The Poison Dragon's Pride
The Seven Great Talents.
In the Central Plains, this was the title bestowed upon the most outstanding representatives of the younger generation.
They were the living proof of the generational shift that would lead the Jianghu in the decades to come.
It also showed just how much interest the people of the current era took in the future of the martial world and its rising stars.
While interest in the younger generation had always been high,
the attention focused on them now was exceptionally explosive.
And for good reason.
Because the changing of the guard has already begun.
This was an era of upheaval.
A long time had passed since the war with the Demonic Cult ended,
and the figures hailed as heroes back then were vanishing into the annals of history one by one.
Dok-jon, the supreme master of poison arts and the nightmare of the war, was dead.
The Sword Emperor, known as the Heaven's Greatest Sword, had vanished.
Gung-gwi had returned to her homeland in the Northern Sea, declaring she would never show herself again.
The rest of the Heavens Beyond Heaven had either gone into hiding or were quietly spending their remaining days within their respective clans.
But above all, the biggest reason is...
The death of the Sword Saint.
The death of the World's Greatest had thrown the world into chaos.
Who would claim the vacant throne of the World's Greatest?
Some claimed the Sword Emperor, who was still alive, had become the supreme master,
but he, too, had disappeared from the world.
People wondered which of the remaining living legends of the Heavens Beyond Heaven it would be,
but no conclusion could ever be reached.
For they would never fight among themselves.
They had too much to lose.
Every single move of the Heavens Beyond Heaven drew countless eyes and wagging tongues,
and knowing this better than anyone, they chose not to participate in such trivial games.
That was why.
Though they were not yet of the Heavens Beyond Heaven,
they were the ones destined to reach those heights in the future.
The seven geniuses handpicked from the overwhelming sea of rising stars.
The Seven Great Talents.
Everyone directed their curiosity toward them.
With the throne of the World's Greatest left vacant by the inactive legends,
it was widely believed that one of the Seven Great Talents would claim it in the next generation, or perhaps the one after that.
Naturally, interest in them was sky-high.
Who was the strongest among the younger generation?
Since every member of the Seven Great Talents was a genius among geniuses,
the public was deeply invested in ranking them.
And among them, the Poison Dragon...
...is evaluated as one of the weaker ones.
He ranked near the bottom of the Seven Great Talents.
Despite being called the second coming of Dok-jon, the public's evaluation of him was harsh.
In a way, it was only natural.
His performance at the last Yongbong Association was rather poor.
Once every five years,
the Martial Alliance hosted a martial arts tournament exclusively for the younger generation.
The Yongbong Association.
It was a bizarre festival where hundreds of rising stars were gathered to beat the crap out of each other.
And there, the Poison Dragon...
...had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of another member of the Seven Great Talents.
Who was it again? I recalled seeing it while studying up on the Poison Dragon.
Ah, right.
It was the Black Saber of the Paeng Clan.
The Black Saber was a rising star from the Hebei Paeng Clan, one of the Five Great Clans,
and a direct descendant of the clan leader.
The Poison Dragon had lost to him.
And it wasn't just a simple loss.
I heard he was utterly humiliated.
He couldn't even put up a proper fight and was defeated in almost a single blow, wasn't he?
Having shown such a pathetic display, it was only natural that the world looked down on him.
Of course,
even so, a member of the Seven Great Talents is still a member of the Seven Great Talents.
This didn't mean the Poison Dragon wasn't a genius,
nor was it proof that he was weak.
Just look at him now.
“……How dare that bastard……”
The fighting spirit radiating from him as he gripped his dagger was incredibly fierce.
It sent a tingling sensation down my spine.
Whoops.
I almost rubbed my arms without realizing it. Fortunately, I didn't, but I definitely had goosebumps.
...Did I provoke him for nothing?
I had mocked him out of sheer annoyance, but seeing him like this made me regret it just a little.
Though,
crossing the line by bringing up family is unacceptable.
Regret was regret, but a clash was a clash.
I couldn't let his words slide.
Insulting my father?
Sure, my father was pathetic, useless, had nothing going for him but his face, was embarrassing to even call a father, and made me want to abandon him immediately, but...
...I'm the only one allowed to trash him.
It wasn't something some random bastard could just casually throw around.
I drew the sword sheathed at my waist.
Seeing this, Dang Cheon-il curled his lips into a smirk.
“……Ha……”
His smile was dripping with utter contempt.
“Young Sword Saint, Young Sword Saint. Did you really think you became someone special just because people fawned over you?”
“…….”
