Everyone’s gaze turned toward the Poison King.
In the martial world, the Poison King was a mysterious being shrouded in all manner of rumors.
They said that if you fell victim to the Poison King, you would die without even realizing you had been poisoned.
They said that if your eyes met his, you would go blind on the spot.
They said he had poisoned hundreds to death with a single drop of poison.
They said he even slept inside a vat filled with poisonous substances.
They said he looked like a hunchbacked old monster; no, that he was not a man at all, but a middle-aged woman.
He was, in every sense, the subject of countless misunderstandings and distortions.
And today, the Thirteen Wolves of Sado and the martial artists of the Extreme Blade Corps were seeing the Poison King in person. They were astonished. Never in their dreams had they imagined the Poison King would be such a young-looking, beautiful boy.
Even beneath the gazes pouring toward him, the Poison King remained composed and aloof.
The Poison King’s gaze turned to Geom Mugeuk. The look in his eyes as he regarded him for a moment was deep.
“I greet the Young Cult Leader.”
Ordinarily, he was someone who would have skipped the greeting and gone off to dig up poisonous herbs beneath that tree over there. But today, for Geom Mugeuk’s sake, he showed a side of himself utterly unlike usual.
“I greet the Poison King.”
Geom Mugeuk also cupped his fist respectfully and bowed.
The Poison King, exuding a solemn atmosphere that overwhelmed the surroundings. It felt unfamiliar, and yet new.
After first attending to Geom Mugeuk, the Poison King next paid his respects to the Sado Alliance Leader.
“It is an honor to meet such a distinguished person.”
“I have long heard of the Demon Venerable’s reputation. It is good to meet you.”
The Poison King also exchanged calm greetings with Baek Jagang.
Though the Poison King was usually shut away within his own world, at this moment he stood at the boundary between that world and the world outside.
Baek Jagang was more tense than when he had fought the Fighting King. He was confident he would not die to the Fighting King, but he had no such confidence when it came to the Poison King.
He might be able to kill the Poison King, but in the end, it felt as though he himself would die as well. The Poison King was that kind of terrifying existence.
But today, instead of wariness toward the Poison King, he conveyed his gratitude.
He owed him a great debt. Even without asking, he knew who had detoxified Yellow Springs.
“There will come a day when I repay the debt I owe today.”
“It was done for our cult’s Young Cult Leader, so please do not trouble yourself over it.”
Was it truly for my sake?
Geom Mugeuk was certain it was not. The Poison King knew that he was immune to all poisons.
Thus, he had detoxified Yellow Springs not for him, but to save these people. Or perhaps for the children.
The Poison King before the regression and the Poison King now were the same person. But he was living an entirely different fate.
Geom Mugeuk knew. All of us stand upon a boundary. Just as the Sword Venerable before the regression, who had tried to become Cult Leader, and the Sword Venerable now, who was immersed in martial training, were not different people, changing one’s fate did not require some grand catalyst.
There were others who had come with the Poison King. Sangseon, who served him, and five Poison Fangs also appeared with him.
Sangseon had nine poison pouches, and the remaining Poison Fangs had seven or more. Truly, the peerless masters of the Thousand Poisons Forest had come together.
“How in the world did you come here?”
Sangseon answered in his stead.
“We obtained confidential information that Yellow Springs, a poison of mass destruction whose use is forbidden in the martial world, had been moved in large quantities toward the Sado Alliance. Strategist Go requested an investigation.”
They had come at Go Wol’s request. Since Go Wol would have been concerned solely with his own safety, he must have regarded Yellow Springs as a tremendous risk factor.
Of course, the Poison King did not have to step forward. Go Wol was not even affiliated with Tongcheon Pavilion, and was merely Geom Mugeuk’s personal strategist. He could have sent only his subordinates to investigate Yellow Springs.
And yet he had come personally like this for Geom Mugeuk’s sake. He must truly have hated coming out.
‘Thank you, Poison King.’
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned toward the Poison King.
The Poison King was walking toward the children whose blood points had been sealed.
