Chapter 69: Storm Over the Tang Clan-3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: Storm Over the Tang Clan-3
Tang Bang-han’s green poisonous qi surged toward Go Wol.
As expected of the poison from a master who had reached the Super-Peak Realm, it was incredibly foul.
Go Wol simply sliced through the encroaching poison with his Sword Astral.
Swaaaaak!
The moment the poison touched the Sword Astral, it scattered into nothingness.
"So, you really have reached the Super-Peak Realm."
"Did you think I came here without confidence?"
Go Wol snorted at Tang Bang-han’s words.
"I thought you were just all talk."
"Is it because you're so old that you're slow to grasp the situation?"
Tang Bang-han’s face flushed red at Go Wol’s mockery.
"You brat! Your tongue is as filthy as your manners. Take this as well!"
With those words, Tang Bang-han unleashed his movement technique, closing the distance in an instant. He thrust out a hand stained a deep green.
It was a Poison Palm.
Watching him, Go Wol smirked. For someone who looked like he’d spent his whole life cooped up in a back room just practicing martial arts, his offensive was surprisingly sharp.
But that was as far as it went.
Go Wol lashed out with his foot, kicking Tang Bang-han squarely in the chest.
"Urgh!"
Kicked back, Tang Bang-han was sent flying through the air.
Tak.
"……"
Tang Bang-han barely managed to regain his balance and land, but a chill ran down his spine. Go Wol had countered his preemptive strike with a follow-up blow that landed first.
To use the principle of 'striking later but arriving first'—it was unthinkable.
"Try to make this a bit more interesting."
As Tang Bang-han stood there dazed, Go Wol spoke with an air of boredom. His momentum and realm seemed high enough, but perhaps due to his age, his physical reaction speed was slow. Go Wol’s interest suddenly evaporated, replaced by a sense of disappointment.
"You bastard!"
Perhaps sensing his indifferent reaction, Tang Bang-han pulled a hidden weapon from his robes.
It was the Blood Butterfly.
The Blood Butterfly was a butterfly-shaped hidden weapon that, the moment it embedded itself in a target, would burrow deep into their acupoints. Once inside, it would flap its wings, shredding every acupoint in the body—a truly terrifying weapon.
It was a powerful hidden weapon famous throughout the Central Plains. Usually, hidden weapons were most effective when their identity was unknown, but the Blood Butterfly was different. While it was better if the enemy didn't know what it was, it didn't matter even if they did. Once it struck, there was no way to prepare for it.
If one's acupoints were torn apart, they would be unable to circulate internal energy until the damage was healed. For a martial artist, it was a fatal condition.
"Is that the Blood Butterfly?"
"Hmph, at least you have eyes. That’s right! This is the Blood Butterfly that will guide you to hell!"
Pshhh!
With those words, Tang Bang-han hurled the Blood Butterfly at Go Wol. The weapon began to fly toward him, its wings fluttering rapidly. It bobbed up, down, left, and right, making its trajectory nearly impossible to predict. Moreover, its speed was so great that it seemed impossible to dodge.
I’ll just swat it away.
Go Wol tracked the Blood Butterfly with his eyes as it zigzagged toward him. Once it entered his range, he swung his Sword Astral without hesitation.
Clang!
Despite the Blood Butterfly’s speed, it couldn't escape the vision of a Super-Peak master. Go Wol swatted it away with ease.
"What kind of pathetic—"
Go Wol spat out a curse at the underwhelming attack. He had expected something from a Super-Peak master, but the man was a lunatic who announced his hidden weapon before throwing it. And this wasn't a duel; it was a fight to the death. He was clearly a typical 'back-room master' with not a shred of real combat experience.
However, it didn't take long for him to realize his prediction was wrong.
It happened just as he was about to hurl another insult at Tang Bang-han. Tang Bang-han, who had been about thirty feet away, was suddenly right in front of his face.
"Huh?"
"Die!"
Thwack!
Having closed the distance in the blink of an eye, Tang Bang-han slammed a Poison Palm into the left side of Go Wol's chest. He had used the moment Go Wol was distracted by the Blood Butterfly to rush in and strike.
"Kh!"
Taking the Poison Palm head-on, Go Wol was pushed back a long distance before finally dropping to one knee. He felt a significant amount of pain.
I did it!
Tang Bang-han rejoiced inwardly. His decisive strike had landed perfectly.
"Cough... So the Blood Butterfly was a feint from the start?" Go Wol asked, spitting out dark blood.
"Heh heh. The Blood Butterfly was designed for that very purpose."
It was true. The Blood Butterfly was a hidden weapon created to be a feint. While it was true that it destroyed acupoints upon impact, it was meaningless if it didn't hit. From the beginning, the Blood Butterfly wasn't a weapon that boasted exceptional speed. Because it fluttered and bobbed through the air, it was hard to predict, but as long as one focused, it was slow enough to be swatted away.
