153
Chapter 153: Was the Tang Family’s Martial Arts Any Good?
“I kept you waiting.”
In the family head’s private training grounds, Mu Hwi, who had been sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes upon hearing Tang Qihu’s voice.
Tang Qihu, who had come prepared for the spar, looked exactly the same as when they had first met. Mu Hwi’s gaze focused on the sleeves of Tang Qihu’s robe.
Tang Qihu was wearing the green martial arts uniform commonly worn by the Tang Family’s warriors, but the sleeves of his robe were unusually wide. This was a distinctive feature of the Tang Family’s attire—it was said that those sleeves concealed countless hidden weapons and poisons.
This was also the part that required the most caution when facing a Tang Family warrior.
Mu Hwi and Tang Qihu took their positions at the center of the training grounds, ready to begin their spar.
“Plum Blossom Sword Lord. Though this is just a spar, I’d like to display my martial arts as if this were a life-or-death duel. Is that acceptable?”
Mu Hwi had initially requested to see the martial arts of the Sacheon Tang Family, but in truth, Tang Qihu was the one who owed him gratitude several times over.
For a warrior below the level of a Supreme Master, the opportunity to cross hands with someone of such a high caliber without risking one’s life was exceedingly rare. It was nothing short of a stroke of fate.
Moreover, for Tang Qihu, who was striving to reach the Transcendent Realm, this moment was even more precious.
“That’s exactly what I hoped for. After all, this isn’t a life-and-death duel with the Poison Dragon of Sacheon.”
When Mu Hwi agreed, Tang Qihu nodded and crossed his arms, slipping his hands into his wide sleeves. His posture looked as if he were hugging himself.
This was the Tang Family’s unique preparatory stance.
As soon as he assumed the stance, Tang Qihu fluttered his sleeves and swiftly retreated, creating distance between himself and Mu Hwi, moving away from the center of the training grounds.
The moment Tang Qihu’s concealed hands emerged from his sleeves, dozens of hidden weapons shot toward Mu Hwi.
Dozens of large needles rushed straight at him from the front, while centipede-shaped throwing blades—Wugong Biao—curved sharply from the upper left, their sharp edges glinting menacingly.
The speed was so fast that even a skilled martial artist would struggle to react, yet not a single sound of tearing air accompanied the attack.
As Mu Hwi drew his Sim-myeong Sword and deflected over a dozen hidden weapons in succession, more than twice that number rained down like a torrential downpour.
‘At first glance, they seem randomly thrown.’
The trajectories of the hidden weapons filling his vision appeared chaotic and disordered, but among them were some that maintained a consistent speed and path.
If he carelessly focused only on deflecting the weapons without paying attention, he would likely fall victim to the meticulously timed and angled attacks.
Speed alone wasn’t the answer. In fact, relying solely on speed would only make him more vulnerable to unexpected strikes.
Mu Hwi adjusted the speed of his Sim-myeong Sword, precisely intercepting the hidden weapons by timing his strikes to match their trajectories.
“I’ll show you as many of our family’s hidden weapons as possible.”
Thunk!
Tang Qihu flicked his fingers, sending iron pellets of varying sizes flying toward Mu Hwi.
Behind the larger pellets were smaller ones, concealed by the size difference, making them invisible to Mu Hwi.
This was a hidden weapon technique called the Mother and Child Subtlety. Because of it, Mu Hwi couldn’t see the smaller pellets, but he soon sensed something amiss.
His sharp instincts picked up on the subtle disturbances in the air. Feeling the minute vibrations and shifts caused by the pellets, Mu Hwi thrust his Sim-myeong Sword forward.
With a clean slash, the sword split the larger pellet in half and effortlessly cleaved through the smaller one behind it. Simultaneously, Mu Hwi unleashed the Plum Blossom Scattering Hands, scattering the incoming hidden weapons as he closed the distance toward Tang Qihu.
‘As expected, he dismantles it effortlessly.’
Tang Qihu nodded slightly as he watched Mu Hwi easily deflect the barrage of hidden weapons, then moved his hands again.
Now fully warmed up, Tang Qihu began to deploy the hidden weapons he had stored in his sleeves in earnest.
Swish!
To prevent Mu Hwi from closing the distance, Tang Qihu scattered Poison Thorns and Flying Locust Stones.
Three Poison Thorns, each pointing in different directions, embedded themselves in the ground with their needles pointing upward—stepping on them would pierce straight through the soles of one’s feet.
Meanwhile, the Flying Locust Stones, modeled after locusts, bounced around unpredictably, disrupting Mu Hwi’s movements.
‘Interesting. They really have all sorts of bizarre hidden weapons.’
But neither the Poison Thorns nor the Flying Locust Stones—nor the countless other hidden weapons filling the air—could stop Mu Hwi’s advance.
