Chapter 9

Chapter 9.

 

Dang Myeong used his lightness skill with all his might. And right now, his internal energy was changing from the Manryu Return-to-Origin Divine Art into the Three Yang Divine Art.

The Manryu Return-to-Origin Divine Art, the representative martial art of the Tang Clan, was founded on stability. The experts of the Tang Clan consumed many kinds of medicines and poisons.

That was why they based themselves on the Manryu Return-to-Origin Divine Art, which could absorb or suppress any medicine or poison, regardless of its nature.

The Three Yang Divine Art was also based on the Manryu Return-to-Origin Divine Art, so its overall structure was similar, and the change in his internal energy occurred naturally.

However, if his internal energy until now had been like water, embracing everything as something without a fixed attribute, it was now changing into the three energies of the Three Yang: Greater Yang, Yang Brightness, and Lesser Yang.

Lesser Yang controlled energy, Yang Brightness absorbed energy, and Greater Yang released energy. That was the nature of the Three Yang.

The energy of Lesser Yang regulated the energy of the Manryu Return-to-Origin Divine Art and the energy of the Three Yang, while the energy of Yang Brightness absorbed that energy into his dantian.

The energy of Greater Yang circulated the energy in his dantian to his feet and throughout his body, adding power to Dang Myeong’s lightness skill and body-lightening movement.

‘The Three Yang Divine Art is profound.’

Amazed that his movement technique had become twice as fast as when he used the Manryu Return-to-Origin Divine Art, Dang Myeong shot forward with even greater force.

Screech!

The poison hawk cried out again at Dang Myeong.

It was as though it were asking why he was leaving it behind, as though it could not understand that it was trying to reach its master.

Glance!

Dang Myeong raised his head and looked at the sky. Seeing the poison hawk already hovering above him, he smiled bitterly.

‘The poison hawk will be in danger if this continues.’

If the poison hawk kept flying like that, the Demonic Cultists might attack it with arrows.

So Dang Myeong quickly took out the sachet and waved it several times.

As the scent of the sachet grew stronger, the poison hawk dove straight down.

Screech!

Seeing the poison hawk cry out loudly, unaware of Dang Myeong’s thoughts, he let out a sigh.

But there was no helping it. Protected by the Sichuan Tang Clan, the poison hawk had reigned as the lord of the skies. When would it ever have needed to hide itself?

Screech!

As the poison hawk cried and fluttered down onto his shoulder, Dang Myeong quickly took the message out of the tube, placed inside the message he had written while running, and released it.

“Go!”

At Dang Myeong’s urgent shout, the poison hawk looked down at him once, then quickly soared into the sky.

SWOOSH!

At the same time Dang Myeong hurriedly dashed forward, hidden weapons flew toward the spot where he and the poison hawk had been and embedded themselves there.

THWIP-THWIP-THWIP! WHOOSH!

Fortunately, the poison hawk had already soared high into the sky and avoided the hidden weapons, and Dang Myeong was able to dodge them as well.

“He is over there!”

“Catch him!”

Hearing the Demonic Cult experts give chase, Dang Myeong hurriedly swept his hand through the air.

WHOOSH!

As poison powder burst from his hand and scattered in every direction, Dang Myeong opened the message while running.

「Set traps around the Tang Clan. Do not take the risk of trying to enter the main house.」

Dang Myeong smiled at the words written in the message. The main house had reached the same conclusion he had.

As Dang Myeong ran with a smile, screams reached his ears.

“It is poison!”

“Urgh!”

“Take the antidote and keep chasing him.”

Hearing the screams behind him, Dang Myeong checked the poison vials in his robes.

‘Sneezing Poison.’

Sneezing Poison was not a deadly poison. It was merely a poison that affected the nose and induced light sneezing.

It did not require any particular antidote. One only needed to rinse the nose with water, and it could be prevented simply by covering the face with cloth.

But in a situation like this, it was effective.

WHOOSH!

After scattering Sneezing Poison, Dang Myeong hurried onward again.

And then….

“Achoo!”

“This is… urgh! Achoo!”

“Achoo!”

Sneezes began sounding behind him.

At that, Dang Myeong started running faster.

The fact that they had begun sneezing was enough. A sneeze might not seem like much, but it made the muscles throughout the body twitch all at once.

Moreover, martial artists circulated their internal energy through their breathing. If they sneezed, the flow of their energy circulation would be disturbed, which interfered with their lightness skill.

SWOOSH!

Feeling the presence of the martial artists chasing him grow more distant, Dang Myeong prepared another poison in his hand.

“You are quite skilled.”

At the sudden voice, Dang Myeong hurriedly moved his hand.

SHHK-SHHK-SHHK!

