A Prelude to Blood
Whoosh.
Yoo Sung burned the letter he had received.
Since he did so using the state known as the Samadhi True Fire, anyone witnessing it would have been utterly astonished.
The letter contained information about those currently targeting the Heavenly Sword Academy.
Beginning with the heretics of the Yudo Sect, various martial artists were covertly eyeing the academy.
Although they had prepared themselves and suffered no major damage, the daily provocations were beginning to grate on their nerves.
Even so,
"It won't be a major issue. In fact, it's not a bad opportunity to gain some much-needed real combat experience."
Crisis was indeed an opportunity.
Just as Bing-hwa said, the martial artists of the Heavenly Sword Academy were freely unleashing the techniques they had recently begun to learn.
Real combat was entirely different from practice; it was a time for them to realize their shortcomings and gradually correct them.
Yoo Sung agreed that this was a wise decision.
Furthermore, their shortage of weapons would soon be resolved.
Nam Ji-hong had ultimately agreed to Yoo Sung's terms and decided to stay at the Heavenly Sword Academy for the time being.
Rather than risking danger by moving elsewhere, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Though things were gradually falling into place, Yoo Sung never let his guard down.
There were too many people nearby who would react sensitively to any change in the Heavenly Sword Academy.
Chief among them was Kwak Yoo of the Cheondo Gate, along with his close associates.
Additionally, the Cheonhyang Merchant Guild would hardly wish to see the academy grow.
And that was not all.
Their most dangerous enemy was constantly looking for an opportunity to strike.
"She isn't the type to just sit back and take a beating."
Though it hadn't been his primary intention, he had repeatedly ruined Yeo Mi-ho's plans.
How long would she, an heiress of the Ten Demonic Sects, tolerate these failures?
Having failed in her attempt to harass the Heavenly Sword Academy as a warning to him, Yeo Mi-ho would likely begin moving in earnest soon.
If she took the field herself, it would be impossible for the academy to hold out.
Unless he remained at home.
However, that was a poor strategy.
It was far better to draw her gaze away from the academy and toward somewhere else.
"Should I draw her attention more toward myself, or..."
It was about time for him to make a move.
Having provoked the prideful Poison King, the old man would surely show himself soon to put the Tang Clan's house in order.
That purge might begin with Dang Sao, or perhaps with the rats hiding inside the Sichuan Righteous Alliance.
Whichever it was, once the Poison King took action, a thorough cleansing would begin.
The Qingcheng Sword Venerable would also welcome his alliance, so wouldn't things get quite interesting?
"I wish he'd hurry up."
Just as Yoo Sung wished, the Poison King was already on the move.
*
Dang Ho, the current head of the Tang Clan, was both flustered and secretly relieved by the sudden appearance of the Poison King.
"Did you achieve what you set out to do?"
"To some extent."
"That is a relief!"
Dang Ho let out a sigh of relief and smiled brightly.
He had suffered immense stress during the Poison King's closed-door cultivation.
The internal conflicts were far more severe than he had anticipated, and mediating them was no easy task.
He had trusted Dang Sao and sought his counsel, only for the discord to worsen.
Even so, it was difficult for Dang Ho to hold Dang Sao accountable.
After all, no matter what anyone said, Dang Sao was a man brought in by the Poison King himself.
"Actually, I have something to discuss with you, Father. The clan has been rather turbulent lately..."
The moment Dang Ho spoke, a sharp gaze pierced him.
"Foolish boy."
Dang Ho's heart sank at the look of profound disappointment in the Poison King's eyes.
"..."
As his son stood momentarily speechless, the Poison King's voice struck like a whip.
"The head of a clan cannot even control his own family and lets himself be dragged around by a complete outsider?"
Realizing that the "outsider" referred to the problematic Dang Sao, Dang Ho had plenty to say in his defense.
"But isn't that largely your responsibility, Father? You brought him in and bestowed the Tang surname upon him. How could I simply cast him out? Doing so would only give ammunition to the elders who revere you like a god!"
