Chapter 101: Chapter 101

Even among the hundreds of thousands of martial artists, the tiny handful of martial artists who had ascended to the Realm Beyond the Heavens could be called a disaster merely by their existence. They were people who, once they began to run wild, could slaughter hundreds of martial artists single-handedly.

The representative examples were the Martial Alliance Leader, the Lord of the Black Overlord Castle, and the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader, who were called the Three Pillars Under Heaven, and those who attached Emperor, King, Star, or Venerable to their monikers were generally like that as well.

The Poison King gave off a ferocious momentum. The martial artists in the vicinity hurriedly raised their energy and moved away from him.

“Why is the Martial Alliance attacking the Tang Clan?”

Even his voice felt rough, as though mixed with deadly poison. Those whose realm was low covered their ears to avoid internal injury.

However, Cheon Woo-jin, who stood directly facing the Poison King, was taking his energy with a calm expression.

“Because the Tang Clan attacked the Martial Alliance.”

“Nonsense.”

Cheon Woo-jin looked steadily into the Poison King’s pupils. Although they shone brilliantly in deep green, beneath that surface was a murky state.

‘Has he completely lost his reason?’

In that state, conversation could not possibly get through.

Cheon Woo-jin wordlessly pointed toward Tang So-yeon behind him. Having just awakened, she was wearing a half-dazed expression while looking at the surrounding situation.

The Poison King also looked there.

But upon seeing that gaze, Cheon Woo-jin realized immediately. That the Poison King did not even remember his own daughter.

“I will listen to excuses later in hell.”

The Poison King broke the ice-cold silence and surged forward. In his hand was a crude dagger, which looked rather more dangerous than the Heavenly Green Dagger, the treasure of the Tang Clan used by Tang Bi-cheon.

In an instant, the Poison King’s figure vanished. But Cheon Woo-jin was not flustered in the slightest. Already at their realm, there was far more information obtained through qi sense than through the eyes.

Whoosh!

At the same time as the sound of cutting through the wind, Cheon Woo-jin took half a step back. The dagger grazed past narrowly. Although he had dodged it with certainty, Cheon Woo-jin instinctively twisted his shoulder to the side. At the same time, his shoulder was shallowly cut, and droplets of blood splattered.

“…”

Cheon Woo-jin turned his head and looked at the tree beside him. A hidden weapon as thin as thread was embedded there.

The Poison King had thrown a hidden weapon with his other hand while swinging the crude dagger. It was such a thin and minute movement that even Cheon Woo-jin had avoided it while relying on instinct.

A strange light flashed in the Poison King’s eyes. In all his life, martial artists who had dodged his attack at this distance could be counted on one hand, so he had not expected such a wet-behind-the-ears kid to avoid it.

“How fascinating.”

It was pure admiration. Even if he had lost his judgment, because he was someone who had walked the path of martial arts his entire life, he felt this situation was intriguing.

The Poison King’s movements grew even faster. For a martial artist who had already reached the peak, what could be more enjoyable than meeting an intriguing opponent?

“Try blocking this as well.”

The Poison King closed the distance and waved his hand. A single dagger surged out from his sleeve.

To block this, Cheon Woo-jin slightly shifted the Crescent Moon Staff.

At that moment, the dagger multiplied into two in midair.

It was too early to be surprised. The daggers that multiplied into two quickly increased their numbers to four, then eight, and sixteen.

Blocking sixteen daggers that had multiplied at such a close distance was realistically impossible.

The Poison King looked steadily at him with an expression asking what he would do.

Cheon Woo-jin slightly knitted his brows. He immediately swung the Crescent Moon Staff roughly, striking away half of the daggers.

At the same time, he poured out palm force with his left hand. However, he could not strike away all the daggers thrown with full intention using palm force alone.

Slipping through the palm force, a single dagger lodged into Cheon Woo-jin’s shoulder.

At that moment, long gasps followed in the area.

In particular, Dok-ra-su’s face even turned pale white.

All of the Poison King’s daggers were coated with lethal poison.

“…”

Amidst the silence.

Cheon Woo-jin looked at the dagger lodged in his shoulder.

The Poison King, who stood at a distance, also did not make any further attacks. If a dagger had dug in so deeply rather than merely grazing him, even if a Divine Physician were present here, there was no way to save that boy.

Time passed for a while.

Cheon Woo-jin was still standing blankly.

Doubt surfaced on the Poison King’s face.

Why isn’t that guy dying? Is his constitution one where poison spreads slowly?

It was such an expression.

Doubt soon turned into disbelief.

Disbelief soon led to absurdity.

After various emotions flashed across his face.

In the end, the Poison King’s expression hardened stiffly.

It was because plenty of time had already passed for the poison to spread, yet Cheon Woo-jin was standing so perfectly fine, blinking his eyes.

“…Don’t tell me you achieved that realm!”

