Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 585

Dang Muk was flustered.

‘How?!’

The Galhaeng Jeon-eum [a secret telepathic technique] was a secret telepathic technique of the Sichuan Tang Clan, fundamentally different from the telepathic techniques used by other martial artists.

The reason for creating such a telepathic technique was based on the Tang Clan’s extreme seclusion.

It wasn’t for nothing that they were called masters of poison and hidden weapons. Since the Tang Clan, no other sect had created such a systematic and mysterious martial art.

Its secrecy was so thoroughly calculated that even a hint of a countermeasure was impossible to devise. Unless one was a master of the Saintly Heaven Realm, no one could eavesdrop on the Galhaeng Jeon-eum, a secret art of the Tang Clan.

Yet, Tang Gwan, even though he was the master of the Tang Clan, had seen through it instantly.

‘Unbelievable!’

The Galhaeng Jeon-eum itself was a skill that could not be learned without the permission of the Clan Head. Therefore, there were restrictions on teaching secret poison and hidden weapon techniques, and in reality, not many Tang Clan members had mastered the Galhaeng Jeon-eum.

That’s right. Not many. At least, not until ten years ago.

However, after the creation of the Paradise Lodge, the warriors trained in the shadows thoroughly learned not only the Galhaeng Jeon-eum but also the Tang Clan’s poison and hidden weapon techniques.

The Noksu Jurou [likely a business or establishment] was no exception. Most of the people working there were Tang Clan members, and all of them had been won over by Tang Ho.

And they had only learned the Galhaeng Jeon-eum. Perhaps that was why their mastery was higher than even some of the direct descendants of the Tang Clan.

The important thing was that the secrecy of the Galhaeng Jeon-eum did not distinguish between outsiders and Tang Clan members.

Even a supreme master who had broken through the Wall of No Form [a high level of martial arts mastery] could not eavesdrop on a Galhaeng Jeon-eum that had reached more than five-tenths of its full power.

In other words, unless Tang Gwan had broken through to the Limitless Realm, it was impossible for him to eavesdrop on a Galhaeng Jeon-eum that had reached eight-tenths of its full power.

‘How can this be! Could it be that the Clan Head has already…?!’

At that moment, Tang Gwan spoke.

“Why? Are you surprised?”

“……!”

“Surely, you didn’t think that the position of master of the Tang Clan was so easy to take, that it could be achieved simply by being a little stronger in martial arts?”

The elders swallowed hard.

Tang Gwan’s expression became languid.

“To become the master of the Tang Clan, one must have the martial prowess to subdue all direct descendants within thirty-three moves.”

“……?!”

“You wouldn’t know. That proof is thoroughly tested by the previous generations, and even that is just one of the many tests to become the master of the clan.”

“…….”

“It’s not a matter of who is stronger or weaker in martial arts. The master of the Tang Clan is the one who holds the lifelines of everyone in the Tang Clan in their hands. It’s not a position that can be reached without the appropriate skills.”

Could one, just because they were more skilled in martial arts, face all those direct descendants at once?

It was impossible. Even a master of the Saintly Heaven Realm could not do that.

And because they made the impossible possible, the position of master of the Tang Clan was not something anyone could take.

One who could easily kill an equal master with a single unorthodox poison technique, a single secret hidden weapon technique.

The embodiment of poison and darkness, who could control the inner energy of his poison-infused subordinates with a wave of his hand, and deflect all the rain of hidden weapons that poured down with a single shout.

That was the Tang Clan Head.

Even if they might be at a disadvantage in fights against the heads of other families, they had the ability to laugh off and face a horde of their own family members. They were, in the truest sense, the emperor of Sichuan, representing the Tang Clan.

“Why do you think I’m telling you this?”

Tang Gwan refilled his empty glass.

“Because I’m going to kill you anyway.”

“C-Clan Head?!”

“If you thought I would show the magnanimity to spare a traitor, that too is a misunderstanding. I have no intention of letting anyone involved in this rebellion live. However…”

Tang Gwan raised his glass.