The silver thread released from Dang Myeong’s wrist swept through the place the voice had come from.

SHHK-SHHK!

The silver thread swept through the surroundings, cutting through branches and grass.

“Oh! The Tang Clan’s hidden-weapon craftsmanship truly is remarkable.”

At the voice that sounded again, Dang Myeong’s expression hardened.

‘He is an expert. And… he is above the Unit Commander of the Black Wind Unit.’

Just as Dang Myeong tried to launch himself away in a hurry, laughter rang out.

“Boy, if you move, you die.”

Flinch!

Dang Myeong bit his lip and looked toward the place the voice had come from.

“The Young Lord of the Tang Clan greets a respected senior.”

“A respected senior… Seeing that you did not call me a demon, I suppose you were taught your manners well.”

Slide.

The old man who revealed himself had white hair and a white beard, both grown out in an elegant, almost immortal-like manner.

“I am Dang Myeong.”

At Dang Myeong’s words, the old man smiled.

“Dang Myeong… Then you must be the Silver Dragon Heavenly River of the Two Bright Stars of Sichuan?”

“People have merely looked upon me favorably.”

“There is no false fame in the martial world.”

Then the old man looked at Dang Myeong’s wrist.

“Is that the famous Silver Dragon of the martial world?”

“That is correct.”

“It will make a fine gift to our cult.”

Looking at the old man, who already seemed to consider it his own, Dang Myeong smiled and said,

“You seem to be a person of great renown in the Myeong Cult… Please grant this junior the honor of knowing your esteemed name.”

At Dang Myeong’s words, the old man laughed as though pleased.

“Hahaha! There is a reason the Tang Clan’s reputation is so high. To think you know how to treat an elder with respect.”

Then the old man stroked his beard and said,

“I am the Right Envoy of Light of the Myeong Cult.”

“The Right Envoy of Light….”

When Dang Myeong looked surprised, the Right Envoy of Light smiled.

“Do you know of the Right Envoy of Light?”

“Are you not ranked fourth in the Myeong Cult?”

“Fourth?”

The Right Envoy of Light frowned.

“Who said I was fourth? I am third!”

“Pardon?”

“Hmph! The Right Envoy of Light is third! The Left Envoy of Light is fourth!”

At the Right Envoy of Light’s words, Dang Myeong performed a cupped-fist salute and lowered his head.

“I was ignorant because my information on the Myeong Cult was lacking.”

“Tsk!”

Clicking his tongue softly, the Right Envoy of Light looked at Dang Myeong.

“If I followed my heart, I would let you go so you could spread this information through the martial world… but an order has been given to exterminate the Tang Clan, so I cannot. In consideration of your courtesy toward an elder, I will make it as painless as possible.”

With those words, the Right Envoy of Light was about to raise his hand, but Dang Myeong hurriedly performed a cupped-fist salute and lowered his head.

“Before this junior leaves, there is something I would like to hear from the Right Envoy of Light.”

“……Usually, when something like this happens, trouble follows later… But I suppose it does not matter. What is it?”

“Why the main house?”

“Is that what you are curious about?”

“Yes.”

The Right Envoy of Light lowered his hand and clasped both hands behind his back.

“When our cult enters the martial world, there are two places that will be the most troublesome. What do you think they are?”

“Is one of them the main house?”

“That is right. The poison and hidden weapons of the Tang Clan experts are extremely bothersome. On top of that, the Tang Clan members are skilled in medicine, so they can recover experts who suffer fatal wounds on the battlefield. In that sense, the Tang Clan is two or three times more troublesome than the likes of Wudang or Shaolin.”

“Then… where is the other one?”

“The other is the Jegal Clan.”

“The Jegal Clan?”

“Whenever our cult and the Central Plains fight, is it not always the Jegal Clan that serves as the brain?”

“Then is the Jegal Clan also under attack right now?”

“You certainly have many questions.”

Smiling, the Right Envoy of Light stared steadily at Dang Myeong, then nodded.

“That is right.”

The Right Envoy of Light smiled as he looked at Dang Myeong.

“Now, then….”

The Right Envoy of Light drove his hand into the ground.

BOOM! CRACK!

A silver thread was dragged out in the Right Envoy of Light’s hand.

RUMBLE!

Looking at the silver thread rising from the ground, the Right Envoy of Light laughed.

“Was this your final move?”

Dang Myeong’s face hardened at the Right Envoy of Light’s words. While speaking with the Right Envoy of Light, he had quietly released his silver thread, pierced it into the ground, and spread it beneath him.

He had spoken to him very discreetly while setting a trap….

“Heh, heh, heh! What an impudent thing to do.”

