Chapter 120: Heavenly Thunder Corps (1)
Pa Yeongyeong gave a bright smile.
“You managed to pull off something that difficult. That’s why I saw a chance for victory in you.”
“Unnie, with all due respect, staking the family’s fate on something so emotional…”
Pa Yeongyeong waved her hand dismissively.
“It’s just a gut feeling, but my instincts are usually pretty accurate.”
She looked at me with a confident expression.
“Again, I want to make it clear that the Patriarch’s proposal wasn’t my idea. I truly apologize for that.”
“Hmm!”
“But it was a good call not to reject it outright and to put it on hold. I’ll try to persuade the Patriarch.”
“If you’d do that, I’d greatly appreciate it.”
“Or, you could just marry me instead.”
“…No, I…”
Suddenly, Pa Yeongyeong wore a wistful expression and murmured longingly.
“Someone like you would be more than welcome, you know? Honestly, at this rate, I feel like I’ll die an old maid. They’ll probably end up adopting someone decent from a branch family to carry on the line.”
“……”
…To be honest, the sincerity in her words hit me hard.
“If it’s you, even if it’s a political marriage, it could feel like a romantic one. That’d be perfect…”
“…Unnie.”
Pa Yeongyeong’s words were sliced short by the icy voice of Pa Seolyeong.
With a slight pout, Pa Yeongyeong leaned toward me and whispered.
“She’s the main reason I keep saying I’ll die an old maid.”
“It’s sad because it’s not wrong.”
She had the intensity of a strict mother-in-law, ready to chase off any man who came near.
Come to think of it, even in my past life, I never heard any news of her marrying anyone.
Uh… hmm…
Honestly, I didn’t even know what to say to comfort her.
***
Still, Pa Yeongyeong’s hospital visit wasn’t without gains.
Knowing the personality of the Pa Clan's Patriarch, it wouldn’t be surprising if he actually sent a marriage proposal to the Jin Clan.
If that happened, I’d have no choice but to try and persuade Jin Gun-ak.
I wasn’t sure how it would go, but for some reason, I had the feeling that Jin Gun-ak wouldn’t accept it so easily.
He was, after all, someone who had seen through the real reason I stepped back from the exchange ceremony.
“Young Master.”
As I was resting back at the Thousand-Day Pass, Gu Chil appeared before me and knelt.
“There’s been word from the main family. It’s about the Pa Clan.”
“Really?”
I accepted the slip of paper he handed me.
But… for some reason, Gu Chil looked unusually cheerful?
“Did something good happen?”
As if he had been waiting for that question, Gu Chil raised his voice and exclaimed.
“Of course something good happened! You defeated none other than the Young Clan Head of the Extreme Blade Pa Clan!”
“I also beat the Yin-Yang Fist Demon.”
“That’s that, but this is something else! It wasn’t just anyone, it was Pa Yeongyeong, the leader of the Six Demonic Dragons! That means you’re now the foremost figure among all the many successors of the Heavenly Demon Cult!”
To be fair, from Gu Chil’s perspective, the Yin-Yang Fist Demon was too far above to even feel real.
But Pa Yeongyeong was different.
She stood at the very peak of the successors, practically a being above the clouds.
It went without saying that she graduated as the top student of the Demon Dragon Hall, and among the current successors, she was the first to effectively secure her position as heir among the Six Great Demonic Clans.
No wonder Gu Chil was making such a fuss.
“At this rate, won’t you be given a cool nickname, Young Master?”
I grimaced and waved my hand.
“No thanks. I’ve got a mountain of work ahead. I can’t afford to get caught up in some fleeting fame.”
“Still…”
I ignored Gu Chil and read through the message.
Then I raised one corner of my mouth and clenched my fist.
“Just as I thought.”
The note, sent directly by Jin Yeowoon, contained news that the Hidden Shadow So Clan had rejected my proposal.
‘So they’re already entertaining other ideas, huh?’
Contrary to his appearance, the current So Clan Head, Killing Demon So Munyak, was extremely ambitious.
Even two decades later, he still hadn’t passed the seat on to his successor, and when Cheon Yura began her reign, he frantically worked to expand the So Clan’s influence.
