Chapter 140:


    Body (1)


    Apart from discovering the name of the Head of Unhyangwon, Tang-gak and Tang Pae-jin continued to interrogate the Inner Hall Elder.


    They were curious why an elder who had dedicated his entire life to the n had betrayed it.


    However, all they received was emptiness and anger.


    Surprisingly, Inner Hall Elder Tang Min sincerely believed that this incident was for the benefit of the Sichuan Tang n.


    Yet, there was a deeper motive behind it. ording to the interrogation results, Tang Min had been associated with the Head of Unhyangwon since his youth.


    Throughout that association, he had steadily received bribes under the guise of gifts and had been influenced by such stories.


    “How can it be that a n filled with outstanding individuals like Brother Tang is divided into three parts by Emei, Qingcheng, and Sichuan?”


    Gradually, through continuous bribes and ttery, Tang Min began to be swayed by the Head of Unhyangwon.Well, in all that time, they had never asked for anything in return.


    Even Tang Min’s wife was a woman introduced by the Head of Unhyangwon, and naturally, Tang Hyeok-soo, who inherited the values of both parents, also became a traitor.


    “I will kill that woman immediately.”


    Tang-gak, whose eyes had turned red with anger, tried to kill Tang Min’s wife immediately, but Mu-jin quickly stopped him.


    “Right now, we should not touch his wife but rather capture the Head of Unhyangwon first.”


    “Hmph. I will first clean up the n, then deploy our martial artists to prevent even a single ant from escaping Unhyangwon.”


    Mu-jin shook his head at Tang-gak’s words.


    “You’ve got the order wrong. These are people who even moved Emei and Qingcheng. If we dy even a little, they will use Emei and Qingcheng to pressure the Tang n in return.”


    At Mu-jin’s words, Tang-gak and Tang Pae-jin nodded in agreement.


    “Then, it would be better to move quickly with a small number of people to prevent any information leaks.”


    “Father, are you nning to move personally?”


    “A n head must protect the n. Therefore, an old man like me should handle such matters. Hehe.”


    “Understood. Once you leave, I will capture the Inner Hall Elder’s wife for interrogation and strengthen internal surveince. There may be those who attempt to transmit information.”


    Perhaps because they had experienced the horror of an elder being a spy.


    In that brief time, Tang Pae-jin devised a n to use the current situation to flush out all the spies.


    As the two men quickly finalized their ns and were about to move, Mu-jin intervened.


    “Elder Dark King, may I join you?”


    Approaching the core of the shadowy forces. Naturally, Mu-jin wanted to be on the scene.


    After all, they hade this far thanks to Mu-jin, so it seemed likely he could join, but he asked just in case.


    Since it involved the Tang n’s spies, he worried that Tang-gak might want to move alone.


    “Hehe. You dragged the situation this far, and now you’re asking to be left out?”


    However, his concern was unnecessary. Tang-gak dly epted Mu-jin’s request.


    * * *


    Through a hidden passage in the Tang n, Tang-gak and Mu-jin sneaked out of the Tang Manor and headed towards Unhyangwon alone.


    ‘Incredibly fast, indeed.’


    Despite moving in secrecy, Tang-gak’s speed was remarkable, while Mu-jin’s Fast Ascent Step was not suited for stealthy movement at all.


    ‘I need to learn the Ghost Steps if Mu-gyeong can provide me with a tranted version.’


    With such thoughts in mind, Mu-jin soon saw a quaint manor on the outskirts of Chengdu.


    ‘What will that crazy old man do?’


    Watching the back of the Dark King who had arrived at the vicinity of Unhyangwon before him, Mu-jin soon made a startled face.


    The Dark King, Tang-gak, jumped onto the wall of Unhyangwon with no hesitation and waved his sleeve.


    “Ugh!”


    As if conversation was unnecessary, Tang-gakunched a preemptive strike.


    – Don’t kill everyone!!


    Mu-jin hurriedly jumped over the wall and sent a telepathic message, but he saw that all the people outside the manor were already lying on the ground.


    With one strike, he had inserted throwing needles into the heads of a dozen people.


    Small throwing needles called Wu Mo Needles.


    ‘Damn it. This time we need to avoid killing everyone.’


