To Jamun Village
Jamun Village was a settlement in the Black Water region of Sichuan.
One of the Tang Clan's vital strongholds.
The village also served as a place where the clan cultivated its poison herbs and medicinal plants.
"You killed the assassins from Yuhongak and now your arrogance pierces the heavens. Do you even know what kind of place that is?"
"Isn't it an area swarming with demonic cultivators nearby?"
"And you still intend to go? With that shattered dantian of yours?"
"Are you worried about me?"
"Do you think this seat of mine is so idle that I have time to worry about the likes of you?"
His father's voice was cold. Utterly freezing.
"Then please send me."
"This is not something that will happen just because you throw a tantrum."
"If I leave the clan, Father stands to gain more than a few benefits."
The muscle beside his father's eye twitched.
"From the outside, the Tang Clan currently looks like an unbreakable fortress of tightly united blood relatives. But in truth, it is a situation that could crumble like grains of sand at any moment, is it not?"
His father's expression froze solid.
Even when blank, that face looked furious. It was terrifyingly fierce.
Bang!
Father roughly slammed his hand down on the table.
Hiss—.
A palm print was seared into the wood as smoke rose from it.
"Knowing that full well, you have been acting like a complete wastrel all this time?"
It was a low, simmering rage.
That alone made it hard to breathe.
It felt like standing upon the edge of a blade.
"That is precisely why I intend to start acting like a proper eldest young master from now on."
At present the Tang Clan was fractured into multiple factions.
Outwardly Father appeared cold and ruthless, yet he remained lenient toward his siblings—the uncles and aunts. That very leniency had birthed the problem.
Silent strife.
Everyone was waging a quiet war to seize the clan's power.
"You, with your ruined dantian?"
"Even if my dantian is ruined, I have become a poison master. Father knows my condition better than anyone."
To a martial artist the dantian was indispensable.
To a poison master, however, it was little more than an auxiliary tool.
A poison master's advantage was possessing monstrous strength even without a dantian.
And that was not all.
One could draw out the poison that permeated the entire body.
That stage was the first: the Latent Poison Body.
Yet he himself had reached the third stage—the Ten Thousand Poison Ghost.
He had surpassed the second stage of Poison Blood God, where blood itself became poison, and could now turn even his breath into lethal venom.
Moreover, was his dantian not perfectly intact?
Even Father did not truly know his condition.
"If you strut about just because you have become a poison master, you will not live long."
"I will handle that myself. Father, take what benefits you can through me. I will take my own gains in turn."
"I have already given you fair warning."
"Then I shall take that as permission. When I return having earned merit, keep your promise."
He bowed his head toward his father and strode out of Black Dragon Hall.
Meanwhile Tang Baek sat in his chair, lost in thought.
Has he finally come to his senses? Ever since the Poison Blood Rite he has become an entirely different person.
His son had seen straight through the clan's circumstances as well.
"What do you make of it?"
He spoke into empty air.
At once a shadow rose before Tang Baek.
A man in his late thirties clad in black martial robes.
"Until now he must have been concealing his true nature."
"Why the sudden change?"
"Judging from the eldest young master's words, the most likely reason is frustration with the Tang Clan's state of affairs."
"Leader of the Black Scale Guard."
"Yes, my lord."
"That boy is not particularly clever. He is the type who cannot hide what is in his heart."
The man—Yeon Jagang, captain of Tang Baek's personal guard, the Black Scale Guard—shook his head as he answered.
"There are no wolves among a tiger's cubs."
"He simply wants to show off the power he gained as a poison master."
Tang Baek still could not bring himself to trust his son.
The list of past outrages was simply too long.
"If we watch him carefully, we will come to understand the eldest young master's true intent."
"You lot will have to suffer a little."
Yeon Jagang understood at once and replied without hesitation.
"I will assign one Black Scale Guard to the eldest young master."
The Black Scale Guard was Tang Baek's personal escort unit.
Every member was a Peak-level master.
It was more than enough—perhaps excessive—to protect Tang Cheonwi.
It revealed just how deeply Tang Baek cared for his son.
The weight of being the greatest family head under heaven is truly heavy.
A clan lord who could not openly favor his own son.
Yeon Jagang understood that hardship to a degree.
In front of Dark Dragon Pavilion.
Tang Cheonwi had come straight to his younger brother's residence.