At Dang Ho's resentful outburst, the Poison King clicked his tongue and stepped back.
Even he had to admit that it must not have been easy from Dang Ho's perspective.
However, the truth was that the Poison King had expected Dang Ho to utilize Dang Sao effectively.
"That is your weakness. If you resolved to succeed me, you should have possessed a resolve even more ruthless than mine. You claim the problem was that Dang Sao was my man? If it were me, I would have done whatever it took to eliminate him. Only then would my shadow vanish, allowing you to become the true master of the Tang Clan!"
"...!!"
When Dang Ho fell silent at this unexpected revelation, the Poison King's disappointment only deepened.
"As I always say, do not believe your position is eternal. For the future of the Tang Clan, I am fully prepared to bypass you and hand the leadership to those beneath you."
Dang Ho bit his lip at the Poison King's warning.
"I will keep that in mind."
"The space around that fellow is quite noisy. He has scattered poison everywhere to shake the clan from within. He is actively sowing discord without distinguishing between the direct and branch lines. Were you aware of this?"
"I learned of it recently."
"Tsk. I suppose I should be glad you at least found out."
This time, Dang Ho had no excuses.
He had ascended to the position of family head but failed to exterminate the pests nesting within the Tang Clan.
"It is highly likely they are connected to the demonic practitioners. We must deal with them swiftly before rumors spread outside."
"I was already preparing to do so, but... a great deal of blood may be spilled."
The Poison King remained cold to Dang Ho's concerns.
"Stagnant, rotten water must be drained before one can make a fresh start."
At the Poison King's ruthless decision, Dang Ho could only bow his head.
*
"Damn it!!"
With a harsh curse, Dang Sao hurled the objects around him.
"Keep a low profile for the time being. Your plans are important, but the stability of Sichuan takes priority right now. At the very least, we must not forget that we are the heart of Sichuan."
It was a sudden change of heart from Dang Ho.
Just a few days ago, he had been intent on resolving the Tang Clan's internal conflicts first.
Yet, he had abruptly changed his mind.
Though the man was notoriously fickle, his anxiety over the internal strife had been genuine.
"Why all of a sudden?"
Dang Sao suppressed his rising irritation and fell into deep thought.
Becoming excited and angry was the mark of an amateur—the behavior of the very losers he so thoroughly despised.
Right now, he needed a cold, rational assessment.
"Just yesterday, he was planning to get rid of Cheol-hwa and Cheol-geom."
While Cheol-hwa had made a name for herself even before the Sichuan Righteous Alliance, Cheol-geom was different.
The decisive factor that turned Dang Hwa-soo into a threat as his name rapidly gained fame was the recent incident at Cheolgajang.
Until then, he had merely been regarded as Cheol-hwa's decent younger brother—the hope of the branch family alongside her.
However, his performance against the Demon Blood Cult at Cheolgajang had dramatically elevated the perception of the Iron Sword.
Conversely, the Poison Dragon's consecutive blunders had naturally caused his reputation to plummet, which was also a problem.
Dang Ho was not one to stand idly by, and just as he was pondering how to keep Cheol-hwa and Cheol-geom in check, he had suddenly changed.
"Did the elders intervene?"
None of the Tang Clan's elders viewed the internal conflict favorably.
Rather, many believed that the true strength of the Tang Clan lay in the cooperation between the direct and branch lines.
This was especially true of Dang Moon-chul.
If Dang Moon-chul, who had enjoyed the Poison King's favor and served as Dang Ho's first teacher, had stepped forward, Dang Ho's change of heart would make perfect sense.
However, there was still one thing that bothered him.
"The elders are all completely silent."
Even the elders who had been gradually swaying to his side through his interactions had suddenly reversed their stances.
It was hard to believe this was Dang Moon-chul's doing.
After all, those elders desired nothing more than to see Dang Moon-chul's influence wane.
If so...
"Could it be?!"
The face of a certain individual flashed through Dang Sao's mind, turning his complexion deathly pale.
"The Poison King... Has that monster emerged from his seclusion?"
