Chapter 16: Poison Phoenix
Chapter 16
Poison Phoenix
Ever since returning to the past, Se-woon had never stopped pondering one question:
Why had he been sent back?
He could have simply buried his doubts and lived happily in the present.
But he couldn't.
Because deep down, a lingering unease had taken root—the fear that even his return might be part of someone else's scheme, that he was merely a pawn on a grander board meant to spill even more blood.
And so, he kept revisiting that moment—
'Blood Demon...!'
—the instant the Blood Demon had ended his life.
His reasoning for suspecting Blood Demon was simple.
The Blood Demon wasn't just the strongest martial artist in the world—he was the strongest in history. But his abilities didn't stop there.
'The king of dark arts, ruler of all anomalies across the inner and outer worlds.'
His sorcery could twist and mock the very laws of nature.
During his enslavement, Se-woon had witnessed firsthand the impossible feats Blood Demon performed.
When he seized control of the Eighteen Forts of the Yangtze, he shattered the natural order, bending the river's flow to his will and drowning countless lives.
Thousands of sorcerers had joined forces to stop him, yet Blood Demon dispelled their spells with a mere flick of his finger.
Even now, merely recalling him sent splitting pain through Se-woon's skull—likely a lingering curse embedded in the Blood Demon's very existence.
Yet despite the agony, Se-woon clenched his teeth and forced himself to replay Blood Demon's final words in his mind.
'......See ......you.'
A hundred times. A thousand. Ten thousand.
Until counting became meaningless, and the moment flashed before his eyes like a relentless phantom.
Then—
As if forcibly erased memories were being restored—
Blood Demon's voice, slow but unmistakably clear, echoed in his ears.
"See you again."
Yes. That was exactly what he had said.
Just before driving the poisoned dagger, saturated with Reverse Heaven Energy, into Se-woon's forehead.
But another question coiled in his mind:
Why?
If Blood Demon knew Se-woon would return with memories of the future, why risk his own downfall?
Was it the whim of a supreme being who dared to toy with divinity itself?
No. That couldn't be it.
'He wouldn't act on impulse.'
Many strategists had dismissed Blood Demon as erratic, but—
In hindsight, every seemingly unpredictable move had been part of an intricately woven plan.
'......What the hell are you plotting?'
Just as his thoughts grew unbearably tangled—
"Did I not tell you to move?"
"M-My lady, you mustn't—"
A voice cold as glacial ice shattered his contemplation.
The familiar tone came from outside his room.
'Noona?'
His elder sister, Tang Se-rin, had come.
Given their father's strict orders forbidding visitors, he hadn't expected her.
So why was she now arguing with the guards outside?
"......The family head explicitly forbade anyone from entering."
"That order was meant to keep assassins out, not to turn away his own flesh and blood."
"Th-That's..."
"If you understand, step aside."
Beautiful flowers often hide thorns.
Known throughout the martial world as the Poison Phoenix, Tang Se-rin was infamous for her ruthless demeanor and brutal methods against evildoers.
While their father, Tang Mu-yeol, was mockingly called Half-Tang for his uncharacteristic gentleness, she was hailed as True Tang—a worthy successor to the clan's fearsome legacy.
Her iron will was legendary—once she set her mind to something, she never yielded.
"Hah... Very well. But please make it quick."
In the end, even the guards relented.
Steam curled from the medicinal broth Se-rin had prepared.
"......"
"......"
Yet after entering, she remained silent, her impassive gaze fixed on Se-woon.
He met her eyes awkwardly.
Her face was unreadable—cold and expressionless.
'Is she... angry?'
Looking back, she had every right to be.
After the sect leader's death, she had sternly warned him:
"With all the chaos you've caused, we're barely keeping things together. Stay in your room and recover—no more incidents."
Se-woon had nodded obediently.
Though he was the young master, she handled the clan's complex affairs.
Yet the very day he promised, he snuck out—only to be ambushed by assassins.
If she whipped him like when he was a child, he couldn't complain.
'Tch. Getting caned at my age... Even before returning, I was pushing forty...'
As he scratched his head sheepishly—
Se-rin, having scrutinized him thoroughly, finally spoke.
"You look surprisingly intact for someone who caused such a stir."
"......I'm sorry, Noona."
Her voice was frosty. Se-woon apologized immediately.
With over a decade between them, she had always been strict and demanding.
At this age, he had feared and respected her deeply.
'Not anymore, though.'
Back then, he hadn't understood her.
Now, he knew her words and true feelings were worlds apart.
Suddenly, Se-rin wordlessly picked up the bowl of broth and handed it to him.
"Drink."
"......What is this?"
"A tonic brewed for two days from the root of a hundred-year-old snow ginseng."
"—!"
"Drink it and circulate your energy. It'll help heal your injuries."
A hundred-year snow ginseng?!
