Chapter 27 – Boundless and Infinite

Chapter 27 – Boundless and Infinite

Tang San-ho had not experienced this kind of atmosphere for the first time.

The act of deliberately ignoring others in front of many people was one of the desires for recognition, a psychological need of humans.

Therefore, it was reasonable to view the Murong Family Head's current words and actions not as having ill feelings toward the Tang Clan, but rather as a result of a combination of a desire to prove that he was a more important person and a desire to stand above others.

A human faithful to desire.

Was it not a natural thing, like a caterpillar nibbling on a leaf or a river flowing to the sea?

What was the point of getting angry at such a natural process? Tang San-ho thought so.

Thus, he opened his mouth instead of Tang Hwa-seon, who held his shoulder tightly.

"If Family Head Murong expected a beautiful woman, I am sorry, but I am that very Dark Flower. Usually, there are many groundless rumors in the Jianghu, so it unintentionally caused a misunderstanding."

"………"

'I have heard stories of the Murong Family.'

Namgung Yeon, who also said he only stayed at home, was somehow so bright about the rumors of the Jianghu that he would chatter about things without even being asked. Tang San-ho remembered that among the stories he heard at that time, there was definitely one about the Murong Clan.

'…Hmm. Liaoning Province is a borderland even in the Central Plains, but the rumors traveled quite far.'

The Murong Clan was the descendant of the royal family of the Yan Dynasty, who once aimed for supremacy in the Central Plains. Since they were of royal descent, they considered themselves noble, looked down on other families, and of course, wanted to regain their past glory.

He did not know how the minor rumors of the Dark Flower had spread so far… but guessing based on the information he heard, the Murong Clan was a family with a profound interest in sorting out the hierarchy.

'Then it is right to view this as part of that.'

However, sorting out the hierarchy was something only done between opponents who growled at each other; if one did not play along, the other could not sort it out alone.

"Since I have never stepped into the Jianghu, I have not obtained a noteworthy moniker. Please, when I make progress and enter the Jianghu, senior members, help me a lot."

'Do you avoid dung because you're scared of it, or because it's dirty… I wonder if there is such a saying in the Central Plains.'

Tang San-ho cupped his fists politely with a gentle smile.

Seeing that, Murong Seol-ju's eyebrows twitched.

To think that the Tang Clan, whom he thought would freeze coldly and ruin the banquet, would respond with a warm answer.

'…Did he say Tang San-ho? So that fellow is the flower of Sichuan.'

Even though hundreds of eyes were directed at him, there was not a single thing he liked, from his attitude without a shred of tension to his neatly curved lips.

In particular, he disliked it even more that the Dark Flower, who was a hot topic among gossips lately, was a direct lineage son of the Tang Clan.

Even among the five families collectively called the Five Great Families, a hierarchy clearly existed. Murong Seol-ju was a person who thought it was wrong for the Sichuan Tang Clan to be included in the Five Great Families in the first place.

'Poisons and hidden weapons, they are guys who are even more unorthodox than the unorthodox sects……'

Yet, what angered him the most was that their fame and influence were superior to theirs.

Murong Seol-ju, who wore a smiling face, put strength into his jaw.

"…Is there a need for that? Rather than just being introduced in words like this, how about trying a duel with the Third Young Master of our Murong? If you do, you might get a quite nice moniker."

Murong's Third Young Master, Murong Jae.

The skills of his son, who turned eighteen this year, were outstanding enough to be counted on one hand even among the family's rising stars.

To the extent that it was incomparable to something like the Dark Flower, who had barely begun to make his name known recently.

"Family Head Murong, a sudden duel at a banquet is…"

At Murong Seol-ju's sudden proposal of a duel, Paeng Mu-hyeok, the Family Head of the Hebei Paeng Clan, slightly dissuaded him.

"Ah, my goodness. I could not suppress my curiosity, wondering if a new gemstone had appeared in the Jianghu. Now that I think about it, it would be too much for the Young Master, who has not learned martial arts for long."

"………"

Squeeze.

