Silence settled into the room.

Poison King was looking at me with a scowl at my words, and I only looked back at him with a flat face.

While that chilly silence kept circling—

[Hahahahahahahaha---!!!]

Yoo Cheongil laughed like he was delighted. The noise was something only I could hear.

[You. I wondered what you were going to try—turns out you can do something this cute.]

Yoo Cheongil kept laughing as he looked at me, as if it were unexpected. That laughter was annoyingly uncomfortable, but I had to ignore it for now.

A split second passed like that.

“Young Master Bang.”

Poison King called to me quietly.

“Yes, Clan Head Tang.”

“What you just said.”

Poison King’s cold eyes turned fully to me.

“It sounds like you’re saying you need power for your position. Am I right?”

At those words, I lifted the corner of my mouth. As expected, this guy had quick instincts.

No—rather than quick, should I say skilled? He was formidable not only as a martial artist but in his capacity as Clan Head.

He was in a different dimension from the head of the Bang Family. Ah, I really want to swap fathers.

I forced that lousy thought out and answered Poison King.

“That’s right, Clan Head. I need a bit of power.”

Tang Clan. Priority trading rights with Iron River, which was the most important post inside it. On top of # Nоvеlight # that, exclusive trading rights for lower-grade weapons.

Those words, in the end, meant a direct trading relationship and a cooperative relationship with Tang Clan.

Something none of the other great clans and sects had ever pulled off.

Of course. Why would Iron River be crazy enough to trade exclusively with anyone?

They didn’t need to do that; they had seekers lining up by the dozens.

Right now there were crowds of people who would spend months traveling just to buy a single Iron River weapon.

In a situation like that, Iron River would carry out exclusive trade with me?

‘No way.’

I was certain Poison King would refuse this.

‘No matter how much Myriad-Flowers Rain is at stake, this isn’t it.’

Even if Myriad-Flowers Rain was Tang Clan’s greatest symbol, they couldn’t just hand over Iron River—a place with similar fame and symbolic weight—so readily.

Then—

Why did I name those terms even though I knew that?

It was none other than this:

“I’m going to be a Young Lord of Rumors in the near future, but as you know, I don’t have all that much backing.”

To both explain my situation more simply—

“If you don’t like it, you can give me different terms here.”

In a deal, it’s important to name the most expensive price first and then slowly bargain down.

Exclusive trade with Iron River was the stepping stone for that.

[I thought you weren’t thinking that far, but you’re pulling a charming little trick.]

Yoo Cheongil seemed to like what I was doing; he kept laughing.

That damned old man. Does he not care at all that I’m using him right now?

‘What matters to that guy is, in the end, whether I become Blue Moon Sect Master or not, huh.’

Just when my mood was starting to sour at his giddy expression—

[Haha. But boy.]

Yoo Cheongil looked at me with a curious eye and spoke.

[The idea isn’t bad, but there’s one problem.]

A problem? What was he talking about?

[It seems you don’t recognize your own value.]

‘Hm?’

Value? What is he saying?

I was about to grind my brain to understand that meaning—

Poison King, having listened to me, looked at me again and opened his mouth.

“I can’t understand.”

“What part?”

“I can accept that you need forces that will help you, but I question whether that’s really something you need.”

“...Pardon?”

What was that supposed to mean now? I looked at him, puzzled.

“The ones who need backing are people lacking in the power they possess, and you don’t seem to be someone who needs that.”

“What do you—”

Ah.

I started to speak and then stopped; only then did I understand what Yoo Cheongil and Poison King had said.

My value, as Yoo Cheongil had called it.

I realized what that was about.

‘Sword Saint’s successor. And—’

I had killed, in Poison King’s stead, a master far beyond the peak realm, and this morning I brought down Poison Dragon, one of the Seven Prodigies.

Because of those incidents—

‘I’d gotten the epithet Little Sword Saint.’

To others, I was a young elite of the new generation with power anyone could see was outstanding.

Maybe, to Poison King’s eyes, I looked like a talent who would lead the next Blue Moon Sect.

It seemed that was why he asked why I needed power for a lowly footing.

‘Tsk.’

I cooled my head. It was a relief I figured it out before it was too late. That meant I had to change my angle.

“Isn’t more power always better? And that’s not a bad story for Tang Clan either, even if it isn’t about Myriad-Flowers Rain.”

“Not a bad story—how so?”

“If you nail down this deal well, Tang Clan will be able to gain me as a card.”

“......”

[Oh......]

Hearing my words, Yoo Cheongil laughed wickedly.

[That’s a line I like.]

He made a face like he liked it very much.

Poison King’s brows narrowed at my words.

“...Arrogant talk.”

That gaining me would be a huge advantage to Tang Clan.

To say that, not to some other place, but to Tang Clan, one of the Five Great Clans, was truly arrogant.

But it didn’t matter.

“It isn’t arrogance.”

There was something Yoo Cheongil had said.

‘Think about your value.’

That was advice. I almost let it slip by without noticing, but it was advice, fair and square.

My value right now—more precisely, the value Poison King was seeing.

It was important to use that.

“Not arrogance?”

“Yes. Arrogance is just the bluff of people without the right. I’m different.”

“......”

Poison King didn’t say anything.

It was the attitude of someone telling me to go on and say more.

So I simply continued.

“I’m going to become the Zenith Under the Heavens.”

“......!”

“It probably won’t take all that long.”

With the Five Kings in front of me, I dared to put the Zenith Under the Heavens in my mouth.

