Chapter 338: The Mastermind (5)

On a mountain peak not far from the Sichuan Tang Clan’s estate.

“Oh my!”

An elderly, hunched woman leaning on a cane was left dumbfounded.

And for good reason. Anyone witnessing this tremendous duel would be astonished.

This had already surpassed the level of ordinary martial artists.

It was literally a confrontation between superhumans.

-Boom boom boom boom!

Every time they swung their swords or fists, everything around them shattered and split apart in utter chaos.

The surroundings had already been reduced to ruins, with not a single place left intact.

Seeing this, the hunched old woman, her mouth agape, clicked her tongue and spoke.

“Lady Chunchu… It seems they have already transcended the realm of humans.”

“…Indeed.”

Beside the old woman stood a woman with half black and half white hair.

Dressed in a provocative yet bright yellow attire reminiscent of rapeseed flowers, revealing her cleavage, she was both mysterious and incomparably beautiful.

As her voice sounded somewhat subdued, the old woman, thinking she might be in a foul mood, cautiously glanced to the side.

But something seemed strange.

Lady Chunchu’s eyes, which were observing their duel, sparkled with fascination and interest.

‘…Has she developed an interest?’

She was the most emotional among the executives of her realm.

As a result, she was quite capricious and prone to mood swings, so it was difficult to understand why she was showing interest now.

She had been unable to hide her disappointment when Seok Pae-ung, the Green Forest Gambling King, whom she had considered a useful piece and invested in, lost his fighting spirit with just a single punch.

But her current reaction was completely opposite.

‘Is it because of that monstrous human fighting against the hidden power of the Tang Clan?’

The old woman’s guess was none other than that human.

While the hidden power of the Tang Clan was astonishing, that suddenly appeared human was also no pushover.

When the monstrous hidden power of the Tang Clan began to fully unleash its strength, Lady Chunchu had said with a surprised expression:

[…He’s strong. With this level of power, he wouldn’t be inferior even when compared to the Six Heavens, let alone the Eight Stars.]

[S-Six Heavens, you say?]

The Six Heavens were considered the pinnacle among martial artists.

But did those unknown individuals possess strength comparable to such formidable figures?

How had they never been caught by their intelligence network?

It was truly astonishing.

Now it made sense why that person remained seated, maintaining caution.

The Central Plains was not a place to be taken lightly.

However…

“Ah!”

The old woman let out an exclamation as she watched the duel.

Their fight was reaching its climax.

Who would emerge victorious?

They were such fierce rivals that it wouldn’t be surprising regardless of who won, making it difficult to predict.

But eventually, a winner was determined.

And the victor was…

‘How can this be…’

Contrary to expectations, it was not the hidden power of the Tang Clan but the one wielding that vicious energy who emerged victorious.

In that case, there was only one thing for them to do.

“Lady Chunchu! As you said, now is our chance!”

Fisherman’s gain.

It was a saying that a third party could benefit from the fight between a crane and a clam, meaning an outsider could profit from their conflict.

What they had been aiming for was precisely this fisherman’s gain.

At first, it was simply to gauge the level of the hidden power.

However, since it was a fight between fierce rivals, regardless of who won, the depletion of true energy would be severe, making it a perfect opportunity to exploit their vulnerability.

But…

“No.”

“Pardon?”

“I changed my mind.”

The old woman stared at her with a dumbfounded expression.

Why would she let go of such a great opportunity?

Right now, they could easily deal with them or capture and subdue them.

If they could eliminate the hidden power of the Tang Clan that even that person couldn’t rashly touch and secure that unknown supreme master, they could make a tremendous contribution to the organization.

“Lady Chunchu!”

“I said no.”

“B-But this excellent opportunity, how can you…?”

“Because it’s an excellent opportunity.”

“Pardon?”

“That guy… I want him.”

“That guy? You don’t mean the hidden power of the Tang Clan…”

“No, that guy.”

Reflected in her gray-tinted pupils was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.

“There’s no need to invest in other things. If we eliminate everything else and have just that guy, wouldn’t that be enough?”

At her words, the old woman couldn’t help but feel restless.

She hadn’t anticipated that Lady Chunchu would show such whimsical behavior at this crucial moment.

Was it because her greed couldn’t be controlled once awakened?

The old woman carefully spoke as if advising her.

