The day of departure for the Namgung Family.
Dong Bong-su came out of the Family estate early with simple travel preparations, leading Yeoro.
Was it because he woke up too early? No one was visible yet.
A quiet morning.
As always, a good time for thinking.
Holding Yeoro's reins, he quietly continued the contemplation he'd been doing since yesterday.
How should one learn martial arts?
For now, he had no choice but to learn by watching with his eyes and imitating what he saw.
Last night, relying on his memories so far—the movements of the Black Group leaders and the martial artists he'd seen in the Family—he tried to reproduce martial arts techniques. He could imitate the forms, but it didn't go well. Literally just mimicry. Nothing more, nothing less.
In the end, it meant that to learn martial arts, he had no choice but to be taught.
Then how should he do it?
Look at books, or learn under someone's tutelage. Of these, the former was the inferior method, and the latter the superior one. In anything, rather than learning alone while being broken and torn, it's faster to learn from someone who has already been broken and torn. That way, one can move to the next stage without making the same mistakes.
Dong Bong-su looked at himself.
In his current state, he wouldn't be welcomed by anyone. In terms of being inconspicuous, the semi-mute servant Sosam had the best protective coloring, but it was an appearance lacking for learning anything.
It wouldn't be easy to run away from the Danri Family as he was and become someone's disciple. Because he had already reached eighteen years of age by this place's reckoning, and from what he'd heard, at around this age it was difficult to learn martial arts from the beginning. Even if someone accepted him, they were unlikely to be an outstanding master.
'Let's put this problem aside for now.'
He hadn't even properly experienced the Martial World yet.
It wouldn't be too late to decide about learning martial arts after experiencing the Martial World a bit more.
This trip to the Namgung Family should greatly broaden his knowledge.
There, the possibility of finding a solution to this problem would be high. If it really didn't work out, he could just learn from books.
He emptied his mind again and stood still, waiting for the others to come out. But that was only in appearance—he was definitely not standing idle.
Throughout various parts of Dong Bong-su's body hidden by his clothes, grains of sand were endlessly appearing and disappearing repeatedly. It was the training of Inventory Divine Art. Though it wasn't a skill that had anything like proficiency or levels, looking back at his survival process so far, it was the most useful technique. Inventory Divine Art was even superior to the skills given upon leveling up.
In addition to that.
Recently, he'd realized that this technique could also be advanced. That was taking out or putting in two objects simultaneously. Though he hadn't perfectly mastered it yet, it had become somewhat possible. Perhaps if more time passed, taking out or putting in three or four objects at once would also become possible.
Like a duck smoothly swimming on water by paddling both feet hidden below the surface, he steadily trained his Inventory Divine Art while standing in that spot.
How much more time had passed like that?
As the sunlight gradually warmed the earth, the people departing for the Namgung Family began to show their faces one by one.
The Black Five Group members came out first and quietly lined up in front of the Family's main gate. They were probably waiting for Gi Dae-hyo and Gi Man-ji.
Dong Bong-su watched them carefully and quietly went to stand in a corner. It was to stay faithful to Sosam's role. Because Sosam would certainly have done so.
Shortly after, Gi Man-ji, neatly dressed in the Black Five Group's martial uniform, appeared and inspected the departing personnel.
"The entire Black Five Group has assembled."
Having counted all the Black Five Group members, he also glanced once toward Dong Bong-su.
"Yeoro is out too."
To him, Dong Bong-su as Sosam was nothing more than an appendage to Yeoro. Gi Man-ji then checked the wedding gifts besides Yeoro to take to the Namgung Family and the number of people to transport them. There were no problems with that either.
"Mm. No problems. Who hasn't come out yet?"
"Everyone except the Young Master and Young Miss has gathered."
One of the Black Five Group members answered Gi Man-ji's question. The Young Master he referred to was Danri Jiang-hae, the first son of Danri Cheon-u, and the Young Miss referred to Danri Hui, the second daughter. Though Gi Dae-hyo hadn't come out yet, he was the one to whom Gi Man-ji would report after gathering everyone, so they didn't mention him at all.
Though Danri Jiang-hae and Danri Hui weren't visible, Gi Man-ji didn't think much of it. Their tardiness was a constant occurrence, so he had already anticipated it.
"Then everyone's out."
Gi Man-ji quickly checked the personnel once more with both pupils and went back inside the Family estate. Not long after, he came back out of the estate. The difference was that unlike when he went in, Gi Dae-hyo now stood at the front.
As soon as Gi Dae-hyo came out, without any particular words, he immediately walked forward through the Black Five Group members. It was a silent departure signal.
Instead of that Gi Dae-hyo, Gi Man-ji shouted loudly.
"Let's go."
With those words, all personnel began their journey to the Namgung Family, following Gi Dae-hyo.
Though two of the most important personnel were missing, no one found it strange. Dong Bong-su was the same.
Everyone in the Danri Family already knew well what kind of people Danri Jiang-hae and Danri Hui were.
Needless to say, Danri Jiang-hae would be drinking and groping women's bodies at some inn in Bongyang's entertainment district, and Danri Hui would still be inside the Family estate.
She pathologically disliked traveling together with subordinates. Probably other Black Five Group members who would escort her from afar, aside from the Black Five Group members gathered here, would also remain at the estate. After they left, she would follow the group a little later as a rear party.
The group continued walking along the road. Before they knew it, they had arrived at Bongyang's entertainment district.
"Everyone stop. Wait for a moment."
At Gi Man-ji's words, the group all stopped in place. As everyone knew, the reason for stopping was to pick up Danri Jiang-hae.
Since it was still early, the entertainment district was quiet. Except for one place.
Crash!
From inside an inn with a signboard reading Haengho Inn hanging splendidly, noisy sounds came out as if someone was fighting.
"Again?"
Gi Dae-hyo muttered quietly and walked toward the inn. Though he was the one who spoke, everyone except Dong Bong-su was reciting the same words in their heads.
Danri Jiang-hae was the first son of Danri Cheon-u, a martial prodigy with outstanding five senses and qualities. Though Bongyang wasn't a very large city, when it came to Bongyang's greatest prodigy, everyone would agree it was undoubtedly Danri Jiang-hae.
However, his character was frivolous and he loved alcohol and women far too much, so unsavory rumors always followed him.
That was also why Gi Dae-hyo had told Danri Cheon-u yesterday that 'the Namgung Family might not want either.' Though Danri Jiang-hae's skills were excellent compared to his peers and his foundation was outstanding, making him not lacking to enter as an outer disciple of the Namgung Family in terms of ability, the problem was his character.
Though he had no choice but to do this because of the Family Head's orders, honestly Gi Dae-hyo didn't have high expectations. The only thing he could believe in now was Yeoro, the Ferghana Horse called Heavenly Horse. Should he say he could only pray that the rumor about Namgung Byeok collecting good horses was true?
Gi Dae-hyo shook his head once and approached the inn.
Meanwhile, the sounds of combat from inside the inn didn't stop.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Gi Dae-hyo, walking toward the inn entrance, felt considerable puzzlement.
'Who on earth could be fighting Danri Jiang-hae like that in this Bongyang?'
Regardless of character, Danri Jiang-hae was a quite well-known rising star in Anhui Province. Among the people belonging to Bongyang's small and medium sects, there was no one who would dare challenge him, much less anyone who could receive so many exchanges. Recently, since there was no one to face his misconduct, the inns where he appeared were rather quiet.
'Who on earth is it?'
The moment Gi Dae-hyo thought that.
Crash!
With a loud sound, someone burst out of the inn and rolled on the ground. Though his face had a red tinge from alcohol intoxication, he was still a young man boasting a handsome appearance. It was Danri Jiang-hae.
"Mm!?"
An exclamation of surprise escaped Gi Dae-hyo's mouth.