At those words, Poison King’s eyes widened.

[Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!]

The instant I spoke, Yoo Cheongil was busy laughing himself silly.

He even had tears in his eyes; it must have been really funny.

[Ha! Ha... ha! You said that with your own mouth... hahahahaha!!]

Stop laughing, you crazy old man.

I was already holding back the humiliation; he wasn’t helping.

Barely ignoring him, I added more.

“If, at that time, Tang Clan and I are in a trading relationship—would that be a good thing for me? Or would it be a good thing for Tang Clan?”

“......”

“This is me giving you a chance. A chance to be on my side.”

Also pick up Myriad-Flowers Rain while you’re at it. Isn’t that good? That was what I meant when I said it.

“...Huh.”

In the end, Poison King let out a dry laugh.

“...A chance? You call it a chance—with Tang Clan of the world before you?”

I’m scared shitless. I wonder if I’m going to die here.

“It’s a chance. How is it not a chance.”

This was something I had to push through. It was too late to stop.

So, recall it.

‘What I can show here.’

Even before the Clan Head of Tang, before Tang Clan, high and aloof—

As if I were generously deigning to join hands with them, calm and arrogant.

I lowered my gaze. I even controlled my breathing.

What was the gaze of the strong looking down? No need to ponder.

It was right next to me.

The man who was the summit of the world, called the Greatest of ancient and modern.

All I had to do was imitate him.

“...!”

Poison King’s eyes changed.

[Heh.]

At the change in my bearing and gaze, Yoo Cheongil reacted.

[What’s with those snot-nosed eyes...? Makes me want to smack you.]

He grimaced, as if not realizing who I was imitating.

Seeing that, it felt like I was imitating well.

“Before long, Clan Head Tang, you too will realize. That this was the world’s opportunity.”

“......”

At the quiet words I let out, Poison King narrowed his eyes.

I hid my tension behind my back and waited for Poison King’s response.

If I slipped even a little, I might die here.

While that fear rose—

Ridiculously, looking into Poison King’s eyes, an inexplicable certainty welled up inside me.

I didn’t know why, but it did.

As I was enduring the stillness with those thoughts—

Poison King mixed his breath with mine and spoke to me.

“I think I’ll need a little time to consider. Is that all right?”

I smiled when I heard that.

“As long as you like.”

It landed.

*****

Left alone in the Clan Head’s room, Poison King recalled what had just happened with a sunken gaze.

The image of the young man who had brazenly told Tang Clan that he was the one granting them his hand.

‘...Absurd.’

How could that be?

Was it because he possessed both talent and the name of Sword Saint’s successor and the backing of Blue Moon Sect?

It could be, but Poison King didn’t think that was it.

“Clever.”

Far too clever. He donned the banner of arrogance, but the overflowing something inside it pricked Poison King’s temper.

It wasn’t arrogance.

It was conviction.

Not arrogance because he was arrogant.

He had the conviction that he was allowed to be arrogant.

‘Unbelievable.’

How could that be possible?

In Poison King’s mind, the existence named Bang Sungyeon was truly alien.

How many geniuses had he seen over the years?

He’d watched and met them by the dozens. Even among them, it wouldn’t be wrong to say Bang Sungyeon was the most peculiar.

And no wonder.

‘He doesn’t feel like a genius.’

He didn’t give off that distinctive aura.

Clever, he’d grant that, but aside from that, compared to the current-generation geniuses called the Seven Prodigies, the feeling he gave off was ordinary.

So when he first saw him, he truly wondered if he was really Sword Saint’s successor, and if it was true he’d beaten Little Azure Sword.

That doubt didn’t last long.

‘He beat Demonic Leather Spear.’

Someone no one at the younger-elite level could ever defeat.

It was strange the bastard was even alive, but aside from that, the fact that Bang Sungyeon had killed him was truly tremendous.

He had even witnessed it himself.

Which was why, even when he heard that his own child had lost to Bang Sungyeon this morning, Poison King hadn’t been surprised.

“...Zenith Under the Heavens?”

He spoke, without hesitation, words that a martial artist of the Central Plains could not dare to put in his mouth.

“Ha.”

Thinking of Bang Sungyeon then, Poison King laughed.

How many years had it been since he laughed out loud?

He didn’t know.

Because it was funny he was so brazen? No.

Poison King opened his palm and checked. There, sweat had beaded in the faintest film.

This, no doubt, was because of the look Bang Sungyeon had shown at the very end.

‘Before long, Clan Head Tang, you too will realize. That this was the world’s opportunity.’

With eyes blue as the sky.

Looking down at him, lifting the corner of his mouth.

In that moment, Poison King overlapped him with someone.

Someone who no longer existed.

An old man who had truly been called the Greatest of ancient and modern.

There were words Poison Sovereign, his father, had said to the young Poison King, who had watched that man from afar.

‘That bastard’s a monster. Don’t ever think of making an enemy of him.’

Even Poison Sovereign, called the most outstanding being in Tang Clan’s history, had called him a monster and warned him.

‘And—if possible, try to be his friend. You can’t rule a monster, but thankfully, those kinds don’t bite their own side.’

‘Engrave it in your memory.’

“......”

Recalling those words, stressed with emphasis—

Poison King suddenly took out a letter.

“Friend, huh.”

Mouthing that word, Poison King thought.

It wasn’t all that pleasant.

But there was one thing even better than a friend.

Thinking of that, Poison King set his brush to the letter.

To the Head of the Bang Family—

The first line of the letter began like that.