After confirming that Jin Muryang truly was the Ghost-Annihilating Divine Demon, Tang Mujin raised his power and regarded him warily.
Jin Muryang grinned at Tang Mujin’s open hostility.
“You seem stronger than you were back then.”
“Of course I am! I endured every humiliation and trained relentlessly with you bastards in mind!”
“I would like to see just how much stronger you’ve become, but...”
Jin Muryang looked at Jeok Wigang.
Tang Mujin’s eyes widened.
“W-Wait...”
Didn’t he clearly call him his younger brother just now?
Which meant—
“You took the Ghost-Annihilating Divine Demon as your younger brother?”
When Jeok Wigang nodded, Tang Mujin unconsciously took a step back.
His mind went blank.
“D-Do you know what kind of history that man has with the martial world?”
“Yes. Very well. He was also bitter enemies with my grandfather, wasn’t he?”
“Your grandfather?”
“You didn’t know? My father is the Heavenly Martial Emperor’s youngest son.”
“Ah!”
That was right.
The True Martial Merchant Company’s audacity in setting foot in Sichuan had infuriated the Tang Family so badly that they had attacked without thinking through the consequences. Only afterward had they watched Heavenly Martial Castle for a reaction.
When no response came, they had assumed the rumors were true and that the family ties had been severed.
But Jeok Wigang still called the Heavenly Martial Emperor his grandfather.
Apparently, they had not severed ties at all.
That meant the Tang Family had very nearly made an enemy of Heavenly Martial Castle as well.
The thought sent chills crawling across Tang Mujin’s entire body.
“D-Does the Heavenly Martial Emperor know that you’ve taken this man as your younger brother?”
“Yes.”
Tang Mujin nearly jumped at Jeok Wigang’s answer.
“What? H-He knows?”
Jeok Wigang nodded.
“He doesn’t merely know. The two of them met and even fought.”
“They met?”
Tang Mujin stared at Jin Muryang with an expression that plainly asked why he was still alive.
Then an even more terrifying thought occurred to him.
For some reason, he had the feeling that the Ghost-Annihilating Divine Demon was not Jeok Wigang’s only younger brother.
“D-Do you perhaps... know the other Four Divine Demons as well?”
Tang Mujin asked cautiously.
Jeok Wigang nodded.
“Yes. Every one I’ve found is under my wing.”
“Good heavens...”
The Four Divine Demons had once plunged the entire martial world of the Central Plains into terror.
Everyone had wondered where they had suddenly disappeared to.
Apparently, they had been absorbed into the ranks of an even greater monster.
Tang Mujin glanced at Jin Muryang.
Then he looked back at Jeok Wigang.
Perhaps this was actually for the best.
They were under Jeok Wigang, of all people. There was no chance he would allow them to cause trouble.
The accomplishment itself was astonishing.
He had turned the fearsome Four Divine Demons into his own people.
If they had been properly tamed under Jeok Wigang, there was no reason to fear them unnecessarily.
Once his tension eased, Tang Mujin’s curiosity as a martial artist began to rise.
He was stronger than he had been in the past.
How far could he go against the Ghost-Annihilating Divine Demon now?
Could he win?
Tang Mujin’s eyes kept darting toward Jin Muryang.
Jeok Wigang chuckled.
“Why? Do you want to fight him?”
“N-No, that isn’t it... I was merely curious how great the difference would be between then and now.”
Jin Muryang answered him.
“There would be no difference. I’ve grown every bit as much as you have. If you truly want a fight, try the man coming this way. You likely have more history with him than you do with me.”
The man coming this way?
Someone was rapidly approaching from the direction Jin Muryang had indicated.
“Elder Brother.”
It was Ye Yahyeon, returning from the errand Jeok Wigang had sent him on.
“You’re back. You explained the situation to my father properly, right?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He approves of the True Martial Merchant Company and the Heavenly Flower Merchant Company forming a brotherly alliance. He also asked me to tell the Tang Family Head that he regrets being unable to meet him personally for such an important occasion.”
“You heard him, didn’t you?”
Tang Mujin and Tang Pae nodded.
