Chapter 49: Sichuan Tang Clan (3)
The Poison King, Tang Moon-seong.
The current head of the Tang Clan stood before Jang Woo-hyun.
Having entered closed-door training after gaining an insight a few days ago, Tang Moon-seong had only just emerged today. As soon as he came out, he heard the news and came straight here.
"Master Jang, I apologize."
"Clan Head!"
"Clan Head!"
When Tang Moon-seong lowered his head, the others around him called out in surprise. Even Jang Woo-hyun withdrew the energy he had been emanating.
The higher a person’s position, the less likely they were to admit their mistakes or offer apologies—but Tang Moon-seong was different.
"You are a guest of the Tang Clan and a benefactor, yet it seems my household made a mistake in my absence. For now… let us move elsewhere and continue our conversation."
He glanced briefly at the table that had been reduced to powder as he spoke.
"Clan Head! He’s someone who saw the secret manual of the Divine Sword without permission. How could you...?"
"Tang Jeong-san!"
At the shout, Tang Jeong-san immediately stopped speaking.
"How reckless of you! He is a guest and a benefactor to our clan. If not for Master Jang, we wouldn’t have even found that secret manual you speak of. I haven’t criticized you all for worshiping the Divine Sword, but you must not cross the line. These words are not from your blood relative, but from the head of the Tang Clan. Keep that in mind!"
"Yeah, remember that."
Crack.
As Jang Woo-hyun chimed in from the side, Tang Jeong-san ground his teeth.
"If you have a problem, draw your sword."
"What?"
"I said draw your sword."
Jang Woo-hyun didn’t follow the Clan Head immediately. Instead, he called out to Tang Jeong-san.
"Hurry up. And don’t regret it later. I’m attacking now—block well."
"What? You crazy bastard!"
Tang Jeong-san drew his sword. And at that moment—
Jang Woo-hyun swung his hand without even drawing his blade.
Clang!
"Urgh!"
It was a light strike, yet the shock transmitted through the sword was anything but. With just a simple hand motion—no sword involved—Tang Jeong-san was sent flying into a corner and rolled across the floor.
"You… you bastard!"
"What do you think you’re doing?!"
As some of the Tang Clan martial artists stirred in anger, Jang Woo-hyun turned his head and looked at them.
Everyone froze under that gaze.
Meeting his eyes, they realized—he was not someone they could do anything against.
After locking eyes with each of them, Jang Woo-hyun turned back toward the Clan Head.
"Clan Head, this much was necessary. That kind of man is bound to cause trouble without knowing his place. Still, for your sake, I didn’t kill him."
"…Thank you."
He had attacked one of the household members, but those were the only words Tang Moon-seong could offer.
Jang Woo-hyun possessed the strength to act as he wished, and more importantly, it had been Tang Jeong-san who acted rudely first.
Leaving behind the groaning Tang Jeong-san, crumpled in a corner, Jang Woo-hyun followed Tang Moon-seong to another room.
* * *
The group relocated and once again sat facing members of the Tang Clan.
To lighten the mood, Tang Moon-seong ordered a servant to bring tea.
A few young female attendants entered and served tea to everyone.
Then, one of the maids passing behind Jang Woo-hyun suddenly pulled a sharply broken wooden chopstick from her robes and tried to stab him in the neck.
Of course, Jang Woo-hyun had no intention of getting hit by such a clumsy attack. He grabbed her arm, yanked her head down, and slammed her face into the table.
Bang!
"What the hell is this?"
It was such a sudden attack. Was moving to another room all a setup for this assassination?
"You should’ve just poisoned the tea. What is this? So disgraceful."
Still holding down the struggling maid with his hand, Jang Woo-hyun questioned them.
"Uh…"
Tang Moon-seong opened his mouth but couldn’t say a word, utterly flustered.
It wasn’t the reaction Jang Woo-hyun had expected.
Looking at the expressions of those around them, they were all genuinely shocked as well.
They weren’t flustered because a plan had failed—they were truly stunned.
