The Human-Earth-Heaven Trinity
Geol Jon and Chang Jon returned to their lodgings and gathered their subordinates, making a solemn declaration.
'I shall pass on my enlightenment to Kunlun's Jeong Gwang!'
The enraged subordinates rose up like a wildfire.
Even if it was a personal insight rather than a sect's secret technique, it stemmed from what they'd learned in their own school.
And now they were handing it to an outsider?
Who would stand for that?
The fiercely opposing subordinates demanded he teach it to them instead.
This time, it was Geol Jon and Chang Jon who exploded in anger.
What?
These guys who usually subtly avoided them and slipped away whenever they tried to teach something—now this?
They were infamous for their stubborn independence, if not quite to the extent of the Poison Venerable.
They snarled and refused outright.
They insisted on giving it to Jeong Gwang.
The exhausted subordinates, who had flailed about trying to persuade them, finally wore down.
By then, night had passed into the next morning—it was only natural.
In the end, the leaders of the Beggars' Sect and Shandong Yue Clan proposed a compromise.
"For now, we should meet this Daoist Jeong Gwang."
Jeong Gwang flicked a single finger.
A fingernail-sized iron ball shot out fiercely, embedding itself in a tree in the rear garden.
"Yaaawn."
Jeong Gwang yawned, then grabbed something else and hurled it.
A sharp dagger traced a bizarre curve through the air before slicing the iron ball in the tree clean in half.
"Ah, so boring."
Stretching lazily, Jeong Gwang waved his hand carelessly.
Needles an inch long and thinner than hairs—ox-hair needles—drifted like leaves caught in the wind.
They swirled in a circle around the dagger in the tree before embedding themselves.
"Hmmm."
With a bored expression, Jeong Gwang surveyed his handiwork, then turned his gaze elsewhere.
There stood Dang Gi-hwang, mouth slightly agape, staring at the tree.
"Do I have to keep going with this?"
"……."
"Former Clan Head."
"Huh? Ah! D-Didn't I tell you to call me Master?"
"It just doesn't come out naturally. But isn't this enough already?"
"E-Enough?!"
Jeong Gwang pointed to the boxes on the ground, packed full of all sorts of hidden weapons.
"I've been throwing every type of hidden weapon since yesterday."
"……."
And it wasn't just random tossing.
Jeong Gwang handled them with the effortless mastery of a lifelong expert.
Dang Gi-hwang looked at him with complicated eyes.
This monster picked up any hidden weapon and mastered it in moments. No retort came to mind.
'No. No matter how talented, he's still young. As his master, I need to make him go through the proper process.'
Dang Gi-hwang steeled himself and spoke.
"You've handled many hidden weapons now. Tell me—which one do you want to specialize in?"
"Doesn't matter."
"That's not the right attitude. You need to pick one and train it properly. Even daggers come in countless shapes, weights, and balances. Those tiny differences can kill your enemy—or get you killed."
It was sound advice, but the listener was Jeong Gwang.
"Even if I pick one, it's a hassle to carry a bunch. And I have to restock after using them. Where am I supposed to find more of the exact same?"
"……."
"I'll just use whatever's at hand. I get the feel after one or two throws, so no problem."
If anyone else had said that, he'd have thundered at them…
But Jeong Gwang was actually doing it.
'Did this kid learn hidden weapons in the womb?!'
Absurd, of course.
Still, he had to ask.
"Have you trained in hidden weapons before?"
"Of course."
"In the wom— Ahem. In Kunlun?"
"Yeah."
Dang Gi-hwang cooled his head and thought rationally.
'Kunlun arts are broad, but not this. Maybe they have secret hidden weapon techniques?'
It was possible.
But asking outright felt awkward.
Still, Dang Gi-hwang asked.
"What technique is it?"
"Secret."
"Secret? Between us?"
"Former Clan Head. We're not that close yet."
A vein bulged on Dang Gi-hwang's forehead.
"You brat! I'm passing my insights to you! What greater trust is there?"