What had happened? The person now inside the inn wasn't just exchanging moves with Danri Jiang-hae, but had actually driven him to defeat.
An ominous feeling suddenly flashed through his mind.
On the other hand, contrary to Gi Dae-hyo, Dong Bong-su, who was watching this situation, was feeling something different. He had already stopped training his Inventory Divine Art, which he'd been training endlessly from the Family estate until coming here.
[An enemy with a level difference of 10 or more has approached within 20 meters. 20.]
It was because Spirit Eyes had activated.
Without even looking, the target of Spirit Eyes was undoubtedly the one who had driven Danri Jiang-hae out of the inn.
"Damn it! You bastard, I'll kill you!"
Danri Jiang-hae spat curses as he got up. The target was, needless to say, the one who had driven him out of the inn.
When he half-rose, Dong Bong-su's eyes saw a brown figure fly out of the inn like lightning.
Flutterrr.
The hem of the brown figure's long robe fluttered, creating a peculiar air-cutting sound from the friction between the garment and the air. As soon as the man in the brown long robe appeared, he immediately rushed toward Danri Jiang-hae. Then, without giving Danri Jiang-hae time to dodge, he trampled on his neck.
"Gack!"
The moment Danri Jiang-hae, trampled by the man in a brown long robe, laid his half-risen body back down on the ground, Dong Bong-su looked at Gi Dae-hyo.
Shing!
As expected, seeing Danri Jiang-hae being attacked, Gi Dae-hyo drew his sword without any time to reconsider.
"Stop!"
The middle-aged man in brown still trampling on Danri Jiang-hae's neck turned to look at Gi Dae-hyo.
Only then could Dong Bong-su see the man in the brown long robe clearly. He was a middle-aged man of medium height with a cold impression. With coldness flowing from his eyes, regardless of his martial arts level, his very nature looked ruthless.
Such a man spoke to Gi Dae-hyo in a voice as cold as his face.
"What?"
-x-X-x-
"What?"
Though it was an extremely brief word, everyone present except Dong Bong-su was overwhelmed by that single phrase. Dong Bong-su felt a momentary thrill in his heart at the middle-aged man in brown's cold words, but he wasn't intimidated. He simply realized for the first time what it felt like when internal energy was infused into a voice.
He didn't feel fear toward anyone or shrink back to begin with. He only pretended to do so.
The middle-aged man in brown turned his head and looked around at the people. Dong Bong-su hid his eyes behind Yeoro. It was an instinctive movement. He was still an immature predator in this world. There was absolutely nothing good about catching the eye of another predator with superior strength. Especially at times like now when he needed to probe the opponent.
The middle-aged man in brown merely glanced at Yeoro for a moment, then looked back at Gi Dae-hyo as if uninterested.
Dong Bong-su also focused his gaze on Gi Dae-hyo again. Gi Dae-hyo was the hands, feet, and also eyes of the Danri Family. He hoped he would explain about the man in brown. But as if he too didn't know the identity of the man in brown, he swallowed his saliva and stated his official position and name.
"I am Gi Dae-hyo, Group Leader of the Danri Family's Black Five Group. And the person you are currently oppressing is the Young Master of the Danri Family. If you don't remove your foot immediately, I will not stand idly by."
Though Gi Dae-hyo was threatening, his voice was definitely not confident. It was because he was already overwhelmed in momentum.
Dong Bong-su realized that Gi Dae-hyo knew absolutely nothing about the man in brown. From that, he could infer various things. The Black Five Group Leader had met someone he didn't know in Bongyang.
In other words, that person wasn't a Bongyang martial artist. No, beyond that, he probably wasn't a martial artist active in Anhui Province. Gi Dae-hyo and the Black Five Group had such excellent intelligence that they knew every corner of the Anhui Martial World. If he didn't know, it was clear the person wasn't from here.
'An outsider. And an immeasurable master at that.'
Dong Bong-su had to make a decision. A master with a level difference of 10 or more was showing hostility toward this side. Though he couldn't know precisely, in his judgment the man in brown was a greater master than even Danri Cheon-u. The personnel here could never handle that person.
'Flee? Or watch the situation further?'
His deliberation wasn't very long.
Though Dong Bong-su didn't naturally possess something like killing intent, he had an excellent talent for reading it. The intensity of killing intent was very useful in determining a predator's rank.
Those like himself without killing intent were the highest rank.
However, once killing intent was detected, one could measure the degree of savagery and predatory nature according to its intensity.
For now, that person wasn't emitting killing intent. He wasn't originally someone without killing intent, he just had the feeling of a lion looking at insects. It was certain he had no intention of eliminating Dong Bong-su and the Black Five Group.
Dong Bong-su chose the latter.
When his eyes gleamed sharply, the man in brown looked at Gi Dae-hyo and quietly opened his mouth.
"Danri Family? What's that? Is it something to eat?"
To Gi Dae-hyo it was an extremely contemptuous remark, but to Dong Bong-su it was a clue about that person's strength. Dong Bong-su discovered that the man in brown was someone who didn't even consider something like the Danri Family worth his attention.
However, he still remained standing in that spot. Because there was still no killing intent felt from the opponent.
Instead, Gi Dae-hyo's face was turning red and blue.
It must be hard to endure. After all, they were a Family with quite a name in Anhui Province, yet received such treatment. However, Gi Dae-hyo was indeed a composed person. Or perhaps he had completely lost the initiative to the middle-aged man in brown's momentum.
Gi Dae-hyo bit down hard and spoke to the man in brown.
"Those words just now insult the Danri Family. May I take them as such?"
For Gi Dae-hyo, it was the best response he could manage. Though he would have liked to immediately swing his sword and attack, he instinctively knew well that he must not do so. So those few words he just said were the best countermeasure he could take.
Regardless, the man in brown responded with an even colder expression than before to Gi Dae-hyo's words.
"Who knows? I don't know whether the Danri Family is something to eat, something to shit, or something to step on."
"Kuk...."
The middle-aged man in brown put strength into his foot while saying those last words, 'something to step on.' Danri Jiang-hae's face instantly turned pale and his pupils began rolling back. His airway was properly blocked. If he applied just a bit more strength in that state, he would die right then.
Accordingly, Gi Dae-hyo's face also turned deathly pale. If Danri Jiang-hae died, he too was a dead man. Now he had no other choice. He immediately raised his hand, pointed at the middle-aged man in brown, and shouted loudly.
"All Black Five Group members, attack that person and save the Young Master!"
On the other hand, Dong Bong-su was still only watching the middle-aged man in brown. Even now, no killing intent whatsoever was felt from the man in brown. Gi Dae-hyo simply couldn't feel what Dong Bong-su felt.
Dong Bong-su leisurely watched the confrontation between the man in brown and the Black Five Group. Now that safety was certain, he just needed to observe the man in brown's advanced martial arts.
To the man in brown, the Black Five Group was merely a plaything. No one kills their playthings. Though they might break them by accident.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-!
The entire Black Five Group, including Gi Dae-hyo and Gi Man-ji, rushed toward the middle-aged man in brown.
The middle-aged man in brown was relaxed even while watching this sight. Still not removing the foot placed on Danri Jiang-hae's neck, he raised just one hand to shoulder height.
Dong Bong-su's sharp eyes saw hundreds of thin needles held between his fingers.
'Hidden weapon technique?'
The moment he thought that, the middle-aged man in brown's hand lightly flicked toward Gi Dae-hyo and the Black Five Group members.
Fyu-fyu-fyu-fyut-.
It wasn't fast. The needles that left the man in brown's hand simply clustered into butterfly shapes and flew toward the Black Five Group elites, drawing strange arcs like bees moving in zigzags. However, none of the Black Five Group could avoid those not-fast needles. No, they couldn't avoid them.
To Dong Bong-su's perception, they looked like guided missiles that could only be seen on modern Earth.
"Kuk!"
"Urk!"
"Erk!"
