Chapter 115
1. Family Head Meeting
“Good heavens, is this meeting ever going to end?”
The meeting of the Five Great Families’ heads was just reaching its midpoint.
Hwangbo Gyun, the head of the Hwangbo Clan, flicked through the bundle of papers before him with a look of utter boredom.
The list, which briefly summarized the agenda for today’s meeting, was only just past the halfway mark.
He felt like he had talked until his lips were chapped (though in reality, he had barely said a few words), and the fact that there was still this much left made Hwangbo Gyun want to simply pass out.
The head of the Jegal Clan, the Heavenly Brain Jegal Sung, who was leading the meeting, gave a faint smile at Hwangbo Gyun’s grumbling.
“Haha. It seems quite a lot has happened in the past two years.”
“Ugh. I can barely breathe. Coming to this place is always such a pain.”
“But what can we do? It’s not like we gather often. We have to endure this much.”
“I’m not looking for your sound advice……”
Hwangbo Gyun’s shoulders slumped at the words of the Tang Family’s head, the Poison Rain Tang Jinwoo, as if all the energy had been drained from him.
In truth, it was only three days in two years. They certainly didn’t meet often.
It wasn’t as if the Five Great Families were all clustered together like next-door neighbors.
Meeting periodically was certainly not an easy task for them, scattered across the Central Plains.
Of course, they could gather quickly if a major incident occurred, but such things rarely happened.
The Demonic Alliance or the Demonic Cult wasn’t about to break the long-standing balance and suddenly declare war on the Orthodox Martial World.
Well, the possibility of the Murim Alliance and the Nine Sects One Alliance doing something foolish… might be a little higher.
“Hah.”
Soon, Hwangbo Gyun propped his chin on his hand and listlessly flipped through the bundle of papers with a look of absolute reluctance.
Honestly, Hwangbo Gyun was so eager to avoid these tiresome meetings that he desperately wanted to pass on the position of Family Head to his eldest son as soon as possible.
Even if he had to use some bizarre excuse.
Watching his young son struggle and fluster among these old-fashioned men seemed like it would be quite entertaining.
But the other family heads, who had known him for a long time, would quickly see through his sinister intentions and glare daggers at him.
Besides, his son Cheon-woo took after him and would despise such a position.
‘Are you trying to dump the mess you have to clean up on us?!’
‘So you’re the only one escaping. Is that it!’
*‘Father! I told you I’m not ready yet!’*
The thought of the other family heads and his son clutching their heads and shouting made Hwangbo Gyun chuckle to himself.
That would be fun. Should I really do it?
But this fantasy has remained just a fantasy for several years now.
Setting aside all other reasons, the truth was that Hwangbo Gyun himself knew for certain that his son was not yet ready for the position of Family Head, nor was he ready to shoulder responsibility for the whole clan.
And so, concluding once again that it was out of the question, Hwangbo Gyun smacked his lips in disappointment.
“By the way, the talk of the White Wolf Unit has been heating up lately. You must be pleased, Family Head Peng?”
Taking advantage of a brief lull in the atmosphere, Hwangbo Gyun abruptly brought up a different topic. At his words, Peng Mugang just snorted and shook his head.
“Heating up? It’s been ages since that cooled down.”
“Not at all. Their name has become quite famous even in Sichuan.”
“Is it only Sichuan? Who in the entire Murim doesn’t know its name by now?”
“That one has defeated one of the Absolute Great Evils, the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon, is only natural. When has a martial force of a single family ever achieved such a feat?”
As the story of the White Wolf Unit came up, the other family heads also began to chime in with interest.
And for good reason, as it was such an unusual event.
Normally, a martial force belonging to a family wouldn’t venture out to subjugate regional bandits on behalf of the family.
Even that was a rare occurrence, so what were the chances that the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon would be hiding in the bandit stronghold they happened to find?
To have even taken the head of that Extreme Evil Laughing Demon was an unprecedented event in the entire history of the Murim.
“They still have a long way to go. That incident was just a stroke of luck.”
Peng Mugang said coolly with a stiff expression.
Of course, Peng Mugang was more pleased than anyone about the White Wolf Unit’s achievement, but in front of the other Five Great Families, he deliberately pretended otherwise, acting as if it were no big deal.