I didn't answer. I just tilted my head, gesturing for him to keep barking.
“I heard you killed an unorthodox master with a single strike. I don't believe it. You probably just took down some low-life thug.”
“And why do you think that?”
“You can never be a master. Your eyes, your movements—everything about you says so.”
“What a joke. Who the hell are you to judge that?”
He was actually right, which made it incredibly annoying.
It was probably because the guy speaking was so obnoxious.
“I don't know what kind of trick you used, but you can't deceive my eyes.”
Whoosh!
He spun his dagger once and pointed the tip at me.
Then, with a sneer, he said,
“If you hoped I'd be intimidated by rumors, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I don't get shaken by such—”
“Ah, your face is seriously ugly, so don't make that expression.”
“…….”
I couldn't hold it in. I usually try to hold back, but that was just too much.
Was it my imagination? For a split second, he looked genuinely hurt.
"If you say that with a face like yours, it truly wounds the ugly ones."
Yoo Chun-gil pointed out my sin. I gave an awkward smile.
“Sorry. That was a bit harsh.”
“You bastard... Mocking me again...?”
“No, I wasn't mocking you. I said it because I felt genuinely sorry...”
“You must look down on me because of what that girl did to me yesterday.”
“Ah, so you know you got beaten? Even you think it was pretty pathetic, right?”
“You bastard!!”
Cut off repeatedly, Dang Cheon-il roared in fury.
I quietly swallowed hard at the sound.
I could feel his genuine killing intent.
“Fine. I swear on my name right here, no matter what it takes...”
Dang Cheon-il spoke, his eyes gleaming with madness.
“...I will kill you!”
He lunged forward, unleashing his full fighting spirit.
Watching him, I licked my lips and raised my sword.
Can I do this?
My opponent is one of the Seven Great Talents.
Just as worry and doubt began to creep in,
"Should I help?"
Yoo Chun-gil asked in a suggestive tone.
I shook my head.
Not much time had passed since my possession.
The duration wouldn't be that long anyway.
And besides,
I want to try it myself.
I wanted to test my limits. I was curious to see how far I could go on my own, without Yoo Chun-gil's help.
Besides...
...even without his help,
...I feel like I can win.
I could beat someone of his level.
An inexplicable confidence was welling up inside me.
While Dang Cheon-il confronted Bang Seong-yeon, radiating intense fighting spirit,
Dang Ye-ran watched them with anxious eyes.
What on earth is happening all of a sudden...?
She had only come to deliver the completed sword, but now her brother and Bang Seong-yeon looked ready to tear each other apart.
In particular, the aura radiating from her brother, Dang Cheon-il, was ominous.
If this continued, Bang Seong-yeon might get hurt.
Just as Dang Ye-ran was about to step in,
“Stop.”
“……!”
Someone grabbed her shoulder, holding her back.
Startled, Dang Ye-ran looked back to see an unbelievably beautiful woman staring at her.
“Why interfere when things are just getting good?”
“……Lady Moyong……”
The one holding her shoulder was none other than Moyong Yeong-sun.
“They're putting on a good show. Why don't we just watch quietly? It looks like it'll be fun.”
Seeing her speak with a gentle smile, Dang Ye-ran felt her heart flutter, even though they were both women.
How can someone smile so beautifully? While that thought crossed her mind,
“……We're just going to watch?”
Dang Ye-ran's eyes widened at Moyong Yeong-sun's words.
“It's dangerous... In my brother's current state, there's no telling what he might do.”
Knowing Dang Cheon-il's personality,
he was highly likely to cause a major incident in his current state.
She had to stop him before something terrible happened.
“Are you worried?”
Even after hearing that, Moyong Yeong-sun remained perfectly calm.
Flustered by her attitude, Dang Ye-ran asked,
“Of course I am... Aren't you, Lady Moyong?”
“Not really. If you're worried, Lady Dang, are you worried about Young Master Bang? Or are you worried about the Poison Dragon?”
“……Well, of course……”
She was indeed worried about Young Master Bang, but Dang Ye-ran couldn't bring herself to say it aloud.
She felt too embarrassed.
Moyong Yeong-sun let out a soft chuckle at her reaction.
“Then that's a relief.”
“……What is?”
What was a relief? She looked genuinely relieved, which only made Ye-ran more curious.
“Seeing your reaction, Lady Dang, it seems you still have a long way to go. A very, very long way.”
“What do you mean...? A long way to go for what?”
“Lady Dang, listen closely.”
Moyong Yeong-sun spoke, her smile never fading.
