Part 1

Chapter 13. Test

In the dark forest.

The black trees shook loudly.

Swoosh.

The man who had settled on a thick tree branch lifted his head and stared at the branch stretching above him.

His red eyes, filled with moonlight, glowed coldly.

He raised his hand and traced the characters carved into the tree. Although it was hard to see because of the darkness, he interpreted the characters by following the sensations at his fingertips.

Tap.

The man, reading the characters, suddenly broke the branch. The forest on the left side vanished, revealing a cliff. Surprisingly, between the cliffs, there was a small gap wide enough for a person to slip through.

Whoosh.

A rough wind blew. The sound was that of martial artists leaping out of the darkness.

“The time for the formation to disappear is half a quarter.”

At the man’s words, his subordinates silently lowered their heads.

Through the narrow opening of the cliff, dark silhouettes poured in like a swarm of bees.

The man glanced behind him once, then entered the cave following his subordinates.

The leading subordinates spread out as soon as they entered the Yeonju Group and thoroughly searched the thatched huts.

But all the thatched huts were empty. All five cottages were the same. The herbs scattered on the roof and the platforms suggested this was indeed the Yeonju Group, yet not a single rat could be seen.

‘What is this?’

One of the martial artists at the front of the group absentmindedly scratched his neck.

Perhaps the tension had eased, as he felt his body become light.

But it wasn’t just a feeling.

“Ugh!”

His breath became labored, and soon, his entire body lost strength.

At the moment his vision turned black, the martial artist lost consciousness.

Thud. Thud.

Like reeds falling to the wind, dozens of subordinates following behind collapsed one after another.

“Stop.”

The subordinates, who were about to approach the fallen comrade, halted at the leader’s words.

The leader’s gaze swept through the darkness.

He wondered if it was poison powder, but there was no fog, and despite it being night, his vision remained clear.

The leader lowered his posture and placed his hand near the fallen subordinate’s mouth. There was a faint breath, but when he pressed the acupoints on the neck and chest, the subordinate only flinched and didn’t get up. It seemed as if his body had been paralyzed.

Out of the fifty who entered the Yeonju Group, forty had collapsed.

The remaining ten cautiously approached the leader.

“It seems they’ve been poisoned.”

One martial artist spoke, but another nearby subordinate disagreed.

“But there’s nothing visible or tangible that could indicate poison powder.”

The leader listened to his subordinates and sharpened his senses. First, the scent of herbs scattered around the area prevented him from distinguishing the poison by smell. Moreover, if it had been poison powder, it should have spread as they entered, but nothing of that sort occurred.

‘Is it a form of invisible poison?’

The leader closed his eyes.

He quietly observed his own body. His internal energy was vibrating and running wild, as if reacting to something that had entered his body.

Every time he breathed, his internal energy would flinch, resembling the effects of poison infiltrating his lungs.

With his eyes still closed, he took a few steps forward, searching for where his body was reacting.

After taking several steps, the leader swung the sword in his hand. The red light that flew out instantly cut through the walls of the thatched hut.

Clang.

Along with the sound of the wall crumbling, a sharp sound of breaking pottery was heard.

The leader gave a quiet command.

“Hold your breath until I give permission.”

Saying this, he walked into the thatched hut without hesitation.

In his eyes, he saw a broken jar. It appeared to be a distiller used for making medicinal liquor, and inside the dozens of distillers, water was filled to the brim. It seemed the poison had been vaporized.

The leader destroyed the remaining distillers.

Clang. Clang. Crash.

As the steam was swept away with tension, the heavy poison mist that had been suffocating the area quickly dissipated.

“Poison technique using vapor.”

It wasn’t that they directly inhaled poison powder; the vapor, diluted in the air, had simply seeped into their lungs. Despite this, eight out of ten martial artists were poisoned.

It seemed someone well-versed in poison techniques was involved. Judging by the combination of poisons that were compatible with water and could quickly induce poisoning.

Even more strangely, the one casting the poison technique was nowhere to be seen. Despite that, they had managed to neutralize most of his forces without suffering any harm.

The painful mistake made the leader of the group click his tongue.

“It seems those skilled in poison vapor techniques have visited.”

He stared into the air with his red eyes. His gaze darkened. He had been sent to silence them, but now it seemed he might inadvertently reveal his identity to outsiders.

He had two choices left.

Either retreat and give up, or kill every outsider without leaving a trace.

“Ugh.”

At that moment, one of the fallen subordinates let out a labored breath and twisted his body. It seemed he had been moderately poisoned, but he hadn’t lost consciousness.

The leader swung the sword in his hand widely. The red sword’s aura traced a massive arc, sweeping across the ground. As a result, the bodies of the fallen martial artists shattered, and blood splattered everywhere.

The fallen subordinates had only been paralyzed, but the leader had ended their lives.

The leader remained unshaken even after slaughtering his subordinates.

He immediately sharpened his senses to track the enemies. However, there was no sign of life. They had come inside, but it seemed they had escaped outside.

