Chapter 32 : Master and Disciple (4)

Chapter 32: Master and Disciple (4)

True Blood Reinforcement (眞血强體).

It was the ultimate poison art that forcibly fused the poisonous qi within the body with the practitioner’s own qi, allowing them to temporarily exert power beyond their original realm.

‘Khhuhu, it feels as if my entire body is burning in the flames of hell.’

Yet, even after receiving this martial art as a reward from the Blood Demon as a token of loyalty, the Poison Demon never used it unless in an extreme situation.

The method was no different from going berserk.

Once he used this power, he had to endure pain and backlash several times worse for days afterward.

However—

For the first time today, the Poison Demon activated True Blood Reinforcement solely to capture one man alive, without leaving him with a single scratch.

‘Kihihi, there’s no way I can endure without using it.’

‘I must uncover everything about that bastard.’

Tang Sewoon.

The grandson of Tang Eui-tae, whom he wanted to chew up alive.

A mysterious being who possessed demonic arts rivaling the Blood Demon himself.

And someone who simultaneously wielded numerous divine artifacts he had never seen before.

Greedy light filled the Poison Demon’s eyes as he gazed at him.

‘Ahhh, how I want to skin him alive and examine all eight meridians with my own hands.’

If he could obtain that man’s demonic arts and divine artifacts...

He believed he could ascend to the realm he had yearned for his entire life—

The pinnacle where martial artists who mastered poison arts eventually arrived.

The rank of the ‘Poison Human,’ said to be able to melt the entire world with a single hand of poison.

No, he was certain he would reach it.

With that single thought, the Poison Demon was able to endure the excruciating pain spewing from the demonic qi of Angshin Tears, smiling all the while.

Wuung!

And finally—

The Poison Demon’s entire body, having completed True Blood Reinforcement, was dyed blood-red like a mist of blood.

Sssk.

In that instant, regaining his clarity, the Poison Demon clenched his left hand tightly.

The sensation in his left hand, which had been completely paralyzed by Angshin Tears’ poison, had fully returned.

This was because the poisonous qi had temporarily merged with his inner qi.

Of course, once the duration ended, an immense backlash would descend upon him, but he cared nothing for that.

“Kikik! Now, let’s have some fun!”

“Tang Sewoon, show me all of your strength!”

Yes, as long as he could obtain that man, everything would be resolved.

Pabat!

In an instant, the Poison Demon rushed at Sewoon like a flash of lightning.

Graahhh!

Ferocious aura burst forth from the Poison Demon, who charged forward like a beast on all fours.

He didn’t even use the Divine Thief’s movement technique—he merely relied on the brute force of his inner qi to charge violently.

Yet, even so, the presence and oppressive force he exuded was incomparably greater than before.

Countless threads blocked the path of the charging Poison Demon.

Ting! Titing!

But the threads were now completely useless.

His outer shell, strengthened several times beyond Red Silk Hands, did not allow even the faintest scratch from the threads.

Grgrrk!

Instead, Black Threads were all swept aside by the Poison Demon’s sheer strength.

Cheocheok!

In the blink of an eye, the Poison Demon closed the distance and arrived just a single step away from Sewoon.

And in this desperate, life-or-death moment—

His opponent was frozen stiff like a statue, not making the slightest movement.

‘Kihihi, must be his limbs freezing up from the demonic qi I’m radiating.’

‘Didn’t expect it to end this pathetically.’

Swaek!

Sneering at Sewoon’s pitiful state, the Poison Demon thrust out his left hand.

Though it looked like a simple extension of the arm, there was hidden within it a murderous intent like a serpent secretly sinking its venomous fangs into flesh.

“Hup!”

At that moment, as if snapping back to his senses, Sewoon instinctively hurled himself to the side.

Kigik!

A streak of Black Threads recoiled and once again accelerated explosively.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

But what Sewoon overlooked—

Unlike before, the Poison Demon’s speed was now far greater.

Pabat!

With just a few steps, the Poison Demon easily overtook Sewoon, who was sprinting at full speed.

