CHAPTER~26
To be honest, her original plan had always been “I’ll just go out there and think later.”
If she hadn’t picked up that troublesome White Tiger, she probably wouldn’t be racking her brains like this now.
But since she had, and that tiger happened to come bundled with a personal vendetta against the Moyong clan—well, she couldn’t just let that go to waste, could she?
An opportunity like that doesn’t roll in every day.
“Anyway, about that…”
Yeongho already had a bad feeling.
He knew whatever came next was something he really didn’t want to hear.
“What if I just… start by wiping out the Moyong clan first?”
In the dim light, her pale face curved into a smile—an expression that, at that moment, looked more villainous than anything in the world.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘wipe out’?” Yeongho asked, keeping his tone calm.
“Exterminate their entire bloodline.”
“…Have you ever considered how large one of the Five Great Clans actually is?”
“Nope. Why would I waste my precious time thinking about boring righteous clans?”
It was almost impressive, how proudly she could admit she didn’t think at all.
But what could he do?
Expecting rational thought from a beast who lived by instinct was as pointless as arguing with the wind.
“If you go after the Moyong clan, just killing off their main family won’t be enough. They’ve got countless branch families spread everywhere. If you really want to make sure there’s no one left, you’d have to hunt them all down. The main bloodline alone is just a drop in the ocean.”
“Branch families?”
Right. She suddenly remembered—Moyong wasn’t just a clan, but a whole bloodline-based sect with branches all over the martial world.
She frowned.
“My master said exterminating the nine clans was enough to bring down a household. You’re telling me that’s not true? Even slaughtering needs a bit of mercy, you know.”
“If you want to talk mercy, maybe start by leaving their heads attached first.”
“That’s why I’m compromising! I was planning to stop at nine clans, just like my master suggested!”
“…Your master was talking about wiping out scholars, not martial artists. Back then, they targeted noble families—weaklings who couldn’t lift a sword. Leaving a few behind wasn’t exactly dangerous.”
“But still, he said—”
“Martial clans aren’t like that. When they get blinded by vengeance, they’ll stop at nothing. If you want to be a proper villain, the Moyong clan alone won’t cut it—you’ll have to hit a few more before you’re done. Just clearing out their main base will only be the beginning. Tracking down every branch afterward? That’ll take years. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.”
“…”
Damn it.
So much for “just nine clans and you’re done.”
Once again, everything she’d learned from her so-called masters turned out to be completely useless.
Those old men had never taught her a single thing helpful for real life.
“You could’ve told me that back in the forest when we were talking about wiping out the Moyong clan! Why didn’t you?!”
Yeongho’s expression darkened.
“Because no one in their right mind would actually try to destroy one of the Five Great Clans alone. I assumed you weren’t serious.”
And of all the righteous sects in the world, she had to pick the Moyong clan—basically the golden hive of the Justice Alliance.
This was exactly why naïve thunderbolts like her were terrifying.
“Listen, it’s not that the great masters don’t have the power to touch the Five Great Clans or the Nine Great Sects. They just… choose not to.”
He felt like a man forced to explain that the sky was blue and the clouds were white—something painfully obvious.
“If a master at the Flower Realm level strikes at the right time and place, even a great sect can fall in a single day. In your case, since you’ve mastered the Ice Arts, it’d be even easier. Your skill is perfect for handling large groups—if your inner energy holds out.”
That wasn’t flattery.
The frost that radiated from her Pure White Sword Technique could freeze the very air, slowing everything within its reach.
And when someone like Woo-hee—whose inner energy was nothing short of monstrous—used it, she could probably bring down an entire sect by herself.
“The Ice Arts can cripple a large group’s movement, but it takes an enormous amount of inner power to use properly. You don’t have perfect balance between skill and strength, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a true master. A real powerhouse, even by the world’s standards.”
He was being patient, almost… teacher-like.
“Most sects have one or two masters on your level, maybe slightly weaker. Even the righteous alliance sects rarely have more than a handful who’ve reached the Flower Realm. And the higher their skill, the further they tend to withdraw from worldly affairs. They’re too busy meditating and chasing enlightenment to get involved in clan business. That’s why sects fall easily when someone like you attacks.”
In truth, her late master Baek Dan-hyeok had been exactly that kind of reclusive powerhouse—until he’d chosen to pass on his energy to her in pursuit of transcendence.
By absorbing that immense power, Woo-hee had gained something extraordinary.
Even before that, she’d already devoured several rare treasures that boosted her inner energy to ridiculous levels.
Now, her strength rivaled—or even surpassed—Baek Dan-hyeok’s in his prime.
At this point, there were maybe five people in the entire martial world who could match her purely in terms of energy.
If none of those ancient monsters showed up, her dream of annihilating a great clan wasn’t as impossible as it sounded.
“Wait a second… why are you suddenly praising me so much?”
Woo-hee squinted suspiciously.
Yeongho never said nice things. Ever.
Something was definitely off.
He smiled faintly.
“I read somewhere that if you only use the whip, a horse turns stubborn. You have to give it a carrot sometimes too.”
“…What the hell?! Are you calling me a horse?!”
“Well, you both have something in common—you don’t understand human language.”
“You little—!”
