Sichuan, Part 5
Lee Jin-hyuk.
Myeonghyeon knew his name as well.
He had long been famous as a legendary player, and even some Constellations had their eyes on him.
In fact, hadn't even those with a deep interest in Shaolin and the Martial Alliance coveted him?
'Even so...'
Myeonghyeon swallowed hard.
'Even so, there must be a limit.'
This was beyond baffling.
Even if he was ranked in the thousands, how could a player who had only just cleared the 10th floor remain completely unfazed by this poison?
It was impossible.
No matter how strong someone was, resistance to status ailments like poison was something that had to be trained separately over a long period of time.
He already knew Jin-hyuk was strong, both from rumors and the energy he sensed within him.
But even that had to have a limit.
Lee Jin-hyuk's current state was shocking enough to make him instinctively call upon the Buddha.
Step. Step.
Moving at a pace that was neither fast nor slow, Lee Jin-hyuk offered a greeting as if he were walking through empty air.
"Greetings, Patriarch."
"...The Overlord."
Dang Gun-san stared at Lee Jin-hyuk for a moment before gripping the armrest of his throne.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Dang Gun-san burst into laughter, his voice ringing out like thunder.
The mixture of poison and raw pressure shook the entire Patriarch's Hall.
Dang Jun-seong and Dang So-wol, who had been barely holding on, finally succumbed and fell unconscious.
Even Myeonghyeon was forced to summon his golden mana, manifesting a mandala to protect himself.
"Are you saying you possess the Ten-Thousand-Poison Immunity?!"
Dang Gun-san was purely delighted, like a child who had found a new toy.
"To be this unaffected by my Formless Poison!"
How much grueling effort had he poured into his closed-door cultivation just to refine this formless poison to such a deadly degree?
Yet this boy was enduring it without a single hint of struggle?
This was something even the current Rank 1, the 'Pure White Light Sword'—who possessed immense resistance to all status ailments through holy power—could not achieve.
"Fine! Let's see if you can withstand this as well!"
"...Patriarch Dang!"
"My Lord!"
Myeonghyeon gasped in horror as Dang Gun-san prepared to unleash a visibly lethal poison.
"What do you think you are doing?!"
Unable to watch any longer, Myeonghyeon unleashed a surge of mixed gold and blue mana from his fists.
A giant palm resembling the Buddha's hand materialized, effectively blocking Dang Gun-san's pressure and poison.
"Do not interfere, you bald monk!"
"Has your mind rotted during your closed-door cultivation? This man is a hero of our Murim!"
Creeeak!
Dang Gun-san's poison was potent, but Myeonghyeon's technique was equally formidable.
It was Shaolin's ultimate defensive art, renowned for blocking unorthodox energies like demonic energy, evil spirits, curses, and poisons.
True to his title as the Fist Emperor, he was blocking the Poison Dark Emperor's venom barehanded.
"Abbot."
Surprisingly, it was Lee Jin-hyuk who stepped in front of the Fist Emperor.
"I am fine."
"...But, Benefactor."
"I am truly fine. There is no need to fight on my account."
Jin-hyuk smirked.
"Shouldn't we save our strength to fight the Demonic Cult or the Witch's Coven?"
"...!"
Myeonghyeon stared at Jin-hyuk in surprise, taken aback by his clear grasp of the situation.
'Could he be... angry?'
The Overlord, Lee Jin-hyuk. Since he came from a different floor, it was only natural that he wouldn't understand Dang Gun-san's twisted sense of humor.
'To act on youthful pride right now... is far too dangerous!'
Myeonghyeon already knew Jin-hyuk was no ordinary character, given how he had forced both the Young Master of the Dang Clan and his own direct disciple, Hyeonbeop, to their knees.
But this was different. To Myeonghyeon, Jin-hyuk seemed to be acting out of youthful arrogance, a common pitfall for those who grew strong too quickly at a young age.
"I am sorry, Benefactor."
Jin-hyuk remained silent.
"But I cannot stand by and let you face that crazy old monster when I know how dangerous it is."
"Who are you calling an old monster, you bald monk?"
Thud.
As Dang Gun-san stepped down from his throne, the space around him began to dye itself in shades of green and black.
It was a poison that seemed to melt not only the newly built Patriarch's Hall but even the invisible air and mana surrounding them.
