No Loose Ends
Tang Cheong’s eyes flew wide.
Protective Gang Qi?
That technique was something only a Peak master could wield.
No. This is different from Protective Gang Qi.
Her own realm was Transcendence. She had only just shattered the wall and ascended, yet she had believed the gulf between herself and Tang Cheonwi to be as vast as heaven and earth. Even so, she could not fathom how he had blocked the ambush.
A sudden, crawling sense of wrongness prickled across her skin. Goosebumps rose. Then, just as swiftly, the unease vanished without a trace.
A boy whose dantian was shattered—using Protective Gang Qi? Impossible.
Not a wisp of internal energy could be felt from Tang Cheonwi’s body. How, then, could it be Protective Gang Qi? She decided the Black Scale Guard must have intervened without anyone noticing.
But what followed forced her to realize the truth.
Puhwak!
The throats of the three ambushers split open. Thin crimson lines bloomed across their necks, and blood sprayed out in fountains.
……!?
Tang Cheong’s eyes widened again. She had seen Tang Cheonwi’s hand move toward the attackers.
Internal energy! Poison qi was coating the edge of his hand!
Something unthinkable had occurred. Tang Cheonwi—whose dantian was supposed to be destroyed—had used internal energy.
When did he restore his dantian?! No—more than that, he infused energy into his hand! That boy’s skill should still be third-class.
Infusing energy into the hand was possible only from the second-class realm onward. Freely controlling it belonged to the first-class. And what he had just projected was sword energy unleashed through bare hands—something only a true first-class martial artist could manage.
I clearly felt no internal energy at all… How is this possible?
While she reeled, a sound transmission from First Squad Leader Tang Sangrip reached her.
[Pavilion Master, it seems we have been thoroughly deceived by that one.]
Her expression hardened as she collected herself.
[It appears today will be remembered as the day Yuhongak suffered its greatest humiliation.]
Her prediction proved exact.
Tang Cheonwi brushed his hands clean and smiled toward Tang Cheong.
“Inside the great Sichuan Tang Clan, there are still those bold enough to ambush me, the Young Master. Isn’t that right, Pavilion Master of Yuhongak?”
He had discarded the title of “little aunt.” From this moment he would address her solely by rank. When blood ties were set aside and matters judged purely by position, the clan’s laws grew far more merciless. Knowing this, Tang Cheong asked him,
“How do you wish them handled? I will do as you desire.”
For a woman of her towering pride to yield even a single step to her young nephew was no small concession.
“I had intended to make them live lives worse than beasts, but I’ve changed my mind.”
An ominous smile curved Tang Cheonwi’s lips. The words that followed plunged everyone into shock.
“Since they were the Pavilion Master of Yuhongak’s subordinates, kill them with your own hands.”
“…….”
Tang Cheong’s brows twitched. Killing intent rolled off her in waves.
“Very well. As you wish. First Squad Leader.”
“Command me.”
“Exterminate every family member of the traitors.”
“……I receive your order.”
Tang Sangrip clenched his jaw until his molars ground. He was being forced to slaughter his own clan. The act would shake Yuhongak to its foundations. Yet he had no choice. Refuse, and they might all be branded traitors together.
“Martial artists of Yuhongak! Destroy the families of the traitors who dared attempt the Young Master’s life!”
Even at Tang Sangrip’s shout the Yuhongak martial artists hesitated.
“Did you not hear the order?!”
Internal energy thundered through the command. Only then did they draw their weapons and move.
Seogeok.
“Keuk!”
Puhwak—
“This is unjust…”
“How could you all—euk!”
Blood misted the air of Yuhongak. The captives died without even the chance to resist. Only children remained. The Yuhongak martial artists could not bring themselves to cut down the young ones as well.
While they faltered, footsteps approached.
A shadow came to a halt before the vacant-eyed Tang Cheolung. It was Tang Cheonwi. He seized the boy by the throat and lifted him clean off the ground.
“Do you intend to spare them simply because they are young?”
“Keueuk…!”