‘What is this? Was it not an assassination attempt?’
It was a baffling situation.
Heh heh heh.
While even Jang Woo-hyun was starting to feel unsettled by their reactions, the maid suddenly let out a bizarre laugh.
That sound definitely didn’t belong to a small woman. It was the voice of an old man.
Lifting the maid’s head from the table, he saw a pair of glowing blue eyes staring back at him.
"I’ve finally found you. You said you were heading to Sichuan, but you were hiding in the Tang Clan all along."
"Hiding? Who was hiding? And who the hell are you?"
"I am Woo Jeong-hak of the Demon Cult."
The maid, still being restrained, boldly revealed her name. She clearly believed Jang Woo-hyun would recognize it.
"Who?"
But Jang Woo-hyun had no clue.
"…"
The reaction seemed completely unexpected. Woo Jeong-hak—inhabiting the maid’s body—paused for a moment.
Jang Woo-hyun turned his head toward Hwang An, silently asking for an explanation.
"Woo Jeong-hak? Don’t tell me… the Puppet Demon General?"
"Puppet Demon General? What the hell is that?"
"He’s the Left Envoy of the Demon Cult who manipulates people like puppets. A spellcaster said to be on par with absolute masters."
"Yes! I am that Woo Jeong-hak! I was searching for you, who was said to be heading to Sichuan—and now, finally, you’ve shown yourself after skulking about like a rat!"
He seemed to be referring to the moment just earlier, when Jang Woo-hyun had deactivated the Secret Flowing Body Technique in front of the Tang Clan martial artists.
‘Coincidence? Or had they already been monitoring the Sichuan region?’
The deactivation had happened just moments ago. Unless they were already prepared nearby, there was no way they could’ve known.
"Ha-un, take over for me."
Since he didn’t know how to seal pressure points, Jang Woo-hyun handed the maid over. Jin Ha-un stood up and secured the maid’s arms from behind.
"How did you find me? Did you know where I was? Or where I was headed?"
"No matter where in the world you go! No matter where you hide! You cannot escape the eyes of this one!"
‘Just saying whatever he wants.’
Realizing the man had no intention of answering seriously, Jang Woo-hyun stopped trying to talk and turned his attention back to the maid’s body.
There was nothing particularly unusual. Her physique hadn’t changed, and there was no unique energy being emitted.
‘Did he just possess the body?’
After a long inspection, he noticed a faint line extending upward from her head.
Focusing further, he saw it more clearly—a thread that extended from her head into the sky. It was something no ordinary person could see—only someone at Jang Woo-hyun’s level could perceive it.
Jang Woo-hyun, having finished his full observation, met the maid’s eyes.
“What’s your purpose?”
“You ask even though you know? Your head, of course.”
“Really? They said the Demon Cult would come after me, but this was faster than I thought.”
Despite facing one of the Demon Cult’s Left Envoys—someone anyone would fear—Jang Woo-hyun showed no sign of tension.
“No matter how skilled you are, you won’t last long! Starting today, don’t expect to live in peace! You won’t be able to eat in peace, nor sleep properly…”
While the maid went on babbling, Jang Woo-hyun ignored her. Instead, he focused his strength into his hand and tugged at the thread he could see above her head.
Snap. Pop!
The sound of something snapping and something being pulled out rang faintly, only to his ears.
The maid instantly lost consciousness and collapsed.
Feeling the dissipating energy in his palm, Jang Woo-hyun opened and closed his hand several times, intrigued by this unfamiliar spell power he had just experienced for the first time.
The entire area was engulfed in silence following the sudden attack from the Demon Cultist.
No one dared to speak easily.
A maid—under the control of the Puppet Demon General—had attacked a guest inside the Tang Clan, leaving everyone shaken.
“Brother Jang… what in the world just happened?”
Unable to hold back his curiosity, Hwang An asked cautiously. He had always been by Jang Woo-hyun’s side and yet hadn’t noticed a thing.
“The auction house.”
“Auction house? Ah… that monkey mask guy.”