The Poison King’s voice trembled slightly. Even though his mind was not sound, as a martial artist who dealt with poison, how could he not react to that realm?

Everyone present understood the Poison King’s words. For the martial artists of the Tang Clan, it was a realm they longed for all their lives yet feared at the same time.

“Immunity to All Poisons!”

Tang Bi-cheon, who thought the Poison King would crush Cheon Woo-jin immediately, cried out unable to hide his bewilderment.

Cheon Woo-jin pulled out the dagger wordlessly. Was it because he was known to be immune to all poisons, for some reason the martial artists of the Tang Clan, including Dok-ra-su and the Poison King, watched this with stiff expressions.

Cheon Woo-jin threw the pulled-out dagger to the ground. Soon breaking the suffocating silence, he spoke quietly.

“Poison wasn’t applied to it, though.”

The Poison King’s pupils quivered in surprise.

Soon he pulled a dagger from his chest and inspected it closely. He even touched the dagger lightly to the tip of his tongue.

Poison was not applied.

“…”

The Poison King was dumbfounded. Surely he applied poison to his daggers every day before going to sleep. However, he did not know. That the last night he remembered was actually a night several years ago.

But in front of so many young martial artists, he could not say that he had made such a hollow mistake.

“You truly are immune to all poisons.”

“…?”

Cheon Woo-jin wore a dumbfounded expression. Although it was true that he had achieved immunity to all poisons as a child…

‘I told you, poison wasn’t even applied in the first place.’

Regardless of that or not, the Poison King suddenly leaped into the air. At the same time, everyone’s gaze turned toward him.

Although an awkward silence flowed for a moment, the fact that he was an absolute master of the Realm Beyond the Heavens did not change.

“D-Dodge!”

Dok-ra-su cried out in horror. What the Poison King’s posture floating in midair signified was obvious. The secret art of which those who reached great accomplishment throughout the Tang Clan’s history could be counted on one hand, the Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky.

It was different from the half-baked one that Tang Bi-cheon had unfolded previously. Already, this vast battlefield was encroached upon by his presence.

While several dozen martial artists were pinned down by that presence unable to budge an inch, three martial artists threw their bodies toward Cheon Woo-jin.

Dok-ra-su, who knew the dread of the Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky better than anyone, and Cheon Woo-jin’s superiors, Zhuge Rin and Cheol Ji-ak.

Cheol Ji-ak, in particular, threw himself forward even though it was a miracle that his breath still lingered. He would not be able to block the Poison King’s Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky. But he planned to take it all with his large body instead of the youngest.

However, the martial artist of the Realm Beyond the Heavens who suffered from dementia was far faster than the three desperate martial artists.

Even before they could take their second step, hidden weapons surged from the Poison King’s figure floating in midair. Several dozen streams of hidden weapons multiplied their numbers as they plummeted toward Cheon Woo-jin.

The hidden weapons, which numbered in the hundreds in an instant, filled the sky pitch-black like pouring rain.

“Damn it!”

Dok-ra-su hurriedly poured out palm force. Since he could not reach directly, his intention was to at least reduce the power of the Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky. Zhuge Rin also unleashed sword qi.

Yet the person concerned, Cheon Woo-jin, merely stood still and watched the streams of rain pouring down toward him.

‘So this is the Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky.’

There were several martial arts of the Righteous, Unorthodox, and Demonic factions acknowledged by his masters, and one of them was precisely the Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky.

Cheon Woo-jin put away the Crescent Moon Staff while recalling the memories of his masters. Because that appearance looked like a transcendent attitude of accepting death, a faint smile formed at the corner of the Poison King’s mouth.

But having put away the Crescent Moon Staff, Cheon Woo-jin took out a fan from his chest and held it. It was the Crane Feather Fan, the exclusive weapon of White Elder.

– Woo-jin, if you happen to face the flower rain of the Tang Clan, never confront it head-on. Just let the wind flow.

– This time the Baek bastard is right. A rare sight indeed.

A subtle smile formed at the corners of Cheon Woo-jin’s mouth. Even in a situation where hundreds of streams of hidden weapons hung like the shadow of death, whenever he recalled his masters, a smile naturally arose.

Soon the Crane Feather Fan waved. The wind gathered at the tip of the fan moved forward. It was such a sluggish and gentle movement that it seemed ready to be torn to shreds at any moment before the iron rain falling fiercely.

“No!”

Someone’s exclamation was soon buried in the sound of the fierce downpour.

Clatter-clatter-clatter!

Like thick raindrops beating against a roof in the rainy season, hundreds of streams of hidden weapons slammed into the ground. Cheon Woo-jin’s figure vanished within those streams of rain.

Dok-ra-su and Zhuge Rin, who had been rushing forward, stopped powerlessly.

Cheol Ji-ak, who had been enduring purely by mental strength out of the sense of duty that he must save his subordinate, collapsed entirely.

