Chapter 52: Dok Seo-si Tang Seo-yoon - 3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 52: Dok Seo-si Tang Seo-yoon - 3
When Sun-woo first opened the manual for the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art, he was plunged into despair.
The manual was written in the Tang Clan’s secret code.
Sun-woo, who was Tang Se-gi in shell only, had no way of knowing the clan's ciphers. To make matters worse, Tang Se-gi had lost all credibility due to his usual delinquent behavior, so there was no one willing to patiently teach him the code.
Sun-woo was overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness and fell into deep thought.
Part of him wanted to throw everything away, but he couldn't give up on Ok-ryeong. Eventually, he reached a conclusion: he had to kidnap one of the direct-line descendants.
Of course, attempting such a thing in the heart of the Tang Clan was bordering on insanity, but no better plan came to mind.
There was less than a month left before he had to enter the Godok Hall. If he couldn't mimic the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art by then, he would lose his chance to obtain the Poison Essence forever.
*
Once his mind was made up, he moved quickly.
Sun-woo first headed to the Tang Clan’s library. He needed to check the genealogy records to see who the direct bloodline descendants were. After returning the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source manual, he stepped back inside the library.
He slowly scanned the shelves for the genealogy books. While searching, one particular book caught his eye.
It was a text titled Tang Clan Secret Records.
He picked it up and skimmed the contents, finding various secret histories—both large and small—that had occurred within the clan. He was about to dismiss it as trivial when one passage grabbed his attention.
[[The Tang Clan Head summoned a Clan Meeting to discuss the status of the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers. After a long debate, it was decided that the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers, which had previously been open to any direct bloodline descendant, would now be restricted so that only the Clan Head could inherit it.]]
Upon reading this, Sun-woo nearly cheered.
Wasn't the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers the very martial art he had learned in the underground archives of the Cheonmu Alliance? Although his mastery was too low to execute it perfectly, he remembered the formulas and forms vividly.
I can use this.
The Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers, along with the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art, was one of the Tang Clan's greatest techniques. If such a magnificent art was being monopolized by the Clan Head alone, there was bound to be resentment.
He felt that if he looked carefully, he might be able to secure an ally within the clan.
Flip, flip.
Sun-woo began leafing through the Tang Clan Secret Records once more. Before long, he found the passage he was looking for.
It described a girl with heavenly talent who had inherited the clan's martial arts. Having secretly learned the arts from her father, the Clan Head at the time, her piercing talent was eventually discovered by the Elders and the Council of Elders. As a result, she was forbidden from marrying out of the clan.
In exchange, she was permitted to learn the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art, which was usually reserved for male direct-line descendants. The records stated that she was currently a top-tier master who had reached the Super-Peak Realm at the young age of her early thirties.
Despite being a woman, she had mastered the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art to a high degree.
The moment he finished reading, a thrill like a bolt of lightning surged through Sun-woo.
This is it!
If she was someone who had abandoned her happiness as a woman to obsess over martial arts...
If she was someone who had overcome the limitations of her gender to learn a legendary art like the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source...
If she was someone so ambitious that she reached the Super-Peak Realm in her early thirties...
She would definitely take the bait of the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers. No, he had to make her take it.
The plans that had been blurry in Sun-woo's mind suddenly became crystal clear. They say there's always a way out, even if the heavens fall. To Sun-woo, she was that way out.
He had to seize this opportunity.
Sun-woo began scouring the Tang Clan Secret Records again to find out who she was. However, the records only listed the names of the Clan Head, the Great Elder, and the Great Council Elder. Her name was nowhere to be found.
Sun-woo put the Tang Clan Secret Records back and started looking for the clan's genealogy. Even if she wasn't in the secret records, her name would surely be in the family tree.
After searching for a while, he finally found the Tang Clan genealogy, titled Tangmunbo.
Perfect!
Just as he was about to flip it open—
"Young Master, the library's closing time has arrived. You must come out now."
The librarian's voice reached his ears. His flow interrupted, Sun-woo replied irritably.
"I know."
Sun-woo grabbed the Tangmunbo and walked straight out.
"I'm taking this."
"You must return it by tomorrow morning."
The librarian answered indifferently while filling out a checkout slip.
