A Better Picture
People stepped back as Jeong Gwang stepped forward.
Namgung Ryeok looked up at him with desperate eyes.
'You bastard! Save me quick!'
Good thing he only screamed it in his mind—if it had slipped out, he'd be beyond life or death.
No, he was already in that state.
Dang Ye-ji had crafted the poison with that intent in mind, and the modified toxin Jeong Gwang had altered retained its core properties intact.
Knowing this all too well, Dang Ye-ji couldn't help but worry.
'It's the modified poison from just now. Even for Jeong Gwang, it'll be tough. He might even be in danger.'
It was, truly, needless concern.
Jeong Gwang hadn't stepped up to detoxify Namgung Ryeok.
He wasn't the type for such altruism, after all.
'Alright. Shall we give it a try?'
Jeong Gwang rubbed his hands together.
The Namgung family, sword masters rivaling the pinnacle of the Seven Great Clans.
This was a chance to rummage through their heir's body from top to bottom.
Jeong Gwang sat Namgung Ryeok up straight and forced him into a cross-legged position.
"I'm sending in my internal energy. Don't resist—just accept it."
Namgung Ryeok blinked in response.
Jeong Gwang chuckled softly and sat behind him, pressing his palm to the Mingmen acupoint.
Then, he circulated the Supreme Pure Unsurpassed Divine Art and slowly pushed it in.
Since both the Namgung family and Kunlun used orthodox heart methods, it flowed in without any clash.
Jeong Gwang first circulated his true qi to scan Namgung Ryeok's internals thoroughly.
'Lungs and heart are holding on, somehow. The rest is the problem.'
Normally, he'd handle that rest himself, but that wasn't his goal.
—I'll protect the lungs and heart, so pull your qi out and check elsewhere. Here it goes.
Namgung Ryeok couldn't respond anyway. Jeong Gwang moved his energy the moment he transmitted the message. As his thick internal energy enveloped the lungs and heart, Namgung Ryeok's qi slipped free effortlessly.
That was when it began.
With some leeway now, Namgung Ryeok demonstrated why the Namgung family was called the foremost sword house of the righteous sects.
The vast blue sky stretched endlessly wide.
The internal energy that had been arduously blocking the poison permeating his entire body gathered in his dantian, swelling in power.
Then, following the incantation of the Azure Expanse Great Cyclic Divine Art, it spread back through his whole body.
"Oho. Is it working properly?"
"Look at that. Seems like it."
Namgung Ryeok's complexion improved bit by bit. The onlookers sighed in relief.
Everyone except Dang Ye-ji.
'This is the critical moment!'
Though modified by Jeong Gwang, its basic nature remained as she had designed.
The poison, losing strength and scattering, began to twist and coagulate slowly.
Namgung Ryeok's face turned blue.
As the poison's components recombined, the altered toxin became impossibly sticky.
It burrowed relentlessly into his fine meridians.
No time to block it. Like a dam cracking under river pressure, his fragile defenses collapsed.
'Damn it! So this is how it ends!'
As his mind teetered on the brink—
—Snap out of it!
Jeong Gwang's transmission voice exploded in his head.
—Keep circulating! You wanna die?
There was no other path anyway.
As if entranced, Namgung Ryeok obeyed.
His qi moved faintly along the path of the Azure Expanse Great Cyclic Divine Art.
And then.
Jeong Gwang's internal energy mingled with it, flowing together.
'Impossible!'
Namgung Ryeok was stunned.
This was his family's secret heart method.
Yet an outsider not only knew its path but circulated it naturally?
Inside his own body?
—Focus! Clear your mind of distractions!
Like being smacked on the head, the dazed Namgung Ryeok refocused on his circulation.
Whatever the case, survival came first.
He could figure out how Jeong Gwang knew the Azure Expanse Great Cyclic Divine Art and seal his lips later.
Meanwhile, Jeong Gwang was somewhat impressed himself.
'Not bad internal art, this.'
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's techniques pursued sheer power, making them unstable through and through.
Jeong Gwang had stabilized them with his genius, but orthodox martial arts honed over long centuries inevitably diverged slightly from his path.
'Wudang's old Taiji geezer's was decent too. Kunlun's is good. And this one's pretty solid.'
