Chapter 342
Chapter 342
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 91
>Chapter Title: To Offer (2)
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"I'm just playing with you right now."
'T-This bastard... is toying with me?'
Pain and rage intertwined, twisting Clan Head Tang In-hae's face into a fearsome grimace.
Even if they were mortal enemies, he had become a transcendent master comparable to the Six Heavens. Tang In-hae had believed he would honor his own words.
At the very least, if he said he would give him a chance, he thought he would follow through. But that had been a miscalculation.
From the start, he had been humiliated, so it was clear as day what the bastard would do next.
His legs had been severed from the thighs down, causing such severe bleeding that dizziness threatened to overwhelm him in an instant.
*Clench!*
Tang In-hae gritted his teeth and quickly struck a pressure point on his thighs.
Once he pressed the hemostasis point to staunch the blood even a little, Tang In-hae bellowed in a voice thick with fury.
"As a martial artist, do you not even keep the words you yourself uttered?"
He knew there was a flaw in that statement, given past events that left him in no position to speak of cowardice.
This was merely to provoke Mok Kyung-un.
A master who had surpassed the wall could face enemies with just his two arms, even without legs—but that was only possible against lesser foes.
He was already at a disadvantage, so he needed to lure the bastard in close.
"You cowardly cur! You have no pride as a martial artist!"
Tang In-hae glared at Mok Kyung-un and kept shouting.
'Come on! Come closer!'
It was right then.
*Stab!*
"Ghk!"
Something pierced through the stump of his severed thigh.
He had staunched the bleeding, but touching the already agonizing wound was unbearable.
Unable to endure the torment, Tang In-hae writhed in agony.
'Damn it! W-What the hell did he do?'
Looking toward the pierced area above his thigh, he saw a silver coin soaked in blood.
'Flicking Divine Finger?'
Flicking Divine Finger.
It was a technique that flicked something with the finger to use it like a hidden weapon.
Tang In-hae gritted his teeth at how the man hadn't fallen for his provocation in the slightest, desperately trying to overcome the pain.
Mok Kyung-un spoke to him.
"Do the ramblings of captured prey even reach your ears?"
*Tang!*
With those words, Mok Kyung-un flicked his finger again.
*Stab!*
"Ghk!"
Another silver coin pierced the opposite thigh stump.
He bit his lip hard to endure, but the pain was too much, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
Seeing him like this, Gu Yang-su—the lifelong rival one could call the Eight Poisons Snake Lord—couldn't hide his pity.
'How did it come to this?'
Tang In-hae had been belligerent, but in his youth, he also had a heroic side.
Yet after losing his father, the previous clan head, and taking over as clan head himself, he gradually changed, revealing sides Gu Yang-su had never seen.
Had time and all its trials twisted him like this?
Gu Yang-su clicked his tongue and turned his head.
'In any case, Young Master Mok won't fall for Tang In-hae's provocations.'
Rage could cloud even the sharpest sage's eyes.
But Mok Kyung-un wasn't the type to fall for such tricks, so there was no need to worry.
Except for one thing.
'...It won't be, right?'
The moment when he had intervened between them had been ambiguous.
He hoped they hadn't exchanged that palm strike.
Formless Poison was flawless among all poisons, with no antidote. Once poisoned, it was over.
*Stab! Stab! Stab!*
"Grrgh!"
Mok Kyung-un's successive Flicking Divine Fingers sent Tang In-hae rolling across the ground.
It was a pathetic sight for a martial artist bearing the title of one of the Eight Stars, hailed as the pinnacle of the martial world.
'What the hell?'
Amid his writhing torment, Tang In-hae grew anxious.
Why hadn't there been any reaction yet?
He had clearly taken the long-range strike of the Formless Poison Technique earlier.
Even if not a direct poisoning, mere contact would allow the Formless Poison to swiftly burrow through the skin into the body.
Yet he couldn't understand why there was still no reaction.
'Even Formless Poison is affected by internal energy?'
Old Man Jang Moon-no, who was no exaggeration to call Eight Star level and had reached the realm of poison mastery, hadn't withstood it.
Even that bastard who had chased and interfered with him had been the same.
That one hadn't even earned the Eight Stars title.
If even they couldn't last long, was it different once one surpassed the wall and reached a realm comparable to the Six Heavens?
'Could his profound true energy be blocking the Formless Poison from entering his body?'
With no reaction so far, nothing else made sense.
How profound did one's true energy have to be to block Formless Poison's infiltration?
*Crunch!*
But enduring like this wouldn't cut it.
He had to somehow poison the bastard with Formless Poison to turn the tables.
In the end, Tang In-hae decided to take a dangerous gamble.
"Haa... haa... Jang Moon-no... that... old hag... raised... a complete... piece of trash."
"......"
The moment those words ended, Mok Kyung-un stopped flicking his fingers.
It was a last-ditch effort—if there was a reaction, he couldn't let the moment slip. Tang In-hae pressed on.
"Why? Did the clan head... haa... say anything... wrong? Of course... not knowing his place... coveting our clan's... martial arts... raised by vermin... no difference. Vermin and trash..."
*Whoooosh!*
*Chill!*
An overwhelming killing intent surged from all directions, cutting Tang In-hae off mid-sentence.
He had provoked him on purpose, but what was this?
How could killing intent be this vicious?
It felt like death itself was at his side.
