Chapter 95: Talent Show (4)
I didn’t know how Sa Cheongmun interpreted my actions, but he was seething with rage.
He was so furious he completely forgot where we were and began hurling profanities at Sa Biyeon.
In contrast, Sa Biyeon threw me a bewildered look before furrowing her brows and warning Sa Cheongmun.
“Whatever nonsense you’re spewing, I suggest you watch your mouth.”
“Shut up! That’s not the problem right now!”
“If there truly was a leak of information, then it’s the clan’s Judiciary that should hand down punishment to me. You have no authority to speak to me like this.”
Sa Biyeon slowly walked up to Sa Cheongmun, her eyes narrowing sharply.
“Unlike you, I hold a direct bloodline and possess ‘succession rights’. Do you understand what that means?”
“……!!”
Even if the probability was low, within a clan of the level of the Six Great Demonic Clans, the difference in power between having succession rights and not was absolute.
If Sa Biyeon used the insult just now as a pretext to report him to the clan, she could easily bring about Sa Cheongmun’s downfall.
“And we’re being watched by many. Are you even aware that you’ve just gravely tarnished the clan’s honor?”
“Th-that’s…”
Only then did Sa Cheongmun seem to realize his blunder, his face turning red as he bowed his head.
Borrowing the prestige of the Grand Heir was one thing, but making a mistake in such a public setting like this—where so many onlookers were present—was truly a fatal blow!
“I-I apologize. I made a terrible mistake with my words…”
“……”
For a moment, hesitation flickered across Sa Biyeon’s face.
It was the kind of hesitation that clearly showed she was debating whether to ruin him completely right now or not.
Instead of deciding for herself, she looked to me—and I replied with a shake of my head.
‘Even if he loses his position now, as long as the clan has a Grand Heir, it won’t be long before he claims a seat in the main family again.’
In that case, it would be better to thoroughly destroy him in this exchange instead.
Sa Biyeon seemed to understand my intention and relaxed her fierce expression.
“Remember this. You now owe me a debt.”
“Y-yes!”
Sa Cheongmun, completely dazed, sat down again, looking as out of it as Hwan Ryung had earlier.
He didn’t seem to be in a condition to properly answer my question just now.
“I haven’t received your answer yet, but shall we move on to the next question?”
“...L-let’s do that.”
Sa Cheongmun nodded, desperately trying to regain his composure.
He’d essentially wasted one chance, but there were still two more opportunities to answer left.
As long as he answered one properly, he could restore the chance count back to three.
I continued firing off questions disguised as attacks.
“Thirty-five years ago, the Mysterious Gold Trading Company destroyed the Myriad Vault Trading Company, which was at the time, one of the Five Great Trading Companies, in order to rise to their position. At that time, the Black Gold Sa Clan’s secret units—the Diamond Blood Blade Squad and the White Gold Demon Squad—were dispatched to Xi’an in Shaanxi Province to carry out an operation. Can you tell us how that operation led to the downfall of the Myriad Vault Trading Company?”
“……!!!”
Sa Cheongmun stared at Sa Biyeon with eyes wide like he’d seen a ghost.
Naturally, Sa Biyeon gave no response.
Sa Cheongmun turned to me with an expression full of injustice.
“T-that has nothing to do with the Exchange Ceremony, does it?!”
“It does. Young Cult Leader, what do you think?”
As expected, Cheon Yura was on my side.
“I believe it’s related.”
“T-that can’t be?!”
“If you’re not satisfied with my answer, we can ask the other attendees here. What do you all think?”
The other heirs of the Six Clans, excluding me and Sa Cheongmun, smiled and responded in unison.
“Of course it’s related.”
“I think so too.”
“W-what nonsense is this!”
“Everyone else agrees. Why are you the only one being stubborn?”
The reason the others agreed was simple.
The question I had thrown out referenced an operation that had been carried out secretly, even within the Sa Clan.
Only the Cheon Clan and the Sa Clan themselves knew the truth.
