Chapter 339
Chapter 339
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 90
>Chapter Title: The Culprit (5)
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On a mountain peak not far from the Tang Clan's manor.
“Ha!”
The hunched old woman leaning on her staff gaped, unable to close her mouth.
It was only natural. No one could watch this monumental clash without being astonished.
It had already surpassed the level of ordinary martial artists.
This was a battle between true superhumans.
-Kwarung! Kwarung! Kaboom!
Every time they swung a sword or fist, the surroundings shattered, split, and erupted in chaos.
The area around them was already reduced to ruins, with nothing left intact.
The hunched old woman, her mouth still agape, stuck out her tongue in amazement and said.
“Lady Chunju... they seem to have already transcended human limits.”
“...Indeed.”
Beside the old woman stood a woman with arms crossed, her hair half black and half white.
She wore provocative yet vibrant yellow clothes reminiscent of rapeseed flowers, exposing her cleavage. She was profoundly mysterious and breathtakingly beautiful.
Noting the subdued tone in her voice, the old woman cautiously glanced sideways, wondering if she was in a foul mood.
But something was off.
Lady Chunju's eyes, fixed on the battle, sparkled with keen interest.
‘...Has she taken an interest?’
She was the most emotional among the executives of their First Realm.
This made her capricious, with intense mood swings. It was hard to fathom why she was showing such fascination now.
She had been deeply disappointed earlier when Shi Baekwoong, the Green Forest Bandit King she had invested in as a promising asset, lost his will to fight after a single punch.
Yet her reaction now was the complete opposite.
‘Is it because of that monstrous human battling the Tang Clan's hidden power?’
The old woman's guess centered on that man.
The Tang Clan's hidden power was astonishing in itself, but this suddenly appeared human was no pushover either.
As the Tang Clan's monstrous hidden power unleashed its full might, Lady Chunju's face showed surprise as she remarked.
[...Impressive. At this level, he's not just on par with the Eight Stars—he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Six Heavens.]
“Th-the Six Heavens?”
The Six Heavens were the pinnacle figures among martial artists.
Were these unknowns, whose names weren't even known, truly this strong?
How had they evaded their intelligence network entirely?
It was truly astonishing.
Now she understood why that person still sat cautiously in place.
The Central Plains were not to be underestimated.
However,
“Aah!”
The old woman let out an exclamation while watching the fight.
The battle was reaching its climax.
Who would win?
It was so evenly matched that either outcome seemed plausible; it was impossible to predict.
But soon, a victor emerged.
The winner was,
‘No way...’
Defying expectations, it wasn't the Tang Clan's hidden power, but the one wielding that ferocious aura who triumphed.
That left them with one course of action.
“Lady Chunju! Now's the chance, just as you said!”
The fisherman's profit.
The idiom meant a third party benefiting from a fight between crane and clam.
That was exactly what they had been aiming for.
At first, it was merely to gauge the level of the hidden power.
But since it was an evenly matched fight, whichever side won, the victor would be greatly depleted, making it a perfect opening to exploit.
However,
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“I've changed my mind.”
The old woman stared at her in bewilderment.
Why pass up such a golden opportunity?
They could easily dispatch or capture them now and neutralize the threat.
Securing the Tang Clan's hidden power—which even that person hesitated to touch—and this unknown supreme expert would earn them immense credit within the organization.
“Lady Chunju!”
“I said no.”
“H-how can you let this chance slip?”
“Because it's such a good one.”
“Pardon?”
“That guy... I want him.”
“That guy—you mean the Tang Clan's hidden...”
“No, that one.”
Reflected in her grayish pupils was none other than Mok Kyung-un.
“No need to invest in anything else. With just him, it'd be enough, right?”
At her words, the old woman fidgeted anxiously.
She hadn't anticipated this whimsy at such a critical moment.
Was her greed overriding her self-control?
Cautiously, as if admonishing her, the old woman ventured.
“Lady Chunju. If you truly want him, you should seize the opportunity now. It's right there for the taking—why postpone...”
“Do you think I couldn't claim him unless he's weakened?”
“Th-that's...”
The old woman inwardly cursed her slip.
She had bruised her pride.
“No, of course not. If Lady Chunju sets her mind to it, anything's possible.”
“I told you, didn't I? Men are all so simple.”
“...Yes.”
“Just watch. Give him the right opening, and he'll be my slave in no time.”
She had already made up her mind.
Realizing further talk was pointless, the old woman fell silent.
It might be better to secretly report this to the Assembly about those two.
At that moment, Lady Chunju warned in a stern tone.
“I'm warning you upfront—if you secretly report to the Assembly without permission again, I won't let it slide.”
-Gulp!
The old woman swallowed dryly, her face tense.
* * *
“The one who raised me was from one of the Tang Clan's branches, so our blood is connected. But the Tang Clan head killed that person with Formless Poison.”
‘!?’
Yu Mu-jin's expression hardened.
He had wondered what she would say, given it was like family.
But what was this?
If the one who raised her was from a branch, that made it a main house-branch house relation. For the Tang Clan head to poison such a person?
“What... right now... that's...”
“Exactly as you heard. The Tang Clan head killed the one who raised me.”
“Why would he...”
“I don't know. Why he killed Grandfather, I have no idea.”
“Wasn't it a misunderstanding?”