“Since when has the Tang Clan been so merciful?”
Power flooded Tang Cheonwi’s grip. The sickening crack of bone followed.
Eudeudeuk!
He snapped Tang Cheolung’s neck without hesitation, then tossed the body aside like so much refuse.
“I despise leaving loose ends. If you mean to kill me, do it with the resolve of a single, certain strike when you are sure of success. Otherwise you will all end up like this.”
The pressure radiating from Tang Cheonwi effortlessly eclipsed Tang Cheong’s killing intent. It was the aura of a mere fifteen-year-old, yet it was nothing a boy of that age should have been able to emit.
“Why are you still standing idle? I already said I do not leave loose ends.”
At his quiet words the assassins of Yuhongak finally cut down the children as well.
Only then did Tang Cheonwi seem satisfied. Blood streaked his face as he smiled brightly.
“Pavilion Master of Yuhongak, if you dislike seeing days like this, manage your subordinates properly from now on. Next time I will not stop at this level.”
It was a warning. Sparing them this once would be the last mercy he ever showed.
Looking thoroughly refreshed, Tang Cheonwi strode out of Yuhongak.
“I can hardly meet Yuhyeon with blood on me. Time to go back and wash.”
The moment he vanished, Tang Ildo hastily bowed and fled the scene.
The thick stench of blood filled Yuhongak. Tang Cheong’s shattered pride erupted in a voice that shook the rafters.
“Aaaaaah!”
Pure, murderous rage.
“One day I will crush that boy into the dirt and grind him to dust.”
After washing in the Poison Dragon Pavilion, Tang Cheonwi sniffed at his own clothes.
“Do I still smell of blood?”
“It was only a light splatter.”
“Good enough, then.”
“Why make such a fuss when you’re only going to see your younger brother?”
Tang Ildo could not understand it. Was a little blood really worth all this care?
“I want Yuhyeon to see only good things from me.”
“Hmm. Everyone frets that the master of the Poison Dragon Pavilion will corrupt the master of the Dark Dragon Pavilion, but those are empty worries.”
Tang Ildo kept chattering at his side.
“Well, they have no idea of the Young Master’s true strength, so of course nonsense comes out of their mouths.”
He was remarkably talkative—downright chatty. His mouth never seemed to rest.
“If anything, the Second Young Master is fortunate to have such a reliable older brother. Though I do harbor a tiny wish that he doesn’t inherit only the Young Master’s personality.”
Sometimes the boy’s words managed to flip a person’s stomach inside out.
“What’s wrong with my personality?”
“Are you truly unaware, or do you simply not want to know?”
“So what is my personality like?”
“Shall I sum it up in a single phrase?”
“Try me.”
“A complete dog-crazy maniac.”
Tang Cheonwi’s brow furrowed. Sensing the shift in mood, Tang Ildo hastily added,
“It means a fiery temper. Absolutely not a curse. Isn’t a disposition like the Young Master’s actually ideal for the Tang Clan?”
“Are you trying to train me right now? Mixing the whip and the carrot?”
“I’m merely saying that because the Young Master’s personality is so… intense, I hope the master of the Dark Dragon Pavilion remains pure and gentle. I had no intention of putting the Young Master down.”
At Tang Ildo’s excuses, Tang Cheonwi’s voice turned cold.
“Aren’t you supposed to return to the Black Scale Guard?”
“The Young Master himself told me to follow. So I followed.”
“Your job is finished. Go.”
“Tch. It was fun while it lasted.”
Tang Ildo looked genuinely regretful. The Young Master’s unpredictable behavior—impulsive, almost reckless—yet somehow every move produced excellent results. For a boy of only fifteen he was cunning… no, calculating. He seemed to charge in blindly, yet every contingency appeared already accounted for. Catching glimpses of that hidden side had been entertaining.
“We’ll meet again soon enough.”
“Please let that be true. The Black Scale Guard is nothing but endless training—so dull. And because my martial arts are weak, the seniors work me half to death.”