No matter how great Cheon Woo-jin was, he could not survive a secret art directly executed by the Poison King.

A terribly heavy silence settled over the area.

Having executed the Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky perfectly, the Poison King also stepped down to the ground. Even for the Poison King, executing the Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky consecutively was impossible. This was because it was a secret art that consumed internal power bizarrely much.

Everyone, including the Poison King, looked toward the place where Cheon Woo-jin had been standing. Due to the thick dust, nothing could be seen.

It was at that moment.

The dust swirled and gathered into a single point.

Seeing this, the Poison King’s eyes widened glaringly.

Soon, a gust of wind surged toward the Poison King.

Greatly alarmed, the Poison King hurriedly raised his body-protecting astral qi to protect himself. But the gust of wind tore apart even his body-protecting astral qi, wounding his body.

The Poison King’s pupils trembled. Even Sword King Namgung Byeok, who had been called his lifelong nemesis, had never inflicted a wound on his body.

Moreover, this current gust of wind was roughly stimulating something deep within the Poison King’s memories.

But the astonishment did not end with that.

“Flower Rain of Sichuan.”

The Poison King’s eyes grew so large they seemed about to pop out. The wind where softness and toughness coexisted. And that moniker he did not like. Decisively, even the clear and elegant energy pressing down on his shoulders.

“S-Senior…?”

In an instant, the Poison King’s mind cleared. The gust of wind that he feared yet missed at the same time had swept away even the fog that had clouded the inside of the Poison King’s head.

Soon, the gust of wind that had swept through the area vanished in an instant. Then the appearance of the battlefield was starkly revealed.

Cheon Woo-jin was still standing in that exact spot. Hundreds of hidden weapons were embedded in the ground, but surprisingly, only the hidden weapons beneath his feet were lying flat.

Just as Master White Elder said, he merely carried the wind to touch the flower rain. Without bothering to push or knock them away, he gently laid the hidden weapons down.

Hidden weapons pouring in a straight line were weapons that pierced human flesh, but hidden weapons falling while lying horizontal to the ground were no different from iron chopsticks.

However, rather than the fact that his secret art, the Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky, had been broken, who the young Martial Alliance member standing in front of him was mattered far more to the Poison King.

Looking at Cheon Woo-jin with trembling eyes, the Poison King spoke.

“…Could it be that you have returned to youth?”

At that moment, everyone realized.

It was because the fact that Cheon Woo-jin’s master was the White Flower Sword Immortal had already become known at the sparring tournament.

Cheon Woo-jin approached the Poison King wordlessly. The Poison King looked at such a Cheon Woo-jin and the Crane Feather Fan with a tense face. For both of them, fighting spirit and killing intent had disappeared.

Soon, the two stood facing each other within arm’s reach.

Everyone opened their eyes wide at Cheon Woo-jin’s subsequent action.

Cheon Woo-jin clasped his hands in a fist salute while holding the Crane Feather Fan.

“I am Cheon Woo-jin, disciple of the White Flower Sword Immortal.”

“You are that person’s disciple?”

The Poison King’s pupils were clearer than ever.

As memories of White Elder buried deep within surfaced, his illness symptoms had alleviated, if only for a moment.

“Master told me to inform five venerable seniors of his passing, and one of them was precisely the Flower Rain of Sichuan.”

“…”

In an instant, deep sorrow flashed in the Poison King’s eyes.

But the lingering emotion was not long. How many deaths had been by his side until he was called the Poison King?

Composing his emotions, the Poison King spoke quietly.

“Was Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon also among those five?”

“Yes, he was the Sword Slower Than a Turtle.”

A faint smile formed at the corner of the Poison King’s mouth. Senior White Elder had constantly teased him like that, and the sight of that deficient fellow Bukli Cheon panting and swinging his sword through the night was still vivid before his eyes.

Although they were called the supreme beings of the martial world and garnered respect and fear, the Poison King missed those days when they were younger than now, fresh and oblivious to what would come next.

“Then what about the Namgung Patriarch?”

Cheon Woo-jin kept his mouth closed.

The Sword Slower Than a Turtle, Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon.

The Old Tree of Mount Song, Master Beop-jin.

The Flower Rain of Sichuan, Poison King Tang Myeong-hak.

There were two people he had not yet visited. Inferring from their monikers, the Sword King was not one of them.

Realizing that silence was soon denial, the Poison King smiled anew with satisfaction.

The Poison King took Cheon Woo-jin’s appearance into his eyes for a while. Perhaps he was projecting White Elder’s youth.

In that way, the Poison King’s gaze, which had been meeting Cheon Woo-jin’s eyes for a while amidst the silence, slowly sank down.

Soon he turned around. Behind him stood Tang Bi-cheon, his own son and the culprit behind this affair, wearing a bewildered face.