My Dad Is the Strongest Under Heaven
Chapter 50
Chapter 50
Chapter 50. What Do You Intend to Do from Now On?
“Ugh… Aren’t we going to die before we even get stronger at this rate?”
No sooner had Yeo Woonhwi vanished than one of the White Wolf Troop members collapsed on the ground, groaning.
“Weren’t you the one saying so confidently earlier that you’d never give up? Whining now, are you?”
“Right. If you can’t take it, leave. I’ll endure it somehow.”
“Oh, come on. How can you say that? Who said they were leaving? I was just grumbling for a second.”
“Tsk, tsk. Once you start grumbling, there’s no end to it. You’d do better to save your breath.”
“Yes, yes.”
It was then.
“Hyung-nim. Look over there.”
“Hm?”
One of the White Wolf Troop members suddenly spotted Paeng Do-hwan in the distance and called out to Oh Chae-mu and Gu Tae-san.
Naturally, both of their gazes turned toward him.
Ahem.
Feeling their eyes on him, Paeng Do-hwan promptly turned and left the training grounds.
“He probably saw everything we did today. Will it be all right?”
“He’s right. If he goes around spouting nonsense somewhere, won’t it just get troublesome?”
At the members’ words, Oh Chae-mu shook his head.
“Just leave him be.”
“Still…”
“Besides, word of us training like this will get out eventually anyway. It’s not something we need to keep secret, so it’s fine.”
At Oh Chae-mu’s words, everyone nodded.
“Well, if you say so.”
Judging by the atmosphere and the look on his face, it seemed he had caught a glimpse of the Captain’s true caliber.
If not, he would have stormed over long ago to interfere with every little thing.
Oh Chae-mu and Gu Tae-san had known Paeng Do-hwan for years, so just looking at him now was enough to guess as much.
And his head was bound to be a tangled mess right about now.
Oh Chae-mu and Gu Tae-san could not help but let out a quiet chuckle.
They were genuinely curious to see how that proud Paeng Do-hwan would act next.
***
“Tsk.”
Paeng Do-hwan, who had intended to trail Yeo Woonhwi all day, had ended up dazed after witnessing the White Wolf Troop’s absurd training, trudging back to his room in a stupor.
He flopped onto his bed and lay there, turning it over and over in his mind.
He decided to cool his head and think things through one by one.
What on earth were they thinking?
It wasn’t as if the Paeng Clan was marching off to war, so he could not fathom why they were undergoing such extreme training.
One thing was certain: the current White Wolf Troop was far too different from the troop he once knew.
And at the center of it all stood Yeo Woonhwi, the newly appointed Captain of the White Wolf Troop.
‘Phew. I don’t get it. I really don’t.’
His thoughts felt like they were going in endless circles.
Lying in bed lost in thought, he eventually drifted off to sleep.
It felt as though he had exhausted far too much mental energy throughout the day.
Given that the entire day had been one shock after another, it was hardly surprising.
When he opened his eyes again, it was early dawn the following day.
‘Ugh. Did I fall asleep?’
With a bleary face, he pushed himself up into a sitting position.
Even after a deep sleep, he did not feel refreshed in the slightest.
It was likely because his chest still felt so stifled.
Yet lying back down did not seem like it would bring sleep back either.
Soon, he slowly rose from his seat and stepped outside.
He figured taking in the crisp dawn air might make him feel a bit better.
“Mm. Refreshing.”
Though the air was a bit chilly, it felt pleasant enough.
With that, his plan to take just a brief breath of fresh air shifted.
Paeng Do-hwan’s dawn stroll stretched on longer than expected.
Just then,
he caught sight of someone walking past in the distance.
Hm? That’s—
It was Yeo Woonhwi. Without a doubt.
Paeng Do-hwan instinctively concealed his presence.
It was truly strange.
To cross paths like this when he had not even intended to follow him.
Yeo Woonhwi was heading somewhere in the early dawn.
‘Where could he be going at this hour?’
Paeng Do-hwan wore a puzzled expression. His curiosity was piqued.
Before he knew it, he had begun trailing behind Yeo Woonhwi.