True enough.
"Hmm. You'll keep it secret, right?"
"Yes! Tell me quick."
Dang Gi-hwang swallowed hard, focusing intently as Jeong Gwang replied.
"It doesn't have a name."
"……No name?"
"Yeah. I picked it up hunting rabbits and deer 'cause running after them was a pain."
"Nonsense! You expect me to believe that drivel?!"
Jeong Gwang was the one who looked incredulous now.
It was a hidden weapon skill he'd naturally mastered in his past life fending off swarms of enemies.
He'd relearned it hunting in this life, so he'd said as much—yet they doubted him?
"Don't believe me? Fine."
As Jeong Gwang's face soured, Dang Gi-hwang panicked.
"N-No, I believe you."
"Keep the secret, okay? The elders are flexible, but they won't forgive open meat-eating."
"Of course. Trust only me."
"So, when do you teach me your enlightenment?"
Flustered, Dang Gi-hwang put on a stern face.
"It's not that light. First, master hidden weapons properly."
"How long?"
"Well… Hoo."
Dang Gi-hwang sighed and shook his head.
"You're about there already."
"Then let's start."
Jeong Gwang wanted to wrap it up quick.
Staying here longer offered nothing good.
Sensing that, Dang Gi-hwang frowned but forced a smile.
"First, know this: People call us a poison and hidden weapons clan, but that's not all. Add lightness skill."
"Figures."
"Do you understand what that means?"
"You need proper lightness to sneak close and apply poison."
"……!"
"And fast feet to throw and run."
"……S-Such crude phrasing…"
Dang Gi-hwang barely swallowed a curse.
It wasn't wrong, bluntly put.
"……I don't like the wording, but close. To use poison and hidden weapons, you must control distance as you wish."
Dang Gi-hwang raised one finger.
"I heard from the kids how you view poison. You're good there."
A second finger folded.
"Your sect, Kunlun, is famed for lightness. No need to discuss that."
The third finger.
"You know hidden weapons' traits and use them well. With these three, I'll share my insight."
Dang Gi-hwang closed his eyes, murmuring gravely.
"Heaven, Earth, Human—the Three Powers. The world has heaven, earth, and man; harmony among them brings perfection."
"……."
"But I reversed it to Human-Earth-Heaven. When man wills it, he tames earth and reaches heaven—no foe can stand."
"……."
Dang Gi-hwang opened his eyes.
They shone brighter than starlight.
"Do you grasp the principle?"
Jeong Gwang answered with a baffled look.
"Don't tell me—run around spreading poison and throwing hidden weapons?"
"……!"
"What a waste of time."
As Jeong Gwang turned to leave, Dang Gi-hwang hurriedly explained.
"I-It’s not that simple! Man as master—build earth with poison, heaven with hidden weapons…"
"Same thing."
"No! Absolutely not! The core is melting them into one!"
"Ah."
"……Ah?"
Jeong Gwang sighed softly at Dang Gi-hwang.
His withered body, wrinkled face, and sallow complexion looked more pitiable than usual.
'He really can't explain.'
Melt man, poison, hidden weapons into one?
Anyone else would call it nonsense.
"Like this?"
Jeong Gwang grabbed a handful of ox-hair needles from the box and a handful of dirt from the ground.
Then he circled Dang Gi-hwang with lightness skill.
"Earth!"
He flung the dirt. Grains scattered in the air, settling around Dang Gi-hwang.
"Heaven!"
Now the needles.
They poured from his hand, threatening Dang Gi-hwang from all sides.
"……What tomfoolery is this?!"
Dang Gi-hwang bellowed, swinging both sleeves.
Powerful winds from the sleeves repelled the dust and needles.
Or almost did.
"Gasp!"
Dang Gi-hwang froze in bewilderment.
The dust and needles moved strangely.
Following the gestures of Jeong Gwang, who darted about with lightness skill.
"……Earth?"
The dust followed his left hand, rising like a mountain range to bind Dang Gi-hwang's feet.
"……Heaven?"
