Chapter 76: Four-Way Confrontation-2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 76: Four-Way Confrontation-2
'What the fuck?'
Sun-woo was utterly bewildered by the unexpected situation.
He had simply dashed toward the strongest concentrations of poisonous qi he could sense. He’d sped up, reassured by the fact that the stronger the poison became, the closer he must be to his target.
As a result, he had found the Human-Faced Spider.
The problem was that he’d also run into a couple of uninvited guests he hadn't accounted for.
Doubts began to swirl in Sun-woo’s mind.
Wasn't the Godok Hall the most secret of the Tang Clan’s secret locations? Hadn't he heard that no one was allowed entry except for the candidates for the position of Young Clan Head?
Even if the Human-Faced Spider had lived here all along, who were this old man and the hideous, grotesque freak?
Sun-woo eyed them with suspicion. He couldn't tell if these incredibly shady individuals were friends or foes.
It was then.
"Who the hell are you?"
The grotesque freak, whose body was covered in weeping burn scars, demanded to know his identity. His voice was a bizarre, metallic rasp, as if his vocal cords had been shredded.
"I am Tang Se-gi, the legitimate son of the Sichuan Tang Clan and a candidate for Young Clan Head! Who are you to be lurking in the Godok Hall?!"
Sun-woo shouted back boldly, using Tang Se-gi’s name. It was a reaction that anyone would expect from the real Tang Se-gi.
"Heh... hehehe..."
Upon hearing Sun-woo’s answer, the freak began to let out a gloomy, chilling laugh.
'What? Why is he laughing?'
The sound of that laughter made the hair on Sun-woo’s neck stand on end.
"Since when?"
"What are you talking about!"
"I asked, since when have you been wearing that child’s skin?"
Shiver.
Sun-woo felt a cold chill run down his spine at those words.
"What kind of absolute bullshit is that!"
Feeling cornered, Sun-woo snapped back, raising his voice.
'There’s no way he knows. He can't possibly know!'
He didn't know who this freak was, but his appearance was, by all accounts, Tang Se-gi himself. He had observed the man so thoroughly during the torture sessions. Aside from his hair, he had changed everything to match him perfectly. There was no way he could be caught.
"Hehehe... Hahahahahaha!"
A hideous laugh erupted from the freak’s lips. The laughter grew louder and louder until it began to vibrate the very air around them. He was clearly infusing it with internal energy.
"Ugh."
Sun-woo covered his ears. The sound was so piercing it felt like his eardrums would burst.
'Who is this guy?'
And then he realized. The freak before him was by no means inferior to him.
"Tang Se-gi was a mere second-rate martial artist. For such a pathetic whelp to reach the Super-Peak Realm in a single month? Even a dog would laugh at such a claim."
The freak began to draw out even more internal energy and poisonous qi. A crushing pressure, so heavy it was hard to breathe, enveloped Sun-woo’s entire body.
'Shit.'
A sense of helplessness washed over him. Sun-woo felt a surge of irritation. He was a master of the Upper Stage of the Superlative Realm, a rarity even in the Murim. So why was it that every person he ran into was stronger than him?
"That boy must be dead. The pathetic fool."
There was a hint of sorrow in the freak’s voice.
"He was a failure, but he was still my son. I suppose I should at least avenge him."
Sun-woo was stunned by the response. There was only one man who could call Tang Se-gi his son.
The Head of the Tang Clan and the Poison King, Tang Jin-cheol.
The grotesque freak was none other than Tang Jin-cheol himself.
Sun-woo stared at him in shock. Why was the Clan Head, who should have been back at the Tang estate, here? And in such a horrific state?
"Die."
Tang Jin-cheol spoke indifferently as he blasted a wave of poisonous qi toward Sun-woo. A massive amount of poison surged forward, rapidly closing in on him.
"Aaaargh!"
Exposed to the sudden onslaught, Sun-woo let out a groan. The overwhelming poison began to ravage his surroundings.
'I'm going to die.'
Sun-woo had hovered between life and death once before due to Tang Seo-yoon’s poison. That experience told him everything he needed to know. He could not handle the immense poisonous qi Tang Jin-cheol had just unleashed.
At this rate, he would die. He would definitely die.
Despair clouded Sun-woo’s eyes.
It was then.
Another wave of poisonous qi intercepted Tang Jin-cheol’s attack.
"Heh heh. It would be a shame to leave this old man out of the fun."
It was the eccentric old man dressed in black.
'Holy shit, thank you!'
Sun-woo rejoiced inwardly and immediately began circulating the Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Source Divine Art to neutralize the poison. Even though he’d only been exposed for a split second, the poison was so potent that a significant amount had already accumulated in his system.
