It was a bright afternoon.

Several days after driving away the Zhuge family.

Everything was proceeding smoothly.

Having eliminated the ruffians that had been a source of trouble, and promising damage compensation, the Tang Family's name seemed to reach the heavens.

Moreover, when news spread that Gongsun Seung had returned, nearby merchants rushed to greet him and volunteered to reestablish ties with the Gongsun family as before.

Whether it was a new beginning or not, it would soon return to how it was before.

"Do you want to just... stay?"

When lunch ended, Cheonyeong asked casually, as if in passing.

"Huh?"

"No, just... looking at how people see you, it seems like that would be better."

At Gongsun Seung's counter-question, Cheonyeong smiled and spoke.

"I told you at the beginning, didn't I?"

"..."

"To start anew, stay here temporarily, and when you make a decision about your life, leave then."

At Cheonyeong's words, Gongsun Seung recalled their first meeting.

But soon he shook his head.

"Will you be alright without me?"

"Well, things will work out somehow."

"It will soon be the twelfth month. The Family Head will also step back from work."

"What can I do? I'll ask the Successor Beggar."

"The Successor Beggar? You really have terrible taste. The Tang Family is being rebuilt, and that person is swamped with work. You know they're cutting back on sleep to create a masterpiece? How can I entrust them with anything? Do you want them to work themselves to death?"

"..."

"You seem to be doing this because of me. Don't worry about it."

"But..."

"Have you already forgotten? I'm the first branch Family Head of the Tang Family. Though the same blood doesn't flow and our surnames are different... we're one family. And you remember the promise you made to me?"

"What?"

"You said you'd teach me the Samyang Divine Skill."

"..."

Gongsun Seung glared at Cheonyeong and spoke.

"And, who am I staying in Dongting Lake for?"

"Huh?"

"Well, rebuilding the Gongsun family is important. But there's so much I've accomplished in the Tang Family, isn't there?"

"But..."

"If you think about it, what I have from the Gongsun family is inherited, but what I've achieved in the Tang Family is all by my own hands."

"That's true."

"How can I just hand that over to someone else? I absolutely can't do that. If you want to send me away, give me a substantial severance."

At those words, Cheonyeong smiled bitterly.

This kid really knows how to speak nicely.

"Don't worry. That doesn't mean I'm abandoning the Gongsun family."

"Huh?"

"Just think of it as me having a branch family."

"A branch family?"

"Yes, there's no law that says the Gongsun family must be just one family's branch. From now on, this place is both a branch of the Tang Family and a branch family of the Gongsun family."

"What? A branch of the Gongsun family?"

"A branch family should have branches too."

"No, what kind of... have you ever heard of such a thing?"

"Then should I just make it cleanly a branch of the Gongsun family?"

"Hey! Man! That's not it!"

"So stop saying such things. Why worry about useless matters?"

"No, what I meant was... sigh, forget it."

Cheonyeong shook his head.

This was like raising a tiger cub...

But internally, he felt good.

Because he understood Gongsun Seung's heart.

"Just wait and see. This place will become a bridgehead for the Tang Family's merchant network to extend throughout the world."

"A bridgehead? The Tang Family's merchant network?"

"Yes, what kind of place is Dongting Lake? Geographically, it's essentially the center of the world."

At Gongsun Seung's ambitious words, Cheonyeong merely nodded.

Now that he thought about it, that was true.

Northern Hunan.

It could be called the center of the Central Plains.

Moreover, the Yangtze River is called the passage through heaven, meaning the path connecting to the world.

That long river pierces through, dividing the center of the world, and tributaries extending in all directions reach every corner of the world.

Dongting Lake is the center of that Yangtze.

Though Gunsan Faction was firmly positioned there, it was a region that various factions had been unable to claim due to watching each other's eyes.

Such a place with infinite development potential had been taken by, as people said, a rural bumpkin from Sichuan. Many eyes would watch them from now on.

Some would try to win them over, others would pick fights and challenge them.

So he had established a branch to merely exchange information with Gunsan Faction, not to develop it as the center of his merchant network.

But Gongsun Seung's thoughts were different.

Somehow, he was already dreaming higher dreams than Cheonyeong.

"Seung, it won't be easy."

"I know."

"The weight of the names the Gongsun family and Tang Family carry are different."

"I know that too."

"Can you do it?"

"Just push me a little, will you?"

"Huh?"

"Really, when my subordinate is so full of enthusiasm, shouldn't the Family Head give encouragement instead of worry? I'll do my best to help, so let's give it a try! Shouldn't you say something like that?"

"Heh."

At Gongsun Seung imitating him, Cheonyeong burst into laughter.

"Alright, then do it."

"Yes, I'll handle the merchant matters however I can. So please take charge of the martial world affairs, Family Head."

"I'll do my best."

"You should have done that from the start. By the way, let's greatly expand our martial artists."

"Our martial artists?"

"Yes, our current number of martial artists is far too few for our scale."

"But if we gather mediocre people, there will be many incidents."

"Then let there be incidents?"

"What?"

"Is there any family without problems in the Central Plains?"

"..."

"And there's no law saying there should be only one branch family, is there? The secondary Family Head and other brothers would truly deserve the name of a branch family."

"That may be true, but..."

"We should give the brothers opportunities to grow."

"..."

"A small tree can't grow in the shade of a large tree. We can worry about problems that arise later when they arise."

He hadn't not thought about it.

Sichuan's branch, the Gongsun family branch, and now the Dongting Lake branch being created...

He couldn't manage everything alone.

Yet he still felt it was insufficient.

