Chapter 33
The internal energy emitted outwards through a sword is called Sword Qi, and when that Sword Qi is gathered and materialized, it is called Sword Aura.
If even emitting Sword Qi is not easy, then what about the realm of Aura?
Many Martial Artists challenge themselves to reach the realm of Aura, but even among the world's renowned geniuses, only a very few can attain it after long and arduous training.
Yet...
*How can such a young punk freely use Aura?*
Even if Aura manifested in his Saber, it would be surprising enough. But the guy in front of him went a step further...
Chwa-chwa-chwa—!!
Cloaking his entire body in Aura like a shield, he was charging at him, a Poison Master who had reached a realm where no one dared approach.
Of course, Aura wasn't invincible.
The more it continuously came into contact with his Poison Energy, the more he could see the Aura surrounding the guy's body melting and eroding.
Whoosh—!
After blocking the guy's attack once with a Palm strike filled with Poison Energy, Dang Yeonmyeong retreated.
Then he asked.
“Why?”
“Hmm?”
“...Why is a guy like you helping that girl? Is it for money?”
Dang Yeonmyeong's voice was solemn as he spoke, but there was something different from before.
That was...
“If it's for money, the Tang Family can pay you as much as you want.”
...a hint of anxiety.
“A Master like you should know... that fighting me will bring more loss than gain.”
No matter the opponent's realm or the difference in skill level, fighting a Poison Master incurs many losses.
Nor does actually fighting benefit the Poison Master.
A Poison Master's Innate True Qi is made of poison. If a Poison Master unleashes all their poison and fights with full power, their Innate True Qi will suffer damage.
In other words, fighting a Poison Master with full power means both sides will suffer great harm.
Dang Yeonmyeong was here to obtain information for the Tang Family currently.
As the Tang Family's greatest power, he would gain no benefit from needlessly expending energy here.
That's why he tried to persuade the guy with words, but...
“Scared, are we?”
“...”
“Well, since you're a guy who can only fart poison, your legs must be trembling at the sight of someone like me.”
On the contrary, the guy provoked Dang Yeonmyeong, leading him to truly engage in battle.
“If you're scared, turn off your Poison Arts and close your eyes tight. I'll just cut your throat right away.”
“Arrogant bastard.”
What could be the identity of this young Master who suddenly appeared?
Judging by his tone, his disregard for Dang Yeonmyeong, a senior figure of the Tang Family, and that flashy and sinister Saber Art, he was not a Martial Artist of the Righteous Faction.
*Then the Demonic Cult?*
No, for him to be from the Demonic Cult, that ominous demonic energy should have been flowing from his body.
Then he must be a guy from the Unorthodox Faction...
There are countless Masters in the world. Though the faction was minor, there was no guarantee that there wasn't a hidden Master among the Unorthodox Faction.
Well... in this situation, it didn't matter if the guy was Righteous, Unorthodox, or Demonic. What mattered was that the guy dared to insult him, the Grand Elder of the Tang Family.
If he endured this, it would not only damage his pride but also lead to the Tang Family's honor being tarnished.
Therefore, he decided not to hold back.
Hiss-hiss-hiss-hiss—.
From the deepest core of his body... the poisons that had been dormant for the longest time slowly began to emerge.
Unleashing his poisons properly was something Dang Yeonmyeong hadn't done in a very long time.
“Haa... I didn't intend to go this far.”
“You're talking just like a protagonist from one of those “hidden power” novels.”
“...Are all young punks like this these days? I can't understand what they're saying, and they have no manners.”
Dang Yeonmyeong said, raising his hand, which had already turned black.
“Even if this old body has to be sacrificed, I must instill some manners into you.”
From the moment he said that, he raised the power of his Secret Art, the Yongyeon Poison Scripture, to its maximum.
The way to catch a Poison Frog without any trouble is to kill it in one go before it bites me.
So I concentrated Aura into my Saber, intending to cut him down in one strike.
