Bloodbeard Child.
Among the poisons created by the Sichuan Tang Clan, it was the extreme poison known for taking effect most rapidly. Because of this, the Tang Clan used this poison with extreme caution, and masters who were not of direct lineage were strictly forbidden from even touching it.
“So this is the famous Bloodbeard Child.”
Bu Eunseol gazed at the transparent glass bottle in his hand. Inside swirled a red liquid, darker and more vibrant than blood itself—the supreme poison of the Tang Clan.
“Mmph, mmph!”
Beneath Bu Eunseol’s feet knelt a man, gagged and trembling.
His name was Tang Pung-ho. A master of the Fire Wind Hall located in the Outer Court, he was an expert well-versed in the art of secret poisoning.
“Who sent you?”
Bu Eunseol slowly uncorked the glass bottle he held.
“If I do not get the answer I want when I remove your gag… then this Bloodbeard Child will find its way down your throat.”
“Mmph, mmmph!”
Meeting Bu Eunseol’s cold, still eyes, Tang Pung-ho’s body convulsed in terror.
“Black Leopard. Remove the gag.”
“Yes, sir.”
The moment Black Leopard pulled the cloth from his mouth, Tang Pung-ho spilled everything.
“Tang Bi! It was the Second Young Master, Tang Bi!”
“As expected.”
Bu Eunseol nodded calmly, unsurprised. The Bloodbeard Child was an extreme poison unobtainable by anyone outside the direct lineage.
At that moment, Black Leopard asked, unable to comprehend the situation.
“Why on earth is the Second Master targeting you, Young Master?”
“Because Tang Gon isn’t here.”
Tang Gon had entered the Secret Cave yesterday and would not emerge for another four days. In other words, these four days were the optimal window for Tang Bi to kill Bu Eunseol and Black Leopard.
“Even so, to attempt an assassination inside the Tang Clan itself? If news of this got out, wouldn’t martial artists ridicule the Sichuan Tang Clan for lax security?”
Bu Eunseol shook his head at Black Leopard’s naivety.
“We are merely outsiders. Even if we die, there is no one to mourn us… and furthermore.”
Bu Eunseol smiled as he looked down at the terrified Tang Pung-ho.
“The dead tell no tales.”
Tang Pung-ho dared not meet Bu Eunseol’s gaze, keeping his head bowed low.
“Even if it is revealed that we were poisoned by the Tang Clan’s poison, the responsibility will fall on Tang Gon. We are his guests, and this is merely the Outer Court.”
Shiver.
At Bu Eunseol’s words and actions, which seemed to foresee everything, Tang Pung-ho trembled again.
“I… I…”
Tang Pung-ho looked up at Bu Eunseol with a shaking voice.
“May I… go?”
“Fine.”
Nodding, Bu Eunseol extended a finger and lightly released Tang Pung-ho’s sealed acupoints.
“Leave the Tang Clan immediately.”
“Pardon?”
“Return in one month. If I find you within the Tang Clan before then… I will personally sever your neck.”
After thinking deeply for a moment, Tang Pung-ho seemed to realize something and bowed to Bu Eunseol.
“I am truly grateful for your mercy.”
He sprang up and fled the guest room like the wind.
“You said that to save his life.”
Black Leopard, watching the scene, spoke with satisfaction.
“If you had let him go just like that, the Second Young Master… no, that cruel Tang Bi would have surely killed him to seal his lips.”
Black Leopard grinned.
“But in a month, everything will be over… so whoever becomes the successor, that man will be able to live.”
Bu Eunseol shook his head.
“You know one thing but not the second.”
“Pardon?”
“Killing that man is also what Tang Bi desires. Killing someone with the surname Tang within the Tang Clan is an act of challenging the Sichuan Tang Clan itself.”
“Even if it was in self-defense against someone who tried to poison us?”
“They would make up any excuse necessary.”
Pausing for a moment, Bu Eunseol continued.
“Above all, there is another reason I let him live.”
“What is that?”
“You will know soon enough.”
Bu Eunseol wore a bright smile unlike his usual self. Seeing that smile, Black Leopard felt a chill run down his spine. It was clear that Tang Bi would now either die at Bu Eunseol’s hands or wander the border of death.
***
The next day. Inner Court, office of the Water Cloud Pavilion.
Standing by the window and biting his lip tightly, Tang Bi finally shouted loudly at Tang Sa-woon, who was standing in attendance.
