Chapter 332
Chapter 332
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 89
>Chapter Title: Sichuan Turmoil (4)
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About 53 years ago.
The previous previous-generation head of the Tang Clan, Grandfather Flower Thousand Poison Hand Tang Yeon-jong, was on the verge of a duel.
His opponent was a rising star in poison arts, a righteous faction outsider known by the moniker Myriad Poison Lord Baek Yu.
Poison arts were typically said to be topped by the Tang Clan alongside the Guyang Clan located along the path to the Western Regions.
Yet this poison expert Baek Yu had, in just five years since emerging into the martial world, not only earned the title of one of the Ten Great Experts but was now challenging Grandfather Tang Yeon-jong's stronghold in poison arts.
"Ah..."
Tang In-hae, who was only ten at the time, couldn't hide his bewilderment at the sight of his tense grandfather Tang Yeon-jong.
His grandfather had always shown immense pride, declaring that no one could rival the Tang Clan in poisons.
Yet this was the first time he'd seen his grandfather so tense, even breaking out in cold sweat.
They say experts recognize experts.
Even his father, Young Clan Head Tang Ho-yeon, darkened his face every time he saw Baek Yu.
To Tang In-hae, who was merely ten, he couldn't gauge just how strong Myriad Poison Lord Baek Yu was, but their reactions alone told him this was no ordinary expert.
[...Father. No, Clan Head. Must you really face that man? No matter how I look at it, he's reached the Myriad Poison Immunity Physique realm.]
'Myriad Poison Immunity Physique?'
It was the supreme realm said to surpass even that of a poison master.
As far as he knew, his grandfather had reached the poison master realm.
Tang In-hae looked incredulously at Baek Yu and, among his three sons, the successor Baek Sa-ha.
Had that man truly attained a realm his grandfather and father hadn't?
How could such a thing be possible?
As he felt perplexed, Grandfather Tang Yeon-jong spoke up.
[If we back down here, the main family's face will be lost. Even if he's reached the Myriad Poison Immunity Physique, we have the Formless Poison.]
[But...]
[Enough. This duel can no longer be called off.]
[Clan Head...]
[If this father doesn't survive the duel, ascend to Clan Head. And... complete the Formless Poison Arts without fail. That alone is the only path to match or counter the Myriad Poison Immunity Physique.]
His grandfather was already resolved to lose his life.
The mood on the Tang side grew heavy.
Then, someone unfamiliar approached them.
'What kind of muscles?'
His muscles were so thick that his upper and lower garments strained as if about to burst.
Not only that, but his face was strikingly handsome.
As he approached, Grandfather Tang Yeon-jong and father Tang Ho-yeon, who seemed to know him, greeted him with surprised faces.
[Invincible Duke.]
[It's been a while, you two.]
The two, who brimmed with boldness no matter whom they met, appeared cautious toward this man who looked only in his mid-thirties.
Then, father Tang Ho-yeon clasped his hands with a brightened face and bowed.
-Pak!
[Invincible Duke, please... save our Clan Head...]
[Hey now!]
Grandfather Tang Yeon-jong cut off his father's words midway.
He then bowed similarly to the man called Yu Mu-jeok.
[Invincible Duke need not intervene in this matter. This is a duel where the family's representatives face off fairly and squarely. It's by no means a dangerous position for our main family.]
At these words, Yu Mu-jeok glanced toward Myriad Poison Lord Baek Yu before speaking.
[I hear it's a life-and-death duel.]
[It is.]
[Are you sure you don't need help?]
[Yes. This concerns the Tang Clan's honor.]
[...You'll surely lose your life.]
'!!!!!!'
At his assured words, Tang In-hae couldn't hold back his anger and raised his voice toward him.
[Who are you to say what about my grandfather...?]
[Hey! Who told you to butt in?]
[Grandfather, but...]
[Apologize to Invincible Duke at once.]
[Gr-Grandfather?]
[The Yu Clan has long protected our main family. He's not someone for a brat like you to speak to lightly.]
[What? Protected our main family?]
As he looked baffled, Yu Mu-jeok extended a large hand and patted his head.
[You're Tang In-hae, aren't you? Seems like just yesterday you were a squirming little thing, but you've grown.]
-Chachang chachang!
A strange sound came as he patted his head.
Glancing over, he saw a golden bracelet on the man's right wrist.
* * *
-Kwaaaang!
Outer Hall Leader Tang Cheol-yong of the Sichuan Tang Clan gaped, unable to close his mouth.
What was he seeing right now?
Green Forest Bandit King Seok Pae-ung, one of the Eight Stars hailed as the martial world's supreme experts, had been smashed into the ground by a single punch from some young man.
The power of that seemingly simple punch surpassed imagination.
One could tell just from the ground cratered nearly five chi deep.
The bandits were in an uproar.
It was only natural, with their leader suddenly attacked by some mysterious figure.
Then a voice came from beside him.
[...To think he'd appear.]
[B-Brother... No, Clan Head?]
Outer Hall Leader Tang Cheol-yong was bewildered by the sudden appearance of Clan Head Tang In-hae beside him.
He then asked, puzzled.
[Clan Head. Could you know that young man?]
[...That golden bracelet on his wrist. Don't you recognize it?]
[Golden bracelet? Could it be?]
Spotting the golden bracelet on the young man's right wrist, Outer Hall Leader Tang Cheol-yong's eyes widened.
There was a legend passed down in the Tang bloodline.
It concerned the Yu Clan that protected the Tang.
