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—No matter how much the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers scatters hidden weapons in every direction, the trajectory of every projectile is the same, isn't it?
The Blood Cult Leader spoke. Before facing the Poison Immortal, she had asked and answered her own questions, rehearsing to herself how to counter him.
—Suppose a thousand hidden weapons are thrown. Where will all thousand aim? A hundred to pin down your escape, and the other nine hundred to hit the target? Is that possible in a one-on-one duel?
Unless the target is a giant well over six feet tall, landing every single projectile on one human opponent in a duel is impossible.
—When a thousand come, you only need to avoid the most lethal ones among them. The true killing stroke that pierces even Protective Qi Aura.
Weak projectiles are deflected by Protective Qi Aura. Threatening ones are knocked aside with a sword.
What you truly must watch out for are the ones that slip past the protection, aiming for where the qi aura cannot cover, or those that pierce right through it to stab your skin.
—If it's a bastard who can imbue every single hidden weapon with Qi Aura... you're finished! But if someone like that existed, wouldn't the Tang Clan be ruling the Murim Alliance by now? So the simplest method against those who use Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers is—
"If you have the skill, you knock them all away."
Clang, clang.
A single sweep of the sword intercepted ten hidden weapons. The projectiles that struck the blade collided with those trailing behind them, ricocheting off each other midair, and in turn, they disrupted the paths of the next wave, becoming my shields.
Clang, clang!!
Poison needles that wormed their way between the projectiles were met with Sword Qi. Swinging my sword wide with the Dragon Emperor Sword's martial forms, I batted down every needle to keep them from my flesh.
"Hup!"
A needle flying in a direct line toward my eye was dodged with a simple turn of my head. The malice of targeting an eyeball, where the Protective Qi Aura is weaker, made anger boil up for a moment, but I poured that fury into my sword and refocused on intercepting the hidden weapons.
"Huhaha! Look at him swinging his sword like a madman!!"
Dok-gwi taunted me, trying to break my composure. To an observer, I might have appeared to be flailing wildly, but in truth, every single one of Dok-gwi's attacks was being precisely intercepted. I allowed not a single projectile to touch my body.
A strange, foreign energy slithered beneath a slightly wider dagger. I thrust my sword forward instead of swinging it down.
Cl—ang!
The poisoned dagger was knocked away by the tip of my blade. But from under the flat of the sword, a finger-sized snake bared its sharp fangs, dripping venom as it launched itself at me.
Kashaaak!
"This...!"
The venomous snake latched onto my sleeve. To tear it off, I'd have to drop my sword and grab it with my hand, but then I couldn't knock away the other projectiles.
"Huhaha! Small peppers are the spiciest!"
Fsssshhh—
The end of my sleeve started to dissolve from the venom. It looked as if Fire Bone Mountain acid had been splashed on it. I gritted my teeth, battered the projectiles aside, and then studied the creature closely for a moment.
Sssss-
The snake, its forked tongue flicking left and right, resembled the one I had killed to stop the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation. I didn't know if they were mother and offspring or siblings, but they were definitively the same species.
"Fire Bone Mountain Snakes! I raised them myself! Uwahaha!"
Dok-gwi roared out with a booming voice, relentlessly snatching and launching more hidden weapons. His Hidden Weapon Art was so tenacious and venomous I wondered how he could speak while mixing and throwing them so precisely.
My movements were sealed by miscellaneous projectiles scattering everywhere.
With my vision forced to lock forward, he hid tiny snakes in the blind spots of the weapons flying at me before throwing them.
'He's reasonably skilled.'
He was weaker than the Poison Immortal I fought in my past life, but he was a far more capable assassin. Especially when it came to handling snakes.
'But the snake itself will decide the outcome.'
Plop. Plop. In the gaps between the projectiles I deflected, Fire Bone Mountain Snakes landed on my black robes. Some burst forth from inside Bee Needles, while others clung to the iron blades flying near my thighs, latching onto me upon impact.
"Huhaha! Die!!"
Soon, nearly ten venomous snakes had attached themselves to my body. The first to land had stubbornly clung to my robe despite my constant movement, ultimately succeeding in reaching my wrist.
Kyaaak!
They were a moment from sinking their fangs in and spreading their venom. Dok-gwi stared at me, convinced of his victory. Too bad.
"How dare you!!"
Energy began to erupt from my entire body. The Fire Bone Mountain Snakes flinched simultaneously, stopping dead.
"Where do mere snakes get off trying to challenge a dragon!!"
