The Fourth Death and the Tang Clan's Final Stand
Tang Myung froze in shock at the sight of Tang Song being killed by the Mad Demon.
A voice suddenly spoke from beside him.
“Enjoying the show?”
The moment the voice reached his ears, Tang Myung swung his hand without hesitation.
Swish!
Silver threads unraveled and swept across the surroundings. Or rather, they tried to.
“Heavenly Silkworm Thread, huh? Oh ho! How did you make this? So thin, yet this strong?”
Gwangmyeong Usa had wrapped the silver threads around his hand and was smiling as he looked at Tang Myung.
The grotesquely twisted face smiling at him made Tang Myung yank his hand back.
But the threads didn’t budge. Even though they carried gang qi strong enough to slice through rock in an instant, they remained completely still in Gwangmyeong Usa’s grip.
Gwangmyeong Usa glanced at him, then pulled.
Whoosh!
Tang Myung’s body was dragged forward before he could even resist.
Thud!
Gwangmyeong Usa grabbed him by the throat and struck his pressure points.
Tang Myung’s body went limp instantly. Still clutching the now-immobilized young man’s neck, Gwangmyeong Usa laughed as he surveyed the area, then grabbed the corpse of a fallen Tang warrior and laid it on the ground.
He stacked the bodies one by one until he had built a gruesome seat, then placed Tang Myung on top of it.
“You son of a bitch!”
“I went out of my way to give you a comfortable seat. Why the insults?”
Smiling faintly, Gwangmyeong Usa struck several more pressure points to secure Tang Myung’s body in place, then dragged over another corpse for himself and sat down.
“Now, watch. Watch your Tang Clan people die.”
At his words, Tang Myung’s trembling eyes were forced to look forward. He had no choice.
Gwangmyeong Usa had sealed his eyelids so they could not close; he could only stare straight ahead.
And what Tang Myung saw was the warriors of the Tang Clan charging toward him like madmen.
The Tang warriors… were pouring out hidden weapons and using their deadliest poisons, all to protect their Family Head and rescue him.
But… they were being blocked and slaughtered by two masters of Qi Flame and their disciples.
“Protect the Family Head!”
“Defend the Family Head!”
“Aaaargh!”
As the Tang warriors screamed and rushed forward, only to fall one after another, tears began to stream from Tang Myung’s eyes.
“No matter how many times I die… I will kill you. I swear it.”
“Heh heh heh! No matter how many times you die… Come back a hundred times if you like. I’ll show you this same magnificent sight every single time. Oh! Isn’t that Tang Mi-ryeong over there?”
While speaking, Gwangmyeong Usa grabbed Tang Myung’s head and twisted it to the side.
Then…
A choked gasp escaped Tang Myung’s lips.
In the Mad Demon’s hands, Tang Mi-ryeong’s arms were being torn from her body.
“……”
Even with both arms ripped away, Tang Mi-ryeong didn’t let out a single groan. Instead, she spun her entire body at terrifying speed.
Countless hidden weapons poured out from her robes, all flying toward the Mad Demon.
“Haaat!”
The moment the Mad Demon shouted, protective gang qi erupted from his body like flames.
Whoosh!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The hidden weapons that struck his protective energy exploded all at once.
And then…
Fwoooosh!
The protective gang qi expanded outward in a wide burst.
Fwoooosh! Fwoooosh!
Powerful waves of energy radiated in every direction, detonating the remaining hidden weapons and scattering their poisons to the wind.
“Cough!”
Tang Mi-ryeong vomited blood and glanced at Tang Myung. Then she gave him a faint, gentle smile.
“I’m sorry… I couldn’t protect you…”
The Mad Demon’s hand slammed down on her head.
Crunch!
As her skull burst open, a guttural scream tore from Tang Myung’s throat.
“Aunt! Urgh!”
Blood sprayed from his mouth along with the cry.
Spitting blood, Tang Myung looked at the Tang Clan’s high-level experts still fighting desperately. Many of them… were already dead.
Watching the carnage, Tang Myung suddenly burst into laughter.
“Hahahahaha! This is the Tang Clan! This is what it means to never retreat before an enemy! I was wrong. I told you all to run, but that was a mistake. The Tang Clan is a family of iron and blood! We do not retreat before our enemies! Become the blade of the Tang Clan! Become its fangs!”
“Hahaha! The Young Family Head is right! I will be his fang!”
“I will be his blade!”
“I will be his hidden weapon!”
“I will be his poison!”
With those desperate cries, the remaining Tang experts unleashed a storm of hidden weapons and poisonous techniques as they charged the enemy.