"Ugh... Must you go this far?"
Myeonghyeon strained to block it, but he was in a tight spot.
This was the Dang Clan's territory. Not only was there no guarantee he could defeat the Patriarch in a one-on-one fight, but if the clash escalated, it could trigger a war between the Dang Clan and the Martial Alliance.
What made it worse was that his opponent didn't care about political ramifications at all; he was driven purely by his own whims.
"Abbot."
And then, Jin-hyuk spoke again.
"I am really fine."
Thud.
Dismissing the white armor he was wearing, Jin-hyuk stepped forward.
"N-No!"
The poison swirled upward like a dragon, creating a scene reminiscent of a storm or a natural disaster.
Ignoring the anxious gazes of Myeonghyeon and the other elders, Jin-hyuk walked straight into the tempest.
• You have been afflicted with [Extreme Poison]. Your health will continuously decrease.
• You have been afflicted with [Decay]. Your maximum health is temporarily reduced.
• You have been afflicted with [Mana Interference]. The Overlord's mana stat is temporarily replaced by the opponent's.
A world filled with poison.
Jin-hyuk was certain of one thing: in terms of sheer lethality, this was the most potent poison he had ever seen.
'Excluding the Constellations, of course.'
Even Dang Jun-seong and Dang So-wol, who were known to have reached the pinnacle of poison before his regression, could not create a poison with this level of lethality.
Nor could they manipulate the element of poison in such a wide variety of forms.
It was baffling why a man of this caliber had lost his power for unknown reasons before the regression, or why he had been surpassed by his own son.
But what did that matter now?
The skill's effect removes all status ailments.
"You certainly have guts," Dang Gun-san said, chuckling, completely unaware of the truth.
"After all, the liver is the organ that filters poison. Looking at you makes me want to rip yours out and study it."
Dang Gun-san smiled leisurely as Jin-hyuk approached.
He was certain that even if the boy had done well to endure it this far and was pretending to be fine, he would collapse any moment now.
"...But you."
Contrary to Dang Gun-san's expectations, Jin-hyuk merely looked back at him with a calm expression.
"Are you really completely fine?"
"Patriarch," Jin-hyuk said, brushing off his shoulders as he drew closer.
"Poison does not work on me."
"Nonsense."
Dang Gun-san smirked.
"There is no existence in this world immune to poison. Not rotting corpses, not the ghosts wandering the underworld, and not even the stars looking down on us so arrogantly from above!"
Creeeak!
"Even the smallest drop of poison can dissolve them. Or I can simply drown them in a massive deluge of it."
"Then would you care to make a bet?"
"...A bet?"
"Hahahahaha! Impudent brat! A bet? Fine! I assume the bet is whether you can withstand my poison?"
"Precisely. And the loser must grant whatever the winner desires. How does that sound?"
"Deal!"
Dang Gun-san, known as the Poison Dark Emperor, was an incredibly proud man.
After all, his rank was incomparably higher than that of Chardis or Majuron.
To challenge such a man to a bet involving poison? He would accept it out of sheer pride.
'With his personality, he's not the type to break a promise once made.'
Jin-hyuk believed that the Patriarch would keep his word even without a system-enforced contract.
"I will unleash my deadliest poison upon you," Dang Gun-san sneered.
"If you cannot endure it, I will dissect your body. I am quite curious, you see."
He grinned.
"I want to know what kind of talent and physical structure allowed you to grow strong so quickly."
"Fine by me."
Snap.
The Patriarch flicked his finger, and the surrounding poison condensed into a spherical bead.
It looked just like a ration pill, prompting Jin-hyuk to chuckle.
"Thanks for the supplement. Down the hatch."
Jin-hyuk swallowed it in one gulp.
"...!"
Dang Gun-san's face stiffened, clearly not expecting the boy to swallow it raw.
"What in the...?"
What was even more shocking was that Jin-hyuk was smiling as if nothing had happened.
Whoosh!
Instead, the white flames erupting from his body flared even brighter, instantly dispersing the storm of poison the Patriarch had conjured.
• The skill [Star-Fire Dragon] purifies and digests this poison.
• Holy Fire stat has increased by 5.
• Holy Fire stat has increased by 3.
• WARNING: The energy is too vast. A portion of the energy cannot be stored and is being discharged.