Killing intent appeared in the Right Envoy of Light’s eyes.

Tap!

In that instant, the silver thread detached from Dang Myeong’s bracelet. Then the silver thread melted away as it was.

HSSSS!

“Urgh!”

The Right Envoy of Light groaned.

As the silver thread melted, it turned into deadly poison.

SWOOSH!

Dang Myeong stretched out his hand with all his might.

CLATTER! CLATTER!

The cords threaded through the hidden weapons on Dang Myeong’s body came loose and lashed toward the Right Envoy of Light.

SLASH! SLASH!

As the cords unfurled, the hidden weapons all poured toward the Right Envoy of Light at once.

Seeing that, the Right Envoy of Light stomped hard on the ground.

BOOM! WHOOSH!

The ground exploded, sending dirt and sand surging into the air.

THWIP-THWIP-THWIP! CLANG-CLANG!

The hidden weapons dug into the dirt and sand, then bounced away.

SWOOSH!

Dang Myeong did not wait to see the result and kicked off the ground.

He had launched the best attack he was capable of… but he did not think it would work.

SWOOSH!

Kicking off the ground, Dang Myeong hurriedly fled the area.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

As he ran, Dang Myeong deployed every poison he had.

There was no reason to hold any poison back. If he could not escape this place, he would die.

“I told you that if you moved, you would die!”

In that instant, the ground surged upward and split apart, and the Right Envoy of Light rushed out.

Closing the distance in an instant, the Right Envoy of Light seized Dang Myeong by the throat.

Tap! CRACK!

“Urgh!”

As Dang Myeong groaned, the Right Envoy of Light smiled.

“Farewell.”

Then Dang Myeong’s vision began to blur.

And so, Dang Myeong met his third death.

***

“Young Lord, why are you standing there in a daze?”

When Dang Hong lightly touched his shoulder, Dang Myeong turned to look at him. Then he stroked his own neck with his hand.

The pain of the neck that had just been broken by the Right Envoy of Light still seemed vividly clear.

“What is wrong? Does your neck hurt?”

At Dang Hong’s smiling question, Dang Myeong stroked his neck for a moment, then sighed and kicked off the ground.

“Huh? Where are you going?”

Startled by Dang Myeong suddenly using lightness skill, Dang Hong hurriedly followed after him.

Dang Myeong arrived at the Octagonal Pavilion in an instant and looked at Dang Cheondeuk, who was staring at him with puzzled eyes.

Under that gaze, Dang Myeong steadied his breathing and released his internal energy as it was.

WHOOSH!

At the sight of Dang Myeong suddenly releasing his internal energy, surprise appeared on Dang Cheondeuk’s face, and the Unit Commander of the Secret Shadow Unit appeared before anyone knew it, hidden weapons already held in both hands.

“You… Young Lord, what are you doing?”

Dang Hong, who entered after him, shouted in surprise. Dang Myeong looked at Dang Cheondeuk.

“It is the Three Yang Divine Art.”

At Dang Myeong’s words, Dang Cheondeuk looked at him with doubtful eyes, then asked,

“Where did you learn it?”

“You taught it to me, Father.”

“From me?”

“Everything I am about to say is the truth… and the aura coming from my body is the proof.”

Then Dang Myeong looked at the Unit Commander of the Secret Shadow Unit.

“Before that, please give an order to the Unit Commander of the Secret Shadow Unit.”

“An order? What order?”

“Demonic Cult experts are hiding around the main house.”

Clatter!

Startled, Dang Cheondeuk sprang up from his seat.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Please give the order to the Unit Commander of the Secret Shadow Unit first.”

Dang Cheondeuk looked at the Unit Commander of the Secret Shadow Unit.

“Were there any suspicious individuals around the main house?”

“None have been confirmed.”

“Search the area. Assume there are Demonic Cult experts.”

“As you command.”

Just as the Unit Commander of the Secret Shadow Unit was about to lower his head, Dang Myeong hurriedly said,

“Please conduct the search as if approximately four hours have already passed .”

“After four hours? What do you mean?” 

“If the Secret Shadow Unit searches the surroundings, there must be procedures based on the search range.”

“…….”

Seeing the Unit Commander of the Secret Shadow Unit stare as though he did not understand, Dang Myeong said,

“Assume that after starting the search, you failed to find any Demonic Cult experts for four hours, and move on to the search range after that point.” 

“What does that…?”

The Unit Commander of the Secret Shadow Unit looked at him with questioning eyes. But to Dang Myeong, it was only natural.

Even after searching the surroundings for more than four hours, the Secret Shadow Unit had failed to find the Demonic Cultists. 

Then they had to set the search as if four hours had already passed and search the surrounding area from there.