If he answered the question here, it would mean exposing a hidden and shameful secret of the Sa Clan to all of the Six Clans.
Sa Cheongmun’s hands trembled, and he eventually lowered his head.
“I-I’ll skip this question too…”
“Is that so?”
“But I absolutely must hear the answer. Surely you wouldn’t ask a question you don’t know the answer to?”
It was a reasonable demand—but he had picked the wrong opponent.
I sent Sa Cheongmun the answer to the question through sound transmission.
After hearing it, his shoulders slumped as he asked me,
“H-how the hell did you know that?”
“Let’s talk about how I found out after this Exchange Ceremony ends.”
“Right. We’ll definitely have to do that.”
…If you still have a position in the Black Gold Sa Clan once this is over.
With the repeated attacks, Sa Cheongmun’s spirit looked completely worn out.
“You look exhausted, so I’ll keep the final question simple.”
“……?”
I threw out the final trap I had prepared.
Hoping he would fall right into it.
“You asked me about the empire’s annual tax revenue, didn’t you? Then let me ask you something similar. What was the Heavenly Demon Cult’s annual tax revenue last year?”
“Ha, hahaha!”
At that, Sa Cheongmun laughed confidently and answered immediately.
“Of course I know! It was three hundred fifty-seven thousand silver! To be exact, two thousand eight hundred sixty silver on the thousand-unit level!”
“Ah, is that so?”
It was an astronomical figure for something not even on the level of a provincial government.
“Of course! That kind of information is obvious for you to—huh? Wait a second?”
The moment I replied with a questioning tone instead of “Correct,” Sa Cheongmun blinked.
“You… you knew the answer to that?”
“Of course not. Only the Inner Administrator and the Cult Leader know that top-secret information within the Cult. How would I possibly know?”
“……!!!!!!”
Sa Cheongmun’s face instantly turned an ashen gray.
He finally realized.
What kind of mistake he had just made.
“T-this? W-wait? No! Y-Young Cult Leader!”
Sa Cheongmun desperately sought out Cheon Yura.
“Grand Protector!”
“Yes, Young Cult Leader!”
The one who had been standing guard beside her, the red-faced stallion Wang Cheongeol, responded.
“Subdue that traitor!”
“As you command!”
“W-wait!”
Though he hadn’t fully recovered from his injuries, Wang Cheongeol was still a top-tier martial expert, even if somewhat worn down.
Sa Cheongmun couldn’t resist in the slightest and was promptly struck in all his acupoints and subdued.
Right after, Cheon Yura shouted ferociously.
“Guardians of the Lesser Demon Hall, heed my order!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Restrain everyone from the Black Gold Sa Clan! If they resist, you may kill them!”
“We obey!”
The guardians who had been stationed near Cheon Yura swiftly launched into action and surrounded the guards of the Black Gold Sa Clan.
Caught completely off guard, the warriors of the Sa Clan didn’t even think of resisting and instead threw down their weapons in a panic.
“We have no intention of defying the Young Cult Leader!”
“We surrender! Please don’t point your swords at us!”
“We are not traitors!”
The sudden turn of events left the rest of the audience at a loss for how to react.
As the atmosphere in the hall spiraled into complete chaos...
“Phew, one problem resolved.”
I let out a sigh of relief inwardly and leaned back comfortably in my chair.
***
Needless to say, this incident was likely to be a major disgrace for the Black Gold Sa Clan.
Even if they held the Cult’s financial authority, the fact that a direct line member had carelessly revealed the cult’s tax revenue was undeniably a fatal mistake.
Depending on how they negotiated with the Cult Leader behind the scenes, the severity of the consequences might vary, but…
‘Would the Cult Leader, who’s already itching to create trouble, really let this go?’
Most likely, they’d be ruthlessly hounded.
Well, I’d leave that to the high-ranking figures to handle.
‘Once this wraps up, the Exchange Ceremony will probably resume in a few days.’
