Chapter 337
Chapter 337
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 90
>Chapter Title: The Culprit (3)
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‘What’s that?’
A glint of surprise flashed in the eyes of Tang In-hae, the head of the Sacheon Tang Clan.
And rightly so. The snake-shaped long staff gripped by the man in his mid-thirties was none other than the Eight Poisons Serpent Staff belonging to Gu Yang-so, the head of the Gu Clan.
It was the weapon of the only man whose name stood alongside his own in the realm of poison, and having crossed blades with him in sparring matches countless times over the years, there was no way he wouldn’t recognize it.
But how did this young man come to possess Gu Yang-so’s staff?
‘No way... is he from that old hag Gu’s bloodline?’
He pondered this just as—
*Swish!*
The masked Mara Hyun unfurled his Wind God Step, swiftly creating distance with ultra-high-speed movement as he spoke.
“Will you handle the elder yourself?”
“Isn’t this already a settled matter with your liege?”
At his words, Mara Hyun reined in his surging energy and pointed at Tang In-hae with an open palm, as if yielding the field to him.
Seeing this, Tang In-hae snorted derisively.
He had been somewhat impressed by the incredible lightness skill, but this attitude of dictating who fights whom was utterly ridiculous.
“No more delays. You’ve mocked me long enough...”
“Your opponent is me.”
‘!?’
Tang In-hae froze for a moment.
His mind had been solely focused on escaping that monster by any means, so he hadn’t noticed until now, but this voice was incredibly familiar.
‘No way?’
Tang In-hae looked at the man’s face.
It wasn’t a face he recognized.
Which meant...
“That face... Human Skin Mask?”
“I figured you’d recognize me from my voice alone.”
“Brother Gu?”
“It’s been a while, Brother Tang.”
A gasp escaped Tang In-hae’s lips at the form of address.
It was just as he’d suspected—the one and only longtime rival, the wielder of the Eight Poisons Serpent Staff, Gu Yang-so.
He had expected to see him next as an even more wizened old man, but who could have foreseen they’d meet like this, with the youthful face of a Human Skin Mask?
But that was hardly the issue.
More importantly...
“Brother Gu, why are you with them?”
“Circumstances led me here.”
“Circumstances?”
“Indeed. We’re set to clash at the White Jade Pavilion’s Cloudy Heaven Pavilion soon enough anyway.”
“That’s true, but Brother Gu, the appointed date is still far off, isn’t it?”
“I have my reasons. I can’t make it by then.”
*Seethe!*
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a green poisonous miasma began to emanate from Gu Yang-so’s entire body.
He had instantly drawn up seven of the eight poisons.
Since they knew each other’s skills better than anyone, he went straight to near full power with his poison aura.
Tang In-hae’s expression darkened at his opponent’s momentum.
He had harbored doubts due to the Human Skin Mask, but this unleashed presence confirmed it was unmistakably Gu Yang-so.
“Haa...”
A sigh escaped the Tang Clan Head, Tang In-hae.
Before Gu Yang-so revealed himself, he had believed that with their difference in skill, he could shake them off if he went all out.
But the situation had completely changed.
If this old rival, nearly his equal in poison mastery, was determined to block him, escape was impossible.
Moreover...
*Swish!*
Tang In-hae turned his gaze to the masked Mara Hyun.
If that one intervened with a sneak attack mid-bout, having crossed the line beyond mere sparring, it would spell utter disaster.
As if reading his thoughts, Gu Yang-so spoke.
“This will be the final duel of our lives between us, Tang Clan Head. None of you are to interfere.”
“As you wish.”
“Understood.”
“Kehehe. This’ll make for quite the spectacle.”
Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak gave brief replies, while Breaking Precepts Monk Ja Geum-jeong eagerly took his position.
Mara Hyun nodded with a hint of regret in his eyes.
His own martial prowess had surged thanks to his enlightenment, and he had inwardly hoped to test himself against a peer or superior, so he felt a pang of disappointment at missing this chance.
Yet even though they signaled they wouldn’t interfere, Tang In-hae was no fool to take them at their word.
“Brother Gu. Those are my enemies, no different. I can’t easily trust their word. And in this situation, can we even focus properly for a real duel?”
The Tang Clan Head, Tang In-hae, wanted to avoid this confrontation at all costs.
He needed to evade those monsters until their duel concluded, and staying pinned here could lead to the worst possible outcome.
“Brother Gu. For the sake of our bond over the years, postpone this duel. I beg you earnestly.”
*Thud!*
Tang In-hae clasped his hands together, bowing his head in a formal salute.
At this display, Breaking Precepts Monk Ja Geum-jeong swigged from his gourd and sneered.
“Kekeke. Squirming like he’s afraid of getting caught by his master.”
“What did you say!”
Tang In-hae glared fiercely at him.
Gu Yang-so intensified his poison aura and momentum as he interjected.
“Your opponent is me.”
“Brother Gu!”
“Listen, Brother Tang. Your only choice is to face me. Refuse or attempt to flee, and per our agreement with him, I’ll have no choice but to hold you here, duel or no. Let’s begin!”