    In both Paedobang and Taeeulmun, everyone hadmitted suicide, leaving little information to be gathered.


    Although Paedobang and Taeeulmun had been mentioned in the novel, so it didn’t matter much, this ce was an unknown hideout of the shadowy forces, providing a chance to gather more information than seen in the novel.


    “Hehe. If they die from such methods, there won’t be any useful information to obtain.”


    But Tang-gak only muttered nonsensical words that could be advice or rebuke to Mu-jin.


    “Little rats. Do you think I would miss you hiding there!”


    Suddenly, Tang-gak leaped into the air, thrusting both hands into his sleeves.


    Simultaneously, a massive storm of qi swirled around his seemingly small frame.


    Tang-gak.


    Despite being the Grand Elder of the Sichuan Tang n, known for its poison, he was called the Dark King, not the Poison King.


    In the small manor called Unhyangwon, he disyed the signature technique that had earned him the title of Dark King.


    The pinnacle of Tang n’s hidden weapon techniques. The Rain of Blossoms.


    And from the hands of the only martial artist in the current Sichuan Tang n capable of perfectly executing this technique, a rain of flowers began to fill the sky.


    ‘It’s more like a meteor shower than flowers.’


    Mu-jin’s concise yet honest impression.


    Hundreds of light beams were emitted simultaneously.


    Of course, it was impossible to hold hundreds of small hidden weapons, Wu Mo Needles, in one hand.


    In that brief moment, Tang-gak threw various types of hidden weapons at a speed hard to follow with the naked eye, all of which simultaneously hit their targets as if performing a modern artillery TOT (Time on Target) strike.


    In that brief moment, he imbued hundreds of hidden weapons with energy and sent them off at precise speeds and directions, showcasing incredible skill.


    The result of this skill waspletely devastated pavilions.


    “Kekeke. So there were hidden rats with skills!”


    From the copsing debris of buildings, two figures emerged.


    One was a man transitioning from middle to old age with streaks of gray hair, and the other was a mysterious figure entirely d in ck.


    “So you are the Head of Unhyangwon! Kekeke.”


    Tang-gak spoke to the middle-aged man holding a sword imbued with a blue aura, possibly used to block Tang-gak’s Manchun Hwa-woo.


    “It seems the Dark King’s greeting is a bit excessive for a first meeting.”


    The Head of Unhyangwon responded to Tang-gak’s greeting with a somewhat disapproving expression and swung his sword in the air, as if loosening his wrist before exercise.


    “Kekeke. To think there was someone like you hiding in Sichuan. It seems I’ve been cooped up as an old man for too long.”


    Tang-gak’s eyes glinted like a predator discovering a delicious prey, interpreting something from the Head of Unhyangwon’s light movements.


    But the Head of Unhyangwon, one of the Seven Kings, was not at all intimidated.


    “You should have stayed cooped up for another five years.”


    “Bah, you brat. At my age, five years would mean being buried under a tombstone, not in a room.”


    “Isn’t it better to be buried in a tombstone five yearster than today?”


    “Kuhuhu. That’s a funny joke.”


    Immediately after their light banter.


    Pop!


    Both the old man and the middle-aged man moved simultaneously without any signal.


    The sword aura released by the Head of Unhyangwon split the wall where Tang-gak had been standing, and Tang-gak, who had already leapt into the air, scattered hidden weapons.


    The hidden weapons enveloped in Qi and the sword aura shot by the Head of Unhyangwon shed in midair, creating sessive explosions.


    Despite this high-level sh that could easily captivate anyone’s attention, Mu-jin did not allow himself to be distracted by them.


    The Head of Unhyangwon was not the only survivor of Tang-gak’s Manchun Hwa-woo.


    However, there was a problem.


    ‘What martial art is that?’


    Even though he was closely watching the ck-d figure, they disappeared from sight right after the sh between the Head of Unhyangwon and the Dark King.


    In that brief moment, as the dust cloud from the sh obscured his vision.


    Therefore, Mu-jin heightened his Qi sensitivity to its maximum to monitor the Unhyangwon area and find the hidden ck-d figure.


    The fact that this figure hid their identity in ck and seemed to possess as much information as the Head of Unhyangwon made Mu-jin reluctant to miss them.


    Meanwhile, the battle between the Dark King and the Head of Unhyangwon was bing increasingly fierce.