Observing the Azure Expanse Great Cyclic Divine Art briefly, Jeong Gwang grasped its true essence and felt a spark of greed.
'What if I tweak it like this?'
He shifted the qi flow slightly. Naturally, Namgung Ryeok's internal energy, blended with his, followed suit.
"Cough."
Namgung Ryeok spat blood, but Jeong Gwang ignored it.
'How about this?'
He spun the straight-flowing qi into rotation.
"Gaaah!"
Namgung Ryeok screamed, but Jeong Gwang was thrilled.
'What if I combine both?'
He twisted the direction while adding spin.
The result...
"Kaaack! Cough. Cough."
Mad screams and a fountain of blood.
"Oof! Qi stuttering? I'll help!"
"Jeong Gwang! What's wrong? Did the poison hurt you too? Here, at least take this antidote!"
As Yu Jeong-pung and Dang Ye-ji fussed over sending energy or antidotes, Jeong Gwang finally clocked the situation.
'Better save him first and experiment properly later.'
Whether fortune or misfortune, Namgung Ryeok would live since Jeong Gwang willed it.
"No, no. Almost done—just get ready."
Ready?
For what?
Everyone looked puzzled, but Jeong Gwang was already moving.
"Hup."
With a light shout, his qi swept through Namgung Ryeok's internals.
It devoured the obstructing sticky poisons like mad, racing wildly.
"Gaaaaah!"
Whether Namgung Ryeok screamed or not didn't matter.
The qi rampage continued for a while before ending with a massive eruption.
Splurt-splurt-sizzle!
"...!"
Something burst vigorously into the world.
Jeong Gwang's body shook—or seemed to—before he appeared in the hall's corner via Body Shifting Shadow Swap.
Prurrrrt. Pffft. Pffft—
"...!"
A horrendous stench filled the hall.
Realizing what happened, people pinched their noses and fled madly.
The hall turned into pandemonium in seconds.
In the center, slumped Namgung Ryeok blankly surveyed his surroundings with a lost expression.
"...".
Everyone avoided his gaze.
The others were one thing, but even the cool-headed Dang Ye-ji frowning and turning away broke him.
'No way. It can't be. Absolutely not.'
He already sensed it from his groin, but he refused to accept until seeing it.
Namgung Ryeok slowly looked down.
And then.
Confirming his crotch, he screamed inwardly and passed out.
'Jeong Gwang! You devil bastard!'
A massive rumor swept through Henan Province.
'The Kunlun Demon saved the poisoned Sword Dragon, rebirthing him as the Convenience Dragon!'
It was a sanitized version out of regard for the Namgung family's face—in plain terms, Jeong Gwang had turned Namgung Ryeok into a shitter.
Naturally, the rumor reached the ears of the Kunlun Taoists heading back to their lodgings from the Murim Alliance.
Un Hak immediately summoned Jeong Gwang and sat him down.
"Why did your moniker become Kunlun Demon?"
Un Hak's junior brother Un Yeong defended Jeong Gwang.
"Must be those youths he bested spreading malicious rumors, right? Don't scold him too harshly, senior brother."
"You think I don't know that?"
Un Hak spoke softly to Jeong Gwang.
"The too-talented invite envy. Hide three-tenths of your ability."
This was a famous saying in the jianghu—not just to avoid jealousy, but to reserve strength for life-saving moments.
For Jeong Gwang, it was basic.
"I'm hiding way more than that."
"...Hide a bit more."
"Yes."
Un Hak cleared his throat awkwardly before asking if the rumor was true.
Jeong Gwang gave a suitable account.
Un Hak, listening quietly, praised him once finished.
"Well done. You endured admirably. Repaying enmity with grace—your Taoist virtue is profound."
"Haha. Jeong Gwang's a proper Taoist now, senior brother."
"What a relief. All thanks to the Original Celestial Venerable's grace."
Un Ja-bae and Heo Ja-bae beamed with satisfaction.
No need to spoil the mood. Jeong Gwang decided not to mention Namgung Ryeok's aftermath.
"Jeong Gwang handled it brilliantly, but the Namgung side might harbor grudges. Be cautious around them."
"What? You think they'll lash out at us?"
"Just speaking hypothetically. Caution never hurts."
The Namgung experts they'd met at the Alliance seemed even more arrogant and belligerent than before.
Everyone nodded. Un Hak clapped.