"Before heading to Jamun Village I need to make Yuhyeon take the Black Dragon Gold Pill."
"Aren't you going to regret it? That's the Black Dragon Gold Pill of all things."
"I already told you I don't need it."
"Just one of those and you could instantly become a Transcendence master with absolute poison immunity and an indestructible diamond body, you know?"
A laugh slipped out.
Absolute poison immunity was something he had already achieved.
The indestructible body would come naturally once his Tyrant Blood Poison Qi reached the fifth star.
Waste the Black Dragon Gold Pill just to scrape into Transcendence?
That would render his return to the past completely meaningless.
His purpose was to protect his younger brother.
"I've already decided how to use this Black Dragon Gold Pill, so shut that mouth of yours."
Only then did Hwancheonjihwan fall silent.
Its cheeks were puffed out in a sulky pout, clearly offended by the order to keep quiet.
He paid it no mind.
First he pushed open the gates of Dark Dragon Pavilion for the sake of his goal.
Or rather, he tried to push them open—yet the doors would not budge.
"Hm? Why is it locked?"
He forced it, but the gates remained firmly shut.
Thud, thud.
When he knocked, someone emerged from within.
"E-Eldest Young Master?!"
The Dark Dragon Pavilion martial artist caught sight of him and recoiled in shock.
A reaction he was thoroughly accustomed to.
He paid it no mind.
"Yuhyeon is inside, right?"
He made to enter, but the Dark Dragon Pavilion martial artist blocked his path.
"You cannot enter."
"Why not?"
"The Clan Lord has ordered that the eldest young master not be allowed to meet him for the time being."
This, too, was a frequent occurrence.
Yuhyeon had always willingly served as his shield.
It was no doubt because of what had happened during the Poison Blood Rite.
"I only need a moment."
"Do you intend to defy the Clan Lord's command?"
More Dark Dragon Pavilion martial artists gathered around.
They always hoped he and Yuhyeon would never meet.
They feared that Yuhyeon might somehow be stained by bad influence because of him.
"When have I ever obeyed Father's orders?"
He ignored them and strode into Dark Dragon Pavilion.
Hwancheonjihwan's excited voice, previously sulking, rang out.
"Look at him just charging in recklessly."
At his unstoppable advance the Dark Dragon Pavilion martial artists drew their swords.
"Ohh, you lot are all about to die, aren't you?"
Contrary to Hwancheonjihwan's hopes, however, Tang Cheonwi merely issued a warning.
"Sheathe them. Quickly. Unless you want to die."
"What's gotten into you? You always strike first, don't you?"
Dark Dragon Pavilion belonged to his younger brother.
For Yuhyeon's sake, he held himself back.
"Please leave."
"This is not Poison Dragon Pavilion. This is Dark Dragon Pavilion."
"It is also my younger brother's residence."
"And you two are rivals for succession as well."
They were brothers, yet they stood as competitors.
The Dark Dragon Pavilion martial artist stated it baldly.
The clear meaning was: do not approach the master of Dark Dragon Pavilion.
"You're just going to endure even after they cross the line like this? You?"
Hwancheonjihwan goaded him, waiting for his true nature to surface.
"Haa."
He let out a long breath.
"Why do they keep forcing my hand like this?"
As irritation surged, his Tyrant Blood Poison Qi stirred of its own accord.
If he unleashed it here, every last one of them would dissolve into toxic water and vanish.
He forced the Tyrant Blood Poison Qi down, refusing to let it out.
"My relationship with my brother is for us brothers to handle. I would prefer you not cross the line."
Even so the Dark Dragon Pavilion martial artists continued to overstep.
"We act solely for the master of Dark Dragon Pavilion."
At those words the last thread of his reason snapped.
"What did you just say? What? You're acting for Yuhyeon's sake?"
Flash!
His green eyes gleamed.
The Tyrant Blood Poison Qi he had so carefully suppressed burst outward.
"...?!"
"W-What?"
"What kind of look is that in his eyes—"
The Dark Dragon Pavilion martial artists recoiled in shock.
As time passed their bodies began to tremble.
"What you are doing is dragging my polite little brother through the mud."
He walked toward the martial artist who had claimed to act for Yuhyeon.
Then he seized that man's shoulder in a crushing grip.