“Why is there still no news from the bastard who took the Bloodbeard Child and left at early evening! And why is that Bu fellow perfectly fine?”
Tang Sa-woon bowed his head.
“I do not know the reason either.”
If he had succeeded, Bu Eunseol would be dead. If he had failed, Tang Pung-ho would be dead. Or rather, he should be dead.
But Bu Eunseol was alive, and Tang Pung-ho had vanished. Tang Sa-woon could not comprehend this situation at all.
“Perhaps…”
Thinking deeply, Tang Sa-woon spoke cautiously.
“Could it be that Bu Eunseol noticed our intentions and sent Tang Pung-ho outside the main house?”
“Does that make any sense?”
“Bu Eunseol might have spared Tang Pung-ho and told him to come back in a month.”
Tang Bi shouted furiously.
“How could he possibly send out a master of the main house with all his limbs intact?”
“That is…”
Tang Sa-woon tried to speak but closed his mouth.
—Second Young Master. Because your personality is so tyrannical, he might have accepted that proposal. In a month, the successor will be decided, after all.
He could not bring himself to say those words.
“Call the Cave Master of Spirit Wind. And entrust him with disposing of that man again.”
“The Spiritual Wind Cave Master, you say?”
The Spiritual Wind Cave Master was one of the top experts under Tang Bi’s command, a powerhouse who had surpassed the Peak Realm. However, due to his age and strong pride, it seemed unlikely he would agree to assassinate a young man like Bu Eunseol.
“The Spiritual Wind Cave Master will likely not accept this task. He is over fifty years old and has immense pride…”
“Just tell him it is my order!”
Grinding his teeth, Tang Bi wore a cruel smile.
“No matter how high Bu Eunseol flies, he cannot escape the level of a Peak master. The Spiritual Wind Cave Master will be more than enough to handle him.”
Spiritual Wind Cave Master, Tang Sa-heon.
A master of the Tang Clan’s collateral lineage, aged fifty-three this year. He was an expert who had mastered the Ten Thousand Snake Poison Sword and Lightning Flash Fast Sword—considered the best among the collateral martial arts—to the level of Grand Perfection.
‘I really don’t feel like doing this.’
Clad in stealth gear and standing atop the roof of the Clear Rising Pavilion, he sighed inwardly.
Having reached the age of fifty and surpassed the Peak Realm, his pride was strong, and he was in a position to take on the role of a Hall Master in the Inner Court soon. To think he had to assassinate a young man barely past twenty?
‘Well, the Second Young Master is the one who will become the next Patriarch.’
He had already sworn loyalty to Tang Bi. He had no choice but to cut down anyone who hindered Tang Bi from becoming the Patriarch.
‘Let’s see.’
Descending carefully to the ground, he surveyed the area around the annex of the Clear Rising Pavilion.
‘A god-given opportunity.’
In the bedroom inside the annex, a man in gray martial attire sat neatly, circulating his internal energy.
No matter how great a master, one was defenseless during qi circulation. Because all mental focus was directed inward, reaction speed was slow no matter how guarded one was.
‘Is that child the only guard?’
Where a table stood, he saw Black Leopard squatting against the wall, reading a book. Since there were no other Outer Court warriors in the Clear Rising Pavilion besides maidservants, suppressing those two would end everything.
‘Hup.’
Taking a quiet deep breath, he began to secretly sprinkle Qi-Scattering Powder into the annex. His skill was so subtle and secretive that even a master with keen senses would not easily notice.
‘Now!’
Seeing the moonlight in the distant sky obscured, Tang Sa-heon was about to unleash his movement technique when—
“It’s really true.”
Black Leopard, who had been reading, sighed.
“Just as the Young Master said, they came again.”
‘Did that bastard detect my presence?’
Black Leopard looked only fourteen or fifteen years old. How could he detect the stealth of someone who had surpassed the Peak Realm?
“Black Leopard learned a lightness skill that includes stealth techniques. Because of that, he has become very sensitive to presence and the sound of breaking wind.”
As if answering his question, Bu Eunseol slowly rose from his seat.
“This time, it seems somewhat plausible.”
Bu Eunseol smirked as he looked into the darkness where Tang Sa-heon was hiding.
“Was there someone other than Tang Gon who used a sword in the Tang Clan?”
‘Detected.’
Tang Sa-heon had no choice but to boldly open the door to the annex and enter.
“Are you Bu Eunseol?”