“Lady Chunchu. If you truly want him, you should seize the opportunity. If you can easily obtain him, there’s no need to postpone it to next time…”

“You think I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on him unless he’s weakened?”

“T-That’s…”

The old woman realized her mistake.

She had touched upon Lady Chunchu’s pride.

“No, that’s not it. How could that be possible? If Lady Chunchu puts her mind to it, it’s definitely possible.”

“Didn’t I tell you? Men are simple creatures.”

“…Indeed.”

“Just watch. With the right opportunity, I can easily turn him into a slave.”

She had already made up her mind.

Realizing that further discussion would be meaningless, the old woman closed her mouth.

Perhaps it would be better to secretly report these two individuals to the council.

At that moment, Lady Chunchu spoke in a warning tone.

“I’m telling you in advance, if you secretly report to the council again without permission like last time, I definitely won’t let it slide.”

-Gulp!

The old woman swallowed dry saliva with a tense expression.

***

“The one who raised me belonged to one of the Tang Clan’s branch families, sharing that bloodline. However, the person known as the Tang Clan’s patriarch killed that individual with the Formless Poison.”

‘!?’

Moo-jin’s expression hardened.

He had wondered what Mok Gyeong-un was trying to say when he mentioned someone who was like family.

But what on earth was this?

If the one who raised him was from a branch family of the Tang Clan, wouldn’t that make them the main family and branch family? Was he saying the Tang Clan’s patriarch killed that person with poison?

“Right now… That’s…”

“It’s exactly as you heard. The Tang Clan’s patriarch killed the one who raised me.”

“Why would he do such a thing…?”

“I don’t know either. As for why that person killed my grandfather.”

“Could there have been a misunderstanding?”

“If the Formless Poison, known to have been perfected only by the Tang Clan, was used, what misunderstanding or excuse is there?”

At those words, Moo-jin hurriedly spoke.

“Wait, how can you distinguish whether it was the Formless Poison or not?”

“I learned about poisons, so how could I not know?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Mok Gyeong-un raised poisonous energy with his left hand.

‘!?’

The purple poisonous energy rising from his left hand left Moo-jin at a loss for words.

He had mastered the art of poison as well?

Although his clan had strong resistance to poisons, rendering the art of poison ineffective against them, Mok Gyeong-un’s swordsmanship had already reached the pinnacle, and now even his poison techniques were at this level, which was astonishing.

-Swish!

Mok Gyeong-un suppressed the poisonous energy and continued speaking.

“According to your logic, even if it’s distant, it’s like a dispute between family members, so will you keep interfering?”

“…”

Faced with this question, Moo-jin couldn’t say anything further.

Within the Tang Clan, they might distinguish between the main family and branch families, but from his perspective, as someone who protected the Tang Clan due to the dying wish of his ancestor, they were all part of the Tang Clan.

The dying wish was to protect the Tang Clan if there were enemies threatening them.

However, there was no dying wish regarding internal conflicts within the Tang Clan.

‘This is the first time encountering such a situation… What should I do?’

Moo-jin couldn’t help but feel perplexed.

If his hostility stemmed from an internal matter within the Tang Clan, it wouldn’t be right for him to interfere.

Rather, it felt like fighting until now had been a futile act.

But there was one thing he needed to ascertain.

‘I need to verify if it’s true or not.’

The possibility that this person’s words were lies couldn’t be ruled out.

With words alone, anyone could say anything.

If everything he said now turned out to be lies, he would be deceived, and the worst-case scenario would unfold for the Tang Clan.

Therefore, Moo-jin spoke.

“If your words are true, then this is an internal matter of the Tang Clan, so it’s not something I should rashly interfere with.”

“Oh? You accepted it readily. If I had known, I should have engaged in more conversation.”

“…But how will you prove that it’s true?”

“Prove?”

Mok Gyeong-un retorted, raising one eyebrow.

Nevertheless, Moo-jin continued with what he was saying.

“How can I know if the one who raised you is really a branch family of the Tang Clan or not?”

This was the most important point.

If they were truly a branch family, there would be some way to prove it.

However, at this question, Mok Gyeong-un chuckled and said,

“I’m already providing the ultimate proof.”

“The ultimate proof?”

“The fact that I’m having this conversation instead of killing you right away, isn’t that the ultimate proof?”

‘!?’

