Chapter 105
Chapter 105
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Dragon and Tiger
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dang Baek-ho steeled his resolve, his expression hardening.
Before him stood Mu-heun.
The Sun and Moon Sword in his hand.
Most martial artists could not even begin to fathom what it meant for the Poison King, Dang Baek-ho, to fight with true seriousness.
The pillars supporting the current Orthodox martial world were the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families. Of course, there were individuals whose strength rivaled that of entire clans, but in terms of ‘influence,’ none could surpass the sects and families.
The names of the sects and clans, forged by the immense power of their ancestors, were not to be taken lightly.
Powerful martial arts manuals were passed down from their ancestors through generations. Methods for concocting spiritual elixirs that enhanced internal energy were also inherited and continued.
Moreover, they were overflowing with all manner of weapons and supplies, so they never had to worry about starvation or searching for a weapon. This left them with an abundance of time for training.
A well-refined martial arts system and plentiful resources allowed them to cultivate a large number of powerful successors.
The Tang ‘clan’—both a family and a school—which had established itself in Sichuan with martial arts centered on poison and hidden weapons, had now become one of the Five Great Families, its name revered and praised by martial artists throughout the land.
The Tang Clan continuously produced powerful successors, expanding its influence until it eventually reigned as the hegemon of Sichuan Province.
And the one who stood at the pinnacle of this clan, having trained with the highest-level martial arts manuals, consumed the finest foods and elixirs, and undergone systematic training alongside a host of other masters—that was him.
The one who always looked down upon the martial world from the highest peak, the one unrivaled in the art of poison, was none other than the Tang Family Head, Dang Baek-ho.
But Mu-heun couldn't care less about any of that. He was a doctor, not a martial artist, so such a reputation meant nothing to him in the first place.
Besides, his master was the Heavenly Demon, known as the greatest of all time.
A martial art renowned throughout the world?
He could say with certainty that no martial art could ever match the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon.
Just then.
“Myriad Streams Return to the Source.”
Dang Baek-ho manipulated his energy, recalling all the hidden weapons he had thrown. The retrieved weapons hovered gently in the air around him.
Seeing Dang Baek-ho’s martial prowess, Mu-heun felt a renewed sense of awe. He finally understood why the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families had not been crushed by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult until now.
“Telekinetically controlling hundreds of hidden weapons… Truly the head of the Tang Clan.”
But Dang Baek-ho did not take Mu-heun’s words as a compliment.
“You bastard… You’d be wise not to act so relaxed.”
“If you had used such martial skill for good, I wouldn’t have had to come here to kill you.”
Mu-heun was furious. The deeds these men committed under the banner of the Orthodox Sects were simply unbearable.
*I will make sure these sons of bitches can never wield their power so recklessly again.*
With an even greater power!
Mu-heun drew upon the violet-black dragon in his dantian with greater precision, unleashing an explosion of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements. The martial aura he generated momentarily reached the zenith of the demonic path.
This was the reason the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon was called a divine art, unlike other martial arts. It was not bound by time, rules, or any other concept, and it allowed its wielder to gain a temporary advantage even against beings they could not yet surpass.
“……!!”
The Poison King, Dang Baek-ho, could not hide his astonishment. Until now, the man’s martial prowess had been around the middle stage of the Transcendent Realm, but now it was on par with his own… No, in terms of sheer energy, he might even be superior.
Dang Baek-ho’s mind raced, and he immediately launched a preemptive strike.
From the wreckage of the tables and drawers incinerated by the black lightning, daggers shot out, flying toward Mu-heun on different trajectories.
*Swoosh!*
Mu-heun predicted the paths of the incoming daggers and deflected them with a swing of his Sun and Moon Sword.
*Clang! Clang!*
Just then, flying daggers began to circle around Mu-heun, bursting into ferocious flames that started to trap him.
*‘Soul-Burning Daggers… In that case.’*
While continuously releasing the Myriad Fragrance, Mu-heun created an intense sun with his Sun and Moon Sword.
“Purple Sun Arts.”
