Chapter 311 |
311. Field of Vision (2)
After resting well for about three days and slowly using the new vision I had gained, I finally began to grow accustomed to it.
So I decided to put it to full use in my training.
“Hmm.”
As I focused my mind, I felt heat gather in my eyes, and more things began to appear within my sight.
A translucent halo overlapped atop the wide, open training ground.
Most of it was so faint I could only barely see it with concentration, but some things stood out vividly.
The qi rising from my sword was one, and another was Tang Sowol’s arms, flushed because she had stormed out after getting stuck in her poison research.
She took her stance with a serious expression and spoke.
“That’s right. I’m immune to your poison anyway, so I won’t be getting poisoned.”
“Yes, well, that’s true… but getting hit by an Hidden Weapons still hurts, you know?”
“I doubt I’ll get hit by either poison or Hidden Weapons.”
Tang Sowol pursed her lips, displeased with something.
I let out a short laugh at the sight and added,
“Besides, doing it like this wouldn’t even be fun. Our difference in realm is too big.”
“Hmph! It’s only a one-stage difference. I’m not talking about winning—just landing a hit. That can happen anytime!”
“That one stage is a steep one. Even one hit won’t be easy. So let’s make a bet.”
“A bet??”
“For one entire breath of incense, attack me with all your strength. If even my sleeve gets grazed, you win. If I endure without a scratch, I win.”
“If it’s a bet, there should be a prize. What will you stake?”
“You’ve been sitting constantly because of your research, haven’t you? It must be tiring. Before you sleep, I’ll carefully massage your acupoints.”
“Acupoint… massage…??”
Normally, Tang Sowol would have taken that without much reaction, but for some reason—whatever she imagined—her face reddened.
“E-even if I win, isn’t that still something you benefit from?”
“If you don’t like it, choose something even more intense. Since it’s something you’ll get if you win, deciding it yourself is best.”
“A free-use pass…!”
“I didn’t say that much.”
Her unexpected choice of words made me flinch, but her emerald-green eyes spun rapidly before blazing with fierce determination.
“Fine! I’ve decided! If I win—!”
“If you win??”
“You have to drink the liquor I prepared with me!”
“That’s nothing. If that’s all— …Wait. What kind of liquor?”
“Oh my. Are you really going to make me say it with my own mouth?”
What the hell is it?
Seeing that I didn’t even have a guess, Sowol explained in more detail.
“It’s snake wine made using part of the Azure Cold Serpent we defeated last time. According to the people of the Medical Hall, it’s very good for men.”
“…Huh.”
“But as a daughter of the Tang Clan, ordinary liquor is a bit lacking. So I decided to add a little… excitement. Did you know that poisoned liquor tastes better than ordinary liquor?”
“Poisoned liquor causes poisoning. How would I know that?”
“Not anymore. At least for any poison I can make, you already have resistance.”
“That’s true, but… now I’m getting nervous. What poison are you planning to add?”
“Obviously an aphrodisiac.”
Her confidence was so absolute that I was left speechless.
I stared blankly at her for a long while before barely managing to open my mouth.
“My body may resist your poison, but—?”
“Of course. But do you know what’s left in an aphrodisiac once you remove the uncontrollable urges?"
“No idea. I don’t have much interest in that.”
“A powerful tonic effect.”
“…Ah.”
So she planned to feed me liquor that’s “good for men,” with a tonic mixed in on top of it.
I steadied my slightly reeling mind and spoke,
“So you want to go all the way before we even hold a formal wedding?”
“Well… if you really can’t hold back, that’s what will happen. Besides…”
Sowol trailed off, then looked straight at me.
“You have no intention of marrying me until you defeat the Heavenly Demon, do you?”
This time, I fell silent for another reason.
“…You knew?”
“Ever since I glimpsed your memory, vaguely.”
She shrugged lightly and smiled.
“I didn’t see everything, so I don’t know the details… but I do know something unimaginable happened. And that it still weighs on you.”
“That’s…”
“Oh, don’t make that face. I’m not blaming you. Troubles are best handled quickly, aren’t they? Doing it together is easier than alone. And easier still if four people help, not two. However—”
Her smile subtly shifted—somehow more sinister.
“I am a daughter of the Tang Clan. I prefer throwing Hidden Weapons from afar and spreading poison—not fair sword fights. What matters is why you fight, not how, correct?”
“W-wait. Don’t tell me…!”
Sowol beamed widely at my horrified expression.
“Don’t you think an early child wouldn’t be so bad?”
“In the end, you’ll live happily with me anyway. Even if the order changes, nothing catastrophic will happen, right?”
Her bright, triumphant look almost convinced me, but I barely shook my head.
If things unfolded as she wanted, maybe it wouldn’t be bad.
But when the time came, instead of fighting the Heavenly Demon, I would choose to flee with someone precious.
And Sowol, unable to abandon the Tang Clan to the very end… she would sneak out alone if she had to.
I thought of the Poison Dance Empress before regression—more stubborn than anyone—and sighed deeply.
“Fine. I’ve decided what I’ll do if I win.”