"Alright. Back to your rooms and rest well. Good work today."
"Amitabha. Thank you all for your efforts."
The Taoists dispersed to their rooms.
As Jeong Gwang moved to leave, Un Hak grabbed him.
"Now that we're alone, tell me. Is the Sword Dragon fully healed?"
Old ginger is spicy.
Jeong Gwang answered honestly.
"A tiny symptom lingers, but no major issue."
"What is it?"
Jeong Gwang's reply twisted Un Hak's expression oddly.
"...I see. Got it. Go rest."
"Yes, Martial Uncle."
Back in his room, Jeong Gwang lay on the bed. Counting the gold taels from Namgung Ryeok, Baek Seung-mu entered.
"Junior brother. You're here?"
"...Yes. Where'd you get those gold taels? I heard weird rumors on the way... don't tell me..."
"Yeah. From the Convenience Dragon."
"Pfft! S-sorry."
"It's fine. How'd it go?"
Baek Seung-mu pulled out documents and sketched as he explained.
"...I roughly outlined it like this."
"Hm. Sounds plausible."
"But no need to rush. Circumstances will keep changing—we should prepare steadily accordingly, right?"
"As expected of a merchant at heart."
"Senior brother! Please, no more of that!"
"Fine, fine. Warrior who earns coin. Sword in one hand, gold in the other. Cool, huh?"
Baek Seung-mu nearly nodded before screaming inwardly.
'No way! I've been tainted by money lust! What now?!'
Born and raised twenty years in a merchant house, it was inevitable.
Baek Seung-mu gritted his teeth.
'I'm a warrior. I must live as one!'
Steeling himself, he politely requested of Jeong Gwang.
"Senior brother. You said you'd check my sword forms after. Please, now."
"Sure. To the rear garden."
Jeong Gwang's instruction was brutal.
Less than half a shichen in, Baek Seung-mu seriously questioned if the merchant path suited him better.
And half a shichen later.
Jeong Gwang returned carrying the fainted Baek Seung-mu, tossing him roughly on a bed before lying on the other. He recalled the Namgung family's Azure Expanse Great Cyclic Divine Art from earlier.
'Azure Expanse, huh. Come to think of it, the Namgung obsess over the heavens.'
The sword arts he'd faced recently were the same.
Lightning Thirteen Sword Thunder, Azure Expanse Flying Swallow Sword—all embodying heavenly principles.
'A blue sky needs white clouds floating in it. Add a dragon, and it'd make an even better picture.'
Kunlun, fittingly, was obsessed with clouds and dragons.
'They might mesh decently. No—they will.'
Jeong Gwang unfurled a vast canvas in his mind.
He laid out Kunlun and Namgung martial arts upon it.
'This with that. Oh, gotta include this one.'
He gathered compatibles, discarded mismatches. Breaking them into pieces and fitting like a puzzle revealed gaps.
'Hm. Cram my style here. Perfect. Roughly fits.'
Namgung's blue flour and Kunlun's white merged into dough in his head.
'Now, refine it?'
Rolling it flat revealed flaws.
'Add this too.'
Knead, roll, knead, roll—soon a decent shape emerged.
'Promising.'
But Jeong Gwang shook his head.
'Just promising—still lacking.'
Blue and white should make sky-blue, but knowing few Namgung arts left the dough mostly white.
'Kunlun arts as base, so no need to fully merge. Still feels off.'
Next time he saw Namgung Ryeok, he'd drag him somewhere secluded and beat it out of him.
'Test this version at least.'
He rose from bed and opened the door—the sun was already up.
'Huh? Morning already?'
Jeong Gwang chuckled and stepped out.
In the rear garden, he inhaled deeply, fresh air filling his lungs.
'Here we go.'
As he prepared to unfold the art with glee, a pageboy came running.
"Greetings, sir."
"Who came to pick a fight this time?"
"Doesn't seem so, but guests have arrived."
"Guests?"
Not here to hassle, yet multiple?
Tilting his head, Jeong Gwang followed the pageboy out the inn door.
Several, indeed.
Brawny men lined up.
From their midst, a familiar face stepped forth, arms wide.
"Nephew! It's been ages!"
Paeng Su-won, Hebei Paeng Clan elder who'd visited Kunlun Mountain four years prior.