“He used Formless Poison, known only to the Tang Clan as perfected. What misunderstanding?”
At that, Yu Mu-jin hurriedly said.
“Wait—how could you tell it was Formless Poison?”
“I was taught poison—how could I not know?”
No sooner had she spoken than Mok Kyung-un summoned toxic energy from her left hand.
‘!?’
Yu Mu-jin was speechless as purple poison qi rose languidly from her left hand.
She had mastered poison arts too?
His own clan had strong poison resistance, so poison arts wouldn't faze them, but her swordsmanship was already peak-level. For her poison to reach this caliber too—it was shocking.
-Swish!
As Mok Kyung-un dispersed the poison qi, she continued.
“By your logic, it's a family dispute, however distant. Will you keep meddling?”
“...”
Yu Mu-jin had no retort.
The Tang Clan might distinguish main and branch houses internally, but from his position—protecting the Tang Clan per ancestral decree—they were all Tang Clan.
The decree was to shield them from external threats.
But it said nothing about internal conflicts.
‘First time for this... what should I do?’
Yu Mu-jin was at a loss.
If her enmity was internal to the Tang Clan, his interference was inappropriate.
It even made their fight so far feel misguided.
But one thing needed confirming.
‘I must verify if it's true.’
Her words could be lies.
Anyone could say anything.
If false, he'd be deceived, leading to irreversible catastrophe for the Tang Clan.
Thus, Yu Mu-jin said.
“If what you say is true, this is an internal Tang Clan matter, so I have no right to interfere.”
“Hoo. You accept it readily. Should've talked more from the start.”
“...But how do you prove it?”
“Prove?”
Mok Kyung-un raised one eyebrow quizzically.
Undeterred, Yu Mu-jin pressed on.
“How do I know the one who raised you was truly from a Tang branch?”
This was crucial.
If truly a branch, there'd be proof.
At the question, Mok Kyung-un smirked and said.
“I'm providing the best proof right now.”
“Best proof?”
“I could kill you anytime, yet here I am, talking. Isn't that proof enough?”
‘!?’
Yu Mu-jin furrowed his brow at her words.
It was uncanny.
From anyone else, it might seem forced, but from her, it rang profoundly true.
“Hearing all this proof nonsense makes me think I wasted time. Maybe I should just kill you now...”
-Swish!
Mid-sentence, Mok Kyung-un turned her head.
Toward the direction of the Tang Clan manor.
As Mok Kyung-un suddenly looked that way, the Tang Clan executives and warriors watching breathlessly tensed up.
But Mok Kyung-un wasn't looking at them.
Precisely, beyond them.
Staring there a moment, she turned back to Yu Mu-jin, lips curling up.
“Hmm. Perfect timing. You wanted proof, right?”
* * *
-Pahk!
“Urk!”
“Ugh!”
After thirty exchanges without yielding an inch, the two landed blows on each other's chest and face, rebounding from the recoil.
-Thud!
-Kaboom! Crack!
Palduk Snake Lord Gu Yang-so's body crashed into a tree as he flew back over ten paces. The pillar snapped, then melted under intense poison qi.
-Sizzle!
“Haa... haa...”
-Swish!
Gu Yang-so wiped blood trickling from his mouth.
He glared at Tang Clan head Tang In-hae, who had also been flung back similarly and regained his stance.
‘Not easy.’
Even raising the Eight Poisons realm—turning his hair green with poison qi—he couldn't gain the upper hand.
Despite his diligent training, remaining evenly matched meant his foe had steadily advanced too.
‘Tough. It'll end in a draw. The key is endurance.’
Realizing no victor this way, Gu Yang-so knew he needed a change.
Tang In-hae, his longtime rival, thought the same.
“Tch.”
-Ptoo!
Spitting out a broken molar, Tang In-hae clicked his tongue inwardly.
How was this old hag growing stronger instead of declining with age?
Unfathomable.
Unlike past spars, she attacked with life-or-death ferocity now, each move lethally precise.
Between poison masters, unlike ordinary experts, one hit was fatal.
Victims needed immediate detoxification, draining energy far more.
That's why he always avoided facing Gu Yang-so.
‘Can't go on like this. I wanted to save it, but for a quick win, I need Formless Poison Arts.’
Formless Poison Arts.
The Tang Clan's supreme secret, refined over three generations from grandfather to father.
Resolved, Tang In-hae assumed the Formless Poison Arts stance.
The indigo poison qi from his body vanished, his surroundings shimmering like heat haze.
-Gurgle! Gurgle!
Conversely, Gu Yang-so's throat swelled like a toad's, body flattened poised to strike—his aura ominous.
Covered in green poison qi, it condensed enough to melt everything nearby.
-Sizzle!
Mok Kyung-un's subordinates watched breathlessly at their auras.
One of the martial world's top Eight Stars, and a Western Region poison master his equal—they were about to decide the fight.
Eyes glued to them.
As the two superhumans glared, awaiting an opening.
It happened then.
-Swish!
-Thud!
Someone descended from the sky, landing between them.
“My lord!”
It was none other than Mok Kyung-un.
At the voice, Tang Clan head Tang In-hae instinctively glanced over in shock.
‘!!!!!!’
His eyes widened in dismay upon looking.
Not just Mok Kyung-un, but Yu Mu-jin—the Tang Clan's guardian from the Yu Clan—stood beside her.
‘What... what is this?’
