Chapter 397

Originally, the Sichuan Tang family was a renowned clan in the martial world and belonged to the larger scale among martial forces.

So much so that there was a saying that while traveling in Sichuan, Tang family members would pass by twelve times a day without one knowing.

However, even such a Tang family couldn’t rule the world with only their own family members.

It was impossible with force alone.

The martial world was vast.

Even mobilizing all direct lineage, branch family, and vassal family warriors had physical limitations. It was difficult to oversee even one-tenth of the Central Plains.

Moreover, martial artists of the martial world didn’t easily kneel.

Master Haewol had also told Jin Ja-gang:

In the martial world there are countless sects and tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of prideful people who won’t move even with a blade at their throat.

They only move when the martial world itself faces threats to survival, when they must follow great causes.

Even if some madman creates chaos with the world’s greatest martial arts, the martial world won’t cooperate if it goes against righteousness.

Tang Qing also knew this fact.

No matter how terrifying the Tang family’s force was, it would be difficult to sustain rule for long with force alone.

So Tang Qing had pondered methods of governance for a very long time. He researched ways to maximize the Tang family’s control while giving out minimal power.

And the testing ground for this became the Poison Sect’s six cliques.

Tang Qing had patiently cultivated and tested governance methods through the Poison Sect’s six cliques over a long time.

The Poison Sect’s six cliques appeared to have equal voice externally but were actually financially subordinate to the Tang family. It was the form Tang Qing most ideally desired.

However, he couldn’t leave the Poison Sect’s six cliques until the new era after the great undertaking.

After the great undertaking ended, the remaining five divisions would grow larger, and once they achieved financial independence, they would certainly raise their voices higher.

Therefore, Tang Qing had tried to quickly dismantle the Poison Sect’s six cliques before the great undertaking.

In the process, the three Poison Sect Cliques who noticed Tang Qing’s intention rebelled.

The rebellion itself wasn’t a big problem.

He could just suppress it.

He even thought it worked out well. Thanks to this, he could sweep them all away at once without having to scheme in various ways.

But…

In this situation, Jin Ja-gang suddenly raised issues about rules and procedures.

And he created a situation that absolutely couldn’t be brushed aside!

If he killed Jin Ja-gang, Emei Sect, and everyone else, he would feel refreshed.

But rumors that Tang Qing had arbitrarily broken rules and regulations would inevitably spread.

To completely rule the martial world, just like creating the Poison Sect’s six divisions, he needed to bring sects under his command to act as the Tang family’s proxies.

But if it became known that the Tang family ignored procedures and didn’t keep rules, who would want to cooperate with the untrustworthy King of Hell and Tang family!

Even if the great undertaking succeeded, it would clearly become a case of flowers not lasting ten days.

No, even if he abandoned the great undertaking, it would be hard to avoid criticism for trying to forcibly seize the Poison Sect’s six cliques.

Yet he couldn’t just abandon the great undertaking he had prepared for decades.

He had brought things to this point, so should he now withdraw and step back?

Even bearing the disgrace of being a sinner who ruined the family’s great undertaking?

Would he give up and retreat for the family’s future?

Would he abandon the family’s honor and pursue survival?

Tang Qing, who had lived for his family, had become an obstacle holding back his own family. For Tang Qing, this was the most unbearable situation.

Tang Qing’s forehead grew hot. His head felt like it would explode.

Within Tang Qing, beliefs and values constantly collided.

How did things come to this?

He was angry.

He couldn’t believe his lifelong great undertaking faced such difficulties from falling for a young bloodbag’s petty schemes.

He felt like his body was on fire.

His internal energy ran wild in reverse and rage surged.

‘Ugh…’

Tang Qing thought he was groaning but no sound was coming out. Yet he was completely unaware of this.

What had he lived for until now!

His chest burned like fire.

‘Aaaahhhhh!’

Tang Qing screamed and spewed out his anger like flames.

Or so he thought.

But actually he made no sound at all, and his anger wasn’t relieved at all.

* * *

The killing intent Tang Qing emitted reached its peak.

Materialized killing intent flew in all directions, embedding in walls and making holes in people’s flesh and clothes.

Whiii! Ping!

Even hidden weapons poured out madly.

Even the Tang family elders could no longer endure.

“We must stop King of Hell!”

Already over ten people had fallen from hidden weapons without even properly fighting.

However, someone pointed in surprise after seeing Tang Qing’s face.

“L-look at that!”

Tang Qing’s face was so red it was beyond bright red to blackened, as if roasted by fire.

Moreover, his dark red face constantly undulated as if hundreds of earthworms were crawling under his skin. It was disgusting just to look at.

Yet his eyes were dead.

His pupils were unfocused and hazy.

“Q-qi deviation?”

Not only the Tang family elders but also the three Poison Sect Cliques were afraid.

When a master caught by heart demons from extreme shock enters qi deviation, it usually brings bad results.

Either the body can’t overcome the rampaging internal energy and becomes crippled…

Or only the mind breaks while martial arts remain intact, becoming the worst kind of madman…

Pop!

At some moment, something burst with a sound and steam rose from Tang Qing’s brow. Steam also rose from the crown of his head and behind his ears.

Hissssss…

Tang Gwi-ok could no longer just watch.

“Hold down older brother and calm him. Quickly!”

She couldn’t ask Jin Ja-gang. Though Jin Ja-gang wasn’t greatly affected by the killing intent, both his arms were broken and his physical condition was a mess.