That, however, was not what mattered to Tang Mujin at the moment.
The meaning behind Jin Muryang’s earlier remark was far more important.
Ye Yahyeon tilted his head when he noticed Tang Mujin staring intently at him.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“That man said you and I shared a deeper history... Are you also one of the Four Divine Demons?”
Ye Yahyeon frowned and looked toward Jin Muryang.
Jin Muryang was chuckling as though he found the situation immensely entertaining.
Ye Yahyeon sighed and turned to Jeok Wigang.
“What? Just tell him the truth.”
“Are you certain that would be wise?”
“Why not? He would have to learn eventually. This is better, actually. Let’s settle everything from the past and move on.”
Only then did Ye Yahyeon openly acknowledge Tang Mujin.
“Your poison arts appear to have improved considerably since the old days.”
“You... So you truly are the Poison-Mandate Divine Demon.”
“It has been a long time.”
Tang Mujin nodded.
“You look as though there is something you wish to confirm.”
“I want to know how well my present strength would fare against you.”
“Hmm.”
“But now does not appear to be the proper time. Once I’ve grown stronger through the cultivation method Merchant Master Jeok gave me, I will formally challenge you to a spar.”
Ye Yahyeon grinned.
“Very well. I shall look forward to that day.”
Jeok Wigang sent Ye Yahyeon a voice transmission.
—I modified your cultivation method before giving it to him.
—What?
Ye Yahyeon stared at Jeok Wigang in surprise.
A moment later, he chuckled and nodded.
—Well done. Now I’m curious to see how strong he becomes.
Knowing that the Tang Family would grow stronger through his cultivation method gave Ye Yahyeon an inexplicable sense of kinship with them.
Tang Mujin looked at Jeok Wigang.
“What of the other two?”
“I haven’t found them yet. They’ve hidden themselves remarkably well.”
“They will not pose a danger, will they?”
Jeok Wigang grinned.
“If they do, I won’t let it slide.”
Reassuring.
There was nothing in the world more reassuring than that.
Even so, the Tang Family could not depend on Jeok Wigang for everything.
That would make them complacent, and complacency was the surest path to a family’s downfall.
Tang Mujin turned to Tang Pae.
“Family Head. It appears an age of terrible chaos will soon descend upon us. From this moment onward, make every resource of the Tang Family available and raise our fighting strength as much as possible.”
“Yes, Father.”
Tang Mujin looked back at Jeok Wigang.
“Would you be willing to take Un with you?”
Tang Un would probably become stronger far more quickly at Jeok Wigang’s side than he ever could training within the Tang Family.
“My training methods are rather harsh... Are you certain?”
“Harsh or not, you won’t kill him. Am I wrong?”
“Of course not. If he died, all the effort I put into teaching him would go to waste.”
“Then that is enough. Please take good care of Tang Un.”
Tang Mujin, a man said never to bow his head to anyone, lowered it for the first time.
He spoke without raising his head.
“And thank you. Truly. Thank you for sparing our Tang Family.”
“Try to live more honorably from now on. The moment I hear another ugly rumor about you, our relationship is over.”
“Understood. I will carve it into our family law and enforce it without exception.”
“Then we have no problem.”
*****
“Really? I’m truly allowed to follow you, Brother?”
Tang Un beamed with delight when Jeok Wigang invited him to come along.
“Yes. As long as you’re willing, I intend to take you with me.”
“Of course I’m willing! I should have been the one begging you for the privilege. I can only thank you for offering first.”
“Let’s get along from now on.”
“Yes! I will follow you with all my heart and give you everything I have.”
Jeok Wigang chuckled at Tang Un’s eager reply.
Would he still be this happy for long?
It would not be long before agonized wails began pouring from that mouth.
“By the way, Brother. Are you really going to sell weapons here?”
“Yes. We came all this way, so we should sell something before leaving.”
“I heard Grandfather and Father said you could sell everything you brought.”
“The Tang Family might not have suffered too badly if I weren’t the one selling them. But now that I am? You’d go bankrupt.”
“I heard you made all the weapons yourself.”