With various kinds of short screams, Gi Dae-hyo and all the Black Five Group members simultaneously collapsed to the ground. It was just one move. In one move, the Black Five Group, the pride of the Danri Family, was subdued.
"Th-this is! Soul Chasing Butterfly!? Th-then you are!"
With his body paralyzed, Gi Dae-hyo only raised his head to look at the man in brown with a shocked expression. Though he was seeing this technique for the first time, it was a hidden weapon technique too well known in the Martial World.
A martial art named because it moved like a butterfly chasing souls.
Soul Chasing Butterfly was precisely a secret technique of the Sichuan Tang Family, one of the Five Great Families of the Central Plains. And in the Tang Family, there was one master known to have reached the divine realm with this martial art.
Gi Dae-hyo looked at the man in brown's face once more.
Ah, why did he only recognize him now? The appearance and attire of that Tang Family's greatest master that Gi Dae-hyo remembered and this middle-aged man in brown's appearance and attire were perfectly identical.
Hearing Gi Dae-hyo's startled cry, the middle-aged man in brown sneered. Then he looked down at Gi Dae-hyo and let out a cold voice.
"For a country bumpkin, your eyes aren't completely rotten. This old man is Tang O."
Tang O.
One of the twenty strongest in the Martial World, a master belonging to the Ten Greats among the Two Divinities, Three Eccentrics, Five Supremes, and Ten Greats. The greatest master of the Sichuan Tang Family, one of the Five Great Families of the Central Plains. An absolute master whose match was difficult to find in Sichuan Province.
Though there were various words to describe him, in the end nothing represented him as well as his epithet.
Soul Chasing Poison Hand.
[Those who go against Tang O's mood cannot escape his poison hand even if they die and become ghosts!]
Originally, the Tang Family was a Family famous for hidden weapon techniques and poison arts, a sect between righteousness and evil. However, when the Murim Alliance was first formed, they established themselves as one axis of the Murim Alliance from that time through the persuasion of Great Master Hye-in, who was the abbot of Shaolin Temple. Though there were several ups and downs afterward, they were a powerful force that had never once fallen from the position of the Five Great Families of the Central Plains.
The Sichuan Tang Family produced many masters famous for their vicious hearts as much as the origin of their martial arts, but even among them, Tang O was an unrivaled existence. Soul Chasing Butterfly was the most difficult hidden weapon technique to learn and difficult to build up mastery in, except for Sky Full of Flowers and Rain which was now almost lost. Having learned it to nearly the ultimate level, Tang O was undoubtedly a master who left a mark in Tang Family history.
In fact, he modified several weak points of the existing Soul Chasing Butterfly to develop it into the current Soul Chasing Butterfly, and with it defeated countless Evil Sect masters.
Moreover, Tang O had a natural talent for poison arts as well, developing countless unnamed poisons. Even just a moment ago, if he had a poisonous mind, he would have deployed Nameless Poison along with the Soul Chasing Butterfly technique. If he had, it was obvious that Gi Dae-hyo wouldn't even be making that shocked expression now.
Tang O's fame was so renowned that even Dong Bong-su had heard his name once or twice.
'One of the Martial World's Twenty Great Masters.'
Dong Bong-su looked at Gi Dae-hyo, who sat paralyzed with only his head held upright. He was looking at Tang O, but his face had already turned pale as if his spirit had left his body. Though his mouth was moving as if he had something he wanted to say, his spirit had fled so much from the shock that where would he have the mind to speak?
Apologize? He didn't seem to have the mental strength to do such a thing.
Just looking at Gi Dae-hyo's reaction, one could understand the weight of the names Sichuan Tang Family and Twenty Great Masters. As heavy as that weight, today's incident caused by Danri Jiang-hae had to be considered bigger than all the incidents he had caused throughout his life combined.
Though he didn't know what the mistake was, if he had gone against the mood of someone like Tang O, depending on the content, even the Danri Family could easily be sealed...
...but Dong Bong-su still had composure.
Though Tang O was still standing majestically while glaring with cold eyes, he hadn't killed anyone yet. And if he had intended to kill, they would have all died from the Soul Chasing Butterfly just now.
He was merely recalling the technique of Soul Chasing Butterfly that Tang O had just demonstrated and only watching how this situation would flow.
Then.
"Grandfather."
One slender woman with her face covered by a brown veil walked out of Haengho Inn.
-x-X-x-
A waist as slender as a willow branch, fingertips as white as white jade and fluttering like willow leaves, the curve of taut collarbones connecting neck, chest, and shoulders.
She was a beauty whose figure alone seemed capable of making countless men weep.
Her voice calling him grandfather was as lovely and gentle as her figure. If the man looking at her had been someone other than Dong Bong-su, anyone would have felt enchantment and their mind would have become hazy.
At her call, Tang O turned his head toward her. His eyes had already become much softer than when he had been looking at Danri Jiang-hae and the others.
"Let's just go. They're from a county and city, so they don't know any better."
County and city.
To them, Bongyang was merely the countryside, the Danri Family was just a small to medium sect from the village, and Danri Jiang-hae was merely a puppy.
Tigers don't react to a puppy's barking. Tang O nodded at the veiled woman's words.
"Let's do that, Hwa-ah. This should be enough for this fellow to realize how wide the world is. Tsk. How idle must a person who calls himself a descendant of the righteous sects be to get drunk and cause a scene in the morning?"
Tang O shook his head while looking at Danri Jiang-hae, who had fainted foaming at the mouth.
The reason he had been somewhat excessive with Danri Jiang-hae and the Black Five Group was as a warning. Should we say he showed the puppy the vastness of the world? Of course, whether the fainted Danri Jiang-hae would take it that way was an unknown matter.
"My temper wants to snap this fellow's wrist, but I can't bear to be so cruel to a child of the righteous sects. When this fellow wakes up, tell him firmly that if he bothers any woman, he won't die of natural causes. Do you understand?"
Tang O spoke to Gi Dae-hyo while emanating coldness once more.
Only then could Gi Dae-hyo understand what had happened. It was certain that Danri Jiang-hae had done to Tang O's granddaughter what he usually did to courtesans. Probably Danri Jiang-hae, bewitched by the veiled woman's enchanting figure, had tried to remove her veil or had openly made a fool of himself.
They were truly lucky. Even though they were both righteous sects, in cases like this blood could be shed between them. Moreover, given the difference between the Sichuan Tang Family and the Danri Family, what more needed to be said? It was obvious as fire that blood would be shed not mutually, but unilaterally on the Danri Family's side.
"...Y-yes!"
Gi Dae-hyo answered urgently lest Tang O change his mind.
Hearing Gi Dae-hyo's answer, Tang O passed between the fallen Black Five Group members with the veiled woman Tang Hwa.
Swoosh.
Somehow, as Tang O took each step, the Black Five Group members began regaining consciousness one by one. Tang O was retrieving all the needles he had deployed earlier through Remote Object Manipulation as he walked.
Dong Bong-su watched that scene carefully with gleaming eyes, observing every detail. It was such an amazing sight that if he hadn't seen it directly, it would have been hard to believe.
A scene directly violating the laws of physics he had considered absolute truth.
The deep, deep desire hidden within him stirred.
A path to obtaining strength beyond limits, which had been impossible in the previous world, was unfolding before his eyes.
The thought that he must learn martial arts was becoming increasingly firm in his heart.
Then, by chance, Dong Bong-su and Tang O's eyes met.
"Mm...!"
What was this? Tang O's gaze became strange.
Thud.
He even stopped walking and looked at Dong Bong-su.
"Grandfather?"
"Hwa-ah. Wait a moment, stay here."
Without any particular explanation to the puzzled Tang Hwa, Tang O approached Dong Bong-su.
'What?'
Another unpredictable situation had occurred. Dong Bong-su hurriedly lowered his head. He had absolutely no idea why Tang O was approaching him.
