After many twists and turns, he occupied the room next to Jasu's.

Although he stealthily put his ear to the wall, no sound could be heard from the next room... dammit!

This really makes it seem like I have a strange hobby.

Cheonyeong, feeling self-loathing at his own actions, sat up straight.

Anyway, the assassins of the Jinkagu wouldn't move right away.

Because assassins are like night cats and like the darkness.

They would rest enough during the day and move through the darkness when the streets became empty of people at night.

Cheonyeong slowly calmed his mind, waiting for the time of revenge to come.

When he searched his past memories, Jasu had instructed them to find out information about the Gongson family from this inn.

Today was the twenty-fifth.

There were five days left until the first day of the seventh month, the day Gongson Seung died.

That was the day of the operation.

But you never know with people.

Where was the guarantee that history would proceed in the same way?

So he was planning to eliminate them one by one before things happened.

The remaining five days.

Four assassins, including Jasu.

I'll kill one punk a day.

To reduce their strength, and to piss off that wench Jasu.

"Hoo..."

A long shadow is cast through the open window.

The sun is setting towards the west.

It would be night in about one shichen.

It was more than enough time to complete a major circulation.

Cheonyeong began to circulate his energy to check his body, just as a warrior on the verge of battle sharpens his sword.

Samyang.

At first, he thought the name referred to the Taiyang, Yangming, and Shaoyang in medicine, or alluded to the inner yang, middle yang, and outer yang in feng shui.

But.

"First, the dantian below the navel."

As Cheonyeong slowly focused his mind and raised his internal energy, the Samyang True Qi that had spread throughout his four limbs and hundred meridians gathered towards his lower dantian, warming his body.

He really liked this moment.

Should I say he had come to understand the meaning of the words 'ah, good. refreshing.' that old people say when they get into hot water?

"Ah... I have to concentrate. Dammit."

Cheonyeong shook off his idle thoughts and immersed himself in the circulation again.

The first stage, Body Transformation.

The true qi gathered in the dantian slowly extends along the thickened meridians.

Instead of letting it flow out little by little, all the energy gathered in the dantian moves at once, warming and caressing the acupoints of the whole body.

His body relaxes in the hot energy, and then a refreshing feeling fills his body.

"Hoo..."

Cheonyeong, who had finished the circulation with an exhaled breath, spreads the energy gathered in the dantian to his four limbs and hundred meridians and slowly opens his eyes. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Kkwa-ak.

It felt as if the inside of his clenched fist was completely filled.

For now, this was it.

But it wasn't far.

In a little while, his dantian, which had expanded to its limit, would be filled with internal energy.

The next stage of Body Transformation, Body Filling.

The end of dantian ki-gong.

When a wine cup is filled to the brim, the amount does not increase even if you pour more.

The excess will overflow, and the total amount will always be the same.

In the Samyang, this was seen as the limit of the dantian, that is, the final point of Body Filling, and it was said that to advance to a higher realm, one had to prepare a second wine cup.

The Crimson Palace of the chest (heart).

What people commonly call the middle dantian.

The realm that those with the name 'absolute' were said to have achieved.

When the dantian and the middle dantian communicate with each other without any blockage, one can finally use what is called Gang Qi.

Sword Saint, Sword God...

It was to rise to the same realm as those who had obtained such words.

From here, the difference in power is minimal.

What creates the gap is the use.

Who uses their internal energy more efficiently?

A matter of experience and enlightenment.

Of course, it was a path he had never been on before.

And the last.

The Sea of Marrow of the brow (brain).

The person named Yeo Cheongin, who had left the secret manual of the Samyang, had recorded that it was the final stage of the Samyang.

The realm of going to godhood by opening the upper dantian and transcending the category of a human.

When he had opened the last page of the secret manual, expecting the record of the upper dantian with a trembling heart.

"...To be continued in the next volume."

Cheonyeong wore a bitter smile.

Only that was written.

He had never thought that the secret manual would be in two volumes.

If so, he should have kindly left 'Volume One' on the cover of the secret manual.

That is the author's duty.

How dumbfounded he had been to see the single line, 'to be continued in the next volume,' on the very last page.

"He must not have had a good personality."

Cheonyeong smirked as he recalled Yeo Cheongin, who had called himself the Samyang Divine Lord.

Anyway, Cheonyeong had obtained the first volume of the Samyang secret manual.

And while searching for the second volume in all directions, his tail was stepped on and he became a target of the Jinkagu, and he met his death at the hands of the assassin punks who coveted the secret manual.

But now that he had returned to the past through the mysterious harmony of the Samyang secret manual.

Cheonyeong's goals were twofold.

The first was revenge.

Against the culprit who had destroyed the Mandeok Estate, and against the Jinkagu who had driven him to his death.

He had avenged his family.

And he had established a new martial family called the Tang Family's estate.

What remained was revenge against the Jinkagu.

If he saved Gongson Seung, a conflict with them would begin in earnest.

Although he had abandoned the path of an assassin, he was going to find those punks one by one and kill them all.

And the second goal.

To find the second secret manual left by the Samyang Divine Lord.

Although he had no intention of becoming a god and ascending as recorded, since he had started, shouldn't he see it to the end?

He was only at Body Transformation.

To achieve Body Filling and open the Crimson Palace, which was called the middle dantian, there was still a long way to go.

But there was enough time.

He would just have to advance one step at a time while slowly taking revenge on the Jinkagu.

"Hmm, it would be nice if there were legendary spirit beasts or spirit herbs. I could skip several stages at once based on their miraculous power..."

Cheonyeong licked his lips.

But how could that be easy?

It wasn't called a legend for no reason.

