Chapter 98
"It seems you don't know that no one can set foot here without my permission... or are you prepared to die?"
Daji straightened her back and did not shrink at all, despite the overwhelming pressure from Jeul.
All the creatures of the world would be in awe when they saw Daji's eyes, and they would be fascinated when they heard her voice.
This was the same even for humans. Although the influence would differ depending on the level of training, it could never be refused.
But Jeul, unlike his son Jejeong, was not blinking an eye, as if he were looking at a stone, even while looking at her.
'As expected... the supreme master of the Central Plains...'
Among the strong men like the people of the Central Plains in the Hermit's Valley, the strongest of the strong had a power that could be compared to her father, Sheng Wang.
Since Jeul was also a superhuman who stood shoulder to shoulder with such people, it might be natural that Daji's fascination did not reach him.
"Miss So, why have you come here?"
Jeshin, who had come down from the Paecheon Pavilion in one go, reproached Daji.
In his view, Daji's appearance here had more disadvantages than advantages.
Moreover, although Jeul was his father, it was difficult to guess his inner thoughts, and since he was capricious, it was impossible to predict what he would do.
If Jeul were to question Daji's crime in this place and to make a move, what should he do?
"Since it is clear that the young master will be scolded, how can I just sit and wait?"
At Daji's bold answer, Jeul looked at Daji's subordinates who were guarding her surroundings as if to protect her.
Although the subordinate of Daji whom Jejeong and he had faced was not sophisticated, his strength and endurance could be said to be comparable to those of a supreme master.
And the man of unknown identity who called himself the Red Mage and the man in the black robe who was following Daji were also surely of a similar skill.
'So family manor... So Ho... how on earth have such people been hiding and living until now?'
Superhuman masters who had fallen from the sky or had sprung up from the ground out of nowhere.
If this were all their strength, it would be another matter, but since more people had appeared around Jeshin besides them, he could not help but to highly regard Jeshin's skill in attracting the masters who had been hiding in the wilderness.
But because of that, it was necessary to be more wary of Jeshin and to rule him strictly.
"I am scolding Jeshin?"
"Greatly, you are the supreme one of the Black Contemplation Fortress, and in a small way, you are Young Master Shin's father. Isn't it a natural thing for a son to be scolded for being angry at meeting a woman without a matchmaker?"
"Did you think I called Jeshin for that reason?"
"Besides that, what else could Young Master Shin have done to disturb the mind of the supreme of the evil path? As the supreme one of the Black Contemplation Fortress and as a father, you are already the young master's master."
Jeul realized that Daji was leading the conversation according to her intentions.
But to deny Daji's words now would be to admit a flaw in his dominance, so it was no different from being cornered.
Jeul, without realizing it, showed a small interest in his eyes.
A girl who unconsciously exuded an overwhelming presence.
Moreover, since her beauty and her mind were also deep, which could not be hidden even with a veil, she was not inferior as the wife of an emperor.
"Don't play with words. Although the So family manor is the number one tycoon of Sichuan, it doesn't have much meaning to me. Is there a reason why I shouldn't take your life right now?"
At Jeul's one word, the momentum of So Ho's subordinates who were around Daji changed coldly.
Their loyalty and confidence were shown in their appearance of taking a stance as if they would make a move at any moment, even in front of Mo Guangdi, the number one of the evil path.
Daji calmed them down with a small hand gesture.
"If the supreme one of the world were to do so, who could stop him? But if you kill me, you will be committing four mistakes."
"Mistakes... what are they?"
"First, the disgrace that the supreme one of the Black Contemplation Fortress has killed a powerless woman who has just gotten up from her sickbed. Second, it is to be at odds with the So family manor, and third, it is not appropriate to see blood before the auspicious day of the birth of a new master of the Black Contemplation Fortress, which will be held soon."
"And the fourth?"
"Since the person who might become a father-in-law is killing the woman who might become a daughter-in-law, it is no different from a parent killing a child, so the fourth is that the natural order of things is shaken."
"Hahaha!"
At Jeul's laughter, Jeshin and Jejeong, who had been standing by his side with a tense expression, were startled and looked at Jeul.
