Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 95

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 95
“A proposal, then. Let me hear it.”
My expression grew serious.
In the past, I would have bristled with irritation, but not anymore. Regardless of age, I had come to acknowledge that Dokgo Myeong was the head of a faction standing shoulder to shoulder with the Outer Sect Leader and the Elder Council Leader.
“I intend to place your name at the very forefront of that petition.”
“So you’re asking me to join your faction after all.”
“I believe you’ve misunderstood my words.”
“What?”
“I said the very forefront.”
“Surely you don’t mean….”
“Become my blade. That is my proposal.”
For a moment, I doubted my own ears.
“If I’m understanding you correctly, you’re telling me to become the master of this faction?”
“More precisely, I’m asking you to become my commander. The master will remain me.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“I’m perfectly sane.”
Dokgo Myeong continued with unwavering conviction.
“The faction will be entirely mine, and you will answer to me. I will respect your opinions, but the decisions will be mine to make.”
“So I become your blade, but you decide where and how the battle is fought.”
“Precisely.”
I let out a scoff of disbelief.
“Where in this world does an uncle serve beneath his nephew?”
“Think rationally. Does it seem like I’m making this proposal as your nephew?”
“What?”
“Do you wish to fight alone? You still don’t grasp the situation. Do you truly think the Outer Sect Leader and Elder Council Leader would concern themselves with your resolve?”
“…!”
“Battles must be matched in scale. You are not of sufficient standing.”
Tap, tap!
Dokgo Myeong tapped the petition with his index fingernail.
“Your choices are simple: submit to one of the two factions, or become the head beneath me. If you wish to fight, those are your only two options.”
“…So this is the choice between being the rooster’s beak or the ox’s tail.”
To be the head of a chicken or the tail of an ox.
‘What a pathetic state I’ve fallen into.’
I smiled bitterly.
Yet could things possibly become any more degrading?
In that instant, my eyes sharpened.
“But even the rooster’s head remains beneath the master’s blade. Are you telling me to grovel beneath you and fear only your edge?”
“….”
At those words, Dokgo Myeong’s lips slowly curved upward.
‘Yes, now that’s the spirit. This is far more interesting.’
Isn’t that how someone from this family should be—sharp and uncompromising?
“I’ve reconsidered my position.”
“What?”
“Stand behind me, not beneath me. Support my back.”
“What?”
“I wield my blade forward, not backward like a fool. As long as you don’t try to stand in front of me, I promise to walk this path with you to the end.”
“…There’s no reason you’d make such an offer to me. I can only see this as a sweet trap.”
“That’s precisely why.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because you’re from Yonghyeol, suspicious, greedy, and capable enough to reach the position of Sect Leader.”
Dokgo Myeong leaned back deeply into his chair.
“To be honest, I’m not confident in politics and factional struggles.”
“You? That’s mockery masquerading as humility.”
Dokgo Jo-hak furrowed his brow.
How could someone once called the greatest fool in the world, now capable enough to lead a faction, claim he lacked confidence in factional warfare?
“I’m serious. Those petty, trivial struggles requiring constant attention bore me and exhaust me.”
“…”
“Of course, I could do it if I tried. But the time required would be wasted. I have far more I wish to accomplish than you imagine.”
Dokgo Jo-hak closed his mouth firmly.
It was not an amusing proposal.
That’s why he couldn’t easily refuse it.
“Do you trust me?”
“Do you have a conscience? Trust? What nonsense is this?”
Dokgo Myeong’s lips curled into a grin.
“But someday, you must earn my trust. You have to.”
“…What did you say?”
“Anyone who stands beside me must give me that trust. I cannot function without it.”
Dokgo Jo-hak spoke with a serious expression.
“A conviction perfect for betrayal. What will you do when someone strikes you from behind?”
“Then I’ll beat them.”
“…?”
“Beat them, and beat them again, and keep beating them. Over and over…”
Dokgo Myeong’s fists clenched tightly.
A chilling, sinister sound of cracking bones echoed through the chamber.
Dokgo Jo-hak suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
“So, what will you do?”
Dokgo Jo-hak let out a hollow laugh.
“If I accept your proposal, what will I become?”
“The central axis balancing both scales.”
“Between the Elder Faction and the Outer Faction?”
“At times, you must offer me counsel and devise ways to execute my orders.”
Dokgo Jo-hak’s lips twisted.
“No matter how I think about it, that alone is insufficient.”
Could this be failure?
Yet Dokgo Jo-hak’s twisted mouth soon curved into a smile.
“If you’re content with merely being a central pillar, abandon that notion. I must seize enough power with these very hands to appoint the Sect Leader of Cheonha Jeil Sega.”
“…!”
“Can you accomplish that?”
Dokgo Jo-hak’s eyes gleamed sharply.
Dokgo Myeong smiled.
“If that is your dream, then do it yourself.”
“What?”
“I will assist you. In return, Sect Leader, help me achieve my dream.”
“What? Kahahaha!”
Dokgo Jo-hak burst into laughter, then suddenly turned serious.
“I warn you—the moment you treat me as nothing more than your hunting dog, I will tear out your throat accordingly.”
“I will ensure such thoughts never cross your mind.”
“Good.”
A brilliant gleam flashed in Dokgo Jo-hak’s eyes.
“I, Dokgo Jo-hak, shall become your general.”
Dokgo Jo-hak suddenly surged with inner power and pressed his hand upon the iron seal.
Sizzzzzzle!
With each movement of his hand, acrid smoke rose along with the smell of burning metal.
