My Dad Is the Strongest Under Heaven
Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Chapter 36. One Step at a Time
A steady stream of letters requesting aid from the various towns and villages scattered throughout the region continually arrived at the Hebei Peng Clan.
Handling such matters was, by rights, the responsibility of the local authorities. Yet Peng Mugang, the Patriarch of the Peng Clan, knew all too well that there were far too many places beyond the reach of officialdom—and just as many where the magistrates simply looked the other way.
Naturally, the clan’s own affairs took precedence. But in ordinary times, the martial squads under the Peng Clan took on the duty of sorting through the requests that reached their gates and resolving those that were deemed worthy.
They excluded anyone wealthy enough to hire their own martial artists or find alternative solutions.
There were always others far more desperate and destitute than them.
This policy spoke volumes about the character of the current Patriarch of the Hebei Peng Clan, Peng Mugang.
It was precisely why the common folk of Hebei were unanimous in their praise for the Hebei Peng Clan and Peng Mugang himself.
Even if the Peng Clan could not resolve every single hardship across the whole of Hebei, countless people felt profound gratitude for the clan’s sincere efforts.
It was a hundred, a thousand times better than the hypocrites who only paid lip service to the people’s livelihoods.
Because of this, the martial squads belonging to the Peng Clan were always busy.
The White Wolf Troop, currently under probation at an estate situated far from the main clan grounds, was no exception.
Peng Mugang was hardly the sort of man to let them lounge about in idle comfort simply because they were serving disciplinary reflection for stirring up trouble.
Furthermore, the members of the White Wolf Troop found genuine fulfillment in this duty, and thus they had always carried it out faithfully without a single complaint.
This time was no different.
“Hmm.”
Inside the Captain’s quarters of the White Wolf Troop.
The master of the room—which, though humble, was kept meticulously clean—had changed.
Yeo Woonhwi, the current master of that room, held a letter in his hand.
He slowly read through the missive he had just received from Oh Chae-mu.
Having finished reading, Yeo Woonhwi raised his eyes to meet Oh Chae-mu’s gaze.
“You wish to take on this task?”
“Yes.”
“What is your reason?”
“If we do not go, no one else will. As you can see, it is bound to be quite an arduous undertaking.”
“Do we not have the White Tiger Squad and the White Martial Troop?”
The White Tiger Squad and the White Martial Troop were, alongside the White Wolf Troop, the representative martial units of the Peng Clan.
In truth, since the White Wolf Troop had long failed to function properly, it was fair to say those two squads alone represented the clan’s might.
To Yeo Woonhwi’s question, Oh Chae-mu answered without missing a beat.
“The White Tiger Squad is tasked with most of the duties at the main residence, so they cannot leave for an extended period. As for the White Martial Troop, their leader, Elder Koo, is suffering from health complications, severely limiting their recent external activities.”
“Hmm. I see.”
Yeo Woonhwi stroked his chin.
“So you insist on taking on an arduous task that no one else is willing to touch?”
“We have always done so. If it is truly not to your liking, shall we exchange it for another?”
Hearing Oh Chae-mu’s words, Yeo Woonhwi regarded him silently before shaking his head.
“No. We will go with this.”
“Understood. Then we shall depart first thing tomorrow. You should prepare yourself for a journey that will take several days.”
“Is it that far?”
“It is a village nestled in the deepest reaches of the northwestern forest of Hebei. The journey alone will take quite some time.”
Yet Yeo Woonhwi had not meant it in that sense.
With his lightness technique, reaching even Sichuan would take no time at all, so the remark had merely slipped out unbidden.
Ignorant of this, Oh Chae-mu clicked his tongue inwardly, assuming Yeo Woonhwi was already whining.
‘If he’s already acting like this now, how does he expect to manage later? Tsk.’
In his eyes, Yeo Woonhwi still seemed nothing more than a pretty-faced scholar, utterly ignorant of the harsh realities of the world and clinging to foolish pride.
Whatever had allowed him to capture the heart of the brilliant and beautiful Lady Peng Seoyeon, Oh Chae-mu had not acknowledged Yeo Woonhwi in the slightest.
No, he simply could not bring himself to accept him.
“Very well. We depart tomorrow, then.”
As Yeo Woonhwi nodded, Oh Chae-mu sneered behind a composed expression.
He wondered how that dignified, fearless expression would change once reality set in.
Oh Chae-mu could hardly wait for tomorrow to arrive.
Soon enough, this distinguished scholar would come to regret ever setting foot here down to his very bones.
‘I’ll make you realize just how different our world is from yours, where you spent your whole life comfortably buried in books.’
A cold smile touched Oh Chae-mu’s lips as he watched Yeo Woonhwi leave the room.
***
“Are you truly going to be all right?”
Watching Yeo Woonhwi prepare to leave early in the morning, Peng Seoyeon looked at him with a worried face.
“Haha! It is not as if I am going to war. Why worry so much?”
“Still…”
Anxiety was written clearly across Peng Seoyeon’s face.
Life in the Peng Clan presented no real hardship for her or Yul-i.
Yet her husband’s days seemed even more arduous here than their quiet life back in Sodam Village, leaving her torn between guilt and concern.
If only he had learned martial arts, she would not be nearly this worried.
Gazing at her, Yeo Woonhwi offered a playful smile.
“The men accompanying me are the representative martial artists of the Peng Clan. Would they truly let me come to harm? I am the sole son-in-law of the Peng Clan, after all, haha. So please, put your heart at ease.”
“Very well. Please take care and return safely.”