Since they had not heard Jeul laugh out loud for several years, it was not surprising that they were greatly surprised.
"What is your name?"
"I am called So Daji, the daughter of So Ho of the So family manor."
"Daji... it is a welcome thing to bring a talented woman into the family, but the partner is wrong."
Daji was surely born with the energy of a phoenix.
The mate of a phoenix must be a phoenix.
It was natural for a man who had met a phoenix, even if he had no ability, to dream of a great ambition.
If the union of Jeshin and Daji were to be left as it is, since a pair of phoenixes would be formed, it was no different from a great disaster for the current Black Contemplation Fortress.
Jeul looked at Jeshin, who had been completely captivated by Daji.
If he could not break Jeshin here, he might not be able to stop Jeshin later with his gradually weakening strength.
A child with a strong will like Jeshin had to be broken harshly and cruelly to break the will that was in him.
It could not be a more unfortunate thing for Jeshin and for the Black Contemplation Fortress.
"As you said, since I cannot commit a mistake, I will not question your crime. But the union of the So family manor and the Black Contemplation Fortress will be carried out by me personally sending a matchmaker and as a arranged marriage."
"What... do you mean?"
Jeshin, feeling an ominous feeling at Jeul's words, asked Jeul.
"Since it is a matter of the So family manor and the Black Contemplation Fortress being joined, isn't Jejeong a more suitable person than you?"
"Supreme one!"
"Supreme one, no matter how much, this does not seem to be a good look."
Although Jejeong tried to stop him, since he was not active, it was not a sign that he disliked it.
He knew that Jeshin had a crush on Daji.
If Jeshin had given up the throne of the Black Contemplation Fortress and had left the Black Contemplation Fortress as it is, he might not have pushed him so hard.
But after seeing Daji, Jeul's thoughts had changed.
The union of Daji and Jeshin had the risk of reviving the embers that he had painstakingly stepped on.
"Don't argue anymore. Do I have to listen to your opinion?"
Jeshin clenched his two fists at the sharp voice of Jeul, who had raised one hand and had silenced the surroundings.
Since he was in a situation where he was finishing all the preparations with the intention of carrying out a great cause.
If things went wrong, it was not a matter of a future with Daji, but their lives were in danger.
To argue and to resist here was a useless act and would only make Jeshin's position more difficult.
"I have said all I wanted to say today. Since I want to sort out my thoughts alone, you may all leave now."
The expulsion order that Jeul had given included not only Jeshin and Daji, but also Jejeong.
"I will receive the command."
Jeshin did not say a word and took a fist-and-palm salute and turned his back.
He grabbed Daji's sleeve as if to show off and led her, and Daji's subordinates also followed him in a line.
"What a... rude attitude."
"Haven't you left yet?"
"I-I will receive the command."
Jeul, who saw Jejeong also hurriedly walking away, clicked his tongue briefly and then flew up to the top of the Paecheon Pavilion in one go.
"Hmm..."
As Jeul, who had sat down on the roof of the Paecheon Pavilion, let out a long breath, a black smoke rose from his two nostrils.
Crack!
With the sound of something breaking, a long wound that looked like a crack appeared on one of Jeul's cheeks.
But as Jeul stroked the wound with his finger, the red wound disappeared without a trace, as if it were a lie.
Although it was not easily revealed on the outside, if he were to operate his divine art like today, it seemed that it would be difficult to hide his anomaly from the world anymore.
Jeul calmly circulated his energy and corrected the cracks in his body, holding back the scattering energy.
Although he did not know how long he could endure in this way, the clear fact was that it was impossible to fill a dam that had once collapsed, even if a medicine immortal were to come.
But if he were to show a weak appearance here, there was a possibility that the hegemony of Sichuan, which had been slightly superior, would tilt towards the Sichuan Alliance.
If he were to hand over the entire power of the Black Contemplation Fortress to Jejeong soon, he would go into seclusion and would slow down the collapse of his crumbling diamond body and would gather his strength.
In Jeul's eyes, he could see the group of Jejeong and Jeshin walking in the distance.
Looking at Jejeong, who was returning alone, and Jeshin, who was heading to the opposite side in a group, Jeul did not hide his complicated feelings.
If his eldest son, Jekye, had been alive...
There would have been no conflict like today, and the future of the Black Contemplation Fortress would also have been solid.
Throb!
As he recalled the departed Jekye, a pain arose in Jeul's chest.
Since he was the eldest son he had expected the most, and a son who had lived up to that expectation, the grief he had obtained from Jekye's death was beyond imagination.
Even he, who had reached the state of a supreme master and had achieved the pinnacle of martial arts, and whose mind and body had been trained like a diamond, could not overcome the illness of the heart that came from grief.
"Ugh..."
Jeul endured the sharp pain in his chest and controlled his raging blood and qi.
The skills of his two remaining sons were evenly matched.
Both of his sons were the children of a tiger and had enough qualifications to conquer the world.
But when he looked at their character and their connections, it was clear that his youngest son, Jeshin, was a more suitable person as the successor of the Black Contemplation Fortress than his second son, Jejeong.
Moreover, although he was now bedridden, since a person like Wenzhong was serving him with all his loyalty, it could not be more ideal.
Although they had become distant to the extent that it was irreversible due to the cold treatment he had shown, Jeul was also a human made of flesh and blood.
How could he not have the affection of a blood relative?
As the supreme one of the Black Contemplation Fortress, he had tried to exclude his personal feelings, but controlling his emotions was as difficult as obtaining the world.
—Please promise me one thing.
At the voice that came to him again, Jeul shook his head.
Although he had snorted at that time, her last words were lingering in his weakened mind and were tormenting Jeul.
Perhaps because that was on his mind, he had treated Jeshin, who had been left alone by his mother's death, even more harshly.
A woman who had kept her affection for him in her heart at the flower-like age of twenty.
She, who had been brought in as his wife after his first wife had died, had willingly offered him everything she had.
But she had thought that the position of the master of the Black Contemplation Fortress had made both Jeul and her unhappy.
Although she had been disappointed at the changing appearance of Jeul as the master of the Black Contemplation Fortress, she had not been able to let go of her lingering feelings in the end.
After his relationship with the Black Qilin had gone wrong and Jekye had also died, the relationship between Jeul and her had also completely collapsed.
Even after she had fallen seriously ill, Jeul could not easily return to his past self, whom she had first seen.
—Only the master of the Black Contemplation Fortress... so that Shin-yi will not be unhappy...
Jeul could not understand why Jeshin wanted the throne of the Black Contemplation Fortress so much.
Perhaps he had a desire to take revenge on Jeul, who had been cold to his mother and to himself, by becoming the master of the Black Contemplation Fortress.
Jeshin was stubborn like him and was stubbornly unwilling to give up, like his mother.
If he had watched Jeshin as a commoner father, not as the supreme one of the Black Contemplation Fortress, he might have been able to support his ambition at the sight of Jeshin, who did not know how to give up.
But Jeul wanted Jeshin to give up his ambition and to keep his distance from the Black Contemplation Fortress, as his mother had wished.
He was the supreme one of the Black Contemplation Fortress, and Jeshin was his subordinate and vassal, rather than his son.
He was not a person who persuaded, and Jeshin was a vassal of the Black Contemplation Fortress who received commands.
Now, Jejeong, who had become the eldest son in order, had to lead the Black Contemplation Fortress.
Time was not on his side, and for the great ambition of the evil path under heaven, order had to be established as soon as possible.
Since the arrangements for the new master of the Black Contemplation Fortress had been prepared, there was no room to waste his mental energy on a useless internal strife anymore.
Jeshin's resentment and rebellion would lose their momentum if a certain amount of time passed.
"It will be over soon."
Wenzhong, who had set fire to Jeshin's oil, was sick.
If the coronation ceremony were to end, Jejeong would gain authority as the master of the Black Contemplation Fortress, and Jeshin would also have no choice but to move away from the Black Contemplation Fortress as he wished.
Jeul, holding on to the rising true qi like smoke, gathered his confused mind again and pushed it in, and closed the door even more firmly.
Just a little... just a little more, and he would be fine.
(End of Chapter)