That was why the Tang Clan spread rumors about the Blood Butterfly—making it sound incredibly terrifying. Since many were already curious about the Tang Clan’s hidden weapons, people came to perceive the Blood Butterfly itself as the primary threat.
As a result, many had lost their lives to the feint of the Blood Butterfly. Go Wol was no different. By focusing on the rumors of the weapon, he had neglected his own defense. Consequently, he had been struck in the heart by the Poison Palm and brought to his knees.
A smile spread across Tang Bang-han’s lips. His poisonous qi had become even more potent upon reaching the Super-Peak Realm. Having taken a concentrated Poison Palm directly to the chest, there was no way the man could survive.
It was then.
"Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha!"
Go Wol began to laugh like a madman. After laughing for a while, he abruptly stopped.
Snap.
Go Wol ceased his laughter and stared straight at Tang Bang-han.
"I thought you were just some old man who spent his life cooped up practicing, but you're quite the old fox, aren't you?"
Tang Bang-han was flustered by the laughter. His poisonous qi was powerful enough to shatter rocks and melt iron. To be so fine after taking such poison directly was impossible.
"I'm sorry for underestimating you."
Clang.
Having said his piece, Go Wol tossed his sword behind him.
"What are you doing?"
For a swordsman to throw away his sword—what kind of behavior was this? Soon, an ominous energy began to gather around Go Wol.
Shiver.
Seeing this, Tang Bang-han felt a chill run down his spine. The already sinister momentum began to transform into something even more viscous and dense. What on earth was happening?
"Tsk, tsk. If you had used the Poison Palm as the bait and embedded the Blood Butterfly instead, you might have had a chance."
Go Wol clicked his tongue and continued.
"You missed your last chance."
As he finished speaking, ink-colored poisonous qi began to erupt from Go Wol’s body.
"Poison Arts?!"
Tang Bang-han was horrified to see the poison emanating from Go Wol. Go Wol was someone who had mastered not only Sword Arts but Poison Arts as well.
"This was actually my main specialty."
The erupting poisonous qi grew even more intense. Tang Bang-han watched the scene blankly. No matter how much one practiced Poison Arts, they were bound to take significant damage if struck by a Poison Palm—especially one from a Super-Peak master like himself.
Yet the man before him had only knelt for a moment before quickly recovering his complexion and unleashing his own poison. There was only one explanation for this.
The opponent was a master of Poison Arts who had reached a higher realm than himself.
"Why are you silent?"
Go Wol continued, looking at Tang Bang-han with an expression that suggested he was having the time of his life. Tang Bang-han didn't answer. He was lost in thought.
In other martial arts, if two people were in the Super-Peak Realm, the outcome could change based on various variables even if there was a slight difference in skill. However, in Poison Arts, even within the Super-Peak Realm, a perfect hierarchy was established between the Lower, Middle, and Upper stages.
This was because the higher the realm, the deeper the poison one harbored. A lower-tier poison could not harm someone who possessed a higher-tier poison. That was why he was troubled. Go Wol was a master of Poison Arts whose realm was clearly higher than his own.
The poison he possessed could not harm Go Wol.
Damn it.
Tang Bang-han cursed inwardly. He couldn't see a way out. But he couldn't give up like this. If he didn't stop this man now, countless members of the Tang Clan would die. He couldn't let that happen.
Tang Bang-han pulled out more hidden weapons from his robes.
"Are you going to struggle until the end?"
Go Wol’s poisonous qi thickened and began to swarm toward Tang Bang-han. Tang Bang-han operated his Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art, resisting the poison as much as possible. Then, he began to hurl his hidden weapons.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Numerous hidden weapons flew toward Go Wol, but it was useless. They melted away into the poisonous qi before they could even reach him.
"Hahaha! Try harder, old man of the Tang Clan!"
Go Wol mocked Tang Bang-han as if he were watching a cute baby’s antics. Tang Bang-han was furious, but there was nothing he could do. He was primarily a poison user rather than a hidden weapon specialist, so he didn't have many spare weapons left.
"Urgh."
The poisonous qi he had been barely holding back with his divine art began to seep into his body. It was dangerous. At this rate, the poison would reach his very marrow. But if he focused entirely on detoxification, he would leave an opening for Go Wol.
There’s no other way.
Unable to do one thing or the other, Tang Bang-han finally made up his mind. Even if he died, he had to take this man with him. He released the internal energy that had been suppressing the poison and pulled out his last hidden weapon.
It was a dagger crafted by a master of the Tang Clan. Although it was originally meant for throwing, it was the only weapon he had left that could potentially face Go Wol, since his poison was ineffective. Tang Bang-han concentrated his internal energy into the dagger.
Woooooong!
A massive amount of internal energy began to swirl.
"Ooh."
Go Wol watched with admiration. It seemed the old man had changed his tactics after realizing his poison wouldn't work. Astral Qi began to radiate from the dagger.