I’d stirred up one of the Six Clans with a well-placed trap and bought the Cult Leader some time to make moves on the others.
It couldn’t have gone better—it was a conclusion that upheld both the Cult Leader’s plan and Cheon Yura’s authority.
After the warriors of the Black Gold Sa Clan were swiftly subdued—
“It seems continuing the Exchange Ceremony any further would be difficult.”
Cheon Yura declared the ceremony adjourned.
Members of other clans—excluding the Sa Clan and myself—filed out of the Lesser Demon Hall with reluctant but accepting expressions.
Just as I was starting to feel the drain from my long verbal battle with Sa Cheongmun...
A familiar voice tickled my ear.
“Hm~?”
“Lady Pa?”
Had she not left with the others already?
Pa Yeongyeong looked down at me, her expression unusual compared to her normally lively demeanor.
“That last question—did you do that on purpose?”
I nodded frankly.
“Yes, to a certain extent.”
Pae Yeongyeong clicked her tongue.
“Scary. It felt like you had this overwhelming obsession to utterly destroy your opponent.”
“He was just a harmful influence to the Young Cult Leader. I figured it’d be better to completely remove him.”
“The Young Cult Leader, huh…”
She mulled over the words a few times, then took a small step back and said,
“Today was impressive. I never imagined that Sa Cheongmun, who tormented me so mercilessly before, would be taken down so easily.”
“I’m glad it was entertaining for you.”
“It was a great show. I’ve had plenty of times when I wanted to kill him myself, never mind the alliance with the Sa Clan.”
At her words laced with killing intent, I reflexively shrank my shoulders a little.
“Next time, I’ll see if your sword skills are as sharp as your tongue.”
“Ugh…”
“Well, I probably won’t be attending another Exchange Ceremony anyway.”
After all, her status was that of the Lesser Clan Head of the Extreme Blade Pa Clan.
Unlike other direct-line descendants, the scale of her escort and protection detail was on an entirely different level.
So even if this visit appeared casual, it was likely an extraordinary undertaking in reality.
“Yes, if the chance arises, I hope we meet again, Lady Pa.”
“Just call me Yeongyeong.”
“…Excuse me?”
“You can even call me Yeong-mae if you’d like.”
“Ah, no!”
She looked at my flustered face as if savoring it.
“Puhuhu! If you call me that and the Young Cult Leader hears, you and I are both as good as dead, aren’t we?”
I am very afraid that’s exactly what would happen, thank you very much!
“Well, maybe Yeong-mae is going too far. Just call me Yeongyeong. Or… you could call me ‘noona’? Ah, I like that. Hey, try calling me noona.”
“Lady Yeongyeong, I look forward to seeing you again.”
“…You’re no fun. I’m leaving.”
Pouting slightly, Pae Yeongyeong spun on her heel and walked away.
From start to finish, she truly was like a whirlwind of a woman.
***
“I’m sorry. I failed to meet your expectations.”
A young man—no, a boy—lowered his head solemnly to the figure before him.
That boy was none other than Ma Jinyoon of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan, one of the participants in the Exchange Ceremony.
Paht!
The one receiving his apology opened a folded fan with a flourish and smiled.
“Ah, don’t worry. In a situation like that, standing down was the wisest course. Since it ended the way it did, another opportunity will surely come.”
“Lord Demonic Grace…!”
“As I told you from the start, the condition I placed on you in exchange for teaching you was just one thing.”
“To eliminate all the other candidates.”
“Exactly!”
Clap, clap, clap!
Magunja—Cheon Jumyeong—lightly applauded and nodded in satisfaction.
“The Exchange Ceremony will resume in a month. Until then, perfect your technique. Once you’ve done that, no matter which heir from the other clans steps up, none of them will be able to match you.”
“Yes! I’ll do my utmost to perfect the technique!”
Ma Jinyoon clenched his fists tightly.
“Jin Yeomyung… next time, I will defeat you!”