At Murong Seol-ju's words, which were clearly sarcastic, a vein popped on the forehead of Tang San-ho, who had been smiling gently.

Once again, Tang San-ho composed his mind: 'Let's not be swayed by the desires of humans who are selfish from birth. It is not right to get angry at a natural result.'

The sun being hot was a natural thing, so one could not get angry asking why it acted hot, could they?

"I am sorry, Young Master. Please pretend you did not hear what this old man said."

"………"

Tang San-ho's lips, which he had done his best to raise, trembled slightly.

Imperturbable mind, let's regain the imperturbable mind.

There was no need to get caught up in every single provocation like this…

'No, but.'

The other side struck first three times?

Isn't it three strikes and you're out?

'…Sigh…'

The corners of his mouth, which had been gently raised, soared further upward.

Sawol, who was helping with the banquet work, let out a short groan upon seeing Tang San-ho's expression.

That expression.

Whenever Tang San-ho wore that expression, there was a high probability that things would escalate.

…Sure enough.

With a smile that was raised so high it even looked scary, Tang San-ho opened his mouth.

"Very well."

Probabilities did not lie.

"Since Family Head Murong made a good suggestion, how can I, as a junior in the Jianghu, refuse such a precious experience?"

"…Huh?"

"But since it is a place to evaluate me anyway, may I choose the opponent?"

Contrary to his mind trying to find an imperturbable state, his mouth opened first like a spinal reflex.

Tang San-ho thought.

Do you avoid dung because you're scared of it, or because it's dirty.

'But… isn't it right to clean up dirty things quickly?'

"Haha, the Young Master is quite aggressive, contrary to appearance. Good, but the Fourth Young Master is still…"

Tang San-ho interrupted Murong Seol-ju, who naturally thought he would call out the Fourth Young Master, who was younger than the Third Young Master.

"Tang Clan's San-ho requests a duel with the Young Clan Leader of Murong."

The name that came out of his mouth was one no one had expected.

"………!!"

Tang Hae-soo, who failed to cover Tang San-ho's mouth in time, held his head.

The Young Clan Leader of the Murong Clan, Murong Hwan.

Occupying a seat of the Seven Dragons and Five Phoenixes, he was one of the twelve rising stars counted on one's fingers in the Jianghu.

"……!!"

"Heh, the Young Master is now…"

"Will it be okay?"

"Oh dear… things are going to get bigger than expected."

Tang San-ho had just picked a fight head-on with one of them.

The youngest son of the Tang Clan, who had just begun to learn martial arts, and the Young Clan Leader of Murong, who was already one of the Seven Dragons and Five Phoenixes counted under heaven.

At that gap, the people of the families in the banquet hall began to whisper in embarrassment.

"Haha… Young Master. I highly evaluate your boldness, but if you get seriously injured, I will have no face to see Family Head Tang. So, if you request a duel, the Third Young Master, who is of a similar age, would be better."

"I am quite sturdy, so you do not have to worry."

"Are you answering with proper knowledge? The Young Clan Leader of Murong is one of the Seven Dragons called the Whirlwind Divine Dragon, while you are just a beginner without even a moniker yet. I am asking out of true worry."

"Yes, I am looking forward to it very much."

In the banquet hall where hundreds of people gathered, Tang San-ho was the only one with a peaceful face.

As if it was not his own business, his relaxed response was enough to embarrass the onlookers even more.

"…Huh."

Instead of Murong Seol-ju, who only let out a hollow laugh as if it was absurd, the Young Clan Leader Murong Hwan stepped forward.

"Father, I worried that it would look like an unequal match of the strong and weak… but it is the duty of a Jianghu senior to teach that there are responsibilities for actions like a mantis trying to block a chariot. Therefore, I will break his spirit."

Thus, in just half a double-hour since the Assembly of the Five Great Families began.

"Murong's Young Clan Leader Murong Hwan will respond to the Sichuan Tang Clan Young Master's request for a duel."

The duel between the Tang Clan and Murong was established.