As if he hadn’t expected this at all, Sewoon’s face turned deathly pale.

“Hup!”

In that moment of panic, the Poison Demon slashed down with a lightning-fast hand blade.

Seogeok!

With a chilling slicing sound, a long gash tore across Sewoon’s shoulder.

“Kuuaaagh!”

For the first time, Sewoon let out a groan of pain.

The Tang Clan’s emblematic green robe was torn sharply as if slashed by a sword.

Blood quickly seeped into the fabric.

Pabat!

The moment his enemy’s attack ceased, Sewoon swiftly retreated backward.

He pressed an acupoint to stop the bleeding and exhaled ragged breaths.

“Huuuk, huk?!”

“Kikik. Why isn’t your body moving as you wish?”

“Etch my first teaching into your mind! Among the Eight Extreme Poisons of the martial world, Crane’s Red Crown slowly paralyzes every nerve of a martial artist and ultimately leads its victim to death.”

At the mention of the Eight Extreme Poisons, Sewoon’s pupils trembled as if struck by an earthquake.

The Eight Extreme Poisons, forbidden in the martial world, were infamous as the deadliest of all venoms—just being poisoned by one was enough to guarantee death.

The Five Poisons Sect’s unique poison arts elevated cultivation by storing venom directly within the body.

Even before absorbing Angshin Tears, the Poison Demon already carried within himself as many as six of the Eight Extreme Poisons.

“…Kkuh!”

“Kihihit! Weren’t you always so loud with your mouth? Now you’ve become a mute, haven’t you?”

Sewoon couldn’t even string words together, as if his tongue was completely paralyzed.

His body was also growing sluggish.

The poison of Crane’s Red Crown had spread across his body in an instant.

“Th… guh!”

At that moment, Sewoon desperately raised his right hand toward the Poison Demon.

Piyung!

From his sleeve shot forth something like lightning.

It was the Soul-Chasing Bolt he had taken from Tang Hoyeol.

But the Poison Demon didn’t even attempt to dodge it.

“Tsk.”

He merely clicked his tongue, frowning slightly.

Chiiiik!

The bolt that struck his chest sizzled and burned away.

The poison barrier, stronger than the Blood Mist layered over his protective qi, dissolved it completely without leaving a trace.

“Kihit, did you really think a piece of worthless scrap like that could cool my heat?”

“I suppose I’ll have to punish you.”

The Poison Demon approached and laid his hand on Sewoon’s shoulder.

Then he injected the second of the Eight Extreme Poisons—Pigeon Blood Plasma.

“Guuhhh!”

Sewoon trembled violently as a cry of anguish tore from his lips.

Soon, dark blotches surfaced across his skin.

Pigeon Blood Plasma, which inflicted a plague that rotted the entire body, was the ultimate torture poison that brought unimaginable pain.

The Poison Demon made Sewoon writhe in agony for a long while, carefully measuring the dosage so he would not die.

Then, he introduced the third Extreme Poison, Immortal’s Cripple, into Sewoon’s body.

Sewoon soon lost consciousness entirely, collapsing to the ground and twitching faintly.

Seeing his pitiful figure, the Poison Demon once again burst into wild laughter.

“Kikik! Tang Eui-tae! Are you watching clearly?! Your grandson’s life and death rests in my hand…!”

Uksshin!

But just then, a pain as though his heart were being crushed seized the Poison Demon.

“-Kugh!”

Even he, who had endured the torment of Angshin Tears, instinctively clutched at his chest.

It was a pain he had felt before.

When only half the time of True Blood Reinforcement remained, this pain had begun.

Damn it, had that much time already passed?

But then—

‘…Wait, hold on?’

The Poison Demon flinched.

The more he thought, something felt off.

‘Only about half the usual time should’ve passed since I cast True Blood Reinforcement, shouldn’t it?’

Its duration had become much too short.

Looking inward, he finally noticed the extreme depletion of his qi.

Was it because of the hastily absorbed Angshin Tears?

