Chapter 100: Chapter 100
At the appearance of the Poison King, the battlefield froze just like that.
In this place where several dozen people were present, not even the sound of a small breath could be heard.
Thud, thud.
Only the sound of footsteps crossing the battlefield seized the surroundings like thunder.
The Poison King surveyed the surroundings with a calm gaze. Due to the vivid green poisonous qi lingering across his entire body, he even appeared like a spiritual being.
“What on earth is all this?”
His voice was moderately low, yet harbored overbearing pressure. Experts who had reached the Realm Beyond the Heavens possessed a dignity that oppressed their surroundings merely by their existence.
Tang Bi-cheon surveyed his father with cautious eyes. Occasionally there were times when his dementia symptoms alleviated, and did it have to be right now?
The energy bursting from the Poison King’s entire body roughly crushed down upon the Martial Alliance members. Black Tortoise Squad Leader Cheol Ji-ak approached with dying steps and stood as if protecting Zhuge Rin and the squad members.
“Squad Leader!”
Zhuge Rin tried to support the severely wounded squad leader, but Cheol Ji-ak shook her off and guarded against the Poison King.
Of course, the Poison King did not pay them any heed. From the start, annihilating a combat squad of the Martial Alliance was not even a brief amusement to him.
As the Poison King showed hostility toward the Martial Alliance members, the momentum of the Tang Clan martial artists was revitalized. They were originally people of great momentum. However, if the Poison King who had regained his senses joined them, it felt as though they could even march right into the Martial Alliance headquarters as they were.
But Tang Bi-cheon alone was different. He knew the Poison King better than anyone else.
‘No. He hasn’t regained his senses.’
Before contracting dementia, the Poison King was more brilliant and wise than any martial artist, not to mention Tang Bi-cheon. Overwhelming strength was not merely a means to intimidate an opponent, but just one method to steer the situation in his favor.
But right now, he was simply venting anger. He had no intention of grasping the situation, only thinking that someone had attacked the Tang Clan.
‘Is it instinct?’
Just as Tang Bi-cheon had been faithful to instinct after taking the pill, the habit of protecting the Tang Clan throughout his entire life had become an instinct engraved in the Poison King’s mind.
“First Elder.”
At Tang Bi-cheon’s quiet call, First Elder Tang Myeong-un hastily approached and bowed his head.
“Escort Father into his room.”
“Pardon? Why…”
“We’ve won the war anyway. An uncontrolled weapon is merely a threat to us as well.”
First Elder Tang Myeong-un’s eyebrows twitched. The Poison King was Tang Bi-cheon’s father and his own elder brother. No matter how deep into dementia he was, how could he refer to him as a weapon?
There was not a shred of respect in Tang Bi-cheon’s tone.
As Tang Myeong-un remained still, Tang Bi-cheon growled in a low voice.
“What are you doing?”
“…”
Facing Tang Bi-cheon’s chilling gaze, Tang Myeong-un sank into contemplation. Between the Poison King who could be called the Tang Clan itself yet suffered from dementia, and Tang Bi-cheon, the practical master.
The contemplation was not long.
“…Yes, understood.”
Just as Tang Myeong-un was approaching the Poison King.
“Tang Myeong-hak, you bastard!”
Over the heads of the martial artists on the battlefield, a streak of green flash surged forward. It was none other than Dok-ra-su.
Dok-ra-su had been frantic blocking the poison arts of the Tang Clan martial artists alone. However, thanks to the martial artists halting simultaneously at the Poison King’s appearance, he gained some breathing room.
Charging forward in an instant, Dok-ra-su unleashed the Poison of Two Absences, the result of his lifelong research and his exclusive ultimate technique.
A palm force laden with poison poured down upon Poison King Tang Myeong-hak’s face.
Even while everyone was startled by the unexpected turn of events, the party concerned, Poison King Tang Myeong-hak, did not even bat an eye.
The Poison King lightly extended his hand. Cleaving through the poured-out palm force like water, his lunging hand clamped down on Dok-ra-su’s throat.
“Cough!”