It hadn’t been long since they left. If they had been gone longer, the movements would have been noticed, and messages would have been sent.

Suddenly, the leader squinted.

Dust was swirling like a mirage under the moonlight. But one spot had a different movement. A small, almost imperceptible object was being sucked into the ground, as if being pulled.

After confirming where the dust settled, the leader lifted his head again.

He gave a low command as he looked toward the entrance of the mountain.

“Go outside and tell the third group to move to the opposite side of the gorge.”

The leader spoke to his remaining ten subordinates.

“Yes.”

One of the martial artists promptly exited the cave.

The leader, who had stepped toward the wind, suddenly lowered his head. A faint vibration was rising through his feet.

Boom.

When he stomped his foot again, a stronger vibration was felt.

There was a passage beneath the ground.

As he raised his sword to cut through the floor, a sharp, bursting sound pierced his eardrums.

Clang. Claang. Clang.

The subordinates, who had appeared to protect the leader, blocked the darts coming from all directions.

The leader’s gaze, fixed on the floor, slowly moved upward.

His eyes were fixed on the wall.

A man, whose appearance was unknown, was rolling a dart between his fingers atop the wall.

“I’d like to make a suggestion. Would you be willing to listen?”

The man spoke in a calm, unaffected tone.

“Well, people make mistakes when wielding a blade, and they might incur some grudges. There must be a reason why you’re all here, eyes bloodshot, trying to capture those who are dying. I understand.”

The tone was like an adult admonishing a child. There was a sense of dissonance with the youthful appearance.

A youth-like old man, a master of poison vapor techniques, and a presence unnoticed by the elite warriors of the first group.

A name flashed through the leader’s mind.

The Black Sky Demon of the Tang Clan of Sichuan. A monster whose pouring hidden weapons are said to dye the sky black. Even someone long absent from the Central Plains could not have failed to know his name.

The Black Sky Demon put his hands behind his back and spoke as if giving a lesson.

“I have no intention of getting involved in your little grudge match. Whether you tear them limb from limb or bury them somewhere, that’s your business. I couldn’t care less. However.”

The sly, drawling tone paused for a moment.

Then, with a lowered voice, he got to the point.

“Fight outside my sight.”

Tang Min shrugged as he looked at the masked men standing across from him.

“I took a quick look at the ones you’re after. Their physique are not ordinary. Looked like they’d be up and about within a day. So tomorrow, all of you hold hands and head outside of Sichuan together to settle your scores. Ah, then I’ll pretend I never saw you lot either.”

At those words, the leader of the group gave a peculiar smile. Tang Min didn’t like that.

Frowning, he snapped.

“Hey! When an elder makes such a generous offer, shouldn’t you be answering right away? How rude.”

The leader’s lips curled faintly.

“A kind proposal indeed. They say nothing is more meaningless than rumors in the Murim, but it seems the tales of Senior Black Sky Demon’s temper have been distorted.”

Tang Min narrowed his brow, seemingly at a loss.

“Look at this! You know who I am, and I don’t even know who you are. And yet I’m letting you go without asking a single thing… Hah, do you realize what a bad deal this is for me? That’s how generous I am. If you manage to get back alive, make sure you spread the word about my heavenly generosity.”

Tang Min clapped as if impressed by his own mercy.

“Now, then. Whether it’s Anhui or Hubei or wherever you came from, get the hell back there. I’ll send those guys your way under my name.”

At that, the leader’s eyes narrowed. In the small gap of his mask, a clear killing intent flared within his red eyes.

“Do you think there’s anyone foolish enough to believe a deal like that?”

“Tsk. Children these days, no sense of romance. It’s only by deceiving and being deceived that grudges are born and resolved.”

The leader stared intently at Tang Min, his gaze sunken and calm.

“Senior… do you truly not know who I am?”

“Huh? Cocky brat. How would I know who you are?”

The leader let out a faint chuckle.

“If that’s your answer, then I’m grateful.”

“Grateful, my ass. That ‘heh-heh’ laugh is disgusting. Cut it out right now.”

At Tang Min’s words, the leader’s subordinates lowered their stances, ready to spring into action at any moment. But the leader, still smiling, cut through the tense air.

“By the way, Senior Black Sky Demon, I get the feeling you already know how I’ll respond. So why bother with such an offer? To buy time?”

“Well, that too.”

The dart that had been rolling between Tang Min’s fingers came to a stop between his index and middle fingers.

“I just wanted to see what kind of guy you were—whether you’d cross the line or quietly stay hidden.”

“Hmm. And what’s your judgment? Did I pass the test of Senior Black Sky Demon?”

“Tch. You’re quite generous to yourself, aren’t you? How could someone like you possibly pass my heavenly-high standards?”

“So I failed?”

The leader slightly lowered the ends of his brows, as if disappointed.

“Yeah. That’s a problem.”

Tang Min’s tone, now stripped of playfulness, slowly pierced the eardrums of the Blood Sect members.

“You know what happens when you set foot in the Central Plains. And yet with those blood-red eyes, you dared to look me straight in the face.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep