Chapter 175 : Emerging Powerhouse – 02
Chapter 175: Emerging Powerhouse – 02
Seo Joun’s eyes widened as if asking what he meant.
It was the expression of someone wondering whether his decision truly carried that much weight.
“About how we would support you if you were to become independent, Brother.”
“Ah, you’re preparing in advance?”
“Yeah. We can draw up plans as much as we want. Just because we make plans doesn’t mean things will instantly fall into place. Still, there’s no harm in being prepared. It doesn’t seem like you’re completely without intention either. No one knows what the future holds. Even if you want to remain in Shaolin, circumstances might not allow it.”
“That’s true.”
Seo Joun nodded.
Things in this world never flowed according to one’s will.
More often, they moved in the exact opposite direction.
There was a reason people called the world a kaleidoscope of absurdities.
“Shaolin can serve as your backing, but it can’t become your hands and feet. A successor has already been decided.”
“There’s almost nothing a Lay Disciple can do. Honestly, even my current reputation was built thanks to you, Brother.”
“If anything, you’re being undervalued. Just because you’re a Lay Disciple, and because you’re young. With your skill, it wouldn’t be strange at all if you were already among the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven.”
Sama Uiseong narrowed his eyes slightly.
The epithet of Sword Saint was certainly impressive, but it was far from enough to contain Ban Hojin.
Not just Sama Uiseong—everyone in the group thought the same.
Only Ban Hojin himself seemed utterly uninterested.
“Exactly. Those people can’t even say a word to your face.”
Seo Joun’s gaze sharpened.
It had been Ban Hojin who played the greatest role in defeating the Ironblood Fortress.
Had he not stepped forward, the war might still be ongoing, and Shaanxi Province might already have been lost.
“That’s why I believe even more strongly that you need to build your own power base. I think the reason I ended up in my current situation is because I lacked a foundation of support. What if you had been the Young Lord of the Namgung Family or the Sichuan Tang Family?”
“Things would be completely different from now.”
“Exactly. That’s why I created this opportunity.”
“So in short, you want me to decide clearly on my future course.”
“Right.”
Sama Uiseong looked at Seo Joun with deep, contemplative eyes.
Sunwoo Bang and Moyong Cheok were each heirs to the Seonwu Family and the Murong Family.
And Jeong Iryong was the future Sect Leader of Bangcheon Sect, so he had been excluded.
They all belonged somewhere already; they didn’t meet the qualifications.
“But you’re from the Sama Family, aren’t you? I thought your goal was to rebuild it. That’s very different from my situation.”
“On a small scale, yes. But on a larger scale, no. Unlike the Seonwu Family or the Murong Family, the Sama Family has to start over from the beginning. That means we could enter your family as vassals.”
“Oh?”
At the word vassals, Seo Joun’s expression showed clear interest.
Though he currently belonged to the Seo Family Manor, he was the third son and far from succession.
Of course, his goal was to make the Seo Family Manor prosper, but as a man, he had ambitions.
“The Sama Family already showed its limits. Its destruction is proof enough. There were mistakes in our choices, but looking back now, even the Zhuge Family didn’t necessarily choose correctly.”
“Isn’t that jumping to conclusions? You don’t know until you try. Maybe it wasn’t that the choice was wrong, but that it depended on the capability of the one executing it.”
“That could be. But alone, even the Five Great Families have their limits. What if it were a vassal family of the Greatest Family Under Heaven? Not just a vassal to one of the Five Great Families, but the foremost vassal of an incomparable Martial Family? Wouldn’t that surpass the Five Great Families?”
“Mm!”
Seo Joun’s pupils trembled.
He could tell just how much thought and deliberation had gone into Sama Uiseong’s words.
And how far ahead he was looking.
“It won’t be easy, of course. But it’s possible. Anyone can dream.”
“You’re entrusting your future to me?”
“That’s part of it. But more than that, I’m saying we build it together. The future. That’s why I’m asking you too. What will you do? Honestly, you have plenty of money, don’t you? You send a lot back to the main house, but I hear you still hold quite a bit yourself.”
“Quite a lot. An amount I couldn’t even have imagined just last year is under my name now. And that’s all thanks to Brother.”
All he had done was follow Ban Hojin and work hard, yet his wealth had multiplied in an instant.
A sum he had never dared imagine before.
Even now, Seo Joun could hardly believe it.
The money stored at the Geum Family Estate.
“I was surprised this time too. I didn’t expect him to divide it evenly into six shares.”
“Maybe it’s because he’s from a temple, but he doesn’t seem very greedy. Or maybe that’s just his personality. If he wanted, he could amass enormous wealth, but he doesn’t show any interest. If there’s money, fine. If there isn’t, that’s fine too. The closest thing to indulgence he has is food. Whenever we go somewhere new, he tries the local specialty dishes and tea. It’s like having a taste for fine cuisine is the one thing that makes him seem human.”
“It’s his only form of entertainment. He doesn’t even drink. That’s why he feels human.”
At times, he seemed relentless in gathering wealth, yet he didn’t actually spend it.
And he didn’t hoard blindly.
He first sought out the rightful owner, and only when none could be found did he divide it among the group.
But when that distribution happened two, three times, the accumulated wealth became staggering.
“So that’s what drew you in?”
“It’s not that I was drawn in. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Honestly, I’m not confident I could run a family well. And as a strategist, there are limits. History proves it.”
