Chapter 113
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Poison King (3)
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Kekeke!
Mujin couldn't help but laugh.
As Su kept pressing, the situation twisted bizarrely, and Jegal Suran's face contorted in seriousness. Comparing it to when her son had been dominating made the laughter unstoppable.
Kekekeke!
This time, it wasn't me.
Mujin turned his head to look at Yeonu. Yeonu pretended it wasn't him and stopped laughing.
"Were you laughing?"
"Yes."
"Enjoying this?"
"Yes."
Taking pleasure in his little brother's suffering? That was a bit problematic.
Who did he take after to act like this?
-You bastard!
I like his honesty.
-You madman!
Dang Yeoncheon, pushed into a defensive corner, tried for a reversal with his hidden needles slicing through the air, but it ended in a futile counterattack.
Dang Yeonsu blocked every assault as smoothly as flowing water and landed a lethal blow.
Pang!
Struck in the solar plexus, Dang Yeoncheon screamed and was sent tumbling to the edge of the sparring platform. It didn't look like much, but the impact was severe. He sensed there was no path to victory like this, yet his pride wouldn't allow surrender.
But what could he do? Wishing alone couldn't alter the cold reality.
Even as the match tilted decisively, Dang Yeonsu remained unflustered. He grew even calmer and more seasoned, severing Dang Yeoncheon's momentum and denying any chance of retaliation.
Kraaak!
Blood sprayed, wounds tore open, and internal injuries piled up. In an instant, Dang Yeoncheon's body was drenched in blood.
"Do you surrender?"
"Don't make me laugh!"
At Dang Yeoncheon's pointless resistance, a chilling glint flashed in Dang Yeonsu's impassive eyes. It looked like he was suppressing a rising urge to kill from within.
Pow pow pow!
As Dang Yeonsu's strikes grew fiercer, Dang Yeoncheon was falling apart like a rag doll. The more he clung to his pride, the more his life hung in the balance. The atmosphere around them froze solid.
Swaaaa!
It was as if he were toying with an old plaything, determined to break it.
But soon enough, Dang Yeonsu shoved Dang Yeoncheon right off the platform.
The moment he caught a disapproving glare from someone.
Thud thud thud, flop!
Dang Yeoncheon tumbled off the sparring platform. He strained to rise but vomited blood and collapsed. Beyond the external wounds, his internal injuries were grave enough to rob him of consciousness.
"Yeoncheon!"
Jegal Suran flew into a panic, practically convulsing in shock. She couldn't believe her son's defeat. She'd pinned all her hopes on him alone, staking everything, so the blow was devastating.
The tournament grounds buzzed with astonishment.
No one had expected Dang Yeonsu to overpower Dang Yeoncheon—without taking a single hit. It might seem unremarkable at a glance, but those who had reached that level knew how extraordinarily difficult it was. Warriors of squad leader rank and above began acknowledging Dang Yeonsu's prowess.
"Is there anyone else who would care to test their skills against me?"
Dang Yeonsu, swiftly regaining his composure, scanned the surroundings and declared his stance in a calm voice. It carried a humble readiness to accept any challenge.
Yet no one stepped forward readily. Among those of similar age granted eligibility, his skill was overwhelmingly beyond them.
If anyone, eyes turned to Yeonu, the one rumored to have bested Dang Yeoncheon.
Word of Dang Yeonu's abilities had spread quietly and cautiously. Those who had clashed with him firsthand were in agreement.
The man himself, Dang Yeonu, looked utterly indifferent.
His gaze held a silent question of why they were looking at him. And rightly so—Dang Yeonu's eligibility had been restricted by the former family head. The current head could override it, but that would set a poor precedent.
It's hard to view a son defying his father's choices in a good light.
'Even now, you're not coming out? Fine, if not.'
Mujin smirked at the one observing the situation, exuding an air that he'd just leave if no one stepped up. In truth, it might benefit Mujin if Yeonu stayed out. Judging by the Dang family's behavior, there was no guarantee they'd be helpful later.