A snake is a living creature. It cannot challenge an apex predator far beyond its station.
"This is not a jade body for the likes of you to defile!"
The Fire Bone Mountain Snakes clinging to my body were blasted away by the overwhelming Yang Energy radiating out of me. The one near my wrist was caught in the explosion of energy even before it could sink its fangs in, burning up and vanishing.
—Another way to stop Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers. You simply erupt your energy outward from yourself to scorch the earth around you.
"Crouching Dragon Ascends to Heaven!!"
A golden aura coiled around the two swords held side by side. It was an ascension form of the Dragon Emperor Sword, and a golden dragon wreathed the parallel blades, roaring fiercely.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"The Dragon Emperor Sword!"
I swung the swords in a diagonal slash. The lower sword swung first to bat away projectiles, and the upper blade followed, cleaving the bodies of the Fire Bone Mountain Snakes in two. I spun my body along the arc of the swing and made a light leap.
"Hwaaa---!!"
I shouted a battle cry as I warded off the miasma seeping toward my face with a wave of energy. Every projectile aimed at my back as I turned was taken directly on the back. A few hidden weapons lodged into my black robes, but Dok-gwi, fixated on the Crouching Dragon, launched them in haste without enough sharpness.
They couldn't even pierce the Protective Qi Aura and just dangled loosely from the fabric. I whipped my half-turned body forward again and swung my sword mightily toward the front.
"Reverse Scale!!"
The final method to stop Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers.
—Or, you could just launch a powerful attack that blankets the entire radius of Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers, couldn't you? It would consume an immense amount of Inner Energy, but... for example, that one from the fight before... ah! The Heavenly Dragon Emperor's—
"Soaring Dragon Slash (翔龍斬)!!"
The golden dragon that had lain upon the earth kicked off the ground and soared toward the heavens.
* * *
Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am the Poison Dragon, Dang I-jeong.
"It's Bandit Demon."
After reviewing the full situation, the Little Princess could think of no one else but Bandit Demon.
What was Bandit Demon's martial art? He was a master of the iron whip. While his Light Body Skill was his greatest strength, his Hidden Weapon Art was also exceptional, and he had brought Blade Demon to his knees before him using only his iron whip and Paralysis Needles.
Had he ever, even once, used Poison Arts? No. He was extremely reluctant to use poison.
But this aligned perfectly with the arrangements and the existence of Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am the Poison Dragon, Dang I-jeong.
What if Dang I-jeong had entered this Secret Vault, seen the truth of the Tang Clan—even their research into artificial infectious diseases—and, feeling disillusioned, left the Tang Clan? What if he had left behind arrangements for those who, like him, would be disappointed by the Tang Clan in later generations? And what if he then wandered the world, joined the Demonic Cult, and became Bandit Demon?
"Well, it's not like he'd ever tell anyone he used to call himself Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am the Poison Dragon when he was young."
Bandit Demon had never once spoken of this. It was partly a sign that he intended to sever his ties with the Tang Clan completely, but it could also be interpreted as him breaking away from his past self entirely.
'Either way, thanks to Bandit Demon's arrangements, Emperor Shaolie's martial art emerged here.'
The Little Princess examined another tightly rolled map inside. The map, detailing the approximate locations, positions, and methods to break through the Mechanical Formations, was full of information that no one could know without having been there themselves.
'Did Bandit Demon personally visit these places and then draw maps to leave here?'
There was one point that didn't make sense, but aside from that, the Little Princess couldn't arrive at any other answer.
Bandit Demon had left arrangements for those in a similar situation to him, and it just so happened that they were discovered by people outside the Tang Clan, causing an uproar.
That was the only conclusion she could draw. The fact that it happened to be Emperor Shaolie's Heavenly Dragon Emperor Twin High Sword was simply coincidence.
"......."
One thing was complicating the Little Princess's mind: how had Sky-Soaring Lust Demon learned the Heavenly Dragon Emperor Twin High Sword?
Having fought him herself, directly drawing out all her Heavenly Demon Divine Arts' power, the Little Princess was certain that Sky-Soaring Lust Demon's mastery of the Heavenly Dragon Emperor Twin High Sword was not just passable—it was more than sufficient for him to call himself 'Geom-je.'
'No. Now isn't the time to figure out how he learned it.'
Smack! The Little Princess slapped her own cheeks to refocus.
'What in the world does this have to do with the Eldest Prince?'
Sky-Soaring Lust Demon had already suggested an answer: the entity known as 'Flame Demon' was secretly working here. All that remained was to unravel the process that led to Flame Demon.