Tap tap tap.
The sound of Tang O's footsteps grew louder.
"Grandfather? What's the matter?"
Tang Hwa called out to the suddenly strange Tang O once more and followed. Tang O raised his hand to stop her and said.
"It's nothing. I just have something to ask this child."
Something to ask. Meaning he had direct business.
Dong Bong-su's brain spun rapidly. But there was still nothing he could figure out.
Then Tang O, who had approached right in front of Dong Bong-su, spoke.
"What is your name?"
"...."
Dong Bong-su was still Mute Sam. A groom and mute Sosam. Someone who couldn't speak.
"I asked what your name is."
Tang O's voice grew slightly louder. But Dong Bong-su remained silent, and the answer came from behind instead. It was Gi Dae-hyo.
"That fellow is a groom called Sosam, but he cannot speak."
"A mute?"
A slightly disappointed look flashed across Tang O's face upon hearing Gi Dae-hyo's words. But even so, the interest in Dong Bong-su hadn't disappeared from Tang O's eyes. His eyes were still examining Dong Bong-su up and down.
Though Dong Bong-su's eyes were a hazy color that had lost their original light, they were watching and observing everything without missing a thing. And finally, he could guess what Tang O wanted.
Tang O's current gaze looked like a pirate who had acquired treasure after appraising it.
Treasure. Usually an unsuitable word for a person, but in any case it meant something precious. And if to martial artists, especially to an absolute master like Tang O, he looked at a young person as if looking at treasure? And if he showed a briefly disappointed look when he learned he was a mute?
Though it came suddenly in an unexpected situation, Dong Bong-su instinctively realized he had finally caught an opportunity to shed the shell of being a groom. And Dong Bong-su was not one to let such an opportunity slip away.
Tang O stared piercingly into Dong Bong-su's hazy eyes. Dong Bong-su matched his behavior by showing in his eyes, though very briefly, not Sosam's gaze but Dong Bong-su's original gaze.
A gleam flashed in Tang O's eyes, and he caught to some degree Dong Bong-su's excellence. However, he didn't realize that all of this was Dong Bong-su's orchestrated behavior.
Tang O suddenly reached out, grabbed Dong Bong-su's wrist, and felt his pulse. A look of intense surprise rapidly spread across his cold face.
Dong Bong-su still didn't quite know what Tang O was surprised about. One thing was certain: he wasn't surprised because of the JP accumulated in his body.
The internal energy spoken of in this place and JP were strictly different. If they were the same type of energy, there was no way Danri Cheon-u or Gi Dae-hyo wouldn't have known.
In fact, the atmosphere of those with internal energy was subtly different, and Dong Bong-su could feel that difference. He had no changes whatsoever due to the existence of internal energy.
The reason Tang O was surprised was definitely 'something else.' Though he didn't yet know what it was, it was definitely not something bad, and it was some positive thing that gave him an opportunity like now.
Tang O stopped examining Dong Bong-su's body further, turned around, and approached Gi Dae-hyo.
"Are you on your way to the Namgung Family?"
Gi Dae-hyo was completely out of his mind right now. The Danri Family had nearly faced a great crisis because of Danri Jiang-hae and had barely escaped, but Tang O was acting strangely again, so it was understandable. Moreover, since the cause of that strange behavior was Sosam, it was all the more absurd.
Gi Dae-hyo was lifting the unconscious Danri Jiang-hae when Tang O approached and asked, so he hurriedly stood up and answered.
"Yes?...Ah, yes. Because of the Namgung Family's wedding...."
"What does this child do?"
"A, a groom...."
"Then this old man can take him, right?"
Tang O fired back without giving Gi Dae-hyo time to answer properly. As soon as he heard the answer he needed, he immediately cut off Gi Dae-hyo's words in the middle.
"...What? N-no. If not for that fellow, there's no one who can manage that Ferghana Horse."
"Then the child just needs to transport the Ferghana Horse to the Namgung Family?"
"If the Namgung Family has a groom who can manage the Ferghana Horse...."
"The Namgung Family has many capable horse handlers who can easily manage a Ferghana Horse. I don't think this child will be needed at the Namgung Family. Then after arriving at the Namgung Family, this old man can take this child without complaint, right?"
"...."
"Ah, I'll speak directly to that fellow Byeok myself. Also, this old man will pay for this child's body price. If necessary, I'll even write a letter directly to your Family Head. How about it? Isn't that sufficient?"
Gi Dae-hyo was completely out of his mind. Why on earth was a great master like Tang O suddenly acting like this? He felt like he was dreaming.
"...Yes. We were planning to give that fellow and the horse to the Namgung Family Head as wedding gifts anyway."
"Then that's settled. Is there any other request?"
Whatever made him so pleased, Tang O was even willing to bestow favors he normally wouldn't.
"Yes!? If, if you would do that much, then we!"
For Gi Dae-hyo, unexpected fortune had arrived. He had thought they faced the crisis of a lifetime when Danri Jiang-hae caused an incident, but it was rather a great reversal.
If Tang O, who was close enough to the Namgung Family Head to call him 'that fellow Byeok,' asked this favor, they could place Danri Jiang-hae not just as Namgung Hu's disciple but as an Outside Surname Disciple of the Family Head Namgung Byeok himself.
However, one curiosity remained.
What exactly did Tang O see in Sosam that he would take on even such a troublesome task to take him away? However, he couldn't dare ask. The difference between Tang O and him was that great. Gi Dae-hyo quickly swallowed the question that arose deep in his heart.
He just needed to successfully complete the mission Danri Cheon-u had given him. If they gained more than expected by handing over someone like Sosam anyway, wasn't it a profitable deal?
"So, what's that request? If it's something I can do, I'll grant it all."
"I want to have Young Master Danri enter as an Outside Surname Disciple of the Namgung Family Head."
"Just that?"
"...What? Ah, yes. That's sufficient."
"That's nothing. Then I can take this child with me now."
"Ah...yes."
"Hehehe. Good, very good. Then let's depart."
Whatever made him so happy, Tang O never lost the smile from his face for even a moment. The cold aura from when they first saw him was now completely gone.
He walked ahead with Tang Hwa. Then, when the group didn't follow, he infused internal energy into his voice and said.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and follow."
"...!"
At Tang O's urging, Gi Dae-hyo finally came to his senses, loaded Danri Jiang-hae onto a cargo cart, and immediately departed.
Dong Bong-su also followed him, leading Yeoro forward. Observing, the conversation between Tang Hwa and Tang O reached his ears.
"Grandfather. Please tell me what's suddenly going on. What's so special about that groom called Sosam that you're doing all this? Hm?"
Tang Hwa asked Tang O to tell her what on earth had happened, but Tang O only smiled and said nothing much. All he said was.
"Later. I'll tell you everything later. Hehe."
That was all.
Tang O's hearty laughter. The only person here who knew the meaning of that laughter was Dong Bong-su. Though he didn't know precisely the fundamental reason, time would resolve that.
-x-X-x-
The group departed Bongyang and walked without rest for even a moment.
Only around evening were they able to reach Huainan.
Huainan was famous as the place where Yuan Shu established his capital at the end of the Later Han Dynasty, and as its name Huainan suggested, it was a city located directly south of the Huai River.
The Namgung Family was several dozen miles south from here. Perhaps if they walked diligently for just one more day, they could reach it.
In other words, they had to stay one night in Huainan...
After arriving in Huainan, the group struggled quite a bit to secure an inn. This was because most inns had no rooms available.
Just like Tang O and the Danri Family's personnel, countless martial artists were gathering in Hefei to go to the Namgung Family. Naturally, it was obvious that the inns in Huainan along the way would be crowded.
The group barely found an inn where they could all stay. Though it wasn't a particularly excellent inn, it was sufficient to relieve their travel fatigue, so they immediately scattered to their respective rooms. After all, if they were going to walk all day tomorrow, they needed to rest well when they could.