At that sight, Hwangbo Gyun, who was closest to Peng Mugang, smirked.
He could see right through that pretense of composure.
“Don’t be so modest.”
“Hmph, I’m just stating the facts.”
“Haha. Honestly, it’s something you could openly be happy about, Family Head Peng. But let’s put that story aside for now. We still have many other matters to discuss.”
Jegal Sung was just as curious about the White Wolf Unit, but there were still many things to discuss.
Soon, Jegal Sung brought up the next item on the agenda.
“I heard the Phantom Divine Monarch was dead, and at that, by a master of unknown identity.”
“I heard that as well. They call him Mu Myeong, don’t they?”
“Hmm. Mu Myeong.”
The heads of the Five Great Families were also well aware of the news.
It was shocking.
Who was the Phantom Divine Monarch?
Was he not an absolute master said to have no equal in the current Murim, save for the Twelve Venerables of the World?
And he was dead. He was killed by a master of unknown identity whose name they had never even heard before.
It was an astonishing event.
Though they had never fought him directly, they could fully gauge his strength.
After all, a few of the men present here were listed among the Ten Great Masters alongside him.
“It’s truly a baffling affair. Anyone else, perhaps. But wasn’t the Phantom Divine Monarch known as one of the most difficult men to kill in the entire Murim?”
That fact had become even more widely known through the incident between the Spear Ghost and the Phantom Divine Monarch.
“Could it be the work of the Spear Ghost wearing a Human Skin Mask?”
Having failed to kill the Phantom Divine Monarch once before, he might have acted to create a moment of carelessness.
But Jegal Sung shook his head.
“I considered that possibility as well, but Mu Myeong did not use a spear. I heard he defeated the Phantom Divine Monarch with a broken sword that was lying carelessly on the ground.”
“With a broken sword? The Phantom Divine Monarch? Heh. What a monster.”
At Jegal Sung’s words, Hwangbo Gyun’s eyes widened in surprise.
He wasn’t the only one. Everyone, including Tang Jinwoo, could not hide his or her astonishment.
They considered whether it might be one of the other Twelve Venerables of the World, but there was no reason for them to go so far as to wear a Human Skin Mask and hide their identity to do such a thing.
Above all, they had no need to be wary of anyone’s eyes.
“The emergence of a new master is interesting.”
From what they heard, he was even a very young man.
It was by no means a common occurrence for one of the Ten Great Masters’ seats to be filled by a new figure.
Moreover, he wasn’t a master who had slowly made his name known, but a figure who had appeared as if he had fallen from the sky.
“At the same time, various signs we have not seen before are appearing throughout the Murim. As you know from the agenda, we plan to address each of them during this three-day meeting.”
Everyone nodded their heads at Jegal Sung’s words, even Hwangbo Gyun.
Though he hated meetings, he was very interested in the emergence of a new master.
Soon, the meeting resumed, and after a few agenda items were passed through, the conversation turned to the Murim Alliance.
“By the way, it seems the Murim Alliance is the same as ever.”
At the mention of the Murim Alliance, the face of Peng Mugang, who had maintained a stoic expression until now, contorted.
“Hmph, don’t even mention it. Honestly, with the Scholar Forest Group incident alone, I was about to march into the Murim Alliance and demand an explanation. If that other thing hadn’t happened, that is.”
Peng Mugang ground his teeth at the mere mention of the Murim Alliance.
At one time, he too, like a few of the other family heads here, had been a candidate for the position of Alliance Lord of the Murim Alliance.
But they were the Five Great Families. It was no exaggeration to say they were inherently at odds with the Murim Alliance.
And though their names were on the list of candidates, they knew all too well that the Murim Alliance would never place the head of one of the Five Great Families as the Alliance Lord in the first place.
As proof, not once has a member of the Five Great Families become the Alliance Lord of the Murim Alliance in the last several decades.
Nevertheless, it was publicly announced throughout the Murim that the heads of the Five Great Families were always among the candidates.
But that was merely an attempt by the Murim Alliance to show that it did not particularly antagonize or discriminate against the Five Great Families.