There were several standing beside him as well, yet the Poison King deliberately walked toward the child standing close to the Fighting King.
The Fighting King glared coldly at him, but the Poison King did not so much as flinch; he paid him no mind at all. It felt as though he were saying, If you can kill me, try it. No, please try.
The Poison King flipped up the child’s eyelids and pulled out his tongue to examine it.
“He did not use Gu poison. He planted suggestions in the children by another method.”
After that, he examined the pouches the children wore on their chests.
“He made something truly bizarre. Sangseon, take one of these with us. Bring it back and study it. Still, isn’t the bag a bit large for children to carry?”
Those words contained a rebuke for having made children shoulder such a task.
Geom Mugeuk knew. He knew how much the Poison King despised those who used poisons of mass slaughter indiscriminately. Because he cherished and loved poison arts more than anyone, he loathed those who used poison carelessly to an extreme degree. And on top of that, they had even used children.
Right now, the Poison King was surely feeling an intense desire to kill the Fighting King. If this had not been a matter of the Sado Alliance, the Fighting King would already be dead.
The Poison King walked past the Fighting King as if to make a point, murmuring as though to himself.
“From what I heard earlier, it seems someone was even trying to frame an innocent person.”
Passing before him while saying such a thing was both disregard and provocation.
The Fighting King had already been driven to the very end, but even in this situation, he could not attack the Poison King. His conflict was palpable. A deep conflict over whether or not to strike the Poison King, who had ruined his plans.
But in the end, he could not attack.
Because he knew better than anyone just how terrifying a master was housed within that extremely youthful appearance. This was the Poison King whom even the Poison Hegemon had feared. No matter how brave he was, he wanted to avoid dying with his five viscera and six bowels melting away.
Geom Mugeuk felt it anew. Why the martial artists of the murim feared the Poison King the most. Why the Poison King possessed the strongest power of war deterrence.
This time, the Fighting King’s gaze turned toward Baek Jagang and Bi Sain.
It was regrettable. If he had killed those two, Sado would have fallen into his hands.
It was truly regrettable that he had lost the fight, and that with this defeat he would lose everything.
In the end, the place his resentful gaze turned was Geom Mugeuk.
‘It’s because of him.’
The Poison King would not have come either, if not for that Young Cult Leader.
From the very beginning, everything had gone wrong because of that Young Cult Leader of the Demon Cult. A hatred rose within him, insisting that even if he died, he had to kill that man alone.
“I have one final request. Allow me to fight the Young Cult Leader of the Demon Cult.”
Baek Jagang refused firmly.
“Not a chance.”
The Fighting King provoked Geom Mugeuk.
“Will you remain a cowardly Young Cult Leader?”
Geom Mugeuk looked at him and smiled. When Bi Sain, who was standing beside him, laughed along as well, Geom Mugeuk asked.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I laughed because that man knows far too little about you. Ah, how wonderful it would be if you were someone who fell for such obvious provocation.”
Would it really be wonderful? Bi Sain’s head asked, and his heart answered. No.
“How shameless. You look at those children and still dare put the word cowardice in your mouth?”
Even at Bi Sain’s mockery, the Fighting King continued to provoke only Geom Mugeuk.
“Geom Mugeuk, fight me!”
Everyone looked at Geom Mugeuk. With clear, deep eyes, he shook his head.
“The reason that won’t do is because the Poison King here is not someone who would stand by if I were harmed. It would be less painful for you to simply die by the Alliance Leader’s sword. If you fall victim to the Poison King’s poison, you will die feeling the agony of your entire body melting. Isn’t that right, Poison King?”
When Geom Mugeuk turned to look back at the Poison King, he was no longer there.
He was crouching some distance away in front of a martial artist of the Extreme Blade Corps.
“Move your foot, if you would.”
When the martial artist of the Extreme Blade Corps, startled, moved his foot, there was grass behind it.
“Ah, I saw correctly.”
The Poison King carefully dug up the poisonous herb.
Geom Mugeuk smiled faintly as he watched the Poison King return to his own world. Everyone likely assumed there must be some other meaning behind the Poison King’s actions, but no one would know. Right now, he was sincerely absorbed in digging up poisonous herbs.
