The Essence of Shadowy Strife (6)
Whoosh.
The smoke he exhaled carried a subtle green hue. It wasn't grotesque—more mystical, almost ethereal. Of course, smoke that had passed through human lungs couldn't possibly be good for the body.
Dang Gwan tapped his pipe. The scattered ash rode the wind high into the sky.
"Family Head."
Dang Gwan turned his gaze silently to the side. A man in his early forties stood there.
"Are you all right?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I wouldn't dare presume to guess at your cultivation, Family Head, but isn't Crane Top Red a bit excessive?"
Dang Gwan shook his head.
"My poison arts have hit a plateau. I need measures like this to keep my body on edge."
"...Even so, I still think Crane Top Red is too much. Why not build up your poison resistance with milder toxins first?"
The head of the Tang family in Sichuan was a king among men. Few could speak so boldly to such a figure—especially if they served under him.
Dang Gwan shook his head again.
"I know my own body best."
The man—Medicine King Hall Master Dang Yeongsin—let out a quiet sigh.
Dang Gwan's eyes sharpened.
"Do you think even this would break me?"
"Of course you'd endure it, Family Head. I only mentioned it out of concern—please don't take offense."
"Hmph."
Dang Gwan's lips curved into a chilling smile.
"A plateau means a limit. I can feel it. Once I break through this one and my poison arts advance, I'll reach Father's realm five years sooner than expected."
Dang Yeongsin's face subtly hardened.
'Still chasing after the Supreme Family Head...'
Dang Gwan was an excellent lord. Not merciful or embracing, of course—that would be asking too much of a Tang clansman to begin with.
He was strong. Talented, shrewd in business, rich in rivers-and-lakes experience, rarely caught off guard. Merciless to enemies, and fiercely protective of his own—smashing any who harmed them, reasons be damned.
The quintessential Tang clansman, true heir to the Tang bloodline. That was Dang Gwan.
So Dang Yeongsin served him with utter loyalty.
Yet even Dang Gwan had a flaw.
'If only he'd mended things with the Supreme Family Head.'
Dang Gwan could be narrow-minded and autocratic. The problem was that it extended even to blood kin.
He spared his children, but not his father—the Supreme Family Head Dang Hyeong. Their relationship was poor.
Dark King Dang Hyeong. One of the Thirteen Heavenly Seats, the era's most dangerous master in the martial world.
'I suppose it's inevitable.'
The Supreme Family Head was no less strong-willed. But age softened him, unlike his endlessly advancing martial arts. That only deepened the father-son clashes.
The father tsked at his son's rigidity; the son couldn't grasp his father's indulgence.
If they'd gotten along?
'The Family Head's achievements would surpass any leader of the Nine Great Clans or Six Great Sects.'
The Supreme Family Head hadn't passed all his arts to his son. Nor to heir Dang Yangseon, deeming his temperament lacking.
The only one he'd poured his heart into teaching was one: Dang Sang-a.
'Such a pity.'
Pity, but unavoidable. Dang Yeongsin's lord was Dang Gwan, not Dang Hyeong.
And he'd never once regretted it.
"How much until noon?"
"Pardon? Ah, yes. About half a shichen left."
Dang Gwan set his pipe on the table.
"A guest will arrive soon. Let him in."
Curiosity flickered across Dang Yeongsin's face.
"A guest, you say...?"
"There's someone."
Languidness softened Dang Gwan's features. Not an important visitor, judging by his expression.
Dang Yeongsin bowed.
"I'll wait outside."
"Do that."
Dang Yeongsin left the room.
The moment the door closed, Dang Gwan sighed.
'What a hassle.'
How many months had it been since arriving at the Martial Alliance? Endless matters, all exhausting for him.
If not for building a power base and etching the Tang clan's presence, he'd have sent a proxy long ago.
'Time to leave soon.'
Enough was done. Sealed Lord of Merit in the Alliance, power base secured. His daughter's lingering issue resolved just yesterday.
Finally, some relief.
Moyong Gun would handle the rest; back to Sichuan next month.
'...'
Gazing at the clear sky outside, Dang Gwan suddenly thought of Dang Sang-a.
His eyes darkened deeply.
'There's no place for you in the clan. Seems like a decent nest you've found—make your happiness there.'
He cherished Dang Sang-a. Far more than Dang Yangseon, in truth.
Her talent aside, she had a charm that brought joy to those around her—un-Tang-like, but endearing.
Not just fatherly bias; she was truly lovely.
Until she turned fifteen, he'd thought no one short of the world's top prodigy worthy of her.
But when his father—Supreme Family Head Dang Hyeong—began teaching her, everything changed.
Fsssh.
Powder scattered from beneath his hand on the table. Unconsciously released poison qi had eroded the surface into his palm's shape.
Dang Gwan's eyes chilled.
"Do you know? That you're the one who ruined the main house."
As a boy, he'd idolized him; as a man, taken pride in sharing the Tang name.
Now, someone he never wanted to see again.
The Tang clan's greatest master, feared by the world—Dark King Dang Hyeong was that to him.
"Soon. Before long, I'll surpass you. Your time as the Tang clan's Supreme King is running out."
