Chapter 49: Plotting to Acquire the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art-2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 49: Plotting to Acquire the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art-2
What are Poison Arts?
In general, Poison Arts have been shunned by many due to their inherent danger and inefficiency.
To master Poison Arts, one must ingest various toxins over a long period, continuing the process of absorption and excretion until an immunity is developed. Then, based on this immunity, one absorbs poison energy. Once a certain amount of poison energy has accumulated, it must be refined into internal energy.
Only after years of such training can one finally possess the power to manipulate both poison and internal energy.
However, the process of building immunity itself is so agonizing that countless individuals either die from the pain or give up entirely. Furthermore, even if one completes their training after years of effort, a Peak Martial Artist can simply use their internal energy to burn away any toxins that invade their body. Thus, it was not a type of qigong welcomed by most martial artists.
Consequently, a prevailing opinion among the public was that Poison Arts were the martial arts of the untalented and could never reach the highest realms of mastery.
That was, until the appearance of the Poison Emperor, Tang Tae-gang.
*
A long time ago, at the Small Leiyin Temple in India, there was a warrior monk named Adukhara.
He possessed transcendent talent for martial arts and a deep-seated ambition—so much so that even his master, the Abbot of the Small Leiyin Temple, grew concerned.
One day, the master’s fears became reality.
Adukhara murdered his master and seized control of the Small Leiyin Temple. After he took over, a bloody wind swept through the Indian Murim for decades, and Adukhara eventually unified the entire region.
Fearing his treacherous path and transcendent martial arts, the people began to revere him not as a human, but as a god, calling him the Blood Buddha. He reigned over the Indian Murim as a living god.
Though he had unified India, Adukhara’s thirst remained unquenched. He turned his gaze toward the Central Plains and soon invaded with thousands of Blood Monks in tow.
Upon arriving in the Central Plains, Adukhara first struck the Shaolin Temple, known as the "Great Mountain and Northern Star" of the martial arts world, and crushed the Shaolin Abbot’s skull in a single blow.
The world was struck with horror at the news.
What was Shaolin? It was the literal pillar of the Murim and the symbol of the Orthodox factions. That very symbol had been brought down instantly by Adukhara’s hand.
Following this, Adukhara marched through Mount Hua, Jongnam, and Diancang, beating all their sect leaders to death. No one could stop him, and his invasion resulted in the annihilation of more than half of the Central Plains' martial forces.
Just as everyone fell into despair, waiting for the end of the Central Plains Murim...
Tang Tae-gang appeared.
The world scoffed at his arrival. How could he dare challenge the Blood Buddha, a living god, with a low-class martial art like Poison Arts?
The Blood Buddha was a monster whose martial arts had already reached the heavens, having achieved both the Indestructible Body and Poison Immunity. Opposing such a man with Poison Arts seemed utterly absurd. It was certain that Tang Tae-gang wouldn't even be able to handle the Blood Monks serving under the Blood Buddha.
However, Tang Tae-gang shocked the world by turning countless Blood Monks into handfuls of poisonous sludge in a single move. The greatest elite group, composed of martial artists at the Peak Realm or higher, had melted away under his single technique.
Infuriated by the death of his subordinates, Adukhara lunged at Tang Tae-gang. The heavens and earth shook as their battle began.
Every time Tang Tae-gang swung his hand, immense amounts of poisonous qi drenched the earth and covered the sky. Adukhara took all that poisonous qi with his body—which had reached the state of Poison Immunity—and swung his fists at Tang Tae-gang.
After three days and nights of fierce combat, the victor was Tang Tae-gang.
Adukhara vanished, turned into a handful of poisonous liquid, and Tang Tae-gang stood tall as the protector of the Central Plains Murim.
Having saved the martial world, he became known as the Poison Emperor and gained fame as the World's Greatest Martial Artist. He provided the catalyst for changing the public perception that one could not reach the pinnacle through Poison Arts.
And the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art that Tang Tae-gang mastered became the secret martial art that only the direct line of the Tang Clan could learn.
Originally, the "Gwiwon-gong"—the root of the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art—was nothing more than a low-level cultivation method practiced by branch families. However, through the innate genius of Tang Tae-gang, it was transformed into a legendary martial art.
The power of the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art was so immense that it truly deserved the title of "Divine Art." It boasted an efficiency that was on a completely different level from existing Poison Arts.
It did not follow the method of building immunity like traditional Poison Arts. The principle of the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art was to view poisonous qi and internal energy as a single world, merging them into one to achieve harmony.
