Even if Jeok Wigang had some connection to the Emperor, he was barely past twenty. He could only have entered government service recently, which meant his rank could not possibly be higher than senior sixth rank.
Tang Mujin shook his head.
“I don’t know how high your position is, but it won’t matter. We’re far from the imperial palace, and His Majesty’s authority has little reach here. The Governor may not be able to do anything to you, but neither can you do anything to him.”
At the claim that imperial authority held little sway here, Jeok Wigang asked,
“Are you saying the Governor rules this place like a king?”
“That’s right. And the Tang Family is what allows him to do so.”
Jeok Wigang frowned, prompting Tang Mujin to correct himself hastily.
“Of course, we won’t be doing that anymore. I mean it. Isn’t that right, Family Head?”
Tang Pae immediately backed him up.
“Of course, Father.”
“All right. I’ll believe you.”
“Thank you.”
“Then I’ll go meet the Governor.”
“I know him personally, so I’ll take you there. He won’t simply ignore me.”
Jeok Wigang nodded at Tang Mujin’s offer.
“Let’s do that.”
It would probably be better than wasting time arguing with the guards at the entrance.
*****
Hwang Jeseong, Governor of Sichuan.
He was a man of tremendous ambition.
He had employed every means available to pursue that ambition, eventually rising to become Governor of Sichuan.
But his ambition remained unsatisfied.
Sichuan Province was not yet entirely his.
And if he wished to claim it completely, there was one thorn that had to be removed.
The Tang Family.
Yet there was nothing he could do to them.
Not with noninterference between officials and the martial world standing in his way.
He would have swept them away if he could, but if destroying them was impossible, joining forces with them was the wiser choice.
And in the end, allying with the Tang Family had proven to be an excellent decision.
The Tang Family handled the problems he could not touch, while he used his office to return the favor. Each gave the other exactly what they needed.
Since becoming Governor, he had amassed even greater wealth and expanded his army considerably.
Now his ambition extended beyond all of Sichuan, reaching toward the imperial palace itself.
Surrounded on every side by mountains, Sichuan was a perfect natural fortress.
With only a few more troops, raising an army would no longer be an impossible dream.
A man had once founded a kingdom upon this very land. Hwang Jeseong believed there was no reason he could not do the same.
The imperial palace was supposedly paralyzed by struggles for power. Even if he rebelled, it would be incapable of responding.
Once he raised his army, he would establish the foundations of his new nation and begin expanding its territory.
Then, eventually, he would unite all beneath heaven.
Everything had gone so smoothly that it seemed as though Heaven itself were laying the road before him.
Even his name appeared to command it.
Hwang Jeseong—the sound of it could be written to mean Become Emperor.
His actual name used entirely different characters, but that hardly mattered.
Names were easy enough to change.
Every day, Hwang Jeseong indulged in the sweet dream of becoming Emperor while steadily preparing to turn that ambition into reality.
Someone interrupted him in the midst of those happy fantasies.
“Governor! You have visitors.”
He had been in such a pleasant mood, only to be disturbed.
A vein bulged on Hwang Jeseong’s forehead as he snapped irritably,
“I believe I told you not to interrupt me at this hour.”
“My apologies. You ordered us to inform you immediately whenever someone came from the Tang Family....”
“Oh, the Tang Family? You should have led with that. Who is it?”
“The Supreme Family Head and the Family Head have come together.”
“Both of them? What could have happened?”
If both the Supreme Family Head and the current Family Head had come, the matter had to be important.
Hwang Jeseong rose and urged the guard onward.
“Lead the way. We cannot leave such distinguished guests waiting.”
“Yes, Governor.”
*****
Hwang Jeseong entered the reception chamber, spotted Tang Mujin and Tang Pae, and approached them with a broad smile.
“Well, well! I’ve kept such distinguished guests waiting. My apologies. Government affairs have been keeping me busy.”
“Not at all. We are the ones at fault for appearing without notice.”
Tang Pae smiled, and Hwang Jeseong burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha! Thank you for understanding. But what brings the two of you here together?”
As his gaze moved between Tang Mujin and Tang Pae, he noticed Jeok Wigang standing behind them.
“And who is the young man behind you?”
“He wished to meet you, Governor.”
“Me? Who is he, that the two of you brought him here yourselves?”
Hwang Jeseong looked at Jeok Wigang, silently demanding that he identify himself.
Jeok Wigang gave a faint, amused smile.
“I hear you’re plotting treason.”
The accusation came without so much as a greeting.
Tang Mujin and Tang Pae froze in alarm.
Hwang Jeseong flinched, then his face flushed crimson.
“What is this? Who is this mad bastard? Surely you didn’t bring him here just so I could listen to this insanity.”
“N-no, that’s....”
Tang Pae tried to explain, but nothing came to mind.
The word had been so shocking that his thoughts had gone blank.
Jeok Wigang stepped forward.
“Are you deaf? I asked whether it was true that you were plotting treason.”
Hwang Jeseong glared at him with a murderous gaze.
“Who are you? A martial artist? Or a government official?”
“At the moment, I’m a government official. One who came here under the Emperor’s orders.”
“Oh? The Emperor sent you? I heard the imperial palace was a complete disaster, but apparently things aren’t quite as bad as the rumors claimed.”
“They were. I cleaned everything up. Now answer my question.”
“Are you an imperial inspector?”
“Something like that.”
Hwang Jeseong looked at Tang Mujin and Tang Pae.
“What is your relationship with this man?”
“That is....”
What relationship did they have?
“Whatever your connection may be, I suggest you sever it after today. This man will not be leaving Sichuan alive.”
Hwang Jeseong fixed Jeok Wigang with a chilling stare.
“Do you know why the Tang Family allied itself with me?”