Come to think of it, he wasn't the only one who needed such things.

Yongcheon, who had learned the Samyang Divine Art first, and the four family members who would have a hard time achieving advancement after learning it later, all needed it.

Even if they managed to achieve Body Filling after Body Transformation, it would be difficult to reach the subsequent stages with effort alone.

"After I finish this and go back, I'll have to cultivate a herb gatherer who can focus on collecting only spirit herbs. Of course, a reliable one..."

That too was one of the plans to grow the Tang Family's estate.

The warriors of the Tang Family's estate, which had no tradition or history, could not become strong through the same process as others.

The martial world was not a place where one could endure a long period of time and grow.

To become strong right away, one had to use a shortcut.

That was the spirit pill for enhancing internal energy.

In other words, becoming strong through the power of medicine.

Also, a new weapon was needed besides hidden weapons.

"Poison."

A sinister light flashed in Cheonyeong's eyes.

Like a weak beast or insect, one had to hide a poison needle to protect one's body.

Also, from experience, wasn't there nothing better for getting through a crisis?

But it had to be done secretly.

Poison was a completely different matter from hidden weapons.

If used carelessly, one could be ostracized from the martial world.

"I'll just do it secretly."

Cheonyeong wore a wicked smile.

Anyway, wasn't the difference between a medicinal herb and a poisonous herb just a fine line?

Yes, let's increase the number of herb gatherers.

Since the world was so chaotic and harsh, weren't there overflowing vagrants and nomads?

He would select reliable ones among them, accept them into the Tang Family's estate, and train them as spirit herb specialists.

And starting with Sichuan, he would gradually expand the area and have them dig up all the medicinal and poisonous herbs in the world.

Who knows?

Maybe they would really discover a legendary spirit herb or spirit beast in the process?

"Let's see... yes, the Myriad Poison Hall would be good. A place that researches and creates all the poisons in the world. A perfect name."

Cheonyeong smiled sinisterly as he thought about the distant future.

He didn't know until then.

That due to the existence of the Myriad Poison Hall, the notoriety of the Tang Family's estate would spread throughout the world in the future...

As he was happily planning a rosy future, the day slowly came to an end.

The time when the sun, which had gone over the western mountain, had dyed the world red passed, and darkness fell thickly.

Ttalkkak.

"...?"

A faint sound was detected in Cheonyeong's ears, who had been in a sweet dream without even turning on the light.

...The next room?

The moment he thought that the assassins of the Jinkagu were moving, Cheonyeong flew to the window.

He grabbed the windowsill and jumped lightly onto the roof.

Sa-bak.

The sound of stepping on the roof tiles was heard, but it was as faint as a cat's footstep.

And he disappeared.

Into the darkness... without a trace.

A short while after Cheonyeong disappeared, three figures in masks and night clothes appeared on the roof.

They were the second-class assassins of the Jinkagu who had begun their activities in earnest as it got dark.

They sat crouched with their backs to each other in a '品' shape and scanned their surroundings with sharp eyes.

Although the noisy sounds of the street could be heard from below, the roof was quiet.

"Strange. I'm sure... I heard something."

"What sound? You're just being too sensitive. It must have been a night cat."

"Is that so?"

The masked man who had spoken first tilted his head at his colleague's words.

But even after carefully examining the surroundings and listening intently, he felt nothing.

"Hmm. As you said, it seems I was too sensitive."

"It's okay. As the leader, you should be. I always respect your attentiveness."

"Keuk."

The masked man, who had burst out laughing at the compliment, said to the remaining two.

"You all heard the order from Lady Jasu, but I'll go over it again."

"Hmm."

"From now on, we will gather all the information about the Gongson family."

"Then I'll first investigate the people who were invited to Gongson Muryang's funeral. To see if there are any punks we can disguise ourselves as."

"Good. I'll leave it to you."

"Then I'll disguise myself as a drunkard and gather all the rumors about the Gongson family."

"I'll leave it to you. While you guys start the investigation, I'll check the Gongson family's security network."

"Let's split up."

"See you at dawn."

"You all have your suicide poison pills, right?"

At those words, the remaining two lightly touched their chests.

"Alright. Then... see you alive."

"Alive."

The three masked men, who had sent each other looks of pity, disappear in different directions.

And after a short while, Cheonyeong, who had been hiding his body in the darkness on one side of the roof, reveals himself.

"Hah, I was nervous because it's been a while since I've used stealth, but fortunately, they don't seem to have noticed."

Cheonyeong stroked his chest.

When he was an assassin, stealth was as natural as breathing, but now he had to be tense the whole time he was hiding his presence.

What if he got caught?

But weren't they just second-class assassins for now?

Even if he had neglected the arts of an assassin while focusing on learning the Samyang Divine Art, there was no possibility that they, who had not reached Cheonyeong's realm, would notice.

"By the way, who is the leader of those punks now? A new Sagyo?"

Cheonyeong smiled faintly as he recalled the leader punk who had been reminding the two masked men of their orders.

It used to be him.

Because he had the most outstanding skills among the second-class assassins.

"Let's see, I've got plenty of flying needles, and a sword... as for poison, a second-class punk is no big deal."

Cheonyeong pondered, looking at the three directions where the masked men had disappeared, then stopped his gaze at one place.

"It would be perfect to start with that punk."

The punk who had left, saying he would investigate the people who were invited to the funeral.

Since he would be climbing over someone else's wall, even if he got caught and died, it would be difficult for Jasu to find traces of his interference.

"It's probably you, Hwagye. If the situation is the same as I remember."

Cheonyeong, who had licked his lips with his tongue, disappears as if seeping into the darkness with a smile.

(End of Chapter)