As Tang Sa-heon raised his killing intent, Bu Eunseol nodded with a look of immense delight.
“Since this is a rare occasion, let us skip the words.”
“Skip?”
“Please do not disappoint me.”
Drawing his Dark Sword, an intense energy rose from Bu Eunseol’s body. It was an aura like Mount Tai, difficult even for Tang Sa-heon, who had entered the early stages of the Transcendent Realm, to handle.
‘His internal energy is considerable. Did he consume an elixir or something?’
“Why are you standing there in a daze?”
Before he knew it, Bu Eunseol had circled behind him, his Dark Sword slicing toward Tang Sa-heon’s neck.
‘Ugh!’
Screaming inwardly, Tang Sa-heon twisted his body rapidly to dodge the strike.
“Huff. Huff.”
He had dodged only a single strike, yet his forehead was covered in beads of sweat. He had avoided the sword by a hair’s breadth.
“Your body is quite fast.”
Bu Eunseol, holding his drawn sword, laughed, revealing white teeth.
“But I am a little disappointed.”
“Disappointed? Don’t give me that arrogant leisurely attitude!”
Enraged by Bu Eunseol’s attitude, Tang Sa-heon began to unleash his sword art with full power.
Lightning Flash Fast Sword.
The fastest sword technique among those passed down in the Tang Clan began to unfold endlessly from his fingertips, spewing cross-shaped afterimages.
“Hmm.”
But Bu Eunseol had already retreated to the left.
“Don’t run away!”
As Bu Eunseol repeatedly dodged the Lightning Flash Fast Sword with ease, Tang Sa-heon shouted in frustration.
“If you call yourself a man, face me head-on!”
At that, Bu Eunseol stopped abruptly, crossed his arms, and looked at Tang Sa-heon.
“Do you mean to say you can win if I face you head-on?”
“It seems you cannot sense that my martial arts level has surpassed the Peak.”
“Peak?”
At Tang Sa-heon’s words, Bu Eunseol chuckled instead.
“Realms are merely boundaries to express the level of martial learning. The outcome of a life-and-death slaughter cannot be divided by martial realms.”
“All talk. Then try facing me head-on!”
“I refuse.”
“What?”
Bu Eunseol wore a faint smile.
“Your swordsmanship is so terrible that I feel no excitement.”
Tang Sa-heon was a master of the Tang Clan who had always been revered by the younger generation until now. But as Bu Eunseol mocked him consistently, he lost his reason and unleashed the Lightning Flash Fast Sword again.
“You brat!”
Tang Sa-heon’s Lightning Flash Fast Sword consisted of a staggering seventy-two stances. However, because every move contained the principle of lightning-fast speed, it did not take much time to unleash all seventy-two.
And in all the numerous fierce battles he had fought until now, Tang Sa-heon had never unleashed all seventy-two stances. The fight had always ended before he could finish the entire sequence.
‘This, this bastard!’
But now, Tang Sa-heon was repeating the seventy-two stances of the Lightning Flash Fast Sword twice in succession. The problem was that even so, he could not touch a single hem of Bu Eunseol’s clothes.
‘A naive gentleman.’
A smile flowed onto the lips of Bu Eunseol, who was executing the Shadowless Supreme Speed with his arms crossed.
In truth, knowing Tang Sa-heon was a considerable master, he had deliberately used provocation. And the man was losing his reason and getting excited like a child.
“Stop dodging like a rat and fight!”
His pride deeply wounded, Tang Sa-heon screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Did you practice running away like a rat instead of training your sword art?”
At that moment—
Whoosh.
Suddenly, Bu Eunseol’s face appeared abruptly in front of him as he was unfolding his sword technique.
“You will regret that.”
“Ugh.”
At the movement speed that was too fast, Tang Sa-heon let out a scream-like sound and tried to unleash his sword art again.
But Bu Eunseol’s fist was faster.
Thwack!
With the sound of a large leather sack bursting, Tang Sa-heon was struck in the solar plexus and slammed into the corner of the wall.
“Blargh.”
Clutching his stomach, Tang Sa-heon vomited blood. He had suffered severe internal injuries from Bu Eunseol’s casual punch.
“How… how can this happen…”
Being hit in the stomach during a fierce battle was something that happened only in fights between third-rate martial artists. Tang Sa-heon was a peerless master who had surpassed the Peak and was approaching the entry of the Transcendent Realm. Yet he had collapsed, clutching his stomach, from a single punch by Bu Eunseol.