The needles tracked his right, encircling him like the sky.
The poison and hidden weapons clan of Sichuan Tang.
Its great former head, trapped by man-made heaven and earth!
"……Ha. Haha. Hahaha!"
Dang Gi-hwang burst into laughter.
"You've grasped the form well!"
"I can melt them into one too."
"Show me!"
Grinning excitedly, Dang Gi-hwang shook his sleeves again.
Boom!
Air exploded outward like a drum, scattering dust and needles wildly.
"Ah, seriously."
Jeong Gwang grumbled, feet flashing. His hands whipped circles and lines in odd patterns.
The crumbling flying mountain flattened into a plain and moved.
The shattered sky gathered once more.
Finally, the dirt-plain and needle-sky enveloped Dang Gi-hwang again.
"Excellent!"
Smiling in satisfaction, Dang Gi-hwang smashed the needles with palm force.
"Heaven crumbles in Human-Earth-Heaven!"
The ox-hair needles melted under his fierce poison palm, falling limply.
Jeong Gwang ignored it, raising new sky from dust.
"Oh ho! And if Earth splits too?"
The dust vanished in the poison palm.
But Jeong Gwang had already claimed all directions with lightness.
"Yes! Only Human remains alone…"
Jeong Gwang channeled inner energy and replied.
"Ah, goosebumps. Have some of this!"
Whooosh—
His fist flew at Dang Gi-hwang's brow.
Dang Gi-hwang threw his head back in a fit of wild, unrestrained laughter, his palm force surging forth with a frantic and violent intensity.
"Kuhahaha! Man himself becomes heaven and earth—this is Human-Earth-Heaven as one, man hi—Huh?"
Dang Gi-hwang froze, palm outstretched.
Jeong Gwang stood at a safe distance, brushing dust from his robes.
"……Disciple. Why dodge?"
"You want me to take that poison palm head-on?"
"……Mm. Fair."
Dang Gi-hwang twirled his scraggly beard and grinned.
Unlike his shabby looks, it was a dashing smile.
"Thanks. Feels good to get it off my chest."
"I'm all stuffy from using too much inner energy."
"Brat. Tough guy talk."
Chucking, Dang Gi-hwang muttered to himself.
"Born in Tang Clan, took poison and hidden weapons as companions. Thought that was all."
"No friends?"
"……Listen quietly? But it's not. In the end, it's people. Even without heaven and earth, if man stands firm… I realized that recently."
"……."
"You'd get it. Not that heaven and earth are useless—it's all down to the user. Knowing the principle and harmonizing it lets man become heaven and earth… Now I can say it."
"Fight with what you have—or without. If you're strong enough."
"……You put it crudely. Understand poison and hidden weapons' uses and nature properly, and with or without them, their wonders…"
Jeong Gwang nodded absently to Dang Gi-hwang's words.
'Sounds plausible.'
Weapons are extensions of the hand. Use them for efficiency, don't get lost in them.
This old man claimed the same for poison and hidden weapons.
Other weapons didn't obsess him, but for poison and hidden weapons—judged by efficiency—this was fresh to Jeong Gwang.
'I had a bias without realizing. Wonder what else?'
That'd come in time.
"Can I go now?"
"……Do the paths of man, earth, heaven look different…? Wait. Go? You've glimpsed the insight—now train!"
"No inner energy left."
"……Just inner energy? Everything else fine?"
"Yeah."
"……Brat. A real man bluffs like that."
Snickering, Dang Gi-hwang stared piercingly.
His eyes weren't their usual murk—calm as a deep lake.
"You'll rise soon. As my disciple, Dang Gi-hwang's."
"Not your disciple."
"Hahaha! Don't be shy—puff your chest! The world will bow to you! And praise your master, me! Ten Supremes? Let the beggar and Yue scum have 'em! I'll be beyond!"
Whether the Poison Venerable bared ambitions or not, Jeong Gwang walked on, lost in thought.
'Moving made me hungry. Meat in the kitchen?'