Chapter 196
Chapter 196
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: Spider Web
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In truth, when speaking of bets and stakes in front of martial artists, there's only one possible response.
Sima Jeong glared at Dang Mujin as he spoke.
"What do you want to ask? If you're staking the future of the Sima Clan, then all I can stake in return is your life."
Sima Jeong spoke in a deliberately fierce tone, but his mind was wholly occupied with assessing the situation.
Unlike the dim-witted warriors of other clans who believed swinging a sword well solved everything, Sima Jeong was no fool.
'If we fight here and lose, the Sima Clan is finished. Even if we fight right now, defeat isn't guaranteed.'
'The problem is, even if we win, we can't kill the Miracle Dragon. If he dies, the next generation of the Sima Clan will be left with nothing but empty shells.'
'We can't let anyone escape either. If word of the Absolute Pulse Condition leaks out, we're done for. If it reaches the ears of Shaolin Temple or the Beggars' Sect, we'd be branded public enemies of the martial world without question.'
Sima Jeong ground his teeth until they nearly shattered.
If the bloodlines of the later-generation disciples afflicted with Absolute Pulse Condition were filled with yin energy, the other Sima Clan warriors could save them using "extreme measures."
But their bodies were overflowing solely with boiling yang energy, making such methods impossible.
Suddenly, Sima Jeong recalled tales from the distant north.
Cross the Yellow River, travel dozens of days beyond the highlands and deserts where the Yelu and Xiao clans dwell, and one reaches the outer martial world. They say the foreigners there cultivate ascending yin寒 internal arts.
But there was no solid proof such people even existed, let alone any chance of encountering and gaining their cooperation.
Sima Jeong glared at Dang Mujin.
'A snake like Sagal.'
No, spider fit him better.
With a clean, innocent face that aroused no suspicion, he had wrapped the entire Sima Clan in his web.
The web was so insidious that no one in the Sima Clan realized they were ensnared until Dang Mujin revealed his true colors.
'How long has he been plotting this?'
Letting his friends leave only after all treatments were complete.
Making all the later-generation disciples harbor yang energy.
Secretly poisoning Sima Yugong.
And other suspicious points came to mind—one or two, no, many. They seemed innocuous when viewed alone, but woven together, they were deeply suspect.
One thing was certain: he had prepared this situation at least several months in advance.
Sima Jeong rubbed his throbbing temples.
'Now's not the time to dwell on the past. What matters is a way out.'
Dang Mujin, watching Sima Jeong, crossed his arms leisurely.
"Don't try to seize the momentum with harsh words. It could lead to irreversible consequences."
"Is that so? If you won't stake your life, shall we try your family's lives instead?"
"My family?"
Interest flickered in Dang Mujin's eyes. He couldn't fathom why it was interest rather than panic, but the reaction itself wasn't bad.
"Yes. Your wife and children in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. I sent men around the time you began the treatments, so we can capture them anytime. Maybe we already have."
Sima Jeong hadn't brought in an outsider like Dang Mujin without precautions.
His iron rule: when involving outsiders in critical matters, prepare countermeasures for their unpredictability.
And in such situations, hostages were the surest method.
If Dang Mujin chose to side with Sima Rin and settle with the Sima Clan, he'd cut ties with his family in Chengdu, posing no issue. If he changed his mind and tried to leave, the family in Sichuan could be used as leverage to control him.
In go terms, it was an unblockable supreme move—万霸不聽, impervious to any countermove.
Yet sometimes, even the supreme move fails spectacularly.
For instance, when the opponent can smash the board entirely while eyeing it.
Dang Mujin bared his teeth in a grin.
"How tragic. Another pitiful life lost."
Seeing Dang Mujin's nonchalant response, Sima Jeong's eyebrow twitched.
"You bastard, have you already cut ties with your wife and kids?"
"As if. I'm talking about the man you sent to Sichuan. He's probably wandering the underworld by now."
"Nonsense. Do you think a single Qingcheng Sect branch can protect your family?"
"Who said anything about trusting the Qingcheng Sect? I assure you, even if the entire Sima Clan mobilized, you couldn't capture my wife and children."