“Worrying about that raccoon... I mean, Young Master Bang, in this situation is your first mistake.”
“Excuse me?”
“There is absolutely no need to worry about him.”
Worrying about Bang Seong-yeon was a mistake?
It made no sense.
“You……”
How could she not worry when they didn't know what would happen to him?
She tried to ask, but...
“Shall I tell you something?”
Once again, Dang Ye-ran was cut off.
“Young Master Bang...”
The conviction in Moyong Yeong-sun's eyes...
“...never fights a battle he cannot win.”
...was simply too absolute.
Swish! Clang!
The dagger thrust forward with lethal precision.
I raised my sword to parry it.
Sparks flew as the blades scraped against each other.
Feeling the heavy recoil, I twisted my wrist.
Clash!
The dagger wasn't striking just once; it was lunging repeatedly.
It was as if he knew exactly how I would block.
The shifting flow of his movements resembled a slithering serpent.
And he was so incredibly fast that, to an untrained eye, it would look like multiple daggers were attacking at once.
Tsk.
Clang! Clang, clang!
I barely managed to deflect the onslaught. Once I did, I couldn't help but marvel internally.
I actually blocked that?
In the past, it was a speed I wouldn't have even been able to react to.
But now, not only could I see it, I could block it.
After parrying the dagger,
“Hup.”
I twisted my waist and swung my sword. Sword qi infused the blade, erupting outward.
First Form: Moon Wave
I swung the sword sharply, drawing a crescent moon in the air.
Slash!
The sword flashed brilliantly as it cut through the enemy, but...
Damn.
What I cut was merely an afterimage.
My opponent had long since vanished from that spot.
I rolled my eyes, searching for his presence.
Shuck!
I felt it. To my left.
Despite sensing him on the left, I swung my sword to the right.
Clang!
“Hah.”
The sword clashed against the dagger.
The Poison Dragon, the owner of the dagger, widened his eyes.
“How did you know?”
He asked, our blades still locked.
Was he really that surprised I saw through his feint?
The answer was simple.
“How else? There's no way a guy like you would make such an obvious approach.”
The truth was, Dang Cheon-il wasn't stupid.
Why would someone go to the trouble of hiding their presence only to make such a loud noise from the direction they were actually attacking?
It made no sense.
“……Quick-witted, aren't you?”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes. I like it.”
Screeech! Force surged into his dagger.
“So much that I want to tear you to pieces.”
“--!”
I jerked my head aside.
Zip! Something grazed my chin and shot up into the air.
Thud!
The projectile embedded itself in the ceiling. It was a throwing dagger.
The moment my head tilted back and my vision was disrupted, a violent surge of energy erupted from Dang Cheon-il.
I quickly snapped my gaze back down.
Where did he go?
He was gone. His presence? I couldn't feel that either.
This was...
...that technique.
The Tang Clan's stealth technique that completely erased one's presence.
The very one he had shown during his duel with Dang Ye-ran.
Impressive.
I really couldn't see him. It was broad daylight in the middle of a training ground with absolutely no obstacles to hide behind.
Yet he was completely invisible.
I looked around, trying to locate the Poison Dragon, but...
“Where are you looking?”
Surprisingly, his voice came from right behind me.
As I turned my head, Dang Cheon-il's eyes gleamed.
“It's over, you insect.”
A light, matching the gleam in his eyes, enveloped his dagger.
Seven Sorrowful Severances of the Tang Family
The Tang Clan's dagger form unfolded from the Poison Dragon.
The dagger lunged toward my vitals. If it connected, I would be in serious trouble.
But...
Clang!
“……!!”
...that's only if it actually hits.
The attack failed.
I struck his blade and deflected it.
“How—?!”
He gasped in disbelief as his attack was thwarted.
I looked at him and spoke.
“You asked where I was looking?”
Where else?
“I saw everything.”
I had been watching him the entire time.
The Moon Eye revealed far more than I had anticipated, and I didn't miss a single detail.
Pretending not to see him had been surprisingly difficult, but it was worth it. Thanks to that...
...I've created an opening.
Now was the time. It was time to use it.
Fwoosh!
Light enveloped my sword.
A brilliant radiance, as if trying to illuminate the entire world.
Third Form: Gwangwolseomgyeong.
And...
...Second Form.
Night Moon.
Third Form: Gwangwolseomgyeong
Second Form: Night Moon
The sword, cloaked in brilliance, brought forth the darkness of night.
And the single blade born from that darkness...
Slash!
...sliced the Poison Dragon's world clean in half.