Because of this, there was no longer a need to spend decades building immunity, nor was there a need to separately convert poison energy into internal energy. Why bother converting them when the poisonous qi and internal energy were already in perfect harmony?
The direct-line descendants who mastered this art became significantly stronger, leading to a massive increase in the Sichuan Tang Clan's overall power. It was the greatest Poison Art the world would ever see.
*
And that was exactly why Sun-woo was currently nursing a massive headache.
Sun-woo was lying on his bed, reading the manual labeled Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art.
After some time had passed...
Thud.
"Fuck, I can't do this."
Sun-woo threw the manual onto the floor. If the elders or seniors of the Tang Clan had seen this, they would have clutched the backs of their necks in shock, but Sun-woo didn't seem to care.
He was annoyed.
Obtaining the manual for the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art hadn't been difficult. As long as he had permission to remove it from the library—which was only open to the direct line—he could borrow it whenever he wanted.
He hadn't been worried when he first brought the manual to his room, but once he actually started reading, he found it impossible to understand. The manual he had borrowed contained no annotations or interpretations whatsoever.
Clans are extremely cautious when writing manuals, especially for secret techniques. To prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, most are written using various codes and metaphorical expressions.
The Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art was no different. Written in the Tang Clan's unique ciphers and metaphors, the manual was worlds apart from standard martial arts books.
As Sun-woo read, frustration and irritation welled up inside him. There was no way that Sun-woo, who was merely inhabiting Tang Se-gi's shell, could understand a manual written in the Tang Clan's secret code.
Ultimately, unable to contain his anger, Sun-woo had tossed the manual to the floor.
What do I do?
He fell into deep thought. He had to mimic the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art by any means necessary to enter the Godok Hall. And he had to do it well enough to reach the 5th stage.
He had believed it would be possible with the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art, which could replicate the energy and flow of any martial art. But he was being held back by the fact that the manual was written in code.
How was he supposed to mimic a martial art he didn't even understand? He needed a plan.
Should I ask someone to add annotations and interpretations?
That was impossible. Currently, not a single direct-line descendant who had mastered the art was on Tang Se-gi's side. It was certain that no one existed who would kindly explain it to him from the basics.
Or should I ambush someone who knows the art and forcibly figure out their energy flow and characteristics?
That was also out of the question. Anyone who had mastered the art was bound to be a direct-line relative. How could he just ambush someone in the middle of the Tang Clan estate? If something went wrong and they died, an investigation would be launched, and it would only be a matter of time before his identity was exposed.
There was no way. He wrung his brain for ideas, but nothing came to mind.
However, he couldn't just sit idly by. If he missed this chance, he would lose the Poison Essence forever. He couldn't let that happen.
He had to find a way. A way to safely grasp the flow and characteristics of the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art. No matter what it took.
*
Sun-woo headed to the library with the manual in hand.
In the case of a secret art like this, it could only be taken out for one shijin a day, so it had to be returned once the time was up. Having gained nothing, Sun-woo was returning the book less than half a shijin after borrowing it.
Tang Tae, the librarian guarding the archives, looked at Sun-woo with disdain. When the delinquent had first borrowed the manual, Tang Tae wondered what had gotten into him, but as expected, he was back to return it in less than half a shijin.
That good-for-nothing brat. Tsk, tsk.
He strongly disliked Tang Se-gi. As a mere member of a branch family, Tang Tae was stuck practicing low-level martial arts and guarding the clan library, while this undeserving brat ignored the legendary techniques available to him and spent his time fooling around.
If it were him, he would have used every second of the borrowing time and visited the library repeatedly until he understood it perfectly.
"Take this."
Tang Tae took the book Sun-woo handed him and read the title.
The Tang Clan Genealogy.
The Tang Clan Genealogy was a book organized in a chart format, primarily focusing on the paternal line, to make the Tang Clan's lineage and blood relations easy to understand. It was essentially the clan's family tree.
"You must return it by tomorrow morning."
He filled out a removal form and handed it to Sun-woo. It was a confirmation slip for borrowing the book.
"Understood."
Sun-woo gave a short reply and disappeared with the book.
Tang Tae couldn't understand his behavior. With the opening of the Godok Hall just around the corner, why on earth was he digging through a family tree?
Even Tang Tae knew of the Godok Hall's notoriety. It wasn't a place one could pass through on luck alone. If he were in Se-gi's shoes, he would have spent even more time practicing martial arts just to ease his anxiety. In the Godok Hall, where there was neither water nor food, the only thing one could rely on was their martial arts.