Sima Jeong scrutinized Dang Mujin's expression.
The words screamed bravado, yet his face and eyes showed no tremor whatsoever—just the calm demeanor of stating plain fact.
If anything, the emotions radiating from Dang Mujin were conviction, pure curiosity, and anticipation.
'Why?'
Dang Mujin didn't wait for Sima Jeong's next words.
"If you truly have nothing to stake, then your lives will have to do. Will you accept the bet?"
But Sima Jeong saw no reason to entertain Dang Mujin's bet. It was obviously some insidious scheme masquerading as one.
The Sima Clan's best way to perfectly overcome this crisis was singular.
Slaughter all of Dang Mujin's friends to silence them, then abduct Dang Mujin and persuade—or force—him to treat the Absolute Pulse Condition. No guarantee the persuasion would be gentle.
The issue was the slim chance of success.
Naturally, Sima Jeong considered the next-best option: kill Dang Mujin and his friends here, then scour the world for a cure to Absolute Pulse Condition.
Of course, the odds were high he'd fail, and the later-generation disciples would all perish.
That would collapse the generation meant to lead the Sima Clan, dealing a fatal blow.
But the problem was that even this "fatal blow" was the lesser evil. Failing to choose it meant annihilation—not mere dispersal, but extermination as public enemies of the martial world.
Sacrificing one generation of later disciples was far wiser for preserving the Sima Clan's bloodline.
A grim resolve darkened Sima Jeong's eyes.
'Judge realistically. Decline is better than extinction. The Sima bloodline cannot end.'
Sima Jeong organized his thoughts in an instant and shouted.
"Don't fall for word games. Kill him!"
But the footsteps of his expected allies didn't come.
Sima Jeong looked around. The Sima Clan warriors were staring at him.
"What are you doing? Move!"
"Clan Leader. No, Brother."
The one who spoke was Sima Jeong's youngest brother, Sima Song.
"What?"
"Shouldn't you at least hear the bet's terms first?"
"You can guess his scheme well enough. You planning to walk into the trap yourself?"
"Brother, you're the one ready to abandon the children."
The later-generation disciples were a bit old to call "children." None who received the Absolute Pulse treatment were pre-rite of passage.
Yet in a parent's eyes, children are always children, regardless of age.
Sima Jeong stared at Sima Song.
Unlike the blockheads in other clans who thought swordplay solved all, no Sima Clan warrior was that foolish. Sima Song was no exception.
In short, Sima Song had quickly assessed the situation and read Sima Jeong's intent. The other Sima Clan warriors here had done the same.
As Sima Jeong hesitated to respond, Sima Song shook his head.
Sima Song's sword remained sheathed.
"We can't do that. It's impossible. I won't abandon the children."
"It'll be painful. I know. I know they're the Sima Clan's future. But children can be made again. Better to skip a generation than let the clan vanish entirely—"
"Brother!"
A thunderous voice cut Sima Jeong off. Sima Song yelled at him for the first time in his life.
Then, pleadingly, he continued.
"Brother, that's not the issue. You have no children, so you wouldn't understand, but parents can't abandon their kids even with a blade to their throat."
The atmosphere around them sided with Sima Song, not Sima Jeong.
Without hesitation, Sima Song shouted at Dang Mujin.
"Miracle Dragon! What bet are you proposing?"
"We'll have to think about that. First, send those fellows over here."
Dang Mujin's finger pointed at the three friends.
Sima Jeong sensed something gravely amiss.
"Don't send those bastards!"
"No, let them come."
Sima Jeong and Dang Mujin contradicted each other.
Naturally, obeying the clan leader Sima Jeong made sense, but the Sima Clan warriors wore conflicted expressions as they blocked him. They were in the same boat as Sima Song.
'...Ah.'
The moment he met the desperate faces of his clan warriors, Sima Jeong realized two things.
First, the tide had already turned.
Second, the option of abandoning the later generation for the clan's survival had never truly existed.
Standing between his friends, Dang Mujin spoke leisurely.
"What bet would be good... Ah, yes. I'll give you two choices. One resolved by skill, the other by luck."