No, no matter how strong the venom, it couldn’t cause this kind of side effect…!

Suddenly, a possibility struck his mind.

His gaze snapped toward Sewoon, who lay collapsed on the ground.

“You… could it be…!”

Paat!

Before his words even finished, Sewoon suddenly brushed off his clothes and rose to his feet.

As if nothing had happened, he smiled nonchalantly at the bewildered Poison Demon.

“Well, guess I got caught.”

The breathlessness, stiff tongue, and paralyzed body—all those symptoms had vanished as if they had been lies.

This time, it was Sewoon who clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, only three… it’s still not enough.”

“…You, you were clearly poisoned.”

“Oh, that?”

Sssaaah!

As if answering his enemy’s doubts, Sewoon reactivated the power he had concealed.

The black blotches on his pallid face vanished, his complexion returning to normal in an instant.

At the same time, the wounds on his shoulder rapidly healed.

That insane vitality.

It was unmistakably a power he had seen before within the Blood Cult.

At that instant, the Poison Demon realized why his qi was being consumed so quickly.

“…Absorption Great Art?”

Yes. His qi was being absorbed directly into his opponent.

Sewoon only shrugged his shoulders silently.

That relaxed demeanor only deepened the Poison Demon’s confusion.

‘Could it be Borrowed Qi Filling? No, that’s impossible. There’s no way that bastard has reached the Transformation Realm.’

Borrowed Qi Filling was the principle of martial arts that absorbed the qi of an opponent’s attack and converted it into one’s own inner force.

But both of the Poison Demon’s guesses were wrong.

What Sewoon had activated was neither the Absorption Great Art nor Borrowed Qi Filling.

It was Reverse Heaven Qi.

Reverse Heaven Qi—the origin of all demonic arts.

Every sinister and bizarre force in this world was naturally absorbed when exposed to it.

It was the same principle as countless streams ultimately flowing into the sea.

In truth, Reverse Heaven Qi had instinctively begun coveting the venom of Angshin Tears from the very first time Sewoon encountered the Poison Demon.

However, if he had absorbed the venom from one who was suffering under it, it would have been no different than healing his body, so he had barely suppressed it with the Golden Bridle Movement Technique.

But he had always been waiting for the opportunity to absorb the venom.

‘I figured if I scratched him a little, he’d inevitably resort to using True Blood Reinforcement.’

And just as expected, the Poison Demon acted accordingly.

True Blood Reinforcement fused venom with inner qi to grant overwhelming power to crush enemies, but in front of Sewoon, that was an entirely different story.

To Sewoon, the Poison Demon who had used True Blood Reinforcement was nothing more than—

A human-sized elixir.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Look, even now—

Sssaaa!

“Kuuhh…!”

Though Sewoon simply stood still, Reverse Heaven Qi devoured the Poison Demon’s power like a starving ghoul.

The Poison Demon, realizing far too late that he had been utterly toyed with, trembled all over.

For the first time in his life, he felt humiliation and disgrace.

“I’ll kill you—!”

Pabat!

The enraged Poison Demon, having lost all reason, charged at Sewoon with the intent to rip him apart.

The venom of the fourth of the Eight Extreme Poisons, Seven Steps Soul Severing Powder, flared up across his body like flames.

Although his opponent’s realm was vastly different from his own—

“You really have no learning ability, Master.”

Watching him, Sewoon only curled his lips into a crooked smile.

Gigigik!

Chwaaat!

Sewoon recalled the Black Threads he had embedded in the cavern walls, accelerating his movements.

At the same time, the Poison Demon also spurred on his movement technique.

Inside the cave, shrouded in pitch-black darkness—

Paaat!

A gray flash and a blood-red flash blazed forth simultaneously.

In the very next moment, their fortunes crossed.

“Take this first.”

Sewoon’s fist, cloaked in Reverse Heaven Qi, struck the Poison Demon squarely in the face.

Kwaaaang—!

A deafening roar erupted, as if the entire cavern was about to collapse.