However,
Among them, there was only one person staying outside the inn alone. Of course, it was Dong Bong-su.
Though Gi Dae-hyo no longer considered him a person of the Danri Family and took no special measures, inwardly he hoped he would take care of Yeoro until they arrived at the Namgung Family. This was because he didn't know what might happen if they left a precious horse like a Ferghana Horse alone in the stable outside the inn.
Separate from his feelings, Dong Bong-su stayed in the stable with Yeoro of his own accord, even though no one had told him to.
For another person, it would have been better to rest at the inn, but for Dong Bong-su, staying in the stable was actually more comfortable. Being alone was far better than being squeezed among various servants.
He could quietly contemplate alone, and could also practice Inventory Divine Art or skills. He was someone who didn't waste even a single moment. If he didn't need to sleep, he absolutely wouldn't have slept at all.
Even now, sitting in a corner of the stable, he wasn't staying still.
Dong Bong-su had tied Yeoro to a hitching post in the stable and was training his Inventory Divine Art.
Whether his consistent training had been effective, he had now become quite skilled at Two Object Entry and Exit. From now on, it was time to practice taking out and putting in three grains of sand simultaneously.
Just as Dong Bong-su was about to begin that practice.
Hee-hee-hee-hing, snort-.
When a long black shadow of an uninvited guest receiving moonlight cast into the stable, Yeoro whinnied softly. Someone had come looking for him at the stable at this late hour. Unlike the Danri Family's stables, this inn's stable had no door, so it was structured to immediately notice when someone appeared at the entrance.
The moment he confirmed the shadow's presence, Dong Bong-su's transparent gaze instantly sank and became murky.
Who was it that said eyes were the mirror of the heart? If the person who said that had met Dong Bong-su, they would have wanted to retract those words or chew up and eliminate their own tongue.
Dong Bong-su could freely control his gaze to color it however he wanted. He could become a dullard, a genius, a passionate person, a languid person, or even a demon or angel. With his gaze alone, he could become anyone.
To him, eyes were not the mirror of the heart, but reflective glass with a video playing. When the other person looked, they would think they were seeing Dong Bong-su's heart reflected in a mirror, but in reality, they would see what they wanted to see. No matter how closely they looked, it was useless. Rather, the closer they were, the narrower their field of vision became, making them even more confused.
On the other hand, Dong Bong-su could hide behind the glass and freely observe the other person. Thus, Dong Bong-su could manipulate at will the other person who had become a clown in a glass tube.
When Dong Bong-su's eyes completely returned to Sosam's eyes, the shadow completely covered his eyes.
He waited until he felt a presence nearby, then slowly raised his head to confirm the face of the person who appeared.
The visitor was the veiled woman with a figure that seemed ready to fly away. At this late hour, the person who appeared before him was Tang Hwa, Tang O's granddaughter.
"Grandfather really. I don't know why he's telling me to bring someone like this at this hour."
"...."
Though Tang Hwa was grumbling without knowing the reason, Dong Bong-su knew what had to come.
"Follow me."
Regardless of her unpleasant tone, her words themselves were polite. Surely she had been told by Tang O not to treat him carelessly.
Dong Bong-su slowly rose from his spot at her words. When the two left the stable, one Black Five Group member who had come with her entered the stable in Dong Bong-su's place. They couldn't leave Yeoro alone.
Afterward, Dong Bong-su entered the inn as Tang Hwa led. She took him to the largest and best room in the inn. Probably Tang O was staying in this room.
As he expected, when they opened the door and entered the room, Tang O sat in the middle of the room with a cold expression.
"You're here? Bring him closer."
"Yes, Grandfather."
Dong Bong-su followed Tang Hwa and walked right up to Tang O.
Tang O quietly looked up at Dong Bong-su with sharp eyes, then raised his hand to point at a bed placed in one corner of the room and opened his mouth.
"Go up on that bed and sit in meditation."
Without much hesitation, Dong Bong-su climbed onto the bed as Tang O instructed and sat in a cross-legged position.
Though he didn't know what Tang O was trying to do, he judged it was good to do as told. Though Tang O's eyes were cold, some kind of yearning was burning within them. And that yearning was undoubtedly 'some matter' beneficial to him, without needing to question it.
When Dong Bong-su took the desired position, Tang O rose from his spot and approached the bed.
After scanning Dong Bong-su's body once with fierce eyes, Tang O soon began kneading various parts of his body here and there.
Would an archaeologist's touch handling ancient relics be this careful? Tang O's touch on Dong Bong-su's body was so cautious it was difficult to express in words.
After a while.
Having sufficiently confirmed Dong Bong-su's physical condition, he stopped touching his body. Then from his bosom, he took out a small wooden case meticulously decorated with gold leaf depicting dragons and phoenixes intertwined and soaring. Even at a glance, it seemed like a very precious item to Dong Bong-su.
"Dragon Phoenix Golden Needles!"
What? Judging by Tang Hwa's shocked outcry, it wasn't simply a precious item.
"Grandfather, what exactly are you trying to do? Surely not?"
Whether Tang Hwa was surprised or not, Tang O paid no attention and spoke to Dong Bong-su.
"I am about to perform a certain Great Method on you."
'Great Method.'
Dong Bong-su thought that was the 'beneficial matter.'
Tang O's words continued.
"It will be very painful. Perhaps to the extent you might think dying would be better. However, if you endure it, you will be able to regain your speech, and moreover! You will be able to return to your original self, yourself as you were born. What do you say? Will you do it?"
Dong Bong-su couldn't understand what Tang O meant by 'original self, as you were born.' He could only know that it was the reason Tang O had chosen him.
The interesting fact here was that Tang O was giving him a choice. The difference between himself as a groom and Tang O was as vast as the gap between the sun and a firefly.
Nevertheless, the fact that Tang O was allowing him to 'choose' rather than 'ordering' him meant the pain accompanying the Great Method transcended imagination.
It was a moment of choice. Dong Bong-su thought.
Was consideration really necessary?
No. An opportunity had come. When an opportunity comes, one must seize it.
The penalty? Pain enough to wish for death?
Who cares? Pain enough to wish for death ultimately meant not dying. If he didn't die, that was all. If he didn't die, he would become stronger.
Any room for choice?
None. Backing down here meant wasting that much time. The more time wasted, the closer one came to death in this jungle-like Martial World. There was no reason to look back because of a little pain.
'Advance, move forward.'
Dong Bong-su slowly but firmly nodded his head.
Seeing that, Tang O grinned. A satisfied smile. Dong Bong-su's light nod made Soul Chasing Poison Hand Tang O smile and gave him faith.
"Do you know the saying 'Orange Becomes Trifoliate Orange'?"
Orange Becomes Trifoliate Orange.
It was a four-character idiom meaning that Huainan's oranges transform into trifoliate oranges when they cross the Huai River and go north. It was a famous saying spoken by Yan Ying, who had been the Prime Minister of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period, to the King of Chu when he went as an envoy to the State of Chu north of the Huai River after passing through this very Huainan.
Of course, Dong Bong-su knew those words well. And once again, he could understand that this place was a parallel world not much different from Earth's past, except for the simultaneous existence of the bizarre world called the Martial World.
As if to show that its meaning and origin were the same as Earth's, Tang O's explanation continued.
"It means Huainan's oranges transform into trifoliate oranges when they cross the Huai River and go north."
"G-Grandfather!"
She must have caught on to what Tang O was trying to say by bringing up the idiom Orange Becomes Trifoliate Orange. Tang Hwa called out to Tang O in surprise.
Dong Bong-su also seemed to understand why Tang O had brought up the saying Orange Becomes Trifoliate Orange. Slightly different from what he'd expected earlier, Tang O seemed about to give him even bigger wings.
'Not a disciple then. If so.'
