Chapter 101

Wei Zong was certain something was strange.

The corpses killed by the culprit so far could be broadly classified into two categories.

Corpses killed by poison and corpses torn to death.

Anyone could use poison, but tearing people to death with bare hands required considerable skill. Substantial internal energy was necessary.

But… this guy wasn’t capable of that.

No matter how generously one judged, he didn’t have the ability to tear people apart with his bare hands.

His actions and gaze showed the experience of someone who had overcome life-and-death situations many times, but his movements were completely different. He seemed to have physical strength, but he showed almost none of the distinctive movements of a martial artist who had trained in martial arts for a long time.

Even in rough fighting, traces of martial arts should be visible here and there, but that wasn’t the case.

So the conclusion was clear.

There was another person besides this one!

This was a deduction that made Wei Zong’s thoughts extremely complicated.

If it didn’t simply end with the limping one being the culprit, the situation would become even more complex.

Wei Zong opened his eyes wide and asked Jin Ja-gang again.

“I’ll ask one more time. Who is the other one?”

Jin Ja-gang’s head was forcibly lifted as Cheon Gwon grabbed his hair.

‘Him.’

It was ‘his’ doing.

However, Jin Ja-gang said nothing and briefly looked at Wei Zong with swollen eyes before closing them without answering.

It wasn’t Wei Zong who was surprised, but Cheon Gwon. Jin Ja-gang, who had been spewing venom enough to have a staring contest with Wei Zong just moments ago, had suddenly lost his spirit.

“Huh? Why is this guy… like this?”

Cheon Gwon unnecessarily glanced at Wei Zong.

“Uh, um… did I hit him too hard and make him lose his mind…?”

Cheon Gwon released Jin Ja-gang’s head and quietly stepped back.

Wei Zong creased his forehead deeply and glared at Cheon Gwon before shifting his gaze to Jin Ja-gang.

Wei Zong said to the fallen Jin Ja-gang.

“I’m someone who really hates it when someone plots things I don’t know about. You being here, and someone informing me about it as if it were planned. Those two things are very strange. It feels like you’re mocking me.”

Wei Zong suddenly took off his shoes and became barefoot. Then he walked over and placed his bare foot on Jin Ja-gang’s temple area.

“You seem reluctant to speak. I understand well. When I was young, I often rebelled out of stubbornness too. But when you become an adult, you see, there are times when you have to do things even if you don’t want to. Take right now, for instance. If you don’t answer my questions, how much will others look down on me?”

Wei Zong applied pressure to his foot and rubbed it.

Crack, crackle.

Unpleasant sounds came from Jin Ja-gang’s skull.

The center of the palm and sole, called jangshim, is the best channel for qi emission.

Internal energy flowed from the jangshim of Wei Zong’s sole and penetrated Jin Ja-gang’s skull.

The penetrating internal energy shook Jin Ja-gang’s skull bones.

Crackle, crackle.

Blood gradually seeped from inside Jin Ja-gang’s intact eyeball. Blood leaked from his swollen eye.

Drip, drip.

His skull twisted and dislocated from the inside. This was something that could never normally happen.

“Kugh…”

Jin Ja-gang trembled with pain. Groaning sounds leaked through his teeth.

Even so, Jin Ja-gang said nothing.

“Heh heh heh… what a stubborn b*st*rd.”

Wei Zong burst into good-natured laughter, but his face was actually red with anger.

But if he applied more force, the brain would turn to mush and he wouldn’t be able to hear anything, which made him even angrier.

“I guess I’ll have to pull off his limbs one by one for him to come to his senses.”

Wei Zong said with a sigh and put on his shoes. Then he tried to grab Jin Ja-gang’s arm to lift him up.

However, due to the poison chopstick embedded in his bone, Jin Ja-gang’s body was stiffly rigid. The only thing he could move was his right arm, which had a burned palm.

“How troublesome.”

Since he was stiffly rigid, to pull off his limbs, he would actually need to release the paralysis first.

