After hearing everything about the condition he had been in, Jeok Wigun looked utterly incredulous.
"Are you saying that Demon-Brain Divine Demon devoured my consciousness?"
"Yes. The truth is, I didn't know either. I just thought... I'd pushed you too hard in your training and something had gone wrong. I'm sorry..."
Jeok Wigun shook his head at his father's apology.
"What are you talking about? You only did it because I asked you to, Father. I was the one who wanted to compete for the succession to Heavenly Martial Castle, so why are you apologizing? It was my own fault for being too weak-willed to resist him. Please don't ever say that again."
"All right. I won't."
Jeok Wigun turned to Jeok Wigang and expressed his gratitude.
"Your name was Jeok Wigang, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"Thank you for saving me. I will be sure to repay this debt."
"What debt? We're family. It's only natural that I'd help you."
"Family..."
Jeok Wigun looked at Jeok Riho.
Until now, he had only ever had one person he considered family.
His father.
But today, he had gained a younger cousin who called him family.
"Are we... family?"
"Of course we are."
Jeok Wigun turned to Jeok Riho.
"Did you hear that, Father? He says we're family."
Jeok Riho nodded.
"Yes. It's been a long time since I've heard such a warm word."
Jeok Wigang shook his head at their reactions.
"I think I'm starting to get an idea of what things have been like around here. This is all Grandfather's fault."
The moment Jeok Wigang began criticizing Jeok Mugun, Jeok Riho hurriedly glanced around and tried to stop him.
"Hey! What are you saying?"
"Am I wrong? If Grandfather had done a better job, you wouldn't be talking about how warm the word 'family' sounds."
"No. Father hasn't done anything wrong. It's just that my brothers and I were too ambitious, and all that competition between us led to this."
"That's not it. Grandfather was the one who made you compete."
"Nephew, that's enough. I'm afraid someone might hear you."
"Pretty sure he's already heard everything. Isn't that right?"
Jeok Wigang directed his words toward a large boulder.
Just as Jeok Riho was wondering why he was looking over there, someone emerged from behind the rock.
The moment Jeok Riho and Jeok Wigun recognized him, they jumped in surprise and bowed their heads.
"F-Father! Your son Riho pays his respects!"
"Grandfather! Your grandson Jeok Wigun pays his respects!"
"Good."
Both men glanced nervously at Jeok Wigang.
They were worried about what he had just said.
If Jeok Mugun had heard those remarks, there was no way he would let Jeok Wigang off lightly.
"Grandfather, you heard all that, didn't you?"
"Ugh. Why is it my fault? Everything I did was for their own good."
"Even so, you could've shown a little restraint. Did you hear what Third Uncle said? He said it's been a long time since he's heard such a warm word."
Hearing Jeok Wigang bring him into the conversation, Jeok Riho frantically tried to stop him.
"H-Hey, Nephew! Wh-Why are you doing this? P-Please, watch what you're saying!"
Jeok Mugun spoke to the anxious Jeok Riho.
"That's enough. Let him speak. He's not wrong."
"What?"
Jeok Riho was even more bewildered by his father's response.
"That's exactly why you need to become Lord of the Castle. If you're there to hold everything together, all these problems will be resolved. Otherwise, those fools will keep competing with one another. Even after one of them becomes Lord, the trouble won't end. The moment he shows the slightest weakness, his brothers will wait for an opportunity to exploit it instead of helping him."
"F-Father, surely we wouldn't go that far..."
"You fool. You won't know what you'll do until you're in that situation. The reason I'm so worried is that all of you are roughly equal in ability."
Jeok Wigun hurriedly waved his hands.
"R-Roughly equal? My older cousins are so accomplished that I can't even begin to compare myself to them."
"You little brat! Are you saying my judgment is wrong?"
"Th-That's not what I meant..."
"Of course there's a difference between you. But that difference won't necessarily last forever. If you keep working hard, you'll catch up with them someday."
