Return of the Mount Hua Sect

The Sichuan Tang Family’s poisons couldn’t turn the Tang Family into the world’s top sect, nor could they make any Tang Family member the best in the world.

Therefore the Sichuan Tang Family was doomed to remain the overlord of Sichuan, not the ruler of the world.

But Tang Pae had only one response to all those remarks.

‘So what’s the problem?’

Among those who point out the Tang Family’s weaknesses, are there any who truly wish to be enemies of the Tang Family?

Is there any force bold enough to wage war against that deeply flawed Tang Family?

No. I can say with certainty there is none.

A sect full of flaws.

Yet it is revered more than any sect under heaven and feared more than any other.

Even with flaws, the Tang Family is still the Tang Family; even if it cannot be the best, it remains itself.

Whaaaaaa.

Black poisonous smoke billowed up from inside Tang Pae’s sleeve.

As if it were spewing from the flames of hell.

The smoke was so thick that even a hardened warrior’s inner sight couldn’t pierce it; carried on Tang Pae’s force, it swept over the blood-clad.

“W-What!”

The blood-clad warrior’s faces went pale in an instant.

Hadn’t they already seen with their own eyes what happens to someone drenched in that black smoke?

You must avoid it. Never be swept away!

But even knowing that, there was no way.

This place was a gorge—narrow, flanked on left and right by sheer cliffs.

Their backs were blocked by allies; the only directions they could move were forward and upward.

But Tang Pae’s released smoke had already blackened the air above their heads.

“Fall back!”

Someone shouted loudly.

Those given the order moved back in unison.

Pursuers must never withdraw.

But charging into that smoke would be like biting a blade and falling face-first.

So they had no other option, did they?

They chose to withdraw and moved quickly.

But Tang Pae would not allow them to retreat so easily.

Shwaaaak!

Through the smoke that rushed like ash pouring from an exploded Mount Hua, something burst forth rapidly.

“Gasp!”

The men who had tried to fall back let out bewildered sounds.

Screech! Screech! Screech!

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

Those wounded without understanding groaned in pain.

They were accustomed to pain, but taken by an unexpected attack, screams escaped them.

“Don’t panic, fall back! It’s just... no...”

The one shouting orders in a loud voice broke off mid-sentence.

The wounded staggered.

For a moment, the world spun dizzyingly before their eyes.

‘Po-poison?’

This was a severe poisoning symptom.

But when? They hadn’t been touched by the smoke.

Dizzy and swaying, one glanced down at his arm.

There was a very small wound.

A tiny scratch that looked like a child’s fingernail; the skin around it was turning purple.

‘W-with a wound this small...’

They were the Lower District Sect’s pursuit team.

Given their assignment, they were naturally familiar with poisons.

So every member had a decent tolerance to poison.

But what kind of poison could this be to intoxicate the Lower District Sect’s pursuers so quickly?

Even if a drop of poison on a hidden weapon brushed past the arm, it wouldn’t be more than a single drop!

“K-k-k...”

Thick purple veins began to bulge across the blood-clad warrior’s body.

They seemed about to burst through the skin.

Severe dizziness and stabbing pain washed over them, making standing difficult.

But worse than that was the paralysis-like inability to move at will.

In those blood-clad warrior’s eyes, the black smoke crept closer.

The black smoke spreading slowly was no different from the approach of death.

His bloodshot eyes widened.

‘No...!’

Whaaaaaak!

Before the thought could finish, the smoke engulfed them.

Crunch.

As several more blood-clad warriors were swallowed by the smoke, Gwak Cheol ground his teeth.

He had lost nearly ten subordinates in an instant.

They hadn’t even used their hands or feet.

‘To such a fellow!’

Gwak Cheol’s eyes glittered with fury.

The martial skill of Tang Pae they had noted upon entering the gorge wasn’t particularly threatening.

A warrior of that caliber could be pulverized in moments by sending four or five men at him.

But the result was the exact opposite.

Far from crushing him, his own subordinates lay about as half-melted corpses.

‘What on earth kind of poison is this?’

Who doesn’t know that the Tang Family’s poisons are the best in the land?

The Sichuan Tang Family isn’t called the progenitor of myriad poisons for nothing.

The Tang Family’s poisons are the caution of every sect under heaven.

Yet even so, none had heard or seen that the Tang Family’s poison could be this potent.

“Captain!”

Gwak Cheol bit his lip hard.

Even now the toxic smoke continued to spread.

Logically, they should withdraw behind the gorge until the smoke dissipated, then re-enter.

But until when?

If the Tang man’s poison were all there was, of course they’d do that.

But who could guess how much poison remained within that wide sleeve?

If they mishandled it, they might just stand by and watch until those men broke through the gorge.

If that happened, Gwak Cheol himself would struggle to survive.

“...We break through.”

“C-captain?”

“Push the smoke aside with your force. Just don’t let it touch you. If you can get close, he’s nothing. Kill him.”