Sun-woo focused on expelling the poison rather than trying to assimilate it. Assimilation would take too long. He decided it was better to just flush it all out.
He herded the drifting poison inside his body to one side. Then, he funneled the gathered toxins toward his left hand.
Drip, drip.
Soon, black poisonous fluid began to seep out from the pores of his fingertips.
"Shit, I almost died."
Relieved, Sun-woo naturally let out a curse. He glared at Tang Jin-cheol with a look of pure dissatisfaction.
"Ho?"
Tang Jin-cheol looked quite surprised. Even if it was only for a moment, he was a man who had reached the Absolute Realm known as the Transcendent Realm. His poison should have been incredibly lethal, befitting someone of his status. Yet, this man had expelled his poison in a single breath.
He couldn't help but be impressed.
'He has a deep understanding of poison arts.'
The man was likely someone who specialized in poison. Tang Jin-cheol turned his gaze toward the Poison Demon.
"Is he one of your subordinates as well?!"
Tang Jin-cheol asked with a hint of anger. The man had to be a disciple or a subordinate of the Poison Demon. There weren't many poison users who could withstand the poison of a Transcendent Realm master, even for a moment. The only ones capable of nurturing such talent were the Tang Clan or the Five Poison Sect.
"Not really?"
The Poison Demon replied as if the question were absurd. This was the first time he had seen the man as well. When he first appeared, the Poison Demon had assumed it was Tang Jin-cheol’s son, Tang Se-gi. Since the boy’s martial arts were so pathetic, he figured he’d just been lucky to survive.
But apparently, he wasn't the son. In fact, he had infiltrated the Godok Hall by disguising himself as the son. Judging by Tang Jin-cheol’s reaction, it didn't seem like a lie.
And that piqued his interest.
What kind of person would dare to kill the legitimate son of the Sichuan Tang Clan—the greatest poison clan in the Central Plains—and then have the audacity to infiltrate their home?
What kind of person could survive exposure to the poison of Tang Jin-cheol, a master of the Absolute Realm?
It was fascinating. It had been a long time since someone had sparked his curiosity like this.
"Then why did you save him?!"
Tang Jin-cheol was fuming. The man disguised as Tang Se-gi had not only killed his son but had also worn his son’s skin and mocked the Tang Clan by playing the part. To think the Poison Demon would protect such a person for no reason—it was preposterous.
"Because I like the fellow."
Isn't there a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend? He didn't know the man’s intentions, but anyone with the personality to kill the Tang heir and wear his skin was likely closer to a demonic practitioner like himself. Such a person was someone he would welcome with open arms.
Moreover, the three of them weren't the only ones present. The Poison Demon shifted his gaze to the side.
There stood the Human-Faced Spider, looking thoroughly enraged.
'She’s quite annoyed, heh heh.'
Though a mere beast, she was a monster brimming with an incredible amount of poisonous qi. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't take on both the Poison King, who had reached the Transcendent Realm, and the Human-Faced Spider, who radiated an equally formidable aura, at the same time.
Therefore, he needed someone to deal with the spider while he handled the Poison King. The Poison Demon chose Sun-woo for the task. The man possessed significant poisonous qi and internal energy of his own. He should be more than capable of stalling the Human-Faced Spider.
And even if he couldn't, it didn't matter. He just had to eliminate the Poison King as quickly as possible. Even if the Poison King were in perfect health, the Poison Demon was confident in his victory at least seventy percent of the time. Thus, a Poison King covered in burns and oozing fluid was no match for him.
Besides, the man was missing an arm. There was no way he could win.
"Hehe, I like you too, old man."
Sun-woo expressed his goodwill toward the old man who had saved his life. If the old man hadn't intercepted the Poison King’s attack earlier, he would have been on a one-way trip to the underworld. To have his life saved and then be told he was liked—there was no reason to complain.
And he had made his judgment. He didn't know the old man’s identity, but at least for now, they were allies.
Sun-woo felt a sense of relief. Although Tang Jin-cheol looked like a mess, Sun-woo was still too weak to handle him. But now that someone had appeared to take him on, how could he not be happy?
Skreeeeeeee!
Sun-woo looked up at the Human-Faced Spider, which was letting out a bizarre cry.
However, if he could consume the Human-Faced Spider’s inner core, things might change. He might even reach the Transcendent Realm from his current Super-Peak state.
Sun-woo eyed the spider with a meaningful look.
'That damned old monster.'
Tang Jin-cheol’s irritation reached a boiling point. Instead of avenging his son, it seemed his enemies had formed a pact right before his eyes. Even as a master of the Absolute Realm, taking on both of them alone was too much.
That meant he needed an ally as well.