After delivering his final words to Tang Qing, he had just sat down watching.

Tang family elders approached Tang Qing while avoiding the pouring hidden weapons.

“King of Hell! Calm down!”

“We’ll help guide your internal energy with water-descending fire-ascending techniques!”

But the faces of two elders who had approached Tang Qing suddenly turned pale.

“Cough.”

One held his face and one scratched his neck with pained expressions. They staggered, then knelt and vomited blood.

Then, someone spoke from the inner courtyard’s window side.

“It would be better not to get close.”

Someone sat perched after tearing out the window frame. Small stature, a hunchback with a hump on his back.

It was Divine Physician An Yul-jin.

“King of Hell is emitting poison from his bone marrow that’s evaporating and creating poison fog.”

Tang Gwi-ok asked An Yul-jin.

“Divine Physician, is there a way to stop older brother’s qi deviation?”

“It’s already too late to restore him to normal. He’ll either die after emitting all the poison in his bone marrow, or if lucky, survive as an idiot. More than that, if you don’t immediately seal and block all doors of the great hall, this inner courtyard will soon become a poisonous killing field filled with King of Hell’s poison.”

Tang Gwi-ok alternately looked at Tang Qing creating poison fog with unfocused eyes and Jin Ja-gang sitting beside him.

One of the two elders who had approached Tang Qing was already dead. One was struggling painfully but his body was gradually stiffening.

As the poison fog spread, everyone moved away from Tang Qing.

But how…

Jin Ja-gang was receiving direct effects closest to the poison fog yet enduring much longer than the Tang family elders.

Of course, he couldn’t be called fine.

With hundreds of holes in his body, Tang Qing’s poison had seeped in through them.

The wounded holes began swelling from poison and pus flowed. His appearance had become so disgusting his face was hard to recognize.

Tang Gwi-ok asked.

“Can you move?”

Poisoned, water had accumulated in his limb joints. His joints were swollen and bone joints were dislocated. Walking was impossible.

Jin Ja-gang shook his head with his swollen face.

“Don’t worry about me and evacuate.”

Jin Ja-gang was the culprit who made the Tang family this way and also the grandson-in-law.

Though her mind must be complex, Tang Gwi-ok nodded with an unreadable expression.

“Everyone evacuate.”

As soon as Tang Gwi-ok finished speaking, Tang family elders tore out windows, carried Tang Gwi-ok and escaped outside. The three Poison Sect Cliques did likewise. They dragged the wounded out through windows. Yeong-gwi, disguised as a man, held her face and looked at Jin Ja-gang. Jin Ja-gang gestured with his eyes that he was okay.

An Yul-jin watched until the end, then quietly looked at Jin Ja-gang before throwing an acupuncture case in front of him.

“If you want to save him, needle six fen deep into the Naohu point. If you want to kill him, stab two cun deep into the Baihui point.”

It was a strange attitude of leaving Tang Qing’s life to Jin Ja-gang. But Jin Ja-gang laughed absurdly.

“Both my arms are broken.”

“If you don’t want to, do as you please.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to… why are you entrusting this to me?”

“You’re the only one there.”

“Don’t I need treatment?”

“If your body needed treatment, you’d already be dead.”

Jin Ja-gang quietly looked at An Yul-jin then asked.

“Do you perhaps have ill feelings toward me?”

“A little. But I’ll safely care for your wife and child, so don’t worry.”

“Ah, thank you. Please take care of them.”

Having finished speaking, An Yul-jin leaped out the window.

After all living people left, only corpses, Tang Qing, and Jin Ja-gang remained in the great hall.

Bang bang bang! Soon they began blocking windows from outside, putting up boards and hammering nails.

They were sealing the great hall by blocking all spaces with gaps.

The great hall became thick with poison fog emitted by Tang Qing.

“Huh.”

Jin Ja-gang let out a long sigh.

Finally… he had succeeded in driving out King of Hell Tang Qing.

It was possible because he met many people and learned how to see the world from them, and because Tang Qing was equally smart.

“Not something to do twice.”

Jin Ja-gang smiled bitterly and coughed. This time too he had pushed himself to the extreme.

Though it was a worthy opponent, the price was very high.

His body ached as if burning.

But he moved.

“King of Hell, you must live. If only to reveal the Hungry Ghost King’s identity.”

Jin Ja-gang crawled and opened the acupuncture case with his mouth, holding a needle between his teeth. Then he barely stood up and carefully stabbed six fen deep into the Naohu point behind Tang Qing’s head.

Twitch.

Light briefly returned to Tang Qing’s pupils.

Tang Qing’s pupils turned toward Jin Ja-gang. His hazy focus had half returned.

Perhaps startled by Jin Ja-gang’s terrible appearance, Tang Qing just stared at Jin Ja-gang for a while.

Then he opened his mouth.

“The great undertaking… has already begun…”

Tang Qing continued haltingly.

“You cannot stop the flow… You too have only… choices left…”

Having finished speaking, Tang Qing vomited black blood then collapsed unconscious.

Bang bang! With several layers of boards being nailed from outside, no light entered the great hall anymore.

Nothing was visible.

Jin Ja-gang lay down beside Tang Qing.

Though full of poison fog, breathing was just slightly uncomfortable, but his mind felt more at ease.

Nobody would enter for a while anyway, and Tang Qing wouldn’t wake easily.

‘I should rest…’

Before long, Jin Ja-gang fell into surprisingly deep sleep.