Lightly embracing Peng Seoyeon as she forced a nod, Yeo Woonhwi turned to glance at their sleeping daughter, Yul-i, his lips curving into a gentle smile.
Shortly thereafter, he stepped out of the house.
“…”
Peng Seoyeon could only stand in silence, watching the retreating figure of her husband as he set out onto the road.
***
“You have arrived.”
When Yeo Woonhwi reached the grounds, the White Wolf Troop had already completed all preparations and stood waiting for him in the clearing.
“Am I very late?”
“Not at all. It just so happened that all of us came out early.”
“You are quite diligent. I shall make sure to come out earlier in the future as well.”
At Yeo Woonhwi’s words, Oh Chae-mu offered a faint smile.
In truth, under normal circumstances, they would have sauntered out well past the agreed-upon hour and set off around midday.
Yet today, driven by the shared goal of putting Yeo Woonhwi through his paces, everyone had hurried to arrive early.
It was an amusing facet of human nature.
Whether righteous, chivalrous, or wicked, people always showed unmatched dedication when it came to tormenting someone else.
The present situation was precisely that.
Naturally, Oh Chae-mu had no intention of revealing this truth.
Above all, their ultimate objective was to push Yeo Woonhwi until he was utterly disgusted and chose to leave the White Wolf Troop of his own accord.
Whether aware of their hidden motives or not, Yeo Woonhwi spoke again.
“Do not mind me and carry on as you usually do. I intend to observe and learn how you conduct and resolve these affairs.”
“Yes. Understood.”
They had intended to do just that anyway.
The key to this entire mission was to make every single step uncomfortable and burdensome for Yeo Woonhwi from start to finish.
In any case, it was true that they had a long journey ahead.
Before long, they mounted their horses and galloped forward in haste.
Toward the secluded village hidden deep within the mountains that had sent a plea for aid.
How long had they ridden?
A full day had already passed.
Taking brief respites to rest and eat along the way, they rode diligently, covering ground without pause.
’Not bad.’
As he rode, Yeo Woonhwi quietly observed each member of the White Wolf Troop.
To a casual observer, they appeared no different from a band of wandering ruffians. Yet a closer look revealed that every single one of them was a thoroughly tempered martial artist.
Still, it was also true that their current skills fell far short of the fearsome reputation they would later build as the Red Wolf Troop, severing the heads of notorious villains throughout the land.
‘What could it have been?’
There must have been a decisive catalyst that led to their dramatic leap in strength.
It was undoubtedly no minor event.
People simply did not change so radically without a profound cause.
Whether in temperament or in martial cultivation, Yeo Woonhwi knew this truth better than anyone.
Few men had lived a life as dramatic as his.
At present, there was no way of knowing what incident had transformed the White Wolf Troop before his regression.
What was certain, however, was that every one of them possessed exceptionally fine martial skeletal structure and raw talent.
‘Compared to the former me, nearly all of them are geniuses.’
Before undergoing his Body Metamorphosis, Yeo Woonhwi possessed no talent to speak of in comparison to them.
He had been a scholar who spent his entire life bent over books.
If anything, his body had been frail from a sheer lack of physical exertion.
Far from matching an ordinary commoner, his physical condition had been well below average.
Yet everything changed after obtaining the karmic legacy of the Martial God and undergoing the Body Metamorphosis.
Now, as he gradually assimilated the boundless depths of the Martial God—the greatest master in all of history—Yeo Woonhwi existed on an entirely different plane from his past self.
The Body Metamorphosis was the ultimate dream of every martial artist.
Yet the metamorphosis Yeo Woonhwi had undergone was on a tier entirely incomparable to ordinary transformations, granting him the ultimate vessel and condition for learning and executing martial arts.
Simply put, Yeo Woonhwi possessed the very physique of the Martial God himself.
Furthermore, with time, his martial cultivation had deepened significantly, finally bringing the Heavenly Martial Divine Art to its fourth stage.
He had reached a realm beyond comparison to his days as the Blood Demon.
Even he could no longer easily measure the full extent of his own power.
What was certain was that very few masters in the current Murim could stand against him at his present realm.
Consequently, his sensory perception and his ability to read an opponent were on an entirely different level from ordinary masters.
Through Yeo Woonhwi’s eyes, the strengths of each White Wolf Troop member were evident, but their weaknesses stood out with even greater clarity.
At least five among them, aside from Oh Chae-mu and Gu Tae-san, displayed remarkable caliber.
That included the twin brothers Gi-su and Gi-sang, as well as the archer Do-gyeong.
Hmm.
In any case, once enough time passed and the right moment arrived, it would be worth offering them guidance.
Should that happen, they would achieve far greater growth than they possessed now.
For masters of their caliber, a single enlightenment did not merely advance them by a single step—it could propel them forward by a thousand leagues.
However…
’Not yet.’
They were not his people yet.
Their relationship had only just begun.
Furthermore, the sentiment they harbored toward him bordered on hostility rather than goodwill.
Though he had not been the one to tangle this thread, it was necessary to unravel the knot one loop at a time.
Whether by severing the tangled mess in a single stroke or painstakingly loosening each strand.
The exact method and course of action remained to be seen.
‘It will sort itself out in time. There is no need to rush.’
Yeo Woonhwi decided to keep an easy mind.
Haste only ruined what was meant to succeed.
It was precisely then.
The scout riding at the very front pulled his horse to a halt.
“We have arrived. Over there!”
While lost in thought during the hard ride, Yeo Woonhwi and the White Wolf Troop had reached their destination.