Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: The Cloud Dragon and the Assassin Ghost
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It was a clash for the ages.
On one side was Gu Pae-seon, hailed as the Light-Splitting Immortal of the Kunlun Sect. On the other was Dang Cheong-cheon, known as the Assassin Ghost of the Sichuan Tang Clan. A confrontation of a caliber rarely seen, even in the conflict-ridden martial world.
Gu Pae-seon's sword glinted in the moonlight, splitting the very light itself. The sight of faint clouds reflected on its blade was a masterpiece in its own right.
In contrast, Dang Cheong-cheon prepared hidden weapons that were darkness incarnate, reflecting no light. The projectiles he threw remained silent even at the moment of impact.
Initially, Dang Cheong-cheon had the upper hand.
Frighteningly fast weapons flew without a sound, making them exceedingly difficult to predict. Gu Pae-seon dodged or blocked Dang Cheong-cheon's attacks several times, but the relentless assault from the darkness put him on the defensive.
Such was the nature of facing the Assassin Ghost at night.
However, none of the numerous hidden weapons or poisons reached Gu Pae-seon. The layers of experience he had accumulated over countless years enabled him to evade every single one.
As was his habit, Dang Cheong-cheon began to taunt him.
“Why… do you only dodge? Could it be that the Cloud Dragon, said to be an absolute master of the martial world, is afraid of me?”
“Heh heh heh, what good would a dragon above the clouds be if it feared an assassin ghost?”
“…In that case, I will end this quickly for you.”
“Try if you can.”
Dang Cheong-cheon revealed one of the Tang Clan’s ultimate techniques.
“Myriad Blossoms Rain.”
“Cloud Sea Flying Shadow.”
As Dang Cheong-cheon’s hidden weapons blackened the sky, Gu Pae-seon leaped toward that dark expanse without hesitation. He soared through the air, dodging the projectiles one by one as if gliding gently through the void.
His movements were as natural as a floating dark cloud. The countless weapons that missed their mark fell toward the ground, having failed to reach him. However, they stopped mid-descent and changed direction. Dang Cheong-cheon was manipulating them from afar. The weapons flew once more, as if brought back to life.
Gu Pae-seon responded to this bizarre feat immediately.
“Supreme Purity Sword. Dark Sandalwood Whip Flourish.”
His coiling sword strikes deflected the weapons, and he used the Flying Dragon Chasing Lightning footwork to pursue Dang Cheong-cheon. But Dang Cheong-cheon executed his own movement art, maintaining a certain distance while controlling the falling projectiles.
He also unleashed new weapons from within his robes.
*Pang! Pang!*
Fierce sonic booms echoed each time he threw them.
Gu Pae-seon watched him and exclaimed in admiration.
“Truly a master of the highest caliber!”
“Today will be your last, old man!”
“The outcome is only certain once we’ve crossed blades! Returning Dragon Shattering Demon Sword!”
Gu Pae-seon infused his sword with extremely condensed internal energy and unleashed it into the air. The energy formed a powerfully rotating cloud dragon centered on him. The cloud dragon ascended fiercely, pulverizing the hidden weapons.
Gu Pae-seon flew toward Dang Cheong-cheon within the fierce vortex. He didn't just pursue his opponent; he launched an additional attack.
“Azure Sky Sword.”
A long stream of sword energy, as if to pierce the heavens. Gu Pae-seon's sword energy surged menacingly toward Dang Cheong-cheon, who in turn launched a barrage of overlapping, rapidly spinning weapons from his sleeve.
*KABOOM!*
A massive explosion echoed throughout the Tang estate.
But Gu Pae-seon didn't lose momentum and continued his relentless pursuit.
‘If I don't catch him now, there won't be another chance!’
Dang Cheong-cheon was still showering Gu Pae-seon with a constant stream of weapons.
“Wandering Dragon Sword.”
The form of a dragon, indistinct as mist or cloud, enveloped Gu Pae-seon. It blocked the projectiles coming from all directions with its hard, elegant scales.
*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
Dang Cheong-cheon’s weapons could not reach him.
“Dragon Form Step.”
Gu Pae-seon weaved through the deflected weapons like a living dragon. He raised his sword, condensed his internal energy, and struck down.
