Chapter 434 : Birthday Banquet (2)

Chapter 434: Birthday Banquet (2)

“Grrk! You coward! Attacking from behind!”

“Hmph! And who are you to talk about cowardice, when you tried to force yourself on your junior!”

Even in the midst of this chaos, the Great Young Master shouted at Eum Sajeok, who was sitting silently as if in deep meditation.

“Brother Eum! Attack these traitors!”

But Eum Sajeok didn’t budge.

Seeing that, Ok Girin murmured.

“No way! Did someone strike Brother Eum with a killing technique first?”

He asked because Eum Sajeok wasn’t moving at all.

“What nonsense! Brother Eum shares my intent—why would I strike him? If it wasn’t you, then it must have been Il Taegong.”

Since Eum Sajeok remained motionless, both of them assumed the other had used a trick on him.

In the midst of this, Yi Taegong and Il Taegong clashed silently.

However, both of them simultaneously cried out, feeling their internal energy scatter and their dantians burning hot.

“You! Did you poison me?”

“Senior, what poison are you talking about?”

Feeling something strange, the two stopped mid-fight and backed away.

They hadn’t administered any poison, yet they were clearly poisoned. It was bizarre.

Then, both turned their heads toward Eum Sajeok, who remained still.

“Eum!”

“Brother Sajeok!”

At the calls of Il Taegong (Ok Ilhwa) and Yi Taegong (Gwan Changgi), Eum Sajeok finally opened his eyes slowly, taking a deep breath.

“Did you poison us?”

Masa smiled faintly and said,

The Dragon Bone Poison that had been scattered in the air, smeared on the Thousand Blood Dagger and painting, had all been inhaled. None remained.

“I merely thought it was time to clean house, so don’t be too angry.”

When Eum Sajeok replied calmly, Yi Taegong realized he had been completely deceived by his disciple.

“You smeared poison on the scroll? What kind of poison is it?”

At the level of Yi Taegong or Il Taegong, even if they ingested poison, they could expel it without much difficulty.

But this poison couldn’t be detected at all, and it had already overtaken their bodies.

He asked, hoping to identify the poison and find a way to detoxify it.

“That poison can’t be neutralized. I don’t feel like explaining, so just die quietly.”

“You think I will?”

The one who felt the most betrayed was Yang Gwak.

“You son of a bitch!”

Yang Gwak channeled all his internal energy and struck Eum Sajeok’s chest with his palm.

Wham!

Blood splattered, and flesh scattered in the air.

Seeing this, Ok Ilhwa, Gwan Changgi, and Ok Girin instinctively gasped.

Yang Gwak’s right hand had turned into a pulp and hung limply.

“How...?”

In that moment, Yang Gwak didn’t think he had been stopped by Eum Sajeok’s protective qi—he thought it was some dark sorcery.

Eum Sajeok had activated his Protective Energy achieved at the Fourth Jiazi level through Yama True Qi, so it was only natural that the force behind Yang Gwak’s palm would be shattered.

Yang Gwak couldn’t even feel the blood gushing from his right arm. He just stared at Eum Sajeok.

He looked confused as to how someone could neutralize the power of a Fourth Jiazi strike so effortlessly.

“Hahaha! So this was all your doing?”

Ok Ilhwa asked.

“Well, you could say that. And that poison can’t be cured with time or neutralized. So don’t even think about stalling for time against me.”

“That seems likely. But then, when and how did you poison us? I should’ve noticed.”

“I smeared it on the scroll in advance. I used animal glue, so it wouldn’t have been detectable at first.”

Eum Sajeok even kindly explained. The more time passed, the more the Dragon Bone Poison would permeate their bodies.

‘So this is the poison that paralyzed the Greatest Sword Under Heaven. If they could resist, Yi Taegong and Il Taegong would’ve tried to kill me by now. The fact that they’re just sitting shows they can’t suppress the poison. They’re desperately trying to buy time to think of a countermeasure.’

Ok Girin suddenly sprang up to attack, but being poisoned by Dragon Bone Poison, his strength was useless.

Held by Masa, Ok Girin shouted.

“I’ll kill you!”

Masa raised his fist and retorted.

“Shut your damn mouth!”

Wham!

Masa’s punch landed squarely in Ok Girin’s mouth.

His teeth shattered, jaw dislocated, and his tongue lolled out.

“Ugh!”

Even seeing her son in such a state, Ok Ilhwa remained seated.

She was concentrating on suppressing the poison and gathering it in one place.

“With this much noise, the Escort Warriors outside will be here soon.”

Ok Ilhwa said, attempting to rattle Masa.