"Tell us in detail."
"First: withstand the poison I administer. Walk seven steps to win. Second: dice gambling. Choose."
What the Sima Clan would pick was obvious. No parent would stake their child's life on dice.
Sima Song asked.
"Take the poison and walk seven steps, that's it?"
"Yes. If you win, I'll treat the Absolute Pulse of two later-generation disciples."
"I choose which two?"
"Of course."
At Dang Mujin's words, eyes gleamed toward Sima Song. Only one of his two sons had Absolute Pulse Condition.
If Sima Song won, he might save his own child as a fisherman's profit.
Sima Song nodded.
"Fine. I accept the bet."
It wouldn't be a mild poison. Yet Sima Song believed his odds high.
Poison arts peaked low. They shone overwhelmingly only against novices.
High-level warriors could easily expel most poisons' potency.
Even if unluckily mixed, it changed little—just took time to suppress and expel. Stay calm, and it worked.
Moreover, Sima Song had endured Yi Chung's freakish poisons before. Dang Mujin, young as he was, couldn't surpass that.
Sima Song approached Dang Mujin. Everyone held their breath, watching the poisoning.
Dang Mujin pondered briefly, then pressed his index finger to Sima Song's forehead.
He held it there for a few breaths. That was it.
Unlike what Sima Clan warriors expected.
They envisioned white powder dissolved in water, poison liquid splashed, or injected into wounds.
Sima Song clenched his teeth, bracing for pain. But no sensation followed.
'What?'
Poisons from venom typically brought intense agony. Yet Dang Mujin's brought none.
Sima Song tried expelling it, then changed mind.
It wasn't one poison. Like a tangled skein, multiple strands intertwined, refusing to unravel.
'Suppress instead of expel, walk seven steps, then slowly release.'
Simple enough. Sima Song circulated internal energy to suppress—but something unexpected happened. His energy dispersed like mist around the poison.
'The poison scatters my internal energy on its own!'
Sima Song panicked at this unprecedented oddity. But his task was clear.
'Seven steps.'
He took the first. Poison still dormant.
Second step: poison began stirring.
Third: spread accelerated unnaturally.
Fourth: dispersed poison bound his limb meridians.
The heaviest his body had felt since cultivating. Like an untrained lout.
'Halfway. Move fast.'
He tried dashing the rest, but his body disobeyed.
As if ensnared in a heavy net. Yet he barely managed the fifth. Poison flooded all fine vessels instantly.
In that moment, Sima Song intuited he teetered on death's edge.
Stop and expel, maybe survive. But no completing seven steps.
Stake on slim odds for his life? Or higher odds for his child?
Without hesitation, Sima Song chose his child.
He forced the sixth step. Bones ignored, only quivering flesh advanced—a bizarre sensation.
Then, tearing agony ripped through him.
Vision and mind whitened, but his legs ignored the pain, fulfilling their duty.
His sole hit the ground. Small step, but a step.
In that pose, Sima Song paused briefly, looked at Dang Mujin, then collapsed. Blood vessels burst, sclera crimson, yet his face beamed utmost satisfaction.
Dang Mujin approached, checked his nape.
"Breath's gone."
But a Sima Clan warrior shouted.
"Still, Sima Song took seven steps."
"I saw. So one son lives... As for the other, who should it be? Care to decide?"
Dang Mujin looked at Sima Jeong as he spoke.
Lingering in such a situation bred chaos. Sima Jeong named the first that came to mind, unhesitating.
"Save Sima Hye."
Sima Hye was the daughter of Sima Jeong's second brother, Sima Taegon.
Everyone understood the choice: among afflicted later disciples, she had the greatest talent.
But the instant he chose Sima Hye and met Sima Taegon's eyes, Sima Jeong realized his mistake. Sima Taegon's gaze was off.
Dang Mujin guaranteed Sima Hye's life, but it still hinged on him.
Thus, Sima Taegon was no longer fully aligned with the Sima Clan.
He might even draw sword on Sima Jeong to protect Dang Mujin. A potential enemy within.
Sima Jeong's vision darkened.
The sinister spider was still spinning more web.