Know your place. (2)
Speaking of Guseonmun.
It is the place known as the sword of the Gu Family.
Guseonmun is the very reason the Gu Family could be called the guardians of Shanxi.
It was the greatest pillar that upheld the Gu Family under the name of a prestigious clan.
Educating and raising Sword Squads to slay demonic beasts.
With the justification of contributing to the peace of Shanxi.
Because of this, Guseonmun was the Gu Family's primary military force,
And could be called the sword that protected both the Gu Family and Shanxi.
Of course, there were times when they drew Sword Squads from the outside like the Nine Dragons Society.
But ultimately, the majority of their manpower was nurtured within Guseonmun.
Representative figures included the First Elder himself,
Muyeon, who had just passed his coming-of-age and was on the verge of reaching the Peak Realm,
And Gu Jeol-yeop, whose genius was clearly visible.
Besides them, considering that all the Sword Squad Leaders, excluding Gu Huibi who acted as the Lord of the Five Swords Squad,
Were from Guseonmun,
It was no exaggeration to say that the massive root sustaining the Gu Family was Guseonmun.
Even as the First Elder displayed such profound ambition,
Many believed this was the reason his father left him alone without interfering.
Or perhaps, thinking he was truly so incompetent that he could not succeed the Patriarch's seat,
There were also many rumors that he intended to make Gu Jeol-yeop the Patriarch as the First Elder wished.
Honestly, whichever of the two it was, they were plausible reasons.
'I still can't understand even now.'
Time had passed, and though I had begun to understand my father a little,
Even so.
Whether it was my father back then,
Or the reason why my father now simply leaves the First Elder be,
I couldn't fully comprehend either.
It was only after more time had passed,
When the First Elder finally crossed the line, that I remember my father erupting in flames.
The flames my father spewed were undoubtedly anger.
A massive flame that enveloped the entire Gu Family.
That overwhelming sight remained vivid in my memory.
An old tiger, a transcendent of the past who had lost his prime.
It was a sight that convinced me the rumors about my father—rumors that he had ceased his activities and confined himself to the estate—were mere nonsense.
However, separate from that, the fact that my father only intervened personally after things had reached that point,
Felt strangely off.
I, too, knew the First Elder's position within the family and his necessity.
But it was still overwhelming to understand my father, who refused to cut away the visibly rotting vine.
How many times could one endure such fucking bullshit?
Flipping the table wouldn't even begin to suffice.
I couldn't do that.
Hadn't the Crouching Dragon once told me to endure just three times?
My limit was exactly there.
"...I greet the First Young Master."
Guseonmun was located in an area somewhat distanced from the Gu Family estate.
Though it wasn't to the extent that it took much time to reach.
It was certainly far away compared to its status as a subordinate clan.
The moment I stood before the gates of Guseonmun.
A martial artist guarding the front offered me a greeting.
He seemed to be a disciple of Guseonmun.
"Know me?"
"How could I not recognize the Young Master?"
I had wondered what I'd do if he didn't.
Fortunately, perhaps due to my striking appearance, there seemed to be no worry of being unrecognized.
[Well, where else would you find a face that looks as fierce as yours?]
Shin Noya's sly personal attacks were annoying, but I didn't bother to retort right now.
"I came to see the First Elder."
"Ah, the Gate Master is not receiving guests at the moment."
"Guests...?"
A subtle feeling.
"I believe you just said you know who I am."
"That is correct. First Young..."
"But do I look like a guest to you?"
At my words, I could faintly see the corners of the disciple's mouth twitch.
Rather than being afraid, it was an expression of facing a troublesome situation.
"It's not that... but it is quite late, so..."
"Why does the time matter."
"It is too late, so it would be best to make an appointment and come..."
At his words, I unknowingly scratched my neck.
An inexplicable itch had suddenly risen.
How should I put this exactly?
'... Ah.'
There was no need to ponder for long.
It was just fucking bullshit. No matter how hard I tried to think of a more refined way to say it.
The answer was one.
"Treating your master like fucking shit."
"Pardon?"
I was already having a hard time controlling my emotions today.
Returning home from my journey only to find the house in complete chaos—how could I be normal?
To exaggerate a bit, the family was practically falling to pieces.