The scent of the liquor wafting in front of him was very potent.

“There will only be a difference between dying comfortably and dying in so much pain that you wish for death.”

The elders’ faces turned pale.

As Tang Gwan emptied his glass with a refreshing gulp, Dang Muk spoke.

“It seems there is some misunderstanding, Clan Head.”

“Misunderstanding.”

“We, we came to serve you, Clan Head. How can you do such a rash thing!”

“That very statement, that alone is already disrespectful to me.”

Tang Gwan gave a chilling smile.

“Dare you question what the Tang Clan Head does?”

“……!!”

“Did Hoa tell you to? To try and change the family’s traditions? Did she entice you by saying she would create a flexible and moral family, not one as ruthless and thorough as it is now?”

“Clan Head!”

“You trash!”

Bang!

Tang Gwan’s fist slammed into the table.

“Not only did you fail to reprimand the insane ambition of a young, immature brat, but you, with your old bodies, were swept away by it, tarnishing the name of the family for hundreds of years, and even brought troops to capture the Clan Head?! Are you out of your minds?!”

Crack!

The elders’ faces turned bright red.

It wasn’t from excitement. Tang Gwan’s sharp rebuke, the terrifying inner energy within that rebuke, shook their dantian [energy center] like crazy.

Dang Muk was in utter shock.

‘How can this be?!’

He knew Tang Gwan’s skills better than anyone else.

Poisons? Hidden weapons? He didn’t know about those. But he could swear that Tang Gwan’s inner energy was not this great. At most, it was only a couple of levels higher than the Elder Council Head.

But now?

‘W-When did he accumulate such immense inner energy!’

It was as if he had taken the inner core of a poisonous spirit beast, showing twice as much power as before.

It wasn’t just the inner energy, but the martial arts themselves felt like they had evolved. Within the ruthless and vicious inner energy, there was a new poison technique that exuded the dignity of a king.

Tang Gwan slowly emptied his glass. Even as he emptied the glass, his eyes were fixed on the three elders.

The elders could only swallow hard at his murderous gaze.

It was an overwhelming atmosphere.

None of them, who were supreme masters, even thought of running away. No, they couldn’t even think of making a preemptive strike, or even blinking an eye.

Tang Gwan put down his glass.

“…But, very well.”

The sound of the empty glass hitting the table was as loud as thunder.

“I would like to scold you for three days and nights, but it would be a waste of time to spend it on petty people like you.”

“……”

“Since the situation is what it is, I will give you one chance.”

“……?”

A chance? What did that mean?

“I will only spare one of you three. I will send them as a messenger to Tang Ho, and if they return within the time limit, I will strip them of their Tang Clan name and banish them from Sichuan.”

“……!”

“The remaining two will not live. They will spend their last moments in agony, sweating and vomiting until dawn.”

A faint green light flickered in Tang Gwan’s eyes.

In that instant, the three felt a chill run down their spines.

Fshhhhh.

Semi-transparent green smoke began to rise from Tang Gwan’s body.

The anger that had been well controlled until now was slowly, little by little, leaking out in the name of murderous intent. Even that slight poisonous smoke made the air in the room so stuffy that it was hard to breathe.

“I will use the one who first kneels and admits their mistake as a messenger.”

Swoosh.

Tang Gwan changed his posture. He placed his left hand on the floor and raised his right leg. As the liquor bottle in his right hand tilted, the empty glass slowly filled.

“If no one admits their mistake within half a quarter of an hour, you will all be neither dead nor alive, and you will be recorded in the family history as traitors.”

Tang Gwan emptied his glass with a refreshing gulp.

Even though the elders were right in front of him, he seemed to think that they wouldn’t dare attack him. He was completely unguarded.

His appearance was proof of his absolute confidence. It was as if he was certain that even if the three elders attacked him simultaneously, he wouldn’t be harmed in the slightest.

