Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Five Poison Sect

On the second day of Tang So-mi and the poison experts of the Sichuan Tang Clan analyzing the Five Poison Sect’s poison formation, another high-level meeting was held.

It was a day earlier than the three-day wager between the Taiyang Palace Master and Tang So-mi.

“How did it go?”

“Have you found a solution?”

Tang So-mi responded to the questions of the two impatient palace masters, with Ouyang Pae acting as the interpreter in between.

“They say Five Poison Sect is the best in Nanman (Southern Barbarian Lands) when it comes to poison. It certainly is formidable.”

At her response, the Taiyang Palace Master snorted.

“Hmph. So you failed after all.”

However, in response to the Beast Palace Master’s remark, Tang So-mi shook her finger horizontally and replied.

“That’s not it. Given enough time, I can dismantle it. But we’re short on time, right? So, I found a bit of a risky workaround.”

“A workaround?”

“There’s a saying in poison techniques: ‘Fight poison with poison.’ It’s derived from the strategy of ‘Using barbarians to control barbarians.’”

“Are you saying you’ll use poison to neutralize the poison formation?”

“It’s impractical for the five of us to carry enough poison to neutralize that much poison. Instead, there’s a way to make the poisons within the formation counteract each other.”

As she spoke, Tang So-mi drew a circle on the ground, representing the swamps of the Five Poison Sect territory.

“After two days of observation, we found five key spots within the formation where the poison flows unnaturally or awkwardly. These are places where the flow was artificially arranged to prevent the diverse poisons from clashing.”

Tang So-mi marked five points within the circle she had drawn.

“So, if we simultaneously collapse these five spots within the formation, the poisons will start to counteract each other. Of course, this means we’ll need at least five experts who can disrupt the formation in one strike.”

“…What if we fail?”

“Well, the formation will just shake a bit. But during that process, the poisons will backflow, and anyone attacking the formation will dissolve into a pool of poison.” ṝάƝоβЁȿ

As she finished her explanation, those gathered for the meeting exchanged glances.

They needed to decide who would take on the dangerous task of attacking the poison formation.

“Bringing such a risky solution… isn’t that irresponsible?”

Tang So-mi responded with a seductive smile to the Taiyang Palace Master’s criticism.

“Oh dear. I brought this solution because you seemed so confident. Are you perhaps not as confident as you seemed?”

“Hmph. I can certainly succeed. The problem is that there are still four more positions to fill.”

As expected, the Beast Palace Master was the first to volunteer.

“Ha ha ha! If those southern weaklings can do it, I can too!”

Mu-jin and Ouyang Pae followed suit.

“I’ll take one of the positions as well.”

“Same here.”

In a way, all the leaders of the different factions had volunteered.

The problem was the last position.

Since all five points needed to be attacked simultaneously, the most skilled person among those gathered had to take the last spot.

From one perspective, it was a matter of pride for a faction to volunteer one more member. But considering the risk of exposure to poison in case of failure, it was a delicate matter.

‘The most skilled person after me in our faction would be Mu-gyeong…’

Mu-gyeong’s martial arts were not suited for this type of mission.

Disrupting the formation required a powerful single strike, not complex and diverse martial arts.

For a powerful single strike, Mu-gung was more suitable than Mu-gyeong.

But even more suitable than Mu-gung was a man from another faction.

“What about leaving the last spot to the Taiyang Palace’s Head of External Affairs?”

When Mu-jin suggested this, everyone looked at each other before nodding in agreement.

“Haha, if it’s that guy, he’s too talented to be confined to the Taiyang Palace!”

“Hmph. Fools like you couldn’t handle him anyway.”

Even amidst the bickering, the palace masters agreed.

“If it’s Geum Yang-hwi, I can trust him to handle it.”

After Ouyang Pae expressed his agreement, the Taiyang Palace Master frowned and spoke.

“The Head of External Affairs is still part of the Taiyang Palace. It’s not for you to decide whether you trust him or not.”

It was only then that Mu-jin realized why the Taiyang Palace Master often looked at Ouyang Pae with displeasure.

‘No wonder he’s annoyed. He’s about to lose such a talented person.’

Regardless of Mu-jin’s thoughts, it seemed that Tang So-mi’s suggested method would be adopted.

With the five representatives decided, Tang So-mi smiled at the Taiyang Palace Master.

“Now that a solution has been decided, it’s your turn, Taiyang Palace Master.”

It was a reminder of the promised apology, but the Taiyang Palace Master refused.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I’ll apologize after this war is over. If the plan fails and I dissolve into a pool of poison, it would be regrettable to have apologized beforehand.”

At the Taiyang Palace Master’s words, the Beast Palace Master mocked.

“Typical southern miser. Ha ha ha.”

Mu-jin could only agree with the Beast Palace Master’s words internally.

* * *

In the center of the swamp filled with poisonous fog.

There was a manor where people lived.

Surprisingly, from the manor’s walls, there was no trace of poisonous fog.

This manor was the headquarters of the Five Poison Sect, known as the most powerful faction in Nanman when it came to poison.

In the center of the manor stood a grand hall.

In its depths, three men were having a meeting.

“How long do you plan to hide here?”

The old Daoist, dressed in the distinctive attire of the Jeomchang Sect, asked with a frown.

He led the hundred Jeomchang Sect swordmasters who had joined as reinforcements. He was an elder of the Jeomchang Sect, known by the nickname Il-gwang Sword (Sunlight Sword).

“There are over a thousand people surrounding the poison fog outside.”

Hwang Gon tried to calm Il-gwang Sword, but his words only made the latter angrier.

“Southern barbarians! Even if there were ten thousand of them, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the Jeomchang Sect. What are we afraid of, hiding here?”

Hwang Gon found it hard to suppress a sigh at Il-gwang Sword’s words.

He wondered what the man was thinking, spouting such nonsense when their southern barbarian allies were present.

Naturally, the Five Poison Sect Master looked at him, hoping for a translation. Hwang Gon had to moderate Il-gwang Sword’s words as he translated.

“Elder Il-gwang Sword wants to fight the enemies outside rather than hide here.”

“…Are all Central Plains martial artists so foolish? To speak such nonsense despite seeing the disparity in numbers.”

“Hoo. He must be impatient.”

As the translator and mediator between them, Hwang Gon felt troubled.

Il-gwang Sword, however, paid no mind to Hwang Gon’s feelings.

“It’s already the fourth day we’ve been trapped here. That means the carriages meant for the Jeomchang Sect have been stalled for four days.”

“Don’t worry. We have a plan to make them retreat while we hold out inside. When they scatter, we’ll take them out one by one.”

Il-gwang Sword asked with a skeptical look.

“How do you plan to make them retreat?”

“Most of their forces are gathered here. That means their main camp is vulnerable.”

“You’re targeting their main camp… How do you plan to strike it while trapped here?”

“We smuggled people out before we got trapped. They’ll soon attack their rear, forcing them to return to protect their own bases.”

After Hwang Gon explained the plan, Il-gwang Sword, still unconvinced, replied.

“We’ll see if the poison fog buys enough time.”

The Five Poison Sect Master smirked and responded.

“If you’re not convinced, go out and experience it yourself.”

After glaring at the Five Poison Sect Master for a moment, Il-gwang Sword reluctantly conceded.

“Hmph. We’re ‘allies’ for now, so I’ll trust you.”

Unwilling to test the poison fog himself, Il-gwang Sword pretended to be haughty.

The Five Poison Sect Master barely suppressed his laughter.

They still needed the help of the Jeomchang Sect.

‘Hmph. This poison formation has been built over generations. No one in the world can break through it.’

The poison formation was Five Poison Sect’s pride.

Having to stay with someone who underestimated it was as infuriating as dealing with the Beast Palace Master.

‘Once we take down the Beast Palace, it will be the Taiyang Palace and these fools’ turn!’

The Five Poison Sect Master thought to himself as he glanced at Hwang Gon and Il-gwang Sword.

Five Poison Sect’s obsession with the Beast Palace wasn’t just about territory.

‘If we can research Mangkr’s poison, we can kill all of them, including those from the Taiyang Palace and Hwang Gon’s forces!’

He planned to use the poisons found in Mangkr and the Beast Palace’s territory to create the deadliest poison in the world and eliminate the Taiyang Palace and Hwang Gon’s forces.

Meanwhile, perhaps embarrassed by his fear of the poison formation, Il-gwang Sword changed the subject.

“So, as long as we hold out, they’ll scatter?”

“Yes. They’ll never break through the poison formation.”

“Heh heh heh. In that case, we should first target the Beast Palace or whatever they call it. They say those

Shaolin monks are with them.”

Il-gwang Sword’s eyes glinted with killing intent.

Such an expression didn’t match his Daoist appearance.

Surprisingly, Il-gwang Sword knew that Mu-jin’s group was with the Beast Palace.

This information had come from Hwang Gon.

In a previous skirmish, Hwang Gon had recognized the Golden Turtle Technique used by Mu-jin.

The swordmasters of the Jeomchang Sect had come to eliminate the Shaolin monks.

“We need to teach those wretched Shaolin brats a lesson. Ha ha ha.”

The reason the Jeomchang Sect could only send a hundred reinforcements was because they had already sent troops to Shaanxi Province to assist Hwasan, leaving them short-handed.

When they heard that the Shaolin monks were here, they were enraged.

It felt like the Shaolin monks were trying to cut off their supplies while their forces were away.

Il-gwang Sword was confident.

He believed that the Jeomchang Sect’s hundred skilled disciples could sweep away both the Shaolin monks and the Beast Palace.

But that was just the Jeomchang Sect’s belief.

Watching Il-gwang Sword, who acted carefree but had eyes filled with killing intent, Hwang Gon clicked his tongue internally.

‘He’s not your match, foolish Daoist.’

Even though he had informed them about the Shaolin monks, Hwang Gon hadn’t disclosed their full capabilities.

Especially Mu-jin’s abilities, which he had witnessed in the last battle, were superior to Il-gwang Sword’s.

Even Hwang Gon would have to go all out to defeat him.

Despite the considerable power of the hostile factions, Hwang Gon didn’t seem overly worried.

In fact, he hadn’t disclosed one crucial piece of information to the others present.

‘In a few days, the sorcerer will arrive.’

This was the Yin-Yang Gu hidden in the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng consumed by Mu-jin, who had won the Yongbongji Conference.

Recognizing Mu-jin, Hwang Gon had sent a letter as soon as he returned to Five Poison Sect.

He had already received a reply that the sorcerer, who was waiting in Murim Alliance to brainwash Mu-jin, would be sent here.

The only issue was the distance from Murim Alliance to this place, which had delayed the sorcerer’s arrival.

‘The plan has hit a few bumps, but if we can capture the Shaolin Dragon, it will be a great gain.’

The plan was to shake the enemies with the people they had smuggled out and brainwash Mu-jin with the sorcerer when he arrived.

That was Hwang Gon’s grand scheme.

Keeping his inner thoughts hidden, Hwang Gon maintained a neutral expression.

As the leaders of the three factions each harbored different thoughts, the meeting epitomized a state of “different dreams in the same bed.”

“Master! Master!”

Suddenly, a poison expert from Five Poison Sect burst into the hall, shouting.

“They’re approaching the poison formation!”

Their carefully laid plans were beginning to unravel.