Huainan's trifoliate orange becomes Huaibei's orange.
If Huainan was the Danri Family, Huaibei was the Tang Family.
If the orange was the groom Sosam, then the trifoliate orange was...
"Are you willing to receive the Tang Family's surname?"
It was the Tang surname.
-x-X-x-
What Tang O wanted from Dong Bong-su was not just for him to become his disciple, but to become a member of the Tang Family altogether.
"Grandfather! Such a momentous matter without the elders' consent, alone...."
When the expected words finally poured from Tang O's mouth, Tang Hwa spoke in bewilderment.
Tang O looked back at such Tang Hwa, smiled faintly, and moved his lips. At the same time, he also showed her the Dragon Phoenix Golden Needles.
The two comfortably had a secret conversation in the manner of Sound Transmission, thinking Dong Bong-su couldn't hear their conversation.
But the thing is.
That was truly behavior done without knowing Dong Bong-su. Just because a person cannot hear doesn't mean they cannot 'eavesdrop.' Even if they cannot hear, there are people who can 'read' conversations with their eyes.
Lip reading.
Dong Bong-su was reading everything the two were discussing just from the shape of Tang O's lips. Though he couldn't tell what Tang Hwa was saying since she wore a veil, Tang O was saying all the important things anyway. Just by analyzing his lip movements, he could tell what Tang Hwa was saying.
In the end, Dong Bong-su was able to find out everything—why Tang O was trying to embrace him even to the point of giving him the Tang surname, and even why he had taken out the Dragon Phoenix Golden Needles.
'So that's what it was?'
Dong Bong-su continued analyzing the conversation that passed between the two behind a protective layer covering his eyes.
From a certain point, he went further and saw through even what Tang O didn't know. No, it would be more accurate to say Tang O couldn't see it in the first place.
Half-human half-character.
Though Dong Bong-su wasn't a complete game character, by being under the New Murim Online system, he had obtained a strange body that was neither human nor game character. Because of this, he had a body structure truly different from ordinary people. The subtle changes in his body caused by this had captivated Tang O and led to this very situation.
Though Tang O was now talking to Tang Hwa with various analyses about Dong Bong-su's constitution, the conclusion was 'don't know.' While not knowing, he was interpreting it as he pleased.
Dong Bong-su was inwardly sneering while creating his next behavior pattern. If the opponent interpreted things as they pleased, it was a grateful thing. If he played along with that interpretation, the opponent would naturally digest an excellent performance as an actor fitting that play.
A chilling ability.
Tang O was caught in a double trap—the trap of having a conversation through Sound Transmission and the trap of thinking Dong Bong-su was just a mute groom. Caught in this double trap, he couldn't even imagine Dong Bong-su possessed such an ability.
A while later.
The secret yet not-so-secret conversation between Tang O and Tang Hwa finally ended. Secret meant it was the two's belief that it was a conversation between just Tang O and Tang Hwa, and not-so-secret meant Dong Bong-su had read or reproduced their entire conversation. Of course, only Dong Bong-su knew that fact.
Since Tang Hwa had been persuaded by Tang O at the end of their discussion, she now had no more reason to stop Tang O. She didn't interfere further and silently withdrew.
At that, Tang O smiled slightly, then looked at Dong Bong-su again and asked.
"I'll ask again. Are you willing to receive the Tang Family's surname?"
Dong Bong-su had no reason to refuse from the beginning.
Moreover, now that he already knew everything about Tang O's hidden intentions, why would he refuse this good proposal?
Dong Bong-su didn't hesitate. He confidently nodded while showing a fabricated firm gaze.
Not knowing the face hidden behind that false expression, Tang O showed a completely satisfied expression.
"Good. However, you haven't yet completely become a member of the Tang Family. When you go to the Tang Family, you must prove before the Tang Family elders and Family Head that you are a person worthy of having the Tang surname. In that process, you might even die. Even so, will you do it?"
It changed from 'might be painful enough to wish for death' to advancing one step further to 'might die.'
'So what. Nothing changes.'
He still had no intention of refusing. Because he knew he wouldn't die.
If everything Tang O had said to Tang Hwa through Sound Transmission was true, no one in the Tang Family would refuse him. No, they couldn't. Though they might plot schemes to put him in danger later, they couldn't stop him from entering the Tang Family, and there was no reason to. The content contained in Tang O's Sound Transmission was that significant.
Even Dong Bong-su himself hadn't realized such a secret existed in his body.
He once again found this New Murim Online interesting. A 'game' tailored for Dong Bong-su where he couldn't let his guard down for even a moment and couldn't miss even one thing—that was precisely this New Murim Online.
A smile appeared on his lips after a long time.
From that plain smile, Tang O felt 'Sosam's sincerity'.
Though Dong Bong-su's sincerity and the 'Sosam's sincerity' that Tang O felt were different, sincerity was sincerity.
The gazes of the cold Tang O and the passionate Dong Bong-su intensely intertwined in midair.
Shortly after.
Tang O finally declared as if having made a complete decision.
"You are now not a groom of the Danri Family, but a person of the Tang Family, the First Family of Sichuan."
With that, Dong Bong-su had now shed the shell of being a groom.
"I will now perform the Great Method. Are you ready?"
When Dong Bong-su nodded once more, Tang O signaled with his eyes to Tang Hwa standing behind Dong Bong-su. It meant to stand guard.
Tang Hwa bowed her head to show affirmation and left the room.
If another person intruded during the performance of the Great Method, it could become dangerous by falling into Qi Deviation. So she would stand guard to prevent other people's approach.
Now that only the two remained, Tang O approached Dong Bong-su.
"I will now perform the Crown Opening Great Method on you. This Crown Opening Great Method will clear your head and open your blocked speech. From now on, you must close your eyes and absolutely must not move no matter what happens. Do you understand?"
Though Dong Bong-su knew by 'hearing it directly' from him that what Tang O was about to perform on him wasn't just the Crown Opening Great Method, he didn't particularly care. After all, he too was using Tang O, and Tang O was using him.
However, he already knew what Tang O was thinking and what Tang O was about to do to him, while Tang O didn't know that he knew all of it.
With that, the game between the two was already over.
In a poker game, if you know the opponent's hand and you have a perfect poker face?
Game over already. No reversal.
The opponent merely continues the game, entrusting themselves to a thread-thin hope that they can win while aiming for that non-existent reversal.
But.
The game had already been Dong Bong-su's victory before it even started.
***
Tang O opened the case of the Dragon Phoenix Golden Needles. Inside the case, befitting its name, were hundreds of gold needles with dragons and phoenixes intricately carved on each needle. The fact that their lengths and thicknesses were each different suggested each needle had a different purpose.
Dong Bong-su glanced at the Dragon Phoenix Golden Needles once and quietly closed his eyes. And soon fell into meditation. He slowly sank into the world of nothingness familiar to him.
"Hoo-."
Tang O let out a big sigh and slowly floated the Dragon Phoenix Golden Needles in the air through the technique of Remote Object Manipulation.
In fact, Tang O was in the most tense state of his life right now.
Using the Namgung Family's wedding as an excuse, he had come out to the Martial World for an outing after a long time, and in Bongyang, he had 'picked up for free' an unbelievable talent.
Wheel-Turning Sage King Appearance, Heavenly Yang Divine Martial Body, Heavenly Meridian Body, Nine Grade Sacred Bone, Heavenly Martial Heart Meridian, Purple Cloud Ethereal Divine Body, Cosmic Sacred Bone...
In the world, there were various terms describing bodies excellent for learning martial arts. All of them were accompanied by modifiers like appearing once in ten years, once in a hundred years, or once in a thousand years.
However, today Tang O had met a talent with a body for which such modifiers were useless. The very person was the groom with the name Sosam now sitting before him.