Since they were people he had taught from the beginning, he always saw only their shortcomings.

But Gongsun Seung told him to give them opportunities.

Indeed, how long could he keep them under his wing?

He had to open paths for each of them.

Not under him... but as Tang Family members, growing and establishing their own families.

It was time for change.

Perhaps because he had many concerns?

Cheonyeong, feeling irritated for no reason, flicked Gongsun Seung on the head.

"Ow, why?"

"For acting mature when you're so young."

"What?"

"You're just a child."

"Family Head!"

At Cheonyeong's mischievous expression, Gongsun Seung's face returned to that of a fifteen-year-old boy.

That was when it happened.

"Family Head! Family Head!"

Old servant Wang Shi came running frantically.

"Wang, I've told you several times that this is a branch of the Tang Family."

Gongsun Seung corrected his form of address angrily.

"It's fine, he's just not used to it. You keep calling me Wang anyway."

"That may be true, but..."

"Step aside."

"Yes."

Having moved Gongsun Seung aside, Cheonyeong asked Wang Shi gently.

"What's the matter? Is something urgent?"

"You should go out to the main gate immediately."

"Huh?"

"A guest has arrived, but the atmosphere is unusual. Yongcheon is blocking them, but..."

"Yongcheon?"

"Yes."

"Who is it?"

"They say they're from the Zhuge family."

"The Zhuge family?"

At Wang Shi's words, Cheonyeong frowned.

The Zhuge family?

How long had it been since he drove them away, and they've come looking for him?

Could it be... that bastard Zhuge Wuhui still hasn't come to his senses and brought the main family's martial artists?

If so, Yongcheon alone might not be enough...

Cheonyeong, anxious, ran toward the main gate.

Since the estate wasn't that large, he soon heard Yongcheon's loud voice.

The open gate.

And a man in confrontation with Yongcheon came into view.

Huh? It's not Zhuge Wuhui?

Only one person had come.

Approximately late thirties in age.

Not particularly large, but with a sturdy build.

Yet for some reason, as Cheonyeong got closer, he felt familiarity from that face.

Where had he seen him?

Where...

Suddenly Cheonyeong's eyes widened.

"Th-Tianguang?"

It was him.

One of Zhuge Changyun's personal bodyguards, and one of his most trusted subordinates.

The Tianguang Cheonyeong knew was someone who, despite serving the righteous path, was full of cruelty, and once he drew his sword, he had to take a life to be satisfied.

And the most terrifying thing was that he was a formation master.

So skilled that even Zhen Yixue, the greatest formation master of Jingagu, seemed trivial to him.

His specialty was the Heavenly Thunder Boundless Formation.

But why had this bastard come?

He only appeared when the Zhuge family had to kill someone?

"You! Why can't you understand when I'm telling you to leave!"

He was currently in confrontation with Yongcheon.

No, Yongcheon had drawn his iron ball and was threatening him.

"Such impudence!"

Boom!

Wait, Yongcheon! Not him!

The moment Cheonyeong recognized Tianguang, he drew up his Samyang true energy and shot forward.

Yongcheon absolutely could not fight him.

Not because his strength was insufficient.

Yongcheon, with his innate great strength and abundant talent, was not lacking compared to Yuanxing, whom Changlim had personally taught, thanks to learning the Samyang Divine Skill.

But Tianguang was different.

That bastard...

"Tsk, I came with proper courtesy, yet you're like an angry wild boar."

"What, you bastard?"

"Step aside. I've come to meet your master."

"You bastard! Do you think words alone will work? I'm Yongcheon of the Tang Family!"

Yongcheon swung his iron ball.

It was merely a threatening gesture, but Tianguang stepped back slightly and pulled a small stone from his pocket, throwing it to the ground.

Eight stones flew around Yongcheon.

How could Cheonyeong, who had experienced this many times, not know?

It was the Heavenly Thunder Boundless Formation.

Depending on how it was thrown, it transformed into various formations, trapping those within in different illusions each time.

If entranced, one couldn't distinguish between illusion and reality, attacking those nearby as enemies.

That's why Yongcheon was out of the question.

If that bastard with his great strength and the Samyang Divine Skill learned fell into the Heavenly Thunder Boundless Formation and went wild with his iron ball, it would be a serious problem.

"Damn!"

The stones were already thrown.

Though Cheonyeong ran with all his might, he couldn't reach them. He immediately threw needles.

Whoosh! Tap!

Just as the formation was about to unfold, one of the eight stones was hit by a needle and bounced away. Cheonyeong, breaking through the incomplete formation, rolled out of it with Yongcheon's body.

"...!"

At that moment, a subtle light flashed in Tianguang's eyes.

It wasn't because the needle technique was superior.

He had broken the formation.

Moreover, the direction Cheonyeong had evaded while carrying that wild boar-like man was precisely where the formation hadn't yet taken shape.

So this person... knows my formation technique?

How is that possible?

"Phew, are you alright?"

"Huh? Uh... but why suddenly?"

Yongcheon, who had rolled on the ground with Cheonyeong, made a confused expression.

"Your clothes are all torn?"

"Are clothes important right now?"

I almost watched you destroy the Gongsun family.

"Oh right, that guy from the Zhuge family over there..."

"I know."

"Huh?"

Pushing Yongcheon aside and standing up, Cheonyeong glared at Tianguang with a deeply furrowed brow.

This damn bastard, where does he get off using formation techniques?

Then Tianguang smiled brightly and greeted him.

"So you're the Tang Family Head?"

"..."

"I'm Tianguang, sent to convey greetings on behalf of the Zhuge family's Family Head."

(End of Chapter)