At that moment, the Fighting King unleashed a surprise palm force.
An explosion thundered.
The place the Fighting King’s palm force headed was Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk extended one hand, neutralized the Fighting King’s palm force, and continued looking at the Poison King.
The Poison King was still digging up the poisonous herb, and Geom Mugeuk watched him.
The two of them thoroughly ignored the Fighting King.
“You bastard! I will kill you no matter what!”
The Fighting King’s composure shattered.
He threw the dagger at his waist. It was truly astonishing flying dagger technique, but the dagger did not reach its target.
The one who deflected the dagger was Baek Jagang. He no longer stood by and watched the Fighting King struggle in desperation.
“Look. Where is this grand thing called immortality that you believed in? There is only greed and regret.”
With even the Poison King having appeared, he had no intention of dragging the fight out.
Baek Jagang immediately pressed him.
Shaaaang!
Boom!
The Fighting King, who had suffered a great wound to his arm, could not withstand Baek Jagang’s attack and was helplessly pushed back. After striking him hard to scatter his true qi—
Overlord Heaven-Suppressing Sword, Fifth Form: Ring of Annihilation.
Baek Jagang’s sword qi, flying through the air, split into dozens from all directions around the Fighting King. There was nowhere to evade.
And just as that final move was about to shoot toward the Fighting King—
Whoooosh.
A black hole formed beneath the feet where the Fighting King stood, and he vanished as if being sucked down into it.
Everyone was startled by the sudden event.
What remained on the ground were the severed Immortal Divine Armor he had been wearing, the tattered protective gear, blood-soaked clothing, and the gauntlets called the Fighting God. He had vanished naked, leaving behind everything that had been on his body.
‘Someone rescued him!’
Baek Jagang raised his qi and surveyed the surroundings. But no matter how he searched, he could not sense any other presence. Someone had used an astonishing sorcery to extract him.
Baek Jagang looked at Geom Mugeuk. His gaze asked whether he could sense anything, but Geom Mugeuk also shook his head.
“The secret art that took him away is no ordinary one.”
There was no one among the Twelve Zodiac Kings who used such martial arts. Unless perhaps the Phantom King were alive.
‘Then who in the world was it?’
In any case, he could know one thing for certain. The force behind this incident had clearly been watching the Fighting King. Perhaps that was only natural. Their attempts against the main cult, the Martial Alliance, and even the Feng Tian Sect had all failed before this.
‘It is someone who knows the Fighting King’s personality. They watched until the very end and rescued him at the final moment.’
He could not tell who it was. At this point in time, he had no way of knowing what circumstances they were in.
Since the Fighting King had escaped in the middle of the fight, one might have expected him to be flustered and left with an unpleasant feeling, but Baek Jagang showed none of that. His face displayed a confidence that said, If he appears again, I will simply kill him then.
“He bears deep resentment toward you, so be careful.”
“It seems he was fated to die by my hand.”
At that moment, the Poison King sent a voice transmission to Geom Mugeuk.
—That will not happen.
—Pardon?
—I do not know where the other side of that hole that swallowed him leads, but he would have been better off dying here.
Geom Mugeuk understood. The Poison King had already poisoned him. And with a dreadful, terrifying poison at that.
—I thought he would die to the Sado Alliance Leader before the poison spread.
It seemed the Poison King truly could not forgive the Fighting King. He had given a symbolic punishment to the man who had used poison by putting children forward, but in the end, it had become a real punishment.
If the Poison King said he would die, then he would surely die. Geom Mugeuk believed in the Poison King’s skill. He also believed in the karmic retribution for the crime of using a poison that should not have been used, in a way it should not have been used.
—As expected! Our Poison King is a man of foresight.
At that moment, someone shouted from the side.
“Come at me! I’ll kill at least one of you before I die!”
With his master gone, the flustered Sahon swung his sword in a final desperate struggle.
It was right then.
Someone approached silently from behind him and wrapped around his neck.
Crack.