But Masa chuckled.

“Yi Taegong probably ordered that no one should enter even in case of loud commotion. Am I wrong? He was planning to take down First Master today, after all. Wouldn’t he have made such arrangements?”

“Is that true?”

Seeing Yi Taegong’s jaw clenched tight, it was indeed the truth.

“Don’t tell me you used Yang Gwak to deliver the Thousand Blood Dagger to me?”

“I did.”

“Hah... and I didn’t even know...”

“You always liked my devious nature, Master.”

Even at Masa’s mockery, Yi Taegong couldn’t say much.

Gwan Changgi stood up and said,

“Even if I’m poisoned, I can still kill someone like you.”

Unable to use Sword Unification, he could only rely on the Thousand Blood Dagger.

Gwan Changgi raised his energy.

At once, the Dragon Bone Poison spread through his body, and his face turned deathly pale.

“Just one question—only Il Taegong saw the scroll, so why was I also poisoned?”

“It’s simple. The poison was also smeared on the ivory box containing the Thousand Blood Dagger. The glue spread the poison, so when you opened it, you got exposed too.”

“Hah, and you thought I would actually try to kill Il Taegong?”

“I was sure that once you obtained the Thousand Blood Dagger and Early Spring, you would go after him. Even if you didn’t, I was going to take care of you myself.”

As Masa finished speaking, Gwan Changgi lunged like lightning and slashed down with the Thousand Blood Dagger.

The dagger could pierce through even the strongest Protective Energy, so he had been waiting for an opening.

But Masa had already anticipated it. He smoothly dodged and drew his Soft Sword from his waist.

Whirl!

A red drop of blood trickled from the sword.

Thunk!

Gwan Changgi’s right hand, which held the Thousand Blood Dagger, was cleanly severed at the wrist and dropped.

“Grghh!”

“Master, do you remember? You gave me this soft sword as a birthday gift when I turned twenty.”

Gwan Changgi performed acupoint sealing and collapsed into a seated position, attempting Qi circulation.

Masa watched and spoke.

“All of it is futile. This isn’t some simple poison.”

The one in best shape at the scene, Ok Ilhwa, stood up.

Due to her high internal energy, she was able to resist the Dragon Bone Poison to some extent.

Ok Ilhwa drove her fingers into a wooden pillar and tore off a chunk.

Crunch!

She ripped out a long strip of wood from the pillar and aimed it at Eum Sajeok.

“Indeed, a vicious poison. But the one who dies here today will be you. Consider it an honor to die by my All-Object Sword.”

Il Taegong had named his own attained realm as the All-Object Sword (諸物劍).

A state in which all things could become a sword—branches, chopsticks, anything.

Ok Ilhwa, believing the poison was incurable, intended to use all her internal energy to kill Eum Sajeok.

She hoped that in doing so, she might at least save her poisoned son.

Had Ok Ilhwa been in perfect condition, even if Masa had reached the Fourth Jiazi, it would have been a hard-fought battle.

Even now, if she resolved to die fighting, the outcome couldn’t be guaranteed.

However, Masa had no intention of fighting such a difficult battle.

He intended to fully capitalize on the situation he had already taken control of.

Masa moved in an instant, unleashing Palm Force toward Ok Girin’s chest.

Seeing this, Ok Ilhwa, who had been about to attack with the wooden shard, pulled Ok Girin toward her.

“No!”

At that moment, a gasp burst from Yi Taegong’s mouth.

Despite trying to circulate Qi, he had failed to suppress the poison and had been observing the fight.

Shlck!

With a sound like flesh being torn, blood began to stream from Ok Girin and Ok Ilhwa’s mouths.

Ok Ilhwa looked down at her son’s abdomen.

Yi Taegong’s severed arm was embedded in it.

The severed right arm, still clutching the Thousand Blood Dagger, had pierced through the dantians of both Ok Girin and Ok Ilhwa.

“Did you... plan this?”

Swallowing the blood flowing from her mouth, Ok Ilhwa asked.

“That’s right. I severed Yi Taegong’s arm precisely for this moment.”

“So you spared Girin to use me like this.”

“Correct. First Master is a dangerous beast even when poisoned.”

“Hah... perfect. Absolutely perfect. To control every detail so flawlessly... You’re worthy of ruling the Main Sect.”

More than rage, Ok Ilhwa was filled with admiration.

“With things like this, it’ll appear that Yi Taegong was the one who killed us, not you. So he’ll be the one to take the fall.”

Masa smiled faintly.

“Exactly.”

“What?!”