However,
Swish!
The moment Yeo Woonhwi left the Paeng Clan estate, his silhouette began to accelerate, quickly picking up a speed that was almost overwhelming to pursue.
“Ugh.”
Even for Paeng Do-hwan, who was reasonably confident in his lightness techniques, keeping up was a grueling struggle.
A single lapse in concentration and he would lose him.
If he slowed down even for an instant, Yeo Woonhwi seemed poised to shrink into a speck and vanish.
Thus, Paeng Do-hwan pushed himself to his absolute limits not to lose sight of him.
That was just how fast Yeo Woonhwi was.
The more he thought about it, the more absurd it became.
Who on earth had claimed this man knew no martial arts?
A fierce urge welled up within him to tear apart the mouth of whoever had mocked Yeo Woonhwi as a useless scholar who could do nothing but read books and spread such rumors.
How much time had passed?
“Haah, haah.”
Fortunately, he had managed to follow without losing Yeo Woonhwi.
Yet Paeng Do-hwan could never have known.
Had Yeo Woonhwi truly set his mind to it, Paeng Do-hwan would never have been able to dream of following him in the first place.
To Yeo Woonhwi, this was nothing more than a casual dawn stroll.
Moreover, he was naturally well aware of Paeng Do-hwan pursuing him.
Thus, he had merely permitted it.
Permitted him to follow.
‘Th-This place is…’
As he chased wildly behind him, he realized he was climbing a mountain.
It was a mountain set a short distance from the Paeng Clan, renowned for its rugged terrain and towering peaks.
Under normal circumstances, ascending it would not have been overly difficult, but he had been pouring all his strength into keeping up with Yeo Woonhwi.
“Haah… haaah… haah.”
Naturally, his breath caught in his throat in no time.
Before he knew it, he had reached the summit.
As Paeng Do-hwan stood panting heavily, trying to catch his breath, Yeo Woonhwi vanished.
‘Wh-Where did he go?’
Paeng Do-hwan hastily looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Then, he spotted a small clearing at the peak.
Creeping closer toward it,
‘There he is!’
In the center of the clearing, Yeo Woonhwi stood quietly with his eyes closed.
Relief washed over him. Paeng Do-hwan held his breath and watched Yeo Woonhwi.
Soon, Yeo Woonhwi opened his eyes, grasped the saber at his waist, and slowly raised it toward the sky.
‘What is he doing?’
It was at that moment.
Ruuuuumble!
‘What—?!’
A colossal energy instantly began to flood the surrounding area.
And then,
Whirrrrrr!
Atop the saber in his hand, a ferocious manifestation of blade qi began to condense, swelling rapidly in size.
An immense golden energy concentrated with an intensity that utterly overwhelmed anyone who laid eyes upon it.
Instantly, Paeng Do-hwan’s eyes widened to their limits.
And,
Fsshhhhh!
Soon, the blade qi soared straight up into the high heavens.
BOOOOOOM!
Instantly, a massive rift tore through the cloud-filled sky.
“M-Merciful heavens… Wh-What in the world is that…?”
At that overwhelming spectacle, Paeng Do-hwan collapsed to the ground, his legs giving out beneath him.
Soon, through the opening torn in the heavens, sunlight began to pour down, illuminating the clearing and Yeo Woonhwi.
The sight was utterly breathtaking.
Mystical, beautiful—it appeared almost sacred.
Faced with such an indescribable, awe-inspiring scene, Paeng Do-hwan’s mind went entirely blank.
He completely forgot why he had come here, with what purpose, and how he had arrived.
What he had witnessed this day was nothing less than the martial art of a god.
***
Afterward, Paeng Do-hwan could barely remember how he had returned to his room.
After demonstrating such terrifying martial arts, Yeo Woonhwi had vanished in a flash shortly after, and he had trudged down the mountain in a complete daze.
Then he had collapsed onto his bed and slept the entire day.
For some reason, he had slept deeply.
Nothing had been resolved and his questions still remained, yet strangely enough, a sense of peace had settled over his heart.
The following day.