When Dokgo Jo-hak withdrew his hand, seven characters were etched clearly there, their heat still lingering as a reddish glow shimmered.
Baek Ok-gak (伯玉閣) Dokgo Jo-hak (獨孤朝熇)
On the far right of the iron seal, in the first row, Dokgo Jo-hak’s name was inscribed.
* * *
Dokgo Jo-hak returned with the four treasures of the study, his eyes flickering with residual heat.
“First, let us establish detailed conditions and draft the documents.”
“Pardon? What documents?”
“Contracts and such paperwork. It’s obvious.”
“Goodness, isn’t having your name on the iron seal enough? Why must you create a contract as well?”
“I still don’t trust you. Not just myself, but the entire Baek Ok-gak has come under your command. You expect me to proceed without a single document?”
At Dokgo Jo-hak’s snort, Dokgo Myeong waved his hand dismissively.
“Must you be so heartless about this?”
“What?”
“We should proceed on trust alone—why write such things between family? I came all this way on nothing but faith! Pure faith, I tell you?”
“What? What kind of non….”
“Come now, we have somewhere to be, so get up.”
As Dokgo Myeong sprang to his feet, Dokgo Jo-hak hesitantly rose to follow.
“You’re leaving? Where to?”
“To the Sect Leader’s residence.”
“Why on earth are you suddenly mentioning the Sect Leader’s residence?”
“Well, naturally I’m going to report to the Sect Leader.”
Dokgo Jo-hak’s face twisted oddly.
“Did you send word ahead?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Then how do you expect to just walk in!”
The Sect Leader’s residence was not a place one could simply enter on a whim. At least, not for Dokgo Jo-hak.
And yet.
“I can.”
“What?”
“Just follow me.”
And so the two of them arrived at the Sect Leader’s residence like a bolt of lightning.
Dokgo Jo-hak squeezed his eyes shut.
‘How is this even possible?’
Cracking his eyes open slightly and turning his head, he saw Dokgo Cheon’s face looking down at him.
“So you’ve even bewitched my own son.”
Dokgo Cheon sighed, his gaze fixed on Dokgo Myeong.
That sigh felt like a chunk of Dokgo Jo-hak’s lifespan had been carved away.
“You’re misinterpreting my words again.”
“Am I?”
“Cooperation, unity of purpose, camaraderie, sworn brotherhood—there are plenty of good ways to describe it.”
Why did sworn brotherhood even come up?
Dokgo Jo-hak felt dizzy.
‘Was it really true that Father favored Myeong-i so much?’
Unless one sent word in advance or received a summons, even his own son found it difficult to meet with him.
Yet Dokgo Myeong crossed the threshold of the Sect Leader’s residence so effortlessly, summoned Dokgo Cheon himself, and was even joking with him.
“Spare me the trivial jests.”
…He really does favor him, doesn’t he?
“So, did you come to boast?”
“Yes, I came to boast.”
Dokgo Myeong replied with a smile still lingering in his voice.
“My own children and grandchildren live under the same roof, yet they don’t visit even once despite everything. So isn’t it something that I come like this?”
“Do you think there is anything that happens in this family that doesn’t reach my ears?”
“That’s different. That’s a report, but this is a conversation between family.”
“…!”
A flash of bewilderment crossed Dokgo Cheon’s eyes.
Witnessing this, Dokgo Jo-hak’s eyes widened in shock.
He had never seen his father like this before, nor had he ever seen anyone conduct themselves so boldly in his father’s presence.
I expected a sharp rebuke to come flying at me immediately, but….
“So you see me as a washed-up old man relegated to the back chambers?”
“You’ve already stepped back from the front lines, so it’s not entirely wrong. Most men your age spend their days watching their grandchildren grow up.”
“You seem quite pleased with yourself. Flapping your tongue without fear for your own life.”
Dokgo Myeong grinned widely.
Though his words were harsh, the gleam in his eyes betrayed something else entirely—they were filled with pride and approval.
Before being the Sect Leader of Cheonha Jeil Sega, a master of the Heavens, or the Sword Saint of the Cheonma Sect, he was simply a human being.
When treated as a grandfather, he was a grandfather. After all, as Jeong So-hee had said, we were family.
“In any case, I’m formally informing you. My uncle has become my general.”
“Hmm.”
Dokgo Cheon turned his gaze away with a low breath.
Dokgo Jo-hak froze completely.
My father, the Sword Saint Dokgo Cheon.
I dreaded what might come from his lips.
Would it be reproach? Disappointment? Or perhaps….
“So you’ve finally come to your senses.”
“…What?”
“You were born with talent, yet no matter what was said, you only ran away. Have you finally decided to stand and face things?”
Dokgo Cheon’s voice carried not coldness, but satisfaction.
“…Haven’t you been looking down on me all this time?”
I found myself uttering such words without thinking.
I regretted it immediately, but spilled water and spoken words cannot be gathered back up.
“Of course I looked down on you. How could I regard someone who made himself contemptible with approval?”
“Then why….”
“I must have told you countless times. Instead of worrying about your brothers, worry about what you have. Now you finally seem to be returning somewhat to how you were in your youth.”
Dokgo Jo-hak bit his lower lip firmly and hung his head low.
Dokgo Myeong watched his father and uncle in turn.
In this moment, another great wall within Dokgo Jo-hak’s heart must have crumbled.
That collapse would guide Dokgo Jo-hak a little further back onto the path he was meant to walk.
“And Dokgo Myeong.”
“Yes?”
“Now that you’ve secured a general, there’s no turning back. Are you prepared?”
Dokgo Myeong grinned widely.
“Yes, I was prepared from the very beginning.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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