But Mujin's intentions didn't miss the mark. Warriors were stubborn fools who devoted their lives to martial prowess. The reason they pursued it was strength.
Could they turn away from such primal power?
Grind!
No grinding sound was heard. But the obstinate old man's aura was palpable. His pride demanded he honor his own words, clashing with the family's future.
"You insolent whelp! You really won't step up!"
His thunderous roar shook the training grounds, forcing everyone to clap hands over their ears. Those with weaker inner energy staggered as their blood and qi churned. He was a transcendent powerhouse disrupting perception itself.
Woooong!
The elderly man strode into the grounds, unleashing a vast surge of inner energy. His graying hair mingled oddly with lingering black strands, while his unkempt beard and mustache sharpened his fierce impression.
His thick brow furrowed, lips pressed tight, evoking an image of unyielding stubbornness. He exuded an iron-blooded resolve that would never bend, no matter how the world changed.
Yet no one in the audience saw him as merely a stubborn old man.
"...Former Family Head!"
The Fifth of Divine Province's Twenty-One Strong: Poison King Dang Sadok.
The unparalleled poison master produced by the Dang family.
He was said to have entered secluded training, but after years without sighting, rumors of trouble had swirled. Yet at the overwhelming presence dominating the area despite his disheveled state, all doubts vanished like mist.
Ooooo!
Dang Sadok's appearance halted the tournament. To the Dang family, his vitality mattered far more than selecting a young lord. The presence of their paramount figure was the key measure of the family's prestige.
One word from Dang Sadok could overturn any outcome. Who would dare defy his will?
When he was family head, his word was the family's law.
Even his dictatorial tendency to handle everything his way didn't matter. It was under him that the Dang family reached its zenith as Szechuan's overlords.
They brimmed with pride and prestige back then.
On the platform, the family head and elders wore mixed expressions of joy and worry. For the Dang squad that had sent Dang Yeonsu up, this was an unforeseen crisis. It heralded a storm bigger than any other variable.
But the squad members weren't so lacking in composure as to show it.
'It changes nothing, brother.'
Dang Yeonsu's talent was genius-level. No one here could surpass him. Beating Dang Yeoncheon meant the tournament was as good as over.
"Father, please!"
One person couldn't accept it. Jegal Suran earnestly pleaded with her father-in-law. He was her last hope to revert everything.
But no one echoed her. She looked like a petulant child throwing a tantrum over defeat. Forgetting her dignity as a daughter-in-law drew frowns all around.
And it was utterly unreasonable.
Dang Sadok had always insisted on pure bloodlines, far from coddling the untalented. He'd lived solely for the family, prizing martial might above all.
Dang Sadok ignored Jegal Suran and even the defeated Dang Yeoncheon. Bypassing the unworthy offspring, he approached Dang Yeonu and fixed him with a piercing glare.
'His eyes could shoot sword winds.'
The cantankerous elder was crushing him with intimidation for defying his will. He'd shaped the family to his tastes, believing it ran flawlessly—yet now it was strangling him in return.
But could a man who'd lived decades like that bend his will overnight?
'Tough luck, though.'
-It's thanks to me.
'If you didn't pop up, you wouldn't be the Demon King.'
-Bow before me, War King!
This guy's one of a kind too.
Through self-induced brainwashing, Dang Yeonu had become an entirely different person. Mistaking him for his old docile self would get your neck snapped before you knew it. Fall this time, and the King of Hell would be waiting next door.
Zing, zing!
Dang Sadok's aura intensified. It was wordless pressure, daring him: Won't you step up even now?
Wuuung!
The terrifying aura overwhelming heaven and earth morphed into an intangible force. A privilege of those at the absolute pinnacle, a presence worthy of being called dominion.
Gulp!
