Have You Ever Experienced Poison Entering Your Body?
Have you ever experienced poison entering your body? Well… it’s not that such a thing never happens, but unless you work in a field related to chemistry, it isn’t exactly a common experience. At best, you might get stung by a bee on a particularly bad day, or if you’re a man, perhaps you’ve taken a reluctant sip of CS gas during military CBRN training. And if I were to compare it to my own personal experience with that CS gas… well, it seems we don’t have time for that story, so I’ll stop there.
A hazy mist began drifting from Dang Huiso, slowly clouding my vision. I had expected him to use the Sichuan Tang Family’s martial arts, but I never imagined he would actually employ poison.
The one saving grace was that Dang Huiso seemed concerned about causing collateral damage to those around us. He wasn’t spraying the toxin indiscriminately.
"From now on, I will use poison. It will not endanger your life, but it is a scattering-energy poison that disrupts internal energy."
I nodded at Dang Huiso’s declaration. This was why the Sichuan Tang Family, despite their use of poison, had been able to remain part of the righteous faction. They always carried the antidotes to their own toxins and refrained from using them indiscriminately unless it was all-out war. Especially in a spar where the goal was not to take a life.
That didn’t mean the poison was harmless. A single graze was enough for it to spread. In other words, for the remaining eighty exchanges, I could not allow even one clean hit.
Can I manage this?
Dang Huiso’s footwork was fast, but not impossible to evade. I couldn’t tell whether it was due to his age or his level of mastery, but the fact that there was even a sliver of possibility was what mattered to me. Besides, I had one hidden trump card prepared in case I did get hit by the poison.
Swoosh.
Dang Huiso’s stance slowly dropped. The slight crouch was a preparatory motion—not for a leap, but for throwing.
Swish!
It was actually more troublesome than a direct charge. If he had thrown a sword or even daggers, deflecting the weapons would have been simple. But what flew toward me now was a perfectly ordinary round pebble that barely qualified as a weapon.
A strange ecstasy flickered across Dang Huiso’s face. Before he was a physician at Jeongmu Academy, he was a martial artist who had reached the pinnacle realm. It seemed he was savoring the thrill of a real spar for the first time in years.
Easy for you to say. I’m fighting for my life here!
There were twelve of the oddly elegant pebbles in total. Four flew straight at me from the front, six were aimed at my right-side evasion path, and roughly two targeted the left. I couldn’t fathom how he had launched so many at once with those small hands.
But what mattered wasn’t how he had thrown them. What mattered was how I would avoid them. Right? Left?
The pebbles tore through the air. I didn’t hesitate any longer and moved.
My choice was straight ahead.
Shrieeeek!
Claaaang!
The moment I struck down the pebble flying toward my face, my sword rang out and a jolt ran through my grip. Clang! Clang-clang! Though they appeared to have been thrown at the same time, each stone had a microscopically different timing. I barely deflected the ones that followed, twisted to avoid the final projectile, and immediately leaped straight toward Dang Huiso.
When Dang Huiso first threw the stones, I had instinctively tried to dodge toward the left where fewer had been aimed. It hadn’t taken long to realize it was a feint.
If I had gone left, I would have been finished.
What Dang Huiso had thrown wasn’t limited to the twelve pebbles. Silver needles now glinted on the ground to the left where I had first attempted to evade. From the beginning, his plan had been to drive me left and infect me with the scattering-energy poison.
But that was already in the past. Now it was my turn.
Moonlight Sword Art — Third Form
Single Flash
The principle of the Moonlight Sword Art I had comprehended during my duel with Hwayeong. Power surged through my legs. With a single bound, the distance between me and Dang Huiso vanished in an instant.
Giving space to an opponent who specialized in hidden weapons meant allowing them to attack you freely from their domain. Closing the distance, on the other hand, meant the battle would now unfold in mine.
"Haaap!"
My sword screamed through the air, aiming for his waist.
Crackle!