*Fwoosh!*
The purple sun that emerged from the sword’s tip seemed to become one with it. Mu-heun swung it in dozens of different arcs.
*KRAAANG!*
Soon, everything in the office was shattered without exception. Dang Baek-ho, now clinging to the ceiling, unleashed a torrent of Soul-Shattering Ox-Hair Needles.
“Rainstorm Piercing the Heart Shot!”
Like a downpour from the sky, the ox-hair needles, coated in deadly poison, rained down. Each one was imbued with powerful internal energy and, thanks to the tough nature of ox hair, was difficult to block or parry.
However, Mu-heun made a flower of demonic flames bloom on his Sun and Moon Sword.
*Fwoooosh.*
Its power was enough to incinerate even the meticulously crafted ox-hair needles. The needles that weren’t burned were cut down with storm-like speed or deflected with the hardness of steel.
*Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!*
He cut and swung, again and again. He had met the countless Soul-Shattering Ox-Hair Needles—one of the Tang Clan’s eight great hidden weapons—head-on as they fell from the sky.
“This…! It’s impossible…”
*‘Right, his energy is like fire, so the ox-hair needles might not be effective.’*
The Poison King was taken aback by the fact that Mu-heun hadn't dodged, but had instead blocked every single one of those meticulous needles from the front.
However, he still had plenty of ways to attack.
“Heavenly King Needle Case.”
He levitated a bamboo case into the air and shattered it with a powerful burst of poison energy.
Countless poison needles emerged from within the bamboo case and immediately shot toward Mu-heun.
Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles, Soul-Shattering Ox-Hair Needles, Golden Wasp Needles, Fine Blood-Severing Needles—all coated in deadly poisons that would prove fatal with a single scratch.
But Mu-heun was not one to be taken down so easily.
An energy based on Yin-Yang and the Five Elements exploded from his dantian, transforming into a massive Heavenly Demonic Ki that manifested as a pair of black dragons at the tip of his Sun and Moon Sword.
The sword tip, now a twofold manifestation of black dragons, aimed at Dang Baek-ho on the ceiling as Mu-heun leaped up with enough force to shatter the ground.
Like a meteor ascending in reverse, Mu-heun charged toward the Poison King, but the twin black dragons rose with an even fiercer momentum, faster than him.
“Twin Dragons Ascend to the Heavens.”
The twin dragons pulverized the thousands of poison needles before reaching the Poison King, Dang Baek-ho. It was a speed beyond imagination; Dang Baek-ho was struck before he even realized the massive dragon maws were upon him.
*KRA-BOOOOM!*
A tremendous roar echoed as the explosion instantly filled the entirety of Dang Baek-ho’s office, which stood three *zhang* (approx. 3 meters) high.
If not for the World-Severing Barrier that Mu-heun had created by combining the Seonmuyi, a treasure he received from Pae-seon, with the Myriad Fragrance, the explosion would have blown the entire office to smithereens.
But because such an explosion was contained in one place… its density could only be greater.
*Ssssss.*
The explosion subsided, and the thick dust settled.
However, on one side of the office, Dang Baek-ho was visible, his head bowed, blood dripping to the floor.
He had raised his internal energy to defend himself, but signs of severe wounds and burns were visible all over his body.
In contrast, Mu-heun, standing opposite him, had only his clothes torn and tattered, but was otherwise largely unharmed.
Mu-heun raised his Sun and Moon Sword, pointed it at Dang Baek-ho, and sneered.
“Poison King?”
At that, Dang Baek-ho slowly raised his head, his face filled with a crazed madness.
“Keheheheheheheh!”
Dang Baek-ho burst into a hollow laugh.
“Kahahahahahahahaha!”
The hollow laugh soon turned into a maniacal one.
“……”
Mu-heun simply watched him in silence. Soon, Dang Baek-ho stopped laughing, his expression hardened, and he spoke with an eerie glint in his eyes.
“Not yet.”
His eyes were as cold as the icy surface of a perpetually snow-capped mountain, and his voice was as chilling as a lethally venomous snake.
