Having made his calculations, Jin Cheonhee decided to meet Tang Ah’s passionate fervor head-on.

“I. Gladly. Accept. Your. Lesson.”

Considering Jin Cheonhee’s generation, he should have added a ‘^^’ emoticon at the end. But as he slowly clenched his fingers one by one, making a satisfying cracking sound, Tang Ah’s face lit up with joy.

Hmm. I guess this is the right response.

***

The Tang Clan’s training grounds.

The two of them took their positions in the center. Sama Hyeon and a few of the Tang Clan’s high-level masters had come to observe. Once the duel began in earnest, more spectators would surely gather. The more people watching, the better. That way, the Tang Clan’s head would know just how much effort Jin Cheonhee was putting into diagnosing Tang Ah.

No, but why am I expressing this with a sword? I…

A wave of disillusionment washed over him, but he decided to think of it as part of his duties as a physician of the martial world.

Tang Ah unwrapped the whip from her waist.

Crack!

“As this is a life-and-death duel, I shall use both whip and poison at once. Is that acceptable!”

“By. All. Means.”

Was this the right vibe? He was unsure. In any case, as he enunciated each syllable with force, Tang Ah looked even more pleased than before. A few of the elders hugged their arms and curled up like shrimp. Jin Cheonhee did his best to ignore the bizarre groans that were escaping their lips.

“Hmph… Then, here I come!”

It was Tang Ah who moved first.

The whip. As a weapon, the whip itself was much more difficult to master than a sword or a spear. It was a weapon that moved with centrifugal force and inertia. In the martial world, where they began to control it like a snake using the energy called Qi, it could be considered even more esoteric.

And on top of that was the Sichuan Tang Clan’s secret martial art, the Three Yang Heart Guiding-Reversal Poison Art[1]! It was the poison art of all poison arts, one that cultivated internal energy by consuming poison. Upon reaching the Transformation Realm, it could even convert poison power into internal energy, displaying a might far fiercer than that of a typical martial artist.

To put it simply, having 1 unit of poison power has the same effect as having 3 units of internal energy.

In other words, if one accumulated a gapja of poison power, they could produce a force equivalent to three gapja! When considering only the pure power of the internal energy itself, the martial arts of the Tang Clan were difficult for anyone in the martial world to match. The only problem was that it came with a fatal side effect (personality change) and the drawback that raising one’s realm was extremely difficult (it’s hard to reach the Transformation Realm).

However, Tang Ah was the greatest genius in the history of the Tang Clan! She had surpassed all of this at a young age.

Of course… every martial art has a way to be broken.

A blue light suffused Jin Cheonhee’s eyes. Tang Ah found those coldly shining eyes to be extremely irritating, but she continued her attack. Jin Cheonhee evaded her attacks and calmly made his calculations.

The principle of the Three Yang Heart Guiding-Reversal Poison Art is to detonate poison power into internal energy on the fly, so it’s impossible to maintain three times the power for a long period.

Let’s understand this in Earth terms. The Tang Clan’s martial art was like a car engine. The poison power continuously causes explosions internally, and the immense pressure created from that pushes up the cylinder—that is, the internal energy. That was how it could produce three times the power. After detonating the poison power like this, it couldn’t be used for at least a day. But other than that, there were no side effects. That was why the Tang Clan could pride itself on it being an Orthodox Faction martial art. If it left permanent, unrecoverable wounds, it would be no different from a demonic or evil art.

And that’s not all. Because it’s a poison art, the poison itself can be said to be powerful. One who has reached the Transformation Realm with the Three Yang Heart Guiding-Reversal Poison Art is capable of using Formless Poison.

Colorless, odorless, tasteless. It could poison an opponent without them ever realizing it. However, it wasn’t on the level of the legendary Formless Poison, where poisoning meant certain death. A state of being immune to a hundred poisons should allow one to resist up to half of the Formless Poison’s effects. He knew this setting from reading the novel, and the detailed information was also part of the data his master had independently collected at the White Dragon Medical Pavilion.

Kwagagagwang!

Jin Cheonhee dodged Tang Ah’s whip by a paper-thin margin. He could feel the aura of the Formless Poison just by breathing, but his Five Elements Mutual Conquest moved, purifying the toxin. The current Jin Cheonhee could resist the Formless Poison of the Three Yang Heart Guiding-Reversal Poison Art.

But what would happen if she used the ultimate poisons created by the Tang Clan, not just the poison power from within her body?

Can I neutralize the Tang Clan’s secret ultimate poisons?

As if talking about someone else’s problem, Jin Cheonhee calmly evaded Tang Ah’s first move.

Tang Ah said, “To evade the Dragon Scale Whip[2], a divine weapon said to be woven from the scales of a dragon, you are quite something! This thing itself is hard enough to withstand Sword Aura!”

Seeing Tang Ah kindly explain her own divine weapon… this middle-aged man was grateful.

‘Thank you for spilling all the info, Tang Ah.’ This was all thanks to him summoning the sensibilities of that bygone era from his heart.

“Truly magnificent! Is this a divine weapon of darkness!”

At Jin Cheonhee’s response… an elder suddenly vomited blood and collapsed. “Keok! I’ve just remembered the words I spouted when I first entered the martial world!”

“Elder Tang Ho is coughing up blood! Elder!”

Jin Cheonhee purposefully averted his gaze. Tang Ah had no interest in the surrounding audience to begin with.

“Hah! Its characteristic is that when infused with internal qi, it becomes hard enough to completely ignore Sword Aura! Can you truly overcome this divine weapon!”

“A divine weapon of darkness! Truly fearsome!”