Before he could resist, Sahon’s neck snapped.
The person who revealed himself behind Sahon as he collapsed like a bundle of straw was Goeak. After recovering from his injuries through circulating his qi and regulating his breath at the place where the fight had first broken out, he had arrived belatedly.
“Are you all right?”
At Bi Sain’s concern, Goeak nodded.
“I am fine.”
“That is a relief.”
Bi Sain looked at him with sincere feeling. From now on, when it came to human relationships, he would no longer glance over things carelessly or make rough assumptions as he had before.
Bi Sain had desperately wanted this moment. He had resolved that if he escaped the crisis, he would build all of his relationships better.
When the moment came to put it into practice, he would not make the mistake of losing to annoyance or laziness. From now on, I am Geom Mugeuk. I will follow even half of his effort.
Left alone, Hyeok Sagun’s only way to escape the pain was to bite off his tongue and kill himself, but he could not bring himself to do it. He believed the Fist King would come to save him. No, he had a feeling he would not come, but dying was far too frightening.
Bi Sain said to him coldly.
“You’ll have to pay the price for dreaming an empty dream.”
Hyeok Sagun was dragged away by the warriors of the Extreme Blade Corps. The children were also transported to the Alliance.
And so the long battle with the Fist King came to an end.
Baek Jagang said to Geom Mugeuk.
“First, let us return to the Alliance together. Even if we part ways afterward, we should at least share a farewell drink.”
He could not simply send away Geom Mugeuk, who had saved them. Geom Mugeuk readily followed along as well.
“Yes, let’s go. Please serve me the finest wine in the Sado Alliance.”
When Baek Jagang stretched out his hand, the gauntlet Fighting God, which had fallen to the ground, flew into his grasp.
Baek Jagang handed Fighting God to Geom Mugeuk.
“This is about the only thing worth using. You take it.”
He said it as though it were nothing, but Fighting God was a gauntlet that stood at the very pinnacle of all gauntlets. It was a treasure so precious that its value could not even be measured, truly an enormous gift.
He did not feel it was a waste at all. If not for Geom Mugeuk, it was terrifying to imagine how things might have ended.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“You came a long way, so sell it and use it for travel expenses. Why? You don’t want it?”
“As if that could be true!”
Geom Mugeuk quickly tucked Fighting God away.
“I’ll ride back in a golden carriage.”
Baek Jagang then spoke to the Poison King.
“Demon Venerable, you should come to the Alliance with us as well.”
“I have matters to attend to, so I must take my leave here.”
The Poison King bid farewell to Baek Jagang.
Baek Jagang did not insist any further. The Poison King and the poison men entering the Sado Alliance was not something he wished for either.
Geom Mugeuk sent a sound transmission to the Poison King.
—Please go to the safe house! I’ll come see you soon. Don’t leave first; let’s go back together!
He could wait at the safe house where Jo Chunbae’s family was resting, and then they could return together.
—Let’s dig up some poisonous herbs on the way back.
—Why didn’t you bring your personal gatherer? I mean that precious person for whom you even prepare separate meals you don’t prepare for the Young Cult Leader.
—That person is busy these days.
The Poison King led his subordinates away from that place. Watching his back, Geom Mugeuk wanted to follow him.
Please wait just a little. I’ll finish things here and come soon.
After parting with the Poison King like that, Geom Mugeuk headed toward the Sado Alliance with Baek Jagang.
As they walked together, Baek Jagang asked as though something had suddenly occurred to him.
“You said that when this matter was over, you had a favor to ask of me, didn’t you?”
Baek Jagang was curious what that favor could possibly be. Bi Sain, walking with them, was equally curious. Geom Mugeuk had said he had a favor to ask of him as well.
“Do you want a martial arts manual or treasure stored in our Alliance’s vault? Or do you want a spiritual medicine?”
“No, that’s all right. What I want is for you, Alliance Leader, to go somewhere with me.”
“Where?”
Then, from Geom Mugeuk’s mouth came words Baek Jagang had never imagined.
“I’d like to treat you to a drink at my regular tavern in front of our cult.”