Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Yielding the First Strike
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"You think you can poison me?"
Wi Yu-gi sneered.
Surviving meant being strong.
Though his body might have weakened from its prime, his enlightenment in martial arts had deepened, and his internal energy had grown profound.
It wasn't without reason that seasoned masters were feared in the jianghu.
"No one's ever harmed me all these years, so how could you possibly kill me?!"
He cackled mockingly, then abruptly cut off his laughter.
"Fine. As the senior here, I'll yield the first move to you young upstarts with your wild delusions."
The word "junior" nearly made him choke.
Where in the world was there a junior charging at a senior to kill him?
'A peak-level guy at best, but something's off about him.'
It was impressive for his age, no doubt.
But there was an absolute gap in power between them.
Wi Yu-gi had yielded the first strike for a different reason.
'...When the hell did he make his move?'
He hadn't seen it happen.
Lee Seon was certain he hadn't taken his eyes off the kid even once.
Yet his body wasn't moving properly now, which meant he'd clearly been poisoned.
It was a ghostly level of poison technique.
'Even the Tang Family can't use poison this naturally or meticulously.'
If he hadn't sensed something amiss and held his breath, he'd have been properly poisoned.
The silver lining was that poison had limited uses.
Against equals, maybe, but if you stayed vigilant, you could block it.
Plus, poison always had a finite quantity.
No need to throw himself into an unknown trap.
Lee Seon pulled something from his pocket.
"I won't hold back, then."
Clutched in his fingers was a small, dried pill.
He popped it into his mouth.
Hooo...
He swallowed the pill down his throat and quietly exhaled.
A thick toxic miasma clung to his breath.
"What poison is that?"
Wi Yu-gi showed his curiosity.
The kid's aura had changed from before.
It felt rougher now, exuding a fiercer, more savage momentum.
"Something good for the body."
Lee Seon casually swung his hand.
Wi Yu-gi lightly flicked it away.
Crackle.
It crumbled powerlessly against the qi reinforcement.
Wi Yu-gi's brow furrowed as he identified the scattered debris.
"...Pebbles?"
Pebbles, of all things, blocked with qi reinforcement.
Like using a dragon-slaying blade to kill a chicken.
"Are you mocking me?!"
"Do I really need to say it?"
Lee Seon swung his wide sleeve to create distance.
His red eyes focused intently.
Pebbles again.
"Not a chance!"
He shook his sleeve lightly, stirring up wind.
The stones rolled pitifully away, but Wi Yu-gi's face stiffened.
"What's this?"
Mingled among the pebbles were tiny needles, too small to see!
Whoosh!
He tensed, and the needles embedded in his body popped out.
Trivial injuries.
But the needle tips were coated in something black.
Another poison, slipped in all too easily.
"You should've blocked this one too."
Grind.
"I'll crush you!"
Scarlet energy erupted from his entire body as Wi Yu-gi charged.
He swung his reinforced hand, closing the gap in an instant.
'He's coming!'
His heart raced faster than ever, but his mind stayed ice-cold.
The poison he'd just taken was racing through his veins, taking effect.
The world slowed to a crawl.
'Focus. Miss once, and you're dead.'
His thoughts exploded in hyper-speed within the slowed world.
Transcendent Poison.
It forcibly opened his upper dantian, letting him surpass his limits temporarily.
Such a nasty technique.
Not just the qi—Wi Yu-gi's hands themselves glowed red.
Clearly enhanced with some sinister method.
Lee Seon barely twisted his neck to dodge the strike.
Sizzle!
The spot he'd vacated exploded, a whole tree trunk shattered.
A paper-thin miss, and Lee Seon gritted his teeth.
Drip.
As he dodged, he dropped something onto the ground, and Wi Yu-gi's eyes whipped toward it.
A small orb with a faint sheen.
Wi Yu-gi startled and leaped away.
But nothing happened.
"For someone talking so big, you sure scare easy."
Lee Seon sneered.
Sweat already beaded his forehead, though.
'His movements are definitely restricted.'
Confirmed he'd ingested a paralytic, even if just a bit.
His qi flow wouldn't be smooth.
Proof he couldn't strike me down right now.
If he were at full strength, this standoff wouldn't hold.
