The Reformed Genius of the Sichuan Tang Clan - Chapter 69

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 69
Fear.
The feeling of standing before an insurmountable wall.
But worse than that—rage.
‘How dare an outsider presume to speak of Shaolin’s teachings?’
Shaolin pursued emptiness as its path.
The purity Dang Youxuan spoke of came from the Buddha’s teachings of Emptiness and Void.
Or so Hyedo believed.
To say he would shatter that purity meant challenging the Buddha’s doctrine itself.
“Truly, such arrogance!”
Hyedo’s fists clenched hard.
His frame bristled with menace, as if to spring forward.
Instead, he drew a deep breath, letting his chest expand fully.
‘Compose yourself. The Dang Clan’s poisons won’t work on me. Patience. Press forward steadily.’
The Dang Clan’s martial arts rested on poison and hidden blades.
That was their only parallel to Shaolin’s ways—though inverted—so he wouldn’t use a sword.
‘This is no different from before. Don’t rush. Complete what you set out to do.’
Hyedo steadied his mind and fixed his gaze on Dang Youxuan.
But then—
“Hm?”
The stance of measured tension and confidence had vanished, replaced by something loose and indolent.
“Are you mocking me, the abbot?”
“No, no. Don’t misunderstand. This posture is simply the most natural for me.”
Click.
Dang Youxuan flicked a Hidden Blade high, then caught it deftly as it fell.
“Well then? Shall we begin again?”
Whoosh!
Two Hidden Blades carved through the air.
From left and right they spiraled toward Hyedo in massive arcs.
“Hnn!”
Ripples of Internal Energy bloomed from Hyedo’s palms.
Clang! Clang!
Hyedo batted away the relentless rain of blades, advancing one measured step at a time.
Thud! Thud!
Wrapping his entire body in Internal Energy, even his simple movements carried a brutal force.
Snap!
Dang Youxuan, watching Hyedo’s approach, suddenly closed the distance.
Whoosh!
Hyedo extended his fist toward Dang Youxuan.
Swish!
But Dang Youxuan tilted his chin and slipped the strike with ease.
Prick!
In the same instant, he drove a Poison Needle into Hyedo’s forearm.
The venom spread, and the flesh blackened gradually.
‘Low-grade poison on his constitution—let’s see how he reacts.’
Tap! Tap-tap!
Dang Youxuan kept his eyes fixed on Hyedo while he widened the gap between them.
Something lodged in his forearm was clearly bothering him; Hyedo’s head tilted with visible irritation.
“It seems the abbot hasn’t heard much about me after all.”
Roooaarrr!
Hyedo drew up his Internal Energy and circulated it through his entire body.
Within moments, his frame blazed with golden light.
“The Vajra Indestructible Body—!”
Someone in the crowd cried out.
Vajra Indestructible Body was a technique that hardened the physical form, maximizing defensive power.
Unlike before when he’d concentrated all his strength in his fists, each blow from now on would carry tremendous weight.
Hyedo plucked out the Poison Needle and flicked it away as he spoke.
“Your poisons will have no effect on me.”
Crackle.
The blackened skin returned to its natural hue.
“Is that what you’re going to do—just deploy what you’ve been taught?”
“Of course. Shaolin’s teachings have no flaws.”
Dang Youxuan let out an exasperated breath even as his mind worked with fierce intensity.
The Vajra Indestructible Body strengthened the body, but it couldn’t neutralize poison.
So either he’d forced out the toxin using Internal Energy, or he’d ingested an antidote—those were the only two possibilities.
‘Even if he’s reached the pinnacle of the Vajra Indestructible Body, he’s this confident because he swallowed an antidote.’
Ingesting an antidote was no problem, no violation.
For any martial artist entering combat, giving one’s all was the baseline.
But the source was so transparent it infuriated him.
The Dragon Phoenix Conference only permitted low-grade toxins.
If he’d trained without a single day’s break to reach the rank of Second Disciple, expelling poison through Internal Energy would’ve been child’s play.
Yet knowing that, Beopgye had still handed him an antidote.
‘He doesn’t want to waste even a shred of Internal Energy.’
A laugh escaped him.
“So poison won’t work. Now the Howling Wolf Pack is completely helpless.”
“Your hidden projectiles are blocked, your poison useless. Tsk. Even if you switch to a blade, the outcome will be the same.”
“Is this your first competition this year? Unfortunate timing.”
Everyone seemed to have agreed in advance to predict Dang Youxuan’s defeat.
He accepted it.
On the surface, there was no way out.
Dang Youxuan’s eyes flicked downward to Beopgye, seated in the center beneath the platform.
