Chapter 62
Chapter 62
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Not Just All Talk
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“What nonsense is this?”
Tang Hosan’s eyes gleamed coldly.
I could feel the murderous intent radiating from him, as if he’d tear me apart right then and there.
“Do you even know how much effort we’ve put into this plan? How dare you spout such—”
“I’m just saying it looks like it won’t work. What’s wrong with pointing that out?”
“You insolent brat!!”
As Tang Hosan untied his hands behind his back, Tang Gon and Gui Jegal hurriedly wedged themselves between us.
“Please, calm your anger for a moment, my lord!”
“Young Master Yunhui, you must have discovered something to speak like that, right? Right?”
Gui Jegal was sweating bullets, his eyes pleading with me to say yes.
Of course, I had no intention of playing along.
Keeping my gaze locked straight on Tang Hosan’s eyes, I continued.
“The assassins’ leader is the North Sea Sect Master.”
“Do you think I don’t know that?”
“Then do you also know that he’s already infiltrated Nine Dragons County completely, along with the other Twelve Black Ghosts?”
“Of course.”
“But you haven’t pinpointed their exact locations yet, have you?”
“……”
“They’re not idiots, so they won’t keep leaving trails everywhere.”
Tang Hosan crossed his arms.
His anger hadn’t subsided in the slightest.
It was more like he’d decided to hear out whatever drivel I had to say first.
“So?”
“But I do know.”
“…What?”
“Here.”
I pulled a letter from my inner pocket and held it out.
Gui Jegal snatched it quickly, opened it, and his eyes went wide.
“M-My lord! This is!!”
It had to be.
The letter included a map of Nine Dragons County, marked with the positions where the North Sea Sect’s demonic ghosts were lying in wait.
Tang Hosan’s eyes darkened deeply.
“You got this from interrogating the Demonic Ghost?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“What if he lied or set up a decoy?”
“No chance.”
“A Demonic Ghost’s loyalty to the North Sea Sect is like their very life. I can’t just take your word for—”
“There’s still no chance.”
I cut him off decisively.
Baek San, writhing in hellish agony, couldn’t have led me into a trap.
“Of course, by now they’ve probably realized the Demonic Ghost is dead, so they might try changing positions. But they’ll leave traces behind, however faint. Track those, and we’ll find them again in no time.”
“…Probably.”
“They plan to move right after you visit the branch family, timed with the special task force exam. That’s when crowds from everywhere will gather.”
“Fine. Let’s say the locations you brought and their plans are all spot on. But that’s just one of the scenarios we already prepared for.”
Gui Jegal jumped in midway.
“Young master might not know, but we’ve made every preparation against ambushes. The traps in the manor, formations, troop deployments—even the movements of the Green Honor Guard escorting the family head—are all planned out.”
“No matter how strong a force the North Sea Sect brings, explain why a fortified branch family like ours would lose. If you can’t, you die.”
That was Tang Hosan’s final warning.
But I just shrugged.
“No special reason.”
“What?”
“The Demonic Cult is too strong. That’s all.”
A flash of displeasure crossed Tang Hosan’s face.
“After fighting the Demonic Cult on the front lines my whole life, you dare say—”
“It’s been over a decade since then, hasn’t it?”
“!!”
“Young master! You’ve crossed the line!!”
Tang Hosan’s right hand flashed with green light.
Tang Clan Thousand Poisons Hand.
The supreme art that elevated the Tang family from a mere household to a true sect.
It combines the countless poisons handled by the Tang Clan and unleashes them through hand strikes.
Anyone struck by it melts into a puddle of toxic sludge.
Even if you somehow endure, the absorbed poison slowly erodes your body with every clash.
No wonder the world calls the Thousand Poisons Hand the hand of Yama, the King of Hell—Hell King Hand.
For him to use it against his own son, ‘Tang Yunhui,’ showed just how furious Tang Hosan was.
Even from here, my skin prickled from the poison aura. My insides felt queasy.
「Th-That bastard! How dare he flash such a vicious move at the young sect master. He needs to be punished severely, young sect master!」
「How brazen of that scum!」
As expected of the Mad Storm Blade.
I’d been consuming Soul Wander Pills nonstop, thinking I could shrug off most poisons, but apparently not against this man.
Tang Gon and Gui Jegal paled, hastily putting distance between themselves and Tang Hosan.
“My lord, please calm down!”
“My lord!!”
“I’ve had enough of your arrogant nonsense. I’ll ask again. Is the Nine Dragons Branch Family—the Tang Clan—going to lose to the likes of the North Sea Sect?”
Tang Hosan’s killing intent and poison aura had already filled the entire Wind and Flower Hall.
Gui Jegal, with his weak martial prowess, looked ready to faint any second, so Tang Gon desperately shielded him.
『Young master! Apologize to the lord right now! This is dangerous!!』
『I don’t know what you saw from the Demonic Cult, young master, but calm down first and—』
Their telepathic messages cut off midway.
Flash!
The green light had now spread from Tang Hosan’s right hand up to his forearm.
As if he’d kill me the moment I spouted more nonsense.
I twisted one corner of my mouth.
“Yes.”
“You’ll pay for those words.”
Tang Hosan thrust out a palm strike.
Lightning-fast execution.
Thousand Poisons Thunderclap Palm.
Rumble!
I swiftly retreated while unleashing a gale.
Gale Force Dance
Revolving Wind Giant Wall
Layered winds solidified into a rigid barrier.