Paeng Do-hwan dressed neatly and stepped out of his room.
The worry and anguish that had tormented him over the past few days were nowhere to be seen on his face.
“Hm? What brings you here?”
Today, just as yesterday, Yeo Woonhwi was at the training grounds.
The members of the White Wolf Troop had not yet arrived.
Instead of watching from a distance as he had yesterday, Paeng Do-hwan walked straight up and stood before Yeo Woonhwi.
Yeo Woonhwi raised a brow slightly, looking at him.
“You are the one who severed the head of the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon, aren’t you, Captain?”
At Paeng Do-hwan’s question, Yeo Woonhwi merely looked back at him in silence.
He offered no denial.
Which meant—
“I thought it was strange all along. Thinking about it calmly, no matter how injured the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon might have been, taking his head with the White Wolf Troop’s current capabilities should have been close to impossible. Especially when I heard he was far from incapacitated.”
Moreover, to achieve that without a single death or irrecoverable fatal injury… it was completely nonsensical.
Paeng Do-hwan finally understood how it had all happened.
It was this man. Because this man was there, all of it had been possible.
The claims that the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon had been injured were likely far from the truth as well.
Soon, Yeo Woonhwi let out a small smirk and crossed his arms.
“Isn’t that far too harsh an assessment of the White Wolf Troop?”
“I don’t know if you’re aware, but I spent most of my youth in the White Wolf Troop. As much as I respect them more than anyone, I also pride myself on knowing them better than anyone.”
In truth, had he not witnessed Yeo Woonhwi’s true caliber, he might have brushed it off as an incredible miracle.
Assuming that immense luck from the heavens had simply favored them.
But not anymore.
He had caught a glimpse of the true depth of the man named Yeo Woonhwi.
He had also clearly seen how those fiercely proud members of the White Wolf Troop treated Yeo Woonhwi, and how devotedly they followed him.
Furthermore, that impossible scene he had witnessed at dawn on the mountain clearing had allowed Paeng Do-hwan to fully comprehend the entire situation.
“Judging by your words, it seems you came here having already reached your own conclusion?”
“To be honest, yes.”
“And so?”
“What do you intend to do from now on?”
Paeng Do-hwan wanted to know.
Just what kind of ambition this man harbored in his heart.
“Mm. Quite a grandiose question. Well, if I must answer…”
Yeo Woonhwi stroked his chin for a moment before slowly continuing.
“Shall I say it is to protect those I love? Beyond that, I have little interest.”
It was an answer that might have seemed somewhat underwhelming.
He had expected something far grander to spill from his lips.
Yet why was his heart beginning to thud so violently against his ribs?
Yeo Woonhwi was not finished speaking.
“Therefore, I intend to protect my beloved family and this place from everything in the world. And to anything that threatens them, I have no intention of showing the slightest mercy.”
“No matter who that may be?”
Paeng Do-hwan swallowed hard.
His voice was already trembling.
“Even if it is the Demonic Cult, the Murim Alliance, or perhaps even the Twelve Venerables of the World?”
As if it were the most natural thing, Yeo Woonhwi nodded.
“I will do so. Gladly.”
Had anyone else heard those words, they might have scoffed loudly or recoil in disbelief, calling him utterly mad.
Yet to Paeng Do-hwan, that answer did not feel strange in the slightest.
No—he felt that if it were this man, he might truly do just that.
To protect those he loved from everything under heaven.
It was an ambition so simple, yet one that set his heart racing with fierce fervor.
Paeng Do-hwan, who had lived solely according to the wishes of his father, Paeng Kyung-ho, ever since leaving the White Wolf Troop, felt his eyes opening wider and wider.
And,
‘I want to stand with this man.’
He wanted to share a dream alongside him.
Paeng Do-hwan looked intently once more at Yeo Woonhwi standing before him.
The choice he was about to make… many would likely deem it bizarre and mock him for it.
His father, Paeng Kyung-ho, would undoubtedly fly into the greatest rage of all.
Even so, he decided to trust his own conviction.
Soon, Paeng Do-hwan parted his lips toward Yeo Woonhwi.