“Roar! O, Black Dragonnnnnn–!!”

Along with Tang Ah’s command, this time, three elders collapsed.

“Keo-heook! I’ve just remembered my first Dragon and Phoenix Gathering!”

“The memories of my youth that I tried so hard to seal awayyyy!”

“Someone please kill the me from back then! Right now! Hurry!”

Kugagagagagwang!

Masking the screams of the elders, the whip cut through the training grounds and flew towards him.

‘I had a feeling, but just as I thought, the settings for the Dragon Scale Whip from Supreme Heavenly Demon are the same. My Sword Qi won’t do a thing against that, I probably can’t even scratch it.’

Thanks for the info dump, Tang Ah.

Professor Jin rolled to evade the whip that stormed down like a tempest. Divine weapons, by their nature, could block most Sword Qi. Among them, high-tier weapons were on a level that could withstand ‘some’ Sword Aura, and the highest-grade weapons had the durability to completely ‘ignore’ Sword Aura. Thankfully, the Dragon Scale Whip wasn’t of the highest grade, but it was a high-tier divine weapon. And when infused with internal qi, it was possible to block Sword Aura with just Sword Qi. And the one wielding it was a Transformation Realm master who could use Sword Aura.

‘The clan head really cherishes Tang Ah. My Ice Clarity Sword is a divine weapon, but among divine weapons, it’s just average…’

Tang Ah wildly swung her whip at Jin Cheonhee and shouted, “And the martial art I will use is the Three Yang Heart Guiding-Reversal Poison Art and the Tang Clan Poison Dragon Whip[3]! But rest assured, I will not use the Tang Clan’s poisons on my whip! Now, draw your Cold Ice Sword!”

‘In that… case, I just have to deal with the Formless Poison created by Tang Ah’s poison arts.’

Thank you, Tang Ah. This professor is moved to tears by your kindness. Every time you swing that whip, my bones rattle. Really.

Contrary to his passionate expression, inside Jin Cheonhee’s mind was the world-weary heart of an adult. But he couldn’t let his expression falter.

Sereureung.

Only then did Jin Cheonhee draw his Ice Clarity Sword. And then, he responded to Tang Ah’s words. “This is the Ice Clarity Sword. And the martial arts I will use are the Profound Origin Heaven and Earth Divine Technique and the Taiji Immortal-Destruction Sword. Can the Tang Clan of darkness… possibly… stop me!? Hmph!”

“Kuaaaack!”

At Jin Cheonhee’s words, the clan head suddenly vomited blood. The darkness he had tried so hard to forget must have been writhing within him. Of course, that was none of Jin Cheonhee’s business. Judging by the way he was banging his head against the wall and floor over his cringey past, he seemed very healthy, so there was no need to worry about qi deviation.

And so, the life-and-death duel where the spectators suffered more internal damage than the combatants began in earnest.

***

Tang Ah’s whip was strong and powerful. It was to the point where it seemed like a living creature with its own ego. It was as if the oral tradition that it was made from a dragon’s scales was true; it looked less like a whip and more like a dragon. The whip flew forward in a vertical thrust.

‘If I evade here, it will curve around and snatch my neck.’

In the past, there were almost no members of the younger generation who could withstand Tang Ah’s first move. Even Namgoong Woon would probably have to concede a step to her.

‘But… I have to dodge. If I take it head-on, my spine will snap in two.’

Jin Cheonhee calmly evaded the attack.

Whirik!

As expected, the whip changed its course, following his evasion path.

Jin Cheonhee style transformation. Three Elements Heavenly Qi Foresight Steps—!

At a glance, it was a form like the Three Elements Footwork, but the position it took was closer to the Foresight Step. As he took an advantageous position against the whip that had changed its course, the whip once again altered its pattern and flew towards his spine. He dodged it again with great speed.

Chajajajak!

The whip lashed out as if grinding the empty air. A wave of the whip!

‘Wow, Tang Ah. You’re really trying to kill me, aren’t you! For real!’

At the Namgoong estate, he had nearly died from provoking someone, but here, he was about to die from playing along with Tang Ah’s condition. Her words about a life-and-death duel were sincere.

Amidst that wave of the whip, Jin Cheonhee twisted his body. The Ice Clarity Sword traced a silver ripple, following his steps. Like a paper boat riding a mountain stream, he never sank, evading, evading, and evading. The blind spots he couldn’t evade, the Ice Clarity Sword met like an oar.

Chaaaang!

His wrist throbbed. It meant that even with his current strength and external fortitude, this was no easy opponent.

‘Is this really… the genius of the Tang Clan?’

But the paper boat never stopped, continuing to move forward. If it stopped, it would sink, and that meant death.

“Not bad! Is the Profound Origin Heaven and Earth Divine Technique figuring out all my movements!?”

The fact that she realized it immediately was so like Tang Ah, and the fact that she had to say it out loud was also so like Tang Ah.

“Hoh, I didn’t know you could grasp such irregular movements to this extent.”

She retracted her whip once and prepared her second move. “If so, can you evade my next attack!”

Tang Clan secret ultimate technique. Tang Ah style application.

Poison Dragon Wave Dance[4]–!

True to its name, which meant a poison dragon dancing like a wave, the whip created dozens of afterimages and began to destroy everything in its surroundings.

Kwagagagagagagwang!

‘No… she’s using the whip not as a line, but as a surface?’

Like a shotgun, the whip flew out and began to smash everything around it.

‘If even one hits me, it’s a broken bone at minimum, and a ruptured organ. Aaargh!’

Had the star of the Tang Clan ever shone so brightly? Jin Cheonhee began to dodge with the resolve to die.