But...
Boil—.
That Poison Frog, before biting me, chose to fill its surroundings with poison.
Even at this moment, the Poison Energy filling the space made even my breathing uncomfortable. Poison continuously erupted as if the guy was furious, and despite cloaking my body in Aura, I felt a stinging pain.
I need to end this quickly.
At this point, unless I get serious, I won't be able to get out unscathed.
I had no intention of sacrificing an eye like the original protagonist.
Vwoom—.
I drew upon my Internal Energy, which until now I had neglected somewhere. Seeing its master suddenly call upon it, I felt its energy surge like a mad dog.
It was truly nostalgic and <F1>fucked up</F1>.
Since it's <F1>fucked up</F1>...
Whoosh—!
...<F1>I need to end this quickly.</F1>
“...No.”
When I suddenly moved faster than before, the guy was flustered but soon relaxed.
He must have thought that since the area behind him, where I moved, was already covered in Poison Energy, my movements would be restricted.
And that judgment was accurate.
Therefore, I swung my Saber towards the Poison Energy blocking my path.
Wind-Breaking Saber Art, Wind-Crushing Shatter.
Pa-pa-pa-pat—!!
With the Stance I unleashed, Saber Wind arose, and the Poison Energy blocking my path scattered like smoke.
Seeing this, Dang Yeonmyeong wore a flustered expression.
“H-how...!”
He had every reason to be flustered, because the Saber Art I just displayed was something he had never seen in his decades of life. ...because in this world, I'm the only one who knows this Saber Art.
After the Poison Membrane that protected him disappeared, what remained before me was Dang Yeonmyeong, wearing a flustered expression.
His skin was already deeply stained with Poison Energy, black and viscous. I wanted to cut him down immediately, but my right hand, which had just performed the Saber Art, was delayed, so I grabbed the guy's head with my left hand...
“...No!”
Thwack—!!
...and slammed it straight into the ground.
“...This crazy bastard is touching a Poison Master's skin directly!!”
The guy was right. Although I had Aura wrapped around me, when I directly touched him, the poison melted the Aura and penetrated my skin.
The heat felt like putting my hand in boiling water.
I briefly regretted doing such a foolish thing, but...
“...It hurts.”
“The moment you touched the poison, you...!”
“You hurt too, <F1>fucker</F1>.”
Thwack—!
Rather than regretting what I had already done, I decided to do what I could.
Thwaaack—!!
I continued to slam Dang Yeonmyeong's head, which was in my hand, into the ground repeatedly.
“Kuaaaaaaak—!!”
Dang Yeonmyeong screamed as if in pain. Well, it probably did hurt.
With a hand imbued with Aura continuously slamming it into the ground hard enough to make a hole, wouldn't he hurt himself even more than me?
“This <F1>son of a bitch</F1>—!!”
Unable to bear the pain any longer, the noble Grand Elder of the Sichuan Tang Family erupted curses from his mouth. At that moment, I felt a slight thrill at the fact that I had finally angered him...
Whoosh—!
He sent a Palm strike, blackened with Poison Energy, straight into my side.
“Ugh!”
Although my side was also cloaked in Aura, the attack melted my side a little, perhaps because it was an attack he launched with great effort. I felt the poison seep into the gouged wound.
When Dang Yeonmyeong saw that, his face relaxed slightly.
It's the delusion of those who use Poison Arts. From the moment they inject their poison into an opponent's body, they mistakenly believe they've won.
Not even knowing whose hands their head is in currently...
At that moment, my right hand, which had been momentarily recoiling, became free, and I grabbed Dang Yeonmyeong's arm, which had struck my side at close range...
Snap—!
“Kuaaaaaaak—!!”
...and tore it off.
Thud—!
Seeing a large amount of blood and poison flowing from the severed stump of his arm, I immediately slammed the guy's head, still in my left hand, back into the ground.
Thwack—!