"You said that knowing full well, Tang Seonguk?"
Tang Seonguk was a side-branch member who had been lucky enough to be assigned to Yuhyeon's pavilion.
Luck had little to do with it—uncles and aunts had pulled strings to place him here.
Most of those present were traitors who had betrayed Yuhyeon in the previous timeline as well.
He left them alone for now only because he still needed warm bodies.
After all, a genius of the Tang Clan's highest caliber needed retainers around him.
Power was numbers.
Even an empty shell looked formidable if the outside appeared numerous enough.
That power directly translated into the clan's right to speak.
More importantly, they had not yet betrayed anyone, and he had not yet founded the Dark Dragon Corps, so he had simply left them be.
But they had crossed the line.
"Are you telling me that pointing swords at me is your master's will?"
"Guhhk!"
His fingers dug into Tang Seonguk's shoulder.
Blood began to trickle down.
"If you're a watchdog, then act like one and just guard the house. Who do you think you are, freely interpreting your master's intentions?"
The instant the words ended—
Crunch!
He crushed Tang Seonguk's shoulder outright.
"Aaaaargh!"
A scream filled every corner of Dark Dragon Pavilion.
"If you don't shut that mouth, the next thing I take will be your neck."
Tang Seonguk hurriedly clamped a hand over his own mouth.
His hand trembled.
His eyes held a complicated mixture of agony and something else.
"Anyone else who wants to overstep their station?"
They still held their swords pointed at him in half-frozen postures.
"Still not putting those away, I see."
Even after his words they stood motionless, as though their bodies had frozen solid.
Fuck, my body won't move!
If I don't lower the sword... I might die.
Wasn't he supposed to be third-class trash?
They were inwardly terrified.
They had believed the eldest young master was nothing more than a tyrant who swaggered under the Clan Lord's protection.
Now they wondered if he actually possessed monstrous skill.
"Dark Dragon Pavilion has Yuhyeon as its master, so I'll stop here today. But remember this—there will be no next time."
They were incredibly fortunate.
Because this place belonged to Tang Yuhyeon, every one of them lived.
Leaving them behind, Tang Cheonwi headed toward the place where Yuhyeon was practicing.
The private training ground behind Dark Dragon Pavilion.
Tang Yuhyeon was swinging his sword there.
It was the Illusory Poison Dance Sword, a technique taught only to direct descendants.
It emphasized transformations and illusions.
Swish!
The sound of a blade slicing through the air.
It was a swift sword dance overflowing with changes.
Completely unaware of Tang Cheonwi's approach, he had fallen into a trance.
Entering a trance at that age... Yuhyeon truly was born a sword genius.
He felt deeply proud.
His younger brother's talent filled him with satisfaction.
No wonder the boy would one day be called the Dark Emperor.
"Hey, aren't you going to wipe that hand?"
Hm?
"Are you planning to show your little brother bloodstains?"
Ah.
He quickly wiped the dried blood from his hand.
At that moment Tang Yuhyeon finished his sword dance and drew a deep breath.
He clapped toward the boy.
Clap, clap, clap!
Tang Yuhyeon turned toward the sound of applause.
"Hyungnim!"
"Looks like your achievements have grown again."
"Hehe, the Illusory Poison Dance Sword reached the fourth star."
"Already? Impressive."
At Tang Cheonwi's reaction Hwancheonjihwan shook its head.
"How can a person change so completely? He's a total two-faced bastard."
Tang Cheonwi treated only Tang Yuhyeon with kindness.
He was remarkably generous—utterly different from how he treated everyone else.
While the ring was thinking that, Tang Yuhyeon spoke with a worried expression.
"But what brings you here? Father ordered that you not be allowed to meet me, so you shouldn't have been able to get in."
"There's nothing I can't do as I please in the Tang Clan."
"Hehe, well, you are the heir of the greatest family under heaven, after all."
"You can be the heir. The reason I came here today is because of this."
He took a small wooden case from his robes.
"What is this?"
"The pill you're going to take starting now."
He deliberately did not reveal its name.
If he said "Black Dragon Gold Pill," the boy would absolutely refuse to eat it.
He would clamp his mouth shut and insist that his older brother take it instead.
That was why he simply called it a pill.
"Huh? A pill?"
"It's precious, so take it quickly. Hyung will guide your internal energy for you."