• Holy Fire stat has increased by 2.
• Holy Fire stat has increased by 4.
Thanks to the effects of the Star-Fire Dragon skill, his Holy Fire stat was skyrocketing.
Since it had already risen significantly during his fight with Chardis, his stats were now climbing to unprecedented heights.
'This is impossible.'
Dang Gun-san stared at Jin-hyuk in sheer disbelief.
'What on earth is this...?'
This was truly impossible.
He had been confident that his poison could even infect and kill the stars above, the Constellations themselves.
Yet the boy stood there, completely relaxed.
"You crazy bastard," Dang Gun-san muttered, swearing under his breath even as he cackled.
A powerhouse.
A player who had only just reached the 10th floor was already this absurdly strong.
He was thrilled because he couldn't even begin to fathom the depths of the boy's potential.
"..."
Thump.
A sudden shock struck Jin-hyuk's heart just as he was smiling calmly.
Thump... Thump!
'What is this?'
Jin-hyuk began to stumble.
Seeing this, Dang Gun-san smirked.
'Of course. There's no way the poison I spent decades refining would be so useless.'
Seeing Jin-hyuk drop to one knee from the sudden pain, Dang Gun-san shifted his stance.
'I can't let a treasure like him die here.'
He had no intention of actually killing the boy, so he moved to intervene in case of an emergency.
"You rascal. Are you acting at this point?"
"...No, I'm not."
Adjusting his posture slightly, Jin-hyuk activated a skill.
Truth-Seeking Eye
'What is this?'
Only after looking down at his chest did Jin-hyuk realize what was happening.
Two hearts.
An exact duplicate of his original heart was beating inside him.
'Wait, this is...'
Thump! Thump!
• The skill [Star-Fire Dragon] is attempting to alter the player's physical structure.
• The skill [Constellation's Vessel] is blocking the alteration.
Crack!
Countless toxic energies exploded simultaneously.
One skill accepted the foreign power to alter his form, while the other absolutely fixed his existing structure.
It was a clash between evolution and preservation.
Amidst the chaotic energies, Jin-hyuk recalled the moment Chardis's curses had rained down upon him.
'Is this...?'
Just as something translucent was about to manifest, a hand suddenly pressed against his back.
"You crazy bastard. You're gaining enlightenment in the middle of this?"
"..."
"But looking at you, you don't know the first thing about internal cultivation. I'll help you just this once."
Dang Gun-san began to guide the poison and curses circulating inside Jin-hyuk's body.
'Why is he helping me?'
Jin-hyuk didn't know his motive, but as a peak master, Dang Gun-san's skill was undeniable.
Instantly, the chaos inside him began to settle.
'Ugh...!'
Jin-hyuk trembled as a sensation of his muscles tearing apart—one he had never experienced before—swept through his entire body.
"Do not open your mouth! Endure it!"
Creeeak!
No matter how powerful a master was, circulating mana inside another person's body was no simple task.
Furthermore, the energy inside Jin-hyuk wasn't ordinary mana, but the white flames of Holy Fire.
'Damn it...!'
Whoosh!
Even though his hands were burning from Jin-hyuk's white flames, Dang Gun-san paid it no mind and continued to guide the circulation of energy.
'Ah.'
Having absorbed the vicious external energy, something became visible to Jin-hyuk's eyes.
The poison, the curses, the Holy Fire, and even the mana drifting in nature.
With just a single breath, an entirely different air filled his lungs.
It felt as if he were being reborn, as if something deep within his bones was on the verge of changing.
• The skill [Star-Fire Dragon] is unleashing a powerful force.
• The skill [Constellation's Vessel] begins to completely suppress the target in opposition.
'My skills are fighting each other?'
Jin-hyuk swallowed hard.
'What kind of nonsense is this...?'
"Hold on just a bit longer! Damn it! Why hasn't it started yet?!"
Along with Dang Gun-san's incomprehensible words, Jin-hyuk felt his body grow significantly lighter.
'What is this?'
Reaching out, the sword that had been lying far from his hand flew into his grip as if drawn by a vacuum.
Whoosh!
At the same time, countless energies began to merge into Jin-hyuk's body.
As these forces settled within him, he felt not only his Holy Fire but his other stats surging as well.