Tang O put strength in his eyes and looked at Sosam once more. Sosam was now closing his eyes, fallen into a state of no-thought and no-image. It was perfect. The moment he said not to think, it meant Sosam had already completely erased thoughts from his mind.
A smile appeared on Tang O's lips again.
Ten years? A hundred years? A talent appearing once in a thousand years? What's all that?
That fellow has a body born for the first time since the Martial World began its history. Though not as conspicuous as known bodies, it was definitely one of the finest qualities.
Holeless Body.
Sosam didn't have the acupoints and meridians that any human should have. When he first saw Sosam, he hadn't noticed it. He merely thought it was an ordinary body that hadn't learned martial arts. But when he looked again, he realized that wasn't it.
Sosam's body was too 'calm.' No matter how much a person hadn't learned martial arts, there was at least minimal qi in their body that naturally flowed along the meridian paths.
But in Sosam's body, there was no such flow at all.
Nothing.
There was simply nothing. As if he wasn't human.
If he hadn't been a master of the Tang Family, he wouldn't have noticed just by looking once. This was because all these characteristics appeared in jiangshi.
The only martial sects in the Martial World that could make jiangshi were the Tang Family and the Blood Tower of Heavenly Demon Castle. However, even if they were masters of the Tang Family or Blood Tower, if they hadn't made jiangshi, they wouldn't have noticed Sosam's characteristics.
Tang O had dabbled at least a little in all martial arts and miscellaneous arts passed down in the Tang Family. Jiangshi arts were naturally included among them.
The basis of jiangshi creation was to artificially block all the meridian paths of a corpse. Because of this, all flow of qi was cut off. This was to block the flow of life energy and connect the flow of death energy.
But differently from this, Sosam wasn't blocked or had something blocked, but rather had no acupoints and meridians from birth. Having no paths meant paths could be made however one wanted. It also meant one could go wherever one wanted to go freely. Whether it became true qi or whatever.
Tang Hwa also easily withdrew after hearing this story of his.
In her view too, the Holeless Body was a tremendous quality that would never come again. Perhaps there were none or could be counted on one hand those with qualities that could match it in the current Martial World.
Perhaps not. There might be another talent born under the Star of Heavenly Calamity or Star of Becoming Divine. Those born with such fates, regardless of innate qualities, had the fate to endanger or save the Martial World.
Perhaps this Sosam was born under the Star of Heavenly Calamity or Star of Becoming Divine. Verification of that was a matter he couldn't handle. Though he could read with his own eyes the vitality and intelligence hidden deep in Dong Bong-su's eyes, he couldn't be certain. Proof and verification of things other than quality would be done by the elders instead of him when they returned to the Family estate.
For now, he just needed to embrace and secure this item called Sosam into the Tang Family.
Even if this child was born under the Star of Heavenly Calamity, the Tang Family could handle it. It wasn't a big problem. If it came to that, the Tang Family could gain fame for handling it before the Star of Heavenly Calamity properly manifested.
Also, if he was born under the Star of Becoming Divine, with that alone the Tang Family would gain great fame and become the center of the righteous Martial World. If neither, and he was just the owner of a Holeless Body, that was also good. With that quality alone, they could restore Sky Full of Flowers and Rain, which had been passed down in form only for the past hundreds of years.
If Sky Full of Flowers and Rain descended upon the Martial World again after hundreds of years, the heroes of the Martial World would bow their heads before the Tang Family's name.
In a word, if Sosam was born under the Star of Heavenly Calamity, fame; if the Star of Becoming Divine, the family's glory; and even if neither, just Sosam's Holeless Body alone meant the Tang Family's revival was already reserved.
The Tang Family ancestors must have sent me to Bongyang to open the path to the Tang Family's revival.
'Kukuku. The Tang Family's future hangs on my fingertips!'
Thinking this made Tang O even more tense.
Crack crack crack!
Tang O's tightly tensed hand finally began to move.
-x-X-x-
Thud, crack, thud!
Dot-like bruises were engraved in various places on Dong Bong-su's body.
Careful yet sharp movements.
Finally, the Tang Family's secret Crown Opening Great Method began to unfold on Sosam's, no, Dong Bong-su's body.
To perform the Crown Opening Great Method, Tang O had to artificially create meridian paths in Dong Bong-su's body with the Dragon Phoenix Golden Needles. Since there were no paths, the work of making paths had to precede everything.
Tang O's hand swiftly sliced through the air. Following his touch, the Dragon Phoenix Golden Needles floating in the air began to pierce various parts of Dong Bong-su's body, and Tang O's qi wove between the needles, creating paths.
Passing through Zhongfu Point, penetrating Shaoshang Point and Shangyang Point to Yingxiang Point, from Jiquan Point piercing Shaochong Point and Shaoze Point, crossing Tinggong Point and Tianzhu Point, passing over Zhongchong Point and Chengying Point, marking Litui Point and Yinbai Point, marking Dabao Point and Qingming Point, crossing Zhiyin Point and Yongquan Point, striking Youmen Point and Guanchong Point, scraping Sizhu Kong Point and Tongzi Liao Point, penetrating Zuqiaoyin Point and Dadun Point, all the way to Qimen Point.
Finally, paths were opened through all Twelve Meridian Points according to Yin-Yang and Five Elements.
From then, the full-fledged Crown Opening Great Method was performed.
Crack crack crack!
Tang O's hands and the Dragon Phoenix Golden Needles traversed every part of Dong Bong-su's body.
While proceeding with the Crown Opening Great Method, he was feeling more and more the magnificence of the Holeless Body. Despite following temporarily created meridian paths, there was absolutely no blockage in the flow of qi and blood. Far from being blocked, qi flowed several times faster than an ordinary martial artist.
He was excited and gradually became absorbed in the Crown Opening Great Method.
That said, he hadn't completely lost his reason. An important task he had to do still remained.
When approaching the end of the Crown Opening Great Method, Tang O pressed a button attached somewhere on the bottom of the Dragon Phoenix Golden Needles case. Then the bottom opened, revealing a space hidden inside the case.
Inside were many tiny black things like sesame seeds. But looking closely, those small things were crawling. They weren't sesame seeds, but insects.
They were precisely a type of extremely fine insect called Ten Thousand Poison Gu.
Ten Thousand Poison Gu was a gu secretly developed by the Tang Family, a special breed created by mixing various gus to create an improved breed of gu, then administering ten thousand poisons to it.
Ten Thousand Poison Gu had the characteristic of settling in the host's dantian, then eating up all poison when poison infiltrated inside. So even if a person had no resistance to poison, if they harbored this Ten Thousand Poison Gu in their body, they would become a Body Impervious to Ten Thousand Poisons.
However, Ten Thousand Poison Gu was shelved shortly after being created.
The reason was because of the danger of its use.
Ten Thousand Poison Gu lived in colonies like ants or honeybees, then met a host and that colony broke apart, at which point the person harboring the Queen Ten Thousand Poison Gu in their body could control all people harboring the rest of the Ten Thousand Poison Gu from that colony.
In other words, if someone harboring the Queen Ten Thousand Poison Gu had evil intentions and endangered the Tang Family, the Tang Family could walk the path of irrecoverable ruin. So the Tang Family members who knew of that danger buried the Ten Thousand Poison Gu even after developing it.
But that Ten Thousand Poison Gu, thought to be lost, was now in Tang O's hands.
The reason Tang O took out this Ten Thousand Poison Gu at this point when the Crown Opening Great Method was almost finished?
Obviously.
It was to restrain Dong Bong-su.
He didn't want to lose such an excellent item as Sosam to another place even by chance, and it was to make him completely his own.
But there was something he didn't know.
Dong Bong-su had already heard all of this.
Knowing it all, he accepted all of Tang O's proposals and was now accepting one male Ten Thousand Poison Gu into his body. Because he could kill the Gu at any time he wanted. Inventory Divine Art applied the same way inside the body. This was a recently discovered fact.