“That’s true.”
Among the great strategists who once grasped the world, none had founded nations.
Perhaps true kings really did possess a different kind of quality.
“It seems like it’s time you told me what you’re thinking.”
“I do intend to found my own house someday. I don’t know when that time will come. But before that, there’s something I must do. Revive the Seo Family Manor. That comes first. Once I achieve that, then I’ll pursue my own dream.”
“I see.”
“But aren’t you excluding the two elder brothers too much?”
“Allied forces can turn their backs at any time. An individual’s position and a family’s position are entirely different.”
Sama Uiseong spoke firmly.
Just because relations were good now didn’t guarantee they would remain so once each became the head of their own faction.
All relationships shifted according to interests and gains.
There was a reason politics was described as something alive.
“I don’t think they’re that kind of people. Though if it were Brother, he would have thought that far ahead.”
“One never knows the future. There’s no harm in preparing. As for you, since you owe a life-saving grace, it would be hard for you to turn.”
“What do you take me for? I’m not that shameless. I could die in Brother’s place if needed. If anything, you’re the one with the weakest bond.”
“True. That’s why I’m making an effort. That’s why I’m laying the groundwork quietly like this.”
“But would Brother even want this?”
Seo Joun tilted his head.
Depending on how one looked at it, this might be overstepping.
“We’re just making plans. They could be discarded at any time. But personally, I think it’s necessary. If we don’t want to be discarded once we’re no longer useful.”
“No harm in being prepared, huh.”
“In any case, I understand your position.”
“You’re planning to prepare without me, then?”
“Focus on the Seo Family Manor.”
Though the answer was ambiguous, it was enough for Sama Uiseong.
When things were neither here nor there, exclusion was the best choice.
If his thoughts changed later, he could always be added then.
“It sounds like you’re already keeping me in check.”
“It’s not keeping you in check. It’s deciding based on reality. And this applies to relationships too. If you measure everything too carefully, even what you have will disappear.”
“What’s with that tone? You sound like you’re the elder brother.”
“You’re still immature.”
“Are you trying to fight?”
Seo Joun glared fiercely.
He couldn’t simply let that remark pass.
“It’s advice. Advice. Friends can say this much.”
“Don’t you think that’s meddling?”
“So if you walk a wrong or strange path, I should just stand by? If that’s what you want, I won’t say anything anymore.”
“Uh… well…”
Seo Joun was at a loss for words.
He was intelligent, but Sama Uiseong was on another level.
Knowing that all too well, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“I’ve said what I needed to.”
“Fine. Go, then!”
Grumbling under what was practically an expulsion order, Seo Joun stormed out of the room.
He made no effort to hide his displeasure.
Sama Uiseong did not attempt to placate him.
Instead, he sank into thought, wearing an unreadable expression.
Under a cloudless blue sky befitting the season when horses grew fat and the heavens soared high, Ban Hojin watched the others training in their own ways. Then he quietly approached Jeong Iryong, who stood alone catching his breath.
Jeong Iryong greeted him with a bright smile.
“Brother.”
“I hear your popularity is no joke these days.”
“Haha. It’s nothing compared to you.”
“Oh? From what I hear, it’s about the same. As expected, even for men, being a year younger is best.”
When Ban Hojin said something so trivial in complete seriousness, Jeong Iryong laughed awkwardly.
He wasn’t sure how to respond.
“Bang Yi hyung and Cheok have far more popularity than I do. The numbers alone are different.”
“Well, they’re heirs to the Seonwu Family and the Murong Family. But that’s not necessarily a good thing. When it’s family-to-family marriages, the chances of marrying someone you truly love are very low. What about you? Is it even possible?”
“I asked Master about that. He told me to do as I wished. He said he simply hadn’t because fate hadn’t aligned for him.”
“So it’s possible.”
In his previous life, neither of them had married, so he had assumed Bangcheon Sect rules forbade it. But that didn’t seem to be the case.
Then perhaps this life could bring a different result.
“But I’ve never really thought about it, so I don’t know what I should do.”
“You can go whenever you want.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s such a thing as late marriage. If you meet someone good, marry then. There’s no fixed timing. I’m not telling you that you must. I’m just saying that option exists. There’s no need to shackle yourself with thoughts like being too old or too late. Even if you don’t realize it, there are probably quite a few who’ve approached the Sect Leader.”
“What?!”
Jeong Iryong was startled in a completely different way.
He had never imagined such a thing.
But it wasn’t unreasonable.
If Sang Il-gi had once been merely the leader of a mysterious sect, now he stood proudly as one of the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven.
It was Sang Il-gi who earned the epithet of Myungwang during the recent war.
As such, it wouldn’t be strange if various forces sought him out.
“He simply didn’t tell you. Especially in times of turmoil like now, every faction needs experts. Absolute Masters are something you can never have enough of.”
“That… makes sense.”
“How is the Sect Leader these days? I haven’t seen him much.”
“I believe he meets the Abbot frequently. I haven’t asked directly, but it seems the two spar and exchange discussions on martial arts.”
“Oh?”
Ban Hojin’s eyes gleamed.
It was the best possible development.
He had been wondering how to elevate his master Damhyeon’s realm further. If Sang Il-gi served as a catalyst, Ban Hojin could not be more grateful.
“It seems that since both have mastered Long Arm and Long Leg Technique, they understand each other well.”