Where Mu Hwi passed, only the petals of the Plum Blossom Scattering Hands danced before fluttering to the ground.
Without hesitation, Mu Hwi stepped on the Poison Thorns and charged forward, his expression unchanging.
Tang Qihu immediately realized why.
“Hmph!”
Like the legendary Treading on Grass Without Bending the Blades technique, Mu Hwi’s feet stepped on the tips of the Poison Thorns without being pierced. He was effectively running atop them.
In an instant, Mu Hwi closed the distance and raised his Sim-myeong Sword high. Tang Qihu responded by thrusting out both palms, surging with green-tinged poisonous energy.
Clang!
The vertical sword strike from above clashed with the Poison Palms. Like ripples forming on a lake’s surface from the wind, Tang Qihu’s Poison Palms wavered, and a portion of the poisonous energy spilled toward Mu Hwi.
As the concentrated poisonous energy scattered, Mu Hwi immediately pulled back.
The fallen poison quickly melted the floor of the training grounds.
Boom!
This time, Tang Qihu stepped forward, closing the distance while a thick, green mist of poison erupted from his entire body.
The mist rapidly expanded, swallowing Mu Hwi whole in an instant.
“The Poison Dragon of Sacheon must also be capable of this poison mist. And his would naturally be far more lethal than yours.”
Low-level members of the Sacheon Tang Family used pre-prepared poisons to unleash their venomous techniques. Mid-level members utilized the Poison Essence accumulated in their dantians to channel poison to their extremities, executing techniques like Poison Palms or Poison Claws.
High-level masters, however, could freely manipulate poisonous energy to emit poison mist and extract dozens of poisons on the spot, wielding them at will.
“The potency of the Poison Essence stored in the dantian varies depending on the type of poison accumulated. The Poison Dragon of Sacheon left the family and obtained poisons without restraint, so it’s impossible to gauge just how deadly he has become.”
“I see.”
“On top of that, after forcing the Five Poison Sect of Yunnan to kneel, he must have also acquired their ultimate poisons. Even you should be cautious.”
If he wished, Mu Hwi could have dispersed the poison mist with sword winds to minimize exposure. But he allowed it to envelop him, intending to experience it firsthand.
Hum!
The moment the poison invaded his body, the Purple Sunset Energy circulating within him reacted swiftly.
Instantly, the flow of internal energy through his meridians doubled in speed, beginning to burn away the poison.
‘It doesn’t vanish immediately.’
Most poisons would evaporate the moment they entered his meridians, unable to withstand his energy.
But this was the ultimate poison of the Tang Family’s head. Some strains stubbornly persisted even as they were burned away, attempting to spread through his meridians.
Mu Hwi deliberately intensified his Purple Sunset Energy. Like a tidal wave, the surging energy swept through his meridians, devouring the lingering poison.
As a result, the dozens of poisons carried by the mist vanished the moment they entered Mu Hwi’s body, overwhelmed by his internal energy. However, burning away the poison still consumed a significant amount of energy.
While internally purging the poison, Mu Hwi manifested plum blossoms. Tang Qihu had filled the training grounds with poison mist and was now scattering hidden weapons within it.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sounds of hidden weapons clashing with petals echoed endlessly. The storm of hidden weapons roaming the mist grew even more eerie.
Swish! Swish!
Butterfly-shaped hidden weapons—Sorrow Soul Butterflies—drifted through the mist, emitting nerve-grating sounds as they fluttered about.
The dense mist obscured vision, making it impossible to see the black-painted hidden weapons. Moreover, the mist wasn’t static—it continuously circulated under Tang Qihu’s internal energy.
This disrupted the flow of air, blending it with the hidden weapons and poison, severing Mu Hwi’s sensory perception.
Yet Mu Hwi didn’t hesitate, tilting his Sim-myeong Sword to slash vertically and horizontally.
‘If it’s hard to read, then don’t read it.’
Having effortlessly handled Tang Qihu’s hidden weapon techniques so far, Mu Hwi channeled internal energy into his Sim-myeong Sword.
A violet sword light erupted, and sharp sword winds began to whirl around the blade.
Tang Qihu had created an optimal battlefield for himself using poison mist and hidden weapons. All Mu Hwi needed to do was seize control of that battlefield.
The finely trembling Sim-myeong Sword slashed horizontally and vertically, releasing crescent-shaped sword winds in all directions. The winds, shooting out in every possible angle, tore through the poison mist like drunken butterflies intoxicated by plum blossom fragrance, scattering the mist.
Amid the currents created by dozens of sword winds, countless petals surged forth, deflecting the hidden weapons.
Mu Hwi, having experienced Tang Qihu’s hidden weapon techniques, blended his own countermeasures into the Plum Blossom Butterfly Dance technique.
The Sim-myeong Sword, slashing through dozens of angles in an instant, neutralized both the poison mist and hidden weapons, clearing the training grounds.