Hwang An remembered the two who had caused a commotion at the Shangguan Family’s auction. They had turned out to be members of the Demon Cult.
“They’ve come for revenge?”
“No, it’s not that. I heard the guy with the monkey mask was the grandson of a Demon Cult Left Envoy.”
“Huh? How did you find that out… wait, don’t tell me you met the Left Envoy?”
“The last time.”
At the mention of “last time,” Hwang An and Jin Ha-un recalled the day Jang Woo-hyun returned injured.
“W-What happened?”
“He died. By my hand.”
The casual tone with which he spoke sent a chill down everyone’s spines. His words meant that he had reached the Absolute Realm.
At that moment, both Hwang An and Jin Ha-un realized: Jang Woo-hyun had broken into the Absolute Realm in a battle with the Demon Cult Left Envoy.
“Then… is the Demon Cult on the move because their Left Envoy was killed?”
It was a bigger deal than expected. If the Demon Cult was moving, this was no longer just Jang Woo-hyun’s problem—it concerned the entire Martial World of the Central Plains.
“Well, even so, it’s hard to believe the entire Demon Cult would mobilize just for me.”
That sounded reasonable. But Hwang An couldn’t rely on reason. Everything Jang Woo-hyun had done so far had defied common sense.
‘This might turn into a major incident…’
While Hwang An’s worries began to take root, Jang Woo-hyun remained unconcerned.
* * *
A maid under the control of the Puppet Demon General had attacked a guest during the Clan Head’s audience.
Naturally, the Tang Clan was in an uproar.
Declaring a state of emergency, Clan Head Tang Moon-seong excused himself from Jang Woo-hyun and moved quickly to conduct internal investigations.
A full-scale inquiry into the maid and her surroundings was launched, and the most renowned spellcaster in Chengdu was summoned.
This was to counteract the Puppet Demon General’s sorcery and check if anyone else had been ensnared by his spell.
“There was nothing unusual found in the girl. It appears a seed was planted in her a long time ago. But for some reason, it had already been removed.”
Jang Woo-hyun had been the one to remove it, but to others, it would’ve been invisible.
Late at night, Tang Moon-seong visited Jang Woo-hyun’s quarters in person and shared all the findings of the investigation. He also apologized again for the events that had taken place earlier in the day.
Having finished his explanation, for some reason, Tang Moon-seong didn’t rise from his seat.
“Um… aren’t you leaving?”
“There is something I’d like to ask.”
“Something to ask?”
“Master Jang, could you answer honestly the question I’m about to ask?”
Though sudden, Jang Woo-hyun agreed for the time being.
“If my guess is correct… no, it’s not even a guess anymore. It appears that you’ve reached the Absolute Realm. Is that correct?”
“That’s right.”
“As I thought…”
Tang Moon-seong’s eyes lit up at the confirmation.
“By any chance, after reading the Divine Sword’s secret manual, did you understand its contents?”
“Yes.”
When Jang Woo-hyun answered easily once more, Tang Moon-seong’s face brightened.
“There’s something I’d like to request of you.”
“A request? What kind of request?”
“I know it’s presumptuous to ask this of an outsider, but… I’d like you to evaluate my martial art.”
“Martial art? What exactly are you referring to?”
“Ten Thousand Heavens Transformed into Rain.”
“…!”
Jang Woo-hyun was surprised by the unexpected answer.
The Tang Clan’s most powerful throwing weapon technique. Known as the ultimate art of concealed weapons—why bring up Ten Thousand Heavens Transformed into Rain now?
“I gained a small insight and went into closed-door training, but I failed to gain anything in the end. Then you appeared, Master Jang. With the Divine Sword’s secret manual in your possession. And your skills are such that you could be called a genius among geniuses.”
Even while leading a great force, Tang Moon-seong remained open-minded and unarrogant. That was why he could ask someone far younger than himself for instruction.