“Ha! You dare play with gales before me, who’s wielded them my whole life?”
Tang Hosan scoffed and shattered the Revolving Wind Giant Wall effortlessly.
Boom!
The disrupted winds clawed wildly at the floor and walls everywhere.
Bookshelves toppled, papers rained down.
“Aaah! My documents!! Years of hard work organizing them!”
“Has he lost his mind? Why are you running over there! You trying to die?!”
“Let go! I’d rather die than watch this!!”
Gui Jegal, who’d stayed composed even amid arguments with Tang Gon, now tore at his temples in despair at the trashed Wind and Flower Hall.
Tang Gon grabbed him by the waist from behind to stop him from charging ahead, while shooting me a worried glance.
“Martial Uncle! Gon!”
At my shout, he gave me a look like “What are you thinking?” before tossing the staff slung on his back my way.
It seemed like a weapon he’d brought to give me for training upon my return to the branch.
Thud!
I caught it lightly and assumed a stance.
It was far heavier than expected.
All the better.
It had a good heft, and to block Tang Hosan, the weapon needed serious power behind it.
Otherwise, it’d melt under that poison hand.
That’s how potent Tang Hosan’s poison palm was.
And.
I hadn’t unleashed the Revolving Wind Giant Wall to block Tang Hosan in the first place.
It was to buy time to show him my signature move properly.
Exploding Tiger Twelve Lances.
Black Dragon Qi.
I intended to unleash the two gains from this campaign through the Gale Force Dance.
Whirlwhirlwhirl!
Black currents mixed into the gale swirling around me.
Black Gale.
A total of twelve lance strikes—no, staff strikes—pierced the air in one breath.
Stabstabstab!
Boomboomboom—
In the blink of an eye, hands and staff flashed in dozens of exchanges.
Tang Hosan’s poison gale sought any gap to worm in, while my black gale pushed it outward, keeping the poison from getting close.
Crackle!
Moreover, the black gale’s accompanying chill weighed down the poison aura, preventing it from scattering freely.
“Ice poison?”
Even Tang Hosan’s eyes, pressing me fiercely, flickered with doubt.
“Learned a good trick from the North Sea Sect.”
“What—”
“Frost poison and ice poison match perfectly.”
“!!”
Scattering poison into the air for inhalation is Poison Descent Technique 101.
But it requires specific conditions.
The method changes with the environment.
What Tang clansmen hated most was cold weather.
Chilly winds block proper dispersal, and low temperatures slow the poison’s spread.
I was creating exactly that artificial environment.
The chill in the black gale.
Ice poison extracted from Heartfreezing Ice Venom was partially countering the spread of the Thousand Poisons Hand’s toxins.
Meanwhile, the naturally cold ice poison thrived, gradually tightening around Tang Hosan.
The longer this fight dragged, the worse it got for him.
He could faint from ice poison exposure at any moment.
My ice poison might be weaker than Heartfreezing Ice Venom.
But mixed with Soul Wander Poison, its uses were endless.
Tang Hosan had noticed that right away.
“You said to prove my worth. Here it is.”
Tang Hosan’s eyes widened slightly before sinking deep.
No more anger in them.
Just solemn focus.
“You’re not just all talk, after all.”
One corner of Tang Hosan’s mouth twisted.
“But this doesn’t prove you’re qualified to spout nonsense yet.”
If the Demonic Cult is really that strong, prove it with your skills—prove it’s no lie.
With that roar, Tang Hosan extended his left hand.
Flash!
『Young sect master!』
『Dangerous!!』
This palm was blindingly fast.
And vicious.
I pulled the staff inward.
Boom!
The moment palm met staff, it bent drastically like hammered by a sledgehammer, slamming downward.
“!!”
Excruciating pain shot through my wrist, feeling like it might snap off.
My stance crumbled for a split second, and Tang Hosan didn’t miss it, closing in tight.
“Block this too, if you can.”
Swooshswooshswoosh!
Tang Hosan’s upright hand blade traced a dozen arcs in an instant, aiming for my chest.
Shredding Wind Blade Art.
Shredding Wind Soul Chaser.
I hurriedly stepped back to create distance.
A wound from his hand blade would let the Thousand Poisons Hand’s toxins invade my body.
To gain any edge in this bout, I couldn’t afford injury.
But Tang Hosan pursued relentlessly, like a snake eyeing prey.
Tempest Godspeed.
Fiercely fast winds buffeted me, refusing to let go.
At this rate, I’d just keep fleeing until caught.
Tang Hosan truly hadn’t idled these past ten-plus years.
Having aimed for the world’s supremacy, he’d bided his time, quietly building strength.
He was now at a level claiming top spot in Sichuan martial world—no, the western martial world.
Against such a man, half-measures wouldn’t cut it.
I released the staff from my hand.
Clang!
The staff snapped in half as Tang Hosan’s hand blade sliced toward my chest.
“Your reckless mouth ends here, I see. Not bad, though—”
As Tang Hosan’s twisted lip curled further.
“Did I ever say I was done?”
I twisted my lip in kind.
The Three Gates opened simultaneously.
Roooar!
White strands streaked my long hair as the black dragon qi at my fingertips exploded.
Exploding Tiger Twelve Lances
Variant: Hand Art
Black Tiger Strike
The exploding tiger’s claws, swollen with black gale turned into a black tiger, blocked Tang Hosan’s poison hand.
Boom!