As long as I keep distance, dodging on a razor's edge isn't impossible.
Wi Yu-gi bellowed.
"You think running away forever will kill me?!"
"Even a thousand-ri journey starts with one step. Demon."
Lee Seon's mind spun colder and sharper than ever.
A rotten fish was still a bluefin—even poisoned, every attack was keen and threatening.
But he couldn't dodge forever.
Wi Yu-gi wasn't landing hits, but he wasn't giving openings either.
'He figured it out?'
This weird standoff lasted only as long as the Transcendent Poison's effect.
The cognitive acceleration was powerful.
But once it wore off, the backlash of utter exhaustion would hit.
The moment it ended was his doom.
And as if reading his gaze, Wi Yu-gi grinned, baring his teeth.
'Open terrain's bad for me.'
This time, Lee Seon drew a gourd flask.
He swung it, spilling liquid that soaked the ground everywhere.
Siiiizzle!
Where it touched, steam rose, blanketing everything in toxic smoke.
This time it's real!
He held his breath and fled the smoke in a hurry.
"Cheap tricks!"
No matter the poison smoke—if you didn't inhale, it was fine.
Wi Yu-gi thrust his hand out, dispersing it in one go.
But when the smoke cleared, Lee Seon was gone.
The presence he'd sensed was rapidly fleeing the area.
"Think you can escape?"
Wi Yu-gi gave chase.
'Slippery bastard. What a pain.'
A cruel smile played on Wi Yu-gi's lips, though.
Poison users were all alike.
Weak in raw power, but annoyingly vicious and threatening at times.
Trying to drag others down with them—living bombs.
Touch them, and they spew poison like they're dying anyway, so best to leave them be.
Most poison wielders carried a fatal dose in their own bodies.
That's why the Sichuan Tang Family, poison masters supreme, were so feared.
They'd poison the whole world if they could—true venomous scum.
'But here, it's just this one.'
No matter how elite the warrior, invincible he was not.
Just flesh and blood like any man.
End it quick.
Any more poison buildup, and he couldn't take it.
Normally, you'd circulate qi to expel toxins.
'Your game's obvious from the start.'
Wanting the poison to circulate fast in his body.
Clear reason he kept chasing despite the ploy.
'But you don't have forever either.'
Didn't know the details, but that pre-battle dose exploded latent potential.
Those always had big side effects.
'I'll play along for a bit.'
Madness filled Wi Yu-gi's red eyes.
'Blood's pumping after so long!'
Why reveal his origins and title?
Because it was more fun that way.
An old habit.
Declaring his intent to kill, no matter what.
He enjoyed their reactions.
Always the same.
Mention a remnant of the supposedly extinct Blood Cult, and they all flail desperately.
On the brink of death, they agonize, despair, reveal their depths.
'Heh heh. What a rare treat after so long.'
He'd held back on killing to build power.
Killing was human nature, a warrior's instinct.
Suppressing that urge, settling for a few rural villagers—that dull era.
How boring.
"Uahaha!"
Wi Yu-gi swung his arm.
Claw-like scars gouged deep into the forest trees.
Lee Seon twisted away just in time.
Slash!
A branch sheared off, throwing his aerial stance off.
He folded midair, kicking toward a landing spot.
But Wi Yu-gi scattered qi there first.
"Kuh!"
All he could do was twist repeatedly in the air to evade.
Crash!
Lee Seon tumbled across the ground.
"Rat bastard, you dodge well!"
Wi Yu-gi plastered himself to a thick trunk, then shot forward like an arrow from a bow.
"But it's over now!"
Boom.
Air ripped with the sound as he leaped.
Midair, he twisted into a bizarre pose.
Chest wide open, body bent back like a drawn bow.
"I'll tear you apart!"
His crossed hands aimed to bisect Lee Seon.
"Get lost!"
In that instant, something burst from the side.
Fierce eyes roiling with venom.
A chilling girl extended her long leg, kicking Wi Yu-gi squarely midair.
"Gahk!"
A clean hit to his unguarded gut.
Wi Yu-gi flew limply through the air.
Lee Seon stared blankly at her.
"Want me to help this time?"
A playful smile lit the woman's lips.
Dang Ha-ryeong had arrived.