“Hah!”
Tang Qihu couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration as Mu Hwi effortlessly countered over sixty hidden weapons at once.
Though the gap in their skill was vast, Tang Qihu showed no signs of giving up, slipping his hands back into his sleeves.
“One last move.”
“Come at me.”
As soon as Mu Hwi gave his permission, Tang Qihu drew his hands out again—this time with slow, deliberate movements. Countless hidden weapons were scattered from his hands.
Simultaneously, a powerful surge of energy erupted from Tang Qihu’s entire body like a whirlwind.
Whoosh!
Hidden weapons that had fallen or embedded themselves in the ground were swept up by the energy, floating into the air.
The sight of countless hidden weapons rising in unison under Tang Qihu’s energy was spectacular.
This wasn’t simply a matter of releasing a strong energy wave—it required intricate and complex internal energy manipulation. Tang Qihu’s face flushed slightly as sweat beaded on his forehead.
“Full Sky Flower Rain.”
At Tang Qihu’s command, the hidden weapons hovering peacefully in the air began to tremble ominously.
Swoosh!
Hundreds of different types of hidden weapons merged into the flow of Full Sky Flower Rain, moving as one.
The storm of hidden weapons drew a massive whirl in the air. Sunlight reflected off the weapons, causing countless tiny lights to flicker above Mu Hwi’s head.
The beautiful scene resembled a sky filled with a garden of light.
As the spinning whirlwind accelerated, forming a perfect circle, a brilliant light flashed, and a torrent of flower-like rain surged forth.
“Beautiful.”
Mu Hwi raised his Sim-myeong Sword high.
The moment the sword pointed skyward, Mu Hwi’s sleeves billowed violently.
‘Did the sword disappear?’
For a moment, Tang Qihu thought the blade had vanished—so swift was the swordplay that followed. In an instant, the Sim-myeong Sword unleashed hundreds of sword afterimages.
These afterimages split endlessly, transforming into countless sword-energy petals.
The green flower rain descending from above and the violet flower rain rising from below began to intertwine.
The sky, once dyed green by the Full Sky Flower Rain’s poison, was now tinged violet as the Purple Sunset Energy spread in all directions.
The moment Full Sky Flower Rain and Falling Plum Blossoms overlapped, countless sounds merged into a single deafening explosion that reverberated throughout the entire Sacheon Tang Family.
Boom!
As the poison and hidden weapons were scattered, Tang Qihu was revealed kneeling on one knee, coughing up blood.
“Are you alright?”
“Kgh… I’m fine.”
“Regulate your energy. I’ll stand guard.”
“I won’t refuse. Thank you.”
Tang Qihu, likely injured from the backlash of Full Sky Flower Rain’s destruction, immediately sat cross-legged to meditate. Mu Hwi stood beside him as his protector.
A few family members, having heard the explosion, came to check on their leader but quietly retreated upon seeing the devastated training grounds and Mu Hwi standing guard.
It took Tang Qihu about half an hour of meditation before he opened his eyes again.
“That took longer than I expected. My apologies.”
“Not at all. If anything, I should apologize.”
“Don’t say that.”
Tang Qihu surveyed the wrecked surroundings before asking Mu Hwi,
“I hope this was helpful in preparing you to face the Poison Dragon of Sacheon.”
“It was more than helpful.”
Beyond mere help, Mu Hwi had gained enough insight to develop new techniques for countering and dismantling a variety of hidden weapons.
While Tang Qihu’s display of various hidden weapons was valuable, witnessing Full Sky Flower Rain was the most significant.
Full Sky Flower Rain wasn’t merely about launching hundreds of hidden weapons at once—it was an ultimate technique that required precise manipulation of immense energy to simultaneously execute dozens of hidden weapon techniques.
“Full Sky Flower Rain. Was the Tang Family’s martial arts any good?”
“Of course.”
“Hearing you say that is a comfort.”
Noticing the shadow that briefly crossed Tang Qihu’s face, Mu Hwi asked,
“Is something wrong?”
“Lately, I’ve been… Wavering. Wondering if my decision to fully align the Sacheon Tang Family with the orthodox sect, despite our history as a semi-heretical sect, was the right one.”
At Tang Qihu’s musings, Mu Hwi fell into thought.
Now that he mentioned it, Mu Hwi had also been curious about why the Sacheon Tang Family, which had long straddled the line between orthodox and heretical, had suddenly chosen to fully embrace the orthodox path.
“Family Head, do you have a reason for aligning the Sacheon Tang Family with the orthodox sect?”
Tang Qihu closed his mouth for a moment, then gazed at the scenery of the Sacheon Tang Family before him.
“It wasn’t for grand reasons like the family’s prestige, benefits, or some lofty sense of righteousness. Just… A simple reason, you could say.”