Receiving the slip, Sun-woo immediately ran back to his quarters. He wanted to confirm her name as soon as possible. Upon arriving, he opened the Tangmunbo and began searching for the names of the direct bloodline.
Flip, flip.
The Tangmunbo contained detailed personal information not only for the direct bloodline but also for the collateral bloodlines.
Damn, how many kids did these people pop out?!
Flip, flip, flip.
After flipping through many pages, he finally discovered the name of the genius female master who had learned the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source.
She was the younger sister of the current Clan Head, Tang Jin-cheol, with a significant age gap between them—a woman of heavenly talent and the first female in the Tang Clan to be taught the direct-line martial arts.
Dok Seo-si Tang Seo-yoon. It was her.
Found you!
Sun-woo cheered inwardly.
*
Having confirmed her name, Sun-woo immediately walked toward her residence. He intended to settle this today while the iron was hot.
Fortunately, the Tangmunbo listed not only her name but also her age, martial arts level, and even the location of her quarters in detail. Sun-woo was able to find her place without much trouble.
It was a small pavilion located in a corner directly opposite Sun-woo's own quarters.
Just as Sun-woo neared Tang Seo-yoon's residence, a tremendous aura began to swirl from the training ground nearby.
Startled by the intensity, Sun-woo activated the Formless Shadow Stealth Technique and approached the training ground.
Looking inside, he saw a woman sitting cross-legged in the very center with her eyes closed. With hair as fine as ebony, slightly arched sword-like eyebrows, a sharp nose, and beautiful lips that seemed to glow red despite being tightly shut, she was beautiful enough to be called a peerless beauty.
Even with her eyes closed, the combination of her features made the word "beauty" come naturally to mind.
Tang Seo-yoon?
This woman was undoubtedly Dok Seo-si Tang Seo-yoon. According to the Tang Clan Secret Records, many rising stars had shed tears of regret upon learning she was forbidden from marrying.
As if those stories weren't lies, she possessed a grace that made her look like a fairy descended to the mortal realm.
Gulp.
He couldn't help but swallow hard at the sight.
Whirrrrrrr!
However, Sun-woo was quickly snapped back to his senses by the massive amount of poisonous qi gathering around her.
What the hell is that?!
The poisonous qi was so dense that it began to invade his body even though he was watching from a considerable distance.
Get lost, you bastards.
Sun-woo circulated his Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art, incinerating all the poisonous qi trying to enter his body.
As time passed, the poisonous qi around her grew even larger, and the training ground began to be blanketed in a toxic mist.
"What the fuck is going on?"
Sun-woo cursed under his breath as he continued to burn away the encroaching poison.
Boom!
Soon, a loud explosion rattled his eardrums. The poisonous qi that had covered the training ground dissipated in an instant.
Sun-woo looked at Tang Seo-yoon again, puzzled. Five green rings had appeared above her head.
It was the Five Energies Converging to the Origin.
Seeing those five rings, Sun-woo could feel it. She had broken through the wall and reached the stage known as the Upper Stage of the Super-Peak Realm.
Whoa.
What incredible talent. To achieve the exalted Upper Stage of the Super-Peak Realm at the young age of her early thirties.
Soon, the five rings began to slowly fade away.
"Haa... haa..."
As the rings vanished, she began to pant heavily. It seemed that ascending to a new realm had consumed a significant amount of her mental and physical energy.
Thud.
She collapsed right there on the cold floor of the training ground.
Seeing this, Sun-woo deactivated his Formless Shadow Stealth Technique and revealed himself. A smile naturally spread across his face.
He had been worried about her formidable martial arts strength. He had been anxious that she might attack before he could even try to talk to her, so her fainting on her own was a welcome turn of events.
In fact, for Sun-woo, who had even considered subduing her by force, this was a very satisfying outcome.
Sun-woo carried the unconscious woman into her quarters. He then bound her hands and feet with the shackles he had prepared in advance.
Then, he quietly waited for her to wake up.
*
The first thing Sun-woo did after she woke up was reveal his identity. Hiding it poorly would only increase her suspicion. For a clean deal, he needed to be transparent.
After all, the one who needed help wasn't Sun-woo, but Tang Se-gi.
Sun-woo utilized the Zhu-Rong Art to transform into the likeness of the Tang Clan's delinquent, Tang Se-gi. Upon seeing him, she was naturally enraged, but she quickly regained her composure.