‘Now things are unfolding precisely as they should.’
Beopgye wore a benevolent smile in the cool shade.
‘He’s thinking things are unfolding precisely as they should, is he?’
He was right.
Things were unfolding precisely as they should.
‘Just not the way his side intended.’
Dang Youxuan turned his gaze back to Hyedo.
‘The poison I used is Fire Vein Poison.’
Fire Vein Poison was a low-grade toxin that spread scorching heat along the meridians.
Despite its fearsome name, if one properly combined just a few medicinal ingredients, the symptoms would vanish without even a day’s discomfort.
Bitter Paramenia, Turmeric, and Coptis Rhizome.
‘Shaolin couldn’t have obtained what the Dang Clan manufactures, so the only antidote available would be the Three Clarity Pill.’
The Three Clarity Pill was made by blending three medicinal ingredients that reduced heat and purified the blood vessels.
It was perfect for neutralizing low-grade toxins like Fire Vein Poison.
‘But here’s the thing. Do you know the saying that poison and medicine are separated by a single line?’
It was true that the Three Clarity Pill was effective at purifying poison.
But when those same ingredients combined with Wind Itching Powder, another low-grade toxin, the toxicity amplified.
Then the poison would rapidly absorb his Internal Energy, making it difficult for him to muster his full strength.
Its potency would rival that of a mid-grade toxin.
‘Abbot. Your arrangement will be what leads this boy to defeat.’
Dang Youxuan widened the distance while infusing his Internal Energy into the Hidden Blade.
Soul-Severing Seven Stars!
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
Seven Hidden Blades shot forth in every direction.
But Hyedo, unlike before, didn’t respond. He simply stood motionless, watching the blades approach.
Clang! Clang! Clang—!
Protected by Internal Energy, his skin suffered not a single wound from the blades.
“Ah! It’s holding perfectly!”
“How will he ever break through?”
“Hey, how would anyone break through that? If it were possible, he’d be a War God.”
Dang Youxuan was, quite naturally, no War God.
But as a human being, in every moment he analyzed and executed with maximum effort.
This match was no exception.
‘Even the hardest stone shatters if there’s the smallest crack.’
Hyedo’s Martial Prowess was undeniably exceptional.
But compared to Shaolin a hundred years ago, it fell drastically short.
‘The Vajra Indestructible Body concentrates his Internal Energy in the direction the blades are coming from.’
And Dang Youxuan, who had long studied the acupoints of the human body, could see it.
Each time he deployed his Internal Energy, the acupoints opened more widely, and the concentration of Internal Energy around them grew sparse.
‘That is your weakness.’
Now that he’d found it, all that remained was seizing the opportunity.
Just once. Time the Poison Needle perfectly and thrust it home.
Screech!
Dang Youxuan immediately released the Hidden Blade.
“No matter how many times you try, it won’t work!”
Clang! Clang!
The Hidden Blade tumbled across the floor.
Flick.
But at Dang Youxuan’s gesture, it rose again and shot forward.
Clang! Clang!
Bouncing away once more.
An endless exchange between the Vajra Indestructible Body and the Flying Blade Meteor Spirit.
Around the tenth clash, a thin smile crept across Dang Youxuan’s lips.
‘Found it.’
Each time Hyedo drew up his martial energy, his Internal Energy surged to the surface and his acupoints opened wide—a moment of vulnerability.
Unlike when he merely blocked an incoming blade, this opening was pronounced.
Snap.
Dang Youxuan immediately recalled all the Hidden Blades.
“What are you plotting?”
“Ah, there it is—your true nature finally showing. Just as I said: the most brilliant flower that blooms in a greenhouse is always a poisonous one.”
Dang Youxuan murmured as he channeled Internal Energy into a single Hidden Blade.
Hummmmm!
The blade vibrated, charged with tremendous Internal Energy.
Dang Youxuan placed his other hand over the one holding the blade.
Concealing the Poison Needle beneath his palm.
‘The moment you crumble, I will not miss it.’
Roooaaarrr!
The wind pressure shifted.
The favorable breeze that had been supporting Dang Youxuan changed course, swirling around the blade.
Hyedo instinctively felt this was the final clash.
‘I cannot lose!’
Hummmmm!
Hyedo drew his martial energy to its peak, wrapping it around his body.
His form shone with brilliant golden light, as if gazing upon a golden Buddha.
“Come!”
Whoosh!
The Hidden Blade drifted forward slowly, like a cloud floating in the sky.
Rotating fiercely, it created a vortex that drew in everything around it.
The moment Hyedo’s eyes widened in confusion at the sight, the blade burst forward with terrifying velocity.