Then, gripping my Saber again, I stabbed him where his Dantian was located.
Thrust—!
“Aaaaaaaak—!!”
“Oh, that must hurt. But, you <F1>fucker</F1>! I hurt toooo.”
My words right now are utterly sincere. It <F1>fucking</F1> hurts.
This <F1>fucker</F1>. Did he eat all the poisons there are? The wound that is seeping feels like it's burning, and my mind feels dizzy like crazy.
The Poison Frog's poison had already seeped into my body a while ago. Before that frog bastard could go even crazier, I had to kill him for good.
I'll end this.
So I added the Aura that protected my body to my Saber and strongly condensed it.
A Poison Master's body is tough because it's strengthened, but this much should be enough to finish him.
Thinking so, I tried to bring my Saber down, but at that moment...
“Aaaaaaaaaaak—!!”
The screaming frog seemed to be doing something unusual, and then...
Whoooosh—!!
His body began to boil, completely losing its original flesh tone and turning even blacker. Furthermore, the Poison Energy erupting even more powerfully from his body obscured my vision.
...!!
Dark Poison Fills the Sky.
I'd seen this in a novel, the technique that blinded one of the original protagonist's eyes.
It was an Ultimate Technique, a mutual destruction type technique, that a Poison Master can only use when they reach their limit, and can only achieve by using most of their Innate True Qi.
Because this was difficult to block even with Aura, I closed my eyes and retreated using my Footwork. And only after securing a safe distance did I open my eyes.
When I opened my eyes, a Poison Membrane, reminiscent of a black sun, had formed around Dang Yeonmyeong.
“Ugh...”
Even for another Poison Master, this seemed overwhelming, as the Haomun Leader groaned just from the erupting Poison Energy. I was the same. A spiciness of a different dimension than before enveloped my body, and water flowed from every orifice of my body.
Seeing me like that, Dang Yeonmyeong laughed like a madman. A guy with one arm missing doing that made him seem even crazier.
“...Ahahahahaha—!! Why don't you come here?! Where did all that confident attitude from before go?!”
...Even so, this is a bit much...
...Arrogant bastard. I'll kill you... I'll melt your bones so no one can even find your corpse...!
As if truly enraged, Dang Yeonmyeong, speaking with bloodshot eyes, looked so much like a Demonic Cultist that one might wonder if he truly wasn't one.
His head was all smashed, and with one arm missing, he looked like a zombie.
Thump.
The moment he took a step, the Poison Membrane surrounding him followed, so I had no choice but to retreat.
So I said to him.
“...Don't you think that's a bit cowardly?”
“Cowardly...? Do you think there's such a thing as fairness in a fight?”
“That's not something the Righteous Faction should say.”
At my words, he just laughed heartily and replied.
“You ignorant fool. The Righteousness of the Righteous Faction can only be established by the victor. The reason our Tang Family could join the Five Great Families was also due to sheer power!”
Thump.
He took a step and continued speaking.
“How futile. It wasn't meant to be used so meaninglessly... I'll put in as much effort as you will regret and kill you. Don't think it's cowardly. In a life-or-death battle, what is cowardly?”
“I agree.”
At Dang Yeonmyeong's words, I nodded for the first time, because I completely agreed.
What's cowardly in a fight? Just winning is all that matters.
In fact, I am a Martial Artist of the Unorthodox Faction. For the Unorthodox Faction, being called cowardly is practically a medal of honor.
However...
“Even I sometimes want to have a fair fight.”
I raised my Saber towards Dang Yeonmyeong, who was still emitting fierce Poison Energy.
And then I operated my energy in a way that was no longer familiar.
“I didn't intend to bring this out...”
“...What nonsense are you spouting?”
“What do you mean, “what nonsense”?”
Then I felt my body and Saber ripple with blue energy. This, too, was a sensation I hadn't felt in a very long time.
“It's the sound of delivering the final blow to end this dogfight.”