“That’s right. They’re nothing particularly special. Oh!”
Jeok Wigang handed him an elegantly wrapped object.
“Here. A gift. Thanks to you, the situation didn’t grow any worse and everything ended cleanly.”
“What are you talking about? The family survived only because you showed us mercy. I should be the one thanking you.”
“When your brother gives you something, just say thank you and accept it.”
“Yes! Thank you.”
He certainly listened well.
Tang Un unrolled the cloth and revealed a sword that gleamed with exquisite light.
It was less a sword than a work of art.
One glance was enough to tell that it had to be tremendously expensive.
“B-Brother! Th-This looks incredibly valuable!”
“It only looks that way. The materials did not cost very much, so don’t feel burdened. Take it.”
“Th-Thank you.”
Reassured by the claim that the materials had been inexpensive, Tang Un drew the sword.
SHIIING—
He stared at the exposed blade in a daze.
Then he suddenly snapped back to his senses and looked at Jeok Wigang in alarm.
“Wh-What is this?”
“What else would it be? It’s a sword I made.”
“Y-You made this yourself? I can feel... a spirit within the sword.”
“You can? I tried imbuing it as an experiment. It seems to have worked.”
Imbuing it?
Imbuing it with what?
He couldn’t possibly mean that he put a spirit into the sword... could he?
Tang Un was afraid to ask.
Yet the energy rippling across the blade was unmistakably spiritual.
It was also strangely familiar and comforting.
It was the energy of poison.
It couldn’t possibly be the Myriad Poison Spirit, said to be the source of all poisons... could it?
He reached out and touched the rippling energy.
The energy shivered beneath his fingers as though delighted by his touch.
It felt alive.
Jeok Wigang chuckled at the sight.
“That sword has accepted you as its master. If anyone else touches it, it may poison them to death, so take proper care of it.”
“What?”
Tang Un flinched and stared at the sword again.
A sword capable of recognizing its own master.
Did that not make it a divine sword?
“B-Brother, I cannot accept something this precious.”
“You won’t take it? Then I’ll have to melt it down.”
“What? S-Something this precious?”
“What else would I do with it? It probably won’t acknowledge anyone but you as its master.”
“Even so... is it truly all right for me to accept something so valuable?”
“It isn’t that valuable. I told you, the materials barely cost anything.”
The cost of the materials hardly seems like the issue.
How could anyone forge a sword and cause a spirit to dwell within it?
“You can name it yourself.”
It did not even have a name.
Tang Un stroked the flat of the blade again and murmured to it.
“I will give you your name.”
After considering it for a moment, he opened his eyes and spoke to the sword.
“I’ll call you Poison Origin—the source from which all poisons arise.”
HUMMMMM—
The sword rang out as though delighted by the name.
“You like it that much? I’m glad too. From now on... I’ll be counting on you.”
HUMMMMM—
Simply holding it filled him with joy.
He was already overflowing with the desire to begin training with it.
When Tang Un raised his head, Jeok Wigang was gone.
He was alone.
Tang Un chuckled.
Jeok Wigang had apparently left before Tang Un could try to return the sword.
CLACK—
Tang Un sheathed the blade and rose from his seat, making a silent vow.
He would grow stronger and stronger until he became the second greatest expert beneath heaven.
Then he would stand at his brother’s side and protect him.
*****
On the first day the True Martial Merchant Company began selling its goods in Sichuan, the Tang Family was the first to purchase and bring back its weapons.
“This is unbelievable...”
The Tang Family members stared in endless admiration at the weapons laid across the table.
“Every one of them is a peerless sword or saber.”
“Their sharpness is so overwhelming that merely looking at them makes me feel as though my skin is being cut.”
Even Tang Pae clicked his tongue in astonishment.
“I knew they would be no ordinary weapons if Merchant Master Jeok had forged them himself... but this is far beyond anything I imagined.”
“If weapons of this quality fall into the hands of the Emei Sect or the Qingcheng Sect, our position in Sichuan may be weakened.”
“Urgh.”
“We must immediately purchase every weapon the True Martial Merchant Company has for sale!”