As Yi Taegong suddenly stood up, Masa swung his Soft Sword.

Slick!

Yi Taegong’s head fell to the ground with a dull thud.

“Then it becomes ‘Yi Taegong, who killed the Great Young Master and Il Taegong, was killed by me’.”

As Masa spoke calmly, Ok Ilhwa sneered.

“But if you're the only one unscathed in all this, the Elders will grow suspicious. Do you really think they'll be fooled?”

At that moment, someone walked in.

“That’s nothing to worry about. I’ll testify to everything that happened.”

The one who entered through the door was none other than Hyang Byeok, the Pavilion Lord of Unmil Pavilion.

With things reaching this point, Ok Ilhwa’s eyes darkened.

“You too... betrayed us?”

Hyang Byeok shook his head.

“This isn’t betrayal. I simply chose the stronger side. Wasn’t the Heavenly Demon Sect founded on such a background to begin with?”

Hyang Byeok couldn’t reject Masa’s offer.

If Masa became the Supreme Leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect, he would become the Supreme Leader’s father-in-law, gaining power to influence the entire sect.

Hyang Byeok wasn’t one to pass up such an opportunity.

Masa had promised to take Hyang Uun as his wife and lured Hyang Byeok in.

Likewise, Masa needed control over the forces Hyang Byeok commanded within the Heavenly Demon Sect, making the alliance mutually beneficial.

Struggling to breathe, possibly from a lung injury, Ok Ilhwa spoke.

“This isn’t the end. You’ll need to learn there’s a true mastermind behind the Main Sect. Only the Three Taegongs know of them. Even if you take control of the Main Sect, you’ll eventually fall to them.”

Even Eum Sajeok knew someone stood behind the Three Taegongs.

“And what can that mastermind do now? All their puppets are dead.”

Ok Ilhwa replied.

“Their forces are spread widely throughout the Main Sect. It’s not as simple as you think.”

“I know. I’m aware that many Elders are under their control.”

“Just because you eliminate us doesn’t mean the Main Sect will be yours.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Pretending to be on the verge of death, Ok Ilhwa struck Masa’s crown with her hand as he approached.

Smack!

She had gathered all her remaining Innate Qi, believing she could smash his skull like tofu.

But she was blocked by Masa’s Protective Energy, and it didn’t even faze him.

‘How could he have reached a level beyond the Fourth Jiazi? I knew Eum Sajeok’s level better than anyone.’

Having constantly assessed her disciples’ progress, no one understood Eum Sajeok’s cultivation better than she did.

But for him to suddenly ascend to such heights in such a short time—it was something she’d never experienced before in her martial path.

‘Still... I won’t go down like this.’

She activated one of the Essence-Absorbing Arts and began drawing True Qi from Masa’s crown.

Just a little was absorbed—then it abruptly stopped.

He dispersed the energy from her technique with unbelievable skill and cut off the Qi flow.

Even in that brief exchange, Ok Ilhwa sensed that the Qi she absorbed from her disciple was different from before.

For the Qi accumulated through the Dantian over a long time to suddenly change into something else—that was impossible.

“You... Who are you?”

Her voice, barely a whisper, reached only Masa.

And Masa answered with a smile, instead of words.

“You don’t need to know.”

Ok Ilhwa, eyes filled with questions, gazed at Masa one last time before her head slumped.

Having summoned even the last of her Innate Qi, her meridians could no longer endure and burst, killing her instantly.

Her eyes, filled with doubt, were still fixed on Masa.

Masa muttered to himself.

“What a terrifying poison. Even Yi Taegong and Il Taegong of the Heavenly Demon Sect were helpless before it.”

The poison Yong Hwarin had given him had far exceeded expectations.

Even the Greatest Sword Under Heaven couldn’t neutralize it—what more needed to be said?

But Hyang Byeok had another thought.

Could this really be accomplished by poison alone?

It had been Eum Sajeok who had deployed the poison so precisely, creating a situation where they were inevitably poisoned.

He even induced a sense of rivalry, causing them to check and suspect one another, leading to betrayal and internal conflict.

That skill, more than anything, was proof of a true Demonic Path Sovereign.

Hyang Byeok had seen in Eum Sajeok the true qualities of one destined to reign over the Demonic Path.

He had thought Eum Sajeok was merely a brilliant schemer.

But now he realized he was a martial powerhouse as well—able to easily dispose of Il Taegong and Yi Taegong, even while they were poisoned.

To control everyone so completely—this wasn’t something schemes alone could accomplish.

He possessed strategic wit, psychological mastery, and martial prowess—all in perfect harmony.