Who could it be? Someone who would know about Bandit Demon's arrangements, Emperor Shaolie's secret map, and the artificial infectious disease.
"......Found you."
The Little Princess turned to face the door.
* * *
Thud!
Dok-gwi, Dang Sa-rim, fell to his knees. Even after launching every hidden weapon left inside his robe with Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers, he had not inflicted a single wound on his opponent.
"This is absurd."
He himself was uninjured. But could a warrior of the Tang Clan who had exhausted all his hidden weapons continue to fight? What about his prized snakes, which had fled from the man's body and scattered?
"This is... absurd."
Dang Sa-rim stared, dazed, at the gash carved deep into the ground from the center of the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation toward where he stood. The golden dragon that had repelled every hidden weapon was a celestial being that mere snakes could not dare approach.
A golden dragon.
At the sight of a legendary dragon seemingly ascending to heaven, Dang Sa-rim hung his head low. His instincts forced him to bow it.
The man holding the twin swords at his sides, standing in the center, was not an opponent a mere Dok-gwi could touch. No matter how much the Tang Clan threw its weight around the land of Sichuan, they could not defy an emperor who ruled the whole world.
"The Dragon Emperor Sword."
Dang Sa-rim slowly lifted his head in despair.
"The Emperor's... Sword...."
Right before his eyes, the golden dragon that had ascended heavenward had split the clouds and soared into the sky. Had his opponent not held back, he would surely have been clamped in the dragon's jaws and dragged up into heaven.
"Who... are you...?"
"Geom-je."
"Ha."
What an arrogant name. What a fitting name. An emperor already existed on the continent, yet how humble it was to dare to call oneself the Emperor of Swords.
But he could not back down here. Dang Sa-rim forced his trembling legs to stand and clutched the two daggers hidden inside his inner clothes.
"What business does Geom-je have in the Sichuan Tang Clan's Secret Vault?"
"The secret map leading to the Heavenly Dragon Emperor Twin High Sword originated in this vault. I merely came to confirm it personally."
"......."
Dang Sa-rim nodded. His opponent already knew everything.
"I see. But Geom-je, this is the heart of the Sichuan Tang Clan. It is a place no outsider is permitted to enter. Even if it costs me my life, I will stop you."
"By all means."
Geom-je shrugged and let his swords hang at his sides again. Having even stopped Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers, he was now taunting a master of hidden weapons to come at him first, as if graciously yielding the first move to a lesser fighter.
But there was no opening. Even standing calmly in place, utterly at ease, not a single gap could be seen. Every spot that looked like an opening was a space he had deliberately left exposed.
If he would at least move—
"......?"
Dang Sa-rim felt a pang of doubt. If entering the vault was his only objective, wouldn't it have been simpler to kill him and go inside instead of waiting here like this? Couldn't he just reactivate the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation and step through?
"What in the—"
"Elder Brother!!"
From the dark night sky, a crow took flight and unleashed a slashing strike. Black wind raced forward, whipping Geom-je's bamboo hat, and the crow landed before Dang Sa-rim, taking a stance.
"Crow Chaos Finger Disease Dang O-dok! As the Clan Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, I will surely execute this intruder!"
"Hmph.... I was fond of that hat."
Geom-je sheathed one sword and picked up the hat. One side was scarred and split from the wind Dang O-dok had sent flying, and Geom-je pressed the hat back down over his head.
"......!! No, you are...?!"
"You crazy bastard!"
Dang O-dok and Dang Sa-rim both shrieked at the glimpse of their opponent's face beneath the hat. The Tang Clan warriors had rushed over en masse beyond the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation, but Geom-je had already flipped the hat around and pulled it down to hide his face.
"Don't worry. I won't steal anything. I'm merely...."
Creak. The Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation, having stalled under Dang Sa-rim's Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers, began to move again. Dang O-dok quickly helped Dang Sa-rim retreat from the formation.
"Just checking on something before I leave."
"I-jeong!! Dang I-jeong!!"
Dang Sa-rim stretched out his hand as if screaming. Geom-je turned his back and tore open the iron door leading down to the vault.
"That kind of person no longer exists."
"Ah...!!"
Looking at the countless hidden weapons lodged in Geom-je's back, Dang Sa-rim felt a surge of vertigo.
"B-Brother?!"
Shwaaaaa----
As the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation began to pour down its acid once more, Geom-je staggered and disappeared into the vault.