sword.

But he was not suited for a sword by nature. He was better off fighting with his bare palms than a sword.

He fought and fought until he finally found a weapon that suited him.

It was a huge axe attached to a six-foot spear. It was a heavy weapon weighing tens of kilograms, but it was a perfect weapon for his temperament and martial arts.

Later, he added a chain to the axe, and filled the area of ten yards with the storm caused by the axe.

‘I can’t even handle a mere iron rod properly.’

To use a long and heavy axe, he had to be a master of stick, spear, and hatchet techniques. But he couldn’t even swing an iron rod that weighed less than twenty kilograms for a day.

He felt it when he trained his inner power, but his path ahead seemed quite difficult.

Yeon Ho-jeong picked up a hand axe that he had left under the tree.

His torn palm hurt. He fiddled with the axe a few times and threw it at a fairly thick tree.

Whirr! Thwack!

The axe stuck into the tree.

‘My sense is fine.’

He sat down with his back against the tree where the axe was stuck and looked up at the sky.

‘I know the way to become stronger. And I will work harder, not less.’

He had to stop the destruction of his family. To stop the destruction, he had to become stronger first.

But that was not enough.

‘I can’t just wait forever.’

It would be hard, but even if he regained his past martial arts in a year and a half, it would be a problem.

He could stop the destruction with all kinds of tactics and strategies against the Black Emperor’s forces. But there would be casualties in the process, and his father or brother could be among them.

That would be… really hard to bear.

‘I need a contingency plan to protect my family besides my own strength. Whether it’s information or power or anything.’

He had to build up enough strength that he didn’t need tactics and strategies. Even with such strength, he could still lose in the world.

‘The problem is.’

Yeon Ho-jeong’s face crumpled.

“I don’t know who the hell they are.”

The first thing he did after learning martial arts from his master and coming out to the world was to look for the monsters.

Of course, he couldn’t find them by himself. So he jumped into the Black Path, which had more information than the White Path, and chased after the monsters.

But, he still couldn’t find out who the monsters were.

“The only thing for sure is that they weren’t the Black Path bastards.”

The White Path, the righteous faction’s martial arts were clear. The inner power was twisted to the point where it was hard to recognize, but the characteristics of the true energy and the power release method were unmistakably the White Path martial arts.

“To pour out such masters in large numbers, you need at least the Nine Great Sects or the Seven Great Families.”

And crucially.

“…There’s a high chance that there’s a traitor inside.”

He wasn’t sure. There was no evidence, and his father was not a person who would tolerate a traitor.

But what if, there really was a traitor in the Yeon family?

He was lost in thought for a while, and then grumbled.

“Forget it, there’s no need to worry about things I can’t know right now. I’m such a funny guy. I’m not the type who thinks a lot.”

It was because he had died and returned for the first time. And because the target he had to protect was his family.

‘Anyway, I need to expand my information and power. If I want to quietly increase my influence without anyone knowing…’

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes sparkled.

‘Is that the only way?’

He originally planned to approach him after dealing with his family’s affairs. But he thought, maybe he could get a two-for-one deal by using ‘him’.

‘Even if it’s not really helpful, it would be a big help to borrow his name.’

Yeon Ho-jeong got up from his seat.

“Alright, I’ve decided.”

“What are you talking about?”

Surprise.

Yeon Ho-jeong looked beyond the forest. The lieutenant was standing at the entrance of the forest that led to the residence, with his arms crossed.

“Father.”

“Were you training?”

Yeon Ho-jeong was secretly flustered. He had so many worries that he unknowingly blurted out various things, and he wondered if his father had heard them.

“When did you come?”

“I just came. You didn’t answer when I called you.”

‘Phew.’

He sighed with relief. Judging by his expression, his father didn’t seem to hear what he said.

“What brought you here?”

The lieutenant looked at Yeon Ho-jeong’s hand.

“You have a scab.”

“Huh? Oh, you mean this.”

“Did you swing it until your hand was like that?”

“It’s nothing.”

He shook his hand as if it was nothing. His expression didn’t change even though it must have hurt.

“Don’t you train with a sword?”

“Yes.”

“There are many excellent martial arts in our family. But we lack martial arts books on stick and spear techniques.”

“It’s fine.”

He knew some high-level stick and spear techniques. And his true martial art was neither a stick nor a spear.

“It’s not fine at all. You are the heir of the Yeon family. You should rightly cultivate a martial art that suits you.”

“It’s not right to force myself to learn a martial art that doesn’t suit me.”

“What?”

The lieutenant was quite surprised.

“So, you mean a sword doesn’t suit you?”

“That’s right.”

“Why do you think so?”

“What do you think I have to think about?”

“Explain what you mean.”

“Martial arts are learned by feeling with the body rather than the head. I focus on my body and find the way that makes my body move more efficiently. I have to walk that way.”

“Is that stick technique for you?”

“Exactly, it’s something else, but I have to learn the spear stick properly.”

“You learn the spear stick properly… Do you plan to use a crescent blade or a military axe?”

This time, it was Yeon Ho-jeong’s turn to be surprised.

‘You are very knowledgeable.’

The current martial artists were masters of their own weapons, but their understanding of other weapons was generally low.

His father was not like that. He thought of heavy weapons just by hearing a few words, which showed that he had a deep knowledge of weapons.

He had to be able to show his original skills with various weapons. It was not an easy thing to say if he had not actually used them.

“What do you want to learn? By the way, why did you come here?”

The lieutenant knew that his son wanted to change the subject.

He followed his son’s pace. Or maybe he chose the more curious side.

“This year, the meeting of the late-stage masters of the seven great families is a place where everyone gathers.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes sparkled.

‘That’s right.’

He didn’t remember much, but he remembered the meeting of the late-stage masters. He attended the meeting with his brother, but he didn’t talk to anyone because of his low self-esteem.

He didn’t even say a word to his brother on the way.

The lieutenant opened his mouth again after a brief pause.

“I want Ji-pyeong, not you, to go to that meeting.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.

“I understand.”

The lieutenant’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Are you okay with that?”

“If that’s what you want, I’ll accept it. I’m just worried that the Namgung family might bother Ji-pyeong. But since he’s not the party and there are many people there, he won’t do anything rash that would hurt his face.”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course. But please pay more attention to Ji-pyeong before he leaves. He will be burdened by the stupid brother who is going.”

The lieutenant looked at Yeon Ho-jeong with a blank expression.

“Ask me again.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you want to participate in the meeting?”

Yeon Ho-jeong said with a goosebumps expression.

“Of course not.”

“…”

“Who would want to see the brats who act like they’re great? Ugh, I get annoyed just thinking about it.”