Crash!
This Dark Blast Blade shot out faster and sharper than ever, designed to pierce through any opening.
“I will defend against it!”
Hyedo thrust out his hand with a shout.
Great Force Vajra Palm!
Boom!
A massive golden force erupted from his palm, shaped like a hand itself, and surged forward to crush Dang Youxuan.
Crash-crash-crash!
The Hidden Blade tore through the center of the palm force.
Just as Dang Youxuan couldn’t shatter the palm force in one stroke, Hyedo couldn’t drive him back in one either.
“Urrgh!”
Hyedo gritted his teeth and drew forth more Internal Energy.
Dang Youxuan released the blade in small arcs, left and right.
Crash! Crash-crash-crash!
The relentless deadlock resumed.
What decided this duel was the quantity of Internal Energy.
‘Which means I have the advantage.’
Dang Youxuan’s smile deepened.
“…!?”
Screeeech!
A hole was torn through his palm.
The Hidden Blade, stripped of momentum, tumbled to the ground.
But before the Hidden Blade fell, the rebounding Poison Needle drove straight into Hyedo’s Laogong Acupoint.
A sharp sting.
Hyedo’s brow furrowed at the discomfort.
‘The Hidden Blade and my strength must have collided.’
He dismissed it and resumed his half-palm stance.
‘I need to end this quickly, or I’ll lose the advantage.’
The Vajra Indestructible Body was the best defense against Dang Youxuan’s attacks.
But the Vajra Indestructible Body required constant circulation of Internal Energy to maintain.
The moment the circulation stopped, the hardness would vanish.
So Hyedo instinctively kept his Internal Energy flowing.
‘I’ll have to push myself and deploy the White Lotus Divine Fist or the Thousand-Armed Tathagata Palm.’
He was about to release another surge of power.
Thump.
His heartbeat felt strange.
No—it wasn’t his heart that was wrong.
Even his breathing, even the unfolding of his martial prowess felt somehow off.
‘What is this? Why is this happening?’
In all his years, this had never occurred.
Whoosh—!
Startled, Hyedo heard the sound of tearing air and threw out his fist.
Clang!
He knocked the Hidden Blade away, but his hand trembled.
The harder he tried to raise his strength, the more he felt something colliding inside his body.
Drip. Drip.
Sweat from his brow fell to the ground.
When Hyedo lowered his head, he saw his own feet and the water droplets falling before them.
‘I can’t stop using my Internal Energy.’
But if he halted its circulation, he couldn’t maintain the Vajra Indestructible Body.
A true dilemma—trapped between advance and retreat.
Hyedo instinctively raised his head.
And he met his gaze.
Dang Youxuan, grinning like a curse that had found its mark, his lips curled up to their fullest.
‘This can’t be.’
The Dang Clan was weak.
The Dang Clan was treacherous.
The Dang Clan’s power had waned.
Poison and concealed weapons were useless against the sword and fist.
Everything he had been taught was crumbling.
“Do you truly not understand that facts and truth are different things?”
Thump. Thump.
“At last your innocence is breaking.”
“Speak no more lies!”
Hyedo raised his hand in a knife-edge strike and shouted.
Thump-thump-thump-thump.
But the thundering of his heart filled his ears with a dull roaring.
Hyedo stared at Dang Youxuan with a stunned expression.
‘I have to purge the poison somehow……!’
Whoosh!
Drawing on everything he had learned, Hyedo pulled his Internal Energy upward to expel the toxin.
But the forced circulation backfired.
He gritted his teeth to steady himself, yet his knees buckled.
“Ugh!”
As the poison spread explosively through him, Hyedo had no choice but to release the Internal Energy that had been woven throughout his body.
Completely drained, Hyedo watched as Dang Youxuan walked slowly toward him.
He did not reach for the Hidden Blade, instead clasping his hands behind his back in a leisurely stance.
“Your innocence is your world—a paradise that has been shaped and refined by others.”
Dang Youxuan approached until he stood directly over Hyedo, looking down at him.
“You must have meant to build a resistance to poison, but it seems no one taught you the method.”
She could tell he knew everything about what had happened between Beopgye and himself.
“How could you possibly….”
Thud.
Hyedo had countless questions, but they died unasked as his body went limp.
Silence—complete and utter.
An undisputed, perfect triumph of poison.
Still, someone would surely want to contest it.
“This is a nullification!”
Right on cue, someone threw water on the arena.
Dang Youxuan turned his head slowly at the familiar voice.
It was Seol Cheongyun, the master of Jeom Chang.
Sichuan Dang Family Genius Seeks Redemption
Author |
Lee Il-young
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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