Just then.
“Kaack!”
Dang Baek-ho let out an unintelligible shriek… and the ground began to shake.
And then…
*Craaack.*
The ground split open.
No, the ground caved in.
Mu-heun and Dang Baek-ho were instantly sucked down into the basement beneath the collapsed office. It was a new experience for Mu-heun, and he was quite startled. A basement of unfathomable depth.
*Thud!*
As they fell into the basement, the opening in the office floor slammed shut.
Not even the light of the waxing moon that had occasionally filtered into the office reached this place. In the pitch-black darkness, only eerie movements and dozens of presences could be felt.
The presences moved naturally in this lightless, cave-like space. Their movements were impossibly fast, far beyond what could be considered human… and they were vicious.
After activating his Heavenly Demon’s Eyes, he focused his energy into his vision and expanded his senses to survey his surroundings. The space was as vast as a large estate.
*‘To build a space like this underground…’*
But that wasn’t what Mu-heun found so vicious.
The beings now scurrying around from all directions, exuding a chilling aura… Yes, they were… no, *those things* were not human. Or rather, they were no longer human.
Poisonous centipedes, poisonous frogs, poisonous moths, poisonous snakes, venomous bees—this place, where such dangerous creatures were gathered, was clearly a *gu* pot. The problem was that the creatures had taken human form.
“Poison Blood Demons…”
This was the reason he had tried to modify my great technique designed to heal people, the monsters he had intended to cultivate by capturing innocent orphans… He had created them through his own experiments.
Those things, which resembled living corpses, were no longer living humans. They were merely monsters controlled by *gu*-poison, their bodies teeming with parasitic poisonous insects. They were grotesque.
Chaos itself, no longer even classifiable as living.
Mu-heun’s heart pounded, and a fire raged within him.
“Dang Baek-ho… you son of a bitch!”
“Kekekekekeke. Do you see it now? The result of what you tried to stop.”
“And you still call yourself a human? Even beasts wouldn’t do something like this.”
“Of course, I’m human. Divine Doctor… beasts are not as evil as humans. And do you think you bear no responsibility?”
“What?”
“Divine Doctor, if only you had cooperated, they wouldn’t have ended up in this state, would they?”
“Do you want to live? You’re spouting nonsense.”
“If you had obediently cooperated in creating the formation to cultivate Poison Blood Demons, they wouldn’t have been made into such hideous forms. Of course, implanting the *gu*-poison would have been unavoidable since they had to obey my commands, but at least they could have maintained their human appearance.”
“……”
“So, you’re also responsible! You pathetic bastard! That petty goodwill! Justice! Pride! The world doesn’t run on things like that! The only thing that moves and changes the world is power! It’s because of your pathetic goodwill that they ended up like this. The one who killed them was you, Divine Doctor!”
As Mu-heun listened to Dang Baek-ho, he observed the poison mist spreading throughout the basement.
The Poison King was stalling for time. It was a poison mist so potent that any other master would have succumbed to it. He could picture countless masters, their senses paralyzed, slowly dying without even realizing it, all while listening to this sophistry, growing enraged and provoked.
Of course, it wasn’t that he wasn't angry. Dozens of lives had been cruelly experimented on, becoming one with insects to turn into horrific Poison Blood Demons. Soon, they would charge at me…
He was disgusted by Dang Baek-ho’s cruelty, and for that, he was glad. Glad that he could be the one to sever that bastard’s head with his own hands before the damage grew any worse.
The Poison Blood Demons couldn't even make human sounds, only the bizarre noises of insects, as they awaited the Poison King’s command.
They were pitiful things. Mu-heun let out a sigh and spoke.
“My only regret is that I have to simply kill you.”
“……!”
Dang Baek-ho sensed that something was wrong.
The man had just taken a breath.
Yet he stood there perfectly fine, with no change in his expression or complexion.
*Damn it… Could he be neutralizing the hundreds of deadly poisons in the air?* It was an impossible notion, yet it was happening.
Was the Divine Doctor truly divine?