He was neither pretentious nor stagnant—he was someone with a true drive to rise higher. A man in stark contrast to Yeo Gun-hwi, the sect leader of the Asura Sword Sect, who had disappointed Jang Woo-hyun.
“Very well.”
Jang Woo-hyun liked his attitude—and besides, he was curious about Ten Thousand Heavens Transformed into Rain. So he readily accepted the request.
The two of them stepped out to the garden in front of Jang Woo-hyun’s lodging.
“Tang Moon-seong of the Sichuan Tang Clan. The martial art I’ll be using is the Tang Clan’s Ten Thousand Heavens Transformed into Rain.”
Tang Moon-seong was the first to give a martial greeting. It felt almost like a subordinate showing a superior the result of their training.
“I’m Jang Woo-hyun. I’ll decide what martial art to use after I see yours.”
He hadn’t yet chosen which technique to respond with. After all, he didn’t know how Ten Thousand Heavens Transformed into Rain worked or what level it was at.
“Then here I go.”
Tang Moon-seong pulled out a small metal plate, slightly larger than his palm, from his robes.
As he focused, the plate on his palm slowly began to rise into the air.
The metal plate floated up above his head.
In that moment, Tang Moon-seong’s aura changed.
And his energy gathered at his head.
Upper Dantian.
Through the Baihui point at the crown of the head, the qi began to intertwine and formed a giant tree.
“Whoa…”
Jang Woo-hyun was impressed by the mystical sight.
A tree made of invisible threads emitted from the Upper Dantian. It was a mystical creation—something only someone like Jang Woo-hyun could perceive, not visible to the eyes of ordinary people.
He normally released his qi threads centered around his body like a sea urchin, but Tang Moon-seong was different. The energy he emitted through his Upper Dantian rose like a tree, and a thick branch descended from the tree to connect with the metal plate.
Tik! Tidik! Tadadak! Chwararararak!
The thick branch split into dozens, then hundreds of fine threads.
The tree let its branches fall, and the metal plate fragmented into tiny metal shards.
And then, a shower of petals rained down.
“Ha.”
Seeing that, Jang Woo-hyun chuckled.
Lately, if he didn’t force himself to focus, he would often fall into boredom without even realizing it—but now, he had discovered a truly intriguing martial art.
Ten Thousand Heavens Transformed into Rain, which he had thought was just a flashy but ultimately futile technique.
No, that had been a mistaken thought.
It was more splendid than any martial art he had seen so far, more beautiful than any he had encountered.
And its power was beyond question.
Each falling petal was wrapped in Qi Projection.
A rain of qi-imbued petals poured down toward Jang Woo-hyun.
In response, he also drew up his energy.
He didn’t create a tree through his Upper Dantian like Tang Moon-seong.
Instead, he extended both hands and released qi threads.
He launched his threads to intercept the flying metal fragments.
It was a technique that would've been impossible for him before, but the new martial art he had created by combining Tang Clan’s hidden weapon techniques and Heaven-Earth Yin-Yang Twin Hands now aided him.
A thread tried to attach and redirect a fragment—but it failed.
He had been overwhelmed by Tang Moon-seong’s precise control.
‘If one’s not enough, then use two.’
If two didn’t work, then use three.
He sent multiple threads to push back the shards. But even so, all he could do was slightly redirect them. And not all the fragments could even be diverted.
Pak! Papabak! Puk! Peobeok! Peobeobeok!
Metal shards rained down around him. Since he couldn't redirect every piece, Jang Woo-hyun had to move his body.
Only after the final shard had fallen could he finally stop dodging.
Ten Thousand Heavens Transformed into Rain.
It was a martial art worthy of being called the pride of the Tang Clan. Even for a master who had reached the Absolute Realm, Tang Moon-seong’s execution of Ten Thousand Heavens Transformed into Rain was not something to be taken lightly.
Moreover, the Dark Heaven Divine Sword manual had stated that Ten Thousand Heavens Transformed into Rain was not the final stage.
For the first time in a long while, vitality returned to Jang Woo-hyun’s eyes. A new path forward had revealed itself.