Thanks to that, the poison Dok-ra-su poured out struck the Poison King’s face directly. But it was useless. Dok-ra-su’s poison inflicted no damage whatsoever on the Poison King.
Poison arts do not work against someone who wields a stronger poison. Once immunity to a superior poison is formed, one naturally ignores inferior poisons.
Even so, Dok-ra-su had thought that the Poison of Two Absences would at least work on the Poison King. It was a miscalculation.
‘I labored so hard my entire life, yet am I still lacking!’
More than his throat being choked roughly, his heart felt even more aggrieved and painful.
The Poison King observed Dok-ra-su’s face with a calm gaze. With an expression as if trying to recall something, he finally asked thus.
“Who are you to wield a half-baked Formless Poison?”
Half-baked.
Dok-ra-su had researched it his entire life, yet that was the entirety of the evaluation he heard from the Poison King.
“Shut up! With what right does a senile bastard dare evaluate anyone!”
The Poison King did not answer anything. He merely held out his other hand. There was nothing on his palm.
But the moment that empty palm touched Dok-ra-su’s chest.
“A-aaargh!”
Formless Poison.
Along with Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky, that secret art of the Tang Clan unfolded perfectly from the Poison King’s hand.
While letting out agonized groans, Dok-ra-su struggled to take that Formless Poison into his eyes. If he could witness it in person even once, it would be of great help to his research.
Regrettably, however, there was nothing visible to him. There was no odor, no form, and no energy.
Thanks to that, without being able to dodge or block, one only realized that they had been afflicted after the pain was already felt.
“Run, run away!”
Dok-ra-su shouted while rolling on the ground in agony.
That bastard Cheon Woo-jin would certainly return. However, if he was dealing with a disciple of the Dark Emperor, there was no telling when he would come back.
If the Poison King began running amok, the Martial Alliance members would turn into corpses within a few breaths.
If Cheon Woo-jin returned after that, he would smash his skull without a second thought and kill him.
“Run away! You worms!”
Dok-ra-su shouted at the Alliance members once more. At that shout, the Martial Alliance members instinctively retreated a step or two.
Dok-ra-su was a master who had reached the Super-Peak realm and a public enemy of the martial world. Normally, two or three combat squads from the Martial Alliance headquarters would have to be deployed to deal with him.
The Poison King subdued such a Dok-ra-su with utter ease. What kind of existence an expert of the Realm Beyond the Heavens was could be tangibly felt.
The moment terror of having to flee also surfaced in the minds of the Alliance members.
“Where do you think you’re going.”
The Poison King’s energy roughly crushed down upon them. Even though it was merely energy, the Martial Alliance members could not take a step. As if submerged in deep water, their breathing was choked, and desires to survive and fear mingled together to bloom.
Dok-ra-su clicked his tongue. At their level, they could not even properly withstand the Poison King’s momentum.
‘This is why one should never get entangled with Black Elder and his fellow disciples…’
In the end, he had to step forward again.
In order to save those Martial Alliance members whom he could not be satisfied even by grinding to death, he had to stake his life and lunge at the Poison King.
“Tang Myeong-hak, you bastard! Can you not even recognize your elder brother?!”
Dok-ra-su rose while clutching his chest, which had turned dark blackish from the poison.
The Poison King looked at Dok-ra-su with a dry gaze.
“Elder brother?”
“Yes, I am your elder brother and the highest elder of the Tang Clan, Tang Myeong-cheon!”
The Poison King, who had stepped toward Dok-ra-su, paused.
Then he looked at Dok-ra-su with narrowed eyes.
How much time had passed like that?
“Nonsense. Brother Myeong-cheon is not a pathetic bastard obsessed with parlor tricks like you, but one of the few martial artists who properly knows how to wield the Tang Clan’s poison.”
“…!”
Dok-ra-su’s eyes widened. He had never expected that Poison King to think of him like that.
A subtle feeling welled up. But before he could even sort out that feeling, the Poison King’s dagger surged forward.
“I’m your brother, you bastard!”
Screaming at the top of his lungs, Dok-ra-su rolled backward. Five daggers were deeply lodged into the spot where he had been. Had he not dodged, all of them would have accurately pierced Dok-ra-su’s fatal acupoints.