For that reason, it was clear that the current Alliance Lord, Song Il-do, had also been decided upon internally long ago.
Above all, take the Scholar Forest Group incident.
The intelligence network of the Five Great Families was in no way inferior to that of any other top-tier organization.
Of course, it was lacking compared to the Beggars' Union or the Hao Sect, which spanned the entire Murim, but it could still obtain most information it wanted.
Thus, they were not unaware of the atrocious conduct of the Scholar Forest Group and the problems it caused, which the Murim Alliance had nurtured and created.
If they hadn’t met their end in a mutual annihilation with the Demonic Cult Black Killing Squad, they would have continued to cause absurd problems to the very end.
At that point, an inevitable question arose: was the Murim Alliance’s order for the Scholar Forest Group to tour the prestigious families to broaden their horizons and learn, truly a matter of pure, good intentions?
Could it be that they were sent to stir up trouble in the first place?
Could it be that they were trying to create a pretext, however forced, to find fault with the Five Great Families?
Given the Murim Alliance’s conduct and its actions up to now, it was a plausible story.
It was truly a spectacle.
What kind of antics were these? They were on the same side, the same Orthodox Faction, not the Demonic or Unorthodox Factions.
Anyway, it had reached a point where there were, one thought, not a few people who welcomed the Scholar Forest Group’s demise alongside the Demonic Cult Black Killing Squad.
Perhaps the only people who mourned their deaths were the people from the Murim Alliance, who were just putting on a show, or people who had never met them at all.
“Honestly, every single thing they do is so insidious.”
Peng Mugang truly disliked every single one of the Murim Alliance’s schemes.
At Peng Mugang’s words, Hwangbo Gyun heartily agreed and slammed his hand on the table.
“Exactly! Lately, I feel like rounding up every bastard related to the Murim Alliance and beating them to a pulp! Argh! Isn’t that right? Everyone?!”
However,
“Hmm, well. That’s a bit much.”
“Ahem. I can’t agree with that at all.”
“I don’t think there’s a need to go that far.”
At Hwangbo Gyun’s words, the family heads, including Peng Mugang, shook their heads and subtly backed away.
*Huh?*
He had expected everyone to enthusiastically agree with him, but their reactions were different from what he had thought, and Hwangbo Gyun’s eyes widened.
“What, what are you all saying? You don’t think so?”
Hwangbo Gyun, who had been tilting his head, belatedly saw Jegal Sung’s bitter smile and his face fell.
He had forgotten that Jegal Sung’s two younger brothers were the Chief Investigator and an Investigator for the Murim Alliance.
“Ahem! Ahem, ahem! I, I misspoke.”
“It’s all right. It is my fault for not keeping my two younger brothers in check.”
“N-no, that’s not it… Ahem, ahem! Anyway, I apologize. Please forget what I just said.”
“It’s all right. You don’t have to worry about it.”
Though Jegal Sung said it was fine several times, Hwangbo Gyun smacked his lips again with a lingering bad taste in his mouth.
Watching Hwangbo Gyun, Peng Mugang chuckled as if to say, *serves you right*.
“Why do you speak so carelessly? As a family head, you should think carefully before you speak. Hmm?”
“I don’t want to hear that from the most rash man I know in this world.”
“Ahem, me? I’m a very careful person.”
“That’s enough. It seems we still have much to discuss.”
Namgung Hwan, who had been silent, spoke with his characteristic stoic face.
“Hah. Of course, you would say that.”
“The people of the Namgung Family must be so frustrated, with you as their head, a man who doesn’t know a single joke.”
“I don’t feel the need to answer. Family Head of the Jegal Clan, please proceed with the meeting. Ignore those muscleheads.”
“What!”
Peng Mugang and Hwangbo Gyun both bristled at the stoic Namgung Hwan’s words.
And next to them, Tang Jinwoo was sipping his tea as if he had no interest in others.
“Heh heh.”
They had only gotten older yet they were all the same as ever.
Whenever they gathered, the conversation always flowed this way.
Jegal Sung gave a light laugh and opened his mouth again.
“Now, then, the next topic of discussion is……”
In any case, the family heads had much to discuss in the remaining time.
And a few hours later, the first day’s banquet finally began.