*CRASH!*
Dang Cheong-cheon hastily drew a dagger to defend himself, but the force of Gu Pae-seon’s sword sent him stumbling back, desperately trying to create distance again. A trickle of blood flowed from his mouth.
“Cough!”
While maintaining his Cloud Sea Flying Shadow, Gu Pae-seon unleashed a series of palm strikes.
“Cloud Crane Palm, Demon Subduing Palm, Demon Vanquishing Palm.”
Gu Pae-seon’s palm strikes flew in a straight line, as noble as a crane above the clouds. Dang Cheong-cheon immediately threw over thirty daggers in response. They were coated in a dangerous poison, fatal even to the most powerful masters.
*BOOM!*
*CRACK!*
The poisoned daggers tore through Gu Pae-seon’s palm strikes and continued to surge toward him. However.
“Cloud Crane Sword!”
A crimson energy rose from the tip of his sword, then vaporized into a white cloud. From within the cloud, a sword energy like a crane shot out like an arrow.
*KABOOM!*
Dang Cheong-cheon realized he had run out of the weapons prepared in his sleeves.
“M-Myriad… Return… to…”
“It’s over.”
‘Jade Shatters on Kunlun Mountain.’
Its name came from the saying that when Kunlun Mountain catches fire, both rock and jade perish without distinction. This was unequivocally an ultimate technique of Kunlun, a killing move—Jade Shatters on Kunlun Mountain.
*Slash!*
Dang Cheong-cheon, a renowned master in the martial world, had five sword marks carved into his body.
“Ugh, to end like this…”
With a short cry, Dang Cheong-cheon split into five pieces.
*Swoosh!*
The streams of light from Gu Pae-seon’s sword had not only cut through all the poison and hidden weapons but had also sliced through Dang Cheong-cheon himself. It was the victory of the Light-Splitting Immortal, Gu Pae-seon.
***
Immediately after the battle between Gu Pae-seon and Dang Cheong-cheon concluded, Seol Ha-ryeong, Gu Yang-baek, Pa-sun, and Un-pyo arrived. The scene was as devastating as if a natural disaster had struck.
The traces of the fight between two supreme masters of the martial world froze Seol Ha-ryeong, Gu Yang-baek, Pa-sun, and Un-pyo in their tracks.
“S-Sir.”
“…Yes. Now, let us watch. The Family Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, Dang Baek-ho. He is the Poison King. Unless it is Mu-heun, who has mastered the Myriad Fragrance, no one can easily stand against him. It seems we have all won our battles, so let us trust and wait.”
“…Yes, sir!”
***
The Poison King, Dang Baek-ho.
When one spoke of using ‘poison’ in the martial world, the Sichuan Tang Clan was indispensable. They were famous for their mastery of poison, and the name of the Tang Clan was synonymous with a gathering of poison experts.
And at their apex sat the Family Head of the Tang Clan.
The martial arts of the Tang Clan were broadly divided into two categories.
The first was poison, and the second was hidden weapons. Of course, it was common for a Tang warrior to combine poison and hidden weapons, but it was inevitable that they would excel more in one than the other.
Those skilled in hidden weapons spent most of their time honing their throwing techniques. Conversely, those skilled in poison focused on mastering poison arts, building resistance to various toxins, and filling their dantians with stronger and more varied poisons.
The Poison King, Dang Baek-ho, belonged to the latter group. While his skill with hidden weapons was formidable enough to intimidate most masters, his poison energy arts were on a completely different level.
Dang Baek-ho was famous for using not just one or two, but over a hundred types of terrifying poisons mixed together—poisons that could melt flesh and bone and cause one to vomit blood and die upon mere contact.
Such poisons could neither be mastered nor replicated by anyone other than the direct descendants who would inherit the position of Family Head. For that reason, Dang Baek-ho’s dantian was a catastrophic weapon of slaughter, an extreme killing tool rightly called a ‘Poison Disaster.’
This was why even masters of the same Transcendent Realm would not face the Poison King head-on.
If they were at the same level, the only solution was to fight in a wide-open space where they could evade his poison arts and let the wind disperse the poisonous mist.