Wei Zong sat and grabbed Jin Ja-gang’s right arm, lifting it upward while kicking Jin Ja-gang’s waist with his foot as his upper body was lifted. Precisely, he kicked the end of the poison chopstick embedded in the hip bone with his toe.

Thud!

The poison chopstick pierced through Jin Ja-gang’s hip bone and came out. The protruding poison chopstick embedded itself in the main beam on the ceiling. Wei Zong twisted Jin Ja-gang’s right arm to the side, turned his body to lie down, then stepped on the poison chopstick in his shoulder with his heel.

Thud!

The poison chopstick embedded in Jin Ja-gang’s shoulder blade pierced through the bone and embedded itself in the floor.

The pain of intact bones being pierced through was indescribable. And while fully conscious at that.

Jin Ja-gang’s eyes opened wide and his body continued to tremble. Blood seeped through his teeth and flowed from his nose. Blood also trickled like a spring from the holes in his waist and shoulder.

The poison sect members watching this scene clicked their tongues.

They admired Wei Zong’s skilled and cruel methods, while being disgusted by Jin Ja-gang’s tenacity in not letting out a single scream. He was certainly a frighteningly stubborn fellow.

Among them, Cheon Gwon had a displeased expression. His poison chopsticks were expensive weapons made of black iron that couldn’t be cut even with a blade. Now they were embedded so deeply in the beam and floor that he couldn’t even retrieve them.

Of course, Wei Zong had no interest whatsoever in the poison chopsticks. His attention was focused solely on Jin Ja-gang.

Wei Zong stared down at Jin Ja-gang, who was on the verge of losing consciousness.

Suddenly, a strange thought occurred to him.

He felt an odd killing intent from Jin Ja-gang, who was experiencing pain to the point of near unconsciousness. Jin Ja-gang’s eyes, filled with blood, were looking straight at Wei Zong. It was a fighting spirit that still hadn’t given up.

“You? By what means?”

Wei Zong’s eyebrows twisted.

Something was definitely…?

Something strange?

“Come to think of it, you… haven’t opened your mouth even once since earlier, have you?”

Wei Zong felt something unsettling about Jin Ja-gang’s attitude. His mouth, which he had kept tightly shut without opening even once, was also suspicious.

Wei Zong tried to forcibly dislocate Jin Ja-gang’s jaw. It was also then that the killing intent in Jin Ja-gang’s eyes became even more intense.

But then.

Suddenly, a commotion arose from the main gate.

“Move aside!”

“If you don’t move, we’ll use force!”

“Valley Master Wei, come out immediately!”

Wei Zong’s attention was diverted.

Before long, a group of people forcibly pushed through the blocking Poison Valley warriors and approached close to the main hall.

Wei Zong was annoyed.

“What are those people now?”

The uninvited guests, numbering well over a hundred, came to the front of the main hall and stopped.

Warriors and masters of Poison Valley blocked them from entering the main hall itself.

In the slight standoff, one martial artist among the uninvited guests stepped forward.

“I am Chu Hyo of Five Birds Sect! Valley Master Wei Zong, come out immediately!”

“Chu Hyo? Tiger Shield Sword Chu Hyo?”

They were Chu Hyo and the Yunnan righteous faction martial artists that Chu Hyo had gathered.

The poison sect members, who knew that the movements of Yunnan’s righteous factions were unusual, weren’t greatly surprised.

“How dare you! Where do you think this is!”

“What rabble are you to come in a mob and cause a disturbance!”

At the word “rabble,” the eyes of the Yunnan righteous faction martial artists flared up.

“Rabble?”

The righteous faction martial artists frowned and readjusted their grip on their weapons.

Clank!

“What’s this?”

The poison sect members also put their hands in their sleeves to hide them or gripped weapons in their hands.

Not just in Yunnan, but poison sects and righteous factions had been on opposite sides for a long time.

Most righteous factions didn’t treat poison sects as proper sects but looked down on them as organizations of evil heretics. This was why it hadn’t been easy for Yunnan’s Five Great Poison Sects to join the Martial Arts Alliance.