“Kekeke! Now this is how it should be. Much more fun.”
Laughing, Gwangmyeong Usa lifted his foot and crushed the head of the corpse he was sitting on.
Crunch! Splatter!
The skull burst apart, sending brain matter and blood flying everywhere.
Gwangmyeong Usa patted Tang Myung’s head and said,
“Watch carefully, hahaha!”
Letting out a mad cackle, he leaped toward the Tang Clan experts.
“Hahahaha! You worms, the third-ranked master of the Demonic Cult, Gwangmyeong Usa, has arrived! Come at me, all of you! Hahahaha!”
Gwangmyeong Usa plunged into the midst of the Tang warriors, his hands moving relentlessly. With every motion, fresh blood sprayed from the Tang experts.
“Hahahaha! This warm blood feels wonderful. It’s been so long since I’ve taken a proper blood bath.”
A master of his caliber could have easily avoided the spraying blood or blocked it with protective gang qi.
Yet Gwangmyeong Usa simply laughed as he bathed in it.
As Tang Myung watched with eyes burning with rage, a transmission suddenly reached him.
[Tang Myung… It’s me, Jeong Myeong.]
The sudden voice made Tang Myung’s pupils shift. He couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
But he knew exactly who it belonged to.
‘Jeong Myeong?’
It was Jeong Myeong, the top disciple of the Qingcheng Sect.
[I’m sorry. The only thing I can do for you right now… is to kill you without pain.]
Tang Myung had no idea how Jeong Myeong had gotten here, but it was clear the young man intended to end his suffering.
And from Tang Myung’s current perspective, that was something to be grateful for. However…
“He’s going to die! He’ll die!”
Tang Myung suddenly shouted. It was a warning to Jeong Myeong. The moment he stepped forward to kill him, Gwangmyeong Usa would slaughter him too.
[…I’m sorry I couldn’t help you when you were struggling.]
And in that instant, a sword pierced into Tang Myung.
Stab!
Jeong Myeong drove his blade straight into Tang Myung’s chest and spoke.
“I’m sorry. Truly…”
Squelch!
Jeong Myeong’s head flew into the air.
“You damn bastard! How dare you touch my prey! You piece of shit!”
In a fit of rage, Gwangmyeong Usa tore Jeong Myeong’s body to shreds.
Tang Myung, whose life had not yet fully left him, watched it all.
‘Jeong… Myeong… I forgive you. And… thank you.’
He wasn’t thanking him for killing him. He was grateful that Jeong Myeong had allowed him to stop hating his friend and to trust him once more.
Knowing he would die, Jeong Myeong had still stepped forward to ease his pain. From this moment on, he was truly Tang Myung’s friend.
Slump…
Tang Myung’s eyes slowly closed.
“Young Family Head, what are you staring at like that?”
When Tang Hong lightly tapped his shoulder, Tang Myung turned to look at him.
Still somewhat dazed, Tang Myung stared at his uncle for a moment before looking up at the sky.
‘The fourth death…’
He muttered quietly to himself, then turned back to Tang Hong.
“Bring Father here immediately.”
“Pardon?”
“Tell him it concerns the life and death of the Tang Clan.”
With those words, Tang Myung sat down in a proper meditation posture, took out several medicinal pills from his robe, then looked at Tang Hong again.
“If you have any spiritual medicine, please give it to me.”
“Spiritual medicine?”
Tang Hong looked at him with a puzzled expression before pulling out the Three Red Pill he had been saving for himself and handing it over.
“You know how precious this is, right?”
Without answering, Tang Myung opened the small box and swallowed the Three Red Pill in one gulp.
“Huk! You really ate it?”
Ignoring the stunned Tang Hong, Tang Myung gestured for him to hurry up, then poured several other spiritual pills that complemented the Three Red Pill into his mouth and began circulating the Samyang Divine Art.
The moment Tang Myung entered a deep meditative state, Tang Hong’s eyes widened in surprise. He quickly sent out a signal.
The scattered members of the Bicheon Unit immediately moved to stand guard around him.
Tang Hong then sent a transmission to one of the Tang experts who taught herbology.
[It seems the Young Family Head has gained some enlightenment. Take the children away quietly.]
At the transmission, the expert nodded and sent individual messages to each child, leading them away in silence.
Once the children were gone, the Tang Clan experts began forming a protective perimeter around the area where Tang Myung was meditating.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Crackling sounds like roasting beans kept erupting from Tang Myung’s body. With each burst, thick, viscous liquid seeped out of his pores.