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"
Even breathing became difficult.
He could clearly feel the bastard's rage.
Then,
*Swish!*
Mok Kyung-un's true energy slowly lifted his body into the air.
It was the Empty Air Grasping technique.
Feeling the true energy constricting and pressing him, Tang In-hae instantly unleashed Reactive Force to shake it off.
*Boom!*
*Thud!*
Tang In-hae crashed to the ground and gritted his teeth.
Did he think he had just taken those Flicking Divine Fingers lying down all this time?
He had waited for the Formless Poison to spread, but it was also to recover even a bit of the true energy depleted from fighting Gu Yang-su.
'No matter how superior you are, I've also surpassed the wall.'
Even if gripped by true energy, he could break free to this extent.
If he really wanted to capture him, he'd have to come himself.
It was just as he thought that.
*Tremble!*
Suddenly, Tang In-hae felt his skin—no, his very flesh—trembling madly across his entire body.
Was he trying Empty Air Grasping again?
He knew it was pointless...
*Boom!*
It happened in that instant.
His body shot backward like a cannonball.
It was so sudden he barely registered flying through the air before everything around him blurred past in a whirl.
Then,
*Crash!*
"Ugh!"
His back slammed into something that shattered with the impact, and numerous figures appeared around him.
The moment he saw those figures, Tang In-hae couldn't hide his astonishment.
They were none other than the Tang Clan's executives and warriors.
"C-Clan Head!"
"Clan Head!"
Voices calling his name came from all around.
Quickly scanning his surroundings, Tang In-hae realized he was now in the Tang Clan's rear garden, right by the back gate.
'He flung me here before I could even recover my true energy?'
"Ha..."
Enemy or not, it was monstrous enough to draw admiration.
But then, an immense pressure loomed behind his back.
Instinctively, Tang In-hae sensed he was standing right there.
The distance wasn't close yet.
He needed to be within ten paces to reliably deploy the secret technique for direct Formless Poison transmission.
'I need to provoke him to come closer...'
Tang In-hae bit his lip.
He hadn't expected the bastard to hurl him right into the Tang Clan.
He already felt guilt for abandoning his clansmen and fleeing without fulfilling his duties as clan head.
Now, dropped in the middle of them like this, he couldn't bring himself to speak.
It was then.
"H-How dare you do this to our clan head?"
Everyone was silenced by Mok Kyung-un's overwhelming pressure, mouths shut—until someone bravely shouted.
It was Outer Hall Leader Tang Cheol-yong, the clan head's right-hand man.
Deeply loyal, Tang Cheol-yong barely suppressed his fear to speak up.
With hundreds gathered, one man's courage was enough to spark a small fire in the others' hearts.
*Shing! Shing! Clank! Clank!*
The Tang Clan warriors quickly assumed formations and drew their weapons.
They had witnessed Mok Kyung-un's monstrous power with their own eyes, so they couldn't shout boldly, but they steeled themselves to stake their lives.
Seeing this, Tang In-hae's eyes and lips trembled.
'...Damn it.'
He had been ready to abandon them callously for his own greed.
Yet here they were, drawing weapons courageously for him without a shred of doubt.
Even someone as selfish as him couldn't help but be shaken.
*Clench!*
If only they hated him—it would have been easier.
Then, Mok Kyung-un's voice rang in his ear.
-Unlike some, these ones are awfully loyal. Unlike a certain someone who abandoned all his clansmen and fled alone to save his own skin.
'......'
-After all these years together, they still don't know what kind of man their clan head is. How tragic.
*Grind!*
Tang In-hae clenched his teeth so hard they nearly cracked.
Human hearts were truly insidious.
Everything he had done was coming back as karmic retribution, but he desperately wanted to stop it.
At the very least, he wanted to remain the Tang Clan's clan head, not some humiliated wretch in their eyes.
Thus,
*Whirr!*
Clan Head Tang In-hae circulated true energy through his body and drew forth the energy of the Formless Poison Technique.
He wouldn't wait for the bastard to approach.
No more thoughts of turning the tables.
He would simply kill this bastard...
*Swish!*
'!?'
Tang In-hae's eyes trembled.
In an instant, Mok Kyung-un was standing behind Outer Hall Leader Tang Cheol-yong—his right-hand man.
*Gulp!*
Tang Cheol-yong swallowed dryly.
No matter the gap in skill, he couldn't fail to sense the pressure from behind.
*Swish!*
Then Mok Kyung-un lightly gripped the back of his neck.
Yet Tang Cheol-yong couldn't move an inch from the spot.
Seeing this, Tang In-hae hurriedly shouted.
"Stop!"
"Stop what?"
"P-Please... let go of Cheol-yong. I'll... I'll pay any price... so please, don't do it like this."
"What price do you have to pay?"
"......"
At Mok Kyung-un's words, Clan Head Tang In-hae's face paled and stiffened.
Was this bastard trying to force him to confess everything himself?
*Clench!*
Tang In-hae's fist clenched so hard that blood dripped from his palm.
That damned bastard, determined to drag him to ruin...
It was right then.
"Everything that befalls the Tang Clan from now on is all the fault of one man."
'!?'
*Snap! Crunch!*
"S-Stop... Aaaaagh!"
*Crack! Rip!*
The scream cut off as Outer Hall Leader Tang Cheol-yong's neck was torn clean off, spine and all.
'!!!!!!!'