"Do I look like someone who gives a shit about that?"
"T-that is not it."
"Stop spinning your head and answer clearly. Who do I look like standing right in front of you?"
The incomprehensible part since the old days was this.
Guseonmun was strictly a subordinate clan of the Gu Family.
.....
Despite that, my father, or the upper generations, had made efforts to treat Guseonmun
Not as a collateral branch.
Because Guseonmun was the Gu Family's sword?
Or was it simply the grace of the previous generations?
I, too, would not hold prejudice against subordinate or collateral branches, nor discriminate based on bloodline.
Spending the time it takes to do such idiotic things on eating a single meal would be more beneficial.
However.
Not doing it at all was also bound to cause problems.
Looking at the present, it was obvious enough.
"Since you don't treat dogs like dogs, they forget their place and keep crawling up."
"What are you say..."
The disciple couldn't finish his words and collapsed, staggering.
I tossed the fallen guy aside and pushed the gates open.
Creak.
Along with the sound of the gates opening, disciples from inside could be seen approaching at the commotion.
"First Young Master?"
"Why is he..."
They looked at my sudden appearance in bewilderment,
So I kindly gave them an answer.
"Where's the First Elder? I came to see him."
It was the same question as before.
At my question, the martial artists looked around in panic.
Hesitating, not knowing what to do.
And the unknowable gazes directed at me.
That was enough.
"If you won't tell me, I'll find him myself."
With those final words, I walked forward.
Honestly, there was no need to search.
I had been here once before.
The First Elder lived in the manor at the highest point of Guseonmun.
So I just needed to head there.
However.
"First Young Master."
As expected, someone blocked my path.
It was a man who looked to be in his early twenties.
Judging by the aura he exuded, he was at the First-Rate level.
"Currently, the First Elder is..."
"He needs to rest at this early hour of the night, so you're telling me to go back?"
"..."
"For someone who needs to rest, he seems pretty lively, barking like a dog everywhere."
The man's expression contorted slightly at my smiling words.
It was the face of someone who didn't like what I said.
"Please watch your words. He is the Gate Master of this sect."
"I'm the son of this family's Patriarch. Why? Did I say something wrong?"
"Even if you are a blood relative of the Main Family, to the Gate Master..."
Haha!
I couldn't hold back my laughter at the man's rough words.
There was no need to hear any more.
"That's enough. I'm not in the mood to be accommodating to anyone."
I lightly dusted off my shoulders and tried to walk past him.
That was until the man tried to grab me.
"I said you can't go now...!"
Crack-!
The man, who grabbed my shoulder as if trying to stop me by force, was sent flying backward with a dull thud.
Boom!
His massive body floated through the air before crashing into the ground.
He had to roll several times more before he could barely come to a halt.
"Kuhack...!"
The moment his body stopped, the man collapsed and vomited blood onto the floor.
Clutching his solar plexus, the man trembled as he vomited blood.
It seemed the shock hadn't worn off yet.
For me, this was being lenient.
Enough that if that madman from Wudang saw it, he'd be shocked at how merciful I was being.
Which also meant there was no need for leniency anymore.
I slowly walked toward the man.
Thud.
With a single step, internal energy surged up, filling my middle dantian.
Roar.
As I approached him, I ignited flames around my body.
The crimson flames quickly swirled around my body, transforming into the shape of a ring.
And soon began to spin furiously.
"Even a dog raised in the house knows its master."
As I took another step, I gradually expanded the spinning ring.
The ring, rapidly consuming my internal energy, grew in size and spewed out heat like a roaring beast.
"Inferior bastards don't know their place, so they keep baring their teeth."
The heat enveloping the surroundings began to fill the vast space.
"If not that, then it seems you lot really can't grasp who's standing right in front of you."
I knew the family was in chaos,
But I didn't expect actual dogs to be running amok.
"If you hate me coming to find him that much."
"Ugh..."
"As you wish, I won't go to where the old man is."
The embers burned fiercely, soaring into the sky.
The crimson flames mixed with internal energy began to fill the sky.
Soon, the night of Guseonmun vanished.
"Because if I don't go, I just have to make him come out himself."
With a single wave of my hand, the crimson-dyed sky shifted.