“……”

A strange silence lingered.

In that silence, only the sound of the glass being filled and emptied could be heard.

How much time had passed?

Whoosh.

A faint, deep green sphere floated from the tip of Tang Gwan’s right hand.

It was then.

“Clan Head!”

The elder on the right, Tang San, knelt down.

“Please forgive me! I was blinded by vain greed and tarnished the name of the family!”

Dang Muk and the other elder, Tang Hu, looked at Tang San in surprise.

“Fourth Elder!!”

“I am old and greedy, so I deserve to die a thousand times! But if you would forgive this poor old man just once, I will do my best to be loyal so that such a thing never happens again!”

Dang Muk’s face contorted.

“You madman!”

His hand moved like lightning. He was going to cut off Tang San’s neck.

It was then.

Crack!

‘……?!’

The hand strike he had launched, twisting his upper body, stopped in mid-air.

Dang Muk’s fingertips were stopped half an inch in front of Tang San’s neck. And Dang Muk’s shoulder was dislocated, sticking out grotesquely.

Dang Muk’s face turned pale.

Tang Gwan spoke, raising his glass.

“That was close. But since you have grasped the thread of opportunity, I will spare your life.”

“Damn it!”

Tang Hu, who had jumped up, swung his palms at Tang Gwan.

“Die!”

Whoosh!

The poison palm strike that was shot out with a whirlwind.

But.

‘……!!’

The poison palm strike, which should have hit Tang Gwan’s body, scattered and disappeared like smoke as soon as it was released.

Tang Hu’s face was filled with shock. He couldn’t believe that his palm strike had scattered as soon as it was released.

At that moment, a groan-like voice came from Dang Muk’s mouth.

“H-Hwagong Sin-san?!”

“Oh ho.”

Tang Gwan chuckled.

“Even though you’re one rank higher, you’re still better than the others.”

The Hwagong Sin-san [a technique to neutralize poison] was an antidote that neutralized most of the Tang Clan’s poisons.

The problem was that not just anyone could use that poison. The only person who could perfectly calculate the exact dosage, time, and degree of dispersion was the previous Clan Head.

Moreover, Tang Hu’s poison palm was not a poison from an external object, but a poison of inner energy.

How complex of a poison technique would one have to calculate to render even that poison, even the poison of a poison-infused person who had broken through the Wall of No Form, useless?

‘Ah!’

Only then did Dang Muk realize. That Tang Gwan had already laid down a Hwagong Sin-dok [a poison neutralizing formation] formation throughout the entire tavern before they even arrived.

And that he had imbued it with inner energy, creating his own battlefield where he could gain an absolute advantage within this area.

‘T-This is…….’

Dang Muk swallowed hard.

‘This is the Clan Head’s power……!’

The heavenly poison technique that instantly decomposes and perfectly controls the most potent drugs that no one could touch.

The best strategist in Sichuan, who wins the battle before the enemy even arrives.

The highest authority of the Tang Clan’s martial arts, who can subdue all his subordinates with a handful of poison or a handful of hidden weapons.

“A promise.”

Tang Gwan’s pupils turned deep green, and then gradually turned black.

“Must be kept, right?”

Thud!

Tang Hu, whose head suddenly snapped back, collapsed on the spot.

Shudder.

Tang Hu’s body trembled madly.

There were no screams, no groans. His eyes were already showing only the whites, and black blood was flowing from his nose. Foam was forming at the corners of his mouth.

He was instantly poisoned and immersed in extreme pain. And it was the same for Dang Muk.

Looking at them trembling on the floor, Tang San swallowed hard.

“Tell Tang Ho.”

Tang Gwan picked up the empty glass.

“That his older brother is waiting here. If he doesn’t come quickly, he will be imprisoned in a dungeon for the rest of his life and die in endless agony.”

“Yes, yes!”

“The poison that has been placed in your heart will begin to activate within half an hour.”

Tang Gwan waved the empty glass as if he was annoyed.

“Go.”