    Tang-gak was spewing hidden weapons like a meteor shower, and the Head of Unhyangwon was creating waves of sword aura to fend off all those hidden weapons while chasing Tang-gak.


    As Tang-gak, evading the Head of Unhyangwon’s pursuit, stepped on the debris of the pavilion he had destroyed and flew towards the wall.


    From the darkness of the wall, a ckened dagger stabbed towards Tang-gak.


    The ck-d figure had not fled but was waiting for an opportunity to ambush Tang-gak.


    “You rat-like wench!”


    But as expected of an old master who earned the title of King, Tang-gak sensed the ambush just before it happened.


    He raised his hand, using Qi to deflect the nearly invisible ckened dagger of the ck-d figure.


    However, Tang-gak’s real opponent was not the ck-d figure but the Head of Unhyangwon.


    While Tang-gak was blocking the ambush, the Head of Unhyangwon had already reached close proximity to Tang-gak.


    Bang!!!


    Just as the Head of Unhyangwon was about to swing his sword at Tang-gak.


    Mu-jin, using the Fast Ascent Step to its extreme, crashed through the wall and lunged at the Head of Unhyangwon.


    “Tsk.”


    The Head of Unhyangwon clicked his tongue lightly, missing the chance to finish off Tang-gak, and swung his sword at Mu-jin.


    Bang!!


    The sh of the Head of Unhyangwon’s sword and Mu-jin’s fist created a fierce explosion.


    “Ho?”


    The Head of Unhyangwon’s eyes glinted as he looked at Mu-jin, who had blocked his sword strike.


    More precisely, at the golden aura surrounding Mu-jin.


    “You imed names like Kang Hyuk or Teukjeonmun, names I’ve never heard of. Now I see, you are the Shaolin Divine Dragon.”


    Although his true identity was exposed in an instant, Mu-jin was unconcerned.


    The Head of Unhyangwon was a man who fought evenly with the Dark King. Hiding his martial arts in this battle would be suicidal.


    “I’d like to take my time figuring out why you’re here, but first, I’ll cut off your limbs and then think about it.”


    While Mu-jin was blocking his attack, the Dark King was pressing the ck-d figure.


    Fortunately, it was night. If it weren’t, the ck-d figure would have already been caught by Tang-gak.


    The ck-d figure’s martial arts specialized in stealth and ambushes.


    “You’re using a bizarre stepping technique, wench!”


    The ck-d figure was barely buying time with a peculiar stepping technique that made their steps almost imperceptible and a shadow-like martial art that blended their body with the darkness.


    Therefore, the Head of Unhyangwon decided to deal with Mu-jin before the ck-d figure got caught.


    Whiiiing.


    With a fierce wave of Qi, the Head of Unhyangwon’s sword flew at tremendous speed.


    But Mu-jin, who had perfected the Golden Turtle Technique, was determined to charge at the Head of Unhyangwon.


    If not for the intense warning of his instincts about the danger to his life.


    “Ho. Quite perceptive for ate-stage cultivator?”


    The Head of Unhyangwon spoke with a sinister smile as Mu-jin hastily retreated, but Mu-jin’s gaze was not on the Head of Unhyangwon’s face.


    “……Sword Qi.”


    Mu-jin’s eyes were fixed on the dazzling blue aura emanating from the Head of Unhyangwon’s sword.


    The aura known as Sword Qi or Gang Qi.


    The ultimate weapon in martial arts, created byyering sword energy dozens or even hundreds of times.


    Before this unprecedented weapon, even Vajra Indestructibility and Qi membrane were useless.


    Swish.


    Despite his quick retreat, Mu-jin’s chest was already shed, and blood began to flow.


    ‘A master.’


    Mu-jin’s gaze remained calm as he looked at the Head of Unhyangwon’s Sword Qi.


    There was no doubt that Gang Qi was an incredible weapon, but there were at least dozens of masters in the martial world capable of creating it.


    Among the first disciples of Shaolin whom Mu-jin frequently sparred with, some could also create Gang Qi.


    However, there were only a handful of masters who could create Gang Qi without any preliminary movements or preparation.


    ‘And those masters are at the level of the Seven Kings.’


    In the world, such masters were often referred to as the Seven Kings.