Leaping to his feet, Dok-ra-su poured out every poison art he could muster. He knew it. It was merely to buy time. How could he possibly defeat the Poison King, against whom not even the Poison of Two Absences worked?
As expected, the Poison King lightly ignored the poison arts pouring toward him and gradually approached. As Dok-ra-su leaped backward, the Poison King’s daggers pursued him.
“Damn it all!”
Spitting out a curse, Dok-ra-su leaped into the air. He had bought plenty of time. If they still didn’t run away, from then on it was their own fault.
‘Now I run!’
Cheon Woo-jin or whatever, he was on the verge of dying at the Poison King’s hands right now.
Dok-ra-su kicked off the ground repeatedly, distancing himself from the Poison King.
He felt chilling hidden weapons surging from behind. He shifted direction to dodge, but other hidden weapons lunged as if waiting for that.
Clenching his teeth tightly, Dok-ra-su dodged the hidden weapons surging consecutively. But it felt increasingly overwhelming. Though he had dodged the first hidden weapons with ease, it was becoming narrower and narrower as it went on.
At this rate, he would soon die with hidden weapons pinned across his entire body.
It was then.
– To think you really didn’t run away.
At the moment he sensed death, a strand of sound transmission echoed.
At the same time, a gray flash was seen in the distance. The moment he confirmed it, the Crescent Moon Staff was already right beside his head.
Inhaling a sharp breath, Dok-ra-su hurriedly ducked his head. Then, the Crescent Moon Staff narrowly grazing past crushed the Poison King’s dagger and surged forth as is.
It was truly a tremendous speed and momentum.
Even so, the Poison King merely raised his hand with a calm expression to block the Crescent Moon Staff. No, he tried to block it.
Klaaaang!
The Poison King’s figure was repelled at tremendous speed, smashing through giant trees consecutively before crashing into the ground.
Soon, a man landed beside Dok-ra-su.
“Nephew!”
Dok-ra-su was as overjoyed as a person encountering a beam of light on the road to the underworld. Now his nephew was not Tang Bi-cheon, but Cheon Woo-jin.
At the word nephew, Cheon Woo-jin frowned slightly. But he did not reprimand him. In any case, it was thanks to Dok-ra-su enduring without actually fleeing that the Black Tortoise Squad members were alive.
Cheon Woo-jin crossed the battlefield with ordinary footsteps. No one dared block his front.
With a light wave of his hand, the Crescent Moon Staff flew over from among the thick dust in the distance. Cheon Woo-jin halted his steps and watched ahead with the Crescent Moon Staff hanging down.
Soon, the Poison King walked out from there. It must have been a tremendous impact, yet he was utterly fine without a single injury.
The Poison King approached with heavy, steady steps.
Cheon Woo-jin merely stood still, watching with a dry gaze.
Everyone watching held their breath.
Soon, the two stood facing each other at close range.
In the Poison King’s hand was a green dagger, and in Cheon Woo-jin’s hand was the dark Crescent Moon Staff.
While they glared at each other like that, a thunderous shout echoed from behind the Poison King.
“Father! It is that bastard! That bastard is the one who instigated the Martial Alliance Leader to slaughter the martial artists of the Tang Clan!”
It was Young Clan Leader Tang Bi-cheon.
Watching Cheon Woo-jin appear, he thought it was truly fortunate that he had not put the Poison King to sleep.
Was it merely fortunate? His father, the Poison King, was a figure counted on one hand even among the martial artists of the Realm Beyond the Heavens. If he set his mind to it, he could crush that insolent Cheon Woo-jin to death right this instant.
Looking at Cheon Woo-jin, the Poison King’s eyebrows twitched.
Having lived his entire life for the Tang Clan, an obsession to protect the Tang Clan remained within him.
Deep green energy rose like a haze from the Poison King’s entire body. Merely flaring his energy caused the surrounding air to tremble, and martial artists retreated far away.
However, Cheon Woo-jin merely looked at the Poison King without the slightest change in expression.