“That’s your own fault. If a Black Scale Guard’s martial arts are weak, of course you’ll get chewed out.”
“Eek? After all the bonds we’ve built, that’s cold.”
Tang Ildo’s shoulders slumped. His whole expression asked whether only he had enjoyed their time together.
“Tch. I’ll be going, then. As the Young Master says, I’m still weak, so I should train harder. Looks like I won’t be joining any more outside trips.”
He trudged away a few steps, then glanced back over his shoulder.
“…Aren’t you going to stop me? That’s mean.”
His eyes were full of reproach.
“We’ll see each other once the Sichuan Gathering starts, so what’s there to miss?”
This year’s gathering would be held not at the Tang Clan but at the Cheongang Clan. Their stronghold lay in Naksan, south of Chengdu.
“I’m going too?”
“Father will attach you to me just in case I cause trouble, so of course you’ll come along.”
“Really?”
“We leave in a few days. Rest up until then.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Tang Ildo shot off like an arrow. Was he really that happy?
[Once someone gets addicted to you, the stimulation is so intense they can never escape.]
Hwancheonjihwan fully understood Tang Ildo’s feelings.
“What are you talking about? I don’t like men.”
[That’s not what I meant!]
Tang Cheonwi truly had a talent for infuriating people.
At that same moment, Tang Yuhyeon sat in the lotus position, circulating his energy.
Still no blockages. And more than that… my internal energy grows by the day.
In pure quantity alone he had already far surpassed first-class. Nearly fifty years of accumulated energy now rested in his dantian. Since Peak required one full sixty-year cycle, another ten years would bring him to that threshold.
All because of the elixir Elder Brother gave me.
It was not only his internal energy that had increased. When he finished circulating, he had undergone a complete bone-and-marrow rebirth. He had become so different he could believe he had been born anew. The flow of qi, the size of his dantian, the breadth of his meridians and vessels—everything had transformed onto an entirely higher plane.
I should never have accepted it so readily. That precious elixir was something Elder Brother needed far more than I did.
The thought of the brother who had given him such a treasure weighed heavily on Tang Yuhyeon’s heart.
I’ve received far too great a kindness. I must train even harder to repay him.
That was why he had been driving himself without sleep.
He was pouring every ounce of focus into his circulation when a familiar voice interrupted.
“Keep that up and you’ll wreck yourself. Slow down and rest properly.”
Tang Yuhyeon immediately halted his energy flow. Cutting off circulation mid-cycle was no simple feat, yet he managed it with ease.
“Elder Brother!”
The moment he opened his eyes he called out—only to receive a solid knuckle to the forehead.
Kong!
“Ow!”
“What if you force yourself into qi deviation?”
“That’s not—”
“No excuses. If anything happens to you, I won’t be able to face Mother in the afterlife. Take care of your body. Understood?”
“Tch. Elder Brother is the one who treats his body far more roughly.”
“Oh? Talking back now?”
Tang Cheonwi glared as though he might devour his younger brother on the spot. Yet the expression carried not the slightest threat.
“But Elder Brother…”
Guessing exactly what Tang Yuhyeon intended to say, he cut him off.
“Want to see something amazing?”
“That’s not important—”
He was clearly about to bring up the Black Dragon Gold Pill. To keep any guilt from taking root, Tang Cheonwi changed the subject.
“Seol-eum, come out for a moment.”
The Yin Spirit Ice Fox poked its head out from his robes, glancing left and right with wary eyes. Tang Yuhyeon’s own eyes went round at the adorable sight.
“Wh-what is that, Elder Brother?!”
“You’ve heard of the Yin Spirit Ice Fox, haven’t you?”
“This spiritual beast is a Heavenly Spirit Fox?”
Alongside the Heavenly Flame Wings, it was one of the absolute rulers of Mount Heaven—an apex predator even among spiritual beasts.
“Want to pet it?”
“Yes!”
Touching a spiritual beast was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and this was a rare Yin Spirit Ice Fox. The moment Tang Yuhyeon’s hand made contact, soft light began to pour from the fox’s body.