*Boom!*
With those words, Gu Yang-so unleashed a terrifying thrust, channeling green poison qi into his serpent staff with lethal precision.
‘Damn it!’
Tang In-hae had no choice but to respond.
He too erupted with violet—no, indigo poison qi, countering with his palm technique.
*Boom!*
*Hiss!*
As their poisons clashed, the backlash scorched the surrounding grass, blackening the earth.
A single exchange of blows, yet it served as a probe, allowing both to gauge each other’s evolved prowess.
‘That old Gu bastard. He’s grown even stronger.’
‘As expected, you’ve advanced. But with the Eight Poisons secret art nearly perfected, this time we end it!’
Thus began the life-or-death duel between the two rivals.
* * *
[Father.]
Mujin called out to his father, the Invincible.
At his call, the Invincible replied without tearing his gaze from the dark chasm below, which resembled an endless abyss.
[What is it?]
[How long must we stay here?]
[Who knows?]
[I just don’t see why our clan has to go to such lengths.]
[Are you saying we should neglect the duty passed down from our ancestors and leave? Absolutely not. The moment we abandon this place, the Central Plains will be laid to waste.]
[......I know, but this is practically unpaid labor.]
[Doesn’t matter if it is. If our presence brings peace to many, that’s satisfaction enough.]
[I’m not satisfied.]
[Then what will you do? Just walk away?]
[No, not that, but...... It just feels off. Grandfather and you, wasting away your years here...]
[Then train harder and handle that yourself. Our clan wouldn’t need to linger here.]
[......]
Mujin stealthily glanced down at the abyss-like chasm.
If that were possible, would they be here?
Their founder, born from the convergence of heaven and earth’s energies, might have been unrivaled in innate strength, but they, his descendants, were not.
Blood thinned with each generation, they were said to be far weaker than their forebears.
[Hoo. Should’ve kept my mouth shut.]
[The boy too.]
The Invincible chuckled softly.
Mujin rose to his feet and continued.
[Fine here, but how long do we play nursemaid to the Tang Clan? Even if it’s the founder’s wife’s dying wish, does the Tang Clan really face such dangers? Among martial artists, how many could truly threaten them?]
[True, true perils are rare.]
[Right? You think so too, Father?]
[Not always.]
[Not always?]
[Have you forgotten the Day of Great Catastrophe?]
[......That was inhuman entities gone mad, not humans.]
[Indeed. But what your great-grandfather faced protecting the Tang Clan back then wasn’t some otherworldly being—it was a freakish human.]
[Freakish? Like what?]
*Tap tap!*
The Invincible tapped his forehead with a finger.
[One with an eye here too.]
[......Three eyes? Who has three eyes?]
[Sounds like a lie? But this father saw that three-eyed freak over fifty years ago.]
[You saw it? Where?]
[Here.]
[Here?]
Mujin couldn’t hide his shock.
This was a hidden forbidden ground.
How could such a being infiltrate a place invisible even to the naked eyes of elite martial artists?
[So what happened?]
[What do you think? This father drove it off.]
[Ey.]
Mujin sighed dismissively.
Of course.
It was hard to imagine his father—who had unlocked the second stage of the Energy Cycle Reversal, a feat no clan member had achieved in generations—losing to anyone.
But...
[It wasn’t easy.]
With that, the Invincible lifted his robe slightly.
A long scar stretched across the center of his chest.
Mujin’s eyes widened as he stared.
[Isn’t this from your bout with Great-Grandfather?]
[No. From that thing.]
[Why’s the scar so prominent then?]
Their clan possessed freakish regenerative healing near true recovery.
Injuries were rare, and even when they occurred, they healed swiftly, leaving no scars.
That’s why he had always wondered about the mark on his father’s chest.
[I don’t know. Maybe its bizarre energy slowed the healing, or the wound was that severe.]
‘!!!!!’
Mujin’s face hardened at his words.
His father was invincible in name and truth.
For such a man to bear a scar—and survive the encounter...
A truly formidable foe.
As he inwardly marveled, his father, the Invincible, offered grave advice.
[Don’t slack on your training. Our bloodline weakens with each generation. Even without that three-eyed freak, there’s no guarantee new powerhouses won’t emerge.]
* * *
*Quake!*
‘......And here’s one of those new powerhouses.’
Yu Mujin inwardly clicked his tongue.
He had unleashed the third stage of Energy Cycle Reversal and poured out his full might, yet the foe endured.
No, the enemy wasn’t at full power initially either—upon erupting savage black qi across his body, he grew even stronger.
Blocking that first strike had been no mere luck.
*Swish swish!*
‘Fast.’
Moreover, his speed surpassed Yu Mujin’s.
Even barely tracking him with the naked eye, matching the ultra-high-speed movement proved difficult.
Just when he seemed caught, he’d scatter like a Shifting Shadow Swap.
And then...
*Slash! Slash!*
*Boom! Clang!*
Mid-dash, Yu Mujin jerked his head aside to dodge a sword, then batted away an incoming blade with his fist.
‘Tch.’