‘Though when nothing else worked, he ended up betraying the cult.’
Knowing So Munyak’s nature, it wasn’t strange at all that he would bet on a dark horse like Cheon Yujeong.
Despite his stoic appearance, he lived up to his nickname “Killing Demon” — a serial killer who found pleasure in murder.
His temperament was severely twisted.
‘Or he might be biding his time, waiting to see which side wins.’
I let out a quiet sigh.
‘Either way, I can’t expect any help from the So Clan.’
If I had some kind of leverage, I could try to make a desperate move.
But the So Clan was so closed off that it was hard to find any entry point.
“So for now, the only place I might be able to dig into is the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan?”
The Blood Dragon Demonic Clan had a fiercer succession battle than even the Black Gold Sa Clan.
Especially now, when Ma Chulsoo, who had graduated from the Thousand-Day Pass, was about to directly challenge the current heir, Ma Jeongcheon. That meant there would definitely be an opening.
‘But unlike with the Extreme Blade Pa Clan, I can’t break through head-on.’
With the Pa Clan, the successor had already been confirmed, so a direct approach worked.
But in the unstable Blood Dragon Demonic Clan, doing the same would be seen as blatant interference.
‘Which means I can only exert influence indirectly.’
There was another problem.
The final victor of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan’s civil war was none other than Ma Chulsoo.
‘He doesn’t like me, so the chances of him accepting my proposal are low. Not unless he’s backed into a corner with no other options.’
Honestly, compared to Ma Chulsoo, Ma Jeongcheon, the current heir, was far less talented.
Despite the age gap, the current Ma Jeongcheon couldn’t even guarantee a win against Ma Chulsoo.
‘Despite having overwhelming family power, he lost influence due to poor political skill and ultimately had to hand over the heir position to Ma Chulsoo.’
Out of pride alone, Ma Chulsoo wouldn’t accept my proposal.
‘Damn! How can I bring the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan safely to our side?’
And to make things worse, even Ma Jeongcheon, who currently had the upper hand, was likely to reject my help.
Even if it were possible, considering Ma Jeongcheon’s lack of ability, he wasn’t exactly an attractive ally.
‘Should I give up? Be content with the Sa and Pa Clans and leave the Ma Clan neutral?’
It was just then, while I was deep in thought—
“Ji, Jin Yeomyung! Jin Yeomyuuuung!”
“Ma Jinseong?”
From a distance, Ma Jinseong, who had entered the Thousand-Day Pass at the same time as me, came running.
When he had first joined, he had been little more than a runt, but he must’ve hit a growth spurt—he’d shot up noticeably over the past year.
“Bi-big trouble, Jin Yeomyung!”
“What kind of trouble? Did someone infiltrate the Thousand-Day Pass?”
“Th-that’s not it!”
Despite his height, he was still just a kid, and the way he shook his head was almost endearing.
“Fr-from the main house…”
“The main house? From the Ma Clan? What happened?”
“A civil war has broken out.”
“……”
Already?
The civil war within the Ma Clan was supposed to happen much later, and even then, it was expected to drag on for years according to the past timeline.
But—
‘Damn it, with the Cult Leader interfering far more directly than in my previous life, something like this was bound to happen!’
I roughly ran my hand through my hair.
No matter how meticulous I tried to be, I couldn’t remember or control every single detail, and it frustrated me deeply when things slipped through the cracks like this.
“So if it’s a civil war, that means full-scale armed conflict? Who was involved, how did it happen, how many people were there? Where did the incident occur, and what was the outcome?”
“W-wait a second.”
My rapid-fire questions only flustered Ma Jinseong.
After catching his breath, he relayed the outcome in a solemn voice.
“Ma Chulsoo hyungnim… has gone missing.”
“……Damn it, I knew it.”
No matter how skilled Ma Chulsoo was, there was no way he could defeat Ma Jeongcheon in the current situation.
“There’s… there’s a bigger problem.”
“…A bigger problem?”
What could be more serious than this?
Ma Jinseong, on the verge of tears, spilled the rest of the story.
“Ma Jinyoon hyungnim… has fallen into Qi Deviation.”
“…What did you say?”