Everyone felt it. The chill slicing their skin was proof. Their bodies shivered like feverish patients. Imagine facing that savage aura head-on.
Brrr!
Dang Yeonu's face paled blue resisting the immense pressure. Even having broken through to a new realm beyond his prior walls, it wasn't enough against the Poison King. Not until he regained the Golden-Haired Death God's power.
It was too dangerous now.
If his inner energy couldn't withstand it, he'd suffer internal injuries and cough blood.
Flash, whoooo!
The torrent-like aura snapped off in an instant, scattering in all directions. The saturation of sensed energy left everyone stunned. The Poison King utterly transcended common sense.
'He's grown even stronger!'
Inner power grows with time, but vitality inevitably wanes with age. Before nature's harmony, humans are frail. Yet the Poison King defied the natural order, seeming mightier than before.
Haaa!
A sigh escaped. From Dang Sadok, who had unleashed his aura so fiercely, the weight of years was felt. A crack had formed in what seemed an impregnable fortress.
"Was it that hateful?"
"Yes."
"No hesitation left in you now."
"No lingering attachments."
Dang Sadok felt deflated by Dang Yeonu's detached renunciation of his heritage. In the past, he would have erupted in fury and disciplined him harshly.
But all this was his own karma.
His son had defied him, taking a Western woman. Their marriage displeased him, so their child was naturally unwelcome. He poured his resentment toward the rebellious son onto Yeonu. Despite direct lineage, he granted no privileges, permitting nothing.
Then that child returned via secret missive. And awakened him from a dreamlike stupor, forgetting even the flow of time.
The boy had shed his former self, grown into a fine youth. Or rather, an entirely new personality? But more astonishing was the energy Dang Yeonu harbored.
It far surpassed his own from three decades prior. He, once hailed the Dang family's unparalleled genius to lead it—what he'd been surpassed. An achievement hard to credit.
And now that youth sought to leave the family.
He had to hold him.
To do that, he must acknowledge and accept him. One word would suffice. But acknowledgment meant admitting decades of misguided life.
In the heavy silence, he exhaled deeply.
As if vomiting a deep-seated grudge.
"I acknowledge you. You have the right to lead this family."
The entire training ground, watching intently, was aghast. The former head never bent once his mind was set—the Dang family's tyrant. Admitting his error and granting Dang Yeonu direct lineage status was thunderous to the family members.
No greater shock could be had.
"And?"
...Gasp!
Dang Yeonu's reply stunned them anew.
The family's eldest had apologized and acknowledged everything. A grandson should accept—what was this treating him like an outsider? The air grew oppressively heavy. The elder might strike at any moment.
"What will it take to appease your anger?"
"Appease? I'm not angry."
"You'd truly abandon this precarious house!"
"Asking my opinion changes nothing."
Tension rippled through the heated grandfather-grandson exchange of push and pull. The shifting atmosphere made it hard to keep up.
"Excuse me?"
Not the moment for it, but when had Mujin ever read the room? He was a disruptive element always primed to stir chaos. And chaos hit hardest when least expected.
"How long are you going to keep this up right in front of me? I can't even see straight."
Come to think of it, the standoff was awkward.
Mujin was seated, with Yeonu standing behind and Sadok in front, conversing over him. Naturally sandwiched, Mujin was deeply uncomfortable. Pointing it out was only human, but no one but him responded.
"Sorry."
"Ease up and accept already. How much longer can the elder live? At least send him off with peace of mind."
Mujin's broad magnanimity wished for their reconciliation. But most hearing it were left speechless. The words meant harmony, yet sounded like performing last rites.
'That mad bastard!'
'Who does he think this place is!'
'Does he have a death wish!'
The Poison King was the family's patriarch. Treating him so casually, like his own grandfather. Wait—definitely not something to say to your own grandpa! Mujin was bizarrely insane. They itched to charge and punish the elder's disrespect, but the Poison King said nothing.
"I'll enter the tournament."
"Good. You've thought it through."