Jeok Wigun looked deeply moved by his grandfather's words.
It felt as though he had finally received the recognition he had longed for.
"Th-Thank you."
"What are you thanking me for? I'm about to say something rather cruel."
Jeok Mugun looked at Jeok Wigang, apparently having made up his mind.
"It was my mistake to make them compete in the first place. But you weren't around back then, were you? Heavenly Martial Castle needed tremendous strength to sustain itself. That's why I had no choice but to make them compete."
"I understand."
"Which is why you must become Lord of the Castle. To be frank, now that I've seen that boy, even making them go through the succession trial seems cruel."
Jeok Riho and Jeok Wigun stood frozen at Jeok Mugun's words.
After a moment, Jeok Riho hurriedly asked,
"W-Wait a moment, Father. What exactly are you saying? Are you planning to make Wigang Lord of the Castle without holding the succession trial?"
"Yes."
"We owe him a great debt, so that's one thing, but my older brothers won't accept it."
"It doesn't matter. The whole point of holding the trial was to find someone stronger. But if there's someone so overwhelmingly powerful that none of that matters, then there's no need for a trial."
"The Castle's senior leadership might not accept it either."
Jeok Mugun chuckled at that suggestion.
"Those fellows have been won over by this brat for a long time now. All the more reason not to bother with the trial. It would only make your eldest and second brothers even more miserable."
"What? They've been won over?"
"They're so taken with him that they're practically clamoring for me to name him my successor immediately. At this point, the matter is already settled. Why bother holding a trial when the next Lord has effectively been chosen?"
Jeok Mugun looked at Jeok Wigang.
"What do you think?"
"I'll go along with whatever you decide, Grandfather."
Jeok Mugun smiled at his answer.
Then he turned to Jeok Wigun.
"If you have any objections to my decision, speak now."
"N-No, Grandfather. I'll abide by your decision."
"Still, we might as well settle this properly. You two, have a match."
"What?"
"You'll need to squeeze out every last ounce of strength you've got."
"Are you telling me to attack him with everything I have?"
"Not just everything you have. I want you to dig deep and squeeze out every last drop of strength in your body."
Jeok Wigun looked at Jeok Wigang.
Do I really have to do this?
It was his grandfather's order, so he had to obey.
But it was a rather difficult order to carry out.
Then Jeok Riho spoke.
"You can attack him with everything you've got."
"What?"
What's gotten into Father now?
"I don't know what that brat did, but I couldn't break through the protective barrier he created. So I don't think you'll be able to hurt him even if you go all out. Go ahead and try."
Oh, so that invisible wall from earlier was a protective barrier.
Jeok Wigun turned to face Jeok Wigang.
"Looks like we're going to have to fight."
Jeok Wigang nodded with a smile.
"Doesn't look like we have much choice. Come on, then."
"I'll give it everything I have, just as Grandfather and Father instructed."
"That's exactly what I want. Show me everything you've got."
WHOOOOM—
FLAP— FLAP—
Energy surged around Jeok Wigun, making his robes billow.
"I'll begin."
"Go ahead. Since I'm stronger, I'll let you have the first move."
"That does seem to be the case, so I won't hold back."
WHOOSH—
THUNK—
A broken sword blade buried itself in the ground.
THUD—
Jeok Wigun dropped to one knee.
He barely managed to keep himself from collapsing by leaning on the remaining half of his sword.
His pupils were trembling violently.
He had truly given it everything he had.
Just as his grandfather had instructed, he had dug deep and squeezed out every last ounce of strength in his body.
And the result?
Jeok Wigang stood before him, perfectly relaxed, without even the slightest change in his breathing.
They were on entirely different levels.
It had felt as though he were fighting his grandfather.
Now he understood why his grandfather wanted Jeok Wigang to become Lord of the Castle.
What if he had fought one of his other older cousins?
The fight wouldn't have been nearly this one-sided.
They would have shown at least some trace of human limitation.