Tang Jin-cheol glanced to the side. There, the massive Human-Faced Spider was staring at the man disguised as his son, weeping tears of blood. Its eyes were filled with an immense murderous aura.
He didn't know why, but the spider seemed to hold a deep grudge against the fake Tang Se-gi. He could use this to his advantage.
He would pit the two of them against each other. Then, he would kill the Poison Demon as quickly as possible and finish off whoever survived between the other two.
It was a simple plan. As long as he killed the Poison Demon, there would be no threat to him. The man disguised as Tang Se-gi wouldn't be able to handle his poison, and the Human-Faced Spider wouldn't be able to poison him either.
If everything went well, he would avenge his son and even obtain the spider’s inner core.
A glint of joy and greed began to flicker in Tang Jin-cheol’s eyes.
The Human-Faced Spider was currently in a state of extreme irritation.
Sensing a massive amount of poisonous qi, she had rushed here at breakneck speed, thinking she had found the enemy who killed her other half.
But what she encountered wasn't just her enemy. It was humans. And not just any humans—humans who seemed just as formidable as her, if not more so, as if they possessed even more potent toxins than she did.
She was taken aback. Though not human, she had lived for hundreds of years and could sense their strength. She knew they were just as strong as her, perhaps even stronger.
An emotion she hadn't felt in centuries washed over her. It was fear. If she attacked them recklessly, she might die.
And following that fear came anger. She was furious. How could such monstrous humans keep appearing in her sanctuary?
Then, someone emerged from the thicket.
It was her enemy.
She felt a surge of delight. Finally. She had finally found him.
A smile spread across her beautiful face. She had finally found the enemy who had killed her other half.
Her poisonous qi began to radiate naturally. But she couldn't move recklessly. She was intimidated by the overwhelming poisonous qi of the two men before her. If she moved carelessly, she might be double-teamed.
She began to watch the situation closely, quietly gauging her surroundings. She was a wild animal. To a wild animal, the most important thing wasn't sharp teeth or lethal poison. It was intuition.
Was the opponent stronger or weaker? If they were stronger, by how much? If they were weaker, by how much? How much damage would she take? Could she catch them? Could she eat them? When should she pounce?
She had to hunt by observing countless factors. To her, Sun-woo was prey, and the other two humans were predators. She began to wait for an opportunity while keeping an eye on the other predators. The moment she stepped out of line, she would be the one hunted.
They say spiders have no hearts. That was a lie. Her heart was beating louder than ever as she waited for her chance.
Thump, thump.
The sound of her heartbeat echoed in her ears. But she maintained her composure and remained a bystander. Until the opportunity came.
And that opportunity arrived sooner than expected. One of the predators in front of her attacked the other.
This was it.
Without hesitation, she swung her massive, razor-sharp leg at Sun-woo.
It was time for revenge.
The one who signaled the start of the battle was the Poison King, Tang Jin-cheol. He suddenly lunged at the Poison Demon.
The Poison Demon, sensing the movement, quickly raised his hand to respond.
"How cowardly. You're a disgrace to the title of Poison King."
The Poison Demon spoke as if amused. It was funny to see the head of the Tang Clan, a leader of the Orthodox Faction, resort to a surprise attack.
"What is cowardice in war? This is war!"
The Poison King shot back without backing down. To him, the duel with the Poison Demon had long since turned into a war where he either killed or was killed. He had to end it quickly before his battered body gave out.
"Die!"
"Not a chance!"
The Poison King’s green poison palm and the Poison Demon’s ink-colored poison palm collided, unleashing a massive wave of poisonous qi.
*
The first to sense the Poison King’s surprise attack and move was the Human-Faced Spider.
As soon as the Poison King ambushed the Poison Demon, she lunged at Sun-woo.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Her massive legs crashed down toward him, and Sun-woo scrambled to dodge.
"Shit!"
Sun-woo cursed. Thanks to his constant vigilance, he managed to narrowly avoid her attacks, but what came next was the problem. The sheer power pouring from her massive frame startled him.
Every time she swung a leg, the air exploded with a sonic boom, and every time she struck the ground, the earth vibrated as if an earthquake were occurring. This was practically a natural disaster.
Sun-woo began to lure her into the forest using the Wind-Dust Step. Those eight freely moving legs were a disadvantage for him. He needed to move to a narrow space where she couldn't move them as easily.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
She advanced toward Sun-woo, swinging her legs, while he dodged her attacks using his footwork.
And then...
Thwack!
Rustle!
One of her legs struck a tree. The tree shuddered, shedding its leaves, but it was so thick that it didn't collapse. Flustered, she swung another leg.
Thwack!
Rustle!
The same thing happened again. Her legs were getting caught in the trees.
Watching this, Sun-woo grinned.
"I guess it's round two now?"
The real fight was just beginning.