Fortunately, the death of a kinsman didn't seem to be a particularly big deal to her. Or perhaps it was just because the kinsman in question was the scoundrel Tang Se-gi.
After that, everything went smoothly.
Filled with a thirst for martial arts, she couldn't refuse the attractive bait of the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers and eventually ended up in the same boat as Sun-woo.
Since she had now seen the execution of the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers, she was also a criminal who would be punished by clan law, so she wouldn't be able to speak of this carelessly.
Having accepted Sun-woo's deal, Tang Seo-yoon asked, "What should we do first?"
Sun-woo pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Let's start by touching your belly."
"You crazy bastard."
She immediately surged her internal energy.
After the deal was struck, Sun-woo had released her shackles and acupoints as a sign of trust. That had been his mistake. She began to pressure Sun-woo by drawing upon her massive internal energy and poisonous qi from the Upper Stage of the Super-Peak Realm.
"Wait, listen to me! There's a reason!"
"Shut up, you bastard!"
Crash!
Furniture and various items began to be swept up and smashed.
"Is this woman crazy?!"
Her attacks were backed by significant internal energy. Flustered, Sun-woo quickly began to dodge her onslaught.
*
After the brief scuffle ended, Sun-woo was stroking his cheek. She had landed a solid slap on him.
"If you wanted to feel the flow of the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art through my dantian, you should have said so from the start."
"You didn't give me a chance to speak."
"Anyway, I'm sorry. But still, where did you get the idea to suddenly touch the belly of a virgin you've just met?"
"It was a joke."
"Crazy bastard."
Tang Seo-yoon snorted, but she fell into thought as she looked at him. She had thought he might have a trick or two up his sleeve, but she never imagined he would dodge her attacks so effortlessly. She had intended to at least break an arm or a leg to establish dominance, but because he was stronger than expected, it ended with just a slap.
"What are you looking at?" Sun-woo asked, feeling her gaze.
"Nothing."
In her mind, she was simulating a battle with Sun-woo. Once he obtained the Poison Essence, wouldn't they become enemies again? She always had to be prepared.
"Anyway, you want to feel the flow of the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art through my dantian, right?"
"Exactly."
"But why?"
"To enter the Godok Hall, I have to mimic the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source."
"You're going to mimic it?"
Tang Seo-yoon asked back, sounding incredulous. Similar martial arts could exist in the world, but there was no such thing as a martial art that could simply be "mimicked." Internal energy itself had different properties and characteristics depending on the technique; how could one possibly imitate that?
Furthermore, in the case of the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source, it was a poison art where the poisonous qi and internal energy were integrated. It was an absurd claim.
"I'm doing it because it's possible, so shut up and show me your belly."
"Touch it over my clothes, you lecherous bastard."
"To grasp the flow properly, it's better to touch the bare skin."
"Still, touch it over the clothes."
"Then it'll take a long time. Are you okay with that?"
"How long?"
"About half a shijin?"
Hearing Sun-woo's words, Tang Seo-yoon furrowed her fine eyebrows. What kind of nonsense was that?
"Sigh."
Rustle.
She let out a deep sigh and lifted her top. Regardless of anything else, she didn't want him touching her belly for half a shijin.
As she lifted her clothes, her milky-white skin filled Sun-woo's vision.
Gulp.
Sun-woo involuntarily swallowed his saliva at the sight of her fair skin.
"Don't swallow your spit, you filthy bastard."
"Alright, alright."
Sun-woo brushed off her words and quietly placed his hand on her belly.
Squish.
The sensation of her soft skin was transmitted directly to his hand.
Wow, this is incredible.
The touch of soft skin, something he hadn't felt in a long time, made Sun-woo feel like his eyes might glaze over in a daze. However, he quickly regained his composure and focused. Now was the time to truly mimic the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source.
"Circulate the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art."
"Fine."
At Sun-woo's request, Tang Seo-yoon began to circulate the art. Sun-woo then began to flow his Yin-Yang Harmony Qi into her dantian.
Hummmmmm.
Soon, the Yin-Yang Harmony Qi Sun-woo sent in slowly merged with the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source. Then, the two energies, now completely one, began to move slowly along her acupoints.
I can feel it!
Sun-woo cheered inwardly. He had begun to feel the flow of the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art.