“Oh? Already? Good. So what do you want from me? Go on, say it.”
“I’ll spank you until you beg me to stop.”
“M-my back? That’s your preference…?”
She covered her rear cautiously, but soon her expression loosened in a strange way.
“That might not be bad.”
“That’s enough. Start already. If you stall any longer, I’ll attack first.”
“Th-that wasn’t the rule! Ugh! Fine, I’m going all out!”
Her cheeks were still red as she glared shyly and moved her hand.
Her sleeve hid her movements, but green robes fluttered as thick green poison fog spread out.
The incoming speed was slow, but it covered such a wide area that it obscured my vision.
But it meant nothing to me now.
Because the poison created through her Poison Spirit Constitution held internal energy, I could see its faint shimmer.
Even the next move Sowol was preparing beyond it was visible.
Beyond the mist-like veil, other energies condensed—thin and dense—definitely feather needle-type Hidden Weapons.
Normally, I would never have been able to distinguish all this.
Her poison fog contained qi itself, so even with sharp senses, once blinded by the fog, seeing deeper was impossible.
But sensing qi and seeing its flow were entirely different.
I could now see exactly what was flying toward me behind the veil.
Ssshhh!
The slow poison fog enveloped the front, while the feather needle hid along the edges to attack from my blind spots.
Before the thin needles crossed the thick fog, my arm moved.
The important thing was the single line connecting everything.
Slash.
My strike split the fog and disrupted the needles’ trajectory.
“How?!”
It was only her first attack, yet everything had been completely read and stopped before unfolding. Sowol grit her teeth.
Then the true barrage of poison and Hidden Weapons began.
Vibrant poison smoke hiding colorless, odorless toxins.
Hidden Weapons drawing acrobatics too complex to follow with the eye.
Hidden needles flying from blind spots.
Sometimes she flooded the area with so much poison that blocking it all was impossible; other times, she suppressed me with a relentless surface of Hidden Weapons like a storm.
If it were the old me, I would have blocked the weaker parts with protective qi, or charged through before I was hit.
But this time was different.
Now that I could see the flow of qi, everything she tried to hide or show was laid bare.
Within countless poisons and Hidden Weapons, I separated truth from feint.
I blocked what needed blocking.
Dodged what needed dodging.
Before I knew it, without moving a single step, I was suppressing her assault with only one sword.
“Ugh…! Fine! No choice then!”
Even though she should have been the sole aggressor, she found herself pushed back.
With clenched teeth, she attempted her final all-out move.
Qi surged from her dantian, spinning wildly, circulating through her body before gathering in her arms.
Fwoosh!
All the poison in the training ground was sucked into her sleeves at once. Then—
“Haaat!”
The poison mist condensed into poisonous beads, each moving separately as they flew toward me.
Alive-like, unpredictable trajectories—like replicating Soul-Chasing Flying Butterflies using poison and the Poison Spirit Constitution.
How nostalgic.
This was close to the technique Sowol used as her life-risking ultimate move before regression.
She still lacked finesse and didn’t have enough poison to swamp the entire area, but—
She forced the opponent to choose:
Dodge every bead with life on the line, or confront a toxin that melted even internal energy.
Of course, in her current level, the technique wasn’t that dangerous.
The poison beads covered only a narrow area, making escape easy.
And while they could melt sword qi, they couldn’t melt protective qi, so blocking was also possible.
But I chose a different method.
Sharpening my focus, I saw her qi flow even more clearly.
And I realized:
Her technique connected each bead like pearls on a string, controlling them in sequence.
Since she hadn’t yet awakened true willpower control, this was her limit.
If everything was connected by one thread, all I needed was one strike to sever it.
No need for White Sword or Formless Sword.
I didn’t even have time to prepare those.
My old cutting technique from my early Flowering Stage days was more than enough.
“As long as I can cut it, it’ll do.”
“Hup!”
I drew my sword along the thin thread in the air.
The slash tore through the space and cut the connection vertically.
To anyone else, I would look like I was swinging randomly at nothing.
But I could see it clearly—the poison beads losing their center and scattering.
“…Huh??”
With Sowol’s bewildered voice, the severed beads burst and scattered.
And that was it.
They didn’t splash onto the ground, didn’t leave lingering toxins, didn’t get recalled by her will.
They simply vanished into the air, the qi returning naturally to heaven and earth.
“Consumes a lot of focus… I need more practice.”
I sighed inwardly and sheathed my sword.
Sowol, who had just wasted all her internal energy into nothingness, gave a helpless laugh.
“What… what are you trying to become, exactly?”
“What else?”
After a moment of thought, I replied,
“Your Tang Clan’s son-in-law.”
“I don’t think my family is that extreme, you know?”
I chuckled and stepped closer.
I wrapped an arm around her waist, pressed my forehead to her temple, and whispered,
“What do you think about a son-in-law who spanks the Tang Clan’s precious jewel until she begs him to stop?”
After a moment of thought, Sowol slowly pushed her hips back toward me.
A very proper attitude for someone who had lost the bet.