Moreover, small and medium righteous factions that had difficulty even joining the Martial Arts Alliance despite being righteous factions had suffered great wounds to their pride.

Even so, until now they had no choice but to hold their breath because the poison sects’ power in Yunnan was so strong.

But there was no longer any need to endure.

There had never been such a good opportunity as today. It was also a chance to completely seize control in Yunnan. Some martial artists even had a sense of tragic determination on their faces.

Since they had started, they couldn’t retreat.

‘If we don’t finish this completely today, we’ll be the ones who suffer!’

These were righteous faction people who had seen what kind of evil deeds the poison sects had committed in Yunnan. They knew well that the moment they showed even the slightest weakness, they would quickly face retaliation.

The poison sect members, having heard rumors that the righteous factions were secretly organizing, felt that they had come with firm resolve. So they raised their internal energy and prepared to fight at any time.

But suddenly the poison sect members exchanged glances and split to the sides.

Wei Zong walked out between them.

Wei Zong had a smiling face, but it was different from usual. His excitement hadn’t subsided due to Jin Ja-gang, and his emotions hadn’t been fully controlled yet.

His face was reddish and his eyes were slightly bloodshot, making him look like someone who was drunk.

Wei Zong, forcibly suppressing his emotions, spread both arms.

“Ah, this is Tiger Shield Sword Chu of Five Birds Sect? Please come. Though you’re rude guests who weren’t invited, it wouldn’t be proper to turn away guests who have come all this way.”

Wei Zong gestured toward the workers who had been gathered earlier when he said he would pour wine.

“Bring wine and food for the guests.”

The workers had been trembling with fear due to what had just happened. When Wei Zong’s words fell, they hurriedly left as if relieved.

However, Chu Hyo had no intention of being entertained.

“Do you think we came here just to get some wine!”

“No?”

Wei Zong smiled, lifting only one corner of his mouth.

“If not that, then why would people famous for being heavy-bottomed make such a journey here?”

Being heavy-bottomed was a metaphorical mockery of the righteous factions who had kept their mouths shut, covered their eyes, and blocked their ears during the poison sects’ activities.

“Ah, I see. You mean a cup of wine won’t do? You must have heard rumors that our poison sects have overflowing ownerless wealth. Are you trying to get a good share while you’re at it?”

The righteous faction martial artists were furious. Bu Yong, the sect leader of Rising Dragon Sect, turned bright red and shouted.

“Valley Master is now seriously insulting us!”

Wei Zong twisted the corner of his mouth in a smile.

“No? Hmm… I thought so based on your actions so far. If not that, then what business do you have swarming here like a pack of dogs?”

Bu Yong fumed.

“We are…!”

At that moment, Wei Zong emitted killing intent toward Bu Yong. All the hair on Bu Yong’s body stood up in an instant.

Bu Yong was startled and unconsciously stepped backward.

“Th-that is to say…”

Rising Dragon Sect leader Bu Yong stammered and then shut his mouth, thinking ‘oh no.’ No matter how great the opponent’s martial arts, to stammer! What an unseemly thing!

Chu Hyo stepped forward, blocking Bu Yong.

“I’ll tell you the reason!”

Wei Zong looked down at Chu Hyo arrogantly, as if telling him to speak.

Chu Hyo ground his teeth and said.

“I’ve come looking for the one who killed my son, Chu Sajin.”

“Then you should go find that killer, why did you come here?”

“Because that b*st*rd is here.”

“That bastard doesn’t mean me, I suppose…”

Chu Hyo cut him off.

“The limping one.”

Wei Zong’s eyebrows twitched.

The limping one again?

Even Wei Zong showed that much reaction.

Several poison sect members unconsciously glanced toward Jin Ja-gang, who was collapsed inside the main hall.

The righteous faction martial artists didn’t miss this.

Following the poison sect members’ gazes, wasn’t there someone covered in blood inside!

Just then, Jin Ja-gang heard their words and raised his body. The moment he moved to raise his body, the righteous faction martial artists’ eyes widened.

“It’s the limping one!”