If he could take out and put in various objects with Inventory, it was a result derived from pondering how its range worked.
Could Inventory Divine Art be applied even to empty spaces inside the body?
The result was 'possible.'
Therefore, if Dong Bong-su just knew where the Gu settled in his body, he could shoot out small weapons like thin needles into his body at any time to burst and kill the Gu.
Tang O didn't know that fact and believed he could completely control Dong Bong-su.
Tang O put one Ten Thousand Poison Gu into Dong Bong-su's ear.
Wriggle wriggle.
Like an ant burrowing into sand, one male Ten Thousand Poison Gu disappeared into Dong Bong-su's ear.
Even in the midst of this, Dong Bong-su sat still, feeling the energy newly accumulating in his body due to the Crown Opening Great Method. He was grasping how qi flowed in his body and how it should flow simply by receiving qi. In that process, the pain from the Crown Opening Great Method and the Ten Thousand Poison Gu's infiltration was terrible, but Dong Bong-su, having achieved unity of object and self, gradually forgot the pain.
Though not for a long time, Dong Bong-su was evolving further into a monster.
***
Several hours later.
Only after the dawn rooster crowed did the Crown Opening Great Method finally end.
A satisfied smile hung on the tired Tang O's face, and he looked down at Dong Bong-su and said.
"Open your eyes."
Dong Bong-su slowly opened his eyes and looked at Tang O. The dull energy had completely lifted from his eyes, and in some aspects, there was even a feeling of dizziness.
"I named you Tang Sam, meaning to cut down evil people like cutting grass."
"Yes."
An awkward voice flowed from Dong Bong-su's mouth. To Tang O or others, it should have felt like he had lost speech for a long time, and it was appropriate.
Tang O thought everything had been accomplished properly and smiled with satisfaction. At that, Dong Bong-su also smiled back. Of course, his smile was also about everything being accomplished properly.
Though it was obvious without saying whose matter had succeeded between the two.
Finally, Dong Bong-su completely shed the shell called Sosam and obtained new wings called Tang Sam. Though no one in the Martial World noticed its danger.
Today was the day the monster donned small wings and began preparing to take flight. How high he would fly, or whether he would fail to fly and simply collapse, remained to be seen.
***
(Revised) New Murim Online 2nd Law: Any object in direct contact with any part of the body (Addition: regardless of inside or outside the body) can be put into Inventory. (However, its size must be smaller than Inventory and it must not be a living creature.)
Addition: It's not that only one can be put in and taken out at a time—the number can increase through training.
※Still, all these laws are not fixed or certain.
Side Story 1: Birth of a Psychopath
Being a good person is something you can only say when passing by. When looking at a lifetime, there are no good people in this world.
— Hannibal Lecter, from 'The Silence of the Lambs'
***
I was different from a young age.
Kim Yang-suk said she was startled when I was born because I didn't cry and just looked around. She pounded my bottom for a long time trying to make me cry, but when I still didn't cry, she pinched me. Only then did I cry from pain.
Ten months later.
Finally, my speech opened.
Even then, I was a child differentiated from other children. The first words I uttered weren't short words like mommy, daddy, or bottle, but a complete sentence: 'Mom, give me food.'
Mother Kim Yang-suk seems to have clearly realized then that I was different from other children. Perhaps because of that, from a young age I was able to learn various things under the guise of gifted education and whatnot. But that curriculum wasn't much different from other children. In reality, after mastering everything, I was doing my favorite activity of making ants fight, but outwardly I still pretended to be learning.
I probably knew instinctively even at that time. That standing out was never beneficial.
Time passed again, and I became five years old.
Kim Yang-suk's excessive gifted education was now almost over and I was going through normal growth.
I played marbles, land-grabbing, and various game devices with neighborhood kids. Among them, my favorite activity was catching insects, reptiles, amphibians, etc., and playing with them.
Ants, dragonflies, cicadas, dung beetles, longhorn beetles, mantises, various grasshoppers and katydids, frogs, salamanders, tadpoles, etc.
Since most of the kids' mothers hated such things, keeping them was always my responsibility. Kim Yang-suk didn't care much about such things as long as I was okay.
I mainly played with them in my room.
Then one morning, when Kim Yang-suk came into my room and didn't see them, she asked.
"Huh? Bong-su, what happened to all the bugs you caught with the kids yesterday? You know you can't just throw such things in the trash?"
And she searched my room's trash can. But there was no way they were there.
"I ate them."
I probably answered like that. It wasn't wrong.
Shocked by those words, Kim Yang-suk scolded me hard. Saying I shouldn't carelessly eat such things. I even got scolded more severely when she told Dad, who came home in the evening.
Actually, I only ate the frog. I made the rest fight each other. They killed and killed each other. Eventually, what survived was the frog, and I just ate the frog. Consequently, I ate them all though.
I proved I was stronger than the frog, but I was still a weaker existence than my parents.
I realized then. That I shouldn't do what I liked where others, especially people stronger than me, were watching.
Time passed again.
I grew up healthy and splendidly.
I didn't upset my parents, nor did anything that fell outside the teachers' eyes. Rather, the young me was a model student acknowledged by everyone.
Wherever she went, Kim Yang-suk praised me.
A son who studies well and is good.
Teachers also frequently patted my head and praised me.
'Someone else's son' who would receive praise anywhere.
That was me, Dong Bong-su, at that time. Because when I did that, even if I did what I liked, people would interpret it on their own as having a thorough experimental spirit or understand it easily.
But being 'someone else's son' who studies well and receives praise—parents might not know, but it naturally draws hostility from friends. At that time, I didn't fully realize that.
It was probably when I was in 8th grade.
I secretly brought several stray dogs and cats from the neighborhood and made them fight. And while secretly burying the dead dogs and cats in the school flower bed, the kids caught me. Because of that incident, I became bullied. After that, for the rest of middle school, it became difficult to pursue hobbies and experiments again.
I learned another thing then. That I had to look good not only to people stronger than me, but also to those who weren't strong, and hide my hobbies.
Years passed again, and I became a high school student.
At that time, at least outwardly, I had become quite ordinary.
My grades were ordinary, I wasn't particularly good at anything—just the next-door high schooler who wouldn't stand out anywhere. That was me, Dong Bong-su.
But.
There was still something not ordinary.
Strangely, girls liked and followed me. At first, I didn't know why.
Eventually, I braved the annoyance and dated one of them. And one day I asked.
"Why do you like me?"
"Oh my! Look at you? How can I say such an embarrassing thing with my own mouth?"
When she said that, I did what she liked, and when she reached climax, I asked once more.
"Why do you like me?"
She panted and finally told me the answer I wanted.
"Well. Because you're not ordinary...I guess?"
"What does that mean?"
"You look different somehow. You're ordinary, but you seem somehow not ordinary?"
Then I gained new enlightenment. That I wasn't ordinary even just staying still.
So from then on, I began adopting artificial protective coloring. I did sports that everyone did, watched TV programs everyone watched, laughed when others laughed, cried when others cried.
At some point, people started saying this about me.
"Bong-su. You're such a good person."
"Bong-su. Thank you."
"Bong-su. Please do me a favor."
"Bong-su...."
"Bong-su...."
"Bong...."
At some point, I had become a good person.
Everyone approached me without hesitation. Men came to like me just as a colleague or friend, and women came to perceive me just as a workplace colleague, school senior, older brother, etc.
Finally, I realized.
The fact that I had finally obtained true protective coloring, ordinariness. Now, like a chameleon, wherever I went, even without being conscious of it, I had become 'a good person, an ordinary person.'
I had finally completely escaped people's eyes.
Only then could I regain my true self.
It was truly a long time of endurance.
Now it was time to release the desire I had held back and held back. Not to insects or animals, but to real prey.
Only before them could I deactivate my protective coloring and return to my true self.