***

The duel between the two families was scheduled for the day before the assembly ended.

It was to prevent the result of the duel from affecting the assembly.

"Since the assembly is held for a week, there are four days left until the duel. Since there's time… should I take some elixir and fight?"

Tang San-ho took out the elixirs he had carefully stored away.

The Vermilion Fruit and Clear Heaven Pill that Namgung Yeon had handed over while chattering about sworn brothers and such were also with them.

The wedding gifts had transformed into bribes for a sworn brotherhood treaty, but such things were not important.

"Keh. Nice, nice……"

Tang San-ho looked around the elixirs with an emotional face.

His heart fluttered at the thought that each and every one of these elixirs would enter his dantian and become internal energy.

Requesting a duel with the Young Clan Leader of the Murong Clan at the banquet was also something he did because he had something to rely on. The Young Clan Leader, Murong Hwan, was a twenty-three-year-old swordsman this year, and one of the strongest rising stars in the Jianghu, but…

'Even so, he is only twenty-three. I can win that level of difference through an internal energy battle.'

What should he eat first? Tang San-ho, who was tapping the tea table with his fingers, picked up the Clear Heaven Pill first.

Gulp.

As he quickly threw it into his mouth, a refreshing scent spread from the spirit pill that melted smoothly.

Clear Heaven Pill.

A spirit pill manufactured with the Namgung Family's secret recipe.

It was a spirit pill containing the meaning of brightly illuminating the blue sky. Although its fame was lower compared to Shaolin's Great Return Pill or Wudang's Great Pure Pill, it was an elixir that matched well with the Ten Thousand Flows Return to the Source Divine Art learned by Tang San-ho.

Swoosh—

The energy that spread clearly as if his chest had opened wide began to flow to every corner along the Eight Extraordinary Vessels.

Completing a single circulation in an instant, the energy that settled in his dantian reached the baihui point as if soaring into the sky.

A clear sensation continued as if waking up every single brain cell.

The energy harboring the meaning of the clear heaven stretched out boundlessly and limitlessly along the governor vessel.

Just naturally, like breathing.

Refreshment was added to the path paved by the Ten Thousand Flows Return to the Source Divine Art.

'Good. Let's eat this at once too.'

The Vermilion Fruit grown by receiving the spiritual energy of Mount Huang. Tang San-ho also swallowed the appetizing Vermilion Fruit in his hand in one gulp.

There was no hesitation.

Usually, elixirs had to be consumed and circulated in turn, but Tang San-ho did not need such a process.

Because a macro system was running, which absorbed the energy and accumulated it step by step on its own.

'Hmm. At this rate… it will all be absorbed when I wake up after a deep sleep.'

He could clearly feel the spiritual power and life energy harbored by the Vermilion Fruit flowing down his throat.

As he trained.

As he ate elixirs.

The clear energy ran vigorously through the acupoints while expanding his dantian.

'Now there's not even anything to filter out.'

It was natural for a human to naturally accumulate turbid qi during their lifetime.

However, there was not even a speck of turbid qi in Tang San-ho's acupoints.

Just as moss does not grow on a rolling stone, since his internal energy circulated through his entire body 24 hours a day, there was no room for turbid qi to accumulate.

'Let's see, the internal energy felt roughly is already 40 years' worth…'

Thus, as the clean internal energy accumulating in the dantian increased, its speed actually became faster and faster.

'This is completely compound interest.'

Compound interest is a method of interest where interest earned on the principal is added to the principal each period, and is calculated along with the principal during the next interest calculation.

In other words, interest is added to interest, so the amount snowballs as time passes.

Interest begets interest, and that interest begets more interest.

The internal energy accumulating in Tang San-ho's dantian right now was just like that.

That was why as time passed, and the more internal energy accumulated, the faster greater internal energy was accumulating.

'After taking a couple more elixirs and waiting a few days, sixty years of internal energy will be reached in no time.'

Just as Tang San-ho, who had consumed up to the Vermilion Fruit, reached for the box containing the third elixir.

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door of the annex.