Yet Dang Huiso never lost his smile. A sharp noise like sparks erupting burst from the tips of his toes. And right before my blade could connect—
Ping—!
He disappeared from my sight.
I still didn’t know what kind of person Dang Huiso truly was, or what position he had held within the Sichuan Tang Family. It was only natural. In every story he had shared with me until now, he had always omitted anything about himself.
But there was one thing I could say with certainty. He was not the sort of man who would ever be satisfied with the role of a mere academy physician.
To his question, I had answered confidently, “When they are forgotten by others.” Any child who had watched their share of cartoons would have known that famous line. But he had scolded me, calling it plausible-sounding nonsense.
It was a story about life. He had told me about his own.
He had been gazing at a distant mountain. This time I remained silent.
Dang Huiso’s expression had darkened, as though recalling some old memory. Then he spoke once more.
Thunder-Chasing Footwork.
It was the movement technique that every member of the Tang Family had to engrave upon their hearts. Cultivated to uphold the family motto—“Poison up close, hidden weapons from afar”—it was the supreme escape art.
After teaching me the mental cultivation method, what Dang Huiso had taught next was none other than the art of running away. The man who had passed on the ultimate evasion technique to me was the fastest monster I had ever witnessed.
Swish!
The instant his figure vanished, I seized my scattering thoughts and rolled desperately across the ground.
I couldn’t see him at all.
From the stands, people were shouting something about “afterimages,” but I had no attention to spare. He had literally disappeared from my field of vision. The situation was so absurd that the meme Where are you looking? That’s my afterimage actually flashed through my mind. I couldn’t even tell whether he had gone right or left.
The moment Dang Huiso vanished, a chill had shot down my spine, so I simply rolled. And once again, my instincts had saved me by the narrowest margin.
When I looked back, Dang Huiso—who had been caught mid-motion with his hand raised—stared at me with genuine astonishment and admiration.
You have endured 22 exchanges.
It was proof that I would have been struck if I hadn’t dodged. The stands, which had been silent until now, suddenly erupted.
The reactions were all over the map. Some simply enjoyed the spar, while others were left speechless by the Cheonwol Divine Art and Dang Huiso’s footwork. Most of the latter were renowned martial artists belonging to the Nine Great Schools.
"......"
Yet among all of them, the most shocked person was undoubtedly me. The martial arts Dang Huiso had just displayed and the chilling notification that followed immediately after.
I had to endure a total of one hundred exchanges against Dang Huiso. To demand that I withstand another seventy-eight attacks of that caliber… was no different from telling me to die.
Looking closer, a transparent substance thinly coated Dang Huiso’s fingertips. It was the scattering-energy poison he had mentioned. The thought of what would have happened if I hadn’t rolled across the ground—my mana twisting, my entire body paralyzed—sent goosebumps racing across my skin.
"Um…"
"Hm? Do you have something to say?"
"…No. It’s nothing."
I had almost asked, Shall we have a fair fight without the poison? but swallowed the words. This was a trial I had to overcome. Moreover, considering Dang Huiso’s belief that a martial artist must continue growing, any sign of weakness might immediately trigger the failure penalty—“Dang Huiso’s disappointment.”
I couldn’t afford to lose my dantian just because I was a little scared.
I took a deep breath and considered what I could do from here. What mattered right now wasn’t defeating Dang Huiso. It was enduring. I had to hold on with everything I possessed and survive all one hundred exchanges.
Endure…
It was no easy task. This was clearly harder than the zombie hordes or anything I had faced on the first floor. Yet as I felt myself slowly adapting to his monstrous speed, it no longer seemed completely impossible.
But.
"Master."
I looked at Dang Huiso, who was already contemplating his next move with an amused glint in his eye, and spoke.
I would carry out my master’s teachings to the letter.
"I will not be satisfied."
Wholehearted Devotion (C+) has been activated.
Please select the stat to apply Wholehearted Devotion (C+) to.
Agility Lv.30 has been selected.
From now on, I might be the faster one.