The disciples finally took their stances beneath the sky mixed with the vicious heat,
But it was already a severely delayed response.
I slowly slashed my hand downward,
And the sky fell.
Rumble!
Rattle.
"...Hmm?"
A ripple ran through the brimful teacup.
The vibration that broke the long silence and the wind brushing past his body was unmistakably internal energy.
"...What in the world."
The First Elder of the Shanxi Gu Family, the Grand Supreme Spirit Sword Gu Chang-jun, immediately rose to his feet.
What he sensed from outside the room was a remarkably intense fighting spirit.
"Could it be."
Crack!
Perhaps due to the pressure felt from outside, the teacup on the table snapped in half.
The tea inside flowed out, staining the floor.
With no time to care for it, Gu Chang-jun opened the door and stepped outside.
"...!"
The moment he stepped out, he felt a suffocating heat and the raging flames swirling around him.
Had it not been for the crimson color, anyone would have guessed it was the Gu Family's fire techniques.
Especially for Gu Chang-jun, it was an aura so familiar that he couldn't possibly mistake it.
"Who in the world...!"
Though he voiced the question, Gu Chang-jun was already recalling the culprit in his mind.
The martial artist capable of wielding such massive flames while simultaneously unleashing a fighting spirit that crushed the surroundings—
He thought there was only one such person in the Gu Family.
'...I clearly heard he was away from the estate.'
The Tiger Hero, Gu Cheol-un.
A member of the Hundred Great Masters of the Central Plains.
The Patriarch of the Gu Family.
The only one who could produce such flames now would be the Tiger Hero.
That was what Gu Chang-jun thought.
Even if the flames seemed weaker than before, the only answer that came to mind was him.
'Why so suddenly?'
Not only had Gu Cheol-un returned to the estate, but he had even gone out of his way to storm Guseonmun and act like this.
He had to think about the reason why.
'...Was I found out?'
A few reasons came to mind, but for Gu Cheol-un to personally move like this,
It could only mean one thing.
'Passing on the information about Gu Huibi.'
Having finished his thoughts, Gu Chang-jun strode down the stairs and approached the center of the flames.
The place he arrived at was already like a living hell.
The disciples of Guseonmun were all sprawled across the ground.
Even those who barely retained consciousness were trembling as if they had witnessed something terrifying.
Seeing this, Gu Chang-jun had no choice but to grit his teeth.
'Did he aim for when the main forces were away?'
Right now, not only the Squad Lords but most of the Gu Family's martial artists who had reached a certain realm were away.
The one who ordered that was none other than Gu Cheol-un.
Of course, he had left a few behind, but it seemed they were no match for Gu Cheol-un.
'Patriarch...!'
He thought he wouldn't resort to force since it concerned his own bloodline.
Contrary to Gu Chang-jun's expectations, Gu Cheol-un was far more cold-blooded.
Gu Chang-jun ground his teeth and eventually had to draw his sword.
He couldn't understand why the Tiger Hero had launched an attack so recklessly,
But he couldn't just stand by and watch.
"Patriarch...! What is the meaning of this...!"
Gu Chang-jun, who had pulled up his internal energy to slash through the flames, stopped the words he was about to spit out.
The moment Gu Chang-jun made his appearance, the flames enveloping the entire vicinity were gradually being sucked into one spot.
At the origin of the fiercely retracting flames, a single figure could be seen.
Finally, the flames were completely swallowed up.
Above the scorched black ground.
Upon confirming the identity of the one standing alone, Gu Chang-jun couldn't bring himself to close his agape mouth.
The flames vanished, and the night returned once more.
In the darkness, the boy with burning red eyes spoke to Gu Chang-jun.
"I've heard many times that I resemble my father. But seeing you make such a misunderstanding, I'm not sure whether to be pleased or offended."
He resembled the Tiger Hero, but he wasn't the Tiger Hero.
"How..."
No, it would have been better if it was the Tiger Hero.
For that incompetent child to be standing here in such a state was something that shouldn't happen.
"It's been a while, First Elder."
The boy, whose originally dark hair had turned crimson, smiled brightly at Gu Chang-jun.
"I wonder if you are pleased with my return gift."
Contrary to his expression, his voice was incredibly chilling.