The Former Absolute Supreme Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Do You Think We’re a Joke? (2)

Wang Gon sat in his room, sipping tea as he watched his imposing subordinates crossing the training ground outside the window.

At the very least, in the southern part of Zhejiang Province, he was king. But he could never be satisfied with that. Somehow, he intended to claw his way to the top and become the Gang Leader of the Divine Transformation Gang. That was his grand ambition.

‘Just wait. I’ll trample every last one of them on my way up, no matter what it takes.’

He had already done far too many things, and was still doing them, for “no matter what it takes” to be merely a hypothetical expression.

He had committed countless unjust acts, and many people had died because of them, yet he continued to live well and prosper.

Karmic retribution? Divine punishment? Those things didn’t exist. This leisurely afternoon itself proved it.

‘You trample others before they can trample you.’

As he burned with ambition, Black Hand entered the room.

“I’ve returned.”

“How did it go?”

“Five out of the six landowners agreed to sell.”

“And the last one?”

“A young fool keeps insisting it’s land his father left him, but we’ll have it settled soon enough. He has three children.”

A meaningful smile spread across Black Hand’s face, and Wang Gon responded with an even more sinister grin.

“Just make sure it doesn’t become noisy.”

“Leave it to me.”

“Oh, right. What about the He Shou Wu?”

“I dropped it off at Lim Chung’s house on the way. If he has any sense, he won’t be able to refuse it any longer.”

“I suppose not.”

Wang Gon smiled in satisfaction.

‘Give an enemy one more rice cake, and later he’ll serve you a banquet.’

Just then, one of his men came in to report.

“Lim Chung is here to see you.”

Wang Gon looked at Black Hand and smirked.

“The Hundred-Year He Shou Wu worked faster than I expected.”

Lim Chung, who had been waiting in the reception hall, had a flushed face.

No matter how hard he tried to calm himself, he couldn’t.

‘That bastard! He actually dared to go to my house?’

Whether it was political scheming or outright threats, there was always a line that should never be crossed.

Targeting someone’s family had unquestionably crossed it.

At that moment, Wang Gon entered.

“Branch Leader Lim. Welcome.”

“How have you been?”

“Not well. You know exactly why.”

He deliberately avoided mentioning the Taejeong Sect. Officially, the Divine Transformation Gang and the Taejeong Sect had nothing to do with one another.

“My apologies.”

“No, I understand. Managing subordinates isn’t easy, is it?”

Lim Chung thought to himself,

‘Compared to dealing with you?’

Naturally, he couldn’t say that aloud.

“No, it isn’t.”

“What do you intend to do with the prisoners?”

“I plan to send them to the branch for processing.”

“Must you really? Why not hold them for a few days and then let them go? Their leader’s dead now, so they’ll probably come to their senses.”

“I’ll consider it.”

Lim Chung didn’t argue over the Taejeong Sect. That wasn’t why he’d come to see Wang Gon today.

Instead, he held out the box containing the Hundred-Year He Shou Wu.

“I came to return this.”

For a moment, Wang Gon’s expression froze. He had assumed Lim Chung had come to reluctantly thank him.

‘This stubborn bastard won’t give in to the very end!’

Suppressing the anger rising inside him, Wang Gon forced himself to speak pleasantly.

“Come now. Isn’t it rather rude to reject someone’s sincerity like this?”

“Didn’t I already tell you I’d accept only the thought?”

“The thought? What’s the use of exchanging only good intentions? If that’s all it took, I’d be the finest man in the world. I can offer good intentions all day long.”

“Then just give me your good intentions, and take this back.”

“Our Branch Leader… are you too upright, or simply too stubborn?”

“I’m not an upright man. Nor am I stubborn.”

At that instant, Wang Gon suddenly shouted,

“Then why won’t you take it, you bastard?!”

The moment he dropped all pretence, Lim Chung clenched his teeth.

No matter how remote his branch was, he was still an official Branch Leader of the Martial Alliance.

“Take it!”

“I refuse.”

“I told you to give it to your son. Or is he not your real son?”

“Watch your mouth, Wang Gon!”

This time it was Lim Chung who shouted.

The moment his son was brought into it, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

Lim Chung set the box containing the Hundred-Year He Shou Wu on the floor.

“Don’t ever send anything like this again. If you do, I won’t let it slide.”

“You won’t let it slide? Are you threatening me now?”

“I’m warning you.”

If it had been anything else, he would have endured it ten times over, a hundred times over.

But this wasn’t something that could simply be endured.

The moment those words had been spoken, he had to make his position absolutely clear.

But Wang Gon felt exactly the same way.

Black Hand, who had been silently watching from the side, slowly stepped forward.

“A warning is something the strong give to the weak.”

He made no effort to conceal the killing intent radiating from him.

Grabbing the hilt of his sword, Lim Chung shouted,

“Stop! As a Branch Leader of the Martial Alliance, I order you to stop where you are!”

Instead, Black Hand walked even faster.

Stopping directly in front of Lim Chung, he said,

“There. I just disobeyed the great Branch Leader of the Martial Alliance. What are you going to do about it?”

Lim Chung’s hand trembled on the hilt of his sword.

Black Hand continued provoking him.

“When I delivered the He Shou Wu, I noticed your wife. She’s quite beautiful.”

“You bastard!”

Shing.

The sword slid partway out of its scabbard.

“Draw it. Why stop halfway? Don’t tell me you don’t care much for your wife either, just like your son?”