To summarize:
Ma Jeongcheon, wary of Ma Chulsoo’s rapid rise and the threat he posed to the Young Clan Lord’s position, led his subordinates in a surprise assault on him.
Ma Chulsoo resisted as best he could, but it was futile.
In a critical moment where his life hung by a thread, Ma Jinyoon manifested an unknown demonic art and slaughtered Ma Jeongcheon’s subordinates.
Thanks to sheer luck, Ma Chulsoo managed to escape during that chaos, but Ma Jinyoon was completely consumed by demonic energy, transforming into a bloodthirsty maniac.
And that wasn’t even the end.
“They failed to subdue him and let him get away?”
“Y-yes.”
“Even with the Ma Clan’s combat units and elders mobilized?”
Nod!
I was so dumbfounded I gaped at him.
In an attempt to rein in Ma Jeongcheon’s reckless actions, the main house had dispatched the elders and combat forces—but of course, they hadn’t arrived in time.
In the end, all they witnessed was Ma Jinyoon roaring as he single-handedly massacred Ma Jeongcheon’s men.
‘Just how powerful do you have to be to escape after that? No—what did he learn to display such divine might?’
Honestly, if I were surrounded by the Ma Clan’s elders and military forces, even I would have to give up on escaping.
‘He’d need to at least reach Extreme Demonic Realm to even have a slight chance at escaping, wouldn’t he?’
No matter how gifted Ma Jinyoon was, to achieve that in such a situation, he would have to risk his life—or something even greater, like his innate life essence.
At that moment, one person associated with Ma Jinyoon came to mind.
‘The Lord of Heavenly Thunder Corps—Demonic Gentleman Cheon Jumyeong!’
The person closest to Ma Jinyoon, and the most likely to have passed on a martial art to him!
‘This… can’t be left alone.’
Truthfully, what happened to Ma Jinyoon was of no concern to me.
But just as I was about to extend my reach toward the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan, I didn’t want any wild variables disrupting the game board.
***
“I didn’t expect you to return to me so soon, Junior Brother.”
Demonic Gentleman Cheon Jumyeong greeted me while lazily fanning himself.
Unlike last time, I was now in Cheon Jumyeong’s office at the top of the Heavenly Thunder Corps.
Cheon Jumyeong furrowed his brow slightly and said,
“You’re not even officially part of our household, and yet you demanded to meet the Corps Lord himself. Are you aware of how rude that is?”
“I know you’re not mad.”
“Oh? I’m actually quite upset.”
“The fact that you granted me an audience proves otherwise.”
And the fact that he was still using honorifics with me? That was the second piece of evidence.
I narrowed my eyes and pressed him.
“I’ll get straight to the point. What happened in the Ma Clan?”
“Hm. Starting off with a fastball, are we?”
“A civil war on that scale in the Ma Clan is premature. Especially something so meager in scale. There’s no way the Cult Leader or you, Corps Lord, would’ve wanted a civil war like that, right?”
That much was clear.
The Cult Leader definitely wanted the Six Demonic Clans to be weakened to some extent.
But this incident in the Ma Clan—though technically a civil war—was merely a clash between the private armies of competing successors.
If Cheon Jumyeong had interfered, it would never have ended so feebly.
Cheon Jumyeong fell silent for a moment, then let out a soft sigh.
“Haah… You’re right. Even I didn’t see this coming.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Ma Jeongcheon. That idiot. I didn’t expect him to act so impulsively.”
Looking troubled, Cheon Jumyeong tapped his folded fan against his palm.
“I hadn’t even fully passed the great technique down to him yet… I didn’t think he’d cause such a mess.”
“What kind of technique did you pass on to him?”
Sfft.
Cheon Jumyeong raised his index finger to his lips and squinted one eye.
“That’s a secret.”
Seeing him act like that made me want to punch him square in the face.
But then—
“To tell you one truth—he only requested to learn that technique for one reason: to defeat you.”
“…What?”
This lunatic.
For a moment, I was so dumbfounded I nearly swung a fist at Cheon Jumyeong in real life.
He had taught Ma Jinyoon a technique capable of unleashing Extreme Demonic-level power in a single moment, just so he could beat me?
Was he out of his damn mind?