Tang Bang-han charged straight at Go Wol, taking the swirling poisonous qi head-on. His clothes began to melt, followed by his hair and beard, but he didn't care. Soon, even his skin began to dissolve, revealing raw red flesh, but he didn't care. An agonizing pain from his melting flesh washed over him, but he didn't care.
If he could just kill this man and protect the Tang Clan, it was a small price to pay.
"Hyaaaaap!"
Tang Bang-han’s dagger aimed for Go Wol’s heart.
However...
Go Wol lightly dodged the dagger.
"Your attack is too simple."
Then he began to snicker.
"Next time, you should just throw it."
Shuaaaaak!
Go Wol placed his ink-stained hand onto Tang Bang-han’s face. Without even having time to scream, Tang Bang-han’s face melted away instantly, and he met his end. It was a pathetic death for a master who had reached the Super-Peak Realm.
"Yaaaaawn."
Go Wol stretched broadly. His body felt loose and ready after his little play session with Tang Bang-han. He leaped down from the roof of the pavilion.
Landing.
After landing safely on the ground, he looked at his subordinates who were engaged in a chaotic battle. The Tang Clan’s strength was certainly impressive, but it paled in comparison to the Evil Ghost Unit. While dozens of Tang Clan martial artists had died while he was fighting Tang Bang-han, the Evil Ghost Unit hadn't suffered a single casualty. A few were bleeding, but those were merely light scratches.
Setting aside his worries for his subordinates, Go Wol turned his gaze toward the main building. While his men were preoccupied with the battle, he intended to go ahead and sample the women of the Tang Clan.
Come to think of it, I heard Tang Jin-cheol’s wives are incredibly beautiful.
The thought of the virtuous and noble mistresses of a prestigious clan screaming in pleasure before his cock made him instantly erect.
And they say Dok Seo-si is aiming to be the greatest beauty under heaven, not just the greatest in the Tang Clan.
Thinking of a woman who might be the most beautiful in the world made him even harder. Go Wol began to walk toward the main building with a jubilant face. There was an order to these things, after all. He would taste them all first before handing them over to his subordinates.
Soon, Go Wol’s figure disappeared into the main building.
*
The Great Matriarch was currently unable to sleep. Since confirming her love with her youngest son, Tang Se-gi, she had been spending her days in a daze. She no longer felt resentment, depression, or loneliness regarding Tang Jin-cheol, who no longer sought her out.
Every day felt like a dream, and whenever she confirmed her love with Se-gi, she reached the heights of fleeting happiness. She had reached a point where she couldn't imagine her daily life without him. That was how precious he had become to her—someone she wouldn't trade for anything.
But since her beloved son and husband had entered the Godok Hall—a place of absolute cruelty—there was no way she could sleep. She had begged and cried for him to give up on entering the hall, but it was no use. Once Tang Se-gi made up his mind, he wouldn't budge.
However, the Great Matriarch hadn't been too worried. She thought that her son, who had lived his life distanced from martial arts, would never actually be admitted to the Godok Hall. But her prediction had been proven wrong, and Tang Se-gi had indeed entered.
"Sigh... Gia."
She let out a long sigh. Even if Tang Se-gi had the skill to enter the Godok Hall, he must have barely made the cut. It was absurd to think such a son would return safely. She prayed and prayed that he would at least come out alive, even if he had to forfeit midway. She vowed that if he returned as a corpse, she would take her own life as well.
She was lost in these thoughts when...
Tak, tak, tak!
Urgent footsteps were heard from outside.
What is it?
She was puzzled. Who would seek her out at this late hour?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone began to pound on the door incessantly.
"Who is it?!"
Startled by the pounding, the Great Matriarch raised her voice.
"Great Matriarch, it is Tang Jeon-yeong, a martial artist of the Outer Hall!"
"Why has an Outer Hall martial artist come to my room at such a late hour?"
The Great Matriarch asked back, confused. Why would a man who should be guarding the Outer Hall be at her quarters?
"It’s an enemy attack! You must evacuate immediately!" Tang Jeon-yeong shouted urgently.
"Who exactly is attacking?!" she asked in shock.
"We haven't identified them yet. More importantly, you must get ready quickly!"
Tang Jeon-yeong was in a hurry. He had to evacuate not only the Great Matriarch but all the women of the Tang Clan.
"I will get ready and come out shortly. You go and inform the others as well."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Tatatatatatak!
The sound of Tang Jeon-yeong running away echoed outside the door. The Great Matriarch quickly prepared herself. In a Murim clan, the women were often vulnerable. Since many had weak martial arts, there were countless cases where they were raped or taken hostage without being able to put up a proper resistance. It was best to hide in a safe place until the situation settled.
After throwing on some clothes, the Great Matriarch hurried out of the pavilion. She had to inform the other women of the Tang Clan as well.