But not Jeok Wigang.
He wasn't human.
He was a monster.
"Well? What do you think?"
"He's strong."
"Now that you've experienced it yourself, do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Do you think you'll ever be able to catch up with him?"
Jeok Wigun shook his head.
"No matter how hard I think about it, I can't see any way to reach his level."
"I thought as much. Even I can't see a way to beat that brat."
"I see... Wait, what?"
He was so exhausted that he had answered without thinking.
But something about those words struck him as strange. When he thought back over what his grandfather had said, he realized how utterly absurd it was.
"Wh-What do you mean?"
"You heard me the first time. I'm saying I can't beat him either."
"Y-You, Grandfather? But you're the Heavenly Martial Emperor! The greatest martial artist of all time!"
"Not anymore. The greatest martial artist of all time is standing right over there."
Jeok Wigun's gaze shifted toward Jeok Wigang.
He had certainly confirmed for himself just how strong his cousin was.
But was he really so powerful that he could defeat his grandfather, the man hailed as the greatest martial artist of all time?
"Now do you understand why that brat needs to become Lord of the Castle?"
Jeok Wigun nodded vigorously.
If Jeok Wigang became Lord, there would never be any internal strife in Heavenly Martial Castle.
Everyone would hold their breath in the face of his overwhelming strength.
Jeok Riho, who had been listening to the entire conversation, was equally astonished.
He had watched his son suffer a completely one-sided defeat.
All the while, he had been imagining how he himself might fight Jeok Wigang.
But no matter how he approached it, he couldn't find an answer.
Those absurd muscles of his could repel sword aura without taking damage, and his monstrous strength was so great that even an ordinary punch could reshape the terrain.
On top of that, he possessed mysterious sorcery.
And he hadn't even used any sorcery during the fight.
All he'd done was throw punches.
Those punches had been nothing more than the Three Fundamental Fist Techniques.
At first, Jeok Riho had thought his eyes were deceiving him.
But eventually, he had been forced to acknowledge the truth.
The Three Fundamental Fist Techniques performed by Jeok Wigang were the greatest martial art beneath heaven.
He was strong.
That much Jeok Riho could accept.
But stronger than Jeok Mugun?
"If I fought that brat, I'd be in the same position as you. I'd be so busy dodging his attacks that I'd have to rack my brains over and over just to figure out how to get past his defenses. Well, I did manage to advance my cultivation thanks to him. But I still have a long way to go."
Even after advancing his cultivation, Jeok Mugun still couldn't do anything against him?
"I doubt that brat has ever gone all out when fighting me, either. Isn't that right?"
Jeok Wigang merely grinned.
"See that? He won't even answer."
"I can hardly believe it."
"Right? Now, what do you think Heavenly Martial Castle will become if that brat takes over as Lord?"
"It will become the strongest force in history, without precedent."
"Exactly. So, what are you going to do?"
"About what?"
"The succession trial. Are you going to compete?"
After witnessing such absurd martial prowess, how could he possibly want to compete?
There was no point wasting his strength for nothing.
"No. I'll withdraw. I'll simply support him quietly from behind the scenes."
"A wise decision. No matter what we do, we can't beat that brat anyway."
For some reason, hearing his grandfather say "we" made Jeok Wigun feel much better.
After all, even his grandfather couldn't do anything against that monster.
It was comforting to know they were in the same boat.
"Now, let's go home."
"Yes."
"How about we all have a drink together when we get back?"
"I'd like that."
"Good. I'll make sure you get to enjoy plenty of family warmth when we get home."
"Father, you seem to have changed."
"I suppose it's because I can finally relax. Hahaha! That brat has taken every last worry off my shoulders."
Jeok Mugun had always been lonely.
The loneliness of a man who stood above all others.
But there was no trace of that loneliness in him now.
He looked like an ordinary father, relaxed and at ease among his family.
"Then allow me to keep your cup filled tonight, Father."
"Wonderful! Let's go."

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