With two black sword-gang blades infused with ferocious energy relentlessly assaulting him, his focus scattered further.
A different approach was needed.
*Crunch! Crack!*
The biceps and forearms of Yu Mujin’s blackened right arm swelled massively.
Merely bulging muscles drew ambient qi converging on his fist.
*Whoooosh!*
Mok Kyung-un, who had been probing for openings with ultra-high-speed Bright Manifest Water-Crossing Step, sensed ominous danger and tried to widen the gap.
That instant—
Yu Mujin abruptly slammed his fist toward the ground.
‘Secret Technique, Third Form: Earth-Shattering Destruction!’
*Boom!*
The moment his fist struck, something astonishing occurred.
Centered on the impact, the ground trembled violently for thirty-odd feet as if struck by an earthquake, then cracked apart.
*Crack! Boom boom boom!*
Fragments of earth erupted upward.
‘Huh?’
Mok Kyung-un was dumbfounded.
Who could imagine blocking movement with such an absurd method?
With no stable footing and debris flying, he halted momentarily, forced to fend them off with his sword-gang blades.
Right then—
*Boom!*
“Got you.”
Yu Mujin appeared before Mok Kyung-un.
His fist rocketed toward Mok Kyung-un’s face.
*Whoosh!*
In that split second—
Mok Kyung-un kicked off the nearby demon sword Yakjeuk, launching upward.
‘Dodging with that?’
No footing, yet he used the controlled sword as a platform.
But would he let him escape?
Post third-stage release, such feats were possible.
*Boom!*
Yu Mujin kicked off the air.
Leaping upward, he interlocked his fingers, spinning his body in a whirl.
‘Secret Technique, Fifth Form: Spinning Soaring Dragon!’
*Whirrr!*
The rotation whipped up a vortex, unleashing a gale fierce enough to rend the air with shrieks echoing everywhere.
Mok Kyung-un, seeing Yu Mujin catch up instantly, stuck out his tongue and veered to evade.
But...
*Whoooosh!*
The vortex Yu Mujin created bizarrely pulled in everything around it.
The immense suction dragged Mok Kyung-un—who had tried redirecting—toward its core.
‘Ah.’
A spark lit in Mok Kyung-un’s eyes.
The attractive force stemmed from the inward-spiraling vortex.
Getting sucked in meant the end.
Yet where others might panic...
‘The weakness of rotation is...’
*Swish!*
Mok Kyung-un extended his hand, drawing the airborne Yakjeuk to him.
*Thud!*
Gripping it, he kicked off the air, acceleration from the suction propelling him straight to the vortex’s heart.
‘Mistake.’
Yu Mujin smirked at the sight.
The core might seem like a typhoon’s eye weakness, but he, with his monstrous strength, occupied it.
The center was no weakness—rather, the worst choice.
But that instant—
*Swish!*
The demon sword Geopsal flew in.
Not targeting Yu Mujin.
It provided a foothold for Mok Kyung-un hurtling toward the vortex.
*Boom!*
Mok Kyung-un double-kicked Geopsal’s blade.
His form split in two.
*Swish! Swish!*
One of the duplicates seized Yakjeuk, thrusting forward.
Yakjeuk’s tip quivered, birthing a vortex of sword qi.
‘A vortex duel?’
Yu Mujin scoffed.
Could a mere sword-qi vortex match the full-body gale he unleashed?
‘Hm?’
But something was off with the vortex.
Opposing rotations should clash violently in counter-directions...
‘Same direction?’
Both spun the same way.
Not the rightward Axial Return Sword, but the leftward Reverse Axial Return Sword.
*Slash slash slash!*
Cleverly, the two vortices adhered without repulsion, merging in an unexpected fusion.
A passage opened in the center.
Through it—
*Slash!*
A black line flashed.
Seeing it, Yu Mujin halted his spin.
‘Knew it.’
He’d anticipated this: creating an opening to concentrate power on a single point.
Without it, no lethal blow was possible.
Yu Mujin’s eyes gleamed.
Then—
*Clang!*
He clapped his palms together like striking with hands.
A metallic ring echoed as Yakjeuk’s blade clamped between them.
Immense focused power surged through, but post-third-stage, it posed no issue.
Yu Mujin grinned.
“Think the same trick works twice?”
*Grip!*
Clutching the sword in his left, he swung his fist at Mok Kyung-un’s chest.
But before it connected—
*Drip drip!*
Mok Kyung-un’s face paled, black blood trickling from his mouth.
His energy plummeted—severe internal injuries.
The fight was decided.
‘Straining his body with consecutive forbidden techniques... of course he couldn’t last...’
*Stab!*
That moment—
Yu Mujin looked down at the sharp something piercing his chest.
A sword brimming with savage black sword-gang.
“How... is this...?”
Stunned, Mok Kyung-un smirked and spoke.
“......Takes longer than deploying it myself, but you can focus power with controlled sword-gang too. Worth being the bait.”
“Bait?”
Yu Mujin’s face twisted in agony.
Failing to focus on the controlled sword could’ve killed him, yet he risked it as bait just to test?
[The Culprit (3)] End