To fight him with long-range projectiles or attacks of condensed energy—that was how martial artists envisioned a fight with the Poison King.
In the end, unless one’s internal energy or techniques completely overwhelmed him, fighting him in a confined space was tantamount to suicide.
But right now, there was someone embodying that very act of suicide.
The Fourth Young Master of the Heavenly Dance Family, the Dragon Demon, Baek Mu-heun.
He had sealed Dang Baek-ho’s office with a barrier. It trapped not only himself but also the Poison King and his servants… A powerful barrier that no one could exit unless Mu-heun died.
“You’re rushing to your death. Do you intend to make this place your grave?”
“Rushing to my death…? I’ve already died once. Why would I want to die again? Today, I will settle the score for my wretched past life.”
“Do you truly believe you can defeat me?”
“You’re the one who should stop rushing to your death. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this moment?”
“Divine Doctor… I am the Poison King. I don’t know what you thought of me, but I didn't reach this position by chance. If you hand over the Myriad Fragrance to me right now, I will grant you a painless death.”
“Pfft, ahahahahaha!”
“…”
“Hey, Dang Baek-ho. I didn’t come here with half-hearted resolve either. Let’s stop with the pointless chatter.”
“Even when I offer you a chance… I will make you feel every pain you have never experienced before.”
“Hah…”
Mu-heun let out a long sigh and spoke.
“Did you earn your title of Poison King with your mouth? Shut up and come at me! I came back from hell just to kill you.”
Mu-heun clashed the threads of demonic energy together as violently as he could, and the resulting explosion of energy radiated an ominousness that would send shivers down the spine of even a Transcendent Realm master.
The ominous violet demonic energy clashed with Dang Baek-ho’s ghastly green poison arts. The nearby servants, as if they should never have been there in the first place, saw their bodies melt, their bones and muscles crumble, and their lives stolen away.
With only the two of them remaining, the Poison King extended his sleeve first.
From his sleeve shot out daggers coated in a violet super-poison. The energy enveloping the daggers was like that of a ferocious tiger.
Mu-heun raised the Sun and Moon Sword and, imbuing it with the Heavenly Demon's energy, swung it straight down. The air in front of him seemed to split and ripple, and from that space, a black dragon shot toward Dang Baek-ho’s daggers and collided with them.
*CLANG!*
The impact completely devastated the office.
Amidst the explosion, Mu-heun charged toward Dang Baek-ho. Then, he activated a formation that simultaneously detonated the Myriad Fragrance and the Heavenly Demon's energy.
“Thunderclap Opening Heavenly Demon Sword.”
Dang Baek-ho also sensed Mu-heun approaching through the explosion. However, instead of panicking, he simply scattered a powerful poison, trying to induce Mu-heun to make contact with it.
His poison was special; it was sufficient for it to touch his opponent anywhere, be it their sleeves, shoes, or hair, not necessarily their skin.
It wouldn’t kill a Transcendent Realm master instantly, but the poison that touched him would gradually seep through his skin, nose, or mouth, destroying his blood vessels and meridians.
However, Mu-heun approached as if mocking the Poison King, and just before the scattered poison could touch him…
*Fwoosh!*
Violet flames erupted explosively, soaring toward the ceiling.
Burning away all the poison, they reached the formation inscribed with fragrance on the office ceiling. Soon, black flames and black lightning intermingled, creating a scene that resembled hell itself.
*Rumble, KABOOM!*
The desk, books, documents, and even the servants’ corpses in the office were reduced to ash, leaving not a trace behind. The poison the Poison King had scattered was also nowhere to be found.
Dang Baek-ho raised his energy and created a dark green barrier to defend himself.
*BOOM!*
He succeeded in blocking it, but he wasn’t entirely unscathed by the impact.
“You…! How in the world did you do that?”
“I was always smarter than you, wasn't I? Did you really think I would come for you without any preparations?”
After exchanging a few blows with Mu-heun, the Poison King Dang Baek-ho abandoned the thought of taking the Myriad Fragrance. This meant he would now fight Mu-heun in earnest.
“…Fine. It doesn't matter anymore. I don't care about the Myriad Fragrance or anything else. You will die here.”
But Mu-heun replied as if that didn’t matter to him at all.
“By all means.”