She said it casually, but Se-woon stiffened.
"Noona. This is the prize you won at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. You can't give it to me."
True to her epithet, Poison Phoenix, she had been a member of the Nine Dragons and Four Phoenixes in the previous generation.
At that year's Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, she placed in the top three and received the snow ginseng as a reward.
Though not as potent as the legendary thousand-year variant, the hundred-year snow ginseng was still extraordinary.
Under the guidance of a peak master, it could grant a decade's worth of internal energy.
But the Tang Clan lacked such masters, so it had been stored in the vault, awaiting a suitable expert.
Yet Se-rin had willingly forfeited her chance to use it—for him.
'Before my return, she consumed this and broke through to the peak stage. She was so happy...'
With the clan in decline, she had struggled alone, reaching the threshold of mastery without support.
And this ginseng had been her key to overcoming stagnation.
She hid it well, but he knew how much she had hoped for it.
Yet here she was, brewing it into medicine—for him.
Had he known earlier, he would've refused outright.
Seeing his darkened expression, Se-rin spoke flatly:
"It's fine. It wouldn't have helped me much anyway."
"No. You should take it. I can't accept this."
"Ha. Are you rejecting my goodwill?"
Her tone sharpened with anger.
But to Se-woon now, it seemed forced.
At this time, she was barely past thirty.
Having played the strong matriarch for so long, she struggled to show vulnerability—even to her brother.
'I never realized... I was always the one receiving.'
A pang of guilt twisted in his chest—
—......Se-woon ......run......
"—!"
Suddenly, her final moments flashed before his eyes.
Her body pierced by Blood Cult blades, still pleading for his safety.
His face paled.
A wave of dizziness hit him, and he swayed.
Se-rin lunged forward, catching him in a blur.
"W-What's wrong?!"
"I'm fine. Just... lightheaded."
"Drink the tonic now! Refuse again, and I'll punish you severely!"
Her icy facade cracked—genuine fury seeped through.
Se-woon nearly refused again, but her earnest gaze silenced him.
'Like siblings indeed.'
Her eyes screamed I won't back down.
'Sigh. Fine. After I absorb this, I'll guide her beyond the peak stage myself.'
If he couldn't change her mind, the least he could do was honor her sacrifice.
Decision made, he met her eyes.
"......Will you guard me while I circulate my energy?"
"Of course."
Her expression brightened instantly.
Eagerly, she handed him the bowl.
Se-woon drained it in one go, leaving not a drop.
Normally, such elixirs weren't brewed into tonics—raw consumption preserved their potency.
Boiling risked amplifying toxicity alongside effects.
But—
'Even in decline, the Sichuan Tang Clan remains the ancestral masters of poison.'
A secret known only to them—a method to neutralize toxicity in elixirs.
Se-rin's sleepless nights had been spent purging the poison.
Whoosh!
Instantly, heat erupted in Se-woon's body like wildfire.
The enhanced ginseng's energy surged through his meridians at blinding speed.
Before it reached his dantian—
Swish!
He moved like a dancer, initiating the Golden Wrist Circulation.
Se-rin began guarding him, ensuring no interruptions.
As she watched, sorrow flickered in her eyes.
'We must find a way to heal his dantian soon...'
If not for his congenital disability, she could have guided his energy flow properly.
At the very least, she could have helped him absorb more.
'Hang in there, just a little longer.'
Her wish was simple:
For him to gain even a year's worth of energy—
Or at least recover fully.
But then—
Whoosh!
"......What?!"
What happened next left her gaping in shock.
Without her guidance, Se-woon entered Ego-Annihilation—a state of perfect unity with energy.
An extraordinary aura swirled around him.
Like cherry blossoms in the wind, energy suffused his meridians—an overwhelming amount.
"......At least fifteen years?!"
He was absorbing over ninety percent of the tonic's power.
Clang! Clang!
Though they were in an ordinary room—
The crisp sound of hammer strikes echoed in her ears.
Dazed, she forgot her role as protector, simply staring.
Time blurred.
Before she knew it, four hours had passed.
"Huu."
With a final clang, Se-woon concluded his energy circulation.
Se-rin snapped back to reality, startled.
For a fleeting moment, her brother seemed... unfamiliar.
"......Finished?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, Noona, I feel much better. Lighter, too."
"Really?"
But her unease soon melted into joy.
Though she had lost her chance to advance, she was genuinely happy for his recovery.
'Hmm. That was...'
Then, Se-woon glanced at her waist and spoke.
"Noona, you still use the Iron Fan as your main weapon, right?"
"Huh? Yes."
"Then come to the forge when my restrictions lift. I'll..."
Knock knock.
Someone rapped on the door.
"Young Master, the family head summons you."
So it's time.
A glint flashed in Tang Se-woon's eyes.
The Tyrant of Sichuan awaited.