[When the Tang Clan is in peril and they appear, receive them with utmost courtesy.]
There was one way to recognize them.
The golden bracelet on that wrist.
[It's not that man from back then.]
He was far younger than the one called Yu Mu-jeok.
Over fifty years had passed since his grandfather, Myriad Poison Lord Tang Yeon-jong, lost his life in that duel, and he hadn't seen the Yu Clan since.
['That man's descendant, perhaps?]
He'd met Yu Mu-jeok but never truly witnessed his prowess.
Yet seeing Green Forest Bandit King Seok Pae-ung smashed into the ground by this young man's hand now filled him with awe.
* * *
-Shoooooo!
White steam billowed from Yu Mu-jin's body, where not just his right arm but his entire frame's muscles had swollen and flushed red.
The bandits, intimidated by the sight, hesitated to move.
To them, their leader Green Forest Tyrant Seok Pae-ung was an untouchable monster.
Yet that leader had been embedded in the ground by a mere punch.
What in the world was this monster's identity?
As they reeled in shock,
[Leader!]
Someone shouted joyfully.
Seok Pae-ung, whom they'd thought knocked out with his head buried, was rising.
[Whoa, you're pretty sturdy, huh?]
Yu Mu-jin looked at him with intrigued eyes and said.
-Euduk!
Seok Pae-ung swallowed the rising blood forcefully.
It was the first time a single punch had dazed him to the brink of unconsciousness.
No, not the first.
It was the first since his duel with that one of the Six Heavens.
But back then, he was little more than a novice yet to complete his arts, incomparable to now.
[Leader!]
[The leader's up!]
[Waaaaaaah!!!]
The nearby bandits cheered.
He understood their joy at their leader rising, but tone it down.
His pride was already shattered; their yelling made him feel his face hit the dirt.
'Damn. Should I use that?']
He had a trump card hidden for a rematch with that Six Heavens figure.
But inwardly, he lacked confidence.
This guy hadn't just caught his Overlord Fist reaching Ten Stars power with one hand—he'd crippled his legs in a single blow.
Experts had their instincts.
Even using his trump and resolving for mutual destruction, could he defeat this monster?
Seok Pae-ung gradually regained his reason.
Unlike most bandits, he wasn't hot-blooded but cool-headed.
Thus, he valued practical gains over face.
'Damn it.'
Who could've foreseen this variable in his bid to claim her?
Judging by the Yu surname, he wasn't from the Tang Clan, so why interfere now... Ah...
He suddenly recalled the man's words about leaving.
He'd stopped him.
'What a stupid move.'
He should've let him go.
Racking his brain, Seok Pae-ung finally stabilized his churning insides and lifted his head.
[Huu.]
As he raised his head, a glint flashed in Seok Pae-ung's eyes.
The reason was,
[...What relation do you have to the Evil Alliance's Vice Leader Hae Yeok-won?]
-Shoooooo!
Seeing the flushed red skin and billowing white steam, Seok Pae-ung thought of one person.
It was Hae Yeok-won, Vice Leader of the Evil Alliance, the current heart of the unorthodox factions.
[Hae Yeok-won?]
[Yes. That form of yours is unmistakably the Blood Progress Golden Body.]
[Ah, Blood Progress Golden Body from the Hae Clan.]
[So there is a connection.]
[Probably. Even if not recently, I know we're distant relatives.]
At Yu Mu-jin's words, Seok Pae-ung thought it was a stroke of luck.
The Evil Alliance and Green Forest were allies as fellow unorthodox groups.
If this guy had any tie to the Evil Alliance, he could use it to naturally avoid the fight.
[Distant relatives mean you're connected, right? Especially since you practice the same arts.]
[The same arts?]
[Yes.]
[You seem to be misunderstanding something.]
[Misunderstanding?]
[Yes. Our clan doesn't practice martial arts.]
[What?]
What nonsense was this?
That form was undoubtedly the Hae Clan's Blood Progress Golden Body.
Yet Yu Mu-jin scratched his head and said.
[It's from innate physique and proper muscle training, I suppose?]
[...Muscle training?]
[Anyway, not important. And martial arts? That's for those not born strong or the frail.]
-Ududuk! Wooduduk!
No sooner had he spoken than Yu Mu-jin's right arm muscles swelled further.
Seok Pae-ung paled at the sight.
The moment the man clenched his fist, all his senses—nay, his sixth sense—screamed warning.
Extreme danger.
[H-Hey! Yu Mu-jin, was it? Stop. You said distant kin to the Hae Clan, so you're unorthodox like us. No reason to fight.]
[I'm not fighting.]
[What? Then why ready that fist?]
[To chase you lot away. I was going to leave, but loosening up after so long isn't bad...!?]
Mid-sentence, Yu Mu-jin turned his head.
He then tilted it, looking somewhere, and spoke.
[Is this related to you guys right now?]
[...What are you talking about? Related to us?]
[Not? But something's coming with terrifying aura.]
[Terrifying aura—what do you...]
-Himchit!
Mid-sentence, Seok Pae-ung flinched and turned toward where Yu Mu-jin looked, face shocked.
He felt it too—a tyrannical, vicious presence approaching at tremendous speed.
'!!!!!!'
The aura was so chilling and potent it sent shivers down his spine.
Soon, in the northeastern sky, black mist swirled as a figure rode a sword through the air.
It was Mok Kyung-un.
[Chapter 89: Sichuan Turmoil (4)] End