“For mutual profit?”
“That is also true. But the real reason the Tang Family joined forces with me is that I am strong.”
“What? You’ve learned martial arts?”
“I have. A peerless divine art of tremendous power.”
Jeok Wigang glanced at Tang Mujin and Tang Pae.
Both men nodded.
“The Governor practices the Heavenly Soul Returning Path,” Tang Mujin explained. “It is the signature martial art created by Patriarch Martial Spirit, who was once the greatest expert beneath heaven. The Governor is his successor.”
Jeok Wigang laughed in disbelief.
That was precisely what made the situation so troublesome.
Even though the Governor had learned martial arts, he was still a government official.
Attacking him would be treated as an attack upon the government itself, violating noninterference between officials and the martial world.
Meanwhile, the Governor could use his position to interfere with the Tang Family’s businesses.
The Tang Family might be a martial family, but the countless people connected to its businesses were commoners. There was no reason to invite losses by making an unnecessary enemy of him.
No matter how irritating the Governor became, attacking him would shatter the principle of noninterference, causing far more harm than good.
That was why even one of the One Emperor and Eight Kings could do nothing to him.
“Then noninterference between officials and the martial world is meaningless. A martial artist can simply become an official.”
Hwang Jeseong laughed.
“I did not rise through officialdom merely to become another government official. My dream is far grander.”
“I’m sure it is. And I imagine that grand dream can only be achieved through treason.”
“Heh heh heh. This world is divided between the government and the martial world. My goal is to unite them completely. What do you think? I will not merely become the greatest expert beneath heaven. I will take true dominion over everything beneath heaven.”
“No. You know you can’t accomplish that through your own strength, so you intend to borrow the government’s power.”
Hwang Jeseong’s expression turned cold.
“You certainly know how to shorten your own life. As you wish, I will sever it today.”
“I’ll give you one chance. Prostrate yourself toward His Majesty, beg his forgiveness, and I’ll settle for stripping you of office.”
Hwang Jeseong sneered as he drew up his inner power.
“Mad bastard.”
Cold air poured from Hwang Jeseong’s body, slicing through the room and sending the temperature plummeting.
Soul qi emerged from his fingertips and began to take form.
It could not be seen.
But it could be heard.
SKRIEEEEE—
It sounded like a soul screaming in torment.
“Soul-Qi Reversal Hand!”
At Hwang Jeseong’s shout, the currents of air throughout the chamber overturned.
The wooden floorboards buckled like waves before splintering apart.
A vicious cold engulfed the entire room and began draining the life from Jeok Wigang.
The energy radiating from Hwang Jeseong consumed the soul qi of anyone caught within it.
Ordinary people could not sense it at all.
Soul-Qi Reversal Hand was a martial art that gnawed away at the minds of the living.
No matter how powerful a martial artist might be, few possessed the means to protect their own souls.
Only someone whose will reached the heavens could resist it.
A sneer crossed Hwang Jeseong’s face.
His mind should begin dissolving any moment now. No matter what kind of monster he is, if he’s human, he can’t possibly—
Before the thought was finished, Jeok Wigang was already standing directly in front of him.
Hwang Jeseong recoiled in shock.
W-what?
He could not believe it.
Jeok Wigang had been caught within Soul-Qi Reversal Hand, yet he was moving as though nothing had happened.
His spiritual vitality must have been far stronger than expected.
In that case, Hwang Jeseong would give him another gift.
The corners of his mouth twisted upward.
He retreated while leaving a perfect image of himself behind.
In the space of an instant, a second Hwang Jeseong appeared.
Returning Shadow Life Severance.
It was a martial art that transformed his shadow into a physical double, which seized the enemy before destroying itself in an explosion.
KWA-KWA-KWAAANG—
A thunderous explosion erupted.
A blinding flash filled the chamber as a violent blast tore through it.
Pillars shattered.
Walls collapsed.
Hwang Jeseong grinned.
“Heh heh heh heh! Stupid bastard.”
Even by his own standards, the attack had been flawless.
“Though I suppose they’ll need at least a piece of your corpse if they want to hold a funeral.”
Hwang Jeseong pretended to express concern for Jeok Wigang.
WHOOOOM—
As the smoke from the explosion parted, someone walked through it.
It was Jeok Wigang, entirely unharmed.
“Urk?”
What?
He was unharmed after an explosion like that?
Even his clothes were intact. He must have erected some sort of protective barrier within that impossibly brief instant.
So the bastard was not entirely without tricks.
Very well.
Then Hwang Jeseong would treat him accordingly—
CRAAACK—
His vision lurched.
Then the entire world turned upside down.
THUD—
A shock ran through his body, and everything went black.
*****
Jeok Wigang dusted off his hands as he looked down at Hwang Jeseong, who lay unconscious on the floor with foam spilling from his mouth.
Tang Mujin and Tang Pae stared blankly.
Hwang Jeseong was undeniably strong.
He had reached the Profound Realm.
If he fully mastered the Heavenly Soul Returning Path, he might even aspire to the Divine Transformation Realm.
Yet even a man like that had fallen to a single blow from Jeok Wigang.
“What was that? You couldn’t even withstand one blow, yet you were talking about uniting all beneath heaven?”
Jeok Wigang crouched in front of the unconscious Hwang Jeseong and began slapping him across the face.
SLAP— SLAP— SLAP—
A moment later, Hwang Jeseong regained consciousness with his face swollen beyond recognition.
The instant he saw Jeok Wigang, he laughed.
“Bwahahaha! Well? What did you think of my martial arts? You must be regretting that you ever crossed me!”
He appeared to have been enjoying a pleasant dream.
Tang Mujin and Tang Pae looked at him with pity.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Wake up.”
SLAP—