The order fell.

There was no choice to disobey. Only obedience.

As if their earlier confusion had never existed, a cold blue killing intent flowed from the blood-clad warrior’s eyes.

“Go!”

Fwoooosh!

The blood-clad surged forward, forward again.

They sheathed their thin swords and poured internal qi into both hands as much as they could.

But at that moment, from within the impenetrable smoke a greenish dagger suddenly leapt out.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

A dagger the size of a child’s palm plunged to the hilt into the heads of those running at the front.

If that dagger had been launched openly from Tang Pae’s hand, they could have easily dodged it.

A dagger is dangerous, yes, but it’s also a simple weapon.

But the smoke that completely blocked vision and their need to charge at full force turned an ordinary dagger into a different kind of weapon.

Thud! Thud!

Those who vaulted over their collapsing comrades, unable even to scream, grit their teeth and released their force.

“Haaaah!”

So desperate that a shout—something unheard from a stealthy pursuit team—broke from them.

Pwoooom! Pwoooom!

Consecutive blasts of force pushed the advancing smoke aside with a whoosh.

Once they confirmed they could shove it aside with force, a blue flash lit their eyes.

“Enter!”

As those who had released force paused, those behind advanced in rotation, unleashing force again.

Though this was their first time, their coordination moved as if they’d trained dozens of times.

It was a clear display of how well-trained they were.

No matter how great the poison in the smoke, it mattered little if it didn’t touch the body.

Those who pushed the smoke away regained confidence and pressed forward.

Indeed, that response was not wrong.

If that had been all the poison Tang Pae possessed.

“Push in at once...”

Fwoooosh!

The smoke’s color seemed to shift in an instant from black to red.

Those at the front drew their swords not by reason but by instinct.

And that instinct saved them.

Kakagagak!

Something snagged on the thin sword thrust out half-unconsciously.

‘Net?’

A red net that had tried to pierce the smoke and engulf them wound tightly around the thin sword.

Had they tried to block that net with their hands, one could imagine what fate they’d have met by now.

‘I-I’m alive...’

That red-hued net would be thickly laced with the Tang Family’s vicious poisons.

It probably would have melted a person into a handful of bloody flesh upon contact.

Those who stopped the net with their thin swords let out involuntary sighs of relief.

But at that moment, someone who felt a chill from above hastily raised his head.

Something above his head...

‘Hmm?’

There was nothing.

Nothing was visible to his eyes.

All he could see was the overcast sky.

He suppressed the strangeness and foreboding and lowered his gaze.

Then, struck by a passing thought, he paused.

‘Wait?’

Overcast sky? Was the sky supposed to be overcast today?

He opened his eyes wide.

“Ah...”

It wasn’t overcast.

The sky was covered by something.

As if looking up from the sand deserts of the west, something was veiling the sky...

Before his brain could organize the thought, his mouth had already opened.

“Take cover! Above your heads!”

They tried to withdraw their swords and throw their bodies back, but the tightly tangled net wouldn’t let them go.

In the end they dropped their swords and leaped, but the momentary hesitation decided their fate.

Sshhhhhh!

With a sound like crashing waves, what poured from the sky continuously struck the blood-clad warrior’s bodies.

‘Sand?’

It didn’t hurt. There were no wounds.

Only tiny grains of sand covered their bodies.

But the blood-clad quickly understood what the situation was.

They couldn’t help but recognize it.

A sting.

A sensation like light pricks from needles was felt all over their bodies.

The blood-clad warrior’s eyes darkened with despair and terror.

They had heard of it.

The Tang Family’s sand.

That fine sand burrows into skin and pores to poison a person.

An extremely poisonous sand with no known antidote.

They say the sand severs not just life but the soul itself.

“Soul Breaking Sand!”

A pain like hundreds of razor blades lacerating the body crashed down on them.

Those swept by it let out animalistic screams, collapsing and writhing.

Their bodies shook uncontrollably.

The pain was so extreme they couldn’t even be allowed to faint.

They emitted terrible moans, convulsed, and wished someone would end their lives.

Shwaaaak!

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

At that moment, several daggers flew through the smoke and drove into the crowns of the blood-clad one after another.

Thud. Thud.

The blood-clad, writhing in pain, fell like rotten straw.

Perhaps in their dying moments they felt some gratitude toward Tang Pae.

Eventually the smoke subsided.

Tang Pae revealed himself and flicked his fingers, retrieving the daggers.

Click.

Holding ten daggers, Tang Pae stared at the blood-clad he couldn’t bring himself to approach and spoke softly.

“I’ll give you a question.”

“...”

“Will my poison run out first? Or will you all die first?”

The blood-clad warrior’s shoulders flinched.

Tang Pae said with a smile.

“I think I know.”

A dagger once more sliced the air like a beam of light.

Long ago, on the land where daggers shone the brightest.