The hand gripping Lim Chung’s sword shook violently.

He knew the man was deliberately provoking him.

But if he drew his sword, he would die.

If they buried his body somewhere, would anyone ever discover that Black Hand had killed him?

Of course not.

Dying here would be a meaningless death.

Yet enduring it filled him with unbearable rage and humiliation.

Especially after they mocked his wife and son.

Even if it meant dying here, he wanted to fight to the death.

Just then,

A commotion erupted outside.

Moments later, the door opened, and one of the Divine Transformation Gang’s martial artists entered to report,

“The branch’s martial artists have arrived.”

Following him, two men stepped inside.

They were Baek Socheon and Beon Saeng.

“Branch Leader! Are you all right?”

Beon Saeng hurried over and stood beside Lim Chung.

“What are you doing here?”

Sensing that something was terribly wrong, Beon Saeng quickly answered,

“Something happened at the branch, so we came to escort you back. Let’s leave at once.”

For the moment, his only priority was getting Lim Chung out of there.

But Wang Gon had no intention of letting them leave so easily.

Now that the conflict had finally erupted, he intended to use this opportunity to crush Lim Chung’s spirit completely.

‘You bastards! If I stomp you into the dirt today, you’ll never dare crawl back up again.’

He signalled Black Hand with a glance.

Releasing his killing intent openly, Black Hand barked,

“You little hatchlings! What kind of place do you think this is, barging in here? You two who just came in, go kneel in that corner!”

Beon Saeng knew exactly who Black Hand was and didn’t dare answer back.

Instead, Lim Chung stepped forward and warned Wang Gon.

“Are you trying to oppose the Martial Alliance?”

“The Martial Alliance, the Martial Alliance… that’s all you ever have, isn’t it? That’s your only source of power. It’s the only reason I even tried giving a nobody like you the Hundred-Year He Shou Wu.”

Wang Gon no longer bothered hiding his true feelings.

Instead, he took it a step further, making sure everyone knew exactly what kind of man he was.

“You’re too thick to understand, so let me explain it kindly. Let’s imagine something. As you all know, our Black Hand here has quite the short temper. If swords start flying in the heat of the moment, he might accidentally kill the lot of you. Didn’t someone at your branch recently die by accident too? So let’s say all of you die here. Now then… who do you think would become the prime suspect? Ah, that’s right. Liang Qiu’s entire family was massacred not long ago, wasn’t it? You were investigating that case. If someone was vicious enough to slaughter an entire family, wouldn’t they also want to eliminate anyone investigating them?”

It had been a long speech, but the threat itself was simple.

They would kill them all and pin everything on the murderer who had massacred Liang Qiu’s family.

“And what happens after that?”

When no one answered, Wang Gon grinned broadly.

“Nothing happens after that. That’s the end of it. A new Branch Leader and new martial artists will be assigned. They’ll make a fuss for a month or two, trying to catch the culprit. Of course, they never will. Then, once everything quiets down, I’ll present the Hundred-Year He Shou Wu that you refused to the new Branch Leader. Do you think he’ll accept it… or refuse it? Well? Isn’t that quite an amusing little scenario?”

At that moment, Lim Chung instinctively realized the truth.

‘He killed Liang Qiu too.’

But he also knew that the instant he voiced that accusation, he himself would cross a line from which there was no return.

Black Hand approached Lim Chung menacingly.

“Well then, shall we continue our conversation?”

Beon Saeng stepped in front of him.

“Stop!”

Black Hand simply shoved him aside.

Beon Saeng tumbled backward.

Black Hand planted his foot squarely on Beon Saeng’s chest.

The gap in strength between them was so overwhelming that Beon Saeng didn’t dare fight back.

“Stop!”

As Lim Chung moved forward, Black Hand drew his sword and pointed it at Beon Saeng’s throat.

“One more step, and he dies.”

Lim Chung froze.

He knew exactly what kind of man Black Hand was.

Whenever he made a threat, he always carried it out.

Especially when his opponent was weaker than him.

He took pride in proving that his words and actions always matched.

Lim Chung looked at Wang Gon.

Rather than stopping him, Wang Gon simply looked down at him arrogantly.

Lim Chung instantly understood what the man wanted.

Complete submission.

He wanted Lim Chung to kneel and apologise.

He intended to crush him completely while he had the chance.

Lim Chung looked back at Beon Saeng.

Pinned beneath Black Hand’s foot, he wore a look of utter despair.

‘Fine… I’ll endure it. I’ll kneel.’

That was the only way to save Beon Saeng.

The only way to save himself.

And, in the end, the only way to protect his family.

Just as Lim Chung was about to kneel,

A single sentence echoed through the room.

“Shall we arrest them?”

The unexpected speaker was Baek Socheon, who had been standing quietly at the back.

Everyone had been so focused on the confrontation that Lim Chung had completely forgotten he was there.

As every eye turned toward him, Baek Socheon spoke again.

“Assaulting Martial Alliance martial artists, making threats, and offering bribes. That should be more than enough to arrest them for the time being.”

Lim Chung.

Beon Saeng.

Wang Gon.

Even Black Hand.

Every one of them stared at him in shock and disbelief.

It was Black Hand who broke the silence.

“Hahahahaha!”

Black Hand burst into manic laughter, and Wang Gon joined in.

As mocking laughter filled the room, Lim Chung could clearly see it.

Baek Socheon looked back at them with complete indifference.

He was utterly serious.

Did he really have the strength to back up those words?