The warning the Poison King had delivered just before entering seclusion remained vivid in his mind.
Because the Poison King never made empty threats, Dang Sao had been forced to keep a low profile for about a year.
But as the seclusion dragged on, he had begun to move inch by inch, eventually reaching this point.
"The summit was right before my eyes!"
He could not turn back now.
He had already joined hands with Yeo Mi-ho and become the chief of the spies hidden within the Sichuan Righteous Alliance.
The Poison King was terrifying, but Yeo Mi-ho was no less formidable.
"It can't be helped. It's a pity, but I have no choice but to abandon this place."
Originally, he had planned to play both sides—the Sichuan Righteous Alliance and Yeo Mi-ho—reaping as many benefits as possible before choosing one.
His plan had been quite solid.
He would use the name of the Sichuan Righteous Alliance to suppress Yeo Mi-ho and the Yeo Clan, placing himself and Dang Ho at the center of power.
That would fulfill the Tang Clan's long-cherished ambition, giving him a perfect justification to present to the Poison King.
But now, everything had gone awry.
Given the Poison King's temperament, there was no way he would be forgiven. Only one option remained.
"I must divert his attention before he moves."
His targets would be the Poison Dragon, Cheol-hwa, and Cheol-geom.
If the most prominent successors were killed or severely injured, even the Poison King would find it difficult to focus on him.
In the meantime, he could slip away from the Sichuan Righteous Alliance and join Yeo Mi-ho.
Conveniently, there was a perfect bait to pique the interest of all three.
"Deliver this to the Poison Dragon. The same goes for Cheol-hwa."
The Poison Dragon's subordinate bowed and departed, and he sent a separate letter to Dang Ja-ryeo.
"I should at least leave a gift before I depart."
Chuckling, Dang Sao's eyes gleamed with a sinister light.
*
Keke, kekeke.
Accompanied by an unpleasant cackle, a man's saber desecrated a dead corpse.
Staring greedily at the still-pulsing heart, the man swallowed it whole.
"What a joke. That thing is Pagun?"
The man clicked his tongue at Pagun's downfall.
"It is the young lady's handiwork."
"Right. That crazy bitch actually handed him over without permission."
"It was a wise decision."
The man furrowed his brow at the old man's words.
"Whose side are you on, Elder Hwang?"
"Naturally, I am on the side of the eldest young master."
The man addressed as the eldest young master was Yeo Mu.
He was the eldest son of Yeo Il-cheon and, alongside Yeo Mi-ho, the most prominent successor to lead the Yeo Clan.
This was the moment he finally revealed himself in Sichuan.
"I wondered what that foxy bitch was up to in Sichuan. To think she was coveting the Soul-Bereaving Saber."
"It is not merely a matter of the Soul-Bereaving Saber. She intends to nurture her Maryeong through the Blood-Sucking Demonic Human. After all, the young lady's greatest shortcoming is the size of her Maryeong."
Yeo Mu nodded at Elder Hwang's explanation.
"She truly is a nasty piece of work. Treating people like that."
Though they shared the same blood, Yeo Mi-ho had a habit of needlessly making enemies.
She seemed to believe she wasn't recognized simply because she was a woman, but...
Well, that works to my advantage.
The more cruel she became and the deeper she sank into the mire, the more advantageous it would be for him.
This situation was no different.
If we're going to use him, we shouldn't use him as a blood-crazed ghoul. We should let Pagun cause havoc while retaining his sanity.
That was the greatest difference between her and himself.
Pagun possessed the capability to sow far more discord and spill much more blood if he operated with his sanity intact.
If so, shouldn't they exploit that to the fullest?
"Can you restore his senses?"
"A complete restoration is difficult, but a temporary one is possible. However..."
"It doesn't matter. He's just a disposable tool anyway. It would be best if we could set him up to die on his own."
He would use Pagun to stir up chaos, then swallow everything the man possessed.
He was already eager to see what kind of face Yeo Mi-ho would make when she found out.
It was the beginning of the incident that would later be known as the Sichuan Blood Tragedy.