In his previous life, Tang Myung had been a Peak realm expert. But in this life, he was currently stuck at the First-class level, unable to break through the wall to the Peak realm.
Therefore, reaching the Peak realm again was entirely possible. Circulating the Samyang Divine Art to break through his blocked acupoints and expel the impurities from his body, Tang Myung let out a long breath.
“Huuu…”
After exhaling deeply, Tang Myung opened his eyes.
Flash!
The still-unrefined internal energy shot out through his eyes like lightning.
As Tang Myung stood up and brushed off his clothes, Tang Hong smiled and offered a fist salute.
“Congratulations on your great advancement, Young Family Head.”
“Congratulations on your advancement.”
As the Tang warriors offered their respectful congratulations, Tang Myung looked to the side. There stood his father, Tang Cheon-deuk, watching him with a complex mix of satisfaction, puzzlement, and disbelief.
Meeting that gaze, Tang Myung offered a fist salute and spoke.
“I have something urgent to discuss. Please clear the area.”
Tang Cheon-deuk nodded at his son’s words.
“Everyone withdraw beyond ten zhang.”
“Understood!”
At Tang Cheon-deuk’s command, the warriors retreated beyond ten zhang and stood guard around the perimeter.
“I also have something to say to the leader of the Milyeong Unit.”
At Tang Myung’s words, Tang Cheon-deuk spoke.
“Milyeong Unit Leader.”
Swish!
At the call, just as always, the leader of the Milyeong Unit—Tangible Song—revealed himself.
The moment Tang Song appeared, Tang Myung said,
“Immediately investigate the city walls of Chengdu, anywhere the Tang Clan estate is visible. There are Demonic Cult spies there.”
Flinch!
Tang Song looked at him with wide, shocked eyes. Tang Cheon-deuk also asked in astonishment.
“The Demonic Cult? How do you know anything about the Demonic Cult?”
“Father, there is no time. Please give the order first. If I’m wrong, you can punish me afterward. If I’m right… we can capture the Demonic Cult spies.”
Tang Cheon-deuk paused for a moment, then spoke.
“Carry it out.”
“Understood.”
Tang Song kicked off the ground and vanished. He had judged the matter serious enough to act personally as the Milyeong Unit Leader.
Once he disappeared, Tang Myung took a deep breath and looked at his father.
“You must be surprised that I have learned the Samyang Divine Art, Father.”
“Indeed. How did you learn it? As you said, even if you are the Young Family Head, I will personally cut off your head if this is theft.”
At the chilling tone in his father’s voice, Tang Myung steadied his breathing and began to speak.
“Everything I am about to tell you is the truth. Soon, both the Qingcheng and Emei Sects will be surrounded by the Demonic Cult and will send messenger birds requesting reinforcements.”
Tang Cheon-deuk frowned at his words.
“The message has already arrived. But how could you possibly know that?”
Tang Myung inwardly cursed. The time he had spent performing the Great Circulation to reach the Peak realm had taken far longer than he expected.
“Then have the Visa Unit and Pyeonbok Unit already been dispatched?”
“……”
Seeing the deep suspicion in his father’s eyes, Tang Myung took another steadying breath and said,
“I have already died four times.”
“Died?”
“Please listen to everything I have to say before asking any questions. This story will be long.”
And so Tang Myung began to tell his tale. He explained everything as quickly and concisely as possible, then let out a long breath.
“…Do you believe me?”
Tang Cheon-deuk remained silent for a while, then slowly shook his head and spoke.
“Release the Poison Eagle. Recall the Visa Unit and Pyeonbok Unit.”
His voice, infused with internal energy, reached beyond ten zhang. One of the Milyeong Unit members appeared.
“Understood.”
After the Milyeong member disappeared, Tang Myung looked at his father.
“Thank you for believing me.”
“I have no choice but to believe you. You might have stolen the Samyang Divine Art. But the location of our secret bases and hidden passages are known only to an extremely small number of people. Moreover, only the two of us know the true identity of the Milyeong Unit Leader. The fact that you know that proves your words are true.”
Tang Cheon-deuk looked up at the sky for a moment, then gestured to Tang Myung. When his son approached, he stared at him quietly before pulling him into a tight embrace.
“You’ve suffered… so much.”
At his father’s words, tears welled up in Tang Myung’s eyes without him realizing it.
“I… I’m sorry. I couldn’t… protect our family.”
Watching his son cry, Tang Cheon-deuk gently stroked his head.
“No, it is your father who is sorry. I was not capable enough… and placed such a heavy burden on your shoulders.”
And then… Tang Myung’s body suddenly went limp. Tang Cheon-deuk had struck his pressure points.