Father was poison. The most insidious, perilous kind.
Driving such a father from the clan was the path to saving it, Dang Gwan believed without doubt.
His gaze drifted to the pipe on the table.
A faint green glow flickered in his pupils.
'Once back home, time to switch to Formless Supreme Poison.'
Lost in such solitary thoughts for a while.
Whoosh.
Languor vanished; his eyes sharpened like blades.
'...?'
Someone approached.
An unsettling aura emanated from outside the window. Not yet his equal, but rare even in the martial world's Alliance—a potent presence.
'Could it be this one?'
Dang Gwan frowned.
Far more refined than expected. Word was he'd broken through Mujongjibyeok just days ago—normally, qi would scatter wildly, yet he'd already reined it in this well.
'No ordinary man.'
The monster Moyong Gun had named.
Moyong Gun was both tyrant and hero. His eyes held the world.
If he spoke so, this foe demanded respect.
Moments later.
"Family Head. The guest..."
"Send him in."
"Yes."
Creeeak.
The door opened, revealing a young man.
Dang Gwan's eyes gleamed.
Clad in white martial robes over pale green robes, the youth cut a refined figure—more scholar than warrior.
His aura suggested as much.
But.
'A beast.'
Dang Gwan instantly read the tyrant's ferocity lurking within. A predator among predators, hiding savagery ready to rip throats at a whim.
Subtle interest sparked in Dang Gwan's eyes.
Similar yet different from himself. Different breeds, same apex predator.
That was Yeon Hojeong's first impression to Dang Gwan.
And to Yeon Hojeong, what of Dang Gwan?
'Finally, I see him.'
Yeon Hojeong's gaze was rough and perilous, like a gale laced with shattered blade shards.
'Unchanged.'
Ten Thousand Poisons Emperor Dang Gwan.
In the past, Martial Alliance Leader Moyong Gun—called Sword God, supreme of the White Path—had reigned.
Beneath him, Vice Leader Dang Gwan, dubbed Ten Thousand Poisons Emperor, plunged the world into terror.
Their White Path Martial Alliance had peaked in glory.
They'd clawed to the top through bloody power struggles, then ruled with unmatched prowess.
And where Moyong Gun couldn't or shouldn't tread, Dang Gwan always stood.
Not the world's greatest, but the most venomous and fearsome.
The one who'd hastened Yeon Hojeong's death.
Thump-thump.
He suppressed surging killing intent, but it leaked, stirring Vermilion Bird Qi.
Heartbeat raced; Vermilion Bird Qi surged unbidden.
Fwoosh.
Yeon Hojeong's eyes burned red.
Fiery rage and murder gleamed ferociously—hatred beyond that for the Myeong warriors.
'...?'
Dang Gwan's eyes shifted.
'This punk...'
Yeon Hojeong smirked down at him, eyes boiling with extraordinary killing intent.
How potent?
Sizzle.
Dang Gwan's hand pierced the table. Unwitting poison qi had corroded it into his palm's shape.
'...'
Yeon Hojeong's lips curled higher.
Dang Gwan's expression twisted again.
'This bastard...'
Tsssh.
Vermilion Bird Qi called White Tiger Qi; White Tiger drew Black Tortoise Qi.
Heavy Black Tortoise stirred Azure Dragon, igniting all Four Gods' divine qi—lending Yeon Hojeong's aura immense weight.
Crack!
Craaack!
Their savage auras clashed, splintering the floor.
Full release would've shattered the table, hurled chairs, pulverized the wooden planks.
p>Peak masters' auras defied imagination. This tension could erupt into lethal collision anytime.
Beyond inner strength, their venomous natures heated the air.
How long passed?
As Dang Gwan's fingers twitched unconsciously.
"First time meeting."
"...?"
Dang Gwan faltered.
Tsssh.
Yeon Hojeong's Four Gods qi subsided. Vermilion Bird first, then all quelled—though they'd flared fully.
Not the time to fight Dang Gwan.
Yeon Hojeong clasped hands crisply in salute.
"Yeon Hojeong, eldest son of the Bi-san Yeon family, greets the master of the Sichuan Tang clan."
Dang Gwan frowned.
Where was the murder that screamed for death? Yeon Hojeong, aura quelled and saluting, seemed pure as a cloudless sky.
Staring, Dang Gwan gradually withdrew his own pressure.
Ssshh.
His face soon lapsed into languid calm.
"Yeon Hojeong?"
"Yes."
Dang Gwan's lips twitched.
The punk who'd thrashed his worthless son. The son's fault, but no forgiveness for this one.
"Baring killing intent on first meeting... right before me? You're begging to die."
Outrageous words. Fitting the Tang head.
Myeol Sa Army Leader or not—irrelevant. Disliked? Destroyed.
Ferocious, venomous temper. Ends-justify-means serpent.
And Yeon Hojeong matched it.
"Poor hospitality for a guest."
"...What?"
"Came for a drink. Ate hearty, so hit me with something strong. Make it Five Liang Liquid, if you have it."
"... "
"Ah, best if it's Five Liang Liquid."