Yet, after returning the secret manual, Tang Se-gi had borrowed a book called the Tang Clan Genealogy and vanished. He wasn't even looking through martial arts manuals; he had left with a useless family tree.
Tang Tae clicked his tongue as he watched the direction Tang Se-gi had gone. To think that such a fellow carried the blood of the direct line—the clan was surely doomed.
*
Flip, flip, flip.
Returning to his quarters, Sun-woo hurriedly flipped through the Tang Clan Genealogy. He had to find it. He had to find it no matter what.
Flip, flip, flip.
Damn, how many kids did these people pop out?!
Sun-woo was appalled by the sheer volume of the records. But he didn't give up. It was his only remaining hope.
Flip...
Found it!
As he scanned the book, Sun-woo finally found what he was looking for. His hope for mastering the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art.
*
In a Murim clan, the status of women is not particularly high.
Due to physical characteristics, women were generally considered weaker than men and found it harder to endure high-intensity training. They also possessed the perceived disadvantage of the monthly menstrual cycle. Consequently, even if they practiced the same martial arts, it was common for their achievements to fall short of men's.
Furthermore, unless they brought in a live-in son-in-law, they would eventually marry into another family and become outsiders. Thus, it was rare for them to hold high positions.
Because of this, most Murim clans focused on teaching women cultural subjects like the Four Books and Three Classics or the "Four Arts" (zither, go, calligraphy, and painting), along with feminine etiquette, cooking, and bedchamber arts, primarily utilizing them for the purpose of political marriages.
This was especially severe in the Tang Clan, which had a strong male-oriented culture. Women were not even allowed to learn the basic techniques. If they happened to learn them out of necessity, they were forced to either take a live-in husband or live alone for the rest of their lives.
However, there are exceptions to every rule.
In the Tang Clan, which viewed women only as tools for political strategy, there was one existence who shattered that mold.
That was Tang Seo-yoon, the younger sister of the current Clan Head, Tang Jin-cheol.
"Poison Reading Poem," Tang Seo-yoon.
She was the first woman in the history of the Tang Clan to be permitted to learn the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art.
Originally, she was the youngest daughter born late in the previous Clan Head's life. From birth, she was a child who monopolized the affection of the clan elders with her lovely appearance. Unlike most girls, she was filled with a passion for martial arts and was dissatisfied with the clan tradition that forbade teaching women.
The only martial art permitted to her was the Three Talents Mental Method, which could be obtained in any marketplace for a bit of coin. Having already mastered it, her thirst for new martial arts grew day by day.
Ultimately, unable to endure the craving, she came up with a clever plan. Though she was young, she knew her father’s doting nature better than anyone. She visited the previous Clan Head, using all her charm and aegyo, and began to learn martial arts bit by bit.
Normally, this wouldn't have been allowed, but the previous Clan Head, enchanted by the loveliness of his late-born daughter, eventually passed down the Tang Clan's basic techniques. He figured that even if she learned martial arts, they could just bring in a live-in husband, and he doubted a woman could achieve much in martial arts anyway.
However, the previous Clan Head had overlooked an unexpected variable.
That variable was the fact that Tang Seo-yoon possessed talent beyond imagination.
When he was teaching her, he simply thought she was a quick learner and had more talent than expected. But those thoughts became a storm that began to haunt him. Her mastery, even with only the basic techniques, surpassed all her siblings except for Tang Jin-cheol.
Naturally, the elders and seniors were in an uproar when they discovered she had learned the basic techniques, and the previous Clan Head had to endure their harsh criticism. The rebukes were about his reckless decision to teach her and the matter of how to handle Tang Seo-yoon.
The previous Clan Head decided her fate through a clan meeting. First, since she had learned the clan's martial arts, it was decreed that she must either take a live-in husband or live alone for the rest of her life. Though they were basic techniques, they were strictly the Tang Clan's arts. Sending her to another family with such knowledge was out of the question.
Next, recognizing her innate talent, they permitted her entry into the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art. This was a consideration for her—since she was already forced into a life of solitude or a live-in marriage—and was pushed through by the previous Clan Head's strong insistence.
In the end, the girl who was lovelier than anyone else gained the clan's martial arts but lost the right to marry for love.
After officially beginning her training in the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art, she reached the staggering realm of Super-Peak Mid-Stage by her early thirties and was recognized as a top-tier master who would lead the next generation of the Tang Clan.