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Moo-jin furrowed his brows.

It was truly peculiar.

If someone else had said this, it could be dismissed as somewhat far-fetched, but instead, these words resonated even more deeply.

“Hearing you talk about proof and whatnot, it seems I’ve done something unnecessary. It would be better to just kill you like this…”

-Swish!

Interrupting his own words, Mok Gyeong-un turned his head.

It was in the direction of the Tang Clan’s estate.

As Mok Gyeong-un suddenly looked toward the estate, the Tang Clan’s executives and warriors, who had been observing them while holding their breath, became extremely tense.

However, Mok Gyeong-un wasn’t looking at them.

To be precise, it was beyond them.

After gazing in that direction, Mok Gyeong-un turned his head back to Moo-jin and spoke with a smirk.

“Hmm. This is fortunate. You said you needed proof, right?”

***

-Bam!

“Ugh!”

“Urgh!”

The two individuals, who had been engaged in a fierce exchange for over thirty seconds without giving an inch, each landed a blow on the other’s chest and face, causing them to be pushed back by the recoil.

-Crash!

-Boom! Crack!

As the body of the Eight Poison Snake Staff Guyang Sa-oh was flung back and collided with a tree, the trunk snapped and melted away due to the intense poisonous energy.

-Sizzle!

“Haa… haa…”

-Swish!

Guyang Sa-oh wiped the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

Then, he glared at Tang In-hae, the patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Clan, who had been pushed back about ten steps and was regaining his posture, just like him.

‘As expected, he’s not easy to deal with.’

Even after unleashing the Eight Poisons realm, where even his hair turned green due to the poisonous energy, he couldn’t gain the upper hand at all.

Despite not neglecting his cultivation at all, the fact that they were still equals meant that his opponent had also steadily improved his martial arts over the years.

‘This won’t be easy. In the end, the key is the secret technique.’

Realizing that the battle wouldn’t be decided like this, Guyang Sa-oh thought he couldn’t continue this way.

The same was true for his long-time rival, the Tang Clan patriarch Tang In-hae.

“Pft.”

-Spit!

Tang In-hae spat out a broken molar and inwardly clicked his tongue.

How could that old geezer not weaken with age but instead grow stronger?

It was truly incomprehensible.

Moreover, unlike their previous duels, this time, he was charging at him as if his life depended on it, and each move was extremely lethal.

In a duel between masters of the poisonous arts, each move was critical, unlike ordinary masters.

Since each move was a poisonous technique, immediate detoxification was necessary upon being hit, resulting in a much greater depletion of energy.

That’s why Tang In-hae had always wanted to avoid a confrontation with Guyang Sa-oh.

‘This won’t do. I don’t have much left, but to quickly end this, I need to unleash the Formless Poison Technique.’

The Formless Poison Technique.

It was the Tang Clan’s greatest secret technique, developed over three generations from his grandfather to his father.

Having made up his mind, Tang In-hae assumed the stance for the Formless Poison Technique.

Suddenly, the indigo-colored poisonous energy flowing from his entire body disappeared, and his surroundings began to waver and ripple like a mirage.

-Croak! Croak!

On the other hand, Guyang Sa-oh’s throat swelled up like a toad’s, as if ready to burst out at any moment, and his momentum was not ordinary.

His entire body was engulfed in green poisonous energy, and the surroundings were gradually melting away as the poisonous energy continued to converge.

-Sizzle sizzle sizzle!

Faced with their imposing auras, Mok Gyeong-un’s subordinates held their breath and observed.

The confrontation was between one of the Eight Stars, who could be considered the top masters of the martial arts world, and a supreme master of poisonous arts from the Western Regions who was not inferior to him.

They couldn’t take their eyes off them.

As the two supreme masters glared at each other, waiting for an opportunity, it was at that very moment.

-Swish!

-Thud!

Someone descended from the sky and landed where they were.

“My lord!”

It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.

At this sound, Tang In-hae, the Tang Clan patriarch, momentarily startled, involuntarily glanced in that direction.

‘!!!!!!’

However, Tang In-hae, who had turned his gaze, widened his eyes, unable to hide his bewilderment.

Not only was Mok Gyeong-un there, but also Moo-jin of the Yoo Clan, who could be considered the guardian of the Tang Clan, was beside him.

‘W-What is this?’